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Monday, August 9, 2010

She's Here!

Wow, what a ride that pregnancy was! Now that she's been out of me for three weeks, the memories of that tough pregnancy are already fading.

Of course, what tough pregnancy would be complete without a tough delivery? Here's my birth story:

Friday, July 16th was my due date and nothing was happening so my OB swept my membranes to try to stir things up. She then sent me to L&D for a non-stress test because my blood pressure was up. I was contracting every 10 minutes in the hospital, but they weren't productive so they sent me home. The next day (Sat.) my doc's office called and asked me to come in since I wasn't in labor yet. So I went in and the midwife (a friend of mine) swept my membranes again, this time very vigorously and announced that she'd see me tonight because I had major bloody show and contracted on the table. Sure enough, I started to contract regularly that afternoon, every 10 minutes and getting uncomfortable. At 9:00 that night I was lying on my side and felt a pop. I got up and went to the bathroom to check if my water broke, but nothing came out. So I went back to bed and 15 minutes later felt a GUSH. Luckily I was able to get out of bed before ruining the mattress! Then, when I was cleaning up I saw that the fluid was not clear as I had expected, but greenish. Knew this meant meconium, so I called my midwife and was told to go straight to the hospital. We packed up Miya, dropped her off at a friend's, and got to the hospital about an hour later. By then I was contracting every 10 minutes, but they were painful.

In the hospital, I kept going every 10 minutes, with no change, so they told me to prepare for a long night and recommended I try Morphine to get some sleep and calm the uterus. They called it a Morphine Induction. Then the on call OB walked in and tried to talk me out of a VBAC and onto his OR table! I was so crushed, because my OB was not there to support me and being afraid of the unknown, I was having second thoughts. But then my midwife came in and reminded me why I wanted to VBAC and told me there was no reason I couldn't still go for it and that renewed our faith. Then she went and fought with the OB and basically took responsibility for me herself and kicked him off my case! That woman has balls!!!

So I woke up from my morphine stupor having not slept much, feeling every contraction. But they were still 10 minutes apart, and we were getting discouraged because we were on the clock from my ruptured membranes. I told the nurses I was sick of being in bed and stuck on monitors and that I needed to walk to get things going. They agreed to put me on wireless monitors and let me walk the halls. Within 5 minutes, I was contracting every 2 minutes and they were very painful!!! That marked the start of hard labor, which got worse and worse, until I was having two contractions on top of each other and very little break between. I made it four hours before I started talking about the epidural. My midwife checked me and I was only at 4cm, so  agreed to go another two hours to try to get to 6cm. Well, after an hour I was a crazy woman and both Siena and I were both tachycardic, so they agreed to do the epidural. She then check me and I'd gone from 4cm to 6-7cm in that hour! One hour after the epidural I was fully dilated and ready to push. For some reason the epidural blocked much of the pain, but none of the pressure, so I was able to feel my contractions and know when to push and she crowned in less than an hour! Then it got suddenly painful and I guess she was stuck at the crowning phase. I had to balance pushing gently, but effectively enough to get her out - it was so intense and much more painful than I expected given the epidural. But finally, she came out, with her hand up by her face and the cord wrapped around her neck three times and once around her body! Because of her hand position, I tore in two places and bruised my tailbone. She came out blue and quiet, but within a few seconds on her way to the warming table, we heard that first cry. They had the NICU and a pediatrician and all these support people in there - as well as the grumpy anti-VBAC doc, who was told to sit in a chair for the birth (haha). It was quite a crowd! It took forever to get me stitched, and I didn't have the distraction of a baby on my belly because they were checking her out to make sure she had no meconium in her lungs, so I just chatted with my midwife friend while she stitched me back together.

It was such a scary and intense experience, but I'm so glad we did it. The whole time I was in recovery, people kept stopping in and saying "So YOU'RE the successful VBAC...great job!". I felt like super woman!

 Recovery has been slow, but much better than the c-section.  Hoping to feel like "me" again by that six week mark!

And here she is!!! Welcome Siena Michaela!

