A Girl and Her Teddy Bear--2 Months

Baby girl is 2 months old already.  Where the time goes, I never know! It's been a good month.  The weather's (kind of) changing, Sam has gotten used to having baby around so there have been less gauging eyes out and hitting, and Maya's just as perfect as she's always been!

*Edit* As of her 2 month appointment, Maya weighs 11 lbs 10 oz.  

Sam had to get in on the action

I put Maya down to go upload the photos and Samantha brought the teddy next to her and also put the blanket on her so "she doesn't get cold!" What a dear sister she is!

Maya definitely smiles a lot more now.  Daddy can get her to smile (and even do a little giggle) the best by doing bicycle legs with her.  She loves that!

She's starting to have a lot to say.  Her little coos melt my heart.  I love this part of this age.  I love how she's starting to interact with us.  It's so sweet.  

Maya's still a great sleeper, only eating once during the night.  She typically goes to sleep for the night any time between 8-9 and I'll dream feed her at 10:30-11.  Then, she'll wake up at 3-4 and then not wake for the morning until 7.  It's pretty doable.  She's also stopped needing me to put her soother in all the time throughout the night.  Occasionally, she'll wake up prematurely, so I'll just stick it in there and go back to bed.  

We switched her to her bassinet at 6 weeks and she made the transition beautifully.  In fact, she sleeps better there than anywhere.  

She has put herself to sleep since we brought her home and that is very helpful.  I just swaddle her and put her down with her soother and she just drifts off to sleep by herself.  Love it.  

She's still eating every 3-31/2 hours, which is very helpful for me.  It means I can get a lot of things done, which has helped with my mental health!!

Trip to Costco!

She's getting really good at holding her head up, so I thought I'd try her in the Boba carrier.  

First time in the bumbo.

Sisters

It got warm for a whole of 2 days, and we very much took advantage of it. (It's snowing as I type...)

Outfit courtesy of my mom.  So adorable. 

Had to get a closeup of these adorable shoes.  You can't tell because Maya's feet are still too small, but they're little sandals.  It's supposed to be a little peek-a-boo shoe.  

We're hoping the weather goes back to being nice so we can spend more time in the sunshine!  

6 Weeks

Baby Maya is 6 weeks old.  She and I had our last appointment with the midwife yesterday.  She weighed 10 lbs, 5.5 oz.  That's almost 3 lbs since birth and almost 1 lb heavier than her sister at this age!!

Maya started following objects (usually just our eye/faces) around 4 weeks, which also meant that she started smiling around then too!  So adorable.

Her head is getting stronger.  She's still a floppy little thing though.  I love that!

I don't know if it's legit, but I also don't know what else to call it, but when she was (I think) 3 weeks old, she would roll over from her tummy to her back when we put her for tummy time.  It seems really young, so I don't know if I can count it, but I don't know what else to call it!

I tried to pick all the smiley pictures I've gotten in the last 2 weeks!

On her actual 6 week birthday.  She looks so happy doesn't she?

The day she weighed in over 10 lbs.  Look at those cheeks!

A Girl and Her Teddy Bear- 1 Month

Baby Maya is 1 month old today.  Break my heart!  She is the BEST. BABY. EVER!!!  I haven't wanted to say it for awhile because I didn't want to jinx it, but it's been a month and she's just so easy!  I know things can change on a dime, but for now, I'm enjoying how great it's been, and how perfect she's been!

I decided this morning that since my girls look eerily alike, I couldn't have them both pose with the elephant.  I wouldn't be able to tell them apart!  So, this morning I went scouring for another stuffed animal to do Maya's pictures.  I found this teddy bear that my dad got me for Christmas one year.  Perfect!

As easy as Maya has been, it has still been an adjustment.  But, really, it's only been because of Sam.  One day she got all of our attention, then a little person came and I have to spend a lot of time with her. So, Sam has had a hard time.  But, she'll get better.  

Ever since day 1, Maya has slept 4 hours during the night.  The last 2 nights, she's slept for 5!  It's been really nice.  I can't complain.  Really!

