Dirt and Lipgloss

I have moved!  You can find updates since the last entry from this blog at www.bakersfamilyblog.com

Seraya Elizabeth Baker was born on December 14th 2009 at 1:59 pm.  She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. 

The journey to this day had not always been easy.  We started off with bedrest at 27 weeks due to contractions and dilation.  At 30 weeks, I went into preterm labor and spent 4 days in the hospital.  I was then placed on bedrest once again as well as medicine every 4 hours to control the contractions.  For the next 8 weeks, I dealt with contractions on a daily basis despite being on bedrest.  At 38 weeks, Seraya decided it was time to join her mommy and daddy in this world.  I went into labor on December 15th.  I made it all the way to 8 cm and then progression halted.  I was in labor for 16 hours when the doctors decided that a c-section was necessary.  I was sent to the OR fairly quickly at that point.  They delivered Seraya but I never heard her cry and they never showed her to me.  At this point I knew something was wrong.  Seraya was not responding and was having trouble breathing and needed to be intubated. 

My first look at my daughter

I was pretty scared at this time.  I never imagined that I would end up with a c-section or that at 38 weeks there would be any complications with my baby.  Fortunately, she was only intubated for a short time.  She spent 4 days in the NICU. 

This has been quite a journey for us, a very difficult one at times.  But when I look at the end result, our beautiful baby girl, it has been a journey that was well worth it.

Seraya today at 2 months!

I wish I could be updating from the hospital but I never even made it in there last night.  I continued to have contractions 5-9 minutes apart and decided to lay down and try to get some rest.  I eventually fell asleep and as far as I can tell did not have any contractions afterwards, or if I did they weren’t strong enough to wake me up.  I got up several times to use the bathroom and would feel a contraction at that point but they never really got stronger. 

This morning I woke up and was determined to get to the hospital.  I stayed on my feet for 4 hours just trying to find things to do around the house.  I did a load of laundry, cleaned the master bathroom, messed around in the baby’s room, did the dishes, got the pack n play set up in our room, wiped down the coffee tables and end tables, marched in place while I was in the shower, I even got on the elliptical!!!  I did start to get crampy and had contractions but they were anywhere from 3 minutes to 23 minutes, not consistent at all. 

We then went and  had our car seat inspected.  I forgot that I had made an appointment last week for today.  Turns out that Baker installed the car seat perfectly.  I was a little worried that he hadn’t ehe was done in a few minutes but it turns out daddy knew what he was doing!  Afterwards we went to super walmart to get groceries but before we shopped for the groceries we started at the other end of the store and walked up and down all the aisles just to get more walking in. 

Now I am sitting at home.  My feet are sore and my back is killing me but as far as contractions go, they are still inconsistent!  So, I guess we are just not ready yet.  I was so optimistic when the doctor told me she felt I would be in the hospital by morning.  Hopefully, we still make it there sometime this weekend.  I am so ready to meet this little girl!

So earlier today I wrote that I was feeling pretty crampy and was having contractions.  I also mentioned that I had been losing part of my mucus plug.  I was going to take a shower and when I went to the bathroom, I completely lost the plug.  I won’t go into detail but it was DISGUSTING!  I took my shower and then started to time my contractions.  They were coming every 4-7 minutes for over an hour so I decided to call my OB and see what they recommended.  They wanted me to come in for a labor check.  Baker was on his way home so I told them we would be there as soon as possible.  We got there at about 415 and they got me into a room.  Dr Lund came in and I explained to her everything that has happened or that I was feeling since my appointment on Monday.  She measured the belly and I was now measuring at 36 weeks but she also mentioned that she felt like I had dropped which I assumed also.  She checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4cm!

She asked me if I was up for eating dinner and I told her yes.  She told me to go ahead and get something to eat.  She felt like I was headed in the direction of labor but that I still had time.  She said after dinner to walk around some and once the contractions started to intensify to call the answering service and let them know what was going on.  She said that Dr. Gallagher was on call tonight and she would probably direct me to the hospital at that point.

