Kian's 2 week birthday was a big day.
Our nursery furniture finally came. It was supposed to take 4-6 weeks to arrive and ended up taking 10-11. The last few weeks of trying to get it delivered was a whole pain in the rear, but I don't think I'm going to go into details. It's here now, it's beautiful, and Kian's room is finally done.
Brian and I set everything up, including Brian moving the furniture around a few times until we found the best arrangement. My husband should be a designer I think, because none of my ideas worked and his is just right. We had the items delivered and set up so we didn't have to put anything together, but the highest mattress level on the crib was really high, so Brian already moved it down one level. All of the Pooh stuff looks just fab with the furniture, and the wall color is perfect. I still need to take pictures of the nursery all set up, but they will be coming shortly.
That night Brian's mom (aka Grandma Becky) arrived. She was so happy to meet Kian and couldn't stop saying how beautiful he is.
Friday was Kian's 2 week appointment with his doctor. Getting everything together to leave the house seems to be at least a little easier now, though I still feel like I'm taking half the house with me, and we only use a few things out of the bag. Again we got right in to see the doc which was really nice. He really has grown a ton, and is now weighing in at 6 pounds 7 ounces! That's half a pound in the last seven days. Holy cow. I'm glad he's gaining weight and doing well, and it helps me to relax about how breastfeeding is going. At the same time, he'll never be as small as he was, ever again. It's a bittersweet moment. Once again, it goes way too stinking fast!
His jaundice is totally gone now, his circ is healed and all is well! We had to get one more heel prick to do the follow up PKU test. It's a test for twenty-something genetic diseases required by law here. Other than the incredibly long wait at the lab it wasn't so bad. I think most of the crying was because the tech had to hold his foot and dab it on the paper over and over and he doesn't like being restrained. Another lady was there with her baby and when we walked in she said "See, that's what a real newborn looks like." Apparently both little boys share a birthday, but hers was 9lbs 9oz when he was born! To be honest he did look really huge to me, but I'm really used to my little tiny guy.
Saturday was yet another milestone, and one that as hard but also exquisite. We left Kian with Grandma Becky and went out for sushi! It's been over 8 months since I last had sushi, and Brian abstained with me, so this was a big moment. I know it's silly but we used to eat sushi a few times a month and it is the one thing I craved consistently all through pregnancy. Of course I cried when we left and tried to distract myself most of the time we were gone. Becky is totally capable and he ate well before we left, plus we were only 20 minutes from home but I still had a hard time with it.
It was pouring rain when we left and Brian joked that the power would be out when we got there. Just like that he jinxed us! Sure enough, when we pulled up there were cops directing traffic at the intersection and all the lights were out. I went inside and asked if they had any idea how long it would be, and their only estimate was 'quite a while'. We debated about what to do, and decided to try another sushi restaurant that I've heard is really good. We drove another 15 minutes or so, only to find it was closed! Oh man. One more sushi restaurant wasn't too far away, and I have eaten there before. It wasn't the best but it wasn't bad so we headed that way. As we got closer to our favorite place (which was on the way to this third place), I decided to call and just check. Lo and behold, their power was back up and they were serving food again! Hooray! We felt like we probably should have just stayed there and waited, but we had no way to know that. We were totally happy because they have some unique rolls we really wanted, and who knows when we'll be able to get away again. Hopefully soon Kian will be able to just come with us, but right now we have to limit the time he's in his carseat which makes it really hard.
Incidentally, the food was DELICIOUS. And in spite of feeling like Kian was a ticking time bomb at home, we made it before he was too fussy at all. I can't imagine leaving him with anyone who isn't family, or really leaving him at all for a while. It was just a few hours and I missed him so much. Only sushi made it worth it at all.
The rest of the weekend was laid back, and this morning (Monday), Becky headed for home. It was nice to have her here, but to some degree it is going to be nice to be 'just us' for a while. Brian goes back to work on Wednesday and then Kian and I can start to work on our routine. We'll see how we do. Right now Brian is at work for a short time, after dropping Becky off at the airport. It's the longest it has been just us two (and maybe the only time I've been alone with him - I can't remember if Brian has run any quick errands without any other family around). It's been good though. Clearly I'm updating my blog and I ate too! He's such a wonderful little guy, and I love him so much. We're incredibly lucky to have him.
One more note! Rather than putting pictures here, I opened a Shutterfly account. I'm going to see how it goes for now, though I know there are other picture websites available. For now you should be able to go to http://kianogrady.shutterfly.com to see all kinds of pics. It does give you the option to order prints as well if anyone wants to do that. Otherwise you can just click on the thumbnails and see a larger picture. I haven't done any editing on any of them and some may be dark and/or blurry just so you know ;). If anyone has trouble with this feel free to comment here or shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do.
More to come later!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Week 2: July 19-25
Kian's one week birthday! We couldn't believe how fast everything went. It is just craziness. He was already starting to look bigger and seeming to change before our very eyes.
We decided to try out his new tummy time mat, a gift from Grandma Becky. He seemed to like it, and started wiggling and kicking right away. Then came a big surprise! He somehow managed to plant one foot and shove himself over. My tiny little guy rolled from his stomach to his back on his one week birthday! Excuse me, but I am ABSOLUTELY supposed to have months before I have to deal with this sort of progress, kid! He did it again just a few minutes later, but I've decided not to really count it as rolling over. It's more like... flinging himself, and not terribly consistent. Or something. He's holding his head up by himself more and more too, and I'm starting to get visions of him running around at 2 months old, 2 feet tall and scampering under the coffee table and stuff. We better go get all of the babyproofing supplies, and quick!
That evening the thought of my parents leaving the next day totally wrecked me. He was still sleeping very inconsistently and I felt like all that was holding my sanity together was having them there to hold him while I napped during the day. They were wonderful enough to give me one more day, and planned to leave Saturday instead.
Friday we had our second doctor's appointment, this one with Col Murphy on base. We got in for our appointment very promptly which was a pleasant surprise. He was still at 5lbs 11oz and about 19 inches long. She said he looked great, and that was a relief too. At the end of the appointment she asked if he was our first child, and then said we seemed like old pros. Go us! We think it must be because I knew a lot of the medical details of his hospital stay (bad handwriting left her with a lot of questions), when he cried I calmly plugged in his pacifier, and in general I wasn't freaked out by the whole process. She was very gentle and generally fantastic so it was a good experience.
One more day of grammy and papa snuggles for Kian, and a freshly vacuumed house for me, and on Saturday grammy and papa headed for home. It was hard and emotional for all of us, and even as I write this I am crying. It's so, so hard for them to not be here. I feel like they are missing so much, and he is missing them, and I am missing them so very much. Living far away has never been easy, but Kian amplifies it all a million times.
On the plus side, he actually slept pretty well Friday night so I felt much more prepared for them to leave on the practical side. Emotionally, no, but I was less worried that I would never sleep again. At this point he started going about 3 hours between feedings even at night, and sleeping soundly in between. Brian referred to it as 'sleeping through the night' but really he just meant actually sleeping at night in his bassinet. Phew. There's a lot of 'phew' going on I'm noticing. Welcome to my life.
