Thursday, January 20, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
4 WEEKS
(I started writing this yesterday, but never got a chance to finish...Let's just pretend it's still 17 Jan 2011)
Little Natalie Marie is FOUR weeks old today! I figured if I am going to do this blogging thing, it's now or never. I haven't written a real update since I had her! The last four weeks have been nothing short of challenging.
Our first week with Daddy home was awesome! He helped with anything and everything and it was so good to spend time with him before he left. His last day here was New Years and with a baby under 2 weeks we had to stay in. We all passed out before midnight-- I woke up at 12:05 and was like I missed it! Awwwwww! And Seth said he fell asleep at about 11:45pm.
After Seth left us my Mom moved in. :) She stayed for a little less than 2 weeks and she was loving it! My family is completely in love with her. Having my Mom here was great. She helped change diapers and entertain/hold her. I didn't know until she went home how nice it is just to have someone else to give the baby to for a minute while I get something done or after I have been holding her ALLLLLL day.
We started cloth diapers at a little over a week old. It's definitely more laundry but it's not hard and, to me, the benefits of using cloth are way more than that of disposables. I will definitely be sticking with them-- hopefully until she's potty trained! I also ordered a couple All in One's that should be coming in the mail. They are a bit more expensive than the prefolds/covers but cottonbabies.com had BG AIO 3.0s on sale so I got 2 of them. I am excited to try them out because I think they will be great for the diaper bag. I never thought of how much [ S P A C E ] prefolds occupy in the diaper bag.
When I was pregnant, especially towards the end, I said that I hoped Natalie was as melo on the outside as she was inside the womb. :) Obviously, newborns sleep a LOT but she really is a great, calm baby. Until recently she never even fussed unless she was hungry or wet. Now, I think she's starting to wake up a little bit and has gotten a bit fussier. A couple days this week, she was awake and fussy for the majority of the evening but one night she slept from 1am to 6am and the next from 12am to 5am. The first night REALLY wore me out but I was thankful she slept a bit longer. Anywho, I do get to sleep sometimes so it's not SO bad.
We have made a couple of ventures out into the great wide open. Haha Natalie has been to Best Buy, American Fidelity, her first baby shower, and 3 trips to the mall! For 2 of the trips to the mall and the time we went to Best Buy we used the MobyWrap! I love it! The first couple times we used the cradle carry and she slept through the trips but I wasn't doing it exactly right. The most recent time I used it we used the newborn hug hold and she LOVED it! Though it ended up being a bit hot, she slept the ENTIRE time. We will definitely be using that again. I don't know how long we were there but we did quite a bit of walking with no back/shoulder/neck pain at all! I will say it beats using the stroller at the mall (especially Quail Springs Mall, where they only have ONE FREAKING ELEVATOR IN THE ENTIRE MALL!WTF)! But that said, she liked riding in the stroller too, it was cute to see her face when we rolled over the tile floor and it made the stroller ride a bit bumpy--like the car, it puts her to sleep!
We are still nursing and it's going great. She hasn't had a bottle yet (except in the NICU) but I may have to start her on one soon if I want her to take it!
Today we went to the grocery store to buy tickets to see Jimmy Eat World on Jan 29th (and I bought oreos and milk!) The only other time we have been apart since she was born was last week when I went to dinner with some friends. I missed her but it was also a great time! That was the most fun I have had in a while and I got to indulge in my first post-baby alcoholic beverage!
Well, I'm sure this is long enough now that no one will even read it so I will try to update more so my entries are not so long!
Little Natalie Marie is FOUR weeks old today! I figured if I am going to do this blogging thing, it's now or never. I haven't written a real update since I had her! The last four weeks have been nothing short of challenging.
Our first week with Daddy home was awesome! He helped with anything and everything and it was so good to spend time with him before he left. His last day here was New Years and with a baby under 2 weeks we had to stay in. We all passed out before midnight-- I woke up at 12:05 and was like I missed it! Awwwwww! And Seth said he fell asleep at about 11:45pm.
