Rolling over!

Morgan rolled over already from tummy to back. This is super early. With B&B being preemies, my kids have never hit any milestones early so this was a big surprise. She's done it a bunch of times and continues to roll over so it wasn't a fluke. That's what happens when you weigh nearly ten pounds at birth!

Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGzamqy-RI



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71wz5dNeRQw

Two week check up

Morgan had her two weeks check up and weighed in at 9 lbs 7 oz (almost back to her birth weight). Doing great and will be back for her two month check up!

39 week pregnant belly

Last pregnant belly shot before I delivered:

Morgan Kathleen's birth story!

Morgan Kathleen arrived four days ahead of her due date (so much for concerns about me going early!). The last two weeks I had been stuck between 3 to 4 centimeters dilated with tons of Braxton Hicks contractions. We ended up at L&D with two false alarms (contractions were every three minutes but not intense enough to progress my cervix so we got sent home). Since the doctor was worried about the baby being too big to VBAC, I had an ultrasound schedule for Tuesday morning. Assuming she would be too big, I needed to deliver before Tuesday or I was going to end up with another csection on Friday.

I tried EVERYTHING to get labor started. Spicy foods. Castor oil. (OMG. Castor oil is disgusting. It's like drinking liquid vaseline. I tried 2 tbs on three different days. It did make me contract but did not start labor. Gross, gross, gross). Walking (so much walking). Stripping the membranes at the doctors office (this hurts!). Etc.

By Sunday night nothing seemed to be working and I was getting super upset accepting that I was going to have another csection. Like really upset. OF COURSE you do what you need to do for a healthy baby, but I was really not looking forward to a major surgery and a long recovery with a newborn and two toddlers at home. And I was really bummed about missing out on the labor experience.

Well go figure that our baby would wait till the last minute. Went to bed Monday night around ten (with my ultrasound appointment scheduled for 8 a.m. the next morning). I had been having contractions earlier that evening but I had been having them on and off for weeks so it didn't really seem like anything promising. Darren came to bed around 11:50. As soon as he walked in the room I started moaning. I was having terribly painful contractions. I limped into the bathroom and "peed" an obscene amount. It was cloudy and weird looking. I stood up and more leaked on the rug. OMG my water broke. I yelled to Darren in the other room and called my parents to come over. While we got ready, I was still questioning it - did my water really break? Is this another false alarm? But the contractions were pretty bad and Darren was like let's just go. My parents made it over pretty quickly and we walked into the hospital around 12:30. They checked me and I was 6 cm and my water did break. Baby girl was on her way!

They moved me from triage to the birthing floor. The nurse there was wonderful - she did all four of her births naturally so when I told her I didn't want an epidural she was really supportive. The on call doctor was actually the same one that did my csection last time so at least i knew her.

Labor without pain meds was interesting. Obviously contractions hurt but I just concentrated on breathing through them. The nurse warned me I would get to a point where I didn't think I could do it anymore, but I could. And she was right. At 9 cm I thought I was going to die. I need the epidural, I said. Obviously it is too late at that point. The pain was so bad and I just didn't know what to focus on. I felt like I needed to stand, like I needed to pee, like I needed to do SOMETHING but all I could do was lay there and squeeze Darren's hand. Then the nurse said I would hit the point where I felt the need to push. And I did. So she called the doctor in at 2:40.

I was so focused on pushing that I really don't remember much of what was going on. I know the baby's heart rate was dropping a little and they thought maybe the cord was around her neck. They put an oxygen mask on me and called in a pediatrician for the baby to monitor the heart rate (which I guess is standard). Apparently the doctor was talking about maybe using a vacuum to help get the baby out (I do not remember any of this) but before we got to that point, Morgan was born at 3 a.m. just 2 1/2 hours after we got to the hospital! Only 20 minutes of pushing. I had popped blood vessels all over my body, especially around my eyes!

Morgan's weight was 9 lbs 9.4 oz. And I delivered her without pain meds. I did that!

They took her and cleaned her off (apgar score of 8.9) and handed her back to me while I had to push the placenta out. I had no energy and the doctor was like, you do have to push. Oh okay. So I pushed that out. Then she sewed me up (a second degree tear and a minor small tear, but overall not bad considering how big the baby was). Her color started to get funny for a minute so they took her over to the warmer for a few minutes but then she was fine and gave her back to me.

