It's taken to me to baby #3 to realize the only way to "finish" a baby book is to write that letter to your child which is on like the last pages in the baby books I've gotten for all 3 kids. I'm fairly good at keeping up with the baby books. I record all weights and heights when we visit the doctor. I'm only missing a few monthly pictures in Little Monster's book (just need to print them) and I'm currently starting on The Baby's book. I'm pretty bad about filling out the beginning where it asks what the price of gas is, what are top headlines, top fashions, top artists, top movies, etc. If I think of something important, I'll put it in there, but mostly I've left it blank. Those don't bother me too much being blank. The letter at the end has bothered me. With Tiny Dancer, I just didn't know what to write. But I think I've realized that maybe they put that part at the end because by the end of the baby book (about 5 or 6) your letter will mean a lot more at that point in your child's life.
When Tiny Dancer was first born, I thought about what I would write in that letter. Of course I couldn't wait to meet her. We were hoping she'd have some sort of red hair. I had hopes and wishes for her life. But now that Tiny Dancer is 4, the dreams that I have for her are more real and more relevant to the little person she is today.
I wrote her letter for her baby book about a month or 2 before The Baby was born. And I'll probably wait to write Little Monster's until she's 4. And The Baby's too.
Tiny Dancer: I hope you never lose the sparkle in your smile. And that the shyness you've recently developed doesn't last long and never becomes so bad you still aren't the outgoing little girl we love. I hope you always love to sing and dance, and you'll pursue your dreams regarding both. I hope you still want to be a doctor when you're in high school and you work hard to fulfill that goal. I hope your love for learning never diminishes. But that your love for doritos does. ;) Most of all, I hope you remember how much you mean to me and that I'll always be here for you no matter what happens.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
We've passed the one week mark for The Baby. I can't believe how fast time flies once the baby is here.
I mentioned before about The Baby's tongue tie and pointy ear. Well, last week we decided to fix the tongue and not worry about the ear.
I called our pedi's office on Wednesday to ask what we needed to do to move forward with clipping his tongue. I was starting to experience some pain while feeding him and he was still having issues staying latched for a long period of time (lots of starting and stopping). I wasn't sure if the 2 were linked, but I thought we may as well try it.
They called me back the next day, Thursday (our pedi was out of the office Wednesday) and said they could set me up with an ENT to get it clipped either that day or the next. I got the call back for my appointment about 20 minutes later. I was so nervous! And I still can't drive yet, so I had to scramble to find someone that could drive me to Alton Memorial.
Once we got there, the ENT saw us right away, saw the tongue tie and clipped it. The procedure took less than 30 seconds. He opened The Baby's mouth (he was sleeping on my lap), clamped the frenulum, The Baby screamed, the doctor grabbed his scissors and did 2 or 3 snips, The Baby screamed again and it was over. He had a little blood in his mouth we soaked up with some gauze, but by the time I got him back in his car seat, it had already stopped bleeding. And he fell back asleep by the time we got back to the van.
I fed him as soon as we got home and that day, and especially the next, I noticed a huge difference in his eating. He was staying latched longer and it wasn't hurting. The ENT did say it was a pretty tight tongue tie, so I'm really glad we made the decision to get it taken care of. It's never given him any other issues. So strange that they can just quickly cut it and that's it!
I've also handled being home with all 3 kids by myself pretty well I think. I had just 4 days last week, and I'll have 5 this week. I'm not doing much like cleaning or anything (I just started going down the stairs yesterday) since I'm trying to make sure I heal properly and without pain. Little Monster's c-section included a lot of pain and an infection 2 weeks postpartum. My goal is to not have that happen again!
The Baby goes back to the doctor December 3rd for his 1 month appointment. And Little Monster goes back January 7th for her 18 month appointment - I seriously cannot believe that girl is almost 18 months old! Christmas is going to be so much fun this year. :)
I mentioned before about The Baby's tongue tie and pointy ear. Well, last week we decided to fix the tongue and not worry about the ear.
I called our pedi's office on Wednesday to ask what we needed to do to move forward with clipping his tongue. I was starting to experience some pain while feeding him and he was still having issues staying latched for a long period of time (lots of starting and stopping). I wasn't sure if the 2 were linked, but I thought we may as well try it.
