We Love Baylor Frisco

So on monday of this week, after feeding and feeding and feeding, Berkley passed her weight check with flying colors!!!!  She gained 6 oz from that thursday until monday.  After that I went over and visited with the lactation people, and they helped me try to get her latched on again.  She is one high maintance eater.  The good news is my milk supply was on its way back up and we did not have to do any formula.So we know i'm producing enough milk, now its time to get her to connect with me instead of a bottle so that the pump doesn't have to follow me at all times!  After I met with them, I took Berkley to go see some of our nurses from the hospital.  I LOVE THAT PLACE! they have been so helpful and i could not have asked for a better experience there.  they've called me to check on me, they've called to check on her, they've provided me with a ton of info, their lactation people are incredible.  a part of me really misses that place and some of the nurses.  i really connected with some of them and they were such a big part of one of the greatest experiences of my life!  i could go on and on about them, love them.  they are hands down the best hospital for labor and delivery in my opinion.

overall we've had a pretty uneventful, relaxing week.  this is the first week i've really been "home alone".  i will admit that the days go by pretty slow and i really look forward to when brian gets home.  im' getting used to being home and trying to get myself and berkley into a routine.  berkley is doing much better at night and letting me go 3 hour stretches of sleep!  gone are the days when i looked forward to 8 hours, i just want 3 and i'm happy! :)

now that i am caught up, i promise to do at least one post a week with pictures.........we'll see if i can keep up with you bloggers! :)

labor story part 2

we were discharged from the hospital on monday 11/23.  we were in no hurry to get out of there, TRUST ME :).  we took our time getting ready, talked to the nurses about what to do when we got home, and took our time getting things situated.  the first night home wasn't as bad as everyone made it sound to be.  brian's parents were in town and his mom was a huge help around the house.  brian and i just worked to get things organized.  i bet we moved things around a dozen times before we found something that "worked'.  we eventually ended up with a bassinet in our room with a little changing table set up in there, and a pack n play downstairs so we have something when we are down there.  she doesn't seem to mind where she sleeps or gets changed! :)

for those few days, we just took it easy, loved on her, and enjoyed time to relax away from the hospital.  we had visitors pop in which was nice, and took things one hour at a time. she was sleeping alot, not fussy, and overall a very happy baby.

wednesday the 25th, we went in for her jaundice check up.  they sent us over to the nursery to get her levels checked and said that if they were too high we were headed to the hospital for phototherapy.  i prayed and prayed this would not happen, but when the dr called me after lunch, my heart broke.  she told me her level was at an 18 and really the only option to help out miss berkley with the jaundice was to be admitted into the hospital for at least 24 hours of phototherapy.  i cried and cried and cried.  my emotions were all over the place.  while i wanted what was best for her, i DID NOT want to go to the hospital again, nor did i want to be away from family on thanksgiving day.  brian and i got a bag together quickly and headed to plano presby because the sooner we got there the sooner we could start the treatment and be done.  little did i know it would be the worst experience EVER.........the registration people were terrible, the first nurse we had was AWFUL, and it was so hard to watch berkley lay under that light.  we could only get her out for 30 minutes to feed every 3 hours.  30 minutes was all i got to hold her!!!!!!  her diaper changes had to be done under the light and she had to wear these goggles to protect her eyes from the light.  i was MISERABLE. she actually seemed content under the light and didn't seem to mind it, so the more i watched, the more i felt ok that she was there.  i could go on and on but there is no sense in getting worked up about it!

bottom line is we were discharged on thanksgiving day about 4pm and were able to enjoy that thanksgiving evening with family away from that place.  we had to go back to the dr that next morning for  check and the dr thought she looked good and was happy with her levels so we didn't have to have her poor little heel pricked again and we were good to go.  the rest of the jaundice would slowly make its way out of her system from there on out.

this brought us to her 1 week birthday and wow, what a week!  i was emotionally drained and brian was exhausted.  who know one little baby could suck the life and energy out of you so quickly :) 

thankfully, brian's mom was sticking around to help me when he went back to work.  i took one day at a time and tried to get in a routine.  brians mom cooked meals for us and helped pick up around the house.  HUGE help, cause i have no idea how i would have done it on my own!  we got out of the house at least once a day which helped, and she helped me with my christmas decorations.

