Delivery

Delivery

Here we are on Easter Sunday, 2 days from our planned induction date. Jason, Chris, and I knew awhile ago that delivery probably wasn't going to go quite like we were planning. Even my mom was expecting Little Miss to come a little early.

The night of April 2nd, I just didn't sleep well. Looking back, I think I was contracting a lot of the night. I remember tossing and turning, waking up often, and generally just not sleeping well. At 5am, my contractions were starting to come every three minutes, and I just couldn't sleep through them any more. They weren't awful, but definitely more than just the tightening that I had been having. I stayed in bed for the next 45 minutes or so. Finally I decided to get up and shower, then go eat some toast and just putter around the house for awhile- just to see if the contractions kept up.

My bathroom is about 7 steps from the side of my bed. As soon as my feet hit the linoleum, I felt this strange little.... give... is the only way I can describe it. Then there was a little bit of warm wet on my legs. All I could think was "Holy crap, I think my water just broke!!!". So I stood there for a couple more minutes. Sure enough, when I moved, a little clear, but pink tinged fluid hit the floor. Part of me was relieved... Now I didn't have to mess around with irregular contractions, wondering when I should go into the hospital. So, I woke up Chris and had him work on getting someone over to the house to watch the kids. I took a quick shower, and off to the hospital we went!

When we got to the hospital, labor and delivery was packed to the gills! Apparently most of the babies in our area decided they needed to come on April 3rd, too.... One of my very best friends stayed over-after already working a 12 hour night shift- to be my nurse. On the way in, I was doubting myself about breaking my water because I never had more than a little trickle at a time. Buuuttt.... as soon as I sat down in the triage bed, I flooded the thing! I was 4cm dilated and definitely ruptured.

I was admitted at 7:30 that morning. By 8, I was set up in my room with my IV, my husband, and my best friend. Chris had run into my doctor in the elevator (as he was going off call), and he was wonderful enough to stay on for me too. The only- really LARGE- kink in the karma of the morning was that Jason wasn't there! We called him as soon as we were sure we were staying, and wouldn't you know it, there were NO flights available into our city.... All day!!! I knew the baby would most likely be delivered before he could get there, but Chris and I were really bummed that he wasn't going to be able to hop a flight and get started on the journey in.

My labor progressed fairly quickly, which is normal for me. I was 5-6 cm with an epidural by 1030, and probably the most comfortable I'd been in a week! My bestie finally got to go home, and another of my favorite nurses took over our care. She was the nurse I had when my oldest was born, so it was almost like coming full circle! We think I was probably ready to push between 1230 and 1pm, but my doc had a complicated patient in the office, and we were waiting for him to come over to the hospital. In that time, though, we realized that we could Face Time with Jason via our various Apple products. So, he was going to "be there" for delivery after all!!! We love technology....

At 1:29pm, in the presence of my husband, some of my very good friends, and her daddy (via FT), Little Mia Ryan G. Made her entrance into the world. She was tiny, screaming, and perfect. It was a fast delivery, emotional and fantastic, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience.
Jason was able to "hang out" with us for awhile, and watch all of Mia's clean up. It was so sweet to be able to hold her, and meet this little person who was so special in so many people's lives.

Just 2 weeks left...

Just 2 weeks left....

Holy cow. Our planned induction date is just two weeks from today. Where did the time go???

As we get closer to delivery, I find myself thinking more and more about what delivery will be like. I've had a really easy time this pregnancy NOT thinking of this little girl as ours. I don't feel like I'm attached to her in the same way that I was with my own kids. The thought of delivery hasn't scared me or made me nervous at all in terms of me being able to "give this baby up" as people like to say. Because this Little Miss has never been mine to keep.

Now that things are getting closer, however, I'm wondering if it's going to be as easy as I think... Now that's not to say that I'm having any inkling of wanting to *gasp* not give her up. She's Jason's baby, and not mine and my husband's. I'm just wondering if the giving process will be more emotional than I'm anticipating. I'm a crier, so I expect tears. I'm expecting to miss being pregnant a little, and I'm expecting to miss her a little. My hope is that my expectations meet what will actually come to pass.

And then I've been thinking about labor itself- wondering what it will be like. Classically, I've had quick, relatively easy labors. I'm hoping for the same thing this time around too. I'm smaller with this pregnancy than I was with my last, so I don't feel like I have an 8 pound plus kiddo hanging out in there. I'm wondering if we'll make it to our induction date.... if so, it will be the longest I've ever carried a pregnancy. Only by 2 days, but still.... And I contract a lot this time around. I've not ever really contracted before laboring before. So fr, the contractions haven't proven to do anything. But I know that can change any day.

