3am Ramblings

Hello! I am up every night around 3-4am to feed our little piglet babe. During these times, I find myself searching through Facebook, IG, Pinterest, etc...anything to both kill the time and stay awake! However, at 3am on a Thursday there sure isn't a whole lot of activity. Soo I figured, why not use this time to blog about our latest happenings - keeping our family/friends and my future self updated on the new mom life! So this blog is going to make a little shift in content from now on. I cannot say that it will always be very well-written or even coherent so bear with me...I'm still adjusting to life without sleep ;) Anywho, I am now typing this with my arms full of a passed out milk-drunk little person so I will keep this post short and sweet. Next time, I will actually write about something interesting...hopefully. Until then, enjoy some adorable pictures of our babe...

Madeline Jane's Birth Story

Hello - So much has happened since I last updated this blog! I have decided to continue to update on here for a little while...it has been kind of nice to write everything down. It is really more for me than anyone else, so I apologize in advance for the long-winded ramblings :) Anywho, on to the story of Madeline's birth...

I had decided that I was going to work up until my 37th week of pregnancy in order to give myself at least a week or more to finish getting everything settled and organized since we had just moved to a new place. Well, that did not really happen. The Thursday of my last week of work, I woke up and instantly felt awful. My lower back was killing me and my stomach felt like a constant cramp. I thought it would get better as the day went on, so I tried to go to work. It just did not get better, so I went home for the day and continued to feel sick. We had a doctor's appointment that afternoon so I was hoping he would tell me I was almost there! But he didn't. He told me everything I was feeling was completely normal for this stage of pregnancy and that he thought I still had another few weeks to go. Ugh. So the next day, Friday, was my last day of work. I woke up still not feeling well at all but I knew I had to go in to work that day. I went in, met with my boss for all the last minute details and went home at 10am. I was feeling somewhat sharper pains at this time which I thought were contractions, but there was never a definite start and end so I couldn't time them. This continued for the rest of the day.

Around 3am that Saturday morning, these contractions began to start feeling a little stronger. I was sort of able to time them occasionally, but they were very inconsistent. I was obviously not in labor yet. The day went on and the contractions continued that way. I was able to talk through them and they were never to the point of painful, more just uncomfortable and annoying. I tried to time them throughout the day, but every time I actually got the timer out, they seemed to stop, so I pretty much gave up on that. We had planned to get together with our doula, Sarah that afternoon for our pre-labor meeting.  I told her about how I was feeling and she agreed with the doctor that she thought I still had some time.

About an hour after she left, Kevin was getting ready to go pick up his car that was in the shop. I had planned on going with him since we needed someone to drive the other car back, but a few minutes before we needed to leave, I had a MAJOR contraction. Like, a curled-up-on-the-bed-moaning contraction. It came out of nowhere but there was finally PAIN. Since I was in no condition to drive at that point, Kevin just went himself and was going to have a friend drive the car back. I decided to get in the tub to see if that would help me feel better and I had heard that it can slow down labor (although I still did NOT think I was in labor). Once I got in, I had another big contraction...and then another about 4 minutes apart or so. I had been texting with my mom throughout all this and she told me she thought I should call the doctor. I was hesitant because he had told us to call when I was having contractions 4 minutes apart for at least an hour. Before these last few contractions, they had been around 10-15 minutes apart so I didn't think it was time to call yet. My mom told me that early labor contractions generally do not start out this painful and intense so I needed to find out what was going on. I texted Kevin and told him to hurry home. He got there about 10 minutes later and I just said, 'I need to go to the hospital'.

He began running around grabbing all our stuff and throwing it into a bag since we were not quite done packing yet (oops!). He called the doctor's office to let them know we were going to the hospital, and they told him that our doctor was out of town for the weekend. GREAT. Kevin had a mild 'Knocked Up' moment, but we just hurried out the door. In the car, he called Sarah and told her to turn around and come back! It was about 4:30pm now and luckily, we live about 10 minutes from the hospital, so getting there was not too bad, but the contractions were consistently coming and were very painful. We went straight to the Emergency Room since I was not able to walk up to the Birth Center myself. When we were checking in, they asked me how far apart my contractions were and I told them about 4 minutes. The woman took one look at me and said, 'I think it's a lot closer than that!' They had someone come and wheel me up to the Birth Center so they could check me. Much to my surprise (and delight!) I was 6 cm already! Woah! I must have been in labor for a while already and just hadn't realized it! I was happy because I thought this meant that labor would be very quick and hopefully not too awful. The nurse said, 'You guys are going to have a baby tonight!' If only we had known....

