Saturday, June 16, 2012
Here we go
No, I'm not talking about Budweiser. I'm talking about the end of my maternity leave (which will necessitate some Buds). Where did the time go?? I know every returning-to-work mom thinks that but I don't know how 10 weeks have gone by so quickly. I remember leave with Lainey seeming longer but that's probably because I spent a lot of time just sitting on the couch staring at her and this time I have been busy. Busy? I say that but I'm not sure what I've been doing. The "to do" list I created at the beginning of my leave is still hanging out with hardly a thing marked off. But we've also done plenty of fun stuff, like going to the zoo, parks and the museum. I have had the best time getting to be with my girls (and Troy). And even though I go back to work on Monday, we started the girls at their new daycare this week so we could all hopefully adjust while I was still available. Uh, yeah. It hasn't been going so well but that is another post. I can just say that it is actually easier to drop off a baby than a toddler because a baby is happy as long as she's being fed but the toddler definitely knows she's being left and she doesn't like it. But I can't dwell on that right now. Tomorrow is Father's Day and my last day of leave. I'm going to soak it up and try not to dread Monday.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Busy Growing
Just in case you're wondering what we've been up to around here. I cannot believe my maternity leave is nearly over. Considering I work for a Canadian company, I wish their year-long maternity leave would apply to us! Ten weeks isn't nearly long enough. But if I want to continue to get a paycheck (and Troy insists that I do), then I have to go back to work on the 18th. Boo.
This leave seemed to go by so much faster than my one with Lainey. Probably because most of my leave with Lainey involved me sitting on the couch watching her sleep next to me on her Boppy Lounger pillow. This time, I've been all over the place. Lainey has gone to daycare most of the time to keep her to a schedule and to allow me some time at home with Harper. Plus, I thought she would be bored sitting at home watching me watch Harper sleep. Turns out, that wasn't what I was doing. What was I doing? It's kind of hard to say. I feel like I went lots of places when in reality, I have spent two weekends in Jamestown, one in Goldsboro and five days in Williamsburg. So what happened to the rest of the past eight weeks? Beats me. I imagine a large percentage of the time was spent at Wal-Mart though. Huh.
I have a couple of regrets from this leave: 1) I did not get everything done on my To Do List (but I guess I still have next week) and 2) I felt a little like Harper got the shaft. I guess this is the plight of the Second Child but I just feel like Harper doesn't get nearly enough of my attention. When Lainey is around and awake, she pretty much demands my undivided attention. Even when I'm feeding Harper, Lainey is right there, talking, asking questions, wanting to help and getting into stuff so I'm constantly having to watch her, talk to her, try to convince her to "bring that back" and shield Harper from her rough affections. And when Lainey is not here or napping, I'm too busy trying to get stuff done to be able to just watch my little one. Other Moms of Multiples, how do you do it? Do you ever feel like you get to spend equal amounts of attention on your children?
On Monday, the girls start at a new daycare. We loved the lady who has watched Lainey since she was 10 weeks old but for various reasons, we decided before Harper was born to make a change. So they will be going to a nursery/pre-school program at a local church just up the road from our house. We think Lainey will really love the pre-school atmosphere and getting to play with more kids. And, well, Harper won't know any different so she'll be fine. Plus, I imagine it's several older ladies who want to sit around and hold babies all day and that is Harper's favorite thing so she'll love it. But of course I am nervous about them starting somewhere new and how they will adjust and more so how I'll adjust. I've been pumping almost every evening for the past 2-3 weeks to get a supply but I wish I had started pumping sooner. I'm not sure why I was so reluctant to start pumping this time. Part of it was that Harper wasn't on a good schedule until then and would often still eat right before we went to bed (which is usually when I pump). But now she generally eats for the last time around 7-8 p.m. and then I pump around 10 and go to bed.
Harper has been sleeping through the night almost from the time she was a week old. By that, I mean going 5-6 hours between feedings. But ever since she was about 6 weeks old, she has for reals been sleeping through the night (like, I often wake up before she does in the morning). So definitely no complaints there! And she is chunking right up. She has recently started to get those cheeks like Lainey had as a baby. I know she weighed 11 lbs when she was 6 weeks old and she is definitely bigger than that now so I'm curious to see how much she weighs at her 2-month appointment next week. At 3 weeks old, she had to move from newborn clothes to 0-3 and then around 7 weeks, we moved her to 3 month clothes (mostly because she is so long!). She took forever (and two treatments of silver nitrate in the doctor's office) to get her umbilical stump to come off at 6 weeks. She just had her first bottle Monday night and took it without any issue at all. I imagine she doesn't mind how she gets a meal, just as long as she gets one. She has also been busy growing a new crop of hair. We were surprised when she was born with lots of soft, light brown hair. Then all of it on top fell off around 3 weeks. She had male pattern baldness and baby acne...her first awkward phase. But now she is growing all new hair that is still soft but appears to be more blond. I have a feeling she will share in Lainey's lack of hair (although hers has also been growing more lately!).
