Wednesday, May 27, 2009

And.... she HAS arrived!

6 comments

Sorry for the delay, I am so sleep deprived and busy that today has been the first time I have had the time or even wanted to get on the computer.  

Everything is going very well, last night Kenley slept for 4 straight hours which felt fantastic (for me).   She is feeding well, sleeping a lot and really good at being cute.  

Andrew is back in San Diego, which makes me sad, but I am so glad he was able to be present for the birth.  I think it has changed both of us a lot.  The whole birth experience was super traumatic so I will not be reliving that here... well, maybe at a later date when it doesn't seem so fresh of a memory.   A short recap of the experience -- I got to Portsmouth around 5:45 am and was in labor/delivery room by 7:30am.  Progression was slow, my water broke at 9ish that night and my epidural wore off around 2am.  Basically I had a natural birth, not by choice...   Kenley arrived at 6am on 5/21 and weighed in at 9lbs and 8oz.  What a chunker!  I really did not think I would be in labor for almost 24 hours, it was probably one of the most exhausting/overwhelming/traumatic experiences of my life.  We were in the hospital until Sunday because of some high bilirubin levels.   It was so hard to put my baby under those lights for a full day and only be able to hold her for 15 minutes out of every hour.  She hated those lights until we gave her a pacifier which seemed to help with soothing herself.  It still makes me so sad to look at the pictures of her under those lights.  But she did great and on her check up the next day, her bilirubin count was good enough to not be re-admitted.  I just wish people would stop sticking her with needles and taking her blood.  

Tomorrow she will be one week old and she goes to her one week appointment! Here are some pictures we took over the past week, enjoy!











Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The big day approaches!

3 comments
My mom came in town this past Friday night.  We spent the weekend shopping, starting projects that we had discussed doing before baby arrived...  We cleaned, bought furniture, shopped, a little of everything.   Sunday we did a little more shopping and then spent the afternoon at the house since it was raining.  I noticed my feet were a bit swollen, which was a new symptom for me so I tried to keep them elevated.  It seemed that they were just getting bigger and bigger.  I started to wonder if it was a big deal...  we decided to go to labor & delivery triage on Sunday night around 10pm because I was also feeling like I couldn't breathe very deep.  They checked me out, monitored the baby, blood pressure, asked a bunch of questions and then sent me home saying it was just some edema (swelling).  I felt better, I just wanted to make sure nothing crazy was happening. 

Monday, I started the day off working from home.  We enjoyed a slow start to the day, breakfast and coffee, the Today show, and pajama's till about 1pm.  We got dressed and headed out to my weekly  (39wk) appointment over at the naval hospital.  Normal appointment things occurred, got weighed, took my blood pressure, listened to Kenley's heart beating, measured my belly... Once again, my blood pressure was a bit borderline -- 138/89, almost pre-eclamptic but not yet.  The doctor checked my cervix and told me that it was high and closed so therefore I was not a good candidate for induction at this point.  She did ask that I go and get the pre-e labs done do another 24 urine collection (ugh!) just to make sure that I haven't developed pre-e in the past week.   

Mom and I went down to the lab, I got my blood drawn and I also got my pee jar and "hat."  I was really mad that I had to collect my urine again.  It is such a pain in the a** to pee in a container, keep it in a jar with a lid and then KEEP IT IN THE FRIDGE.  ew.   Anywho, I had a mini meltdown about not having any progress with my cervix and I was bitter and upset that it seemed like this was going to go on until 41 weeks.   As we were leaving, I was really shaky and felt like my blood sugar was bit low.  We stopped at the cafe on the way out of the hospital, picked up a water and some blueberry muffins and headed out to the car.   As we waited in the downtown tunnel traffic (it was around 5pm at this point) and snacked on the muffins, I turned the package over to read the ingredients.  Not sure why I felt it was necessary, maybe because I am just compulsive about what goes into things?  And of course, the allergen warning made me do a double take: Contains Nuts.  wtf.   The last ingredient in the BLUEBERRY muffins was a NUT flour made up of hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans.   Good lord.  So I took my two emergency benadryl that I keep in my wallet all the time even though my mouth didn't even feel weird.  Just wanted to be safe. 

