Four weeks... forever

Greer turned four whole weeks old yesterday, but I feel like she's been mine forever.  It is really hard to remember or care about life before her.  That seems extreme, especially coming from an independent woman like myself, but I really don't feel like a whole lot has changed.  I don't know... it's just weird.  My life is very different right now than it was four weeks and two days ago, but it feels very natural.  I think it helps that I have the world's best baby.  ;)  Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but she really is so easy.  She totally goes with the flow and has already dropped a night feeding.  I may be the most well rested new mom out there.  Other than some fussy evenings where she's been tough to console maybe two or three times (usually if she hasn't napped well), she is just chill and if she's crying and I need to intervene, she usually calms down very easily.  I am following the Moms on Call schedule and Babywise techniques, and for us, they work.  I think she'll be going from a 9pm feeding through to a 6-7am feeding by 8 weeks at the rate we're going now.  She's down to a 9pm, 2-3am, and a 6-7am feeding with one random night where she went to 4:45am and then 8:45!  We have been lucky that nursing has been great, though she is sometimes difficult to nurse (we don't usually get it done in 30 minutes... sometimes as much as an hour thanks to gas).  I definitely have plenty of milk, which will be such a blessing when I go back to work, because who knows how my milk supply will be affected then.  I need to start getting on a pumping schedule so I can stock pile the liquid gold, but I've been able to pump at least 3 ounces in a short amount of time after nursing, so if I start pumping once a day, we'll be golden for a while.  :)

She's starting to get more interactive and I love the mornings with her.  She's so happy and talkative!  I am going to start back to CrossFit next week I think (waiting on them to get me signed back up), and the only downside of that is that she nurses at 9am and the class I'll be going to starts at 9:45 so I will have to rush out the door two mornings a week (she will come with me) and her happiest time of the day will be spent in a car seat at the gym.  But, she'll have lots of stimulation there for sure.  :)  We'll just see how it goes.  It's only two days and if I decide it isn't worth missing that playtime, I will just start going to the 7:15pm class after Matt gets home.

We had a little "scare" with her when I noticed a lump on her neck.  I had noticed it before but it was small and I really didn't think anything of it.  It's only noticeable when she turns her head in a certain way, and it didn't strike me as being abnormal in any way.  But last week, I was busy kissing her all over (this is something that happens ALL DAY LONG... I cannot kiss her enough), and the lump was huge.  So, I took her in to see the pediatrician and she has what is called fibromotosis colli.  It's a benign tumor and is generally not serious and should resolve itself.  However, she was sleeping with her head always turned one way, and that is either the cause of or a result of her head being turned that way.  So, we are doing some stretches with her and I got this little pillow that cradles her head and keeps her from turning all the way flat on one side.  She was also developing a flat spot on that side of her head.  It looks like the tumor is getting smaller, so I think it's working.  We'll discuss at her one month appointment Monday, but I don't think we'll need to do any physical therapy or other intervention at this point, thankfully.

We've been very busy in Greer's first month of life.  We've gone to a wedding, she's accompanied me for the best pedicure ever thanks to my dear friend Meredith (amazing gift!), we've been to the grocery store a few times and the pediatrician three times for good measure, gone on plenty of walks, gone to the Dogwood Festival and Botanical Gardens, attended Greer's first birthday party for her cousin Madelyn's fourth birthday, seen lots of visitors, gone to church, received so many amazing meals thanks to our friends, family, and church (SUCH a blessing... cooking is not high on my list right now especially with a 6pm feeding... I guess I will have to start cooking dinner at like 4 when the meals stop), changed more diapers than I ever imagined (three in the matter of her middle of the night feeding last night!  ha!), and experienced an amazing love and gratefulness to God for bringing us all together.  Oh, and taken a lot of pictures!!!  :)  Picture overload begins now...

Matt (top left) + Kristin (top right) = Greer - she looks more like her daddy here but she's got my mouth and I think my eyes (shape, not color)... I'm pretty sure she has her daddy's nose and I think she's going to have hazel eyes like him... no idea where she got her small head and forehead!  ;)

 

First bath... uncertain but she likes it now :)

Where do the groceries go??

True story.

First wedding with good friends!

Fatherhood.

Party outfit

Two of my favorite girls - Madelyn and Greer meet for the first time :)

The BEST friend (and aunt) a girl could ask for!

 

Rocking the bow... and maybe the last time in this little sleeper.  Waaaahhhh.  It's my favorite newborn item of hers!

