Last week I took Izzy in to her 2 year appointment! It went really well with her weighing in at 26 pounds 2 ounces (placing her in 25th percentile for weight - which is about what she has been running) and 35 inches for height (placing her in 75th percentile for height). I talked to the pediatrician about her eating habits (she RARELY eats, taking maybe a bit or two for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a few good meals here and there) and he said that she is just a picky eater and that her growth curve is consistent so I just need to keep offering her foods and just hope that she eats when she really needs to. Based on the Denver Developmental Test she is on point with a 3 year 2 month old - I knew my daughter was a genius hahaa. I circled no on her being able to draw a straight line (and guess what she copied one today!!), on her being able to name one of her friends (she doesn't understand what the word friend means but I know she knew a friend's name), and she can't jump completely over a piece of paper. I think she is smarter than a 3 year old but that is just my opinion haha. I have to go get her 2 year labs drawn - which I asked to include another 17 OH Progesterone level which is what was super high when she was born but returned to normal. I really love this pediatrician - he does things that help to ease my mind!
Today I went in for Brooklynn's 1 week follow up. She is now 8 pounds 4 ounces so almost back to birth weight. Dr. Lively wants her to be at her birth weight by 2 weeks (which will be Saturday) but since she is doing so well on feedings he is not concerned about that. Her weight is in the 75th percentile (which is crazy for me - Izzy has always been below the 50th percentile!). Her length is measuring at 21 1/2 inches at this doctors which still places her in the above 95th percentile mark (WOW!!). Her head circumference is 15 1/4 inches which places heri n the above 95th percentile as well! All this and she was 4 weeks early!! Imagine if she went term- she would be completely off the charts!
She is breastfeeding every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night, and she stools and pees with every diaper so her nutrition is pretty good. He did hear a slight heart murmur when he listened to her but he said that it was so faint if she made any noise at all he would not have heard it. This kind of makes me nervous but I am sure that everything is okay - he did not seem too concerned about it and is just going to follow it on other appointments. He also thinks that she might be silently refluxing because I told him she has episodes where she sounds like she is spitting up but she doesn't and that she also gets the hiccups a lot. He said if I feel like it is becoming a problem he will put her on medicine. Right now she does not act like she is bothered by it - but again as a NICU nurse and seeing the worse case scenarios of reflux I get nervous about this as well!! Every little noise and movement she makes has me worried! I forget how nerve racking a newborn is!!
Izzy is loving being a big sister!! She is always wanting to hold baby "sister" and will come up and place her head on Brooklynn's head and rub her hair, tickle her feet, etc. I am LOVING watching her with her younger sister! Life is good :).
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
From NICU nurse to NICU mom
First let me apologize- I am long winded when I tell my story...so bear with me and hope it isn't drawn out too long...there is just a lot that has happened the last few days and this blog is a sort of way for me to process it!
This title can be a little deceiving. Yes Brooklynn ended up in the NICU but she only was there for 3 days...it could have been a lot worse and I feel for the moms now who's kids are in there much longer.
We will start our story where we left off...sort of. While they were doing their stuff to Brooklynn in the c-section room they told me how much she weighed...8 pounds 6 ounces - smaller than her ultrasound predicted but still pretty darn big for a 36 weeker. They said her apgars were 7 and 8 (GOOD thank you lord!). After she was whisked away to the NICU, Sam and I sat there anxiously awaiting me to be done having my insides put back together :). When they were done they wheeled me in to recovery. Dr. Hertenstein called and talked to Sam to update him a little but we did not know exactly what was going on at this point. Poor Sam - I could tell her was torn as was I - he wanted to be with me, we wanted to see how Brooklynn was doing, and we knew our family was anxiously awaiting to find out how everything went! They had been in the waiting room the whole time this fiasco was going on. So when I was in recovery I told Sam - first go check on Brooklynn, come back tell me how she is, and than go tell our family. Poor guy - on his way to check on Brooklynn he ran into my family - what was he to do? My sisters said he was just standing there trying to figure out if he tells them what is happening or checking on Brooklynn first. When he came back to see me he said she was doing okay but could not see her cause they were doing procedures. In my head, as a NICU nurse I am thinking - what sort of procedures??? That could mean ANYTHING. He went off to update the family while I sat in recovery.
