Three Weeks

Baby Amelia is three weeks old today.  It's crazy how fast those three weeks have gone by.  She's been doing really great sleeping at night.  The past two nights, I've only had to wake up once in the middle of the night, early morning for a feeding.  Last night, she fell asleep around 9pm and woke up around 2am to nurse.  She fell back asleep around 3:30am and stayed asleep until 6:30am.  Heath takes her in the morning before he goes to work if she's up early enough.  Once she falls back asleep, he brings her back upstairs and we sleep until 8:30 or 9am.  Carleigh sleeps in just as late.  So it's nice having a newborn at home and sleeping until almost 9am every day.  Of course, we won't be able to sleep that long when Carleigh starts kindergarten.

Speaking of kindergarten, I took Carleigh to the school to get registered last week.  While we were there, the little girl who lives across the street was being registered too.  So there were two little girl's being crazy in the school lobby while us parent's tried to fill out the paperwork.  I had to tell Carleigh so many times not to run in the school.  I told her that those will be the rules when she starts attending there, too.  It's hard to tell a little 4 and 5 year old to calm down when they are super excited to see each other.  I kept telling Carleigh they could run around and be crazy outside together since we live right across the street from each other.  We have a couple of other kid's on our street starting kindergarten this year too.  All of the kid's on our street are so close together in age.  They will get to go to school together unless someone moves.

It's been warming up here the last couple of days.  I had to turn our A/C on the other day.  Our high today is suppose to be 91 degrees.  I'd like to keep the A/C off, but having two little ones at home, that's impossible.  Amelia started to get really frustrated the day it was only suppose to be 88 degrees for a high.  I could tell she was too hot and uncomfortable, so I clicked the A/C on.  We did purchase a ceiling fan for our downstairs area to keep it less stuffy.  Here's a picture of it.  It looks so nice in our open floor plan.

This fan will be nice to have when all of our family comes out to visit and meet Amelia in June, too.  We usually have to kick the A/C down a couple of degrees to keep it comfortable with all of the people here.  This time, we can just kick the fan on, or up a level, without making our energy bill too much higher.

She's Here

Little baby Amelia was born 3/20/14 at 7:24am.  She weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.  We got checked into the hospital around 5:45pm on the 19th.  Once I was comfortable in my hospital bed, the nurses started me on my antibiotics.  I had to have two doses of those before they could start my pitocin.  We found out around 7pm that Carleigh couldn't stay at the hospital past 9pm.  So I had to scramble to get in touch with our neighbor's to see she could stay with them overnight.  Thankfully they said yes, so Heath drove her over to their house and came back to the hospital.  Our neighbor's have two kid's around the same age as Carleigh, so it worked out perfectly.  Once Heath got back to the hospital, we watched Identity Thief, which was quite hilarious.  I'm so glad the hospital had some free movies to watch.

Throughout the evening, the nurse kept coming into my room to see how things were going.  She kept asking if I was having any pains.  Apparently I was having a lot of contractions at 6 cm dilation, but I didn't feel a thing.  I didn't receive my epidural until 3am, and even then, my pains weren't that strong.  They just wanted to get that over with since I was going to be induced.  The doctor who was on-call never made it by my room to break my water because she got stuck in another part of the hospital helping others.  My doctor showed up at 6am and broke my water for me.  That's when some of the real pains actually started coming.  There were some pretty nasty contractions that even the epidural couldn't save me from.

My doctor came back in the room at 7am for me to start pushing.  I had about three or four rounds of pushing and Amelia was born.  It took 24 minutes of actual "labor" for her to get here.  It was a very smooth birth.  I held her for a minute or two before she was taken to get cleaned off by the nurses.  Once I got her back, I was able to breastfeed her right away.  We did some skin-to-skin contact cuddling as well.  It was so nice and relaxing.  Breakfast was delivered to my room about an hour later and it was so nice to eat something other than ice chips.  Our neighbor dropped Carleigh off at the hospital around 1pm.  Carleigh had the cutest reaction when she saw her baby sister for the first time.  She walked over to my bed, looked at Amelia, and had the biggest smile on her face.  That same evening, Carleigh went back to the neighbor's house to stay the night since I wouldn't be released until the Friday morning.

