Tuesday, March 12, 2013

James meets Paisley

My mom and step dad came up on Sunday to help watch James, and they had a fun sleep over at their hotel.
My mom texted me Monday morning to let me know that she showed James a picture of Paisley and asked him if he knew who that was. He replied "That's Paisley, not in mommy's tummy anymore"
They brought James over to meet Paisley later that afternoon to finally meet Paisley.
 James wore his Big Brother shirt and brought a balloon just for Paisley.

He was a little scared of her at first and didn't want to get really close to her but when she was kinda of squaking we asked if he wanted to give her her platypus (aka pacifier) and he was excited to do that.


Then shortly after that he was more willing to kiss her head and hold her hand.  He was still a little wary of her but was warming up to her.  








 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Paisley Abigail Andrus


Yep this is the birth story and it will be detailed so just be prepared :)

We welcomed Paisley Abigail into this world today. She is beautiful and strong and amazing and sweet ...
Her story begins on Saturday morning.  David and I had to attend a class for this loan we are applying for.  During the class I began to have a headache but it was pretty mild.  After the class David and I wanted to run some errands and pick up some supplies for the baby since we still didn't have anything ready. We went to 4 stores including a long grocery trip.  All during this time I had a headache and my back and legs were really hurting (normal for a woman due in 3 weeks) 
Once we got home I felt so sick, my brain was very fuzzy, I felt dizzy even though I was just sitting on the sofa, my headache was worse, and I had some swelling in my legs. After a blessing from David which told me to listen to my gut feelings I went to the hospital. 
There they decided that I did need some monitoring. Baby was fine and she was still kicking and punching away. But I was really dehydrated.  While they gave me an IV drip and some medication for the nausea I was starting to have contractions that were coming every 1-2 minutes. But during the time I was there I made no progression, so like normal after the IV was done they sent us home.  When we got home I stopped contractions and we all went to bed.  

Sunday morning I woke up around 10am to go pee. We were all still asleep and no one was going to go to church because I needed to take it easy and James threw up in the middle of the night. 
When I climbed back into bed David and I were making a game plan as to how the next few weeks were going to go. Like what we still needed to set up and what we needed to still buy and also what we can do to pack so we can move in a month. I was starting to get hungry (I hadn't eaten since noon the day before) so I rolled over to get out of bed and I felt a little gush.  I said uh...I can't tell if I just peed?or if my water broke?... David said What?!? 
And sure enough when I continued to roll over it was for sure my water breaking!  I was 36 weeks and 6 days.  I called my brother and sister-in-law and asked if they could watch James.  I took a shower while David started to get things put together to go to the hospital. 
My brother and his wife showed up about an hour later and David and I headed to the hospital.

I was having contractions but nothing too strong at this point. 
Because this was going to be an attempted VBAC and I did want an epidural they said they wanted to put it in sooner rather than later.  Which was totally fine with me! At around 1:30 maybe I got the epidural in.  They also placed internal leads on her head and in my uterus to help determine the strength of my contraction and get a better more consistent heart rate on her.


This is the boring part of the whole birth story... I was stuck at a 3+ and 70% (what I was the night before too) till about 4 pm.  Then just slowly crept up to 4+ and 90% over the next 2 hours. Finally got to a 6+ around 10pm. This whole time I'm on Pitocin but they can't push it too high because they don't want my uterus working too hard and risk of uterine tearing.  
Also around 10 pm Paisley was starting to get a little angry and her heart rate started to go all over the place.  They started me on oxygen and kept flipping me from side to side to see which she liked better.  But she didn't like either so they started to pump water back in to see if they could float her off her cord. 
Finally at 11:30 I was at a 9!  At 12:42 I was 10 and 100%
At about this same time I started to develop a fever due to how long my water was broken and not having anything happen.  They started an antibiotic. 

It was time to start pushing! My doctor came in and explained that since this was my first time pushing and I had an epidural in that I could be pushing for 2-3 hours because I was a first time pusher and I had an epidural.  Well I was tired and hungry and they said I could eat and sleep after the baby came out so I was determined that I was not going to take 2 hours!!!
I officially started pushing at 12:55 and pushed just with the help of the nurse and David. I think it was around 1:15 or 1:20 that my doctor came back in for the final few pushes. And at 1:27 AM Paisley Abigail Andrus was born 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches.  So I only pushed for about 35 minuets! Born at exactly 37 weeks.
She was perfect in every way. And I am really proud of myself for pushing her out myself and how fast I did for being a first time pusher!





I did not have an episiotomy but I tore on the side so it's called a slight labia tear and I have 2 stitches. 

Because of my fever Paisley was also born with a fever and was a little jittery. But they thought the best thing was to do skin to skin to see if it would come down on its own and if her "jitters" would stop.  It did help with the jitters which was great because it meant I got to keep her with me as we went down stairs. 
Also I was so gosh darn hungry that they brought me food and I enjoyed a nice turkey sandwich, cookies, and 2 large glasses of apple juice! And when you're that hungry everything tastes good! 


