Wehadababyitsagirl

So, Monday I was supposed to call the labor and delivery floor at 10 am to make sure they had room for me to come in, have the baby turned, then be induced. They didn't have room. They said to call back in an hour. An hour later, still no room. An hour later, still no room. Thirty minutes later, I got a call from the nurse at my OB's office and she said that the perinatologist who was scheduled to turn the baby, just looked at my chart (keep in mind, this was almost three hours after I was already scheduled to be there) and decided that he wouldn't turn the baby because I was past my due date and already dilating. That just wasn't the news I wanted to hear! So, a little while later, the nurse called and had scheduled my c-section for the following morning. I was absolutely devestated and just DREADING having surgery. :(

So, the next morning, I go in for my c-section. I felt around for the baby, like I did all the time, and couldn't find her head where I expected to. In fact, I thought for sure I could feel it down where it was supposed to be! I didn't want to get too excited though. So, I went into the hospital, got all set up for the c-section and asked for a doctor to come do an ultrasound to make sure she was still breech. About fifteen minutes before I was scheduled to be wheeled back into the operating room, the doctor came in, did an ultrasound, and sure enough...HEAD DOWN!!!!! They called my doctor to let him know and he told them to make room in labor and delivery...he wanted me to have that baby before she flipped back! WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

At 2:00 pm, they started me on pitocin. About four hours later (and only one centimeter dilated UGH!) they broke my water. WHOA BABY! Talk about crazy hard labor! Things progressed at a pretty good rate after that! At about 11:10 I told my nurse, "I think it's time to push!" She checked me and I was at a +3 station. (+4 means the head is out!) She told me not to push and ran to get the doctor. The doctor got there, told me to push, then immediately told me to slow down because the baby was coming too quickly. I completely stopped pushing, but the sheer force of the contraction pushed the entire baby out.

She's absolutely perfect and I'm completely in love! She seemed SUPER tiny, which left me concerned because all along I thought I was really due around the fifth of July, which meant I was still a week and a half early. Sure enough, she was only 8 lbs. 2 oz. Now, this is technically considered "large for gestational age," and is bigger than the average baby. But for me, this was one TINY baby! Luckily, she had no problems at all and is in perfect health.

We had a hard time in the hospital because all she wanted to do was nurse and scream. Sleep was to be had by none. I came home today and she's been happily sleeping most of the day. The kids are absolutey enamoured with her. Sera just cannot get enough of her. All she wants to do is kiss her and stroke her face all day long.

So, there you have it. I wasn't fond of being induced, but it was SO much better than having a c-section, and really...when it all comes down to it, a healthy baby and mommy are all that really matters and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat to end up with this precious little angel.

Still no baby!

So, the hospital didn't have any openings with the perinatologist until Monday, so it looks like Monday may just be baby day! (As long as I don't go into labor before then)

Today is my official "due date." I've never made it this far without a baby. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I'm glad I haven't had the baby yet because if I went into labor now, it would end in an emergency c-section because she's breech. However, I'm really tired of being pregnant. lol I really don't think I'm supposed to have the baby until somewhere around the fourth of July anyways. But, I'm really tired of being pregnant. lol

So, if baby can be turned on Monday, Monday is baby day! If she can't be turned, but goes into distress because of it, Monday is baby day! If she can't be turned and the doctor is available for a c-section, Monday is baby day! If she turns on her own, we wait. If she can't be turned and the doctor isn't available for a c-section, we schedule one for a later date. Most options point towards Monday being baby day!

Oh baby

39.5 week appointment today. Just as I suspected, my little girl is breech. :( So, what does this mean for me? Well, on a good note, it means I get to meet my baby this week! On a bad note, the reason I know this is because I will either be induced or have a c-section. :(

When Sera was breech, I went to have her turned. The doctor walked in, asked me how large my previous babies had been and said, "Well, I can already tell you how this is going to go...I don't turn big babies, but we'll take a look anyways." Thankfully, Sera had flipped head down, so I was able to just wait to go into labor naturally. I'm REALLY hoping this baby will do the same. If the perinatologist WILL flip her and does so successfully (there's less than a 70% chance that it will be successful) they will induce me that day. Unfortunately, I'm not dilated at all yet, so I'm not a very good candidate for induction...which could mean a really long and hard labor that could very well end in a c-section. :( If he can't or won't flip her, my doctor wants to schedule a c-section for Friday.