While in recovery and Sam was with the family, a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (Patty Lanzer) who I work with at Children's stopped by to update me on Brooklynn. They needed to give her oxygen at first but by the time they got to the NICU she was breathing and keeping her saturations up on her own - she was just breathing a little harder and faster than they liked. She had a chest x-ray which showed some fluid, but this is common in a c-section baby. They wanted to start her on antibiotics since I had been ruptured for 10 hours. They drew blood cultures and CBC and BMP - these looked reassuring that there was no infection as of yet but they wanted to be sure. She had a HUGE Caput (or conehead) that they were concerned about - hey pushing for 2 1/2 hours and being stuck in my pelvis can do that to a girl. I do have to say she did look a little like Alien with how far back her head was coned! They said they were just going to keep an eye on that. Her first blood sugar was 50, which was the highest of the low, so they had to watch that as well and started her on D10 IV fluids to help maintain her blood sugars, but she was not going to be allowed to eat at this time. And I finally learned her length - 22 inches long!!!! GEEZ no wonder why she weighed what she did!
Sam and I had to wait about 5 hours before we could go back and see Brooklynn - between them taking care of me, my epidural not wearing off, and other things. So finally we headed back to the NICU. In an isolette laid my little baby girl!! She looked SOO big in the isolette, but still so little!! She has long lean limbs with a big head -b ut everything is very proportionate. I got to touch her for the first time, but I did not get to hold her. She was worn out and had SO much done to her that day that I wanted her to rest. Sam and I went back to my room and we rested that night - I wanted to see her but I was just SOOO exhausted. I will now be a little more understanding of mom's who don't see their babies right away! Labor is hard work... I also feel for the moms who are stuck in a different hospital than their children - I was lucky and they were able to keep Brooklynn at the same hospital as I delivered since NKCH has a higher level nursery than they had with Isabella.
The next day - I FINALLY got to breastfeed her and hold her! It was so amazing to have my little girl in my arms! Her bilirubin was high (7.4 after only 17 hours) so she was started on phototherapy so I only got to her hold her for feedings and than had to put her back. The doctor said that they were a little concerned because the night before she was really sluggish and with her head they were wondering if something was going on. Thankfully she started waking up and being more vigorous, so the thoughts of a brain bleed went out the window!! Slowly things got a little better as the day went on, and Brooklynn was taking off on breastfeeding. She was able to have her IV fluids turned off at midnight, but they still had to watch her blood sugars to make sure they did not drop out. Luckily my milk started coming in and I was able to purely breastfeed her.
She was in the NICU from Saturday until Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday, I was able to take Brooklynn in my room - thank you Dr. Saunders for allowing me one more day to recover and be able to room in with my child. We purely breastfed and she maintained her blood sugars. Her bilirubin remained low and she ate well, so we were able to be sent home on Wednesday with no equipment and no check up until a week later!! She was discharged with a 9% weight loss at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Everything turned out to be excellent and we got home and had a wonderful time watching big sister Isabella FINALLY be able to see her little sister!! She was so excited and now all she has wanted to do is hold her and love on her! We are going to have to watch her- she is probably going to try dragging Brooklynn out of anything she is in just so she can hold her! We are just glad everything ended up okay and we can be a family with healthy girls!! Life will be a huge adjustment with two but it is going to make it so much better!! I promise I will post a blog of all pictures here shortly - we just have to download them onto the computer!
Sorry again for the LONG story!!
This title can be a little deceiving. Yes Brooklynn ended up in the NICU but she only was there for 3 days...it could have been a lot worse and I feel for the moms now who's kids are in there much longer.
We will start our story where we left off...sort of. While they were doing their stuff to Brooklynn in the c-section room they told me how much she weighed...8 pounds 6 ounces - smaller than her ultrasound predicted but still pretty darn big for a 36 weeker. They said her apgars were 7 and 8 (GOOD thank you lord!). After she was whisked away to the NICU, Sam and I sat there anxiously awaiting me to be done having my insides put back together :). When they were done they wheeled me in to recovery. Dr. Hertenstein called and talked to Sam to update him a little but we did not know exactly what was going on at this point. Poor Sam - I could tell her was torn as was I - he wanted to be with me, we wanted to see how Brooklynn was doing, and we knew our family was anxiously awaiting to find out how everything went! They had been in the waiting room the whole time this fiasco was going on. So when I was in recovery I told Sam - first go check on Brooklynn, come back tell me how she is, and than go tell our family. Poor guy - on his way to check on Brooklynn he ran into my family - what was he to do? My sisters said he was just standing there trying to figure out if he tells them what is happening or checking on Brooklynn first. When he came back to see me he said she was doing okay but could not see her cause they were doing procedures. In my head, as a NICU nurse I am thinking - what sort of procedures??? That could mean ANYTHING. He went off to update the family while I sat in recovery.
