I realize this post is a few days past due, but I am just now recovered enough to write about it.
As some of you may already know, after I had Sophia, she dropped quite a bit of weight. 11oz to be exact. Apparently, that was enough to cause concern among the Drs. at the hospital, and for a moment, there was a chance that she may not be able to go home with us when we were discharged. Thankfully though, they let her leave with us. So, Monday's 2 week check up was kind of a big deal. It was really important that she gained an adequate amount of weight or all sorts of testing could be in our future. I'll get to the results in a bit, but first let me tell you all about how this little gem of a visit began.
We get to the appointment and the nurse takes us to our room, where she tells me to get Sophie undressed down to a clean diaper. *clean diaper*----this is where the fun begins.
I knew she needed a diaper change anyway, so I plop her up on the exam table, undress her, and take off her dirty diaper. Fatal mistake. No sooner than I got the first dirty diaper off her her tiny body, did she proceed to SPRAY me. Not just with pee. Oh no. That would have been fantastic! But with massive amounts of pee AND watery, orange breast milk poop! All over the front of my white shirt. All over three of the four diapers I had packed. The exam table. The floor. EVERYWHERE. As I am scrambling around, frantically trying to find a way to stop the explosion, I came to a very scary realization. Well, quite a few very scary realizations actually:
1. I now had ONE diaper left.
2. I had no, as in zero, wipes. (I had forgotten to re-pack the diaper bag from the night before. Cut me some slack. It's like I'm totally new at this!)
3. My shirt was completely covered in baby excrement of one kind or another, and I had no extra clothes.
4. All of the above, and we were scheduled to be out for the entire day.
As all of this insanity is going on, Bella is sitting up on the table, violently gagging, and in between gags, screaming, "that is SOOOOOO DISGUSTING!"
And I'm screaming back, "BE QUIET!! YOU aren't the one covered in baby poop!"
Apparently, we got pretty loud because a nurse came rushing into the room and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the carnage. "Oh my!" was all she managed to say, and then she started laughing. If the whole scene hadn't been so completely ridiculous, I probably would have punched her in the face for laughing. But honestly, what else could she do?
Thankfully, the Dr. office keeps extra diapers and wipes on hand for worthless, unprepared mothers like myself. Sadly, they do not keep a stash of t-shirts for poop covered mommies. Good thing I had put on a jacket that day (my bra and jacket got me through the visit, breakfast break at Chick-fil-A:Bella was "dying of starvation", and an impromptu trip to Target for a new shirt and a couple of others for the car) After plowing through almost an entire box of their wipes (seriously, poop was everywhere!), I stuck my head out and told the crowd of laughing nurses we were ready for the Dr.
Chalk that little fiasco up as a learning experience.
The good news:
Sophie Kate gained lots of weight (I'm a poet!). 1lb 7oz to be exact. At 2 weeks she was up from 7lbs 1oz to 8lbs 8oz. YAY PIGGIE! And she had grown in length from 19 3/4in to 21in.
So proud of our big growing girl!!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Things I Love. . .
Sophia Kate,
I love the way you:
-sing in your sleep. Just like your big sister, you are my singing Princess. Now we have a duet. Maybe one day, you girls will start a band.
-always seem to be making some sort of funny face
-have little werewolf wispy hairs on the back of your ears.
-wrinkle up your forehead and transform from a beautiful little girl to a precious old man in an instant.
-have a lust for *delicious booby milk* (thanks for that one Bella!). Like a starving piranha.
-will sleep on me for hours. Not loving that you really won't sleep anywhere else during the day. . .it's ok. I know you will get the hang of the whole daytime napping thing.
-settle down during diaper changes when Bella talks to you.
-have your Daddy's long, elegant fingers (and even his long monkey toes!)
-have just enough soft brown hair to stick out when you wake up.
-have made our family feel complete.
Sophia Kate's Birth Story
Well it seems I have slacked on the blog long enough! You may have noticed the change in the title. I considered making Sophie her own blog, but figured I sometimes have a hard enough time keeping this one up, so I'd better just keep it to one.
And what better way to begin the now shared blog, than with the birth story of the little girl who is now sharing it.
It began early in the morning on Monday, March 14, 2011. At about 4:30 or 5am I was awakened with crampy pains in my way lower abdomen. I was way too tired to really pay much attention; the only thing I knew was that I had to continually go pee every time it happened, so I knew it was happening with some sort of regularity, and it was annoying-I just wanted to sleep! At about 6, Rob got up to go work out and by the time he came back at 7, I was fully awake, sitting up in bed, wondering if this was really "it".
"I think I'm in labor," I told him.
"WHAT?!"
"Yep."
I wasn't positive since the pain was so concentrated in one very low spot, so I sent him on to work, promising to call him if I needed him.
