My hand and mommy's hand
Testing out tummy time
I really was born this cute!
Meeting Grammom
Monday, August 30, 2010
There's not enough room in these blogs for all the cute pictures of me!
My first trip to church
My hand and mommy's hand
Testing out tummy time
I really was born this cute!
Meeting Grammom
My hand and mommy's hand
Testing out tummy time
I really was born this cute!
Meeting Grammom
11 Days
11 days old today!
We weighed her on Saturday and she came up 6.6 pounds. So that's really good!
She's looking plumper to me. And she's starting to be awake more. Unfortunately some of that awake time has been in the middle of the night. For two nights her feedings were going two hours because she just wouldn't go back to sleep. We kept her awake a lot yesterday so last night was really good once I did finally get her down.
Sometimes I just have to whip out a boob for 2 or 3 minutes to put her to sleep.
She's eating about every 3 hours and stretching to almost 4 over night.
We used the pacifier for the first time today. I guess we just wanted something to suck on.
We went to the doctor last week. He was very pleased and thinks she's in great health. 50th percentile for height, 25th for weight and head circumference.
Tuesday was the doctor. Wednesday we went downtown to show her off to JR's team, Thursday we stayed home during the day and went out shopping in the evening and stopped at Aunt Jen's house. Friday we went to my office and to the airport to pick up Grammom.
It was a very busy week.
Time for some pictures!
Being adorable in the hospital
My first Doctor's visit
My going home outfit
Meeting Grammy
My first trip downtown
We weighed her on Saturday and she came up 6.6 pounds. So that's really good!
She's looking plumper to me. And she's starting to be awake more. Unfortunately some of that awake time has been in the middle of the night. For two nights her feedings were going two hours because she just wouldn't go back to sleep. We kept her awake a lot yesterday so last night was really good once I did finally get her down.
Sometimes I just have to whip out a boob for 2 or 3 minutes to put her to sleep.
She's eating about every 3 hours and stretching to almost 4 over night.
We used the pacifier for the first time today. I guess we just wanted something to suck on.
We went to the doctor last week. He was very pleased and thinks she's in great health. 50th percentile for height, 25th for weight and head circumference.
Tuesday was the doctor. Wednesday we went downtown to show her off to JR's team, Thursday we stayed home during the day and went out shopping in the evening and stopped at Aunt Jen's house. Friday we went to my office and to the airport to pick up Grammom.
It was a very busy week.
Time for some pictures!
Being adorable in the hospital
My first Doctor's visit
My going home outfit
Meeting Grammy
My first trip downtown
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Kaida's Birth
Wednesday morning I had a Doctor'a appointment scheduled for 10:45. I was there a little early like usual. They took me an hour after my appointment was set to start like usual. Then Dr. Lebovitz was not there. I saw the newest Dcotor whose name I can't remember. I kept asking her questions about what they normally do and things like that but she couldn't answer a lot of them because she's never even done a delivery at Magee.
We went over my birth vision which I had finished the evening before. I argued with her a bit about the due date. She eventually told me too bad, we go by the ultrasound. Nicely though, of course. Then she said my blood pressure was a little high and she was going to re-check me. So she did that. It was stil high.
Then she said I could get dressed and she was going to find out the answers to the questions she hadn't been able to answer me about. Then Dr. Lebovitz came in. I think she checked my blood pressure too. Then she said that since it was high they wanted me to go down to the lab to get blood drawn and do another urine sample. Then I would go to triage so they could monitor the baby and my blood pressure for a while. If things didn't look good they would then induce me.
Commence freak out. I held it together until I had JR on the phone but then I could barely talk. I told him he didn't need to come to the hospital because what were the chances that they were actually going to keep me and induce me? Pretty slim, right? Wrong.
By the time I got to triage is was probably 1:30 or 2:00. They checked me in and kept asking questions about what I wanted when the baby was delivered and stuff. I'm all "Psshh. Whatevah. I'm not staying here." Wrong.
So they hooked me up to the baby's heart monitor and the blood pressure cuff and the pulse oximeter. And I just hung out there for a little while. I didn't think it was very long but then Dr. Lebovitz and the new doctor came in. They said baby was doing fine but my tests came back and the protein in my urine was above the limit and they were going to induce me.
That's when I called JR and told him he needed to come. Luckily we had most of our stuff together and a list of everything else we needed to grab. He had to feed the cats and take some laundry off the line. But it seemed to go pretty smoothly. Lisa took him to our house and then brought him to the hospital.
They moved me down the hall to labor and delivery. The rooms are pretty nice. Here I had Kaida's heart monitor, a contraction monitor, the blood pressure cuff, the pulse oximeter, and an IV. Surprisingly enough I was still able to move around a little which was the highest priority item in my birth vision.
He had been keeping in touch with Monique the Doula since my phone battery was low. After I got to labor and delivery she came to the hospital and waited with me until JR got there. So that was good. At least I wasn't sitting there alone freaking out.
They gave me the cervidil at 4. JR arrived around 5 and Monique went home to try to rest (she'd been up with her toddler all night 'cause he was sick). Luckily they said I could eat at this point. But just clear foods. So Jello, popsicles, italian ice, broth, juice. Pretty hard to satisfy your 39 weeks pregnant hunger with that when you haven't eaten since 7:30 am.
I got another does of cervidil at a little after 8 and Dr. Lebovitz said she'd be back around midnight to check me again. At midnight I heard a little *Pop* on Kaida's heart monitor and then felt my water break. That freaked me out too. Like, "oh shit, there's no turning back now."
So when Dr. Lebovitz showed up she said they'd start the pitocin. We asked how long she thought it would be and she said probably sometime late Thursday afternoon. JR updated Monique. We thought she maybe didn't have to come right away (we were silly and thought pitocin labor progressed like normal labor). Normally the Doulas wait until you go to the hospital to join you (so contraction about 5 minutes apart) but when JR told her they were starting the pitocin she said she'd come on over. Thank God she did.