They called me back the next day, Thursday (our pedi was out of the office Wednesday) and said they could set me up with an ENT to get it clipped either that day or the next. I got the call back for my appointment about 20 minutes later. I was so nervous! And I still can't drive yet, so I had to scramble to find someone that could drive me to Alton Memorial.
Once we got there, the ENT saw us right away, saw the tongue tie and clipped it. The procedure took less than 30 seconds. He opened The Baby's mouth (he was sleeping on my lap), clamped the frenulum, The Baby screamed, the doctor grabbed his scissors and did 2 or 3 snips, The Baby screamed again and it was over. He had a little blood in his mouth we soaked up with some gauze, but by the time I got him back in his car seat, it had already stopped bleeding. And he fell back asleep by the time we got back to the van.
I fed him as soon as we got home and that day, and especially the next, I noticed a huge difference in his eating. He was staying latched longer and it wasn't hurting. The ENT did say it was a pretty tight tongue tie, so I'm really glad we made the decision to get it taken care of. It's never given him any other issues. So strange that they can just quickly cut it and that's it!
I've also handled being home with all 3 kids by myself pretty well I think. I had just 4 days last week, and I'll have 5 this week. I'm not doing much like cleaning or anything (I just started going down the stairs yesterday) since I'm trying to make sure I heal properly and without pain. Little Monster's c-section included a lot of pain and an infection 2 weeks postpartum. My goal is to not have that happen again!
The Baby goes back to the doctor December 3rd for his 1 month appointment. And Little Monster goes back January 7th for her 18 month appointment - I seriously cannot believe that girl is almost 18 months old! Christmas is going to be so much fun this year. :)
Monday, November 5, 2012
All About The Baby
Today was our first day home with The Baby. Dad goes back to work tomorrow. I don't know if he's more sad, or if I am. I'm also really nervous. C-sections are hard to recover from and I'm crabby, tired and in pain a lot.
In the hospital, one of the pediatric residents thought that The Baby sounded like he had a heart murmur. So, she had the attending come in and check him out. She said she heard an extra heart sound, but it could mean a few things. Most likely, it was just from the valve over the heart that closes once the baby's are born. Before they're born, it lets the blood bypass the lungs, then after they are born it closes up and allows the blood to pass in to the lungs. Sometimes, this just causes a louder sound which could make it seem like there was an extra sound. So, The Baby got a test the day we were to leave to check out his blood pressures. He passed, and everything was just fine. We got to leave on Sunday as usual.
Today, we took him for his first visit with our pediatrician, Dr. Hill. We took all 3 kids with us. It's quite the task getting us all loaded into the minivan quickly.
Dr. Hill checked him out and told us a few things: 1) She did NOT hear a heart murmur, so most likely it was just that valve making a loud sound. 2) He has a pointy ear. 3) He is slightly tongue-tied.
We were excited to hear he doesn't have a heart murmur.
I noticed his ear was pointy in the hospital, but didn't think much of it. She said it's purely cosmetic; there's no reason she thinks we should fix it, but if we want to fix it, the easiest way is to do so with putty and tape in the first 3 weeks of his life. After that, it becomes an expensive surgery. Originally, we said no, we didn't care, but now we are thinking about what The Baby will think of his ear when he's older and if he'll be mad we didn't do this very easy fix in the beginning. Something to think about...
The nurse at Barnes told us she thought he was a little tongue-tied and the attending agreed, though she felt if it wasn't affecting breastfeeding, then we shouldn't worry about clipping it. Dr. Hill also felt it was very slight, it wouldn't affect his speech and if it wasn't affecting breastfeeding, then it would be fine to ignore for now. However, I had started to notice slight pain when breastfeeding and since I'm paying more attention to it right now, it does kind of hurt. So, I'll be calling back about his tongue possibly getting clipped too. I want to nurse him for at least a year and if the tongue tie starts to get in the way at all, I'm okay with clipping it.
The Baby weighs 7 pounds and 1 ounce (just 3 ounces shy of his birth weight!) and he measures 21 inches (1 inch longer than his birth length). He's in the 25th percentile for weight, 90th percentile for height and over 90th for his big ole head (which I still think looks tiny).
This baby is more amazing than I ever could have imagined. I'm already getting a little obsessed with him. He's perfect and absolutely adorable. His hair still cracks me up. He can't have a real bath yet, but his hair needs washed almost everyday, which I am so not used to from the girls, ha!