Within an hour of delivering, I was stitched up and holding my baby and the nurse helped me get up to use the bathroom. I couldn't believe how much better I felt in comparison to the csection. Don't get me wrong, pushing a giant baby out of you will cause some soreness, but I felt so much better overall from the csection right away. Plus I had my baby with me and not hooked up to a bunch of machines in the NICU. That part was also way better.

They moved us up to the postpartum floor and we spent two days in the hospital. It was a great hospital stay and I was just so happy everything worked out. Morgan took to breastfeeding right away like a champ (compared to the struggles in the NICU and the constant pumping). She is such a good, easy baby and really just sleeps and eats.

False Labor!

I started having contractions Sunday night. Awesome, I thought, this is it. They were coming every 15 minutes or so at first and I was up all night long. They started coming every eight to ten minutes by morning and I was showered and ready to go by 6 a.m. assuming it would be time to go to the hospital any minute. I talked to the on call doctor who told me to wait until they were every five minutes. So I waited. And they continued all day Monday. By Monday night they were coming every six to eight minutes. And then, THEY STOPPED. What they hell????

Apparently, there is such a thing called false labor. I have never heard of this before but basically it just means you have regular contractions, think you are in labor, and they come and go and you aren't actually in labor. What a tease!

I see the doctor on Thursday so we'll find out if the false labor contractions dilated me any further. The baby definitely dropped though (see picture). Big change for just a couple days.

Could be any day now.....

More info on false labor: http://www.babycenter.com/0_false-labor_491.bc 

A giant baby!

Baby girl is measuring 8 lbs 13 oz!!!! (Average weight of a newborn baby is 7.5 lbs) Dear lord! I am 36 weeks 4 days but she is measuring at 39 weeks 5 days and my uterus is measuring at 40 weeks. Explains the back and vagina pain. My baby is bigger than most full term babies! Obviously the ultrasound measurements can be a little off (by one pound) but she's still big either way. Apparently I grow giant babies.

No ultrasound pic- baby girl is too squirmy!

I was 2 cm dilated, 50 percent effaced and baby is at -3. So no real signs of coming early. A bigger baby isn't an older baby the doctor said.

The only issue with having such a big baby (as a preemie mama I love having a good size healthy baby!) is that I might not be able to vbac. My doctor's cut off for a vbac is 9lbs 13 oz. Bigger than that can be dangerous for baby and mama with a vbac. I really do not want a csection again but it's out of my hands at this point. So I'll have another scan at 39 weeks to see how big she is. Or she can come on her own before then and I can deliver naturally!

I see the doctor again next week and she is going to sweep my membranes. What the heck does that mean?

Stripping membranes, sometimes called membrane sweeping, is a method used to try to start labor. The health care provider puts her or his finger into the cervix -- the mouth of the uterus -- and uses the finger to gently separate the bag of water from the side of the uterus near the cervix. It is easily done in the office during a regular pelvic exam. - http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703499

I guess it can help start labor about 50 percent of the time. Here's hoping for no csection!

36 weeks AND two days!

Nearly past the preemie phase (37 weeks is considered full term)! While this pregnancy is not nearly as hard as the previous one, I am definitely feeling the woes of end of pregnancy. My back KILLS. My vagina hurts (pelvic pressure, whoa). I'm so big. I feel emotional. Lots of Braxton Hicks/cramps. UGH.

I'm also feeling slight panic as the nursery isn't even close to being done and won't be anytime soon considering Darren is recovering from surgery still. I guess at least I have all the clothes washed, they are just stuffed into a plastic bin and not organized, which is't the end of the world but the nesting instinct in me begs to differ.

This weekend Darren and I had a lunch date at Barrio and then went grocery shopping while his parents came up to watch the girls. Grocery shopping was hilarious because Darren obviously can't lift anything so I pushed the cart, grabbed all the food, loaded everything onto the belt, bagged everything, put everything in the cart and loaded the van with my ginormous preggo belly. Outsiders can't see Darren's surgery scars so they were probably like, "why won't he help her????" haha. After grocery shopping I thought I might die though. My back hurt soooo bad! The end is near!

Excited to meet my little bean over the next few weeks!

A trip to Fairview hospital... for Darren!

Well Darren has his appendix out Monday night. Not the trip to the hospital we've been expecting!