The thought of a c-section scares me to death. I've had five babies...none have been induced or been delivered via c-section. I HATE the thought of this last baby having to come that way. I know they're fairly "routine" these days, but a major abdominal surgery will never be "routine" in my eyes. There are always possibilities of complications...for both mother and baby. Not to mention that I have five kids at home that need me to do pretty much EVERYTHING for them. How on earth am I supposed to do that while recovering from a c-section? Ugh...this just doesn't sound good.

I'm really hoping she'll just flip on her own and they'll let me go into labor naturally!

Posting an eviction notice

This girl is officially on notice...I want her OUT! Seriously. So much for enjoying my last pregnancy. I keep telling myself, "This is your last time being pregnant...you need to enjoy it. Don't be in such a hurry to not be pregnant anymore." BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. I'm SO done! I'm completely miserable. I cannot get comfortable for the life of me. I have horrendous headaches that won't go away. My insides all feel like they're up in my throat and it's insanely difficult to breathe. I'm sweating like a freaking...I don't even know what. Do pig's sweat? I can be sitting directly in front of the air conditioner and still be sweating buckets and feel like I'm going to pass out because I'm so hot. My temper is just outrageous. I just want her out.
We're going to the Wild Animal Park for Drake's company picnic on Saturday. Talk about hell on earth. It's going to be SO hot. I'm going to go buy myself a spray bottle and just keep it filled with ice water. I want to get one of those personal air conditioners that you wear around your neck. Yeah, I'd look like a big dork, but at least I'd be cool! Usually I really look forward to going to the Wild Animal Park. But my goodness, you really can't get much hotter in the San Diego area! Maybe all the walking will put me into labor. One can always hope.

It's been a while

I've been terrible about updating this blog. Sorry about that! Everything is going well. I'm SO ready to have this baby! The thought of five more weeks of this...well, it's almost enough to want to claw through my own uterus and pull her out myself. What a pretty picture...don't you think? I think a lot of it just has to do with the fact that I'm sick right now. I feel absolutely terrible and being pregnant DEFINITELY isn't helping any! I woke up last night (well, I woke up about twenty times last night) and I was just in tears because I was in so much pain from being sick. I complain...a lot, but it takes quite a bit to make me cry. I was just so tired and so sick that I just couldn't handle it. It wasn't pretty.

Anyways...baby is breech, but I'm sure there is still plenty time for her to turn. If not, hopefully I'll be able to switch to the OB in town that will do breech deliveries without a c-section, because my OB will not. Heartbeat consistantly sounds good, blood pressure was up for a little while, but is back down now. All in all, everything is going well!

I have SO much I still need to do at home to get ready for this little girl's arrival. I better get crackin'!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today I had my "midterm" prenatal appointment. At nine in the morning (after fasting since midnight..ick) I went in for my glucose/gestational diabetes test. I had to drink this nasty orange drink, which usually isn't that bad...it tastes like a very sweet orange soda, but this time, it was FLAT! ICK! I had to gag that down, then went in for my appointment. My appointment went well. Blood pressure was higher than normal, but still within the "normal" range. I gained two pounds, which was VERY unexpected as I've been living on french fries and muffins lately. lol There was a trace of protein in one of my tests, which isn't anything to be worried about unless it happens continuously. Baby's heartbeat was 147 bpm, which is perfect. I'm measuring right on schedule and all is well! We went over when to go to the hospital, what to look for in regards to preterm labor and I got my preregistration sheet for the hospital, which I'm supposed to fill in and send in this week. After that is done, I'm all set to have the baby! Just ten (or twelve) more weeks! Woohooo!

After my appointment, I went and had my blood drawn for my gestational diabetes test (you have to wait one hour after drinking the drink) and she couldn't find my vein in my first arm and had to dig around for it, which made me almost puke because I had an empty stomach, but she found it right away on my other arm, so I made it through...just a little light headed. lol I'll find out those results on Monday, but I've never had a problem with my blood sugar (other than it being too low, which is exactly opposite of what they're looking for in regards to diabetes) so I'm not at all concerned.

