It’s been one month since we’ve had Isabella, and time has creeped by so slowly.  It feels like a year has passed.  There are so many things that have changed and that I have learned in this one month.  

• The nights are hard.  It gets lonely rocking a baby for 3 hours straight at 2am.  Looking out the window into darkness, it feels like I am completely alone in the world with this tiny baby.
• Thank god for: the hair dryer, the bathroom heater, vibrating chairs/beds, space heaters, the sling, the moby wrap, and help.
• oh my god how much can a 6 lbs baby eat?!?  Is there a bottomless pit in there somewhere?!?
• I’m so glad I read all the books.  Especially Happiest Baby on the Block.  God bless Dr. Karp.
• Just like everyone lied about labor being so painful, they also lied about breast feeding being painful.  I’m beginning to think women are wussies.  (How un-feminist of me!)

At 1 month Isabella loves:

• snuggling very close
• The Sling and Moby Wrap
• The hairdryer and heater
• The boob
• SHHH’ing
• Her vibrating pack n play napper
• Swaddling

she hates:

• baths
• diaper changes
• clothes changes
• gas
• loud kisses
• burping
• tummy time

Her personality so far:

• god help us, she has her Daddy’s temper
• she loves being held and cuddled, this makes me think she’s a sweetie
• she has minnie’s appetite

My favorites:

• our morning naps in the big bed together.
• her face when she sleeps
• her eyelashes
• her snores

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At 8am the doctor came by and first checked my cervix, 4cm.  While checking the cervix, my water broke.  This was the first and only cervix check that hurt.  It felt like she was elbow deep into my vagina and reaching for my eyeballs.    There was some light meconium, so a respiratory tech had to be present for the birth.  After my water broke, oh boy, did the pain escalate quickly.  I sat in that awkward position with my bare back ready for the epidural and waited.  finally the anesteiologist came.  just as he was setting up- the unthinkable… a freaking kidney stone!  i was afraid i couldn’t hold still through the pain, but he kept telling me that the epidural would make the kidney pain go away.  big fat liar.  the epidural didn’t stop the kidney pain and barely put a damper on the contractions.  So i waited.  still not better so another anestesiologist came by.  she was much nicer and ended up re-upping my epidural 3 times.  she said it didn’t work on me because i am tall (i don’t think i’m really tall, she was just very short).  This seemed to work and i was pain free. I took a nap to conserve my energy.  The next time the nurse checked my cervix it was 6cm.  Then quickly after that it was 9cm.  Around 9cm, the damn kidney pain came back.  They were  afraid to up the epidual for fear i wouldn’t be able to push.  So we tried changing positions to affect the pooling of the epidural, and finally found a position that mostly did the trick.  and as soon as i changed positions, i was at the full 10cm.  Everyone was called into the room and the nurse started with practice pushes.  we only did a few practice pushes and her head was crowning!  the nurse told me she had blonde hair.  the nurse called the doctor, who was in the middle of seeing patients.  so i had to sit there with her head crowning, just waiting for the doctor.  maybe 10-15 min  later the doctor arrived and i was able to push again.  It only took one push to get Bella out, she  seemed to fly out all at once.  The doctor held her up for me to see, and she was just beautiful.  And absolutely perfect in every way.  

She was passed off to the nursery nurse and respiratory therapist due to the meconium in my water.  They did their tests and got her cleaned up.  At the same time the doctor was delivering the placenta.  To be honest the placenta was worse than Bella.  I think something didn’t quite go right with the placenta, maybe it wasn’t coming out on it’s own.  But the doctor’s face looked worried and she seemed to be working feverishly down there.  I kept seeing stainless steel utensils down there.  There was lots of pulling and pushing and prying, and at that point I wouldn’t have been surprised if the doctor pulled out a chain saw.  From her chest of tools.

I was given shots of extra pitocin in the leg to help the placenta come out, and eventually everything seemed to be fine.  I had the unfortunate chance of seeing the needle as the doctor was sewing up a tear.  It was a curved needle that reminded me of an upholstery needle I’ve used on re-upholstering furniture.  By the time it was over the floor of the room was covered in blood, and I felt like I had been through a bloody battle with the afterbirth.  They quickly cleaned things up and handed me Bella to breastfeed.  I was scared for the first time because I wasn’t sure if I knew how to do it right.  But amazingly Bella took to it naturally and we worked like a team perfectly.  After her first meal, our family was allowed in and everyone got to see  our Baby Bella.

It was a beautiful process.  Much easier than I anticipated. 

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Total Weight Gain: 33 lbs.

Pregnancy Woes this week: heartburn is horrible.  I will be so happy once it is done.  I get heartburn from just drinking water, and sometimes it feels like from mere breathing.

Happy times this week: The anticipation!

Belly Button Status:  Pops in and out depending on her position.

Food Cravings:  nothing.

Dr. Visits:  OB visit Wednesday.  I’m still 1cm, so no progress.

