To say that having Doug home has changed our lives would be an understatement. A big one. Right now the three of us are all getting used to living together. We've found that Doug likes to nap in the living room with us, wants to eat when we eat, and wants to be awake all night long.
He sleeps beautifully during the day. At night, not so much. The pediatrician told us that he should be able to go 3-4 hours between feedings and take about 3 oz of formula. During the day, this is no problem. However, at night, Doug wants a bottle about every two hours and only takes an ounce or two at a time. We've tried telling him that he's not hungry yet, or that he shouldn't be. He usually very vocally disagrees with us. We're also lucky when we know that more formula is what he wants. A good third of the time, we have no idea. We've developed a list of things to try on him. If he has a pacifier (a love/hate relationship for us. Why can't you strap them to the back of their little heads?), we find it in his crib and offer it to him. If that doesn't work, we try changing him. Then we proceed to swaddle or unswaddle him, try to burp him, and if he's mouthing everything, we'll try a bottle. It seems most of the time that he quiets down as soon as we pick him and, and starts screaming again as soon as he goes back into his crib. At around one am, he just likes to be up. You go into his room and these bright eyes are just peering around as if to say, "What are we going to do now, Mom and Dad?". We've found that bringing him into bed with us and playing with him for a while works best then.
Next week Jeff goes back to work, so I'm thinking that this up all night deal isn't going to fly. I've looked into baby sleep books online, and most of them are for older babies. It looks like we've just got to wait for the little man to out grow it. And maybe we'll keep the Lord of the Rings DVDs in our bedroom. I have a feeling we'll get to watch a lot of them :)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Douglas James, Part III
Friday, March 19th
On Friday, I was woken up at about 5:30 am to check my dilation. I had only progressed another centimeter to 5 cm. They decided to up my Pitocin and come back in an hour. An hour later I was still the same, but they decided to break my water. I should note that they had delayed breaking my water because I had tested positive for Group B Strep. So they increased the Pitocin and broke my water. Actually, the water broke just on contact with an exam, it was going to go soon anyway. And man. Holy cow! The contractions started coming on fast and furious. I'd like gone from 0 to 60 in thirty seconds with the contractions. For a while Jeff coached me through them and it was ok. But I knew that these contractions were way too strong and that I'd be at it all day long, so I requested an epidural. Requested would be putting it nicely. Begged and demanded would be a bit more accurate. I was told that the anesthesiologist has just gotten to the hospital and in all likelihood wouldn't be able to be there for at least 45 minutes. I clearly needed something, so they game me some narcotics. Which were lovely. Ironically, ten minutes later the anesthesiologist got there and shortly after I got set up with the epidural. The other reason that I wanted an epidural, was that at this point, I was pretty damn sure I was looking at an emergency c-section at some point in the day, and that I'd rather be ready to go for it. I eventually felt relaxed enough to take some naps throughout the day. As the day wore on, and on and on and on, they increased my Pitocin. Unfortunately, the epidural dispenser dealie was malfunctioning at times and I wasn't getting as much as I should have been. Luckily, some one believed us and they checked it each time and fixed it.
At about 6:30 that evening things began to change. I was started to feel the contractions again, despite the epidural working. They weren't horrific, but at the same time it wasn't comfortable. I should also note that I had to do all of this lying down in bed, so I couldn't move or walk around to make the contractions more bearable. At this point I was connected to quite a bit of tubes. I had an IV in my arm with saline, Pitocin and penicillin. I had the epidural catheter in my back. I also had a foley catheter. They wanted to better monitor my contractions, so I had an internal monitor there. They also wanted to better monitor Doug's heart rate, so he had a monitor in his scalp (we tried not to think about that so much). Then my water had been broken so long at this point that they decided to add more back in there. So yeah, I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I think this was also about the time they added the oxygen mask. In retrospect, I'm very glad I wasn't set on a certain birth, that I was open to the fact that there could need to be intervention, because there was a LOT of it.
