She is really figuring out the whole eating thing. She loves to eat apples, pears, carrots, squash...really anything. Here she is eating avocado. She couldn't get enough. She kept grabbing the spoon and shoving it in. It's adorable!
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Eating, Playing, Living, Loving
I figured it was time for another Penelope update, so here it goes.
She is really figuring out the whole eating thing. She loves to eat apples, pears, carrots, squash...really anything. Here she is eating avocado. She couldn't get enough. She kept grabbing the spoon and shoving it in. It's adorable!
She also has fallen in LOVE with the dog. Mia loves licking her (which is kind of gross but it makes P giggle so I let it slide from time to time.) Here is a picture of them lounging on the couch together. I think once Penelope starts dropping food it's all over and Mia may find a new best friend instead of me!
We love reading to her, and she loves it! Sometimes it's difficult because she's too busy trying to turn the pages but it's still a great time. Here is her daddy reading her a bedtime story. Melts my heart...
Grandma and Grandpa Diamond came for a visit for Grandparent's day. She just loves them to pieces.
She is still obsessed with playing in her exersauser
Oh, and we blew bubbles for the first time. She loves them!
And this weekend we had our first fire in the fireplace. She liked to watch the flame.
So that's about it. I'll end this post with an adorable video of her eating avocado. Hope you all have a fantastic week!
She is really figuring out the whole eating thing. She loves to eat apples, pears, carrots, squash...really anything. Here she is eating avocado. She couldn't get enough. She kept grabbing the spoon and shoving it in. It's adorable!
So many updates - Penelope Milestones, Birthmark, and Beach Trip
Shew people....I sure do suck at blogging! I think I say that every time I post! Guess that means it's true..haha. Anyway, a lot has happened since I last posted so I figured I'd just do a cluster post of our lives in the past month.
Trip to Cape May, NJ:
Penelope had her first trip to the beach this summer. While I can say that bringing a baby to the beach does not make a relaxing vacation - it was still a good time! She spent a lot of time sleeping on the beach and rocking her awesome sunglasses! I can't wait to bring her back next year and hopefully dip her toes in the water a bit. It was way too cold and she would have just screamed this year.
Trip to the Hospital, Update on Penelope's Hemangioma:
Big things are happening for the better with Penelope's hemangioma. We brought her to the eye doctor right before our vacation and he said that her eyesight was getting worse and that she is probably going to need baby glasses (as I mentioned in the last post). Well, once we got back from vacation we met with her dermatologist and she said it was time to get more aggressive with the treatment. That meant it was time to have Penelope admitted to the hospital for a few days to start her on Propanolol. Propanolol is a hypertension medication that they've found also shrinks hemangiomas. We had to admit her to the hosptial for monitoring because the medication can have adverse effects such as low blood pressure or drops in glucose levels. We checked into the hospital this past Tuesday and Penelope rocked it like a champ! She was so good the whole time we were there and just played with her toys! She didn't even cry too much when they pricked her toe to check her blood sugar (well except for the first time!) We were out by Thursday and we can already see a huge improvement in both the size of the red part of the hemangioma as well as the stuff under the skin that is actually pressing on her eye!
Penelope Milestones:
And now on to the fun stuff! Penelope has just been learning and growing so fast these days! She has discovered her tongue!
She has learned how to roll over!
She has also learned how to grab things with her hands and bring them to her mouth! We are just so proud of our little girl! She is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to Sean and I and we are amazed every day that she is ours! I couldn't possibly love her more than I already do.
And that's about it for now!
Trip to Cape May, NJ:
Penelope had her first trip to the beach this summer. While I can say that bringing a baby to the beach does not make a relaxing vacation - it was still a good time! She spent a lot of time sleeping on the beach and rocking her awesome sunglasses! I can't wait to bring her back next year and hopefully dip her toes in the water a bit. It was way too cold and she would have just screamed this year.
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| sleeping away |
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| hanging with daddy wearing her awesome sunglasses |
Big things are happening for the better with Penelope's hemangioma. We brought her to the eye doctor right before our vacation and he said that her eyesight was getting worse and that she is probably going to need baby glasses (as I mentioned in the last post). Well, once we got back from vacation we met with her dermatologist and she said it was time to get more aggressive with the treatment. That meant it was time to have Penelope admitted to the hospital for a few days to start her on Propanolol. Propanolol is a hypertension medication that they've found also shrinks hemangiomas. We had to admit her to the hosptial for monitoring because the medication can have adverse effects such as low blood pressure or drops in glucose levels. We checked into the hospital this past Tuesday and Penelope rocked it like a champ! She was so good the whole time we were there and just played with her toys! She didn't even cry too much when they pricked her toe to check her blood sugar (well except for the first time!) We were out by Thursday and we can already see a huge improvement in both the size of the red part of the hemangioma as well as the stuff under the skin that is actually pressing on her eye!
