3 Weeks, 8.0 pounds and a happy New Year!

So today marks Samuel's third week with us. I weighed him this morning and he weighed exactly 8 pounds and 0 ounces :) That means that he has added 25% of his original body weight to his mass - in the last 2 weeks (bcs he was at his original weight one week after birth. after having lost some weight in the hospital).

I am trying to be better about taking photos of Samuel because he is changing so quickly. I also just figured out how to add photos to my post (it was really super simple ;) so I will try to go back and add photos to my blog posts to keep things current and also enhance the blog to be more of a record as I had intended.

Tonight is New years eve and Geoff and I are staying home with Samuel and have ordered Chinese take-out and have a bottle of champagne in the fridge. The champagne was a gift from Jordan for our 30th b-day so I am very excited to tuck into that and a bottle of of favorite chianti tonight :) This is also going to mark my first night of "pumping and dumping" so Samuel will have more formula than normal tomorrow but we will be back to normal the following day.

We ordered chinese from Fusion Taste in Arlington. Jon and Christina highly recommended them so I picked up a menu when I was getting them a GC there for X-mas and I am really excited to try them. I just had a bite of their scallion pancake and think the rest will be just as terrific. It is really critical to find a chinese food place when you move into a new neighborhood. We have a thai place, a BBQ place, a pizza/chicken fingers place (on the unhealthy side), and my favorite place in Belmont for healthier pizza and the like.

It snowed a good amount today - Geoff was let out of work early and then came home and shoveled the driveway and sidewalks. He also shoveled our neighbor Al's driveway as well - which I thought was really sweet of him.

Well I am going to pump for one last time before I start to to dump it from there on out. Basically as soon as I finish then I can tuck into that delicious glass of red wine and start celebrating the new year.

A note of quick reflection - I cannot believe how much has changed in the life over the past year. 2008 was an incredibly challenging year for us and 2009 deemed to be a much kinder and wonderful year for us :) I am really excited for 2010 and enjoying all the "firsts" with Samuel.

Baby Myth: Sleep when s/he sleeps

Today I have come to the realization that the oft-mentioned and well-intentioned saying to "sleep when the baby sleeps" is just not possible. Granted I do got back to sleep with him after his 7:30/8:00am bottle, but for the rest of the day I need to be awake and getting stuff done while he sleeps. Someone has to do the laundry, (online) food shopping, make formula, order diapers and supplies, feed themselves, wash and sanitize bottles, clean the cat litter box, pump to keep up the milk supply, and figuring out what is for dinner. If I slept when he slept - granted I would not have such bags under my eyes - but we would wake up hungry, with no bottles or food/formula, surrounded by dirty laundry and general chaos. I know none of this sounds life-ending, but when you have a newborn I think it really helps to have a bottle ready for the quickest possible feeding (and least amount of crying or tears) at 2:00am and the rest of the day. Don't get me wrong - as soon as I have someone her to help me (be it family or friends) I will maximize on that time and get what I need to get done so I can rest, but being awake for the day when he is sleeping is the only way I am able to maintain some sort of a household at the moment and most importantly keeping him happy and well-fed.

I have also decided today to keep this forum more of my baby-ranting world, my LinkedIn updates on my professional work, and my Facebook updates on mostly me - but with an occasional mention of the baby. I am hoping that will keep the 3 main aspects of my life segmented enough to best meet my audiences for each.

Back to baby news - Samuel had his first bath 2 nights ago - he truly did not enjoy it and I have no photos to show from it. He basically cried the entire time, and was only happy after wards when I was holding him in his towel.

We have had a great day so far today - probably bcs he has been sleeping for most of it ;) He has not been fussy at all and I have been able to do some laundry and stay current with my pumping schedule. These are not lofty goals, but make for a good day for me these days. Do note I have not showered or gotten dressed yet - and probably will not today, but you have to pick your battles ;)

Why I don't wear my glasses anymore

I noticed today that I never seem to have my glasses on my face anymore. For a person who usually wore them from morning till bed - it was kind of a significant revelation. I am near sighted so anything beyond my own out stretched hand can get a little fuzzy - I especially need them for driving and reading signs. The reason being these days that there is not much beyond my arms length that I need to care about - or have time to care about. Samuel and I are a perfect pair at the moment - we both can't see much beyond a foot from our own faces ;)

Today my Mom visited with Meghan and Cade. Meghan and Cade are flying out on Thursday morning so this is the last time I will see them for a bit. My Mom is also flying to Utah with my brother Kevin for a ski trip next week so I won;t see her for almost 2 weeks. Geoff's Mum dropped in this afternoon and gave Samuel a bottle while I pumped and sterilized some bottles. Geoff and Joe came to visit on their lunch break today, but I only saw them for a second as they were leaving bcs I was upstairs pumping and then showering for the duration.

