@ near Nelson Rd & Legacy Dr
(Longmont, CO, United States)]]>
It all started on August 9th. We decided to take the kids and Wyatt down to Boulder and take a little hike at Chautauqua. The weather wasn't too hot so I felt like I could handle a bit of outdoors. We did a couple of easy miles. Found some fun kid trails with little nature signs for the kids to follow. And even a rangers cabin full of cool stuffed Boulder animal residents. Very cool for the girls. I felt good during the hike but soon started to get really tired on the drive home.
Once we got home I really bonked. Was feeling exhausted and a little nauseous so I asked Brandon to take on the parental duties for the rest of the day and went to lie down. I think I got up for a small quick dinner and then went back to bed. We decided to watch a movie in bed but I only made it half way through before I wanted to crash again. So I asked B to help me out of bed for one more potty break before bed. Then as he was pulling me up I felt a gush of warm water all over my legs. WTF, I immediately thought I peed the bed, crap! Then within a few seconds I realized that it was probably my water breaking. Brandon was in denial. I was two weeks early so it couldn't be time yet. He is sure that it is just bath water that I was somehow storing in my vagina from earlier in the day. What???? I will explain female anatomy to him later, on with the story.
I think it was approaching midnight at this point. I wasn't prepared for a trip to the hospital. So I ran to pack my bag. Brandon went to the phone and called our neighbors and friends the Bradley's to explain the situation and ask if the kids could sleep over. He then rushed the kids out of bed and over to the neighbors. They were confused, scared and half asleep but I think they handled the move great. Brandon was in a panic to get to the hospital. I kept trying to calm him down. We would have plenty of time to get there. Hours even. But I think he thought the kid would pop out fast with the water breaking. We've never had the water break on its own before so I guess neither of us really knew what to expect.
Within a few minutes we were on our way to the hospital. Once there they put me in the triage room and were able to verify that my water had indeed broken. They had a type of litmus paper that turned blue when it detected amniotic fluid. I was quickly moved into a delivery room and the nurse began monitoring the baby and placed my IV. At this point I was still not having any contractions which confused me. I always thought when your water broke the labor part kicked in pretty fast. They told me to start walking but I would only get a few feet before my legs were covered in bloody amniotic fluid. Another thing they don't tell you. Your water doesn't just break once. It may start with one large gush of fluid but it continues to constantly leak out for hours after. So I would go to the restroom, get all cleaned up and dry, stand up to walk and I was covered in fluids again. Soon enough I decided to skip the walking and just lay down and try to get some rest. My OB was there with another delivery and was exhausted so he decided to go home and get a few hours sleep. They started pitocin between 3 and 4 AM to get the contractions going. As soon as it hit my veins I remember it was just freezing and my body soon began to shiver uncontrollably so I piled on the heated blankets. The contractions got going fairly quickly after that and continued to increase in intensity over the next couple of hours.
Around 7 AM my contractions were strong enough to need an epidural. We got that placed very smoothly but it tended to concentrate on one side of my body. So I had to lay on my side pretty much the rest of the day to keep my body from tingling too much. Just before 11 AM I started to feel a lot more pressure in my bottom so I called the nurse thinking I had to poop. She instead checked my cervix and could feel the baby's head crowning. I then tried to wake up Brandon because he had been sleeping the entire night, even through my contractions. What a guy :) Things then went very fast. Brandon grabbed the cameras and the doc came in. Before he was even fully gowned he told me to start pushing and Miss Kayla was born within a few pushes. Very quick and easy.
Being two weeks early Kayla was covered in vernix from head to toe. Even coating the inside of her ears. She was healthy and perfect. I don't remember much more from the rest of that day or night. Just little things like not sleeping much. Or how uncomfortable the hospital bed was. Or how exciting it was to show Kayla off to her long awaiting big sisters. I felt great afterwards. I had very little pain and was getting around fine. So we opted not to stay the recommended two nights after the birth and went home in the evening on the next day. We missed the girls and they were ready to come home. You'd think they'd love sleeping over at friends houses but they were crying to come home. Not to say they didn't have a great time loving up Helene or beating up Helene's Dad. But, they were anxious to spend time with Kayla.