She eats every 3 hours during the day. 

Last week, Maya started following us with her eyes if we moved around in front of her.  Clever girl!

I'm also convinced that she's also given some real smiles in the last couple of days too.  Most of them are definitely gassy smiles, but there have been 2 different times when I felt like she was responding directly to me, so I'm counting it!!

I've noticed that when you have 2 kids, it's impossible not to compare them.  So here are a few comparisons.  

Similarities:

-Looks

-Scowl face

-Petite frame (although Maya's growing faster than Sam did)

Differences:

-Maya doesn't spit up nearly as much as Sam did

-Maya sleeps a lot better than Sam did, and she lets us put her down for naps!  In fact, we usually put her down before she's asleep and she'll fall asleep on her own!!

-Maya is a lot more floppy (like a regular newborn) than Sam was.  Sam was holding her head up day 1 and putting all of her weight on her legs at 6 weeks old.  I don't think Maya will be there in 2 weeks! Maybe that means Maya won't walk as soon as Samantha.  I don't think I'll mind that!

-Maya eats a lot more each feeding and can therefore last longer between feeds.  This has really helped my sanity!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last month:

Enjoying my snuggles!

Precious!

I've been wearing Maya a lot more than Sam.  It helps a lot.  Especially when we're at Sam's music classes or when we go to indoor playgrounds, etc.  I can still help Samantha, but hold Maya at the same time!

First time Samantha wanted to hold her baby sister!

Maya's first bottle!

This will definitely be one of those pictures that Maya will love to see when she's older.  I know I'll never get tired of it!

This is definitely a gassy smile, but we like it just the same!

And, just to help older sister out by giving her some attention on this post, here are some pictures of some of the new things Samantha has experienced this month.  

Samantha's "first" St. Patrick's Day.  I don't do all the little holidays very well, but I figured I could put some dye in her milk.  She didn't really understand anyway!

Sam started sleeping in a big girl bed last weekend!  She's done really well!  She's still in the stage where she doesn't really think she can get off the bed, so we haven't had any problems with her getting out of bed at night!

Samantha's first haircut!  She cried at first, but got used to the idea by the end.  It only lasted 5 minutes!

She's not so sure, but I love it!!

Maya's Birth Story (Part 2)

Labor and Delivery

I was in the labor and delivery room by 12:15 p.m.  My midwives got me all hooked up to the blood pressure machine, checked baby and did an internal.  I was still about 3 cm dilated and very soft.  They told me that they wanted to first try and break my water to see if that would put me into labor before starting a Pitocin drip.  As they tried, there wasn’t much of a bulge for them to get the “crochet hook” in there as Maya’s head was pressed up right against it. 

They called in the resident OB and she gave it a try.  She also couldn’t do it, so they suggested we just start the Pitocin drip. 

By 1:15, I had my IV in and the Pitocin started (side note: getting an IV is painful, especially when you’re like me and don’t have really good veins.  And, especially when they have to do it twice…).  They started me on a low dose of Pitocin and said they would up it every ½ hour until things started picking up. 

At 1:45, I had felt a few minor contractions, but not much.  I talked through them all and almost forgot to tell my midwife that they had happened.  She upped the Pitocin.

At 2:00, my water broke.  Derek had left to get some lunch so he missed that part. 

At 2:30, my contractions started to pick up.  More painful, closer together.  I changed positions, starting on the ball (hated that as it was a lot of back labor!) so I ended up kneeling on the bed leaning up against the inclined part of the bed.  I was “comfortable” here for awhile.  Derek was pushing against my hips to help with the back labor.  That made it feel better. 

At 3:15, we moved to the birthing tub.  I was so grateful that I could still get in the tub even after being induced.  The water felt really nice.  I was in there with everything still attached to me (IV plus a couple of monitors: one for baby’s heartbeat and one for contractions) and it was really awkward and really annoying, but the water felt nice. 