Well, I suppose I should get to the good stuff...the pictures! Here ya go...
This leave seemed to go by so much faster than my one with Lainey. Probably because most of my leave with Lainey involved me sitting on the couch watching her sleep next to me on her Boppy Lounger pillow. This time, I've been all over the place. Lainey has gone to daycare most of the time to keep her to a schedule and to allow me some time at home with Harper. Plus, I thought she would be bored sitting at home watching me watch Harper sleep. Turns out, that wasn't what I was doing. What was I doing? It's kind of hard to say. I feel like I went lots of places when in reality, I have spent two weekends in Jamestown, one in Goldsboro and five days in Williamsburg. So what happened to the rest of the past eight weeks? Beats me. I imagine a large percentage of the time was spent at Wal-Mart though. Huh.
I have a couple of regrets from this leave: 1) I did not get everything done on my To Do List (but I guess I still have next week) and 2) I felt a little like Harper got the shaft. I guess this is the plight of the Second Child but I just feel like Harper doesn't get nearly enough of my attention. When Lainey is around and awake, she pretty much demands my undivided attention. Even when I'm feeding Harper, Lainey is right there, talking, asking questions, wanting to help and getting into stuff so I'm constantly having to watch her, talk to her, try to convince her to "bring that back" and shield Harper from her rough affections. And when Lainey is not here or napping, I'm too busy trying to get stuff done to be able to just watch my little one. Other Moms of Multiples, how do you do it? Do you ever feel like you get to spend equal amounts of attention on your children?
On Monday, the girls start at a new daycare. We loved the lady who has watched Lainey since she was 10 weeks old but for various reasons, we decided before Harper was born to make a change. So they will be going to a nursery/pre-school program at a local church just up the road from our house. We think Lainey will really love the pre-school atmosphere and getting to play with more kids. And, well, Harper won't know any different so she'll be fine. Plus, I imagine it's several older ladies who want to sit around and hold babies all day and that is Harper's favorite thing so she'll love it. But of course I am nervous about them starting somewhere new and how they will adjust and more so how I'll adjust. I've been pumping almost every evening for the past 2-3 weeks to get a supply but I wish I had started pumping sooner. I'm not sure why I was so reluctant to start pumping this time. Part of it was that Harper wasn't on a good schedule until then and would often still eat right before we went to bed (which is usually when I pump). But now she generally eats for the last time around 7-8 p.m. and then I pump around 10 and go to bed.
Harper has been sleeping through the night almost from the time she was a week old. By that, I mean going 5-6 hours between feedings. But ever since she was about 6 weeks old, she has for reals been sleeping through the night (like, I often wake up before she does in the morning). So definitely no complaints there! And she is chunking right up. She has recently started to get those cheeks like Lainey had as a baby. I know she weighed 11 lbs when she was 6 weeks old and she is definitely bigger than that now so I'm curious to see how much she weighs at her 2-month appointment next week. At 3 weeks old, she had to move from newborn clothes to 0-3 and then around 7 weeks, we moved her to 3 month clothes (mostly because she is so long!). She took forever (and two treatments of silver nitrate in the doctor's office) to get her umbilical stump to come off at 6 weeks. She just had her first bottle Monday night and took it without any issue at all. I imagine she doesn't mind how she gets a meal, just as long as she gets one. She has also been busy growing a new crop of hair. We were surprised when she was born with lots of soft, light brown hair. Then all of it on top fell off around 3 weeks. She had male pattern baldness and baby acne...her first awkward phase. But now she is growing all new hair that is still soft but appears to be more blond. I have a feeling she will share in Lainey's lack of hair (although hers has also been growing more lately!).
Well, I suppose I should get to the good stuff...the pictures! Here ya go...
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Mmm...buttered popcorn
Oh how I love this newborn stage! I know a lot of people don't but I truly do. Their cute little cries, those tiny little diapers wrapped around even tinier little tushies. Yes, I even love that buttered popcorn smell of their dirty diapers. Does that make me weird? I don't care. I have been seriously neglectful of the blog but I have just been enjoying my girls. Harper is now 6 weeks old and getting so big! At 3 weeks old, she outgrew her newborn clothes and diapers and is wearing 0-3 month stuff now. She is growing wonderfully and is so long! She has long arms & legs (and fingers & toes) just like her Daddy but I think this one might end up looking more like me. I thought Lainey had my eyes until Harper came along. She gets this surprised look on her face with those big round blue eyes and that perfect little bow of a mouth. It is too cute! I had to take her to the doctor on Friday because her umbilical stump still hadn't fallen off and she weighed 11 pounds. She is really filling out! And yes, her stump finally fell off after they put some silver nitrate on it. So now...six weeks later...finally, some pictures!!
