An Unexpected Delivery! Part 2

Emily was admitted into the NICU around 9:00pm on Sunday September 28th. Aside from having a little fluid in her lungs, and being a little premature, she was in perfect health. We finally were able to visit her again (after my spinal wore off) at around 4:00am on Monday.

She was hooked up to 3 monitors (heart rate, oxygen, and breathing) and an IV bag of dextrose. Later on she developed a little jaundice, which is very common in babies, even I had it at birth. Giving her formula and whatever colostrum I could make was the best way to help flush it out of her system, along with laying under the UV light (with these adorable "sunglasses" I might add).

Eventually she started to look much better and her jaundice wasn't as bad. She even started waking up more often and looking around at everything in the NICU. Daddy was able to get this amazing picture of her!

On her 5th day in the NICU they did her car seat challenge, which is when they put her in her car seat and leave her on the monitors to watch how she responds. She passed with flying colors. After the challenge we got the results back from her last bilirubin test and she was all clear of jaundice.

At that point we were able to get her discharged from the hospital! The funniest thing about that, though, was after she was changed out into her going home outfit we had a major poopy diaper episode. I was changing her diaper, and in the middle of me doing that she pooped again ALL over our hands and the bed, and then to top it off, she peed and it got all over her outfit! We were so ready to take her home and in the middle of all the excitement we were trying to clean her up haha, and eventually had to change her into a whole new outfit. Thankfully I brought two!! When we were finally able to get her hooked up into her car seat I was put in a wheelchair with her on my lap and wheeled out to our car.

She was in complete awe of the outside world and we had a very uneventful ride home. I couldn't believe that we were actually bringing her home, after everything we've been through, it was finally happening. She came home weighing in at my birth weight of 5 lbs. 9 oz. but she will gain it all back soon :).

She is now a week old and breastfeeding like a champ every 2-4 hours. She sleeps so well but Daddy and I have come to realize that we are not safe during diaper changes hehe! on more than one occasion, in the hospital and at home, she has rocketed poopy at us. On our hands, on my chest, on Dylan's shorts, but somehow she's still cute even when we're all covered in poop haha.

I am beyond happy that after all of our struggles, the ups and downs and scares throughout my pregnancy and delivery, that we are lucky enough to bring this special little girl home. I love her with all of my heart and every minute, to me, is a miracle.

37 Weeks and an Unexpected Delivery! Part 1

These are my very last weekly belly photos. 

The day before they were taken I began having what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions that were about 20-25 minutes apart. They felt pretty uncomfortable and some even took the breath out of me, but because they were so far apart I decided to just keep track of them and see if I could make it until my next non-stress test on Monday. Well, on Sunday at 37 weeks exactly my contractions were still coming and getting closer together.

This is what my belly looked like during the contractions:

I tried to keep my mind off of them throughout the day but I timed them in the morning at around 13-18 minutes apart. Silly me I decided if that was going to be the day I went into labor that I HAD to make sure my kitchen was clean first haha! I got on a small stool and scrubbed the microwave, scrubbed the stove, wiped all of the counters, did the dishes, vacuumed and mopped the floor. By the time I was done my contractions were coming about every 6 minutes. I drank lots of water thinking it would slow them down if I was dehydrated but I didn't eat anything after 12:00pm just in case I needed to go into the hospital.

My husband and I were getting ready to meet up with my mother in law for her birthday dinner. By the time we were about to leave the house, they were every 4 minutes and I couldn't talk through them very well, and that's when I said, "We have to go!!" So I called my mom to have her meet us at the hospital with my bag and medical records, and Dylan called his mom and told her we wouldn't be able to make it to dinner because we might be having a baby haha.

When we got to the Labor and Delivery unit of the hospital at around 3:00pm the contractions were about every 2-3 minutes, and starting to really hurt. I was admitted to triage, hooked up to some monitors and given an IV with fluids.

The doctors there checked me to see if I was dilated, which I wasn't but I was 50% effaced. After that they gave me 4 pills of Procardia to help relax my uterus, 2 pills at a time over the course of 2 hours. They didn't help! In fact the contractions got even stronger, peeking on the chart at 110, and oh boy did they hurt!! Here is an example of what the chart looks like:

After they tried the pills the doctors consulted my OB and they decided that it was time to prep for my c-section. Dylan and I were so nervous and excited!! At this point I had been in the hospital for about 4 hours. They hooked me up to more IV's and got me cleaned up to go to the O.R. and Dylan got changed into his scrubs.

