The Birth Story

Our little boy is finally here! We are so thankful for God's amazing gift that He gave us and we still just cant believe it is real ha. Thank you to all for sharing in our excitement with your emails, calls, texts, etc. We have truly enjoyed these first few days of his life and appreciate your patience as we get settled in.

Now for the birth story....

It all began Saturday when I woke up with some contractions. They continued throughout the day but would never remain to stay consistent or long enough. My Mamaw Ann and Frank had decided to come on up, thinking the induction was coming on Monday, and so we all went to dinner at the Olive Garden. Throughout dinner I continued to have contractions but they were still too far apart. Once we got home we decided to go for a walk and that was when I knew it was the real deal. We started timing them at 7:32 and by 9:30 we knew we needed to call the doctor. We had walked for most of that time and I think that really made all the difference. During the walk we all started craving Sonic so therefore we went there about 9:00... yes again I was still contracting. Once we returned home Dr Holton did say it sounded like the real deal so we packed up the car and headed to the hospital. Upon arriving we saw the nurse who also cofirmed that she agreed it was the real deal and we wouldnt be going home. This was a big relief for me because I was worried that if this wasnt the real deal then there was no way I could make them if they were more painful ha! Dr. Holton then came in to check me about 11:00 and to my disappointment once I had stopped walking around and sat in the bed, they had stopped. What were the odds? Now going on for over 3 hours and as soon as it was time to see the doc and get things going, they all stopped. So then he gave us some options: walk around more in the hospital, start the induction like we were going to on Monday, or go home and sleep. Well I knew I couldnt just go home and sleep so we decided to go for a walk. We walked from 12-2 and the contractions had returned and were even stronger. I was now at 1cm and it was time to start monitoring Griffin's heartbeat and my contractions. After waiting to see if things would progress more, he decided that we needed to go ahead and have the balloon inserted into my cervix so that it would help thin it out. Let me tell ya that was pretty painful!!! We also decided to start pitocin at this point. This intesified my contractions so much that I was ready for that epidural :) 5:00 am I received the epidural and I couldnt believe how easy it was! It made a HUGE difference as well in my pain, and in fact I couldnt feel a THING! At 11:00 we were excited to hear that the balloon had fallen out now and I was at 4cm. Doc decided to go ahead and break my water as well. I was still feeling so well at this point that once our family started arriving from TN we had them all up to say hello. There were several times that I had to ask if I was even still having contractions because the epidural was working so well.. Halleluah! However after increasing the pitocin they began to get so strong that I began to feel the pressure again. At 3:30 we kicked everyone out and started breathing through the contractions again. I was now at 5cm. 4:45 Dr. Holton said that because I had remained the same for so many hours that he was not hopeful that I would progress anymore and then told us that if within another hour if I had not progressed anymore then we would have to do a C-section. This did not come as much of a shock to me bc I had already prepared myself for it to happen. JR and I talked through the decision and were pleased that the end had finally come and our son would be here soon. We spent some time learning about what would happen during the c-section and then proceeded to just cry in anticipation that we would REALLY see him soon. 5:45- No progress made so prep for C-section began. Surgery began at 6:25 and Griffin was born at 6:33!!! The sound of his first gasp was heard and then about 3 minutes later they brought him around to see us. All we could do was cry- all 3 of us ha. WAS HE REALLY HERE??? JR then went to the nursery with Griffin and they finished my surgery at 7:10. Amazing that they can get the baby out in 8 minutes and yet it takes them 45 minutes to put me back together ha. I then went into a recovery room and that is where I got to hold him for the first time. To look into his eyes for the first time was the best feeling in the world- totally amazing! We all 3 got to our room at 8:30 and that is when all the family was able to come visit. They had already seen the little man in the nursery and JR had showed them his video he took as well. Come to find out Griffin was sunny side up (meaning he was head down but looking up instead of down as we had hoped) and his umbilical cord also was acting like a seatbelt across his chest, not allowing him to move down into the birth canal. Either way he is here and we are just thankful that he is nice and healthy!

The next few days in the hospital were filled with many visits from friends and family and my recovery time. I was so excited to be able to get out of bed at 7am Monday morning and shower. What I was not so excited about was my extremely swollen feet. All the fluids I had received through the birth had now found their way to my feet.. and they looked like elephant feet. Besides that though and of course the typical soreness, I really felt well. Because I was doing so well we got to come home after 3 days instead of staying 4. We came home Wednesday at 10:30am and were welcomed by Cici, Granny Reba, Aunt Jean and Uncle Phil. It felt so good to be at home!!! Now we are just still taking it all in and trying to adjust to the new schedule of being night owls :)

Here is a montage of our favorite pictures of our little man's first 4 days, but if you would like to view all of them visit our picasa at http://picasaweb.google.com/babyisham

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Guess who's here?!?!