So, that's about it for now! I'm loving feeling the baby kick. There are times that she keeps me up at night, but that's okay...she's just trying to prepare me for when she's actually here. lol Sera is LOVING me being pregnant. She's always talking about the baby and to the baby. I only hope she's this good when the baby is actually here. lol

Dr. Appt.

I had a routine appointment today. I've gained five pound in the past four weeks. Eek. It was expected though...I've been eating nothing but fast food lately. Doc said the ultrasound showed no problems and the fibroids are very small and shouldn't pose any problems. My blood pressure was higher than normal, but still in the normal range. Last appt. it was 98/54. This appt. it was 122/78. I go back in three weeks for my "long" appointment in which I discuss my labor/birth wishes, what to look for in regards to preterm labor, where to go when I go into labor, etc.

I've been told that at this point in time, there's no reason to call the doctor or hospital if I think there is something wrong...to just go straight to the hospital. That really made me realize just how close I am to having this baby! Oh my gosh, we're already talking about when I go into labor!!! After my next appointment, I start appointments every two weeks, then at 36 weeks, I start weekly appointments!

I expressed my concern over the change in due date and the doctor said that the ultrasound can be off by up to two and a half weeks and that he's fine letting me go up to five weeks "overdue" as long as the baby looks good to compensate for the amount that the ultrasound could have been off and that some babies just need 42 weeks to fully mature, but he wasn't comfortable letting me go any further than that, which I'm fine with. So, baby can come at any point from June 9th to July 21st without any intervention to stop or start it.

It's a...

GIRL!!!

I had my ultrasound on Friday and I got to see my beautiful baby GIRL that is now due on June 23rd because she's a porky two pounds! I'm unsure how I feel about changing my due date. While I don't know exactly when I conceived, I find it hard to believe that I was pregnant that long without knowing it. My biggest fear is that, as usual, I just have a big baby that looks like it should be due earlier than we thought, but isn't ready to be born until it's original due date. However, with changing the due date, a baby that isn't born until the beginning of July is going to look like it's quite a bit overdue, when it really is just larger than your average baby, but developmentally, is right where it's supposed to be at term. The further past your due date you go, the higher chance that the doctor is going to want to induce. They start pushing it at a week overdue (which will be June 30th) and basically force you to do it at two weeks past your due date, which will be July 7th, which if you go by my LMP is only two days overdue. So, my concern is that the doctor will start pushing for an induction when really, the baby just isn't ready to be born yet and while it's completely my choice, what if this due date IS right and I really DO go two weeks overdue, at which point the infant mortality rate rises significantly.

Everything looked good on the ultrasound, with the excpetion of some fibroids, which I will be discussing with my doctor on Friday. As long as we monitor their growth and they don't grow too much, they shouldn't pose any problems. :)

I'm so excited to be having another little girl!

He got something special too!

So, I have my ultrasound on Friday. The girls asked if they could go and I told them that they could. When Cole found out the girls were going, he really wanted to go. Drake automatically told him no because he wanted me to be able to focus on the ultrasound and the baby and not have to worry about Cole, who, while an incredible kid, has the pent up energy of a five year old boy and finds it difficult to sit still at times.

So anyways...Cole has been really bummed about not being able to go to the ultrasound. Yesterday, the baby was moving around quite a bit, so I called Cole into my room and he was able to feel the baby kick! The kids have all been DYING to feel the baby kick, but none of them have ever been able to because the little stinker always stops moving as soon as someone puts their hand on my belly. He's been bragging ever since then that he got to feel the baby kick. He's not quite so bummed about missing the ultrasound anymore because he got to be "special" and feel the baby kick before anyone else.