I labored on my back in the tub for 35 minutes.  The contractions were pretty intense and the only thing I didn’t like is that no one had access to my back to help it feel better so I put my hands back there during the contractions.  At one point, my midwife asked if they were progressing and I said that they were staying pretty consistent with intensity.  She said she wanted to monitor it because she didn’t want me to plateau while in the tub.  Literally the next contraction was 10 times worse and I looked at Derek and said, “I don’t think I’m going to plateau!”

A couple contractions later, through shallow breaths, I told Derek and my midwife that I just knew how much harder and worse these were going to get.  In my mind, I knew that I had only been at this for a couple of hours so it had to get worse and worse and I really didn’t know if I could do it.  That’s what I meant when I said that, but no one really understood me.

Another couple contractions later and I felt like I needed to push.  I didn’t really trust myself though.  I kept saying, “I don’t know, I don’t know!” Before the midwife could check me to see if I was really ready, I just started pushing.  I didn’t even do it consciously, it just happened. 

After that contraction, my midwife said she had to go get the nurse because the other midwife wasn’t going to make it.  She also said “Don’t have her without me!”

When she came back, she looked at Derek and quietly said “This is it. She’s going to be pushing now.” I think Derek might have just gotten back from getting me water or something and that’s why she was telling him. I’m not sure; I was pretty focused on other things.

I don’t know how many times I pushed. Maybe 3 or 4.  I know I was only pushing for about 8 minutes.

Maya was born, in the water, at 3:58 p.m. and was immediately brought up and put on my chest.  The overwhelming emotions that ran through me at that moment are indescribable.  Derek was behind me and he was doing his emotional happy laugh saying, “You did it! She’s here!”

It took her a little while to cry but her eyes were wide open and I had heard a little gasp, so I wasn’t worried.  In fact, I loved how peacefully she was born!  She eventually let out a little cry and immediately turned nice and pink!

We stayed at the hospital for 3 hours and then were discharged.  I loved this part of having midwives.  Being able to come home so quickly was really nice.  There's no place like home!!!  

Sam got to meet Maya before going to bed.  She was so excited and kept squealing “Baby sister!” while pointing at the car seat as we brought her in.  

First thing she did was touch her hand.  I think they're going to be good friends! 

We took a few family pictures, and we learned quickly how hard it’s going to be to do pictures with 2 kids!

Maya was lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents here when she arrived home from the hospital.  What a lucky girl!

 Overall, the adjustment so far has been great. I’ve had my mom and Derek here full time so Sam and I have both been taken care of! 

I’m a little worried about what I’ll do come Monday when they are both gone, but hopefully I’ll be a little more recovered and we’ll have a few more things figured out so all goes smoothly!

Here are a few more pictures from the day she was born:

 We are in love!

Maya’s Birth Story (Part 1)

Leading up to the birth

I wanted to write this down while it was still fresh in my mind. 

Maya Michelle Lee was born on Sunday, March 2, 2014 at 3:58 p.m.  She weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz and was almost 21 inches long!  She is absolutely beautiful and we are already in love!!!

Her birth story did not go as I had planned, but I still think I can say I would rather it than my labor and delivery of Samantha!!

My mom arrived on Friday, February 28 when I was 41 weeks, 2 days.  I also had an ultrasound scheduled for that day so I couldn’t pick her up from the airport.  While my mother-in-law Judi took Sam to get my mom, I was learning that baby was still happy and healthy inside.  I still had enough fluid, she was “practice breathing” and she weighed approximately 8 lbs.  They sent me home saying if I didn’t have a baby by Monday or Tuesday, we’d schedule another ultrasound to check again. 

On Saturday, mom and I decided it would be a good thing to go get some pedicures and walk the mall a bit.  When I took my boots off to get in the water, my feet were REALLY swollen.  I was swollen for about the last month of Samantha’s pregnancy, but I had skated by pretty nicely with this one, so the fact that I went from slightly swollen to full on foot-sausage had me a little concerned. 

Right after our pedicures were over, we went to a pharmacy so I could check my blood pressure…

144/106!

Yikes!

I called my midwife and she wanted to see me in the hospital as soon as possible to monitor the blood pressure, monitor baby and talk about our options. 