More to come...
More to come...
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Harper Elizabeth
As you have probably guessed, she's here! Harper arrived on April 7th at 8:29 p.m. weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces (5 more than her sister) and measuring 21.25" long (nearly an inch longer than her sister!). Here's her story...
I know I was whining in my last post. I was getting desperate as my scheduled c-section date drew nearer that I would never get to experience "normal" childbirth. As I'm sure most of you know, I did not make it to my scheduled c-section but that is still how things ended up. Thankfully I know that when it comes to childbirth, there is no planning and when it came down to it, I didn't get upset and just accepted it for what it was. But let me back up and tell you what all happened.
It started on Friday really. It was a full moon that night and I was determined to see if I could help things along. I read up on all those so-called labor inducing tricks and weeded out the ones that seemed a little medically risky and then tried out all the others (spicy food, walking, stuff like that). When I went to bed that night, I thought, "Well, we'll see what happens!" Every time I woke up, I wondered if it was because of a contraction. Then around 4:30 a.m., I awoke to a little gush. Now, you'd think that, especially in my present condition and frame of mind that I would immediately think that my water had broken and get Troy up. What did I do? Jumped up and went to the bathroom and thought, "Wow, this little incontinence thing is getting out of control." I went back to bed and slept just fine until it was time to get up.
When we all got up Saturday morning, we decided to run a few last-minute errands. I wanted to go to the Carter's outlet to look for a Big Sister shirt to match the Little Sister onesie I'd gotten for the baby (they didn't have it...apparently I bought last year's model). Then we went to BJs and bought a few things. The whole time, I was leaking a lot more than usual and was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. By the time we came home for lunch, I told Troy that things just didn't seem right. Just then, my friend Megan (a nurse) texted to see how I was holding up and I told her about the gush and asked her opinion. She wisely said, "You need to call the doctor. They can do a quick check to see if your water broke." So I finally called and ate some lunch while I waited to hear back from the on-call doctor. Of course, they told me to come in to the hospital to get checked.
Are you wondering where Lainey was during all of this? She was with us for all of the running around and was so tired by the time we got home, she ate a quick lunch and went down for a nap. So she was of course still sleeping when the doctor told us to come in. This was getting close to 2:00 at this point. Luckily, our nextdoor neighbors agreed to "watch" her, even though they were getting ready for their son's second birthday party later that afternoon (which we ended up missing but Lainey woke up and got to attend which was actually really good timing because it kept her occupied). So, off we went to Rex where they checked me all in and the nurse did a quick test. She wasn't able to make a positive determination so she called in the doctor on call. She officially checked me and did a swab to run some labs. No real shocker that it came back positive...I was leaking amniotic fluid. When I told her about my gush that morning, she looked at me like, "Well what did you think that was?" Seriously, when I think back on it now, that's what I always think too! So we were excited that labor had actually started! But my hopes were quickly dashed when Dr. Wind then said, "Well, we'll go ahead and schedule your c-section for around 8 p.m. since you ate lunch." What? C-section? But I was in labor! I had even started having contractions while we were sitting there for all of the testing. Unfortunately, she explained, my body still wasn't in active labor. My contractions were between 6 and 13 minutes apart and never got regular or closer together. Dr. Wind said that there was no way that my body was going to catch up in time and I couldn't get pitocin because of my previous c-section. So...after all that, I was still facing a c-section. In that moment, all hopes of ever getting to experience a vaginal childbirth were dashed. But I didn't dwell on that...instead it was time to get excited because we were having a baby today!
Once we found out all of this, we went ahead and called the family and told them to head to Rex. We had to wait in a triage room until they were ready to do the surgery. That was interesting. On one hand, it seemed like we were in that room for forever but on the other, it went by really quickly. It was probably close to 4 by the time we found all of this out and Troy and I were both busy making calls and filling the family in and making arrangements for Lainey. Since there was nothing to do but wait, we turned on the TV (mostly to keep us from going crazy just sitting there). Let me tell you...I love Rex but their cable sucks. Not to mention that there's not a ton of quality television on late Saturday afternoons. Mary Poppins was coming on ABC Family and that's what we settled on. And so we watched (sort of) and waited. A little more than an hour later, family started to show up. First Troy's Mom, then my Mom, Dad and sister. Thankfully, they had stopped by and picked Lainey up so I could see her before going into surgery. By this time, they moved me to the post-op area since it was totally empty and that's where they were going to prep me. I got to visit with all of the family briefly and spend some time with Lainey. Poor thing seemed confused as to why Mommy was in a hospital bed and gown but she did great. Then all of the family, including Troy, left. My family took Lainey home to eat dinner and get her in bed since it was nearly 7 p.m. at this point. Our neighbors kindly agreed to baby-sit Lainey again so my family could come back to the hospital.