Almost as soon as they started the pitocin I started contracting fast. Like every minute or so. And while we thought they were bad at the beginning they just kept getting worse. If Monique hadn't been there JR would have had a breakdown and I would have asked for the epidural at 1 am. She kept us up and changing positions. Reminded me about breathing, helped me communicate with the nurses (it's hard to ask questions and get an answer when you're contracting halfway through the conversation.) I really think all the moving around helped the labor progress more quickly.
I used the breathing they taught us in class. Slow deep breaths. But my breaths in hurt very low in my uterus so that was not expected and distracting. On my breaths out I would say Ohhhhhhhh. And the lower I said it the better it was. But very often my Ohs would get higher and higher pitched and morph into ows. JR said sometime they were Nooooos. So Monique spent most of the night telling me to say it lower and trying to be motivational. But for some reason "Each contraction brings you one step closer to your baby." did not work for me.
I used my hands as my focal point. I was either holding someone's hands and rubbing their fingers or rubbing a towel or cloth with my fingers. JR said his fingers hurt from all the friction.
We used massagers, a comb squeezed in my hand to release endorphins, the double hip squeeze (which was fantastic for the one contraction it worked for), I tried the aromatherapy but couldn't get it to distract me enough. I sat in a rocking chair, on the birthing ball, on the bed. I stood, I kneeled on the bed, and sometimes sitting on the toilet was the best position. Sometimes it was the worst too. Things change as labor progresses.
All the nurses and everyone were very positive, encouraging, and helpful too. They never said whoa, you look like you're in rough shape, want some drugs? I would guess that's because I gave them a copy of the birth vision for the file. So I really appreciate that.
Occassionally I would ask the time. I remember 4 am. And I remember it getting light out. The next time I asked it was 10 am. In that time we did ask about drugs other than the epidural. I was getting so tired that I just wanted to sit or sleep for a little bit. I had stadol in the morning sometime, maybe 7 or 8? I was able to sleep a tiny bit but it didn't take the edge off enough for me to sleep through them. I think I was probably sleeping as much between contractions without the stadol as I was with.
Going off the stadol sucked too. 'Cause I'd either managed to forget how bad they were or they got worse in that hour. I would describe the feeling as a rock trying to burrow its way out of your bottom. We discussed the epidural almost immediately. I decided I wanted it but somehow that didn't get communicated to the medical staff. When we did let them know for sure the nurse had to come take some blood since it had been almost 24 hours since my last blood test. They needed to check my platelets to see if I could even get an epidural. That blood test takes a half hour when it's marked stat.
So about 15-30 contractions later the anesthesiologist burst in. My guess is he's used to seeing people who are 4 or so centimeters along, you know, contracting every 4 or 5 minutes. He was quite boisterous until he saw that I was in the middle of a contraction. I'm pretty sure I scared him. I think I may have scared everyone who came into the room that night, day? Whatever.
He talked to me about something. I have no idea what. The next time I opened my eyes (I did the contractions mostly with my eyes closed) there were 4 more people in the room. I guess they were part of the drug dealing team. And some students. Halfway through the epidural JR came back from getting some food and then another teacher for one of the students came in too. It was getting a little crowded.
The Doctor said "you're going to feel some pressure." Ha. I'm going to guess he's never given birth 'cause what he was doing to my back was not pressure.
Once I was all hooked up he was trying to make jokes. Sorry dude but I wasn't numb yet and I'd been awake for 28 hours. Maybe they were funny but that wasn't really a laughing time for me.
Once I was not feeling the contractions anymore I asked about Kaida. I asked how her heart rate was. It was the first time since they gave me the pitocin that I was able to even think about her. So I think the epidural was a very good decision. And that's why it's a birth vision and not a birth plan.
I talked with JR for a bit. Monique slept a little, I slept for maybe an hour. Then Dr. Lebovitz came and checked me and said I was ready to go and they would turn down the epidural for me. So a little while later she came back and we started pushing. I couldn't really feel anything so I guess epidurals don't wear off very quickly.
With the contractions (which were now inexplicably 4-5 minutes apart): two deep cleansing breaths, push for a count of 10, deep breath, push for a count of ten, deep breath, push for a count of 10. JR said I did 5 sets. It seemed very fast to me.
I wasn't sure I was going to want to see it in the mirror but it really helped to see that I was actually doing something even though I couldn't feel it. So we knew she had hair quite a while before she was actually born.
After a couple pushes they broke the bed down 'cause I guess that meant things were really happening. They called the pediatricians (because of the preeclampsia they needed to check her over right away, 4 of them, I guess one for each limb?) so the room was swarmed with people again. Dr. Lebovitz explained that they would cut the cord quickly and take her almost right away so at least I knew to expect that.
Then she said that Kaida's heart rate was varying a lot and if I didn't get her out in the next couple sets of pushes she would need to use the vacuum extractor. So I was pretty motivated. JR said she opened the package of the extractor and then Kaida was born with the next set of pushes.
They put her on my stomach and I got one hand on her. The nurse started scrubbing her with a towel and JR cut the cord. Then she was gone.
I wish that moment had lasted a little longer because it was the best feeling having her there with me.
It seemed like forever before they brought her back to us. And I actually asked if she was a girl because no one ever said "It's a girl!"
But then we got her and we fell in love.
All 10 fingers, all 10 toes, lots of hair.
6 Lbs. 2 Oz.
20 inches long
August 19th, 2010, 12:51 pm.
Seriously adorable.
We went over my birth vision which I had finished the evening before. I argued with her a bit about the due date. She eventually told me too bad, we go by the ultrasound. Nicely though, of course. Then she said my blood pressure was a little high and she was going to re-check me. So she did that. It was stil high.
Then she said I could get dressed and she was going to find out the answers to the questions she hadn't been able to answer me about. Then Dr. Lebovitz came in. I think she checked my blood pressure too. Then she said that since it was high they wanted me to go down to the lab to get blood drawn and do another urine sample. Then I would go to triage so they could monitor the baby and my blood pressure for a while. If things didn't look good they would then induce me.
