Highlights of our time in PTC
12 hours ago
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
pictures!
Here are some pictures from the past 6 weeks, since I don't have time to sit and actually write anything right now. They aren't in any particular order or anything, so don't think that Rachel is shrinking or anything. ;)
Monday, February 25, 2008
update 2: the first 2 weeks
**Note: if you haven't checked the blog for a while (meaning any time from 6 weeks ago to 6 minutes ago) read the blog before this first, as this is a continuing update.**
So, Rachel and I came home from the hospital on my dad's birthday (I won't say he turned 49 this year), January 20th. Thankfully Rachel was our second kid and not the first, so we had basically everything for her already (bed, car seat, stroller, clothes, blankets, etc) or we would have been in trouble since she came exactly 3 weeks early. But, at 6 lb. 4 oz, I don't think I would have been very happy if she decided to wait a few more weeks; pushing out an 8 or 9 lb baby is not my idea of fun.
Rachel is a lot like Karen was at that age. She was jaundiced (but not enough for a bili blanket, thankfully) and so yellow from head to toe for 2-3 weeks. She sleeps almost all the time, and it takes a lot to wake her for feedings. She even sleeps pretty good at night, giving us 2-4 hour chunks of sleeping time between feedings. Also like Karen, Rachel loves bath time but hates lotion afterwards. Unlike Karen though, Rachel will scream her little head off if she doesn't like something; Karen would just wimper a bit and I'd take care of her, but I'm a bit more busy now so I guess Rachel has to be more vocal. Also unlike Karen, Rachel is already a pro at holding her head up and looking around (although she doesn't like to do it while on her tummy on the floor).
My mom totally saved us, being here the first week we were home. Rachel wasn't nursing very well, and since she was so hungry she was even harder to wake up. Karen was excited to have a baby around, (but didn't realize that she'd be a permanent addition) but wanted lots of mommy time (or Grandma sometimes). Rachel would sleep most of the time, but that doesn't mean that she was quiet. This little girl is the loudest sleeper for her size of anyone I've ever heard. She sometimes snores, but mostly squeeks and grunts constantly if she's not really deep asleep. After the first part of the first night I kicked my baby out of my room; she was so loud I couldn't sleep at all. So she slept with/by Grandma the whole time she was here. Every time Rachel would start squeeking too loud my mom would pat her tummy and she'd get quiet again. I think she wasn't too bad after the first night, but I'm not sure. I think we let my mom do a lot because we all knew she was going home in a few days and would be able to catch up on sleep a lot quicker than me and Joe. I feel kinda bad about it now though... but only a little. I was so sleep deprived from the hospital that I couldn't stay awake. Grandma Howes stayed with us for about a week-she left early on Saturday morning (26th).
The next week is a total blur. Karen was starting to realize that Rachel wasn't leaving and started to take it out on me. Rachel finally started eating (after we started using a nipple shield; that's another way she's like Karen; neither of them would nurse from me without a shield), and wanted to eat every 2 hours or so. Joe was really busy with work/school and church as always, and really behind from the last 2 weeks of craziness to boot, so he couldn't be around much even though he did his best. That week my friends from church really saved us. Kitara and Doren came over a lot to help by playing with Karen or holding Rachel. Kitara is still one of Karen's favorite people-she calls her on the toy cell phone about 10x/day.
We are now updated through Feb. 2 or so. Karen woke up from her nap so I have to stop; hopefully I can continue soon (like tonight or tomorrow) and maybe even put up some pictures.
So, Rachel and I came home from the hospital on my dad's birthday (I won't say he turned 49 this year), January 20th. Thankfully Rachel was our second kid and not the first, so we had basically everything for her already (bed, car seat, stroller, clothes, blankets, etc) or we would have been in trouble since she came exactly 3 weeks early. But, at 6 lb. 4 oz, I don't think I would have been very happy if she decided to wait a few more weeks; pushing out an 8 or 9 lb baby is not my idea of fun.
Rachel is a lot like Karen was at that age. She was jaundiced (but not enough for a bili blanket, thankfully) and so yellow from head to toe for 2-3 weeks. She sleeps almost all the time, and it takes a lot to wake her for feedings. She even sleeps pretty good at night, giving us 2-4 hour chunks of sleeping time between feedings. Also like Karen, Rachel loves bath time but hates lotion afterwards. Unlike Karen though, Rachel will scream her little head off if she doesn't like something; Karen would just wimper a bit and I'd take care of her, but I'm a bit more busy now so I guess Rachel has to be more vocal. Also unlike Karen, Rachel is already a pro at holding her head up and looking around (although she doesn't like to do it while on her tummy on the floor).