By 9, I was on the phone with my Dr. asking to come in and get checked. They had me come in at 10:45, and told me I was only 1cm dilated, so it could be false labor or it could be the very early stages of labor. My actual Dr. was already at the hospital having what was apparently a very insanely crazy baby delivery day, so he told them to write me a prescription for some pain meds and send me home. If it was false labor, the meds would stop the pain, if I was really in labor. . .they wouldn't. I also learned that my Dr., Dr. Wortham, would only be at the hospital that day and not back again until Thursday (my actual scheduled c-section date). I was positive I wasn't going to make it until Thursday, and no one else was delivering this baby, so I'd pretty much made up my mind that we were going to the hospital that day regardless.
By this time the pain was pretty intense, so I had Rob take me to PapaGigi's since it was close by. Mary was there sleeping, so when I knocked on her door and said "wake up, we are having a baby today" she nearly exploded.
I took a pain pill and laid down. Rob went back to work to wrap some things up. At 1:30 I called him and told him we were going to the hospital. NOW.
We checked in about 2:00, got put in a room, hooked up to an IV and monitors, and the waiting began. I don't remember much about that time waiting. Except that the pain was so intense and so concentrated, I began begging some unknown, unseen being to please make it stop. Poor Rob was sitting there looking so helpless. I'm sure he felt just as helpless, the only thing he could do was rub me and tell me I was doing great. Unfortunately, I didn't want to be touched. At all. Or talked to. So there was absolutely nothing he could do but sit and watch.
Finally, at about 4:00, my Savior came. His name was Josh. And I loved him from the moment I first laid eyes on him. He was a anesthesiology student who was on his next to last day before graduation. He could have been a bum off the street offering me illicit drugs for all I cared. If it would've made the pain stop, I would have taken it!
They wheeled me back to the OR and Josh began his magic. He warned me that sometimes spinals could hit some nerve that ran down a persons leg, but even if it did, I needed to remain perfectly motionless. That notion still makes me laugh: I know you are in tremendous pain, and we just might hit a nerve to cause you even more pain. But DON'T MOVE!
As he slid the needle into my back, I realized just how impossible that was. He hit the leg nerve. I almost jumped out of my skin. Thankfully, there was the nicest old black woman there holding my hand. She had the most calming presence, and I think whoever she is, the hospital should make her only job going around to comfort people in pain. She was great at that. As I went into full blown panic/freak out mode from the pain and fear, she gently stroked my hand and told me very calmly that I was ok. I could do this. And so very soon I was going to meet the little one that would make all of this worth it.
Within a minute I was completely numb, feeling fantastic, and holding Rob's hand again. Dr. Wortham had already come in and his presence alone made me feel a million times better about the whole thing. I thought he was still prepping me, but the next thing I knew, I heard him say, "We have a bald head!. . .We have fat cheeks!. . .We have a tummy!. . .We have a GIRL!!!"
Rob's voice rose a few octaves as he just kept repeating, "It's a girl! We have a girl!"
Sophia Kate was born on March 14, 2011 at 4:18pm. 7lbs 13oz, 19 3/4 in long, and completely perfect. It was honestly one of the happiest, exciting moments of my life.
Being able to hear her first cry was the most amazing experience. I missed it with Bella since I had to be put to sleep for her birth. I was crying and kept telling anyone who would listen that I never got to hear Bella's first cry, so this was even more special and amazing. No one listened, but I didn't care.
Other than being COMPLETELY shocked that she was a girl (we were sure we were having a boy!), I remember Rob saying, "She was born at 4:18? That's her sister Bella's birthday!" How sweet that he instantly thought of that?! I love that man.
Seeing Sophie for the first time took my breath away. She was screaming and so angry!
She looked so much like Bella.
She was beautiful.
They finished stitching me up, and took the 3 of us to a recovery room,where another 3 hour wait began. We were dying to introduce the kids to their new baby sister. At this point, they didn't even know she was a sister! Neither did anyone else! But they all knew she had been born! We kept getting texts threatening bodily harm if we didn't reveal the sex, but we refused to tell anyone until the kids knew. Finally, at 8pm, they took us to our room. We immediately brought the kids back, and as they anxiously crowded around the new baby, we said, "say hello to your new baby. . .SISTER!"
I think all preference for a brother or a sister left in that moment. Neither one of them was upset or disappointed, only overjoyed at their new little pink bundle. Seeing both of them so happy and looking down at Sophia with such love, truly melted my heart. After a little time had passed, it was time to invite the rest of the family back and introduce them. We told the kids not to say a word! As everyone filed in, I think we were all bursting with excitement! We wanted to simply shout out, "IT'S A GIRL! But we waited until everyone was gathered around, waiting on pins and needles, and said, "Say Happy Birthday to. . . Sophia Kate!" And the room erupted in cheers, laughter, and "I told you so-s."
And what better way to begin the now shared blog, than with the birth story of the little girl who is now sharing it.
