3 & 4 week update

I'm behind with blogging along with writing thank you cards, making phone calls, and looking through my pile of mail that J put aside for me.  If I can summarize the past month with one word...it's 'survival'.  Time heals wounds and I'm glad to be on the mend!  Since I was feeling better physically, I felt like I could tackle nursing and called my friend's lactation consultant.   Linda, the consultant, explained and acted out certain behaviors Isabella made to help me better understand her...the visual was helpful!  Another helpful tip was to get my Medela pump evaluated for proper suction and mold behind the plate just in case some milk went back there since the machine is a hand me down.  I went to the Breastfeeding Resource Center in Abington for a free evaluation and it passed.  Calling a lactation consultant was worth the $, insurance covers $100, and she makes house calls...even better!  Thanks CT for the recommendation.

Baby girl is eating well and is 10 1/2 pounds!  I can't get over how much Isabella is growing and changing each week...her cheeks are chubbier, her hands and feet look so much bigger, she's become more alert, and fussy.   

Some first's:

• First trip outside was to Costco (We stayed in the car while J shopped)
• Isabella turned a month old on Thanksgiving Day
• We brought baby girl to church this past Sunday and she woke up during the last praise song
• Baby's first snow was yesterday 
• Went to home group tonight with Isabella

2 weeks old!

Wednesday morning, baby I's umbilical cord fell out after a feeding and she "saw" her first wet snow fall.   Baby girl is growing well and gained almost a pound since last week's first pediatrician appointment.  At her 2 week appointment today, baby girl is healthy, but has a umbilical cord hernia.  Straining and crying do not cause hernias; however, the increased pressure in the abdomen can make a hernia more noticeable.  For some reason, it occurs more often in girls than in boys.  Praying it heals soon and then we can give baby I her first bath!  If the hernia doesn't heal on it's own, she'd need surgery.  :(

I'm feeling much better and can walk more freely around the house.  Delivery was hard! I had 3rd degree tears, hemorrhoids, and elephant legs that felt like a ton of bricks that I couldn't lift...a side effect from the epidural.  On top of everything else, we went to the emergency room to get some antibiotics for a urinary tract infection on Halloween night.  After spending four hours at the new Einstein hospital in the suburbs, we finally left with a prescription for Amoxicillin.  A few days later, my nurser practitioner called with my sensitivity rate from my urine sample and suggested another antibiotic, Macrobid, that would be more effective for the bacteria I have.  She was right, but the Amoxicillin took the edge off when I needed it.  I felt like a mess for a week and a half and am glad to be on the mend...it's all worth it for our baby girl!

I'm thankful for my mom, mother-in-law, family, and friends who have helped us since we came home...the meals, groceries, cleaning, and help with feedings so we can nap have been such a blessing. 

1 week old!

Our baby girl is 1 week old!  Isabella is our gift from God and miracle baby.  She came into the world at 39 weeks on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 1:29 AM.  She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 inches in length.  Our daughter is strong, healthy, and absolutely adorable.  We're so in love and thankful that are arms are no longer empty, but full, with our 7 lb. 13 oz. bundle of joy (she lost some weight).  Still amazed with our take home baby who we get to love, keep, and raise.  I'm slowly recovering from delivery and adjusting to functioning on less sleep :) 

Overdue posts of weeks 37, 38, & 39!

I wrote this post on Tuesday, October 23, but didn't publish it for some reason...my water broke the next morning at 7:30 AM!

I've felt fatigued the past few weeks and fell behind on updates.  Baby I is fully developed and doesn't seem ready to come into the world yet, even though we're ready to meet her.  I had a dream this morning that we were playing with her...hope she comes soon!  Our hospital bag is packed, infant car seat's installed, our living will/power of attorney is complete, but the nursery is not quite organized.  In terms of symptoms, I feel tightness in my belly when I walk too long or do too much.  When resting, Baby I favors the left side of my belly and my belly looks like an awkward slope.  It looks funny!  She moves often and hiccups almost every evening for a couple minutes.  :)  Sleep is so-so because getting in and out of bed is a slow process.  The solution is to wear a satiny pajama and slide off the bed.


Week 37- Heartbeat is in the 150's range.  Tested negative for Group B Strep and won't need antibiotics during labor.  Per babycenter.com, our baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If I go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.  Our 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.

Week 38 -  Heartbeat is 145, my blood pressure is normal, my cervix is soft and not dilated.  Estimated size is upper 7lbs!  I'm walking and getting foot massages from J to bring on contractions. 
According to babycenter.com, she has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Week 39 - OB appt is this Thursday. (I never made this appointment because baby girl was born at 1:29 AM)

36 weeks!

Wow! We're in our 9th month and baby girl will be fully developed next week.  Time is flying by very quickly now and I'm ready to have her at this point.  We need to tidy up the nursery and finish packing the hospital bag. 

Sleep:  Getting out of bed takes more effort and am getting up a couple times a night due to left shoulder pain and bathroom trips. 

Movement:  I feel her squirming around in her limited space.  Her hiccups come when I feel hungry or just started to eat something and lasts for a couple minutes.  I think she has my kind of appetite!

Cravings/Aversions:  We were out of milk for a few days and I was craving it!  I also wanted pizza with the works and my friend, N, ordered it for me along with buffalo chicken pizza...yum! 

What I miss:  Nothing at all.  Feeling really content.   

Symptoms:  Bloated hands and feet mostly.  Numbness in some fingers and stiff hands.  Feeling fatigue again and taking naps again. 

