Check out Emily's One-Week Pictures at:
http://pictures-of-emily.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Growing Up, Day by Day
Wow - I cannot believe our little one will be one week old tomorrow! The week has gone by fast - of course, having spent part of it in the hospital probably helps to make it that way!
We are starting to settle into a routine; Emily eats about every 2 1/2-3 hours, stays awake for an hour or so, and then naps for an hour or so before getting up to eat again. She's growing great and gaining back her birth weight; her weight-in at the pediatricians yesterday had her at 7 lbs, 10 oz, up six ounces from when she left the hospital. That was a huge answer to prayer for us, as for her first couple-three days I had to pump and then feed her with a syringe (she likes to roll her tongue back in her mouth which made nursing very difficult). But in the past couple of days she has really seemed to click with this nursing thing, which makes life much easier for me!
We took her up to the house yesterday to meet the kids and all but one instantly fell in love with her. One of the three year-olds got extremely jealous, would not have anything to do with me or Emily, and got all baby'ish on Jonathan's lap (thumb-sucking, etc). When I passed Emily to Jonathan so I could get something from our bedroom, she had a huge tantrum and fell to pieces. Other than that, Emily is quite a hit with the others, though they still are a bit confused how she got out of my tummy. :-)
In the meantime, I'm starting to feel much better; I still don't get much sleep, either at night or during the day, so I'm still tired and yep, I'm still on painkillers. But we are really enjoying our time at the relief apartment; it is very peaceful here.
I think that is about it for now - oh, I've created a photo blog for Emily at http://pictures-of-emily.blogspot.com/. It will be updated probably once a week or so, so after you check it today, be sure to check it tomorrow for her one-week photo!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Our Birthing Story
Ok, so since people have been asking, here is our birth story!
This past Monday morning, the 16th, we headed into our OB for our 38 week check-up and a non-stress test. I had started to dilate a little bit and my blood pressure was fine, but the NST indicated that the baby's heartbeat kept dropping. After an hour on the fetal monitor, our doctor told us to go ahead and head to the hospital for fetal monitoring for the rest of the day and night, and to start some 24-hour lab work. So we did, and we waited.
And waited.
The baby's fetal monitoring was fine at the hospital, and by Tuesday afternoon, my blood pressure stabilized enough for me to go off the medication I'd been on for it. Tuesday night our OB came by to let us know our lab results and that he wanted to go ahead and induce me, for a couple of reasons. First of all, she was measuring big via our ultrasound, but most importantly, I was doing well in the hospital and he didn't want to see me go home and go back to where I had been physically.
So that night I was given a gel internally that would help my body get more ready for labor (cytotec), ideally that I would start dilating more or at best, go into labor naturally. Come six o’clock in the morning, I was started on a very low dose of pitocin. Within fifteen minutes or so, the contractions started. They were mild for the first couple of hours, more like cramps than contractions. Our doula, Fran, arrived at about eight, and got settled in with us for the long haul to delivery.
Thus this is how our day started and progressed; I was having contractions about every two minutes, but they were manageable. I spent some time rocking on a birthing ball, or sitting upright in the labor/delivery bed (I was not allowed to walk or do anything of that nature to help baby drop more naturally). We saw some progress at 1:30 in the afternoon when my water broke, and labor got a lot harder after that. At one point, I did get a shot of a narcotic to help take the edge off, and to let me rest a bit between the contractions.
When the doctor came by to check me at six p.m., I was very hopeful that we were near delivery. I was super disappointed to find that I was only 2 cm dilated at that point, and also a little nervous. I knew if we didn’t make some progress in the next couple of hours, we would be looking at a c-section. Instead, I was given one more chance and the medication turned way up. Within an hour I was at 5 cm, but physically, I was falling apart and just could not stay on top of the contractions, especially as they were now coming a minute and a half apart. So yes, though I had wanted a natural birth without an epi, I asked for one at this point; I knew there was no way I would have any strength left to push if I had to endure these type of contractions for much longer.
We had to wait for the epidural though – it was eight o’clock before the anesthesiologist came in and I though I was fully dilated, I still wanted and needed it. I had the urge to push, but was so wiped out and could not handle the contractions any more. I have since found out that Jonathan and my doula were started to get worried about me; I was not handling it well, throwing up and shaking violently. I am not and never was a screamer, or even a moaner, but when I started to cry and sob that I couldn’t do this any more, Jonathan knew I needed something at that point. So in went the epidural – it was torture to stay curled in a ball for four minutes when contractions were tearing me apart, but it was worth it in the end.
