Baby Owen's Birth Story

He's here!!!!! 

Meet Owen David Blankenship

Born June 25th, 2012 at 11:12 am

7 pounds 5 ounces and 19.75 inches long

The love I have for this little guy is indescribable, simply magical.  I can't imagine my world without him.  

He truly is the love of our lives!

As most of you know, I was scheduled for a c-section on June 25th because Owen was breech.  All went according to plan.  I was nervous the morning of the c-section, not knowing what to expect and what pain I would experience.  Overall the experience was great.  The most painful part was the IV (sorry to those who have had natural births!)  I was taken into the OR at about 10:30 where they gave me a spinal, which was no more painful than a regular shot!  I was expecting it to be much more painful.  Soon most of my body was numb and then they brought Jimmy into the OR.  Jimmy sat right next to me holding my hand.  I was squeezing his hand SO hard!  And of course, already crying, just from being overwhelmed with emotion.  They began the surgery and everything went perfectly!  Out came Owen!  I'll never forget the first time I saw him, when they held him over the sheet for me to take a peek as soon as he was out.  I'm tearing up now just thinking back to that moment!

While they were weighing him and checking him out Jimmy got to walk over and watch them.  He got some really cute pictures of his legs sticking straight up (being breech, that's how he was in the womb).  I haven't had the time to put them on the computer yet, still on the camera or iPhone.  Once he was all cleaned up they brought him to me while they finished sewing me up.  I got to hold him right against my cheek.  The anesthesiologist was so sweet, he kept wiping my tears!

After the surgery was over they moved me back into recovery.  Jimmy and Owen were already waiting in recovery for me.  I spent about an hour and a half there while I regained feeling in my body.  It was such precious time with my family.  We each took turns holding Owen, and me crying of course!  I'm pretty sure Jimmy shed a few tears in the OR and recovery room as well!

Once my recovery period was over they moved me into a private room.  This is where all my family came and got to meet Owen for the first time!  Here are some pictures of the grandparents holding him...

Owen and Grandma 

Owen and Papa B

Owen and Nana

Owen and Pops

Owen and Mimi

Here are some more cute pictures of Owen!

Owen and Uncle Aaron!

Hello World!!!

Happy Birthday Owen!

Daddy ordering me some Jello!

Sleeping on mommy the first night home.

Overall, my experience was wonderful.  All the doctors and nurses were kind and caring.  The pediatrician came daily to check him out and each time he was doing wonderful.  My OB came each day to check me out as well and each time I was doing well also.  The c-section went extremely well.  My healing is great.  I barely took any percoset in the hospital (only twice) and haven't had to take any at home.  I am already going up and down the stairs more than once a day and on my own!

He is the joy of our lives and we feel so incredibly blessed by God to be this little guy's parents!

I hope you enjoyed all the pictures!

Love,

Judi and Jimmy

38 Weeks

Almost there!

Along: 38 weeks!  Owen is now full term and could come at any time!

Size of Baby:  This time, instead of typing what my book tells me about his size, I actually have an accurate size!  On Tuesday this past week we had an ultrasound which told us he is already about 7 pounds.  His head, abdomen, and leg percentiles are all in the normal range.  He could now come at any time and would be considered full term.

Gender:  BOY!!!  Owen 'Secret' Blankenship. 

Sleep:  I've still been sleeping pretty well.  I'm waking up once or twice a night.  Each morning I wake up I'm thankful for another mostly restful night, as I know this will not be the case for very much longer!

What I Miss:   I still miss wine.  I really miss it this time of year when the weather is so nice.  All I want to do is sit outside on our deck or go to a winery and relax and enjoy the weather with a nice glass of chilled pinot.  Only a little while longer... :)

Cravings:  Still craving the sweets a lot.  Smoothies, pop-tarts, peanut butter... root beer floats!  Luckily my weight gain is still in the normal range, considering all the cravings!

Symptoms:  I'm pretty swollen now.  Today I was at Target picking up a few things and some woman tells me "Oh my gosh you're feet are SO swollen!!!"  I laughed, but thought to myself... thanks lady, as if I don't already know!

Best Moment this Week:  The best moment this week was getting to see him on the ultrasound screen one more time before he arrives!  He was moving around a ton - of course!  We got to see his heart pumping and hear his heartbeat, just such a magical thing.  Truly is a miracle!

SPECIAL UPDATE:  We found out this week that Owen is sitting breech!  That means I'll be having a scheduled c-section.  The c-section is scheduled for Monday, June 25th.  It is interesting that I was sitting breech when my Mom was pregnant with me as well, and I was her first child.  Kind of funny that the same exact thing is happening to me, AND Owen will be born on the 25th - same day as me!  My Mom said he'll be just like me - a happy go lucky baby who always smiled and laughed.  Boy, I hope that's the truth!  Jimmy says he is breech because he just wants to be closer to my heartbeat, which of course, made me cry!  So keep us in your thoughts and prayers on June 25th!  And pray he doesn't decide to come any earlier than that!

Since Owen will be born on June 25th, this will be my last blog as a preggo lady!  Next blog will include pictures of Owen and his birth story!  I can't believe this is happening so soon!!!  

Love to all!

Judi and Jimmy

36 Weeks

Holy cow... I'm huge.
I wore this same outfit a couple weeks back in one of my blog pictures, I thought it would be interesting to see how much I've grown when wearing the same shirt!  Looking at this picture now... I'm scared.  LOL!

Along: 36 weeks!  One more week and Owen is considered full term.  

Size of Baby:  Owen weighs about 6 pounds and is measuring about 20 inches long now.  In the next few weeks he will just pack on the pounds until he arrives.  All his systems are equipped for life outside the womb!  

Gender:  BOY!!!  Owen 'Secret' Blankenship. 

Sleep:  I've been sleeping pretty good still.  I get up once a night and easily fall back asleep.  Most nights I'm still sleeping pretty comfortably, considering the belly!  Each morning I wake up I'm thankful for another restful night, I know it won't be like this for very much longer!

What I Miss:   WINE!  A new winery opened up about two miles from us.  It looks so awesome and I'm a little sad I don't get to enjoy it just yet... a few more weeks and I can go tasting!  Hold on Pinot... I'm coming for ya!!!

Cravings:  Lately it's been peanut butter, chocolate, smoothies, and sweets in general.

Symptoms:  I'm now getting pretty swollen.  I had to take my wedding rings off the other day and it was pretty difficult and hurt quite a bit.  I was getting scared they weren't going to come off!  I'm probably not going to put them back on until after Owen arrives and my swelling goes down.  I still have a mark on my hand where they were because they had gotten so tight!

Best Moment this Week:  My Oma and Opa came to visit last weekend!  My Opa went to his 50 year reunion at West Point and they drove down from New York after the reunion to visit for a few days.  It was so nice to see and spend time with them!  They came over to our house for brunch and lunch on Saturday last week and we got to sit and talk for awhile.  They got to see the nursery all set up and Owen's bathroom.  My Oma was taking pictures and video taping his room!  It was so touching seeing both of them so excited for Owen!  I always miss them so much when they leave.  Jimmy and I are already talking about how we can make a trip out there next summer with Owen so they can see him and spend some time with him (and all my other California family too!).

My Oma got a kick out of Owen's bathroom and so I thought I would add some pictures of it!

My mom found these cute sea themed decals, so we put them up in his bathroom to continue the sea theme from his nursery!

Another set of decals I put up.

My Oma got a kick out of his little robes!  I know he won't be able to fit into them for awhile, but we had the hook on the back of the door, so I figured, hey, why not hang them up!

I hope everyone is enjoying the start to their summer!

Love to all!

Judi and Jimmy