Olivia Renae Elizabeth - 1 month!

Our baby girl is 1 month old - I cannot believe it! 

Both Mr. G & I feel that a little bit of the "newborn haze" lifted slightly at 2 weeks and even more by 1 month.  We are getting the hang of this parenting thing and it is an absolutely incredible journey. 

 

 

Weight:  I am not 100% sure but I think she was around 9.5 lbs

 

Height:  No idea...I will only update this after her well checks at the pediatrician

 

Hair:  Still dark brown and lots of it, she is not losing any of it and I hope she doesn't.  We get comments everywhere we go about the amount of hair she has.

 

Eyes:  Still very dark but I noticed just the slightest of lightening, who knows could be blue...could be brown.

 

Clothes:  She can wear some newborn items but mostly 0-3 months.  All of her 0-3 month sleepers are huge on her.

Diapers:  Newborn Huggies snugglers

Sleeping:  Olivia is sleeping in the pack n play at the end of our bed and wakes up to eat every three hours, I think this is good as I typically get a nice 2 hour stretch if I take back to back feedings.

Eating:  She eats 2-3 ounces of formula every three hours, we started with the tommy tippee bottles but she did not like them.  We now have Dr. Browns and she is eating like a champ, barely any dribbles down her chin.

Likes:  Snuggles...lots and lots of snuggles!

Dislikes:  Bath time, being wet or dirty and being hungry

Milestones:  The first month is so much about sleeping, eating and pooping; I'm not sure about milestones.  She is gaining some serious neck strength and I think we may be getting just the slightest smiles out of her.

Momma's memories:  I love the snuggles all day, there isn't anything better than Olivia finishing a bottle and snuggling into me.  I love that she recognizes my voice and knows who her momma is.

Here are a couple of cute pictures of our girl from her first month:)

**I had to catch up and write this after Olivia's 1 month birthday, my memory is a little fuzzy, thanks to sleep deprivation, but I think I came close.

With love,

Mrs.G

Birth Story - part 3 final

Still Tuesday 07/22/14 - day of birth

After our 2 hours in the recovery room we were taken to our postpartum room on the 4th floor where we would spend the remainder of our time.

We were introduced to our nurse Heather and got familiar with our room. 

Since our family members were still waiting to meet the baby and had been waiting a while we decided to go get them.  Mr. G invited the grandparents back first and then the aunts, I didn't want the room to get too crowded as my anxiety was quite high.  It turns out that the room was big enough and they were all able to be there without it seeming too crowded.

Baby G did not have a name yet, we didn't have time to talk about it and were so sleep deprived that I did not want to make a decision without feeling confident about it. 

Her grandparents got to meet the newest member of the family and had some time to snuggle her.  Both of my sisters and sister in law also got to meet her.  Everyone was so tired from being up basically all night that they did not stay long.  We all needed some rest and Mr. G and I needed time to get acquainted with our baby.

Once everyone was gone we enjoyed snuggling with her and took naps periodically throughout the day.  We were checked on a lot throughout the day so sleep was very much interrupted.  Breastfeeding was not going well as the baby was not latching and I was really struggling with anxiety every time the nurse wanted me to try.  I knew in my heart that the baby was getting hungry but the nurse kept trying to tell me that she was fine and that she was getting a little bit of colostrum. 
That evening we had a couple of visitors but really wanted to keep it to a minimum because of exhaustion.  Baby girl had her first bath, she didn't enjoy it very much but we thought it was pretty cute.

This last picture she looks exactly like I did as an infant, I was shocked at the resemblance.

Unfortunately Tuesday night was terrible, our baby girl would not latch and every time we would try to breastfeed she would scream and scream.  I had to hand express colostrum as well as try to pump and Mr. G fed her with his pinky.  We were up most of the night, at 3:30am I was crying, the baby was crying and Mr. G fell asleep standing up (no joke!).  The night nurse knew we needed a break, so she told us that she would take the baby to the nursery for a couple of hours and that would give us some time to rest and they would do her 24 hour check. 

