In the Jumper – 3/18
Hannah trying to crawl
Hannah NOT trying to crawl
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Why hello again. Guess it didn't take me too long to get back in here to give you an another peak into our little lives and how things are going.
As some of you well know, Jeff went out of town last Wed-Sunday to Austin for SXSW. For those unfamiliar, it's a unorganized cluster-f*#k sh*t-show in Austin where thousands of bands go to be heard. Jeff usually spends at least 100 hrs prepping for said event. His attempt is to make the most of it while seeing upwards of 25 bands a day. I decided years ago to never attempt SXSW with Jeff again. If you've ever been to a concert or concerts with Jeff you'd know why. It's intense. And while I could hang for a day, I'd never last. I'd be dead weight. So instead, I bake a dish for him and his friends and send him off to enjoy some time away with just the guys.
House updates - our yard is a wreck. Weeds everywhere, dead tree, dead "flower" bed, and a leak in the front yard. I hired a guy to help clear out all the crap in both front and back yard. Still a work in progress. Temp. set back getting the water leak in the front yard repaired. This is the third time in 2 years the main water line sprung a leak and this time I decided to just replace the whole line. Too bad the city won't pay for this - anything in our yard is our problem. I saved us a couple hundred dollars by having our helper, Raul, dig this massive 50 foot long, 12 inches deep trench for the plumbers to place with a new pipe. Instead of running another copper line, we decided on black poly. It's more flexible, stronger and cheaper than copper. So now we have a new line but need to fill the trench and patch with new sod. No idea when that will happen. Crape Myrtles need to be trimmed back too. No idea when that will happen either. Good thing for daylight savings, but still not able to find time to do it. Hannah might let me get started on it after work tomorrow so we'll see. To add to the current yard disasters, yesterday I got home from work to find our outdoor canopy demolished. A huge branch from the dead tree in our back yard gave way to 25 mph winds and came crashing down on it. Leaving us with glass shattered everywhere and a gaping hole in it's top. At least it didn't hit the roof, right? Sigh.
Hannah is doing pretty well. We think some bottom teeth moving their way up. She's been drooling like crazy and chewing on everything. Two weekends ago was hell for us all as we battled through what seemed to be the worst of her teething yet. No teeth though! Hannah is still doing fairly well with sleeping at night. She doesn't nap much during the day while at daycare but is sure to sleep 11-12 hrs at night. Her bedtime is 7pm and we stick to it. We've tried extending the time but that doesn't make her or us very happy. When I explain to people that Hannah is in bed by 7pm every night I usually get shocked responses. Mostly from non-parents but also from some fellow parents. They ask "why so early?" or "I keep my kiddo up late bc I want to hang out with him/her". Naturally, I feel a little defensive because I wonder if they think I don't want to hang out with our baby in the evenings too? Whatever the case may be, it's just one of those situations where I smile politely and usually offer nothing more than a minuscule explanation. We know what's best for our child and if that means a 7pm bedtime, so be it. Hannah sits up pretty well on her own now. She's not crawling yet, but she seems curious. My friend, Hannah, was in town this weekend and showed me how I could help teach her how to crawl. I'm not so sure I really want Hannah mobile quite yet, but admit it was pretty cool to watch her on her hands and knees a few times. The look on her face was priceless. She'd get in the position (with my help) and once there she'd smile so big! Pretty cool. I have a couple videos I'll post for you to see.
Today I leave work early to take Hannah to another doctors appt. This one is for part two of the flu shot. Poor girl gets so pissed when she gets shots! Some friends lead me onto this application called Sparkabilities for babies so maybe that'll be a fun distraction. We'll see. Wish us luck!
As some of you well know, Jeff went out of town last Wed-Sunday to Austin for SXSW. For those unfamiliar, it's a unorganized cluster-f*#k sh*t-show in Austin where thousands of bands go to be heard. Jeff usually spends at least 100 hrs prepping for said event. His attempt is to make the most of it while seeing upwards of 25 bands a day. I decided years ago to never attempt SXSW with Jeff again. If you've ever been to a concert or concerts with Jeff you'd know why. It's intense. And while I could hang for a day, I'd never last. I'd be dead weight. So instead, I bake a dish for him and his friends and send him off to enjoy some time away with just the guys.
