Grayson Neal Bybee

Grayson Neal Bybee was born on October 28, 2012 at 9:25am.  He weighed 7lbs, 5oz and was 19 inches long.

Bybee Family Photo

His Arrival Story
On the morning of the 27th I woke up and did a few things around the house (vacuumed, laundry, etc).  I had been feeling some pre-labor signs over the last couple of days but I heard they could start days and even weeks early.  I decided I needed to be ready at any minute.  I went and got a massage at 10:45am and told the masseuse she was free to work on any pressure points that might induce labor.  During the massage, I actually started feeling more intense cramps which I now know were contractions.

I grabbed lunch for Shane and I on the way home and started feeling them  more regularly while we were eating.  I moved over to the couch to watch some college football and they started to be more regular (about 7-10 minutes apart).  I called the doctor and they told me to wait until they were about 5 minutes apart and lasted atleast an hour.  The pain was focused on my lower back so it was hard to get comfortable.  After a couple more hours, the pain was worse and I could tell they were closer together.  Around 5pm we decided to head to the hospital.

I got checked in and they told me I was not dilated yet.  They told me if I did not dilate in the next 2 hours they would have to send me home.  At this point the pain in my lower back was so intense, I knew I would not make it if they sent me home.  Shane could tell it had gotten worse and was trying to do everything he could to keep me at the hospital.  Two hours had passed and I still was not dilated.  A new nurse came in during the shift change and talked the doctor into admitting me.  (Side note: it was the weekend so I was dealing with the on-call doctor, not my regular doctor that I have been seeing all this time).  She finally loaded me up with some pain meds to take the edge off the contractions.  The medication made me pretty drowsy so the rest of the night was a blur. 

They regularly checked me over the next couple of hours and I finally started to dilate.  About 9pm I was 4cm so I got my epidural.  One word: AMAZING!  I was still pretty drowsy from the other medication so I was in and out of sleep the rest of the night.  Around 5am I was stuck at 6cm so they gave me pitocin to help dilate me even more.  I continued to stay at 6cm so they moved me into different positions in an effort to get gravity to help him drop.  Thankfully it worked and I was at 9cm around 7am.  Another nurse came in and we started to push at 8am.  About 9:15am she called the doctor in and said I was ready to deliver.

After a few attempts pushing with the doctor, we realized he would not make it past my pubic bone so she decided to use a vacuum to get him out since his heart rate had just started to drop.  After one final push, Grayson made his arrival!  Shane was hoping to cut the cord, but Grayson had made a bowel movement during delivery and they needed to get him cleaned up right away to make sure he did not ingest anything.

Shane watched as they cleaned him up while the doctor finished working on me.  After about 20 minutes, he was finally ready to see me so they placed him on my chest.  I fell in love immediately.  It is amazing how quickly you create this bond.  He was perfect in every way!

Funny Story: Shane told me this after we had been moved to our postpartum room, but during the hour and a half of pushing, his back started to tighten up and bother him.  He had been standing next to me helping me push.  He told me he almost said, "Man, my back is really bothering me." but refrained after seeing what I had been/was going through.  I told him that was a wise decision! :)

Life Since His Arrival
Our lives have officially been changed forever and we would not have it any other way.  Shane and I feel so blessed and lucky to have Grayson as our son.  Shane has done an amazing job as a father the last few days.  Not only did he take good care of me at the hospital, but he has done really great with Grayson.  I knew he would be a great father one day, but finally seeing him in that role, really touches my heart and makes me love him even more.

Ever since we knew the due date, we had always hoped he would be born on October 28.  That was my dear late Aunt Donna's birthday.  She lost her battle with breast cancer exactly 12 years ago this month.  God works in mysterious ways and brought this little miracle to us on a day that has so much meaning to my family. 

We are slowly settling in to our life at home as a family of 3.  Our other boys (Aspen, Buckley and Riley) seem to be adjusting as well.  They know we have a new addition and have started to show some interest.

I'll close with some photos from the last couple of days.  Stay tuned....the fun as just begun for us!!

 

Pumpkin

When my nephews were born, I gave each of them nicknames.  Aaron is "Booger" and Andrew is "Peanut".  Kristin (a.k.a. Aunt Kissy) decided she needed to give Grayson a nickname so they came up with "Pumpkin"! 

My friend, Shannon (a.k.a. Crazy Aunt Shannon), came over last night and we put his nickname to good use.  She painted my stomach to look like a pumpkin!  She did a really great job!  I figure we might as well have fun with the 12lb bowling ball I have strapped to the front of me!