In the hospital, one of the pediatric residents thought that The Baby sounded like he had a heart murmur. So, she had the attending come in and check him out. She said she heard an extra heart sound, but it could mean a few things. Most likely, it was just from the valve over the heart that closes once the baby's are born. Before they're born, it lets the blood bypass the lungs, then after they are born it closes up and allows the blood to pass in to the lungs. Sometimes, this just causes a louder sound which could make it seem like there was an extra sound. So, The Baby got a test the day we were to leave to check out his blood pressures. He passed, and everything was just fine. We got to leave on Sunday as usual.
Today, we took him for his first visit with our pediatrician, Dr. Hill. We took all 3 kids with us. It's quite the task getting us all loaded into the minivan quickly.
Dr. Hill checked him out and told us a few things: 1) She did NOT hear a heart murmur, so most likely it was just that valve making a loud sound. 2) He has a pointy ear. 3) He is slightly tongue-tied.
We were excited to hear he doesn't have a heart murmur.
I noticed his ear was pointy in the hospital, but didn't think much of it. She said it's purely cosmetic; there's no reason she thinks we should fix it, but if we want to fix it, the easiest way is to do so with putty and tape in the first 3 weeks of his life. After that, it becomes an expensive surgery. Originally, we said no, we didn't care, but now we are thinking about what The Baby will think of his ear when he's older and if he'll be mad we didn't do this very easy fix in the beginning. Something to think about...
The nurse at Barnes told us she thought he was a little tongue-tied and the attending agreed, though she felt if it wasn't affecting breastfeeding, then we shouldn't worry about clipping it. Dr. Hill also felt it was very slight, it wouldn't affect his speech and if it wasn't affecting breastfeeding, then it would be fine to ignore for now. However, I had started to notice slight pain when breastfeeding and since I'm paying more attention to it right now, it does kind of hurt. So, I'll be calling back about his tongue possibly getting clipped too. I want to nurse him for at least a year and if the tongue tie starts to get in the way at all, I'm okay with clipping it.
The Baby weighs 7 pounds and 1 ounce (just 3 ounces shy of his birth weight!) and he measures 21 inches (1 inch longer than his birth length). He's in the 25th percentile for weight, 90th percentile for height and over 90th for his big ole head (which I still think looks tiny).
This baby is more amazing than I ever could have imagined. I'm already getting a little obsessed with him. He's perfect and absolutely adorable. His hair still cracks me up. He can't have a real bath yet, but his hair needs washed almost everyday, which I am so not used to from the girls, ha!
Friday, November 2, 2012
He's Here!
The Baby is here!
I made it all the way to 39 weeks, even while experiencing contractions that totally felt like the real deal (and always went away an hour after starting) for almost 2 months.... 2 months of pre-pre-labor. Not the most comfortable thing to endure, but now that he's here, I really couldn't care less! :)
We went in yesterday morning at 9:15 to Barnes for my repeat c-section. Although calm, it's nerve racking once you are there. Lots of labs to give... lots of waiting around... lots of thinking too much into it.
I was taken back to my room about 9:30, changed into a gown and was introduced to my 2 nurses. One was a new nurse, learning the ropes. The other was a pregnant, very good nurse. They were both awesome... more than awesome. They helped keep my mind off things so much. My c-section was scheduled at 11:30, but I was told right away a few emergencies, one pretty bad, had bumped me back a bit, but they were hoping it wasn't too far past 11:30 that I'd get to go back.
The worst part of everything was the IV - I swear it always is! The new nurse tried, but blew my vein. It hurt, but hey, they have to learn somehow. The other nurse tried my other arm and got it right in, with just a pinch. Once that was started, they took some blood and hooked me up to some fluids.
My doctor popped her head in to let me know even though I was pushed back, I would be having a baby that afternoon. We also had to go over a potential allergy that I have to betadine and I had to get a new bracelet. After Tiny Dancer was born and I was home, I started getting a rash around the incision. A day later, it had spread from my thighs to my face and down my arms. It was awful - more than awful. Extremely painful and nothing I could do. It was gone within a week and I was told it was probably the PUPPS virus. When I had Little Monster, the day of my c-section, a rash started around my incision site. I let them know about what happened before and even though it spread around my belly, the meds they gave me helped the pain and it didn't spread anymore. It was gone by the time I went home. The only thing they could think of was a reaction to the betadine around my incision. So, no betadine this time in the hopes that will not happen again.