Though I was ready to push by the time the epi kicked in, I decided not to and just wait and rest for awhile, which we did for about forty-five minutes. In the meantime, the nurses and techs turned our LDPR (Labor, Delivery, Postpartum Recovery) Room into a sterile birthing environment and broke the bed down for delivery. At 8:45 I started pushing and with seven or so pushing sets later, little Emily was born at 8:58. I was immediately allowed to hold her, and did so for a few minutes before the nurses took her over to the baby warmer and started on their procedures while the doctor stitched me up. I’d torn in two places, so the stitches took a little while, but everyone was very calmed and laid back. Emily scored an 8/9 on the apgar scale, and is such a pretty newborn; I fully expected the red, wrinkled baby, but she was a cutey! We didn’t get to bed until about one a.m., when the nurses were all finished with her and me, and our room cleaned up. We were one tired, but happy, family!
This past Monday morning, the 16th, we headed into our OB for our 38 week check-up and a non-stress test. I had started to dilate a little bit and my blood pressure was fine, but the NST indicated that the baby's heartbeat kept dropping. After an hour on the fetal monitor, our doctor told us to go ahead and head to the hospital for fetal monitoring for the rest of the day and night, and to start some 24-hour lab work. So we did, and we waited.
And waited.
The baby's fetal monitoring was fine at the hospital, and by Tuesday afternoon, my blood pressure stabilized enough for me to go off the medication I'd been on for it. Tuesday night our OB came by to let us know our lab results and that he wanted to go ahead and induce me, for a couple of reasons. First of all, she was measuring big via our ultrasound, but most importantly, I was doing well in the hospital and he didn't want to see me go home and go back to where I had been physically.
So that night I was given a gel internally that would help my body get more ready for labor (cytotec), ideally that I would start dilating more or at best, go into labor naturally. Come six o’clock in the morning, I was started on a very low dose of pitocin. Within fifteen minutes or so, the contractions started. They were mild for the first couple of hours, more like cramps than contractions. Our doula, Fran, arrived at about eight, and got settled in with us for the long haul to delivery.
Thus this is how our day started and progressed; I was having contractions about every two minutes, but they were manageable. I spent some time rocking on a birthing ball, or sitting upright in the labor/delivery bed (I was not allowed to walk or do anything of that nature to help baby drop more naturally). We saw some progress at 1:30 in the afternoon when my water broke, and labor got a lot harder after that. At one point, I did get a shot of a narcotic to help take the edge off, and to let me rest a bit between the contractions.
When the doctor came by to check me at six p.m., I was very hopeful that we were near delivery. I was super disappointed to find that I was only 2 cm dilated at that point, and also a little nervous. I knew if we didn’t make some progress in the next couple of hours, we would be looking at a c-section. Instead, I was given one more chance and the medication turned way up. Within an hour I was at 5 cm, but physically, I was falling apart and just could not stay on top of the contractions, especially as they were now coming a minute and a half apart. So yes, though I had wanted a natural birth without an epi, I asked for one at this point; I knew there was no way I would have any strength left to push if I had to endure these type of contractions for much longer.
We had to wait for the epidural though – it was eight o’clock before the anesthesiologist came in and I though I was fully dilated, I still wanted and needed it. I had the urge to push, but was so wiped out and could not handle the contractions any more. I have since found out that Jonathan and my doula were started to get worried about me; I was not handling it well, throwing up and shaking violently. I am not and never was a screamer, or even a moaner, but when I started to cry and sob that I couldn’t do this any more, Jonathan knew I needed something at that point. So in went the epidural – it was torture to stay curled in a ball for four minutes when contractions were tearing me apart, but it was worth it in the end.
Though I was ready to push by the time the epi kicked in, I decided not to and just wait and rest for awhile, which we did for about forty-five minutes. In the meantime, the nurses and techs turned our LDPR (Labor, Delivery, Postpartum Recovery) Room into a sterile birthing environment and broke the bed down for delivery. At 8:45 I started pushing and with seven or so pushing sets later, little Emily was born at 8:58. I was immediately allowed to hold her, and did so for a few minutes before the nurses took her over to the baby warmer and started on their procedures while the doctor stitched me up. I’d torn in two places, so the stitches took a little while, but everyone was very calmed and laid back. Emily scored an 8/9 on the apgar scale, and is such a pretty newborn; I fully expected the red, wrinkled baby, but she was a cutey! We didn’t get to bed until about one a.m., when the nurses were all finished with her and me, and our room cleaned up. We were one tired, but happy, family!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
I'm so depressed...
