First Bath

Manning had his first real bath the other night in the bathroom sink. That's how we do things around here. :) I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Thanksgiving 2009

Yesterday was Manning's first Thanksgiving, and first holiday! Because he is so little and new, we decided it was not a great idea to go to the big family dinners this year. Big family dinners= lots of germs and children. My mom typically hosts the big dinner for my dad's family, but this year they decided to come spend Thanksgiving with us since we wouldn't be heading home. Here's a tip- if you want your family to visit more, have a baby. :)

We decided to go to Cracker Barrel and then see a movie. Manning slept the whole time we were at CB. We came to our house for a little while to kill time before the movie. Manning ate and we headed to see the Blind Side. He slept for the entire almost hour we got there early and through the whole movie! He did briefly wake up to have a bottle at the very end, but fell asleep again quickly. All in all, it was a great day. Enjoy the pictures!

Since his cord fell off, we started the morning with Manning's first tummy time.

Our little turkey

Cutest turkey I have ever seen!

We are so thankful!

Our new little family

My parents and sister with baby M. They are pretty thankful for our new blessing as well!

Manning's Birth

I have waited to post this until I had the time to tell the complete story. Baby is asleep, so here's hoping!

On Saturday night, November 14, I went to bed and prayed before bed, like I had been for the last couple of weeks, that my water would break in my sleep. For some reason I just knew that was how I was going to go into labor if I did it without having to be induced. I stayed up late watching Saturday Night Live and went to sleep about 12:30 AM on November 15. At 1:50 AM I woke up to a weird sensation, and the thought ran through my mind, "Am I peeing my pants?", but just as quickly I realized my water had broken. I managed to get out of bed before it got on the sheets. I went into the bathroom and it just continued to gush. I knew I had to go to the hospital, but I thought that the gush would let up so I could get ready. After a few minutes I called for Nathan. I told him my water had broken. For some reason, he thought I was joking and didn't immediately get out of bed. I assured him that I was 100% sure, and we needed to get ready to go. We were out of the door a frantic ten minutes later.

We arrived at the hospital after a very nervous drive, and I was admitted. They confirmed that my water had broken and moved me to my real room. They told me it was basically a waiting game at that point and that I should get some sleep. I had way too much adrenaline to think about sleeping, but Nathan got a good few hours. I stayed up watching Roseanne re-runs. At 6 AM when I wasn't progressing enough on my own, they started pitocin through my IV. The rest of the morning the pitocin was gradually increased and by about 2 PM I was very, very uncomfortable. The nurse said that if I wanted to do an epidural it was definitely time. I asked her if I was being a wimp and she said that most women were screaming by the point I was asking nicely for my epidural, so I was very proud of myself. After the epidural, I was very comfortable, but getting to be impatient to meet my little guy. As my contractions grew stronger, Manning's heart rate began to drop during each contraction. Because they were coming more and more rapidly, his heart rate wasn't having adequate time to get back up to a normal level before another contraction started. At about 7:00 the Dr. decided it was time for an emergency c-section, and I was definitely on board. I didn't care how he was born, I just wanted my baby to be safe.

Excited to finally be a daddy!

By 7:20 I was being wheeled into surgery, right as the Colts were kicking off against the Patriots. My husband had joked my whole pregnancy that I could be in labor during a Colts game, but he really didn't want to miss any of the game, so could we leave the TV on. It was very funny to us that my surgery was during the beginning of the biggest rivalry game of the year. It took a little bit for the medicine they administered to completely numb me for surgery, and I was very nervous. Once I was ready they let Nathan come into the room. He was fantastic. He held my hand and just talked to me calmly so that I would not be scared. He knew that having a c-section was the scariest aspect of pregnancy for me. At 7:54 I heard little Manning's first cry. It was an unbelievable feeling. Nathan ran over to take pictures (as I had instructed him to do) and I just lay there crying at this miracle that God had given to Nathan and I. What felt like an hour later, but Nathan says was only a few minutes, Nathan brought baby M over and we had our first family photo.