We had another kind of rough night last night. Geoff handed him off to me around 11pm and then I don't recall getting much (if any sleep) in between then and 5am today. I am going to pump and then lay down for a bit now while he is napping. This will be my 7th pump of the day - just three more to go after that.

ps - my other title for my blog today was going to be "I am sick and tired of leaking" ;)

2 plus weeks of parenting

My last post was almost a week ago today and I have come to terms with how difficult it is to actually find 5 minutes to draft a blog post ;) Last week was busy and fun - on Wednesday Geoff watched the baby so I could get out of the house by myself! :) I had a mani/pedi at Skintelligent in Belmont Center, then came back to the house bcs my sister, brother and Holly had come over for a visit. It was the first time Kevin had met Samuel bcs he had just finished up school for the semester. I pumped and then headed to the Burlington mall to buy myself clothes that would fit me for X-mas and were not from the maternity section. Anne Taylor was having a 40% off everything sale so I picked up a green cardigan and camisole and then a black dress - all as strategically fitting as possible to help hide my flabby belly. The dress was a size 10 - not horrible, but def. not my normal size 6.

After that I went to Whole Foods - which was so crowded there were no shopping carts - so I used one of the specialty carts with a car seat on it. I just did not care - technically I have a baby - it was just not on me at the moment ;)

Thursday I finished up wrapping X-mas gifts (I hit a new low with mini gift bags for all my gift certificates ;) and then we went to Geoff's parents for Chinese take-out. We skipped my family's Christmas Eve this year bcs it would have been a lot and I did not want to risk exposing him to that many germs.

Christmas day we went to Geoff's parents for stocking and some breakfast from 9-10:30am, we then stopped by the house so I could pump, and then headed to Saugus for most of the afternoon. We has a great time at my parents house and basically all my favorite family members stopped by - in total there was around 25 of us. We stayed there till 3:30pm and then went back to Belmont to open presents for 4pm.

After presents I needed a nap! Geoff made up a bed in the apartment in Belmont, so I laid down for about 20 minutes but did not sleep. It was then dinner time so I had to get up. I felt kind of bad though bcs Geoff's Mum did all the prep work and cooking and after dinner we left so she ended up having to do all the clean up work as well. It is usually more balanced, and I know we kind of have an excuse this year, but I still felt bad bcs she was tired herself.

On Saturday, I minded the baby so Geoff could sleep in and get a good stretch of 7-8 hours of sleep - the most since Samuel arrived. The service guy from Jordan's came in the early afternoon to fix the massaging recliner and that was about it for the day - we did not leave the house ;)

Sunday (yesterday) I went to pick up the Alphabet print that was at the framer's and then went to Starbucks (grande skinny caramel latte at noon - thank you very much) and then to Trader Joe's to get some stuff for dinner this week. My Mom dropped in yesterday for an hour to see Samuel and then Geoff's parents came over as well. I was napping for most of the time his parent's were here, and then got up and made dinner.

I am still trying to pump 10 times a day to keep up my supply in light of Samuel not being able to do the trick. It is really time consuming but worth it. I don't mind having to pump during the day, but the ones in the early hours really stink bcs I can hardly keep my eyes open as it is for him, no less a machine ;)

Must run to wake him and feed him. As of last night he was up to 7 pounds and 11 ounces - I can't wait for him to hit the 8 pound mark!

Almost 2 weeks in

So I started a post yesterday or the day before and I closed my web browser by accident and lost my work - I think the auto "save now" did not kick in.

Anyways since my last post we had our first pediatrician appt. on Friday morning. The Dr. said he was doing great and was very happy with his weight gain. He weighed 6 pounds and 6 ounces which was pretty much his birth weight. He also measured 20 inches (he was 18.5 in the hospital bcs his legs were scrunched up).

Friday afternoon Geoff's parents dropped in and gave us some news. I will talk more about that in later posts once things have settled down a bit.

I had my first glass of red wine on Thursday or Friday night and I have to say it was amazing! I only had half of a small glass, but still it was heaven.

Saturday Jeremy & Amanda, and Colin and Jenn came over to meet Samuel. It was really great to see them and have adult conversation :) After that we went to Geoff's parents for dinner with the whole family. It was kind of a late night (out till 10pm) so that was a pretty big day for us.

Sunday we got dumped on with a foot of snow. Our neighbor Al was really sweet and snow blowed our driveway for us :) We pretty much stayed in the whole day bcs traveling was not an option.

Monday (yesterday) my Mom came over around 11am and brought diapers with her and a shirt box that I needed for gift wrapping :) After that Meghan, Cade and my Dad came over to see Samuel. They left around 1pm and then my Mom took me to my 2pm mid wife appt. at MGH. We brought Samuel in for the ride. The midwife said everything with me looked good and she took off the steri strips from my incision. She also mentioned that I may feel a bit tired from recovering from the preeclampsia. My blood pressure was fine (125/88) so they were okay with that. I was not thrilled with the 88, but if they are okay then I am okay ;) After that my Mom took me to Babies r Us to pick up diapers and feeding items, and then after that we swung by the post office to drop off my bundles of baby announcement/holiday cards and thank you notes. We got home around 5pm and I was exhausted!