Commence freak out. I held it together until I had JR on the phone but then I could barely talk. I told him he didn't need to come to the hospital because what were the chances that they were actually going to keep me and induce me? Pretty slim, right? Wrong.
By the time I got to triage is was probably 1:30 or 2:00. They checked me in and kept asking questions about what I wanted when the baby was delivered and stuff. I'm all "Psshh. Whatevah. I'm not staying here." Wrong.
So they hooked me up to the baby's heart monitor and the blood pressure cuff and the pulse oximeter. And I just hung out there for a little while. I didn't think it was very long but then Dr. Lebovitz and the new doctor came in. They said baby was doing fine but my tests came back and the protein in my urine was above the limit and they were going to induce me.
That's when I called JR and told him he needed to come. Luckily we had most of our stuff together and a list of everything else we needed to grab. He had to feed the cats and take some laundry off the line. But it seemed to go pretty smoothly. Lisa took him to our house and then brought him to the hospital.
They moved me down the hall to labor and delivery. The rooms are pretty nice. Here I had Kaida's heart monitor, a contraction monitor, the blood pressure cuff, the pulse oximeter, and an IV. Surprisingly enough I was still able to move around a little which was the highest priority item in my birth vision.
He had been keeping in touch with Monique the Doula since my phone battery was low. After I got to labor and delivery she came to the hospital and waited with me until JR got there. So that was good. At least I wasn't sitting there alone freaking out.
They gave me the cervidil at 4. JR arrived around 5 and Monique went home to try to rest (she'd been up with her toddler all night 'cause he was sick). Luckily they said I could eat at this point. But just clear foods. So Jello, popsicles, italian ice, broth, juice. Pretty hard to satisfy your 39 weeks pregnant hunger with that when you haven't eaten since 7:30 am.
I got another does of cervidil at a little after 8 and Dr. Lebovitz said she'd be back around midnight to check me again. At midnight I heard a little *Pop* on Kaida's heart monitor and then felt my water break. That freaked me out too. Like, "oh shit, there's no turning back now."
So when Dr. Lebovitz showed up she said they'd start the pitocin. We asked how long she thought it would be and she said probably sometime late Thursday afternoon. JR updated Monique. We thought she maybe didn't have to come right away (we were silly and thought pitocin labor progressed like normal labor). Normally the Doulas wait until you go to the hospital to join you (so contraction about 5 minutes apart) but when JR told her they were starting the pitocin she said she'd come on over. Thank God she did.
Almost as soon as they started the pitocin I started contracting fast. Like every minute or so. And while we thought they were bad at the beginning they just kept getting worse. If Monique hadn't been there JR would have had a breakdown and I would have asked for the epidural at 1 am. She kept us up and changing positions. Reminded me about breathing, helped me communicate with the nurses (it's hard to ask questions and get an answer when you're contracting halfway through the conversation.) I really think all the moving around helped the labor progress more quickly.
I used the breathing they taught us in class. Slow deep breaths. But my breaths in hurt very low in my uterus so that was not expected and distracting. On my breaths out I would say Ohhhhhhhh. And the lower I said it the better it was. But very often my Ohs would get higher and higher pitched and morph into ows. JR said sometime they were Nooooos. So Monique spent most of the night telling me to say it lower and trying to be motivational. But for some reason "Each contraction brings you one step closer to your baby." did not work for me.
I used my hands as my focal point. I was either holding someone's hands and rubbing their fingers or rubbing a towel or cloth with my fingers. JR said his fingers hurt from all the friction.
We used massagers, a comb squeezed in my hand to release endorphins, the double hip squeeze (which was fantastic for the one contraction it worked for), I tried the aromatherapy but couldn't get it to distract me enough. I sat in a rocking chair, on the birthing ball, on the bed. I stood, I kneeled on the bed, and sometimes sitting on the toilet was the best position. Sometimes it was the worst too. Things change as labor progresses.
All the nurses and everyone were very positive, encouraging, and helpful too. They never said whoa, you look like you're in rough shape, want some drugs? I would guess that's because I gave them a copy of the birth vision for the file. So I really appreciate that.
Occassionally I would ask the time. I remember 4 am. And I remember it getting light out. The next time I asked it was 10 am. In that time we did ask about drugs other than the epidural. I was getting so tired that I just wanted to sit or sleep for a little bit. I had stadol in the morning sometime, maybe 7 or 8? I was able to sleep a tiny bit but it didn't take the edge off enough for me to sleep through them. I think I was probably sleeping as much between contractions without the stadol as I was with.
Going off the stadol sucked too. 'Cause I'd either managed to forget how bad they were or they got worse in that hour. I would describe the feeling as a rock trying to burrow its way out of your bottom. We discussed the epidural almost immediately. I decided I wanted it but somehow that didn't get communicated to the medical staff. When we did let them know for sure the nurse had to come take some blood since it had been almost 24 hours since my last blood test. They needed to check my platelets to see if I could even get an epidural. That blood test takes a half hour when it's marked stat.
So about 15-30 contractions later the anesthesiologist burst in. My guess is he's used to seeing people who are 4 or so centimeters along, you know, contracting every 4 or 5 minutes. He was quite boisterous until he saw that I was in the middle of a contraction. I'm pretty sure I scared him. I think I may have scared everyone who came into the room that night, day? Whatever.
He talked to me about something. I have no idea what. The next time I opened my eyes (I did the contractions mostly with my eyes closed) there were 4 more people in the room. I guess they were part of the drug dealing team. And some students. Halfway through the epidural JR came back from getting some food and then another teacher for one of the students came in too. It was getting a little crowded.
The Doctor said "you're going to feel some pressure." Ha. I'm going to guess he's never given birth 'cause what he was doing to my back was not pressure.
Once I was all hooked up he was trying to make jokes. Sorry dude but I wasn't numb yet and I'd been awake for 28 hours. Maybe they were funny but that wasn't really a laughing time for me.
Once I was not feeling the contractions anymore I asked about Kaida. I asked how her heart rate was. It was the first time since they gave me the pitocin that I was able to even think about her. So I think the epidural was a very good decision. And that's why it's a birth vision and not a birth plan.