House updates - our yard is a wreck. Weeds everywhere, dead tree, dead "flower" bed, and a leak in the front yard. I hired a guy to help clear out all the crap in both front and back yard. Still a work in progress. Temp. set back getting the water leak in the front yard repaired. This is the third time in 2 years the main water line sprung a leak and this time I decided to just replace the whole line. Too bad the city won't pay for this - anything in our yard is our problem. I saved us a couple hundred dollars by having our helper, Raul, dig this massive 50 foot long, 12 inches deep trench for the plumbers to place with a new pipe. Instead of running another copper line, we decided on black poly. It's more flexible, stronger and cheaper than copper. So now we have a new line but need to fill the trench and patch with new sod. No idea when that will happen. Crape Myrtles need to be trimmed back too. No idea when that will happen either. Good thing for daylight savings, but still not able to find time to do it. Hannah might let me get started on it after work tomorrow so we'll see. To add to the current yard disasters, yesterday I got home from work to find our outdoor canopy demolished. A huge branch from the dead tree in our back yard gave way to 25 mph winds and came crashing down on it. Leaving us with glass shattered everywhere and a gaping hole in it's top. At least it didn't hit the roof, right? Sigh.
Hannah is doing pretty well. We think some bottom teeth moving their way up. She's been drooling like crazy and chewing on everything. Two weekends ago was hell for us all as we battled through what seemed to be the worst of her teething yet. No teeth though! Hannah is still doing fairly well with sleeping at night. She doesn't nap much during the day while at daycare but is sure to sleep 11-12 hrs at night. Her bedtime is 7pm and we stick to it. We've tried extending the time but that doesn't make her or us very happy. When I explain to people that Hannah is in bed by 7pm every night I usually get shocked responses. Mostly from non-parents but also from some fellow parents. They ask "why so early?" or "I keep my kiddo up late bc I want to hang out with him/her". Naturally, I feel a little defensive because I wonder if they think I don't want to hang out with our baby in the evenings too? Whatever the case may be, it's just one of those situations where I smile politely and usually offer nothing more than a minuscule explanation. We know what's best for our child and if that means a 7pm bedtime, so be it. Hannah sits up pretty well on her own now. She's not crawling yet, but she seems curious. My friend, Hannah, was in town this weekend and showed me how I could help teach her how to crawl. I'm not so sure I really want Hannah mobile quite yet, but admit it was pretty cool to watch her on her hands and knees a few times. The look on her face was priceless. She'd get in the position (with my help) and once there she'd smile so big! Pretty cool. I have a couple videos I'll post for you to see.
Today I leave work early to take Hannah to another doctors appt. This one is for part two of the flu shot. Poor girl gets so pissed when she gets shots! Some friends lead me onto this application called Sparkabilities for babies so maybe that'll be a fun distraction. We'll see. Wish us luck!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
7 months ago
Hannah is 7 months old today! I feel like a broken record, but I can't believe how fast time flys. I can still remember the day I had her, the day we brought her home, the day(s) I turned to Jeff with tear filled eyes saying how exhausted I was and asked him if it were okay we only had one child. The beginning seemed to move along slowly (and not always in a good way). I took things one day at a time, but each day I hoped Hannah would eat a little more, sleep a little more and cry a little less. Living each day holding her, feeding her, changing her, napping when she napped or being up around the clock. Looking back it's all a big blur. I've forgotten the details of what happened in those first three months, but I remember enough to be able to say it was hard. It's amazing though how I can clearly remember how difficult it was yet still look forward to having another baby one day. Kinda funny how that works. And now, now Hannah is 7 months old and I look at our little baby thinking she's not so little anymore. She's turning into a "big girl" and it's all happening so fast! She's taking drinks from my water glasses, sipping from her sippy cup, eating all sorts of baby foods, indirectly saying "ma ma", "da da", becoming increasingly fascinated with the dog and sitting up on her own. No teeth yet, but since I'm so bad about posting I'm sure by the time I get around to posting something again she'll have a few.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Updates!