Around this time I had a horrific contraction. The monitor that rates them had been rating most of them at around 100 or so. This one hit the monitor at 435. It was quite strong. More alarmingly though, was how Doug responded to it. His heart rate was yo-yoing from 160-70. I yelled at Jeff to call some one, and as soon as he did, the room flooded with people. I'd never seen so many people so fast! They got me situated on my other side and Doug calmed down. I hadn't quite yet, but I was trying to keep it together so he could get enough oxygen. After we were both stable my doctor, who I should add was my favorite from the practice, checked me and I was at 8 cm. Doug was still very high up, at about -2. She told me she'd give it half an hour for me to dilate to 10 and his head to descend, but in the mean time they were going to start prepping me for a c-section, so that it wouldn't be so rushed. Well, half an hour came and I'd dilated to a 9, but Doug was still nestled in up there. Luckily because I'd gotten the epidural hours earlier they didn't have to do much except shave and top off my epidural for surgery. So they gave Jeff some scrubs and wheeled me down to the O.R. Once there I was actually able to shimmy myself over to the table, which made my anesthesiologist want to give me more meds, because I was clearly quite mobile still. It seemed next to no time that Jeff was sitting next to my head and they were starting. If you ask Jeff however, he said it was forever until they let him back there with me. Not too long into it they wrestled Doug out, the first thing Jeff told me was that the baby had hair. The doctor told the staff that we didn't know what the baby was, so Jeff got to tell me. Doug was screaming, which is possibly the best sound I've ever heard in my life. They took him over and cleaned him up, he promptly peed all over the warming table. They wrapped him up and handed him off to Jeff, and I got to touch his little cheek. The only thing I didn't like was the unbearable shivering after he was born. I just couldn't get warm. After they closed me up I got some nice warm blankets, and by the time we were all in recovery I was decently warm again. We couldn't have been in recovery more than 5 minutes when the phone rang. Jeff and I just looked at each other and the nurse assured us that it was for us. Jeff answered it, and sure enough it was my mom. She had evidently called ten minutes before Doug was born and was told I wasn't there, and to call back in an hour. She wanted to talk to me and Jeff had to tell her I was busy breast feeding. I don't know what she said but she was very happy and then I heard Jeff say, "It's a boy, we'll call you guys back in a bit." They left the three of us in recovery for about an hour, and then they came to collect Doug and take him to the nursery. I got to relax and just process everything that had happened, and Jeff went to call his parents. About an hour or so later the three of us were united and settled into the postpartum room for the night.
Saturday, March 20th
That night I stayed hooked up to most of the things, except the epidural, and I got a little pump for the pain. I was assured by my doctor that everything would be removed in the morning and that I could get up and move around. So the next morning I got woken up by a nurse and a student nurse. I asked to get disconnected from everything and they told me they'd see what's going on. Then the instructor nurse chewed me out for taking my own medication (my synthroid) even though the L&D nurses and ALL of the doctors I'd see were more than ok with it. I really had nothing but trouble with these two nurses. I won't go into it too much, but the student nurse was just outrageously bad. At this point, I'd been disconnected from the medications, but not the iv itself. It was in my left wrist and had been since Tuesday. I could see that the area was red and irritated, I couldn't use my left arm at this point, the pain was greater than the incision pain. I'd been asking ALL morning to have the damn thing removed. Finally the lactation consultant (who was an RN) was there to hear me ask the student nurse about it for the 87th time. She could see it was interfering with the breast feeding and she removed it. It was clearly infected. Not so good. I had been holding Doug with my right arm, so stupid student nurse had to take my blood pressure with my left arm. Two seconds after she removed the IV. What do you think happened? Yeah, not pretty. Anyway, later that day she came back to take it again, and my bp was high, because at this point saying I was pissed off with her was putting it mildly. So she said she needed to take it again. I informed her it would be high. She asked why. I very carefully weighed my words. I was perilously close to tearing into her for her extreme ineptness, so I said "I'm not very happy with the care I'm receiving. This IV site is clearly infected." She then asked me to lay on my left side to take my blood pressure. I informed her, in no uncertain terms, that I would NOT by laying on my incision. I told her to send some one else back in 20 minutes to do it. Not too long after the head nurse came to check on my infection. Apparently, until my outburst happened, she'd been unaware. Sigh. It all worked out for the best and I never had to see the stupid student nurse again. I do have other stories, but that one is the best. Or worst.
So, everything went fine. Once I was unplugged from everything I was up and about and most people didn't realize I was a c-section. After being there for 3 days, Monday I requested that Doug and I be released early, and we were. We even got to go to Target that night! So, we've been hanging out at home, sleeping when we can, and taking tons of pictures. And laughing. My incision hurts so much from laughing. I didn't realize that adding a near 7 lb person to the house would so dramatically increase the amount of laundry we do!
So, that is the end of the story of Doug's birth and the beginning of the story of his life :)
On Friday, I was woken up at about 5:30 am to check my dilation. I had only progressed another centimeter to 5 cm. They decided to up my Pitocin and come back in an hour. An hour later I was still the same, but they decided to break my water. I should note that they had delayed breaking my water because I had tested positive for Group B Strep. So they increased the Pitocin and broke my water. Actually, the water broke just on contact with an exam, it was going to go soon anyway. And man. Holy cow! The contractions started coming on fast and furious. I'd like gone from 0 to 60 in thirty seconds with the contractions. For a while Jeff coached me through them and it was ok. But I knew that these contractions were way too strong and that I'd be at it all day long, so I requested an epidural. Requested would be putting it nicely. Begged and demanded would be a bit more accurate. I was told that the anesthesiologist has just gotten to the hospital and in all likelihood wouldn't be able to be there for at least 45 minutes. I clearly needed something, so they game me some narcotics. Which were lovely. Ironically, ten minutes later the anesthesiologist got there and shortly after I got set up with the epidural. The other reason that I wanted an epidural, was that at this point, I was pretty damn sure I was looking at an emergency c-section at some point in the day, and that I'd rather be ready to go for it. I eventually felt relaxed enough to take some naps throughout the day. As the day wore on, and on and on and on, they increased my Pitocin. Unfortunately, the epidural dispenser dealie was malfunctioning at times and I wasn't getting as much as I should have been. Luckily, some one believed us and they checked it each time and fixed it.