As for me, I sat there by myself for a bit. It seemed like a really long time but it was less than 30 minutes. I talked to the nurses and checked Facebook on my phone. Then it was time for them to get me prepped for surgery which didn't take long. Troy came back and I was wheeled down the hall towards the OR. It's funny what you remember...as we moved down the hall, both Troy and I commented on remembering that so clearly from the last time. Once we got there though, it was a bit different. Troy went to the little room to get some scrubs on and I went into the OR. This time I was getting a spinal so I was positioned onto the surgery table in a sitting position and they came in and did that. It really wasn't bad. A sting and then a surge down my right leg. Another little surge and that was it and then they were getting me down on the table before I went numb. The nice thing about this time around was how everyone talked to me. I definitely remembered that the last time, it was as though everyone thought I was knocked out because no one talked to me or seemed to notice me and were just focused on the surgery. Not that I didn't want them paying attention to that but it helped to have some interaction! Troy couldn't come in until the drape was in place and they had already started the surgery (to make sure things were going smoothly). Then it was just a matter of minutes before we heard our little girl screaming as she was plucked from my uterus and brought up into this bright world.
As they carried her to the isolet, they held her up so we could see her. My first thought was that she looked so much like Lainey! She was louder though, and longer. Lainey cried some but then quieted down, as though she was taking it all in. Not this one...she cried out for all she was worth. :) Troy went with her while they cleaned her up and this was the part where I steeled myself for the rest of my surgery. With Lainey, this was when things went downhill for me. I could feel them stuffing my insides back into my torso and I was so uncomfortable and just wanted them to stop. Apparently, I was shaking and turning rather green so they pushed some high-powered sedatives into my IV and that was all I remember about that. This time, I was determined to be more present. Thankfully, there was no stuffing of insides. I don't know if that was the difference in having a female doctor this time but things at least seemed...gentler. I also had a female nurse anesthetist (the person who stays up by your head) and she actually talked to me which helped a lot. We talked about the baby and if I asked a question ("I smell burning flesh..."), she kindly answered me back to keep my informed ("Yup, they're cauterizing your blood vessels so you won't have a bunch of blood in your body cavity." Ah.). Then Troy and the baby were back and he held her close to my head so I could see her. Your arms are strapped down so I couldn't do much but it was nice to get to see her because I missed that with Lainey. Now that I got a better look at her, she didn't look as much like Lainey. I mean, she did, but she was definitely her own person. For one thing, she had wavy light brown hair! (I've gotten plenty of grief about that from Troy.) She also had a perfectly round face and head because she was a c-section (even Lainey had a bit of a conehead because I labored with her first). She doesn't look nearly as much like Troy the way Lainey did (and does). Maybe this one will look more like me? Then they were gone again...off to the nursery while I stayed behind. It took much longer for this part of the surgery than it did to get her out so that was interesting. Finally they finished and it was off to post-op. They checked me out and did the dreaded pushing on my abdomen (I definitely still remembered that from last time...that is pain like you can't imagine). Once I was all checked out and good to go, it was off to my room to be with family and finally, Miss Harper.
The rest of the time in the hospital was just like last time...perfectly pleasant with kind nurses and lots of care and attention. We were told that insurance would cover us to stay until Wednesday but we could be discharged Tuesday if we liked. Let me tell you, we seriously considered staying that extra day! If it hadn't been for Lainey, we totally would have. But we wanted to get home to be with her. She had come up to see us on Sunday and that was great but not enough. Thankfully, she loved her little sister right away and was only upset that I couldn't "get up" and she didn't like my IV. We had loads of family visit on Sunday and Lainey and Harper got all kinds of gifts. Then Monday was a quiet day for us and we went home Tuesday around lunch time. Troy's Mom was there to help until my Mom came the next day to take over. They switched off again for the weekend and then my Mom was back the next week. I can't tell you how nice it was to have help. I don't remember the recovery being as slow last time but I think that's mostly because I didn't have a toddler wanting me to pick her up. That was the hardest part for Lainey & me. It's been three weeks and I still am trying not to pick her up because it hurts and I have made the mistake of thinking that I'm fine and picking her up and then setting myself back so I'm trying to take it easy. But all in all, things are going very well. Harper is a sweet and calm baby. I think she is possibly even more easy-going than Lainey was. While Lainey runs around squealing, she snoozes peacefully. The first two nights at home were a little rough but by the third night, she was sleeping 5-6 hours at a time. I know...pretty amazing! So I can't complain too much about that. And breastfeeding! Wow, it is so much better when you know what you're doing. So far, there haven't been any issues and everything is going smoothly. My milk came in quickly and for a few days there, I was tempted to inquire if any neighborhood kids needed to eat because I had enough for everyone. But ice packs and hot showers helped and now my overflowing 38Ds have calmed down to about a 36C and we're all much happier about that. the rest of me is slowly going down as well but of course not as quickly as I would like. Time will take care of that though...and also if I can stop eating desserts.