I'm sooo tired of being in the hospital!!!!!!!!!
We are going on a day and a half of sitting here doing nothing. My labwork was finished about seven hours ago, so now we are just waiting for the results to come back and the doctor to visit us and let us know what is going on.
It's a bummer, though; my next door neighbor just had her baby (she came in about lunch); argh!!!! I'm jealous; Jonathan has becoming very... very... um... moody and negative about it. He swears Dr. Roesch is going to send us home when he comes by tonight, especially since my blood pressure issue has basically reversed itself since late yesterday afternoon. However, my new night nurse just came in and informed us that the doctor should be here in about an hour, and yep, they talked about induction. :-D I don't know if she was supposed to tell us that, and we aren't officially going to start calling the cavalry yet, but it was a breath of fresh air for us.
But anyway, we'll update as we know more!
--Debbie
We are going on a day and a half of sitting here doing nothing. My labwork was finished about seven hours ago, so now we are just waiting for the results to come back and the doctor to visit us and let us know what is going on.
It's a bummer, though; my next door neighbor just had her baby (she came in about lunch); argh!!!! I'm jealous; Jonathan has becoming very... very... um... moody and negative about it. He swears Dr. Roesch is going to send us home when he comes by tonight, especially since my blood pressure issue has basically reversed itself since late yesterday afternoon. However, my new night nurse just came in and informed us that the doctor should be here in about an hour, and yep, they talked about induction. :-D I don't know if she was supposed to tell us that, and we aren't officially going to start calling the cavalry yet, but it was a breath of fresh air for us.
But anyway, we'll update as we know more!
--Debbie
Monday, June 16, 2008
My First Night in a Hospital
I've never had to spend the night in a hospital before; even when I had my tonsils out at the age of five, I didn't have to spend the night. But let me back up - some of you don't even know I'm in the hospital!
We went into the OB this morning for my 38 week exam and a NST (non-stress test; they hook me up to the fetal monitor for 30-45 minutes and see how baby and I are doing). I had some protein show up on my dipstick, my BP was okay at 130/80, and great news! I have started dilating some on my own. However, during my NST, the baby's heartbeat kept dropping. Needless to say, we were sent home to get our bags and check into the hospital, so we did! The timing worked out well; we started our maternity leave this morning, though we weren't expecting to go the hospital today.
Anyway, baby and I are doing well; we had an ultrasound and she seems perfectly healthy and my fluid levels are fine. Better yet is that I am having small contractions that have been fairly regular; nothing like what we will have when we start active labor, but enough to help continue the beginning dilation process. We are also doing another set of 24 hour labwork, which will be done and back early tomorrow afternoon. From what we are hearing from the doctor and nurses, though, is that I probably will NOT be sent home; I will probably be induced, but my OB wants to see the lab results before he makes the decision. The only issue today, which is crazy of all days, is that my blood pressure keeps dropping, which is nuts! It's never been as low as it has been this evening. So I'm off of the meds unless I jump back up into hypertension range.
So that's the latest update of the moment - we'll keep you posted! :-)
We went into the OB this morning for my 38 week exam and a NST (non-stress test; they hook me up to the fetal monitor for 30-45 minutes and see how baby and I are doing). I had some protein show up on my dipstick, my BP was okay at 130/80, and great news! I have started dilating some on my own. However, during my NST, the baby's heartbeat kept dropping. Needless to say, we were sent home to get our bags and check into the hospital, so we did! The timing worked out well; we started our maternity leave this morning, though we weren't expecting to go the hospital today.
Anyway, baby and I are doing well; we had an ultrasound and she seems perfectly healthy and my fluid levels are fine. Better yet is that I am having small contractions that have been fairly regular; nothing like what we will have when we start active labor, but enough to help continue the beginning dilation process. We are also doing another set of 24 hour labwork, which will be done and back early tomorrow afternoon. From what we are hearing from the doctor and nurses, though, is that I probably will NOT be sent home; I will probably be induced, but my OB wants to see the lab results before he makes the decision. The only issue today, which is crazy of all days, is that my blood pressure keeps dropping, which is nuts! It's never been as low as it has been this evening. So I'm off of the meds unless I jump back up into hypertension range.
