Introducing Gavin Cooper!

So not much has changed since I last updated my blog.... well, other than the fact that SPARKLE ARRIVED!!!! And "sparkle" probably should have been referred to as "Spark" because we had a BOY!! I don't know why I'm writing like this is news to all of you! Most, if not everyone, who reads this already knows that and probably has already met our little guy. But if you haven't heard then first, find a new gossip in your town because you aren't being kept up to date very well and second, let me introduce you. Gavin Cooper was born February 17th at 9:59am via emergency C-section. He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches long. Here's a quick over view of why we ended up having to have a C-section. I had worked that night prior to delivering him and had been contracting all night. Around 6:15 am as my night was getting ready to end, I put myself on the monitor just to see how close the contractions were and if I was feeling all of them or whether I was really having more. Once I was on the monitor I saw that I was having contractions, but that Gavin's heart rate wasn't reactive. When a heart rate is reactive it means there's a bunch of fluctuations in the HR and that's a good sign telling us the baby is adequately oxygenated. Sometimes when the baby sleeps it looks non-reactive, which is what we thought was going on. So I drank lots of sugary drinks and chewed ice cubes to try and wake the baby up to get a reactive strip. By 7 am he still wasn't reactive and so I was admitted in the labor room for a non reactive strip. I called Jason then and told him he should come in and just hang out with me for awhile until the baby woke up. The doctor and midwife came in around 8:15am and still his heart rate wasn't looking good and was starting to have subtle decelerations which were a sign that he wasn't getting enough oxygen and was getting stressed. The doctor said she didn't like how the baby looked and didn't want to wait and try and induce me naturally, that a c-section would be the best route. So TA-DA! Into the operating room we went. Talk about a weird feeling! You go to work never thinking in a million years that you'd clock out at 7am and be in the OR having your baby 2 hours later! The funny thing was that I'd been taking care of a laboring patient all night and I ended up delivering before her! Thankfully Gavin did great immediately after delivery and came out screaming. Still not really sure what caused the strip to look like that. Maybe because I'd been fighting a cold and then having worked all night it stressed him. But it's a happy ending! He's doing amazing and has totally changed our lives 100% for the better. He had his one month check up last week and already weighs 9 lbs 8 oz. Enjoy the pics!! I'll try and keep updating, but find my free time has decreased dramatically (and I wouldn't change it for anything!!)