Saturday, December 22, 2012
10 Weeks old
Monday, November 5, 2012
Almost one month old
Emory will be one month old on Wednesday, and I can't believe how the time has just flown by. I also can't believe how big she has already gotten. Last week she weighed 6 lbs 9 oz, which means she had gained a little more than a pound in 3 weeks. Jason thinks she weighs over 7 lbs now. Her cheeks are filling in, and her head/face is more round. She sleeps really well at night, naps decently throughout the day, and is overall a pretty happy baby (knock on wood).
We just had our really good friend Kari Averett visit us here and she took our newborn pictures for us. From what I saw, they look fantastic and can't wait to see them in person. It was so nice to see her and visit with her. She left this morning, and we were sad to see her go.
I am already not looking forward to having to go back to work, which is not for another 4-6 weeks, I know I will miss her so much. I've really enjoyed spending all this time with her.
Jason is such a good daddy, he is already overprotective and very doting. He is incredibly helpful as well. I really appreciate him, and consider myself very lucky to have him. We are just both in love with our "little peanut" and are loving every minute.
We just had our really good friend Kari Averett visit us here and she took our newborn pictures for us. From what I saw, they look fantastic and can't wait to see them in person. It was so nice to see her and visit with her. She left this morning, and we were sad to see her go.
I am already not looking forward to having to go back to work, which is not for another 4-6 weeks, I know I will miss her so much. I've really enjoyed spending all this time with her.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Emory is here!! Delivery-slightly graphic
I know Emory was born over two weeks ago, but it's amazing how fast the times goes when you are caring for a baby and just adjusting to life with a baby. Well here is my labor and delivery story, for those that are interested.
I went in on Tuesday October 9th, 2012 for my induction. I was being induced for IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), which basically means that the baby is too small and why this is concerning is because a baby might be too small because the placenta or umbilical cord is no longer working as it should and the baby isn't getting the nutrients that are needed for healthy growth. Other reasons for a smaller baby are (and I met these criteria as well are); first time baby, female baby, IVF baby. We weren't sure which reason could have attributed to her being small, and that's why we had been keeping a really close eye on my placenta and umbilical cord over the last month, and they had been looking great. Which is why the Dr let me go to 39 weeks gestation, but he didn't want to push it beyond that. Anyways, I went in for induction and they used a medication called cytotec that I swallowed to ripen my cervix for piton the following day. When I went in for induction my cervix was dilated 1cm, I was 50% effaced, and she was -2 station. I received 3 doses of oral cytotec that evening and when they checked me in the morning I was 2cm dilated, 80% effaced, and +2 station. We were very surprised that she had come down in the birth canal so much through the night, and this is not normally something that is seen with first time babies, but I was excited.
They then started the pitocin around 8 in the morning and I could feel the contractions but they weren't very strong. I felt like we kind of putzed around all day, we couldn't get up more than a little bit of pitocin because I was contracting frequently enough. After pitocin all day, the nurse checked me around 4pm and I hadn't really changed much. It would be up to the Dr what we would do at that point. He was at the office, and came over around 5pm. He told me we had three options at this point; We could rupture my bag of water, but this can be dangerous if your body isn't ready for labor because of the risk of infection, we could do more cyctotec that evening and try pitocin again in the morning, or we could turn everything off through the night, rest, and try again tomorrow. He wasn't in favor of rupturing my membranes, but he wanted to check me to make sure. Once he checked me I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced, and +2 station but my cervix was more in front (anterior) and this made rupturing my membranes more favorable, so we decided to do it. This was at 5pm.
As soon as the Dr ruptured my membranes, I immediately was in pain. Jason said my face turned white, and I never got my color back till after delivery. The contractions were very frequent and they hurt a lot. I tried walking around, the labor ball, and taking a warm bath. After about an hour and a half, I was shaking, the contractions were getting even stronger and more painful, and I had decided that I had experienced labor, and was ready for my epidural. I really thought that a lot had happened in just that short period of time, and my anxiety level was getting pretty high. I received my epidural at 7pm.