 

 

Greer Elizabeth

We could not be more thrilled to announce to the blogosphere that our beautiful daughter, Greer Elizabeth, was born at 10:02P on Thursday, March 28, 2013.  She weighed in at a whopping 6lb 14.9oz and measured 20 inches in length (cone head and all) with a 12-1/4" circumference head (i.e., 1/2 inch smaller than momma's and a full inch smaller than daddy's... good thing too! -EDITED (4/16/13): I went back and looked at my newborn picture from the hospital and my head was actually 13-1/2"!! My chest was 12-3/4" which is what I was thinking of above... and I weighed less than her. Ha!).

My amazing friend Jenny came and took these pics of Greer when she was all of 12 hours old.  So precious, and what an awesome birthday gift to me!  We are doing her newborn photos this weekend, and I cannot wait to see them.  Jenny is so talented.

Anyway, I wanted to write out the birth story while it is fresh on my mind.  It was a whirlwind of a day!  As I said in my last post, I went in at 5:30 on March 27 to start cervadil.  It was very surreal yet normal to be walking in to be admitted to the hospital to have a baby.  I don't think either of us knew what to think, but we were so excited and anxious to meet our girl.  They took blood, hooked me up to monitors, and put the cervadil in place.  I didn't get a whole lot of sleep between being tethered to monitors and just being excited, so before I knew it, the morning had rolled around and it was time to get going.  Only it wasn't.  I was supposed to be induced at 6am but there were so many babies born the night before, they weren't quite ready for me.  So, I just chilled and at about 9:30, a nurse came to fetch me to get started.  Matt was out of the room making some phone calls, so I let him know where I was being moved and I think I may have been hooked up to the Pitocin before he even got everything moved from our antepartum room to L&D.  Oh, but to back up, I was not dilated a bit from the cervadil.  My cervix was thinned a little bit but that was it.

So, they start the Pitocin slowly and work the way up.  At around 11:30A, I was talking to my friend Kelly on the phone and had to abruptly hang up on her because I felt a gush of uncontrollable pee.  As I got up and tried to get untethered from the monitors and grab my IV pole, I could not stop peeing.  It was so embarrassing... Matt, my mom, sister and BFF were all in the room and there I am leaking pee across it as I hurry to the bathroom.  So, I empty my bladder and stand up and there's still fluid leaking from me.  At that point, I said call Lindsay (my L&D nurse), I think my water broke.  I honestly didn't expect it to break on its own, especially just two hours after being on Pitocin.  I was relieved I hadn't lost all control of my bladder and obviously excited!

The contractions were not terrible, but by 1:00P I was ready for the epidural.  Knowing it would take about 45 minutes after I requested it, I got on that.  Of course, so did several other women so it was about an hour and a half or so before I got it.  The contractions were not unbearable, but I wasn't smiling or talking through them either.  My doctor told me to get some pain meds that would make me feel like I drank some margaritas, so I did and it definitely helped me relax.  The epidural was pretty painless, and I wasn't nervous for it at all.  Plus, the anesthesiologist was hot.  I told them that when my mom had gotten her epidurals, she got really sick immediately after just as my BP dropped from 130/90 to 90/38.  They threw some meds in my IV and then lost Greer's heartbeat on the monitors.  So, they called in backups and it was a bit chaotic as I moved from side to side and they repositioned her heart monitor on my belly to pick it back up.  Poor Matt was about to cry, but I was surprisingly calm.  I just trusted that God wasn't going to get us that far for naught.

At this point, I was only 1cm dilated.  Not too long after getting my epidural, I mentioned to my nurse that I hadn't peed in a while before the epidural and they also pumped me full of fluids, so she cathed me and 500ccs later, I was complaining that it hurt only I just had an epidural so why could I even feel anything.  Around 4:30 they checked me and I was at 8cm and -1 station.  Within an hour I was fully dilated!  I was glad my epidural didn't fully numb me because I could feel the pressure of her descending and I could tell when I was having contractions.  I would have preferred to be a little more numb at the end but we'll get there.  :)  My amazing doctor and I did a little holy cow, this is working cheer and decided I would sit awhile to let her continue to drop before I started pushing.  She went to deliver another baby and I sat there for about two hours.  I started to feel very sick, so I was worried I wasn't going to be able to do it.  Thankfully they gave me some anti-nausea meds and that did the trick.  I started pushing around 7:40P.