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| hanging in the hospital |
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| chillaxin in the hospital crib |
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| Penelope's eye before any treatment |
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| Penelope's eye after 1 month of timolol topical treatment and less than a week of Propanolol treatment! It's amazing!! |
And now on to the fun stuff! Penelope has just been learning and growing so fast these days! She has discovered her tongue!
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| What's up guys? Oh that's right....I just rolled over again. No biggie! |
She has also learned how to grab things with her hands and bring them to her mouth! We are just so proud of our little girl! She is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to Sean and I and we are amazed every day that she is ours! I couldn't possibly love her more than I already do.
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| just relaxing for a bit |
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| Woah...what's that? A monkey!?! |
Fresh Pics and Hard Decisions
I had to make a hard decision today. My wonderful friend Biscuit planned my baby shower for me. The original one was scheduled for February 20th, but that one was canceled as Peanut came early. We rescheduled it for this Sunday, March 20th which is 2 days after her actual due date. We figured it would be a fun "welcome to the world" shower. We also decided to have it at my house since it would be easier to cart gifts if they were already at our house. I guess I wasn't really thinking when we picked that date. You see...we're not even supposed to leave the house with her until she's 2 months old because she's premie and the risk of her getting sick is high.
Fast forward to now, and a few people that were supposed to attend the shower either have the flu or have been exposed to it. I had to do what's best for the little one and cancel the shower again. I'm bummed but at the same time I am kind of relieved. I have been stressing about having all of these people in the house around her. She is so vulnerable right now - her little body is just now catching up with itself and she's considered "full term now." I'd hate for her to get sick because someone came over who didn't even know they were sick accidentally passed something along.
So I had to make a decision that was hard. I am guessing it's one of many many hard decisions that I will have to make as a parent. As much as I wanted to see all of my friends and show off our little sweet Penelope, I had to do what's best for her. So...everyone will just have to wait a bit longer to meet our little one.
In the meantime, I took some pictures of her today with my good camera and I think they came out pretty good. Here are some of the best ones.
Fast forward to now, and a few people that were supposed to attend the shower either have the flu or have been exposed to it. I had to do what's best for the little one and cancel the shower again. I'm bummed but at the same time I am kind of relieved. I have been stressing about having all of these people in the house around her. She is so vulnerable right now - her little body is just now catching up with itself and she's considered "full term now." I'd hate for her to get sick because someone came over who didn't even know they were sick accidentally passed something along.
So I had to make a decision that was hard. I am guessing it's one of many many hard decisions that I will have to make as a parent. As much as I wanted to see all of my friends and show off our little sweet Penelope, I had to do what's best for her. So...everyone will just have to wait a bit longer to meet our little one.
In the meantime, I took some pictures of her today with my good camera and I think they came out pretty good. Here are some of the best ones.
Bath time
Peanut is NOT a fan of bath time. She screams and cries and is pretty pitiful. Here are some pics of her first bath.
So yeah...not a fan. But she looks so cute when she's all clean. Her hair sticks up every wicha-way like a little baby chicken.
In other news, I'm still struggling with breastfeeding. I have had a lactation consultant come by twice so far. When she's here, Peanut will latch on and do pretty well, but as soon as the LC leaves it's like I'm trying to torture her and she's having none of it. I'm going to give it some time and try my best, but if it doesn't work out I'm prepared to exclusively breast pump. That way she'll still get all the benefits of the breast milk without making both baby and mommy cry out of frustration. But I'm not giving up yet...
And just because....here's another pic of my cutie
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| I don't know about this.... |
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| why are you doing this to me? |
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| This just isn't right.... |
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| Yes...dry me off!! |
In other news, I'm still struggling with breastfeeding. I have had a lactation consultant come by twice so far. When she's here, Peanut will latch on and do pretty well, but as soon as the LC leaves it's like I'm trying to torture her and she's having none of it. I'm going to give it some time and try my best, but if it doesn't work out I'm prepared to exclusively breast pump. That way she'll still get all the benefits of the breast milk without making both baby and mommy cry out of frustration. But I'm not giving up yet...
And just because....here's another pic of my cutie
Milkmaid
As those of you that have been following my blog know, Peanut was born 6 weeks early. While in the NICU she was fed my breast milk via feeding tube. I started pumping breast milk right from the start and it has been going really well. It wasn't that bad when she was still in the hospital because I had 4 hours to spare (8 times a day for a half hour each session). Sure it was difficult to fit them in - but I did it.
Now that she's home I'm finding it very hard to keep up with the pumping and take care of her at the same time. My doctor said I could breast feed her up to 4xs a day but she is not doing so well with it. Sometimes she'll latch on and eat with no problems - but most times she'll latch on and then just hang out. She won't suck, but basically just lays there with my breast in her mouth. I've tried changing her diaper right before, undressing her to wake her up a bit, waiting until she's really hungry - but nothing seems to be working. I'm frustrated. I want to be able to breast feed her. I don't want to pump, put it in a bottle, then feed her. Let's cut out the middle man so to say!
