Well, this post is one I have been procrastinating on writing as well as trying to block most of it from my memory. Since it isn't as fresh in my mind, it won't be as accurate timeline I am sure!
So, the whole week I was home from the hospital after we were discharged, I was in a lot of pain. Since I was discharged and told everything looked okay, I just figured the c-section pain was unbearable to start and overtime got better. I was having a horrific time just bending over to change Anson and getting very frustrated with myself that I was having so many issues.
Well, Wednesday night rolled around and I had a horrific fever starting at 101.4 degrees. I had the worst chills and I was bundled up in clothes and a blanket. In return, Clark gave me an Ibuprofen and the chills and fever started going away. I figured maybe, I was overdoing it and just over exhausted. Thursday rolls around and the SAME thing happened with the chills and fever around 2:00 p.m. It lasted until after 5:00 p.m. I called Dr. Barnes and she insisted that unless my fever got worse, to go to the hospital. She then called me back and instructed me to go to the hospital. So, around 7:00 p.m., Clark and I called his mom to see if she would watch Anson while we went to the ER.
Well, we got to the ER by around 8:00 p.m. They did a lot of blood work, which was extremely painful. They couldn't find a vein, and they didn't care how many tears came out of my face in regards to poking me over and over until they got blood. I won't go into those details, but the lady was a real brute. The took my urine from a catheter and did an ultrasound as well. The ultrasound tech, in my opinion, should have been fired for what she did to me. I was told that the steri strips on my c-section had to stay on... in return, she cared less and ripped them all off. She then pushed the ultrasound wand so hard onto my scar that I was in massive amounts of tears telling her it hurt really bad and she actually pushed even harder and told me to "get over it". She was a real charmer. She just kept jabbing me for over 30 minutes. After she was done, she took a towel and cleaned me up putting a tremendous amount of pressure yet again on my scar.
A lot happened in between that I don't want to remember, so I am not going to write.
After 6 hours of waiting at the ER to get a result I was given antibiotics and told to go home and my fever will be normal with a few days after my visit. My result from the ER stay was I had endometritis and a small bladder infection.
Well, Friday rolled around and my grandma was here. Unfortunately, my chills and fever came back 10000% harder and faster even with the antibiotics. I figured it was normal. I called Dr. Barnes and told her my fever was back. She said it was okay and to see how the weekend went. However, at 12:00 a.m. that night, we got a call from CMH, an urgent call at that. I didn't answer as I had Anson. They then called Clark. He answered his phone. They told him I had a staph infection and had to come back to the hospital. Then the doctor said he would Dr. Barnes first to see what she thought I should do since it was already midnight. Dr. Barnes said I could stay home and to monitor myself. Well, in return, Clark hadn't been sleeping much, so I wanted to make sure that he got some rest after that phone call since we were told we could stay home.
Of course, after Clark fell asleep I played a 3 hour game with a screaming baby of feeding, changing, etc. just trying to figure out how to get Anson to settle down. I had gone to the bathroom around 3:30ish and passed a blood clot the size of a cd or dvd. It scared the living daylights out of me. I called Dr. Barnes immediately as they say that could be a sign of septic shock after a c-section. She advised I come in. I called my mom, who had just gotten back from Las Vegas, and asked her to take me to the hospital.
I woke Clark up and said I was going to the hospital because of the clotting. My mom and I got to the ER and we had my blood drawn, urine, etc. and Dr Barnes showed up very quickly after to give me a cervix exam and see my incision. Well, my lower abdomen was hard and discolored and in a lot of pain which apparently is NOT normal. She checked my cervix and did a cervix swab... well it came back with a kidney infection as well as E Coli! WHO GET'S E COLI?!
So in addition to the endometritis, staph infection, e coli in my cervic and kidney infection, I still had massive clotting.
I had 4 BACTERIAL INFECTIONS AND CLOTTING.... GREAT. Dr. Barnes said I would have to be there for over 48 hours of antibiotics.
My mom left shortly after to get some rest. They finally wheeled me up to the 5th floor at CMH after a couple hours of waiting. I had been wheeled up on shift change, so I didn't get seen for a couple hours after they situated me anyways.
The antibiotics started around 9:00 a.m. and I was just in tears from the time they moved me to my room until 9. I missed my baby, my husband and my dogs. I felt like my body had failed me and I was an incompetent mother since I couldn't be with my newborn.
I felt like I had failed my husband and given him all the responsibility in the world to take care of a baby, our dogs and himself. I felt awful. Tears rolled down my face almost ALL day. I just kept crying.
After 12 hours of antibiotics and seeing Clark one time for a little bit while his mom watched Anson... Clark told me Cindy and Kyle were heading over to help him out for a few hours. I felt so incredibly grateful that so many people had been helping him out. Cindy stayed awake with Anson from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m, so that Clark could get some rest! A huge thanks to Cindy for that!
Sunday rolled around and Clark and his mom stopped by to see me for a little each and other than that I was just on my roll of antibiotics every 2 hours... and watched a full season of The 100 on Netflix and my hard stomach and discolored patch was starting to disappear.
Monday after 3:00 p.m. (after my last dose of antibiotics) I was discharged and finally came home.
It was an experience that has traumatized me from having any more children. I told Clark we can't "try" to have kids anymore and just let it happen.
Anson is a healthy, strong baby boy and I feel blessed... but the experience for me was extremely awful and traumatizing.