I talked with JR for a bit. Monique slept a little, I slept for maybe an hour. Then Dr. Lebovitz came and checked me and said I was ready to go and they would turn down the epidural for me. So a little while later she came back and we started pushing. I couldn't really feel anything so I guess epidurals don't wear off very quickly.
With the contractions (which were now inexplicably 4-5 minutes apart): two deep cleansing breaths, push for a count of 10, deep breath, push for a count of ten, deep breath, push for a count of 10. JR said I did 5 sets. It seemed very fast to me.
I wasn't sure I was going to want to see it in the mirror but it really helped to see that I was actually doing something even though I couldn't feel it. So we knew she had hair quite a while before she was actually born.
After a couple pushes they broke the bed down 'cause I guess that meant things were really happening. They called the pediatricians (because of the preeclampsia they needed to check her over right away, 4 of them, I guess one for each limb?) so the room was swarmed with people again. Dr. Lebovitz explained that they would cut the cord quickly and take her almost right away so at least I knew to expect that.
Then she said that Kaida's heart rate was varying a lot and if I didn't get her out in the next couple sets of pushes she would need to use the vacuum extractor. So I was pretty motivated. JR said she opened the package of the extractor and then Kaida was born with the next set of pushes.
They put her on my stomach and I got one hand on her. The nurse started scrubbing her with a towel and JR cut the cord. Then she was gone.
I wish that moment had lasted a little longer because it was the best feeling having her there with me.
It seemed like forever before they brought her back to us. And I actually asked if she was a girl because no one ever said "It's a girl!"
But then we got her and we fell in love.
All 10 fingers, all 10 toes, lots of hair.
6 Lbs. 2 Oz.
20 inches long
August 19th, 2010, 12:51 pm.
Seriously adorable.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Birth Vision
Amanda and JR Hagy’s Birth Vision for Kaida Rose Hagy
8/18/10
We believe that birth should be a natural process, it is important to us that as few interventions as possible are used to bring our child into the world. We would like to be informed of procedures before they happen and be a part of the decision making. Amanda would like to be able to remain active during her labor in order to help it progress naturally. We understand that every labor and delivery is different and there is no way to anticipate what will happen. With that in mind the following birth vision outlines what our ideal birth would be like.
Labor:
I want to be able to change position frequently and use the methods we have learned in class to cope with pain and to progress my labor.
During labor JR and our Doula will both be present.
I would prefer a Heparin Lock to an IV.
To monitor the baby I would prefer telemetric monitoring for as often as monitoring is required.
I would like my water to break naturally.
I hope to avoid an epidural and would prefer to not be offered medication.
Pushing:
I hope to listen to my body and push when I feel the urge.
I would like to push in whatever position feels most comfortable for me.
I’d like to avoid an episiotomy if possible.
We will be donating Kaida’s cord blood through the Dan Berger Cord Blood Program.
Immediate Post Partum:
We would like all non-emergency care (vitamin K, eye treatment, bath, etc.) postponed until the first hour after birth.
I would like to hold Kaida and breastfeed as soon as possible.
In the event of a Cesarean Birth:
We would like to be given as much information as possible and time to make this decision.
I would like to have an arm free to hold the baby after she is born.
Please allow both JR and our Doula to be in the room.
I would like to breastfeed as soon as possible.
8/18/10
We believe that birth should be a natural process, it is important to us that as few interventions as possible are used to bring our child into the world. We would like to be informed of procedures before they happen and be a part of the decision making. Amanda would like to be able to remain active during her labor in order to help it progress naturally. We understand that every labor and delivery is different and there is no way to anticipate what will happen. With that in mind the following birth vision outlines what our ideal birth would be like.
Labor:
I want to be able to change position frequently and use the methods we have learned in class to cope with pain and to progress my labor.
During labor JR and our Doula will both be present.
I would prefer a Heparin Lock to an IV.
To monitor the baby I would prefer telemetric monitoring for as often as monitoring is required.
I would like my water to break naturally.
I hope to avoid an epidural and would prefer to not be offered medication.
Pushing:
I hope to listen to my body and push when I feel the urge.
I would like to push in whatever position feels most comfortable for me.
I’d like to avoid an episiotomy if possible.
We will be donating Kaida’s cord blood through the Dan Berger Cord Blood Program.
Immediate Post Partum:
We would like all non-emergency care (vitamin K, eye treatment, bath, etc.) postponed until the first hour after birth.
I would like to hold Kaida and breastfeed as soon as possible.
In the event of a Cesarean Birth:
We would like to be given as much information as possible and time to make this decision.
I would like to have an arm free to hold the baby after she is born.
Please allow both JR and our Doula to be in the room.
I would like to breastfeed as soon as possible.
Monday, August 23, 2010
39 Weeks aka Kaida's Birthday
I'm trying to remember week 39 but it's not going so well for obvious reasons
:-)
We went to the second pediatrician's appointment. The office is much smaller and they kept us waiting for 45 minutes. So not the best first impression. We never got to go to the third pediatrician so we decided to go with the first one we saw. They come highly recommended by our hygienist.
We installed the car seat over the weekend so that was all set. JR built the rocker and swing for her. We packed the bags with all the stuff we neeeded for the hospital, well kind of. We put stuff in laundry baskets so that it was ready and then JR just threw it all into bags.
I made a trip with Brandy to Babies r Us to return some doubles and things like that. I made a bunch of casseroles to freeze, thankfully. They are coming in quite handy. And I finally finished all the thank you notes and got them put into the mail. It was literally the last thing I did before I left our house to go to the Doctor.
Then I had my doctor's appointment and all hell broke loose. But that's for another post.
My stats
Total weight gained, 45 pounds. I didn't feel bad at all so that's why the preeclampsia was such a surprise. I guess one of the signs is gaining more than 1-2 pounds per week at the end. Not that the doctors told me that.
What Kaida might have been
20 inches and a bit over 7 pounds.
