James over the first half of the Christmas break

(it is very long)
Dec 20th (Saturday): We woke up very early in St. George to drive to Long Beach to get on a cruise ship with my family. James however woke up with a very red, swollen, and goopy eye. We decided to find an urgent care along the way since nothing was open and wouldn't open for several hours.  We started calling places along the way and all of their wait times were anywhere from 3-4 hours just in the waiting room! It was very stressful. Finally we found a place in Long Beach that was open and the wait was 30 min. After all that we get on the ship with a few minutes to spare.

Dec 22nd (Monday):  On the cruise there was a "kids club" and James was loving it. Then we got a call from them in the evening saying there had been an "incident" and James had fallen? another child bumped into him knocking him over? he bumped into something? We honestly have no idea what exactly happened.  James came back to our room holding his left arm and we gave him some ibuprofen and he went sleep.

Dec 23rd (Tuesday): This was the day we got off the ship and headed to the Bay Area. James was still favoring his left arm, wasn't really using it, and saying it was hurting. There was no visible bruising or swelling.  We weren't quite sure to do. Even when distracted he still didn't use that arm. By the end of the night though we noticed that he used it occasionally.  At this point we were thinking he bruised his "funny bone"

Dec 24th (Wednesday): Things seemed better most of the day. Still wont use it though.  Towards the end of the evening we noticed some slight swelling.

Dec 25th (Thursday): It was Christmas! I was so very torn at this point and I didn't know what to do. He still didn't use his left arm much even when opening gifts and then playing with them, but he did use it some.  The swelling was still there. We tried moving it around and applying pressure in places but he didn't have any extreme reactions. He was even saying it was getting better. We made plans to find and go to an Urgent Care first thing in the morning.  He also started to get sniffly and he had a temperature of 101.7  Oh and he also fell 3 times that day landing on that arm.

Dec 26th (Friday): We woke up and went straight to an new by Urgent Care at 8:30am when they opened. They however did not have a doctor in at all and "technically weren't actually open".  We called around more places and trying to find someone who was actually open and would take our insurance. Meanwhile we left Paisley with family.  We drove all over and found a place that was open, had a doctor, and an x-ray machine...but after getting there they didn't have an x-ray technician. At this point our options were go home and do nothing or go to the ER in Castro Valley.  Today was the first day though that he said it was not hurting at all and he had more range of motion; but it was still swollen and he was still holding it close to his body. I really felt like it needed to be checked out. So off to the ER.  I had done some research and I felt like it was something called Nursemaids Elbow which was a dislocated elbow.  We got to the ER sometime around 10:30 I think, and it was packed.  We checked in and was "shortly" checked out by the triage nurse who graciously put us on the "fast track".  As an aside James at this point had a full blown cold and a mild temperature.
We got X-rays done and then we were taken back to see the doctor.  She could not see any fractures on the x-ray and when she did a physical exam felt that yes it was most likely Nursemaids and started to try and pop it back in place.  It wasn't popping back in...and with the swelling and temperature they started to worry that maybe the joint had a septic infection.  We were told to go immediately to Oakland Children's Hospital; they could better handle a child and had the equipment and tools necessary if it was septic.
Alright off to the next place...
We get there and check in and again we're lucky because they called ahead to let them know we were coming so our wait was comparably minimal.  We get a room around 3:00pm. Nurse comes in and starts the exam. Then we see the doctor. James is confusing them.  It sounds like classic nursemaids, it feels like nursemaids, but it is not popping back in place, it is swollen which in not typical of dislocation, and he has pretty decent range of motion without expressing discomfort.  They order another x-ray from a different angle, and there is enough question and concern about the swelling and it being septic that they order blood work and place a PIC line incase they need to sedate him to drain the fluid from the joint.  James did not even flinch when the line went in! We were all shocked! He was doing so great and didn't complain about anything. He was being so a great trooper.
Now we were just waiting and waiting and waiting.
{Which on another side note I honestly did not mind and I was not upset in the slightest at the wait. I was in an emergency room with a child who comparatively was very healthy, happy, and had both of his parents with him (and grandparents), he did not come in on an ambulance and was not fighting for his life.  I am so thankful for that. I am also thankful for all the nurses and doctors who were there and helping not only us but every child that came in.  I wanted to make sure that whenever they came into our room it was a highlight of their night and not a chore.}
Finally a decision was made! There was enough doubt that it was not septic therefore they would not need to drain and medicate him for an infection.  They did see something on the second x-ray that was typical of a fracture (although again not a for sure thing) they felt the best route was to splint it.  The only other thing was the fever, this was the only thing that they still made them a little concerned.  It was hard to tell if it was from the arm or the cold.  We have to make a follow up appointment to make sure that yes the swelling is going down and if it still slightly out of location.  We will also find out how long he needs the splint.
We finally left the hospital around 10:00 pm
On the drive home he threw up in the car, but we think his poor little body had done so much that day and it was tired and in shock that he just needed to get things out of his system.
When we got home he immediately fell asleep and slept all night!

Dec 27th (Saturday): Like I just said James slept all night long! Did not wake up and complain about his arm and has been his normal happy self and has not complained even once about his arm or the splint! He is truly amazing!





Bouns Section!
Here are some other things that have happened this week.
-After James had his conjunctivitis I of course got it!
-David and I both got sea sick on the cruise on the "sea day" although arguably I had it worse :p
-Paisley is just plain amazing and crazy and everything is so over the top and dramatic for her :)

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.  

 

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. 

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)

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...

35 weeks

How far along?  35 weeks  

Total weight gain/loss?     +25 

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

Stretch marks? None so far (to add to my collection)

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

Best moment last week?  Knowing that there is a set due date for her if she doesn't come on her own

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! 

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: Seeing the baby but not too soon! 

Milestones: baby is just getting fat now

30 weeks

How far along?  30 weeks  

Total weight gain/loss?     +12 

Maternity clothes? All I wear or yoga pants 

Stretch marks? None so far (to add to my collection)

Sleep? Not really... my hips really bother me

Best moment last week?  watching my stomach as I she moves around like crazy

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

Food cravings?  Not really... but if dinner doesn't look good I send David out to get me a cheeseburger from McDonalds 

Sickness? Thankfully no

Food aversions? Still chicken 

Gender? It's a girl! 

Labor signs? actually I went in to preterm labor at 28.5 weeks and had to go to the hospital to get the contractions to stop

Belly button in/out? In.

What I miss: Energy and sleep and my body

What I am looking forward to: Seeing the baby but not too soon! 

Milestones: The baby actually had REM sleep