Today started out great.... felt a bit foggy because of the meds, but I got 5 hours of sleep so that helped some. I had some breakfast, but it was so weird because the medicine made my face really weak. I kept having to take breaks in between bites or I couldn't keep my eyes open. I think I took another little nap and that seemed to help.
11:30 I got the second dose of the steroid for baby's lungs! This is huge if the baby comes sometime soon, and the fact that we have both doses under our belt puts me at ease (somewhat).
At about 1 o clock, our Dr let me come off the medicine and take a shower, which was amazing. Unfortunately, I started having some minor contractions about 3 hours later. The nurse went to start another IV but couldn't get it going after poking in two place (yes, I am very over needles at this point). My doctor came in and said we could try a pill instead, the pill that I would be on if I were to be able to go home. So far I'm doing alright on it. I have some tightening of the uterus now and then, but no major contractions at this point. I definitely don't want to get my hopes up about going home tomorrow, but the thought of my own bed is always in the back of my mind!
Right now I'm just missing Lyla a lot. I'm so thankful that we have family nearby able to help out, but I wish I could snuggle my baby! We did get to talk to her on the phone a bit today, and it just melted my heart to hear her say "Miss you mommy! Love you mommy!" I think she and her mormor went shopping today and got some yoga pants! If you don't know, Lyla is quite the yogi :) Can't wait to see that girl tomorrow!
Hoping for an uneventful night, full of SLEEP!!!!!!!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Labor Day 1
Well, I'm in surprisingly good spirits at the moment. No contractions for the past several hours and I got in a little nap. Unfortunately I am now wide awake. I have always had wonky sleep schedules so I'm sure I'll survive.
As long as it's fresh in my mind, I wanted to start documenting the start of baby's "Birth Story," because no matter what happens in these next hours, days, weeks, this is where the story begins.
This morning I woke up to contractions 5 minutes apart and not painful, but quite uncomfortable. Lyla and I arrived at the hospital at 8:40 and rode over to the birth center in a wheelchair. Lyla clung to me the whole time but did say that she thought the wheelchair was fun. She was a bit upset when we got to our room, so I gave her my phone and it looked like she was trying to "tweet" and was quite content. At this point I called Erik to have him come over from work. My mother-in-law, Lyla's mormor, came up and took Lyla home for a nap and then to the cottage for a fun night with family! We are so thankful to have such great family!
We were all a bit surprised and upset to discover that I was in fact 3 cm dilated already. So in roll the meds. I'm on a Magnesium Sulfate that is meant to slow down or stop contractions of smooth muscle (i.e. THE UTERUS!) but it really just made me feel awful. As soon as it started running into me, I felt hot, and then like my body was made of lead. My arms and legs were heavy, I felt that my chest was heavy on my lungs, and my words were sluggish. It was actually kind of scary at first, but started easing up once the medicine slowed down. I also started receiving penicillin as a precaution to group B strep in the baby, more serious in a pre-term baby. I then received a steroid shot in the butt which I did NOT enjoy, but this shot is hugely important as it helps expand our baby's still developing lungs. My goal is to make it to the next dosage of the steroid shot... tomorrow at 11! 10 hours to go, and then we'll see how we're doing from there!
Erik and I got kind of bored and played a game of Settlers of Catan.
At about 7 o clock, I was given the go-ahead to eat a meal, and I realized that my arms were still slow and heavy. I could barely lift my eyelids, and I was just absolutely miserable. The nurse looked at me and said, "Well I think you look overmedicated." So she lowered my dosage of the horrible magnesium stuff and I started to feel like a real person again. This has made the evening and night go much better so far as I feel like I can actually move and open my eyes for more than 1 second at a time.
Contractions have been sporadic, a couple painful ones here and there. I have not dilated past 3.75 cm since I've been here, so I'm feeling hopeful that we can hold out until tomorrow, and then maybe even a couple days beyond that, though I don't want to get too confident... but every day helps!
Emotionally, things have been difficult. My first reaction was to be afraid... afraid of what such an early delivery would mean for our little girl, not yet prepared for our big world. This was not what we had pictured in our heads for her, this was not WHEN we pictured in our heads for her. I cried and cried as I talked to our doctor, and as the realities of being in labor early set in. However, the doctors and nurses have all been very encouraging. Our first nurse delivered her son, now 2, at 32 weeks and 5 days, and he had no long term issues from an early birth. She has been in here commiserating with me and comforting me, and I am so thankful for her honesty, care and openness with me. She told me before the magnesium that I'd likely feel like a "drunken sailor" (understatement).
But I am feeling very at-ease now. Although it's hard to imagine our little girl spending some time in the nursery or NICU instead of at home with us, I feel confident that she is well cared for here, that God is watching over her, and I am so thankful that she is already surrounded by so much love and so many prayers. I told Erik before bed that I am feeling good about things, no matter what happens tonight or tomorrow or whenever. I am happy to be able to relax and smile a little now!
