Life With a Newborn...

Lucy is officially 10 days old now.  Having a newborn definitely comes with its ups and downs.  For the most part I've done pretty well, but I've had my baby bluesy moments too.  Lucy is so darn cute, and we're having so much fun discovering the little things about her.  It's nice that neither Jordan nor I are working right now, so we're actually doing all right sleepwise.  Jordan does have early class Monday-Wednesday-Friday, so he usually comes home and takes a nap.  For being as small as she is, Lucy is doing amazingly well.  We have had some problems getting her to nurse, because she won't latch on if her stomach is hurting her.  Sometimes it takes us 30-40 minutes just to get her to latch on.  Once she does, she actually nurses really well.   

Napping with Daddy.

Lucy's fluffy hair right after her bath.  Her hair sticks straight up.

One proud mama.

Look how skinny yet long her legs are!

I added this picture to give a little perspective.  This is Lucy next to her seven-month-old cousin Abbi.  Abbi was also three weeks early and is small for her age.  Too funny.

We're Home!!!

7/23/09: It's been three days now since little Lucy was born. We are having such a great time loving and getting to know our baby girl. I figured that since I still have one more day in the hospital, I might as well write down the entire birthing experience. On Monday we went to see the doctor for another ultrasound and to plan Lucy's exit strategy. While there, the doctor explained that he felt the baby needed to be delivered via c-section, because he felt she wouldn't tolerate being turned and then delivered vaginally. We scheduled the c-section for 12:00 on Wednesday and then headed home. On the way home we stopped for some Taco Time burritos because I was starving. About an hour later I was on the phone with my friend Jen when I saw that the doctor's office was calling. I was shocked when he told me that he had gone over the ultrasound results again, and that my fluid levels had dropped to a dangerous level. He told me to get in the car and come to the hospital immediately. Luckily we had our bags packed and ready to go, so we were able to get the hospital quickly. Because I had just eaten, we needed to wait six hours for my stomach to empty. They set me up in a room where we could monitor her heart rate, and then we sat and waited until 8:00. It is hard to describe the fear I felt as we sat waiting for the procedure. I wasn't even nervous about the surgery, I just wanted to know that my baby would be all right. Finally 8:00 rolled around and I was off to the the operating room. Jordan is pretty queasy about medical things, so he couldn't be in the operating room with me while I got my spinal block. I was surprised at how little the spinal block hurt. It took me longer than the average patient to go numb, and then I had an isolated area that wouldn't go numb (which is exactly where he needed to make the incision). They had to give me some local anathesia to get me completely numb and then they began the surgery. It was so weird to know that they were cutting seven layers deep and that I couldn't feel it. After five minutes, they were able to get her out and I heard her cry for the first time. They showed her to me for literally two seconds and then whisked her away to evaluate her. It was hard for me to have to lie there alone for 25 minutes as they stitched me up. At this point the anasthesia caught up with me and I felt sleepy and foggy-headed. They wheeled me back to the recovery room and everyone was at the nursery looking at the baby, so I was alone for another 10 minutes. All of a sudden my incision started to become extremely painful and I asked the anasthesiologist for some medicine. He gave me some Demerol, and I felt so sick and dizzy. At this point everyone came back into the room and started talking to me, but I had no idea what was going on. Then Jordan came in holding the baby and handed her to me for the first time. Even though I felt so terrible, I was surprised how emotional I was when I held Lucy for the first time. Looking back, I wish that I would have been able to meet her for the first time without 20 people watching and taking pictures, but oh well. The first night I don't think I slept for more than five minutes. I was hooked up to all sorts of monitors, the nurses kept coming in to take my vitals, and the drugs were still making me feel weird. Around four in the morning the drugs finally wore off, and they brought Lucy to me. It was so wonderful to meet her feeling clear-headed. I fell in love with her instantly. I can't believe how beautiful she is. The staff here at the hospital keep telling us how beautiful she is. One of the housekeeping staff comes into hold Lucy everyday, claiming she is the most beautiful baby she has ever seen. Recovering from a c-section has not been so easy. I'm finally able to eat solid foods and get up and walk around. My incision is extremely painful and makes bending movements difficult. I have six more weeks of not being to lift anything but the baby. While I'm kind of sad that I didn't get the "typical" birthing experience, I'm so grateful that Lucy is healthy and safe. After the surgery, my doctor said that we absolutely made the right choice in delivering her via c-section. I'm so grateful for modern medicine, because I have to wonder what would have happened if my doctor hadn't been so on top of my situation. We are going home tomorrow, so I'm going to take advantage of my last day here in the hospital. We'll post better pictures when we get home. My mom actually posted some cute ones on her blog if you're interested.

7/24/09: Well actually, the internet at the hospital wouldn't let me publish this post yesterday--so, a few things have changed. We are home! Lucy is doing so well. She is maintaining her body temperature, eating well, and has no health problems that we're aware of. She only lost three ounces in the hospital, so she is a whopping 4 pounds, 8 ounces. While it was nice to be at the hospital in case we had any problems, it is so nice to be home.