Friday, July 16, 2010

40 Weeks - The Due Date

So here we are. Never thought I'd go all the way to the due date (and beyond?)! Made a little progress in the last week. Now standing at 2-3cm, mostly effaced and -1 station. That's one LOW baby! Still pretty miserable, but fighting the urge to cry c-section! As it is, we're scheduled for July 21st if things don't happen naturally. That's five days away! The OB said she's not sure I'll make it past the weekend, so here's hoping!!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

39 weeks - Get her out of me already!

I'm done. My head hurts all the time, I'm swollen up like Fred Flinstone, my blood pressure keeps rising and one of my midwives (the one I don't really care for, but always wind up having to see) keeps telling me I'm fine...I wanna smack that look of false sympathy right off her smug face!

I've been dilated to 1cm for three weeks, about 30% effaced and baby is low. This means I'm walking around feeling as if I'm supporting a bowling ball in my pelvis! With 3-5 trips a night to the bathroom, sound sleep has become a distant memory, and with Gabe at work and no school or camp to occupy Miya, I am ON duty all day long...so no naps for mama. Not that I'm being a super mommy or anything. Poor kid is sitting out on this beautiful summer with me, missing all the fun activities we'd normally be doing. Oye, the guilt....!

On the plus side, I've had two contractions since writing this entry - but I'm told that since they are not painful, they are not doing anything. Lost the rest of my plug (I know, you were dying to ehar this news) this morning, so that should mean I go any day now!

Here's a couple of pics of my "growth". Weight gain stands at 38 pounds (oops) and yes, that means I am heavier than Gabe - sweet. Hopefully, the next post will be MUCH HAPPIER!

Friday, June 18, 2010

36 weeks - ready to go!

Things seem to be falling into place perfectly this time around! Baby is head down and in position, Group B Strep is negative (was positive with Miya), and I'm already dilated 1cm! I'm feeling large and tired, but good and encouraged that I'll be successful with this VBAC.

Here's the belly - not too much bigger this week, but I've dropped a bit!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

34+ weeks...growth spurt!

Anemia, low platelets, swollen feet, oh my. Still trucking along!

Here's the latest belly shot - I've grown!!

Friday, May 21, 2010

32 Weeks - Home Stretch!

I don't remember already feeling DONE with pregnancy by this time with Miya, but I am SO there! I'm a mess of hip pain, rib pain, night time potty runs, and exhaustion. And at 23 pounds weight gain, I'm heavier than I've ever been in my life and closing in on Gabe's weight rapidly! Let's face it, I'm not a happy, glowy preggo by any stretch of the imagination. So thank goodness I have a maximum of 8 weeks left being pregnant for my entire life! Notice, I'm not even leaving the possibility of going past due open - uh uh, not going to happen!

As for the Hyperemesis (Oh yeah, this is an HG blog!), the nausea has crept back in a bit, but is still well controlled with my meds. Still taking small doses of Zofran, as well as nightly Unisom and B6 - which is thankfully helping me to sleep and fall back asleep after the many potty runs.

Well, here's my belly in all its glory. Just about time to make that belly cast (Gabe got me a kit for Christmas)!!!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

28 week belly shot





Almost time for some formal preggo photos. I need to figure out how to arrange and shoot my own preggo session!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Everchanging

Gabe: Well Karen's been keeping up on the evolving (and new) conditions, and I had to be reminded that it's been forever since I chimed in here... I fell off from posting as Karen was coming out of the worst of the HG, but of course the Zofran has been a steady part of everyday life even this many weeks beyond the really bad days. Even with an HG pregnancy, after the HG has eased up a bit, there's still the regular challenges of cooking up a baby in the baby oven, and of course Karen doesn't have it easy on any front.

But focusing on HG for a minute, it's amazing to realize how bad it really can be. Everything that's ailing her now seems almost trivial by comparison... and they're not at all trivial of course. Looking back and remembering the misery she dealt with on a daily basis is kind of shocking. It was so normal for so long, but only after it's behind you do you realize the severity of it all. Even with the better medication/control and better planning, it still wrecked her. Anyway, in a twisted sort of way, I welcome the current problems because they're at least a little bit more 'normal'. Not that she's on easy street.

