Short and Sweet

Until I gather my thoughts and write a longer post on post delivery and time at home here is a short video and pic from the week. 

Addie enjoying her swing which is very helpful for mom and dad at times! 

Addie wanted to let everyone know she turned 3 weeks on Tuesday ;)

Fav Pics

 Here are some of my favorite pictures from Addie's first weeks at home. 

Addie had to be under a bili light blanket the first day/night at home due to jaundice.

Addie loves sleeping on my chest and I love it too!

Here she was just relaxing in daddy's arms. :)

Checking things out...she's very alert.

She loves being in her swing

Addie and I enjoy our mornings at home together. 

Some of the professional photos

37 Weeks-Addison's Birth

Sunday afternoon around 4:30 I went to the bathroom and during I felt like a cork came unplugged....with a slight gush of water. I knew something had happened but wasn't sure if we needed to do anything.   I called my mom right away and both her and Bryan thought everything was ok and we didn't need to go to the hospital yet. I decided to take a bath to get clean and relax. However, as time went on water kept coming and coming. I was convinced my water had broke but was also in denial.  I asked Bryan if we could just go to the hospital to have baby checked out and if my water did break we could just come back home and labor there.  He agreed and off we went. We both truly thought we would be home shortly.

Wrong! This was around 6:30-7:00 p.m. I did not imagine I wouldn't be home for another 7 days! My water definitely had broke and we were not going home. Our doc was not on call that night so they didn't feel comfortable sending us home. I did not have a bag fully packed yet as we still had 3 weeks and 2 days to go. Once we knew we were going to stay Bryan left to go pack some bags and take care of the dogs.

The first night was just a lot of waiting for contractions to come on. To be honest after that the timing is hazy and everything just blends together. So this is how I remember it. The first night we waited for my own contractions to become regular. This was not happening. We even tried nipple stimulation with the hospital breast pump. Still no regular contractions. I believe it had been over 24 hours at this point and the doctor and nurses highly suggested we start on a low amount of pitocin to get things going and I also needed to be on an antibiotic since my water had been broke for that long to prevent any infection. I wasn't too happy at this point because I really wanted to do a water birth and was afraid this would not allow us to and I was also scared of how strong the contractions would be with the pitocin. Once the contractions started to get regular they stopped the pitocin so I could try and do things naturally. I walked the halls for about a half hour and then labored some in the tub in our room in hopes that I could still do a water birth. This is when I started to have more intense contractions and more back labor. Our doula was soooo helpful at this point. She was the one with me in the bathroom putting pressure on my lower back and timing my contractions. Even with the intense contractions they never got regular so the doctor wanted to put me back on the pitocin and increase it  a lot. By this point it was Monday evening and I was only at 3 cm dilated and 50 % effaced and very tired. I could not imagine laboring without the epidural at this point with the increased amount of pitocin. So we upped that and I got the epidural and no more water birth. I was worried about getting the epidural but to be honest it was probably the easiest part of it all. The nurse said I did a great job and didn't even flinch and everybody always flinches. Now we were just in for a long night of waiting and hoping to be fully dilated by morning.

Tuesday morning the doc came in and they thought I was at 9 cm so she was going to come back to check me an hour later in hopes I could start pushing. When she came back to check baby had changed positions and I really wasn't at 9 cm just between 7 and 8 cm. I was quite disappointed.  I can't remember what really happened next. I think they upped the pitocin some more and we waited. Next thing I remember the doctor and nurses came rushing in and Addison's heart rate had dropped and they needed to stabilize it. Next they put an oxygen mask on me to get more to Addie. Then Dr. Lindsey said we needed to discuss a C-Section. I was pretty scared at this point because I was worried about Addie but also was scared of surgery. We had probably 2-3 minutes if that to discuss and we of course realized that we really needed to do the C-Section. Dr. Lindsey did not believe Addie could handle more contractions or even me pushing. So they wheeled me back to the operating room pretty quick and by the time we got in the room things became an emergency as her heart rate dropped to 78 (had been in the 150s). I just remember Dr. Lindsey saying I'm cutting NOW....I was a little worried I didn't have enough anesthesia in me and that I would feel the cutting. Thankfully, no all I felt was the pressure. Dr. Lindsey had a little trouble getting Addie out because she had her hand sticking out first but she did a great job and got her out quick. Addie came out crying with fully developed lungs. (Addie was born 42 hours after my water broke)  It took about another 30 minutes for them to stitch me back up. They couldn't do it fast enough I was very anxious for them to be done! Bryan and our doula, Alison were extremely helpful holding my hand and stroking my hair during it all to keep me relaxed and calm.

So God and Addie's plan for her arrival was the complete opposite of how Bryan and I had planned. But once she was there safe and healthy it didn't really matter. As her Grandpa Emerson said we got 3 "bonus" weeks with her and we are so thankful!

Visitors! Thanks so much to Lauren, Andy, Ashley, Stef, Rebecca and Jess (pictured below) for all coming up to support us during labor and of course after to see Addison.

Sporting the Cardinal attire....too bad they lost! I guess it's a good thing I didn't get to watch Game 6 or 7

Baby Girl had an excellent heartbeat profile except at the end. Not much going on with contractions here.

 Love how she is kicking up her leg....4 lbs 13 oz, 17.5 in, at 10:37 am

Such a sweet picture of Bryan and Addie

Momma's first look ......I couldn't wait to see her but also couldn't stop shaking from all of the iv's and hormones.

