Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Maggie Rose, Neala Kate & Aiden Grace
Maggie and I went to my best friend Kristin's house for a play date this morning. Though Neala (3 1/2 months) and Maggie were totally unaware of what was going on, Aiden (2 1/2) had a really good time being the big helper! Aiden is the best big sister (aside from Piper, of course :)) and when I joked that I was taking Neala home with me, she looked at me and said "Don't take my Neala home. You take Maggie home!" 
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Happy Two Months, Baby Girl!
Maggie weighs 9 pounds, 5 ounces and is 21 1/4" long. She's definitely going to be a shrimpster! 15th% for both height and weight - too cute. :) She had her shots and man, did she EVER scream. Yikes. Real tears and everything.
Oh, and she has another ear infection. For those keeping track, that would be #4. Fun, fun, fun!
Her next appointment is with the ENT guy at UIHC on the 22nd. We'll be discussing tubes then. Bummer!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Piper and Maggie
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Time For The WHOLE Story
Okay, it's not as dramatic as all that but when I first posted about Maggie's arrival, I was just so happy to have her home safe and sound that I didn't feel like getting into all the not so happy stuff. Six weeks later, I'm in a whole new place and feeling very good about everything so I figured it was time to tell my nearest and dearest what's been going on with our precious baby girl.
As I said before, she was born at 11:28 on Saturday, August 2nd. Due to low blood sugar and a low temp, she was in the nursery for the next 24 hours. Meaning, I didn't get to really look at her or hold her until the next morning. That was freaking brutal, let me tell you. Ryan went to the nursery frequently and took pictures of her and I actually handled the whole thing surprisingly well. I knew that being hysterical and bawling all over the place wouldn't do anyone any good. Besides, I had my own issues to deal with. I suffered from anemia from almost day one of my pregnancy and my pre-op iron level was at a 7. Yeah, that's pretty darn low. My doctor was *this* close to giving me a transfusion but she decided to wait it out and see how I was after the surgery. I'm just now starting to feel better; not as many headaches or dizzy spells. The day after Maggie was born, I almost passed out which was INSANE. I've never experienced anything like that before and, thankfully, I haven't since.
When I finally got to hold my sweet girl, it was only to have the lactation consultant slap her right on my boob. All I wanted was to LOOK at her. Count her fingers and toes, see whose nose she had, look into her eyes. I was pretty bummed that that wasn't the case but I knew that if I were going to nurse, I needed to get started. Well, it was a complete bust. We spent almost an hour trying to get her to latch on. It was awful and I finally just said "Stop! Let's just continue with the bottle feeding and let her be." Ugh, it was so frustrating!
I figured out Monday morning why she wasn't able to latch on: she has a cleft palate. Not the lip, just her soft palate. You can't see it unless she's crying or yawning really big and it just looks like an arch at the back of her throat. That explained everything! Sucking is very, very difficult when that hole breaks up the cycle of pulling in the formula, etc. She'll get the momentum and then lose it when she hits the hole.
We took her to an otolaryngologist on that Thursday and he confirmed that she does indeed have a cleft and will need surgery when she's about a year old. We got special nipples that have made all the difference and she's gaining weight like a pro! As of yesterday, she's 8 lbs, 10 oz! Yay, Maggie!
The crappiest part of the cleft is that she's way more susceptible to ear infections. She's in the midst of her second one right now. She'll probably have to get tubes within the next few months but we've been expecting that. She also had yet to pass her hearing test but seeing as she's had an ear infection nonstop, that's not too surprising. We go back on October 22nd for another test - fingers crossed she passes! I also scheduled her palate repair surgery for August 13th. It's so weird planning for something so far in advance but Dr. Canady is a busy, busy man. :)
I feel like I just rambled through all of that but I'm at work and am trying to actually get stuff done. Ha ha!
OH!! Piper started preschool last week!! She's such a big girl, I can't even believe it. She loves it and I think it'll be so good for her. If you want to check out where she's going, click here.
That's all for now! I hope to be better about posting but until our computer is fixed, that will probably prove to be a bit difficult.