 

 
Early labor signs have started so we are hoping he will make his arrival very soon!  I went into work for a couple of hours this morning but I am officially done!  Shane is teaching his last couple of classes as we speak.  We are hoping to go out for sushi tonight and run a few last minute errands tomorrow.  I am scheduled to get a massage in the morning so hopefully Grayson can hold off until Sunday so I can get one last relaxing day in before he changes our world forever!  Although I can't think of a better way to have it changed!  :)

We'll keep you posted!

39 Weeks

Grayson, I beg of you, please come out soon!  Today I am 39 weeks and praying/hoping Grayson decides to make an arrival soon.  I went to the doctor yesterday and I am still not dilated.  I go back next Monday for a check-up but we plan to induce on October 30.  As my doctor puts it, he is serving the eviction notice next Tuesday.  :)  I'll be 40 weeks at that point so he does not see it as being an issue.  We are looking forward to spending Halloween in the hospital.  My mom bought Grayson his first Halloween costume so he doesn't miss out on his first holiday!

I am fairly uncomfortable at this point.  It's hard to breath, sleep, sit, walk, stand and function in general.  My friends all told me I would get to a point that I don't care what pain I have to go through since I am just so ready to have him out.  I now see what they meant.

This weekend I spent some time getting ready for him to be here by preparing some meals for us to freeze.  I made lasagna, chicken enchiladas, fajitas, king chicken ranch, pot roast, muffins, and breakfast burritos.  I even put some things together that we can thaw and throw in our crockpot to cook throughout the day.  My mom plans on cooking for us when we first get home from the hospital so I wanted some stuff for after she leaves.  Shane will be home so I can always send him to the store whenever we need something.  

Sunday we had a nice lunch with my family at the Cheesecake Factory.  My nephews keep asking where Grayson is and wondering when he is going to get here.  They both colored some Halloween pictures for him, too. They are super excited to meet their cousin and I know my sister-in-law is ready to hold her nephew.  After lunch Shane and I took a walk around the mall.  I thought it might help Grayson make his descent but it doesn't appear to have done anything.  I'll have to keep up the walks and spicy food consumption over the next few days.

Yesterday was sort of a rough day for me emotionally.  It had been 12 years since my Aunt Donna lost her battle to breast cancer.  I'm sure part of it was the pregnancy hormones but I found myself tearing up throughout the day.  Not a day goes by that I do not think about her and I often see her in my dreams. Over the last month I have had 3 dreams about Grayson.  She was in 2 of them.  In one dream she was holding him while talking to my mom.  In another, she was sitting in a chair next to his crib and watching him sleep.  I am still hoping Grayson is born on October 28 which would have been her 54th birthday.

I plan to work through Friday but I may be taking some time off throughout the week to take care of a few things.  The boys need to go to the vet and I might go get a massage to relax and help my aching body.  I have almost 900 hours stored up so a few extra hours off this week won't affect my time too much.  Shane and I are also trying to think of some things to do this weekend since it will be our last "free" weekend.

I will keep everyone posted on his progress.  If we get an update next Monday, I will try to post something before we go into the hospital.  No matter what, we get to meet our baby boy in just 7 days!!!

Shane's article

Shane had another editorial column published today in the Dallas Morning News.

Click here for a link to the article

38 Weeks

Yep, I am still pregnant!  Grayson appears to be quite content in the space I have provided for him.  Although his constant movements and poking would make me think otherwise.  He is starting to keep me awake at night which I can only imagine is his thoughtful way of easing me into life after his arrival.

I went to the doctor yesterday and I am still not dilated.  As of now, we have set an induction date of October 30.  That is my actual due date so we'll see if I can make it until then.  The earliest they can legally induce is 39 weeks (around October 23).  Shane and I figure if we can make it to the end, we'll both have our last days of work be on October 26.  I am super excited because Shane is getting to take 3 weeks off!  It actually turns into 4 weeks since he has off the entire week of Thanksgiving.  I think it will be so great that we'll be home together with Grayson during the first month of his life.  It will be nice to have the extra set of hands and get to figure this parenting thing out together, too.  Plus we'll get another 2 weeks together at Christmas before we both go back to work in January.  I get 12 weeks off but I plan on going back to work after 10 weeks to work some half days.  This will help me ease back into the office and get used to taking Grayson to daycare.

This past weekend Shane and I went out to dinner on Friday in an attempt to get in the last few date nights that we have available.  My family is taking us to lunch this Sunday for the same reason.  We are enjoying our last couple of weeks together but are definitely eager and anxious to meet our baby boy and start our life together as a family!

