Baby Tyler is here!

As you know the induction was planned for tomorrow but apparently Tyler likes purple (amythest is his birthstone)....which is kinda funny because that is one of Eric's favorite colors and the color in our wedding. Here's the story :)

I woke up this morning around 4:30 feeling cramping, but it was weird in that it was low, like hips and below? I felt about 3 of those a few minutes apart and decided to wake Eric up (around 4:50) and then called the nurse. She came in and got an L&D nurse to come in...the doc came in a at 5:07 and checked my cervix - still 4 cm. Then the L&D nurse came in and checked me a few minutes later and I was 7 cm! then 5 more minutes...and I'm at 9.5 and we got wheeled to the OR. I delivered in the OR because he was a preemie and the Pedicatric team would be on stanby there. Felt like we were in there for a while, and they told me when to push (which is hard work, btw) and next thing you know there he is at 6:40 am.

You may have noticed in there that I didn't mention an epidural....he came too fast to do that! I had some sort of "take the edge off" meds in my IV but I don't think it did a lot. They had to take my blood and do testing before administering the epidural, (even though Eric said from minute one that I wanted one), and by the time he was here it was too late. Good thing he was small!!

We've been over to see him twice now and he's bigger than I thought he would be.I can't wait to see him w/out the tubes and stuff. The Neonatologist estimates he'll be there 2 to 3 weeks. The 2nd time we went over we got to hold him which
was way awesome. :)

a typical day...

Thought it might be nice to document what a typical day has been like here at the hospital on bedrest.....

between 6 am and 7:30 am most days, one of the docs would come in on their rounds to check on me. One of the docs is in by 6 at the latest, she's an early bird...one of them comes in later and later. The rest are usually right around 7 am. This is on their final rounds as they are leaving from a 24-hour shift.

sometime between 7:30 and 8:15 am a nurse or nurse tech comes in to check my vitals - temp and BP at a minimum, some nurses do a HB check on baby too, some wait til monitoring. They also check my lungs, bowels, heart, legs.

Breakfast usually gets here around 8:30 or so. My usual breakfast is 2 slices of wheat toast, and cheerios. Sometimes I add yogurt, sometimes I add fruit.

Once that is over I get my morning meds - prenatal vitamin, colace, and Miralax.

Around 9:30 am they put me on the monitor for a NST - non-stress test - which is 30 minutes of monitoring baby Tyler's heartbeat (typically between 125 and 150 and showing good accelerations which is good) and my uterine activity (typically pretty flat unless I sneeze, cough, etc....although there was a period whee I had BH contractions).

And from there nothing going on until lunchtime. I usually use this time to get caught up on the internet, podcasts, or read. Mostly internet, lol.

Lunch is usually served between 12:30 and 1pm.

1pm is All My Children time!

Between 2pm and 4pm, nothing exciting. I usually nap or surf the net or take a shower (once I got shower priveleges) or read. Again, mostly internet, or a nap.

Between 3pm and 4pm, a nurse or nurse tech comes in for my vitals (and baby HB check).

4pm is Oprah time! 5 is local news, 5:30 to 6:30 is Friends reruns, and then 6:30pm is the National News (with Diane Sawyer). If Eric is working he usually gets here for dinner around this time. I usually get my hospital dinner around 6pm, but if it's icky, he brings me dinner (usually McDonalds).

We usually watch Jeopardy and part of Wheel of Fortune before he heads home to unwind and get to bed for his 6am wake up to get to work at 7. I watch prime time TV, get my PM meds (just Colace) and then think about bedtime.

I get my last check of vitals between 10:30 and 11:30. This typically depends if I have a nurse who is working 7pm to 7am, or if she is working 11pm to 7am. It also dictates if I go to sleep at 10:30, or later. I had one nurse that would do my late vitals REALLY late (like after midnight!), so I would get to sleep really late too. But generally I'm asleep by 11:30 at the latest.

When I was on Nifedipene (medication to prevent contractions), I initially took that 4x per day so I was woken up in the middle of the night to take my meds. Then I went to 3x per day and could get a bigger chunk of sleep, then at around 32 weeks i stopped taking that.

Eric typically gets here Weds night and stays thru Saturday afternoon. He puts up with my soap and Oprah time, and during some of the other time we watched Cold Case, or Overhaulin' (his choice, of course), or the Olympics.

Weekends are only different in the TV watching - the rest of the schedule is about the same. There is just nothing on TV so I get bored. A lot more time spent on the internet, reading, or catching up on podcasts.

33 Weeks!!

2/20/2010 - 33 weeks!

Today is my 39th birthday and it also marks 33 weeks of pregnancy! We are a week away from the target of 34 weeks and there are 8 days between now and when we'll induce! So excited!!

So, for the birthday, Eric gave my my cards and presents this morning - 2 Pandora Charms and 2 spacers for my bracelet. His parents and B/SIL's family also got me charms, so my bracelet is really filling up - hooray! Eric's aunt and cousin drove in from Richmond today and brought some generous gifts for baby Tyler, plus his mom and dad got us a changing pad. I took my wheelchair ride down to the gift shop area where they have some chairs and got to have birthday cake with everyone - MIL, FIL, BIL, SIL, their kids, aunt and cousin. It was fun!