Well folks, our sweet sweet baby girl is now 6 months old. She's growing so fast! We're loving being parents especially now that we're getting some sleep! Our little family started with just us two, expanded with Lainee and now we have Hannah. Pretty perfect!
As I said before, our weeks are pretty busy. Not much has changed there. Weekends have been somewhat busier since my mother's health has declined. She's the only family we have here so it's become my new found responsibility to care for her. I'm so lucky to have such a great husband to step up and care for Hannah while I spent every free moment running to the hospital, rehabilitation facility or to her home. And now that she's home receiving home health care while recovering, we're just on call for anything she may need at this point. It's been a lot to handle over the last month, but we have such a great support system here with our friends by our side and I'm just not sure what we'd do without them. Not to mention, my work has been so understanding so the threat of losing my job over putting my family first is not an issue. I'm very fortunate. I do wish more family lived close enough to come and alleviate some of this responsibility, but knowing they can and have flown in at the drop of a dime makes this scary situation with mom that much more bearable.
On a lighter note, Hannah has started swimming. I registered her for swim class Jeff found in our area. Starting at 6 months they can begin to "swim"! I know she won't remember this, but I will. I'll remember spending our Saturday mornings at the pool with her a few times and her daddy and I getting in the water with her, etc. Just building memories. Good ones.
And now for a TMI moment....I've stopped pumping. It's official. I'm FREE!!!! hahaha I lasted over 6 months. Pretty proud of myself even though quitting has been bitter sweet. Hannah takes the bottle really well now. Even eats rice cereal, baby food bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches and squash. So far her favorites have been sweet potatoes and peaches! Such a fun age.
More to come!
As I said before, our weeks are pretty busy. Not much has changed there. Weekends have been somewhat busier since my mother's health has declined. She's the only family we have here so it's become my new found responsibility to care for her. I'm so lucky to have such a great husband to step up and care for Hannah while I spent every free moment running to the hospital, rehabilitation facility or to her home. And now that she's home receiving home health care while recovering, we're just on call for anything she may need at this point. It's been a lot to handle over the last month, but we have such a great support system here with our friends by our side and I'm just not sure what we'd do without them. Not to mention, my work has been so understanding so the threat of losing my job over putting my family first is not an issue. I'm very fortunate. I do wish more family lived close enough to come and alleviate some of this responsibility, but knowing they can and have flown in at the drop of a dime makes this scary situation with mom that much more bearable.
On a lighter note, Hannah has started swimming. I registered her for swim class Jeff found in our area. Starting at 6 months they can begin to "swim"! I know she won't remember this, but I will. I'll remember spending our Saturday mornings at the pool with her a few times and her daddy and I getting in the water with her, etc. Just building memories. Good ones.
And now for a TMI moment....I've stopped pumping. It's official. I'm FREE!!!! hahaha I lasted over 6 months. Pretty proud of myself even though quitting has been bitter sweet. Hannah takes the bottle really well now. Even eats rice cereal, baby food bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches and squash. So far her favorites have been sweet potatoes and peaches! Such a fun age.
More to come!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Where did the time go?
I feel like as I've become a parent I'm contstantly asking myself one question. Where has the time gone? How is my three month maternity leave long gone? How have I been back at work for almost three months? How is Hannah about to be 6mo old? It amazes me how quickly time flies by and even how more quickly an hour passes. I remember when I was a kid, I used to be mad that a day had 24 hrs in it. I felt like that was just too much time especially since roughly 12 of those hours it's dark outside. I still admire the mornings and the daytime, but have become particulary fond of the evenings because M-F is when I get to spend time with my family. However, the evenings are just too short. When I leave work, I race to get Hannah from daycare. It's, hands down, one of the BEST parts of my day. I quickly scoop her up, make the short drive home, unpack her stuff, and begin our evening routine. I'm usually home at 6pm which means I have less than 1 hr to enjoy our daughter before it's time for bed. Bath time, play time, get her thing out for the next day, heating the bottle and then find myself staring down at our beautiful daughter as she takes her bottle and drifts off the sleep in my arms. I would sit there and hold onto her forever, but I know tomorrow brings another busy day and if I'm to survive I have to get some sleep too. By this time, Jeff is usually in the kitchen organizing dinner or cleaning bottles. Sometimes if he gets home early enough he has a minute with Hannah before he runs off to shower a busy days worth of work away while I put Hannah down for the night. Everynight Jeff and I sit down together for dinner. Even if it's just for a little bit and talk about our day. This is another time I'd consider to be the BEST part of my day. After dinner, I run off to go pump then get the bottles filled and ready for the next day then shower so I'm semi-presentable for work. I try to get to bed by 10pm because Hannah will sometimes be up in the middle of the night and I have to wake at 5am to pump, get ready for work, get Hannah up then get out the door to drop her at daycare by 7am so I can get to the office before 7:30am. This is our routine. And getting all this done in only 24hrs is rough. If only there was more time in the day.....