Actually I'm starting to feel a little tired so sorry if these recent thoughts have been a bit jumbly. I am waiting to go to sleep until 2 because I have to have blood drawn then anyway. I have to have it drawn every 6 hours! I hate needles so much, I don't think I've ever been poked and prodded so much in my life, but it's all worth it! I hope I have a new lab technician lady though because the last one drew blood from my hand and it was painful!!!!!!!!!!!
As long as it's fresh in my mind, I wanted to start documenting the start of baby's "Birth Story," because no matter what happens in these next hours, days, weeks, this is where the story begins.
This morning I woke up to contractions 5 minutes apart and not painful, but quite uncomfortable. Lyla and I arrived at the hospital at 8:40 and rode over to the birth center in a wheelchair. Lyla clung to me the whole time but did say that she thought the wheelchair was fun. She was a bit upset when we got to our room, so I gave her my phone and it looked like she was trying to "tweet" and was quite content. At this point I called Erik to have him come over from work. My mother-in-law, Lyla's mormor, came up and took Lyla home for a nap and then to the cottage for a fun night with family! We are so thankful to have such great family!
We were all a bit surprised and upset to discover that I was in fact 3 cm dilated already. So in roll the meds. I'm on a Magnesium Sulfate that is meant to slow down or stop contractions of smooth muscle (i.e. THE UTERUS!) but it really just made me feel awful. As soon as it started running into me, I felt hot, and then like my body was made of lead. My arms and legs were heavy, I felt that my chest was heavy on my lungs, and my words were sluggish. It was actually kind of scary at first, but started easing up once the medicine slowed down. I also started receiving penicillin as a precaution to group B strep in the baby, more serious in a pre-term baby. I then received a steroid shot in the butt which I did NOT enjoy, but this shot is hugely important as it helps expand our baby's still developing lungs. My goal is to make it to the next dosage of the steroid shot... tomorrow at 11! 10 hours to go, and then we'll see how we're doing from there!
Erik and I got kind of bored and played a game of Settlers of Catan.
At about 7 o clock, I was given the go-ahead to eat a meal, and I realized that my arms were still slow and heavy. I could barely lift my eyelids, and I was just absolutely miserable. The nurse looked at me and said, "Well I think you look overmedicated." So she lowered my dosage of the horrible magnesium stuff and I started to feel like a real person again. This has made the evening and night go much better so far as I feel like I can actually move and open my eyes for more than 1 second at a time.
Contractions have been sporadic, a couple painful ones here and there. I have not dilated past 3.75 cm since I've been here, so I'm feeling hopeful that we can hold out until tomorrow, and then maybe even a couple days beyond that, though I don't want to get too confident... but every day helps!
Emotionally, things have been difficult. My first reaction was to be afraid... afraid of what such an early delivery would mean for our little girl, not yet prepared for our big world. This was not what we had pictured in our heads for her, this was not WHEN we pictured in our heads for her. I cried and cried as I talked to our doctor, and as the realities of being in labor early set in. However, the doctors and nurses have all been very encouraging. Our first nurse delivered her son, now 2, at 32 weeks and 5 days, and he had no long term issues from an early birth. She has been in here commiserating with me and comforting me, and I am so thankful for her honesty, care and openness with me. She told me before the magnesium that I'd likely feel like a "drunken sailor" (understatement).
But I am feeling very at-ease now. Although it's hard to imagine our little girl spending some time in the nursery or NICU instead of at home with us, I feel confident that she is well cared for here, that God is watching over her, and I am so thankful that she is already surrounded by so much love and so many prayers. I told Erik before bed that I am feeling good about things, no matter what happens tonight or tomorrow or whenever. I am happy to be able to relax and smile a little now!
Actually I'm starting to feel a little tired so sorry if these recent thoughts have been a bit jumbly. I am waiting to go to sleep until 2 because I have to have blood drawn then anyway. I have to have it drawn every 6 hours! I hate needles so much, I don't think I've ever been poked and prodded so much in my life, but it's all worth it! I hope I have a new lab technician lady though because the last one drew blood from my hand and it was painful!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, August 13, 2012
Book Reviews
This is currently Lyla's favorite book, as in we read it a minimum of five times a day. Today we've already read it about 6 times, since Lyla is not feeling well and we've been confined to the couch all day! Here is what I think Lyla would say about this book:
"This is the best book ever. I really like the phrases "deep-dark lair," "itty-bitty mouse" and "bear snores on." The picture where the Hare looks like he is winking is SO funny! I didn't know what a mole is, but I really like him in this book. I'm not sure how I feel about the raven yet. It's also really funny when the Badger is carrying a bag!!! Badgers don't carry bags!! At the end, I was a little worried about badger... he looked sick. But mommy said that he was just sleeping on bear, and I think that's hilarious! And it's really funny at the end because Gopher is getting Bear all messy with crumbs! I could read this book all day!"