Also, the nutrition lady (Kisha) that brings my meals to me brought a cake with my lunch today. Two minutes later, all the nurses piled in my room and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Sweetest thing ever!

We had an ultrasound on Thursday and found out Tyler's gonna be a little baby. The estimate is now about 3 lb 4 oz which means he's in the 12th percentile. We were concerned that this indicated a problem, but Dr. Wells assures us that given all of the other biophysical indicators he reviewed from the ultrasound (lung function, blood flow thru the cord, etc) are normal, he is probably just a small baby.

I'm down to having my blood sugar checked once a day, which will be nice.

Pregnancy Hormones!

2/16/2010 - 32 weeks 3 days

We're on the downhill slope now. Thirteen days from today, or sooner, Tyler will be here. I'm going home in fifteen or sixteen days. I am so excited. Eric's laughing at me as I become teary thinking about going home, and leaving all that the nurses and staff have done for us. But it's true, what an amazing stay it's been.

I started a list of things to do when I get home. Everything from picking up stuff at BRU and Target (a few baby things we still need), to taxes, to a manicure/pedicure.

I have been STARVING the last few days. As in, eat-every-little-thing-off-my-plate (and then some) hungry. Today's dinner didn't appeal to me so I asked Eric to bring dinner. On his way here, I called him and said, "just to let you know, I'm starving", and he said "I am driving 75, not gonna go any faster". And I said, "I'm not talking about speed, just the amount of food you get me!". He got me 2 cheeseburgers from McDonald's plus some fries and I never eat that much, but I ate BOTH cheeseburgers and about 2/3 of the fries!

We'll have an ultrasound on Thursday to see how big Tyler is now. And then guest-a-palooza starts - whoo hoo! Thursday Eric's mom is coming up, Friday my boss Jim and his wife, Saturday Eric's parents, grandparents, aunt and cousin (and maybe brother and SIL?), Sunday my friend Perry is coming (with a homemade meal for lunch), and then that afternoon or evening Amanda is coming by. Whoo hoo!

32 weeks!

Hooray! Today marks 32 weeks of pregnancy. This is a huge milestone in baby development and I am so excited that we've made it this far.

Dr. Wells (perinatologist) came by yesterday to check in and was very pleased with the progress we've made.

One of the neonatologists came by today to talk with us about what the picture looks like when contemplating delivery between 32 and 34 weeks. It looks so much better than 23w5d, and even a lot better than 28 weeks. She gave us some good info not only on development as a newborn/preemie, but as he gets older what kind of signs we might see that reflect back to being a preemie. For example, preemies have strong extensor muscle strength (extending their arms and legs) but not so much the curling up muscles. So for crawling, this could be problematic unles we do things to counteract it. Interesting, because I was born at 32 weeks (38 years ago) and mom says I never crawled, I just rolled over. Makes perfect sense, huh?

Also got an informal recommendation for a pediatrician - actually cemented one of the ones I was looking at already. YAY!

Also found out they don't induce on weekends, so Tyler's birthday, unless he comes on his own before then, will be March 1, 2010.

....and an update!

Dr Wheeler came by and after consulting with Dr Wells, here's the plan:

- antibiotics to prevent any infection - 2 days of IV, then 5 days of oral
- another dose of steroid shots to help lung development - one shot today, one shot tomorrow
- continue current levels of activity, growth ultrasounds (every 3 weeks), regular ultrasounds (weekly for fluid levels)
- continue to check my temps every 4 hours
- they will induce me at 34 weeks (2/27) if I don't go into labor by then

which means this is all happening relatively soon! We'll likely have some time in the NICU, so any prayers, positive thoughts, etc, that you'd like to send will be much appreciated!

a development

There are several different terms you can use for it, so pick your phrase of choise, but - my water broke, my membrane ruptured, I am leaking, etc.

You may recall that just about 4 weeks ago I was dialated 3 to 4 cm and had hourglassing membranes. Well as of today I am 31 weeks 4 days and had started to leak a teeny bit yesterday. The nurse and doc thought it was just random pregnancy stuff.. It picked up overnight and they confirmed it was amniotic fluid, which means my membrane ruptured.

Eric was at home since he had to work today, and I kept him updated on everything through the night. He ended up leaving work and surprised me by showing up at 8:30 am today.

The thing is, unless I go into active labor or develop an infection, this will not change my current treatment except they are monitoring my temperature every 4 hours instead of 8 (first sign of infection). I will get ultrasounds to monitor the amt of fluid more regularly (weekly), too.

The doctor did an ultrasound this AM and my fluid level is down slightly, so I'm drinking more water. He said that 75% of women who have their water break deliver w/in 48 hours, but that's if you are out and about in your normal life. Being on bedrest, I could stay like this for weeks. They will likely induce me at 36 if we make it that far.