I will post pictures soon. It is pretty amazing how slack you get about stuff like that the second time around unfortunately. All of our pictures are on our two phones and we haven't uploaded them to the computer yet. I keep asking Troy for his phone to do that and he's all, "But I don't have that many. Just some from the hospital when they were bathing her off and stuff." Um, yeah...all of the first pictures of her. I kind of want those! So, yes, I will upload and share them soon. In the meantime, you can check out the amazing pictures my friend Elizabeth took of her when she was a week old. :)
I know I was whining in my last post. I was getting desperate as my scheduled c-section date drew nearer that I would never get to experience "normal" childbirth. As I'm sure most of you know, I did not make it to my scheduled c-section but that is still how things ended up. Thankfully I know that when it comes to childbirth, there is no planning and when it came down to it, I didn't get upset and just accepted it for what it was. But let me back up and tell you what all happened.
It started on Friday really. It was a full moon that night and I was determined to see if I could help things along. I read up on all those so-called labor inducing tricks and weeded out the ones that seemed a little medically risky and then tried out all the others (spicy food, walking, stuff like that). When I went to bed that night, I thought, "Well, we'll see what happens!" Every time I woke up, I wondered if it was because of a contraction. Then around 4:30 a.m., I awoke to a little gush. Now, you'd think that, especially in my present condition and frame of mind that I would immediately think that my water had broken and get Troy up. What did I do? Jumped up and went to the bathroom and thought, "Wow, this little incontinence thing is getting out of control." I went back to bed and slept just fine until it was time to get up.
When we all got up Saturday morning, we decided to run a few last-minute errands. I wanted to go to the Carter's outlet to look for a Big Sister shirt to match the Little Sister onesie I'd gotten for the baby (they didn't have it...apparently I bought last year's model). Then we went to BJs and bought a few things. The whole time, I was leaking a lot more than usual and was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. By the time we came home for lunch, I told Troy that things just didn't seem right. Just then, my friend Megan (a nurse) texted to see how I was holding up and I told her about the gush and asked her opinion. She wisely said, "You need to call the doctor. They can do a quick check to see if your water broke." So I finally called and ate some lunch while I waited to hear back from the on-call doctor. Of course, they told me to come in to the hospital to get checked.
Are you wondering where Lainey was during all of this? She was with us for all of the running around and was so tired by the time we got home, she ate a quick lunch and went down for a nap. So she was of course still sleeping when the doctor told us to come in. This was getting close to 2:00 at this point. Luckily, our nextdoor neighbors agreed to "watch" her, even though they were getting ready for their son's second birthday party later that afternoon (which we ended up missing but Lainey woke up and got to attend which was actually really good timing because it kept her occupied). So, off we went to Rex where they checked me all in and the nurse did a quick test. She wasn't able to make a positive determination so she called in the doctor on call. She officially checked me and did a swab to run some labs. No real shocker that it came back positive...I was leaking amniotic fluid. When I told her about my gush that morning, she looked at me like, "Well what did you think that was?" Seriously, when I think back on it now, that's what I always think too! So we were excited that labor had actually started! But my hopes were quickly dashed when Dr. Wind then said, "Well, we'll go ahead and schedule your c-section for around 8 p.m. since you ate lunch." What? C-section? But I was in labor! I had even started having contractions while we were sitting there for all of the testing. Unfortunately, she explained, my body still wasn't in active labor. My contractions were between 6 and 13 minutes apart and never got regular or closer together. Dr. Wind said that there was no way that my body was going to catch up in time and I couldn't get pitocin because of my previous c-section. So...after all that, I was still facing a c-section. In that moment, all hopes of ever getting to experience a vaginal childbirth were dashed. But I didn't dwell on that...instead it was time to get excited because we were having a baby today!
Once we found out all of this, we went ahead and called the family and told them to head to Rex. We had to wait in a triage room until they were ready to do the surgery. That was interesting. On one hand, it seemed like we were in that room for forever but on the other, it went by really quickly. It was probably close to 4 by the time we found all of this out and Troy and I were both busy making calls and filling the family in and making arrangements for Lainey. Since there was nothing to do but wait, we turned on the TV (mostly to keep us from going crazy just sitting there). Let me tell you...I love Rex but their cable sucks. Not to mention that there's not a ton of quality television on late Saturday afternoons. Mary Poppins was coming on ABC Family and that's what we settled on. And so we watched (sort of) and waited. A little more than an hour later, family started to show up. First Troy's Mom, then my Mom, Dad and sister. Thankfully, they had stopped by and picked Lainey up so I could see her before going into surgery. By this time, they moved me to the post-op area since it was totally empty and that's where they were going to prep me. I got to visit with all of the family briefly and spend some time with Lainey. Poor thing seemed confused as to why Mommy was in a hospital bed and gown but she did great. Then all of the family, including Troy, left. My family took Lainey home to eat dinner and get her in bed since it was nearly 7 p.m. at this point. Our neighbors kindly agreed to baby-sit Lainey again so my family could come back to the hospital.
