Rocky at 3 Months

At 3 months Rocky loved to sleep, and hang out with Daddy, and Hold up his head!

Most of all, Rocky LOVES to walk.  

...and play with his ball.

Blessings

Rocky was blessed in Provo, UT on December 2, 2012

We are so grateful for all our family that came to support!

 

Rocky at 2 Months Old

 Rocky did so much growing around 2 months! 

 

 

Rocky falling asleep.  Such a sweet little sleeper. 

 



 Rocky isn't very happy until he gets some good sleep!

 



Rocky Bright Eyes

 

 

Sometimes the best way to get things done around the house is to carry Rocky Kangaroo style.

 Sweet Faced Rocky

Rocky loves his Aunts!

 

This is Rocky's cry, which is more like a squawk.   I'm so grateful he doesn't

get much more fussy than this!

Rocky at 1 Month Old

It's been a while since I've updated our blog.  Here is a post with pictures of Rocky at 1 month old. 

Rocky's Spread Eagle Pose

Rocky did a lot of sleeping at 1 month.  He was a champ and could sleep any time, any where. 



Little Smiles



Rocky's startle reflex is pretty entertaining!



Sweet Dreams

 

Rocky's First Halloween

It was Caleb's turn to pick out our Halloween Costumes for the year.  Hence, the Pokimon outfits!  Rocky made a very cute poki-ball.

 

Mom's Walking Companion





Introducing Rocky Samuel

Here are some random pictures of Rocky since his birth.  He is such a fun little guy!  We are so blessed to have him as part of the Caleb Merrell Family. 

 

 

These are some pictures taken at the hospital right after birth

 

Meeting Grandma Merrell

Meeting Great Grandma Merrell

Rocky and Cool Uncle Josh

Rocky's and Cousin McCoy.  These two will be best friends

 

 

Rocky in the NICU.  Luckily, it was a short 2 days.

 

Rocky and Nanny Reading

Rocky is growing up so quickly!  Here are some recent pictures of him in all his cuteness.

 

Buddha Belly

Rocky Loves Bath Time

 

Life Father, Like Son

Can't Get Enough of This Face!

 

Practicing His Poses for the Ladies :)

Ready for Church!

 

Rocky went to his first Dance Sport to watch Daddy.  Here is some footage of his cuteness there.

 

 

 

 

 

Rocky Supporting Daddy at Dancesport

 

 

 

Birth Story

Where to begin??  I wasn’t very good about documenting my pregnancy with Rocky.  Besides some placenta previa that quickly resolved and a kidney stone, this pregnancy was pretty uneventful.  That was such a HUGE relief, considering the roller coaster of our last pregnancy and eventually losing our precious little girl in July 2011.

 

Our baby was due on September 24, 2012.  When that day came and went I was a little disappointed it didn’t end in a baby arriving.  At that point, I was definitely feeling VERY ready to have the baby.  I felt so huge and uncomfortable!

 

40 weeks pregnant
 

The next day I had a doctor’s appointment and at this point, I was convinced I would go 2 weeks overdue.  For the past three weeks I had been 2 cm dilated and about 70% effaced.  While this was a little bit of progress, it hadn't changed in three weeks.  At that appointment I discussed with the midwife different options for induction.  Since Caleb and I had decided we wanted to have our baby “naturally”, we wanted to postpone any induction as long as possible.  To maintain sanity, I kept telling myself that I still had another two weeks before baby Merrell would come.  No rush!

That week I continued to go to work.  A lot of my coworkers kept asking when the baby was due, and it was fun to say "yesterday".  I knew that if I stayed at home I would go crazy with anticipation, which would delay the labor and delivery even more.  I decided to live my life as normally as possible to help the time pass.

