What a Merry Christmas!

Hello to all! And Merry Christmas!

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As you all know, I recently gave birth to our first child on December 11th at 1:11pm. She is a beautiful little girl by the name of Elizabeth Noelle. She came in weighing 8 pounds and 5 ounces and 19 inches (not completely stretched out, for reasons I will get into later). Now being almost 2 weeks old, I finally get a moment, and access to the Internet, to write about her.

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As some of you also know, our plan was to have her as naturally as possible. Well, this is not what happened. I was due on the 4th, and due to medical reasons, basically being that the safest time to deliver a baby is between the 39th and 41st week, my doctor told us that if we had not gone into labor by the 10th she wanted to induce. She said that I was a prime candidate for inducement with "vaginal success", so not to worry too much.

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I really wanted her to come on the 7th, I thought that would be a cool day to be born on, but in spite of all our attempts to induce, she held out, and held out, and held out. All the while I was getting more and more grumpy about the whole thing. I did not want to have to be induced, I wanted to be able to go into labor, and I had been told that if I were induced, because it brings on contractions quicker and stronger, there was a more likely chance that I would want to have medication, which I didn't.

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Anyways, the whole weekend passed, and still no labor. So we called the hospital as told on Monday morning the 10th at 7am to find out when we were supposed to arrive at the hospital. (We had an appointment, but nothing is certain with inductions, if they have a busy day, or an emergency, you are likely to be bumped.) Well, they were having an emergency and said they would call us between 11 and 12, so I went back to bed having not slept well (also a contributing factor to my grumpiness). They called us to say, later. We called them to hear later. And finally around 5pm we heard tomorrow. Dang it all! I was irritated, even though I didn't want to have her on the 10th, something to do with my minor OCD and having a thing for odd numbers.

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Again, I did not sleep well, and thought about calling at 3 in the morning to see if we could get a jump on things, they had said that we could come in at midnight, but we were so tired, we didn't want to start the process of labor in such a state, not that the nights sleep did anything to help. We called at 6:30 and were admitted to the hospital at 7:30. Yay! My doctor came in to check my progress, I was at total effacement and 3 cent dialated. At 9am we started the potocin drip and gradually increased it so I was having contractions. They weren't all that strong when my doctor came back to break my water at 11:30. Upon doing so, she made a discovery, soon to be confirmed by an ultrasound, Elizabeth was breech!

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So much for any of that natural stuff. Medically induced, breech baby, going in for a c-section, gonna have to have drugs... My doctor was awesome. She stood there and told me what could happen if we tried to have her naturally (that her head could get stuck as my cervix began to close down, beings that normally the smallest part of the baby would come out last so the cervix would be almost done, just when the head-the biggest part-was attempting to come out). Well, that wasn't an idea I liked. So, we prepped for surgery, that is after my doctor's patient next door gave birth to her 5th, which didn't take long.

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I should be writing this story in segments

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To surgery! Yay!- Not so much, but at least I was going to see my little girl soon. They gave me a spinal block and the lower 3/4 of my body was soon asleep. One of the weirdest sensations for me was that as my legs fell asleep they were up in the air, and that is how they continued to feel to me, even after I saw them put them down and strap them to the table. The doctors cut me open, I felt some tugging and pushing on my belly, they said she was coming out, the Anaesthesiologist told Jake he should watch, that he would regret it if he didn't, Jake watched, they told me to look to the right as she went by, and I had a little girl. Oh my goodness! Jake was so cute, he couldn't figure out where was supposed to be, with me or her, and kept going back and forth, or stretching out over the 5 foot space trying to touch us both.

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Jake took Elizabeth with the nurse to the nursery to get her cleaned and weighed and all that stuff while I was being sewn, stapled, cleaned, and trying to breathe and ward off nausea (side effect of the anaesthesia).

Pictures to come soon.

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She got an 8 on her 1 minute APGAR, and a 9 on her 5 minute. Almost a completely healthy baby if not for 2 small things, well they are small now, but I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I heard them for the first time. First, she was born with hip displasia, which means that her hips were out of socket, a problem that I was born with and my mother before me. (Although until that day I did not know that I too had had the problem) She is now wearing a harness for the next few months to hold her hips in socket as the bones form around the joint. This harness has a 90 something success rate, so hopefully that will take care of it and like me she will show no signs of the problem thereafter.

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The second thing was that she had a heart murmur. This is the one that got me. I had heard the doctor and Jake talking and all I heard out of the conversation was bi-pass. AHH! As it turns out the kind of bi-pass that they were talking about and the kind I was thinking were not the same thing, thank you God! We went to the cardiologist last week and there is nothing to be concerned about. There are a couple of holes in her heart, but they are of the sort that should close by themselves in the next couple of years. To prove how unconcerned the doctor was, we have a follow-up appointment in 4 years.