So that's the latest update of the moment - we'll keep you posted! :-)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Clock is Ticking!
Told you I'd be updating again by the end of the day!
Well, we went back in to the doctor this morning, and though some of my lab work came back negative or normal (primarily the tests for preeclampsia and my platelet count), it did indicate that the high blood pressure is beginning to make me sick and starting to do damage to my kidneys. At this time, however, being induced could be very difficult on myself and the baby, and we would run a much higher chance at a c-section as my body needs to do some natural work to get ready for labor first. In the meantime, we are on a ticking clock, trying to give the baby a bit more time in utero and my body a chance to prepare for labor without me getting to the point where I will struggle with labor because of the hypertension/kidney issues, and thus, needing a c-section because I don't have the strength to go through labor. So we wait and see! Our OB is predicting that we will be induced by this time next week, though we will know more when we go back into seeing him again on Monday.
When we got back, we talked with our director, and we are going to go ahead and go off-duty on Monday, with the baby pending so close, and lots of doctor visits next week anyway, and will stay off-duty until I've recovered from labor and we are ready to get back to work (about two weeks).
Will we keep you posted as we know things, and Lord willing, will be announcing our little one to you soon!
Well, we went back in to the doctor this morning, and though some of my lab work came back negative or normal (primarily the tests for preeclampsia and my platelet count), it did indicate that the high blood pressure is beginning to make me sick and starting to do damage to my kidneys. At this time, however, being induced could be very difficult on myself and the baby, and we would run a much higher chance at a c-section as my body needs to do some natural work to get ready for labor first. In the meantime, we are on a ticking clock, trying to give the baby a bit more time in utero and my body a chance to prepare for labor without me getting to the point where I will struggle with labor because of the hypertension/kidney issues, and thus, needing a c-section because I don't have the strength to go through labor. So we wait and see! Our OB is predicting that we will be induced by this time next week, though we will know more when we go back into seeing him again on Monday.
When we got back, we talked with our director, and we are going to go ahead and go off-duty on Monday, with the baby pending so close, and lots of doctor visits next week anyway, and will stay off-duty until I've recovered from labor and we are ready to get back to work (about two weeks).
Will we keep you posted as we know things, and Lord willing, will be announcing our little one to you soon!
The Baby Saga Continues...
I'll probably to an update to this post later today, but I wanted to blog this morning. :-)We head back into the doctor for the first appointment of the day this morning; we are killing our director, Dee, this week with being in and out so much as he has to watch the kids and is not used to being on campus by eight a.m.! All the lab work they did should be in, so after an hour on the fetal monitor, and then my check-up, hopefully we'll have a closer idea as to what our delivery date will be. If my lab work came back "bad", then we should deliver tomorrow or this weekend; if not, probably next week, but we'll see after my next appointment early in the week. Dee is praying it is not this weekend!!
I think this week has been a bit easier on Jonathan than last week, the primary reason being food! We've had someone bring dinner every night this week, and it was our shopping week, so Jonathan did a big order from Sam's and I made sure to include A LOT of easy-to-cook meals on the click-n-pull order. That and we've had great volunteers here in the evenings this week; yeah! :-) We'd talked about going off-duty this weekend (it is our weekend to go off), but in some ways it would feel kind of stupid taking off if we are getting ready to go off for a couple weeks starting next week. And, there isn't anyone to watch the house this weekend, specifically Saturday, as we were not planning to go off duty again until the baby is born, so yep; I think we'll be here this weekend. The kids have VBS next week, which will lighten the load some in the mornings (with the exception of the toddlers; in two weeks there is a VBS going on in which they can ALL go, which our relief staff will love!).
Speaking of toddlers, we are losing Brandon today to go back to his mom and dad. :-( We had to pack him last night and it was heart-wrenching. We are his 3rd placement, so we Jonathan pulled out his suitcase last night, it was an utter meltdown; the boy knows a move is coming. Screaming, crying, trying to take his stuff back out of bags and put it back away, etc. We also had to break it to the other kiddos, and they were upset - he's only been with us a few weeks, but has quickly joined ranks as their foster brother. *sigh* Only once have we looked on the leaving of a child from our house with joy and gladness in the year we've been here.