Geoff came home around 6:30pm and I threw in some Trader Joes madarin chicken for dinner. That and a salad and I called it a night. Samuel has been doing really well and eating well, but he seems to be having issues with effectively sucking when nursing. I noticed my milk supply going down a few days ago so I started to pump to keep up the levels. So now we are back to having quite a production for feeding: first I nurse him on both sides, then we give him a bottle of breast milk or formula (depending on the time of day and what is available in the fridge); then I pump for 15 minutes to keep up my supply. All in (with diaper changes, burps, warming and washing) it takes about an hour and a half for each feed. I am hoping he will grow out of this soon, but I scheduled an appt. with the lactation consultant at Isis for Thursday (in 2 days).

Tomorrow I also schedule a manicure and pedicure for myself! Geoff was really sweet yesterday and texted me that on Wed. (tomorrow) he would take over for a few feedings so I could "take the care and bugger off for a while and do something" for me :) That was so very thoughtful of him - I really appreciated it! So I am booked at Skintelligent in Belmont from 11-12 tomorrow. The last time I was there (in June before Jeremy & Amanda's wedding) the woman who did my nails said "are you expecting?" Seeing as I was only 10 weeks then - she was the first stranger/person to ask me that at that point.

Okay - I must run to start up the next round of feeding!

Snow!!

Today we were dumped on by over a foot of snow! It started last night after midnight and by the time we roused out of bed today - around 11:30am everything was thoroughly covered! It looks so pretty outside, there is def. a ton of the white stuff everywhere.

Since my last post on Thursday we had out first pediatrician appt. on Friday morning in Lexington. That was our first outing as a little family and trying to get all of us dressed and showered and out the door. We did pretty well and were only 9 minutes late - which the receptionist noted upon our arrival ;) Samuel checked out just perfectly and was back to his birth weight at the appt.! He also measured 20 inches in length - which is 1 and 1/2 more than he was born. He did not grow in the last week - it is just bcs when babies are born their legs are kind of folded up and he extended then fully at the Dr's office. Everything went well and the Dr. said to get him baby vitamins, which Geoff picked up later that day.

Geoff's parents came over later that afternoon to share some news about his mother's health. I am not going to post any details for now until his Mum is comfortable and it is a more appropriate time.

We had a really rough

Saturday

Home

So we were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and made it home around 3:30pm. I had no idea how much I missed being home until I got back here and breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was so wonderful to have Samuel home and be in the comfort of our own things.

Wednesday my Mom came over to help me as Geoff went to work for the day. The day went really well and my Mom was getting me to do more things and be less dependent on other people for burping and changing his diapers. I know I could have been doing these things all along, but with the pain from the c-section, I was happy to have help earlier for these tasks. Now I am really not in much (if any pain) so I can do more things and be more independent. It is also a confidence booster to know that I can take care of him all by myself and handle anything that may come our way. If you think about it (besides medical emergencies) there is really only a small range of things that you need to be able to handle when you have a baby including, diaper changes, feeding, crying, getting peed on and fussiness. I am not making light of these things bcs they can be very tiring after hours upon hours, upon days of it, but it all seems pretty manageable at the moment.

Last night Mum, Dad, Jon, Christina and Nicholas all came over for dinner. We got Thai take-out and Dad took some photos of the babies, Mum with her grandsons, and then Christina and I with the boys. Nicholas gets cuter everyday and it is really amazing how much bigger he looks compared to Sam. Nicholas feels like a solid baby, like you could not break him, whereas Sam is still a skinny little chicken and can feel a bit fragile when you hold him.

I slept really well last night (almost 7 hours in total) and then Geoff stayed home today to help. It has been really great - this is Geoff and my first day together taking care of him at home. I went for a walk around the neighborhood today, in spite of the 20 degree temperature and caught up on my voice mails and calls that I needed to return. I also spoke to Lauren who may be moving in with us for a little while come the New Year :) It would be so wonderful to have her here - Geoff and I really enjoy her company.

Tonight we are having lasagna that Mum made for us and then hopefully to bed early(ish). Samuel has been gaining a very good amount of weight and gained 2.5 ounces in one day, when they expect (or like to see) them gain and ounce a day. Hopefully he will keep up the pace so he will be back to his birth weight at a week and one day (this Friday), which will also be his first pediatrician appt.

Ahhh - what a difference a day makes

So life has been pretty good for us since we started to supplement Samuel's feedings. It was just really kind of miserable before that, he would just never settle for a substantial amount of time and Geoff and I were spending every waking minute feeding him (or in some process of feeding him.) Seeing as he was 3 weeks early his swallowing functionality was not quite developed (I guess 37 weekers can go either way) but now he is like a different baby altogether. It is so much more manageable and dare I say relaxing :)

Today Geoff and Samuel slept in for a while (till about 9:30am) and then we needed to wake him to feed. After that I showered and got dressed for the day and did about 20 or so laps around the hospital floor, replying to emails on my phone all along the way. I also got a chance to blow dry my hair and put on make-up, I almost feel human and back to my old self (minus the 20 staples in my stomach and all the extra fluid and weight that is still on my body frame). My pain from the c-section is almost all gone, it is really quite amazing how fast your body heals. I thought the first day I was recovering I felt so awful bcs of the surgery, but it was really from the magnesium IV. I had no idea, but I guess (and have been told by numerous staff members here) how the magnesium (Mag they call it) can do a number on you and most moms can't even feed their babies they feel so awful. I am kind of happy I did not know that at the time bcs maybe knowing that I would have made a mental excuse and not dealt with feeding him under the circumstances.