While in recovery and Sam was with the family, a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (Patty Lanzer) who I work with at Children's stopped by to update me on Brooklynn. They needed to give her oxygen at first but by the time they got to the NICU she was breathing and keeping her saturations up on her own - she was just breathing a little harder and faster than they liked. She had a chest x-ray which showed some fluid, but this is common in a c-section baby. They wanted to start her on antibiotics since I had been ruptured for 10 hours. They drew blood cultures and CBC and BMP - these looked reassuring that there was no infection as of yet but they wanted to be sure. She had a HUGE Caput (or conehead) that they were concerned about - hey pushing for 2 1/2 hours and being stuck in my pelvis can do that to a girl. I do have to say she did look a little like Alien with how far back her head was coned! They said they were just going to keep an eye on that. Her first blood sugar was 50, which was the highest of the low, so they had to watch that as well and started her on D10 IV fluids to help maintain her blood sugars, but she was not going to be allowed to eat at this time. And I finally learned her length - 22 inches long!!!! GEEZ no wonder why she weighed what she did!
Sam and I had to wait about 5 hours before we could go back and see Brooklynn - between them taking care of me, my epidural not wearing off, and other things. So finally we headed back to the NICU. In an isolette laid my little baby girl!! She looked SOO big in the isolette, but still so little!! She has long lean limbs with a big head -b ut everything is very proportionate. I got to touch her for the first time, but I did not get to hold her. She was worn out and had SO much done to her that day that I wanted her to rest. Sam and I went back to my room and we rested that night - I wanted to see her but I was just SOOO exhausted. I will now be a little more understanding of mom's who don't see their babies right away! Labor is hard work... I also feel for the moms who are stuck in a different hospital than their children - I was lucky and they were able to keep Brooklynn at the same hospital as I delivered since NKCH has a higher level nursery than they had with Isabella.
The next day - I FINALLY got to breastfeed her and hold her! It was so amazing to have my little girl in my arms! Her bilirubin was high (7.4 after only 17 hours) so she was started on phototherapy so I only got to her hold her for feedings and than had to put her back. The doctor said that they were a little concerned because the night before she was really sluggish and with her head they were wondering if something was going on. Thankfully she started waking up and being more vigorous, so the thoughts of a brain bleed went out the window!! Slowly things got a little better as the day went on, and Brooklynn was taking off on breastfeeding. She was able to have her IV fluids turned off at midnight, but they still had to watch her blood sugars to make sure they did not drop out. Luckily my milk started coming in and I was able to purely breastfeed her.
She was in the NICU from Saturday until Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday, I was able to take Brooklynn in my room - thank you Dr. Saunders for allowing me one more day to recover and be able to room in with my child. We purely breastfed and she maintained her blood sugars. Her bilirubin remained low and she ate well, so we were able to be sent home on Wednesday with no equipment and no check up until a week later!! She was discharged with a 9% weight loss at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Everything turned out to be excellent and we got home and had a wonderful time watching big sister Isabella FINALLY be able to see her little sister!! She was so excited and now all she has wanted to do is hold her and love on her! We are going to have to watch her- she is probably going to try dragging Brooklynn out of anything she is in just so she can hold her! We are just glad everything ended up okay and we can be a family with healthy girls!! Life will be a huge adjustment with two but it is going to make it so much better!! I promise I will post a blog of all pictures here shortly - we just have to download them onto the computer!
Sorry again for the LONG story!!
Here Comes Brooklynn!
Just to forwarn you there will be no pictures on this post but I promise in the next few days I will be downloading a load of pictures and posting them! Just to forewarn you too - this is not a simple straightforward story so this might be a long post!! Hope you enjoy...