I met the anesthesiologist and some other doctors. They did a quick scan to check his head placement. Another emergency with some complications came up, so I was bumped again.
I was about to fall asleep for a nap when they came down to take me back at about 1:50pm. I walked down the hall and into the OR hall and right into the actual OR. It was freezing! They got me settled and went right to work on my anesthesia. This time, besides just a spinal block, I also got an epidural. Spinal blocks usually last around 2 hours, but since this was my 3rd c-section and I probably had a lot of scar tissue, plus I was getting a tubal ligation, they were afraid of the chance it might go past the 2 hours. The epidural was in place just to be sure. The guy that did it was also awesome. Pretty funny and very quick! They did make me take a medicine drink thing beforehand because of my acid reflux which was NOT funny - sick. I gag just thinking of it. It did help a lot though.
It felt like forever before my husband was back, but they had already started working. It took them quite a while to get to my uterus, but The Baby was born at 2:46pm! When I heard him cry, I cried, well without tears. By this point I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight the night before and my mouth was sooo dry and apparently so were my tear ducts.
Dad got to go over to look at him and then they weighed him and measured him and allowed him to cut the cord - a first for him! Then they wrapped him up and let Dad hold him the rest of the time.
I ended up having one slight complication during the procedure. My bladder was right next to my uterus and also has some scar tissue that had kind of moved from my uterus to my bladder. The doctor nicked my bladder while cutting open my uterus. They filled my bladder up to check it and although it held, the doctor said it looked a little raw so I got some sutures there too. So, I've got a catheter in for 48 hours after delivery (blah!). That took them some extra time, so we were in there for a while. They were able to do the tubal ligation (always a risk that too much scar tissue means they can't get to them) and we were able to see the parts they cut out after.
They were able to get The Baby to me, skin to skin, as soon as I was out of the OR and in my room. We were also able to feed him. It took him some time to latch, but once he did, he did pretty good.
My blood pressure is super low while my pulse is a little high, so I was having some nauseousness and dizziness, which made it difficult to sit up and hold The Baby. Dad really had to help me out with that part.
But, it's 2:00am and I'm having a hard time sleeping, though both of my guys (my guys - love it) are asleep besides me. Barnes has double rooms and the last time we were here, as long as you didn't have to share your husband could stay in the other bed. Well, they changed that this time so that you never have to share but you still get the other bed. Which is great because Dad stays with me the whole time I'm here. He is awesome at helping out and getting up whenever I need him.
I was able to get up and walk a few steps to a chair and hold and feed The Baby. I'm still on a liquid diet only, so besides apple juice and orange juice, I've just had some chicken broth. Needless to say, the food commercials are driving me crazy! I can't wait to eat!
The Baby is absolutely amazing. He's a very chill baby and he's been nursing great once we get him latched. They think he may have a tongue tie, so we'll have the pediatricians take a look at him tomorrow. He has a ton of brown hair. He was 7 pounds and 4.2 ounces and he measured 20 1/8 inch. He's got skinny little legs. He surprisingly does not look that much like his sisters - he definitely takes after Daddy!
Well, that's it, my last birth story as long as that tubal ligation works. Even though this delivery was not horrible, it just reminded me of why we made that decision. This was my 8th pregnancy and 3rd c-section; I think my uterus has been through enough. Just soaking up every bit of this newborn stage with my baby now. :)
I made it all the way to 39 weeks, even while experiencing contractions that totally felt like the real deal (and always went away an hour after starting) for almost 2 months.... 2 months of pre-pre-labor. Not the most comfortable thing to endure, but now that he's here, I really couldn't care less! :)
We went in yesterday morning at 9:15 to Barnes for my repeat c-section. Although calm, it's nerve racking once you are there. Lots of labs to give... lots of waiting around... lots of thinking too much into it.
I was taken back to my room about 9:30, changed into a gown and was introduced to my 2 nurses. One was a new nurse, learning the ropes. The other was a pregnant, very good nurse. They were both awesome... more than awesome. They helped keep my mind off things so much. My c-section was scheduled at 11:30, but I was told right away a few emergencies, one pretty bad, had bumped me back a bit, but they were hoping it wasn't too far past 11:30 that I'd get to go back.