Kayla is now 6 weeks old and she is still an excellent baby. Yes, it took me this long to write one blog entry. Its not easy with a newborn and two other kiddos to get more then 5 minutes alone at a time. In fact I have written most of this one handed with Kayla on a pillow on my lap nursing. But, I'm impressed I got it done.
The first month of her life she pretty much slept all of the time. She was maybe awake for a total of 2 or 3 hours off and on throughout the day. She would wake up to eat and then go right back to sleep. After Reagan, this seemed wrong somehow but I'll take it. By her fourth week she was only waking up once a night to eat. But, getting her to sleep at night was becoming a small challenge. She wants to be awake from 8 pm to 11 or 12 just as we are ready to sleep. But for a newborn I think she is still awesome.
At five weeks old she was starting to be awake more. But still sleeping a lot. She gets grumpy just as I am trying to make dinner. So I have mastered the sling thing for dinnertime. I don't think I've eaten a meal in weeks where I wasn't also feeding Kayla. So that was a bit difficult but I'm getting better at dinnertime multitasking. Although Kayla is often covered in my dropped food by the end of the meal. Kayla also slept through the night once at 5 weeks for a full 8 hours. But I was so engorged when she finally woke up that my milk was literally spraying down her throat. She didn't like that too much so since then she wakes up once a night to eat.
On another topic, Kayla seems to hate her Daddy. He can't seem to hold her for more then 5 minutes before she is hysterical. She wants to be held by Mommy and only Mommy at ALL times. So needless to say the house is quite a mess as I do nothing but hold Kayla. When I start to get annoyed at my constant attachment its easy to remember to just enjoy the moment. This is the last little nugget I'll have so I am loving every minute of my baby time. Good thing she is such a happy baby.
]]>Next I need to head back to the Maternity store and get myself some nursing pj's/shirts. Brandon has demanded that I burn the old pj's since they are stained with "spilled milk" literally. Guess I can't argue with that one. Plus, the clothes are much more stylish now. Not all pink and flowery like before.
We had our Delivery Discussion with the OB yesterday. We didn't learn anything new there. He had another women about to give birth so we ran through everything very quickly. Third time around you aren't so nervous about things. He gave us the hospital admission papers, important phone numbers, and told us when to head in. Can't think of anything else needed. We have the final ultrasound scheduled for the 10th to see just how big this kid really is. Should be interesting to have one so late in pregnancy. Hopefully the 3D is working.
I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions over the last couple of weeks. Some nights to the point that I am stuck in bed because they can make me nauseous when I have so many. I don't understand why they call them contractions. Feels more like severe cramping and muscle pinches to me. I am also having a lot of discomfort when trying to walk around too much. The muscles in my lower abdomen are about stretched to the limit and are giving out on me a lot. A lot of sharp pains and back muscle spasms when I do too much. Last week I had to pick Syd up at camp and the muscles were acting up. Could only take a few steps before I had to stop and let the pinches settle down. Must have looked like I was in full blown labor. I felt pretty stupid looking anyway.
Other then that we are all getting very anxious and excited to see this new little baby. The girls are asking a lot of questions about just how I get the baby out. And they are worried that Daddy is going to be really mad because he has to sleep at the hospital with me. They can't understand why Dad would need to be there at all. But hey, at least their going to be worried about someone during the delivery.
Here's the latest picture. I don't have to look at myself too often so needless to say I was quite surprised when I saw this one. The pounds have really packed themselves on.
]]>
So the doctor's report at the end of the ultrasound was short and simple..."Fetus is very large." Just awesome, can't wait to push this kid out! All of her measurements had her about two weeks bigger then her age. Her abdomen, head, and legs all were measuring in at 32 and 1/2 weeks so the doc said she is overall "just one big baby." Not just fat but a big head and long body.