Appointment today

So, I had a routine appointment today. Blood pressure was 100/64, so pretty normal. The doctor checked for a heartbeat, but couldn't find it. I wasn't worried at all, oddly enough. Normally that would have me freaked out, but the thought that something could be wrong couldn't have been further from my mind. I was just excited that I got an ultrasound to find a heartbeat. lol Sure enough, there was the baby, and there was his/her heart just beating away! Unfortunately, the ultrasound at the doctor's office isn't a very good one. He just uses it to find a heartbeat and to see if the baby is head down at the end of the pregnancy if he thinks the baby is breach. So, all he could tell me was, "Yep, there's the baby. Yep, there's the heart beating! Baby is laying sideways and facing towards my back, so we couldn't get any good pictures. We got one that has a faint outline of the baby and a dark spot where the heart was beating. I don't have my scanner hooked up, so you don't get to see it though. There really isn't much to see anyways. lol

In three weeks I go for my ultrasound and in four weeks I have another doctor's appointment :)

Oh, and I gained seven pounds in the past four weeks. ICK!

Not much to update

I've been feeling the baby kick regularly lately, which is tons of fun! Drake can even feel him/her from the outside, which he loves. The kids haven't been able to feel the baby kick yet, but I'm sure they will soon enough. (Which isn't soon enough, according to them. lol) I have a doctor's appointment on Friday. It's just a routine, "How are you feeling, let's listen to the heartbeat, wow you're fat," kind of appointment. Okay, he doesn't actually say the last part, but it's how I feel when they make me step on that scale. lol

I have an ultrasound scheduled for the sixteenth of March. I'm really excited to "see" the baby and find out if I can start saying "him" or "her" instead of him/her. lol It's also payday, which means I get to go shopping on the way home from the appointment while Drake is still at home with the kids. Shhhhhh...don't tell him that though! I'll probably just get a "I love my daddy" shirt in pink or blue so I can tell Drake that way what the gender is. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll bring home a lot more than that. lol

I've been feeling fine, but eating VERY poorly. I really need to get a handle on that. I feel sick as I shovel so much fast food into my face, but it tastes SOOOOOOO good. BAD Katie! I need to get back on my elliptical.

I've been SO exhausted lately. I think I've just been staying up too late. I get my macchiato in the morning, which keeps me alive for the short amount of time that I need to get things done (get the kids off to school, Drake off to work, etc.) but then I just crash and feel terrible because the boys are stuck playing Wii all day (which they LOVE, but I hate that they have to entertain themselves) and Sera just wanders aimlessly around the house tearing things apart, and I just don't have the energy to clean up after her, so the house is a catastrophe! I'm sure exercising, eating better and getting to bed earlier will help with it, I just need to find the energy to actually do it...it's quite the catch 22.

Anyways, other than that, nothing much new. If there is anything to update after my appointment on Friday, I'll let you know! :)

So many emotions

I have been an emotional wreck lately. I've had these immense highs and these really, really low lows. Goodness, I hate this part of being pregnant! Every emotion I experience seems ten times worse or better than it actually is. I find myself snapping at the kids for the tiniest things. I find myself getting on Drake's case about stupid things that wouldn't normally bother me. I find myself taking offense to things that are obviously not meant to offend. I get upset when Drake says something that I would normally laugh off because I TOTALLY know he's joking. It's driving me CRAZY! I hate being a hormonal, emotional mess. lol I'm freaking crazy when I'm pregnant and I can't help it! I TRY not to do it, but I fail miserably. lol

Today, I was reading the blog of a woman who just lost her baby. :( She was 41 weeks pregnant, went in for her non stress test, and they couldn't find the heartbeat. I cannot even begin to imagine the anguish she must have gone through to find out this baby that she so desperately wanted and loved was gone. I think that losing a child is every parent's biggest nightmare. I can't imagine going through an entire pregnancy, planning, hoping, wondering, loving, only to be told that you will never hold your child alive. My heart is absolutely breaking for her.