It took a while for my epidural to kick in. The anesthesiologist gave me two loading doses of medicine and I had pushed my bolus button for the pain, because we just couldn't get me comfortable. I was really excited to see what I was dilated to as I had been in misery the last two hours. The nurse checked me, and I had made ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGE. I was devastated. How could I have been in agonizing pain for the last two hours and had no cervical change. I was incredibly discouraged, but also glad that I had gotten my epidural, because I couldn't have handled any more. The plan was for me to get some rest. I was doing the math in my head for approximately when the baby would be born, knowing that generally your cervix dilated 1cm an hour and then with the epidural I could push for up to 3 hours. This meant that it could be 10 hours before we had her. I would get a good night's rest then. I was so completely happy with my epidural once it kicked it. I felt so warm and tingly, and I think it's great when people deliver without an epidural, but with how wonderful I felt, I don't understand why you would.
Two hours later, around 9:15pm, the Dr came in to check me because the babies heart monitor was showing variables, which means there was something going on down there. He checked me and I was 9.5cm dilated, 100% effaced, and +2 station. He went to change into scrubs and came back 15 minutes later and I was complete at 10cm. He asked that staff be present for delivery as he didn't think I would be pushing for very long. Well since I work at the hospital that I delivered at, the hospital room was very full. I had a lot of co-worker friends in there, a little bit of family, and the necessary staff for delivery. As I was pushing, Emory's heart rate was concerningly low, and the Dr decided to use forceps for delivery and cut a 2nd degree episiotomy to get her out quickly. The umbilical cord was coming out with Emory, and she was pinching it off and not receiving any blood/oxygen. I pushed for 16 minutes and Emory Ryan Hooker was born October 10th, 2012 at 9:56pm. She weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 19 inches long. Jason caught her. He had his arms full and was unable to cut the umbilical cord, but he was more excited about have caught her. He then placed her on my abdomen, where I dried her off, and me being the nurse that I am, I did her apgars. She scored an 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes of life. Perfect for Colorado.
I know everyone thinks their baby is perfect, but my baby really is perfect. She is so beautiful, sweet, and I love her more than I ever thought possible already. Life is good.
I went in on Tuesday October 9th, 2012 for my induction. I was being induced for IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), which basically means that the baby is too small and why this is concerning is because a baby might be too small because the placenta or umbilical cord is no longer working as it should and the baby isn't getting the nutrients that are needed for healthy growth. Other reasons for a smaller baby are (and I met these criteria as well are); first time baby, female baby, IVF baby. We weren't sure which reason could have attributed to her being small, and that's why we had been keeping a really close eye on my placenta and umbilical cord over the last month, and they had been looking great. Which is why the Dr let me go to 39 weeks gestation, but he didn't want to push it beyond that. Anyways, I went in for induction and they used a medication called cytotec that I swallowed to ripen my cervix for piton the following day. When I went in for induction my cervix was dilated 1cm, I was 50% effaced, and she was -2 station. I received 3 doses of oral cytotec that evening and when they checked me in the morning I was 2cm dilated, 80% effaced, and +2 station. We were very surprised that she had come down in the birth canal so much through the night, and this is not normally something that is seen with first time babies, but I was excited.
They then started the pitocin around 8 in the morning and I could feel the contractions but they weren't very strong. I felt like we kind of putzed around all day, we couldn't get up more than a little bit of pitocin because I was contracting frequently enough. After pitocin all day, the nurse checked me around 4pm and I hadn't really changed much. It would be up to the Dr what we would do at that point. He was at the office, and came over around 5pm. He told me we had three options at this point; We could rupture my bag of water, but this can be dangerous if your body isn't ready for labor because of the risk of infection, we could do more cyctotec that evening and try pitocin again in the morning, or we could turn everything off through the night, rest, and try again tomorrow. He wasn't in favor of rupturing my membranes, but he wanted to check me to make sure. Once he checked me I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced, and +2 station but my cervix was more in front (anterior) and this made rupturing my membranes more favorable, so we decided to do it. This was at 5pm.
As soon as the Dr ruptured my membranes, I immediately was in pain. Jason said my face turned white, and I never got my color back till after delivery. The contractions were very frequent and they hurt a lot. I tried walking around, the labor ball, and taking a warm bath. After about an hour and a half, I was shaking, the contractions were getting even stronger and more painful, and I had decided that I had experienced labor, and was ready for my epidural. I really thought that a lot had happened in just that short period of time, and my anxiety level was getting pretty high. I received my epidural at 7pm.