What I look forward to:  We're close to meeting our baby girl!  I don't look forward to my weekly OB visits due to cervix checks...ouch!  Heartbeat was 152 and I'm not dilated yet.

Milestones:   Our baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day.  She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long.  She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath.  The baby's  swallowing both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, which will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

34 & 35 weeks!

I didn't post at 34 weeks because life's been busy and I was simply tired.  Since we're temporarily down to one car, we've adjusted to sharing a car and borrowing cars as needed.  J's car should be fixed by next week!  The past 2 weekends were busy with many celebrations...my baby shower, our nephew, D, turned 1, we partied with E for turning 10 years old, and J's cousin got married!  Also, before the baby comes, I'm cranking out my continuing education classes and took a 6 hour class at 34 weeks...it was a long day, baby girl was moving a lot, and glad I have one of the two live classes finished.          

Sleep:  It's pretty restful.  I sleep on my left side and get up only once.  Getting out of bed takes some effort since baby girl has grown!


Movement:  I feel her move, but not as much as before since she's running out of room. 

Cravings/Aversions:  Still craving chocolate, esp. dark chocolate peanut m&m's and honey crisp apples!  Linvilla Orchards has honey crisps for sale at the market for $1 something per pound...so yummy and cheap for honey crisp!  My SIL and BIL never tried these delicious, crispy and juicy apples and gave them some because they were missing out on the best apples ever!  I think I parted ways with 5 of them, my BIL ate 4 and SIL ate 1.  I don't think my nephews got a taste of these awesome apples.  I'll just have to buy some more!

What I miss:  Nothing at all.  Feeling really content.   

Symptoms:  Bloated hands and feet mostly.  Numbness in some fingers and stiff hands. 

What I look forward to:  I'm officially seeing my OB once a week now...we're close to meeting our baby girl! 

Baby Shower:  Thanks to my family and friends who hosted an awesome shower...it was perfect! xoxo! The shower was beautiful and I feel abundantly blessed by the loving family and friends we have in our lives, those near and far, who have prayed and been there for us during our bumpy road of trying to conceive to becoming pregnant.  If numbers weren't an issue at the venue, I would've invited the elementary school staff from my previous workplace who cried with me and prayed for me after my ectopic pregnancy last year.  They will forever hold a special place in my heart.  Our 5 year journey is thankfully coming to a close as we venture into the next phase...parenthood!  I'm truly thankful and humbled. 

                                           

                                          

J came for desserts and helped me cut the cake!

A nice keepsake for Isabella to read when she's older.

Nesting:  The nursery is almost done.  I have to pick some curtains and order some shelfpalooza's to store her toys, books, etc.  After the baby shower, the living room was filled with presents and there wasn't much room to move.  Thanks SR for sorting the gifts and removing all the tags!  Thanks YM for organizing everything since I didn't know where to begin and making the house livable again!

Milestones:  Our baby at 34 weeks weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Our baby at 35 weeks doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in my womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

33 weeks!

I had my OB appointment on Wednesday and all is well...150 bpm and she's 33 cm. long!  2 weeks prior, she was 31 cm. and is right on track.  I asked my nurse practitioner about the numbness in my fingers...due to milk developing, certain nerves in the arms are pinched and causing the numbness, which is normal.  It'll go away after pregnancy.
On my way to this appointment, I locked myself out of the house again!  I had my cell phone in hand, thinking it was my keys.  My parents came to the rescue with the spare!  We went out to lunch and was able to get another appointment a few hours later.

J's work threw him a surprise baby shower on Wednesday and he was surprised!  His co-worker, I, organized it and the shower looked nice...I saw some pictures of the food, cake, and the room decorated in mostly pink.  J brought home some left over cake from Hennings and it was yummy!  It was fun opening the gifts that J didn't get to open at the shower and seeing all the cute little outfits, blankets, bibs, books, and items off the registry. 

On J's way to work this morning, he got into a car accident.  Thankfully, he's okay!  The car is fixable and glad we don't need to get a new one with the baby on the way.  Despite the hassle, it was nice spending the day together and were able to clean out the baby's closet and make room for her things. 

Fertility conversations are few and far between, but I understand why it doesn't happen.  We met a lovely couple on Sunday and are meeting up with another couple tomorrow night for dinner.  A previous co-worker friend messaged me tonight and asked if I could speak with her friend who had 3 miscarriages and wants to talk to someone who understands loss and fertility struggles.  There was a time when I didn't want to deal with the things that were hard in life and preferred to hide from everyone and everything.  The quote below sums up what God's in the business of doing and I found a really good hiding place...take a listen to the song.

 
 

Hiding Place by Jars of Clay

Sleep:  Getting up a couple times a night and sleeping on my left side.  We moved the glider into our bedroom a while ago and I'll sleep there for a few hours some nights.   Movement:  Lots of it!  :)  As I'm blogging, I feel her hiccup for the first time...small, rhythmic movements!  http://www.livestrong.com/article/501651-im-nine-months-pregnant-and-the-baby-is-having-lots-of-hiccups/  Cravings/Aversions:  Still craving chocolate, esp. dark chocolate peanut m&m's...yum!  Enjoying crunchy peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches with a cup of milk.  What I miss:  Nothing at all.  Feeling really content.  Symptoms:  Bloated hands and feet mostly.  Experiencing round ligament pain when I wake up from sleep and naps.  Feeling numbness on my right fingertips...pointer, middle, and fourth fingers.  Not feeling much low back pain.  :)   What I look forward to:  I'm looking forward to my baby shower on Saturday!   Milestones:  Our baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark.  She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.