What she actually was
20 inches and 6 pounds 2 ounces!
:-)
We went to the second pediatrician's appointment. The office is much smaller and they kept us waiting for 45 minutes. So not the best first impression. We never got to go to the third pediatrician so we decided to go with the first one we saw. They come highly recommended by our hygienist.
We installed the car seat over the weekend so that was all set. JR built the rocker and swing for her. We packed the bags with all the stuff we neeeded for the hospital, well kind of. We put stuff in laundry baskets so that it was ready and then JR just threw it all into bags.
I made a trip with Brandy to Babies r Us to return some doubles and things like that. I made a bunch of casseroles to freeze, thankfully. They are coming in quite handy. And I finally finished all the thank you notes and got them put into the mail. It was literally the last thing I did before I left our house to go to the Doctor.
Then I had my doctor's appointment and all hell broke loose. But that's for another post.
My stats
Total weight gained, 45 pounds. I didn't feel bad at all so that's why the preeclampsia was such a surprise. I guess one of the signs is gaining more than 1-2 pounds per week at the end. Not that the doctors told me that.
What Kaida might have been
20 inches and a bit over 7 pounds.
What she actually was
20 inches and 6 pounds 2 ounces!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Week 38
In week 38 we took a tour of one pediatrician's office. We're going to see another one on Friday and another next Saturday the 21st. I liked the one we already saw but it was after hours so it's hard to get an idea of what it's really like. It may come down to whichever office is the most convenient and if they don't piss me off after she's born. Or maybe one of them will just blow me out of the water with their pleasant atmosphere, we'll see!
She was showing off for JR last night. She had the hiccups and when he put his hand on me to feel them she started dancing for him. I told her she can meet him in real life, all she has to do is come out.
I got all her clothes put away yesterday. It took some doing. Eventually I ended up doing a drawer of newborn and a drawer of 0-3 months. And then a drawer of bedding and blankets. We bought some storage cubes this week too. So her toys are now in a cloth basket in one storage cube and her books are in another. I'll have burp cloths and other stuff like that in another. So her hamper is no longer a toy box but is ready to receive dirty clothes. I started putting some stuff in the diaper bag too, hmm, maybe I should put diapers in there...
But I don't think this baby is coming anytime soon. She hasn't really given me any indication that she's interested in leaving the sweet digs she's got now.
My braxton hicks have increased but from 1 or 2 a week to 1 or 2 a day but that's still not a lot. And I'm not sure if she's dropped or not. My back has hurt more this week and I do have to pee a little more often but it's not something that I noticed all at once. So I think she's content where she is.
My Stats
42 pounds, but I'm pretty sure I'm having a 32 pound baby, so that's ok. At least this week I'm within the weight gain guidelines they gave me of 1-2 pounds a week. Sue said I was measuring right on for my fundal height. I was a cm behind last week so maybe it's evened out. She didn't check my cervix though so I don't know if there's any progress there.
My feet feel pretty awful by the end of the day. Going up and down stairs is hard because my ankles are so puffy they don't want to bend the right way. My hands don't get too bad looking but they are always sore and weak. Dr. Bishop said that it's Carpal Tunnel. The swelling pushes on the nerves. I tried to put my hand on the wall to balance in the shower this morning and putting it flat like that really hurt. So my right foot may not be as clean as my left today.
I found a whole crop of stretch marks. All the way across the underside of my belly. It's pretty scary how they just showed up out of the blue. They're light so at first I thought it was red marks from the elastic in my clothes but it's not. Definitely stretch marks.
Kaida's Stats
6.8 pounds and over 19 1/2 inches long. They say she's ready for life on the outside. Now, how to relay this message to her...
The e-mail says that while I've probably had my bag packed for weeks we should pack stuff for JR too. They're a little off on that one. I have the baby's clothes picked out (she better be a girl!). And I made a rough list of what we should pack but the actual packing hasn't happened yet. I feel like I'll need my clothes between now and then so it's hard to pack them up!
She was showing off for JR last night. She had the hiccups and when he put his hand on me to feel them she started dancing for him. I told her she can meet him in real life, all she has to do is come out.
I got all her clothes put away yesterday. It took some doing. Eventually I ended up doing a drawer of newborn and a drawer of 0-3 months. And then a drawer of bedding and blankets. We bought some storage cubes this week too. So her toys are now in a cloth basket in one storage cube and her books are in another. I'll have burp cloths and other stuff like that in another. So her hamper is no longer a toy box but is ready to receive dirty clothes. I started putting some stuff in the diaper bag too, hmm, maybe I should put diapers in there...
But I don't think this baby is coming anytime soon. She hasn't really given me any indication that she's interested in leaving the sweet digs she's got now.
My braxton hicks have increased but from 1 or 2 a week to 1 or 2 a day but that's still not a lot. And I'm not sure if she's dropped or not. My back has hurt more this week and I do have to pee a little more often but it's not something that I noticed all at once. So I think she's content where she is.
My Stats
42 pounds, but I'm pretty sure I'm having a 32 pound baby, so that's ok. At least this week I'm within the weight gain guidelines they gave me of 1-2 pounds a week. Sue said I was measuring right on for my fundal height. I was a cm behind last week so maybe it's evened out. She didn't check my cervix though so I don't know if there's any progress there.
My feet feel pretty awful by the end of the day. Going up and down stairs is hard because my ankles are so puffy they don't want to bend the right way. My hands don't get too bad looking but they are always sore and weak. Dr. Bishop said that it's Carpal Tunnel. The swelling pushes on the nerves. I tried to put my hand on the wall to balance in the shower this morning and putting it flat like that really hurt. So my right foot may not be as clean as my left today.
I found a whole crop of stretch marks. All the way across the underside of my belly. It's pretty scary how they just showed up out of the blue. They're light so at first I thought it was red marks from the elastic in my clothes but it's not. Definitely stretch marks.
Kaida's Stats
6.8 pounds and over 19 1/2 inches long. They say she's ready for life on the outside. Now, how to relay this message to her...
