:-) :-)

Ticking Along

Layla is doing great so far! She has graduated to all bottle feeds, and is doing well with that. Since it takes a lot of work and effort to feed from a bottle all day, we are finding that she is sleeping more and taking longer to finish her bottles. Her nurses say that this is normal.
When we go for tonight's visit, we will bring her car seat! I've been waiting on the day they asked us to bring the car seat because that means she is going home soon if all continues to progress at the same rate. With premature babies they test to make sure the baby will be ok in a car seat for the ride home. They will put her in the car seat and hook her up to a monitor to make sure her breathing and heart rate stay normal.
After she passes that test Tim and I will have to come and "room in". They will put us in a post partum room with her alone for the night to make sure that we are able to care for her unassisted. The nurse said we can expect to do that Saturday or Sunday. Then guess what? The next morning she's allowed to go home!!!!
We are praying she continues to eat well so we can have her home by Monday. I'll update as soon as we get the green light.

Birth Story

Can't believe that I'm writing a birth story in July, but I am. Layla Grace decided to make her grand entrance at 3:32 p.m on July 24th, 6 1/2 weeks early.


Here is a very detailed account of what happened.

Part I :)

Thursday, I took a shower and went to bed as normal around 10-11. Nothing out of the ordinary. I slept just fine. I took my two potty breaks as normal. My last one was around 3 am.

6:20 am- I was awaken by sharp pains in my lower stomach. I went to the restroom and had loose stool. I figured that must be the culprit. I felt a little better after the bowel movement, so I laid back down to go to sleep. Sleep didn't find me. For the next 30 minutes pain shot through my lower stomach. I laid on my left side..no relief. I laid on my right side...no relief. I got on my hands and knees...no relief. I figured it was some type of infection, bladder or urinary tract. I briefly wondered if these were contractions I was feeling, but I shrugged it off because it didn't feel anything like the way it was described to me by other people or in our child birth class. There was no pain that radiated from my back to my stomach. There was no squeezing feeling. But I noticed the pains came with relief. I would feel pain, then the pain would go away. I got a little nervous because it was then that I realized the pains had a pattern. I timed them and it was EXACTLY 5 minutes from the time I had one pain, to the onset of another. I texted Tim, who was already at work, to inform him that I was dying. He asked me did I want to go to the hospital. I told him my paperwork from the dr said to wait an hour if you think you are having contractions 5 minutes apart, and that I would get into the shower to see if that made my stomach feel better.

I'll tell you what, now I see why they say water is natures epidural. The water made my stomach feel a lot better. The pain was still there, but they were more bearable. As soon as I turned the shower off, the pain was back at the intensity it was before I got into the shower.

I texted Tim again and told him to come home and take me to the hospital.

It was before 8 am, and I didn't want to wait for my dr to call me back, so I called labor and delivery and spoke with a nurse. She told me I was probably dehydrated, but to come in to be monitored.

8:15 am- We pull up at the hospital after about 6 minutes, but it seemed like it was a 30 minute ride full of bumps and turns. The pain is still hitting me hard. Tim asked me did I want him to pull up front so he could let me out. I told him I wasn't made of cake and was perfectly capable of walking to the entrance from the parking lot.

8:30 am- I'm dressed in a hospital gown and lying in a bed in the prenatal testing room. They had already had me give them a urine sample and they hooked me up to the fetal monitors. The nurse did an internal exam to check my cervix. She couldn't find it and told me that was a good sign that it was still really high and closed. The nurse informed me she was calling my dr to see how to proceed. I went somewhere in my mind to deal with the pain for the time being.

9:30 am- Relief finally came. The nurse told me this was the plan in this order: 1.IV for fluids in case I was dehydrated. 2.Terbutaline to stop the contractions. (I didn't even know I was having contractions at that point because the nurse kept calling them pains...not contractions)3.Fetal fibronectin test to see if birth was imminent in the next few weeks. 4.Another internal exam. The dr said to find my cervix by any means necessary. 5. A sono to check cervical length.6. A shot of betamethasone to develop the baby's lungs in case she did decide to come. 7.Some pain medicine, not sure of the name now, but it was something that sounded excellent at the time.

After she gave me the terbutaline, I finally felt coherent enough to speak and ask questions. The contractions were still there, but the shot made them bearable.