At about 6:30 that evening things began to change. I was started to feel the contractions again, despite the epidural working. They weren't horrific, but at the same time it wasn't comfortable. I should also note that I had to do all of this lying down in bed, so I couldn't move or walk around to make the contractions more bearable. At this point I was connected to quite a bit of tubes. I had an IV in my arm with saline, Pitocin and penicillin. I had the epidural catheter in my back. I also had a foley catheter. They wanted to better monitor my contractions, so I had an internal monitor there. They also wanted to better monitor Doug's heart rate, so he had a monitor in his scalp (we tried not to think about that so much). Then my water had been broken so long at this point that they decided to add more back in there. So yeah, I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I think this was also about the time they added the oxygen mask. In retrospect, I'm very glad I wasn't set on a certain birth, that I was open to the fact that there could need to be intervention, because there was a LOT of it.
Around this time I had a horrific contraction. The monitor that rates them had been rating most of them at around 100 or so. This one hit the monitor at 435. It was quite strong. More alarmingly though, was how Doug responded to it. His heart rate was yo-yoing from 160-70. I yelled at Jeff to call some one, and as soon as he did, the room flooded with people. I'd never seen so many people so fast! They got me situated on my other side and Doug calmed down. I hadn't quite yet, but I was trying to keep it together so he could get enough oxygen. After we were both stable my doctor, who I should add was my favorite from the practice, checked me and I was at 8 cm. Doug was still very high up, at about -2. She told me she'd give it half an hour for me to dilate to 10 and his head to descend, but in the mean time they were going to start prepping me for a c-section, so that it wouldn't be so rushed. Well, half an hour came and I'd dilated to a 9, but Doug was still nestled in up there. Luckily because I'd gotten the epidural hours earlier they didn't have to do much except shave and top off my epidural for surgery. So they gave Jeff some scrubs and wheeled me down to the O.R. Once there I was actually able to shimmy myself over to the table, which made my anesthesiologist want to give me more meds, because I was clearly quite mobile still. It seemed next to no time that Jeff was sitting next to my head and they were starting. If you ask Jeff however, he said it was forever until they let him back there with me. Not too long into it they wrestled Doug out, the first thing Jeff told me was that the baby had hair. The doctor told the staff that we didn't know what the baby was, so Jeff got to tell me. Doug was screaming, which is possibly the best sound I've ever heard in my life. They took him over and cleaned him up, he promptly peed all over the warming table. They wrapped him up and handed him off to Jeff, and I got to touch his little cheek. The only thing I didn't like was the unbearable shivering after he was born. I just couldn't get warm. After they closed me up I got some nice warm blankets, and by the time we were all in recovery I was decently warm again. We couldn't have been in recovery more than 5 minutes when the phone rang. Jeff and I just looked at each other and the nurse assured us that it was for us. Jeff answered it, and sure enough it was my mom. She had evidently called ten minutes before Doug was born and was told I wasn't there, and to call back in an hour. She wanted to talk to me and Jeff had to tell her I was busy breast feeding. I don't know what she said but she was very happy and then I heard Jeff say, "It's a boy, we'll call you guys back in a bit." They left the three of us in recovery for about an hour, and then they came to collect Doug and take him to the nursery. I got to relax and just process everything that had happened, and Jeff went to call his parents. About an hour or so later the three of us were united and settled into the postpartum room for the night.
Saturday, March 20th
That night I stayed hooked up to most of the things, except the epidural, and I got a little pump for the pain. I was assured by my doctor that everything would be removed in the morning and that I could get up and move around. So the next morning I got woken up by a nurse and a student nurse. I asked to get disconnected from everything and they told me they'd see what's going on. Then the instructor nurse chewed me out for taking my own medication (my synthroid) even though the L&D nurses and ALL of the doctors I'd see were more than ok with it. I really had nothing but trouble with these two nurses. I won't go into it too much, but the student nurse was just outrageously bad. At this point, I'd been disconnected from the medications, but not the iv itself. It was in my left wrist and had been since Tuesday. I could see that the area was red and irritated, I couldn't use my left arm at this point, the pain was greater than the incision pain. I'd been asking ALL morning to have the damn thing removed. Finally the lactation consultant (who was an RN) was there to hear me ask the student nurse about it for the 87th time. She could see it was interfering with the breast feeding and she removed it. It was clearly infected. Not so good. I had been holding Doug with my right arm, so stupid student nurse had to take my blood pressure with my left arm. Two seconds after she removed the IV. What do you think happened? Yeah, not pretty. Anyway, later that day she came back to take it again, and my bp was high, because at this point saying I was pissed off with her was putting it mildly. So she said she needed to take it again. I informed her it would be high. She asked why. I very carefully weighed my words. I was perilously close to tearing into her for her extreme ineptness, so I said "I'm not very happy with the care I'm receiving. This IV site is clearly infected." She then asked me to lay on my left side to take my blood pressure. I informed her, in no uncertain terms, that I would NOT by laying on my incision. I told her to send some one else back in 20 minutes to do it. Not too long after the head nurse came to check on my infection. Apparently, until my outburst happened, she'd been unaware. Sigh. It all worked out for the best and I never had to see the stupid student nurse again. I do have other stories, but that one is the best. Or worst.