Last night is a prime example. P woke up at 4:30am to be fed. I went downstairs, prepared a bottle of breast milk that I pumped earlier in the day and fed her. If I was just breast feeding, that would have been it. But nope, I had to then put her down, go get all my pumping supplies ready, and start the 30 minute process of pumping. Right as I started, she started crying...so I had to figure out a way to hold her on a pillow on my lap so I could rock her while I was pumping. Since I have the pump attached to me I have to keep her at arms length. So I finally got her settled and then I had to just sit there until it was done. Then I had to put her down, label the bottles with the date/time, record it in my book, and clean the supplies for next time, and bring the bottles downstairs to put in the fridge (actually Sean did that for me). It's quite a process. I was actually on the verge of tears last night because I was just so frustrated by the whole process. If I could breastfeed, I could just feed her, rock her for a bit, and put her back down. Grr.
I've called 4 lactation consultants so far. The first one said she'd stop by on Saturday for her feeding between 5-6pm. Finally at 6pm with her not showing up or answering her phone I fed her myself. At 6:30pm she called and asked if she was "too late" because her last appointment went too long. Um, yeah lady...I had to feed my baby who was starving by that point! The other 3 that I've called haven't even called me back!
I don't know what to do. I'll try to call the other 3 again tomorrow and hope that one of them calls me back. I want to be successful with breast feeding. Especially since Peanut is premature, I want to give her any additional health benefits that I can...but I don't know if I can keep up the whole pumping and feeding her forever. Most days I can only get 7 pumps in and I'm afraid that I won't be able to keep up with her needs. So far it isn't a problem but as she grows she's going to want more to eat.
If anyone has suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it. In the meantime I'll just keep trying to get a lactation consultant to return my call and help me down this difficult road.
*update - since I wrote this, I spoke with one of the LC's. She is going to call me back within a 1/2 hour to schedule a visit either today or tomorrow. Hopefully she'll start me on the road to successful breastfeeding!
Learning the Ropes
So today is my first day alone with Peanut. Sean went back to work today and I've spent the day hanging with the little one. I'll admit it - it's weird. It was hard last night getting little sleep and then not having Sean here in the morning to switch off watching her so I could take a nap. It's going good though. I love hanging with this tiny little girl. She is so adorable.
I have some pictures of her first bath to post tomorrow - but for today, here are a few to tide you over.
I have some pictures of her first bath to post tomorrow - but for today, here are a few to tide you over.
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| blowing kisses |
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| zzzzz |
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| morning snuggles |
Penelope Birth Story - Part 4
So Penelope is born at 7:36pm on Saturday. Sean, his parents and my sisters are all able to go see her in the NICU. I am stuck in bed, drugged up on MAG, and confused. I'm still seeing double, can't move my body at all, and feel very odd. I can't describe the feeling...excited that she's alive and that we had our baby - but also really sad and jealous that everyone gets to see her but me. Then I find out that they want to keep me on the MAG for 24 hours to make sure I am stable. I can't tell you how upset that made me. I wanted to start feeling better and see my baby and instead I'm stuck sucking on ice chips and feeling like I'm on heroine or something. MAG is the worst crap on the planet. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
Sean came back from seeing P in the NICU and showed me a picture on his phone of her. I could barely see it because my vision was so messed up...but I knew she was beautiful. I just started counting down the hours until I could get off the MAG and see her! Sunday is a blur, literally, but I knew the end of my slug state was in sight! At 7:30 pm on Sunday they finally took me off the MAG. They made my bed sit up and I was still really REALLY out of it.
But then a nurse asked me a question I had been waiting for for 4 DAYS...."would you like something to eat and drink?" UM YES!!! I had some ginger ale and a turkey sandwich. Sean said that turkey sandwich looked absolutely disgusting - but I'll tell you what, that was the best sandwich I think I've ever had in my entire life.
After I eat a nurse comes by and tells us that they're transferring me to the regular post delivery area. She also asks if I would like to swing by the NICU to see Penelope. I'll be honest, I didn't know if I would be able to. I told her I was scared I wouldn't be able to get into a wheel chair and I was so dizzy with the blurry double vision. Sean said it broke his heart to hear that I wasn't sure I was up to seeing her.
So, another nurse comes in and the 2 of them plus Sean were able to get me into a wheel chair. Once I was in there I decided...hey you know what? I can go see her. I can do this! I want to see my little girl! So off we went!
Sean told me later that the nurses in the NICU asked him if he wanted to hold Penelope, and he told them that he wanted to wait and let me be the first person to hold her. Isn't he amazing?!
They wheeled me down the hall and to the NICU...and there she was. So beautiful and amazing with a full head of hair! And I got to hold my baby for the first time!