Hey all, this is Tabitha posting for Lindsey and Jr. GRIFFIN JONAH ISHAM is HERE!!! He finally made it after a long night and day for mommy and daddy. He was born today at 6:33pm. 7lbs. 9 ozs. - 20.5 inches long. He is such a cutie! Mom and Griffin are both doing well! Please continue to keep them all in your prayers!

Welcome to the world Griffin!! Congratulations Jr and Lindsey! We love you!

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Time with friends

These last few days we have been able to enjoy some great fellowship with friends. Adam gave us a visit from Tennessee; he and I met on the Philippines trip this past summer and he came to visit the seminary as a potential student. Thursday night we had dinner with him and the Grahams...

and also enjoyed some yummy goodberry's ice cream!

Friday night we went to what we thought was a house warming party for Wes and Laurie, as they just moved into a new house. Well as you can see from their shirts, they had some news for us too! They are expecting their first child in November and I am so excited for them :)

I also got the go ahead from Rachel to finally share her news as well. Our other good friends Jess and Rachel Rainer are expecting their first child too! Her and Laurie are best friends and only 5 weeks apart.. how fun. More babies YAYAYAY :)

Tuesday, April 28th is the BIG DAY!!!

We got back from our FINAL doctor's appointment today and have never left the office with bigger smiles :)

We had another ultrasound to check on Griffin and make sure he was doing alright in there... and he is. AND THEN... because I have not dilated at all we scheduled the induction! I will go in on Monday night to get things started and we expect Griffin to be born by Tuesday!!!!!!!!

Please do pray for us, and me specifically, as I have never been one to enjoy any type of medical procedures, AKA I AM A HUGE BABY AND HAVE A VERY LOW TOLERANCE OF PAIN! ha seriously LOW! But as I continue to remind myself, God made me to have this baby, and HE is in control. I am not the first person to ever have a baby, and the nurses and doctors deliver multiple babies EVERY single day. So therefore I will be okay :) I have an awesome coach and encourager and I know that with his support I can get through anything too. I mean obviously it is not all going to be pleasant.... but my ultimate thought is that I am doing it all with a wonderful reward in the end.

We are just beside ourselves to know that in just 5 days we will be looking at and holding out son. We will probably be on cloud 9 ALL weekend long in anticipation ha! Thank you now in advance for all of everyone's love, support and prayers.

And make sure to check out Twitter for all the updates. I know there will be one proud Daddy sending out plenty :)

Happy Birthday Katie!!!

Happy birthday to my college roomie, matron on honor and bestest friend!!! I love you :)

Real belly vs. Fake belly

My sister recently reminded me of the picture we had taken when her and my mom had visited back in October. The picture on the right I have a pillow "baby" belly and then of course the one on the left is the real deal. I remember thinking when we first took the picture at week 14, "There is NO WAY I will be that huge." Well I guess I was proved wrong huh? Fun times :)

Week 40

We have so much to celebrate today.. and I decided to wear my favorite maternity dress to do so!!! I never would have dreamed that we would already be here at the 40 week mark.. it is SO exciting! My pregnancy has been so wonderful these last 9 months and I am so thankful. We have a baby who has made it full term and is very healthy as well, what more could two parents ask for??? As you read in our previous post- our doctor's appointment went very well on Monday. I have still not progressed any further but we are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel! We will go back to Dr. Holton tomorrow and if nothing has changed we will then schedule the induction with the hospital for next week. To think that this time next week I will be at home holding my sweet son makes me want to just dance around scream YAYAYAYYAYAYAY!!!! :)



Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for that special birth day.

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

Week 40 appointment

Just got back from the doctor and there was no new progress... still just 50% effaced. That was disappointing, however we got some great news to go along with it! Dr. Holton scheduled us to go back in on Thursday, at that point we will be over the due date. If nothing has changed then we will schedule to be induced sometime next week. I do hope that Griffin will decide to come before then so everything can be as natural as possible, but I also do not want him to get so big that I cant push him out ha! SO THIS IS GOOD NEWS! There is a light at the end of the tunnel for us!!! JR says he wont believe it until he sees it though ha.. poor guy has been so excited that now he just has to just try and block it out of his mind :)

Happy Birthday Mandy and Micah!

