A Birth Story...

Isabella Maria arrived last night October 26, 2009 at 11:04 pm.
We came into the hospital at 5:30, by the time they hooked everything up it was a little after 6. Since after the doctor stripped my membranes I was at 3cm and 50% effaced she decided that I didn't need Cervidil and started me directly on Pitocin. The contractions was ok, nothing crazy till about 8:30. At this point I was 4cm and 80%, so she broke my water and got the anesthesiologist.
The poor guy had to come in from home, so he we didn't get the darn thing in till almost 9:45. The epidural fist only took on my right side, and my leg went completely numb, so he readjusted the catheter and it finally worked. I was in my happy place.
At 11pm I got checked and was fully dialated and ready to push, even though I felt nothing, so the doc made me push on instrinct and 4 pushes later she was here. Diva baby had a BM while in utero so my water was green and they had to suction her up quite a bit, but she was crying and doing great in no time.
She's a tiny peanut at 5lbs 10oz...Thank God she didn't come early because she's just so little.
She's already nursing like a champ. I unfortunately never regained full feeling in my right leg, so they're trying to figure out what's up. I already had an MRI and saw a neurologist, but they had no answers, I'm slowly regaining function but it's been hard not being able to get out of bed.

Baby news!

This morning I got a call from my OB (right as I was trying to get Bon Jovi tickets online) and she asked me how I was feeling an if I wanted to be induced...............The woman has finally seen the light! LOL
She said that she had 2 c-sections scheduled for today, but one went early, so she had time to check me in the office, and that tonight she was on duty so we can start the induction.
I dropped everything (right after I got us awesome tickets for the May 27th show), and went over to the office to get checked.
All the contractions I had this weekend brought me to a whopping 2cm dialated and 50% effaced, which is good enough for induction, so tonight I go in to have Cervidil put in! (I'm not a big fan, but at this point I don 't care) then they'll start pitocin and the baby should be here by tomorrow morning... I'm sooo excited/nervous/scared shitless...............
can't believe the time has finally come!
I will be bringing my lappy to the hospital, so I will either be updating on Twitter, facebook, or both, depending on how well the epidural works!

Things we've tried so far to start labor...

Yup it's getting to that point, where I"m 5 days till my second due date! (yesterday would of been my 1st so in my head I"m 1 day overdue already).
We've tried a variety of things, while I wait for my Castor Oil and Red Rasberry Leaf tea to come in the mail.
1. Sex
2. Nipple stimulation
3. Bumpy car rides
4. Acupressure points
5. Spicy foods
6. Eggplant parm
7. Pineapple binging
8. Going up and down stairs and steep as hell driveway
9. Taking Evening Primrose oil 3x a day
10. losing my mind......
ok #10 is a result of #1-9 but we will be repeating the cycle tonight....and hopefully my other 2 salvation remedies will be here....
Labor...where are you????
I did have 4 strong contractions 15 minutes apart last night....but they stopped...boooooooooooooooo

I know I shouldn't complain........but I can't help it!

I'm still pregnant with no end in sight! I think I might be baking an elephant in here.
I'm totally uncomfortable, haven't been able to sleep. My legs keep going numb and hurting and I'm as cranky as can be. I know the end is near, but not near enough for me. After all the crap this pregnancy has dealt me with, and with all the fear of having a premature baby, now it looks like I might go overdue again.............
I go in today, I'm stuck at 1cm, and my cervix is still long and thick! (things going backwards instead of forwards since last week). I've been taking Evening primrose oil in mass quantities since 35 weeks, so I've been pooping up a storm...and yet nothing.
Poor dh is exhausted, and I think he's fearing for his life at this point.... it's getting ugly.
I ask the doc when I can get induced, and she promises I won't get to 41 weeks.........that's crap and just not good enough.
Then I ask her about getting my tubes tied, cause DH is really not looking forward to getting snipped, and she tells me I have to wait 6 weeks post partum...............
wahhhhhhhhh I just want to whine and cry all day, cause I'm absolutely miserable.
This afternoon I'm heading to the drug store for some Castor oil, to try to get things started on my own (doc said it was worth a shot).
I want this baby now................
on another note, I have a growth scan at the perinatalogist on Friday, so we'll see how big this elephant is getting! LOL

A little progress..........