She said that I could also try a sleeping pill but that I could wake up to the intense contractions and may only have a couple of hours left.  I told her that made me a little nervous and that I would worry that we wouldn’t make it into the hospital on time.  So I decided to go ahead and go home after dinner and just wait until the contractions were more intense.  I asked her what she thought as far as when this could all happen because at this point I was still thinking about Baker going to work in the morning.  I let her know that it takes him about 25 minutes to make it home from work.  She asked me when he goes in and I told her he leaves the house at 515am.  She said she believes that I will be in the hospital by then!

So, for now I am at home still having contractions that are starting to last a little longer.  Baker has already decided he is not going in to work tomorrow and we are just waiting to see what happens.  It is crazy to think that we could be headed to the hospital soon to have our baby!

So after my appointment last Monday I had been very crampy for the rest of the day and even had a little bit of spotting going on.  My doctor told me that I would possibly have the bleeding after each cervical check but this is the first time it has actaully happened.  I figure since I am closer now, it makes sense.  The menstrual like cramping was gone the next day but I continued to have the spotting as well as some contractions although they were never consistent.

Wednesday the spotting disappeared and I had a few contractions here and there but nothing significant.  Then that night I told Baker I wasn’t feeling very good.  I just felt nauseous and haven’t felt that way since the first trimester.  I didn’t sleep that great but that is an everyday thing for me anymore.

This morning I am awakened by the menstrual like cramping again.  The cramping pretty much has stayed with me all morning and is continuous but every now and then they get to the point where they are more intense.  So I am wondering if these are contractions because they are unlike any others I have felt before.  All I know is that it doesn’t feel good. I also lost more of my mucus plug this morning and have been having some spotting. 

I think I will go and take a warm shower just in case this is it and if I continue to have these cramping like contractions I will start to time them and maybe place a call to the dcotor just to ease my mind….could it be?

Yippee!!!!  We have made some progress!  I was so bummed last week when I went in for my appointment and there was no change.  I told Baker last night that hopefully they tell me I am at least 2 cm when I go in for my appointment…they did!!!  She told me I was 2 cm and when she measured the belly she was measuring me 2 weeks ahead!  She said if she didn’t see me before next Monday’s appointment, that she will do an ultrasound to estimate the baby’s weight and decide what to do from there. 

I told her that I haven’t really felt the baby move alot the last couple of days.  I know that it is starting to get snug in there, but I also know that the movements are supposed to be about the same.  So to make sure that everything was ok, she did an NST.  After 20 minutes on that, she came back in and let me know that the baby was doing fine and that I had a contraction which I wasn’t aware of.  So maybe all this time that I had been off the pill, I just wasn’t noticing the contractions…who knows!

She was concerned about the swelling in my feet since I said that I had been having headaches over the weekend and that tylenol didn’t always get rid of them.  She told me to keep an eye on that and to let her know if I continue to have them without any relief from the tylenol.  She also told me to increase the amount of water and to watch my salt intake.  My blood pressure was fine though.  I have gained more weight than I would have liked.  Prepregnancy I was 133 and today I was at 169.  My doctor made me feel la littl better by saying that the bedrest didn’t help me.

She also told me to continue my kick count exercises if I notice a decrease in movement and to let her know if I don’t have at least 6 movements in an hour. 

So needless to say, I am super excited.  I know some women can stay at 2cm for several weeks but I am just happy that there was some progress.  I would love to go into labor anyday now but know that if I don’t before next Monday that I will still be able to see my girl during the ultrasound!

Yay…I am officially full-term!  It feels reallly good to be at this point and know that if Seraya came now she would be a healthy girl!