Leisure reading

This week I have enjoyed myself some great leisure reading. I decided that I had been reading parenting/child books for so long that it was time to just read for the heck of it! I love love love Nicholas Sparks and have read a lot of his books, but this week I have been able to finish 2 of the ones I hadnt had the chance to read yet... and I was not disappointed! Yesterday it was so beautiful outside that after a walk I decided to sit outside and read and enjoy the day. Well of course me, Mrs White as can be, got BURNT! I was only out for an hour and no I am crazy and didnt have sunscreen, which I normally ALWAYS do. Oh well I needed a little color added to me I guess :)

I plan to hit up the library again soon so tell me some of your favorite leisure reads so I can check them out too! I am sure they will come in handy when I am feeding every 2-3 hours in just a few days, weeks, hours ha!

Twitter

JR and I have recently found a new love for the newest technology that is out called TWITTER! I am not so sure how often we will be using it once our little man gets here, BUT it is the PERFECT way for us to be able to update all our friends and family when labor time comes. JR will be able to update everyone from the hospital and all you have to do is go to his page to see what he has to say.

JR will be giving updates from his cell phone from the hospital via twitter. His twitter page is: https://twitter.com/jrisham16

You don’t have to be a twitter user to view JR’s updates. But if you do sign up for a free account, you can have his updates sent straight to your phone. Just sign-up, follow his twitter, and then turn on your device updates for him. It’s easy to do and free and you’ll be the first to know what’s going on with Labor & Delivery and see Mr. Griffin – JR will be posting pictures too on his twitter!

I have also added his updates on the blog already, so you can view them on the left side all the time. Check them out now :)

I have a twitter page you can follow if you want, but since I will be a bit busy during the delivery, JR will be the one updating on his page from the hospital. https://twitter.com/LindseyIsham

Week 39

Here we are now 1 week out... well maybe ha! Nothing really has changed since last week. I am still 50% effaced, having the occassional braxton hicks contractions and feeling pretty good! JR and I are still walking every night and other than just being ready to have my old body back and of course ready to meet my little boy, I really cant complain. This past week has been one of true impatience to say the least. I officially HATE due dates I think. You see every other thing in life that has a date set (wedding, graduation, moving, etc) it REALLY happens on that date. However because a due date is just a rough estimate it can drive a girl plum crazy!!!!!!!! BUT I have decided that for these next however many days, I am simply just going to enjoy myself and know that in God's timing he will come :) I have not done very well at trusting God's timing and I just need to realize that He is in control and has already picked a special day for my little boy to be born.

And as my mom reminded me this morning, "2am is a lot nicer while he is still in your belly." HA! So true :)

Off to enjoy the day outside, roaming around Target and just doing whatever I want to do!!!




Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds.The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Happy Birthday Baird!

The Ishams love you :)

Week 39 doctor's appointment

No new progress sadly, we are still just 50% effaced. Doc says that Griffin is just not ready to come out just yet, and I guess that is okay ha! Griffin's heart rate was 144bpm and my blood pressure was still excellent. Gained a total of 23 pounds now!

This was not that big of a shock for me because I have said all along that I think Griffin will be 3 days late, making his bday April 25th. There was lots of family though that was hoping for an Easter baby... oh well!! Either way the truth is he will be here soon, at most 3 weeks! What is 3 weeks right? Haha yea seeming like an eternity for me :)

Easter Sunday

I woke up this morning telling you that if you would come out today then we could have some fun hiding Easter eggs, but I guess I wasnt convincing enough ha! We had a lovely Easter Sunday service at Union View- it is so great to celebrate the risen Savior. Your daddy taught the youth in Sunday School about a healthy fear of God and it reminded me once again about how BIG God is and how much mercy and grace He has given me. I cannot wait to explain this to you one day and teach you all about His love for you.



After church we went over to Uncle BJ and Aunt Amy's house for lunch. Your best friend Jack was super cute as usual and we had a blast playing with him. Here he is with your daddy's Braves hat on .

And here he said, "Griffin please hurry up so we can play together!!"

"Man I sure hope you sure have a goofy dad.. but I still love him!"

After leaving the Walkers, we came back to the house and decided to sit outside and read to enjoy the beautiful weather. I am reading "Dont make me count to three" which is a book about how to discipline biblically in a heart-oriented way. Man I am telling ya buddy, this whole parenting thing scares me like crazy.. but I am so thankful that ultimately you belong to God and that He has just decided to give me and your daddy the responsibility of training you to honor and glorify Him. Your daddy has been on Easter break all week so he has decided to do some leisure reading and is reading some civil war book. He has recently became very intrigued about US history and talks all the time about how he cant wait to teach you about it.