At the hospital, my blood pressure was high again but every time it was taken, it would drop ever so slightly.  They took my blood and sent it to the lab, giving Derek and I about an hour to talk about our options.  If the blood work came back showing signs of pre-eclampsia, then we didn’t have much of a choice and induction would be the thing that would be recommended and what we would do.  If everything came back fine, we did have a few options: 1) go home and wait for labor to start naturally, 2) be induced right then and there, 3) go home, get a good nights rest and come back in the morning to be induced. 

After our hour was up, the blood work came back with one high level that had to do with my liver function and how my red blood cells were breaking down.   I also had some protein in my urine.  At this point, our options changed: 1) induced now 2) induced the next day. 

We chose to get a good nights rest and come back the next day. 

The next morning, we were waiting for someone to tell us to come in.  I texted my midwife and she was able to text me back saying she was with another mom who was pushing.  I felt really bad, but I went and took a little nap and waited. 

At 11:22 (I remember, exactly…), I got the call saying we should come in. 

After getting everything ready, saying goodbye to Sam and my mom, we left. 

It was kind of nice driving to the hospital able to talk to Derek about what the day would bring without being in major pain or being nervous of making it to the hospital on time or something.  It was a nice leisurely drive to go have a baby!  It was really exciting, actually!

We got to the hospital and were admitted at 12:05 p.m.

And, that’s where I’ll leave it for now!

41 Weeks (Tomorrow)

In case anyone wants an update, I figured I should record one.  This is mainly for me to remember how things were at the end, as well as for family and friends who keep asking.

My blood pressure has been alright the past couple of weeks.  It's still higher than it was throughout my pregnancy, but it is significantly lower than 2 weeks ago when the midwives kind of freaked out about it.

I went in to an appointment today and asked them where we go from here and when we start talking induction and the like.  I was told that typically, at 41 weeks, 3 days, women are sent in for an ultrasound to make sure everything is alright.  They check things like amniotic fluid, how the baby is "breathing," and moving around.  They give a score out of 8.  If I get an 8, meaning everything is just fine, they'll send me for another ultrasound 3 days later to check the same things.  If the score is anything besides an 8, then we talk about our options.  Depending on the severity of the factors that give a lower score, we could be looking at induction at the hospital.

I will be 41 weeks, 3 days on Saturday and they aren't open on the weekends, so if no baby by that time, I will have the ultrasound on Friday.  If everything is fine, the next ultrasound will be on Monday.  If I don't have the baby by 42 weeks, they won't let me give birth at the birth center, which has been my plan all along.

So, there isn't a specific time that they'll do an induction no matter what; it's more monitoring baby to make sure she's not in distress or anything.  I think they'd like to avoid induction (as would I), but obviously the health of me and the baby are the biggest concern, so we'll go there if we need to.

I'm trying my hardest to keep my spirits up.  I think things would have been a little easier if I didn't think that it was possible to have the baby at 39 weeks.  It's been a full 2 weeks since they said that the best thing would be to get the baby out as soon as possible.  So every day for 2 weeks, I keep thinking "this could be the day" and every night before I go to sleep, I think, "maybe I'll wake up with contractions and we'll have this baby!" Every day, I've had to tell friends and family, "nope, no baby today." And, every day has been a little bit of a disappointment.

But, I'm very grateful that I've had Sam to keep my mind off of things.  She still needs her mom to help her and she still needs to get out and run around every day, so I've been able to think of things other than baby coming.  That's been helpful!

And because no blog post is complete without a picture, here's me at (almost) 41 weeks.

My Frustrating Week

It's been kind of a frustrating week for me.  If you care to read about it, then read on.  If you don't, cool with me.

Last Tuesday, I went for a normal midwife appointment (I was 38 weeks 6 days) and at the end of the appointment, they took my blood pressure and the diastolic number was a good 20 points higher than my normal, so my midwife got very concerned.  She said the best thing would be to get the baby here as soon as possible.  The way to cure high blood pressure late in pregnancy is to have the baby.  She asked all the questions about pre-eclampsia and I had none of the other symptoms.  She sent me for immediate blood work anyway, just to make sure.  She also sent me home with some castor oil/verbena oil but told me to wait until she called me about my blood work before taking it.  I wasn't worried during this time, but at that point I didn't feel like I had anything to worry about just yet.