There are a lot more details, but Anson is waking up and I don't have time to write anymore :)
Monday, November 17, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Welcome To The World My Baby Boy
Well, before I get into the whole labor process... let me just say that on October 14th I had my visit with Dr. Barnes and she was worried with my blood pressure being high, the extensive amount of swelling I had, and the size that Anson was that he could come soon. She tentatively scheduled to induce me on the 20th since because of my symptoms, however, our lab work would result the final decision. She rescheduled me for October 16th to see if my symptoms had subsided at all. Well, once again we went to Dr. Barnes and she pretty much said that if I don't go into labor during the weekend she would be inducing me. We walked away feeling somewhat defeated because I wanted to go in naturally.
Friday morning, I wound up going to the hospital. From Thursday night until Friday morning, my contractions weren't releasing and my stomach was getting harder and harder as the night went on. It made me really nervous as they weren't getting closer together and weren't releasing! So, in return, I went to the hospital and Dr. Barnes checked me out there and... we were scheduled to be induced on Monday morning since I was having the pain, yet they couldn't induce me on Friday because I was 2 days off 39 weeks and legally, they can't induce unless it is a medical emergency.
Saturday and Sunday, I was pretty lazy and just laid around since I knew that I would be induced on Monday. So, we got settled in mostly and did some last organizing and cleaning before Anson arrived.
Monday was finally here! Clark and I were up at 5:00 a.m. And neither one of us had slept the night before from nerves and excitement. We situated the dogs before we left and headed to McDonalds... Yes, you read that correctly! I got a deluxe breakfast and woofed it down. Dr. Barnes said I could have a last meal and I wanted pancakes and figured might as well get it all. We were on our way to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. for our 7:00 a.m. check
in time.
I got to the admitting counter and since I had done the preregistration, it was simple. I went up to labor and delivery and was put into labor room 1 and the process of preparing me began. Dr. Barnes showed up at 9:00 a.m. and started me straight onto Pitocin. She said I was still at 2 cm and hadn't advanced further yet but didn't need my cervix softened. Since I tested positive for the strep b culture, I was put on antibiotics the whole time I was induced. Dr. Barnes left and said she would check back in on me at 12:00 p.m.
Debbie, my mother in law, came in shortly after with a coffee and croissant for Clark and to check in on how I was doing. Since we had just started we didn't need anything at the moment but as the day wore on, we relied on Debbie for a few things!
Well, my contractions started right away... They weren't very painful yet and Clark and I were just laughing our morning away. My day nurse was Maria and every time she came in, said "I see you are still laughing". All of the nurses seemed surprised on how well I was taking my contractions. Around 10:00 a.m. Clark and I realized we forgot our UNO cards to play! Debbie had a stack of regular deck cards in her desk which were a a lifesaver until 12:00 p.m. Dr. Barnes showed up around 12:30 and I had only progressed to 3cm. She said for three hours it wasn't bad considering it takes much longer to get to four cm and after that the progression is quicker. Dr. Barnes said she would see us at 5:30 p.m. next. From 1:00 p.m.
Clark went with his mom to make a coffee... The moment they left... I had my first painful contraction. They were coming like clockwork every five minutes and then by the time Clark came back every three minutes. Maria came in and slowed down my Pitocin since they were getting so frequent but I wasn't as dilated yet. The rest of that time until Dr. Barnes showed up was kind of a blur. The impatience had settled in and both Clark and I we're tired.
Dr. Barnes showed up around 6:00 p.m. And I had progressed to 5cm and in return she wanted to break my water. I never realized it would look like a crochet hook ha! She popped my water and boy... I didn't realize how much water would come out! I kind of jerked back in surprise and discomfort from being so wet! Dr. Barnes had to reposition my legs be ause I had so much water she didn't want it on her!!
I REALLY started to feel my contractions after that and I asked for an epidural almost immediately. My epidural experience should NOT deter people from getting one... but I had an experience that I am assuming most women do not! So, I got ready to have my epidural... they cleaned my back... got me all ready and had me sit up and lean towards Clark. Poor Clark, I bent over and a HUGE gush of water came out and got all over his feet haha! The doctor put the needle in and said "it will feel like a bee sting"... well I don't know what type of bee stings he gets, but it was very painful. He put it in and asked if I felt it in the middle of my back. I said no, it was on the right. He discarded the needle and did it again... same thing... on the right side, not the middle. After four attempts of putting a needle in and out of me, the 5th time he just kind of "gave up" and left it in as I told him I still only felt it on the right side. I was in so much pain and my whole body lost at least a couple pounds from the amount of sweat dripping off of me... It was awful. So, the injection started working and my right side was completely numb and my left side was partially numb. They told me to lay on my left side so the medicine rolled over to that side.
The rest of the evening was a blur. Dr. Barnes came in around 9:30 p.m. and checked my cervix... I was at 8 cm... So, we were hoping to have a baby by 2:00 a.m.! We were so excited... yet half of my body was still numb where the other half was in pain. So, I was giving another type of numbing medicine to help my shakes from the pain go away. By then, Clark and I both decided to get some sleep... Poor Clark slept on the pull out sofa that was way to small for him. He was pretty uncomfortable and so was I. Well, after having probably 6 cervix checks from 9:00 until 2:00 a.m. I still hadn't progressed anymore than 8 cm... I was EXTREMELY disappointed! At 3:00 a.m. Dr. Barnes came on by and said I was AT MOST 9 cm... but Anson had wiggled his way back up and he was still pretty high. She had me push a few times to see if we could lower him... nothing...
4:00 a.m. rolls back around and Dr. Barnes comes back in and checks me. She had me push for about 30 minutes and low and behold... Anson's head got stuck but he was still VERY high up. She said with my pelvic bone, there was no way he could come down any farther. She told us, "He is stuck". I was in panic mode right then... knowing my only option was a c-section. She told me that I could either try pushing for 30 more minutes or get an emergency c-section. By then, I was exhausted and was on 19 hours of labor from the induction start point. I was also in and out of being awake!