After Seth left us my Mom moved in. :) She stayed for a little less than 2 weeks and she was loving it! My family is completely in love with her. Having my Mom here was great. She helped change diapers and entertain/hold her. I didn't know until she went home how nice it is just to have someone else to give the baby to for a minute while I get something done or after I have been holding her ALLLLLL day.
We started cloth diapers at a little over a week old. It's definitely more laundry but it's not hard and, to me, the benefits of using cloth are way more than that of disposables. I will definitely be sticking with them-- hopefully until she's potty trained! I also ordered a couple All in One's that should be coming in the mail. They are a bit more expensive than the prefolds/covers but cottonbabies.com had BG AIO 3.0s on sale so I got 2 of them. I am excited to try them out because I think they will be great for the diaper bag. I never thought of how much [ S P A C E ] prefolds occupy in the diaper bag.
When I was pregnant, especially towards the end, I said that I hoped Natalie was as melo on the outside as she was inside the womb. :) Obviously, newborns sleep a LOT but she really is a great, calm baby. Until recently she never even fussed unless she was hungry or wet. Now, I think she's starting to wake up a little bit and has gotten a bit fussier. A couple days this week, she was awake and fussy for the majority of the evening but one night she slept from 1am to 6am and the next from 12am to 5am. The first night REALLY wore me out but I was thankful she slept a bit longer. Anywho, I do get to sleep sometimes so it's not SO bad.
We have made a couple of ventures out into the great wide open. Haha Natalie has been to Best Buy, American Fidelity, her first baby shower, and 3 trips to the mall! For 2 of the trips to the mall and the time we went to Best Buy we used the MobyWrap! I love it! The first couple times we used the cradle carry and she slept through the trips but I wasn't doing it exactly right. The most recent time I used it we used the newborn hug hold and she LOVED it! Though it ended up being a bit hot, she slept the ENTIRE time. We will definitely be using that again. I don't know how long we were there but we did quite a bit of walking with no back/shoulder/neck pain at all! I will say it beats using the stroller at the mall (especially Quail Springs Mall, where they only have ONE FREAKING ELEVATOR IN THE ENTIRE MALL!WTF)! But that said, she liked riding in the stroller too, it was cute to see her face when we rolled over the tile floor and it made the stroller ride a bit bumpy--like the car, it puts her to sleep!
We are still nursing and it's going great. She hasn't had a bottle yet (except in the NICU) but I may have to start her on one soon if I want her to take it!
Today we went to the grocery store to buy tickets to see Jimmy Eat World on Jan 29th (and I bought oreos and milk!) The only other time we have been apart since she was born was last week when I went to dinner with some friends. I missed her but it was also a great time! That was the most fun I have had in a while and I got to indulge in my first post-baby alcoholic beverage!
Well, I'm sure this is long enough now that no one will even read it so I will try to update more so my entries are not so long!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Baby Natalie's Arrival!
A little overview before I write out the longest birth story EVER!
I really tried my best at learning about the birthing process and and thinking about what I wanted it to be like. I decided against writing out a strict birth plan because I really wanted to keep my mind open until I was in the experience but I did try to learn as much as I could so I could make well-informed decisions. My doctor has been great with me and I really trusted her to give me options and tell me what was going on and she really did. That said, you probably know I never went into labor on my own so I went to be induced at 7am on Sunday, December 19th.
Seth and I had a big night before the induction and didn't get home and to bed until around 12:30 in the morning. I had a pretty hard time sleeping but woke up around 5:45am to shower and get ready. Even though I wasn't in labor, we still did a bit of rushing around last minute throwing things in the birthing bag! We got breakfast on the way and by the time we got to the hospital I could definitely tell I was a bit nervous.
My nurse was just starting her shift at 7 as well so she set up the room while I was getting checked in. She had to do a lot of preparation such as taking my blood pressure and temperature and all kinds of stuff before we started anything. There was a little scare with my blood pressure at first because it was extremely high but then it went down pretty quick. My doctor in and checked me but I was still only 2cm-- the same as the Monday before so we talked about things and she decided she was going to skip the meds to soften my cervix and go straight to Pitocin. That's about the only thing I wish I had done differently. Who knows if it would have helped. Around 9 I was started on the IV and Pitocin.