I was admitted to Labor and Delivery around 5:30pm on Saturday June 22nd, thinking we would have this baby by midnight. I got my room, Kevin brought all our stuff up, Sarah had made it, our parents were called, and we were ready to go. I had made it clear that I was wanting an unmedicated birth if at all possible and we had a nurse that was supportive of that and really left us to labor as we wanted. I started out in the tub, and then moved to the birthing ball, the shower, the bed, just about every position possible, I tried it. At this point, we realized that Madeline was sunny-side up rather than face down like she should have been. This was causing what they call, 'back labor'. It is no joke! Basically, the hard part of her head was smashing into my spine the entire time. It was SO painful! The worst part about it, is that the pain does not end when the contraction stops...there really is no break from it. Any pregnant ladies reading this, do your spinning babies exercises because back labor is the worst! I really believe that if she had been facing the other way, labor would not have been that bad. So I labored on and on for hours. The only thing that really kept me going was thinking that I must be close to pushing by now! I was willing myself into thinking I had to push...but no such luck. I labored like this for 12 hours...when the nurse checked me again I knew I had to be almost there. I was at.....6cm. All this time and pain and I had not progressed at all. When the nurse had checked me this time, she inadvertently broke my water. The next contraction after that, I literally lost my mind. The intensity of it tripled, and I started to panic. I felt like an animal who would chew her own arm off just to get away from this torture. I lost it. I begged the nurse for help and she said she would call the anesthesiologist for me. She came back and said he was just waking up and was on his way. Waking up?! I needed him NOW! Every contraction was absolutely terrifying at this point and I really didn't think I could handle it much longer. He finally made it and started the epidural process. Oh my gosh, it was SO awful to have to sit up and hold still while this was happening. The nurse and Kevin stood in front of me while I squeezed them and just screamed from the pain of it all. It felt like forever but was probably only about 5 minutes. Finally it was over and I had relief! I've never felt so happy, and I didn't even have my baby yet!

After all this, everyone was exhausted so we all settled in and took a well-deserved nap. I was not able to really sleep, but the rest was nice. When everyone woke up a few hours later, I still was only at 8cm. This was taking FOREVER! They decided to start me on a low dose of pitocin to get things moving more quickly. I was not very happy with this, but something needed to happen. It had now been over 24 hours since I had eaten anything, combined with all the medication and I was now feeling really nauseous. Fast-forward to me projectile vomiting all over Kevin and that was just the cherry on top of this whole day :/.

Hours went by and finally, by 2pm Sunday afternoon, I was fully dilated and ready to push. I remember looking at the clock and thinking, 'okay, by 3 I will have this baby.' Then, 'ok, by 4 I will have this baby'....'By 5, I will have this baby'. I pushed and pushed and pushed. She was just taking her sweet time. The pushing itself was not that bad, I just so wanted her to come at this point! By 5, the hospital got a call that my doctor had just gotten into town and was on his way - just in time! He got there right when I was crowning. I pushed as hard as I could for about 15 minutes with him and she still was not coming out! He finally decided that since I had been pushing for almost 3 and a half hours at this point, I needed some help. He used the vacuum and FINALLY Madeline came out! They had seen meconium in my water when it broke earlier so they had some NICU doctors there when she was born. They instantly cut her cord and scooped her up and over to their table - she was not breathing. They worked for a minute and suctioned the fluid from her lungs and then she started crying. We got to hold her just a few minutes later and we were on cloud nine! She was beautiful! We spent the next few hours just staring at our gorgeous little strawberry blonde girl. Even though absolutely NOTHING went as I had hoped and planned with the labor, it was 100% worth it to see our little girl. Madeline Jane was born 6/23/2013 at 5:28pm. She was 6lbs 4oz, 19inches long. Absolutely perfect. <3

And now for picture overload...

My last belly pic - taken 2 days before I went into labor...

 

Hudson was concerned when I was in the tub before going to the hospital...

 

35 Weeks

                        *Since we've been in the process of moving, I wasn't able to take my usual bump picture, so this will have to do. The chalkboard is courtesy of my friend Aimee this week...much more artistic than I normally do! :)*

 Oh my gosh the last two weeks have been soo busy! We had another doctors appointment last week that went well again. I have one more next week and then I will have to go every week after that until the baby comes - that's a LOT of doctor visits! The day after my last appt, my mom and Kevin's mom both came into town and we all went and saw my 3D ultrasound! Baby girl was pretty sleepy the whole time, (and was clearly squished), but we did get to see her sweet little face and it was so cool! SHE IS SO CHUBBY ALREADY! I was shocked! They said she was already about 5 and a half pounds so if she keeps growing on schedule, she will be over 8 lbs by my due date. It was so much fun to see her :)  The day after that, I had a baby shower that a lot of our family and friends came to and it was just SO wonderful! It was a great day and we are extremely blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives! And then, to top off another busy week, I had another baby shower (this time at my work) which was just so nice and then Kevin and I finally moved! Thankfully, it all went smoothly and now we are just busy unpacking everything and settling in before our little one gets here! phew!


