Random Thoughts on Parenting so far (12d)

Real quick: I weighed myself today and I am currently NINE POUNDS LESS than what I weighed BEFORE getting pregnant. I can officially say pregnancy was a weight loss plan LOL. I just had to document that here so I don't forget. :)

NOW...

My advice (in no particular order) to soon to be moms/myself for the next kid I have when I don't remember. More like observations in these first 12 days:

1. Outfits with lots of buttons SUCK! Instead, go for zippered outfits, gowns with no buttons, or a traditional onesie with only 2-3 buttons in the crotch with socks/a hat if necessary.

2. WAIT for a bit after nursing to change the diaper, even if you know it is already wet. Chances are the baby is going to pee again or (and this is more likely) poop explosively in the next 10-15 minutes which would just necessitate another change and waste a diaper.

3. Let the baby tell you when they are hungry- don't wake them up every 2-3 hours. You both get more sleep this way. Also, (at least for Brodie) when they are still tired/not ready to nurse and you try to make them they will not be able to focus on latching/sucking and will get more frustrated than if you wait til they truly are hungry. They won't let themselves starve, and will cry when they want something to let you know it's time.

4. Relax and chill out with your new baby. The more relaxed you are (with nursing/changing/in general) the more relaxed you baby can be. They sense stress and get stressed from that. Plus, being relaxed helps you stay happier!

5. The baby isn't as fragile as you think. They just got shoved out of a little area and man-handled by doctors...and they didn't break. Just be cautious to how you are holding them and you will be fine. Most things don't phase them as much as you'd think they would.

6. Be noisy around your baby so they get used to normal volumes of every day life. You don't want to tiptoe around them because it will make them super sensitive to noise. Yesterday I threw Brodie in the Sleepywrap (while awake) and vaccuumed my entire house... he passed out during the chore and stayed asleep until way after I was done.

7. Do lots of skin to skin. Babies love it, mama's love it, and it promotes bonding and helps with breastfeeding.

8. Don't give up on breastfeeding. I understand there are circumstances where medically it will not work out (I'm not talking to you guys) but MOST people can breastfeed successfully. I am still new to it, but everyone I've talked to says it takes 6 weeks to be a pro, and those first six weeks SUCK. It was hard in the beginning to get Brodie to latch, and when my milk came in I got SO engorged. The lactation consultant in the hospital told me I had 2 strikes against me (very large breasts and flat nipples) but said to try try try and hopefully we'd get it. With creative manipulation (me holding the breast and aligning the nipple to his mouth during a feeding) and using the manual pump to express some milk while I was engorged so he could attach to my flat nipple we were able to get past a hard hurdle. It was hard though, and a 2:40hr try to get him to eat for 10 minutes was very frustrating. Now he latches on in 10-20 seconds and nurses like a champ!

9. Take lots of pictures, you will never get the day back once it is past. I just sent off to get 93 pictures printed yesterday of Brodie's first 11 days of life. Obsessive, maybe. But I will be so happy to have a book of baby pictures to show people (and show Brodie) in the years to come.

10. Enjoy your baby!!!!!

Now...off to nurse! :o) I <3 my little man!!!!
~Heather

Introducing Brodie Cole! (6 days 22 hours)

I haven't been on my computer all week... and that is because we had our beautiful baby boy!!!!

Brodie Cole made his appearance into the world on his due date, 10/2/10 at 1:06am. He weighed 8lb 2oz at birth and is 21 inches long with a 14cm head. He got a 9/9 on his APGAR tests and passed the hearing test with flying colors.

We are thoroughly enjoying our little man, and getting adjusted to the sleep deprivation and time requirements of a newborn. I will post the whole birth story later on... but here are a few pictures until then. :o) I can't believe in exactly 2 hours he will be a week old already!

Nick and I are in LOVE!

Til later,

~Me

Baby Nano...COME OUT! (39w3d pic- plus 39w2d appt update)

I had my hopefully last OB check-up yesterday and it was sorta intense. First, the stats:

*I gained 3 lbs (so basically made up the 2lbs I lost because I had the flu last week and didn't eat plus 1 more lb). That makes me at +17lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

*My blood pressure was "great" this week. I am so glad because I was worried it would slowly creep up at the end.

*The fundal height was 42, still 3 weeks ahead.

*I am now 3cm dilated, 60-70% effaced, and still have the low/soft cervix. This is good news because I more than doubled my dilation in a week and am thinning out. The baby is high though.

*The ultrasound to check growth indicated the baby weighs about 8lb 10/11oz. Obviously it could be +/- a lb like last time. This led to the "intense" part.

The doctor is concerned about the baby being too big if we wait much longer to deliver vaginally. He doesn't like to deliver more than a 10lb baby without a c-section. He wants to do this Thursday, but did give me the option to have a more detailed ultrasound done down in SD to verify weight, but I told him I wanted to talk to Nick about it first. We decided not to do the 2nd ultrasound because we are fairly convinced our kid is big. But, we did decide that we want to wait til after Saturday (my due date) to induce if possible.

I talked to the nurse last night to see if we could wait til Monday/Tuesday instead of Saturday (she is the one who returned my message). She said it could be possible because the doctor does do inductions those days and that she would ask the doc and let me know. I also asked her to ask him if he could strip my membranes Friday so there would be more chance I could go into labor on my own. She said he usually doesn't do that, but that she would ask him and get back to me yesterday or today. I am very bummed because I never got a call today like I was supposed to...hopefully early tomorrow morning I will know more.