The e-mail says that while I've probably had my bag packed for weeks we should pack stuff for JR too. They're a little off on that one. I have the baby's clothes picked out (she better be a girl!). And I made a rough list of what we should pack but the actual packing hasn't happened yet. I feel like I'll need my clothes between now and then so it's hard to pack them up!
*Frustrated Noise*
I tested positive for Group B strep. This means I'll need to have an IV of antibiotics once I get to labor and delivery. I'm all for keeping baby safe but an IV was not a part of my birth vision. They're annoying.
I wonder if they'll let me have the IV of antibiotics and then downgrade to a heparin lock rather than leaving the IV in.
And to complicate matters further, since I had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs I was taking after the jaw surgery (we think it was the amoxicillin), they won't give me penicillin which is what they would normally use. So they're doing a sensitivity test on my culture to see what drugs they can use. This all makes sense, but the way Sue rushed out of the exam room to tell the office staff to order the test made me a little nervous. JR thinks that maybe she wanted to make sure they didn't discard my sample. It came across as, "Well, this is probably life threatening, so I should hurry." Yeah, when you're 37w 6d pregnant the drama and over reactions increase a bit.
I was supposed to see Dr. Kridgen again but she had to go into surgery, so that's why I saw Sue the nurse. I still haven't seen Dr. Alvarado-Reagans (and I won't next time either) so I'm pretty sure that's who will be delivering our baby. Sue made a note that we've hired a Doula in my chart. Hopefully I'll have the birth vision all worked out by the next appointment so they can note my preferences.
I wonder if they'll let me have the IV of antibiotics and then downgrade to a heparin lock rather than leaving the IV in.
And to complicate matters further, since I had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs I was taking after the jaw surgery (we think it was the amoxicillin), they won't give me penicillin which is what they would normally use. So they're doing a sensitivity test on my culture to see what drugs they can use. This all makes sense, but the way Sue rushed out of the exam room to tell the office staff to order the test made me a little nervous. JR thinks that maybe she wanted to make sure they didn't discard my sample. It came across as, "Well, this is probably life threatening, so I should hurry." Yeah, when you're 37w 6d pregnant the drama and over reactions increase a bit.
I was supposed to see Dr. Kridgen again but she had to go into surgery, so that's why I saw Sue the nurse. I still haven't seen Dr. Alvarado-Reagans (and I won't next time either) so I'm pretty sure that's who will be delivering our baby. Sue made a note that we've hired a Doula in my chart. Hopefully I'll have the birth vision all worked out by the next appointment so they can note my preferences.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Showered Again
This past weekend we had the shower in Pittsburgh. It was adorable. We had it at AntiquiTea in West View which is a tea room. I said I wanted a tea party and this was perfect. I'd say it's the best tea party I've ever been to. Not that I have all that much experience at tea partying. I might need to take it up though.
The food was really good. The sandwiches were Cheese and walnut spread on wheat, chicken salad croissants, and I think a tiny zucchini muffin with chive cream cheese spread and a radish slice. Then there were scones and sweet bread. And a third tier with oreo truffles, a tiny pie shell with some sort of creamy goodness in it topped with blueberries, and raspberry flavored cookies. I made the cupcakes and they came out very cute.
We played present bingo where everyone fills out the bingo card with what they think I'm going to open. We measured my belly and everyone took a guess by cutting some ribbon to what they thought my measurement would be. And then they had to guess how many candies were in a jar.
It was fun. JR came at the end to help me open the present from his mom. A lot of the stuff she gave us is stuff that she used for him when he was a baby.
And I really love the purple blanket she knitted. It looks awesome in the nursery.
I would say my favorite was all the clothes Jen and Jamie hung on the clothesline. It was super cute. This baby definitely doesn't need clothes for a long time.
It was great to be able to see everyone. Aunt Joyce came in with Michelle and Kristine, and Aunt Judy and Tommy were able to come too. So it was a very nice weekend overall.
The food was really good. The sandwiches were Cheese and walnut spread on wheat, chicken salad croissants, and I think a tiny zucchini muffin with chive cream cheese spread and a radish slice. Then there were scones and sweet bread. And a third tier with oreo truffles, a tiny pie shell with some sort of creamy goodness in it topped with blueberries, and raspberry flavored cookies. I made the cupcakes and they came out very cute.
We played present bingo where everyone fills out the bingo card with what they think I'm going to open. We measured my belly and everyone took a guess by cutting some ribbon to what they thought my measurement would be. And then they had to guess how many candies were in a jar.
It was fun. JR came at the end to help me open the present from his mom. A lot of the stuff she gave us is stuff that she used for him when he was a baby.
And I really love the purple blanket she knitted. It looks awesome in the nursery.
I would say my favorite was all the clothes Jen and Jamie hung on the clothesline. It was super cute. This baby definitely doesn't need clothes for a long time.
It was great to be able to see everyone. Aunt Joyce came in with Michelle and Kristine, and Aunt Judy and Tommy were able to come too. So it was a very nice weekend overall.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Rollercoaster
So I've been pretty emotional lately. I can cry at the drop of a hat. It's like a super power, although I'm trying to use it for good and not evil.
I figured out that I'm sad that JR and my life together as just the two of us is coming to an end. It's been very fun. But we talked about it and I feel a bit better now.
I'm sure that we'll be able to have lots of fun with our new family but since I don't really know what that's like yet it's hard to imagine it being better than what we already have.
But I am getting excited now. Nervous about the exhaustion of the first couple weeks/months but excited too. All these baby clothes from the showers are so adorable you can't help but be a little excited. I hope she's not too big to wear the newborn onesies. They look super tiny.
Here they are drying on my new clothesline!
I'm also a little nervous about the labor and delivery. But we met our Doula last night. She seems very nice and very much at ease with the whole process, so that makes me feel more comfortable already. She uses the word "amazing" where I use the word "terrifying". Maybe it's a perspective thing. From the other side of giving birth it's amazing, from my side it's terrifying (terrifying is actually a little too strong of a word but you get the idea).
