She's Here--Part 2

How has a month already passed since Abby has been born? Sheesh....was hoping to update the blog much sooner! Get ready for picture overload!

Mama at 37 1/2 weeks pregnant. Sooo ready for the big day!

My c-section was scheduled for 6:30 a.m. on September 15th which meant we had to be at the hospital at 4:30. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep the night before. The surgery went smoothly and it was very surreal to be awake during the c-section. Completely different from the emergency c-section with my big girls where I was put completely under anesthesia. Abby came out crying and was with me in recovery and never left my side. What a miracle! We had lots of family come to visit that day and couldn't wait for big sisters to get out of school and come meet Abby.

I love this picture. Our FOUR girls!


Daddy and the girls.

Me and my besties taken with the camera phone. And yes, I'm still totally drugged up from the spinal block!


Lolo and Abby


Lola and Abby


Grandpa Hank and Abby



The cousins...all girls! I LOVE this picture.

Auntie Jodi and Uncle Craig with Abby

Our baby girl at 2 weeks old

Abby is a true blessing to our family! Hard to believe sometimes that we have 4 kids, but she was meant to be part of our lives. Amazing how I forgot all the little things....love the smell of a newborn baby, their tiny squeaks, the cuddles, the diaper blow-outs, and of course the middle of the night feedings. And Abby has a set of LUNGS when she gets mad! I seriously would not be surprised if the neighbors told us they could hear her crying. She just might be louder than her big sister Alyssa was.

We are adjusting. It is and will continue to be a challenge to address everyone's needs during the after-school hours. Getting homework done, dinner made, baths etc.... for the big girls when Abby needs me can be stressful if Steve isn't home from work, but we are managing. Several moms from my local mom's group have been gracious enough to bring dinner over the last 3 weeks. Such a lifesaver!

I will try my best to blog again before another month goes by!

The Belly

Another month is flying by, but we are doing well and enjoying our last week of summer vacation before the big girls start 1st grade (EEK!) and I go back to work for a short while. Maternity leave is right around the corner for me. We have a c-section delivery date scheduled for mid-September. I am approaching week 33 with baby girl #4 and continue to be thrilled with the experience of a normal pregnancy.

Other than bouts of daily heartburn now, slightly swollen feet, and difficulty sleeping comfortably for a full night's sleep, I can't really complain. That's all normal right? It was kind of funny though when I glanced down at my feet while at the pool with my BFF and our kids on Monday and I gasped as I noticed my toes looked a little like sausages. Needless to say, I soaked those bad boys in the cool water in an attempt to get my skinny toes back!

Belly pic at 30 weeks

13 weeks-Updated

Baby #4 is doing well (although this ultrasound picture resembles a baby's head on a chicken's body)! Nevertheless....all human body parts and crucial organs are accounted for :) I am now officially under the care of my trusted perinatologist and will return to him next week for another ultrasound. Our gameplan at this point is to monitor signs of pre-term labor with weekly ultrasounds starting at 15 weeks. Crossing my fingers that everything continues to progress with no problems.



I've been feeling pretty good. I seem to be getting my energy back and can stay up past 8:00 p.m. without feeling like I'm going to fall asleep standing up.

Random pregnancy cravings have included Taco Bell, McDonald's egg mcmuffin, and root beer!

Worst pregnancy symptom-acne like a 16 yr-old-BOO!

Thanks for all of your well wishes! Until next time!

Update: I forgot to mention that after seeing the above ultrasound picture, the 3 big girls now believe they are having a little sister! We shall see...............

Growing!

Just wanted to post a quick update. I had a dr. appointment yesterday and had a chance to see baby#4! Everything looks good so we will keep on keepin' on. Big sisters love to hear me talk about the baby and all that is happening with the pregnancy. Their favorite fact right now is to know that the baby is the size of a grape. Too cute!

I have my first appointment with the high-risk clinic next week so I will have another update soon. I'm anxious to discuss how "high risk" this pregnancy might be considered and whether any preventative measures should be taken to make sure I stay pregnant as long as possible. Keeping our fingers crossed for a late-September birthday for baby #4!