How Far Along:  35 weeks 2 days
Baby is the size of: a coconut - about 18-19 inches long and just under 6lbs.  
Symptoms: The last two weeks have been making me nervous. I've been getting quite a bit of cramping in my lower belly area, as well as lots of lower back aching. I think the baby is starting to drop now also because lately I cannot walk more than 10 feet without wincing in pain..she's getting really heavy on my cervix. I've still got a semi upset stomach most of the time too. I can barely sleep anymore either...I wake up around 3am everyday - I just can't get comfortable at night! And, TMI warning, I've started to lose bits of my mucous plug too...and whatever you do, do NOT Google Image that. I'm serious. All of this stuff is normal, it's just starting to make me nervous about going into labor early! I still have things to get done so I want to hold her in there to cook for at least another 3-4 weeks! 
Movement: Still moving lots - more rolling movements. It's not as much fun to feel her move as it used to be...it's definitely getting uncomfortable and even painful at times.
Miss Anything? walking at a normal speed. Not feeling sick all the time. My cheekbones...
Food Cravings: Nothing really - still just really thirsty a lot!
Anything making you sick/queasy? Anything heavier makes me nauseous. It just kind of depends on my stomach at that moment. 
The Bump: I can't believe its STILL growing this much!
Gender: Baby K is a GIRL!
Mood: Nervous about all these weird feelings in my belly lately! And overall just very tired, but I haven't been too cranky about it surprisingly.
Best Moment this week:   Our 3D ultrasound and the baby showers!! We've had such a great few weeks!
Looking forward to: Now that we've moved, I can finally start getting the nursery together! We have to paint the room next weekend, but I can start getting all the stuff that I've been collecting organized. I want to get all this done as soon as possible because you really never know when the baby will come at this point! It'll be so fun to finally see her room!

33 Weeks

 Hello! We are really cruising along with this pregnancy now - I feel like I am getting soo close and I either get really excited or really nervous when I think about it...usually both. I am definitely at the point now where I feel totally handicapped and everything is hard. Like, really hard. I have not been feeling great, and I can absolutely understand now why everyone says in the third trimester, you just want it all to be over! But, in spite of all that, we have so many things going on right now, there is a lot to be excited about! I have my friends and family baby shower this upcoming weekend so my mom will be coming out to stay with us for a few days - very excited! Then the following week, I have a baby shower at my work and we are moving! It'll be an extremely busy time, but once it's all done I know it will be soo nice to have everything settled. I only have about 4 weeks left of work and I know it will just fly by! I can't believe how close we're getting now :)


How Far Along:  33 weeks 4 days
Baby is the size of: a squash - about 18 inches and close to 5lbs.  
Symptoms: Very tired lately..and not sleeping too great either which doesn't help. I've also had quite a bit of random stomach aches and pains throughout the day - everything from cramps to sharp pain to nausea. I am super swollen these days too! My ring doesn't stand a chance and I can only fit into one pair of sandals. :/ A new one in the past week has been heartburn! I thought I might be one of the very lucky few who didn't have this one because I hadn't had any sign of it yet..but alas, it's finally made it's appearance. It really hasn't been too too awful yet though so I can't complain too much. Hopefully it doesn't get worse.
Movement: She is still moving like crazy! It's getting to be a little uncomfortable now though. The other day, I rolled over a little weird and kind of smushed her I think...she let me know how she felt about that my giving me a big double footed stomp to the lungs. It hurt SO bad. I won't be doing that again anytime soon. You can just sit there and watch my belly move as she rolls around - she's quite the active one!
Miss Anything? just being a normal functioning person. I feel so debilitated these days!
Food Cravings: Nothing much really - still just really thirsty! We went to a local Hawaiian restaurant yesterday and I got some Lilikoi Lemonade...it was pure heaven.
Anything making you sick/queasy? Most foods make me feel a little sick these days...and spicy food gives me heartburn. But I'm not having any food aversions thank goodness.
The Bump: large and in charge. I feel like a whale.
Gender: Baby K is a GIRL!
Mood: Definitely more emotional than normal. Basically any strong emotion makes me cry...whether it's happy, sad, angry, frustrated etc. I cried last week because I was hungry but couldn't decide what to eat. I'm trying not to get too crazy but some days are more grumpy than normal...hehe.
Best Moment this week:   We had another doctor's appointment last week and got to see our girl again. Everything looks great still and I really am feeling so amazingly lucky to have had no health problems during this pregnancy. I know, I have complained about all my symptoms every post and I would never say that this pregnancy has been easy, but we really are so blessed to have had no complications because I know they can be very common.
Looking forward to: My baby shower next weekend! I cannot wait to see all my friends and family that will be there! I am so lucky to have such great people in my life and I know it will be a wonderful day! :)