Friday was a big day in our household. Sam had a surgery that morning to remove a cyst from his neck (good thing it was only local anesthetic with what came to happen that day...). He went into work about 10:00. My mom and I went and ran some errands, ate some lunch with my sister and Izzy and than went to Baby's R Us. During this time, starting at 12:30, I started having contractions. I really did not think much of it because I have them all the time. They were not regular at all, any where from 5-15 minutes apart, but they did not go away the whole day. We went home and my mom hung out "just in case". Well good thing she did. Starting at 3:30pm I started having contractions that were 5 minutes apart. I waited until 4:30pm and than called daddy to let him know I am going to be calling the doctor and he needs to head home. I called the doctor, doctor said to come in, so we made it into the hospital at 5:30pm.
They hooked me up to the monitor and now I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes, getting pretty intense. They checked me and I was 4-5 cm 80% effaced. The nurse said she would fall on the floor if it was more than that - good thing it wasn't - we needed her around. Well, as every one knows - my labors can NEVER go as planned so here is the LONG story of what happened.
My contractions would be regular (at one point they were 1 minute apart for about 10 minutes), than they would die off. So after a couple of hours of this they decided to start me on pitocin (knowing I was 36 weeks but also that I had a sumo wrestler as a baby the decision was there was no point in not having this baby). The nurse you will be having this baby tonight. Well...guess what people - it did not happen that night. After gradually increasing my pitocin throughout the night and my water finally breaking around 3am and the oh so wonderful epidural being started, I finally progressed to 9 cm at 07:00am. You thought it would be easy after that right?? NOPE!!
I reached 10cm by around 8am but they decided to not have me push, but to let Brooklynn try to decend down since she was able to be bounced up back into the uterus. Sam and I decided to let my mom stay in the room for support...Sam had not been feeling great that morning and we were unsure how he would feel. He finally started perking up though once the action started. Oh ya - and the exciting news - she was OP. What does that mean?? She was facing the wrong way. What is it with my children wanting to come into the world facing sunny side up? The doctor had thought a few times she had turned, but she never did. At 10:30 am they decided to let me start pushing. I worked REALLY hard - trust me I did all I could. At 1:00pm they finally decided that Brooklynn was not coming that way. They had been able to see her hair for about 1 hours of pushing at least, but she finally ended up betting stuck. I was so tired by this time, and my back was KILLING me - to the point where I couldn't even lift my head to push any more. Dr. Rosbrugh decided at this time that I would not be having this baby vaginally and we will be going into C-Section. I cried, Sam looked at me and he said we knew this was a possibility with the size. Let me stop here and say if it was not for Sam I would have quit a LONG time before that. They prepped me for c-section, and wheeled me in to the operating room.
I do have to say even with all the action, I did take a look at my husband all dressed up in garb - he looked pretty darn handsome!! Again I want to stop and say THANK YOU for his wonderful encouragement! The c-section was a little hard for me. It was weird having a drape over my body and me not be able to be the one to bring my daughter into this world. They obviously numbed the area with my epidural, but I still felt A LOT of tugging, a couple of times some pain. Finally Sam said that they had the head out, they suctioned her and I heard the most wonderful sound in the world - Brooklynn's cry!! They than took the rest of her out - Sam watched the whole thing. I was balling my eyes out the whole time. He ran over to check on her, and I was laying on the table just shaking. I never knew after a c-section that the shakes are common (I dont' just mean a little shake here and there - I mean the full out my arms and upper body and chin were shaking like I had took a dip in 0 degree lake but did not feel cold). Sam came back over, said she was beautiful and held my hand and encouraged me to try to relax.
The NICU staff came and showed Brooklynn to me, and yet again just like Isabella they whisked her away before I could hold her. They had to use some oxygen on her and a little CPAP to get her to breath normally - they said she was breathing hard at first. Her oxygen levels had been around 75% but went up to over 90% with the oxygen. Sam and I were anxiously wanting to see Brooklynn, but knew we had to wait until I was all "sewed back up".
That is the birth story - both of my children are crying so I better go rescue my amazing mother! I will tell you about the rest of the hospital stay later.
Friday was a big day in our household. Sam had a surgery that morning to remove a cyst from his neck (good thing it was only local anesthetic with what came to happen that day...). He went into work about 10:00. My mom and I went and ran some errands, ate some lunch with my sister and Izzy and than went to Baby's R Us. During this time, starting at 12:30, I started having contractions. I really did not think much of it because I have them all the time. They were not regular at all, any where from 5-15 minutes apart, but they did not go away the whole day. We went home and my mom hung out "just in case". Well good thing she did. Starting at 3:30pm I started having contractions that were 5 minutes apart. I waited until 4:30pm and than called daddy to let him know I am going to be calling the doctor and he needs to head home. I called the doctor, doctor said to come in, so we made it into the hospital at 5:30pm.