Maggie is going through the typical first week of "testing the boundaries". She's acting out via food, trying to use that as her control. We typically don't power struggle with the kiddos; if they don't eat, it's not a big deal - they just get it for their next meal (this has happened once or twice per kid in the house - usually doesn't happen again). I'm not strict on them cleaning their plates - our rule is all your veggies and fruit and half of the main entree, even if you don't care for it. Anything else, I don't care if you eat it or not (such as the bread, rice, etc). For her though, it's makes me roll her eyes; she's working on three pieces of fruit and refusing to eat them. We even had an awesome dessert last night, made by our executive director's wife (her creation with Jonathan's creativity in the picture!), and nope - she threw her fruit on the floor. Jonathan rinsed it and put it back on her plate. *sigh* So she spent some time in the corner yesterday for being very rude and disrespectful to our volunteer (and Jonathan!) yesterday, and depending on breakfast, might again this morning! But Jonathan and I brought her into our room last night and talked with her; she cried, and it's not easy for me, either. She is the exact same age I was when my mom died, and though I struggled for years and years with that, I at least had my familiar family and friends around me, not in a completely unfamiliar surrounding.
But anyway, this is getting longish and I need to take a shower. I'll update again after our appointment!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Baby Update
Here's the update of the day for y'all! :-)
We went to the OB today, instead of my scheduled appointment for tomorrow, since my blood pressure (BP) was kind of crazy over the weekend. We spent an hour on the fetal monitor, and since my BP has been spiking up over 150/100 anytime I get out of bed, I am now on a mild dose of blood pressure medicine so I don't stroke out next time I get up to go use the bathroom! I really don't like it, but that isn't uncommon; I don't do well on prescription medications. This one makes me groggy and shaky. But anyway, it seems to be doing the job; I've only been over 140/90 twice today (hypertension level), and yep, I'm still on bedrest until the little girls arrives into the world.
In the meantime, they are doing a slew of labwork on me and we have to go back in Wednesday morning for more. We will have all the results by my Thursday morning appointment and depending on the results, we could be induced Thursday or Friday. If everything comes back negative, we will probably be induced sometime next week, more for my health than the baby's. He'd like to see my get into my 38th week and see my body get a bit more naturally prepared for labor; with where I was at today, I run a higher risk for a c-section. But the baby dropped over the weekend, so he's hopeful with the extra pressure on my pelvis that I'll start to dilate a bit before we have to induce. It's thrown us for a bit of a loop; we were so sure that we were going to have a July baby (our original due date is June 29th), so two weeks early is not what we were expecting!
In other news, we got a new girl, age 7, today. Needless to say, she's a bit of a handful (she's ADHD, and really needs some guidance on respect, obedience, and manners!), and I feel guilty not being able to help her adjust more (only so much I can do in bed!) and then looking at us being off duty for at least two weeks. But at this point, we can only do what we can do, so I'm trying not to stress out about it. One of our kiddos, the 2 year boy, will be leaving on Thursday, and we're bummed; we've grown a bit attached to him over the past 5-6 weeks.
Well, we need to go to bed; I just wanted to post a quick update while I was online (we actually just finished our shopping list via Sam's Club click-n-pull) and we'll keep you posted!
We went to the OB today, instead of my scheduled appointment for tomorrow, since my blood pressure (BP) was kind of crazy over the weekend. We spent an hour on the fetal monitor, and since my BP has been spiking up over 150/100 anytime I get out of bed, I am now on a mild dose of blood pressure medicine so I don't stroke out next time I get up to go use the bathroom! I really don't like it, but that isn't uncommon; I don't do well on prescription medications. This one makes me groggy and shaky. But anyway, it seems to be doing the job; I've only been over 140/90 twice today (hypertension level), and yep, I'm still on bedrest until the little girls arrives into the world.
In the meantime, they are doing a slew of labwork on me and we have to go back in Wednesday morning for more. We will have all the results by my Thursday morning appointment and depending on the results, we could be induced Thursday or Friday. If everything comes back negative, we will probably be induced sometime next week, more for my health than the baby's. He'd like to see my get into my 38th week and see my body get a bit more naturally prepared for labor; with where I was at today, I run a higher risk for a c-section. But the baby dropped over the weekend, so he's hopeful with the extra pressure on my pelvis that I'll start to dilate a bit before we have to induce. It's thrown us for a bit of a loop; we were so sure that we were going to have a July baby (our original due date is June 29th), so two weeks early is not what we were expecting!
