Shots & Measurements

On Thursday (June 10th) we took Amelia in for her 2 Month Well-Baby appointment. She is growing SO much! She measured 24.25" long and 12lbs 9.5oz!! Her length put her in the 95% percentile. CRAZY!

She got 3 shots that morning. She was a CHAMPION! She let out three small cries and then was completely silent and content. And Shaun said she was passed out by the time he dropped her off at daycare. What a brave girl!

Our little sleepyhead

I love to watch our little munchkin sleep. Here are some pics I've taken with my cell phone of Amelia sleeping.

Welcome to the World

FINALLY I'm getting a chance to write the blog entry I've been wanting to type up for a good ten weeks or so. The story about Amelia's arrival into the world.

Everything really starts with my birthday. Since my birthday was about a week before my due date, we decided we were going to spend the night at Topnotch, go to dinner that Saturday night, breakfast Sunday morning and then get massages. Saturday afternoon I met Shaun down at at resort. I was having sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions. After dinner they became stronger but not too bad. Sunday morning we had breakfast and then got our massages. I was scheduled for a maternity massage. I told the massage therapist that I was completely open to her massaging any and all trigger points that would induce labor. She gladly obliged. That afternoon I would have sworn it worked. Unfortunately the intense contractions stopped after about an hour. That night I just had some twinges.

Monday morning the contractions returned and put me in tears. I called the doctor and they said I should come in. By the time I got to the doctor the contractions had stopped. Of course! They checked to see how far along I was and surprisingly I was only 2 centimeters dilated - the same measurement I had been two weeks prior! UGH! However, my blood pressure was significantly elevated so the doctor was a bit concerned. That afternoon I had an appointment with my cardiologist. The OB asked me to call her after my appointment with the cardiologist and tell her what my blood pressure was that afternoon. It was high again. So, I had to return to the OB's office and give some blood because they wanted to test me for preclampsia. If you'll remember, I had super swollen feet, which is another indicator of preclampsia. Then the nurse handed me two big orange containers and told me to collect all my urine for a 24 hour period. Umm, GROSS!

So, that night I started. It was seriously a pain in the backside because it had to be refrigerated. Of course, I was SO thirsty being SO pregnant and having the smallest bladder possible. So, every time I went to the bathroom I had to go downstairs and dump it in the container and store it in the refrigerator. Doesn't sound too inconvenient but when you're not sleeping well due to a HUGE belly, it is a HUGE inconvenience. Tuesday I worked from home and collected all my pee. That afternoon I got a call that my blood work came back looking alright but I should finish the urine collection.

Wednesday I didn't get any calls about how the urine labs came back so I assumed they were normal. Growing up Mom & Dad always told us "no news is good news." I figured I'd just confirm that at my appointment the next morning.

Thursday morning I went in for my appointment. I was still no further dilated and my blood pressure was high. I was also informed that my labs came back abnormal enough that they indicated preclampsia. The doctor told me I was going to be induced that evening and I should plan on checking into the hospital about 6pm. I wasn't sure what to think.

I think Shaun and I were both in shock. I had kept an open mind about just letting things happen however they were going to happen but in all honesty, this wasn't a scenario that had actually entered my mind. I had pictured my water breaking and everything happening unexpectedly. I hadn't really thought about being told to check into the hospital and know that within about 24-36 hours I was going to meet our little girl. I was SO excited to meet my baby girl but it's not how I pictured everything happening. Luckily it was Shaun's day off so he was able to go home and clean up some things at the house while I went to the office and finalized a few things before being gone on maternity leave.

At 4pm the Charge Nurse from Labor and Delivery at the hospital called and said we should come in sooner rather than later since they were slow. So, we made sure we had everything and headed out. We got there about 5pm.

At 6pm they started the first round of manual induction. It was called a Foley Ball. Basically it was the balloon of a catheter put inside my uterus and then filled with saline. Once it fell out, I would be dilated 3-4 centimeters. Once that was in, it was a waiting game. We watched TV while I was strapped to the fetal heart rate monitor. Since it was a Thursday night, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice were on and that helped pass the time. Around 11pm the ball fell out. I was so excited because it seemed like it happened kinda fast. The doctor came in to check me and bummer, I was only TWO centimeters dilated. That was super frustrating.

The doctors decided they should let me sleep and then wake me up early to start everything in the morning. I was given Ambien and got 5 hours of of really good sleep. At 5am I was woken up and told that Shaun should go get me something to eat because I wouldn't be able to eat for awhile. Wow, I wish I was hungrier because the muffin, yogurt and banana he got me did not hold me over. By Noon I was hungry but that's neither here nor there.

Abby showed up about 9am. With the H1N1 rules in effect still I could only have 2 people with me. Shaun and I asked Abby to be with us. Having had both a vaginal birth and a c-section, I was glad to have her around. Plus, besides being like a sister, it was just nice company for both Shaun and me. I think she kept both of us calm and gave Shaun someone to talk to when I was sleeping.

At 11am the next round of induction techniques started. This time I was getting a pill (nicknamed Miso - made me think of the soup!) inserted into my uterus. The pill would cause my uterus to start contraction and the contractions should cause dilation. By Noon I was having contractions every 4 minutes or so. These continued until the doctor checked me at 3pm. Now I was almost 3 centimeters. UGH!