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Welcome Hannah!
I'm soooo sorry for being terrible about this blogging thing. I know I can't use the new baby as an excuse because I was pretty bad about it before she was here. Again, sorry!
I have lots to catch you all up on. As most all of you know by now, Hannah Elizabeth is here! Born August 4th at 2:22pm weighing 6 lbs 13 ounces and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. She was just four days shy of her original due date - August 8th. Here's a "mini" clip of how things went down...
On Friday, July 29th I was sitting at work feeling uncomfortable as usual but noticed something different happening. Pain. I couldn't stand up, but didn't want to sit down either. Obviously I couldn't crawl under my desk and get in the fetal position so I waited until the pain subsided enough for me to go to the bathroom. At this point in the pregnancy, I didn't know what was happening. I thought it could have been really bad gas, something I ate, baby moving in a place that didn't settle well or contractions. I went to the bathroom and as I was walking back it hit me again - I knew this was a real contraction. I remember once asking the doctor how I'd know when I was having a contraction and she said "oh, you'll know". Now I know what she meant. It's like menstrual cramping you've never felt before. I didn't have to say much to my co-workers because leading up to this point everyone was already looking at me like I was a ticking time bomb...they all knew it could happen at any time. And lets be honest, working M-F at 50 hrs a week (give or take), the probability of me going into labor at the office was pretty great. So I braved the drive home solo and that was one of the most painful drives ever. Jeff was already home and I had called him on my way to give him the heads up that I thought I was having contractions and to get ready! I will never forget, I walked in with a clear look of pain/discomfort on my face hunched over while I tried desperately to make my way to our bed all the while he has the biggest grin on his face. I laid down and no sooner did I find Jeff with a note pad and pen sketching a contraction time table and asking me to report when I had another one and we'd time how long. We had never really discussed what we'd do when I went into labor but we did know the doctor said to go to the hospital when they were happening 5 mins apart and for roughly 60 seconds. These were happening 15 mins apart and were lasting about 50 seconds. All this began at about 4pm and continued until 8pm or so which by that point things started to slow down instead of speeding up. Soon the contractions stopped entirely. False labor is what they call it. I see how people make premature runs to the hospital when stuff like this happens. Luckily, we did not. Needless to say, we figured at this point the baby was coming soon....like, very soon. Obviously this was not the case. Nothing happened for days and we were just waiting... I'd feel things here and there but nothing as intense.
I had my weekly appointment schedule for Wednesday so I was very anxious to hear how I was doing at that point. When Wednesday rolled around I was naturally very anxious but excited. It was August 3rd and being only five days from our due date I knew we were in the home stretch. (As I've mentioned before, my blood pressure towards the end was something the doctor was concerned about, but despite it's elevation, the prior weeks blood work confirmed I was still "healthy" and could carry the baby longer as I wished). However, my blood pressure was even higher at the August 3rd appointment. And at this time, I was measuring 3 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced and the doctor felt me carrying the baby any longer would put not only me but the baby in danger. She wanted to induce labor the very next day. This of course made me very scared. I did NOT want to be induced, but knew I should follow the doctors orders and do what she thought was best. So we were put on the schedule to check into the hospital Thursday, August 4th at 6:30am.