My mom totally saved us, being here the first week we were home. Rachel wasn't nursing very well, and since she was so hungry she was even harder to wake up. Karen was excited to have a baby around, (but didn't realize that she'd be a permanent addition) but wanted lots of mommy time (or Grandma sometimes). Rachel would sleep most of the time, but that doesn't mean that she was quiet. This little girl is the loudest sleeper for her size of anyone I've ever heard. She sometimes snores, but mostly squeeks and grunts constantly if she's not really deep asleep. After the first part of the first night I kicked my baby out of my room; she was so loud I couldn't sleep at all. So she slept with/by Grandma the whole time she was here. Every time Rachel would start squeeking too loud my mom would pat her tummy and she'd get quiet again. I think she wasn't too bad after the first night, but I'm not sure. I think we let my mom do a lot because we all knew she was going home in a few days and would be able to catch up on sleep a lot quicker than me and Joe. I feel kinda bad about it now though... but only a little. I was so sleep deprived from the hospital that I couldn't stay awake. Grandma Howes stayed with us for about a week-she left early on Saturday morning (26th).
The next week is a total blur. Karen was starting to realize that Rachel wasn't leaving and started to take it out on me. Rachel finally started eating (after we started using a nipple shield; that's another way she's like Karen; neither of them would nurse from me without a shield), and wanted to eat every 2 hours or so. Joe was really busy with work/school and church as always, and really behind from the last 2 weeks of craziness to boot, so he couldn't be around much even though he did his best. That week my friends from church really saved us. Kitara and Doren came over a lot to help by playing with Karen or holding Rachel. Kitara is still one of Karen's favorite people-she calls her on the toy cell phone about 10x/day.
We are now updated through Feb. 2 or so. Karen woke up from her nap so I have to stop; hopefully I can continue soon (like tonight or tomorrow) and maybe even put up some pictures.
Update anyone?
Well, I know it's been 'forever' since I posted something... and all I can say is sorry, I've been a bit busy. I know I'm way behind on the times, but I want to start this Rachel story from the beginning... which might take a while, sorry. Also, please excuse any really dumb typing errors-I'm a bit sleep deprived at the moment.
This story actually begins on the 8th of January (or maybe the 27th of December...but that's too far back). I went to my Dr. appointment, and my blood pressure was really high-as in 150's over 60's. My doctor wanted to put me in the hospital to monitor my condition, but I begged her to let me go home; she said ok if I go on bedrest. So I went home and called my visiting teacher and my mom. I figured it wasn't going to be a month until Rachel came, but I had to plan on 4 weeks or so of bedrest. The ward was great; they took Karen every afternoon as soon as naptime was over; they brought meals, books, movies, etc. I went back to the doctor on Thursday the 10th, and my bp was even higher. The doctor wanted to send me to the hospital, but once again I made her let me go home since my baby shower was on Saturday. She said if I had any problems at all to go to the hospital, and that I would probably have my baby before the end of the next week. My mom bought a plane ticket for Sunday.
The shower was great on the 12th, and I got a REALLY nice double stroller along with some really cute clothes (when Karen was first born she wore mostly onesies since it was summer time-that doesn't work well in the middle of winter, even in NC). I felt yucky that night, but didn't do anything about it since I just figured I'd done too much that day. Sunday morning I still felt yucky and had a headache to boot, so we dropped Karen off at church and went to the hospital. We got there at 11am and they didn't decide to admit me until 3pm; I just sat there with the baby monitors on constantly and having my bp taken every 15 minutes. It was crazy; I was really hungry so they gave me jello and crackers (yum...), which made my bp spike near 190; as I got hungrier again my bp went down... until I ate something else.
So I was in the hospital from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday (15th) in the afternoon. My mom came in on Sunday night; Joe and Karen picked her up at the airport, where Karen barfed all over the first time she saw her. That's pretty much how mom's visit was. For 2 weeks I was in and out of the hospital twice, Karen had the nasty flu bug, then Joe had it, I had a baby, and Karen didn't want anything to do with Grandma until the last 2 days.
Thursday the 17th I went to my dr appointment, and she said they would induce me on Friday morning, but when she called the hospital to make sure they had room she said we would come in on Thursday evening instead. We got to the hospital around 7 pm, were admitted, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and the nurse took some blood and got my IV going (after she burst a blood vessel in my arm that left a welt for almost 2 weeks). Since I was only dialated to about a 2, they gave me a Cervadil, which they put up next to the cervix to help it efface quickly so you don't have to be on pitocin for as long. The doctor said I'd have some cramping and maybe in the night my contractions would start on their own and I wouldn't have to have pitocin at all. They put the drugs in around 9:30; within 2 hours I was having contractions every 3 minutes if I lay on my back, every 8-10 minutes if I lay on my side. However, the contraction monitor didn't pick them up very well so they just gave me some narcotics to help me sleep... the first time I got them was around 11-ish, and it worked for about 2 hours (but they could only give it to me every 3 hours); the second time it worked okay for about an hour and a half, and the third it took off the edge for about half an hour...of course I was supposed to be 'sleeping' during this time.
