Friday, December 26, 2008

2 weeks old

Jackson had his 2 week checkup this morning. This is mainly just a weight check visit because they want to make sure babies are back up to their birth weight once they are 2 weeks old. Jackson more than exceeded those expectations weighing in at 8 pounds 14 ounces today. He was 8 pounds 8 ounces when he was born, so he's eating more than enough. We have our Christmas celebration at my mom's today, and I still have a couple of presents to wrap. I will post pics later.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas 2008

I cannot believe Christmas is tomorrow. The last 2 weeks I've been so consumed with new baby stuff and a sick family that it really snuck up on me. In fact, this year has gone by so fast it is frightening. As I get older and we add more kids to the mix, time seems to move faster and faster. There are days I still feel like I just got out of high school, but then I have to remind myself that was over 7 years ago!
It makes me sad that I'm getting old without really knowing it, but all these years have brought such amazing things. A friend told me the other day she felt unaccomplished because she's my age and I'm married with 4 kids now, and she's not even married yet. I told her that's all I've done, while she's gone to college and has an amazing career, so I'm the unaccomplished one. I guess it's all relative to your position in life which is the "better" place to be, and I use the term better quite loosely. I don't really think either one of us is worse off for the decisions we've made in life. We're just in completely different places right now.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Christmas tomorrow, and Santa brings lots of great presents. I know I already have the best presents I'm ever going to receive; a fabulous husband and 4 amazing children, and the best family and friends I could ask for. I know that's really sappy, but it is true.
Merry Christmas!

PS. I finally got my Christmas cards today and I will mail them on the 26th. Yes, I'm a big slacker this year, but I have a really adorable excuse.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

first bath

By the time we decided to give Jackson his first bath he has already lost his umbilical cord thing, so we just gave him a shower instead. He seemed to like it and only cried when Sean was getting him dressed. You'd think by the 4th kid Sean would move fast enough that Jackson wouldn't have time to get cold, but he's not that good yet.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

other updates

~Nathan was sick the whole time we were in the hopsital, then Emma got sick the day we came home, and then Sean felt crappy Wednesday, but I think everyone is finally recovering. My mom stayed with us until Tuesday afternoon, and then came back over last night to feed the kids dinner, put them to bed and clean. She is amazing and I don't know what I'd do without her. I need some good ideas for a way to say thank you to her
~Sean had a meeting on Monday about his job, and we were completely prepared for unemployment. He actually got the meeting notice while I was in labor on Friday, which was really depressing. He arrived at work early on Mondy and packed up all his stuff and went to the meeting. He was shocked to find people from his old group there and was told he did have a job. He is getting demoted in a way, but we are unsure of what that means salary-wise so far. We are just thrilled he's still employed. That is such a weight lifted off us.
~Because of all the sickness in the house I've been quarantined in my room with Jackson pretty much until today. It was so depressing not being able to spend time with any of my family, and especially Sean. The baby blues definitely hit me hard because of all the stress, so I'm super concerned about ppd now. I think as long as things continue getting back to normal I'll be ok, but things were pretty rough for me the last 4 days.
~Even with all the craziness I'm a little sad this is the last time (probably) that we'll have a new baby. I don't love pregnancy or labor, but actually having the baby and the first couple weeks are such amazing experiences and I love every minute of it. However, I know we can't just keep having babies, so I'm trying to enjoy my time with Jackson right now.
Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and support. We've definitely needed everyones support and all the help we can get recently.

Jackson's birth

As I said before, the labor and delivery definitely did not go how I had hoped, but we ended up with a beautiful, healthy boy and mommy, so I really can't complain since that is what matters.
Sean and I decided it would be the best decision to have me induced on Friday December 12th, especially after talking with my doctor about induciton options. My mom came over Thursday night since we had to leave so early Friday morning. Then at 2am Nathan woke up vomiting. My mom offered to get up and take care of him so we could sleep, but I really didn't get much. I was worried about Nathan and wondering if we should go through with the induction with him being so sick. But as my mom pointed out, she can handle a sick kid, and it would be awful for me to wait and catch the stomach virus and then go into labor while I'm sick.
So we arrived at the hospital at a little after 7 going on about 45 minutes of sleep. My doctor showed up and I told him about the nights events and that I may get an epidural anyway, but he said we would stick with the original plan. He broke my water and started the pitocin at 2 and said the highest we would go is 6. My contractions started regulating pretty quickly, but were just uncomfortable, not really painful. They continued to get closer together and stronger, but I was tolerating them well. Then about 11 I felt like I hit a wall and everything hurt a lot. I was having back labor again and even between the contractions my back wasn't relaxing. So I caved and asked for an epidural. It took about an hour to actually get my epidural because they had to run in enough saline. The anesthiologist was awesome and got it on the first try and I started feeling better within 10 minutes.
I got some rest for the nest couple of hours, and then the nurse came to check on my about 2:30. She asked if I was feeling a lot of pressure yet and I said not a lot so far. Over the next 10 minutes with each contraction the pressure got stronger and stronger and I finally told Sean I think the nurse need to come back and check me. She came in and checked me and was shocked that not only was I at 10 but she could see the baby's head. They called my dr. and prepped the room and told me not to push at all. My dr. finally arrived and got ready. I only pushed through 3 contractions and Jackson arrived. Sean got to announce if it was a boy or a girl. He was so excited it was a boy. I was happy I didn't tear or need an episiotomy, which meant no stitches.
I'm recovering really well, and Jackson is a champion nurser. We had a checkup for him already and in 2 days he gained 3 ounces. I am still really tired and sleeping as much as possible. I forgot how exhausting breastfeeding is at the beginning