Saturday the 22nd was my baby shower. I kept telling the ladies who threw it that we needed to make it sooner but no one would listen to me! I decided I felt up to going to it, and it ended up being a great time! We had a ton of people there, and I still maintain a big part of it was the chance to actually see and hold my little guy. Everyone seemed surprised to see me up and about, dressed and in makeup no less! I wanted to tell them I had makeup on in the hospital, but I kept that to myself :). It was an amazing show of support and love, not to mention the incredible amount of presents this tiny kid hauled in. When you add on all the stuff that's been delivered to our house in the last 10 days, we got all of the necessities and a lot of the 'fun stuff' on our registry. There are still some things we'll go get ourselves, especially babyproofing items, a few decor pieces, and some breastfeeding accessories. Then there are a lot of 'later' pieces like toys and stuff for solids feeding. We should be getting a coupon for 10% off of everything left on our registry soon, and we've received some gift cards which will help cover a lot of what's left. What a spoiled... er, lucky and incredibly loved little boy!
Brian took this week off, so we had a few days with just the three of us. He is of course fantastic, and we managed just fine. Of course, I'd like my house to be a little cleaner and clearly it's taken until now for me to update my blog, but were all bathed and clothed and fed and emergency free.
On Tuesday we actually took a trip up to Babies R Us, which is a decent drive away. We made a couple of exchanges, picked up some gifts from family that were being held there, and purchased a glider for the nursery. The latter was the purpose of the trip, and we drove Brian's truck so we could get it home. They come with assembly required, but the box is still big and my car is not. Unfortunately they only have a few in stock (information I could have used YESTERDAY when I CALLED and asked a bunch of questions about what vehicle I should bring to pick it up) so we have to wait a few weeks. It's gorgeous though, and worth the wait.
Kian seems to be getting much bigger now, filling out and changing every day. We think his circ is healed pretty well now and are looking forward to 'real' baths and not having to use vaseline every time we change him. His schedule is getting even weirder now, and he's eating more frequently at times and less at others. On the plus side he seems to have 2 stretches of 2-3 hours of sleep and one of 4 at night, which is just FANTASTIC for me. One nap during the day and I'm all set.
It's getting easier all the time but again, going WAY TOO FAST.
We decided to try out his new tummy time mat, a gift from Grandma Becky. He seemed to like it, and started wiggling and kicking right away. Then came a big surprise! He somehow managed to plant one foot and shove himself over. My tiny little guy rolled from his stomach to his back on his one week birthday! Excuse me, but I am ABSOLUTELY supposed to have months before I have to deal with this sort of progress, kid! He did it again just a few minutes later, but I've decided not to really count it as rolling over. It's more like... flinging himself, and not terribly consistent. Or something. He's holding his head up by himself more and more too, and I'm starting to get visions of him running around at 2 months old, 2 feet tall and scampering under the coffee table and stuff. We better go get all of the babyproofing supplies, and quick!
That evening the thought of my parents leaving the next day totally wrecked me. He was still sleeping very inconsistently and I felt like all that was holding my sanity together was having them there to hold him while I napped during the day. They were wonderful enough to give me one more day, and planned to leave Saturday instead.
Friday we had our second doctor's appointment, this one with Col Murphy on base. We got in for our appointment very promptly which was a pleasant surprise. He was still at 5lbs 11oz and about 19 inches long. She said he looked great, and that was a relief too. At the end of the appointment she asked if he was our first child, and then said we seemed like old pros. Go us! We think it must be because I knew a lot of the medical details of his hospital stay (bad handwriting left her with a lot of questions), when he cried I calmly plugged in his pacifier, and in general I wasn't freaked out by the whole process. She was very gentle and generally fantastic so it was a good experience.
One more day of grammy and papa snuggles for Kian, and a freshly vacuumed house for me, and on Saturday grammy and papa headed for home. It was hard and emotional for all of us, and even as I write this I am crying. It's so, so hard for them to not be here. I feel like they are missing so much, and he is missing them, and I am missing them so very much. Living far away has never been easy, but Kian amplifies it all a million times.
On the plus side, he actually slept pretty well Friday night so I felt much more prepared for them to leave on the practical side. Emotionally, no, but I was less worried that I would never sleep again. At this point he started going about 3 hours between feedings even at night, and sleeping soundly in between. Brian referred to it as 'sleeping through the night' but really he just meant actually sleeping at night in his bassinet. Phew. There's a lot of 'phew' going on I'm noticing. Welcome to my life.
Saturday the 22nd was my baby shower. I kept telling the ladies who threw it that we needed to make it sooner but no one would listen to me! I decided I felt up to going to it, and it ended up being a great time! We had a ton of people there, and I still maintain a big part of it was the chance to actually see and hold my little guy. Everyone seemed surprised to see me up and about, dressed and in makeup no less! I wanted to tell them I had makeup on in the hospital, but I kept that to myself :). It was an amazing show of support and love, not to mention the incredible amount of presents this tiny kid hauled in. When you add on all the stuff that's been delivered to our house in the last 10 days, we got all of the necessities and a lot of the 'fun stuff' on our registry. There are still some things we'll go get ourselves, especially babyproofing items, a few decor pieces, and some breastfeeding accessories. Then there are a lot of 'later' pieces like toys and stuff for solids feeding. We should be getting a coupon for 10% off of everything left on our registry soon, and we've received some gift cards which will help cover a lot of what's left. What a spoiled... er, lucky and incredibly loved little boy!
Brian took this week off, so we had a few days with just the three of us. He is of course fantastic, and we managed just fine. Of course, I'd like my house to be a little cleaner and clearly it's taken until now for me to update my blog, but were all bathed and clothed and fed and emergency free.
On Tuesday we actually took a trip up to Babies R Us, which is a decent drive away. We made a couple of exchanges, picked up some gifts from family that were being held there, and purchased a glider for the nursery. The latter was the purpose of the trip, and we drove Brian's truck so we could get it home. They come with assembly required, but the box is still big and my car is not. Unfortunately they only have a few in stock (information I could have used YESTERDAY when I CALLED and asked a bunch of questions about what vehicle I should bring to pick it up) so we have to wait a few weeks. It's gorgeous though, and worth the wait.
Kian seems to be getting much bigger now, filling out and changing every day. We think his circ is healed pretty well now and are looking forward to 'real' baths and not having to use vaseline every time we change him. His schedule is getting even weirder now, and he's eating more frequently at times and less at others. On the plus side he seems to have 2 stretches of 2-3 hours of sleep and one of 4 at night, which is just FANTASTIC for me. One nap during the day and I'm all set.
It's getting easier all the time but again, going WAY TOO FAST.
Week 1: Home Finally - July 16-18
We finally got to go home Monday afternoon. Brian had been out and about several times but it was my first time out of the hospital. He felt this same way and mentioned it before, but to be driving through a world that was just going on as normal was really bizarre. Didn't they know the whole world was changed and life would never be the same? Didn't they know a miracle happened and a new amazing person was among them? Apparently not. :) I sat beside him and held his little hand (or rather, he held my finger) the whole time. As the car seat stress test indicated he did great in the car seat and didn't seem to have any breathing issues or anything.
Because my mother is an angel, we came home to a sparkling house, including extra clothes and burp cloths for the baby, all washed and dried and folded and ready for us. As I figured, Kian was hardly ever out of someone's arms and only in mine to eat for the most part. I was the only one with much time with him those last few days in the hospital so I was happy to share. Not to mention, I did a ton of napping in those first few days. It was fabulous to not have to worry about what we were going to do or eat, let alone needing to entertain people. My family just took care of it all, leaving Brian and I to take care of ourselves and Kian. Thank you again family!