Eh, I wish there was more positive stuff to be posting about. There are some really cool things going on; early interactions with Karen's living belly, kicks and headbutts... talking to Siena, and knowing that she can hear me... just laying my hands across Karen's stomach, skin on skin, makes me so happy. OK, so there are positive things to post about, but it almost feels contrary to the theme of this blog. Maybe that's the point though; something really really wonderful is coming, all misery aside, and I hope Karen will feel as rewarded for her troubles with pregnancy #2 as she has been with Miya. I know she will be. 

27 weeks, hormones and SPD

Karen: So I'm right on the cusp of the third trimester...Hallelujah! It's all downhill from here, but hopefully it's a quick ride. Lil' Miss Siena (have I mentioned her name yet?) is hanging in there, getting in her daily aerobics and responding to the voices of Mommy, Daddy and Miya. She startles when a loud and unfamiliar noise happens, so we know the girl can hear! At my last OB visit, my doctor told me she's head down...good girl. No c-sections this time, baby!

Ok, so you've seen me through the HG, which was mild this time and for the most part has passed. Then there was the tachycardia, which seems to be settling down a bit these days, though there are still triggers, namely showers and stress. And now there's...get ready for it...SPD. Short for Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, SPD is a condition where the hormone Relaxin, which is responsible for increasing flexibility and preparing the birth canal to stretch and give, goes a little overboard and allows your pelvis to misalign and even sometimes start to separate at the pubic bone. This is my new gripe, and it SUCKS! I've been waddling for a few weeks now, but its starting to get ridiculous. I can't lift a leg to get a sock on, shave or even climb out of bed. The wrong move sees me writhing in pain with hip or round ligament cramps, and my pubic bone feels like its been in a car wreck. Apparently, if I don't start some PT or Chiro treatments soon, I could find myself on crutches for the last few weeks of this...adventure. JOY! Luckily, my PT bro-inlaw is coming up this weekend to visit and I'm gonna put him to work!

And then there are the hormones. Oh lord, the emotions!! I'm not typically an emotional gal. I prefer to do my crying in private. When I watch a tear jerker, I usually pretend I've got dust in my eye...even in front of Gabe! I dunno why, I just don't like feeling vulnerable. But these darn hormones are making it so hard to keep the emotions in check! Anything can set me off, even something as simple and mundane as Miya calling me "Mommy"! Doesn't matter if I'm happy, sad or sentimental...the water works are bubbling up, just waiting to find a crack in my emotional wall. I wonder what will finally send me over the edge?

So there's where I am right now. Will post a new belly pic next week, and I'll even try to get some "Alien" moments on video - those are always a kick to watch (get it? Kick?)! Until then, go out and enjoy a nice long walk for me, 'cause I sure as heck 'aint gonna!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Friday, March 26, 2010

24 weeks, feeling kicks up by the ribs!

Oh happy day, I've hit viability! I have a complete, albeit tiny, little person squirming around in my belly. She's just about 1 pound and about 12 inches long. Tiny and perfect.

The heart stuff is still bugging me. But all the tests are done and I will learn the results next week. We are hoping this is just a "normal" condition of pregnancy and that it will pass as I near the third trimester.

We've been wrapped up in a cross town move all week, which will finally be complete tomorrow when the furniture arrives. The new place is bigger, brighter and has a fabulous backyard which sits at the base of a grassy hill covered in eucalyptus trees. Located in a small culdesac, we've already met many of our neighbors and everyone has been welcoming and warm. What a great place to grow into a family of four!!

If you can't tell by my tone, I am on cloud nine these days. Cheerful in a way that I hardly recognize! My good mood has gotten me though this period of physical ailments and is keeping me hopeful that my body will just give in to this pregnancy and make room for baby without any more added pressure on my organs, bones and joints.

Pics to come...

Friday, March 12, 2010

Another byproduct of HG? Or am I lucky enough to have another miserable issue?!

Karen: So I've hit 22 weeks now and am thrilled to be more than halfway through, but I gotta say - this pregnancy thing is for the birds!!

If I'm not feeling pukey, then I'm throwing out my hip, or struggling to breath, or experiencing tachycardia! I've had a couple of near fainting episodes that I had chalked up to anemia or low blood pressure. Well, it turns out neither are my issue - it's my heart! My resting heart rate at today's OB appointment was 104. Normally it's 68. During pregnancy, it was expected to get up to about 80 or so. So 104 is pretty fast, and I FEEL it! And this is at rest, if I try to say - make the bed - I feel as if I've just finished a kick boxing class. 