So then we had the discussion on when they decide if the kid is too big for you to deliver it on your own. Rules are if the kid is under 10 pounds they let Mom go into labor on her own. If the kid looks like it is going to be over 10 pounds they go straight for a cesarean and don't even let you try for a natural birth. Apparently because they don't think you can push out the shoulders and would end up having an emergency C section anyway. They won't induce any earlier then 38 weeks because they want to give the lungs every chance to develop fully. So at this point its a wait and see game. He is going to do another ultrasound at 36 weeks to see if the growth curve has continued. Then we decide from there. Right now she is in the 80% percentile on size. If she stays on this curve she will be in the 9 pound plus range at full term. So that seems doable. Syd was 8 lb 12 oz and Reagan was 7 lb 13. So that doesn't seem too much bigger, right?
Only other question I had for him was why I have this one dime sized spot on my belly that is extremely painful when she kicks it. Seems to be a favorite spot of hers. Doc says as my tummy gets bigger the muscles start shredding, I knew that already. But, apparently there are nerves in the tissue as well that start shredding. The kid seems to have found one of these nerves and likes using it as target practice. It just about knocks me to the floor when she hits it.
Here is the latest pic and ultrasound. You can see her full lips and chubby cheeks. Towards the end of the ultrasound you can see her open and close her mouth. I assume she is taking a drink but who knows.
Baby Fuller Version 3.1 from Brandon Fuller on Vimeo.
With the third trimester comes the now every two week OB checks instead of the monthly schedule. Which I guess is good since its always a bit of a relief to be told baby looks good. They are going to do another ultrasound in two weeks to double check the gender. I am pretty much assured its a girl but the doc doesn't like having that question mark on my chart. So I think I am going to put off painting the nursery until then.
The bambino seems to be running out of room already because she likes to really push out on my stomach with what feels like her head or back. I can tell exactly where she is most of the time which is different then with the girls. She tends to be pushed out against my stomach a lot making it obviously hard where she is laying. Then when she pushes too hard all I have to do it push back slightly on her with my hand and she flips out. Pretty fun that I can begin torturing the kid already. So comparatively, this kid tends to prefer making big full stomach movements over the little kicks that the girls did. So when she is awake I really know it. Pretty cool for me. The doc said she is only two finger widths away from the bottom of my rib cage so I expect the shortness of breath to start soon. My Mom always said she could feel me kicking in between her ribs. So I'm curious to see if that is the case with this little one....
I am feeling pretty good most days. Seem to still have energy for the nonstop projects that need to be done around here before baby. However, starting to get a lot of discomfort in my legs by mid afternoon. Then by the end of the day they are swollen and painful. Walking around too much is really uncomfortable which is quite the nuisance during the summer. Need to remember to keep taking breaks and sitting with raised legs but hard to make yourself stop mid project. I am definitely feeling the bursts of energy becoming shorter lived as the third trimester takes effect. As I seem to get tired more quickly. So all that just means I need to get the nursery and house back into order before I get too much further along.
The girls got out of school two weeks ago and are enjoying their summer vacation. Last week it took them a full 24 hours to be bored with no place to go. They pretty much spend the entire day outside which is great for me. This week they are enjoying the Denver zoo camp. Today rained all day but they had no complaints. I think they thought it was cool to walk around the zoo with an umbrella. Much better than being stuck at home for my busy bodies.
We got the pool set up last weekend and are looking forward to some warmer weather so we can enjoy the water. Though the cold water doesn't seem to slow the girls down from jumping in. So the girls and I are keeping busy and having fun together for the summer. I hate the fact that Sydney is going to be in school full days this coming school year. She is my little helper and I like having her around in the afternoons after school. So trying to get the most out of the summer with her before starting the big first grade. Hard to believe it...
]]>