Thursday, September 27^th, I woke up to a “bloody show”.  This got me pretty excited, and I knew it was a sign labor would be coming soon.  I went to work as normal, but as the morning passed I could feel my contractions changing.  Braxton-Hicks contractions had been my companion for the past several weeks, but I could tell these were a little different.  They felt more cramp-like.  Again, this got me excited and I knew labor was beginning.  I tried to stay at work as long as I could, but I was seriously distracted by the prospect that my baby would be coming soon.  Around 11 am I decided I wasn’t being productive at all and it would be better to go home and get some rest while I still could.  It’s a good thing I did because this was the last sleep I would get for a LONG time.

By Thursday evening the contractions were becoming much more regular.  Around 9 p.m. they were strong enough to make me stop and pay attention.  Through the night the contractions were about 7 minutes apart.  I didn’t really get any sleep that night.  Not because they were painful, but because I was so excited to finally be in labor!  Despite the lack of sleep, I still felt rested in the morning.

In preparation for our labor and delivery, Caleb and I took a Hypnobirthing class.  This sounds super strange to a lot of people, I know.  It's not as weird as it sounds, I promise!  I had learned about Hypnobirthing in Nursing School, and decided a few years ago that I would want to use this technique for my labor and delivery.  I was a little nervous Caleb wouldn’t want to go the Hypnobirthing route, but I was very surprised after taking the class to find he was more into it than I was!  Since July we had been practicing the relaxation techniques our Hypnobirthing class taught.  This mostly consisted of deep breathing exercises and Caleb using guided imagery to help me enter a deep, relaxed state.  I’m VERY grateful I took this class because more than anything, it gave me a confidence about my impending labor and delivery.  Instead of being scared an anxious, I was empowered and excited!

On Friday morning I knew I was in early labor, so Caleb stayed home from work to be my labor support.  We started the morning by going for a walk.  I was pretty anxious to get the labor progressing.  On the walk we would stop about every 7 minutes during my contractions.  I would close my eyes, lean on Caleb, and try to relax as much as possible. 

 

 

 

As the day progressed I could feel the contractions becoming more intense, although they weren’t getting closer than 7 minutes apart.  This was a little frustrating.  By around 3 p.m. I started to feel like things were really changing, so I called the midwives office to see what they thought.  They said I could come in to get checked and that would help us decide whether or not it was time to go to the hospital.  We got to the office around 4 p.m.  The midwife checked me, and I was now 4 cm dilated and fully effaced.  Yay!  Definitely progress!  She said I could either go to the hospital now or I could labor at home for a few more hours.  Caleb and I decided to go home and wait it out a little longer. 

By the time we got home I was definitely feeling the contractions grow in intensity.  When they came, it took a lot of concentration to get through them.  I started getting bugged by noises and other distractions.  Caleb and I tried watching a movie, but the noises were way too annoying.  My contractions were still about 7 minutes apart, but I was feeling more and more ready to head to the hospital.  By 6:30 p.m. I decided it was time, and off we went!  While I was uncomfortable, I was in such a good mood and so excited!

 

We got to the hospital and checked in around 7 p.m.  The nurse checked me, and at this point, I was about 4.5 cm dilated.  It was a little bit of progress, but not much.  After getting settled, I just continued through the contractions.  I was feeling like I was doing pretty well with relaxing.  They were intense, but I felt like I could handle it.  As the evening progressing, things definitely intensified.  The midwife of call, Claudia, was busy helping with another delivery, and finally came and checked on us around 10 p.m.  When she checked me I was a good 5+ cm.  Again, a little bit of progress!

Laboring, Hypnobirthing Style



Caleb, the Great Hypnobirthing Coach!

 

 

 

As the night went on, I was feeling more and more need for labor support.  Caleb did a really good job at putting counter pressure on my knees and my lower back to help with the labor discomforts.  He was so great at quickly responding to my needs when a contraction came. 

