It's a BOY!

I had been having contractions about every 10-12 minutes since Sunday, but they never got closer together and always slowed down around bedtime. I would wake up every morning a little depressed that they had completely disappeared overnight. At my 38 week appointment I was already 3 cm, but I knew that you could walk around for weeks being 3 cm dilated or you could deliver that day. The doctor told me that she’d be surprised if I made it to my 39 week appointment. Well, I did. At 39 weeks I found that I was 4 cm dilated and about 70% effaced and was told I’d likely go into labor soon.

We left the office and I was a tad disappointed because I felt like I would have made more progress given all of the contractions I had been having. I finally just gave in and tried to take my mind off of the baby coming. After I finished work on Friday I drove over to the mall to walk for a bit. I ended up walking around for about an hour and came back home and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. That night I started having contractions again, but again they were only about 10 minutes apart, though pretty painful. Tom and I both ended up falling asleep on the couch and headed up to bed around 11:00 pm. I woke up in pain around 1:15 am and immediately got up to pee since that usually stopped the cramping feeling I had in the middle of the night. By the time I got back in bed and comfortable I was having another contraction. I decided to get up and walk around to see if they’d slow down or stop. The contractions kept coming and coming and were about 6-7 minutes apart, so I called the doctor to see if I should head in to the hospital. Doc called me back and asked how long my last labor was and what my status was at my last appointment and then told me to head over to the hospital. Yay! I went upstairs and told Tom it was time and then called Aunt Peggy to stay with the girls. Then I finished packing our bag and got dressed.

I walked around the house and rocked on my yoga ball while we waited for Aunt Peggy. It was really the only way I could relieve some of the pain from the contractions. I prayed that they stayed 5 minutes apart until we got to the hospital because I knew I wanted an epidural. We hit just about every red light on the way to the hospital. You would think that at 2:30 am the lights would cooperate, but I guess that’s just our luck. We finally got to the hospital and up to Labor and Delivery. I gowned up and was immediately checked and was told I was still 4 cm, but stretchy. The hospital recently upgraded all of their equipment and patient system and everything is computerized. After I called my doctor she went online and entered all of the orders for blood work and everything else I needed. No need for us to wait for her to come in to authorize anything. I told them I wanted an epidural, so the nurse started an IV right away. She blew a vein in my hand on the first stick, something I've never experienced, but good lord it hurt. It’s over 12 hours later and the spot on my hand is still sore and swollen. Another nurse was called in to do the IV and it was perfect, although they both taped the hell out of my arm.

We took guesses on what the baby would be while we waited for the IV to finish – all based on the heart rate. Of course the heart rate was all over the place, but when I wasn't contracting and the baby was resting it stayed around 130-140 BPM. I got checked again and was almost 6 cm dilated when the anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural. I signed a few papers, answered a few questions, and she went to work. The first attempt at placing the epi wasn't quite successful, so she started over a bit lower and about 10 minutes later I was relaxing and only feeling the pressure of the contractions without all of the pain. The nurse propped me up on one side to better monitor the baby, but after about 20 minutes of being in that position I started to regain all feeling in my left leg. So she had me turn completely on my left side and the anesthesiologist came back in and adjusted the epi. Ahhhhhh. Finally both sides were nice and numb and I managed to catch about an hour or so of sleep. At some point both Tom and I woke up to a woman across the hall screaming in all sorts of pain. I made some comment to the nurse and anesthesiologist about it and they said she didn't make it in time to get her epidural. Sure enough just a few seconds later we heard a baby crying.

Around 7:15 or so I got checked again and was an 8+ so the nurse called the doc to get her to head in. Once the doctor arrived, she checked me and then broke the rest of my water and BAM the baby came all the way down immediately. She left to gown up and came back with the nurse. They were originally going to have me practice push, but the doctor looked and there was the head already crowning, so they called in the troops. I got propped up and pushed two-and-a-half times and then felt the baby slide out. The doctor exclaimed, “It’s a…BOY!” Tom and I were both crying at this point – just so happy to have another beautiful and healthy baby. The doctor and nurses asked what we’d like to name him. “Thomas Samuel, but we’ll be calling him Tommy.”

Our little boy came out so fast he had a bit of a bruise on his head and a little fluid in his lungs. The fluid he coughed up and cried out and the bruise/mark is already fading. He got a nine on both of his APGAR tests and immediately latched on to eat. He’s got a beautiful head of strawberry blonde hair and a handsome little face. We’re trying to decide who he looks more like – Stasa or Lexi. I’ll have to dig up their birth pictures to help us decide.