Labor Signs: I’ve started having back pain with the contractions.  They are still just braxton hicks, since I’m not progressing.  Oddly enough this week it seems like things went backward, less cramping, less contracting, less pelvic pain.  Maybe she changed her mind about coming out into the world…oh well Bella, we are coming to get you on Monday.

Projects I worked on this week:  Trying to keep my mind occupied.  It’s a full time job.

Looking Forward to: Tomorrow!!!  Tomorrow I can hold my Isabella.

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Butterfly Knobs on the Closet

The Organized Closet

Adorable Shoes!

Cloth Diaper Stash

Bunny Ears (hiding the wireless video camera)

Newborn Drawer

Horse Planter

Prince Charming Holds her Bibs and Burp Clothes

Some Lovies in her Crib

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Total Weight Gain: 30 lbs.

Pregnancy Woes this week: contractions and more contractions.

Happy times this week: We got a TIME and are actually scheduled for the induction.  Wa-hoo.

Belly Button Status:  It’s actually gone back in quite a bit since she flipped head down.

Food Cravings:  salads.  weird.

Dr. Visits:  OB visit Tuesday.  We had an ultrasound and she has turned head down, wayyyyy down.  Head grinding against pelvis, going to fall out when I walk kind of down.  She weighs about 6 lbs.  One reading said 5lbs 14 oz, the other said 6 lbs.  Still in the 30th percentile.  And I am now a “loose” 1cm dilated.  The doctor said this should be good for the induction, and she said she didn’t expect it to take too long.  Hm, I’m not getting my hopes up.

Labor Signs: False alarm on Thursday.  I started timing the contractions at 10am and they were consistently 10 minutes apart.  Then they got down to 7 minutes.  Then to 5, like clockwork.  I drank 2 bottles of water and took a  nap.  They continued through the nap, so when I woke up I took a bath.  They continued at 5 minutes apart through the bath.  But I couldn’t see going to the hospital because they didn’t hurt and they weren’t increasing in intensity.  Eventually around 9 pm they tappered off and were completely gone over the night.  This whole labor thing is confusing.  Couldn’t she have a light that says “I’m done” with a little “ding” sound.  That would be very helpful.

Projects I worked on this week:  Re-nesting the nest.  If only these dogs would stop pooping on the floor!  They have no sense of respect for a freshly mopped floor.

Looking Forward to: February 15th at 12:30!

9 days until delivery!  (single digits!!  omg!)

look who's ready for a baby sister...

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Minnie joins in the Nesting Craze

Pregnancy can make you do crazy things.  I spent the entire day obsessively cleaning EVERYTHING.  From the baseboards, to shampooing carpets, to door casings.  Everything must be pristine for Bella!

Now that I am full term there is this new sense of – what if she comes right now, in five minutes, today?  I know most first time moms go past their due date, so there is no logical reason I should think she would come before our set delivery date.  Yet there is the “what if” factor.  It’s difficult to deal with.  For the next 2 weeks I feel like I have to be completely ready in every way at the drop of a hat for Isabella to be here.

The thank you notes have to be finished and mailed, there can be no dishes in the sink, laundry must be folded, everything in order exactly where it should be – all ready for the guest of honor.  It’s like having royalty visitors on their way, but you don’t know when they will arrive.  And it’s beginning to wear on my mental state.

Just up the street from my house the city is putting in new culverts in a canal.  We live on a dead end street.  The other day while they were working on this canal they tore up the entire street.  I pulled up and saw the gapping hole across both lanes of my little road and proceeded to freak out.  I called my husband crying because “how can they block off an entire road, I’m pregnant and I could be in labor right now!”  I wasn’t in labor.  But the fact remains that I COULD have been.  Turns out they were directing traffic to drive straight through someone’s front yard to get around.  So I wasn’t trapped.  Whew.  It was a close call.  If those workers only knew they were about 5 seconds away from having a crazy pregnant woman yelling in their face.

I don’t think I can take 2 more weeks of this craziness.  Maybe it will calm down once I get every possible duck in it’s row.

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Total Weight Gain: 28 lbs. (lost another pound, not sure how)

Pregnancy Woes this week: contractions, heartburn, her movements are now somewhat painful – there’s just no room to be doing cartwheels in there now Isabella!

Happy times this week: She’s full term!  My husband had a surprise shower thrown for him at work this week.  It was fun, but he is IMPOSSIBLE to surprise.

Belly Button Status:  the same.

Food Cravings:  I’ve been loving my pasteurized goat cheese lately.

Dr. Visits:  OB appointment Monday.  She checked me and said I was 1 cm dilated and she’s still breech, so it will be a c-section.  At the hematologist on Wednesday I found out that I needed another transfusion, so Thursday was transfusion day.

Labor Signs: Well I was 1cm dilated on Monday and on Tuesday I had the “bloody show” and lost my mucous plug.  Since then it’s been lots of contractions.  But they aren’t following a regular pattern yet.

Projects I worked on this week:  Nesting kicked into high gear.  I cleaned just about every square inch of the house, including the garage.  You can’t bring a baby home to a cluttered garage you know.

Looking Forward to: Now I’m just looking forward to Isabella being here.

2 weeks until delivery!

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