Around 12:30 a.m. I was really beginning to struggle.  I was so exhausted and having problems relaxing through the contractions.  Just in time, another room opened up with a laboring tub.  Claudia was so great at pulling strings to get us over there as quickly as possible.  Getting into the laboring tub made a world of a difference.  The moment I got into the water, I felt a huge relief!  While the contractions were still very intense, I felt like I could at least relax between them.  Once I got into the water, I didn’t want to leave. 

After about 2 hours Claudia checked me again.  At this point I was about 7 cm dilated and my contractions were still between 5-7 minutes apart.  While this was progress, it wasn’t moving as quickly as we would like.  So, we decided to break my water and see if that helped.  I was sad to get out of the water, but it was necessary to keep the labor progressing. 

At about 2 p.m. Claudia broke my water, which brought me to 8 cm right away.  The baby’s head was nice and low, which definitely gave me the urge to push.  Claudia said I was fine to push if I felt the urge.  So, around this time I started pushing, and around this time I began to lose it.  Man, were those contractions intense!  The next few hours were really a blur to me.  I remember being incredibly exhausted and barely able to focus. 

After about an hour of this, it came time to really begin pushing.  Unfortunately, my contractions still weren’t coming more than 5-7 minutes apart.  (Normally at this point they are about 2 minutes apart, one on top of another).  Any progress I made bringing the baby down with one contraction was undone because of the length of time before the next one came.  This was very frustrating!  For the next 1.5-2 hours, I pushed as hard as I could.  Caleb was on one side of me and Claudia was on the other.  Both were helping me hold my legs and applying counter pressure as I pushed.  This pushing really took a lot out of me!  I was so exhausted at this point, I couldn’t think straight and could barely follow instructions.  As the time passed, I began to think I would need a C-Section.  There is no way I would be able to push this baby out!  I began to panic, and I could feel myself losing it.  Because of the physical strain of pushing, the fatigue, and the anxiety, my heart rate was about 144 bpm, which was the same as the baby’s.  I had to put on an oxygen mask because the baby's heart rate was dropping a little bit as well.  With every pushed I was praying it would be the last.  I remember asking several times, "Is he almost here?" and "How many more pushes?"  Finally, at 4:48 a.m. on 9/29/2012, I delivered little Rocky!

Rocky Samuel Merrell, right after birth

 

Or not so little Rocky!  This boy was a good 8 lbs and 8 oz and 21 inches long.  How did I fit him in my and how on earth did I get him out?  Especially because Rocky had his little fist by his face as he was delivered :)

Right after Rocky was delivered, the nurses quickly wiped him off and put him on my chest to hold.  I have never been so relieved in my whole life, both physically and emotionally.  This delivery was definitely the most physically exhausting/strenuous/intense thing I had ever done.  I had heard that having a baby was an athletic event, but I didn't really understand until going through it myself.  Rocky was a beautiful, perfect baby, making all I had gone through for the past 9 months definitely worth it.  I was so happy to have him in my arms, finally. 

Claudia, our Amazing Midwife

 

I am so grateful we decided to have a midwife assist our birth.  Claudia was great, and was at our side from 10 p.m. until Rocky was delivered.  You don't get the same treatment with most MDs.  She was such a wonderful labor support and definitely helped me keep it together through the most difficult parts.  

 

Rocky meeting Dad

 

An Hour After Delivery

 

Brand New Baby!





Sucking Thumb




 

Nap Time!

 

Considering this was my first baby, things went pretty well.  I only tore a little bit, and required 3 stitches.  This was a huge relief, because I know some first time moms get torn apart!  (My midwife gave me a great tip to help prevent tearing.  Let me know if you would like in on the secret :)

After things calmed down and we had some time to ourselves, Caleb was exhausted and decided to take nap.  You would think I would be tired and want some sleep, especially because I hadn't really sleep in two days.  But, I was definitely on a part-partum high and wanted to tell the whole world that our little boy had arrived!  Caleb was able to sleep, while I stayed awake and thought about our new little miracle. 

More to come on journey since birth...