Saturday, December 13, 2008

It's a ...

BOY!!!!!!! Jackson Alexander arrived on December 12 at 3:27pm. He weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces, and is 21 inches long. He and I are both doing great, but very sleepy. It was a long day after being up most of the night before with Nathan who came down sick. Thank goodness my mom is around to help us with the kids right now. I will make a more detailed post later about how everything went.
Jackson is such a sweet baby and loves to be snuggled. We are so excited about the early Christmas present we've received. Anyway, here are a few pictures.
Click on the picture to view it full size in a new window!
Photobucket
Photobucket

Thursday, December 11, 2008

here's the plan

After a lot of discussion, and I mean a ridiculous amount, Sean and I decided that an induction now would be the best plan. I did talk to my doctor prior to making this decision to see what my options really are. At first he made it sound like the only thing he could do to get labor going was to give me pitocin. I told him I didn't like that plan since I would love to go without an epidural this time, and I know pitocin makes contractions stronger and labor go much faster. Then he asked how far I was dilated at my last appointment. When I said 4, he said he can break my water and give me a small dose of pitocin to get things going. Once my contractions get regular he will turn off the pitocin and see if my body will continue to labor on it's own. He said of course there is no guarantee that my body wil cooperate and I may end up needing pitocin constantly to progress well, but most women will continue to labor on their own once things get going.
I am happy with this plan as I think it gives me the best chance of achieving the labor and delivery I am hoping for. I'm not so naive or unrealistic to believe that everything will go perfect though. I am already caving on the induction because I don't think that I will actually go into labor on my own, which is something I really wanted. I hate that this is how things are going to go, but I still feel I made the best decision given all the circumstances. I would appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers everyone can spare.
I will try to update this blog as soon as possible with all the good news about the baby and of course with pictures!

substitution!

Uh oh! So we scheduled the induction for tomorrow. This was a very hard decision for me, but I'm happy with the plan in place. The only thing I forgot about is that Emma's school Christmas party is tomorrow afternoon. She is really bummed neither Sean or I will be able to be there. I feel bad, but there isn't much I can do at this point. Anyone want to volunteer to be Emma's parent for the day tomorrow?

I will update with the induction plans later.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

or not

so I'm still here, and still pregnant. BLAH! I have to admit I am starting to seriously contemplate my induction options. Not only am I uncomfortable, but I have a pregnancy rash that is getting worse every day, or so it seems. Plus, I don't have a good track record of having a baby on my own. I've been induced in some form with all 3 kiddos, and I'm not holding onto much hope that this time around will be different. So I figure if I'm going to need to be induced anyway, I may as well do it sooner rather than later. The only thing that concerns me is that pitocin generally makes labor much more painful, which won't make it easy to go drug free. I'm unsure of what to do. I am looking into alternative ways to be induced and plan to talk to my dr. tomorrow about it.
I hate the idea of being induced when there isn't a medical reason at this point, but like I said before, I have a gut feeling I'll end up needing to be induced anyway. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm so torn!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

tonights the night

I decided that I'm having this baby tonight or early tomorrow. We are due to get some snow tonight, and both girls were born during snow storms. Plus, Sean's dad stopped by tonight on his way back to work tomorrow and I would love it if he could be here when this baby arrives. There is something to be said for positive thinking, right?

Monday, December 8, 2008

39 weeks.