So today my boss Pama and Kim are coming to visit us (well really any minute now). After that I imagine my Mom will visit and give Geoff a chance to go home for a little while for a sanity break.

Tomorrow is our big discharge date - I think I could have pushed to go home today but I am happy spending another night here to confirm that he is still on track and everything is a-okay. It will be so much fun to have him home and be able to start figuring out how we are all going to start living and functioning together as a new little family.

Wowy - wow - wow

So just a quick post from the hospital - Samuel is now here and we are getting in the swing of things. I will write a longer post when we get home but Samuel was born on Thursday evening at 9:55pm. It was quite a dramatic entrance into the world and it has been a whirlwind since.

He was born via emergency c-section bcs his cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times and his heart rate went down substantially. Thankfully they brought it back high enough so they could do a proper incision on me so I don't need to have a c-section next time. If his heart rate did not increase that amount then they would have done another incision that would have needed me to have a c-section with the next baby no matter what. So a slight silver lining there on top of everything.

So a quick summary for me to remember for my longer post - I need to run bcs Jordan, my Mom and grandmother are here:

Wed. went to hospital for 8:30pm; did 4 doses (4 hours apart) of Cytec.
Thursday after the 4 doses started around 4pm and then until 9pm. Just as we were deciding to shut down the pitocin and then get a good nights rest and restart in the morning. Heart dropped; baby born about 5 minutes later. My mom was there the whole time.

Brought us down to new room around 3am. I was on magnesium and a few other items via IV (an antibiotic and morphine for pain).

Mum visited in the morning; my Dad; Jon and Christina in the later afternoon; Colleen; then Chris and Mum and Dad at night.

Thursday: Took the mag. off and IVs 24 hours later - felt much better. Baby was up all night cluster feeding, we got no rest. Next day my mom came in to help out. I showered and felt much better; walked around the floor a few times.

Cluster fed all night; but we were side lining so felt better. Today Geoff's parent visited and he was still very fussy and wanted to feel every half hour. Finally the lacation consultant said he was not swallowing so we supplemented his feeding and he is a very happy baby now. I do not care about needing to supplement - I just want a happy and healthy baby. Jordan also visited then my Mom and Nana as well.

D - Day (not delivery - more Driving to hospital ;)

So today is the big day - we are checking into the hospital tonight. It is kind of funny - I have been thinking today like " what do I want for my last breakfast?" before the the baby is here. It is just really kind of odd to think that after we leave tonight the next time we come home we will have our baby!

We had a good amount of snow this morning and Geoff needed to shovel the drive and sidewalks before he left for work - oh the joys of home ownership ;) My Dad came over today and brought me Kane's donuts - yum. Reading my breast feeding book I found out you can rent hospital grade(ish) scale so I called Isis and they are having one sent from the Needham store to Arlington so I can pick it up this afternoon after 3pm. I figure the $10/week fee to rent one is well worth the peace of mind and knowing how he is progressing with feeding. Weight seems like the main barometer they monitor baby's health in the beginning so I am renting it for 4 weeks and then can extend if I like.

My Dad and I are now watching the "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD as a refresher for me. I also finished reading the breast feeding book up to the first month. I will bring the book to the hospital as well but I am just trying to keep my mind engaged so I feel like I have a better sense of what to expect.

Here is my schedule for the day, basically my mental countdown until we head out the door:

o 1:30 – 2 lunch
o 3 – 4 Isis pick up scale
o 4 – 5 Shower
o 5 – 6 Pack remainder items
o Boppi pillow; body pillow; laptop and iPhone
o 6 – 6:30 Make dinner
o Let Mum know Geoff is home
o Dinner 7 – 7:30
o 7:30 To hospital
o 8:30 Hospital


I slept well last night (well better than the past few nights) so I feel really good today. I am still going to try to squeeze in a nap this afternoon bcs I want to be as rested as possible before we head in. I really do not expect to get any sleep tonight - fitful at best.

T minus 48 hours

Today is Tuesday and we are schedule to go to the hospital around 8:30pm tomorrow night. I am guessing/forecasting that they will just try to open things up overnight and then will start hoping to induce contractions later on Thursday. So that means we could have a baby within 3 days! Kind of crazy to tell you the truth - I have been counting down to the full term mark for a little while now - my goals for months has just been to get to full term - but it is still a lot to digest.

My mom came over yesterday to keep me company. We dropped off the alphabet print Cathy gave me at the framers and then swung by the post office for more stamps (for baby announcement/holiday card) and then had lunch at Stonehearth. It was really nice just to hang out and chat the whole time. My mom and dad are headed over now and should be here any minute. They were going to bring Brendan and Erin, but Matthew was up sick all last night so they did not want to take a chance in spreading germs. I think my Dad will come over tomorrow to keep me company during the day.