The doctor explained as he stitched me up that Manning not only had the cord wrapped around his neck, but that his umbilical cord was not properly attached to my placenta, and that's the reason his heart rate had been unsteady. I am so thankful for the Dr's good judgement of when to do the c-section because we could have lost Manning had we waited too much longer.

Manning Parker BeVelle was born at 7:54 PM November 15, 2009 weighing 6 lb 5 oz measuring 20 inches long.

Little guy!

Mommy and baby in recovery...I'm still weepy!

The cutest baby we've ever seen

Wordless Wednesday

One Week

Manning is one week old today! So much has happened in the last week. Nathan and I were discussing today how we both had the best night of our lives (the night he was born) and the worst night of our lives (the night we had to leave Manning in the hospital alone) in the same week. I have a new respect and compassion for parents that have to leave their babies in the hospital for days, weeks, or months without being able to stay there with them 24 hours a day.

This is what I hope will be a traditional picture for M. In the rocking chair in his nursery with the build-a-bear Nathan and I made for him, Teddy. Happy One Week Birthday sweet, wonderful, precious baby boy!

I didn't mean to leave you hanging. We did a 24 hour holter monitor from 1 PM yesterday until 1 PM today. Results take 10 days. Cardiologist says as long as the results from the monitor don't show any abnormalities we will see him again in a year. For now, I'm busy adjusting to being a new mom. I'm exhausted and hormonal, but it's so totally worth it. I love this baby more than I knew my heart was capable of loving.

Tonight I'm going home from the hospital without my baby. He has to stay here to be monitored. One very diligent nurse noticed that he had very low heartbeats per minute when sleeping- in the 80s. She has been keeping a close eye on Manning since this discovery. Today his heart rate dipped into the 60s twice while he was sleeping. (Normal sinus rhythm for a baby is 120-160) Because he has no other symptoms of heart failure, or even trouble for that matter, the pediatrician isn't too concerned. That said, he was on the phone all day with the "local" Children's Hospital. We will be meeting with a neonatal cardiologist at 11 AM tomorrow. Nathan and I would greatly appreciate your prayers.

Manning Parker

On November 15, 2009 at 7:54 PM Manning Parker was born. He weighed 6 pounds 5 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is beautiful and a perfect combination of his Mommy and Daddy. We are so in love with being his parents already, and I know that my life will be so much more full because of him. God has blessed us in an immeasurable way, and we still cannot believe it's real. I had to have a c-section, so we will be in the hospital at least one more day, but I will try to add more pictures soon. Here's a few from my iPhone. Just a few hours oldMommy and Manning

One Day Old

See the ticker at the top...
that one that says "I'm overdue, or have given birth"
Well...
I'm overdue. and NONE to happy about it.
I don't think Manning got the message that his mama does NOT like to be late.
Especially not for his own birthday!
I just have this strong dang feeling that he's not coming on his own.
There are plans in place should we not have a baby by next Tuesday, but GEESH that seems far away!

Manning- Please come join us. I know the world seems big and scary, but your daddy and I promise we will spend the rest of our lives protecting you from it to the best of our abilities. We love you so much already and we cannot wait to meet you!

Still Pregnant

Still pregnant. I have my regular doctor's appointment on Wednesday, which is my due date. The doctor said that if I have not gone on my own by then, we will set an induction date for the following week...I'm hoping early in the week! I really wanted to go on my own, but from the research I've done the more overdue you go, the better your chances for a C-Section, and THAT is something I really don't want, so lets get this baby out naturally! I hope all of these plans are in vain and baby M decides he's ready to meet the world without the assistance of modern medicine to push him along. I keep thinking how amazing it is that even though we are full of questions right now, God already knows exactly what day and what time Manning will be born, as well as every other tiny detail- like the number of hairs that will be on his sweet little head. Amazing.

Oh, and yes, I'm trying EVERYTHING to go into labor or break my water. How did YOU go into labor?