Thomas Samuel was born at 8:14 am on April 27 and was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21” long.

We had called Aunt Peggy right before I started pushing to let her know she could come on over with the girls. The girls came bounding in, excited to meet the new baby. We introduced them to their new brother and both hurriedly climbed up in my bed and requested to hold Tommy. Tom took them both over to the sanitizer to clean their hands and then we had each girl take a turn holding the baby. They were not at all happy when their turn was up and chastised Tom for not “taking turns” with them. I was worried that Stasa wouldn't be happy to have a baby brother and that Lexi wouldn't be thrilled about sharing mommy and daddy, but both girls just loved on their brother right away, showing me that I had nothing to be worried about. When it was time for them to leave, Stasa was upset because she thought we wouldn't be able to bring the baby home with us. I assured her that I would bring Tommy home with me and that we were keeping him forever and she seemed relieved and told me that she would miss us very much.

Tom and I both feel so blessed to have three beautiful and healthy children and can’t believe we’re now the parents of a BOY. We’ll definitely have to get used to saying “the kids” instead of “the girls” now.  

Stasa's first ER trip

Since it was so gorgeous out and we were already in the neighborhood we decided to pick Stasa up a little early today and Tom took her to the playground to run around. They came home and Stasa was weirdly quiet and holding her arm funny. Apparently she decided to play the limp noodle game with a twist. Tom was holding her hand and she twisted and pulled away from him and dropped to the ground. Tom said he heard a pop in her arm and she looked at him and said "Ouch, boo boo." 

She was favoring her left arm a lot and cried when we touched her elbow so we packed everything up and headed to the ER. We saw the triage nurses right away and they gave her some big stickers and checked her vitals. Stasa LOVED the hospital bracelets they put on her. I didn't love the wait time to get back to a bed, but once we were brought back a pediatrician came and saw us immediately. She asked what happened and then started feeling Stasa's arm. Five seconds later she was done. Stasa had nursemaids elbow, basically she had dislocated her radius, which is a common injury in 1-3 year olds (mostly in girls around 27 months and in the left arm - all of which apply to Stasa). Stasa cried for a couple of seconds when the doctor popped her elbow back in place and was immediately happy afterwards and could put full pressure on her arm again. Amazing how she could go back to her normal self that fast. 

The doctor explained what nursemaids elbow was and then showed us how to pop the bone back in place should it happen again. Then she gave Stasa a couple of giant Hello Kitty stickers and we were on our way. I would say that was $25 well spent. 

Our trip to the ER

Most of you that know me are well aware of how I end up in the ER frequently due to my klutziness. Well, I woke up Thursday morning around 1:30 with the most intense abdominal pain and bloating. I spent 2 hours writhing around on the floor unsure of what to do or how to relieve the bloating and pain. Malox, Tums and Midol didn't work, so I woke up Tom who's first instinct was to google the symptoms to see if there was anything else we could do at home. Finally we gave in, woke up Stasa and headed to the ER. 


Lucky for us the ER wasn't too busy and the doctor came in pretty quick. After checking me over, a nurse came in to insert an IV and administer some drugs: Dilaudid for pain and a medicine for bloating and another for nausea. Before she gave me the drugs she took some blood for tests and had me drink a liquid contrast in case the doctor ordered a CT. In the meantime, Tom dropped Stasa off at daycare so we wouldn't have to worry about her running around hospital. 


I was finally taken back for a CT scan and the technician told me they'd have to inject more contrast for the final image and that I would feel flushed and would also feel like I had peed my pants. It was the weirdest feeling and I was so happy when it was over. After the doctor had a chance to read the CT results, he came in, SMILING and announced that I would need an appendectomy. My response was less than polite. 


The next couple of hours were kind of a blur of pain meds and waiting around. Finally we were wheeled up to a waiting area and the surgeon and anesthesiologist explained everything to us. The anesthesiologist injected the first round of what I call the "pass out" drug in my IV and told me I'd probably not remember anything after that and I really don't. Tom told me that I cried the whole way to the OR, which doesn't surprise me because I was worried about something going wrong as soon as they said "appendectomy." 


The next thing I remember is waking up in Recovery with pillows all around me and a heavy feeling in my head. They took me to my room where Tom was waiting with some flowers my boss had dropped off. After that it was pretty much the norm for hospital living: nurses checking my stats every hour, clear liquid diet, forced activity and deep breathing. Tom and I were so happy when I was discharged on Friday, especially since I had been home less than 24 hours after my trip to Chicago. 