The nurse inserted the q-tip for the fetal fibronectin test, and all hell broke loose when she took it out. It was bright red and covered with blood. She asked me was I sure I hadn't had any bleeding. I told her I was absolutely sure. She set the q-tip to the side and did the internal exam. She looked puzzled. She went and got another nurse, and she repeated the internal exam. They closed the curtain and we could hear them whispering. I thought, great, they're about to tell me I'm dilating.

They came back and said, honey you're dilated to 8-9. You're having your baby today. I told them they must be wrong, and that's when she explained that she second guessed herself and that's why she had another nurse repeat the exam. She said I didn't fit the profile of a woman in active labor because I was so calm. She told me earlier when she couldn't find my cervix, it wasn't because it was high and closed, it was because it was gaping open. She said they would confirm it with the sonogram.

10:00 am- The sonographer came in and did the sonogram. Within seconds of putting the probe on my stomach she pipes up and told the nurses, yep! you guys were right. 8 centimeters. Now I didn't go to sonography school, but as soon as I looked at the screen I saw a perfect, wide open circle, and I knew that was my cervix on the screen. I began to believe.

10:15am -They whisked me away to a labor and delivery room. By this time I'm completely and utterly horrifed. This was not going the way I had planned. I was only 33 1/2 weeks. My pedicure wasn't done. I hadn't shaved. My bag wasn't packed. This could not be happening. Except it was.

Part II :)

10:20am- My room was filled with people. Two labor and delivery nurses, the "angel"stesiologist for the epi, 4 NICU staff members, and my dr who came running up the stairs out of breath. Everything was happening at once. If you don't get anything else from this part, please understand how simultaneous everything was. Tim and one nurse held me in position for the epi. Another nurse was pumping penicillin through my IV on the highest setting because time was such a factor(ouch!). I hadn't been tested yet for group beta strep, so they gave me penicillin just in case. Someone else from somewhere jabbed a needle in my thigh to give me the betamethasone for the baby's lungs. My dr was asking me questions. All of this, and I had to be perfectly still for the epi.

10:30am- Epi in place, my dr cleared out the room for the time being once she found my bag of waters to still be intact. 9 centimeters. She didn't want to rupture the bag just yet to give my body time to absorb the betamethasone and penicillin. She told me if I was still pregnant by 2:30, she could rupture the bag and I would deliver. She needed at least 4 hours for the medications to work.

10:30am-2:30pm- Some how I stayed pregnant. I prayed and relaxed. Ate some ice chips and a Popsicle. Experienced amazement on how my skin could itch, but I couldn't feel it when I scratched. Marveled at how I could feel the urinary catheter being placed, but not feel any pain. Talked to my sisters who had made it up there. Made a list of things I would need, and sent Tim home to get them.

245 pm- Dr broke my water. Clear fluid. Pushed my leg back and told me to push. I pushed. When I did, she told me the baby came way down. She had the nurse alert NICU because she said things would move fast.

3:00pm- My bed was raised as high as it could go, and my legs were in stirrups. I could hear The Cosby Show coming on, and somewhere in the distance the shouts of "push" filled the room. I remember thinking, who are all these people? Don't get me wrong, modesty was out of the window, but I never figured so many people would be needed for a delivery. I pushed and pushed. Tim had one leg, and a nurse had the other. The nurse told me to relax my legs, hold on to the back of them, and push. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I didn't think it would work, but it finally did. I visualized forceps, and I pushed as hard as I could.

3:32pm- Cries filled the room. Layla Grace was born. 4 lbs, 10 oz, 17 1/2 inches long. Tim cut the cord, but the dr handed her directly to the NICU team. All I could do was cry and stare. She looked so perfect and precious and I could not believe that she had just come from my body. I remembered when she was just a flicker on an ultrasound screen with a steady bump for a heartbeat, and now she was here. I was completely humbled at God's work.

The placenta was delivered shortly after. No tears and the dr said I should heal nicely.

We were able to hold her for a short time before she went to NICU. Definitely a precious moment.

I am so happy to say that she's doing well. It was hard leaving her at the hospital yesterday, but we know that's the best place for her right now until she learns how to bottle feed. Hopefully our little ladybug will be home soon.

P.S Thanks for all the well wishes! If I don't return your call, text, or email right way, you know where I am! :)

33 Weeks

Nursery pics. Work in progress. We are 75% finished. We just need the crib and need to hang up her name above her crib and a few more decorations. Almost there!