In other news, we got a new girl, age 7, today. Needless to say, she's a bit of a handful (she's ADHD, and really needs some guidance on respect, obedience, and manners!), and I feel guilty not being able to help her adjust more (only so much I can do in bed!) and then looking at us being off duty for at least two weeks. But at this point, we can only do what we can do, so I'm trying not to stress out about it. One of our kiddos, the 2 year boy, will be leaving on Thursday, and we're bummed; we've grown a bit attached to him over the past 5-6 weeks.
Well, we need to go to bed; I just wanted to post a quick update while I was online (we actually just finished our shopping list via Sam's Club click-n-pull) and we'll keep you posted!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A Tisket, A Tasket, A Green & Yellow Basket
Okay, so I'm getting a bit bored. :-D Welcome to life on bedrest! Since my blood pressure (BP) has been fairly good today, Jonathan has allowed me some computer time while he takes a nap during naptime, so yeah - blog updates for you (as well as updating the bank statements, facebook, and e-mails).
I can't whine too much about being on bedrest; I've done this once before for three weeks while I had mono 2 1/2 years ago, so I can handle it, and yes, I've been behaving (for the most part). I did have Jonathan bring the kiddos clothes to me this morning while they were at church and I folded them while in bed (the girls were running out of clean underwear and socks), and oh yeah! My bed also turned into the hair salon this morning; do you know how long it takes to get all these girls' hair ready for church? It will be worse in a couple of months, when we will (tentatively) have six girls and two boys, not including our little girl and myself! Of course, that could change, but from what we've been told, that is about what we will have come another month or so.
It hasn't been the greatest weekend, though; my BP has been crazy. It doesn't help that my OB is out of town this weekend, so I've had to talk with the OB on call (he's from a different OB/GYN office). Needless to say, I like my doctor more; he is just very calm, thorough, and reassuring, and I needed that this weekend when my BP spiked up to 158/99 and we could not get it to go down. It finally did after several hours; this other OB continued to recommend bedrest and call my OB Monday (tomorrow) morning.
We're learning a few things about my blood pressure as we track it throughout the day, though. It is typically higher in the morning/early afternoon, and though it is never 120/70, it will typically stay around 135/85 if I lay quiet on my side (especially my left, but I can't live on my left side - my hip kills me after awhile). However, if I sneeze, go the bathroom, eat a meal, or anything, it will immediately shoot up over 140/90, which is very not good (the goal of the bedresting is to keep it below 140/90), and it can take 2-3 hours for it to go down again, though sometimes sooner. So even though I have my weekly checkup on Tuesday morning, I will call and talk to the nurse tomorrow morning to let her know how our weekend is going to see if she wants to change my appointment to Monday or not. It makes me a bit nervous that it is such a struggle to keep it below 140/90; hypertension during pregnancy restricts the blood flow to the uterus and placenta, so the baby doesn't get as much oxygen and nutrients and thus, the placenta will eventually start to disintegrate. Not the greatest environment for our little one!
Another odd pregnant thing happened this morning, too, that I will talk to our doctor about as well; I was in the shower this morning and noticed that all the skin below my belly-button is suddenly flabby. Truth be told, it makes me wonder if she has flipped herself sideways, because the top of my stomach is now very pronounced and hard. I think Jonathan is more worried about it than I am...
Anyway, I think that is about it for today! Oh, and check out Jonathan's blog at http://www.southerncoffee.blogspot.com/. He's doing a "dad edition" of my site, as he journals what it is like to run the house without me.
I can't whine too much about being on bedrest; I've done this once before for three weeks while I had mono 2 1/2 years ago, so I can handle it, and yes, I've been behaving (for the most part). I did have Jonathan bring the kiddos clothes to me this morning while they were at church and I folded them while in bed (the girls were running out of clean underwear and socks), and oh yeah! My bed also turned into the hair salon this morning; do you know how long it takes to get all these girls' hair ready for church? It will be worse in a couple of months, when we will (tentatively) have six girls and two boys, not including our little girl and myself! Of course, that could change, but from what we've been told, that is about what we will have come another month or so.