That first night we realized that our receiving blankets were much smaller than the ones at the hospital. While I could swaddle Kian, it wasn't a very tight swaddle and I was worried he would kick out of it and end up suffocating in the loose blanket. He is definitely a swaddling sort of baby and so he couldn't sleep unless he was being held. I was up basically all night. Brian got up with him around 4am and took him out into the living room so I could get some sleep. The next day he went right out and bought both some larger receiving blankets and a few specially made swaddling products. I know how to wrap him up myself, but those special swaddling blankets are fantastic! The velcro keeps it all very secure, and I feel safe with him in it at night.
He was still very much on his 3 hour schedule from the hospital during the day, although as the days went by that started to vary between 2-3.5 hours between feedings. These days he was very quiet for the most part, snuggling and sleeping when he wasn't eating. All out screams were very rare, he is more of a fusser and even then mostly only when he needs something. What a little angel!
Kian had his first (sponge) bath on the 17th. He did so well! He hardly fussed at all and actually seemed to enjoy the shampooing. It seemed to hold true for subsequent baths, though he fussed more, he really likes the shampoo part. Hopefully when we move on to 'real' baths he'll like them even better.
Jaime left the morning of the 18th, after spending the previous afternoon holding Kian and crying. Poor Aunt Jaime. It's so rough being so far from all of our family. It is the one bitter aspect of this otherwise so sweet experience.
On the 18th we also had to go back to the hospital for a check on his bilirubin levels. We were a little worried they weren't going to let us take him back home with us. OK, I was a little worried. We saw the nurse practitioner, and she did a head to toe exam on him. Did I mention, a naked exam? She took off his clothes and laid them in the corner of the little bassinet he was in. While she was looking him over with nary a care in the world, Brian nonchalantly reached out and grabbed the clothes. A few seconds later the inevitable happened, and Kian favored the nurse with a stream of urine that splashed all over the bassinet, and would have drenched the clothes if my dear husband didn't have so much foresight. Who ever heard of a nurse who wouldn't have been prepared for THAT? :) On another somewhat humorous note, she justified my decision about the one thing I was really torn on. In all of our childcare classes and in the instructions from the nursery nurses, we were to use washcloths with water to cleanse him during diaper changes. No wipes for 2 weeks. I went back and forth on this for WEEKS. What do you do with poop covered washcloths, especially in the middle of the night? We bought a 2 gallon bucket with a lid, thinking to put bleach water in it and use that, but I just wasn't very happy with the concept. Ick. And who ever heard of such a thing? Finally I decided that we had alcohol free, hypoallergenic, non scented wipes and he would be just fine. Well, that nurse practitioner used scented toddler wipes! Ha! No washcloths for us. Luckily we had that bucket though - we're still using it as the diaper pail with the Pack and Play in our bedroom. The lid keeps the puppies out.
So he passed his exam with flying colors, and she didn't even draw blood to test his bilirubin. His weight was steady at 5 pounds 11 ounces and he seemed to be doing well. His color was looking so great she just sent us home. Phew.
Also on the 18th we had our first non-family visitor. My good friend Ashleigh came to see us and brought a totally adorable frog hooded towel for Kian and a Sudoku book for me. Oh how I wish I had time to use my part of the gift!
All in all this first week was a whirlwind of emotions, anxiety, love and fear and joy and so much more! Having my family here made the transition as easy as it could be, and we made it through without too much trouble at all. Once we knew he was healthy the worst part was that it went SO FAST. I have a feeling that's going to be a theme for this first year, and maybe even the rest of our lives.
Because my mother is an angel, we came home to a sparkling house, including extra clothes and burp cloths for the baby, all washed and dried and folded and ready for us. As I figured, Kian was hardly ever out of someone's arms and only in mine to eat for the most part. I was the only one with much time with him those last few days in the hospital so I was happy to share. Not to mention, I did a ton of napping in those first few days. It was fabulous to not have to worry about what we were going to do or eat, let alone needing to entertain people. My family just took care of it all, leaving Brian and I to take care of ourselves and Kian. Thank you again family!
That first night we realized that our receiving blankets were much smaller than the ones at the hospital. While I could swaddle Kian, it wasn't a very tight swaddle and I was worried he would kick out of it and end up suffocating in the loose blanket. He is definitely a swaddling sort of baby and so he couldn't sleep unless he was being held. I was up basically all night. Brian got up with him around 4am and took him out into the living room so I could get some sleep. The next day he went right out and bought both some larger receiving blankets and a few specially made swaddling products. I know how to wrap him up myself, but those special swaddling blankets are fantastic! The velcro keeps it all very secure, and I feel safe with him in it at night.
He was still very much on his 3 hour schedule from the hospital during the day, although as the days went by that started to vary between 2-3.5 hours between feedings. These days he was very quiet for the most part, snuggling and sleeping when he wasn't eating. All out screams were very rare, he is more of a fusser and even then mostly only when he needs something. What a little angel!
Kian had his first (sponge) bath on the 17th. He did so well! He hardly fussed at all and actually seemed to enjoy the shampooing. It seemed to hold true for subsequent baths, though he fussed more, he really likes the shampoo part. Hopefully when we move on to 'real' baths he'll like them even better.
Jaime left the morning of the 18th, after spending the previous afternoon holding Kian and crying. Poor Aunt Jaime. It's so rough being so far from all of our family. It is the one bitter aspect of this otherwise so sweet experience.
On the 18th we also had to go back to the hospital for a check on his bilirubin levels. We were a little worried they weren't going to let us take him back home with us. OK, I was a little worried. We saw the nurse practitioner, and she did a head to toe exam on him. Did I mention, a naked exam? She took off his clothes and laid them in the corner of the little bassinet he was in. While she was looking him over with nary a care in the world, Brian nonchalantly reached out and grabbed the clothes. A few seconds later the inevitable happened, and Kian favored the nurse with a stream of urine that splashed all over the bassinet, and would have drenched the clothes if my dear husband didn't have so much foresight. Who ever heard of a nurse who wouldn't have been prepared for THAT? :) On another somewhat humorous note, she justified my decision about the one thing I was really torn on. In all of our childcare classes and in the instructions from the nursery nurses, we were to use washcloths with water to cleanse him during diaper changes. No wipes for 2 weeks. I went back and forth on this for WEEKS. What do you do with poop covered washcloths, especially in the middle of the night? We bought a 2 gallon bucket with a lid, thinking to put bleach water in it and use that, but I just wasn't very happy with the concept. Ick. And who ever heard of such a thing? Finally I decided that we had alcohol free, hypoallergenic, non scented wipes and he would be just fine. Well, that nurse practitioner used scented toddler wipes! Ha! No washcloths for us. Luckily we had that bucket though - we're still using it as the diaper pail with the Pack and Play in our bedroom. The lid keeps the puppies out.
So he passed his exam with flying colors, and she didn't even draw blood to test his bilirubin. His weight was steady at 5 pounds 11 ounces and he seemed to be doing well. His color was looking so great she just sent us home. Phew.
Also on the 18th we had our first non-family visitor. My good friend Ashleigh came to see us and brought a totally adorable frog hooded towel for Kian and a Sudoku book for me. Oh how I wish I had time to use my part of the gift!