I think this was after Addie was born

Bryan and our doula Alison

Grandma and Grandpa White

Grandma and Grandpa Emerson

Love this pic of Addie and me

Tired parents but sooo anxious to go home!

Catching Up-weekend before baby

I know this is old news by now but the Friday before Addie was born Lauren and I went to game 5 of the NLCS. We were both sooo excited but the game was awful and it was cold!!. It was still fun to go and have a girls night out before baby's arrival.

That Saturday I got my haircut and colored and we met up with our friends Joel and Nicole out at the wineries.  It was the perfect weather for it.

Sunday Bryan and I attended baptism class at church. We both did not expect to be going to the hospital that evening.

36 Weeks

How big is baby this week:  size of a honeydew!

http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/36-weeks-pregnant.aspx?MsdVisit=1



Due Date: November 13, 2012

Weight Gain: Total gain of 16lbs

Symptoms: Braxton hicks, hot most of the time, lots of bathroom trips, tired more, completely indecisive

Sleep: Maybe a little less than I have been but not enough to complain yet or feel exhausted.  However, one thing I can't wait for after baby is born is putting on a pair of normal sweatpants and sleeping for at least an hr all cozied up on my back!

I miss: With the Cardinals in the playoffs I'm kind of missing that I can't have a beer while watching the game. Or with the fall weather being so perfect it would be nice to go out to the wineries for a glass of wine.

I am loving: Post Season Baseball, GO CARDS!! The weather! And LOVED our maternity photo session!



Finally got something put on the wall....love this deer decal!
Still more to put up and need some pop of color.



I am looking forward to: Going to the Cards game on either Thursday or Friday this week with Lauren! Yay, girls night at the ballpark!

Movements: Active as normal and getting bigger! At my doc appointment this week baby girl's head had dropped. The doctor will check progression next week on Tuesday.

Milestones:  Baby will be full term in 7 days! I can't believe it the time has gone by so fast!

It's a....: GIRL!

If you are interested in guessing baby girl's date of birth and how much she will weigh follow the link and fill in your guess.

 http://www.expectnet.com/games/Baby-Emerson


For Reference


Bryan
7 lbs 12 oz
21 in
Born at 10:05 am



Jess
6 lbs 10 oz
20 in
Born at 4:13 am



35 Weeks

How big is baby this week:  size of a coconut!

http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/35-weeks-pregnant.aspx?MsdVisit=1



Due Date: November 13, 2012

Weight Gain: Total gain of 15lbs

Symptoms: Have had an increase in the amount of braxton hicks contractions, hot most of the time, increase in the number of bathroom trips and getting more tired lately with occasional bursts of energy.

Sleep: The past few days I've been sleeping pretty well even without the aid of my pregnancy wedge pillow. More than usual bathroom trips during the night.

I miss: Full night of sleep and my regular comfy clothes.

Things on the to do list:

• Finish decorating baby girl's room
• Get carseat installed
• Finalize song playlist for labor
• Think about packing bags

I am loving: Post Season Baseball, GO CARDS!! The weather has been great. Also, loving how Bryan has been so willing to help make decorating decisions when I've been sooo indecisive and how involved he is with getting things for baby girl.


I am looking forward to: Our maternity photo shoot was last night. Can't wait to see how they turn out. We had them done at Quail Ridge Park. The sky didn't cooperate with sunset so we are going to try and do those on a random day with the photographer.

Movements: I wish I could describe the movements better but she's moving the same as she's been. Very active and very consistently. I definitely can tell she's getting bigger! I really hope she keeps pretty close to her same sleep schedule once she's born as in utero. Getting anxious to see how big she is.

Milestones:  Our next appointment is Monday, October 15th....and the remaining 4 after that are already on the schedule one every week after that until baby girl is here. Can't believe we are already that close!

It's a....: GIRL!

With 5 weeks left I thought it would be fun to set up an online baby pool.....if you are interested in guessing baby girl's date of birth and how much she will weigh follow the link and fill in your guess.

 http://www.expectnet.com/games/Baby-Emerson



Week 34

How big is baby this week:  size of a butternut squash

http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/34-weeks-pregnant.aspx

Due Date: November 13, 2012

Weight Gain: Baby and I are really packing on the pounds now at 14lbs from starting weight. I keep forgetting to take bump photos so this is as good as it gets.

Symptoms: Low back achiness, braxton hicks contractions randomly, warm/hot most of the time, some shortness of breath.  

Sleep: Starting to have trouble sleeping again with hip and back pain and baby does some kicking in the night too.

I miss: Full night of sleep and my regular more comfy clothes.

Things on the to do list:

• Finish decorating baby girl's room
• Get carseat installed
• Finalize song playlist for labor
• Think about packing bags

I am loving: The weather!


I am looking forward to: My mom and dad purchased a photography session for a shower gift so I am in the works of setting up a maternity shoot sometime this month.

Movements: Baby Girl still continues to do a lot of moving around. The family went out last Friday night for happy hour fondue at the Stone Cellar Fondue on Main Street and when they brought out the chocolate baby girl starting kicking up a storm! On Sunday I went to see the new Clint Eastwood baseball movie, Trouble with the Curve with my dad and baby kicked through the whole thing. She's already taking after her momma loving chocolate and baseball! :) 

Milestones:  

• Finally made a decision on crib sheets and on a rocker/glider. We got them in the mail this past week.

• Signed up for the October baptism class at our church

It's a....: GIRL!



A friend/co-worker just gave this to me today engraved with her name