Anyone who knows me, knows that my body is incapable of going into labor on its own, if only I could convince my doctors of such a fact it would be a happy day. After 3 overdue babies and 3 pitocin assisted labors...you think the little light bulb in their heads would come to this realization? nahhh no such thing.
Well I just went in for my 38 week checkup (a day early).
The baby is in position (hallelujah) she's nice and low in a -2 station, my cervix is soft and short and I'm a whopping 1cm dilated.....looks good right??? well in the past I've been stuck at this stage for about 3 weeks, so I'm totally not getting my hopes up.
I've been instructed to time contractions as far at 5 minutes apart, for about 1 hour and then head right to the hospital, because since it's my 4th she might just "pop out"....how refreshing is that????
But this is me....and I know that my due date will come and go, and I will probably have to get induced....why can't they just do it now??? Cause they have faith that my body knows what to do...yeah right....grrrr I just want to have this baby and get it over with damn it!
Maybe I'll have DH call his urologist today and schedule his procedure...his impending mystery might make me feel better! LOL

Breech in a Transverse position.......

Yup you heard right........little girl got bored of being good and staying head down and decided to start hanging out sideways.........
ahhhhhh, can't win!! Things were starting to look easy for a minute there.
I had my weekly ob appointment today, they took a swab to my privates to check for Group B strep (I was positive with Christopher and had to get the IV antibiotics when I got induced with him). I gained 1lb since last week, so now I'm at +12 and blood pressure looked good.
They put me on the NST machine and realized that yup, she is indeed sideways. Her head is poking my right side, her hands are in my ribs, and her feet are trying to break through my left side....she is bruising me internally (damn steroids made her so strong).
I feel like Bella pregnant with Renesmee., (sorry for the Breaking Dawn spoiler LOL you should of read it by now).
I have an ultrasound on Friday with the perinatalogist to check growth and all that other good stuff, and an appointment on October 6th with my regular OB to "look at the big picture".
4 more weeks........no more than 4 more weeks and she will finally be here.

All better??????? Ok I'll take it!

Went back to the perinatologist today (and I double checked the spelling while I was in the doorway of the reception area, cause no matter what I type it says it's wrong).
I had a 1:15 appointment, walked into the reception area at the hospital at 1:10.
No receptionist! (and she's my favorite so I was bummed). Ran into the genetics counselor in the hall and she checked me in....go to the waiting room...and while waiting I noticed that the 6 people sitting at the main table area were eating.............but what they were eating was the problem...within a few minutes, the stench of chinese food, tuna fish and doritos have infested the small room, and my stomach starts churning and I start feeling sick..... so I end up leaving the area and going out to hang out with the maternity reception nurse right outside the waiting area....
I do not get called in until almost 2pm....
Get in, and the tech does her thing...the diva baby covers her face....and everything goes as usual. Then it's time to wait for the doctor....and wait....and wait.....
20 minutes later she shows up, and the goo on my belly is already dry...so I get gooed again
but the good news....Fluid is steady at 9.2 and cerebral blood flow is back in the normal range. I go back in 2 weeks for a growth scan and have nothing to worry about.................wooo hooo
soo excited....almost makes all this crap worth it.

Things are finally looking up!

I had a great perinatalogist appointment today. The fluid is back up to 9.6 and the baby's cerebral blood flow rates are back to normal, so no signs of anemia....
I'm sooo happy, baby girl gets to stay put a little longer. They are still keeping a close watch and I have another NST scheduled for Tuesday and another Peri appointment for next Friday, but for now I get to get off of strict bed rest and get to "take it easy" and keep doing kick counts. I can totally live with that. Plus I might actually get to go to my baby shower next week...woo hoo!

