Hawaii here we come!

Call us crazy, yes we are traveling to Hawaii with a newborn! We leave in 9 days on December 28th and come back January 9th.

So yes this is very random. But my wife and I were talking about how we have time off together as a family. And probably won't have time like this again for a while. Plus we have been meaning to go out to visit C's brother, wife and their kids for a while now. So, what better time then now. This way they can all meet Reese. her brother is in the Army and is stationed in Hawaii.

I am excited and nervous about traveling with a 4 week old (at the time). I have my antibacterial wipes and plenty of hand sanitizer ready to go. There are still many things I will need to read about, like how to transport frozen breast milk on a plane (with lay overs) for 16 hours. As well as other tips and tricks for traveling with a newborn, what to bring and not to bring.

Here is a picture from this morning:

Two weeks old

Little Miss Reese is two weeks (as of yesterday). These past two weeks have been rough and amazing at the same time. Breast feeding and pumping has been interesting to say the least. It is a lot of work for me but I am not giving up. Right now I breast feed her and pump after in order to build up my supply. I have about 2-3 weeks of milk in the freezer which is great. And on top of that I leave some in the fridge so my wife can have bonding time with feeding too. Reese is doing well with both the bottle and breast so far… which is nice. She has some great nights and some not so great. For the most part she will go 3 hours between feeds, except nights like last night were she wanted to eat every 2 hours. By the time I am done changing, feeding, burping, pumping, and putting milk away about an hour and a half goes by. Which gives me very little sleep sometimes. But C has been great with helping, so we are getting by.

The baby went back to the doctors for a follow up on her bili levels and weight check. She is back to her birth weight (probably heavier now) and bill issue has resolved, yay! Yesterday we went to get her newborn photos done, I can't wait to see them! Here is a sneak peek:

My little snow princess!

Settling in at home

My sister took those adorable pictures. Little Ms. Reese is 9 days old now. Time is already flying! Her cord fell off this morning and she had her first real bath :).

She' here :)

So on Friday November 29th at 6:30am C and I went into the hospital for the scheduled induction. They started the pitocin, I was 95% effaced, 2cm dilated and -1 station at the point, so my midwife was expecting things to progress smoothly (since my body appeared to be ready). After about 2 hours of piton they broke my water and gave me an epidural in attempts to keep my heart happy during labor. The epidural took like four tries and was VERY painful! But unfortunately after 17 hours of labor I had only dilated to 4cm with no further progression. On top of that my epidural wore off completely, which through my heart into whacky rhythms from the intense pain. 

As you can imagine the next call was for a c-section. I was devastated but at that point I was in so much pain I was willing to do anything. So they wheeled me to the OR and gave me a spinal which was a MUCH better experience than the epidural! And at 12:14am on Saturday, November 30, 2013 Reese Brielle made her entrance into this world. After going through the whole process, hearing her first crying was the most amazing sound ever and made ever second worth it. She was born on C and I's first year wedding anniversary, what an amazing gift! She weighed 8lbs 3oz, 21.5 inches long. We are so blessed, and maybe I am a little biased but isn't she the most beautiful little girl ever!?

After the delivery my baby girl latched right on to feed like a champ! She had issues with her bili being high from a mixture of our blood. So for three days she was under bill lights which was so hard! But we are home as of yesterday and we survived our first night home :). Reese will need to get blood work today and tomorrow to make sure her levels are coming down nicely.

Here are some pictures:

Eviction notice :)

This past Tuesday we had another non-stress test and amniotic fluid index. Both tests went well, Reese actually passed this non-stress test without needing a biophysical profile. Today C and I went shopping and got a bunch of Christmas decorations that we needed, then we went to our last minute mid wife appointment. Thank goodness we did, because we got good news! We talked about the fact that I've been out of work with many complications, and that I officially have TOBP syndrome (tired of being pregnant) lol. I am also so tired of the four different trips I have to make weekly to see my midwife, get blood work, and get two NST/AFI's.

Soooo on to the BIG news. We set an induction date for next Friday 11/29/13 at 6:30am, woo hoo! I will be 39 weeks next Friday. She checked my cervix to make sure I do not need to come in earlier to "ripen." I was 1cm dilated and 80% effaced so I do not need to get "ripened." So no more than 9 days until Reese is on her way! I would be shocked if she came sooner but we shall see.

Good news

Yikes, stretch marks galore! 37weeks 3 days (yesterday)

Heading to the non-stress test this afternoon. Also we got word from our lawyer today that C and I are BOTH deemed the legal parents of baby Reese upon her birth. I could not be happier. Now we will just sit back and continue to wait until she makes her grand entrance. C says we have a date tonight with the Wii, Dance Dance Revolution. Should be fun, NOT! Lol.

37 weeks 2 days

37 week blimp belly/table lol

I haven't updated in a week or so and in that week a lot has happened. Well, first of all I am still FULL of fluid, I gained 8lbs in 5 days last week into this week. My BP has risen but not over the 140/90 limit yet. My labs are still okay for now. But both my midwife and perinatologist want me out of work until it's time for Reese to make her arrival. Which I am actually kind of in agreement with now that I am feeling much worse. I can't imagine my 12 hour shifts anymore :(! So I am officially out of work until my leave is over. 

