Hello, world!

Rundown of early labor:
Saturday, Aug. 20 - lost MP around 8:30 am. I'll spare you the details...
Sunday, Aug. 21 - was at the grocery store when I felt "something" - more mucus, tinged pink. Had some crampy feelings all day.
Monday, Aug. 22 - woke up around 1:00 am (thanks to the cat coughing up a hairball). Definite contractions. Went back to sleep until 3:00 am and started having contractions about every 10 minutes. I was timing them only by counting and thought they were 15 seconds long. I later got out my watch and it turns out it was more like 30-40 seconds.

I decided to let C sleep and started putting last minute things together into the hospital bag. To kill some timeI decided to assemble the Rock n Play sleeper...and managed to drop a piece on my toe and it started bleeding. The morning was off to a good start.

I slept off and on from 5:30 to 7:20 when I went to wake up C on the couch. Told him I'd been up all night having contractions but they weren't close enough to go to the hospital.  He was very nonchalant. Got ready for work, kissed me on the forehead and was gone. I told him to stay nearby!

Spent rest of morning watching TV, took a shower. I called my OB's office to see what I needed to do after hours and asked which doctor was on call - of course, the one I didn't want. Sigh.

The contractions lasted all day but weren't getting any closer together - about 10 minutes apart. By about 9 p.m., I decided to call the OB when they were about 6.5 minutes apart (thank you handy dandy contraction app). I was told I could come in to the hospital, and we headed out around 9:30. I couldn't believe this was probably it!

We registered in the ER and my mom and dad met us there. I was taken to observation where they checked me and I was told I was 3 cm (as I had been when I was checked the week before) but 90% effaced and they could feel my water "bulging". The OB came in and told them to go ahead and admit me. She had a C section to handle and then would be back to break my water if need be.

Once I was in the room I got a dose of Fentanyl to take the edge off. I was about 4cm at that point. Once it wore off the contractions were getting pretty painful and I was clinging to the hope of the epidural coming soon. My mom was in the room and C was taking a break in the hall. By the time they got out of surgery, I was 6cm and fully effaced. The doctor came and broke my water at that point, which was pretty uncomfortable but took some of the pressure away temporarily. She told me there was meconium in the fluid, so we would need to keep an eye on her when she came out and they would bring a NICU doctor in just in case. The same thing had happened with my niece so I was hoping everything would be ok.

Then the anestesiologist dropped the bomb: "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we aren't going to be able to give you an epidural because of the infection in your leg." (Remember that mole I had taken off? Yeah, still dealing with that.) Apparently if the infection got into my spine I could end up with a spinal abcess, which could mean I could become paralyzed. I couldn't believe it. I'd planned on the epi and I was already in a lot of pain. I had no idea how I was going to do it. They offered more Fentanyl and I think I got it but it did nothing to take the edge off. I was told that if I could get IV antibiotics in my system for an hour I could get the epi but I knew there wasn't enough time. They hooked me up anyway.

Things progressed pretty quickly at that point. To C's credit, he stayed right by me and did amazingly well. I had been really worried about him passing out or not being able to handle the pressure but he was great. I started pushing somewhere around 2 a.m. from what I can piece together. Her head was stuck so they kept checking me and called the doctor because they knew I would either need an episiotomy or the vacuum. (I ended up with the episiotomy.) The rest is kind of a blur, but at 3:09 a.m. our baby girl arrived. They put her on my stomach all slippery and screaming which was good news because of the meconium.

All in all I definitely didn't get the birth I planned on and I would never do it without an epi again given the choice. I give so much credit now to women who choose to go natural!

Here are some pics from the hospital:

Amelia Grace, 7 lbs, 3.8 oz, 20 inches long

Born 8/23/11 at 3:09 a.m.

Headed home

Ok, now I get it

[No clue why there is a good two inches of blank space at the top of this post.]

I have been very blessed by a pretty uneventful pregnancy - no morning sickness, feeling pretty good and having everyone tell me I look great. So when I've read about the pregnant ladies who are SO ready to be done being pregnant, I naively thought, "I'll never say that." I would like to humbly retract that statement.

In all reality, I am still not ready to NOT be pregnant. I've kind of liked it and I feel like I am going to miss it once I have an outside baby. And knowing my little bun is tucked safely inside the oven where I don't have to worry about the millions of things that come with being a new parent is pretty great. But I feel like I am quickly approaching the miserable line.

- My feet are swollen (which is not helped by the fact that my leg, as mentioned here, is still not healed, but that's another story). I wear flip flops to work every day and my feet seem to have permanent lines from the straps.

My feet look like his.

- I can't bend over or roll over without feeling like I'm trying to climb Mount Everest. I dropped an earring under my night stand last night and almost cried because I had no clue how I was going to find it. 

- I feel sick to my stomach and have my reflux flare up on a pretty regular basis and there is NO room for food. My darling husband keeps telling me that if he were pregnant he would eat everything in sight. Unfortunately I have nowhere to put it.