32 Week Appointment

Today I had my appointment. I fully went in expecting it to be in and out as it has been for the past 2 months.
Blood pressure and urine sample normal. I gained 1 pound. That's up only 1 lb in the past 4 weeks for a grand total of 12 lbs.
The dr comes in and she tells me I'm doing great with my weight gain by keeping it under 20 lbs, however, she wants to do an u/s to make sure the baby is gaining and doing well.
That got me scared. She takes me to the u/s room and the sonographer is in there with another patient. I had to wait in the area outside the u/s room. Waiting there alone made me worry more and more, and soon my worry spiraled out of control.
15 minutes later I'm in the chair for the u/s. The first thing I saw was that the baby was so still. You already know what I thought, this is in spite of the fact that I had just heard the baby's heart rate by doppler with the dr. Irrational fears.
Anyway, she did some measurements and said everything looked great. The baby is 4 lbs 5 oz and she is measuring in the 43rd percentile. I asked what that meant, and she said on average babies measure at the 50th percentile and anything above that means the baby is on the larger side, and anything below that means the baby is on the smaller side.
I am glad she's doing fine, but of course I'm disturbed that she didn't quite make the grade. Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I sure wished she had said the baby was measuring in the 51st percentile at least.

*sigh*

I'm trying not to think about it.
I'm trying to figure out how to get another u/s.
I'm trying to behave as a civil, rational expectant mother.

Tales of the Mall Fiasco

My mall days are over too....at least for a while. I was bored yesterday and decided to go to the mall by myself. It all started off ok. I shopped for a bit in Macy's, then left there in search of Gymboree. Well I ended up walking from one end of the mall to the other searching for Gymboree which of course is too far for me. I felt terrible. I felt like a big, fat, wheezing elephant who was about to be put down for sore joints and bad hips. I ended up parking on a bench by the ice skating rink for about 15 minutes. Two teenagers walked smoothly, and effortlessly by me, chatting then laughing amongst themselves. I found myself wondering if they were laughing at the sight that I was.
That gave me enough strength and courage to make it back towards Macy's where I parked. On my walk back, I FINALLY found Gymboree. It was close enough to Macy's. I just didn't see it because it was downstairs on the side I was initially walking on. Anyway, I get there still feeling whoozy and couldn't find one thing that I wanted. I don't think anyone could...unless of course you wanted to buy overpriced dresses with matching socks. Baby already has tons of dresses. So I left there disappointed and started towards Macy's again. By this time everything on my body was aching. I decided I needed a sugar and caffeine rush to make me feel better. I limped towards Macy's, glancing casually at the different drink stands. Nothing there at any of the drink stands was under 3.50, and I wasn't prepared to make that type of commitment. Just when I thought I couldn't go any further, the heavens opened and I spotted a pepsi machine. Not my favorite or first choice, but it would work in a pinch. I get there and pay the machine 1.50 and pressed the button that would yield a pepsi. Guess what?





A DIET pepsi came out.





I stood there in disbelief and tears for a full minute before I finally accepted my fate. I looked around to see if there was anyone who could feel my pain or someone who I could vent to. I was alone.


I finally crept to the escalator. I got to my car maybe 15 minutes later. I walked outside, and wouldn't you know the earlier cloud cover had disappeared and the temps had started their upward climb to 102 degrees. I instantly started sweating.


All of that, and the only thing I had to show for it was a 5 pack of side snap shirts from Macy's, a DIET pepsi, and a broken crotch and hip bones.


Tim said that I am now on bed rest.


That's the end of my mall fiasco.





Also, I've gotten huge! Here are my 31 week pictures to prove.



We are BIG girls. To prove just how big she is, she just kicked me in the bladder as hard as she could. You can only imagine what happened next.

31 Weeks or so

My movie days are over. At least for the next 2 1/2 months that is. Tim and I went to the movies to see Transformers II yesterday, and I was in agony. My back, hips, crotch, thighs, knees, and ankles ached the whole time. I couldn't get up and walk around or go to the restroom because the theater was super crowded, and I hate having to squeeze through people. I finally fell into a deep 30 minute nap, but was awakened to the baby twisting and turning in my stomach. I guess the movie got too loud for her or something. We came home and Tim gave me a 30 minute massage to work out the kinks, then we headed to Mansfield to see the fireworks.
All in all it was a good day and my soreness is gone for the most part.

Work in Progress

We're currently hard at work trying to put the nursery together.It's hard work, but fun work.

My job was to put up the painter's tape. I also helped do the measurements for the chair rail Tim installed.

Tim painted.

And painted.
And finally arrived at this!
We still have a lot of work to do, but it's coming along. I'm so proud of daddy! He did such a good job executing my ideas.