It took a while for my epidural to kick in. The anesthesiologist gave me two loading doses of medicine and I had pushed my bolus button for the pain, because we just couldn't get me comfortable. I was really excited to see what I was dilated to as I had been in misery the last two hours. The nurse checked me, and I had made ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGE. I was devastated. How could I have been in agonizing pain for the last two hours and had no cervical change. I was incredibly discouraged, but also glad that I had gotten my epidural, because I couldn't have handled any more. The plan was for me to get some rest. I was doing the math in my head for approximately when the baby would be born, knowing that generally your cervix dilated 1cm an hour and then with the epidural I could push for up to 3 hours. This meant that it could be 10 hours before we had her. I would get a good night's rest then. I was so completely happy with my epidural once it kicked it. I felt so warm and tingly, and I think it's great when people deliver without an epidural, but with how wonderful I felt, I don't understand why you would.
Two hours later, around 9:15pm, the Dr came in to check me because the babies heart monitor was showing variables, which means there was something going on down there. He checked me and I was 9.5cm dilated, 100% effaced, and +2 station. He went to change into scrubs and came back 15 minutes later and I was complete at 10cm. He asked that staff be present for delivery as he didn't think I would be pushing for very long. Well since I work at the hospital that I delivered at, the hospital room was very full. I had a lot of co-worker friends in there, a little bit of family, and the necessary staff for delivery. As I was pushing, Emory's heart rate was concerningly low, and the Dr decided to use forceps for delivery and cut a 2nd degree episiotomy to get her out quickly. The umbilical cord was coming out with Emory, and she was pinching it off and not receiving any blood/oxygen. I pushed for 16 minutes and Emory Ryan Hooker was born October 10th, 2012 at 9:56pm. She weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 19 inches long. Jason caught her. He had his arms full and was unable to cut the umbilical cord, but he was more excited about have caught her. He then placed her on my abdomen, where I dried her off, and me being the nurse that I am, I did her apgars. She scored an 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes of life. Perfect for Colorado.
I know everyone thinks their baby is perfect, but my baby really is perfect. She is so beautiful, sweet, and I love her more than I ever thought possible already. Life is good.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Induction Tomorrow
I am scheduled to go to the hospital tomorrow for our induction. The plan is that I will go in tomorrow evening for cervical ripening and then on Wednesday, they will start the medication that will make me contract and hopefully delivery Emory. We are getting so excited. This means that in 2-3 days our baby girl will be here.
What brought us to this point is, my appointment last Thursday with our ultrasound showed us that Emory is still too small. She is estimated at weighing 5lb 14oz, and her abdominal circumference is lagging behind the most. They don't like it when they see this assymmetric measurements. She is not considered growth restricted, but since she will be 39 weeks tomorrow, they figure there is no point in waiting any longer for her to come, as her lungs are mature. I had another appointment today, where we finalized plans. My cervix is dilated to 1.5 cm and my cervix is 50% thinned out. This is a good place to start, and I've lost several pieces of my mucous plug today. The Dr stripped my cervical membranes with his fingers today, which has caused me to spot a little, but that is normal. We did this in the hopes that if my body is ready, it will go into labor on it's own before the induction, or that it might make my cervix more receptive to the medications. I haven't been contracting much since he did this though. I am a little bummed about this, but my actual Dr won't be able to manage my induction as he left for a father/son fishing trip yesterday that has been planned for a while, so I will have a different Dr for the induction, but I like this Dr as well. My Dr was so bummed as well and kept apologizing that he was going to miss it, as he was expecting me to deliver next week as that is my due date.
My grandparents are leaving for Loveland on Wednesday morning, and will be here for delivery and about a week after to help out. I am looking forward to seeing them, and spending some time together.
Jason and I keep having these light bulb moments where we realize how real this is. We are going to be parents in just a couple days; Emory's primary care providers for life. It all still seems so surreal, and I guess we never thought this day would get here. I am a little bummed about the fact that I won't be going into labor on my own, but I know I will get over that as soon as I meet her. I also am a little sad about the fact that in just a couple days I won't be pregnant anymore. Over all, I have had a pretty good pregnancy with few complaints, and I am already missing the fact that I won't be feeling her moving inside of me soon.