They brought us back to the O.R. and gave me my spinal while Dylan waited out in the hall for a few minutes.

Then they called him in and began my c-section. I was a nervous wreck! Dylan was right by my side the entire time. When they opened me up and were about to pull Emily out, he stood up and got his camera ready. The doctors gave him a funny look, expecting him to be horribly grossed out by what he was seeing, but he was so proud and had already seen me go through a c-section before that he wasn't bothered at all. I heard over the curtain, "Okay, lots of pressure!" and they pressed on my belly, and just like that at 8:08pm Emily was out and crying!

The most shocking part about her birth, though, was when the doctors discovered a few scary things. One, my previous c-section scar was very thin. The delivering doctor kept saying over and over, "I am SO glad you came in when you did!" If I had waited any longer I could have ruptured, my biggest fear this whole pregnancy. The other scary thing they found was Emily had a true knot in her cord, and it was slightly wrapped around her neck. The knot itself could have become life-threatening for her if it were tighter... but thankfully she was 100% unaffected by this!

They took her to the side of me to get cleaned up and have Dad cut her cord. He was in absolute awe of our sweet girl. I was able to kind of see what they were doing over my shoulder. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 inches long, and had an APGAR score of 8 which is great.

Once she was all cleaned up they wrapped her in a blanket and brought her to my face so I could give her lots and lots of kisses. Then they whisked her and Daddy away to the nursery to finish cleaning her up.

The doctors finished sewing me up and brought me back to the triage room to wait to see my baby. Not long after I got there Dylan came back in with Emily and put her skin-to-skin to my chest. She was so, so, SO beautiful!! I attempted to breastfeed but she was a sleepy baby and just laid with me, which was okay :).

Since she was still premature even at 37 weeks, and a c-section baby, she had a little trouble with getting the fluid out of her lungs so she had to be admitted into the NICU. That was emotional for me but I was relaxed knowing she would be in the best hands possible.

Stay tuned for part 2!

9 MONTHS!

Holy moly I am actually 9 whole months pregnant. That statement is amazing to me!

This week I've been given my "tiger stripes". I have to laugh a little about this because up until now I've gone 35-36 weeks without a single mark, and then within a matter of days they've appeared around my belly. I'm happy with them though because Daddy calls them "Emily marks" :).

Last Thursday was my very last progesterone shot, and then Friday I was given the official date for my c-section. October 16th bright and early at 7:30am. That puts me at about 39 weeks and 4 days, but 39+2 in my medical records, so further along than I would like but like I've said before I will be very well monitored all the way up until then. I won't even hold my breath on that date being the actual day either, because I know that anything can happen and she can come at any time, but if she does come right on target it's a bit crazy to me that I will know her exact birth day and birth time.

In just 3 days my cerclage will be coming out, now THAT is going to be a big deal! Once it's gone, it's completely up to my body and Emily what happens next. Just about 3 weeks at most until our sweet girl is here <3.

Quick Update -- Practice Breathing!!

I've been watching Emily practice "breathing" (which is pretty much just pulling her fluid in and out of her lungs) on ultrasounds for the last few visits. A few days ago I was curious if anyone could actually see their babies "breathing" in their belly, so I looked around online and found that some women, usually petite, can actually see it. I wasn't even thinking about it, but just now as I was sitting I looked down and I caught my belly moving! I gently held my breath and actually caught on video her practicing!

She is doing all of the movements on my belly and I'm just keeping my breath very low. I'm pretty shocked that I was able to see it :)!! Oh, and the still shot of my belly looks VERY creepy and weird but it looks normal when you play it haha.

35 Weeks -- T-minus 30 days!

I'm completely amazed that I've come this far. As of now there are less than 30 days until I should be having my c-section, and realistically she could try to come on her own at any time between now and then. I'm so nervous and excited, wow, this really is the "home stretch"!