Fluid back up?????

Ok roller coaster pregnancy update.
This kid is going to be the death of me! LOL
went in for my NST and had a big ole milkshake before hand, so I knew we would get some nice hyper baby activity. Well she was stubborn at first and then it kicked in and the reading went very well, we even got to hear the hiccups on the monitor which by the way is hysterical! LOL
then I went in for my fluid check and believe it or not it was back up to 9, I haven't had it that high in almost a month, I was amazed. So I'm ordered to stay on bed rest and keep drinking lots and lots and tomorrow I'm off to the perinatalogist again.
the saga continues..................

Should be in the hospital..but I'm here

because I have 3 needy kids and I'm totally not ready for this.
I went in for my ultrasound and fluid check today. The baby is doing ok, she's up to about 4lbs. , her heart rate is ok, umbilical cord looks good, there were no spikes in her cerebral blood flow, but my fluid is now down to 6.1. The doc gave me the option of going into the hospital for bedrest and have them hook me up to IV fluids, or going home since there is so much to get ready for and stay on bed rest and drink a ridiculous amount of fluids until Thursdays appointment. If I go down to 5 I have to be delivered immediately so I will most likely check into the hospital Thursday night or Friday morning. Right now I just have a huge headache from all the info.

In Limbo!

On Friday I had my 3rd NST of the week and the baby was being super stubborn, she kept moving away from the monitor, and even though her heart rate was great (from 140's to 160's) she wasn't kicking much, so they zapped her a few times and then gave me a piece of cake (this is why I love my doc LOL) and got her moving a little more. I was told to stay on bed rest, take is easy all weekend and drink lots of water.
On Tuesday I go in for a Biophysical Profile and a Growth Scan at my regular Ob's office cause the perinatalogist is all booked and we'll see what the fluid and blood rate looks like.
If all of that goes well, on Thursday I have a regular OB appointment so they can check for progress (even though I'm happy to say my colostrum is already coming in) and Friday I go to the peri so he can tell me how soon I need to deliver.
That's if her activity level stays good. I've been doing my kick counts 3x a day, and so far so good, and I hope the steroid shots did their job for her lungs.
Please keep praying that this little girl stays strong.

Just call me A-Roid

Went in to my regular OB today to go over the latest developments. Of course I lost another pound and I'm down to +8 for this pregnancy. Blood pressure was good, as was my urine thank God.
They went over the stuff that the perinatalogist sent over and they agreed that I might have to deliver sooner rather than later, so I got sent to the hospital today for my first NST (non stress test) and steriod shot and I get to do another tomorrow. Plus I go in on Friday for another NST at their office, then Tuesday I get an ultrasound and biophysical profile a the office, Thursday I get another OB visit and NST test and Friday the 11th I go back to the perinatalogist...All while staying on bedrest and drinking 1 gallon of water a day................Lord give me strength.

So DH who has been sleep deprived Saint came with me today, we went into the local hospitals L&D unit, which I hadn't been to since Christopher was born, and leave it to Davide to remember the nurses...LOL
anyway, they hooked me up for a 20 minute NST which ended up lasting an hour cause they ran out of steroids (damn athletes LOL) and we had to wait for the pharmacy to deliver.
So during the hour, I had 2 contractions...and plenty of baby activity.
The steroid shot wasn't that bad, just hurt my butt a little....now I get to do it again tomorrow afternoon, oh joy.

Tomorrow is also first day of school; so I will try and do a kid related post cause all this pregnancy drama is bringing me down.

Baby might have to be delivered sooner rather than later.