They hooked me up to the monitor and now I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes, getting pretty intense. They checked me and I was 4-5 cm 80% effaced. The nurse said she would fall on the floor if it was more than that - good thing it wasn't - we needed her around. Well, as every one knows - my labors can NEVER go as planned so here is the LONG story of what happened.
My contractions would be regular (at one point they were 1 minute apart for about 10 minutes), than they would die off. So after a couple of hours of this they decided to start me on pitocin (knowing I was 36 weeks but also that I had a sumo wrestler as a baby the decision was there was no point in not having this baby). The nurse you will be having this baby tonight. Well...guess what people - it did not happen that night. After gradually increasing my pitocin throughout the night and my water finally breaking around 3am and the oh so wonderful epidural being started, I finally progressed to 9 cm at 07:00am. You thought it would be easy after that right?? NOPE!!
I reached 10cm by around 8am but they decided to not have me push, but to let Brooklynn try to decend down since she was able to be bounced up back into the uterus. Sam and I decided to let my mom stay in the room for support...Sam had not been feeling great that morning and we were unsure how he would feel. He finally started perking up though once the action started. Oh ya - and the exciting news - she was OP. What does that mean?? She was facing the wrong way. What is it with my children wanting to come into the world facing sunny side up? The doctor had thought a few times she had turned, but she never did. At 10:30 am they decided to let me start pushing. I worked REALLY hard - trust me I did all I could. At 1:00pm they finally decided that Brooklynn was not coming that way. They had been able to see her hair for about 1 hours of pushing at least, but she finally ended up betting stuck. I was so tired by this time, and my back was KILLING me - to the point where I couldn't even lift my head to push any more. Dr. Rosbrugh decided at this time that I would not be having this baby vaginally and we will be going into C-Section. I cried, Sam looked at me and he said we knew this was a possibility with the size. Let me stop here and say if it was not for Sam I would have quit a LONG time before that. They prepped me for c-section, and wheeled me in to the operating room.
I do have to say even with all the action, I did take a look at my husband all dressed up in garb - he looked pretty darn handsome!! Again I want to stop and say THANK YOU for his wonderful encouragement! The c-section was a little hard for me. It was weird having a drape over my body and me not be able to be the one to bring my daughter into this world. They obviously numbed the area with my epidural, but I still felt A LOT of tugging, a couple of times some pain. Finally Sam said that they had the head out, they suctioned her and I heard the most wonderful sound in the world - Brooklynn's cry!! They than took the rest of her out - Sam watched the whole thing. I was balling my eyes out the whole time. He ran over to check on her, and I was laying on the table just shaking. I never knew after a c-section that the shakes are common (I dont' just mean a little shake here and there - I mean the full out my arms and upper body and chin were shaking like I had took a dip in 0 degree lake but did not feel cold). Sam came back over, said she was beautiful and held my hand and encouraged me to try to relax.
The NICU staff came and showed Brooklynn to me, and yet again just like Isabella they whisked her away before I could hold her. They had to use some oxygen on her and a little CPAP to get her to breath normally - they said she was breathing hard at first. Her oxygen levels had been around 75% but went up to over 90% with the oxygen. Sam and I were anxiously wanting to see Brooklynn, but knew we had to wait until I was all "sewed back up".
That is the birth story - both of my children are crying so I better go rescue my amazing mother! I will tell you about the rest of the hospital stay later.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
36 week appointment with OB
I went in for my 36 week appointment with my OB. Needless to say she was shocked about baby's size (remember- 8 pounds 15 ounces!!). She told me that she would be afraid if I went full term that I would have to deliver by c-section due to risk of not being able to get the baby out. She said even if they were off by 1 pound this baby could very well be a 9 to 10 pound baby. So, we decided that I would not get my last progesterone shot today and hope that I go into labor on my own early. If not, than I have an amniocentesis scheduled for next Wednesday to check for lung maturity and if they are mature, than I have my induction date set for next Friday, March 12th!! Big news.
She did check my cervix and I am now 4 cm dilated, 75% effaced with baby dropping lower, so starting to bring my cervix forward. I am measuring 39 weeks, which is probably due to her dropping a little lower. So now it is just a wait and see game if I go into labor on my own or if I have to wait until next next week and have this baby through medical magic!! I am super nervous but super excited!! Today was a big day!