So next week, I'll be seeing a cardiologist for an ekg and possible home monitoring of my heart activity. My OB says there's not much they do to treat it, and I'll most likely have to learn to live with it while preggo and avoid anything that triggers it. UGH. I'm not sure what more I can avoid! I'm practically on bed rest as it is.

C'mon July! C'mon July!!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

20 weeks: halfway there!

Karen: Boy, I've neglected this blog a bit, haven't I? I guess its because I'm doing much better and am out and about more! 16 weeks proved to be my magic number once again and since then I've been having more good days, more often. I am still medicated however, and may need to be for the duration of the pregnancy, but I'm on such low doses that I really don't mind.

I've learned quickly though, that although I don't feel as green these days, I'm not totally out of the woods. I've had several near-fainting episodes and have developed some pretty annoying heart and breathing issues. Waiting on blood work results to see what may be the cause. Speaking of blood work, I had my lovely 1 hour glucose tolerance test today! They had me drink this awful super sweet orange flavored, room temperature, non-carbonated syrup (10oz. of it!) and then I had to sit still for an hour with 50 grams of glucose wreaking havoc on my stomach and nerves before getting blood drawn. Normally, this test is done between 24-27 weeks, but since I'm having these funky fainting issues, my dr. decided to test me early. Glad to have it over with and crossing my fingers I won't need to go in for the dreaded 3 hour test (100 grams of glucose and FOUR blood draws in three hours!!)!

We've got a lot in store for us over the next month or so. First, a trip to New Orleans for a wedding. Then, the following weekend, a move to the next town over. And after that some greatly anticipated house guests! Hopefully, this means that time will pick up the pace a bit as we trudge closer and closer towards baby time!

So here's my 20 week belly. Feeling pretty big already, but know I have a LONG way to go!!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Hitting 16 weeks, a scare and great news!

Karen: So I've finally reached the point where things turned around in my last pregnancy. Of course, last time my relief was due to a course of hard core steroids. This time, I seem to have naturally come out of the worst of it! Although I still require medication and still have an odd green day, things are certainly looking up and my energy is beginning to return.  Gabe is officially back at work full time and the adjustment has been tough, but not impossible.

Last week we had a bit of a scare. I went to the bathroom in the middle of the day and found that I was bleeding and passing small clots. I was terrified, but had to keep it somewhat together since I was home alone with Miya. A phone call to my OB's office didn't ease my mind. I happened to speak with the only person in the office who doesn't know me and she was less than reassuring, saying to this terrified mama, "Geez, at 16 weeks its tough, there's really nothing that could be done..." and "We can't get you in today, you'll have to call the perinatologists in the morning to schedule an ultrasound". OMG! So I had to manage my heart palpitations alone until Gabe got home. The next morning we were lucky enough to get a fairly early appointment for a scan. They managed to rule out anything scary and concluded that it was most likely an isolated incident and was not a dangerous bleed. PHEW!

The silver lining of the whole experience? We got to take a peek at Pumpkin's "junk"! I was able to discern immediately that we are expecting a baby GIRL!! Of course, I had the ultrasound tech confirm it and we fell instantly in love. We surprised Miya with the news that evening over some fro-yo and she is beyond thrilled.

Here are some slightly overdue shots of my 16 week belly and the little girl scan. I guess I'm running on the slightly large side, because two people have told me in the last couple of days that I look a bit further along than I am. Thank you for that, total stranger and my doctor!

 
  
 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Coming out on the other side...

Gabe: Well, Karen's almost coming out on the other side. There doesn't seem to be any actual or predictable end to the HG, but it has felt more and more under control over the last few weeks. It's almost like she's beaten it, except of course that any pull-back at all of the nausea meds will instantly throw her back into misery. Or it'll fire up a migraine. We all agree at this point that the preemptive medication made all the difference in the world this time around. We started ahead of the HG, and have mostly stayed ahead of it.