I recently read this book per recommendation of my mom, who rarely leads me astray in book world (she's a librarian after all!) But I have to say that I only gave this book 2/5 stars! Rare for me, because I usually like any book. The book had very beautiful descriptions of the circus and all the tents and magical wonders awaiting the people there, and I thought that was nicely done, but almost excessive compared to the character development. I just did not feel connected with the characters. Years would go by between chapters, chapters would go by without a word about an important character. I had a lot of difficulty sympathizing with the main characters at all, and the love story felt kind of flat for me. I will say that I think this book would make a great movie!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
32 Weeks
Today we hit the 32 week mark of this pregnancy! 8, more or less, to go! I'm starting to feel a bit panicky, like we have a lot to get ready. The truth is, we don't have as much to prepare this time around, and I think that actually makes it worse because I don't know what to do with myself!
Here's the 32 week bump!
We went out on a little nature hike and took Lyla's "2 Year Pictures." Here are my favorites!
Did I ever mention that my baby is a supermodel? (I'm a mom, I'm allowed to brag, right?) I got a little emotional thinking about how Lyla will be two in just two weeks! Time goes by way too fast. But we are so proud of her and constantly amazed at the little girl she is growing to be!
We love you Lyla Soo!
Here's the 32 week bump!
Did I ever mention that my baby is a supermodel? (I'm a mom, I'm allowed to brag, right?) I got a little emotional thinking about how Lyla will be two in just two weeks! Time goes by way too fast. But we are so proud of her and constantly amazed at the little girl she is growing to be!
We love you Lyla Soo!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Sneaking up on Daddy!
We're in an extreme "Mommy's Girl" phase right now. It can be slightly tiring for me and a bit sad for daddy. But just look at these pictures! She adores him so much, even if it seems like she only wants Mommy some days! She always laughs and smiles the most with him, and I hope he can see that, too!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
30 Weeks
A little behind... here are some 30 week bump pics!
Clearly falling asleep in this one... that's what being sick, having a sick toddler and being pregnant will do to you!
Think I'm starting to feel that third trimester tiredness kick in. I even had a cup of coffee the other morning! I hate coffee! I have to admit that it was pretty good. This could mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life. The coffee chapter.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Cute Stuff from the Week
Well the three of us were all sick over Erik's vacation week. Perfect timing, right? So there was a bit of crabbiness all around, but overall we had a great week, especially when Lyla started feeling better!
Lyla's sense of humor seems to be coming out more and more every day. She is just SILLY and loves making up silly words.
Here's some funny/cute stuff from the past week.
1. Lyla: Mommy juggle
Mommy: I don't know how to juggle Lyla!
Lyla: Try though mommy!!
Just leave it to your kids to remind you of simple life lessons.. like TRY! Still can't juggle though.
2. Eating macaroni...
Lyla: Macaroni.... macarona!! macarona! (laughing) Macamommy! (more laughing!) Macalyla! Macashoe! Macaplate! Macamilks!
Funny girl :)
3. Erik's parents were trying to guess the baby's name... For some reason the name Kai really stuck with Lyla, and now she calls the baby, "Baby Kai." She also calls her "Baby Shodo." Not sure where she got that one. She thinks it's hilarious to call the baby by a different name!
4. Lyla thought it was hilarious when Erik randomly made farting noises with his armpit!! She tried to do it, too. Yep, our kids will have great manners ;)
There's probably lots more. She is so funny and loves to LAUGH!!!
She's also a little imitator these days. Erik said, "You're going to follow me, right Lyla?" And she said, "Gonna follow me, right?" I could name a million of these instances... we have to really watch what we say sometimes!
We are also entering "temper tantrum" days unfortunately. And extreme "Mommy favoritism." I feel like every age and phase is a new realm of parenting!
Lyla's sense of humor seems to be coming out more and more every day. She is just SILLY and loves making up silly words.
Here's some funny/cute stuff from the past week.
1. Lyla: Mommy juggle
Mommy: I don't know how to juggle Lyla!
Lyla: Try though mommy!!
Just leave it to your kids to remind you of simple life lessons.. like TRY! Still can't juggle though.
2. Eating macaroni...
Lyla: Macaroni.... macarona!! macarona! (laughing) Macamommy! (more laughing!) Macalyla! Macashoe! Macaplate! Macamilks!
Funny girl :)
3. Erik's parents were trying to guess the baby's name... For some reason the name Kai really stuck with Lyla, and now she calls the baby, "Baby Kai." She also calls her "Baby Shodo." Not sure where she got that one. She thinks it's hilarious to call the baby by a different name!
4. Lyla thought it was hilarious when Erik randomly made farting noises with his armpit!! She tried to do it, too. Yep, our kids will have great manners ;)
There's probably lots more. She is so funny and loves to LAUGH!!!
She's also a little imitator these days. Erik said, "You're going to follow me, right Lyla?" And she said, "Gonna follow me, right?" I could name a million of these instances... we have to really watch what we say sometimes!
We are also entering "temper tantrum" days unfortunately. And extreme "Mommy favoritism." I feel like every age and phase is a new realm of parenting!
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