Dr. Barnes let us decide what we wanted to do... our thought, if he is stuck, there is no other way out. We called her back in and at 4:30 I was planned for my c-section. I had gotten a brazillian a week before, but apparently, it grew back to quickly lol, so I had to get reshaved (excuse the details). I was taken off of the Pitocin at that point. Well, 4:30 a.m. came around and I still hadn't been taken into surgery. There were 16 labors that night as well, so there were 3 priorities ahead of me... I fell asleep waiting to be taken into surgery.
At 6:25 a.m. I was woken up. Clark was given scrubs and because of Clark's height, the first one broke from being too small haha! I texted everyone I could (in a very drugged state) and apparently I missed a whole bunch of people, eventhough I could have sworn I pressed send! I called my grandma though. Unfortunately, it was a bad decision for me to do so... because at the end of the conversation, my grandma started crying which made me start crying and it made me panic a little bit.
I was taken out of my room and wheeled into the operating room. I won't lie... I was absolutely terrified. I was moved to the OR bed and they strapped my arms down like on a cross. The curtain went up and the anethesologist came by to make sure I was ready to go.
Unfortuantely, I was NOT ready to go. With the amount of times the first anethesologist tried to give me my epidural, he created a pocket that was unaffected by the epidural. He took a paperclip and was seeing if I was numb all over. I had about a 12 in gap where I was NOT numb and that was the whole reason why I was complaining in the first place of the pain. He gave me another dose of the epidural and then he gave me a shot directly into the pocket that wasn't numb. I remember Dr. Barnes saying how long has it been since we started set up... Someone responded 2 minutes and 45 seconds. She said that was long enough and we were ready to begin. I was in tears because they hadn't even let Clark into the room yet. I thought for sure I would be facing it by myself.
Dr. Barnes started the incision and Clark walked in and sat down next to me... I could tell he was as nervous as I was. The whole procedure went by so quickly that it was a blur. I remember the anethesologist and Dr. Barnes telling me that there was going to be a lot of pressure from my pelvic region since he was stuck. She said most of the time they push on your upper abodmen, but because Anson was so far stuck and down, they had to pull him back up. I remember the pressure feeling and I remember hearing Anson cry. I just broke down in tears once I looked at Clark. The moment itself was amazing. I couldn't be more thrilled to know he was out and breathing.
I thought he had the funniest cry ever. It sounded like a laugh. Clark had to remind me that because he was a c-section baby, he didn't have the excess liquid pushed out like with a vaginal birth. They cleared his lungs and then his real cry came through. Clark was over with them while everything was happening. I thought it would be like in the movies or tv shows where they show you your baby, but I didn't see Anson at all before they wheeled him out. I remember Dr. Barnes saying she was going to remove my cyst off of my ovary while I was open... and then I felt nauseated and I said I felt nauseated and I passed out.
I remember being wheeled into another room and I was so loopy I could barely keep my eyes, yet alone eye, open without feeling like I was so drugged. Clark came into the room with Anson and I was desperately wanting my glasses so I could see him haha! Debbie was also there... and they wanted me to breastfeed as soon as I saw him. It was almost an hour and a half after he was born that he was breastfed. Unfortunately, he had low blood sugar, so he needed a bottle after that of formula. I was having such a hard time staying alert. I joked around because Clark's mom saw Anson before I even got too! It was just timing and she came down to check on me and wound up seeing Clark in the room with Anson!
Anson Colt Ostrander was born at 6:46 a.m. and was 9 pounds and 10 ounces and was 21.25" long. He is perfect. I can totally be biased since he is my baby, but he was perfect.
Shortly after, they wheeled us up to our room on the 7th floor, room 725. I was put on leg compression and bed rest for the first full day. I tried to breast feed as much as possible, but Anson was a HUNGRY boy and we had to supplement with formula as well. The day went by as a blur. Clark was holding Anson all day :) It was adorable. Plus, he did all of the diaper changes, bottle feedings, etc.
Enjoy the pictures :)
Friday morning, I wound up going to the hospital. From Thursday night until Friday morning, my contractions weren't releasing and my stomach was getting harder and harder as the night went on. It made me really nervous as they weren't getting closer together and weren't releasing! So, in return, I went to the hospital and Dr. Barnes checked me out there and... we were scheduled to be induced on Monday morning since I was having the pain, yet they couldn't induce me on Friday because I was 2 days off 39 weeks and legally, they can't induce unless it is a medical emergency.
Saturday and Sunday, I was pretty lazy and just laid around since I knew that I would be induced on Monday. So, we got settled in mostly and did some last organizing and cleaning before Anson arrived.
Monday was finally here! Clark and I were up at 5:00 a.m. And neither one of us had slept the night before from nerves and excitement. We situated the dogs before we left and headed to McDonalds... Yes, you read that correctly! I got a deluxe breakfast and woofed it down. Dr. Barnes said I could have a last meal and I wanted pancakes and figured might as well get it all. We were on our way to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. for our 7:00 a.m. check
I got to the admitting counter and since I had done the preregistration, it was simple. I went up to labor and delivery and was put into labor room 1 and the process of preparing me began. Dr. Barnes showed up at 9:00 a.m. and started me straight onto Pitocin. She said I was still at 2 cm and hadn't advanced further yet but didn't need my cervix softened. Since I tested positive for the strep b culture, I was put on antibiotics the whole time I was induced. Dr. Barnes left and said she would check back in on me at 12:00 p.m.