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So, our baby is very healthy, even if she looks a little funny in her harness. She is beautiful and has so many expressions, even if some of them are brought on by gas. We are in total rapture with her. Now we are about to celebrate her first Christmas, her 2 week old birthday! Yay!!!

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Well this post has gone on long enough, I think I got everything in there. I love you all, have a wonderful Christmas, we can't wait to introduce you to our little hippo (name we gave her because of her eating habits). Merry Christmas!

When are you due?

When am I due? I get asked this morning at Starbucks on my way to my last day at work. Oh, 2 days ago... shrugging my shoulders. According to the doctor. I would really like her to come tomorrow. I like the number 7, which would be cool, and the Monday's Child poem says that Friday's child is loving and giving, I like that idea too. Not that I put a ton of stock into the poem, but... And I don't really want to have to be induced, which would be what would happen on Monday, if she does not make her appearence before then. Anyways, wish me luck, I am excited and scared. Tomorrow, Friday, December 7...PLEASE!

Almost Home

Coming down the home stretch, we are within days of being not so pregnant anymore. We were at the doctor's yesterday, she says everything is looking really good. I am prime and ready, my cervix is dialated to a 2, ready to pop at any moment. Like I said in my last blog, she is still going by the original due date, December 4th, and says she doesn't care what the ultrasound says. = ) I really like my doctor, so this is said in fun. Anyways, we are going to be seeing what happens in the next week, and if nothing, she wants to induce on the 10th. I really want Elizabeth to show her wrinkly, cone head on the 7th. Jake says the 4th or 5th. But at the very latest, she will arrive on the 11th (depending what time on the 10th they induce, and how long labor lasts). I am really excited, and scared. I know that I will be well taken care of. AHH! We are going to be parents, in less than 11 days!

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Also, for anyone who doesn't know, we are delivering at Tuality in Hillsboro. 335 SE 8th Ave., Hillsboro, Oregon.

Please wait little one

So we went to the doctor yesterday, my 37 week check up, even though they said 38, (they are going by their initial due date December 5th, which is too early (due to ovulation and such), I am going by what the ultrasound said which is December 10th). Anyways, it is getting closer. I'm not sure we were ready to hear that. Last Thursday when we were there I was not open at all, she was still high up, and 50% thinned. In just 5 days I am now 80% thinned, she has dropped lower, and I am 1 1/2 centimeters dialated. I know that it can stay this way for weeks before labor will start, and truthfully, that is what I would like. I want an early December baby, after Jake is done with school, and after Sandra is back at work. Is this asking for too much?

Term!

Hello! Hello! It is official, I am term. I could have a baby at any time now, but truth be told, I would really like her to wait until December 7-13. I think I am good with her coming between those dates. There is much to be done still, but I am feeling better about our preparedness.

Not okay

One of my bosses, Steve (who is boss over the whole place I work) announced yesterday that he is moving to the Phoenix center. He will still be our boss, though someone will replace him here, but still report to him (if that makes sense), but he will no longer be here. He will visit, make trips up and stuff, but he will not be here. I have been thinking about it. I don't think that I am okay with this. Not that it is my choice, and I am really happy for Steve getting a promotion and going somewhere where he likes the weather more, but I am not okay with this change. We will be getting a new manager, they want an internal candidate, but what might that bring. I have enough change going on, I don't want this to change too. It has put me in a pretty apathetic mood.

AHHH!!!

First of all: Happy All Saints Day

Dr Scalberg would be proud I remembered, I am sure he is going to be doing the All Saints Day Speach and Prayer in all his classes today. Some will have done it many times with him, and will smile, but some will be experiencing it for the first time and will wonder about the liturgical thing. I miss Dr Scalberg, and school sometimes.

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In other notes: I am due NEXT MONTH!!!! AHHHH!!!!!!!

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow I will be able to say I am due next month. I still have a month and a half, but tomorrow November hits, and I am due in December... Oh goodness. I am beginning to feel more prepared. We had our shower on Saturday, it ended up going really well. There weren't as many people there, but it may have been better that way, I might have gotten overwhelmed if too many more came. Everyone was very generous, I ended up with many of the things that I needed. My brother was the most surprising though. He sent my mom a video camera to give to me at the shower. Goodness, was not expecting that. Now everyone wants to know if we plan on taping the birth, the answer is NO! We will probably tape some of the after math, but I have never wanted to be that kind of actress, I am fine with limited people ever seeing that, who would want to watch it later anyways? Crazy people, that's who.

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We also had friends Ben and Suzi over for dinner last night, which, as usual, forced us to do some cleaning, sometimes we invite people over for just that reason, to make us clean. Well, it helps us. So, our apartment is cleaner, we are getting there! Just 999,999 more things to do!