So, everything went fine. Once I was unplugged from everything I was up and about and most people didn't realize I was a c-section. After being there for 3 days, Monday I requested that Doug and I be released early, and we were. We even got to go to Target that night! So, we've been hanging out at home, sleeping when we can, and taking tons of pictures. And laughing. My incision hurts so much from laughing. I didn't realize that adding a near 7 lb person to the house would so dramatically increase the amount of laundry we do!
So, that is the end of the story of Doug's birth and the beginning of the story of his life :)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Douglas James, Part II
Wednesday, March 17th
So, I woke up Wednesday and felt very hung over. I had hardly been able to sleep at all, and not sleeping with Ambien is apparently a problem. So, they come in and check to see how dilated I am, and I'm maybe 2 centimeters and 40% effaced. So, not a whole lot of excitement there. The next thing they did was start the dreaded Pitocin. I then threw up so much that the nurse was impressed. Impressed or freaked out, I'm not sure. But I did start to feel better. So there was an upside. I napped on and off the whole morning as they increased the Pitocin drip. All throughout the morning nurses were stopping by and asking me how I was feeling. I was feeling nothing. The Pitocin wasn't seeming to do much, at one point I told the O.B. that I wouldn't even bother to take a Midol for the pain. Later that afternoon, I was at the full dose of Pitocin and still hadn't felt any contractions. They checked my cervix again and I went from 2-3 centimeters in about 12 hours. Yep. Exciting stuff. Jeff and I were hoping that they would just scrap the induction and just send me home, as there was no immediate need to deliver. No such luck. They let me eat dinner and then gave me another dose of cervidil over night.
Thursday, March 18th
Thursday is honestly a bit of a blur now. All I remember is that I was on the Pitocin all damn day, and again, nothing happened. I remember going all the way up on the Pit dose again and then being taken off. I believe that was the evening that I got to take a bath in the whirlpool tub. I also recall trying to get the doctor to give us some idea of what was going on. Thursday morning they told me that the baby would be born that day. They also stripped my membranes, but again, nothing. I believe that evening I went to bed with my third dose of Pitocin to work on over night.
More to come....
So, I woke up Wednesday and felt very hung over. I had hardly been able to sleep at all, and not sleeping with Ambien is apparently a problem. So, they come in and check to see how dilated I am, and I'm maybe 2 centimeters and 40% effaced. So, not a whole lot of excitement there. The next thing they did was start the dreaded Pitocin. I then threw up so much that the nurse was impressed. Impressed or freaked out, I'm not sure. But I did start to feel better. So there was an upside. I napped on and off the whole morning as they increased the Pitocin drip. All throughout the morning nurses were stopping by and asking me how I was feeling. I was feeling nothing. The Pitocin wasn't seeming to do much, at one point I told the O.B. that I wouldn't even bother to take a Midol for the pain. Later that afternoon, I was at the full dose of Pitocin and still hadn't felt any contractions. They checked my cervix again and I went from 2-3 centimeters in about 12 hours. Yep. Exciting stuff. Jeff and I were hoping that they would just scrap the induction and just send me home, as there was no immediate need to deliver. No such luck. They let me eat dinner and then gave me another dose of cervidil over night.
Thursday, March 18th
Thursday is honestly a bit of a blur now. All I remember is that I was on the Pitocin all damn day, and again, nothing happened. I remember going all the way up on the Pit dose again and then being taken off. I believe that was the evening that I got to take a bath in the whirlpool tub. I also recall trying to get the doctor to give us some idea of what was going on. Thursday morning they told me that the baby would be born that day. They also stripped my membranes, but again, nothing. I believe that evening I went to bed with my third dose of Pitocin to work on over night.
More to come....
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Douglas James
So, I up and had a baby. I was not overly thrilled at the time about how events were unfolding, but as we have a healthy baby boy and I'm healthy, I can't be bitter about it. Well, I'll let myself be annoyed at one doctor and a student nurse, but that's all really. So here is the grand epic adventure of Doug's birth.