What brought us to this point is, my appointment last Thursday with our ultrasound showed us that Emory is still too small. She is estimated at weighing 5lb 14oz, and her abdominal circumference is lagging behind the most. They don't like it when they see this assymmetric measurements. She is not considered growth restricted, but since she will be 39 weeks tomorrow, they figure there is no point in waiting any longer for her to come, as her lungs are mature. I had another appointment today, where we finalized plans. My cervix is dilated to 1.5 cm and my cervix is 50% thinned out. This is a good place to start, and I've lost several pieces of my mucous plug today. The Dr stripped my cervical membranes with his fingers today, which has caused me to spot a little, but that is normal. We did this in the hopes that if my body is ready, it will go into labor on it's own before the induction, or that it might make my cervix more receptive to the medications. I haven't been contracting much since he did this though. I am a little bummed about this, but my actual Dr won't be able to manage my induction as he left for a father/son fishing trip yesterday that has been planned for a while, so I will have a different Dr for the induction, but I like this Dr as well. My Dr was so bummed as well and kept apologizing that he was going to miss it, as he was expecting me to deliver next week as that is my due date.
My grandparents are leaving for Loveland on Wednesday morning, and will be here for delivery and about a week after to help out. I am looking forward to seeing them, and spending some time together.
Jason and I keep having these light bulb moments where we realize how real this is. We are going to be parents in just a couple days; Emory's primary care providers for life. It all still seems so surreal, and I guess we never thought this day would get here. I am a little bummed about the fact that I won't be going into labor on my own, but I know I will get over that as soon as I meet her. I also am a little sad about the fact that in just a couple days I won't be pregnant anymore. Over all, I have had a pretty good pregnancy with few complaints, and I am already missing the fact that I won't be feeling her moving inside of me soon.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
37 weeks (almost 38)
Alot has happened since I last posted on here. My ultrasound last week went okay, but Emory is definately too small. She is measuring about 3 weeks behind. My placenta looks good, the umbilical cord looks good, she's moving like she should, and my amniotic fluid is still good. Since she is so small though, the Dr will want to delivery her earlier than her due date. Since all the ultrasound tests are still doing good, she bought herself another week of growing, but the Dr said he wouldn't let me go past 39 weeks, so that means I will be induced within 10 days or so, maybe sooner. I have another ultrasound and Dr's appointment on Thursday, and we will probably have a plan of action then. Two weeks ago she was approximately 5lb 2 oz small, not big, and it will be interesting to see how much she's grown in two weeks. If she hasn't grown very much, that might just well be our ticket to the hospital.
We are all ready for her, we got our cloth diapers, I've packed my bag (finally), we did our belly cast yesterday, all her laundry is washed and put away, and our carseat bases are installed in both our cars. Now we just get to play the waiting game, which is fun and slow at the same time.
Like I said, we did our belly cast yesterday, which was an interesting process. It turned out great thanks to Jason, and we can't wait to finish it with plaster and paint it, then hang it up in the room somewhere. This is an uncomfortable process though, and my back was killing me by the end of it.
My grandparents are planning on coming down for about a week after Emory is born to help out, and I am so thankful for them. I know they will be a great help, and I never will want them to leave.
The pregnancy symptoms are the same as before, the swelling in my feet are a little worse though. I hope it does't take too long for the swelling to go down and stay down. I want my old feet back, I'm tired of them hurting and itching at the same time. I am so excited for my maternity leave to start, and it should start in just three more days.
We are all ready for her, we got our cloth diapers, I've packed my bag (finally), we did our belly cast yesterday, all her laundry is washed and put away, and our carseat bases are installed in both our cars. Now we just get to play the waiting game, which is fun and slow at the same time.
Like I said, we did our belly cast yesterday, which was an interesting process. It turned out great thanks to Jason, and we can't wait to finish it with plaster and paint it, then hang it up in the room somewhere. This is an uncomfortable process though, and my back was killing me by the end of it.
My grandparents are planning on coming down for about a week after Emory is born to help out, and I am so thankful for them. I know they will be a great help, and I never will want them to leave.