All in all this first week was a whirlwind of emotions, anxiety, love and fear and joy and so much more! Having my family here made the transition as easy as it could be, and we made it through without too much trouble at all. Once we knew he was healthy the worst part was that it went SO FAST. I have a feeling that's going to be a theme for this first year, and maybe even the rest of our lives.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Week 1: The hospital stay - July 12-16
We got to keep Kian with us all day Thursday and overnight. Brian hardly set him down all day, other than when the rest of the family visited late in the afternoon. I got a little 30 minute nap late morning, but I couldn't sleep otherwise. It didn't help that I was getting checked constantly!
Around 7pm Brian opened the cot and he slept soundly other than one brief period until 7am! Someone was tired :).They took him to weigh him and give him his vaccination in the middle of the night, and I ended up having them keep him for about 2 hours so I could get a little rest.
At 5 they checked his bilirubin and a few hours later when the results came in the neonatologist came to tell us he was jaundiced. The last worry was the only one that came true, and he would have to be under the phototherapy light. We only got to see him for 30 minutes every 3 hours to feed, and at that point they thought it would be 5-6 days. We were really upset, especially because my parents were here and they wouldn't be able to visit him in the nursery or spend any time with him when he was out - he was nursing for the full 30 minutes if not a little longer at this point. Thankfully they were great and decided to stay at least at that point, and came to visit around his feedings. I got a few visits from the lactation consultant, and started pumping with a hopspital grade breast pump. That way when he got hungry between our feeding times they could supplement with breastmilk. At first they also did a few formula bottles, trying to get him to elimate more bilirubin.
Saturday morning his bilirubin was up instead of down, bad news. That same morning the A/C broke at our house and Brian went home to see if he could fix it or get it fixed. He also discovered that the chlorine had run out in the pool and we had green water. Ick. Luckily he managed to get the A/C fixed and shocked the pool, and though it was stressful all ends up just fine.
I got to meet Dr Laudonio, the brother of the vet I used to work for. He was filling in for Dr D and was the OB who officially discharged me and got me a script for stronger pain meds to go home with. Phew. I got discharged officially around 3pm, but they let us stay in our room. They ended up letting us stay overnight in fact, and that was really fantastic. It didn't cost us anything and we got to stay there with Kian for all of those ever so precious and brief feeding times.
Sunday we moved to what is called a 'parents room' around 6pm. It's not actually a labor and delivery room, and I got to sleep on a normal bed. It was probably not a very comfortable bed in fact but it felt heavenly to me! So many nights on the bed that comes apart for delivery had my tailbone screaming (there was a lump that always seemed to be in a bad place no matter how I moved). Papa James got to burp Kian on a visit earlier in the day this day, and we had a few more visits from the lactation consultant. My milk started to come in and Kian was doing great with nursing. His bilirubin was fairly stable at this point but up just a tiny bit. The doctor seemed to think he'd be going home the next day and in the afternoon he was circumcised. When I went to get him for his next feeding they showed me how to care for it. Oh boy. I wasn't prepared for it to look quite so bad, and the blood in the diaper was a surprise though I suppose it shouldn't have been. My mom was watching through the nursery window and she said all the blood drained out of my face. I thought I was going to faint! So much for being a tough mom. Ha. Luckily it didn't look nearly as bad the next diaper change and it got steadily better after that.
Monday was busy! His bilirubin test was done early in the morning and one of the NICU nurses came to do his car seat test. Basically they monitor him resting, then in his car seat to make sure it doesn't stress him too much. Apparently car seats are a big stresser on preemies, but he did very well. In the meantime the test came back and it was decreased slightly so they took him out of the lights! He got to come be with us at that point. Hooray! When they told me that I burst into tears and sobbed. I called my parents when I got myself under control but it didn't last long - I was sobbing by the time my dad picked up. When I finished telling him the situation there was a pause... "So... that's a good thing right?" Oh yeah. I should have started with 'good news!'. The sobbing must have thrown him off :).
We went to an infant CPR class and Grammy and Papa and Jaime came to visit again afterward. They did another bilirubin test and he looked good so we got the official OK to take him home. My parents took a load of stuff home with them, we had a final chat with the lactation folks and returned our rented breastpump, then homeward we went!
What a relief.
More to come soon, right now Kian's asleep and I need a shower!
Around 7pm Brian opened the cot and he slept soundly other than one brief period until 7am! Someone was tired :).They took him to weigh him and give him his vaccination in the middle of the night, and I ended up having them keep him for about 2 hours so I could get a little rest.
At 5 they checked his bilirubin and a few hours later when the results came in the neonatologist came to tell us he was jaundiced. The last worry was the only one that came true, and he would have to be under the phototherapy light. We only got to see him for 30 minutes every 3 hours to feed, and at that point they thought it would be 5-6 days. We were really upset, especially because my parents were here and they wouldn't be able to visit him in the nursery or spend any time with him when he was out - he was nursing for the full 30 minutes if not a little longer at this point. Thankfully they were great and decided to stay at least at that point, and came to visit around his feedings. I got a few visits from the lactation consultant, and started pumping with a hopspital grade breast pump. That way when he got hungry between our feeding times they could supplement with breastmilk. At first they also did a few formula bottles, trying to get him to elimate more bilirubin.
Saturday morning his bilirubin was up instead of down, bad news. That same morning the A/C broke at our house and Brian went home to see if he could fix it or get it fixed. He also discovered that the chlorine had run out in the pool and we had green water. Ick. Luckily he managed to get the A/C fixed and shocked the pool, and though it was stressful all ends up just fine.
I got to meet Dr Laudonio, the brother of the vet I used to work for. He was filling in for Dr D and was the OB who officially discharged me and got me a script for stronger pain meds to go home with. Phew. I got discharged officially around 3pm, but they let us stay in our room. They ended up letting us stay overnight in fact, and that was really fantastic. It didn't cost us anything and we got to stay there with Kian for all of those ever so precious and brief feeding times.
Sunday we moved to what is called a 'parents room' around 6pm. It's not actually a labor and delivery room, and I got to sleep on a normal bed. It was probably not a very comfortable bed in fact but it felt heavenly to me! So many nights on the bed that comes apart for delivery had my tailbone screaming (there was a lump that always seemed to be in a bad place no matter how I moved). Papa James got to burp Kian on a visit earlier in the day this day, and we had a few more visits from the lactation consultant. My milk started to come in and Kian was doing great with nursing. His bilirubin was fairly stable at this point but up just a tiny bit. The doctor seemed to think he'd be going home the next day and in the afternoon he was circumcised. When I went to get him for his next feeding they showed me how to care for it. Oh boy. I wasn't prepared for it to look quite so bad, and the blood in the diaper was a surprise though I suppose it shouldn't have been. My mom was watching through the nursery window and she said all the blood drained out of my face. I thought I was going to faint! So much for being a tough mom. Ha. Luckily it didn't look nearly as bad the next diaper change and it got steadily better after that.
Monday was busy! His bilirubin test was done early in the morning and one of the NICU nurses came to do his car seat test. Basically they monitor him resting, then in his car seat to make sure it doesn't stress him too much. Apparently car seats are a big stresser on preemies, but he did very well. In the meantime the test came back and it was decreased slightly so they took him out of the lights! He got to come be with us at that point. Hooray! When they told me that I burst into tears and sobbed. I called my parents when I got myself under control but it didn't last long - I was sobbing by the time my dad picked up. When I finished telling him the situation there was a pause... "So... that's a good thing right?" Oh yeah. I should have started with 'good news!'. The sobbing must have thrown him off :).