If only I could store food in my cheeks...

- I wake up about six times a night having to switch positions - see above re: rolling over.

- Everything annoys me. Everything. And it usually leads to some sort of emotional meltdown at my husband's expense. Last night the cat puked on the floor as I was sitting with my giant cartoon feet in the recliner, and C was complaining about having to clean it up. I started yelling about how the cat couldn't help it and if he was going to complain about it I would just haul myself in the other room and figure out how to get to the floor and do it myself.

Me.

- I have no clothes that fit. I am rotating through three skirts (same style, different colors), one pair of shorts, and a few dresses. The weather finally cooled off and I tried to wear jeans today - alas, my one pair of maternity jeans wouldn't go past my thighs.

So...to everyone who told me I'd be so over pregnancy at the end, I concede. You're right. I value every day my baby girl stays where she needs to be, and I don't want to rush her in any way, but to quote the lovely Katherine McPhee, "I'm so over it."

*disclaimer* I really, really hope I didn't jinx myself by writing this because I have an appt this afternoon with an ultrasound to double check the baby's growth since my belly measured the same two weeks in a row. The OB wasn't too concerned and I'm interested to see how big she is getting, but I want her to hang out in there for at least another week - Mom's got stuff to do yet!

36 weeks (a little belatedly)

I hadn't done an update in awhile, so I figured why not...

How far along are you?: as of today I am 36w 5days

 

How big is baby? Around 6 lbs if the books are to be believed

Weight gain/loss?: +35-ish lbs

 

Stretch marks?: Miraculously no, but I keep waiting for them to show up.

Maternity clothes?: My wardrobe is very limited these days. I have taken to wearing the hubby's tshirts when I get home from work because so few of mine cover my stomach!

Sleep?: Finally kicking my butt. I wake up every night at 1:30, 3:30, 4:30 and 5:30, and my poor husband has been kind enough to sleep on the couch for much of the past two weeks.

 

Best moment this week?: Realizing there's only a month to go!

Food cravings?: Still fruit - grapes, strawberries, apples...good thing it's summer! 

Gender?: Girl!

 

Movement?: She enjoys shoving body parts into my sides and ribs and rolling all around pretty regularly.

 

Belly button?: Still flat.

 

Symptoms?: Swollen feet. My hands have started getting tingly and my arm falls asleep when when sleep. And I feel like I need a forklift to get me off the couch and out of bed.

 

What do I miss?: Beer. And being able to move like a normal person.

 

Here's my pic from last Saturday at 36 weeks, before my sister's bridal shower at my house.

 

I'm hoping after my SIL's bridal shower Saturday that I will be able to make some headway on final projects/organizing in the nursery. New heat and a/c should be taken care of upstairs in the next couple of weeks, and maybe just maybe I will find a way to get a new vehicle before this baby gets here! She'd better hang in there for a couple more weeks because Mom has a lot to do!

A leg to stand on

In my last post I mentioned that I had had minor surgery on my leg so I thought I would expand a little. It all started with a really dark mole on my left calf that looked suspicious to me. When the opportunity arose for a free skin cancer screening at work several months ago, I took advantage of it. The doctor said that while normally color alone is not cause for concern with a mole, this one WAS very dark and I should probably have a biopsy done. I put it off for a little while, then finally saw a dermotologist at the end of June. They did what they call a punch cut biopsy where they basically cut a hole in my leg that looked pretty awful for a couple of weeks. I have pictures but I'll spare you the grusome details.

When I went back for my follow-up they told me the lab results couldn't rule out melanoma but couldn't confirm it either, so they'd like to get more of it. I was pretty upset because the gaping hole already on my leg looked awful enough and I wasn't sure what to expect. But I ultimately decided to go through with it.

Fast forward to a week ago Friday. I had the surgery on my leg and wasn't given any indication of the amount of pain I would have afterward. Maybe I should have realized when the nurse told me she could "see your muscle" when they were in there. When the numbness from the surgery wore off...holy crap. I spent Saturday and Sunday limping around, and by Monday I could hardly walk. Let me say that I am not a wuss when it comes to pain. I swear. But this was by far the worst pain I've been in in my life. And of course, being pregnant, there is very little I can take in the way of pain medication.

Went back and saw the surgeon on Tuesday. He said I may have been getting an infection due to some drainage and the pain, so he prescribed an antibiotic. I ended up being off work last Monday-Thursday, using my precious sick leave that I was trying to hang on to for the end of my pregnancy. Long story shorter, over a week later I am still having a very hard time getting around. Had I known how badly this was going to hurt I would never have done it being 8-9 months pregnant.

Bottom line, sun worshippers - it's not worth it. I spent more time than I care to admit trying to tan my pale Irish self in tanning beds, and I am absolutely done. I wouldn't go through this again for a million bucks. Hopefully I will be on the mend soon because there is soooo much to be done before this little girl makes her debut! More on all of that coming soon!