The pregnancy symptoms are the same as before, the swelling in my feet are a little worse though. I hope it does't take too long for the swelling to go down and stay down. I want my old feet back, I'm tired of them hurting and itching at the same time. I am so excited for my maternity leave to start, and it should start in just three more days.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
36 week appointment
I had my 36 week appointment and it was very fun and exciting...I got my GBS (Group Beta Strep) done today, for those of you who don't know what that entails, I will spare you the details. I also got checked vaginally to see what's going on up there, also because I've been having braxton hicks off and on this week. My cervix is not dilated yet. My uterus is measuring too small again today, by about a month, and we will have another ultrasound on Thursday to make sure she is still growing appropriately. The Dr thinks that I am measuring smaller now because Emory is slowly starting to move into the birth canal (normal) but he wants to be certain. Apparently some of those who have conceived with IVF have placenta problems near the end of pregnancy, they just sort of stop working like they should. So we need to do another ultrasound to make sure my placenta is still working okay, and am just measuring smaller because of her descent.
I have been feeling braxton hicks off and on this week, they feel kind of like light menstrual cramps. They are not regular or really all that painful, but they can be irritating. They are a little nerve wracking as well too though, as they remind me of what still needs to be done before Emory gets here, and even though the list is small, I feel completely unprepared and the anxiety is building. It might surprise you to hear that I have not yet packed my bag for the hospital. Usually with my type A personality, my bag would have been packed over a month ago, but in trying to not be psycho about it, I have not done this yet. It might be time though, as today I started freaking out about the fact that if I were to go into labor early, my bags aren't even packed and ready.
Overall I feel pretty good. Of course I have the general pregnancy complaints; heartburn, reflux, aches and pains, not sleeping as well, having difficulty getting comfortable, stuffy nose, swollen legs and feet that itch like crazy, braxton hicks. Jason actually made me feel really good the other day because he said that he didn't think I was complaining that much, and that sometimes he over looks all the pregnancy changes as he doesn't hear about them all that often. I know I complain to him the most, so I'm glad I'm not getting on his nerves about it. Sometimes I breath loudly or huff and puff after some small type of activity, and he has to ask "are you okay, can I get anything for you?" and I haven't even realized I was making these extra noises.
We are getting so excited to meet her, and can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. It's great to think that even if I were to go into labor today, she wouldn't be all that sick, and wouldn't have to stay in the hospital all that long, and in a week, she wouldn't have to stay at the hospital at all. I am talking about some type of NICU stay of course. I am just finishing up my LOA stuff for work, which is stressful in itself, but also exciting because it just reminds me of how little time we have left.
I have been feeling braxton hicks off and on this week, they feel kind of like light menstrual cramps. They are not regular or really all that painful, but they can be irritating. They are a little nerve wracking as well too though, as they remind me of what still needs to be done before Emory gets here, and even though the list is small, I feel completely unprepared and the anxiety is building. It might surprise you to hear that I have not yet packed my bag for the hospital. Usually with my type A personality, my bag would have been packed over a month ago, but in trying to not be psycho about it, I have not done this yet. It might be time though, as today I started freaking out about the fact that if I were to go into labor early, my bags aren't even packed and ready.
Overall I feel pretty good. Of course I have the general pregnancy complaints; heartburn, reflux, aches and pains, not sleeping as well, having difficulty getting comfortable, stuffy nose, swollen legs and feet that itch like crazy, braxton hicks. Jason actually made me feel really good the other day because he said that he didn't think I was complaining that much, and that sometimes he over looks all the pregnancy changes as he doesn't hear about them all that often. I know I complain to him the most, so I'm glad I'm not getting on his nerves about it. Sometimes I breath loudly or huff and puff after some small type of activity, and he has to ask "are you okay, can I get anything for you?" and I haven't even realized I was making these extra noises.
We are getting so excited to meet her, and can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. It's great to think that even if I were to go into labor today, she wouldn't be all that sick, and wouldn't have to stay in the hospital all that long, and in a week, she wouldn't have to stay at the hospital at all. I am talking about some type of NICU stay of course. I am just finishing up my LOA stuff for work, which is stressful in itself, but also exciting because it just reminds me of how little time we have left.
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