I was released from the hospital on Friday afternoon.  It was so nice to get out of there a little after 24 hours after giving birth.  I'm not a big fan of hospitals.  I'd much rather sleep in my own bed.  Our first night home was a little rough.  We ordered some Chinese food for lunch and I ate a ton of broccoli.  Since broccoli is a green, I figured it would be really good for the baby too.  WRONG!  It breastfeed Amelia in the evening, but it made her so gassy and fussy.  We did not sleep at all.  Both Heath & I were up all night trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  Amelia would refuse to attach to my breasts completely during that whole ordeal.  Heath went out to the store around 6am to buy some formula just to supplement for the time being.  I really wanted to avoid formula, but I also wanted to make sure my baby wasn't starving.  I even pulled out my breast pump to see if I could get anything for her.  All I got was a small amount of colostrum.  So we mixed that into the bottle of formula to ensure she was still getting some really good nutrients.

We've had to supplement with formula off and on since then because my milk hasn't come in yet.  Thankfully, Amelia will still latch on to my breasts and try to get some milk out of me even after using a bottle.  Not much is coming out yet though.  Amelia will get frustrated and clamp on really tight and it hurts so badly.  She did some decent damage to my left boob.  I've been unable to let her use that one because it hurts a bit still.  This afternoon, I did pump and got a little under half an ounce of breast milk out.  So at least that's a start.  My milk is slowly starting to come in finally.  Yay!

Amelia has her first doctor appointment Wednesday afternoon.  So, I suppose I'll update again on Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon.

Induction Day

It's finally Wednesday.  I'm being induced at 6pm this evening.  It's crazy to think that in about 12-14 hrs I will have a brand new baby to hold.  I'm really hoping this delivery goes as smoothly as Carleigh's did.  We have everything I can possibly think of packed and ready.  When Carleigh woke up this morning, I told her that her baby sister was going to come tonight.  Her first response was, "YAY!!!!"  So at least she's excited for right now.  She even repeated to me what I've been telling her for a couple of weeks now, "the baby needs a lot of attention."

Heath & I have already told both sides of the family not to bombard us with text messages and phone calls for the first couple of days.  We want time for all of us to bond with the baby and we also need to make sure Carleigh is bonding well too.  When I had Carleigh, I had my phone going off every 20 minutes.  It was very annoying and such a distraction.  It was stressful too.  I mostly had an issue with my mom.  I remember one day, she called me when Heath had ran home real quick to take a shower and take care of the cats.  Carleigh was fussing a lot.  I was trying to get her fed, burped, changed, etc... When my mom called, Carleigh had made a mess of her diaper and threw up.  And, of course, Carleigh was crying a lot because that's what babies do.  My mom's response to my stress case at the moment?  Laughter.  Yes.  She laughed because I had no help and was trying to take care of my baby as quickly as possible.  It was so rude and I'll never forget it.  So I don't want to deal with that again.  My mom swears up and down that she understands not to call/text us for updates.  We will see how long that lasts.  We told everyone we will update them when we have the time to do so.  If anyone finds that rude, tough cookies.

I'm hoping to be released from the hospital after 24 hrs, but that's probably wishful thinking.  I don't like staying in hospitals.  My home is so much more calmer and relaxing.  We won't have to deal with visits from family until June.  We already openly expressed we didn't want people here a week or two after the baby was born.  That was so much stress last time too.  Our neighbor across the street said she'd drop off some dinner on Sunday night.  That's super nice of her to do.  One less thing for us to do that evening.  So really, only our neighbors will see the baby almost right away.  But they don't hang around our house and bug us all day.

I'll try to update again when I have some free time after we arrive home.