As for me, I sat there by myself for a bit. It seemed like a really long time but it was less than 30 minutes. I talked to the nurses and checked Facebook on my phone. Then it was time for them to get me prepped for surgery which didn't take long. Troy came back and I was wheeled down the hall towards the OR. It's funny what you remember...as we moved down the hall, both Troy and I commented on remembering that so clearly from the last time. Once we got there though, it was a bit different. Troy went to the little room to get some scrubs on and I went into the OR. This time I was getting a spinal so I was positioned onto the surgery table in a sitting position and they came in and did that. It really wasn't bad. A sting and then a surge down my right leg. Another little surge and that was it and then they were getting me down on the table before I went numb. The nice thing about this time around was how everyone talked to me. I definitely remembered that the last time, it was as though everyone thought I was knocked out because no one talked to me or seemed to notice me and were just focused on the surgery. Not that I didn't want them paying attention to that but it helped to have some interaction! Troy couldn't come in until the drape was in place and they had already started the surgery (to make sure things were going smoothly). Then it was just a matter of minutes before we heard our little girl screaming as she was plucked from my uterus and brought up into this bright world.
As they carried her to the isolet, they held her up so we could see her. My first thought was that she looked so much like Lainey! She was louder though, and longer. Lainey cried some but then quieted down, as though she was taking it all in. Not this one...she cried out for all she was worth. :) Troy went with her while they cleaned her up and this was the part where I steeled myself for the rest of my surgery. With Lainey, this was when things went downhill for me. I could feel them stuffing my insides back into my torso and I was so uncomfortable and just wanted them to stop. Apparently, I was shaking and turning rather green so they pushed some high-powered sedatives into my IV and that was all I remember about that. This time, I was determined to be more present. Thankfully, there was no stuffing of insides. I don't know if that was the difference in having a female doctor this time but things at least seemed...gentler. I also had a female nurse anesthetist (the person who stays up by your head) and she actually talked to me which helped a lot. We talked about the baby and if I asked a question ("I smell burning flesh..."), she kindly answered me back to keep my informed ("Yup, they're cauterizing your blood vessels so you won't have a bunch of blood in your body cavity." Ah.). Then Troy and the baby were back and he held her close to my head so I could see her. Your arms are strapped down so I couldn't do much but it was nice to get to see her because I missed that with Lainey. Now that I got a better look at her, she didn't look as much like Lainey. I mean, she did, but she was definitely her own person. For one thing, she had wavy light brown hair! (I've gotten plenty of grief about that from Troy.) She also had a perfectly round face and head because she was a c-section (even Lainey had a bit of a conehead because I labored with her first). She doesn't look nearly as much like Troy the way Lainey did (and does). Maybe this one will look more like me? Then they were gone again...off to the nursery while I stayed behind. It took much longer for this part of the surgery than it did to get her out so that was interesting. Finally they finished and it was off to post-op. They checked me out and did the dreaded pushing on my abdomen (I definitely still remembered that from last time...that is pain like you can't imagine). Once I was all checked out and good to go, it was off to my room to be with family and finally, Miss Harper.
The rest of the time in the hospital was just like last time...perfectly pleasant with kind nurses and lots of care and attention. We were told that insurance would cover us to stay until Wednesday but we could be discharged Tuesday if we liked. Let me tell you, we seriously considered staying that extra day! If it hadn't been for Lainey, we totally would have. But we wanted to get home to be with her. She had come up to see us on Sunday and that was great but not enough. Thankfully, she loved her little sister right away and was only upset that I couldn't "get up" and she didn't like my IV. We had loads of family visit on Sunday and Lainey and Harper got all kinds of gifts. Then Monday was a quiet day for us and we went home Tuesday around lunch time. Troy's Mom was there to help until my Mom came the next day to take over. They switched off again for the weekend and then my Mom was back the next week. I can't tell you how nice it was to have help. I don't remember the recovery being as slow last time but I think that's mostly because I didn't have a toddler wanting me to pick her up. That was the hardest part for Lainey & me. It's been three weeks and I still am trying not to pick her up because it hurts and I have made the mistake of thinking that I'm fine and picking her up and then setting myself back so I'm trying to take it easy. But all in all, things are going very well. Harper is a sweet and calm baby. I think she is possibly even more easy-going than Lainey was. While Lainey runs around squealing, she snoozes peacefully. The first two nights at home were a little rough but by the third night, she was sleeping 5-6 hours at a time. I know...pretty amazing! So I can't complain too much about that. And breastfeeding! Wow, it is so much better when you know what you're doing. So far, there haven't been any issues and everything is going smoothly. My milk came in quickly and for a few days there, I was tempted to inquire if any neighborhood kids needed to eat because I had enough for everyone. But ice packs and hot showers helped and now my overflowing 38Ds have calmed down to about a 36C and we're all much happier about that. the rest of me is slowly going down as well but of course not as quickly as I would like. Time will take care of that though...and also if I can stop eating desserts.