37 Weeks

Here we are at 37 weeks!  This morning I was in our kitchen and happened to glance at a clock my parents gave us that is counting down the days until Grayson's arrival.  We have 20 days left.  It sort of threw me off balance.  We are so ready for him to be here, but sometimes it is hard to believe he will actually be here in such a short amount of time.  I walk through the house and find myself thinking about how different it will sound and how much the energy will change once he is born.

I went to my weekly check-up yesterday and nothing has changed.  I am starting to get more nauseous in the afternoons and early evening hours again.  That is probably when I am the most uncomfortable.  It feels like my belly could not get any bigger as the day goes on.  By the time I go to bed, I am pretty miserable.  The waddle is in full effect and since the temperatures dropped this weekend, I learned how difficult it is to put on shoes.  Shane is finding all of this quite humorous and laughs at me when I have to bend over to pick something up that I dropped.  Grayson has become much more active over the last week.  He is constantly moving around or jabbing me with an elbow or foot.  I am preparing myself to have one active boy on my hands.  

I noticed that I have started to nest.  I will go to a closet to get something, then spend the next 30 minutes pulling stuff out and reorganizing it.  The house is pretty clean for the most part but I still wipe everything down and vacuum atleast twice a week.  This past week I had the inside of Shane's car detailed and then I cleaned mine out on Sunday.  On Thursday we are having the carpets and couches cleaned.  I figure we might as well get some last minute deep cleanings in while I have the time (and energy).  

This weekend Shane installed the car seat bases in our cars and packed his bag for the hospital.  We also finished the nursery!  My mom came up Sunday to help me finish painting the alphabet set and hang the letters over his crib.  I had finished just about everything else so this was the final piece.  We are ready for him to come home to now!

View from door

Alphabet Set

View from closet

My over sized comfy rocking chair

Maternity Pictures

Below are our maternity pictures!  Many more photos were taken but these are the favorites of the bunch.  They were taken by our friends, Mike & Jess, with Absolute Photography.  Mike & Jess shot our wedding.  They did such an amazing job that I knew they would be perfect to hire for my maternity pictures one day.  I helped Mike work a few weddings when Jess had their second son so we have stayed in touch over the years.  I already have them waiting in the wings to shoot Grayson's newborn photos the week after he gets here!

36 Weeks

Guess who is full term?!  That's right!  I have hit a HUGE milestone today!  I cannot begin to tell you how happy, ecstatic, and overjoyed I am to be at this point.  Looking back to 9 months ago, I can remember being at lunch with my mom after just having found out another treatment was not successful.  I sat there with tears streaming down my face.  Never did I think I would ever be 9 months pregnant and anxiously awaiting the arrival of a precious baby boy!

Shane and I went to the doctor yesterday to check on Grayson's status.  Luckily he is not growing as quickly anymore.  He is about 5lbs, 9oz now which is very normal for this stage in the pregnancy.  He should gain about a 1/2 lb each week until he arrives.  At this time, no c section is scheduled so we are just waiting for him to decide when he is ready to come out.  Aside from his weight, everything else looked very healthy and normal (heart rate was 137 and I am only 1/2 cm dilated).

Last week we finished purchasing the last few items we felt were necessary on our registry before bringing him into the world.  As of now, everything is unpacked and ready.  Shane is having some work done on his car this week so once we finish it, we'll start installing car seat bases.

I got to see my maternity pictures on Thursday.  They are so great!  Mike and Jess did a really good job and I can't wait to share them with everyone.  Mike plans to get me the files later this week or early next week so I will post them.

My alphabet set finally came in, but it is not the one I ordered.  After waiting 16 weeks for the other set, I finally emailed the lady a second time to check on the progress.  I had not heard back from her the next day so I emailed her and requested to get a refund.  She promptly responded to that email stating that she was about to start working on it and just needed 2 more weeks.  I told her I would prefer to have the refund since it had already been 16 weeks and I did not want to wait any longer.  I had noticed some feedback on her Etsy page that this was a reoccurring thing with this seller.  She finally agreed to give me a full refund.  In the meantime, I had found another seller on Etsy that made a similar set but it was unpainted.  I emailed her, explained my predicament and asked if she could get it to me in a reasonable amount of time.  She told me she could so I purchased it Thursday morning.  To my surprise, the set arrived yesterday!  This weekend I purchased the paint so I can hopefully get them painted and installed soon.

I am on a weekly schedule with my doctor now so I will go back on Monday for another check-up.  If anything changes, I will be sure to post the latest news!  :)