Maternity Leave

I am finally on maternity leave!  My last day at work was yesterday.  My doctor scheduled my induction for March 19 at 6pm.  I had my last prenatal check up with him this afternoon.  I was only 3 cm dilated today.  My doctor believes that I will have the baby delivered before midnight on the 19th.  That is if the baby wants to stay put until then.  Who knows for sure when she's going to make her grand entrance into the world.  I'm having some contractions right now, but they aren't that bad.

It's just nice to finally be out of that stress case of an office.  It has been nothing but one thing after another there since September.  Too many changes all at once.  The extra days of rest before the baby comes will be greatly appreciated.  I don't know how some women work right up until their water breaks.  I didn't do it with Carleigh and I knew I wasn't doing it this time around either.  I understand that some people don't get short-term disability benefits through their employer.  I'm so thankful that I do so I can take that extra time off before I pop.

Carleigh's last day at preschool is on Friday.  She will be home with me until she starts kindergarten.  I plan to give her worksheets and art projects to do while home.  I have all of her kindergarten paperwork ready to go since registration starts next week.  It's so crazy to think I'll be sending one kid off to kindergarten this summer.  Since our schools here are year-round, I'm going to pick the schedule that gives her the summer break around her birthday.  For kindergarten, it's not really a big deal since she's only doing half days.  And you can't even consider it a half day since it's only 2 1/2 hrs a day.  The full day kindergarten is "tuition based", even for public school, so you have to pay extra.  Forget that.  I'm not trying to brag about my kid, but she's really smart and she gets bored with preschool work sometimes.  So I know she will get bored with kindergarten if she went all day.  I plan on throwing some first grade lessons/worksheets in with some of her kindergarten work to see how she handles it.  On her educational websites, she likes to play math games directed at first graders and she does pretty well at it.  So the math worksheets will be some of my go-to's.

Nothing else exciting is going on here.  We're all just waiting for the baby to come and enjoying the warmer weather.  My next blog update will probably happen after we bring the baby home from the hospital.  I'm sure there will be a time in between feedings and nap times that I'll be able to update the blog.

Bed Rest

On Monday, I was put on bed rest after taking yet another trip to triage.  My bed rest was only for a week.  Unfortunately I will have to go back to work on Tuesday.  I was getting some sharp pains in my left side and contractions while at work, but by time I was in triage and hooked up to the machines, all contractions and pains had stopped.  I wonder why?  Couldn't possibly be the stress from work.  I also had another cough attack and bloody nose while in triage that afternoon.  So the laborist/doctor wrote me out for a week on behalf of my doctor.  Her main concern, I believe, was to help me get over my illness and to make sure I can relax until I am considered full-term.  Since I've been home, I haven't had too many issues with contractions.  I get them, but nothing like while at work.  They aren't as frequent at home.  There would be no surprise if I end up in triage later next week again.  I really hope I am wrong though.  I wanted my doctor to take me out of work completely when I was in his office Wednesday, but he wouldn't.  Guess I'll make another case to him if I do end up in triage again after getting back to work.

The doctor did mention I could be induced at 39 weeks if I would like to be.  I will let that all depend on how I'm dilating.  If I feel like it's progressing quickly, I'll figure out what day would be best.  I'd like to pick March 20, because that's the day Carleigh guessed her baby sister would be born.  I want to let her win our little household contest.  I picked the 17th and Heath picked the 22nd.  So if the baby doesn't arrive before 39 weeks and I'm 'OK' to be induced, then I'd love to have all of it done on the 20th.  It would make Carleigh happy.

My bed rest week has included watching a little bit of Netflix, but mostly playing GTA: Online.  I've turned into such a gamer since being at home every day.  I don't feel bad.  I should get all my play time in while I can before the baby is born.  I won't have much free time to play once baby A is here.  Carleigh will be out of preschool and home with me all day too at that point.  So no time for anything really.  Just taking care of the baby and helping Carleigh with some kindergarten prep.