30 Weeks

 Hello! So I am failing at this blogging thing...sorry guys. I have been either super busy or super sleepy every weekend lately and just have not had the motivation to get this done.  In the past few weeks, we have had another Dr appointment, signed the lease on our new place, and Kevin's been getting ready for his finals. I have really been feeling this pregnancy lately...not so much in a good way haha. It's hit me like a ton of bricks very quickly - funny how you can go from feeling just fine to completely handicapped in a few short weeks. This third trimester business is no joke! But I am just pluggin along...we're getting so close now, it's so exciting! I can't wait for July to get here! :)


How Far Along:  30 weeks 4 days
Baby is the size of: a head of lettuce - about 17 inches and right around 3lbs.  
Symptoms: SO many! I am suddenly very tired again..all that 2nd trimester energy burst stuff is long gone! It's getting so much harder to get around now and I feel like I am always out of breath. Also, another new development...because my uterus is getting so big, it is completely smashing my stomach and intestines. So I can no longer eat anything without feeling sick to my stomach. No matter what it is, if I have more than a few bites at a time, I feel awful. This is just no fun. I have also become a burping machine (tmi?) haha. Some random pains pop up here and there also but nothing really bad so far. 
Movement: She has now switched from kicking a lot to rolling. I am feeling her moving constantly now and it just feels like she's doing tons of somersaults in there! The doctor said she is head down still so that's great news! Every so often, I can feel her butt sticking out for a minute and then it goes away...I tell Kevin she's booty popping already...he doesn't seem to think it's very funny ;)
Have you told anyone? Everyone knows!
Miss Anything? being able to walk at a normal pace.
Food Cravings: Lately I haven't been wanting any food in particular but I am always thirsty! I have been picking which restaurants to go to based on their drink selections haha.
Anything making you sick/queasy? No one food in particular, just anything if I eat very much of it.
The Bump: is SO big! I feel like I look way bigger than a lot of people this far along but my doctor assures me I am not...(yes, I ask every time ha).
Gender prediction: Baby K is a GIRL!
Mood: This past week, I have definitely noticed myself getting much more emotional. It comes in bursts of grumpiness and usually revolves around food haha. Kevin's been so great with tolerating my mood swings and I've been trying to keep them to a minimum. Here's to hoping that stays under control for the next 9 weeks!
Best Moment this week:   When we had our 30 week Dr appt last week, he let us get an ultrasound! It was so fun to see her again - it had been a long time! She's definitely getting chubbier and even though she didn't really want to look at the camera, we got to catch a little glimpse of her face (she most definitely has Kevin's nose!). We also met with our doula, Sarah again this past weekend and it is always so reassuring to talk to her. I am so glad she is going to be there with us through this labor and delivery :)
Looking forward to: We have SUCH a busy next month! Next week have another doctors appointment and we are going up to LA to see Kevin's brother graduate from college (woohoo!). And then the following week, we are getting some family pictures taken and then my mom is coming out to visit, we're getting a 3D ultrasound, touring some daycare places, having a baby shower, and then moving! So we definitely have A LOT to look forward to! :)

 

26 Weeks

Hello! The past two weeks have been pretty busy but with all good stuff. Last week, I got my glucose screening test done and...it wasn't that bad! I had heard so many horror stories about how gross the drink was and how awful it made you feel, but I just felt like I drank some room temperature fruit punch and then got some blood taken...no problem! And, even better news, I found out a few days later that I passed the test! No gestational diabetes for me, woohoo :) I can tell that I am creeping up on that third trimester now because I am getting very uncomfortable :/ It has suddenly become so hard to do just about everything! I am fully waddling now and just walking more than 10 minutes makes me tired and need to dart to the nearest restroom...oh boy. I am definitely in for it now!


