10 Weeks Old

2 months

Our Miracle(aka Peanut or Bug) is 2 months old. I can't believe it! My how she's grown!!

July 31st- 5 lbs 12oz 17.25 inches
August 8th- 5lbs 3oz 17.75 inches
August 14th- 5lbs 9oz 18.25 inches
August 28th- 6lbs 9oz 19 inches
September 16th- 7lbs 12oz 19.25 inches
October 2nd- 8lbs 6oz 20.25 inches

Life is great! I love being a mom & I love watching Mike as a dad. He's a great dad. Most of the time at least. :) We just got back from visiting family in California. Katie got to meet a bunch of people for the first time but my favorite meetings were my dad & Mike's grandpa. I will cherish all the pictures I took on vacation & really all pictures I've taken of Katie. I need to do a 2 month photo shoot & will try to get to it this week. Monday we were driving home still & today was Katie's 2 month well-baby aka shots! No way I'm trying a photo shoot with a fussy baby. :) As you see, she's growing so fast. I can't believe my tiny baby is already almost 8.5 lbs and that some newborns are that size. She looks & feels so big! I'll post pictures later this week, once I get a good photo shoot in. :)

4 weeks

Baby Girl is 4 weeks old today. That is CRAZY! I almost spelled it with a K, not sure why. Krazy! :) Katie is getting so big & so heavy. I was sure she'd be over 7lbs today but nope. And I just knew she'd be like 20 inches but also nope. 6 lbs 9 oz & 19 inches long. She gained 1 lb & 1/4 inch in 2 weeks. She's eating like a rockstar which is frustrating at times aka frequent night feedings. I miss my sleep! Being a mom is exhausting work I tell ya. She goes through way more diapers than "average". 10-12 my butt! :) It's all good though. Do I feel like a mom? Nope! I don't know if it's because this is all so natural for me & I'm not getting that "I don't know what I'm doing" new mom feeling. I know what I'm doing because I've grown up around babies & I've wanted one since before we got married. I definitely never got that "afraid I'll break her" feeling some moms get. Anywho, Motherhood is good! I love being a mom, even if sometimes I feel like the babysitter. She's a REALLY good baby & hardly ever cries. Even when she does it's rarely loud. She does have her lungs & she can use them but usually she doesn't use them to their full potential. :) Anyways, I guess that's all for now. I'll leave you with a picture.

4 Weeks Old

Baby Girl!

I should've written my birth story a long time ago when it was more fresh in my head. I shall write what I remember.

Being on hospital bedrest sucked major ass! I seriously hated it & had a few mental/depressed shutdowns. The best nurse, the charge nurse, who was there for all 3 IVs I needed over the 2 week period even thought I was mad at her because I had shut down & wouldn't eat or talk to anyone. I had a few awesome nurses & a few crappy ones. I got great care & crappy care but what do you expect from a week hospital bedrest stay. On Monday, July 30th, I knew my friend was being admitted to have her beautiful son & I was so excited. I also didn't want to see my doctor because I wasn't happy with him. Haha! I shall remind you that I admitted I was a bitch in the hospital. Anywho, my doctor walked in & asked me whether I wanted to be induced that day or a few days later. Um, what?!?! NOW! Induce Now! Well, it was going to be later because Silva had 8 deliveries that day. YES, 8! Later that day (I don't remember the time) Silva checked me & surprise, surprise, I was already 1cm dilated! Whoops! The previous plan was to put in a cervix dilator over the next day & a half and pitocin would be started Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Already being dilated meant cervix dilator that night & pitocin at 4 am! The dilator worked & I was 2cm at 4am. Pitocin was started around 5. Contractions, oh goodness. As weird as it sounds I loved feeling the contractions. They hurt but I was able to breathe through them fine. They kept telling me to let them know when I wanted the epidural & I kept saying "ok, go ahead & let him know" but apparently they didn't realize I meant I wanted him contacted then. They told me it could take an hr + for him to get there so I figured might as well inform him. Thankfully another women needed her epi so I was next. Surprisingly it wasn't so bad. I was scared I wouldn't be able to stay curled up during a contraction because they had always caused me to throw myself backwards but I was fine. After epi I felt NOTHING! No contractions at all. They were picture perfect contractions too. I'm told levels of 200 are what cause you to dilate. Mine were 250-300. But.......I wasn't dilating. Oh, I forgot to say at 8am, Dr. Stephens broke my water which is what really started my labor & contractions. So, at 4pm and not even 4cm I was told I had to have a Csection. It highly upset me. I wasn't against a Csection before labor, I almost wanted one, but when I knew I HAD to have one I wasn't happy. It was scary! But I wasn't dilating & also baby girl was refusing to drop. It turned out she was stuck up there. A funny thing is they had to put on an internal hb monitor on her head because she kept moving. I tell you, it is the most amazing thing to look over & see her hb continually. Anyways, Csection! Scary! They came in to switch my regular epidural to a Csection strong epidural. It didn't take affect as quickly as they wanted & I was told if I still felt anything when I got into the room they would put me to sleep. NO! I did not want to be put to sleep! Thankfully meds had fully kicked in by then. Laying on the table with my arms out like I've seen on all the shows was so surreal. I was having our baby, she was coming to this world through a cut in my stomach. The drug doctor told me that after she came out if I wanted to take a nap I could. Jerk cursed me because as soon as he said that I was instantly dead tired. Nearly the whole time they were cutting me I had my eyes closed & I was focusing on what I could feel & thinking how weird it all was. I was resting but making sure I stayed awake. Then the moment was here & our daughter was born!

