It's a Girl!! .. and We're Moving.. to Georgia

Harper Grace

Thursday July 5, 2012 11:33pm

8lb 12oz 20.1"

This tiny baby girl has been such a blessing to us. And she is such a good baby. She cries only when she is hungry, wet or tired. Her first night home from the hospital, she slept 4 hours straight. (which became a problem).

We were only in the hospital until Saturday at lunch time. When we got home we had a crew at our house. My mom and brother, Josh's mom and dad, and Harper Grace's God parents Andrew and Savannah. It was very helpful to have all of those people there with us. But they were also there because we would be moving that next week.

We had to be seen at the pediatricians office Monday morning to check Harper Grace's weight before making the move to Georgia. There wasn't great news. Harper Grace's weight had dropped from 8lb 12oz to 8lb even. The doctor was not happy. And baby girl was jaundice, which is normal but with her weight loss he was not happy. He had me nurse her and then weigh her again.. she only gained 1 oz. So we had to kill some time and come back to meet with the lactation consultant.

We decided to go to my work, with our four day old, to let people see her and let a select few people know that I would not be coming back because we were moving.

When we got back to the doctor to meet the lactation consultant we also got the results of her jaundice test. On a scale of 1 to 30 (30 being life threatening) Harper Grace was at 15. So pretty high. So she had me nurse Harper Grace and turns out not only had my milk not yet come in but we weren't latching deep enough. So it was back to the doctor on Tuesday. I was really sad that we had to go back to the doctor on Tuesday because that meant that Josh was moving to Georgia and I was going to have to stay in Virgnia until Harper Grace was healthy enough to travel. But obviously Harper Grace's health is the number one priority.

On Tuesday my mother in law took us to Harper Grace's appointment. They pricked her foot again to check her jaundice and then they weighed her. She was up to 8lb 2oz. Doesn't seem like much but when it comes to babys gaining weight, apparently that is good. So after nursing Harper Grace again with the lactation consultant, they weighed her again. She gained an additional 2oz. Good news for me! But still no traveling to Georgia. They wanted to see her again Thursday. So we headed back home.

Another thing that the lactation consultant told me that I did not know. Until a baby is 2 weeks old they do not make the 'rules'. One of the reasons that Harper Grace had jaundice so bad was because I was letting her sleep. Everyone has always said "never wake a sleeping baby". well, that's not the case with a new born. They need to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours. I was letting her sleep as long as she wanted. Sometimes up to 4 hours. Not good. So with this knowledge I made a point to wake her up every two hours.

Wednesday we spent the day getting the house ready and packing some more things. It was so sad to me to have to pack up her nursery. I had worked on it for months, making sure it was perfect, painting custom pictures for her room. I cried a lot packing up her room.

Thursday we packed up the car in hopes that we would be cleared and sent on our way to Georgia. I missed my husband and I'm sure her missed Harper Grace and I. They didn't check Harper Grace's jaundice level again, (Thank goodness because her poor heals looked like war zones), but the moment of truth was when they weighed her. Her weight was 8lb 8oz. YAY!! That was fabulous news!! The lactation consultant had my nurse Harper Grace again so that she could make sure that there was a good latch and that H was nursing well. Once the appointment was done, she gave us a clean bill of health and sent us on our way. FINALLY we were headed South.

We decided that on the way to Georgia we would stop in Johnson City, TN to not only visit Josh's grandmother and introduce her to Harper Grace, but also break up the trip for me and the baby. The doctor told me that i needed to stop every 1.5 to 2 hours to walk around and get baby out of the car and move her around since we were at higher risk for blood clots.

Every 1.5 to 2 hours came along very quickly. I felt like we were stopping all the time. On of our stops was at a McDonald's and we got out and got ice cream and walked around a little bit. When we got back in the car, I needed to change Harper Grace's diaper, so before I changed her I decided to mover her legs around and make sure that she had some movement before putting her back in her car seat. I took her diaper off and BOOM, she pooped on me and then in the middle of me laughing at her, she peed on me. It was official, i was a mom! Luckily my clothes were not too far away and I was able to change my shirt, that now had poop on it. I got her cleaned up and her diaper back on and it was on the road again.