I did not sleep that well last night - I fell asleep well after 9pm - maybe 10pm, woke up a few times during the night and then was up for the day at 5am. I could really use a nap, but I just don't think it will be happening at this rate. If my parents are here from 2-4:30pm and then Geoff comes homes at 5:30pm to drive me to my massage from 6:15-7:15pm. So right now I am just planning on going straight to bed after my massage tonight.

I talked to Alex today for a while - that was really great. It is so nice to be able to connect and for the mental support. I am really trying to keep a positive outlook, but it is tough to do all the time. I am def. feeling better (in the last few days) regarding how things have turned out, but it is still hard to shake the concern that because of all the medical interventions to induce labor, my chance of a c-section is significantly elevated. I am need to focus on taking things one step at a time and being open to whatever happens.

I finished Lawrence of Arabia this afternoon - it took me almost a week to watch the entire movie but I did. It is a really great movie :)

Back Home :) Wednesday it is

So good news - this morning we went in to the Dr for some monitoring (baby and my blood pressure, no blood work needed) and they were happy with all the results and sent us home :) The baby looked perfect and was very active and my blood pressure all stayed below 140 or 90. I think my highest on the low was around 83. The mid wife on duty also said that my platelet count from the last blood work showed it was increasing which is a positive sign. Also, Ann-Marie put in her email to the mid-wife on duty today that "if you could let them go until Wed. that would make them happy." Which of course we really appreciate and was very sweet of her.

I am hoping that having things stable or improving as of today will mean that we may have better outcomes come delivery. I know that my blood pressure will go up during delivery and I am kind of afraid that if it gets too high they will need to do a c-section.

So today with our new found time Geoff is food shopping and doing laundry. I am watching more of Lawrence of Arabia and have my massage scheduled for 3:15pm :) This also means I will be able to make my massage on Tuesday night as well - yippee. Also of mention is that I have been having contracts for almost a week now. They started last Monday - nothing really painful but I am just happy that they are happening. Last night they got stronger but nothing regular or really painful. They went away when I went to bed.

Heading off to the Drs again

So (thankfully) my blood work came back normal from Friday, so our next move is to head to the hospital today for a check-in and monitoring. Basically the non-stress test, more blood work and blood pressure monitoring.

Geoff and I pretty much finished packing our bags last night in the event they want to keep me there. I slept pretty well again last night (minus waking from 5:30 - 6:30) and just had blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I just highlighted some hypno birthing prompts that I prefer for Geoff and think I need to go wake him up at this point. He was up till 2am and will need to shovel us out of the house bcs we got a good amount (maybe 4 inches) of snow last night. It looks so pretty and amazing how much lighter with the snow reflecting the morning light.

Hopefully everything will go smoothly this morning and I will be able to post again from my bed tonight :)

4 More Days to Go

So today has been a pretty productive yet restful day. I slept almost 8 hours last night - the most in about a week. I slept in the guest bed downstairs which seems to work better for me these days. I woke up between 3 and 4pm, listened to the Hypno birthing affirmations, ate a banana and then went back to sleep until 7am.

Last night Geoff went to Belmont and picked up his movies that we had left there. we watched about half of Anchorman and I went to bed and he went to play poker at Mike's.

Today I spent most of the morning doing online Christmas shopping in bed and then spent most of the afternoon organizing our receipts (naturally in bed ;) Geoff ran some errands for us, and most importantly went to Jordan's with Kurt to pick up the chair for the nursery. After that he returned the keg that has been sitting on our deck since our B-day party, and also stocked up on wine and the like for the holidays and when I get out of the hospital. He bought a lot of our favorite wines - I am so dying for a glass of red wine at this point - it is kind of painful. I have only had one sip (accidentally) of champagne the entire pregnancy. I doubt it would make a difference at this point, but what is 4 more days?

So Geoff just put a load of laundry in for me to I can finish packing my hospital bags. We are going to bring them to the hospital tomorrow in case they end up keeping me. I am sort of half planning for them to keep me just in case. My blood work from Friday morning came back normal (the nurse called me after 5pm yesterday) so that is reassuring, but I guess you really never know with this.

My mom has offered to come over and help with whatever we need tomorrow, which is really sweet, but I feel bad asking her to clean when we can just pay someone to do that. But I know she just really wants to help and see me. I am trying to think of things she can help with that are sort of fun for her and not strenuous.

If they let me go home tomorrow morning then I have a massage scheduled at 3:15pm. That and another one for Tuesday evening. If I get to use those then I will still have one left over for after the baby which will be kind of nice.

Well Geoff and I are going to watch a movie and then have leftovers from last night for dinner.

Induction it is

So we had our Dr appts this morning and I almost did not get to leave the hospital. The baby looked perfect during the non-stress test but my blood pressure had some higher readings. So Anne Marie (our mid-wife) basically said that I would need to be induced sooner rather than later, meaning within days, not a week.