Darren had the typical appendicitis pain that starts around the belly button and moves to the right side, but it was never very severe and didn't come with a fever or any of the secondary symptoms. All weekend we debated whether he needed to go get it check out or not. Finally on Monday he went to see his doctor, who sent him to the hospital for a cat scan. His appendix was inflamed and needed to come out.

My parents came over to watch the girls and I met him at the hospital for his surgery. The very friendly people of Fairview Hospital kept stopping me asking if I knew my way to labor and delivery. The security guard asked if my doctor called ahead. Ha, not in labor just yet I kept telling everyone! Got there around seven and they wheeled him into surgery around 9:40. I felt mild panic all day - no 35 week pregnant lady likes the idea of her husband undergoing surgery - but the procedure seemed pretty routine so I had calmed down some by the time he went in for surgery. Everything went fine (did you know they take the appendix out through the belly button???? Apparently they are even doing some hysterectomies through the belly button now.) and he was in the recovery room by about 11 something. I stayed till about one a.m. until he was settled into his room and headed home. Got the girls ready in the morning, dropped them off at daycare and went back to the hospital. He was discharged by 11 a.m. so a fast stay.

We must have made an interesting pair walking down the hospital hallway with my giant pregnant belly waddle and Darren's slow post surgery walk in the stylish hospital gown with the IV stand trailing behind him. We are pathetic lol.

At least the recovery seems pretty fast. He can't lift anything heavy for two weeks. Challenging when you have two toddlers. A bigger challenge when your wife probably shouldn't be doing a ton of heavy lifting either. We are so lucky we have so much family and friends in the area. So many people have already offered to bring us over food (we have a delivery schedule!) and help with things like laundry. I promise to pay all this kindness forward some day when I can. The meals are a huge help.

Today was Darren's bday (terrible timing being two days post surgery!) but we are making the best of it with a dinner delivery from Buca di Beppos.

Two records, an ear infection and another twin sale

Two records were set this weekend. 1. I have now been pregnant longer than I was with girls. 34 weeks and two days as of today! 2. The girls slept in on Sunday until 8:35 a.m. Mind = blown. I can only assume it was because of the time change and being sick.

Took the girls into urgent care this weekend. Both acting funny and tugging on ears. In a shocking role reversal, Bailey was fine and Brooklyn had an ear infection. So one more antibiotic/sickness before this awful winter is over.

Cuties!

The twin sale was this weekend. Since I'm pregnant, I was able to bring Darren with me so he got to experience the chaos of the member's only preview sale. We did pretty well. Mostly clothes this time and a few toys. Spent $200 for all the stuff pictured below. My favorite find was the toy box with the bead maze (the kind you see in a doctor's office) on top for $4.50.

Now that I've passed 34 weeks, I feel so much more relaxed. Would love to make it another 4 weeks at least. I'm feeling super uncomfortable and miserable though. And GIANT and gross. End of pregnancy is hard whether you have one or two babies. (Though obviously it was soooo much harder with two). I am so sore and tired and just have terrible cramps and pelvic pain all day. I see the doctor on Wednesday so I'll find out if I'm more dilated/effaced than I was at 32.

Nearing the end!

Hit 33 weeks on Saturday. Here's the last comparison belly shot (never got a 34 weeks photo since I went into labor at 33 weeks 6 days). I feel GIANT. Somehow I thought I would look dramatically smaller this pregnancy but in the picture it doesn't really translate. My sister, however, said the picture doesn't really do it justice and I am way smaller this time. Thank you Katie. You make me feel less big and gross.

I saw my doctor for my 32 week appointment. Been having a lot of pressure/cramps/Braxton Hicks so she checked my cervix. Already 1 cm dilated and 80 percent effaced. I didn't get put on bed rest, but she told me to take it easy and wrote me a note requesting I work from home as much as possible. So basically I am to cut out all optional activities like grocery shopping. My doctor seems to think the baby is going to come a little early, but hopefully after 35 weeks.

I ended up in L&D last week with a false alarm. I think it was a combination of my appointment and just feeling really nervous. I was having a lot of uterine irritability but no major contractions (a few minor ones) so they sent me home. The doctor at the hospital didn't seem to think I had any risk of preterm labor so that was in contrast to what my doctor thought. I'm going to continue to listen to my doctor though. Overall I felt really stupid for going into L&D. I know everyone says better safe than sorry but I still felt silly. Oh well!