Debbie, my mother in law, came in shortly after with a coffee and croissant for Clark and to check in on how I was doing. Since we had just started we didn't need anything at the moment but as the day wore on, we relied on Debbie for a few things!
Well, my contractions started right away... They weren't very painful yet and Clark and I were just laughing our morning away. My day nurse was Maria and every time she came in, said "I see you are still laughing". All of the nurses seemed surprised on how well I was taking my contractions. Around 10:00 a.m. Clark and I realized we forgot our UNO cards to play! Debbie had a stack of regular deck cards in her desk which were a a lifesaver until 12:00 p.m. Dr. Barnes showed up around 12:30 and I had only progressed to 3cm. She said for three hours it wasn't bad considering it takes much longer to get to four cm and after that the progression is quicker. Dr. Barnes said she would see us at 5:30 p.m. next. From 1:00 p.m.
Clark went with his mom to make a coffee... The moment they left... I had my first painful contraction. They were coming like clockwork every five minutes and then by the time Clark came back every three minutes. Maria came in and slowed down my Pitocin since they were getting so frequent but I wasn't as dilated yet. The rest of that time until Dr. Barnes showed up was kind of a blur. The impatience had settled in and both Clark and I we're tired.
Dr. Barnes showed up around 6:00 p.m. And I had progressed to 5cm and in return she wanted to break my water. I never realized it would look like a crochet hook ha! She popped my water and boy... I didn't realize how much water would come out! I kind of jerked back in surprise and discomfort from being so wet! Dr. Barnes had to reposition my legs be ause I had so much water she didn't want it on her!!
I REALLY started to feel my contractions after that and I asked for an epidural almost immediately. My epidural experience should NOT deter people from getting one... but I had an experience that I am assuming most women do not! So, I got ready to have my epidural... they cleaned my back... got me all ready and had me sit up and lean towards Clark. Poor Clark, I bent over and a HUGE gush of water came out and got all over his feet haha! The doctor put the needle in and said "it will feel like a bee sting"... well I don't know what type of bee stings he gets, but it was very painful. He put it in and asked if I felt it in the middle of my back. I said no, it was on the right. He discarded the needle and did it again... same thing... on the right side, not the middle. After four attempts of putting a needle in and out of me, the 5th time he just kind of "gave up" and left it in as I told him I still only felt it on the right side. I was in so much pain and my whole body lost at least a couple pounds from the amount of sweat dripping off of me... It was awful. So, the injection started working and my right side was completely numb and my left side was partially numb. They told me to lay on my left side so the medicine rolled over to that side.
The rest of the evening was a blur. Dr. Barnes came in around 9:30 p.m. and checked my cervix... I was at 8 cm... So, we were hoping to have a baby by 2:00 a.m.! We were so excited... yet half of my body was still numb where the other half was in pain. So, I was giving another type of numbing medicine to help my shakes from the pain go away. By then, Clark and I both decided to get some sleep... Poor Clark slept on the pull out sofa that was way to small for him. He was pretty uncomfortable and so was I. Well, after having probably 6 cervix checks from 9:00 until 2:00 a.m. I still hadn't progressed anymore than 8 cm... I was EXTREMELY disappointed! At 3:00 a.m. Dr. Barnes came on by and said I was AT MOST 9 cm... but Anson had wiggled his way back up and he was still pretty high. She had me push a few times to see if we could lower him... nothing...
4:00 a.m. rolls back around and Dr. Barnes comes back in and checks me. She had me push for about 30 minutes and low and behold... Anson's head got stuck but he was still VERY high up. She said with my pelvic bone, there was no way he could come down any farther. She told us, "He is stuck". I was in panic mode right then... knowing my only option was a c-section. She told me that I could either try pushing for 30 more minutes or get an emergency c-section. By then, I was exhausted and was on 19 hours of labor from the induction start point. I was also in and out of being awake!
Dr. Barnes let us decide what we wanted to do... our thought, if he is stuck, there is no other way out. We called her back in and at 4:30 I was planned for my c-section. I had gotten a brazillian a week before, but apparently, it grew back to quickly lol, so I had to get reshaved (excuse the details). I was taken off of the Pitocin at that point. Well, 4:30 a.m. came around and I still hadn't been taken into surgery. There were 16 labors that night as well, so there were 3 priorities ahead of me... I fell asleep waiting to be taken into surgery.
At 6:25 a.m. I was woken up. Clark was given scrubs and because of Clark's height, the first one broke from being too small haha! I texted everyone I could (in a very drugged state) and apparently I missed a whole bunch of people, eventhough I could have sworn I pressed send! I called my grandma though. Unfortunately, it was a bad decision for me to do so... because at the end of the conversation, my grandma started crying which made me start crying and it made me panic a little bit.
I was taken out of my room and wheeled into the operating room. I won't lie... I was absolutely terrified. I was moved to the OR bed and they strapped my arms down like on a cross. The curtain went up and the anethesologist came by to make sure I was ready to go.
Unfortuantely, I was NOT ready to go. With the amount of times the first anethesologist tried to give me my epidural, he created a pocket that was unaffected by the epidural. He took a paperclip and was seeing if I was numb all over. I had about a 12 in gap where I was NOT numb and that was the whole reason why I was complaining in the first place of the pain. He gave me another dose of the epidural and then he gave me a shot directly into the pocket that wasn't numb. I remember Dr. Barnes saying how long has it been since we started set up... Someone responded 2 minutes and 45 seconds. She said that was long enough and we were ready to begin. I was in tears because they hadn't even let Clark into the room yet. I thought for sure I would be facing it by myself.