*her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb

*many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long, although it might not be the same color as the parents

*the coating of lanugo that covered your baby from 26 weeks has disappeared, and so has most of the vernix caseosa, the whitish substance that also covers her

*baby will continue to develop about a half an ounce of fat a day, and is getting rounder and pinker

*baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel, like a stalk of Swiss Chard

My changes:

*very swollen feet

*sleeping is still nonexistent

*very anxious to meet her

*all my Christmas presents are wrapped!!!

*wish I could say that I have been having contractions like I was on the pill, but since coming off them, Seraya has decided to behave and now I am feeling like she is gonna wait till the very end to make her debut!

*Dr’s appointment tomorrow…hopefully there is some change!

Today Baker and I attended a breastfeeding class at Clarian West.  I had scheduled one back in October but because I ended up on bedrest I had to cancel.  I decided to get a book from the library about breastfeeding and although I did start it, the book was over 300 pages and I was just overwhelmed with all the info in it.  I figured I would try to reschedule the class that would hopefully give me just the right amount of info that I was needing. 

I convinced Baker to go with me because the class description said to bring your partners.  I was hoping he wasn’t the only male there.  When we first got to the classroom, there was already another woman in there but without her partner, so I started to worry a little bit that maybe Baker might be the only guy and therefore be uncomfortable, even though this is the guy who said as we pulled into the parking lot, “Let’s go look at some titties!” (Baker, if you are reading this, I told you I was going to put it in my blog!)  Turns out, she was the only one without a partner, there were at least 5 other couples that showed up afterwards.

I do feel like the class helped me know what I needed to know to get breastfeeding off to a good start. I pretty much learned the basics and what to expect and I feel like I couldn’t of found this info in the 300+ page book…it was just  too overwhelming.  I feel a little more prepared when it comes to breastfeeding.  I am glad that I went and glad that Baker went also so that he can help encourage me when I have my moments of doubt.  He jokes around alot but I know he will be a valuable support system for me.  I also know that when I am at the hospital I will be able to see a lactation consultant who can also help me get off to a good start.  I am feeling pretty good now and feeling like I got everything done that I needed to, so now all I am waiting on is baby girl….you are welcome anytime!!!!

Last night Baker had to wake me up because I was snoring!!!!  He told me that I was keeping him up.  I read that this would happen at some point in my pregnancy but thought since I was almost at the end that I may skip that part!  Unfortuantely for Baker, I didn’t get that lucky!

This evening we took a tour of the hospital we will be delivering at.  My OB delivers at either Methodist Hospital or Clarian North.  There are a few reasons I chose Clarian North over Methodist.  First of all, I work at Methodist and I already spent a week there when I was going through preterm labor.  And although they did a wonderful job taking care of me and making sure I had whatever I needed, we chose Clarian North for two specific reasons.

First, it is a little closer for Baker’s family to get to.  They are about 1 hour and 45 minutes away from us so they already have a long drive.  Hopefully this will help just a bit.  The second reason, I won’t lie, but I want to be pampered and I heard that is what happens at Clarian North!

I didn’t think I was going to be able to do the hospital tour at one point due to the bedrest, but since being off, I am taking adavantge of being up and moving as much as I can!  Turns out the tour wasn’t much of what I expected.  Instead of walking around and seeing the different areas we would be in we sat in a room and had a virtual tour on a big screen.  But I did find out several things that I didn’t know.  The most important being that the visitation policy has changed a bit at Clarian North…for the better!  When I was in the hospital last time the only visitors allowed were my parents and Baker and the nursing staff told me that those would be the only people allowed when I had the baby as well.  Now, at Clarian North, anyone over the age of 18 will be able to visit me.  So it is nice to know that Bakers parents as well as his sister will be able to be there.  His sister is so excited that we are having a girl!  My sister will also be able to be there and that is great because we actually planned for her to take pictures for us!  I am a little bummed that my niece won’t be able to see me or her cousin Seraya until we get home.  We have been talking about her so much that I am pretty sure Vavia is thinking that this is some kind of imaginary person!  I just can’t wait for her to finally be able to meet this little person we have been telling her about!