In and out of consciousness (ok, fine sleep) on the way home we stopped by Target and Home Depot to get the last few things we needed to complete our current projects.  Had some dinner, I was in a bad mood, went to bed...

We started the day out the same again this morning, had some breakfast and coffee, the Today show, working from home...  My doctor had given me her email address the previous day my appointment and said it was the best way to contact her.  I decided I was going to email her and beg for an induction or to see if there was anything I could do to get the ball rolling.   She wrote me back and said that there was a spot open next Wednesday and since I would be 40 weeks and 3 days they could induce because of hypertension at that point and I would be over my due date.  I said, OK! I will take it.  At this point, it was a light at the end of the tunnel.  It felt like next Wednesday was forever away but it left a lot of time to finish anything up that had been neglected over the past couple days.   We got dressed around noon and headed back to the hospital to drop off my urine jar.  Made it there and back in about 45 minutes, not too bad.  Mom dropped me off, went and got me some yummy groceries and was back with in the hour.  I was working on some troubleshooting some code when the doctor called from the hospital.  

Urine came back teetering on the edge of pre-e and at this point it looks like I am about to be pre-eclamptic.  She was not comfortable waiting till next Wednesday at this point and asked if I would be ok with coming in tonight or first thing in the morning.  Of course I said, YES.  Yes yes yes.  She said to call ahead and see if there was a bed available tonight and if not then it will be first thing in the morning.  I got off the phone and was in shock...  basically life was about to change and even though I thought I was ready I was kinda freaking out!  Mom was too.  She started cleaning everything.  It was great.  Haha.  She even cleaned my big glass door that leads to the backyard...  I think we both just had so much nervous/anxious energy that it was necessary to keep moving.  Laundry was done, there was vacuuming, dusting... I made chocolate chip banana bread (I know, wtf?).

I called the labor deck (not sure why it's called that) around 8pm tonight and checked if there was any room for me, the lady said the inn was full.  She said there were some ladies in labor currently so was it ok to call at any time tonight to come when space is available? I said, sure why not.  Apparently, I am first on the list of people to call and be induced and there is a possibility that they could call me at like 3 in the morning tonight.  CrAzY.  

Best part of this story is that Andrew is currently on his way back from California.  He won't arrive until tomorrow morning, but that is ok -- he has a 4 day weekend this week.  So add the three days he is allowed to miss of class without being penalized and he will be home with us until next Tuesday! Fantastic! I don't think this could have worked out any better with his schedule.  I am so relieved he will be able to be there for his baby's birthday! 

So Kenley's making an appearance soon, I will post what happens WHEN it happens! Yay!!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

a short list.

1 comments
I am so impatient.  10 more days until my due date.  I really don't want to wait that long...  Here is what I have tried so far to get Kenley to come out:

1.  Ate pineapple
2. Baked and ate "labor cookies"
3. Taking evening primrose oil (since a week and a half ago)
4. Spicy foods and I are BFF's
5. Ate eggplant parm (the italian spices are supposed to help)
6. Walked a LOT.  **Gibbs loves this one
7. Tried to swing on the playground for a bit.  My butt started to hurt because I don't really fit on a child's playground anymore.
8. Jumping jacks
9.  Bouncing on my exercise ball


So far, as you can tell, nothing has worked.  I am pretty sure she's ready, I mean -- she's 8.5 lbs already.  Ahhhhh!! 

Monday, May 11, 2009

The last size update!

0 comments
So this is the last time Kenley's estimated size will change with theBump...  according to an ultrasound I had on Saturday, she is measuring 8lbs 7oz! Oh man, I think she's done cooking, but she has yet to show any progress of coming out.    Here is the size update! 

At week 37, your pregnancy is considered full term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world… meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which you’ll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. If (okay, as) you worry about giving birth, consider what it’s like for the little one. During the journey out of your womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.

Monday, May 4, 2009

yea yea, just get out already!

4 comments

Your pregnancy: 37 weeks





How your baby's growing:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.





Someone just tell her to come out already. She's done cookin.
 

The Kenley Chronicles Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved Baby Blog Designed by Ipiet | All Image Presented by Tadpole's Notez | Distributed by Deluxe Templates