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We had our first class last Thursday, on breastfeeding. It was really good. You should check out what my cynical husband had to say about it on his blog. (I will try to figure out how to do a link to it.) We did the tour of the birth center on Sunday. If we hadn't been there already for the gallbladder thing, it might have been more informative, but I guess it wasn't totally useless. We get a big room, all to ourselves, it has a jacuzzi tub, she gets to stay in my room (unless I ask them to take her to the nursery which I don't plan to do, that is a cop-out, and I can't think of anything I will want more than to stare at the little wonder that will be my daughter, screw sleep, who needs it?). We do need to pre-register though. That would be a good thing.

Why Elephant Green

To answer your question Katie, it is because of lack of time and a cute decoration that we have for Elizabeth's room. I hadn't really considered what I would call my blog, and since "Life will never be the same" was already taken, I had to think fast. We have this cute line of decor in Elizabeth's room by Amy Coe of Target, called the Elephant collection. It has been discontinued, and is currently selling on eBay for well above what it did in the store. Anyways, the color of it is green, and it features elephants. So I have green pillows with an elephant motif, and a small stuffed green elephant. I debated whether to call it Green Elephant or Elephant Green. I chose Elephant Green because I wanted it to be a color, to say her room is painted Elephant Green, that kind of thing.

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In other news, I have scheduled my surgery for the end of December. I am hoping that she is not late, because that could interfere with getting it done. So, please, please, please, little precious girl of mine, come on time. I get to do pre-op on the 18th and the surgery on the 27th. I am told it should be simple, and a relatively easy recovery, so hope for that too.

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We have our first class tonight in preparation for Elizabeth's coming. We get to go learn how to breast feed. One might ask, are you serious, you really need to learn that, women have been doing that since the beginning of time. Well, yes, I think that it is necessary. Women in our culture are not very open about the whole breast feeding thing, it's not like you can walk up to a woman who and ask her how it is done, or to demonstrate for you. Talk about taboo. Plus, I have a predisposition to breast infections since I have had one already, years ago. So I will be able to talk to the lactation specialist about that, and about what to do once I go back to work. I plan to pump/continue to breast feed then. All in all, I think that it will be a good thing, the doctor agrees, as do the mom's. And this weekend, Jake and I are going to the hospital for our tour. We have been there once in the middle of the night because of the gallbladder thing, but it will be good to find out what we are really supposed to do.

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I also have my shower this weekend, which I am somewhat nervous about. It seems that a lot of people can't come, which isn't a horrible thing, because a lot were invited. I don't know, I guess that I am worried that it will be awkward, too awkward. So many of the people my mom invited are from the past, I haven't really kept in contact with them, and so it makes me wonder if they will wonder why they were invited. This may be horrible to say, but I am looking forward to having it over with more than I am to having it. Luckily only 2 people will be reading this. Don't get me wrong, I love my mothers for doing this, and appreciate all the time and effort they have put into it, I just tend to worry about what other people's perseption is. Jake will say that I shouldn't, but I do. I don't want it to come across that I am looking for people to finance my child, and that is the only reason I invited them. We will see how it goes.

Say Goodbye

Saying Goodbye to my Gallbladder won't be so hard I don't think. I have no real attachment to it, especially after the pain it has caused me. I went to consult a surgeon yesterday on what should be done about the cursed organ. She, Dr. Hoeksema, is a very nice lady, we think she is German, it was listed on the website as a language she speaks. Anyways, she said that while you still have the option on not taking it out, having one attack will more than likely lead to others, which could come quickly or take years before another one happened. That they would continue to be painful, which I very much concur on, and that having more attacks could lead to cholecyststytus (I am not sure how to spell it, but it is an infection of the gallbladder) which she said would turn the regular procedure, normally very non-intrusive, into a bigger operation. She said that most people don't miss the gallbladder, and that it really has no function other than storage. She said that those who choose not to have it out usually have another attack, and come back wanting it out.

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It is a quick operation, noninvasive. She said that basically they make 4 small incisions into the stomach, when healed they will look like moles were removed, clamp off the gallbladder, lacroscopically cut it, bag it, and suck it out through one of the holes. She said that there is a 7-10 day recovery period, with the first 3-4 being the most uncomfortable. She also said that I would be able to breastfeed after the first 24 hours, so no harm there. She pointed out that because I would be on maternity leave, I wouldn't have to take additional time off, and would probably have plenty of help with the baby.

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So, I am leaning towards just getting it done. I don't want to deal with the pain of another attack, or the possibilities of further complications. Dr Hoeksema said that I could have it done as early as two weeks after birth. I need to make sure that doesn't change with the possibility of a c-section. But I just may be scheduling an out-patient operation for the end of December.