At first she wanted to send us over to the main hospital for more monitoring and blood work and also said that I should not be surprised if they keep me. She then went to consult with another Dr and came back to say that the Dr said that bcs my blood work from Monday had come back normal they would let me go home today, be monitored over the weekend and then need to schedule an induction for Wednesday. On one hand Geoff and I were relieved and happy that we could go home, but also not thrilled that we needed to schedule an induction. Hopefully the blood work from today and Sunday will be just fine and that we can hold off until Wed. night to check into the hospital.

It has been kind of a tough day in a sense, but I am also happy to have a "plan" in place so we at least know when we will be able to meet the baby. I always figured I would go early, but I never thought I would need to be induced. I was more concerned about going into pre-mature labor more than anything else, so this one really threw me for a loop.

I am happy I decided earlier this week to stop work today - that would have been a headache if not. So I have set up my out of the office and emailed everyone to confirm that today was my last day. I have been in the guest bed pretty much all day and am looking forward to Geoff coming home. I think we are getting Stonehearth tonight bcs I really want baked pasta and they are the healthiest option I know.

Everyone has been really great though with everything, I talked to my Mom, Dad, Meghan, Alex and Geoff's Mum about it all. It does help to talk about it - and I am trying to stay positive. I have had a few good cries so far, but I think it more from the overwhelming emotions and less about being upset about things going down this path. I def. never imagined the baby being born like this (with the full range of medical interventions) and I honestly feel worse for him than for me. I feel bad we need to take him out before he wants to and hope it is not traumatic for him.

It is really kind of crazy to think we are going to have a baby in under a week - I know it will be all worth it in the end and just need to keep focusing on meeting him and being done with all the medical stuff that will need to happen in between. Geoff has been really wonderful about everything - I know this is hard on him as well and that I will be leaning on him over the next few days and during the induction to help get me through it.

The end (of work) is in sight

Since my last post on the day after Thanksgiving things have been going well. After taking it easy all day Saturday Geoff and I went to Jordan's furniture to buy a armchair for the nursery. This was pretty much the last item on my "baby items" spreadsheet and I was so excited to be getting a comfortable chair to curl up in during the middle of the night :) So we go to Jordan's and visit their outlet section, which I believe is new. We found a really great chair (last one in stock in the color we wanted) and it was also on sale. It is really pimp - is rocks, reclines, has heater and massage and cup holders as well. The arm also fold out to give more surface area which is quite cool. It was really quick and then we went to dinner at Fuddruckers and had some delicious burgers. Sunday Geoff finished the nursery and pulled of all the tape and cleaned the room. We then started to set it up, putting things in place. I am just so thrilled with how it came out - Geoff did a really great job painting and I am so happy to have everything pretty much ready for his arrival. Granted all I really needed was the bassinette and some diapers and clothes, but I feel so much better having his room a bit organized for the arrival. After that I went for a prenatal massage and Heather said my body felt great and my ankles and feet looked and felt much better than the previous weekend.

Monday was a big day bcs of our Dr. appts, so I took my time and took the bus and train into MGH. This way I could ride home with Geoff and not have to borrow a car and drive home alone. So I got there nice and early, had a cup of tea and then met Geoff in the lobby before heading up. We got there right on time (at 3:30pm) and then proceeded to sit in the waiting room till almost 5pm. The ultrasound technician was really nice though and she made a few 3D shots for us :) The results of the ultrasounds wer great - the baby looks just fine, there was plenty of fluid in there and he looked about 6 pounds which is average for right about now.

After that we had a Dr. appt. and my blood pressure was 126/90. So the 90 is borderline high. The Dr. (not our mid-wife) was very keen to discuss induction and said that the classic text book for mild preeclampsia is to induce at 37 weeks bcs the outcomes for the baby (not mentioning the mom mind you ;) were the same. Geoff and I naturally were not thrilled and expressed that. He ordered some more blood work (5 tubes) and everything has come back normal to date, except that I am still waiting on the liver and kidney tests which should be back tomorrow.

So the Dr. also said that modified bed rest means doing pretty much nothing - so that is exactly what I did on Tuesday. I set up an "office" in the guest bedroom and only got up for snacks, to pee, or to say hi to Geoff's parents when they dropped by. They were really sweet to drop by and check in - they also brought me Lawrence of Arabia DVD - so I def. plan on watching that in the next few days. Geoff was also very sweet and came home on his lunch break to see me. He could only stay for a few minutes of course but it was so great to see him :)

Last night Geoff cooked dinner (and delivered to to me in bed) and then he went and bought a new phone - the new Android :) He was so pumped - and I was so happy for him bcs he really deserves a treat - he has been working so hard and has wanted that phone for many months.

Also, I decided last night (and then talked to Geoff as well) that I wanted to stop working remotely as of the end of this week. It has been really incredible of Pama and my work to let me do so, but it is just not as relaxing as I need to be. So after we made that decision I felt a whole ton better and emailed Pama this morning to let her know.