We still didn't know if it was going to work, but I'll be damned if I was going to have gotten that far and not pushed with all I had to get her out.  After about an hour of pushing, I asked my doctor if it was going to happen.  She told me that if it was someone else, maybe not.  But my strength was going to get this baby out.  The CrossFit and walking a 5K at 38 weeks paid off.  It was very tiring, but I did it and I was pretty proud of myself!  It was getting pretty painful toward the end... something I was not expecting, but I also believe that if I wasn't feeling all I was feeling, I would not have been able to get her out of there.  I could feel when I needed to push and when I needed to give it that extra umph to push her through my narrow pelvis.  My doctor basically summed it up that the first hour and a half to two hours of pushing was just to mold her head to fit through (and you'll be able to see that in the pics) and then it was just getting her out from there.  And, it was true.  Once she'd passed through my pelvis, things happened pretty fast and I was pretty uncomfortable!  Matt's reactions to the things happening were pretty priceless.  I remember a few "Oh my Gods" and such come from him as she came out.  :)

They had the NICU team on standby because of her heart decels during labor, but thankfully they came and went quickly.  They placed her blue body on my chest after she came out and it was a bit before she cried, but once she did, she pinked up pretty quickly.  Her APGAR scores were 7 and 9, which is awesome.  I thought with how blue she was, things might not be so great.  But, she was just fine.  They cleaned her up and brought her back to me and I got to hold her skin to skin while they fixed me up.  It all seemed to happen so fast and I still can't believe it, even after having her here for almost 8 full days.  Such a miracle.

We are doing well at home, and my recovery has been awesome.  I am so glad I didn't end up with a C-section.  I was sweeping the back porch the day after I got home from the hospital (the dismal Gator game drove me outside) and was at Target Tuesday enjoying a solo shopping trip.  So far, Miss G is a really easy baby.  She's easily consoled and most of her crying is because she's getting changed, is hungry, has a dirty diaper, or just wants to be held.  Every night has been different, from the awful first night home to an accidental stretch of 5 hours from the start of one feeding to the next.  Oops.  :)  But, she's eating well and sleeping fairly well for being all of 8 days old.  I can't complain, not that I would anyway.  She's what we prayed for and so much more.  We are very blessed.

Home at last!  So tiny.

Happy Easter!

Maddie checking out her sister.  Max could care less but Maddie is a little momma.

Aunt Jenn finally gets to hold Greer!

My loves.

Greer's actual due date... already 6 days old.

It's go time...

As I type this, I am sitting in the hospital with cervadil in place and monitors on my belly preparing for a 6am induction tomorrow morning.  WHOA!  At my appointment this week, my doctor agreed that if we're going to get her out, we needed to move.  She suggested Thursday (as she is working tomorrow), and I said heck yes.  Much to my dismay, the hospital said they couldn't get me in until next Wednesday (Greer's actual due date, ironically enough), so we were scheduled then.  Something did not feel right to me about waiting that long and blindly going in for an induction, so I called my doctor the next morning (yesterday) and left her a message.  I am pretty sure she didn't even know how long the hospital had pushed me out.  Within two hours, I received a phone call that something had "opened up" (i.e., pretty sure Dr. W pulled some strings) and I needed to be at the hospital at 5:30 today to start cervadil and they'd begin my induction at 6:00am Thursday!  What is crazy is that I did not ask for a certain date or anything, and it just happens that this is the day I've been saying I wanted her to be born.  It is the day before my birthday, and we also have a funny thing in my family with a bunch of birthdays in a row except the 28th was no one.

I was not dilated or anything at my appointment and still was not when I came in today.  However, I did start to have regular, stronger contractions (I'd call them intense Braxton Hicks or really weak real ones) after acupuncture yesterday.  Now that I'm hooked up to a monitor (and of course they've even increased since we've been here), it's crazy to see how close together they are.  Again, they are super weak (not painful, just uncomfortable), so I wouldn't exactly call them progress but they are happening.  So, we'll just see what happens.  I am cool with a c-section if that's what happens, but I obviously hope this works!  I also hope that I'm still not in labor at this time tomorrow.  Ha!

So, anyway, I am sure things are about to get really crazy in my life but I will try to post an update as soon as possible announcing our little girl.  Hard to believe we're here.  It still doesn't seem real and I really don't know when it will.  I said after she's in my arms, but one of my friends said in 6-12 months.  Ha!  So thankful to God for His perfect timing and provision.  The waiting sucks.  So bad.  I don't forget, believe me.  But the end reward is going to be so worth it.  Psalm 127:3

Oh, and for the record, my prediction is that she will weigh 6 lb 8 oz, be 19" long and have light brown hair (that will eventually be blonde).  Matt says 7 lb 8 oz, 20" long and bald.  :)  Also have other people in on this but we'll just memorialize our guesses here for now.  Winner gets the glory.  (Oh, and someone just had a baby... they play a lullaby whenever a baby is born here... this is #3 in the 3.5 hours we've been here and I LOVE it.)