The morning of August 4th, I noticed I was having contractions again. It was around 5am when we were up and getting moving to head out to the hospital. They started just like the ones started the Friday before but these seemed to come much quicker. While we were driving to the hospital at 6:15am to check in at 6:30am I was timing them and they were 5 mins apart. We checked into the hospital as planned by my doctor and we told the nurse that we thought I was actually already going into labor. At this point we were pretty excited because we thought if I were we wouldn't have to be induced and could have the baby naturally. By 7:30am we were in the labor and delivery room we were assigned and were getting settled in. Around 7:45am I was still having the contractions which were getting stronger and the first nurse checked to see my progress. I was 4 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. We were stoked! We asked the nurse to call the doctor to see if we could skip the induction since I was already technically in active labor. The nurse reported back around 8am and said the doctor still wanted to induce. Before starting me on the pitocin the nurse checked me once more at 8:30am and I was 5 centimeters dilated. I still feel had they not started the pitocin I would have had Hannah at some point that night but starting me on the pitocin just meant the labor would get moving even faster and we'd hopefully have her sooner. Honestly, at that point, I was ready to get the show on the road. Contractions hurt. Bad. There's no joke about it - any woman who goes through natural child birth (no epidural) are truly strong/pain tolerant people. I would never wish for that. Anyways, once the pitosen started so did the contractions...within 20 mins my pain level went from a bearable 8 to 10 and I was in tears. I only had to wait 15 mins before the anesthesiologist came in to relieve me. Jeff was asked to leave the room for 20-30 mins while they inserted the magic stick in my back and then he could come back. I was scared when he left. Not sure why but something about not having in him the room with me at all times freaked me out. All in all, the whole epidural thing is totally overrated. It's not scary at all and it doesn't hurt. Well, maybe it hurts a little but I definitely think getting the IV hurts more than the epidural. After the epidural, they just want you to relax, sit back, and try to get some rest. I found it hard to rest though because I was facing the contraction monitor and the baby's heart monitor and for a while there the baby was having a hard time. My contractions were coming back to back (keep in mind - I can not feel the contractions anymore just a little pressure) and while they were happening the baby's heart rate would drop. A couple times it dropped so low nurses would run in to monitor more closely. So that was a little stressful. Soon they had me switch sides I was laying on and the baby seemed to be happier and by 2pm I was fully dilated and the baby was ready to come! When the doctor came in to check she said "Ok, baby is right there, it's time to start pushing." I remember saying to her "What? Are you serious? Right now? Wait...can we have just a minute?" The doctor replied "Honey, you've have 9-10months to get ready for this. It's go time!" haha I was pretty nervous about pushing, etc. Still blows my mind to think you actually deliver babies out of your private part, but I knew it had to be true because that's how I got here... Ten minutes after I was told to start pushing, our beautiful baby girl was here and I experience a moment in my life that I will never ever forget. To try and blog about how amazing that moment is would be impossible. Just know, aside from asking the doctor if she was ok ,there weren't many other words spoken. Jeff and I couldn't take our eyes off her or each other and were left speechless. That day will never be forgotten and we will cherish it forever.
More to come on the first days home...
I have lots to catch you all up on. As most all of you know by now, Hannah Elizabeth is here! Born August 4th at 2:22pm weighing 6 lbs 13 ounces and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. She was just four days shy of her original due date - August 8th. Here's a "mini" clip of how things went down...