We went to an infant CPR class and Grammy and Papa and Jaime came to visit again afterward. They did another bilirubin test and he looked good so we got the official OK to take him home. My parents took a load of stuff home with them, we had a final chat with the lactation folks and returned our rented breastpump, then homeward we went!
What a relief.
More to come soon, right now Kian's asleep and I need a shower!
Labor Story
OK, now that I'm not sleep deprived, and the laundry is caught up, and Brian isn't watching baseball on my computer, and my mother-in-law is here to keep my hands free... *pant, pant* I am going to get caught up here! So to start with, the labor story. I'm going to try not to go into too much gory detail, but my perception of TMI is rather skewed right now :).
Wednesday, July 11th 3:15pm
My sister Jaime and I went to rent movies and get some food at the grocery store. When we arrived at home I leaned into the backseat to get a bag of groceries and paused. Um... I must have had a funny look on my face because Jaime asked me, "What?"
"Either I am wetting my pants or my water is breaking. And I don't think I'm wetting my pants."
It became even more clear as I walked into the house and there was a little gush of fluid with every other step. Jaime kept saying that it was OK and not panic, but really it sounded more like she was panicking and I felt surprised but not too terribly upset. I took care of myself (changed pants, etc) and then we started making calls.
Brian wasn't answering his cell or office phones, so I called the scheduling desk, asking them to help me find him. When he responded to the page he didn't believe them when they told him my water broke - he thought it was a pretty mean joke to play. When they stuck to their story he called me right away. I told him I wasn't having contractions yet so I didn't think we had to get to the hospital, but that it would be a good idea for him to come home. I called my OB next, and he didn't quite seem to believe that my water had broken at first. I convinced him and he said I did need to get to the hospital right away. Apparently 5 1/2 weeks early plus broken water is not a good mix. Of course, he still said that they would check and make sure it was amniotic fluid, then they would let him know.
I was planning to pack my hospital bag that afternoon, so Jaime and I rushed around throwing things together while Brian drove home. It was around 4:15 by the time we got to the hospital. They got me right upstairs and into a triage room, instructing me to get undressed and wear only my bra and the gown. *WARNING - icky detail coming* The body continues to make amniotic fluid until the baby is born, so I was still gushing fluid. By the time I got back out of the bathroom I swear I was leaving a puddle trail. "Do you want the pad I was wearing?" "Oh, if we can swab that it will be easier on you." "Um, how about you just swab what's running down my leg?" Yeah. Gross. Incidentally the little swab changed color immediately and they decided my water was indeed broken. No kidding! A towel and a wheelchair helped things immensely, and I never even sat on the triage bed. Off to our labor and delivery room we go!
We got a room with a view of the mountains which was really nice. I got all set up with an IV (the first one blew which hurt really bad), and monitoring equipment. All this time I wasn't sure if I was having contractions or not - things felt achy but I wasn't able to tell when one stopped and the next started. Apparently that is because the contractions were 2 minutes apart at most and about 1 minute long. Basically one on top of the other, making it hard to tell them apart. Luckily Kian handled it very well and his heartrate was nice and level and within normal range.
At 5:25 I was dilated to about 1.5 cm and they told me they weren't going to check me too often to avoid greater risks of infection. They worry about that with broken water anyhow, and with him being so early that is an even greater concern. Our nurse mentioned starting pitocin, which I was very against. I wanted the labor to progress naturally if possible, plus my contractions were already coming so hard and fast I didn't think it was necessary. She said she'd talk to the doctor. A few minutes later a note appeared on our monitor (it's all connected and we are nosy so we were watching it) saying that Dr D was ordering pitocin to be started. By the time the nurse came back in I was ready for the argument. No pitocin until I could talk to the Dr about it. When he called a while later he was pretty grumpy. "You refused the medication I ordered?" I tried to explain I just wanted to know his reasoning, and that I really didn't feel that it was necessary, but I would do whatever he felt needed to be done. He didn't want me to labor for more than 16 hours, but that was a long way off so I asked for a few more hours at least. At that point he basically said I had to have it. Happily for me, before they could give me the drugs he called back, apologized, and said we'd give it some time. Yay!
There was a shift change and we got a new nurse (all of the staff was fabulous by the way). Around 8:10pm I decided it was time for the epidural. The pain wasn't unbearable, but the contractions were still coming so hard and fast I was having a hard time keeping my breath. Besides, if I know I'm going to get pain meds, why wait and suffer? They thought it might help even my contractions out a bit too, which I thought might be better for Kian even though he was handling them just fine. At that point my blood pressure was up a little too, and the epidural helped with that. Dr R the anesthesiologist was fantastic! I was really worried about the epidural but it wasn't bad at all. A little pressure, some warmth, but that's about it. And then it was time to sit back and wait for the pain to slowly abate.
At 8:30 the nurse checked me again - 3cm - and put in the urinary catheter. I wasn't totally numb yet and apparently folks in my family need a pediatric catheter (I did not know this) so it was extremely painful. I mean, EXTREMELY. Other than the very end of labor it was by far the most painful thing I experienced. In fact, it might have been the worst part bar none. Horrid.
Around 10pm or so we all decided to try to get some rest. Brian was out pretty quickly, and I dozed a little. I ended up waking up in pain again around 1am and laid there trying to breathe through it, thinking that if I told them I was hurting they would have to re-place the epidural. When it got to be pretty bad I finally paged the nurse, and lo and behold, the anesthesiologist came in and upped my dose! Apparently I was on a low dose anyhow, and that really did the trick. Silly me for suffering. The nurse said that increase in pain is usually caused by 'something going on down there' so she checked me. 6cm! We called to let my parents know and my mom was instantly sure they weren't going to make it.
Increased pain again around 2:30, and I was dilated to 9cm! Wow, that was fast! Really the 9 was conservative and I was basically fully dilated and almost completely effaced. I got a little more pain meds - the last I would get. She called Dr D, but he was in the middle of a C section at another hospital. I didn't feel the need to push at all and wanted to try and wait until my parents arrived anyhow, so all was well. When the doc got there he said he could feel Kian's head with just his fingertips inside and I could push whenever I was ready. I told him I wanted to wait and he was OK with that. I was in a ton of pain with every (still fairly close together) contraction now, but they didn't want to give me anything more - that way I could feel when to push. I just breathed through and held on. OK, and moaned and squeezed Brian's hand and rolled back and forth a little. No screaming or mean name calling or crying though! Woo!
Somewhere in here I asked the doctor if there was any chance that he wouldn't have to go to the NICU. By now I was really, really worried that he was going to have a very hard time. The doc said anything is POSSIBLE but not to get my hopes up. Basically, get ready for him to have to be whisked away and to have to spend time in the NICU. I just tried not to think about it.
My parents arrived around 4am and it was decided that my dad would wait in the waiting room since we could only have 3 people in there. My mom held one leg and Brian held the other. My mom helped me count out my pushes while Jaime looked on. I guess watching tons of baby TV shows paid off because I was a good pusher (apparently). I knew not to make any sound and to try to keep my face relaxed and to put all of my strength into the push.