Katelyn Marie C. was born on July 31st, 2012 at 5:12 pm weighing 5lbs 12 oz and only 17.25 in. long.

Hearing her cry was so surreal. She came out so healthy & with no complications at all. Everyone kept saying how much she looked like me. Mike ran off to be with her & I laid there in denial. I was not a mother & we did not have a daughter. They brought her over for me to see & I still couldn't believe it. It was truly a dream.

Meeting Baby Girl!

When it was time Mike went with Katie to the nursery & I slept! I just let myself fall fast & hard asleep. Next thing I knew I was being tranferred back to my bed & being wheeled back to my room. There was Mike holding our daughter. Recovering from a Csection is NOT easy. My body fought hard! I started shaking more & more and the pain was crazy. I think they gave me 5 different injections of pain meds & anti-shaking meds. The shaking just got more & more violent to where they had to hold my arm down when the blood pressure cuff was going. Finally after what seemed like forever the shaking subsided and life with a baby begun. Breastfeeding...... was an adventure! Because she was so little with such a small mouth & because my breasts & nipples are so large it was hard for her to latch properly. She barely ate anything the first 24+ hrs and I was faced with them either supplementing her with formula or her getting an IV. I forgot to mention baby girl was born with her daddy's blood type which meant a higher risk of jaundice which she did develop but a small case. She was put under the lights. Back to formula. I finally, after fighting with the nurse for an hour, agreed to supplementing with a syringe(drops into her mouth) but not a bottle. Baby girl needed food for energy and I was not willing to let her be stabbed with an IV just to keep her off formula. The supplementing worked & the next day we went back to breastfeeding. Thank goodness! By noon the next day, as I was sitting in the nursery talking with the best baby nurse ever, Annette, the doctor told us that baby girl's levels were good enough to be sent home if I was ready. Now, that's scary! I was scared I wouldn't be able to breastfeed properly without Annette's help. She was the biggest cheerleader seriously! She spent at least 3 hours in our room over baby girl's first 2 days helping me feed her. She was also a lactation specialist. At 5 o'clock Thursday evening Mike sprung his 2 girls from the hospital! Luckily my mom & sister had showed up Wednesday afternoon so I had A LOT of help!

Unfortunately my incision did not heal correctly. I developed major blood clots which I knew while still in the hospital that it wasn't healing right. I just felt like it bleeding too much & kept insisting something was wrong. A week later I found out I was right. My incision has been left open to heal on it's own. I have to drive either to the OB(once a week) or on post(the other 6 days) for daily wound care. I was offered surgery this last Tuesday to close the incision again but I decided against it. I just was not ok with another surgery & being off breastfeeding for 24+ hrs. The incision has healed about 30% in the week they've left it open so I hope we only have another 2-2.5 weeks of daily wound care left. Also hope my husband is able to take over the wound care because it is a major pain driving the 15-20 mins to the post clinic for the care. The nurse is seriously the sweetest girl ever & I learn more & more about her sweet daughter Emily each day but yeah, I'd gladly say adios to her. :)

Baby Girl has GROWN and I've already noticed it. I wanted to cry when my mother in law handed her to me a few days ago. I thought "woah, wait, this is not the baby I gave birth too, she's so big now!!!". I was right. Intially baby girl lost 9 ounces in her first week of life but grew 1/2 inch. The next week she gained back 6 of those ounces & grew another inch. YES, she's grown 1.5 inches in her first 2 weeks of life! Please tell her to stop growing!!! Even though she's still 3 ounces under her birth weight I swear she feels a pound heavier. It must be her longer body that makes her feel so heavy. :)

So, there it is. We have a daughter & I am A Mommy! (And Mike is a daddy!). Seeing Mike with her is seriously the most amazing sight. It makes me smile so full heartedly. :)

1 week old: 5lbs 3oz 17.75 inches

2 weeks old: 5lbs 9oz 18.75 inches long

37/38 weeks!

