She's Here!!!

I haven't had much of an opportunity to blog lately because Baby "K" made her grand appearance on September 9th at 3:57 p.m.  I was scheduled for my 39 week appointment that day and was at the hospital for my NST.  Labor and delivery was a mad house that day so the doctor said that she would see me there instead of in the office because she had a c-section to do at the time of my appointment.  So I went in and got hooked up like I normally do and waited for the kicks to start so I could start pressing the button for my test.   Time went by and I was having very little movement. The nurse came in and told me to make sure that I was pressing the button with the movements and I told her that I wasn't having any. There also were a few times that when I did have movement, the baby's heart rate did not recover very well.  After about an hour and a half, I had only felt about 5 movements, which was not characteristic for the baby at all.  The nurse came in and told me that she had contacted the doctor and that they wanted me to do an ultrasound called a biophysical profile to check to see if the baby was in distress.  It was explained to me that it was a timed test that she would be graded on and they would watch for movement, breathing, reflexes, etc. I asked if I should call my husband, and the nurse suggested that I should. I called D and told him that he probably should come to the hospital and explained to him what was going on. In the meantime, the ultrasound tech came and got me and took me down for my test.  Towards the end of the test, she asked me if I had bags packed in my car, and if I knew what the plan was if they didn't get the results they wanted from this test. I knew then that things weren't looking good.  They took me back to labor and delivery and told me that the radiologist was calling the results to my doctor and then they would let me know what to expect.  Within a few minutes, I was told that with both of the tests that I had done, they baby could have had a possible score of 10, she only got 4. They said that they were going to go ahead and admit me and monitor me for half an hour and if the baby still wasn't looking good on the monitor, they were going to go in and get her.  Everything happened so fast, that I don't really think I had time to process things.  All I kept thinking was that we had made it this far, and I just wanted the baby to be alright.  A few minutes later the doctor came back in and said the monitor still wasn't looking good, and they were going to prep me for a c-section NOW!  I started to cry and my legs started shaking and I just didn't know what to think. The next thing I knew my room was filled with nurses. Nurses getting things ready for the baby, nurses collecting my blood, it was really overwhelming.  After all of this was done, they had me walk to the OR to get ready. We were still waiting on my results from some of my labs to come back, but they tried to do as much prep as they could on me until the lab called with them.  D wasn't allowed to go in with me while I was getting prepped, but I had a nurse named Jenny who I had the opportunity of getting to know very well in all of my frequent visits for tests, and she was the one that was with me while I got prepped.  She did everything in her power to make me feel better, and to reassure me that everything would be okay, it was just time to meet my baby.  I was so grateful that she was there working that day, I don't know what I would have done without her.  A few minutes later, I had my epidural and Jenny went out to get D. He came in with his nice blue scrubs on and we waited to meet our baby.  All I can remember is how cold the room was and the anesthesiologist was giving me play by play of what was happening.  He was a very polite man, and even wiped my tears for me as he knew I was scared.  It didn't seem like it took much time at all and they had the baby out.  Initially I didn't hear anything and that really had me concerned, but they said that the cord was wrapped around her neck and they were going to check her out. They said that she looked good and then she started to make a little noise.  Baby K was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 1/2 inches long.  At this point, I was just relieved to have her out and know that she was going to be alright.  D went to be with her while they finished my surgery and then we all got to go back to the room for a while to rest before everyone came in to meet her.  I was very thankful for the family that we had at the hospital with us, it made it easier to process everything that had happened in such a short time.

So for now, I will try to update when I can, but I am definitely trying to adjust to being a new mommy.  :)

38 Week Update

As promised, here is the 38 week update...it's been a crazy one! :)  Tuesday evening I was home trying to find some motivation to get some things done around the house.  D was starting school and I didn't feel like doing anything, so I thought I would go see my brother, sister-in-law, and the kiddos.  Prior to leaving, I started having some contractions, but didn't really think anything of it since I have been having contractions for weeks.  I arrived at their house and sat out in the backyard with them while the kids played.  The contractions were still happening, but at this point I still wasn't convinced it was anything.  I stayed for a while to visit and D sent me a text to say he was done with school for the evening, so I decided to head back home.  I called him and let him know that I was having contractions but hadn't been timing them, so we decided when I got home I should try to take it easy and see what happened.  So I got home, drank some water, and tried to relax, but the contractions were getting stronger and longer. I had started timing them and they were between 3-5 minutes apart and were lasting about a minute when I had them.  After about two and half hours we decided to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I got down there and they hooked me up to the monitor and I was in fact having some good contractions.  Baby E was responding well when I had them, so there were no issues there.  The nurse said that she was going to check my cervix to see if I had made any progress, as I hadn't been checked in almost three weeks.  She checked me and.....nothing, cervix still closed!  Darn it!  So she called the doctor and she told me to go back home and gave me a list of things to watch for and return if the contractions got stronger.  Needless to say I was disappointed, but at the same time didn't feel like it was the real thing yet anyway.  Tuesday night was a rough night. I tried to sleep, but the contractions continued and I really only slept about two hours. I debated about not going to work, but thought I had better try to at least go. I made it to work, but felt like I had been run over my a truck.  My stomach felt like I had done one too many Abs of Steel videos. :)  I lasted a few hours at work, and just couldn't function, so I decided I was better off at home. I went home, put some comfy clothes on, and crawled into bed where I spent most of the day.  I was able to get lots of rest on Wednesday, which I really needed.  I got up on Thursday, and felt better than I had felt in months!  I was able to get a lot accomplished at work, and then I came home and started on the house. D had school again, so I did laundry, dishes, cleaned the bathroom, dusted, etc.  Everyone says during the end of pregnancy you get a burst of energy and start nesting, so maybe that is what it was.  All I know is that I woke up Friday feeling like crud again. Boo :(  I had an appointment at the doctor yesterday morning, and I gained 4 pounds this week! Yikes! I had been doing so good, so I was a little bummed out, but I'm sure I am really starting to retain fluid.  My blood pressure has been good, so an induction was not needed this week as previously thought.  The doctor checked me to see if any progress had been made since Tuesday evening and she said that my cervix was soft, I was dilated to 1cm, and she could feel the top of the baby's head.  At least at that point, I had felt like I was making some kind of progress!  At this point, it is day to day.  My next visit is scheduled on the 9th and I have another growth scan on the 12th.  They are concerned that the baby is getting too big, so depending on what the results are on the 12th, it is possible that I will be induced the day or two following, but she did say that she is not going to let me go past my due date, so the good news is that two weeks from now, our little monkey will be here!  So at this point, it is just a waiting game.  I hope that she comes sooner rather than later, as I am ready to meet this little one already!  If I make it to my next appointment, I will update then. :)