I ended up pushing for just under an hour. Dr D never told me to push more gently or to let up or anything. Usually they have you stop pushing when the head emerges so they can suction and check the cord isn't wrapped around and all of that. Not in this case! It was push as hard as you can until there was a huge woosh and an icky sound and he basically came shooting right out! The doctor literally had to catch him as he plopped into his lap! Right away he was crying and pinking up, and we could tell he didn't look like a preemie at all. And he was huge! Brian and I both pretty much sobbed at this point. I don't think I've ever seen Brian cry like that. Our special little miracle was here!
They whisked him over to evaluate him (no snuggle for me), and Brian was stuck on the far side of me while I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. That hard as you can stuff resulted in a pretty severe tear, but it was still worth it :). His APGAR scores were 9 and 9, which basically means he was doing great from the start. He never needed any oxygen and it was clear that he wasn't going to be whisked off to the NICU. What a miracle! No problem nursing from the start either, and soon enough we realized that though early, we had a very healthy baby. What an amazing ride!
Wednesday, July 11th 3:15pm
My sister Jaime and I went to rent movies and get some food at the grocery store. When we arrived at home I leaned into the backseat to get a bag of groceries and paused. Um... I must have had a funny look on my face because Jaime asked me, "What?"
"Either I am wetting my pants or my water is breaking. And I don't think I'm wetting my pants."
It became even more clear as I walked into the house and there was a little gush of fluid with every other step. Jaime kept saying that it was OK and not panic, but really it sounded more like she was panicking and I felt surprised but not too terribly upset. I took care of myself (changed pants, etc) and then we started making calls.
Brian wasn't answering his cell or office phones, so I called the scheduling desk, asking them to help me find him. When he responded to the page he didn't believe them when they told him my water broke - he thought it was a pretty mean joke to play. When they stuck to their story he called me right away. I told him I wasn't having contractions yet so I didn't think we had to get to the hospital, but that it would be a good idea for him to come home. I called my OB next, and he didn't quite seem to believe that my water had broken at first. I convinced him and he said I did need to get to the hospital right away. Apparently 5 1/2 weeks early plus broken water is not a good mix. Of course, he still said that they would check and make sure it was amniotic fluid, then they would let him know.
I was planning to pack my hospital bag that afternoon, so Jaime and I rushed around throwing things together while Brian drove home. It was around 4:15 by the time we got to the hospital. They got me right upstairs and into a triage room, instructing me to get undressed and wear only my bra and the gown. *WARNING - icky detail coming* The body continues to make amniotic fluid until the baby is born, so I was still gushing fluid. By the time I got back out of the bathroom I swear I was leaving a puddle trail. "Do you want the pad I was wearing?" "Oh, if we can swab that it will be easier on you." "Um, how about you just swab what's running down my leg?" Yeah. Gross. Incidentally the little swab changed color immediately and they decided my water was indeed broken. No kidding! A towel and a wheelchair helped things immensely, and I never even sat on the triage bed. Off to our labor and delivery room we go!
We got a room with a view of the mountains which was really nice. I got all set up with an IV (the first one blew which hurt really bad), and monitoring equipment. All this time I wasn't sure if I was having contractions or not - things felt achy but I wasn't able to tell when one stopped and the next started. Apparently that is because the contractions were 2 minutes apart at most and about 1 minute long. Basically one on top of the other, making it hard to tell them apart. Luckily Kian handled it very well and his heartrate was nice and level and within normal range.
At 5:25 I was dilated to about 1.5 cm and they told me they weren't going to check me too often to avoid greater risks of infection. They worry about that with broken water anyhow, and with him being so early that is an even greater concern. Our nurse mentioned starting pitocin, which I was very against. I wanted the labor to progress naturally if possible, plus my contractions were already coming so hard and fast I didn't think it was necessary. She said she'd talk to the doctor. A few minutes later a note appeared on our monitor (it's all connected and we are nosy so we were watching it) saying that Dr D was ordering pitocin to be started. By the time the nurse came back in I was ready for the argument. No pitocin until I could talk to the Dr about it. When he called a while later he was pretty grumpy. "You refused the medication I ordered?" I tried to explain I just wanted to know his reasoning, and that I really didn't feel that it was necessary, but I would do whatever he felt needed to be done. He didn't want me to labor for more than 16 hours, but that was a long way off so I asked for a few more hours at least. At that point he basically said I had to have it. Happily for me, before they could give me the drugs he called back, apologized, and said we'd give it some time. Yay!
There was a shift change and we got a new nurse (all of the staff was fabulous by the way). Around 8:10pm I decided it was time for the epidural. The pain wasn't unbearable, but the contractions were still coming so hard and fast I was having a hard time keeping my breath. Besides, if I know I'm going to get pain meds, why wait and suffer? They thought it might help even my contractions out a bit too, which I thought might be better for Kian even though he was handling them just fine. At that point my blood pressure was up a little too, and the epidural helped with that. Dr R the anesthesiologist was fantastic! I was really worried about the epidural but it wasn't bad at all. A little pressure, some warmth, but that's about it. And then it was time to sit back and wait for the pain to slowly abate.
At 8:30 the nurse checked me again - 3cm - and put in the urinary catheter. I wasn't totally numb yet and apparently folks in my family need a pediatric catheter (I did not know this) so it was extremely painful. I mean, EXTREMELY. Other than the very end of labor it was by far the most painful thing I experienced. In fact, it might have been the worst part bar none. Horrid.
Around 10pm or so we all decided to try to get some rest. Brian was out pretty quickly, and I dozed a little. I ended up waking up in pain again around 1am and laid there trying to breathe through it, thinking that if I told them I was hurting they would have to re-place the epidural. When it got to be pretty bad I finally paged the nurse, and lo and behold, the anesthesiologist came in and upped my dose! Apparently I was on a low dose anyhow, and that really did the trick. Silly me for suffering. The nurse said that increase in pain is usually caused by 'something going on down there' so she checked me. 6cm! We called to let my parents know and my mom was instantly sure they weren't going to make it.
Increased pain again around 2:30, and I was dilated to 9cm! Wow, that was fast! Really the 9 was conservative and I was basically fully dilated and almost completely effaced. I got a little more pain meds - the last I would get. She called Dr D, but he was in the middle of a C section at another hospital. I didn't feel the need to push at all and wanted to try and wait until my parents arrived anyhow, so all was well. When the doc got there he said he could feel Kian's head with just his fingertips inside and I could push whenever I was ready. I told him I wanted to wait and he was OK with that. I was in a ton of pain with every (still fairly close together) contraction now, but they didn't want to give me anything more - that way I could feel when to push. I just breathed through and held on. OK, and moaned and squeezed Brian's hand and rolled back and forth a little. No screaming or mean name calling or crying though! Woo!
Somewhere in here I asked the doctor if there was any chance that he wouldn't have to go to the NICU. By now I was really, really worried that he was going to have a very hard time. The doc said anything is POSSIBLE but not to get my hopes up. Basically, get ready for him to have to be whisked away and to have to spend time in the NICU. I just tried not to think about it.
My parents arrived around 4am and it was decided that my dad would wait in the waiting room since we could only have 3 people in there. My mom held one leg and Brian held the other. My mom helped me count out my pushes while Jaime looked on. I guess watching tons of baby TV shows paid off because I was a good pusher (apparently). I knew not to make any sound and to try to keep my face relaxed and to put all of my strength into the push.