The worst part of everything was the IV - I swear it always is! The new nurse tried, but blew my vein. It hurt, but hey, they have to learn somehow. The other nurse tried my other arm and got it right in, with just a pinch. Once that was started, they took some blood and hooked me up to some fluids.
My doctor popped her head in to let me know even though I was pushed back, I would be having a baby that afternoon. We also had to go over a potential allergy that I have to betadine and I had to get a new bracelet. After Tiny Dancer was born and I was home, I started getting a rash around the incision. A day later, it had spread from my thighs to my face and down my arms. It was awful - more than awful. Extremely painful and nothing I could do. It was gone within a week and I was told it was probably the PUPPS virus. When I had Little Monster, the day of my c-section, a rash started around my incision site. I let them know about what happened before and even though it spread around my belly, the meds they gave me helped the pain and it didn't spread anymore. It was gone by the time I went home. The only thing they could think of was a reaction to the betadine around my incision. So, no betadine this time in the hopes that will not happen again.
I met the anesthesiologist and some other doctors. They did a quick scan to check his head placement. Another emergency with some complications came up, so I was bumped again.
I was about to fall asleep for a nap when they came down to take me back at about 1:50pm. I walked down the hall and into the OR hall and right into the actual OR. It was freezing! They got me settled and went right to work on my anesthesia. This time, besides just a spinal block, I also got an epidural. Spinal blocks usually last around 2 hours, but since this was my 3rd c-section and I probably had a lot of scar tissue, plus I was getting a tubal ligation, they were afraid of the chance it might go past the 2 hours. The epidural was in place just to be sure. The guy that did it was also awesome. Pretty funny and very quick! They did make me take a medicine drink thing beforehand because of my acid reflux which was NOT funny - sick. I gag just thinking of it. It did help a lot though.
It felt like forever before my husband was back, but they had already started working. It took them quite a while to get to my uterus, but The Baby was born at 2:46pm! When I heard him cry, I cried, well without tears. By this point I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight the night before and my mouth was sooo dry and apparently so were my tear ducts.
Dad got to go over to look at him and then they weighed him and measured him and allowed him to cut the cord - a first for him! Then they wrapped him up and let Dad hold him the rest of the time.
I ended up having one slight complication during the procedure. My bladder was right next to my uterus and also has some scar tissue that had kind of moved from my uterus to my bladder. The doctor nicked my bladder while cutting open my uterus. They filled my bladder up to check it and although it held, the doctor said it looked a little raw so I got some sutures there too. So, I've got a catheter in for 48 hours after delivery (blah!). That took them some extra time, so we were in there for a while. They were able to do the tubal ligation (always a risk that too much scar tissue means they can't get to them) and we were able to see the parts they cut out after.
They were able to get The Baby to me, skin to skin, as soon as I was out of the OR and in my room. We were also able to feed him. It took him some time to latch, but once he did, he did pretty good.
My blood pressure is super low while my pulse is a little high, so I was having some nauseousness and dizziness, which made it difficult to sit up and hold The Baby. Dad really had to help me out with that part.
But, it's 2:00am and I'm having a hard time sleeping, though both of my guys (my guys - love it) are asleep besides me. Barnes has double rooms and the last time we were here, as long as you didn't have to share your husband could stay in the other bed. Well, they changed that this time so that you never have to share but you still get the other bed. Which is great because Dad stays with me the whole time I'm here. He is awesome at helping out and getting up whenever I need him.
I was able to get up and walk a few steps to a chair and hold and feed The Baby. I'm still on a liquid diet only, so besides apple juice and orange juice, I've just had some chicken broth. Needless to say, the food commercials are driving me crazy! I can't wait to eat!
The Baby is absolutely amazing. He's a very chill baby and he's been nursing great once we get him latched. They think he may have a tongue tie, so we'll have the pediatricians take a look at him tomorrow. He has a ton of brown hair. He was 7 pounds and 4.2 ounces and he measured 20 1/8 inch. He's got skinny little legs. He surprisingly does not look that much like his sisters - he definitely takes after Daddy!
Well, that's it, my last birth story as long as that tubal ligation works. Even though this delivery was not horrible, it just reminded me of why we made that decision. This was my 8th pregnancy and 3rd c-section; I think my uterus has been through enough. Just soaking up every bit of this newborn stage with my baby now. :)
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