On Friday, July 29th I was sitting at work feeling uncomfortable as usual but noticed something different happening. Pain. I couldn't stand up, but didn't want to sit down either. Obviously I couldn't crawl under my desk and get in the fetal position so I waited until the pain subsided enough for me to go to the bathroom. At this point in the pregnancy, I didn't know what was happening. I thought it could have been really bad gas, something I ate, baby moving in a place that didn't settle well or contractions. I went to the bathroom and as I was walking back it hit me again - I knew this was a real contraction. I remember once asking the doctor how I'd know when I was having a contraction and she said "oh, you'll know". Now I know what she meant. It's like menstrual cramping you've never felt before. I didn't have to say much to my co-workers because leading up to this point everyone was already looking at me like I was a ticking time bomb...they all knew it could happen at any time. And lets be honest, working M-F at 50 hrs a week (give or take), the probability of me going into labor at the office was pretty great. So I braved the drive home solo and that was one of the most painful drives ever. Jeff was already home and I had called him on my way to give him the heads up that I thought I was having contractions and to get ready! I will never forget, I walked in with a clear look of pain/discomfort on my face hunched over while I tried desperately to make my way to our bed all the while he has the biggest grin on his face. I laid down and no sooner did I find Jeff with a note pad and pen sketching a contraction time table and asking me to report when I had another one and we'd time how long. We had never really discussed what we'd do when I went into labor but we did know the doctor said to go to the hospital when they were happening 5 mins apart and for roughly 60 seconds. These were happening 15 mins apart and were lasting about 50 seconds. All this began at about 4pm and continued until 8pm or so which by that point things started to slow down instead of speeding up. Soon the contractions stopped entirely. False labor is what they call it. I see how people make premature runs to the hospital when stuff like this happens. Luckily, we did not. Needless to say, we figured at this point the baby was coming soon....like, very soon. Obviously this was not the case. Nothing happened for days and we were just waiting... I'd feel things here and there but nothing as intense.
I had my weekly appointment schedule for Wednesday so I was very anxious to hear how I was doing at that point. When Wednesday rolled around I was naturally very anxious but excited. It was August 3rd and being only five days from our due date I knew we were in the home stretch. (As I've mentioned before, my blood pressure towards the end was something the doctor was concerned about, but despite it's elevation, the prior weeks blood work confirmed I was still "healthy" and could carry the baby longer as I wished). However, my blood pressure was even higher at the August 3rd appointment. And at this time, I was measuring 3 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced and the doctor felt me carrying the baby any longer would put not only me but the baby in danger. She wanted to induce labor the very next day. This of course made me very scared. I did NOT want to be induced, but knew I should follow the doctors orders and do what she thought was best. So we were put on the schedule to check into the hospital Thursday, August 4th at 6:30am.
The morning of August 4th, I noticed I was having contractions again. It was around 5am when we were up and getting moving to head out to the hospital. They started just like the ones started the Friday before but these seemed to come much quicker. While we were driving to the hospital at 6:15am to check in at 6:30am I was timing them and they were 5 mins apart. We checked into the hospital as planned by my doctor and we told the nurse that we thought I was actually already going into labor. At this point we were pretty excited because we thought if I were we wouldn't have to be induced and could have the baby naturally. By 7:30am we were in the labor and delivery room we were assigned and were getting settled in. Around 7:45am I was still having the contractions which were getting stronger and the first nurse checked to see my progress. I was 4 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. We were stoked! We asked the nurse to call the doctor to see if we could skip the induction since I was already technically in active labor. The nurse reported back around 8am and said the doctor still wanted to induce. Before starting me on the pitocin the nurse checked me once more at 8:30am and I was 5 centimeters dilated. I still feel had they not started the pitocin I would have had Hannah at some point that night but starting me on the pitocin just meant the labor would get moving even faster and we'd hopefully have her sooner. Honestly, at that point, I was ready to get the show on the road. Contractions hurt. Bad. There's no joke about it - any woman who goes through natural child birth (no epidural) are truly strong/pain tolerant people. I would never wish for that. Anyways, once the pitosen started so did the contractions...within 20 mins my pain level went from a bearable 8 to 10 and I was in tears. I only had to wait 15 mins before the anesthesiologist came in to relieve me. Jeff was asked to leave the room for 20-30 mins while they inserted the magic stick in my back and then he could come back. I was scared when he left. Not sure why but something about not having in him the room with me at all times freaked me out. All in all, the whole epidural thing is totally overrated. It's not scary at all and it doesn't hurt. Well, maybe it hurts a little but I definitely think getting the IV hurts more than the epidural. After the epidural, they just want you to relax, sit back, and try to get some rest. I found it hard to rest though because I was facing the contraction monitor and the baby's heart monitor and for a while there the baby was having a hard time. My contractions were coming back to back (keep in mind - I can not feel the contractions anymore just a little pressure) and while they were happening the baby's heart rate would drop. A couple times it dropped so low nurses would run in to monitor more closely. So that was a little stressful. Soon they had me switch sides I was laying on and the baby seemed to be happier and by 2pm I was fully dilated and the baby was ready to come! When the doctor came in to check she said "Ok, baby is right there, it's time to start pushing." I remember saying to her "What? Are you serious? Right now? Wait...can we have just a minute?" The doctor replied "Honey, you've have 9-10months to get ready for this. It's go time!" haha I was pretty nervous about pushing, etc. Still blows my mind to think you actually deliver babies out of your private part, but I knew it had to be true because that's how I got here... Ten minutes after I was told to start pushing, our beautiful baby girl was here and I experience a moment in my life that I will never ever forget. To try and blog about how amazing that moment is would be impossible. Just know, aside from asking the doctor if she was ok ,there weren't many other words spoken. Jeff and I couldn't take our eyes off her or each other and were left speechless. That day will never be forgotten and we will cherish it forever.