I ended up pushing for just under an hour. Dr D never told me to push more gently or to let up or anything. Usually they have you stop pushing when the head emerges so they can suction and check the cord isn't wrapped around and all of that. Not in this case! It was push as hard as you can until there was a huge woosh and an icky sound and he basically came shooting right out! The doctor literally had to catch him as he plopped into his lap! Right away he was crying and pinking up, and we could tell he didn't look like a preemie at all. And he was huge! Brian and I both pretty much sobbed at this point. I don't think I've ever seen Brian cry like that. Our special little miracle was here!
They whisked him over to evaluate him (no snuggle for me), and Brian was stuck on the far side of me while I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. That hard as you can stuff resulted in a pretty severe tear, but it was still worth it :). His APGAR scores were 9 and 9, which basically means he was doing great from the start. He never needed any oxygen and it was clear that he wasn't going to be whisked off to the NICU. What a miracle! No problem nursing from the start either, and soon enough we realized that though early, we had a very healthy baby. What an amazing ride!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Belated Announcement!
Kian is here!
He arrived at 4:52am on Thursday, July 12. He weighed in at 6lb 0.7oz and was 19 inches long. He is beautiful and perfect and doing well. I know I'm way behind here, but I'll be blogging more details soon.
He arrived at 4:52am on Thursday, July 12. He weighed in at 6lb 0.7oz and was 19 inches long. He is beautiful and perfect and doing well. I know I'm way behind here, but I'll be blogging more details soon.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Pictures, For Real! Weeks 32 and 33
Hmm. It appears the picture difficulties may have been a Mozilla problem. It occured to me this morning that it's probably because the pic upload thing is a pop up. I'll have to mess with that.
In the meantime, here are the pictures reluctantly brought to you by Internet Explorer :).
For comparison's sake:
In the meantime, here are the pictures reluctantly brought to you by Internet Explorer :).
For comparison's sake:
Week 32, taken June 28th
Week 33, taken July 5th
Week 32, front view
Week 33, front view
Yikes. I guess I really am growing as fast as I think I am. And for some reason my belly button continues to be all skewed to one side bizarrely. Silly baby, center yourself! Hee.
The plan is to take another set this week and every week hereafter so we can watch with amazement as I manage to not explode.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Pictures!
For some reason Blogger is not letting me upload any pictures right now. I have had a very busy and intermittently rough day (I'll tell ya all about it later), and right now I do not need this aggravation!
So yeah, sorry to get your hopes all up and then fail you so miserably, but there will apparently be no pictures today. I uploaded them and edited them and everything. Just ask Jaime. Maybe tomorrow.
So yeah, sorry to get your hopes all up and then fail you so miserably, but there will apparently be no pictures today. I uploaded them and edited them and everything. Just ask Jaime. Maybe tomorrow.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Week 33: June 29-July 5
Lots happened this week!
First of all, I had a routine doctor's appointment on Monday. Things are looking good. I'm 2 cm bigger than I should be as usual. The Pea's heartrate sounded great and my blood pressure is normal. When I was getting measured the doc asked me if I was having a contraction. Nope, that's just the baby... I think you said this was his butt last time? He felt around then just shook his head. He's really "prominent" (yeah, tell me about it). According to doc it's a testament to the fact that I haven't gained much weight. Apparently he means like, unnecessary non-baby weight because I HAVE gained plenty. Trust me. I finally chatted with him about my feeling that I might be farther along than we think. I have hit every milestone at the very earliest end of the normal range, and he just seems enormous to me. I felt him kick at 16 weeks, when most of the other first time moms around me didn't feel anything until 19-20 weeks, one girl 25 weeks! By 17 weeks BRIAN could feel him from the outside, and by the time my parents were here around 20 weeks he was kicking hard enough to be seen across the room. Obviously I'm measuring big, and my Braxton Hicks contractions hit as soon as they could. He explained that the best indicator of gestational age is when the ultrasound and your last menstrual cycle agree or nearly agree. Mine were just a few days apart. Also, most healthy babies are approximately the same size until week 20, so if you get the ultrasound before that it's extremely accurate (ours was at 18 weeks I think). Basically, the early movement feelings and his current prominence are a combination of not much being between him and the outside world, and now he's just big. Really big. The doc says he's guessing he'll be around 8 pounds - no 5 or 6 pound baby for me! We talked a little about the fact that that sort of concerns me, and he said once I hit 38 weeks, as soon as I start dialating they can induce me. Of course, it might all just happen at that point anyhow, but the last lady in our squadron who just had her baby was at 2 cm for like 10 days before she actually went into labor. So, that's cool I guess.
The other thing he told us was that at 34 weeks they no longer stop pre-term labor. So if I go into labor anytime after then they just let it run its course. This is sort of good because the meds they use are seriously unpleasant and it rarely works anyhow. As we left he grinned and said that he's the one on call this week so if anything happened he'd be around. So... nah you aren't farther along than you think, but if you go into labor this weekend let me know. Yikes? :)
Brian took Monday-Wednesday off and he worked on painting the nursery the whole time. He's so great! It's all primed and the walls (yellow on top, sage on bottom) are done. He's going to paint the trim and doors white this weekend. If only the people we bought this house from hadn't painted the room 5 shades of atrocious minty blue-green INCLUDING THE TRIM AND DOORS, it would be done by now. It's getting close. We're supposed to have our nursery furniture no later than next Friday, so we'll see how that goes. We want to do a white chair rail but I think we're going to hire a handyman to actually do the cutting and installing because few corners are actually square and apparently it's a big pain in the butt. Too bad we don't have a handyman in the family!
My sister arrives on July 6th for a week or so visit. I'm so excited! Other than when I first found out I was pregnant I haven't seen her, and I'm sure she's going to totally freak out. I don't think it's quite real to her yet, but it's sure going to be! I think we're planning a pretty easy going week, though my mom sent some money so we can get our baby swing so we'll be doing that. Hooray. It's so cute! I'll take pictures.
As for me, I am SO in my third trimester! Whenever anyone asks me how I am I want to reply "eight and a half months pregnant". Technically I'm great! The baby's healthy, I'm healthy, he's moving and growing and things are fine. I don't have hemorrhoids or varicose veins, my hands and feet are only a tiny bit swollen, it's all good. At the same time, I'm having a hard time breathing, I feel huge, my abdomen is like, as stretched as it can be and I feel like something's gotta give. I have to pee every 10 minutes, and it's not just a need to go, it's like this crazy uncomfortable pressure... like there's a 5 pound creature ramming his head into it. Yeah, something like that. I can't get up or down or around anymore without a lot of effort. My digestion is all wacky. My back hurts much of the time, and I'm hardly sleeping now. I can't remember ANYTHING and my brain is swiss cheese. Blech. Of course, all of this is totally normal and honestly nothing I can't handle. It's just... getting a little more unpleasant as we go. I'm still hoping for August 1st-ish as a delivery date. We'll see how accomodating this little Pea is!