Recovery has been a bit of a pain. I've only ever had my tonsils removed so I've never had to deal with recovering from being cut into like this. I'm not sure I'd be able to handle having a c-section. And I only have 3 small incisions since they removed my appendix laparoscopically. I'm still on an antibiotic, taking pain meds at night so I can sleep comfortably, doing my deep breathing exercises and trying to walk around when I can. Mostly it just hurts to take a deep breath and move quickly. I thought I would be ready to go back to work on Monday, but I really don't think I could manage sitting up straight for an entire day. Not to mention lugging my laptop bag in to the office. I can't wait until I'm fully healed so I can get back to my normal routine, like picking up my daughter. 

Freedom!

Free at last! Stasa's blood work came back and her bilirubin levels are LOW! She gets to go home today. We're just waiting on the discharge papers and we're going to see another lactation consultant before we go. Yay! Homeward bound!

Another night

Well, the doctor decided to wait to check Stasa's bilirubin levels in the morning, so we're here for another night. We've spent more time in the hospital with her than at home. Hopefully her bilirubin levels will be low enough in the morning so we can be discharged. It's not so bad here, but we can't just hold her all of the time since she has to stay under the lights. The only time we get to take her out is for feedings and diaper changes.

She's funny, too. She's been giving us some good burps after eating and really lets it rip in her diaper. If you're holding her you feel it coming out and you can hear it across the room. She's got no shame.

Hospital update

The on call pediatrician came by around 11:30 AM to let us know the bloodwork results. Stasa's bilirubin levels are down to 15.5 - they were 20 when we were admitted last night. They want to keep her under the lights until 6:00 PM tonight and they'll do another blood draw to see if the levels go down more.



She's getting plenty to eat, we're feeding her every 2 hours, and she's had PLENTY of dirty diapers. And man does she scream bloody murder if she's wet. I'm hoping this mean it'll be easy to potty train her - I know that's way off in the future, but I'm always thinking ahead.

Here are a couple of pics of the StasMonster in her isolette/tanning bed.

Stasa's stylish biliband mask - she needs it to protect her eyes from the bili lights. That little sliver of blue light underneath her is the biliblanket. They want to get as much of her exposed to the lights as possible. And man is that blanket warm! They should make them in adult sizes.



Stasa's big foot almost hanging out of the isolette. She's completely content in this picture - full and dry - two of her favorite things.

A few more pictures

So so tired - Stasa looks awake in this picture, but she does this a lot in her sleep. She loves sucking on her fingers and moving her head around.

The yummy ice cream cake from Uncle Pat and Aunt Peggy - I can't wait to eat more of it!

Tom, Stasa and the new Great-Grandma

Grandma was so great with Stasa - gentle and calmed her down - I loved seeing her hold her and talk to her.

Back at the hospital for the bilirubin phototherapy - poor Tom looks exhausted. He let me do most of the sleeping today and didn't really get to take his own nap.

Back at the hospital

We went for Stasa's first well baby check this morning with Dr. Hunter, my family doctor. She weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz (it takes about 2 weeks for baby's to regain their birth weight) and checked out well. The doctor was concerned about her jaundice, so she sent us for blood work.

Stasa was not a fan of of getting her blood drawn today - they have to do a heel stick and squeeze drops out of her foot. After the blood draw, we went back home to rest and wait for the results. Turns out her bilirubin levels have increased since we left the hospital. The doctor said she would need to be admitted to the hospital to be put under the bilirubin lights. Dr. Hunter had already called the hospital and had a room waiting for us on the pediatric wing. We weren't happy to go back to the hospital, but we want what's best for our daughter.

For those of you that aren't familiar with jaundice, here's a little synopsis. Bilirubin is basically a cleaning agent in our bodies - it takes away the old red blood cells and then passes through the liver. Newborns generally have more bilirubin than their system can process which causes them to have jaundice. Breastfed babies and babies of Mediterranean descent usually have a higher bilirubin level. Bilirubin can be broken down with photo light therapy - being put under bili lights or a bili blanket.

Stasa's bili level was 16.5, which is higher than normal, but not terrible. The doctors decided to put her under the lights to be on the safe side. So, here we are at the hospital watching Stasa hang out under the bili lights. She seems to be content - probably because she's laying under warm lights (she's just like her mama). Dr. Prah, the on call pediatrician, thinks she'll be discharged tomorrow since her levels were low.

All in all I would say poor Stasa has had a hard day, but at least she managed to pee on the nurse during her well baby check. That's our girl.