I hope the next time I update this blog, it won't have anything to do with another trip to triage.  I'm kind of tired of being there.  I'd like to not go back to the hospital until it's time to deliver the baby.

Another Trip to Triage

On Friday morning, around 4:20am, I woke up with a really nasty cough.  It felt like someone was strangling me in my sleep and I woke up coughing trying to catch my breath.  The cough was so bad, I also got a bloody nose to accompany it.  It was such a nightmare.  I've had this cough off and on since January, but it was never that bad.  I finally decided it was a good idea to go to the doctor to get it checked out.  The walk-in clinic didn't open until 8am, so I went to work for an hour and then headed over there.  Since I am pregnant, they said they didn't feel comfortable treating me since they didn't have the equipment there to monitor the baby.  I was told to go to the ER.  Once I got over to the ER, they sent me upstairs to Labor & Delivery so I could be monitored in the triage room.  I was really only planning on being away from work for a little over an hour, but that hour turned into four hours.  I didn't get back to work until 12:30pm.

In triage, they hooked me up to monitor contractions.  I wasn't getting any of those, at least not as bad as they were on Wednesday.  I was given an IV to get fluids into me and some medication for my cold.  The nurse did a test to see if I had the flu.  They sprayed water up my nose and then let the fluids drip out into a cup.  It felt weird, but I was able to smell and breathe better once it was over.  I was also given some Robitussin to help with the coughing.  Once that was all taken care of, I was able to be discharged and go back to work.  I put myself on bed rest for the weekend just to try and kick this cold as fast as I could.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a two hour nap and that seemed to help a little bit.  I woke up feeling better than I had the past few days.  I took myself off of bed rest to start cleaning the house, but then I started getting contractions/cramping again.  So now I am relaxing again and gave up on having a clean house.  Heath said he would take care of the cleaning for me.  This house is just a straight up mess and needs a really good cleaning.  Obviously cleaning, and not even vigorously, is enough to make me have to go sit down.  How sad is that?

My next appointment with my doctor is Wednesday, and once again, I am hoping he will put me on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy.  This past week was so crappy.  Spending two days in triage was not fun at all.  I'm hoping this week will be much better.  My main goal right now is to get these contractions to stop so I don't have to make yet another trip to triage today.  At least it's 75 degrees today and I can enjoy some lovely fresh air while sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing.

A Trip to Triage

This morning I had to leave work after being there only an hour.  I started to get frequent contractions.  They were a few minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 30-60 seconds.  Once I got to the hospital, they sent me into triage and told me to pee in a cup and put on my gown.  They hooked me up to track my contractions and blood pressure.  Heath showed up maybe five minutes after I got there.  The contractions kept coming.  The nurse and doctor told me it was probably a UTI.  Getting a UTI is very common in pregnancy.  The doctor (who delivered Carleigh) checked for dilation and found that I was only one centimeter dilated.  So I'm starting to open up down there, but nothing to be alarmed about.  I could stay that way for the next couple of weeks.  Once the doctor confirmed that I had a UTI, they gave me a lot more water to drink and some cranberry juice.  I was also given a shot to stop the contractions.  That thing hurt so bad.  It felt like the needle was still in my arm after the nurse took it out.  The shot did work and the contractions stopped.  I was released around 11:20am.  They sent me off with a prescription for the UTI.  It was so exhausting being in there.  It's quiet in triage and nothing to do in there.  Thank goodness for smartphones.

Heath & I went out to lunch after I was discharged.  We got some fattening Carl's Jr.  It was delicious and I am not regretting it at all.  After my prescription was filled, I headed home to relax for the rest of the day.  I sent a text to my manager and let her know I'd like to stay home to rest all day tomorrow.  Since I got approved for that, that's exactly what I am going to do.  While home tomorrow, I'm going to work on the baby's room a little bit more and try to get things ready.  Today was a sign that the real thing is right around the corner.  At least to me.  The nurse said she wanted to see me again in four weeks, which would put me at 39 weeks.  I'd really love it if baby A would stay in that long too.