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For more information on gallbladders: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallbladder

The Gall of Gallbladders

The Gallbladder

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I have known for a long time that both my mother and my grandmother have had to have their gallbladders taken out. My mom just a few weeks after the birth of my brother, during which I decided to pull my elbow out of socket. My poor father. Anyways, as I noted before, it was found in the course of my ultrasound in July that I have gallstones. They told me at that time that they may not do anything (ie cause any pain and such), but that it may be possible that I would have to have it taken out, either during or after my pregnancy.

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Well, after I had that attack a couple of weeks ago, and seeing my doctor, she wants me to consult a surgeon. Yay. Not to say that my gallbladder is coming out now or even later, but just to consult and find out what is going on, the options, the possibilities of another attack, the importance of your gallbladder, what taking it out would do, yada yada yada. I am not really that excited about it, but I know that I never want to do the whole gallstone attack thing again.

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So I guess we will find out later today what is going to happen. I will keep you posted.

Now Avoiding Taco Bell

Taco Bell, one of my favorites since childhood, has officially hit the anti list. When I went in for my ultrasound in July, they found that I have gallstones, not that surprising to me, because my mom and my grandma have both had them, and have had their gallbladder taken out. Every time I go into the doctor's office she asks me if I am having any pain that might be associated with the stones. Up until a week ago Sunday, I had not.

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That Sunday we went out with our friends Ben and Suzi to see a movie, The Bourne Ultimatum, which was good, and out to dinner at Chevy's. It took us like 15 minutes to decide where to go, but Chevy's is finally what we all agreed on. Like I said, I had had no previous pain with the gallstones and therefore was still eating whatever sounded good. We had fajitas. They were really good. We then went and got Coldstone, again really good. That should go on the favorites list. Anyways, on the way home, my back started to ache, at first I thought it was the normal pregnancy ache associated with sitting at the theater and Chevy's and Coldstone.

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When we got home, it was persistant. Jake rubbed my back, but it wouldn't go away. I took a Tylonal, nothing. I switched positions, not that we are allowed to lay in many positions, but I tried them all. Jake suggested going out to the couch, watching a movie and drinking tea to try and take my mind off of this. At this point we were about 2 hours into the pain, and it had shifted to my stomach too, like a tightening of all the muscles around my torso. Nothing was helping, in fact it was getting worse. I was getting the chills interupted by heat flashes, and was getting the occational wave of nausea.

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We did what every 25 year old who has been married for 5 years does, we called my mom. She said to call the on call doctor. He asked all the baby questions, it wasn't that, I knew she was fine. He said that we could either come in or try to get comfortable enough to go to sleep and hope that helped. Now, trying to get comfortable enough to go to sleep is what I had been trying to do, it was 10:30, I had to be at work at 5:30, I wanted to be asleep!

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So, to the hospital we went, we pretended like we were doing it to find out how long it was going to take later, ha. We made it in 30 minutes, dang that is going to be a long drive later. Up to the OB area we went, they took a urineanalysis, put a monitor on Elizabeth, a contraction moniter on me. Good heart beat, no contractions, cervix closed. Then all of the sudden one of those waves hit me, I was going to throw up. And I did, all over me and the floor, greatest all time moment for me. After I threw up a couple of times, the pain got worse, and then began to reside. I was able to breathe, and almost sleep.

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The nurse told us that it wasn't a kiddney infection, which is what they thought it was, and that perhaps it was a gallstone. Oh, hey, why hadn't we thought of that. It hadn't even occured to us. Dang it. We told her that they had shown up on the ultrasound, she said that almost definately that was what it was because I did have them.

Anyways, all that to tell you that last night I ate Taco Bell late at night, probably not a good idea for a normal person to do, but especially not for one who should be avoiding greasy foods. My side began to hurt early in the morning, not to the extent as last Sunday, but I think that is the end of Taco Bell for me for a while.

Katie said I should...

Hello to my two friends that will be reading this. Katie said I should start a blog, so here I am. I don't know that I have anything profound to say, or that I ever will for that matter. I guess this is going to be more about Elizabeth than anything.

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Yes, if anyone besides Jake or Katie ever reads this, I am pregnant, almost 7 months so (at this exact time I am 30 weeks and 2 days). Elizabeth Noelle will be joining our family in December. The 10th is her offical due date, and I am hoping somewhat that she is close to that, because I would hate for her to get lost in the Christmas commotion.

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Jacob (I still call him Jake, but he insists on being called Jacob, whatever...) and I waiver between being excessivly excited and excessivly scared and nervous. Our parents are very excited, especially because she will be the first grandchild on either side. (can we say spoiled?)

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Current food kick: Milk Duds, cereal, Taco Bell

Avoiding: Chevy's, Mongolian Grill, most chicken