After that I started feeling better and better...and so did little Penelope! I was discharged the next day, my vision slowly improved, my legs started working again...and now I'm basically back to feeling like my old self.
As for Penelope - she's off all the tubes, no more IV's and now all she needs to do is gain weight. We also got word that they're going to hopefully be transferring her out of Hopkins to our local hospital! This will be awesome as I'm pretty sure I can start feeding her soon so I'll be able to go right over there. Right now I'm pumping and they're bottle feeding her...but we need to teach her to eat right from mama. Things are just looking up and up.
So, I don't want to end this on a low note..so I'll end with pictures...BUT I wanted to write a bit of caution. If you EVER think that there is something wrong with your body, trust your instincts. Doctors don't always listen to you. If you have a gut feeling that something is wrong - push the issue. I didn't. I figured I was just being a baby and this was just how it was. I now think that I had the signs of pre-e for quite some time. Who knows, if I had pushed the issue they would have put me on bed rest and monitored me...and maybe I wouldn't have had to deliver this early. OR they could have monitored me and not let it get to this level of severity before they did something about it. I don't know...all I know is that I had a hunch that something was wrong, I told my doctors about my symptoms...and they missed it. You have to be your own advocate.
So that's my story...
Ok, enough preaching...here are some more pictures of my precious little girl. I can't wait until she gets home and I can just hold her and love her all day every day. She is our little Peanut.
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| I was a swollen slug mess |
But then a nurse asked me a question I had been waiting for for 4 DAYS...."would you like something to eat and drink?" UM YES!!! I had some ginger ale and a turkey sandwich. Sean said that turkey sandwich looked absolutely disgusting - but I'll tell you what, that was the best sandwich I think I've ever had in my entire life.
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| The puffy slug eats! Horray! |
So, another nurse comes in and the 2 of them plus Sean were able to get me into a wheel chair. Once I was in there I decided...hey you know what? I can go see her. I can do this! I want to see my little girl! So off we went!
Sean told me later that the nurses in the NICU asked him if he wanted to hold Penelope, and he told them that he wanted to wait and let me be the first person to hold her. Isn't he amazing?!
They wheeled me down the hall and to the NICU...and there she was. So beautiful and amazing with a full head of hair! And I got to hold my baby for the first time!
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| First time mommy holds baby! |
As for Penelope - she's off all the tubes, no more IV's and now all she needs to do is gain weight. We also got word that they're going to hopefully be transferring her out of Hopkins to our local hospital! This will be awesome as I'm pretty sure I can start feeding her soon so I'll be able to go right over there. Right now I'm pumping and they're bottle feeding her...but we need to teach her to eat right from mama. Things are just looking up and up.
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| isn't she beautiful?! |
So, I don't want to end this on a low note..so I'll end with pictures...BUT I wanted to write a bit of caution. If you EVER think that there is something wrong with your body, trust your instincts. Doctors don't always listen to you. If you have a gut feeling that something is wrong - push the issue. I didn't. I figured I was just being a baby and this was just how it was. I now think that I had the signs of pre-e for quite some time. Who knows, if I had pushed the issue they would have put me on bed rest and monitored me...and maybe I wouldn't have had to deliver this early. OR they could have monitored me and not let it get to this level of severity before they did something about it. I don't know...all I know is that I had a hunch that something was wrong, I told my doctors about my symptoms...and they missed it. You have to be your own advocate.
So that's my story...
Ok, enough preaching...here are some more pictures of my precious little girl. I can't wait until she gets home and I can just hold her and love her all day every day. She is our little Peanut.
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| our fancy girl! |
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| teeny tiny hand |
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| Proud Daddy! |
Penelope Birth Story - Part 3
Ok so now we're at the point where they start me on the pitocin. This is administered Friday night after the 2nd steroid shot. I am still extremely lethargic on the MAG, I am seeing double, I'm being poked every few hours for blood draws, and my arm is being squeezed every 15 minutes to take my blood pressure (which is still freakishly high).
Because I'm not due for another 6 weeks, the pitocin isn't really doing anything. I don't feel any contractions and my cervix isn't progressing. That's when they decided...hmm, she isn't uncomfortable enough - let's kick this up a notch. First they tried a ripening agent which was basically medicine that they put eh hem..up there for 3 hours in the hopes that it will help my dilate, that didn't do anything. Next, since I wasn't dilating they tried "stripping my membranes" a few times. I won't describe it for the faint of heart - but it HURT LIKE HELL! Anyway, that still didn't do anything so then they inserted a foley ball catheter into my cervix. Again, I won't describe it but yes that HURT LIKE HELL TOO! However, that did get me dilated to 3cm's...now we're getting somewhere. But still, I didn't feel any contractions. We were in for a long haul.