First of all, I had a routine doctor's appointment on Monday. Things are looking good. I'm 2 cm bigger than I should be as usual. The Pea's heartrate sounded great and my blood pressure is normal. When I was getting measured the doc asked me if I was having a contraction. Nope, that's just the baby... I think you said this was his butt last time? He felt around then just shook his head. He's really "prominent" (yeah, tell me about it). According to doc it's a testament to the fact that I haven't gained much weight. Apparently he means like, unnecessary non-baby weight because I HAVE gained plenty. Trust me. I finally chatted with him about my feeling that I might be farther along than we think. I have hit every milestone at the very earliest end of the normal range, and he just seems enormous to me. I felt him kick at 16 weeks, when most of the other first time moms around me didn't feel anything until 19-20 weeks, one girl 25 weeks! By 17 weeks BRIAN could feel him from the outside, and by the time my parents were here around 20 weeks he was kicking hard enough to be seen across the room. Obviously I'm measuring big, and my Braxton Hicks contractions hit as soon as they could. He explained that the best indicator of gestational age is when the ultrasound and your last menstrual cycle agree or nearly agree. Mine were just a few days apart. Also, most healthy babies are approximately the same size until week 20, so if you get the ultrasound before that it's extremely accurate (ours was at 18 weeks I think). Basically, the early movement feelings and his current prominence are a combination of not much being between him and the outside world, and now he's just big. Really big. The doc says he's guessing he'll be around 8 pounds - no 5 or 6 pound baby for me! We talked a little about the fact that that sort of concerns me, and he said once I hit 38 weeks, as soon as I start dialating they can induce me. Of course, it might all just happen at that point anyhow, but the last lady in our squadron who just had her baby was at 2 cm for like 10 days before she actually went into labor. So, that's cool I guess.
The other thing he told us was that at 34 weeks they no longer stop pre-term labor. So if I go into labor anytime after then they just let it run its course. This is sort of good because the meds they use are seriously unpleasant and it rarely works anyhow. As we left he grinned and said that he's the one on call this week so if anything happened he'd be around. So... nah you aren't farther along than you think, but if you go into labor this weekend let me know. Yikes? :)
Brian took Monday-Wednesday off and he worked on painting the nursery the whole time. He's so great! It's all primed and the walls (yellow on top, sage on bottom) are done. He's going to paint the trim and doors white this weekend. If only the people we bought this house from hadn't painted the room 5 shades of atrocious minty blue-green INCLUDING THE TRIM AND DOORS, it would be done by now. It's getting close. We're supposed to have our nursery furniture no later than next Friday, so we'll see how that goes. We want to do a white chair rail but I think we're going to hire a handyman to actually do the cutting and installing because few corners are actually square and apparently it's a big pain in the butt. Too bad we don't have a handyman in the family!
My sister arrives on July 6th for a week or so visit. I'm so excited! Other than when I first found out I was pregnant I haven't seen her, and I'm sure she's going to totally freak out. I don't think it's quite real to her yet, but it's sure going to be! I think we're planning a pretty easy going week, though my mom sent some money so we can get our baby swing so we'll be doing that. Hooray. It's so cute! I'll take pictures.
As for me, I am SO in my third trimester! Whenever anyone asks me how I am I want to reply "eight and a half months pregnant". Technically I'm great! The baby's healthy, I'm healthy, he's moving and growing and things are fine. I don't have hemorrhoids or varicose veins, my hands and feet are only a tiny bit swollen, it's all good. At the same time, I'm having a hard time breathing, I feel huge, my abdomen is like, as stretched as it can be and I feel like something's gotta give. I have to pee every 10 minutes, and it's not just a need to go, it's like this crazy uncomfortable pressure... like there's a 5 pound creature ramming his head into it. Yeah, something like that. I can't get up or down or around anymore without a lot of effort. My digestion is all wacky. My back hurts much of the time, and I'm hardly sleeping now. I can't remember ANYTHING and my brain is swiss cheese. Blech. Of course, all of this is totally normal and honestly nothing I can't handle. It's just... getting a little more unpleasant as we go. I'm still hoping for August 1st-ish as a delivery date. We'll see how accomodating this little Pea is!
Week 32: June 22-28
As mentioned in the previous post, we started this week with the Babies R Us brunch deal. Very cool. We ate lunch at a brew pub afterward, and it was amazingly good! It's called BJ's Restaurant and brewery, and while I thought it was pretty much a local place, it turns out it's a chain. If you ever come across one, it's worth checking out. I've been told the beer is very good, though of course I did not have any myself. I had a turkey cobb club (roast turkey, avacado, bacon, tomato, lettuce and dijion mayo) and it was just really good, though fairly simple. Brian had fish tacos, and they were smoky (cumin I think) and super tasty, too!
I think I mentioned before that I put the Pea's play yard together. It only took about 20 minutes from start to finish, and I did it all by myself! I've read a lot of reviews that talk about it being really hard, and taking couples 3 hours together to get it done. Insanity. It's still hanging out in the bedroom and I think it's there to stay. I feel better having it all ready to go.
I went out and got some more basic stuff this week, like long sleeved side-snap t-shirts with the little mitten cuffs. That's what they use in the hospital so I got a few extras to have at home. I'll admit I also bought a really cute little Pooh outfit with a hooded sweatshirt too! Everything says you should have sweaters so you can layer but really it was just a matter of sheer cuteness I simply couldn't resist. THEN I washed stuff! There are supposedly chemicals in the creating and packaging processes that you don't want against the baby's skin so everything has to be washed first. I stuck with basics and gender neutral items mostly, just in case on the off chance he ends up being a she. I think that's highly unlikely, but just in case. My sister was supposed to be a boy after all! All of the baby's bedding for play yard and crib both are all washed and set too, as well as washcloths and towels. Yay! I only have one set of bedding so far, and I'll definitely need a backup set in case of explosions, but for now the basics are all covered. Yet again, a nice feeling of being somewhat more prepared and less anxious.
I continue to get bigger all the time, and the Pea keeps growing and getting big and strong! I'm up to +26 pounds at the end of this week. I'll obviously be at the upper end of the 'normal' range, but I swear most of it is baby! Once again I have pics but I think the hubby has the camera, so they'll be posted this weekend.
I think I mentioned before that I put the Pea's play yard together. It only took about 20 minutes from start to finish, and I did it all by myself! I've read a lot of reviews that talk about it being really hard, and taking couples 3 hours together to get it done. Insanity. It's still hanging out in the bedroom and I think it's there to stay. I feel better having it all ready to go.
I went out and got some more basic stuff this week, like long sleeved side-snap t-shirts with the little mitten cuffs. That's what they use in the hospital so I got a few extras to have at home. I'll admit I also bought a really cute little Pooh outfit with a hooded sweatshirt too! Everything says you should have sweaters so you can layer but really it was just a matter of sheer cuteness I simply couldn't resist. THEN I washed stuff! There are supposedly chemicals in the creating and packaging processes that you don't want against the baby's skin so everything has to be washed first. I stuck with basics and gender neutral items mostly, just in case on the off chance he ends up being a she. I think that's highly unlikely, but just in case. My sister was supposed to be a boy after all! All of the baby's bedding for play yard and crib both are all washed and set too, as well as washcloths and towels. Yay! I only have one set of bedding so far, and I'll definitely need a backup set in case of explosions, but for now the basics are all covered. Yet again, a nice feeling of being somewhat more prepared and less anxious.
I continue to get bigger all the time, and the Pea keeps growing and getting big and strong! I'm up to +26 pounds at the end of this week. I'll obviously be at the upper end of the 'normal' range, but I swear most of it is baby! Once again I have pics but I think the hubby has the camera, so they'll be posted this weekend.
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