Besides that Isabella turned 2 today!! She is getting so big. We had the parents as teachers lady come by for the first time this week. She said Isabella is on point with everything and that she is actually above on some things (We knew our child was a genius!!). I will post more on her 2nd birthday adventures once I upload some pictures to our computer! We all had a wonderful day watching her turn the big 2!! We love her so much!
She did check my cervix and I am now 4 cm dilated, 75% effaced with baby dropping lower, so starting to bring my cervix forward. I am measuring 39 weeks, which is probably due to her dropping a little lower. So now it is just a wait and see game if I go into labor on my own or if I have to wait until next next week and have this baby through medical magic!! I am super nervous but super excited!! Today was a big day!
Besides that Isabella turned 2 today!! She is getting so big. We had the parents as teachers lady come by for the first time this week. She said Isabella is on point with everything and that she is actually above on some things (We knew our child was a genius!!). I will post more on her 2nd birthday adventures once I upload some pictures to our computer! We all had a wonderful day watching her turn the big 2!! We love her so much!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
36 week Ultrasound - Shock of My Life!
So today I went in for my 36 week ultrasound with my mom and Isabella (Sam has to work and is saving his days off for when I actually have this baby). I was expecting to hear the baby was on the bigger side...like already 7 pounds since she was 5 pounds at 32 weeks and they grow about half a pound a week. She did the measurements and the first thing she said was "wow this baby's head is measuring 41 weeks - you sure your dates are right?" Since I have heard this question SOOO many times before I knew the answer - pretty sure because our ultrasound at 20 weeks only showed her being 5 days ahead...
Sonographer: "Ya they are probably accurate dates than. Don't worry too much I haven't plugged the numbers into the computer yet."
So I got to see my precious little girl give me the peace sign, scratch her head, see her chubby face, and all the hair she has on her head! Here I am smiling blissfully and in my own little niave (however you spell it) bubble. Izzy is just looking at the monitor saying "sister" which makes my life so much better.
There goes the sonographer punching in the numbers into the computer and I am awaiting anxiously to see what she says.
Sonographer turns around - "Your baby is measuring 8 pounds 15 ounces"
My jaw drops - literally to the floor, and my eyes about pop out of my head. "ARE YOU SURE??? That is like a FULL term baby!!!"
Sonographer - "let me show this to the doctor". She walks out the door, comes back and asks - "When do you see your doctor" - ME: "Tomorrow". Sonographer - "here is a copy of the baby's measurements just to make sure your doctor sees them tomorrow. I don't think they will do anything different". Than we walk out.
Needless to say I am STILL in shock!! 8 POUNDS 15 OUNCES?? Even if they are a pound off (which the sonographer says it is only 1/2 a pound off) that is still an 8 pound baby at 36 weeks! What the heck?? This sumo of a baby grew 4 pounds in 4 weeks!!!
Tomorrow I go in to my OB - I HOPE she does not give me my last progesterone shot and lets me try to induce this baby - and I pray she does not let me go past 37 weeks (which would be next week) - or else I might literally give birth to a toddler! Lord help me!! That is all for today - tomorrow I might have more shocking news!!! Boy this baby is giving me a run for my money!
Sonographer: "Ya they are probably accurate dates than. Don't worry too much I haven't plugged the numbers into the computer yet."
So I got to see my precious little girl give me the peace sign, scratch her head, see her chubby face, and all the hair she has on her head! Here I am smiling blissfully and in my own little niave (however you spell it) bubble. Izzy is just looking at the monitor saying "sister" which makes my life so much better.
There goes the sonographer punching in the numbers into the computer and I am awaiting anxiously to see what she says.
Sonographer turns around - "Your baby is measuring 8 pounds 15 ounces"
My jaw drops - literally to the floor, and my eyes about pop out of my head. "ARE YOU SURE??? That is like a FULL term baby!!!"
Sonographer - "let me show this to the doctor". She walks out the door, comes back and asks - "When do you see your doctor" - ME: "Tomorrow". Sonographer - "here is a copy of the baby's measurements just to make sure your doctor sees them tomorrow. I don't think they will do anything different". Than we walk out.
Needless to say I am STILL in shock!! 8 POUNDS 15 OUNCES?? Even if they are a pound off (which the sonographer says it is only 1/2 a pound off) that is still an 8 pound baby at 36 weeks! What the heck?? This sumo of a baby grew 4 pounds in 4 weeks!!!