The big girls are doing great! Spunky and full of life as ever. Their kindergarten school year ends in 2 1/2 short months. Geesh, this year has flown by! So far we have 2 votes for a baby brother (Alyssa and Riley) and 1 vote for a baby sister (Makena). Can't wait to find out whether we will be buying pink or blue!

Surprise, SURPRISE!!!!

After taking a 3-month blogging break, I wasn't sure what life event would ever bring me back. Life has been so busy with work and three kids in kindergarten that I have had absolutely no motivation to blog. Well, this week, we had such a life-changing event occur that I found a reason to come back to the good, ole blog.


Baby #4 is on the way!!!!

Yes, you read that right!

Needless to say, this mama was shocked! After our fertility problems that first time around, we just never thought it would happen naturally.

So I will jump right into a little Q&A.....

1. Only 1 baby? I had an ultrasound this week and yes, there was only 1 baby.

2. How far along am I? Initial estimates this week say I am 6 weeks.

3. What do the girls think about being big sisters? The girls are absolutely THRILLED to be big sisters. Right after we told them, they jumped into planning mode (hmmmm....wonder who they get that from?) and started listing all of the things we would need for a baby (crib, stroller, baby clothes, diapers etc). It was actually the cutest thing I've ever seen. The next step was to list off all of the things they were going to teach their baby brother or sister.

4. How have I been feeling? Pretty good. Other than being really tired and having cravings/aversions for certain foods, I've been feeling good. However, my sleep cycle has been totally jacked up this week. I am dead-tired by 9:00 p.m. but wake up after sleeping 3-4 hours and can't fall back to sleep. Initially, this was feuled by anxiety and planning that I could not turn off in my brain when I tried to go back to sleep. But, this cycle has continued and I'm really hoping I can get back to a full night's sleep soon.

5. What is the due date? Early October

I think that covers the basics. I am praying for a non-eventful, healthy pregnancy. Bed rest, pre-term labor, and an incompetent cervix are things I do not want to experience again! I have an appointment scheduled next month with my favorite high-risk Perinatologist who monitored my pregnancy with the girls.

Until next time.....I promise I will try to post more regularly again.

A moment in time

On this day, two years ago, I was admitted to the hospital for pre-term labor. I was only 23 weeks pregnant, had been on bedrest at home for 5 weeks, had already had a cervical cerclage put in and was taking oral medication to try and stop the contractions I was having. Just two days earlier, Steve and I drove to the hospital because I had reached my thereshold of 6 contractions in an hour. I was kept overnight and then released after my contractions slowed down.

I had a doctor appointment on the morning of August 9, 2005 for a growth ultrasound. My babies looked great, all growing like they should be. Weights were estimated to be 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6.....but my cervix had shortened to just 1 cm.

Per my doctors orders, I made my way over to labor and delivery and was hooked up to monitors, as well as a terbutaline pump. Over the next two days, I was also given steroid shots to help the babies' lungs develop. My doctor made rounds every morning around 6 a.m. and I always looked forward to his visit. He was my knight in shining armor. The one person who I trusted to get me through this pregnancy with 3 healthy babies.

Dr. M told me that I was staying put in the hospital for atleast 2-3 weeks so that I was over the "viability" hump at 24 weeks and would be closer to the 28 week mark. I was more than content to stay right where I was in the hospital. The monitors and awesome nursing staff brought me comfort because I knew that they could act quickly if needed.

It turns out that in relation to medication, I must have the metabolism of a horse. Taking just one medication wasn't doing the trick, so there was alot of fiddling around with the meds. I was on Terbutaline and Indocin, or Terbutaline and Nifedipine and finally Magnesium Sulfate with Indocin, Nifedipine or Terbutaline shots. The side effects that I was warned about were mild for me.

My stay in labor and delivery lasted for 13 days. I made it to 25 weeks, 1 day before my three little miracles made their way into this world.