More to come on the first days home...
Friday, July 22, 2011
Haste Makes Waste
I tend to over share personal information about myself so I forewarn those of you who might not want to read about my "progression" to stop reading now. This is a TMI post. :)
Two Wednesdays ago (7/13) I went for my first official check to see if I had dilated at all. Being the first appointment to check and only 36 weeks I figured there would be nothing to report. Quite the contrary. Turns out I was already dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced. Dilated is a pretty common term so most of you know what I'm talking about, but effaced is a special one that never entered my vocab until being pregnant (I'll elaborate). As I described to a friend....dilated to a 2 means my cervix has opened 2 cm (you get that part). However, effaced does not really have to do with the position of the baby as some mistake. When you are effacing they grade this in percentages so 0% and your cervix is long, normal and hard and 50% it’s half the normal length and by 100% it’s like flat (paper thin). 70% effaced just means my cervix has thinned out a lot. So, to much of my surprise, when the doctor told me these numbers I was shocked. I wasn't happy, I wasn't sad, I wasn't really anything except scared. Not that we weren't prepared to have Hannah sooner it's just like every mother-to-be hopes that the baby is healthy and to me (not to my doctor) 36 weeks was too early. Some doctors say 37 weeks is full term while others consider 38 weeks full term and your due date is set at the 40 week mark. The doctor said at this point, if I were to go into labor they'd do nothing to stop it. Now, I know 36 weeks is far enough along (believe me, my niece is proof that babies are resilient even being born at only 26 weeks) but I really really wanted Hannah to bake longer. By the end of the appointment, I did everything I could to keep from freaking out. Of course, first person I call is Jeff and even though he sounded excited I started to cry. It was more like a panic cry. As the doctor explained, there’s really no telling when the baby will come. She said I could have her that night or in two weeks but she didn’t figure it would be much longer than two weeks from that day. That very evening Jeff and I packed our hospital bag….
Last Wednesday (7/20) I made it whole week without having her and was at the second check up appointment to see how I was progressing. Officially 37 weeks and 3 days pregnant and the doctor said I was still dilated at a 2 and 70% effaced. To me, that was great news but as the doctor explained it wasn’t really indicative of anything. Baby could still come any day. In fact, another change had occurred since my last visit. Here comes another prego term….I was -1 engaged (i.e. the baby has dropped). Engaged is the position of the baby. The more positive you go the lower the baby’s head is in your pelvis. -3, -2, -1, 0….0 being the baby is sitting very LOW in the pelvis…about as low as the baby will get. Once you get into the +1, +2, etc you are literally having the baby!
So here I am, it’s Friday (7/22) and still no baby. I’m glad she decided to stick around in there a while longer. And even though I’m uncomfortable it makes me happy to know that there’s a greater chance, if we were to have her right now, of everything being okay. At this point, she will come when she is ready to come. We are super excited to meet her and can’t wait to welcome her into this world!
Monday, July 11, 2011
No news is good news!
Sorry I've been so MIA! Things are going well. A little over a month ago I was having pains in my lower abdomen which turned out to be contractions (not Braxton Hicks). The doc said I needed to slow down, drink lots of fluids and focus on getting more sleep. And here we are 36 weeks (9 mo) along and if you view the "watch me grow" page you can clearly see that I'm doing well and growing....