Once again I'm writing this from a hospital bed. On Tuesday I was readmitted for 10 days of hospital bedrest because it makes the doctor feel better. Mild preeclampsia but he feels better. I'm glad someone does! This doctor I learned is a flip flopper & will change his info to suit himself. He told me he should've admitted me a long time ago because I'm doing better which is a total lie. My labs didn't get better & those are his determining factor. My protein levels jumped 200+ in 4 days but....that doesn't matter because my labs; platelets, liver, & kidney; are fine. I keep getting told they "are trying to walk the fine line of my safety & the baby's safety". Trust me, baby is completely safe! I'm decent too. "Each day is golden". I can understand that but I guess mom's happiness & care doesn't matter. "I know it's hard but it's best for baby." Hard doesn't even describe it. It is the most stressful emotional roller coaster ride & it's not ending for another week. I've cried more these last 4 days then I have my entire pregnancy. I was & am told to report any symptoms/issues. When I do I get *shrug* "it's pregnancy". Please note: I am likely to bitchslap anyone who uses one of these phrases to me again.

Hospitals bring out the very worst in you. Your anger, your frustrations, every single ache & pain which gets magnified thanks to these contraptions called beds! Your body hurts so badly & all they have in Tylenol. "It's pregnancy". No, it's pregnancy on fire! I was told to move about my room to relieve strong back pain. I laughed! I'm not even allowed in the hallway. For MILD preeclampsia, where my labs aren't changing. They're not getting worse, they are still "great" or "good".

Happy Note: Baby is great! She now fights the monitors every time. Hides, kicks, hits, everything to show her displeasure. 20-30 min sections usually last 45-60 mins. Even I by the end am beyond done! I've had contractions, none of which I feel. The most I've had was 4 in 30 mins once. Sometimes I have none. They are just practice ones or easy ones to start prepping the body. If I watch the monitor I usually don't have them but if I relax & not watch then sometimes I'll have a few. Active baby is now uncomfortable baby. I admit I've asked her to stop moving around because it just was so uncomfortable. Especially with my muscles being so sensitive due to the hospital stay in the first place. :( I sound like a mean ungrateful mother but that is not my intentions. Everything just plain HURTS!

Back to good. I will be a mother sometime within/around a week. Silva(known liar) now says between 37-38 weeks. The original timeline was 38 weeks. I have a strong feeling he's teasing me & giving me false hope of an earlier induction. I am being inducted on Friday, in 7 days, if we an earlier one than yay.

I want an August Baby! 1st or 2nd! 8/1/12 or 8/2/12. Not that I get a pick. I'm doing another 24 hr urine today/tomorrow & that MAY be enough to decide induction. I'm not dilusional!!! I know labs have to move for labor to move! I can't wait to see the results tomorrow afternoon. I want to see if my protein levels will truly double in only 8 days. Well see!

In any case we are a mere 7 days, maybe less, from holding our beauitful baby girl! Our pretty much named baby girl. :) KMC or AMC! :) Our Everything & More! God's Amazing Miracle, his gift to us!

36/37 weeks

We'll... this is how I have to start writing my entries because my doctor refuses to listen or even consider my due date. Half the people agree with doctor & half the people say "well, mothers know best". A lot of good that does me, "knowing best" because I'm not listened too. I had an OB appt yesterday because of high bp. It was suppose to just be a bp check but ultimately was a regular appt. Strep test & all. My BP was really high thr first time & slightly the second. I wanted to be heard so I spoke up about a few recent things. They got the labs I did the Thursday & jackasses did it wrong so I was sent to be directly admitted to MC(maternal child) for at least 24 hrs. Here I sit at 3 am wide awake & not a happy camper. The lab messed up my 24 urine test so I am literally stuck here so I can do it in hospital. I did not screw up the at home version, the lab did. The intial blood work & urine screen here were perfect & I had 0, zero, proteins in my urine. Didn't matter, I'm stuck til at least 2-3pm, better not be later! Like I said not happy!
Should it come back my 24 shows protein which literally no one thinks it will & the level is over 300. Yeah, have to go from 0 to 300 in 24 hrs, then I'll be a July mommy because they will induce me today. High BP + Protein = preeclampsia and the only cure is baby is born!