In Tennessee, Harper Grace got to meet her great grandmother, her great aunt Melissa, her great uncle Phil, and second cousin Suzanne. It was a nice visit and a good idea to stop. We definitely needed the break in the trip.

The next morning we got up and headed out. I was so excited to be seeing Josh that day. I was really missing him and i was very emotional without him around. As we were headed out of Johnson City, I noticed that Harper Grace's eyes were goopy and red and watery. I panicked a little bit and decided to take her temperature. It was 99.1 and so I called the pediatrician in Roanoke. They said that she would need to be seen because she had a low grade fever. So I called and made her an appointment at an office in Georgia for 4:45pm.

Finally got to Georgia and saw Josh. I was very emotional when I saw him for some reason. We had a few minutes and then had to leave for the doctor. Turns out her eyes were watering and goopy because her tear ducts were clogged or not yet developed. So we were told that we needed to massage around her eyes to make sure her tear ducts opened up.

None the less, we had made it to Georgia, healthy baby and all. :O)

Labor and Delivery

My due date came and went and still no baby. Everyday after that I just knew that 'today is going to be the day'. But no.
Sunday 7/1/12- didn't feel good, but nothing
Monday 7/2/12- was tired, but still nothing
Tuesday 7/3/12- Felt fine, the only pain I had was my normal pelvic pain from baby Keown's head
Wednesday 7/4/12- was awful. I hurt all day, I would have braxton hicks like crazy and then I would have pain and I laid on the couch ALL day. I even went to bed at 7pm without dinner because I was hurting so bad.
Thursday 7/5/12- I woke up still in pain, and had discussed with my mom and Josh about whether or not I should go in to work. I had a doctors appointment at 9:30a that morning so I decided to just go in and then decide after my appointment about whether or not I would go back in. Josh decided to take me to work that morning and on the way to work at exactly 7:21am I had my first painful contraction so I started timing them. By the time 9:15am came along I was having uncomfortable contractions every 5-7 minutes.

When I got to the doctor, I had to have an NST before I saw the Nurse Practioner. I was in the room with one other pregnant lady, and we were all just chit chatting. The other woman made a comment that my contractions must be painful because they were really strong on the monitor. I told her that I was uncomfortable but not in pain. Next thing I know the NP is in the little NST room with us looking at my monitor and then looks at me and says "yep, we are going to go ahead and send you over!" umm... what? Over where?! Then that's when all the comotion started. They were sending me to the hospital to have a baby! I cried as soon as she told me that. There was instant panic. Can I do this? Am I ready for this?

So before I left the doctors office they did an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. (I thought that this was just protocol, but turns out the doctor on call didn't want me to be sent over because L & D was packed already so they were hoping my fluid levels were low. But no! And they sent me over anyway). After the ultrasound, they gave me an envelope to take with me and sent me on my way.

Josh and I pulled up to the ER and Josh walked me in. He had to move the car so that he wouldn't get towed and I signed in and they took me up to the 13th floor. I was taken to triage and told that the doctor would be with me soon. After checking my blood pressure and asking what seemed like a million questions, and then waiting for what seemed like forever, the doctor came in and I just prayed that he wasn't going to send me home. He decided to keep me there! We were having a baby soon!!

They then walked us to a room. Poor Josh (was carrying all of our bags and such (I definitely overpacked!) and I was responsible for myself.

When we got in the room we met our nurse Amanda C. (Little did I know that I would learn to love this woman). Again we played a million questions, Josh got comfy, they put in my IV and then we just waited. Amanda made sure that we had everything that we needed. Drinks, food (for Josh), blankets pillows, etc. Josh's parents got there about an hour or so after we got to a room. We didn't want a group of people there while we were in triage. We called everyone that we needed too, most importantly my mom so that she could make the trip up from Georgia.