It's pretty hot here Texas reaching triple digits often so most of my time is being spent indoors these days. Once we get to being full term (38 weeks) I hope to get out in the late evenings for a nice walks with Jeff. I miss being able to be active and even though I'm following doctors orders it's still very hard. I'm so happy we've had such a healthy pregnancy and no bed rest has been assigned. I know to some of you reading you'd think bed rest sounds awesome, but I find that very hard to believe. Just being told I needed to slow down, stop when I'm tired, listen to my body, etc. has been hard enough. I could not imagine being told I need to stay in bed. Sounds awful to me. Not to mention, being in bed anyways is uncomfortable so having to STAY in bed is even worse.
Hannah's nursery is all ready to go! Completely decorated. I've washed all the bedding, clothes, blankets, burp clothes and new light/fan installed. We've assembled the stroller, swing, bassinet, etc. Jeff's getting help from one of our neighbors to show him how to properly install the car seat! Also, a few months ago we enrolled in two parenting/baby classes through the hospital we are delivering at...Labor in a Day and Baby Care/CPR. Both are six hour classes that kinda run you through everything you "need" to know. We took the first class a couple weeks ago and the second one this past Saturday. Very informative! While I feel I know a lot about babies in general, an infant is NOT something I know much about. So it was nice to learn some things that we hadn't already read about in the million baby books we have.
28 days until our due date! August 8th!
It's pretty hot here Texas reaching triple digits often so most of my time is being spent indoors these days. Once we get to being full term (38 weeks) I hope to get out in the late evenings for a nice walks with Jeff. I miss being able to be active and even though I'm following doctors orders it's still very hard. I'm so happy we've had such a healthy pregnancy and no bed rest has been assigned. I know to some of you reading you'd think bed rest sounds awesome, but I find that very hard to believe. Just being told I needed to slow down, stop when I'm tired, listen to my body, etc. has been hard enough. I could not imagine being told I need to stay in bed. Sounds awful to me. Not to mention, being in bed anyways is uncomfortable so having to STAY in bed is even worse.
Hannah's nursery is all ready to go! Completely decorated. I've washed all the bedding, clothes, blankets, burp clothes and new light/fan installed. We've assembled the stroller, swing, bassinet, etc. Jeff's getting help from one of our neighbors to show him how to properly install the car seat! Also, a few months ago we enrolled in two parenting/baby classes through the hospital we are delivering at...Labor in a Day and Baby Care/CPR. Both are six hour classes that kinda run you through everything you "need" to know. We took the first class a couple weeks ago and the second one this past Saturday. Very informative! While I feel I know a lot about babies in general, an infant is NOT something I know much about. So it was nice to learn some things that we hadn't already read about in the million baby books we have.
28 days until our due date! August 8th!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Babymoon here we come!
For those of you unfamiliar - no I didn't make this up. Babymoon (per Wikipedia) is defined as a term that has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby.
And on that note - we're off! Spending a weekend at the Gaylord Texan Resort. Can't tell you how excited we are!
And on that note - we're off! Spending a weekend at the Gaylord Texan Resort. Can't tell you how excited we are!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Zzzzz please....
Lil’ Hannah’s moving a lot now. Seems like her movements have maybe not increased, but the strength of her kicks and punches have intensified. My mom says I used to kick a lot – guess this is payback. Sometimes after dinner, Jeff and I just sit on the couch watching my belly move and contort. It’s really neat, but honestly is very strange to see. Especially since this is our first child and we’ve never seen or experienced anything like this before. Jeff asked me “What does it feel like?” and it’s so hard to explain. Feels like something is crawling around in there which is exactly what’s happening. It’s distracting, it’s exciting, it’s new and I often find myself just staring down at my belly fixated on the movements. I rely on these movements to get through the days when I’m past the point of exhaustion due to sleeplessness. Like today. I can honestly say, I’ve never been so tired while having the time to sleep but unable to b/c I wake up so often making it virtually impossible to get the kind of sleep that counts. I’m a zombie. Keep your fingers crossed for me tonight. Sleep be with me!
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