Once down stairs and Paisley and David were in the nursery together I was on my own getting checked in with the new nurses. I was actually in a butt load of pain from the cramping. To the point where I had tears sneaking down my face. The epidural had worn off right before the doctor came in to start pushing and honestly that wasn't that bad but these contractions/cramps afterwards were killing me! 
I just had to wait for all the medications to kick in.  

Paisley did still have a fever so they went ahead and started and IV drip of antibiotics and that was going to take about 40 minutes so I sent David home and I tried to get some sleep before I needed to feed her. 

Her first 24 hours were pretty normal besides having the IV. 
She loves to make faces and coo and squeak.  And she has the roundest chubbiest cheeks and face. And she already smirks especially when I hold her skin to skin or when daddy is holding her. 
She is Coombs positive which does cause her to be a little jaundice she is chilling under the lights getting a little tan.  But we are used to this because we did the same thing with James.  (It has something to do with me being O- and both kids being A-) 


I think that sums everything up for now... 
I will write up a separate post about when James met her. 




Tuesday, March 5, 2013

36 weeks


How far along?  36 weeks  

Total weight gain/loss?     +30 

Maternity clothes? Thats all I can wear now and maybe some of David's pj pants 

Stretch marks? I have 2 new little lines on my upper belly 

Sleep? Nope... my hips really bother me, my back and legs become stiff and then I just wake up for no reason...and then I wake up because I have to pee

Best moment last week?  When she started doing ballet in my tummy (very fluid and rhythmic)

Movement?  When is she not moving! She is non stop 24/7

Food cravings?  Not really...

Sickness? Thankfully no

Food aversions? Still chicken 

Gender? It's a girl! And her name is Paisley Abigail  

Labor signs? getting braxton hicks for 30-60 min

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: Energy and sleep and my body

What I am looking forward to: Dressing her up in cute things 

Milestones: baby is just getting fat now (I think I'm going to have a 9 pound baby)

Friday, March 1, 2013

Thoughts on the arrival of baby #2

I am so ready to be done with this tummy! It is for sure bigger this time around then with James! But I'm so not ready for another baby. I mean around this time with James we had a suitcase packed and ready, the car seat in the car, the bassinet already set up....And now we have nothing ready! I mean I feel a little more experienced and so I know I don't need to bring a ton of stuff with me, and we got the infant car seat out of storage and wiped it down...So I guess it's a start.

With James, before I even got the news that I was preeclamptic, I just had a feeling I was going to be a c-section. Just a gut feeling.  So when I got to the hospital and after a couple hours of no progress labor I was not shocked, scared, concerned... when they told me I was going to have to have a c-section.
Then when the nurses came in to see if I needed help to go to bathroom or just get up in general they were quite surprised how well I did. I heal really quick. After coming home from the hospital I didn't have any problems with my incision and I didn't have a lot of pain.  And despite the shock of actually having a baby now living with us I was quite happy and got back to "normal" life very quickly.

Ok so why did I just recap James's birth? Well because we have a decision to make concerning this pregnancy/birth. I am a good candidate for a VBAC and that was (is?) my original plan.  But now that I'm getting close I mean really close to my due date I'm having mixed feelings.
At the begging of this pregnancy I asked my doctor (who I absolutely love!) what I would have to do to have a vbac. She said as long as I don't become preeclamptic or get gestational diabetes or any other complication then I could have a normal delivery. And this time around everything has been normal and I have had no complications.
But because I was a c-section before my doctor wont let me go too far over my due date (which I'm totally ok with) but they wont induce it will just be a c-section (another thing I'm totally ok with). My due date is April 1st so we are planning on doing a c-section on April 5th if she doesn't come on her own.
At my last appointment I said in a perfect world I would have her on March 28th (It makes the best sense when it comes to having my mom coming to help and it will give us a couple weeks before we move into our new house) My doctor said she would be happy to do a c-section that day if I wanted...
It's just got me thinking...
I kinda want to have a VBAC and I kinda want a c-section.  In all honestly I would feel more comfortable with a c-section.
I just don't want to be judged by friends and family...
Everyone has an opinion on giving birth.  Mine, I believe you should be at the hospital. You can have a midwife, or an epidural, or a water birth, or whatever method you want to use just do it at the hospital (This is just my opinion that I have come to through my own research and experiences with friends and family)
My number one belief on birth is that you should do what makes you happy and that you and baby are healthy and happy, and that no one should make you feel bad for your decisions.
That being said people still judge and I'm afraid of being put on a guilt trip for even considering an elective c-section. Even though other peoples opinion should matter to me.
David is even more comfortable with the idea of an elective c-section.

Ok so all that off of my chest here is the plan as of my last visit.
I will attempt a VBAC (and hope baby will come early)
If no baby then I will have a c-section on April 5th

If we decide anything different after my next couple appointments I will update the few who actually read this blog...