Dr. Barnes started the incision and Clark walked in and sat down next to me... I could tell he was as nervous as I was. The whole procedure went by so quickly that it was a blur. I remember the anethesologist and Dr. Barnes telling me that there was going to be a lot of pressure from my pelvic region since he was stuck. She said most of the time they push on your upper abodmen, but because Anson was so far stuck and down, they had to pull him back up. I remember the pressure feeling and I remember hearing Anson cry. I just broke down in tears once I looked at Clark. The moment itself was amazing. I couldn't be more thrilled to know he was out and breathing.
I thought he had the funniest cry ever. It sounded like a laugh. Clark had to remind me that because he was a c-section baby, he didn't have the excess liquid pushed out like with a vaginal birth. They cleared his lungs and then his real cry came through. Clark was over with them while everything was happening. I thought it would be like in the movies or tv shows where they show you your baby, but I didn't see Anson at all before they wheeled him out. I remember Dr. Barnes saying she was going to remove my cyst off of my ovary while I was open... and then I felt nauseated and I said I felt nauseated and I passed out.
I remember being wheeled into another room and I was so loopy I could barely keep my eyes, yet alone eye, open without feeling like I was so drugged. Clark came into the room with Anson and I was desperately wanting my glasses so I could see him haha! Debbie was also there... and they wanted me to breastfeed as soon as I saw him. It was almost an hour and a half after he was born that he was breastfed. Unfortunately, he had low blood sugar, so he needed a bottle after that of formula. I was having such a hard time staying alert. I joked around because Clark's mom saw Anson before I even got too! It was just timing and she came down to check on me and wound up seeing Clark in the room with Anson!
Anson Colt Ostrander was born at 6:46 a.m. and was 9 pounds and 10 ounces and was 21.25" long. He is perfect. I can totally be biased since he is my baby, but he was perfect.
Shortly after, they wheeled us up to our room on the 7th floor, room 725. I was put on leg compression and bed rest for the first full day. I tried to breast feed as much as possible, but Anson was a HUNGRY boy and we had to supplement with formula as well. The day went by as a blur. Clark was holding Anson all day :) It was adorable. Plus, he did all of the diaper changes, bottle feedings, etc.
Enjoy the pictures :)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
A Note to Friends and Family
We have been asked a lot about going out or having people come visit after Anson is born . Here is our thought process and reasoning. We love that you all want to see him, whether visiting or just coming over and we feel very grateful. Clark and I want our bonding time with Anson as well, so please keep that in mind. I don't want the following to sound harsh, but I would really appreciate if people can respect our wishes.
We will definitely be having visitors at the hospital. The only time we will not be having visitors is during my actual delivery. The only people in the delivery room will be Clark, myself, my doctor and nurses. In return, we won't have any visitors for about an hour to an hour and a half after I deliver. I want to do the kangaroo care time and they say a good solid hour without interruptions is best. In return, if you get a text an hour after he is born, please do not be upset.
I just have one personal request in regards to visiting: Please call or text either Clark or myself before you show up. We can only have so many visitors at one time and we don't want to be flooded with 8 people at one time. We would like to space them out so people don't get rushed in and out.
Let me just remind everyone that this is our first baby, not our second or third, etc. We might be blessed with a great sleeper or un-blessed with a baby who wakes up all the time, etc. Please keep in mind we will probably be very tired. On top of bringing a newborn home, we still have 2 dogs to deal with on a daily basis that do take up a lot of time. If you are a dog owner, a large dog owner especially, you understand how tedious it can be to take care of them. That will be a challenge in itself I am sure.
In return, if you are wanting to visit, please understand that we will try and accommodate everyone as best as possible. However, if we aren't feeling up to it, please do not get offended. Please call or text us before to see if we are feeling up to it. We do NOT want people showing up unexpected. I say that because Kole and Yogi will start barking at the door and if we just put the baby down, I am sure he will be right back up and it is hard to settle down the dogs after that. In return, I am making a sign like this so that when you do arrive, you will know what to do ;).
Anson won't get his first set of shots until he is 2 weeks old. In return, we probably will not be going anywhere for those first two weeks. Same goes with having guests over. Please understand we need to learn how to deal with a newborn, dogs, sleep deprivation, etc.
Another huge reason for a lack of visitors would be our dogs. I have done a lot of reading and it can take UP to two weeks for dogs to acclimate to newborn babies. They get put on the backburner, and they know it. A lot of articles say do not have anyone over for two weeks as it can confuse the dogs and have more envy for the newborn baby as they see them getting all of this attention. To me, my dogs are my babies, so in return, I don't want any extra stress or anxiety on them. We have a lot of medical bills for Yogi as it is and I don't need one for anxiety lol! We actually just had a $300 vet visit... sadly we go once a month for him... I don't want his bills getting larger! Anson's safety does come first and we don't want the dogs "resenting" him. I highly doubt they will, but I don't want to chance it.
After 2 weeks, we will definitely play it by year. We probably won't introduce him to kids for a while as now is the season for colds, flu season, etc. So, more than likely, kid activities will be kept to a bare minimum until he is over 6 weeks. Our pediatrician recommends no children interaction between 6-8 weeks for a baby who hasn't had full immunizations.
Please be patient with us. I will reiterate that Anson is our first baby and this is all new to us!
Thank you for understanding and feel free to ask us any questions! We are trying to accommodate as best as possible, but our number one goal is to make sure Anson is a healthy and strong baby!