I am so very grateful to have been blessed with five amazing, healthy children. There are times that I feel like the odds are against me...like the more children I have, the more of a chance something terrible will happen. I know this is awful thinking. They say that one in four babies are miscarried. I'm on my eighth pregnancy and have suffered two miscarriages. Statistically, I'm right on track. (Which, in my pregnancy addled mind, is a bit reassuring for this baby lol) I heard last night on television that 1 in 8 pregnancies start off as twins, but only 1/10 of those finish the pregnancy as twins and that most people don't even know they were pregnant with twins because one of the babies dies before they even know they're pregnant. So, statistically, one of my pregnancies had a very good chance of starting off as twins. I don't know the statistics for still birth, but I feel as though I'm tempting fate with each additional baby that I have. When I had my second miscarriage, my mom told me that she had been very blessed and had never gone through what I was going through. She had five biological children. Statistically, at least one of them should have been miscarried. (What a terrible thought, I know!) Sadly, my first thought was, "Someone had to make up for that to keep the statistics right," and I prayed right then that I wasn't that person and that I wouldn't suffer another miscarriage because I didn't think I could emotionally handle it. My heart aches for women who suffer loss after loss after loss. They are much stronger than I am. I think I would just give up and make sure I never got pregnant again.

Anyways, this is all very depressing. I'm happy to be pregnant. I'm so ridiculously in love with this child already. I'm going to have a happy, healthy pregnancy and a beautiful, healthy baby come early July. I cannot wait!

Doctor's appointment

I had a doctor's appointment on Friday. She checked the size of my uterus and seemed a little concerned. She said that my uterus was the size she would expect from someone who was about 12-14 weeks along...not the 17 weeks that I was. Unfortunately, the ultrasound machine for the office was broken and I can't get an appointment with the radiology appointment for another four weeks. So, it's a sit and wait to see how big the baby is and if there is anything to be concerned about. After she measured my uterus, she looked for the heartbeat. It seriously took FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! Oh my gosh, talk about a VERY LONG fifteen minutes. After being told I was measuring at least three weeks behind, she couldn't find a heartbeat?!?!?! Yes, it was quite nervewracking. Thankfully, she did eventually find it and it was nice, strong and steady, so that relieved my fears a bit. I don't have another appointment for four weeks and right around that time I should also be having my ultrasound. Cross your fingers for me!

I've been feeling okay lately. I'm really exhausted, but doing well. I find there are times that I just forget to eat and boy does my body let me know it! I get horrible headaches and just feel like crap and it's usually right around then that I think, "Oh yeah...I haven't eaten yet today!" Duh, Katie! So, at least I'm eating well. lol

I think I'm feeling the baby kick, but it's still very faint. I can't wait for that first, undeniable hard kick. That's always fun! The kids can't wait until they can feel the baby move from the outside. They keep asking when that will happen. Patience grasshoppers...patience!

Emma has decided that she wants to be there when the baby is born. None of the other kids do though. So, as long as she continues wanting to be there, I think she's going to be there for the whole thing. She's very excited about being the kid who gets to hold and kiss the baby first. I think we're going to let her cut the cord as well.

Random Ramblings

So, my whole family knows about the pregnancy now. Drake is going to tell his family within the next day or so. We were going to wait longer to tell them (because they tend to be rather negative about me being pregnant so often) but we're going to see Drake's mom this weekend and I'm noticably pregnant, so we figured we should tell her rather than let her figure it out on her own. lol

My friend, Kelly, had her baby yesterday! (Congrats again, Kelly!) Her birth reminded me that I really need to brush up on how to deliver a baby. Her labor and delivery were all of an hour long. I was in the hospital less than five minutes when I gave birth to Ethan (his labor and delivery were a total of two hours). I actually left the house much earlier than I would have normally because I had to drive myself to the hospital and I didn't want to be in intense labor when I was driving. Had I waited any longer I would have either given birth in the car or at home. Luckily, Kelly was planning a home birth anyways, so she was prepared for that, but she did give birth before the midwife even got there. I know that this is a very real possibility for me. The hospital is about twenty minutes away and if I hit morning traffic, it would be completely pointless for me to even try to make it to the hospital. (Of course, this is assuming I'm still living down here in San Diego, which I don't plan on anyways) So, an unassisted homebirth (or heaven forbid, an unassisted CAR birth) could very well be a possibility for me. I guess I should brush up on that stuff again. Luckily, I still have a while. I'm about fifteen weeks now. I still have a LONG 25 weeks to go!