Emma holding her cousin Lucy

I love how she sticks her leg straight out during feedings

World's best dad.

Look how tiny she looks in her car seat.

They had balloons and a banner waiting for us when we got home.

Finally some Pictures

This is Jordan again. I am at school so I am able to upload some pictures. I don't know how to format everything so I am going to just load a bunch of the pictures for you all to see.

An Unexpected Surprise!!

This is Jordan. After an unexpected emergency c-section yesterday evening our little Lucy is finally here. Lucy was born at 8:26 p.m. weighing in at 4 lbs. 11 oz. and 18 inches long. Lucy and Mom are both healthy and happy. I am sure Laura will give all the details in a later post. She is tiny and has a full head of hair and is beautiful just like we knew she would be. I couldn't get any of the pictures to load here at the hospital for some reason. I will load some tomorrow from school.

Maybe Bedrest Isn't So Bad???

So, I've been on bedrest since last Tuesday. To be perfectly honest, I'm feeling pretty stir crazy and relish the thought of being able to get up and move around. However, I've decided to look at the positive and realize there are definitely benefits of staying down. For example:

1-I have been getting all sorts of phone calls from family and friends. It has been great to catch up with everybody.
2- I have already dropped 5 pounds of water weight from keeping off my feet. I can see my ankles again!!!!
3- People have been bringing me all sorts of goodies.
4- I get to watch the first season of Gilmore Girls........again.
5- I don't have to feel guilty about not helping around the house anymore.
6- I have an excuse to not have to do my hair. Wet buns everyday!
7- It's nice to have so many visitors.
8- I'm improving my cognitive functioning and enriching my vocabulary with the MANY crossword puzzles I complete daily.
9- I have been indulging in food cravings. Bring on the popsicles and pizza. But most importantly of all.......
10- I know I'm helping my baby

Fairly Good News..

So, I went to the doctor again today and got mixed news. He did a four-part biophysical profile during the ultrasound that consisted of looking at 1-her overall movement 2-the amount of amniotic fluid 3-her breathing movement and 4-her muscle tone (determined by whether she had her fists balled and by her face). The biophysical profile looked good. All of her movements looked good, she had good muscle tone, and the amount of amniotic fluid had not dropped (though it's still low). My doctor said that if any of those things had looked bad that he would have rushed me to the hospital today to be induced. He also told me that he always has one or two patients that really concern him, and that I am currently one of those patients. Based on what he saw today, he sent me home to monitor the baby's kicks and to continue on bedrest. I have another appointment on Monday at which time we are going to determine the "exit strategy". Apparently, the goal is to get to 37 weeks (next Tuesday). It's almost certain that I will be induced next week, so Jordan went to the store today to buy some preemie onesies and diapers. She's also still breech, so we will discuss options next Monday. I'm pretty much planning on getting a c-section at this point. While I'm not thrilled about this, I will do anything at this point to help this baby out. I'm still nervous about the whole thing, but I feel very confident in my doctor right now. I also know there are a lot of people praying for this little baby which is comforting. Keep the prayers coming.

36 Week Update

I went to the doctor yesterday for 36 week checkup, and I didn't get the happiest news.  I told my doctor that I was concerned that the baby would be too big for me to push and he said, "Well, let's go do an ultrasound and see where she is."  When he did the ultrasound he found a couple of concerning things.  First, this baby is currently breech.  I realize that it's not the biggest deal, and that the baby can either 1-turn on her own or 2- be turned by the doctor, but a possibility of c-section is looming in my future.  The other thing he found that was concerning is that the baby is measuring pretty small.  I have measured at 34 cm for the past two weeks, so she doesn't seem to be growing at nearly the rate that we'd hoped.  The doctor explained to me that it's extremely difficult to tell strictly from an ultrasound how big the baby is, but he guesses she's only weighing just over four pounds.  He also noted that I was on the low-average end for the amount of amniotic fluid that I had.  He put me on the heart-rate monitor, and said that her heartbeat sounded strong, and that she's moving quite a bit (which is great).  However, he put me on strict bedrest until the baby comes, and he's having me come every couple of days to monitor how she's doing.  He told us that sometimes the placenta stops giving the baby what she needs.  In this case, it's better to actually induce labor early and get the baby out and nursing than to leave her inside where she's not getting the nutrition she needs.  He's hoping to leave her in utero for as long as possible, but I could be induced any day now depending on her growth.  As I said, not the best news.  However, I feel okay knowing that at this point, everything is developed.  I'm doing my best to not stress out, because I know that won't help anything--however, I am feeling kind of scared.  It's amazing how protective I already feel about this baby.  I'm not thrilled about being on bedrest, but I will do anything at this point to help this baby grow.  If you could remember us in your prayers I would appreciate it.