The rest of the day is a blurry mess! They brought in a birthing ball and and we talked out a plan. I was having tiny contractions but I wasn't feeling them so the idea was to psych the baby out by "pretending I was still home waiting for labor to progress". I bounced on the birthing ball and walked around the labor floor. Jeeze those halls were cold! I tried to do it about 30 minutes or so at a time. I would bounce 30 and walk 30 or until I got tired. Then for a while Seth, my mom and I played some Phase 10. We got to phase 7 and I'm pretty sure I was winning. Around 3pm my doctor checked me and I still hadn't really progressed so we decided to break my water. They told me if I could I should probably get some rest before I started feeling it hardcore. I may have slept a little bit but I don't think I was hurting very much yet. The next time they checked me after my water was broken my doctor said it was a bit green. Later they talked to me about the risks of meconium aspiration and let me know it would talk minute to clear out the baby's lungs and to not get scared if I didn't hear her as soon as she comes out.
Eventually, though the contractions started hurting and I don't even remember how I dealt with them. I walked a little through them and bounced on the ball a lot. I leaned over the bed and my mom rubbed my back and shoulders. I had no concept of time at all! It was around 7 or 8pm that I decided to get some meds in my IV. Seth was amazing, he didn't say much but he held my hand let me squeeze and it was so good just knowing he was there. I suppose my pain got a bit more intense but I really wanted to go as far as a could without an epidural. Mostly though, instead of getting stronger and closer together and causing me to dilate, my contractions just started to get closer together. SUPER CLOSE TOGETHER. My doctor said they were strong enough to start changing my cervix and causing me to dilate and push the baby down but it just wasn't happening.
By midnight, I had been in a lot of pain and was still only 5cm and my doctor mentioned Cesarean section and I knew it had been coming for a while. The meconium staining kept getting worse-- the last time they released more fluids I saw it and started bawling because I know how hard that can be on the baby and it looked BAD. It was bad. My doctor talked to me again and I decided to get the epidural. She said it looked like the only way I would have the baby without a c-section was if the epidural worked enough to take away my pain AND make my hips and pelvis relax enough so that the baby could move through because she had a super cone-shaped head. Of course I wanted to do everything I could to have the baby as naturally as possible but we were running out of time.
The epidural took a while to get in and was Seth's least favorite part. I was using him to put my head on his chest and stuff and he probably locked his knees, he was like "I don't feel good. I don't feel good." and almost passed out so the nurse switched him and he sat down. Poor babe! I was in pain before, but if it wasn't for them telling me pretty much you're getting an epidural or c-section I wouldn't have gotten one yet. BUT I did and after it was in place it AMAZING. It took absolutely no time to work too, as soon as I got it in and laid back in bed and was smiling and crackin jokes. It was awesome! Unfortunately, it didn't do anything for my progress except make it a bit faster when they took me for my surgery. :(
The meconium was SO bad and every time they moved me the baby's heart rate was dropping. My doctor talked to me again and explained she understood it wasn't what I wanted but that I was definitely off the labor curve and with the strength and frequency of my contractions I should have been to the point of pushing. So, they prepped for surgery.
I said I had read about all the aspects of labor and giving birth--but I lied. I know about c sections...it's major surgery, they cut you open, I didn't want one. I don't really think I was even scared when it came time. I just wanted my baby to be okay. I remember a few things about the surgery...It was FREEZING. Like thinking about it makes me want to die because I was shivering soooo hard. They told me I would because of all the anesthesia but it sucked! I couldn't stop crying either. Seth held my hand and I'm glad he got to be in there. I also remember my doctor saying, "This is the most meconium I've seen like this in a lonnnnnng time" and another doctor saying "I've never seen this much." I also remember the pressure and tugging when they were getting the baby out and my doctor saying something about her being unsure of how big she is or how big her head was but I could tell they were having a hard time getting her out even in c-section.