This is sort of a hot button issue these days, whether or not a baby should spend time in the nursery or should the baby exclusively "room in" with the parents.  Here is my opinion...take it or leave it.  It should be up to the parents and the nurse, in our case we needed some help.  We had just been through a 36 hour labor with little sleep along with the excitement of having a new baby we didn't get much sleep during the day.  Our nurse knew that in order to take care of our newborn properly and safely that we needed a little help in the form of some rest.  Because she noticed it and offered to take the baby to the nursery for a little while we were able to get some uninterrupted rest and were much better when she returned.

Wednesday morning (07/23/14) was better, but not great.  I was continuing to cry frequently and couldn't get control of myself...it didn't help that our baby still didn't have a name and that breastfeeding was not going well at all.  So, I did what I knew would make me feel better; I took a shower.  It was during that shower that I knew what we needed to do, it was like I had clarity wash over me.  I got out of the shower, put some normal clothes on (when I say normal I mean my pajamas) and called our nurse Heather in (after talking to my husband).  As soon as she walked in I told her to bring us formula and nipples; that we were no longer breastfeeding.  I finally uttered the words that I knew might bring some criticism but I knew in my heart and soul that this was the right decision. 

No need to gasp or pass judgement, and if you are doing that...close this blog right now and never return to it.  This decision was one that my husband and I made, we are the parents of this child and we get to decide what is best for her and for our family.

After that I turned and looked at Mr. G and said, "we need to name this baby now, she deserves a name".  So we wrote down the three names we had picked and each of the middle name options...it was very clear to me when I saw her name.  I looked at Mr. G and said, "it's Olivia!"  He agreed and so Baby G had a name:  Olivia Renae Elizabeth G.

Back to breastfeeding for a moment:
About a week after she was born Mr. G told me that for 24 hours after she was born he would watch me get so anxious and have a physical reaction every time a nurse would come in to help us feed.  He said it scared him because he thought I was going to have a full on anxiety attack (which I eventually did but I won't go into that now). 
While breast milk is what doctors say is best for the baby, breastfeeding does not work for everyone.  It certainly would have been a problem not only for me but also for Olivia if everytime she was about to eat I would have an anxiety attack.  I am not sure if I will comment any further on my blog about our decision to use formula, I sort of have to weigh the options.  But what I do know is that I have absolutely no guilt when it comes to our decision to formula feed.  We have both bonded with our daughter, we both continue to do skin to skin time and I know we made the right decision.  I will not allow anyone to judge me, guilt me or insult me regarding this decision. And as if I had any question...the day after we switched to formula, our nurse Heather, looked me in the eye and said, "you made the right decision, you are a completely different person today...don't look back, you are already an incredible mom".  Heather was one of my favorites, she was wonderful to have in our corner. 

After deciding to change to formula things became a little easier, I felt better about our decision and was actually able to rest in between feedings.  It was like a weight had been lifted off of me.  We even took the time to put Olivia in a cute sleeper we had bought...

That's not to say that I wasn't having a difficult time with other things, like the emotions that come with having a baby.  Wow, I knew they would be intense but no one could have warned me how intense.  I cried on and off most of the day.  A cousin of mine asked if she could visit and I asked her to come around 11am, she didn't follow that request and showed up at 3pm right as I was laying down to take a nap.  Should I have asked her to leave and come back?  Probably...but I didn't.  So I didn't get the nap I needed and then Mr. G's parents visited and then when my parents and sisters walked in I absolutely lost it.  I was sobbing uncontrollably.  My mom knew that I was exhausted, overwhelmed and just experiencing the normal emotions after child birth.  Not to mention I had not been outside the hospital walls in 5 days.  First things first, my sisters took me outside for a walk (in a wheelchair) and then my mom talked with Mr. G's mom and they agreed that we needed some help.  My mom would stay our first night home and Mr. G's mom would stay the second night home.  Once we had a plan things were a little easier, I was able to get a little rest that night and again we sent Olivia to the nursery from 4am until 6:30am.  Things were looking up:)

On Thursday (07/24/14) morning I asked Heather if anyone went home a day early after having a c-section, she indicated that a lot of people did. 
I WANTED TO GO HOME!  I promised her that we had help staying with us and that I would be really good and rest and let people help me.  So, my doctor came in and examined me and said I could go home as long as I came to the office the next day to have my staples removed.  I agreed!  Olivia's pediatrician came in and cleared her for discharge as long as we brought her back a week later for a check up, we agreed.  So, we started packing up...here is Mr. G ready to take out the first load of our belongings.