I will post pictures soon. It is pretty amazing how slack you get about stuff like that the second time around unfortunately. All of our pictures are on our two phones and we haven't uploaded them to the computer yet. I keep asking Troy for his phone to do that and he's all, "But I don't have that many. Just some from the hospital when they were bathing her off and stuff." Um, yeah...all of the first pictures of her. I kind of want those! So, yes, I will upload and share them soon. In the meantime, you can check out the amazing pictures my friend Elizabeth took of her when she was a week old. :)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Still here...
Yes...I am still pregnant. My due date came & went on Sunday but this little girl is snuggled up still. I swear, I must have the most comfortable uterus ever. This morning was my last doctor's appointment. They did an ultrasound to check things out and make sure she's still good to go in there (she is) and even the tech said she was curled up, almost on her side and seems quite content. That was not exactly the news I was hoping for. I was hoping I would go in and they would say, "Wow...how did you not notice that you're in active labor? You should just walk on over to Rex right now." Yeah yeah...I knew it was a long shot. But I was at least hoping they would tell me I had made some sort of progress since last week! But I have not. I'm about 1 cm dilated and that's about it. The doctor said there's nothing they can do to help me out because of my previous c-section and she wasn't super encouraging that she thought anything would happen before my scheduled c-section on Tuesday. So that has me pretty bummed. I know that I am ridiculously upset about my looming c-section. Troy keeps pointing out that lots of women opt for c-sections and say it's so much better the second time. But I am very bitter about it and wonder if I'll even be happy on Tuesday when they're prepping me for surgery that I will get to meet this baby or if I'll be so upset at another major surgery that I won't even be excited until it's all over and done with. Yes...I realize I'm sulking. I'm honestly trying to focus on the fact that she seems perfect and healthy and that she will be here one way or another in less than a week. I wish she would just come already and put me out of my misery! So keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for me. Hey, there's a full moon tomorrow so anything could happen!
Let me at least end on a high note...here is a picture of me from this morning so you can see that I am certainly ripe!!
Let me at least end on a high note...here is a picture of me from this morning so you can see that I am certainly ripe!!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Housekeeping!
I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow and nesting is now kicking in around here. Although, I think Troy is doing the bulk of it. As I sit on the couch in yoga pants typing this, he is outside mowing our (dormant) grass. He just really needed to do some yard work I think. But he has also been cleaning out the cars and hopefully shuffling/adding the carseats. Now that I work about 10 minutes from home, I've been driving the 4Runner and he has taken the Honda for gas mileage reasons. This is fine except that I always kept my car pretty clean and that 4Runner is just...gross. He rides with the windows down all the time and there is a layer of grime and dust in there that he really needed to address. So hopefully it is clean now and he'll move Lainey's car seat to the side because I don't think I can keep throwing her into the middle of the backseat. It is amusing enough watching me hoist myself into the driver's seat but seeing me try to get her into the rear-facing middle of the backseat is...interesting I'm sure.
So back to the getting ready part. We are really doing stuff now. All the baby gear is out and ready. I'm washing the newborn stuff and putting it in the drawers this weekend. I even went this morning and got a pre-hospital wax (some maintenance is just not as fun as other stuff). I think we're about all set. I told the baby that she needs to wait just one more week and then she can come any time. I have a little shower at work on Thursday and a hair appointment next Saturday and then I'll be totally ready! :) But I seriously need to make that hair appointment. Just like with Lainey, my hair seems to be much darker now and these roots are out of control. And maybe this time around I will not think that chopping my hair off into a nonsensical bob is the way to go if I have lovely golden highlights. You hear that? Don't let me get some ugly Mom cut this time around. :-P
As for Lainey, she still doesn't really get what's going on. She was super excited that we got all of the baby stuff out. I think she's used that swing more now than she did when she was an infant. She loves to run over to the swing and the pack 'n play and turn the music and vibration buttons on and dance. She was also getting a bit too obsessed with her bunny & paci so we've scaled back the paci and she seems to be doing great. We only let her have it in the crib when she's napping or sleeping and she's actually been less whiny. Troy wants to have her totally off the paci before the baby arrives but I'm not so sure how that will work out.