I did speak to our Doula yesterday and she told me not to worry and that she thinks we have some wiggle room in regards to the induction bcs my levels are borderline and pretty inconsistant (in regards to the blood pressure). Also, my sister Colleen called and told me that she had the same thing with Brendan from weeks 35-38 and that they just monitored her and she went into labor naturally with him. That was really reassuring to hear - especially bcs we have similar constitution. My mom also called to check in and that was sweet. My dad also phoned to say that he liked his B-day gift :)


Today was a lighter day for work and I just focused on cleaning up my inbox and prepping for my leave. I only have 2 more deliverables due to Pama by the end of this week so I should be all set on that front. Tonight Geoff is going to drop by Whole Foods on the way home to pick up a few things and then we are going to head to Belmont. We need his parents to sign the health care proxy form for us (as witnesses) and then we can show then the photos from Monday and pick up a box of DVDs for me. I forgot to mention that during the ultrasound the woman took the cutest photo of the baby's bum cheeks - she even labeled it like that. Once we get the scanner and printer set up here I will try to post the photo :)

Well we are now at 36 weeks. I think I felt my first practice contractions today. It felt very similar to cramps that you get when you have your period. No painful, but just enough that you know it is happening. I am hoping that means the baby is making motions and we may be able to deliver him without artificially inducing him.

Well I must go get dressed - I showered a little while ago and now need to get dressed for our trip to Belmont.

Modified bed rest - day 2 + Turkey day recap

So yesterday was Thanksgiving and it was really quite a fun day. I took it easy until about 10am and then got ready for Colleens from 10-11. We arrived at Colleen's around noon to commence the Thanksgiving BBQ. It was really fun - my parents were there with Colleen, Ricky and their kids, my Aunt Babe came over as well and then Geoff and I. Relatively small though bcs Kevin was at Holly's and Meghan and Cade did not fly up. I did call Meghan yesterday en route to Colleen's but have not heard from her how she and Cade spent the holiday. After that we came home and I laid down for a while - I ended up falling asleep and so did Geoff - so we did not get to Belmont until just about 6pm - which ended up being perfect for timing (for us ;) but we did not help out setting up as much as normal. For dinner there was the Palmers and Christina's parents and of course Nicholas made his Thanksgiving debut :) Nicholas was so well behaved and pretty much slept through the entire dinner until his meal time just around dessert. He is such a well behaved baby though - he does not fuss at all (minus the ""i'm getting hungry" little cries - but besides that he is really a happy and very content baby. It was really fun to have dinner with Christina's parents they are really, really delightful people and so kind and fun. Geoff's Mum made a very incredible meal and everything turned out perfectly - including the flour less chocolate cake :) Geoff did a ton of dishes during dessert (bcs his belly was not feeling that well) so we left after dessert and came home to watch an episode of Mad Men in bed.

Today, well my schedule got pretty cleared with the news I need to be on modified bed rest. So I just folded the pre-fold diapers and wipes, am going to go to Belmont center for stamps and Starbucks and then will fill my day with things that involve productive sitting - like folding laundry. Geoff is going to have to keep the washer and dryer going constantly for me to keep relatively busy ;)


Besides that today is the day that Geoff is painting the nursery! :) I am so very excited - we are getting there and soon enough we will be able to have the nursery set up. I forget if I mentioned it, but we got the decorations for the nursery in the mail a few days ago and I am really happy with them. No too much - just a few accent pieces to give a nod to having a "theme" or some coherent motif. We also got the new vacuum in the mail today - Geoff picked out a really great one and it is really quite cool - I never thought I would be so excited about a vacuum - but that is where my life is currently ;) The electric broom has served us well over the last 6 years but time to upgrade to something that actually sucks things clean.

A mild case of mild preclampsia

So yesterday proved to be a be an unexpectedly interesting day. I was planning on working remotely and then going with Mum to drop off my 24 hour urine sample around 9:15 am and ended up not getting back home until close to 4pm. Mum was really sweet to drive me in for the drop off, and then went to temporary parking bcs we figured it would only take a few minutes. So I get to Blake 14 and they check me in and then put me in triage. They thought it was kind of odd that I was told to drop off my urine with them and not at the outpatient place. So they decided bcs of this oddity I should be monitored for the next 40 minutes. So they hooked me up to the baby monitor and then also put me on the automatic blood pressure machine for readings every 10 minutes. I called Mum to tell her this could take a little bit so then she parked the car and came up to join me. So at first my blood pressure looked okay, but then the readings started to creep up a little (either on the top or the bottom). The best news is that the baby was just perfect, his heart beat was just fine and there was plenty of movements through out the day.