I knew another round of Miso was going to take place but we also discussed breaking my water. The doctor said it could also help in making me dilate. I said "go for it." Let me tell you, I had no idea how much it would hurt. I've had some uncomfortable things go on down there but that process was no fun. And nothing is grosser than having a waterfall come out of you once it's happened. Blah! So, with my water broken, Round 2 of the Miso started.

Holy smokes that little pill works fast. By 5pm I was having contractions every 30 - 45 seconds. And these contractions were not as tolerable as the earlier ones. By 6pm I was gripping the handrails on the bed. I was trying to be tough but I just couldn't catch my breath in-between them and it was all getting overwhelming. At about 7pm Shaun disappeared from the room. He was done watching me wriggle in pain and asked for the nurse to come talk to me about options. The doctor was sent in to check my progress. I pretty much burst into tears when she told me I was no more than 3 centimeters. I was so frustrated and heart broken. This little girl didn't appear to want to leave her cozy surroundings and I was looking at many more hours of pain.

At that point we discussed starting Pitocin. With the Prolong QT (my heart condition) I'm not really supposed to take Pitocin so first we would have to do an EKG and see how my heart was doing. The doctor said the Pitocin usually achieves 1 centimeter of dilation per hour. Since I had so far to go and the contractions were still super strong I asked for an epidural. I had hoped not to get one but I wasn't there to become a super hero, I was there to become a mommy and darn it, I was done with the pain.

About 9pm I got my epidural but we still hadn't seen the EKG technician. So, there was a whole bunch of conversation among the doctors and nurses about how to proceed. If I was cleared to have the Pitocin I would have to have an EKG every hour and be on a heart rate monitor. For whatever reason that wasn't going to happen smoothly up on the Labor & Delivery floor. So, they decided to transfer me to ICU. There I would be on a heart rate monitor, could have EKGs as often as necessary, have a fetal heart rate monitor and be close to an operating room if necessary.

The ICU room we were transferred to was more like a closet. It was a HIDEOUS green color. Thankfully it was a private room because it was packed enough with my 2 nurses from Labor & Delivery, the ICU nurse and Shaun & Abby. Once I was hooked up to everything I was bummed to learn that if I had Amelia vaginally I would deliver in that room. Umm, yuck! But, it didn't matter. A cardiologist came to read my EKG and I was not in a safe place for Pitocin. I knew as soon as my OB walked back in the door at 11:30pm that our little girl would be coming out via c-section. She didn't even have to tell me.

I was okay with that. By then I was over everything and just wanted to hold my baby. Luckily they weren't going to make me wait. I was told they were already prepping the OR. I couldn't believe it - so so so soon I was going to be holding my baby. The changed over the drugs in my epidural and almost instantly I couldn't feel anything from my breast bone down. I remember when they wheeled me into the ER, it was the strangest feeling to feel the cold air on my face and arms but no where on the rest of my body.

Shaun was given a seat by my head with the camera in hand. The doctor told him he could watch the entire process but Shaun asked him to just tell him when they were getting ready to pull out the baby - he didn't want to see anything up until then. I guess I don't blame him. :) Given how numb I was, I was so surprised to be able to feel the moment the doctor pulled Amelia out of my abdomen. It was the neatest feeling in the world. I wish I could describe it.

I didn't get to see her right away. I thought they'd hold her up for me to see her but they took her right over to the warming bed for the pediatrician to look at her. Everyone told me she was beautiful but I was dying to see her. Shaun went right over and watched them take care of her. Then he came over to me with the most beautiful baby in his arms. I was in awe over her perfection and completely baffled by her head full of dark hair! One of the nurses helped Shaun lie Amelia on me and took our first family photo of the three of us.

After that I started getting really shaky. I was in desperate need of a drink of water and my neck was killing me. Then suddenly I felt nauseous and started dry heaving. The anesthesia and I were not getting along. As they rolled me back to the ICU room to recover Amelia was placed in my arms. I was so scared to hold her because I was so shaky. I wanted badly to have her in my arms but I was more concerned with her safety because she looked so small.

Once we got back into the ICU room I handed Amelia over to her Aunt Abby. She and Shaun took pictures and called parents. I just begged for something to make me feel better. Including water, which I guzzled and then threw-up. Finally the doctor gave me something to knock me out. I fell asleep watching Shaun and Amelia stare at each other. It was amazing.

When I woke-up a few hours later I asked the nurse to bring me Amelia, who had been taken to the nursery so Shaun could sleep. When they brought her to me, she had been given a sponge bath and looked even more beautiful than I had thought before. She was perfect. They placed her in my arms and I didn't let go. From that moment until we left the hospital she was in my arms or Shaun's.

8 is my new favorite number!

I have a new favorite number. EIGHT. And that number would represent the number of hours straight that Amelia slept on the night of Wednesday, June 2nd AND Friday, June 4th. I guess daycare has some very good aspects! :)

Miss AJ has been sleeping 6-8 hours straight since starting daycare and I have to say, Mommy is LOVING it. I just don't like having to wake her up to take her to daycare! The picture of her sleeping is on the morning of June 3rd right after I took a picture of the time. The little peanut was sleeping so peacefully.

Making Noise

Miss Amelia making noises. She can be quite the chatterbox sometimes.