Tuesday, March 16th
On that fateful Tuesday I was scheduled for a routine biophysical profile and prenatal check-up at 3:50, at 38 weeks. At around 1, I had started having some minor contractions. They weren't regular, but they were enough to make me pause in what I was doing. I knew we had the appointment and that the ultrasound was important and very difficult to do at the hospital, so I just decided to wait until then. We had packed our bags weeks ago, so while I waited for Jeff to pick me up I went around the house collecting little odds and ends. So, we get into the ultrasound and the tech informs me that my fluid is low again. It had been around 9 cm a month ago, but the previous week it had shot up to 13 cm. This week it was only 5 cm. She told me that the baby looked good and that I would very likely be sent over to L&D, but there was no immediate danger. Things were looking ok, especially since I had been in early labor for about 2.5 hours at this point. So, we see the doctor who agrees that because I'm in labor and have low fluid and elevated blood pressure (duh, I was anxious about labor) that I should go to L&D. So, as we walk to the car I tell Jeff that this will end in a c-section. He very loyally said, no of course not, this will all be very easy! Gotta love the optimism.
So, we get checked in and find out that the only doctor we didn't like (the one who sent me for the 24 urine analysis, despite the fact that the hospital ran the same test the day before) is the one on duty. I tell Jeff that at least she will DO something instead of using a wait and see approach. So sure enough, she does do something. She examines me and despite the fact that the baby's vitals are very good, despite the fact that my cervix is high, very firm and undilated and despite the fact that the baby's head was no where close to my cervix, that we shall induce. I should also note that she told this to the nurses and did not discuss this with Jeff and I. Jeff had no idea what was going on and I had to explain that they were going to use cervidil (an insert) to soften my cervix over night. The plan was to start pitocin the next day. In the mean time, they gave me my i.v. antibiotic ( I tested positive for group b strep). I was told to expect and uncomfortable and crampy night, they offered Ambien and a narcotic, which I took. I should add that the blood pressure went significantly down, the labs came back clean and my labor stopped. They were inducing because my fluid was a bit low. Not the baby needs to be born now, low, but the baby should come in a few days low.
As this is a lengthy saga, it will come in installments.
Tuesday, March 16th
On that fateful Tuesday I was scheduled for a routine biophysical profile and prenatal check-up at 3:50, at 38 weeks. At around 1, I had started having some minor contractions. They weren't regular, but they were enough to make me pause in what I was doing. I knew we had the appointment and that the ultrasound was important and very difficult to do at the hospital, so I just decided to wait until then. We had packed our bags weeks ago, so while I waited for Jeff to pick me up I went around the house collecting little odds and ends. So, we get into the ultrasound and the tech informs me that my fluid is low again. It had been around 9 cm a month ago, but the previous week it had shot up to 13 cm. This week it was only 5 cm. She told me that the baby looked good and that I would very likely be sent over to L&D, but there was no immediate danger. Things were looking ok, especially since I had been in early labor for about 2.5 hours at this point. So, we see the doctor who agrees that because I'm in labor and have low fluid and elevated blood pressure (duh, I was anxious about labor) that I should go to L&D. So, as we walk to the car I tell Jeff that this will end in a c-section. He very loyally said, no of course not, this will all be very easy! Gotta love the optimism.
So, we get checked in and find out that the only doctor we didn't like (the one who sent me for the 24 urine analysis, despite the fact that the hospital ran the same test the day before) is the one on duty. I tell Jeff that at least she will DO something instead of using a wait and see approach. So sure enough, she does do something. She examines me and despite the fact that the baby's vitals are very good, despite the fact that my cervix is high, very firm and undilated and despite the fact that the baby's head was no where close to my cervix, that we shall induce. I should also note that she told this to the nurses and did not discuss this with Jeff and I. Jeff had no idea what was going on and I had to explain that they were going to use cervidil (an insert) to soften my cervix over night. The plan was to start pitocin the next day. In the mean time, they gave me my i.v. antibiotic ( I tested positive for group b strep). I was told to expect and uncomfortable and crampy night, they offered Ambien and a narcotic, which I took. I should add that the blood pressure went significantly down, the labs came back clean and my labor stopped. They were inducing because my fluid was a bit low. Not the baby needs to be born now, low, but the baby should come in a few days low.
As this is a lengthy saga, it will come in installments.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Waiting...
We are officially waiting for the arrival of Baby Weston. It could be any day now, or it could be a few weeks (please no!). I'm already starting to get the "Oh, you're still around." remarks for the receptionists at the doctor's office. It's all very exciting and very overwhelming at the same time. We could be parents any day. Or we could still have the freedom to sleep in and go out to a movie. I'm lately of the opinion that bachelorette parties are wasted on the childless. Not that I expect to be living a totally different and restricted life, but one last weekend out with the girls without worrying about the baby would be fun. However, drinking can't be a part of it and neither can bowling. Which is a shame about the bowling, my diaper bag looks like a nice bowling bag. However, knowing my luck, my water would break while I was out.