Before I knew it Heather was walking us downstairs and sending us on our way as a family of three!  I joked with Heather and asked her why she wasn't getting in the car with us.  She hugged us and told us we were going to do great.

And just like that we were a family of three heading home, our little lady slept all the way home in her sweet little going home dress. We chose the dress with pineapples because they mean "welcome".

And so the journey of parenthood began, of course this is just the beginning.  The road may have been a little bumpy but we are blessed with this beautiful little lady that has already made all of the pain of labor disappear.

Stay tuned...

With love,

Mrs.G

  

 

Birth Story - part 2

Once our nurse Mary ordered the epidural I started to get prepped, I took my nightgown off in order to put a hospital gown on and used the restroom one last time as I knew they would put a catheter in.

The anesthesiologist and his team arrived about 15 minutes later, luckily they were finishing someone else's epidural so they arrived pretty quickly.  I signed a consent form and we got started.  Honestly the numbing medication that I was given hurt worse then the epidural placement.  The doctor that performed the procedure had terrible bedside manner however was an incredible doctor, according to our nurse Mary who has been a nurse for 15 years, he performed the epidural faster and more efficiently than anyone she has ever seen.  I didn't think it was that bad and was extremely glad to have some relief.

From there it was just wait & watch...we just waited for my body to progress and just watched the contraction and heart rate monitor.  My sisters were still at the hospital and my parents and in-laws arrived around 5pm, everyone thought we would have a baby by that point. 

It was determined that Baby G was sunny side up (her face was facing my belly) instead of facing my back like it should be during a vaginal delivery so the nurse brought me this big blue ball that looked like a giant peanut.  I had to lay on my side with that between my legs for 20 minutes and then switch to the other side.  This went on for a couple of hours, I tried to sleep during that time but it was very difficult. 

Instead of anyone leaving the hospital to eat dinner our parents ordered pizza to be delivered and everyone ate in the waiting room.  Throughout the evening our family members would stop in to sit with me but for the most part they all were very considerate of the little sleep Mr. G and I had.  I tried to rest as much as I could but the anticipation was keeping me from really getting some good rest.

At 7pm we were introduced to our nurse Erin, she would be on from 7pm-7am and I had hoped that she would be our last nurse.  In all honesty I wasn't sure of Erin to begin with, and I can't be sure why, but in the end she (and Jenny from earlier Monday) was the best labor & delivery nurse I had.  She kept us updated throughout the evening and let us know that she had been in contact with my doctor and that she would be arriving at the hospital no later than 9pm and would be staying overnight.  My parents, inlaws and sisters decided to stay until 9pm to see what the plan would be.  Once again I attempted to get some rest...not easy.

At 9pm Dr. J arrived and I was extremely happy to see her, she checked me (only at a 4, not thinned out nor effaced much) and we decided that we would continue to try to let my body progress...if I went 2 hours with absolutely no progress then we would discuss another option.  She emphasized my need for rest.  My father and inlaws decided to go home to get some rest and asked that we update them at 11pm when I was scheduled to be checked again.  At that point my mother, sisters and sister in law decided they were going to wait it out.  Actually my mother refused to leave, we told her she was welcome to stay but that she needed to go to the waiting room unless I asked for her. 
We turned the lights down and tried to get some sleep, I believe I got about 1.5 hours at that point. 