This week I've been feeling VERY, very tired. It is getting harder each day to find the strength to get off the couch or out of bed. That's probably due to her growing so fast and my weight gain going up more than ever. I've put on now 34 pounds and most of that has been in the last 4-8 weeks or so. My heartburn lately has been at an all time high, too. Throughout the night I'm being woken up even more frequently by not only her BIG stretching movements and having to use the bathroom every 2 hours, but also my dinner/bed time snack wreaking havoc on my chest. That is one symptom I will not miss!

She was great during my non-stress test today aside from being too active to get a good baseline heartbeat, which we eventually got after some extra time on the monitor. On the ultrasound she was very awake, opening both of her eyes WIDE and looking around, we could clearly see her pupils moving up and down and side to side :)! She also practically had her whole hand in her mouth and we could see her sucking on her fingers. And that hair, oh boy it looks longer every time they catch it!

Next week, 9 months!!

Last Growth Ultrasound and Estimated Weight

Yesterday was the very last ultrasound I'll be having to check on her growth. She is as cute as ever, with little to no room in Mommy to spare hehe, and very, VERY active. During the scan I got to see her stick her tongue out a few times, yawn, and suck on her bottom lip. It was the sweetest sight!

She is estimated to weigh 5 pounds and 5 ounces right now! My husband and I had a little bet on the weight, whoever was closest would win $5. He guessed 6 pounds (over-reaching there!) and I guessed 5 pounds 4 ounces, so I won! But, silly him, we have a jar that we put our extra money in that has a sealed top and he put my winnings in there! Oh well, next time I should specify whoever wins gets the money in-hand ;).

My specialist is very happy with how she is growing and how well-managed my blood sugar numbers are right now. Both of them have been right on target and at this point I'm back down to 1.5 pills before lunch and dinner, which is great because I would rather not need much medication. And even though he recommended me to be delivered at 37 weeks, I am going to be monitored so much at this point that we both feel much more safe as I get closer to delivering. If anything starts to feel out of the ordinary though I will be sent right in to have my c-section at this point.

My next big milestone is two weeks from now I will be having my cerclage stitch removed! I'm a little nervous about it being painful, but he assured me that it will be a little uncomfortable but it won't be as bad as I work it up to be in my head. He really understands my level of anxiety for every little thing we've had to do and I'm very grateful that he knows how to defuse my worries. The removal will also coincide with my monitoring so I will be looked after for a little bit after it's done, just in case I start to dilate or have any contractions (which I shouldn't, but you never know).

I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time! If I'm delivered on the 14th that is only 32 days away, wow!! Where has all of the time gone?

34 Weeks

Trying to see my feet while standing up has been a lost cause lately!

I'm closer than ever yet it all feels so far away. 34 weeks this week and I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable. 

It's nothing to really complain about, but I can barely breathe now (depending on how I'm sitting/laying) and I'm very slow and sluggish. All of this weight gain has started to take it's toll on me, and even though it's only 31.5 pounds (as of today) it is very hard to find the energy to get around. Aside from all of that I've discovered the world of heartburn hiccups, and even more sciatica. At least the finish line is near!

On Monday I had another ultrasound with my non-stress test, and to my surprise the tech was able to catch a BEAUTIFUL little face on a 3D ultrasound!

It was in "color" on the screen and we got to see her squiggle and move, but I was so fascinated by seeing her perfect little face that I almost cried. This is the first time I've ever really seen what she looked like, aside from profile shots and quick glimpses through the shadows of the 2D ultrasounds, and I'm so happy we got to see this. She definitely has her Daddy's nose and lips. We'll see very soon what other characteristics she's stolen from us :).

My OB told me last Thursday that he is aiming to have me delivered around October 14th or 15th, which would put me at technically 39 weeks and 2 or 3 days (but on their paperwork it would be 39 weeks and 0 or 1 days), so I'm a little worried about getting that far along. I'm happy, though, that my specialist is having me do these non-stress tests twice a week and on top of that I will be seeing my OB every week soon, so I know that if any signs of labor start to show I will be very well monitored. I won't hold my breath on that date either because I know it's really all up to her when she decides to arrive, all we can do is just try and get to her before she does hehe.

In just a few days I'll have another growth ultrasound and I'll get to see how much weight she's gained in the last 5 weeks. I'm so excited to know!