7/12 - 7:15 am - Pics of Chase

Mom and baby are still doing great. Chase is one laid back dude!
He's had his bath and gotten all cleaned up. Very adorable if I do say so myself.
Here are a couple of pictures...I'll update more later.

7/12 - 5:45 am - WE HAVE BABY!!!

We are pleased to announce that we have a baby boy!!

Chase Matthew Liner was born at 5:13 AM

He is 7 lb 4 ounces.

Mom and Chase are doing great!!

I'll update with some pictures in a little while.

7/12 - 4:10 am - We're running hot here!

OK, we've made some good progress in the past hour or so. She's 10 cm dilated and they woke me up from what was turning into a pretty good nap to let me know that we're getting close to the "pushing time".
I've called Mom Corn so she and Mike and Mom Liner are getting there stuff together and heading this way. Jayme says that we're looking at an hour or so on average, but it could be quicker or it could be 2 hours. We'll see.
This is probably the last update until we have a baby to announce, see if anyone is reading this at this point, keep thoughts and prayers with us the rest of the way!

7/12 - 2:55 am Update

OK, seriously, doesn't ESPN have something better to discuss than Brett Favre at 3 o'clock on the morning?
Not much change here. No naps, but a lot of laying around and trying to relax. It's amazing how much your mind wanders around during this process. At 2 am when the baby's heart rate went wacko, they decided to stop the poticin for a bit to let the baby relax some. All looks great right now, so they turned the poticin back on. Still ~ 6 cm. Contractions have been slow and weak without the poticin, but progress should pick back up in the next little bit. I'm already looking forward to the stale breakfast bagel in the cafeteria in a few hours!

7/12 - 2:00 am Update

We both had little naps in the past hour. I think mine was better than hers because Melissa says that I was snoring. The baby's heart beat slowed a little and got a bit sporadic, so they came back in a checked her again. It scared me a little, but they assured us that it was somewhat expected. It's because the baby is starting to come down and rotating a bit. She's 6 cm dilated. After they checked her, the baby's heart beat settled down and returned to normal, so no worries.
Heart beat holding steady at 150 BPM for those who believe in the old wives tales - although I can't remember whether that is supposed to mean boy or girl.
This whole experience is so surreal. At times it seems to be flying by, but I'm also really able to take it all in and really appreciate what's happening...absolutely amazing.

7/12 - 12:50 am Update

Seriously, drugs are awesome! The epidural is in. She had another hit of stadol around 11:30 pm and decided that it was no longer enough. She was at 4 cm dilated at that time. They got the epidural in around 12:25 am. She was really scared about getting it (did I mention that she hates needles), but she did great. Throughout the pregnancy, she and I both just want to know what to expect. Jayme and the anesthesiologist were great about telling her exactly what to expect and she did great. It took about 5 minutes to take effect and, man, that is some good stuff!
Contractions are still cruising right along...typically 2-3 minutes apart. But now she isn't really feeling them. She can feel the pressure, but no real pain at all...just like they say in the book! She's VERY happy now.
Moms (Liner & Corn) have left for the evening to go home and sleep. Melissa is now taking a little nap and I will rest some too.

7/11 - 11:20 pm Drugs are GOOD!

So, Jayme (the nurse) says that stadol is liking drinking a six pack in 2 seconds. Wow! I asked for a hit for myself, but she said no.
Melissa had the first dose at 10:00 and another about 11:15. She can have it once per hour. It definitely has helped. The contractions are still pretty rough, but she says that it's definitely better with drugs. Contractions are pretty consistent. Roughly 2 minutes apart. Still no epidural. She is being SO strong! They checked her around 10:00 and she was between 2 and 3 cm dilated. (Is that too much information here?)
Anyway, she's a real trooper. Her Mom and my Mom are both here. They will probably stay for a little while and then head to our house to get some sleep. Neither want to leave, but they'll need their rest too! Melissa's Dad is at the house with the dogs (our 3 plus their 2), so the dogs are very happy! Jayme still says that the baby won't be here until tomorrow morning sometime. Her shift ends at 7 am...she says it's 50/50 that the baby will be here before the end of her shift. We'll see. Stay tuned...

7/11 - 9:50 pm Update

She's really progressing. Very strong contractions for the last half hour or so. And not much time in between. We're discussing stadol which is an IV drug that will "take the edge off". We are definitely heading towards an epidural, but she wants to start with the stadol to see how that does. She's still doing very well. Monitors show that the baby's heartbeat and Melissa's blood pressure are all doing very well. Nurse says that Melissa is a very "routine" patient...I take that as a good thing. This whole process is just so amazing to me...very fascinating!

7/11 - 9:00 pm Update

Still hanging in there. Contractions have been about 2 minutes apart for a while. Getting more intense. She's making progress. Melissa is still doing very well. She's moving around trying to find better positions. Sitting on the birthing ball watching CSI Miami seems to be working pretty well for now! :)

7/11 - 7:30 pm Update

Making some progress. Melissa is having some contractions now. Nothing major, but when they spike, she definitely can feel them and they are starting to hurt a little.
Family are starting to arrive. Grandparents Palmisano are here. Melissa's parents should be in town in a few hours (they were in Greenville, SC visiting with Matt, Jennifer & Bise). My Mom is leaving Winston-Salem right now. The excitement is building and I'm probably much more nervous than Melissa. My giddiness probably shows in my writing!

We'll check back in later.

7/11 - 6:30 pm -Baby is almost here!

So, we're in the hospital now. Melissa's water broke around 2 pm. She called me around 3:15 (I was in class). She called the doctor and called me back. The doctor said to come on in to the hospital. By the time I got home and we got here, it was around 5:15 pm.

They confirmed her water break and said that we were here to stay. After a few phone calls (I made them, Melissa stayed put), we got all checked into the room (Room 232 at Rex Birthing Center).

Melissa still wasn't having contractions, so they've started the poticin to induce contractions (as of now, she's starting to have some mild ones. They say 12-24 hours after the poticin starts, but as Daryl told me, it's out of our control and up to the kid from here on!

I will try to update every few hours, so long as Melissa doesn't kill me!

Induction date set

Well, the OB office called this morning and scheduled me for induction the night of Tuesday, July 15th. I might get a call from the hospital at 6:00 pm or at 11:00 pm so who knows when I will actually arrive at the hospital and be induced. This of course is all based on no initiation by the baby before then.

Jason is convinced the baby is coming this weekend, either Friday or Saturday, but I think it is wishful thinking on his part since he has class Friday and Saturday afternoons and would love an excuse to miss some or all of it! Already using this kid as an excuse to get out of things!

Will update if anything changes before the 15th, otherwise, will post pictures as soon as we can function!

No Baby Yet...

Still no baby yet. We had another appointment this morning and all looks great with both Melissa and the baby. The doctors say there is no reason to be concerned and that, if the baby doesn't come on its own, they will induce at 42 weeks, which is Wednesday, July 16th. We will continue to update this site, so stay tuned.