From what I remember (which is kinda fuzzy since they gave me the other drugs first) I got my epidural around 6 or so. It worked good for about an hour then started to wear off. Sometime around or just after 8 the anisthesiologist convinced me to have another epidural since I was only about a 5. Soon after that my doctor came and broke my water, which had some blood in it... a few minutes later I was at a 7. A few minutes after that I was saying that I needed to push, they checked me again and I was all the way dilated; the nurses and everyone got everything ready really fast and after maybe 10 minutes of pushing Rachel was born at 9 am on the nose. She was completely wrapped up in her cord and the placenta was about 20% abrupt (premature separation from the uterus). However, Rachel was fine and after a much more easy and painless delivery than Karen I realized that while giving birth is not fun, it's not nearly as bad as my previous experience would indicate (30 hours labor, 3 hours pushing, pain relief didn't work...). The worst parts about the hospital stay was the bp meds they gave me (so no solid foods for 24 hours) and not sleeping at night-almost every hour someone was in my room, either for a feeding or bp check, or taking blood... it was crazy.
Okay, that's enough for one posting. I'll write some more, but put it in another post in case someone else is like me and can't spend an hour just reading blogs anymore. :)
This story actually begins on the 8th of January (or maybe the 27th of December...but that's too far back). I went to my Dr. appointment, and my blood pressure was really high-as in 150's over 60's. My doctor wanted to put me in the hospital to monitor my condition, but I begged her to let me go home; she said ok if I go on bedrest. So I went home and called my visiting teacher and my mom. I figured it wasn't going to be a month until Rachel came, but I had to plan on 4 weeks or so of bedrest. The ward was great; they took Karen every afternoon as soon as naptime was over; they brought meals, books, movies, etc. I went back to the doctor on Thursday the 10th, and my bp was even higher. The doctor wanted to send me to the hospital, but once again I made her let me go home since my baby shower was on Saturday. She said if I had any problems at all to go to the hospital, and that I would probably have my baby before the end of the next week. My mom bought a plane ticket for Sunday.
The shower was great on the 12th, and I got a REALLY nice double stroller along with some really cute clothes (when Karen was first born she wore mostly onesies since it was summer time-that doesn't work well in the middle of winter, even in NC). I felt yucky that night, but didn't do anything about it since I just figured I'd done too much that day. Sunday morning I still felt yucky and had a headache to boot, so we dropped Karen off at church and went to the hospital. We got there at 11am and they didn't decide to admit me until 3pm; I just sat there with the baby monitors on constantly and having my bp taken every 15 minutes. It was crazy; I was really hungry so they gave me jello and crackers (yum...), which made my bp spike near 190; as I got hungrier again my bp went down... until I ate something else.
So I was in the hospital from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday (15th) in the afternoon. My mom came in on Sunday night; Joe and Karen picked her up at the airport, where Karen barfed all over the first time she saw her. That's pretty much how mom's visit was. For 2 weeks I was in and out of the hospital twice, Karen had the nasty flu bug, then Joe had it, I had a baby, and Karen didn't want anything to do with Grandma until the last 2 days.
Thursday the 17th I went to my dr appointment, and she said they would induce me on Friday morning, but when she called the hospital to make sure they had room she said we would come in on Thursday evening instead. We got to the hospital around 7 pm, were admitted, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and the nurse took some blood and got my IV going (after she burst a blood vessel in my arm that left a welt for almost 2 weeks). Since I was only dialated to about a 2, they gave me a Cervadil, which they put up next to the cervix to help it efface quickly so you don't have to be on pitocin for as long. The doctor said I'd have some cramping and maybe in the night my contractions would start on their own and I wouldn't have to have pitocin at all. They put the drugs in around 9:30; within 2 hours I was having contractions every 3 minutes if I lay on my back, every 8-10 minutes if I lay on my side. However, the contraction monitor didn't pick them up very well so they just gave me some narcotics to help me sleep... the first time I got them was around 11-ish, and it worked for about 2 hours (but they could only give it to me every 3 hours); the second time it worked okay for about an hour and a half, and the third it took off the edge for about half an hour...of course I was supposed to be 'sleeping' during this time.
From what I remember (which is kinda fuzzy since they gave me the other drugs first) I got my epidural around 6 or so. It worked good for about an hour then started to wear off. Sometime around or just after 8 the anisthesiologist convinced me to have another epidural since I was only about a 5. Soon after that my doctor came and broke my water, which had some blood in it... a few minutes later I was at a 7. A few minutes after that I was saying that I needed to push, they checked me again and I was all the way dilated; the nurses and everyone got everything ready really fast and after maybe 10 minutes of pushing Rachel was born at 9 am on the nose. She was completely wrapped up in her cord and the placenta was about 20% abrupt (premature separation from the uterus). However, Rachel was fine and after a much more easy and painless delivery than Karen I realized that while giving birth is not fun, it's not nearly as bad as my previous experience would indicate (30 hours labor, 3 hours pushing, pain relief didn't work...). The worst parts about the hospital stay was the bp meds they gave me (so no solid foods for 24 hours) and not sleeping at night-almost every hour someone was in my room, either for a feeding or bp check, or taking blood... it was crazy.
Okay, that's enough for one posting. I'll write some more, but put it in another post in case someone else is like me and can't spend an hour just reading blogs anymore. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