So good parts I guess. Baby Girl is officially 6 lbs. 6 exactly! I was monitored twice yesterday & the second time she was sooooo active. Her hb got up to 180 a few times because she was just having fun (or pissed at being monitored). She is currently heads down. Good & bad since it'd be nice to plan her DD. Have an actual date. I'm hoping with my history of high bp they'll induce me a week or two early. Early/Mid August would be perfect. Because that's when I figured she'd be coming. :) Ok, typing this on my phone has literally taken me nearly 2 hrs. Sorry for any & all typos or sentences that don't make sense!

Update: I was thankfully released from the hospital but with not good news.
Good news first. Baby girl continues to be SO active. Daddy was finally there for one of our monitor sessions and he heard miss attitude's heartbeat loud & clear. Also the kicks she gave the monitors. She is so healthy & definitely not affected by any of my issues. I tell you, this little one is the toughest baby I know. I will forever be grateful for how strong of a fighter she is!
Bad News: My protein results came back over 300 for the 24 hrs. 369 in fact, now that I see it it's an interesting number. The only reason I was not kept there was because the doctor on call is not my OB. One of my OBs won't be there til Monday so thanfully Dr. Holder(on call doc) decided to let me wait out the weekend at home, not in a hospital bed, which I'm sure ALL the nurses are thankful for. I won't lie, I was really bitchy. I got 3 hours of sleep last night & that was with an ambien. I was highly emotional in there too, I cried more than once. I'm hoping Dr. Silva/Stephens let me stay on just bedrest for another week or two & I will fight to stay home unless they plan to actually induce me. I myself was born 3 weeks early due to induction but not for medical reasons, thank goodness. :) Hopefully if I am induced she'll come out completely ready to tackle the world (no problems breathing or anything).

Another happy note. My mom sent the box on Thursday so I was worried (with the recent issues) that I would get it in time for baby girl to wear the same dress I did 28.5 years ago. But today when we got home the box was sitting on the porch. Truly I think God helped because it should've taken more than 2 days, especially for a box that big. The dress is in the washer now & will promptly go into the baby bag. Also, my husband is taking great care of me! Strict bedrest with bathroom priviledges. Couch is acceptable & I'll sneak to the computer when I can(like now). :)

So, this Mama to be may just be a Momma by this weekend. Our daughter may be born this week. Time will tell.

36 weeks!

Here we are, 4 weeks from my due date! So surreal. I hit the big 8 month mark on the 11th! This last week each day I feel it more & more. My goodness! It's going to be a long 4 weeks if she makes us wait that long. :) Still deciding between 2 names but one of them got changed. My husband likes this A name better than the previous one. So, we kinda have his pick & my pick. He agreed the other night to use my pick so she should be named right?! Nope, because I don't know what name will fit her when she's here. Most likely it'll be the name I choose years & years ago but just maybe she'll look like his pick & the one that seems to big for our tiny little girl. We'll see but I'm not going to be selfish & throw out his pick just because he's ok with not using it. Like I said, maybe that name will suit her.

Ticker Info: 1)Supposedly she's 20 inch, 6 1/2 lbs, & ready for launch. Still working on the immune system. Wow, this ticker is not very correct! 2) Around 19 inches, weigh at least 6 lbs & gaining at least 1/2 oz a day. Ok.... I guess it's showing now that she is a week behind in her growth. At my ultrasound on Thursday our little girl was about 5lbs 7 oz. I know that's an estimate but still, she's small. I've thought about finally giving in & moving to the doctor's DD which is 6 days after mine, she's measuring on course with that DD. But I know for sure when we did our thing. My family came 2 days later & yeah....NO! Not happening! :) So, I am keeping my DD & if I go over, I go over. :) I may go over doctor's DD too. She is so stubborn! She was once again facing the floor so no picture that day. :( I was hoping to get to see her face & maybe that'd help name her but alas, no! She is our daughter for sure! :) She was also head down on Thursday so yay! I know she can still move & I've definitely felt her move. There were 2 nights of such activity it was insane. She was everywhere & pressing on everything.

Pregnancy: Man oh man! Everything is getting hard. Some days I feel awesome & normal. Some days it is so painfully obvious I'm pregnant. Sleep is hit or miss, pain is usual, headaches are more common, exhaustiveness is a most of the time thing. I've had no braxton hicks, no baby hiccups, no ribs kicks, but I've had pelvic pain. Oh, pelvic pain. I waddle like crazy some days. :) I finally definitely look pregnant! Pregnancy sucks sometimes but it's such an amazing experience. I can see why some people miss it, once they forget about all the limitations & pain. :) Kicks are the best thing is the world. When they're not in the ribs(for those that experienced that), in bladder, or in a very sore muscle!!! :)