We also took our tour of the hospital and while I'm not jumping up and down with the anticipation of spending the 48+ hours there (it's definitely not a Sheraton) at least I know what to expect so that helps me feel less nervous.
Anything I can do to prevent the fear-tension-pain cycle sounds good to me.
I ride this emotional rollercoaster, hitting pretty much every emotion every day. It's kind of tiring.
I figured out that I'm sad that JR and my life together as just the two of us is coming to an end. It's been very fun. But we talked about it and I feel a bit better now.
I'm sure that we'll be able to have lots of fun with our new family but since I don't really know what that's like yet it's hard to imagine it being better than what we already have.
But I am getting excited now. Nervous about the exhaustion of the first couple weeks/months but excited too. All these baby clothes from the showers are so adorable you can't help but be a little excited. I hope she's not too big to wear the newborn onesies. They look super tiny.
Here they are drying on my new clothesline!
I'm also a little nervous about the labor and delivery. But we met our Doula last night. She seems very nice and very much at ease with the whole process, so that makes me feel more comfortable already. She uses the word "amazing" where I use the word "terrifying". Maybe it's a perspective thing. From the other side of giving birth it's amazing, from my side it's terrifying (terrifying is actually a little too strong of a word but you get the idea).
We also took our tour of the hospital and while I'm not jumping up and down with the anticipation of spending the 48+ hours there (it's definitely not a Sheraton) at least I know what to expect so that helps me feel less nervous.
Anything I can do to prevent the fear-tension-pain cycle sounds good to me.
I ride this emotional rollercoaster, hitting pretty much every emotion every day. It's kind of tiring.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Week 37
I'm just confusing myself by trying to keep the weeks for the old due date so I'm skipping week 36.
The rocking chair is done and moved into the nursery. The chair pads are done and tied on. They're adorable. I made the dragon picture and background removable with velcro so I don't have to worry about it fading or fraying in the wash.
Doesn't it look lovely in the garage?
We did a load of baby laundry. Mostly bedding and towels. I had a sample of babyganics laundry detergent so we used that. I'll have to get some dreft or something to do the million other loads. I wanted to get the bedding done because we found someone in the crib right after we brought the rocking chair upstairs. The chair makes for easy access to the crib now. I figured it was safer to have the mattress pad and some waterproof pads in there in case sir-pees-a-lot (aka Tonic) decides he wants to mark it for his own. And I wanted to put the crib skirt on to see how it looked with curtains up and the rocking chair in there (it looks super cute).
So the nursery is coming together. We still need to figure out some storage options but we're going to wait until the shower this weekend to really decide.
We've been looking online at ebay and craigslist for diapers. I've decided that our stock should be 10 small, 10 medium, and 10-15 one size diapers with a few of the one size having velcro closures. I'm sure we'll find something it's just a matter of price. I can even buy them new on ebay cheaper than at the store, so that's something.
I started the flowers for the cupcakes for the shower. Hopefully they turn out cute!
My Stats
40 pounds. That's 5 pounds this week. I think I was having a fat morning though since that's two pounds more than I weighed yesterday at the doctor. I'm also about to cross another threshold that I'd rather not even think about. I may just stop weighing myself to solve that problem.
I've been kind of falling asleep at lunch time or if I sit still too long without something to occupy my mind. My sleep has actually gotten a little better though, or I'm forgetting what "good" sleep actually is.
My feet are usually gigantic by lunch time and stay that way until the next morning. It's pretty uncomfortable with all that stretchy skin. And they're super sweaty. I don't normally sweat, like at all, so I don't know how to deal with this.
1 cm, 50% effaced.
Kaidy-bug's Stats
week 36 - almost 6 pounds 18 and 1/2 inches. In the process of losing the downy covering of hair and the vernix caseosa, the goo that has been covering her skin for 9 months.
Week 37 - She is head down according to Dr. Bishop and she is now full term. Her lungs are mature enough to adjust to life outside. 6 and 1/3 pounds and a bit over 19 inches (Dr. Bishop guessed about 6 pounds yesterday).
So far she hasn't given me any of the signs that her arrival is imminent. She's just floating around in there happy as a clam.
The rocking chair is done and moved into the nursery. The chair pads are done and tied on. They're adorable. I made the dragon picture and background removable with velcro so I don't have to worry about it fading or fraying in the wash.
Doesn't it look lovely in the garage?
We did a load of baby laundry. Mostly bedding and towels. I had a sample of babyganics laundry detergent so we used that. I'll have to get some dreft or something to do the million other loads. I wanted to get the bedding done because we found someone in the crib right after we brought the rocking chair upstairs. The chair makes for easy access to the crib now. I figured it was safer to have the mattress pad and some waterproof pads in there in case sir-pees-a-lot (aka Tonic) decides he wants to mark it for his own. And I wanted to put the crib skirt on to see how it looked with curtains up and the rocking chair in there (it looks super cute).
So the nursery is coming together. We still need to figure out some storage options but we're going to wait until the shower this weekend to really decide.
We've been looking online at ebay and craigslist for diapers. I've decided that our stock should be 10 small, 10 medium, and 10-15 one size diapers with a few of the one size having velcro closures. I'm sure we'll find something it's just a matter of price. I can even buy them new on ebay cheaper than at the store, so that's something.
I started the flowers for the cupcakes for the shower. Hopefully they turn out cute!
My Stats
40 pounds. That's 5 pounds this week. I think I was having a fat morning though since that's two pounds more than I weighed yesterday at the doctor. I'm also about to cross another threshold that I'd rather not even think about. I may just stop weighing myself to solve that problem.
I've been kind of falling asleep at lunch time or if I sit still too long without something to occupy my mind. My sleep has actually gotten a little better though, or I'm forgetting what "good" sleep actually is.
My feet are usually gigantic by lunch time and stay that way until the next morning. It's pretty uncomfortable with all that stretchy skin. And they're super sweaty. I don't normally sweat, like at all, so I don't know how to deal with this.
1 cm, 50% effaced.