Today I went in for my weekly perinatalogist appointment and things seem to go from bad to worse.
My amniotic fluid levels are back down to 7.1, so that's even lower than when the problem started, but she's been doing great with the activity level, so that wasn't much of a concern, I just need to stay on bedrest until she's here.
They checked her growth and she's currently 3lbs 11oz and has a head full of hair...sooo cool to be able to see hair on an ultrasound.
The bad news is that she is borderline anemic thanks to my fifths disease, and she might have to be delivered within 2 weeks (we're trying to keep her in till 34 weeks but if the rate keeps going up it won't be safe).
Now I have to wait for my regular OB to call, so we can schedule my steroid shots (we want to get at least 2 in before delivery) to mature her lungs.
I have no idea where they will be delivering her, or anything...I'm just a mess.
There is just so much going on, and the thought of her being in a hospital 30 minutes away is breaking my heart, and then the older boys start school on wed, and Chris starts next week and I know transition is going to be a problem. So right now I'm just praying for strength for both me and our baby and that everything works out for the best.

Sentenced to 1 more week!

Today was my crazy appointment day! (read 2) LOL
I went with DH this morning to my perinatalogist appointment so they could do a full bio scan yet again and check the amniotic fluid.
Last week we were at 7.6 and after 1 week of bed rest and 1 gallon of water a day, it is up to 8.8. so that's great, but not good enough, so he wants me on bed rest and water for another week and will do a follow up next week. We got to see the baby swallow which was really cool, and her heart and lungs are looking good and the blood flow to her brain and kidneys is normal.
This afternoon I went to my regular OB appointment and got some great news! I PASSED THE 3 HOUR GLUCOSE TEST! wooo hoooooo for me! LOL
then the bad news....I lost 2 more lbs. (total weight gain this pregnancy is now down to 11 lbs. ) and had some protein in my urine so she had the nerve to say: "you really need to drink more water" GAG!!!!!!!!!!!
Little girl was entertaining though, as she kept shifting and kicking the doppler while trying to get her heart rate (payback for this mornings poking) but when we finally got it, it was in the 160's so that's great!
ok back to bed...........this crap is really bringing me down, but fanfics are keeping me busy!

Bed rest???? AHHHHHHH

Yup, the title says it all! I have been put on modified bed rest! For every 30 minutes of activity I need to lay down for 1 hour.... oh boy this should be fun!
I have to drink 1 gallon of water a day, and do kick counts 3 times a day. If I feel sick or "different" then they want me to go in.
I have a repeat bio scan next Tuesday and a regular OB appointment then too.
I also got my 2nd blood draw back, and the Chicken Pox were positive! no duh!!!
So off to convince my kids that I can't be chasing them around. This should be interesting!
I also have to cancel a bunch of stuff that involves me driving more than 15 minutes each way! so that stinks!

Not such a great Perinatalogist appointment!

Went in for my weekly perinatalogist appointment today, and the brain blood flow and the heart were great, we tried to get a picture of this little one and she decided to cover her face with both arms! (silly girl) but then when the doc was measuring my amniotic fluid levels he was concerned cause they're kinda low. My fluid was at 7.6. 10 is normal and 9 is still ok, so now I get to do a kick count twice a day and make sure she moves at least 6 times in the hour I'm monitoring her, I have to drink lots and lots of water, and lay down as much as possible.
I'm soo darn scared, this pregnancy has been nothing like the others, and I'm just freaked out by everything that can go wrong. I'm not even 30 weeks yet, so just the thought of her coming early because of the fluid problem is just so scary.
He kept asking me if my water broke, but honestly I have no idea, I'm always kinda moist and sweaty these days (it's been over 90 every day) so if I was even leaking a little I really couldn't tell ya.
I will call my OB tomorrow if I don't hear from her and see what else we can do.
I'm just so unprepared for this!