And having a (you could call it) tame encounter with HG this time really puts the first pregnancy in perspective. Karen's caregivers in San Diego 7 years ago did all they could, but they didn't really know what they were dealing with. All OBs, Midwives etc. should be trained specifically and thoroughly in HG, if the standard isn't already in place.

So the back-to-work conversation is now hanging in the air, but hasn't been tackled just yet. It will be hard to make the switch back because Karen's not really going to feel good until after the delivery. She's feeling better, but it's all so relative. All this excitement and relief is great, but she's still only able to do basic stuff for short periods of time, and one missed dose of meds means a guaranteed setback. I see it as the pendulum swinging back towards something close to normal; after a shorter but still trying HG journey. We've all gotten really comfortable with the work-from-home arrangement though, so even once the HG is sufficiently under control, we'll have a major readjustment to contend with.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Graduated to once a month visits

Karen: Nearly 15 weeks now, trucking along...SLOWLY. Still having green moments here and there, but mostly just exhausted, having lost all stamina to the 10 weeks of sedentary life.

Saw my OB today. The nurse called me "sparkly" - so maybe I'm starting to glow a little bit? She says I only need to come every four weeks now, which officially takes me out of the high risk category! Well, that is until the end of the pregnancy when my VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) attempt puts me back into the high risk category. We discussed attempting the VBAC and the risks. I was surprised to learn that I would be on a sort of time limit for labor (14 hours) and that she'd use pitocin to speed things up if needed. Not really thrilled about that as I wanted things to go as naturally as possible. Pitocin pretty much guarantees the use of an epidural. Ah well, whatever it takes to avoid the dreaded c-section again!

Not much else to report. Gender prediction happens in less than a month!! Until then, just counting down the days...

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Test Results - Looking Good!

Karen: We got a call from our genetic counselor today with the results of my bloodwork last week.  We already felt pretty good about things considering how well our ultrasound went, but hearing the actual numbers put things in such a comforting perspective! Our chances of having a child with Down's Syndrome are 1 in 12,000 (average for a 31 year old is 1 in 909) and our risk for Trisomy 18 is 1 in 57,000 (normally, 1 in 2385). Those numbers are about as good as it gets!

On the HG front, all is pretty much the same. Eating is a struggle, but I manage to find enough foods to get down and even some variety. Drinking has become much easier as my thirst has really increased the last couple of weeks. Meds are keeping my nausea in check and I'm slowly starting to feel stronger and more energetic. We've been trying small outings to lunch, or the store the last week or so in order for me to build up some stamina before Gabe returns to work in the city.

On one of those said outings today, to Miya's ballet class, I got to experience the first "I didn't know you were pregnant!".  Apprently, I've moved beyond the "Is she fat or pregnant?" look and into the clearly preggo look! Woo hoo! Either that, or this lady had some cajones!! Regardless, it was nice to get to share it with the world a bit. Now, if only I'd start to glow!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

"Almost" 13 weeks!

Karen: Second Trimester starts tomorrow!! Even though this means nothing in terms of how I feel (pukey, thanks for asking), its a major milestone for me. I can relax a bit about losing this very much wanted pregnancy. I can look forward to less green days in the (hopefully) near future. And I will finally start to look pregnant!

On the HG front, I have slid back a bit. Was pretty much the most nauseated I've ever been this morning, but managed to keep it all in. I'm having to up my constipating med dosage again, which is a bummer. But hey, I never really liked pooping anyway. :) I've realized that it was just wishful thinking that I was coming out of it at 11-12 weeks.  It was too soon, and I should have known better than to get all excited.

On a much happier note; we had our Nuchal Translucency ultrasound today. Everything looks perfect!! Baby has all limbs, heart rate was a strong 160 beats, got some great pics of Pumpkin's profile, and even a VERY early estimate at gender (which we are not disclosing yet, because the doctor said she was not even close to sure)! Had a brief fibroid scare again, and again it turned out to be unfounded. I was contracting pretty strongly when they started the scan, so it appeared that I had a mass on my uterus. But after some rest on my side and allowing my bladder to fill a bit more, the contraction lifted and showed everything to be normal again. Whew!

Here are a couple of pics. One of cutie pie's face, which we swear already looks like Miya's profile. The other is a 6 day late 12 week belly pic. As you can see, I'm plumping up!