My check up today went quite well. The labs showed absolutely nothing, which is good. My fluid had a nice spike, which is lovely because the braxton-hicks have been sent packing. The baby was obstinate, as usual, during the bio-physical. The tech really had to shake the baby around a bit to get him/her to start moving. So, for now, it looks like there are no plans to do anything but wait it out. I have to admit, having an end of March due date is a bit of a blow to my morale. If I go five days over, we go from having a March baby to an April baby. The baby would be born in an entirely different month!
That's all for now. I'm currently reading 'The Unhealthy Truth' and as soon as I finish it, I plan to write about it. Hopefully that will happen soon.
My check up today went quite well. The labs showed absolutely nothing, which is good. My fluid had a nice spike, which is lovely because the braxton-hicks have been sent packing. The baby was obstinate, as usual, during the bio-physical. The tech really had to shake the baby around a bit to get him/her to start moving. So, for now, it looks like there are no plans to do anything but wait it out. I have to admit, having an end of March due date is a bit of a blow to my morale. If I go five days over, we go from having a March baby to an April baby. The baby would be born in an entirely different month!
That's all for now. I'm currently reading 'The Unhealthy Truth' and as soon as I finish it, I plan to write about it. Hopefully that will happen soon.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Force is Strong with the Moby
So, last weekend I decided that I liked the idea of baby wearing. I don't know what brought it on, but all of the sudden, I was a fan. The back pack style carriers have never really appealed to me. They look uncomfortable for the baby and the wearer. I'd heard some good things about the Moby wrap, so I looked online for some reviews. Most of the reviews seemed pretty positive. The negative ones were from people who just plain couldn't figure out how to do it. Admittedly, when you look at their how-to-page, it looks like you need a PhD in origami. However, once you familiarize yourself with the steps, its pretty quick and easy. One difficulty I can foresee, is making sure the fabric is wrapped tightly enough. The another problem is I'll be doing this with an infant, who may or may not be willing.
Anyway, the wrap being a new toy, Jeff got to it first. He wasn't so into the idea last week, but he decided he had to be the first to play with it. He got it on fairly quickly and with little trouble. To test it's weight bearing capability, he put his laptop in the wrap. I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the bed. Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of this. So to try it out with a human shaped item, we used a stuffed Yoda. We each took a turn. Other than the fact that Yoda's feet stick out at a 90 degree angle from his body, it was pretty easy. A little disturbing was the fact that we both used Yoda's head to cram him in there. Rest assured that we won't try this with the newborn. Also, I'm pretty sure the baby's ears won't pose a problem.
I've posted some pictures for your general amusement. The wrap is navy blue and unfortunately, so is my shirt. And that Ladies and Gentlemen, is my Saturday night.
Anyway, the wrap being a new toy, Jeff got to it first. He wasn't so into the idea last week, but he decided he had to be the first to play with it. He got it on fairly quickly and with little trouble. To test it's weight bearing capability, he put his laptop in the wrap. I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the bed. Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of this. So to try it out with a human shaped item, we used a stuffed Yoda. We each took a turn. Other than the fact that Yoda's feet stick out at a 90 degree angle from his body, it was pretty easy. A little disturbing was the fact that we both used Yoda's head to cram him in there. Rest assured that we won't try this with the newborn. Also, I'm pretty sure the baby's ears won't pose a problem.
I've posted some pictures for your general amusement. The wrap is navy blue and unfortunately, so is my shirt. And that Ladies and Gentlemen, is my Saturday night.
Friday, March 5, 2010
My Kingdom for a Bratwurst!
I usually think of myself as a sane pregnant lady. But then there are nights like this when I'm up at 12:30 microwaving a frozen bratwurst. I've never microwaved bratwurst before. The directions on the packaging don't even mention that as a cooking method. This should be educational.
Cravings are an interesting and usually annoying side effect of pregnancy. Jeff insists that the definition of the word entails "food that is not presently available or easily attainable". Unfortunately, I think I have to agree with him on that one. Invariably, what I crave is not in the house. Luckily tonight, it was just not thawed.
The nature of the beast is also such that the cravings attack between 11:30 and 1 am. It's very difficult to sleep when that one food item is ALL you can think about. It's also a bad time because places like Chipotle are closed. I really do not understand why that place doesn't have a late night drive through. They'd make money hand over fist!
Another source of angst is Mark Summers. I've never called one man so many horrible things in all my life. And I feel bad because he seems like a nice guy. He can't help that his time slot is 11-12 at night, when food is unattainable. I swear though, every other freaking show has a segment about hot dogs! I cannot stop eating hot dogs. They're horrible for you, which is why I generally don't buy them, but man, they look and are sooo yummy! The flip side to 'Unwrapped", is that it occasionally show cases food that makes me nauseous. The other night, after showing me hot dogs, he showed me Boston Cream Pie. I hate cream filled pastries, the thought makes me feel so ill. That pretty much killed my craving for hot dogs.