In other news, I am sitting up more to eat per the doctor's direction on Sunday. It is nice to see my food when I'm eating and I make less of a mess too. :)

Baby Shower!

2/6/10 - 31 weeks

Amy, Kay, Amanda and Jill planned my baby shower at Amy's house that was held yesterday. Since I am still here at WakeMed, Eric attended in my place, and I was able to attend via video conference. It was really unique and although I wish I could have been there, this was the next best thing.

My friend Stephanie came in from Charlotte for the shower too, and she stopped by here for a little while to visit. I hadn't seen her since we went to the crop up in Dulles back in November, so it was great to see her and visit for a bit. She also took lots of photos with my camera which is much appreciated.

Unfortunately Mother Nature didn't cooperate with us and the Richmond, VA folks could not make it down to Raleigh due to the snow. Hopefully they can come down in a couple of weeks and celebrate with us.

Eric called me (via Yahoo Messenger's Video Call feature) a little before the party started so I could see people arriving. It was really fun to see and hear what was going on. And seeing everyone was priceless. I wish I had a better microphone (or knew where it was on this computer) so they could have heard me better, though. My wonderful hubby did a great job of being the honoree, too. Our friends and family were very generous with their gifts for baby Tyler and we are so appreciative. Jill organized a couple of fun baby shower games so we played a game, then they opened presents (while I watched), then another game. Then cake.

And OMG the cake. It was amazing. Amy made this. Yeah, you read that right, she made it. It's adorable!! Mark and Kay came by later that evening with balloons and cake for me and I had to control myself not to eat the whole yummy piece of cake. (still watching my sugars). Holy moly that was good. It was light and almond-y and white and oh-so-good!

Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Jill:

what I looked like to them:

party favors courtesy of Amanda's craftiness:

group photo:

picture from Baby Shower @ Wake Med

1/27/10 - 27 weeks, 4 days.

thanks to all (even those who couldn't be there!) - such a fun evening!

furniture!

Eric and his dad are going to pick up the dresser tomorrow! The Glider came in this week too, so we have all the big stuff in - hooray!

And tomorrow's the big shower! Looks like the folks from Richmond are getting snowed in (boooo!) but hopefully the weather will hold so that NC participants can attend. My SIL made an adorable cake - so cute!! Amanda made cute favors, and I hear the food and games wil lbe great too. Should be a fun event!

Not much is up here - which is good, right? I had a few days where I had what I'm guessing are Braxton-Hicks contractions, probably 4 to 6 per day, mostly in the evenings, but I haven't had any of those for a few days now.

Continued with the wheelchair rides, which has been fun. Today when we headed out we met one of the other ante-partum couples - they were going on their ride too. She has been here 5 weeks now, and they are inducing her this coming Friday.

And after 51 days here, we are still meeting new nurses. I thought by now I'd have met all of them ,but every couple of days we get a new face. They are all really good though, which is what matters, right?

30 Weeks and Counting

Here's what's been going on since I last posted:

The Baby Shower: as predicted, was a ton of fun. The girlsshowed up, decorated my room, had a cake, and one of them even took pictures for me! Everyone was so generous, I now feel somewhat prepared to take a baby home! I'm working on thank you notes, now, it's difficult (and d slow) to write while horizontal so they'll be kinda messy but they're going out soon. My room is still decorated because I like having the decor up, and it's taken Eric a few trips to get all the goodies home. Also, everyone wrote little messages to Tyler that I can scrapbook for him - such a neat idea!

Wheelchair Rides: starting last Saturday (30 weeks) I get to go on wheelchair rides every other day. Whoo hoo - finally seeing what's outside that giant door! It was so fun to see where all the other rooms are and where the nurses hang out andstuff. I also got a tour of the NICU, and feel a lot more comfortable with the prospect of Tyler spending some time there if needed.

Ultrasound!!: We had another ultrasound on Thursday. Tyler is 2 lbs 10 oz (2.65 lbs), or about 1204 grams. Dr. Wells came by the next day and I asked how accruate those estimates are and he said for this size it's about +- 5%. So, oeverall a little on the small side but completely normal. The tech even said "congratulations on having a perfectly normal baby". Music to my ears. However, he was facing my back so no good pictures, darn it.

Snow: it snowed on Friday night/Saturday which limited visitors due to the road conditions.s Last I heard we got 5 inches! It didn't really bother me since I'm inside, but sounds like it was pretty precarious out there. Eric was going to stay here Saturday night and work from here Sunday, rather than going home Saturday afternoon, but he braved the roads and drove slowly. He made it home and to work with no issues and even came out here to see me last night.

Tilted: I now have to lay on my side or tilted (with a pillow under my back/butt) so as not to put pressure on that artery that goes up my back, that flows to the placenta.

Everything else has been about the same. Nurses are still wonderful, baby is doing well, and we're hanging in here! This coming weekend is the big baby shower at Amy's house. Unless the weather gets bad, some family from Richmond are coming down too, so it should be a fun time. Eric got my Yahoo Messenger working so we can use that to video me in so I can watch the festivities!