Week 38
Less than two weeks to go! I don't think I will make it full term as I keep getting told "you are ready to go at any moment"... the most annoying thing is that moment hasn't happened yet, lol! I have been mentally preparing myself since 3 weeks ago that "any moment" I could go into labor, yet, here we are... getting larger and more uncomfortable and Anson is still not here.
Clark and I cannot describe how impatient we are getting. For me, it is getting much harder to sleep. I am exhausted during the day and as soon as I crawl into bed, everything hurts. In return, that makes me WIDE AWAKE! The worst part is, as soon as I get into bed my back starts throbbing. It hurts less when I am sitting or standing. Here is a perfect picture about how I am feeling in regards to sleep exhaustion!
Monday was pretty uneventful for Clark and myself. We have been taking the dogs on longer walks to help labor come naturally. I would prefer for my water to break or my contractions to start getting more regular as I don't want my first baby being a C-Section or Induction baby. I don't say that in a bad way, just for my health and my babies health a lot of reading and doctor recommendations, it is best to let labor take it's course naturally.
On Tuesday morning we went to Dr. Barnes' office and we were surprised with the news we got. She was talking to us, making sure I was okay and all of my awful and painful symptoms are quite normal. She went over our ultrasound with us and stopped after she read the weight and information. Our ultrasound was reading at 8 lbs the day of our ultrasound, but the report that was sent over was closer to 9 lbs apparently. She told me that if I continued to 40 weeks without going into labor I could be close to having a 11 lb baby. However, the ultrasound is give or take a pound, so it worries me regardless of his size. She stopped mid sentence and said "You are having a large baby whether you like it or not" and she looked at Clark and goes "Didn't you realize what you were getting yourself into when you got married?" I didn't realize you take your husband's size into accountability when you have a baby! That wasn't in a book or told to me :) LOL!
Dr. Barnes did worry me a little. If I wind up measuring 40-41 weeks before I hit 40 weeks, I will more than likely have to have a C-Section or get induced. I am HOPING and PRAYING that he comes before that. In return, we have been taking longer walks and I have been cleaning and walking around as much as possible. Dr. Barnes then told us I am 2cm and I could go from now until next week (October 17th). In return, it put Clark and I in a panic as Dr. Barnes continued to say "I am going to be on vacation from the 9th to the 13th". All I could think was "I did not drive all the way to Ventura once a week for you to be on vacation when I go into labor", so I have been down a lot this week as well.
Wednesday - Friday I worked from home to be as calm and stress free as possible. The most activity I got was cleaning up a little and doing the nightly walks. I DID NOT want to go into labor while Dr. Barnes was gone. She comes back on Monday at 12 p.m. so I am hoping I can wait at least until then to go into labor.
Saturday was the busiest day by far. It was VERY exhausting. I woke up at 7:00 a.m. and tossed and turned the whole night before. However, Clark and I decided to go to Costco at 9:30 a.m. and brave the people who go to the Costco in Oxnard. We prefer Simi Valley, but there were some food items that I wanted that only the Oxnard Costco holds. After 2 hours at Costco and $507 later, we are completely stocked for at least 3 weeks of food. It was a nice fat chunk of change that came out of our pockets! In return, when we got home, we air sealed a lot of fruits/veggies for the deep freeze and put everything away, which took another 2 hours. In return, I was on my feet for almost 6 hours by the time I got a chance to sit down! My ankles and feet were quite swollen. The whole time in Costco I thought I was going to go into labor as I had the worst pelvic and hoohaa pains ever. Clark and I took a long walk after that and then we came back and by then the day had already gotten to 10:00 p.m. I don't know where the time went!
Overall, with all the comfortableness and having to deal with pains, I am doing well. Yes, I am tired, but I don't need naps and I sure don't want to take them as then I will never get to sleep at night. I have been pretty moody though the last few days. Clark notices my temper will flare a little more than normal. I have been pretty good moodiness wise the whole pregnancy only have maybe 3 real instances of outbreaks of pure anger/crying fits. But, I can tell I get more agitated these last few days. Maybe it is because I feel a little stir crazy working at home. I plan on going back in on Monday, if I wind up going into labor, I just have to make it past noon ;)!
We did get an amazing gift from Tasha on our doorstep this week! Thank you so much again! It is beyond perfect :) I also got a little camo outfit for Anson for our trip to Montana at the end of February :) I couldn't help myself!! And, I couldn't help but get a pedicure ready for Halloween!!!
Clark and I cannot describe how impatient we are getting. For me, it is getting much harder to sleep. I am exhausted during the day and as soon as I crawl into bed, everything hurts. In return, that makes me WIDE AWAKE! The worst part is, as soon as I get into bed my back starts throbbing. It hurts less when I am sitting or standing. Here is a perfect picture about how I am feeling in regards to sleep exhaustion!
Monday was pretty uneventful for Clark and myself. We have been taking the dogs on longer walks to help labor come naturally. I would prefer for my water to break or my contractions to start getting more regular as I don't want my first baby being a C-Section or Induction baby. I don't say that in a bad way, just for my health and my babies health a lot of reading and doctor recommendations, it is best to let labor take it's course naturally.
On Tuesday morning we went to Dr. Barnes' office and we were surprised with the news we got. She was talking to us, making sure I was okay and all of my awful and painful symptoms are quite normal. She went over our ultrasound with us and stopped after she read the weight and information. Our ultrasound was reading at 8 lbs the day of our ultrasound, but the report that was sent over was closer to 9 lbs apparently. She told me that if I continued to 40 weeks without going into labor I could be close to having a 11 lb baby. However, the ultrasound is give or take a pound, so it worries me regardless of his size. She stopped mid sentence and said "You are having a large baby whether you like it or not" and she looked at Clark and goes "Didn't you realize what you were getting yourself into when you got married?" I didn't realize you take your husband's size into accountability when you have a baby! That wasn't in a book or told to me :) LOL!