So not too much longer now! We actually scheduled a c-section for 4/10 but I'm still hoping to go into labor on my own before then. I just really don't want to do a repeat c-section but we'll see what this little girl's plans are for entering the world. Troy is convinced that she wants out and thinks it will be any time now but he thought that about Lainey too and she certainly has not turned out to be a speedy thing, in any regard (totally got that from me). But I will of course keep you all posted. Hopefully it will be soon!
So back to the getting ready part. We are really doing stuff now. All the baby gear is out and ready. I'm washing the newborn stuff and putting it in the drawers this weekend. I even went this morning and got a pre-hospital wax (some maintenance is just not as fun as other stuff). I think we're about all set. I told the baby that she needs to wait just one more week and then she can come any time. I have a little shower at work on Thursday and a hair appointment next Saturday and then I'll be totally ready! :) But I seriously need to make that hair appointment. Just like with Lainey, my hair seems to be much darker now and these roots are out of control. And maybe this time around I will not think that chopping my hair off into a nonsensical bob is the way to go if I have lovely golden highlights. You hear that? Don't let me get some ugly Mom cut this time around. :-P
As for Lainey, she still doesn't really get what's going on. She was super excited that we got all of the baby stuff out. I think she's used that swing more now than she did when she was an infant. She loves to run over to the swing and the pack 'n play and turn the music and vibration buttons on and dance. She was also getting a bit too obsessed with her bunny & paci so we've scaled back the paci and she seems to be doing great. We only let her have it in the crib when she's napping or sleeping and she's actually been less whiny. Troy wants to have her totally off the paci before the baby arrives but I'm not so sure how that will work out.
So not too much longer now! We actually scheduled a c-section for 4/10 but I'm still hoping to go into labor on my own before then. I just really don't want to do a repeat c-section but we'll see what this little girl's plans are for entering the world. Troy is convinced that she wants out and thinks it will be any time now but he thought that about Lainey too and she certainly has not turned out to be a speedy thing, in any regard (totally got that from me). But I will of course keep you all posted. Hopefully it will be soon!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Day-to-day
I ran out of deodorant this week. This isn't a big deal...I had the forethought to buy another one during my last shopping trip. The alarming thing about this is...all I could think when I took out the new deodorant was, "This is the deodorant I'll be using when the baby arrives." Y'all, we are getting so close!
Also, another realization I just made: I HAVE STRETCH MARKS. I did not get any with Lainey and I used cocoa butter lotion every day. But they say that stuff doesn't work so I slacked off and haven't used any this time and now I HAVE STRETCH MARKS. Ugh. They're on my belly so it really looks like I'm going to just burst wide open.
But here we are folks...I'm halfway through my 36th week. I went to the doctor today who informed me I'm "fingertips" dilated (which means less than a cm). So not much going on although she's now definitely in head-down position. When I go from a sitting to standing position, it feels like she burrows her head way down into my bladder. So then I make the uncomfortable waddle to the other end of my work building to go to the bathroom. I think I'm going to have to just move and set up shop in the big stall soon. Other uncomfortable symptoms include back pain, calf cramps, heartburn, Braxton Hicks contractions and tiny limbs jabbing me from within. Yet despite all that, I do enjoy being pregnant. :) There's something so bizarre about the fact that I'm growing a little person inside of me that it's just too fascinating not to be pretty excited about it. I can no longer tie my shoes, lean over things or see certain areas of my own body. But when I look at the weird bubble growing on the front of me when I'm about to get in the shower every morning, I do tend to marvel a bit.
Also, another realization I just made: I HAVE STRETCH MARKS. I did not get any with Lainey and I used cocoa butter lotion every day. But they say that stuff doesn't work so I slacked off and haven't used any this time and now I HAVE STRETCH MARKS. Ugh. They're on my belly so it really looks like I'm going to just burst wide open.
But here we are folks...I'm halfway through my 36th week. I went to the doctor today who informed me I'm "fingertips" dilated (which means less than a cm). So not much going on although she's now definitely in head-down position. When I go from a sitting to standing position, it feels like she burrows her head way down into my bladder. So then I make the uncomfortable waddle to the other end of my work building to go to the bathroom. I think I'm going to have to just move and set up shop in the big stall soon. Other uncomfortable symptoms include back pain, calf cramps, heartburn, Braxton Hicks contractions and tiny limbs jabbing me from within. Yet despite all that, I do enjoy being pregnant. :) There's something so bizarre about the fact that I'm growing a little person inside of me that it's just too fascinating not to be pretty excited about it. I can no longer tie my shoes, lean over things or see certain areas of my own body. But when I look at the weird bubble growing on the front of me when I'm about to get in the shower every morning, I do tend to marvel a bit.
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