Much love to everyone!
K
Friday, September 5, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Introducing Maggie Amelia Rose!!
I'm finally able to post! Our sweet baby girl is already 9 days old and has captured the hearts of all of us. The days in the hospital are still a blur of tears, frustration, pain and joy, and I think it'll be awhile before I'm able to piece it all together and put into words. So, I'll just stick to the basics:
She was born at 11:28 a.m. (via repeat c-section) and weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces. She was 17.5" long and looked JUST like Piper.
Now that we're home, we're getting our groove and she's doing well with feeding/sleeping. She goes about 3 hours between feedings so things are going pretty well. My mom ROCKS and has been at our place everyday since we've been home, and will be here until the end of the week. It should be interesting being home with both girls all day but I'm feeling good enough physically that I don't think it'll be a problem. The recovery from the c-section has been SO much better this time around, and I'm assuming that's because I'm basically forced to be up and about. I can't just lay in bed all day.
Time for pictures!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Another Great NST!
Miss Maggie did well today and though I had some killer contractions (good GOD!), all looked as it should. Ultrasound and cervical check on Saturday. Woo hoo!
I'm Still Here!
Sorry I went totally MIA for a bit there. The past few weeks have been insane and I haven't been at work much, which means no internet access. Since I last posted, I've had 5 NSTs and 3 ultrasounds - needless to say, I'm just a BIT sick of the hospital. My amniotic fluid is the reason behind all the testing and although it's "very" borderline, we're still hanging in there. As of last Tuesday's in depth growth scan, Miss Maggie was estimated at 6 pounds, 10 ounces! That's my girl!
I had a few very dark days there - just feeling really, really low - but I pulled myself out of that funk and have started to focus all my energy on Maggie and getting her here safely. It hit me all of a sudden that I will NOT be pregnant forever (though some days it really does feel like I will be!) and that Maggie WILL be here no later than next Thursday. There *is* a light at the end of the tunnel!
I have another NST this afternoon at 1:00 and another u/s Saturday morning at 8:30 to check the AFI (amniotic fluid index) again so we shall see.
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In MUCH happier news, I'm thrilled to congratulate the Brown Family on their new addition!!! Samantha Quinn Brown was born yesterday morning at 10:05 and weighed in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces! Congrats to Katy, Matt, Cooper & Madelyn!!! I can't wait to meet Sweet Sam!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Yet Another Eventful Appointment
I had my 36 week appointment this morning, which was a good thing because I started feeling very "off" yesterday afternoon. Lots of pressure, lots of cramping, and horrible back pain. Because of all of that, I asked for an internal (not routine until 37 or 38 weeks). Well, lo and behold, I'm dilated 2cm and am 50% effaced. Along with that, I had protein in my urine (possible sign of Pre-Eclampsia) and *another* bladder infection. I'm now on another 5-day round of Macrobid and then on "suppression" until I deliver.
Because of the protein, I was sent to the hospital for an NST (non stress test). I was there for 2 hours and both Maggie and I did well. My BP has always been very low and today was no different; she somehow managed to fall off the radar a few times so the nurses had to readjust the monitor. One of them said "Boy, she's already a handful, huh?" Um, yeah, kinda. I was sent home with a jug to collect my urine for 24 hours, which I will then take back to the lab.
Ryan almost had a heart attack when I said "dilated" on the phone but honestly, in the grand scheme of the entire day, that wasn't even a blip and was never brought up again. I could be stuck there until the end so I won't be getting my hopes up. Oh, and when I was hooked up, I could feel what I thought were contractions but the doc comes in and says "I see you aren't having any contractions so that's good." I almost laughed myself off the bed. All I have to say it, to all you women who have experienced REAL contractions, you have my sympathy and love. These HURT - maybe I'm just a pansy? Ha ha.
While I'm not on bedrest, per se, I've been instructed to take it as easy as possible, keep my feet up and get plenty of rest. Tell that to my 4-year-old!
So, that's that. I will update as soon as I hear from my doc, which I hope will be Thursday-ish.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Some Pics From the 4th
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