Just like any pregnancy, there are so many unknowns. I'm excited and impatient both to see how this is going to play out. But at the same time, I'm really trying hard not to wish away the last two weeks of this pregnancy. This very well may be my last time being pregnant, and there is nothing in this world quite like the feeling of an active, happy baby rolling around in my tummy.

Here we are at 37 weeks. I swear, I'm getting worse at taking my picture....

Almost 34 weeks!

Almost 34 Weeks!

Well, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. There was all the painting that happened..... After that, I kinda lost my steam, but I still have a list a mile long of things I want to get done!

I've talked about me and the pregnancy a lot the last few posts, but we're getting close to the end. Jason has started to make plans for coming out here to meet his little girl. The plane tickets are bought, we've been talking to the doctor about the "ideal" induction date, baby names have been a hot topic of conversation again.... I think it's starting to gel for us all that a BABY is going to be here soon, and not just the idea of her.

Chris and I are making plans on this end; my parents are planning to come out during our "ideal" induction time, so we have someone to watch our kids. We've been trying to think back and remember our kids' deliveries- so we can ask Jason what he wants done in the event that the baby decides to come before our planned date. It feels like we're actively participating in the pregnancy again, instead of just enjoying the "uneventful" middle time. I keep saying, though, that we want this to be SO planned this time, that something not planned is bound to happen...

It boggles my mind to think that we're closing in on the home stretch of this amazing journey.

In pregnancy news, I'm contracting more than I ever did with my other pregnancies. I was sent home from work last weekend with instructions to "take it easy", and I saw the doc mid-week this week. The good news is that the contractions aren't doing much to my cervix. The not good news is that they really ARE annoying sometimes! Funny, it makes me totally able to relate to my patients who contract all the time with no changes that happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that nothing "exciting" is happening at this point. I just could have gone another 2 or 3 weeks without contracting!

Okay, here is me and Little Miss as 33.6 weeks. I'm definitely NOT looking my best, but I realized it's been a long time since I put a pic up. So, this just goes to show that I don't insist on looking perfectly "made up" in every picture! ;)

Could I be nesting???

Could I be nesting???

It's another one of those crazy pregnancy phenomena. Most women reach some undefined point in their later pregnancy, and decide they MUST clean, sort, organize, etc, etc, etc. Most of the time, it's thought that this is a woman's internal drive to make a place for the new baby to come home to. That's the theory I always went with anyway.

Until this week.

I know I don't have a new baby coming home with me. There is no worry about setting up a nursery, picking out bedding, washing little teeny clothes, and making sure that we have everything we need for a new little person. Then why, I ask, have I spent the last week in full nesting mode???

It must be the hormones.

Tuesday night I inexplicably couldn't fall asleep. Those who know me know this is very rare. As I lay there in bed, with sleep eluding me, I started making a list in my head: Bed, Bath and Beyond for new kitchen rugs, curtains, and curtain rods. Home Depot or Lowe's for paint, and something new to cover the sliding glass door that I hate. Do I need to replace the blinds downstairs? All of them??? I'm kinda tired of the white look after 10 years; it might be nice to get some darker ones. But what shade? I won't know that until we replace the coffee table and the kitchen table.... But we're not planning on doing that just yet. Should I put a rug under the kitchen table???

And on and on until sleep finally found me.

So Wednesday we went out to BB&B and Target. I gathered some of what was on my list. When we got home, I spent the afternoon tearing apart the kitchen and sorting and decluttering drawers and cabinets. Thursday, I went out bright and early for paint. I spent the rest of Thursday painting the kitchen, the slider wall, and then putting some things back together again. This morning, I finished pulling the kitchen and eating area back together.

I have yet to hang the new curtains and rods we got for downstairs. I was in the middle of hanging the black-out roman shade in my room when I discovered that I really would need the drill. And the battery on the drill is dead. Sigh.....

Hopefully there's enough energy left to tackle the mountain of laundry waiting for me next week.

The Space Heater Syndrome

The Space Heater Syndrome

We all know that pregnancy does funny things to women's bodies. I've had my fair share of "pregnancy weirdness". One of the most interesting things that happens, I think anyway, is what I've come to call the "space heater syndrome".

I'm usually cold all the time. Like the flannel-jammy-pants-and-blanket-on-the-couch during the dead of summer cold. Chris always comments on how my "thermostat" is broken. Especially when we get in bed at night and I put my cold feet on him. I warn my patients before I touch their bellies with my bare hands because they are usually cold. I try to talk Chris into putting the flannel sheets on the bed in September, and don't take them off again until June. You get the idea.