At 1:44am Natalie Marie Gebhard was born. She was 7lbs 4.5oz and 20.5in long and BLUE. I am not sure how long they worked on her but the poor babe was on that table getting the poo sucked out of her lungs FOREVER. All I could see was the top of her little cone head but I didn't know what was going on. She had swallowed a lot though and every time they got it sucked out and let her breathe her vitals would drop. Her apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes were 6, 6 and 7. Seth got some pictures while she was on the table and we got to say Hi and kiss her before they took to the NICU. We tried to be strong but it was so hard to see our baby be taken upstairs and we didn't even get to meet her really. I could tell Seth was upset but I had already been crying the entire time so I may have just cried harder.
Seth, Mom, my sister Kayla, and friend Melissa got to go meet her in the NICU while I was coming down from surgery. Around 5:45am they moved us upstairs to the mother baby unit and got us settled up there. We were asking when we could go up to see Natalie and the nurse said she would find out and bring a wheel chair for me but when she came back she said Natalie was on her way downstairs! She was in the room with us by about 6:10am and the rest is history! Here are a few pictures of my baby!
I really tried my best at learning about the birthing process and and thinking about what I wanted it to be like. I decided against writing out a strict birth plan because I really wanted to keep my mind open until I was in the experience but I did try to learn as much as I could so I could make well-informed decisions. My doctor has been great with me and I really trusted her to give me options and tell me what was going on and she really did. That said, you probably know I never went into labor on my own so I went to be induced at 7am on Sunday, December 19th.
Seth and I had a big night before the induction and didn't get home and to bed until around 12:30 in the morning. I had a pretty hard time sleeping but woke up around 5:45am to shower and get ready. Even though I wasn't in labor, we still did a bit of rushing around last minute throwing things in the birthing bag! We got breakfast on the way and by the time we got to the hospital I could definitely tell I was a bit nervous.
My nurse was just starting her shift at 7 as well so she set up the room while I was getting checked in. She had to do a lot of preparation such as taking my blood pressure and temperature and all kinds of stuff before we started anything. There was a little scare with my blood pressure at first because it was extremely high but then it went down pretty quick. My doctor in and checked me but I was still only 2cm-- the same as the Monday before so we talked about things and she decided she was going to skip the meds to soften my cervix and go straight to Pitocin. That's about the only thing I wish I had done differently. Who knows if it would have helped. Around 9 I was started on the IV and Pitocin.
The rest of the day is a blurry mess! They brought in a birthing ball and and we talked out a plan. I was having tiny contractions but I wasn't feeling them so the idea was to psych the baby out by "pretending I was still home waiting for labor to progress". I bounced on the birthing ball and walked around the labor floor. Jeeze those halls were cold! I tried to do it about 30 minutes or so at a time. I would bounce 30 and walk 30 or until I got tired. Then for a while Seth, my mom and I played some Phase 10. We got to phase 7 and I'm pretty sure I was winning. Around 3pm my doctor checked me and I still hadn't really progressed so we decided to break my water. They told me if I could I should probably get some rest before I started feeling it hardcore. I may have slept a little bit but I don't think I was hurting very much yet. The next time they checked me after my water was broken my doctor said it was a bit green. Later they talked to me about the risks of meconium aspiration and let me know it would talk minute to clear out the baby's lungs and to not get scared if I didn't hear her as soon as she comes out.
Eventually, though the contractions started hurting and I don't even remember how I dealt with them. I walked a little through them and bounced on the ball a lot. I leaned over the bed and my mom rubbed my back and shoulders. I had no concept of time at all! It was around 7 or 8pm that I decided to get some meds in my IV. Seth was amazing, he didn't say much but he held my hand let me squeeze and it was so good just knowing he was there. I suppose my pain got a bit more intense but I really wanted to go as far as a could without an epidural. Mostly though, instead of getting stronger and closer together and causing me to dilate, my contractions just started to get closer together. SUPER CLOSE TOGETHER. My doctor said they were strong enough to start changing my cervix and causing me to dilate and push the baby down but it just wasn't happening.