on thursday of that week, i took berkley to the dr because her eye had so much JUNK in it she couldn't open it.  they put her on an antibiotic and cleared it up.  the bigger issue was she had only gained 1 oz in a week.  she was supposed to be gaining an OZ A DAY.  i became super stressed and went to talk to the lactation people at the hospital and they helped me a little.  to beef up her eating, i had to start pumping and bottle feeding....now onto other issues........she is a high maintance eater!!!!!!  we will get there i know, and i'm trying not to be too stressed about it.  there is always formula.......

where did the time go? my labor story

today, december 4th, was my original due date for miss berkley, and 2 weeks ago was when i was writing about going into labor........so sorry i never gave updates.  i can't believe its already been 2 weeks...........sooooooooooooooooooooo much has happened since then. 

my labor was so easy compared to stories i've heard and expectations i had set for myself.  that night, they started me on cervadil (sp?) at 5pm and said they would leave it in for 12 hours (i'll spare you the details).  they explained to me that it mainly just helps ripen your cervix to prepare for the dilation, and very rarely does it actually put anyone in active labor.  they told me to get some rest and that i'd be having a baby the next morning..........ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! REST?!?!?!  how in the world was i supposed to get rest?  the anxiety of what was going to happen took over me and all i could think about was that i was acatully going to have the baby i had been carrying around for 38 weeks.  we were going to be parents!  they brought in an extra bed for brian and he didn't seem to have a very hard time going to sleep.  i was hooked up to monitors and the nurses checked on me often.  at about 3am when the nurse came in to check on me, i had told her that i wanted a "night before belly shot" and she so kindly took a pic of me with the oh so nice sleeping husband background. :)

at 4am the nurse came in and checked on my pain level.  i wasn't feeling any pain.  she said that she was seeing some pretty intense contractions close together and told me to let her know if i was ready for my epidural.  contractions?!?!?!?!  i had no idea i was even haveing a contraction.  i mean my lower back sort of hurt, but i thought it was the awful bed and the position they had me sleeping in so they could have the monitor on my contractions and my babies heartrate. 

at 5am, they came in and took out my cervadil.  i had thinned to 75% and was dilated to about a 3. said they could not start pitocin for an hour so i got up and showered to pass the time and try to relax.  i still couldn't believe that i was going to have a baby........

they came in at 6 and started the pitocin on the lowest level possible and planned on easing into it slowly to see how me and the baby reacted.  the dr had planned on coming in around 10 to break my water and said we would most likey have a baby after lunch/early afternoon.

i was laying in bed trying to take it all in and brian and i were just kind of chatting about what was going to take place.  i started to feel some heavier cramping and could sort of tell something was going on.  at exactly 6:28.......i felt this huge release of pressure (almost like a pop) and then a gush of fluid........and more fluid.......and more fluid.  i looked at brian and said "i'm pretty sure my water just broke, go tell the nurse".  he went and got the nurse, and sure enough, my water had broke on its own.  immediately pain level increased and i was ready for the epidural. 

the epidural was in place at 6:58......oh so nice.  more power to the women who do that junk without the epidural.  no one should have to go through that amount of pain willingly!  i was feeling pretty good once the epidural was in place and i layed there during i suppose some pretty intense contractions.  at roughly 8:00 i told my nurse that i was feeling quite a bit of pressure and that i felt the need to push.  she looked at me like "there's no way, its not time yet" and then checked my status.  right when she started to do the exam, she looked at me, smiled, and said "there's her head.  you are at a 9 1/2, don't push yet, i need to call your dr."

dr or no dr, i was ready!!!!!  she let me go ahead and start pushing so i could practice and i'm not going to lie..........it was one of the hardest things i've ever had to do.  i took several 15 minute breaks while waiting on my dr, and when she arrived we were ready to deliver our baby girl.

at 10:03, berkley made her appearance.  there are no words to describe the emotions that poured out of brian and i during that second.  brian was amazing during that whole experience and we just cried and kept saying i can't believe she's finally here.  it was so nice to see her sweet face, hear that cry, and hold her in my arms for the first time.  you cant describe a love like that.

i was so thankful it went as fast as it did.  my nurses were incredible.  brian was a trooper.  berkley was precious!!!!!

the days that followed were very long.  eventually that saturday, my adrenaline wore off and i was exhausted!  my body was so focued on getting her here, i didn't really ever stop to think of the toll it would take on my body and how sore i would be!  ALL modesty went out the window.  i actually looked forward to the nurses helping me go to the bathroom!

to be continued..........it's time for me to feed the princess and i should probably get a quick nap in as well!