Alas, cooking brats in the microwave is NOT a good idea. Grilling seems best as a way to get rid of the grease. Also, in my food borne illness paranoia, I might have over cooked it, resulting in a rather hard and shriveled up brat. I suppose Jeff will be breaking out the grill this weekend to cook the rest of them. Until then, I shall have to content myself with a cup of tapioca, which is probably for the best.
Nite :)
Cravings are an interesting and usually annoying side effect of pregnancy. Jeff insists that the definition of the word entails "food that is not presently available or easily attainable". Unfortunately, I think I have to agree with him on that one. Invariably, what I crave is not in the house. Luckily tonight, it was just not thawed.
The nature of the beast is also such that the cravings attack between 11:30 and 1 am. It's very difficult to sleep when that one food item is ALL you can think about. It's also a bad time because places like Chipotle are closed. I really do not understand why that place doesn't have a late night drive through. They'd make money hand over fist!
Another source of angst is Mark Summers. I've never called one man so many horrible things in all my life. And I feel bad because he seems like a nice guy. He can't help that his time slot is 11-12 at night, when food is unattainable. I swear though, every other freaking show has a segment about hot dogs! I cannot stop eating hot dogs. They're horrible for you, which is why I generally don't buy them, but man, they look and are sooo yummy! The flip side to 'Unwrapped", is that it occasionally show cases food that makes me nauseous. The other night, after showing me hot dogs, he showed me Boston Cream Pie. I hate cream filled pastries, the thought makes me feel so ill. That pretty much killed my craving for hot dogs.
Alas, cooking brats in the microwave is NOT a good idea. Grilling seems best as a way to get rid of the grease. Also, in my food borne illness paranoia, I might have over cooked it, resulting in a rather hard and shriveled up brat. I suppose Jeff will be breaking out the grill this weekend to cook the rest of them. Until then, I shall have to content myself with a cup of tapioca, which is probably for the best.
Nite :)
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The 36th Week
The 36th week has been a long one. It's not quite over yet, but I think we got through the bulk of it. I also decided I need to make a new play list rightnow, kind of like when in college you had to make a new play list and clean everything before you could sit down to study or write that term paper. But I was feeling nostalgic for Spring break, so I had to make a Spring break mix since I obviously can't have a margarita and call it a day. Some one out there, please have a margarita for me!
So. Monday. Ugh. Usually Monday the baby and I usually just camp out on the couch and relax and recover from everything we did on the weekend. However, on Tuesday I was scheduled for an ob appointment, and I wanted to get together with one of my friends this week. Lately, I've been of the opinion that sooner is better than later, so we decided on pancakes on Monday. Anyway, so I woke up Monday and the baby wasn't doing much, but I figured it was because it had been a while since I ate. The baby also takes a long nap after I shower, so I didn't think too much of it. I began to become concerned after lunch when I wasn't getting any movement. I know pancakes aren't the most exciting taste sensation, but usually I'll get a wiggle. So at Target I bought a cherry coke, and still nothing. So I got home, drank some juice and laid on my side. I got a feeble kick after half an hour or so. I decided I was officially concerned and called the doctor, and they told me to come on in. So by this time I've gone from hmmm, to anxious and I get on the highway going to wrong way. I realized it as soon as I got on the ramp. I was so annoyed. Anyway, I get there and they hook me up to the monitor and the baby was doing ok. My blood pressure was sky high, because, duh, I thought the baby was in distress and I was facing imminent surgery. After a little while Jeff got there and the Dr. checked in. The baby still wasn't moving and was having some decelerations, not really scary ones, but enough that they wanted to do some more monitoring over at L&D. So we go over, there baby got monitored and they do a huge work up on me for pre-eclampsia. After several hours, the on call Dr. (who is one of my favs) comes in and is practically glowing because my blood work was so good. She declared that the baby was quite fine, just maybe having an odd day and sent me on my way with the proviso that I eat dinner, get to bed, and keep my appointment for the following day's biophysical. Also, I must add, that all the L&D nurses just adore Jeff. Every time the monitor or the baby moved, he was on it to reposition it. They (and I) found him to be very useful.