After reading we tried to take a nap and it was actually quite comical to see. Right now we have this really small loveseat as a couch and it was already hard enough for us both to be able to lay on it together, BUT now that you have grown so much in my belly... it is REALLY interesting to see all 3 of us on here ha! Finally after you wouldnt stop kicking after about 30 minutes we just gave up. We got up and watched the Masters. It was one of the first times I actually enjoyed watching golf on TV! There was a 3 way tie and the end and Angel Cabrera ended up pulling it out. We ended the night with another long walk and watching some TV. Tomorrow we are headed to the doctor for our week 39 appointment. Hopefully he will give us some good news and tell us you are coming soon :)

Busy Bodies

In hopes that maybe one day I might find it entertaining to remember what we were doing in our final days before Griffin arrives... I have decided to use the blog as an online journal. It is definitely more frustrating than amusing to us both now, but one day when I am reading this back to Griffin again hopefully we all can laugh :)


Friday, April 10

We didnt wake up until 10am. it was SO nice to not have an alarm clock. Your Daddy cooked himself some pancakes and I had a poptart to cure my brown sugar craving. We played some mario kart because we have become addicted. He beat me as usual but it was nice to laugh and relax together. We went on a long walk and ended at the park. Laid out a blanket and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. Came back home and showered and then went on a date night to the new Mellow Mushroom in town, your Daddy's favorite. Went to walmart to get some things for our Easter lunch. Came back and played more mario kart and enjoyed our bag of reese pieces. Felt like 12 yr olds sitting on the couch playing video games and vegging out on chocolate. Watched a movie on online netflix and then went to bed at 10:30pm.

Saturday, April 11

Woke up earlier, both feeling too busy to sleep. Your Daddy worked on the car all morning while I cleaned the entire house, did all the laundry (even though there wasnt much since I had just done it 3 days ago), make chocolate chip cookies, made my very first deviled eggs and slaw and then we washed the car together. Washing the car showed you how crazy we are about having everything clean bc I can probably count on my hand how many times its been done in the 4 years we have had it ha. Had a nice visit from the Lewis family and loved watching Lily kick and giggle. I finished my The Lucky One book that I have enjoyed over the last week. We went on another long walk, up a giant hill which is getting pretty hard for me to do. I came back and took a bath to shave my legs (yes I can still reach them), while your daddy went to the store to get stuff to make pretzels. SOFT PRETZELS are my OBSESSION right now! And now it is 6pm and I am updating this while the Masters are on in the background. Probably will make some dinner soon and then the yummy pretzels. I am sure Mario Kart will come and take the rest of our evening, or maybe another movie. Could you please just hurry up already? It is tiring trying to stay busy just so we dont think about you EVERY second of the day :)

Lazy Days

We have officially started taking everyone's advice and have had plenty of lazy days around the Isham household. JR was blessed with a 4 day weekend so we have slept in, taken long walks and literally just hung out and enjoyed each other. Yesterday we finally found Mario Kart and brought it home and played for HOURS ha. Then we went to another baseball game, 3rd one in a week! Lets just say we love springtime and getting to be at the ball park. This time we saw the Durham Bulls play and the weather could not have been more perfect!

In the picture above is JR and his "BFF" Micah. I really laugh at these two because I am pretty sure JR has found his soul mate man friend :) They are two peas in a pod for sure! They work together in the Registrar's Office and in their free time at the office they are ALWAYS finding something to learn new together. Whether it be history facts, the order of the Presidents, how to fix our car, to now how to keep the score book for baseball. They both played growing up and it shocks me that they never knew how before, guess I just knew too much ha, but it was so cute that they were so excited to learn AND even took it far enough to go and get their own scorebooks and then kept the scores at the game last night. Two of a kind I tell ya, two of a kind :)

Hope you guys are enjoying your Easter weekend! We are missing seeing our family but will get to see them ALL just as soon as Griffin decides to come... YAY!!!

Week 38

Can we say IMPATIENT?? People ask me everyday how I am feeling and that is about the best description I can give ha! I am thankful that health wise I am feeling just fine, a bit unconfortable yes, but I know that is to be expected this late in the game :)

I have had several Braxton Hicks now and in fact on Monday I had several in a row- 10-15 minutes apart for about 2 hours. Oh and the best was when they came as I was grocery shopping ha! And as uncomfortable as they are.. I am very thankful for them bc I know that means we are getting that much closer. I was 50% effaced when Dr. Holton checked me on Monday, so that definitely means SOMETHING is going on!