Gestational Diabetes Saga part 2

Yesterday I finally got my act together and went in for my 3 hour glucose tolerance testing.
The night before I had a low carb meal, and started fasting at 8pm. Went in for my test at 8am, of course they weren't ready yet at the lab, so I had to sit around for almost 1/2 hour.
They took the first vile of blood, made me drink the nasty sweet crap (fruit punch this time). Waited an hour, took another vile, waited another hour, took another vile, and waited another hour and took one last vile.
I was lucky to have some very chatty and funny ladies coming in and out of the office throughout my stay so I didn't get too bored. I also brought my copy of Breaking Dawn, because that's big enough to keep me busy for 3 hours.
When I got home (4 viles of blood lighter), I started feeling nauseous. I had lunch but the headache and the crappy feeling ended up lasting the whole darn day.
Really hope I passed this time. Making a pregnant lady fast should be considered Cruel and Unusual Punishment and should definitely be outlawed!

More doctors.....more blood...I'm drained!

I am officially 29 weeks.
Yesterday I went in for my weekly perinatalogist appointment. The previous day my OB called and said that if the chicken pox had scabbed over I would be able to go to my appointments, so that was great!
I went in and the baby had the hiccups on the ultrasound....it was the cutest thing to watch!
I got to bring both Matthew and Christopher and they really got a kick out of it.
The fluid looks good, the blood flow is still normal and the baby is about 3lbs or so.
Later in the day I went in to my OB and I lost 2lbs. my blood pressure is still good and since the blood work didn't show immunity to varicella yet, they had to draw more blood.
I should get those results by tomorrow.
The midwife had trouble finding the top of my fundus cause it's so far under my ribs already, so she had the doc come in and measure, and right now I'm measuring at 31 weeks instead of the 29 I should be.... I won't get my hopes up though, we all know how my babies tend to come late.
On Friday I go in for my 3 hour glucose torture test and go back to the OB every two weeks from now till 36 weeks.....
This whole pregnancy has been sooo exhausting and emotionally draining, I can't wait to be holding this little girl in my arms.

Chicken Pox at 31!!!!!!!!!!

OMG this is crazy! all I wanted was a healthy uneventful pregnancy, and this one has been everything but!
On Wednesday morning I woke up feeling nauseous and crappy and felt terrible all day, then in the evening not realizing that Christopher had spilled bubble soap all over our patio, I slipped and fell (on my side thank God) and got all bruised up. Wednesday night, I woke up at 2am with the chills, even though it was 77 degrees in my bedroom, then I woke up soaking wet and sweaty.... Yesterday morning I was tired, but ok, and saw a few funny looking pimples on my chest, and thought they were a result of the possible fever from the night before.....
This morning I was supposed to go in for my 3 hour glucose test and woke up looking like a monster, I have blister like pimples all over my face, chest and belly and have some nasty looking hives all over my legs.... went to Google Images and realized that I could possibly have the chicken pox.....
I knew that I was not immune, but all my kids have been vaccinated, so I thought that I was not at risk.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!
Went to my OB and she confirmed it, took more blood (cause it's just so much fun to do), and said that since I'm past 20 weeks (wipes sweat off my forehead) that the baby is at no risk and I just need to make myself comfortable.....
so now what???
I HATE THIS!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe I have the chicken pox! I feel like an idiot....but whatever, could of been worst I guess.

Perinatologist Update #30000000005 LOL

I feel like I live in that place! They all know me by name! I'm surprised I don 't have a designated parking space yet, and if I don't pass the 3 hour glucose test (I think I'm doing it on Friday) I'll be a frequent customer till the end of this pregnancy!
Anyway, today I had a growth scan (she's 2 1/2 lbs already) and everything looks good, I'm actually measuring a few days ahead! (fine by me). The Doppler readings are getting harder to do since she's all squished in there, and it's harder to isolate the arteries, I almost had a heart attack when the tech left the room and said she wanted to "check the numbers with the Doctor"......so I start sweating cold and panicking, cause that's what I do.....
The doctor came in, and took her own measurements, and I'm right on the chart still, but I must admit I was scared to death!
I get to do this all again next week! joy of joys!
(I haven't been posting pictures since my scanner is no longer being recognized by my laptop since we installed the new hard drive, and I've been too lazy to troubleshoot).