By midnight, I had been in a lot of pain and was still only 5cm and my doctor mentioned Cesarean section and I knew it had been coming for a while. The meconium staining kept getting worse-- the last time they released more fluids I saw it and started bawling because I know how hard that can be on the baby and it looked BAD. It was bad. My doctor talked to me again and I decided to get the epidural. She said it looked like the only way I would have the baby without a c-section was if the epidural worked enough to take away my pain AND make my hips and pelvis relax enough so that the baby could move through because she had a super cone-shaped head. Of course I wanted to do everything I could to have the baby as naturally as possible but we were running out of time.
The epidural took a while to get in and was Seth's least favorite part. I was using him to put my head on his chest and stuff and he probably locked his knees, he was like "I don't feel good. I don't feel good." and almost passed out so the nurse switched him and he sat down. Poor babe! I was in pain before, but if it wasn't for them telling me pretty much you're getting an epidural or c-section I wouldn't have gotten one yet. BUT I did and after it was in place it AMAZING. It took absolutely no time to work too, as soon as I got it in and laid back in bed and was smiling and crackin jokes. It was awesome! Unfortunately, it didn't do anything for my progress except make it a bit faster when they took me for my surgery. :(
The meconium was SO bad and every time they moved me the baby's heart rate was dropping. My doctor talked to me again and explained she understood it wasn't what I wanted but that I was definitely off the labor curve and with the strength and frequency of my contractions I should have been to the point of pushing. So, they prepped for surgery.
I said I had read about all the aspects of labor and giving birth--but I lied. I know about c sections...it's major surgery, they cut you open, I didn't want one. I don't really think I was even scared when it came time. I just wanted my baby to be okay. I remember a few things about the surgery...It was FREEZING. Like thinking about it makes me want to die because I was shivering soooo hard. They told me I would because of all the anesthesia but it sucked! I couldn't stop crying either. Seth held my hand and I'm glad he got to be in there. I also remember my doctor saying, "This is the most meconium I've seen like this in a lonnnnnng time" and another doctor saying "I've never seen this much." I also remember the pressure and tugging when they were getting the baby out and my doctor saying something about her being unsure of how big she is or how big her head was but I could tell they were having a hard time getting her out even in c-section.
At 1:44am Natalie Marie Gebhard was born. She was 7lbs 4.5oz and 20.5in long and BLUE. I am not sure how long they worked on her but the poor babe was on that table getting the poo sucked out of her lungs FOREVER. All I could see was the top of her little cone head but I didn't know what was going on. She had swallowed a lot though and every time they got it sucked out and let her breathe her vitals would drop. Her apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes were 6, 6 and 7. Seth got some pictures while she was on the table and we got to say Hi and kiss her before they took to the NICU. We tried to be strong but it was so hard to see our baby be taken upstairs and we didn't even get to meet her really. I could tell Seth was upset but I had already been crying the entire time so I may have just cried harder.
Seth, Mom, my sister Kayla, and friend Melissa got to go meet her in the NICU while I was coming down from surgery. Around 5:45am they moved us upstairs to the mother baby unit and got us settled up there. We were asking when we could go up to see Natalie and the nurse said she would find out and bring a wheel chair for me but when she came back she said Natalie was on her way downstairs! She was in the room with us by about 6:10am and the rest is history! Here are a few pictures of my baby!
Friday, December 17, 2010
41w
So! I had an appointment Monday morning. It was the longest appointment ever! BUT It wasn't too bad. My weight and blood pressure were GREAT. Then they hooked me up to monitor the baby. I guess it didn't start out too good but then she said the baby was doing great and that she must have been sleeping at first. I got checked and I was at 2cm-- she didnt tell me how effaced. And the fluids were good.
The BIG NEWS is that my husband made it home Monday night!!! He's in the military and should get leave when/after I have the baby but I told him about my appointment and they got him leave THAT DAY! It was amazing! So now he is home and we are waiting for this babayyyyy together and I couldnt be happier that he is going to be here...however, he's getting really IMPATIENT waiting for this little one!