Sometime on Saturday things started happening. I started feeling contractions a little bit. They went from mild to pretty painful quickly. That's when it was time for me to ask for an epidural. So the anesthesiologist shows up and I'm told that I need to sit up and lean over the hospital tray table thingy so that they can put the needle in my spine. Um...sit up? Oh sure, no problem. I can barely move my arm to my face but I can just pop right up. Anyway - a few people had to assist me in sitting up and then I'm leaning over the table...
Ut oh...I start feeling like I'm going to pass out or throw up. Turns out that by sitting up my blood pressure dropped dangerously low! They quickly laid me back down on my side and put some meds in my IV to regulate my blood pressure again. So I cant' sit back up - thus making the epidural insertion more difficult for the anesthesiologist. Sorry guy!
So Sean is behind the nurse who's holding my hand and is watching the anesthesiologist's face. It took way longer than it should have, and it hurt like hell...and Sean told me afterwards that the guy's face made it seem that it wasn't going exactly as it should. Awesome!
So now it's in...I'm still having contractions...and I'm still feeling them. They are getting worse and I kept hitting the button to dose me and it isn't really doing anything. I called the anesthesiologist back a few more time to up the amount...but I think what happened is that it didn't go in exactly as it should and there was nothing he could do. Oh well...it's time for the show!
At this point my water hasn't broken yet so they decide they're going to break my water for me. After they take a look up there they decide not to because they aren't sure if the umbilical cord is in the way. They decide to give it just a little more time. About 15 minutes later (or at least that's what it felt like - it could have been hours for all I know)...I felt it break. It was a very weird feeling. I called the nurse and let her know. I don't know how much longer after that but all of a sudden I felt like stuff was about to happen. Like I said, I had the epidural but I still basically felt a lot down there so I felt a lot of pressure like she was close to coming out.
Next thing I know there are about a dozen people in the room and my legs are up and I'm pushing. The actual pushing part only lasted about 40 minutes...and then...out she came!
There were about 6 people off to the side waiting for her because she is a premie and they needed to tend to her. A few seconds after she came out we heard her cry - it was amazing! It was also scary because they basically just handed her off to this team of doctors and we hadn't even seen her yet. After about 15 minutes or so (again my timing could be off) they brought her over, let me kiss her on the cheek...and she was gone off to the NICU.
I was left on the bed being stitched up (yes I was lucky enough to tear on a 3lb 9oz baby!) and my baby was gone. It was a very surreal feeling because I was so incredibly drugged up and out of it. I kept thinking to myself...did I just have a baby? What the hell just happened?
*next up...the final chapter of the birth story. 24 hours of MAG to go and updates on baby P
Because I'm not due for another 6 weeks, the pitocin isn't really doing anything. I don't feel any contractions and my cervix isn't progressing. That's when they decided...hmm, she isn't uncomfortable enough - let's kick this up a notch. First they tried a ripening agent which was basically medicine that they put eh hem..up there for 3 hours in the hopes that it will help my dilate, that didn't do anything. Next, since I wasn't dilating they tried "stripping my membranes" a few times. I won't describe it for the faint of heart - but it HURT LIKE HELL! Anyway, that still didn't do anything so then they inserted a foley ball catheter into my cervix. Again, I won't describe it but yes that HURT LIKE HELL TOO! However, that did get me dilated to 3cm's...now we're getting somewhere. But still, I didn't feel any contractions. We were in for a long haul.
Sometime on Saturday things started happening. I started feeling contractions a little bit. They went from mild to pretty painful quickly. That's when it was time for me to ask for an epidural. So the anesthesiologist shows up and I'm told that I need to sit up and lean over the hospital tray table thingy so that they can put the needle in my spine. Um...sit up? Oh sure, no problem. I can barely move my arm to my face but I can just pop right up. Anyway - a few people had to assist me in sitting up and then I'm leaning over the table...
Ut oh...I start feeling like I'm going to pass out or throw up. Turns out that by sitting up my blood pressure dropped dangerously low! They quickly laid me back down on my side and put some meds in my IV to regulate my blood pressure again. So I cant' sit back up - thus making the epidural insertion more difficult for the anesthesiologist. Sorry guy!
So Sean is behind the nurse who's holding my hand and is watching the anesthesiologist's face. It took way longer than it should have, and it hurt like hell...and Sean told me afterwards that the guy's face made it seem that it wasn't going exactly as it should. Awesome!
So now it's in...I'm still having contractions...and I'm still feeling them. They are getting worse and I kept hitting the button to dose me and it isn't really doing anything. I called the anesthesiologist back a few more time to up the amount...but I think what happened is that it didn't go in exactly as it should and there was nothing he could do. Oh well...it's time for the show!
At this point my water hasn't broken yet so they decide they're going to break my water for me. After they take a look up there they decide not to because they aren't sure if the umbilical cord is in the way. They decide to give it just a little more time. About 15 minutes later (or at least that's what it felt like - it could have been hours for all I know)...I felt it break. It was a very weird feeling. I called the nurse and let her know. I don't know how much longer after that but all of a sudden I felt like stuff was about to happen. Like I said, I had the epidural but I still basically felt a lot down there so I felt a lot of pressure like she was close to coming out.