So Tuesday. Tuesday was my regularly scheduled appointment (funny how things work out). The baby hadn't stopped moving pretty much since we got home from the hospital Monday night. But what are you going to do? So, before the bio-physical they took my blood pressure. Now see, here's the problem. My b/p is high normal, it's been that way for years. Therefore if there's any stress or anxiety, it'll spike and go over normal. Which is what happened, again, on Tuesday. I've had some issues with the fluid level and that coupled with the baby's heart rate the day before, I was still worried about an emergency c-section. I don't have anything against c-sections, but I'd like a little more than an hours notice that I'm going to have major abdominal surgery. So the doctor I saw, who is NOT one of my favs ordered all the same blood work from the day before. I'm pretty sure she didn't look at my chart. Also, if she had just taken my b/p again, she would have seen an improvement. Also, it wasn't that high. She also ordered a 24 hour urine test. Which I knew, deep down, that I probably wouldn't be able to avoid forever. That was fun. When I got to the lab to collect my jug, the tech handed me a 3.5 liter jug. I laughed and said "What do I do when that's full?". She looked at me like I had three heads and gave me an extra, which I needed to break out in the middle of the night. I am a champion pee-er. I want a plaque or something. Needless to say, I'm not concerned about it. I was annoyed/shocked that when I got to the lab today to hand in my jugs that they asked for another sample. I was like WTH? How is 4.5 liters not enough for you people? Anyway, it was a funny experience, they kind of thing that no one tells you about when you want to have a baby. So, consider yourself warned.
This post has gotten incredibly long, so that's all for now.
So. Monday. Ugh. Usually Monday the baby and I usually just camp out on the couch and relax and recover from everything we did on the weekend. However, on Tuesday I was scheduled for an ob appointment, and I wanted to get together with one of my friends this week. Lately, I've been of the opinion that sooner is better than later, so we decided on pancakes on Monday. Anyway, so I woke up Monday and the baby wasn't doing much, but I figured it was because it had been a while since I ate. The baby also takes a long nap after I shower, so I didn't think too much of it. I began to become concerned after lunch when I wasn't getting any movement. I know pancakes aren't the most exciting taste sensation, but usually I'll get a wiggle. So at Target I bought a cherry coke, and still nothing. So I got home, drank some juice and laid on my side. I got a feeble kick after half an hour or so. I decided I was officially concerned and called the doctor, and they told me to come on in. So by this time I've gone from hmmm, to anxious and I get on the highway going to wrong way. I realized it as soon as I got on the ramp. I was so annoyed. Anyway, I get there and they hook me up to the monitor and the baby was doing ok. My blood pressure was sky high, because, duh, I thought the baby was in distress and I was facing imminent surgery. After a little while Jeff got there and the Dr. checked in. The baby still wasn't moving and was having some decelerations, not really scary ones, but enough that they wanted to do some more monitoring over at L&D. So we go over, there baby got monitored and they do a huge work up on me for pre-eclampsia. After several hours, the on call Dr. (who is one of my favs) comes in and is practically glowing because my blood work was so good. She declared that the baby was quite fine, just maybe having an odd day and sent me on my way with the proviso that I eat dinner, get to bed, and keep my appointment for the following day's biophysical. Also, I must add, that all the L&D nurses just adore Jeff. Every time the monitor or the baby moved, he was on it to reposition it. They (and I) found him to be very useful.
So Tuesday. Tuesday was my regularly scheduled appointment (funny how things work out). The baby hadn't stopped moving pretty much since we got home from the hospital Monday night. But what are you going to do? So, before the bio-physical they took my blood pressure. Now see, here's the problem. My b/p is high normal, it's been that way for years. Therefore if there's any stress or anxiety, it'll spike and go over normal. Which is what happened, again, on Tuesday. I've had some issues with the fluid level and that coupled with the baby's heart rate the day before, I was still worried about an emergency c-section. I don't have anything against c-sections, but I'd like a little more than an hours notice that I'm going to have major abdominal surgery. So the doctor I saw, who is NOT one of my favs ordered all the same blood work from the day before. I'm pretty sure she didn't look at my chart. Also, if she had just taken my b/p again, she would have seen an improvement. Also, it wasn't that high. She also ordered a 24 hour urine test. Which I knew, deep down, that I probably wouldn't be able to avoid forever. That was fun. When I got to the lab to collect my jug, the tech handed me a 3.5 liter jug. I laughed and said "What do I do when that's full?". She looked at me like I had three heads and gave me an extra, which I needed to break out in the middle of the night. I am a champion pee-er. I want a plaque or something. Needless to say, I'm not concerned about it. I was annoyed/shocked that when I got to the lab today to hand in my jugs that they asked for another sample. I was like WTH? How is 4.5 liters not enough for you people? Anyway, it was a funny experience, they kind of thing that no one tells you about when you want to have a baby. So, consider yourself warned.
So, onto the lighter side. I really want to read this book called The Unhealthy Truth. It's about how additives in food can cause problems and such. Unfortunately my brain is a bowl of mush, so I'm reading this instead. Don't judge me. I've read it before and bought it for my Nook, because the book is HEAVY. Yes, it's really what it looks like. I recommend it for a mindless beach read. It's not written terribly well either, but there you have it.
This post has gotten incredibly long, so that's all for now.
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