Speaking of leave…. since I am not at my job a year yet I was only eligible for 8 weeks of "medical discretionary leave." I didn't think they were aloud to start it until I had the baby but apparently they are. So now my time with Reese is already less than 8 weeks and could be as little as 4 weeks. IT F-ING SUCKS! I am so upset about this!

In other news (just to make my life a little more entertaining), I have a job interview tomorrow for a full time NICU position at a hospital 15 minutes from our house. This hospital also has a daycare and is the closest competition to the NICU I work in now. So who knows if they will hire a woman 9 months pregnant and wait for her to come back from leave, but hey it's worth a shot at this point. 

So anyway as far as monitoring goes I am now getting non-stress tests  and AFI's done twice a week until I deliver. My first one was on Friday and Reese failed the non-stress (most likely due to the beta blockers I am on). So we had to get a biophysical profile as well, which she past with flying colors. On top of these tests, I will be getting weekly blood work (no more 24hr urines woo hoo) and weekly visits with my midwife. That's about it for now…. C and I are so ready for this baby girl to get here. I am hoping she comes tomorrow night lol!

36 weeks tomorrow

Terrible picture lol

Went to my 36 week mid wife appointment. My blood pressure was 144/84. I had a gush of fluid last night so I told her about that and she did two tests and both were negative for an amnio leak (which is good). Checked me still 60% effaced no dilation (I know everyone has their opinions on weekly vaginal checks but I don't mind them). My GBS culture came back negative . She wrote me a script for blood work and a 24hr urine collection, I'll be doing this weekly until we deliver. We talked more about my urine results. She said they start to get more concerned when the protein level in my urine is above 300. And last week it was 291.5. So she said we will see what this weeks is and go from there. She said if it's above 300 they will talk about induction. So for now it's just a waiting game. This baby girl is still very happy inside of me lol.

Visit to L & D

Well as you can see I am a bit on the swollen side. My legs and feet aren't the only areas affected. My face is swollen (especial my eyelids) as well as my hands. My hands are so so sore. So I called my midwife and explained that I am concerned that my swelling isn't resolving with rest anymore. She wanted me to go to L & D to get a work up for preeclampsia. Good news is my blood pressure is great still (the beta blockers are certainly helping). They did blood work the only two things that came back abnormal were my potassium and albumin. They increased my potassium medicine to help with my low potassium level. As far a the albumin (otherwise protein) on my blood work it was not low enough for concern just yet. They also did a 24 hour urine collection, which means I bought myself one night in the hospital. It was the longest 24hrs ever, I got no sleep!  They hooked me up to the monitor for the night and every time me or the baby moved someone was in the room waking me up to fix the probes. The monitor showed that I was having contractions, so my midwife checked me and I am 60% effaced with no dilation. 

I did get to see Reese again on US which was nice :)! The urine results showed that I am pouring out some protein in my urine normal is no higher than 149 and my level was 293. It's not high enough for major concern yet. They also had cardiology see me to check on my heart. My EKG and ECHO were normal, thankfully. So for now I am home and doing well (aside from the damn swelling and contractions). I feel like I won't be pregnant much longer, but who knows this little girl may surprise us all and go to 40 weeks! 

Who does the baby look like?

Okay so I have my opinion, but curious to see what others think. The photos below (in no particular order) are of the donor, my wife Chris (the genetic mother), and myself (the non-biological but pregnant mother). Who does Reese resemble most from her US photo? This will probably all change once she is here lol.

34 weeks!

This will count as our 34 week board lol, belly pumpkin!

Our pudgy little girl is measuring 5lbs 5oz! Look at those chubby cheeks and plump lips!

How far along? 34 weeks

How big is baby? Cantaloupe

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 36lbs :(

Maternity Clothes: Same old

Have you started to show yet? I am starting to get the "WOAH" reaction from people lol

Sleep: Crappy

Best moment this week: Baby shower and our last US

Miss Anything? Nope

Movement: Constant 

Food Cravings: Protein

Anything make you queasy or sick? No

Gender prediction: It is a GIRL

Symptoms: Swelling to my knees at times! Sciatica here and there and the new and latest Braxton Hicks contractions!

Major purchases this week?  Nada

Baby Shower :)

So our baby shower was this past Sunday. It was awesome, everyone was so generous! It took us a few days to get unpacked, but we are officially unpacked and ready for Reese to get here. I just finished the newborn laundry along with towels and linens etc. We also have our bags pretty much packed for the hospital! I can't imagine going another six weeks but I suppose it's totally possible to make it to the BIG 4-0!

I had my mid wife appointment today, I gain 7lbs in 3 weeks which is concerning! She said I am very swollen. But my blood pressure has been great though, consistently 110/60. So I will continue to hydrate and stay active and see what happens. I have not been eating more... if anything I eat less and have been more active the past two weeks. So it's a bit annoying to see the numbers continue to get higher!

When we got home from our appointment we were just sitting in the nursery... so I decided to put the breast pump together and gave it a try lol. I actually produced colostrum! Not much but I was impressed! Tomorrow is our last US of Reese until she is here! I will post an update tomorrow after our appointment, I am curious to see how big she got!