Next thing I know there are about a dozen people in the room and my legs are up and I'm pushing. The actual pushing part only lasted about 40 minutes...and then...out she came!
There were about 6 people off to the side waiting for her because she is a premie and they needed to tend to her. A few seconds after she came out we heard her cry - it was amazing! It was also scary because they basically just handed her off to this team of doctors and we hadn't even seen her yet. After about 15 minutes or so (again my timing could be off) they brought her over, let me kiss her on the cheek...and she was gone off to the NICU.
I was left on the bed being stitched up (yes I was lucky enough to tear on a 3lb 9oz baby!) and my baby was gone. It was a very surreal feeling because I was so incredibly drugged up and out of it. I kept thinking to myself...did I just have a baby? What the hell just happened?
*next up...the final chapter of the birth story. 24 hours of MAG to go and updates on baby P
Penelope Birth Story - Part 2
So after the ultrasound, I'm still not sure what's going on. I think they may have given me my first dose of magnesium sulfate
(I'll call it MAG from now on). I told Sean to go home and take a
shower, eat something and grab some stuff from home in case we're going
to be a while. We figured we'd just lounge around and play with our
iPads or watch TV or something...no biggie. I don't remember if it was
before or after he left but at some point they gave me a shot of
steroids in my thigh to start maturing the baby's lungs so I could
deliver her. I still didn't realize that this was the plan...but with the steroids what the hope is - is they give you 1 shot of
steroids, another in 24 hours...and then you deliver in another 24
hours. That's the ideal amount of time to help the baby's lungs mature
before she comes out.
Sean leaves...and I go from feeling ok to not really quickly. By the time he got back to the hospital I was in pretty bad shape. Shaking uncontrollably and also pretty nauseous. I think it was shortly after he got back that I started projectile vomiting and feeling a mess. Then they tell us that the NICU at our hospital is full so they're going to have to transfer me downtown to Johns Hopkins. I was so upset. We have been so excited about how close our hospital is and how convenient it would be...and now they're talking about putting me in an ambulance to deliver my baby downtown. What could I do...no choice. So I'm sick and feeling awful and the ambulance guys come and take me and drive me to Hopkins. Unfortunately I didn't make it all the way there without throwing up in the ambulance. Whoops!
They admit me into Hopkins and tell me their plans. Basically I have advanced preeclampsia and they are going to try to give me the steroid treatment and then induce me to deliver the baby. I was so scared. She wasn't due for another 6 weeks and now I'm going to have to deliver her?
At this point they have started pumping me full of MAG. Basically what this does is dilate everything in my body to turn me into a human slug. It helps to keep my blood pressure down and reduces the chance of me having a seizure. My blood pressure had sky rocked to around 170s/100s which is seizure/stroke level so they pumped me full of MAG to help lower it. They also did a lot of blood draws to make sure my kidneys/liver were not failing. This is another risk of pre-e.
So this is all still Thursday night. As the MAG goes in I start feeling worse and worse as my body stops being able to do anything. It was hard for me to move at all...AND they wouldn't let me eat anything. I hadn't eaten since Wednesday night for dinner but since I was at risk of seizure plus there was always the possibility that they would have to do an emergency C-section they didn't want me to have any food. I was SO HUNGRY! At one point a doc came in to do a check on me and I got one wiff of him and said, "you've been eating an orange haven't you?" Sean said I sounded like I was accusing him of something awful...haha!
I was basically in this state for most of Friday as well. They didn't start putting the Pitocin in my IV until after the 2nd shot of steroids was put into my thigh around 5:30pm on Friday night.
Here goes the roller coaster....
* I'll finish the rest of the story tomorrow but now I'm off to the NICU to go visit our little Peanut!
Sean leaves...and I go from feeling ok to not really quickly. By the time he got back to the hospital I was in pretty bad shape. Shaking uncontrollably and also pretty nauseous. I think it was shortly after he got back that I started projectile vomiting and feeling a mess. Then they tell us that the NICU at our hospital is full so they're going to have to transfer me downtown to Johns Hopkins. I was so upset. We have been so excited about how close our hospital is and how convenient it would be...and now they're talking about putting me in an ambulance to deliver my baby downtown. What could I do...no choice. So I'm sick and feeling awful and the ambulance guys come and take me and drive me to Hopkins. Unfortunately I didn't make it all the way there without throwing up in the ambulance. Whoops!
They admit me into Hopkins and tell me their plans. Basically I have advanced preeclampsia and they are going to try to give me the steroid treatment and then induce me to deliver the baby. I was so scared. She wasn't due for another 6 weeks and now I'm going to have to deliver her?