Tomorrow I go in to my OB - I HOPE she does not give me my last progesterone shot and lets me try to induce this baby - and I pray she does not let me go past 37 weeks (which would be next week) - or else I might literally give birth to a toddler! Lord help me!! That is all for today - tomorrow I might have more shocking news!!! Boy this baby is giving me a run for my money!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
35 week appointment
I went in for my 35 week appointment today. Unfortunately I could not go see my normal doctor because she was out of town - but the doctor I went to see wasn't so bad. I guess it is good to meet her in case she delivers this baby (I HOPE it is Saunders who delivers her though)! It was a really frustrating appointment because I was not seen for over an hour and a half, and was in the doctor's office for 2 hours. I went in being hungry and waiting for someone when you are big, hungry, and pregnant is not very much fun! Everything looked okay. My blood pressure remains good - I lost a few pounds (WOOHOO). I am still measuring 4 weeks ahead...so now I am measuring 39 cm. Baby's heartbeat was 150's. I did not get the fetal fibronectin test done because this doctor feels at this point is unreliable, so now it is a mystery of if I go in to labor. If I do go into to labor though any time now they won't stop it which is kind of nice in a way! She checked me and I am still 3cm and she said thick (don't know what that means on effacement). It is nice when the same person checks you so you know if things actually changed or if it is just the perception of new person. I had my group B strep test done this week too which had never been done with Isabella so that should be interesting - maybe this time I can avoid penicillin (That stuff burns if it goes in too fast!)
One thing that is NOT so much fun is I have started getting a rash on my abdomen. My sister had what is called PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy) when she was pregnant and she had it all over her body - it is a rash that starts in your stretch marks on your abdomen and than can spread to your legs, chest, arms, bottom. I was fortunate and did not get it with Isabella - but of course something else had to be added to this pregnancy so now I have that! She said it is not harmful to me or the baby but it will itch like crazy! And I will have it until the baby is born and than it resolves on it's own. I can put hydrocortisone creams or benadryl on it to stop the itching but that is about the only treatment! Oh boy - I do not handle itchiness very well so this shall be interesting! Folks, if you have my husband knocking on your door because he no longer wants to be around me please know it is not me that drove him away - it is the rash :).
I am able to breath a little sigh of relief this week knowing that we are almost there! This next week is going to fly by (hopefully) because we are in full swing getting things ready for Isabella's 2 year birthday - yes TWO YEARS!!! Her birthday is on Wednesday and her party is on Sunday. So as long as little peanut behaves our week will probably be consumed with Isabella!
One thing that is NOT so much fun is I have started getting a rash on my abdomen. My sister had what is called PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy) when she was pregnant and she had it all over her body - it is a rash that starts in your stretch marks on your abdomen and than can spread to your legs, chest, arms, bottom. I was fortunate and did not get it with Isabella - but of course something else had to be added to this pregnancy so now I have that! She said it is not harmful to me or the baby but it will itch like crazy! And I will have it until the baby is born and than it resolves on it's own. I can put hydrocortisone creams or benadryl on it to stop the itching but that is about the only treatment! Oh boy - I do not handle itchiness very well so this shall be interesting! Folks, if you have my husband knocking on your door because he no longer wants to be around me please know it is not me that drove him away - it is the rash :).
I am able to breath a little sigh of relief this week knowing that we are almost there! This next week is going to fly by (hopefully) because we are in full swing getting things ready for Isabella's 2 year birthday - yes TWO YEARS!!! Her birthday is on Wednesday and her party is on Sunday. So as long as little peanut behaves our week will probably be consumed with Isabella!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Anxiously Awaiting
So I am just sitting here waiting for 35 weeks to come and go! I don't have my appointment until Thursday this week so I am anxiously wondering where I am at - did I dilate more? Am I going to be having this baby in the next few weeks or will I be going the dreaded FULL TERM of 40 weeks? I know every mom goes through this sitting and waiting game but GEEZ! I know the longer the baby is in the better - and it really is nice to have this much more time to spend with Isabella - but I am excited for when I can actually get up and chase Isabella around, throw her on my hip and walk around with her...no longer be the "lazy mom" I feel like I have been! I am also super ready to see this new little girl and how she is going to fit into our life! Well here starts the wait and see game!
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