Last weekly bump picture!!

Is this real life?  Right before we left for the hospital.

It happened (not the baby)

I swole... swelled?  Not sure the proper past tense of swell, so let's just say I am swollen.  Wop wop.  So vain.  :)  I made it 37.5 weeks and then bam, Friday night I had something close to cankles.  I woke up Saturday morning and they were gone, so I thought I might be in the clear.  Started doing chores and when Matt came downstairs (we've been sleeping in different beds... so romantic!), I lifted my pants to show him that my cankles were gone.  But, they were back.  'Tis pregnancy.  They haven't been too bad, and up until yesterday, my fingers seemed to be pretty normal but now my rings are getting a little tight, so not sure I'll make it until delivery on that front.  But, that's okay.  I am so thankful I didn't swell earlier, because the swollen feet are a bit uncomfortable, I must say.  And, I can still fit in my shoes (flats) so I can't imagine if they were even worse!  I didn't expect that it was uncomfortable, in addition to unattractive.  :)  Oh, and as if I needed proof that I was swelling, I gained 3 lbs in 5 days between my 37 and 38 week appointments.  Gotta love that scale creeping up like that right at the end, even if it is water!

Anyway, in less vain news... it would seem that there is a compatibility issue between the size of my pelvic opening and my child's head.  Now, this is really speculation on my part, but you must know that I was only 6 lbs 6 oz and after being induced and cranking up the pitocin to the highest dose, my mom did not dilate, feel a single contraction (no epidural), and I did not drop.  So, they did a c-section.  Back in the good ol' days, they used to do pelvic x-rays (which explains a lot for those who know me personally) ;) and my mom has what they called borderline pelvis.  My dad's mom also had the same thing.  So, I guess small pelvic openings run in the family.  My OB confirmed that I have an oddly shaped pubic bone, thus making my pelvic opening smaller than normal.  Matt and I also had abnormally large heads.  So, I can only speculate that Greer's head is not going to fit through, especially when I can literally feel her on top of my pelvis and in my hips (no one else seems to know what they heck I am talking about when I explain this but I feel her in my bones... it's very strange).  Also, I am sealed tight and not the least bit effaced, and the doctor joked that she was almost to my tonsils when she did my pelvic exam this week.  Sooooo, all that to say that at this point, it does not appear she's going to come on her own.  I have my 39 week appointment Monday, and if I am still not progressing at all, we'll likely discuss a c-section.  I've always assumed I would have c-sections (my mom had three) and never thought much about it, but after getting pregnant, I really changed my tune and want to deliver vaginally.  At the same time, I'm not going to force the issue.  I went to acupuncture this week in the hopes that she can get my body to start doing something... even if I'm only a centimeter dilated, we'll probably go for an induction next week just because we know that there is definitely going to be a size issue at some point if it's not already an issue.  I would love to at least try, and if nothing happens, so be it.

So, anyway.  Next Friday is my birthday and I am REALLY hoping for the best birthday present EVER.  But, no matter when or how it happens, as long as we are both healthy, that is what truly matters.  CANNOT WAIT to meet my girl!!!!  Eeeeeeek!  We are ready, and I even got my hair did (as you can see between my 37 and 38 week photos, or at least I can see... wow, it was bad).  Come, little one!

Two of my besties enjoying a spring weather tease last weekend.  Greer and Baby W are going to have a little love connection, I'm sure.  He has lots of competition though!  ;)

It's the final countdown...

Sorry if like me, you'll now be singing that song all day.  I am officially full term... 37 weeks today.  It's crazy to think of how far we've come, and that we're really oh so very very close to meeting our daughter.  We are "officially" ready.  Her room is as complete as it will be before she comes, though I'd eventually like to add more art, accessories, and pillows for the daybed.  The carseat is installed.  Hospital bags are as packed as they will be until it is time.  Now, we wait.  :)  Work has been crazy and I definitely have some things to wrap up here, but whatever will be will be.

Wonder how many more of these I'll take... 37 weeks to come after tonight.