Kaidy-bug's Stats
week 36 - almost 6 pounds 18 and 1/2 inches. In the process of losing the downy covering of hair and the vernix caseosa, the goo that has been covering her skin for 9 months.
Week 37 - She is head down according to Dr. Bishop and she is now full term. Her lungs are mature enough to adjust to life outside. 6 and 1/3 pounds and a bit over 19 inches (Dr. Bishop guessed about 6 pounds yesterday).
So far she hasn't given me any of the signs that her arrival is imminent. She's just floating around in there happy as a clam.
Dr. Bishop
I met Dr. Bishop yesterday. She seems nice too. She was also a little bit rushed but she kept asking me what my next question was, rather than barely answering what I had just asked and then pushing on to her agenda. So that was good.
I asked about the due date and she said that they've adopted August 26th as my due date based on the first ultrasound. I measure 36 weeks right now, so it seems to me that they're just wrong. These doctors weren't there for that ultrasound. If they had been they might be thinking about it more like I am.
Quotes from my blog regarding that ultrasound:
- "The technician was having trouble getting all the measurements she needed."
- "Eventually she called in another tech to double check her measurements."
- "But the two technicians got several different measurements there so who really knows. The one tech said she thought the baby was growing before her eyes since her two measurements a couple minutes apart were so different."
I don't see this as a problem until we get to September 9th and they want to induce me when in reality I should be able to wait until September 16th. I was tracking my temperatures. I know when I ovulated and you can even see when she implanted. I don't know that they'll listen or care though. Hopefully she just comes by herself on September 6th so I win the pool!
Dr. Bishop said, "So you're just a week more pregnant than you thought you were. Most people are happy to have that week taken off." and I'm all "I'm in no hurry." She was completely confused by that. Yes I'm excited to meet her but I'm also incredibly nervous about the whole thing. One more week of my normal life seems very good to me. That's what happens when you wait 7 years to have kids. You get really used to not having kids.
So the Doctor did my strep b test and checked my cervix. She said "One cm and about halfway thinned out but that's normal for first time moms." Which I have no idea what that means. I take it to mean first time moms progress either slower or faster than moms who have already given birth before. Got me though.
My next appointment is next Tuesday so we'll see if there's any change. That to me would be an indication that things are happening.
I asked about the due date and she said that they've adopted August 26th as my due date based on the first ultrasound. I measure 36 weeks right now, so it seems to me that they're just wrong. These doctors weren't there for that ultrasound. If they had been they might be thinking about it more like I am.
Quotes from my blog regarding that ultrasound:
- "The technician was having trouble getting all the measurements she needed."
- "Eventually she called in another tech to double check her measurements."
- "But the two technicians got several different measurements there so who really knows. The one tech said she thought the baby was growing before her eyes since her two measurements a couple minutes apart were so different."
I don't see this as a problem until we get to September 9th and they want to induce me when in reality I should be able to wait until September 16th. I was tracking my temperatures. I know when I ovulated and you can even see when she implanted. I don't know that they'll listen or care though. Hopefully she just comes by herself on September 6th so I win the pool!
Dr. Bishop said, "So you're just a week more pregnant than you thought you were. Most people are happy to have that week taken off." and I'm all "I'm in no hurry." She was completely confused by that. Yes I'm excited to meet her but I'm also incredibly nervous about the whole thing. One more week of my normal life seems very good to me. That's what happens when you wait 7 years to have kids. You get really used to not having kids.
So the Doctor did my strep b test and checked my cervix. She said "One cm and about halfway thinned out but that's normal for first time moms." Which I have no idea what that means. I take it to mean first time moms progress either slower or faster than moms who have already given birth before. Got me though.
My next appointment is next Tuesday so we'll see if there's any change. That to me would be an indication that things are happening.
Doula
So we're getting a birth doula. We're using the Heart & Hands Doula Service. Our Lamaze teacher handed out a paper that highlights the benefits of a doula and I don't see a down side. The paper says that continuous labor support increases your chances of having a vaginal birth, makes it less likely that you will use pain medication, and you'll be less likely to have negative feelings about your birth experience.
I'm not a big fan of being drugged. My mom said that she thought my jaw surgery would have been worse than birth. I said, the worst part of my jaw surgery was being drugged. And the idea of getting an epidural and not being able to move around does not appeal to me in the slightest. It's probably a control thing, I need to have it.
So the Doula will be there to help remind us of what we learned in class and suggest things to help with pain relief that we may not have thought of. She'll help us understand all our options when it comes to interventions and be there to provide support. And hopefully I'll be able to avoid drugs. They also take detailed notes and pictures so that we have a birth record.
We're planners. And, I think, since we don't know what to expect it makes it hard to plan and prepare. Having a doula there takes away some of the stress that this brings about.
If I went into labor 100 years ago instead of 3 weeks from now there would be at least one woman there to help me through my labor and birth. My mom, JR's mom, a midwife. And that's how it's been for ages. The only difference is now I get to be in a hospital with doctors and nurses and my doula has been trained to help support me. Seems like the best of both worlds to me.
Thank God it's not 1950.
I'm not a big fan of being drugged. My mom said that she thought my jaw surgery would have been worse than birth. I said, the worst part of my jaw surgery was being drugged. And the idea of getting an epidural and not being able to move around does not appeal to me in the slightest. It's probably a control thing, I need to have it.
So the Doula will be there to help remind us of what we learned in class and suggest things to help with pain relief that we may not have thought of. She'll help us understand all our options when it comes to interventions and be there to provide support. And hopefully I'll be able to avoid drugs. They also take detailed notes and pictures so that we have a birth record.
We're planners. And, I think, since we don't know what to expect it makes it hard to plan and prepare. Having a doula there takes away some of the stress that this brings about.
If I went into labor 100 years ago instead of 3 weeks from now there would be at least one woman there to help me through my labor and birth. My mom, JR's mom, a midwife. And that's how it's been for ages. The only difference is now I get to be in a hospital with doctors and nurses and my doula has been trained to help support me. Seems like the best of both worlds to me.
Thank God it's not 1950.
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