At about 4:00pm I was 5cm and I was HURTING. So, at that point I got the epidural. I was terrified.The thought of someone sticking me in my back, plus all the possible side effects and then they tell me that some people get a headache that could last for 6 weeks... and the there was another contraction... and I thought... I can deal with a headache! After the epidural I felt better almost instantly. I did get a bit nauseous, and one of my eyes went blurry for a few minutes but Amanda lowered my head below my heart and I was fine. I think at that point I actually napped.

About 10 minutes after the epidural, the doctor came in to check me and break my water. Again I was a little nervous about this. But, I had Josh by my side and I knew that everything would be ok. I was expecting it to be painful but it wasn't at all. The rest of the afternoon/evening was pretty easy going. Josh's parents went to the house to let the dog out, then came back. Amanda made sure that Josh was eating because she didn't want him to pass out.

About 9:30p or 9:45p I was checked and had made it to 10cm. Amanda said that we would wait to push though because baby Keown was still really high. I immediately called my mom to see where she was.. no answer. So I called my brother Shawn... no answer. OH NO! I was a bit panicked! Then all of the sudden there was a knock at the door and in came mom and Shawn!! THANK GOODNESS. At 10:00pm Amanda came in and said that it was time to start pushing.

After everyone cleared the room, except Josh, my mom and his mom. I started pushing. Josh was such a trooper and was holding my leg and putting a cool rag on my head when it was time for me to rest. He made sure that when it was time for me to rest that I was taking deep breaths, and he even started watching the monitor and would tell me when another contraction was coming. He coached me thru labor so well. I also had on my other side Amanda. She was great. She not only counted for me but would encourage me to push harder. Then as I was pushing mom and Josh's mom were pushing with me in the peanut gallery. Everytime I would breathe i would hear them breathe! Not too long after I started pushing Amanda had me stop and rest while the doctor came in to set up and a load of nurses came in to care for baby Keown after he/she was born.

Then the pushing started again. Josh was there the whole time. He encouraged me the most. The look in his eyes as the baby got closer and closer will stay with me forever. It was a look of fear, yet excitement. Our baby was about to be here after 40 LONG weeks. And as baby was born I was ready to hear the doctor say what  baby was. In my head I just knew baby was a boy and even heard my brain say it's a b... then the doctor says It's a GIRL!! Josh cut the umbilical cord and I just cried. I couldn't do anything else but cry. I had so much joy in my heart and my world was perfect! I have the most wonderful husband in the world, and now we have a baby girl! The joy that I felt at that moment will stay alive in my heart forever. I will feel that joy through long nights, the temper tantrums and the teenage years. She is my baby girl and he is my wonderful husband... my cup runneth over.

40 weeks and passing my due date...

It's been awhile since I have updated my blog. The last week of my pregnancy and last almost six weeks have been a rush! So here's the update.

At 40 weeks I was miserable. Just about the only thing that made me happy was the thought of meeting sweet baby Keown.

That weekend my best friend came to visit with her husband and baby girl Shelby. This was my first time meeting Shelby and as soon as they got out of the car Shelby thrust herself to me. Octavia and Ryan said that she doesn't do that with anyone which made me feel special! They only got to spend one night with us but it was fun. Octavia and I can go years without seeing on another and then just as soon as you get us in the same room it is as though no time has passed. So it was a great time.

Meeting Shelby was so fun. She is such a doll. And her sweet little voice telling me hi and saying wow and light. She was so much fun. I think she even won Josh over.

Since it's been so long ago I do not remember much from my week 40 other than I was just PRAYING to have baby Keown as soon as possible! And here is the only picture I have from 40 weeks. . .

I don't know about everyone else, but I think that I look pretty miserable!! However, I really enjoyed Octavia, Ryan, and Shelby. I wish that they could have stayed longer!

I gained a total of 38lbs. Not too bad considering some people gain a ton more.