The time gets a little fuzzy at this point so I'm going to make my best guess...around 10:30pm I noticed that the babys heartrate dropped below the blue line.  I didn't think much of it but Erin came rushing in, apparently she had been watching it for a while and it had done that with the prior three contractions.  I woke Mr. G and was a little worried but Erin assured me that sometimes after a long labor that the baby gets tired and irritable and the heartrate drops a bit during contractions.  She said that she had been watching it and would send the info to Dr. J when she checked me at 11pm.  Of course I was awake and quite anxious at that point so I sent my mom a text asking her to come back and sit with me.  A woman just needs her mom sometimes. 
At 11pm I was checked and had made a little bit of progress, Dr. J reviewed everything and ordered me to rest and get rechecked at 1am.  Lights off and I was able to sleep on and off for 2 hours while my mother rubbed my arm and hair.  Now that I have my baby I can't imagine what my mother was going through during that time, watching her baby preparing to give birth.
At 1am I was checked and had made very little progress and Baby G's heartrate continued to drop slightly with each contraction.  Dr. J wanted to give it two more hours, she really wanted to give my body the chance to progress.

** We were over 33 hours of induction / labor around this time.

My mother left the room to go to the waiting room on her way she saw Erin and asked Erin if the doctor decided to perform a csection would it be done the next day or right away.  Erin sort of laughed and said that if Dr. J decided that I needed a csection it would be performed immediately following the decision.  So my mom asked if she should go to my sisters to get some rest.  Erin asked how far that was and my mom told her about 20 minutes, Erin told her she thought it would be best if she stayed put and offered my mom some blankets for the waiting room.  At that point I believe Erin knew that we would likely need a csection.  So everyone settled in for some additional rest.  My mom, sisters and sister in law slept in the waiting room and were able to actually get a little sleep

At 2:45am I woke up and looked at the monitor and noticed that Baby G's heartrate was again dipping with each contraction, at that point I panicked.  I shouted at Mr. G to wake up and told him that we needed a plan, I could not watch her heartrate drop any longer.  He assured me that the doctor and nurse knew what they were doing and reminded me how much I trusted Dr. J.  I was scheduled to be checked at 3am so we just spent some quiet time waiting for Erin to come in.  At 3am she came in to check me and informed us that no progress had been made, she was sending the info to Dr. J and that she would be back to let me know what the doctor said. 
At 3:15am Erin returned to let us know that our doctor was on her way to our room, I looked at Erin and asked "does this mean what I think it does?" Her response was, "yes, I believe that Dr. J will recommend taking the baby via c-section".
I asked Erin how much time we would have once the decision was made, she informed me that it wasn't much and that they moved quickly once it was decided.  So, we asked her to have my family come back after the doctor had been in the room...we wanted to make an informed decision without the opinions of any family.

Dr. J came in and checked me again, confirming that I had not made any progress.  She talked to us at length about our options and then told us that she recommended we proceed with a c-section for a variety of reasons.  We were comfortable with that recommendation and decided to proceed with the c-section.  From that point it was a whirlwind!  Our family members were summoned from the waiting room, Mr. G called his parents, my mom called my dad....hugs and kisses were exchanged and they were told where to go to wait for me. 
There were 6 nurses, Dr. J, the anesthesiologist, the CRNA all working around the room.  The lights were turned on, Mr. G was packing all of our belongings and I was signing forms.  I believe I was rolled out of my room at about 3:40am, it was amazing to me what was done in less than 30 minutes.
The c-section was pretty straight forward, I threw up from the medication and my right arm and shoulder went number because a nerve was hit when they were taking out the baby.

At 4:20am Olivia Renae Elizabeth G. was born (although she did not have a name at that point), she had a full head of brown hair and the cutest cheeks ever!  When Dr. J got to her I heard her say, "look at those cheeks...and all of that hair!!"
She came out crying, weighed 8lbs 3 ounces and was 21 inches long...she was perfect!



Dr. J came to see us in post op and informed us that Olivia would never have come out vaginally as she was stuck.  Her feet were wedged up near my rib cage and the umbilical cord was wrapped around an ankle and then up around her shoulder.  She was unable to drop down far enough to put pressure in places that pressure was needed.

Oliva, Mr. G & I spent two hours in recovery alone, we loved on her and read her a book and attempted breastfeeding for the first time.  It was wonderful that we had that time to ourselves without any other family members.

 



Part 3 of the birth story coming soon...

With love,

Mrs.G