Dr. Barnes did worry me a little. If I wind up measuring 40-41 weeks before I hit 40 weeks, I will more than likely have to have a C-Section or get induced. I am HOPING and PRAYING that he comes before that. In return, we have been taking longer walks and I have been cleaning and walking around as much as possible. Dr. Barnes then told us I am 2cm and I could go from now until next week (October 17th). In return, it put Clark and I in a panic as Dr. Barnes continued to say "I am going to be on vacation from the 9th to the 13th". All I could think was "I did not drive all the way to Ventura once a week for you to be on vacation when I go into labor", so I have been down a lot this week as well.
Wednesday - Friday I worked from home to be as calm and stress free as possible. The most activity I got was cleaning up a little and doing the nightly walks. I DID NOT want to go into labor while Dr. Barnes was gone. She comes back on Monday at 12 p.m. so I am hoping I can wait at least until then to go into labor.
Saturday was the busiest day by far. It was VERY exhausting. I woke up at 7:00 a.m. and tossed and turned the whole night before. However, Clark and I decided to go to Costco at 9:30 a.m. and brave the people who go to the Costco in Oxnard. We prefer Simi Valley, but there were some food items that I wanted that only the Oxnard Costco holds. After 2 hours at Costco and $507 later, we are completely stocked for at least 3 weeks of food. It was a nice fat chunk of change that came out of our pockets! In return, when we got home, we air sealed a lot of fruits/veggies for the deep freeze and put everything away, which took another 2 hours. In return, I was on my feet for almost 6 hours by the time I got a chance to sit down! My ankles and feet were quite swollen. The whole time in Costco I thought I was going to go into labor as I had the worst pelvic and hoohaa pains ever. Clark and I took a long walk after that and then we came back and by then the day had already gotten to 10:00 p.m. I don't know where the time went!
Overall, with all the comfortableness and having to deal with pains, I am doing well. Yes, I am tired, but I don't need naps and I sure don't want to take them as then I will never get to sleep at night. I have been pretty moody though the last few days. Clark notices my temper will flare a little more than normal. I have been pretty good moodiness wise the whole pregnancy only have maybe 3 real instances of outbreaks of pure anger/crying fits. But, I can tell I get more agitated these last few days. Maybe it is because I feel a little stir crazy working at home. I plan on going back in on Monday, if I wind up going into labor, I just have to make it past noon ;)!
We did get an amazing gift from Tasha on our doorstep this week! Thank you so much again! It is beyond perfect :) I also got a little camo outfit for Anson for our trip to Montana at the end of February :) I couldn't help myself!! And, I couldn't help but get a pedicure ready for Halloween!!!
How far along? 38 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: 20 lbs total... I lost 3 lbs over
Sleep: Tossing and turning and crying from being uncomfortable
Miss Anything? Being in control of my body
Miss Anything? Being in control of my body
Looking forward to: Having my baby boy in my arms
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Week 37
Since I am late at posting this... we are already 2cm dilated as of 10/07/14 and have been told it can be anywhere from tonight until a week out... But the baby won't stay in longer than a week. She said that unless my water breaks or I start having contractions, to stay home/work and rest. Other than that... we are close!!!
Wow, 3 weeks left... yet I feel like it can be any day now.
Monday was one of the worst days yet. At 2:30 I had gone home early from work and was trying to rest. Yet, at 2:30 I had a lovely surprise and I started throwing up like crazy. I thought, what is going on?! By 7:00 p.m. I couldn't keep water down, yet alone ginger ale or anything. Clark told me I needed to call my OB immediately as he was getting worried. The only way I could describe it was that I was dying from the inside out. Usually, I am good with throwing up, but this was brutal. Dr. Barnes said she would call us into the labor and delivery ward at CMH and to head over. We were admitted to the hospital around 7:30 pm. I had 6 different vials of blood taken, as well as a urine sample... then they wanted a catheter sample. The catheter was absolutely awful and burned/hurt so incredibly badly! Anson was doing fine and all my blood work and urine came back normal. On a positive note, I do NOT have preeclampsia, which was ruled out from the 2nd set of blood work done for it at the hospital. However, after waiting 2.5 to 3 hours, they couldn't find anything wrong with me. They said it was either food poisoning or the flu. Well, considering that I only had two symptoms of a headache and throwing up, I couldn't imagine it being either. I was reading a lot of the pregnancy forums and a lot of women have the same problem. From what I was reading, it is common to have the vomiting and a lot of women go into labor within 2 weeks after that... So I have one week left to see if that is accurate ;)! However, it was definitely a "practice run" for the hospital.
Tuesday and Wednesday were slow as I tried to be as calm as possible. We did have our ultrasound on Wednesday though. I didn't even get to see Anson :(. We went to Grossman Imaging and because it was just to estimate his weight, Clark got to see him, but the monitor wasn't pointed towards me. The first thing the tech said was "he is a large baby". She said for 36 weeks and 3 days he was quite large. In return, he was 8 lbs exactly (give or take a 16 oz, aka a pound). Unfortunately, we asked the tech about how long he was. She told us that there are no length measurements after 16-18 weeks because the baby is already to large. We figured as much since we haven't heard any updates on how long he was. She said he was VERY squished and there wasn't much room in there for him so his measurements are a little more accurate, but not by much. Overall, his head is VERY low in my pelvic bone as well as that meaning he is head down!