It hasn't been the greatest weekend, though; my BP has been crazy. It doesn't help that my OB is out of town this weekend, so I've had to talk with the OB on call (he's from a different OB/GYN office). Needless to say, I like my doctor more; he is just very calm, thorough, and reassuring, and I needed that this weekend when my BP spiked up to 158/99 and we could not get it to go down. It finally did after several hours; this other OB continued to recommend bedrest and call my OB Monday (tomorrow) morning.
We're learning a few things about my blood pressure as we track it throughout the day, though. It is typically higher in the morning/early afternoon, and though it is never 120/70, it will typically stay around 135/85 if I lay quiet on my side (especially my left, but I can't live on my left side - my hip kills me after awhile). However, if I sneeze, go the bathroom, eat a meal, or anything, it will immediately shoot up over 140/90, which is very not good (the goal of the bedresting is to keep it below 140/90), and it can take 2-3 hours for it to go down again, though sometimes sooner. So even though I have my weekly checkup on Tuesday morning, I will call and talk to the nurse tomorrow morning to let her know how our weekend is going to see if she wants to change my appointment to Monday or not. It makes me a bit nervous that it is such a struggle to keep it below 140/90; hypertension during pregnancy restricts the blood flow to the uterus and placenta, so the baby doesn't get as much oxygen and nutrients and thus, the placenta will eventually start to disintegrate. Not the greatest environment for our little one!
Another odd pregnant thing happened this morning, too, that I will talk to our doctor about as well; I was in the shower this morning and noticed that all the skin below my belly-button is suddenly flabby. Truth be told, it makes me wonder if she has flipped herself sideways, because the top of my stomach is now very pronounced and hard. I think Jonathan is more worried about it than I am...
Anyway, I think that is about it for today! Oh, and check out Jonathan's blog at http://www.southerncoffee.blogspot.com/. He's doing a "dad edition" of my site, as he journals what it is like to run the house without me.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Bedrest (Again!)
I think my title says it all.
Bedrest.
Again.
But this time for longer; at least until next Tuesday, when we go back into the doctor for our weekly checkup. I have a funny feeling though that I will be on bedrest until our little one decides to make an appearance into the world. Our OB is already planning on having us not go past our due date due to my blood pressure issues. Thankfully, it is still gestational hypertension and not preeclampsia (a much more serious pregnancy induced hypertension). And as we track my blood pressure, we tend to find that it is higher in the morning and early afternoons than in the evening, which I would have figured would be the other way around. It's frusterating at times; for example, just taking a shower this morning bumped it up to 144/94, and took an hour and a half before it came down again.
We are managing, though, and Jonathan has done well in running the house. Thankfully, we have three kids going on home visits today for the weekend, so it won't be some busy here. How we are going to do the grocery shopping will be interesting... the Sam's Club order will be fine (we do it online and just pick it up), but Publix... we're still working through that! Plus, since Jonathan is cooking, he needs to make a menu that suits him; my cooking style is different! :-)
I'm keeping my sanity; I pulled out my craft basket yesterday and got started on an unfinished cross-stitch I started right after our honeymoon, and am working on a new afghan that will probably end up being a Christmas present for someone (I tend do give craft stuff for gifts if I can plan enough ahead!). I'm also reading through Jane Austin's books, which is fun, and a friend of mine brought me a whole stack of magazines to flip through this morning. Maximum time for bedrest should only be about three weeks, so I think I can handle it.
Well, I should be signing off now - have a wonderful day! :-)
Bedrest.
Again.
But this time for longer; at least until next Tuesday, when we go back into the doctor for our weekly checkup. I have a funny feeling though that I will be on bedrest until our little one decides to make an appearance into the world. Our OB is already planning on having us not go past our due date due to my blood pressure issues. Thankfully, it is still gestational hypertension and not preeclampsia (a much more serious pregnancy induced hypertension). And as we track my blood pressure, we tend to find that it is higher in the morning and early afternoons than in the evening, which I would have figured would be the other way around. It's frusterating at times; for example, just taking a shower this morning bumped it up to 144/94, and took an hour and a half before it came down again.