So they took off the baby monitor, but bcs of the few high readings on my blood pressure they decided to re-run my labs and have my liver and kidney checked out again. After a very long ordeal in extracting the tubes of blood (which involved routing around in my veins - yuck) the nurse needed to start a new line on my right arm bcs she fudged up the left so so badly and did not want them to reject it bcs of not having enough blood. So then they decided that I should wait for the blood work results, but not the urine. So then Mum and I ordered lunch and waited for the blood results. Low and behold the blood results took super long bcs they forgot to run one of them - so hours later they came back and said the blood was normal - thankfully, but that at this point I should just wait for the urine results bcs it would just be another hour. So then by about 2pm they said that my urine protein levels were slightly elevated (315 instead of a normal 300) so they needed to consult with a high risk Dr. After more waiting they said that I could go home, but need to be on modified bed rest until my ultrasound and Dr. appt. on Monday afternoon. So in the end I have a mild case of mild preclampsia and they need to see me twice a week and take my blood once a week until the baby comes. I was really not (and am still not) ready for them to talk about induction - the mid wife on duty yesterday mentioned it - bcs I know that is the only cure for severe preclampsia - but for mild - I would like to hold off on discussing that for now. Besides the nursery not being painted, I just want this baby to stay inside me for 2 more weeks - I do not care if I need to be on bed rest for 2 weeks to make that happen - I just want him to hit full term and come out at 37 weeks. If that wish cannot be granted then my aim is for 36 weeks so he won't have to spend much time (if any) in the NICU. Really quite amazing how your goals change so quickly. I just really hope that the preeclampsia does not get any worse and that we can make it to the finish line by the skin of our teeth - that would be quite the appropriate delivery for me - it aligns with the rest of my life ;)

Today we are headed to Colleen's for a T-day BBQ and then to Geoff's parents for dinner. It should be a great day overall and I am just going to try to take it easy and not east too much. It will be great to see Colleen's kids and also to have Nicholas and Christina's parents for the holiday as well. I need to figure out how to look presentable with the least amount of effort possible ;)

Yeah normal - but still have an orange container to pee in

So I just got my test results back and my liver and kidney function is normal - yippee! I was trying not to worry, but am still so relieved to have the good news. besides that I have almost filled up the orange container with pee, so Geoff will need to pick something up on the way home for me to transfer my extra pee into. I cannot believe I need to carry the pee into Boston tomorrow and hand it over to them. Seeing as the blood work was normal I can now look more forward to to ultrasound on Monday afternoon. I am more assured that he is growing just fine and he has been very active today. I don't know if it is bcs I have been taking it relatively easy or focusing on him more, but he has had great movement today so I am really pleased.

I washed all the baby clothes from my 2 showers today and am starting to organize them on the guest bed. I also washed the cloth diapers and inserts and started to pack my bags for the hospital. Funny, my "goody" bag is mostly filled with food - I am obviously more concerned about eating than anything else. Well that and my camera. I am going to see if I can create a web part for this page and upload my belly bump photos. They are kind of fun and neat to see the progression - you can def. tell when we had growth spurts ;)

Also, I bought another 4 pack of massages from Isis this week and have one scheduled every Sunday into December. Also, Pama said that I could work remotely from here on out - which is really very wonderful of her. I will def. take her up on that offer bcs I feel so much better today just being able to type with my laptop in bed.

I got the decorations for the nursery in the mail today. We got the lamp, mobile, valence and wall decorations. They are cute - and should look great with the blue walls when Geoff has finished painting. So far Geoff has done an incredible job and even just with the primer on the nursery looks fantastic :) I am really looking forward to getting it set up and seeing how it all looks in the same space.

Easy street for me

So I had my appt. with my mid-wife today and after waiting 45 minutes in the waiting room - it is decided that my blood pressure is on the high side and there was protein in my urine. That and I gained 8 pounds in the 3 weeks. Great. So I had some blood work done to check on my liver and kidneys and tomorrow I have to do a 24 hour urine test to test the protein levels. My ankles have been swollen for about a week so it looks like I am retaining a significant amount of fluid. They also booked an ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing normally. The positives being that I am measuring perfectly and that the baby is head down. Also, he has been kicking and active so that is a good sign.

So I will need to work remotely tomorrow so I can collect all my pee and put it in the big orange jug. I also canceled the breast feeding class at Isis bcs they want me to take it easy (I would have to take bus to train to get to Pru for class) and I certainly do not want to have to carry my orange jug on the bus and train with me and also to class. Kind of silly, I always half-joked to Geoff that I wish they would tell me to be on bed rest, but now they want me to take it easy and work remotely and I really do not like the feeling of it. I know that most of this is precautionary but it is still really scary, especially when they ask you questions like "do you have headaches, are you seeing lights or spots, do you have pain..."

This is really the first thing to pop up in my pregnancy to date. I wonder if it is my bodies way of saying that it has had enough of this pregnancy thing. I should also call my Mom to see what she says - she usually makes me feel better. So my mom told me to take it easy and not try to worry. Geoff is heating up dinner now so I should be running - he got his 4th qualified lead today (out of 5) he is so close to getting to his goal - I am so happy for him. I also ordered an Edible Arrangement for the President of his company today to thank them for the crib they gave us - I felt so great after doing so - gift giving is the best :)

All things baby

Baby shower(s)! :)

Very quick post bcs I have to go do a few things to get ready - but today is my baby shower! Technically it is my second one bcs my work one was on Friday afternoon, but today is the one with family and friends. I did not sleep well at all last night, so I hope I will not look like crap today. Amanda is coming over in about 15 minutes to do my hair and make-up for me - which is so incredibly nice of her :)

Last night I went back tot he hairdressers to have some highlights put in and I am so happy now with my hair. After the first appt. it was a bit too dark, but now with the highlights (and a gloss she put in) it is really perfect and I feel much more ready for my upcoming photo opps.

I will write more about my showers when I get back :)