This weekend, Matt and I did the Junior League's Shamrock n Roll 5K/10K.  To be very clear, we walked the 5K.  And it took us almost an hour.  Ooops.  Hey, that's what happens when you're having major Braxton Hicks the whole time!  :)  I usually run it in about 30 minutes, so it was funny to be lapped twice by many of the 10K runners (they start 15 minutes after the 5K race).  Matt actually has a hairline fracture in his tibia and a sprained MCL thanks to his ski trip and doing a double black bowl (why I ask?  a professional he is not), so he couldn't run either.  Just thankful that his injury doesn't require surgery, because we thought it might be a torn miniscus.  Anywho.

Three of the loves of my life.

Good morning, Atlanta!

This just makes me laugh.  Whoa belly.  Probably doesn't help that I crammed by 37 week belly into a non-maternity, somewhat fitted shirt.  Haha.

After the race and a nice nap, I finished up Greer's room (for now) while Matt was taking care of other things.  I swear, when it comes to nesting in the sense of organizing and throwing things away, Matt is the man.  He's done virtually all of that, but I definitely am more into the cleaning side of things and want everything to be spotless (please note that this is impossible with two large, hairy dogs).

The iPhone photos aren't the best, but they're the best I'm going to do for now.  :)  The colors aren't quite as bright as they appear in the photos (the pink is a salmon/coral pink rather than hot pink, the monogram is a softer aqua than it appears, etc.).  Capella did the base design, sourcing things like the daybed, rug, wall color, etc., and I came in and added the more personal touches that any mom (um, weird... mom) would want to have control over.  The pups were painted by Amy Yeager, and she did an AMAZING job.  There's still some things I'd like to do in there, but that will happen eventually.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I find it both calm and playful at the same time, and I hope she will grow into it and love it... and maybe share a room with a little sister or brother some day.  :)  It's a big room!

For 37 weeks pregnant, I'm still feeling pretty good!  I had a couple of weeks of pretty good sleep (this is relative, of course), but now I'm back to sleeping like crap, so I'm pretty tired.  Hoping I get back into a good groove and get some restful sleep before she comes.  I haven't had any swelling (still wearing my wedding rings), and I can still move around as well as could be expected.  I did have a baffling 7 pound weight gain between 34 and 36 weeks that I cannot figure out, but oh well (nurse said I was probably retaining fluid but wouldn't I be swollen if that was the case?).  Maybe it was a fluke... or maybe I need to not be so tempted by sweets.  Paleo what?

How Far Along: 35w2d

Baby's Size:  Likely over 18" and 4.5+lbs

Gender: GIRL!

Movement:  All the time.  Sometimes kind of painful.  I think she's clawing her way out through the middle of my belly.  I've also started to have Braxton Hicks contractions pretty regularly, and they are interesting and mildly uncomfortable.  The bottom of my stomach gets really flat, I guess because the "bulk" of her is high up in my belly.  It just looks funny.  Also, she's definitely shifted down and out a little bit as opposed to the "high and tight" position she'd been in.  I'm not constantly pushing her out of my ribs, which is nice.  :)

Sleep:   It's generally not good.

Maternity Clothes:   Duh.

Symptoms:   I am plum exhausted a lot.  But still a happy little momma-to-be.  I cannot believe she will be here so soon... probably this month!  I'm definitely eating less at each sitting and although I haven't had heartburn, I do have mild indegestion.  Nothing that has forced me to go buy meds, although it's been really bad two nights to the point that I thought I was going to throw up and absolutely could not lay flat.  Also, I am definitely less mobile and quite uncomfortable, although it still doesn't slow me down.  That's probably part of the problem!  Too much to do... too little time!  :)

Aversions:   Nothing really. I love food.

Cravings: Also nothing really. On occassion I will crave something, but it's not a regular thing. I do still love my rootbeer.

What I miss: Sleep. Fare thee well for awhile, my friend. ;)

Feelings toward pregnancy:  Same as they have been.  But, I am getting to the point that I am really ready to not be pregnant and ready to meet my daughter.  However, I'm totally cool with her staying put until at least 38 weeks.  I'm not that ready (emotionally-yes, everything else-no).

Best moments this week:  Being at the beach last weekend and work threw me a shower today.

What I'm looking forward to in the next week:  Getting lots of stuff done around the house this weekend, enjoying my time with just Matt and the dogs, seeing one of my dear friends who is in town, and inching ever closer to having a baby!

So, the formal pics are because I attended a black tie function for my industry... picked up this dress from asos.com for $36!  Total bargain!