Enter the Space Heater Syndrome. About two weeks ago, I noticed that I wasn't getting very cold at work any more- believe me, a very rare occurrence. Then I was needing fewer and fewer blankets on the bed. Yep, it's hit. The baby is big enough now that I feel like I'm toting around my own little space heater. I no longer feel the need to dress in layers, I only need the sheet to sleep with, and I don't grab my down coat to go outside with any more (good thing, too, cause I can't zip it up anymore!). Last night, when I got in bed I put my feet on Chris. He said "Holy crap, what's wrong with you???" My feet and my toes were WARM!

I get progressively warmer as the pregnancy continues. It's quite the interesting phenomena in our house. It's the only time EVER that Chris and I agree on the temperature... I'm totally cool hanging out in short sleeve ts, and don't need a blanket on the couch- unless a cat wants in my lap, that is. The only downside is waking up in the middle of the night-either in a pool of sweat, or completely missing that t-shirt I know I put on before bed! I wake up in the middle of the night- not to take multiple trips to the bathroom- but because I'm frying squished between Chris and Paige....

The other crazy pregnancy thing that happens with me? My hair gets darker with each baby I carry. Some women get bigger feet, I get more brunette. But I don't mind that at all, I kinda like the dark.

Latest pics of me and Baby Girl- 31 weeks tomorrow!

29 weeks and counting....

29 weeks and counting....

So I always think of all these great things to blog about when I'm away from my computer.... In the car, falling asleep at night, at work. But when I"m actually here, in front of the thing, my mind goes mostly blank.

Like now. I have my 29 week picture to post, but no story to go with it.

Things have been pretty great the last few weeks. So there's not really much to relate today. The baby is moving a ton, and all was well at my last appointment. She's been getting the hiccups, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, lately. This is the part of pregnancy that I truly love. I'm not so big that I'm uncomfortable all the time, and I can really feel her moving- which is my favorite part.

I'm starting to envision what labor is going to be like, and am really starting to contemplate what to expect after delivery. The time is going to fly by, and she'll be here before we all know it. I know that she's not coming home with me- that's the whole point of this journey- but I'm really starting to think about what the experience will be like. I hope it will be as easy as I imagine it will be!

Maybe I'll have a fun story to tell next time??? :)

Approaching 28 weeks

Approaching 28 weeks!!!

I love 28 weeks. Not that I feel super special wonderful at 28 weeks or anything like that.... It's the antepartum nurse in me coming out. 28 weeks is the first big "milestone" gestation for the NICU and pre-term moms. (Not that I've ever been a pre-term mom, but I'm aware that there is a first time for everything....) If a baby is born after 28 weeks' gestation, there is a marked decrease in the incidence of brain bleeds. Scary sounding, and scary. Although babies born early, even after 28 weeks', have difficulties of their own, I always breathe a tiny sigh of relief when that first milestone mark passes.

On to other thoughts!

So, one of my "usual" pregnancy discomforts is itching. I've been an itchy mess with all my pregnancies; mostly through the end of the first trimester to almost the third trimester. There have been several theories for my itching: increased blood volume, skin stretching, bile salts, soap allergies.... None of it really made sense to me. Then, my doctor and I were discussing my progesterone reaction incident earlier this pregnancy. He said, "Well, yeah, increased progesterone makes some people itch." Ding, ding, ding!!!! This rang true to me as the cause of all my itching- especially with how severely I reacted to the injectable progesterone.

The itching this pregnancy has been astronomical. I've made my ankles and feet bleed from scratching. I scratch in my sleep. Chris says he feels like he's sleeping with a grasshopper... Yes, I've tried things. Aveeeno soap, aveeno lotion, medicated aveeno lotion, benadryl, cortisone cream, oatmeal bath soaks.... My doc recommended Cetaphil lotion, but I really don't think it's a case of dry skin. I'm going to talk to him about it again at my appt next week. Although I think it's going to be one of those "so sorry, not much we can do about it" things.

Interestingly, and maybe this all goes hand in hand, but my skin has just been really super sensitive this time around- like a tactile issue. My clothes are uncomfortable against my skin, tags bother me, blah, blah, blah. I feel like a skin sensitive challenged toddler most days. Clothes and ways of wearing clothes that usually get me through a pregnancy have done absolutely nothing for me this time around. I've lamented to Chris several times that it's the dead of winter, and I HAVE to dress in layers. Why can't it just be summer so I can throw on a soft sundress.... or a mumu for that matter????

Lol. So. I'm getting creative. My latest endeavor is to turn a old pair of drawstring scrub pants for work into a pair of maternity scrub pants. Yes, with the large, uber ugly (absolutely fantastic) full belly panel. I found some soft, stretchy fabric at the fabric store ( I should not be allowed into the fabric store) that I think my belly will enjoy. This afternoon will have me getting friendly with a pair of scissors, some fabric, and my sewing machine.

Wish me luck.