Anywho, I also had an NST at 41w1d. I did fine. The baby did fine. I didn't get checked but they monitored contractions and I didn't have any. The nurse said "that is one boring uterus". So, this baby has tomorrow to come on her own or it's eviction time!...which is looking highly likely. :(
Monday, December 6, 2010
40 weeks!
I cant believe its been so long since Ive updated this! I really just didnt want to do it from my phone-- my posts always end up consisting of so much more than I think I have to say!
This morning I had my 40week Drs appointment. I am 1 cm dilated and somewhat effaced but this baby is definitely going to be late!
Last Wednesday was supposed to be my last day of work. Well, Tuesday but at my appointment on Monday I had high blood pressure and my appointment went horrible! Its a longgggggg story but I ended up having to do a 24hr test to see if I was at all preeclamptic or anything else was wrong. They didnt call to let me know-but at my appointment today they said you have to be 300 to be mildly preE and I was 170. So it was not as bad as it could have been.
Scheduled induction for December 19th unless baby N comes before then -- which we are hoping she does, of course!
This morning I had my 40week Drs appointment. I am 1 cm dilated and somewhat effaced but this baby is definitely going to be late!
Last Wednesday was supposed to be my last day of work. Well, Tuesday but at my appointment on Monday I had high blood pressure and my appointment went horrible! Its a longgggggg story but I ended up having to do a 24hr test to see if I was at all preeclamptic or anything else was wrong. They didnt call to let me know-but at my appointment today they said you have to be 300 to be mildly preE and I was 170. So it was not as bad as it could have been.
Scheduled induction for December 19th unless baby N comes before then -- which we are hoping she does, of course!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
[almost] 34 weeks!
Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks! I just wanna say HOLYCOW time flies. I guess I wasn't really done with the blog post last time. I think I just get tired/bored with it and post a picture and peace out. Haha BTW The picture in this is for 33 weeks, since I didn't post one then.
Well, I suppose a lot has been going on since then. First off, I didn't update about our hospital tour-- but we did that a couple weeks ago. It was really good to go and see where I'm actually going to be. The building is kinda huge and we had no clue where we were going, but I think we do...NOW. 4th floor is labor and delivery and the labor suites are soooo nice. I am really happy with it, I think. It's in a new building(?) at OU Med so everything is updated. They room-in so there is baby bed and my bed and couch and tables and everything and they said you can have as many people in the room as you want. I just think it's nice to have enough space to have that option. So I learned a little bit there about the hospital and stuff.
In my last post I said there were just a few things we have left, but now the list is even shorter. I got my diaper bag -- love it! Got the bouncer Saturday and put it together Sunday. And I got my wetbags-- 1 medium, 1 large, 1xlarge. I read the measurements, but they are smaller than you'd think. I hope they hold some dipes!
Speaking of cloth. All my diapers are prepped. My stash consists of only prefolds/covers now, no All in Ones yet. I have 15 Indian unbleached prefolds, 24 bleached Chinese prefolds, 2 small Bummis SWW, 1 NB proraps, and 3 xsmall thirsties covers. I guess we will see how big she comes out and see if I have enough covers? Hahaha! I almost bought some seconds the other day but decided against it. I think next time I want some cloth I will check out the Green Bambino (like the only local store in OKC).
I have also washed all my newborn sized clothes and the REALLY small ones that she will be able to wear soonest. And all of the burp cloths, washrags, towels, etc.
I think my next tasks are really laying out my birth plan and packing our bags.
I'm going to a breastfeeding class Nov. 6 also. That should be good.
I got a call this morning from OU and when I called back the girl who verifies insurance told me that mine terms on Monday. When is my next appointment? MONDAY. WTF. BTW, it shouldn't term. I don't think...unless they are putting me on Tricare MOST AMAZING INSURANCE IN THE WORLD instead of Tricare Prime. But I dont think it exists. Seth is Active duty now, but REALLY active duty starting the 1st-- if you ask me. I don't get it! What's going on??!
Yeah, so that's the current dilemma. Will I be covered?
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