Nick and I were both sorta bummed that the doctor is pushing the induction so much, as we really really wanted to do everything natural. But, since I could have an almost 10lber now, or almost 8lber now (I wish the measurements were more accurate) If i wait til next monday the baby will be at most 10lb3oz and at least 8lb3oz. That's why I'm not sure if he'll let me wait til then. Until I get a call, I'm waiting on pins and needles.

I guess regardless I know I will have a baby in a week or less...sorta scary but exciting at the same time! If everyone could please pray that that Nano decides to come on his/her time instead of me needing an induction that would be great. I'd love to not have to use induction meds and have to deal with more pain because of them. I am looking into various natural induction techniques to see if one of those will help kick start labor. Wish us luck!

~Heather

Feeling Icky + 38w2d check up appt

Hello to my few loyal readers:

I still am feeling very icky (I think I have a stomach bug), my lower back is constantly hurting, and all my stomach/upper thigh/knee muscles are very sore. I have a feeling going to Sea World on Saturday and walking around for 6 hours there followed by final baby shopping for another 2ish hours that night is what did me in soreness-wise. I am definitely feeling "pregnant" and can say that last night was the most uncomfortable night for me this entire pregnancy. I was up every 30 min to an hour and finally just woke up at 4:45am since I couldn't sleep. I'm looking forward to not being so sore from a big belly/pre-labor type pains. :o) Hopefully this explains the tired/gross expression on my face...

I went to my appt this morning even though I was feeling bad because I wanted to make sure baby was ok, get an update on my dilation progress, and make sure my blood pressure /weight was ok.

Quick facts since I'm not feeling good:

*I LOST 2 POUNDS- making me at +14 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. The doctor told me that I would definitely lose that much if not more when I went to the hospital to give birth (average sized babies =mom losing about 17lbs on average, bigger babies like mine is looking to be= mom losing about 19-20lbs). I joked with the doctor and said I guess pregnancy was my version of a weight loss plan :P

*Blood pressure was normal

*Fundal height was 41 (should be 38- so same 3wks bigger as usual)

*I am now 1.5 cm dialated (I was 1cm 2 weeks ago), 50% effaced (same as 2 weeks ago), and cervix is still soft/low. The doc said for women giving birth for the first time the checks don't really tell them when baby will come (I already knew that) and that I could go into labor tomorrow for all anyone knows. :P

Now I'm just a ticking time bomb....waiting for Nano to make his/her appearance into the world. I guess my doctor usually lets women go 1 week past their due date before seriously considering/discussing induction. I figure we take that part as it comes- and at least we know that Nano will be here in 3 weeks or less regardless!

~Me

Belated 37w3d appt post (37w5d)

When I was about 7 minutes away (driving wise) from the OB's office for my appointment I got a call from the nurse there saying that the doctor had gone home sick for the day. She wanted to know if I wanted to reschedule the appointment. I responded with, "Um...I am literally 5 minutes away from the office and had to leave my house 25 minutes ago to get here on time." She then told me she could, if I preferred, still do all the "check-up" things for my appointment except the cervix check. I jumped on that choice, since I didn't want to make another trip down the hill when I was already scheduled for an appointment a week away.

I arrived at the office shortly after hanging up with her and was surprised when I opened the door. All the waiting room lights were off, no one was in the room, and only the light behind the counter where the receptionist sits was on. The nurse came out from another room and immediately took me back to get weighed/give a urine. I was stoked that I didn't have to wait at all to go back (usually I wait between 30 min and an hour to see him). The entire appointment start to finish took 10 minutes and I drove home happily! I thanked the nurse for waiting for me to get there and letting me get my check up done. She could have gone home and told me I had to reschedule, yet she waited for me and closed up shop as I left.

Here are the stats:

*I gained NO weight this week!!!!! :o) GOOOO ME! That makes me still at +16 pounds pre-pregnancy weight. Not bad for being almost done!

*My blood pressure was "really good"- whatever that means

*My fundal height was 39 (2 weeks ahead- still consistent with previous measurements)

*Nano's heartbeat was 145- perfect! It took a long time to get a good reading on the heart beat because my child is a stinker already! As soon as she put the doppler on my stomach Nano scooted away from it towards my left upper rib and continued to do so until trapped in the corner. I told the nurse that s/he was moving away from her and she replied, "Yes, it's very evident...your belly is totally shifting shape!" She finally got a good hit on it and the little galloping horse sound filled the room.

*She didn't have my Strep B test results when I went in for my appointment, and said that usually they just send them to the hospital without telling the patient so they can stick the antibiotics in the IV. I told her I was having the hep-lock instead and was interested in the result so I could know if I needed to be hooked to something AT ALL during labor. She said she would call me when the results got in. Well, the next afternoon I got a phone call saying I was NEGATIVE FOR STREP B!!!! WOOHOO!

That's all the appointment consisted of. I have also included my weekly belly shot that I took that evening. :o) Next week is an appointment with a cervical check and afterwards I have an appointment with the pediatrician's office to meet them and ask questions. We are SO close to meeting our baby!!!! Only 2 weeks 2 days left!

~Heather