I simply just cannot wait to meet my baby boy for the first time! Please pray for patience for JR and I during this time. We are enjoying lazy evenings and weekends together but cant seem to stop thinking about WHEN we will get to meet our son :)

In the mean time I will continue to enjoy the pampering from my oh so sweet husband. Who needs a pedicure when you have a husband that can paint your toenails this good? Thanks sweetie :)

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and he's nearly 20 inches long. He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old.

Happy Birthday Susu!

We love you so much and are so thankful for you. Hope you have a GREAT day!!

Pray for Leigh

Today my friend Leigh will be flying to Africa to start her time as a missionary there. I was so thankful to get to say goodbye to her last week when she came to visit all of us here in Wake Forest. She is one amazing woman and I know she will do great things for His kingdom while she is there. Love you Leburn!!!

Day Trip to DC

JR and I decided to take a spur of the moment day trip to DC with the Messersmiths this past Saturday. Since we are only 4 hours away and especially since Micah had never been AND he and JR have become obsessed with American History lately... of we went. We left at 5am and didnt get home until 1:30am so it was a very long day but a wonderful day for sure!

And yes you may be thinking... BUT Lindsey, you are 37 1/2 weeks pregnant, What are you thinking??? Well this picture gives away the ONLY way I was willing to agree to go ha! JR was such a trooper and pushed Griffin and I ALL around DC ALL day long. I am so lucky to have a husband willing to do this and I already knew that to begin with, but after hearing "Man I feel sorry for that dude" a few times... I realized just how spoiled I was. There was NO way that I could make it walking around all day so I was SOOO thankful!!

The weather was nice but a bit windy for sure. We were there during their big cherry blossom festival.

Haley and Micah

the history buff boys- they literally quizzed each other at every site we went to

We ended the night with the season opener Washington Nationals Game. It was such a great day making LOTS of fun memories :)

To view all of our pictures from the trip you can click here.

Week 38 Check Up

We are officially 50% effaced! Yes I guess that is exciting right because at least something is happening!!! Of course we were hopeful to hear more and maybe even be dilated some, but as our doctor reassured us... this really means nothing! I could be dilated and labor still be a slow process, or I could dilate really fast and progress along all in one day. Who knows :) The crazy thing was that I was having a contraction while I was there and I didnt even know it. I have felt a few braxton hicks in the last week, but evidently things are happening and I dont know it all the time!

Griffin's heartbeat was 156 bpm and my blood pressure is still great at 112/72.

My mother's intuition is telling me that Griffin is going to stay in as long as he wishes because he is very comfortable. I would guess 3 days late on April 25. Other family members are hopeful that he will be an Easter baby. All we can do it wait and see!!!!

The season has begun!

Friday night was the Carolina Mudcats season opener and if you know how obsessed my husband with them... you would of course know we were there. They are a minor league team that feeds into the Cincinatti Reds, and that is who they played. I know there will be plenty more games we will be catching this season... and we just cant wait to be able to take Griffin with us! JR has already purchased him a Muddy the Mudcat stuffed animal :)

New Vacuum!

If you would have told me 10, or even 5 years ago that I would be this excited over a new vacuum I would have just laughed at you.

Nonetheless.. things have changed and I have now entered that time where it does excite me so much!!! And I know I will have a little one running around soon enough that it will come in handy for too!!

Thanks sweetie for spoiling me.. I have never had my own new vacuum before :)

Week 37

April is now here! And that can only mean one thing... Griffin is coming soon!!!

I did experience my very first Braxton Hicks contractions last night. Besides that everything is pretty much the same... Just waiting and waiting! My ice addiction has kicked into full gear and I think JR will be very thankful when he no longer hears the crunching! I am still walking, yet it does get a bit hard when I try to climb hills ha. This past week I have done my best to just REST. Enjoying night time baths and naps during the day... things I am sure I wont get again for awhile once Griffin joins us.

We are so ready to meet our sweet baby boy! I do ask that you pray for us as we begin to get impatient, overwhelmed with anxiousness and for me the so many questions about how labor will be. SO many emotions all in one.. and yet we are supposed to be able to relax and enjoy each other??? I know I couldnt ask for a better partner to be going through all of this with. Thank you for spoiling me sweetie :)

Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs a little over 6 pounds and measures between 19 and 20 inches. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.