That night, my midwife called me saying that the blood work had come back perfectly.  No signs of anything wrong.  Good.  She said she'd call again on Thursday morning, but she still thought it'd be a good idea to take the castor oil concoction starting Thursday morning.

I thought about/researched castor oil as a natural induction method all day Wednesday.  When my midwife called Thursday morning, I asked her if she still thought it was a good idea to try and get the baby here quickly since the blood work came back negative for pre-eclampsia.  This was how she put it: she said she'd rather not wait around for me to develop the other symptoms of pre-eclampsia because then we'd have to do more invasive, more medical ways of induction.  I didn't want that, so I made the decision right then to trust my midwife and go with what she suggested (let me just explain that if I was told "It's up to you," I probably wouldn't have done it.  I'm the type of person that is just fine waiting until my body naturally goes into labor.  I have never felt like I needed to jumpstart things, no matter how uncomfortable I might be.  But, I'm also the type of person who will listen to someone who is much smarter than I am when it comes to their area of expertise.  So, I will typically listen to my doctors/midwife when they suggest I do something.  This is why I made this decision).

I took the castor oil/verbena oil and nothing happened.  I called my midwife 3 hours later, as per her instructions and she told me to take a second dose.  I did that too.  Nothing happened again, except later that night, I did start getting Braxton Hicks.  They went away as soon as I went to sleep that night.

On Friday, the midwife came to my house (that's a nice thing about midwives...) to check my blood pressure.  It was high again when she first got there.  As she was leaving, she took it again just to be sure and it was beginning to drop.  She was happy with this, as was I.  (Side note: she said something that I thought was forbidden to say to any pregnant lady at the end: "If you don't have you're baby today, I'd be surprised..." What? Way to get hopes up!) Before she left, she asked that I take my blood pressure on my own on Saturday.

I took my blood pressure the next day and it was completely normal.  I tried again 30 minutes later and it was still completely normal.  I called my midwife.  She still suggested that I try castor oil again(this time, I'm not sure why...) and since I had no real adverse reactions the first time, and because I had begun to get excited at the idea of having a baby soon, I didn't even think about not taking it.  So, I went and picked it up from her.

On Sunday I started the castor oil again.  3 hours later, I called her to tell her nothing had happened except that this time, I started feeling pretty nauseous from it.  She told me to take the second dose and to do everything I could to keep it down.  She also said that if I didn't go into labor, we'd just wait until my next appointment on Tuesday before we did anything else.  I literally gagged the second dose down (I don't know what was different from Thursday to Sunday) and felt sick the rest of the day.  A few Braxton Hicks that night but not really anything noteworthy.

Monday, nothing all day.

Which brings us to today.  I went in to my scheduled appointment, she took my blood pressure, which was normal and she asked me what I wanted to do.  I said I wanted to leave it alone.  And she said that was fine.  So, now we're waiting for labor to start on its own.

I'm frustrated because all that really came from last week was getting me hopeful that I'd have my baby early, getting me a little worried about blood pressure and what that could potentially do for me or the baby, and getting me to think non-stop about going into labor when I would normally try not to think about it so time went faster.  I guess one good thing that came from it was that I learned that I should trust my instincts a little more.  I don't regret my decisions last week at all (I'd rather be safe than sorry!) but my instincts told me nothing was wrong and I shouldn't worry.  My instincts told me that baby would come when she was ready and I shouldn't force it.  So there's something to be said about trusting your instincts.  But, then again, there's also something to be said about trusting the people who have been put in charge of our care.  So as much as I wish last week didn't happen the way it did, I don't regret how it went either.

So now, we just wait.  I'm 40 weeks tomorrow.  We'll see when she decides to make her appearance.  I'm hoping that high blood pressure does not show it's ugly face again!