I have had a LOT of pain this week and when I saw Dr. Barnes on Thursday, she told me Anson is definitely resting in my pelvic bone and we can be ready any moment. She measured me at 37 weeks, yet she said because his head is already in the perfect position and very low in my pelvic region, I am more than likely 38 weeks measurement wise. Plus, the ultrasound showed us being 38 weeks and 6 days.
Friday and Saturday were bum days for me too... Especially since I have been having cramps and lower back pain. It has been hard to do much of anything because of the amount of pain I am in. But, I know in the end it will all be worth it :) So, I have been resting... however, I know being active helps induce labor naturally.
Sunday was just very quiet. I was really tired and then around 8:00 p.m. I got a great burst of energy and we took a long walk with the boys and when we got home, watched Blue Bloods... I really like that show... it is different. Granted, I like cop shows.
Wow, 3 weeks left... yet I feel like it can be any day now.
Monday was one of the worst days yet. At 2:30 I had gone home early from work and was trying to rest. Yet, at 2:30 I had a lovely surprise and I started throwing up like crazy. I thought, what is going on?! By 7:00 p.m. I couldn't keep water down, yet alone ginger ale or anything. Clark told me I needed to call my OB immediately as he was getting worried. The only way I could describe it was that I was dying from the inside out. Usually, I am good with throwing up, but this was brutal. Dr. Barnes said she would call us into the labor and delivery ward at CMH and to head over. We were admitted to the hospital around 7:30 pm. I had 6 different vials of blood taken, as well as a urine sample... then they wanted a catheter sample. The catheter was absolutely awful and burned/hurt so incredibly badly! Anson was doing fine and all my blood work and urine came back normal. On a positive note, I do NOT have preeclampsia, which was ruled out from the 2nd set of blood work done for it at the hospital. However, after waiting 2.5 to 3 hours, they couldn't find anything wrong with me. They said it was either food poisoning or the flu. Well, considering that I only had two symptoms of a headache and throwing up, I couldn't imagine it being either. I was reading a lot of the pregnancy forums and a lot of women have the same problem. From what I was reading, it is common to have the vomiting and a lot of women go into labor within 2 weeks after that... So I have one week left to see if that is accurate ;)! However, it was definitely a "practice run" for the hospital.
Tuesday and Wednesday were slow as I tried to be as calm as possible. We did have our ultrasound on Wednesday though. I didn't even get to see Anson :(. We went to Grossman Imaging and because it was just to estimate his weight, Clark got to see him, but the monitor wasn't pointed towards me. The first thing the tech said was "he is a large baby". She said for 36 weeks and 3 days he was quite large. In return, he was 8 lbs exactly (give or take a 16 oz, aka a pound). Unfortunately, we asked the tech about how long he was. She told us that there are no length measurements after 16-18 weeks because the baby is already to large. We figured as much since we haven't heard any updates on how long he was. She said he was VERY squished and there wasn't much room in there for him so his measurements are a little more accurate, but not by much. Overall, his head is VERY low in my pelvic bone as well as that meaning he is head down!
I have had a LOT of pain this week and when I saw Dr. Barnes on Thursday, she told me Anson is definitely resting in my pelvic bone and we can be ready any moment. She measured me at 37 weeks, yet she said because his head is already in the perfect position and very low in my pelvic region, I am more than likely 38 weeks measurement wise. Plus, the ultrasound showed us being 38 weeks and 6 days.
Friday and Saturday were bum days for me too... Especially since I have been having cramps and lower back pain. It has been hard to do much of anything because of the amount of pain I am in. But, I know in the end it will all be worth it :) So, I have been resting... however, I know being active helps induce labor naturally.
Sunday was just very quiet. I was really tired and then around 8:00 p.m. I got a great burst of energy and we took a long walk with the boys and when we got home, watched Blue Bloods... I really like that show... it is different. Granted, I like cop shows.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Maternity Pictures
First, before I say anything.... A HUGE thanks to Kali for taking these pictures. Clark and I love them and are so blessed we could share this moment with you and your busy schedule! You can't imagine how incredibly blessed we feel and grateful to have this moment! A huge thanks! If you are looking for a photographer, look no more! Check out http://www.kaliyahn.com/ or Kali's blog (which is amazing) http://kaliyahnphotography.tumblr.com/!
Here are the pictures :) We love them!!! If I could add all 100 I would! But, I did add a lot of pictures!
I am sure many of you are wondering where are my shoes?! Well, I didn't think the night before to check out what shoes did/didn't fit me! Well... the only shoes that fit were my sandals that I have been wearing most of the pregnancy! I couldn't get ANY of my heels on or even my sneakers or Uggs! Go figure! So, I went with the barefoot/sandal approach haha! Clark said it's okay my tree stump ankles blend into the ground... LOL One of the many reasons why I love him haha! It was also hard to find an outfit for me because of how large I am! But, to me, these pictures are amazing!!!
Here are the pictures :) We love them!!! If I could add all 100 I would! But, I did add a lot of pictures!
I am sure many of you are wondering where are my shoes?! Well, I didn't think the night before to check out what shoes did/didn't fit me! Well... the only shoes that fit were my sandals that I have been wearing most of the pregnancy! I couldn't get ANY of my heels on or even my sneakers or Uggs! Go figure! So, I went with the barefoot/sandal approach haha! Clark said it's okay my tree stump ankles blend into the ground... LOL One of the many reasons why I love him haha! It was also hard to find an outfit for me because of how large I am! But, to me, these pictures are amazing!!!
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