It began early in the morning on Monday, March 14, 2011. At about 4:30 or 5am I was awakened with crampy pains in my way lower abdomen. I was way too tired to really pay much attention; the only thing I knew was that I had to continually go pee every time it happened, so I knew it was happening with some sort of regularity, and it was annoying-I just wanted to sleep! At about 6, Rob got up to go work out and by the time he came back at 7, I was fully awake, sitting up in bed, wondering if this was really "it".
"I think I'm in labor," I told him.
"WHAT?!"
"Yep."
I wasn't positive since the pain was so concentrated in one very low spot, so I sent him on to work, promising to call him if I needed him.
By 9, I was on the phone with my Dr. asking to come in and get checked. They had me come in at 10:45, and told me I was only 1cm dilated, so it could be false labor or it could be the very early stages of labor. My actual Dr. was already at the hospital having what was apparently a very insanely crazy baby delivery day, so he told them to write me a prescription for some pain meds and send me home. If it was false labor, the meds would stop the pain, if I was really in labor. . .they wouldn't. I also learned that my Dr., Dr. Wortham, would only be at the hospital that day and not back again until Thursday (my actual scheduled c-section date). I was positive I wasn't going to make it until Thursday, and no one else was delivering this baby, so I'd pretty much made up my mind that we were going to the hospital that day regardless.
By this time the pain was pretty intense, so I had Rob take me to PapaGigi's since it was close by. Mary was there sleeping, so when I knocked on her door and said "wake up, we are having a baby today" she nearly exploded.
I took a pain pill and laid down. Rob went back to work to wrap some things up. At 1:30 I called him and told him we were going to the hospital. NOW.
We checked in about 2:00, got put in a room, hooked up to an IV and monitors, and the waiting began. I don't remember much about that time waiting. Except that the pain was so intense and so concentrated, I began begging some unknown, unseen being to please make it stop. Poor Rob was sitting there looking so helpless. I'm sure he felt just as helpless, the only thing he could do was rub me and tell me I was doing great. Unfortunately, I didn't want to be touched. At all. Or talked to. So there was absolutely nothing he could do but sit and watch.
Finally, at about 4:00, my Savior came. His name was Josh. And I loved him from the moment I first laid eyes on him. He was a anesthesiology student who was on his next to last day before graduation. He could have been a bum off the street offering me illicit drugs for all I cared. If it would've made the pain stop, I would have taken it!
They wheeled me back to the OR and Josh began his magic. He warned me that sometimes spinals could hit some nerve that ran down a persons leg, but even if it did, I needed to remain perfectly motionless. That notion still makes me laugh: I know you are in tremendous pain, and we just might hit a nerve to cause you even more pain. But DON'T MOVE!
As he slid the needle into my back, I realized just how impossible that was. He hit the leg nerve. I almost jumped out of my skin. Thankfully, there was the nicest old black woman there holding my hand. She had the most calming presence, and I think whoever she is, the hospital should make her only job going around to comfort people in pain. She was great at that. As I went into full blown panic/freak out mode from the pain and fear, she gently stroked my hand and told me very calmly that I was ok. I could do this. And so very soon I was going to meet the little one that would make all of this worth it.
Within a minute I was completely numb, feeling fantastic, and holding Rob's hand again. Dr. Wortham had already come in and his presence alone made me feel a million times better about the whole thing. I thought he was still prepping me, but the next thing I knew, I heard him say, "We have a bald head!. . .We have fat cheeks!. . .We have a tummy!. . .We have a GIRL!!!"
Rob's voice rose a few octaves as he just kept repeating, "It's a girl! We have a girl!"
Sophia Kate was born on March 14, 2011 at 4:18pm. 7lbs 13oz, 19 3/4 in long, and completely perfect. It was honestly one of the happiest, exciting moments of my life.
Being able to hear her first cry was the most amazing experience. I missed it with Bella since I had to be put to sleep for her birth. I was crying and kept telling anyone who would listen that I never got to hear Bella's first cry, so this was even more special and amazing. No one listened, but I didn't care.
Other than being COMPLETELY shocked that she was a girl (we were sure we were having a boy!), I remember Rob saying, "She was born at 4:18? That's her sister Bella's birthday!" How sweet that he instantly thought of that?! I love that man.
Seeing Sophie for the first time took my breath away. She was screaming and so angry!
She looked so much like Bella.
She was beautiful.
They finished stitching me up, and took the 3 of us to a recovery room,where another 3 hour wait began. We were dying to introduce the kids to their new baby sister. At this point, they didn't even know she was a sister! Neither did anyone else! But they all knew she had been born! We kept getting texts threatening bodily harm if we didn't reveal the sex, but we refused to tell anyone until the kids knew. Finally, at 8pm, they took us to our room. We immediately brought the kids back, and as they anxiously crowded around the new baby, we said, "say hello to your new baby. . .SISTER!"
And so began the life of Sophia Kate. . . .
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