39 week update: "I can't believe you're still pregnant!" That's what my doctor had to say. I told him I completely agree. I am dilated to 4cm now, and he said he's surprised that at 4cm I'm not in labor, and my water hasn't broken yet. I reminded him I was 4cm at my last appointment before my water broke with Megan, and he said not to be surprised if that happened again, or if labor started soon. He offered to induce me when I'm ready, but I said for now we'd wait. He said he's not in any hurry and he's not trying to push me into a decision, and I believe him. He's just not the kind of doctor that would push me into induction unless it was medically neccessary. I told him my only time concern is that I want to have had the baby and be home by Christmas Eve. He said he doesn't like to let patients go more than 1 week past their due date, so we should definitely make that goal. He also said if I change my mind and want to be induced I just need to call him. Since the hospital we are delivering at is small it will be easy for me to go in at pretty much anytime to be induced.
I also lost another pound and my blood pressure was slightly higher than normal. It was only 122/72, but that is high for me since my non-pregnant norm is much lower. My doctor didn't seem concerned about it since everything else was still completely normal. When I was leaving and making my appointment for next week I told the receptionist I hoped I wouldn't see her. She and the nurse agreed they didn't want to see me either unti my 4 weeks check-up. Hopefully we'll all get our wish!

trip to the hospital

I wish this post was me telling you I had to go to the hospital because we thought I was in labor, but it's not. Last night Sean had to take Megan to the ER because she couldn't breathe. Emma had croup almost 2 weeks ago, and yesterday Megan came down with it. She was hoarse, but didn't really seem too bad, so I thought I'd wait it out until this morning and call the dr. to get a prescription for Megan since I knew she had what Emma had. But, once we went to bed she seemed to be fighting for air. We got her out of bed and tried to keep her upright, but she just wanted to lay down and sleep. So then we tried the steam in the bathroom trick, but that didn't work either. Finally at 2am we decided enough was enough and it would be best to take her to the ER. Sean decided he'd take her since I'm 9 months pregnant and miserable. Thank goodness because they didn't get home until just before 8am today. The ER wasn't too busy, but they gave Megan a breathing treatment and wanted her to stay for a while so they could monitor her. The doctor made it sound like we made the right decision to bring her to the hospital because her oxygen levels were dropping when she first arrived. I'm not glad she was that sick, but I am glad we were not the overreacting parents and we made the right call. Sean and Megan have spent the day in bed trying to cath up on sleep. Hopefully Megan will feel better soon.
I go to the doctor tonight, so check back later or tomorrow for an update on me and the baby.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

tooth fairy

What does the tooth fairy look like to you? I really hadn't thought much about it since I've known the truth for a while now, but it's amazing how kids can make you see things through their eyes sometimes.
Emma lost her other very loose tooth at school yesterday. I guess the peer pressure of leaving it for the tooth fairy was too much, and she finally decided she wanted to leave her tooth out so she could get money for it. Emma's teacher gave her a cute little tooth shaped box on a necklace to kep her tooth in until she got home. Emma decided to leave the tooth in there and put it on her nightstand so the tooth fairy could come and get it. She was worried though, because she was convinced the tooth fairy would not be able to open this box and the tooth fairy would have to just take the whole thing. I asked Emma why she though the tooth fairy wouldn't be able to get it open, and Emma said because the tooth fairy isn't big enough. When asked how big she thought the tooth fairy was, Emma held up her fingers just a couple inches apart and said, "This big, like Tinkerbell." In all my years of believing in the tooth fairy I never made the connection between the tooth fairy being a fairy and tinkerbell being a fairy, and therefore they must be the same size. I love seeing the world the way kids do. It's amazing how their brains work so differently.
Oh, and Emma got $1 for her tooth. Does anyone know what the going rate is these days? When Sean and I were kids we got a quarter most of the time.

Monday, December 1, 2008

38 weeks.

Dr. appointment update for the week: 3cm dilated, and 60% effaced (I was only 20% last week), and the baby has definitely dropped lower. I also lost 2 pounds! Don't ask me how since all I did was eat all weekend, but that is definitely another sign the end is near. I always lose a pound or two at the end of my pregnancies. Everything is going well, and both the baby and I seem to be perfectly healthy. I go back in a week, and my dr. said once I'm 39 weeks he'll induce me if I want to. Honestly, even though I'm tired and huge and uncomfortable, I don't like the idea of being induced just because I'm huge, tired and uncomfortable. Those things are just part of being 9 months pregnant, and I don't think you should induce labor early just because. I was induced with both Emma and Nathan, but Emma was 2 weeks late, and with Nathan I had horrible swelling, so to me, those circumstances are reasons that make induction a good idea. Plus being induced makes it more likely I'll want pain meds, which I'm hoping to avoid this time. There its out there, and I know you'll all be checking in to see how I did with that goal once the baby arrives.
Anyway, other note-worthy events in the last week are that Emma got another tooth knocked out, and another one seems like it will fall out at any minute. She and Nathan were wrestling around and she fell on her face in the kitchen. I am shocked at how many teeth this kid is losing before the other one's have time to grow back, but I guess every kid is different in this area. Emma also amazed me tonight by reading a book. She needed help with some of the words, and it was a beginning reading book, but she did a great job. It's amazing watching your child read for the first time.