35 weeks

Saturday night around 1 am I was awoken by the weirdest pain ever.  I felt this popping/ripping/burning feeling at the top of my belly on the left hand side.  In my head, I was envisioning my skin ripping open!  It was so scary.   As I tried to wake up and fill my stomach to see if I had a gaping wound I was yelling for Nicholas to get up.  Once I realized I wasn’t ripped up, the next thing that I thought was a bug bit me.   Nicholas was awake and up at that point.  He was looking over my stomach and the bed to see if there was a bug.   His eyes were trying to adjust to the light but didn’t see anything.  I then tried to stand up and the burning/tearing sensation was so painful.   We had no idea what was going on. 

I tried to look it up on Google and that only freaked us out more.  Nicholas suggested that I should call the doctor’s office.  I did and spoke with the on call doctor.  He didn’t have any real advice to give me and couldn’t figure out what it could be.   His suggestion, to take some Tylenol and see if the pain subsides.   If not I should go to Labor & Delivery.   I followed the orders and the pain did lessen.  I was able to fall back asleep.  The next morning, my whole top left side of my belly was tender and sore to the touch.  I decided to wait until the next day as I had a scheduled appointment with my doctor anyways. 

Yesterday, Nicholas and I went to my appointment and I explained what happened to my doctor.  She knew instantly what is was.  She said more than likely the pressure from Bixby cracked my rib.  Yeah you read that right, my growing little girl broke my rib.  The doctor said your ribs are held together mostly by cartilage so under the pressure it can get pushed out of place.    It made so much sense because the feeling I felt was a popping and burning. 

When Bixby is 15 and we get into a huge fight, I’m going to say “you know you already broke my rib”.  Because that’s what moms do they hold that kind of stuff over their children’s head right?

27 Weeks

Today marks my 27^th week of pregnancy.  I am really excited for this milestone because it means I’ve entered my Third Trimester.  If I were to delivery today the infant survival rate increases to 78%.    The past few weeks have been very difficult as has this whole pregnancy.  I’ve had some pre-term labor issues so every week is a milestone.

At 24 weeks I was attending the Project trade show in Las Vegas for work.   I was working in our booth for Karen London Jewelry.  Around 2:00 pm I started experiencing extremely painful contractions.   I’ve never had a real full contractions since I had Baines via C-Section.  The contractions were intense, lasting about a minute every four minutes.  I called my doctor and they recommended that I lay down and drink tons of water.   It was difficult to find a place at the trade show but I found a chair that I could recline in but it didn’t help.  The contractions continued for about 2 hours on and off.  That’s when my doctor’s office suggested I go to the nearest Labor & Delivery.  My coworker Kelli took me and by the time I was admitted the contractions had slow down.  While getting set up on the monitors I threw up and that made me feel so much better.   I initially thought it was because of the contraction pains but  I came to realize that I might have gotten food poisoning from the trade show food.  At the L&D I only had a few small contractions and they released me after about an hour.   Bixby was fine so I was relieved.

I had an appointment scheduled for the following Monday so my doctor didn’t make me come in any earlier once I returned home.   I had still been having contractions all weekend but nothing like Vegas.  When I got to my appointment Monday we went over all the details from the prior week’s events.   She checked my cervix and was worried it was too thin.  Plus I was still having too many contractions so she sent me to Labor & Delivery for monitoring and to run several tests to determine whether I was already in per term labor or just at risk.    From my urine sample they found out I did have a bladder infection that could have been aggravating my uterus and causing contractions.  I was monitored for about 2 hours and was having too many contractions.

They wanted to stop the contractions right away because once they start and get in a rhythm that’s when the pre-term labor can begin.   I was given a shot and a pill both aimed to stop the contractions.  The shot contains steroids just like inhaler for asthma.  It made me really shaky but it only lasted for about an hour.  That’s when the pill kicked in which would last for 6 hours.  Both worked to stop the contractions.   Once they were gone they had me stay for another hour just in case. 