At this point they have started pumping me full of MAG. Basically what this does is dilate everything in my body to turn me into a human slug. It helps to keep my blood pressure down and reduces the chance of me having a seizure. My blood pressure had sky rocked to around 170s/100s which is seizure/stroke level so they pumped me full of MAG to help lower it. They also did a lot of blood draws to make sure my kidneys/liver were not failing. This is another risk of pre-e.
So this is all still Thursday night. As the MAG goes in I start feeling worse and worse as my body stops being able to do anything. It was hard for me to move at all...AND they wouldn't let me eat anything. I hadn't eaten since Wednesday night for dinner but since I was at risk of seizure plus there was always the possibility that they would have to do an emergency C-section they didn't want me to have any food. I was SO HUNGRY! At one point a doc came in to do a check on me and I got one wiff of him and said, "you've been eating an orange haven't you?" Sean said I sounded like I was accusing him of something awful...haha!
I was basically in this state for most of Friday as well. They didn't start putting the Pitocin in my IV until after the 2nd shot of steroids was put into my thigh around 5:30pm on Friday night.
Here goes the roller coaster....
* I'll finish the rest of the story tomorrow but now I'm off to the NICU to go visit our little Peanut!
Penelope's Birth Story - Part 1
Ok, shew...this one is going to be a long one. Well, a few long ones - I'll break them down for ya. I'm warning you. Also, I warn that it may be a bit TMI for some - but I feel it's important to document all that happened during the birth of our beautiful daughter. Thankfully baby and mommy are doing great...but it was a scary road. And honestly, I think it's a road we shouldn't have had to go down. Deep breath, here it goes.
For those of you who have read my blog for a while, you may have noticed a recurring theme. I was constantly complaining about being swollen and puffy in the ankles, hands and face. I also was extremely tired. Freakishly tired I would say. Although I had brought up these things to my midwives (I go to a practice with about 6 midwives and so I rarely see the same one) they said it was just a part of being pregnant. I figured they knew what they were talking about and moved along. I also, at one point, said that I didn't feel my baby moving that much. They hooked me up to a fetal heartbeat monitor and all seemed fine. I figured it was my anterior placenta (the placenta was in the front and therefore acts as a pillow to muffle the kicks). They didn't do an ultrasound at this time. Then a week before the shit went down I had a routine appointment and there was protein and blood in my urine. They didn't seem too concerned and told me to come back in a week to follow up. So yeah....the signs were ALL THERE...but yet this is what happened.
So, I woke up on Thursday morning and my hands and face and ankles were extremely swollen. Way more so than they have been (mind you that they have been varying degrees of swollen for over a month at this point). I was concerned and decided to take my blood pressure because I read about preeclampsia and knew that the puffiness was a sign of it along with high blood pressure. Thankfully we have a blood pressure cuff in the house. I took it and it was around 170/90. That's pretty high. My husband and I decided I should try to get in to see the midwives "just in case something was wrong." I I had brought up the preeclampsia to my midwives before because of the face/hands swelling - but again nobody seemed to worried about it, so I wasn't that concerned when I walked into the midwives office that morning. They bring me in, I do a pee test, they take my blood pressure....and the midwife says "I hate to tell you but you have to go to the hospital right away." Um, ok? So I called Sean and said I had to go to the hospital, and at this point we're not really worried. We just figured they'd monitor me and probably send me home on bed rest or something like that. We live across the street from our local hospital so I drove back home, switched cars, and he drove me over and came with me to the hospital.
So now I'm at the hospital and they're checking my blood pressure and it's high. They do some blood work, another urine test...and then we go to the ultrasound. At this point I'm starting to freak a little bit. They start the ultrasound....and the baby is not moving. Her heartbeat is going but her little legs and arms are not moving. They're wiggling my belly, asking me to cough...and she barely moves. Then they measured the blood flow going from the umbilical cord to her...and it wasn't giving her as much as it should be. Oh crap...this just got scary.
For those of you who have read my blog for a while, you may have noticed a recurring theme. I was constantly complaining about being swollen and puffy in the ankles, hands and face. I also was extremely tired. Freakishly tired I would say. Although I had brought up these things to my midwives (I go to a practice with about 6 midwives and so I rarely see the same one) they said it was just a part of being pregnant. I figured they knew what they were talking about and moved along. I also, at one point, said that I didn't feel my baby moving that much. They hooked me up to a fetal heartbeat monitor and all seemed fine. I figured it was my anterior placenta (the placenta was in the front and therefore acts as a pillow to muffle the kicks). They didn't do an ultrasound at this time. Then a week before the shit went down I had a routine appointment and there was protein and blood in my urine. They didn't seem too concerned and told me to come back in a week to follow up. So yeah....the signs were ALL THERE...but yet this is what happened.