How Far Along:  26 weeks 3 days
Baby is the size of: a cucumber - about 14 inches and just shy of 2lbs.  
Symptoms: I started getting some Braxton Hicks contractions this week. They aren't painful, just a weird tightening feeling across my belly. I am starting to really struggle with getting around more now...definitely feeling more back and hip pain, swollen feet, and I feel like I am always winded! Whenever I lay down, I can feel my lungs being smushed. I was panting and sweating trying to paint my toenails the other day...not cool.
Movement: So much! More rolling lately...sometimes I find myself just staring down at my belly watching it move around..its very weird!
Have you told anyone? Everyone knows!
Miss Anything? a decent lung capacity..I can't breathe anymore!
Food Cravings: Nothing too particular - still loving ice cream :)
Anything making you sick/queasy? Nothing. It makes me so happy to say this!
The Bump: I am HUGE! I don't know how I am this big already...I still have three more months and I feel like I'm running out of room! I'm scared that by the end, I'm not going to be able to move. Let's hope I don't turn into the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka...cuz that's how I feel these days...
Gender prediction: Baby K is a GIRL!
Mood: I've been feeling pretty good for the most part...with a few meltdowns here and there. I couldn't get my shoe on this morning and ended up chucking it across the room and crying. Overreact much? haha
Best Moment this week:  Well my best moment from last week was definitely getting that glucose test over with and finding out that I passed. Also, just yesterday, Kevin and I went and toured the hospital birth center where we will be having our baby. It was about as nice as a hospital can be...we will have our own private room the entire time with a bathroom and a tub. It was nice to be able to see everything so I can really start visualizing what it'll be like once we're there for the real thing!
Looking forward to: As of this upcoming Thursday, I will officially be in my third trimester! Wow! I can't believe we are at that point already! I am just getting more and more antsy about getting to the end of this and meeting our fiesty little girl- is it July yet?? :)

24 Weeks

 
 Hello! I am officially 6 months along now! So crazy - I can't believe we are this far into it already! Only 15 (or so) short weeks left and we'll be holding our sweet little baby girl <3 Nothing too exciting to report this week - we had our monthly doctor's appointment on Thursday and everything looks great! He told us that he felt like my pregnancy was just flying by - tell me about it! And he also assured me I am not huge and we don't have a giant baby - I am just short so the only place to go is out! ;) We are starting to get into the details of our birth plan as well and figuring out what all we want so that's really exciting and fun to think about! We have reached point now where if for some reason the baby were to be born prematurely, she would have a good chance of survival. Every day her odds will go up so that is a very happy milestone to reach! But of course we are hoping she stays cooking for another 3 months or so :)

How Far Along:  24 weeks 3 days
Baby is the size of: a cantaloupe or as long as an ear of corn - about 12.5 inches and about 1lb. 4oz. - she's still in the midst of a growth spurt and mama can definitely tell! 
Symptoms: In the past week I can definitely tell that I am starting to slow down. Everything just seems a little bit harder and I get winded a lot easier. I am getting tired a lot sooner than I usually do. Also, I've started to get swollen ankles/feet at the end of the day. It is especially bad during the week when I am sitting a lot of the day so I need to try to make sure I get up and walk every so often and keep my feet elevated when I'm sitting. Still have increasing lower back pain also.
Movement: Our little girl is a wiggler! Her new favorite thing seems to be stomping on my bladder so that's fun :/ I feel more and more movement everyday and Kevin can feel a lot of it from the outside now too. We also discovered hiccups this week! It's such a funny feeling :)
Have you told anyone? Everyone knows!
Miss Anything? Being able to fit in small spaces haha.
Food Cravings: Nothing too particular - still loving ice cream :)
Anything making you sick/queasy? Nothing. It makes me so happy to say this!
The Bump: Still growing like crazy! My belly button is almost flat at this point and it is just so weird! I am a little afraid of how big my belly is going to be in three months time!
Gender prediction: Baby K is a GIRL!
Mood: I've been feeling pretty good for the most part...a little more sleepy and achy lately but no crazy moods :) 
Best Moment this week: Seeing our doctor! He just always makes me feel so at ease with everything and he is always on the same page as us. I am excited to get into the nitty gritty of all our birth plan details with him. I've also still been really enjoying our Bradley classes - it's soo much information but I'm so glad to have it. It just makes the thought of labor and birth so much less scary!
Looking forward to: I have to get my glucose screening test next weekend and I have been dreadingggg this since I found out I was pregnant. So I am looking forward to that being OVER. Let's just hope and pray that I pass it and do not have to take the longer, more traumatic 3 hour test!