The only good part to the day was getting another ultrasound to check my cervix length.   The tech was really nice and did a full ultrasound.   We checked to make sure she was still a girl (which she is).   It was so cute because she was folded in half and her hands were playing with her toes.   She is a very active girl so it was fun to see her moving around.   Here are a couple images the tech printed me.  (PS my cervix was 4 cm long which they said was really good)

Bixby at 25 weeks

Bixby's Leg's

I had another appointment today and my doctor was happy that I made it to 27 weeks and how I am feeling.  She wants me to continue with the restrictions they put me on at L&D, no standing, bending, stretching, lifting, excessive walking, and over activity.   My belly is measuring about 2 weeks ahead which I guess is normal for a second baby.   She said it means I’m having a healthy baby.   Also I was surprised that I’ve only gained 19 lbs.  I could swear I’ve gained 35.  Haha    She said the weight gain was great considering they want you to gain at least 30.  But I’m sure I’ll make it there in these remaining 13 weeks.

4 Weeks old

Today Baines is 4 Weeks old and I can't believe how fast its flown by. It seems like just yesterday she was born. Her face has already matured and she has lost about half of her hair. Which breaks my heart because I LOVE her baby hair. Nicholas keeps reminding me that she will grow new hair and I should be looking forward to what color it will be. I still can't help feeling sad.

We took a nap together today. Before I feel asleep, I looked at her in my arm and tried to take a mental picture of this moment. I don't ever want to forget the way she looks and how happy she makes me. From the moment I saw her I knew I would love her forever.

I took this video our first night in the hospital. I've been watching it over and over today. She just makes my heart melt!

Tomorrow Nicholas goes back to work. Its been amazing having him home. He is such a great, attentive, helpful and loving father. I couldn't ask for a better partner.

Baines is scheduled

Mark your calenders because Baines is scheduled to come to town. Friday, we found out that she'll be born Tuesday morning at 7:30 am!

It's not what we were expecting but its defiantly in our best interest. My placenta has moved back down partially covering my cervix. It's not completely covered but enough that my doctor felt it best we schedule a C-Section.

I've been feeling very overwhelmed since we found out but I have the best partner. Nicholas is so stoked that we have it planned. The doctor loved how much he was excited about the C-section. She said she needed him in every appt to calm the other mothers. He told me, "at least she won't be weird looking" like the vaginal birth babies, since her head wont be squeezed. Haha He's always does a good job making me laugh. He was super freaked out during our Birth Class when he saw how weird they look after birth.

Nicholas is also set with he's New Father Mustache! He started growing it because he said Dad's always have mustaches.

We'll be in the hospital for 3 night so I'll make sure we post some pictures once we get home. We love you all and can't thank you enough for your support!!!

All my bags are pack, I’m ready to go...

I had Monday off for the 4th of July holiday weekend. I spent the day packing my hospital bag. I had to go get a couple things at the store that I was missing and I am still waiting for my Extra Huge size nursing bra to come. But everything else is ready to go so Baines can come out whenever she feels like it because Mom and Dad are ready to party!

Emergency

Last week I came down with a cold and had to miss three days of work. By Friday I was feeling much better and over the weekend I was still resting but doing well. Yesterday, I was coughing more than usual. Around noon it was uncontrollable. I was using my inhaler but couldn’t get relief. I thought eating lunch would help. I had a hard to breathing so I couldn’t really eat. I was also having pains in my abdomen and back. I was worried for the baby so I called my OB. She said I needed to go to the emergency room, UGH! I didn’t want to go to the emergency room so I tried Urgent Care first. They couldn’t admit me because I am 27 weeks pregnant and didn’t have monitors for the baby. I then went to the emergency room and they took me straight to Labor and Delivery because I was having pains and shortness of breath.

They hooked me and Baines up to the monitors. My heart rate was 120+ and Baines was 160+, they said it was probably because of all the steroids from my inhaler. I was only getting about 75% oxygen because my lungs weren’t opening to capacity. Long story short, I was admitted at 4:00pm and wasn’t released until 10:00pm. I had 2 breathing treatments, hooked to oxygen to up my levels, and a chest x-ray. They concluded that I had an upper respiratory infection that turned into a sever Asthma attack.

It was really scary and completely overwhelming to be in Labor and Delivery. Everything turned out to be fine but it was a bad way to start my week. Hopefully I can control my asthma for the rest of the pregnancy because I don’t want to go back until Baines is ready to be born.