So, I woke up on Thursday morning and my hands and face and ankles were extremely swollen. Way more so than they have been (mind you that they have been varying degrees of swollen for over a month at this point). I was concerned and decided to take my blood pressure because I read about preeclampsia and knew that the puffiness was a sign of it along with high blood pressure. Thankfully we have a blood pressure cuff in the house. I took it and it was around 170/90. That's pretty high. My husband and I decided I should try to get in to see the midwives "just in case something was wrong." I I had brought up the preeclampsia to my midwives before because of the face/hands swelling - but again nobody seemed to worried about it, so I wasn't that concerned when I walked into the midwives office that morning. They bring me in, I do a pee test, they take my blood pressure....and the midwife says "I hate to tell you but you have to go to the hospital right away." Um, ok? So I called Sean and said I had to go to the hospital, and at this point we're not really worried. We just figured they'd monitor me and probably send me home on bed rest or something like that. We live across the street from our local hospital so I drove back home, switched cars, and he drove me over and came with me to the hospital.
So now I'm at the hospital and they're checking my blood pressure and it's high. They do some blood work, another urine test...and then we go to the ultrasound. At this point I'm starting to freak a little bit. They start the ultrasound....and the baby is not moving. Her heartbeat is going but her little legs and arms are not moving. They're wiggling my belly, asking me to cough...and she barely moves. Then they measured the blood flow going from the umbilical cord to her...and it wasn't giving her as much as it should be. Oh crap...this just got scary.
Penelope Charlotte Diamond is here!
I have so much to post about - the birth story of the century....but that's for another day. I just wanted to post a few pics now to announce the unexpected and early arrival of our beautiful little girl, Penelope Charlotte Diamond. She was born on February 5th at 7:36pm - 3lbs, 9oz and 16 inches long. She's in the NICU and will be for a while since she's still so tiny and needs to develop a bit more - but she's doing GREAT! I'll share all the details in a post later in the week...too much to write now - but I just couldn't wait to shout from the rooftops any longer how much we love this little girl! Hugs to everyone! Here she is!!
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| so tiny and beautiful! |
32 & 1/2 weeks
My partner in crime (biscuit) is back on the scene, so she was able to snap a belly pic of me today. Please disregard my overall puffy PUFFY face and eyes because that's the norm for me these days. While the acne hasn't subsided since I was about a week pregnant - I now have the additional water retention in the ankles/feet, hands and face. I knew about ankle swelling but had no idea that my eyelids would swell to the point where I look like I'm having an allergic reaction. I am down to just wearing mascara because any additional makeup would just get swallowed by my fat eyelids. It's oh so beautiful. Oh well..only a few short weeks to go and our little girl will be here. I consider myself lucky that I don't have gestational diabetes or anything serious - so a little swelling (ok a LOT swelling) I can deal with. The hardest thing is writing these days. My handwriting was awful before - but now that my fingers are like sausages it is nearly impossible to write something legible. Sorry in advance to anyone who has to try to decipher my scribble!
Additonally, I have revamped the blog layout....again! Yes I know I did it a while back but I was really not happy with the result. I was just getting frustrated so I gave up and went with the last one that I got working. Now I think I've got it where I want it. I hope you all like - it's a lot cleaner I think.
Well, back to the grind. Enjoy the latest belly pic in all it's glory!
Additonally, I have revamped the blog layout....again! Yes I know I did it a while back but I was really not happy with the result. I was just getting frustrated so I gave up and went with the last one that I got working. Now I think I've got it where I want it. I hope you all like - it's a lot cleaner I think.
Well, back to the grind. Enjoy the latest belly pic in all it's glory!
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| can you believe I still have 8 weeks?!? |
The Nursery Reveal
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| here is the view from the doorway |
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| the repainted vintage furniture (with new knobs) and the shelves/baskets that Sean put up for me! Oh AND the awesome print that I won from the tinyandlittle blog! Yay!! |
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| another view of the crib. I was considering putting another piece of art on the blank wall behind the crib, but I'm hoping we'll get a mobile and that will go there...so I figured I'd wait and see how that looks first! |
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| The shelves along the opposite wall of the crib. The top row are all my old "Little Golden Books" and my first dolls. Also on the top right are my first pair of baby shoes. The bottom row holds all our little girl's first toys! Aren't they adorable?! |
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| View of wall opposite of crib. I am in love with these dressers we got off of Craig's list - they are prefect! |
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| Our new rocking chair that my sisters gave us complete with a cute owl pillow AND the adorable Oh Susanna doll that I won from the dandelion blog in Australia! Isn't she darling?! |
So there it is. I just love walking in there at random times during the day and imagine what it will be like once she's here with us. So excited!
In other news - I just called the doctor to get the results from my latest glucose tolerance test and I'm very happy to report that I do NOT have gestational diabetes! I can not tell you how relieved I am. Sure I still need to watch my sugar and diet but I am not considered high risk and I don't have to worry about checking my blood every few hours and all that. I have been so worried about this the past few weeks (since my last test came back inconclusive) but now that I'm in the clear I can focus my energy on all the happiness! Horray!
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