We are managing, though, and Jonathan has done well in running the house. Thankfully, we have three kids going on home visits today for the weekend, so it won't be some busy here. How we are going to do the grocery shopping will be interesting... the Sam's Club order will be fine (we do it online and just pick it up), but Publix... we're still working through that! Plus, since Jonathan is cooking, he needs to make a menu that suits him; my cooking style is different! :-)
I'm keeping my sanity; I pulled out my craft basket yesterday and got started on an unfinished cross-stitch I started right after our honeymoon, and am working on a new afghan that will probably end up being a Christmas present for someone (I tend do give craft stuff for gifts if I can plan enough ahead!). I'm also reading through Jane Austin's books, which is fun, and a friend of mine brought me a whole stack of magazines to flip through this morning. Maximum time for bedrest should only be about three weeks, so I think I can handle it.
Well, I should be signing off now - have a wonderful day! :-)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A New Month Has Dawned
So, it's the third of the month, but still a new month for us! :-) All the kids are out of school as of tomorrow and I'm looking forward to the slightly more relaxed schedule, especially as I need rest breaks more often!
But summer is great, and Jonathan and I are looking forward to things we have planned, such as the library's summer reading club (appropriately bug themed this year, which is great for our kids!), swimming at the YMCA and swim center, going to the park, having daily craft/school prep time when it is too hot to play outside, and reading through a book(s) as a family (we are starting James and the Giant Peach tonight). We are also starting a new devotional series with them; last summer and fall we went through the Pentateuch (the 1st five books of the Bible), and this spring have gone through the Ten Commandments, the Greatest Commandments, and the Fruit of the spirit. This summer, though, we are going to start going through the Bible and learning about the names of God, which I have really enjoyed studying as I write their daily "lesson" for them.
My only hitch in starting all this is that Baby Rogers may be coming a little earlier than we had been planning. I've been planning for a July baby, as we have an end of June due date, but today at our weekly OB appointment I was told that I will most likely not be allowed past my due date and need to prepare for the fact that I may have to go early. The reason? My stinking blood pressure; the stint of 1 1/2 to 2 weeks ago when my BP skyrocketed seems to be having lasting effects. Though my BP is not in the danger zone at this point, it is still higher than normal. Secondly, I'm retaining fluid like mad, though I'm drinking a gallon of water a day. I gained five pounds of water weight in one week, which frustrated me to no ends, as we really been watching my diet of the past couple of weeks. I feel like a bloated whale, literally! So though I'm excited about seeing our little one earlier than we thought, I'm not wild about the idea of being induced - harder labor (I want to do this naturally), higher chance of a C-section, not being able to labor quite as I'd like to, etc. But it's about the health of me and the baby in the long run, so if it's in God's will, it is!
Well, I'm working on dinner so we can go swim tonight - adios!
But summer is great, and Jonathan and I are looking forward to things we have planned, such as the library's summer reading club (appropriately bug themed this year, which is great for our kids!), swimming at the YMCA and swim center, going to the park, having daily craft/school prep time when it is too hot to play outside, and reading through a book(s) as a family (we are starting James and the Giant Peach tonight). We are also starting a new devotional series with them; last summer and fall we went through the Pentateuch (the 1st five books of the Bible), and this spring have gone through the Ten Commandments, the Greatest Commandments, and the Fruit of the spirit. This summer, though, we are going to start going through the Bible and learning about the names of God, which I have really enjoyed studying as I write their daily "lesson" for them.
My only hitch in starting all this is that Baby Rogers may be coming a little earlier than we had been planning. I've been planning for a July baby, as we have an end of June due date, but today at our weekly OB appointment I was told that I will most likely not be allowed past my due date and need to prepare for the fact that I may have to go early. The reason? My stinking blood pressure; the stint of 1 1/2 to 2 weeks ago when my BP skyrocketed seems to be having lasting effects. Though my BP is not in the danger zone at this point, it is still higher than normal. Secondly, I'm retaining fluid like mad, though I'm drinking a gallon of water a day. I gained five pounds of water weight in one week, which frustrated me to no ends, as we really been watching my diet of the past couple of weeks. I feel like a bloated whale, literally! So though I'm excited about seeing our little one earlier than we thought, I'm not wild about the idea of being induced - harder labor (I want to do this naturally), higher chance of a C-section, not being able to labor quite as I'd like to, etc. But it's about the health of me and the baby in the long run, so if it's in God's will, it is!
Well, I'm working on dinner so we can go swim tonight - adios!
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