Caroline's First Week

It's hard to believe that our little baby is already a week old. So much has happened since she came into our lives last Thursday. Caroline had many visitors during her first couple of days, including much of mommy's family, coworkers, mommy and daddy's friends, and daddy's parents. She enjoyed being held so much!

Unfortunately, Caroline had to be on a bilibed from Monday night to Wednesday afternoon, which meant that she couldn't be held much at all!! Poor baby! She had to get her foot pricked a total of 5 times to test her biliruben levels, but she took it like a champ:) Here is a photo of her sporting the bilibed. I think she's cute, even in this ugly thing.

We gave Caroline her first bath on Wednesday. We would have done it sooner, but with her being on the bilibed bathtime got put on hold. She didn't seem to mind her bath too much. No hysterical screaming, which mommy and daddy appreciated a great deal.

Today is Caroline's one week birthday. To celebrate, we went on our first walk. Mommy pushed the stroller, while daddy took care of the Coopster. Cooper actually walked pretty well for him. He seemed more interested in the baby than anything else!

A note to our sweet baby girl on her one week birthday: Even though you've only been part of our lives for a week, we can't imagine life without you. You are our mellow, easy-going baby. You very rarely cry, and when you do it's almost pathetic. I've never seen a baby content to sit in a wet/poopy diaper or lay in bed just looking around for over an hour at a time until there was you. You are our snuggle bug who makes the cutest cooing noises and faces when you sleep:) We are blessed to have you in our lives, and we LOVE watching you grow each day.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

As many of you probably know, I am not a very patient person. I do not enjoy the unknown or having to wait for things. Last Wednesday into Thursday taught me that there really is truth to the saying, "Good things come to those who wait."

The following is Caroline's story, how she entered this world and changed our lives forever:) It all began last Wednesday, April 21st a little after 12:00 pm. I had never really considered the fact that my water could break at any time or any place. I didn't think it was that common, and that even if it happened to me, it would be at home or something that would be very discreet. Not so! My water decided to break in the middle of a school day!! There is nothing like having a group full of coworkers in the bathroom as you are leaking amniotic fluid, having your principal drive you to the hospital with trash bags on the front seat, or laughing uncontrollably in the hospital parking lot as you leak even more:) If we weren't close before, we definately are now. (On a serious note, I am very thankful to work with such great people.)

I arrived at the hospital a little after 1:00 pm. After going through the typical admission/questioning process, which I had just gone through a week before, I was officially admitted to the hospital. Although my water had broken, I was not in labor. Around 3:30 pm, they started me on pitocin to start up contractions. They started with a low dosage and gradually increased it until my contractions were regular. It seemed like some type of game! My contractions were very irregular; sometimes close together and other times farther apart. I received an epidural around 7:30 pm, and am very grateful that I did! At this point I was contracting every minute...ugh! All I can say is epidurals are AMAZING!!

It was a long night to say the least! Fortunately, it was a fairly painless night, but with nurses coming in and out, there wsn't much sleep to be had. I had no idea when I went into the hospital that it would take that long for our baby to actually come out!! I was already dialated 3 cm and my water was broken. Seriously, who would have thought it would take 19 hours to get her out?!? I guess that's what happens when you get stuck at 5 cm and 7 cm for 4 hours each. At 8:00 am on Thursday morning, I was still only 7 cm dialated!

I was bracing myself for a C-section. Not exactly what I wanted, especially since it would have required 2 extra nights in the hospital. The doctor came in around 9:00 am to check my progress. She was fully prepared to do a C-section and had already cleared her schedule at the office. Baby apparently had other plans. Much to both of our surprise, I had gone from a 7 to 10 in just an hour. Thank God!!

After almost an hour of pushing, our sweet baby girl came into this world. And here she is again...Caroline Elizabeth! Isn't she beautiful?!?

Introducing Caroline Elizabeth Brand

Meet our sweet, little bundle of joy. More pictures and details to follow.

April 22, 2010

10:27 a.m.

6 lbs. 12 oz.

19 3/4 in.

A Long, Exhausting Week

In terms of baby, the week of events started out on Tuesday. I had my weekly doctor's appointment where I found out that I was about 2 cm dialated and the baby was at -3. The baby looked healthy, head down still and heartbeat in the 140s. I felt good about the appointment as it made me feel like at least we were moving in the right direction:)

On Wednesday (37 weeks), I woke up with a fever. After teaching half a day, I went home to rest hoping that the Tylenol I had started taking would do its job. Such was not the case! Joe and I had plans to go to the Cards v. Astros game on Wednesday night, and I didn't want to ruin them. I tried to suck it up and make the most of the situation. We made it through the first three innings, which is actually longer than I thought I'd be able to survive! When we got home, my fever was up to 101.6. I felt terrible!!

I didn't feel too bad when I woke up on Thursday morning. In fact, my fever was down to below 100, but things only got worse throughout the day. I called the doctor around lunchtime, and told them that my fever was up to 101.8 and I was having cramping in my lower abdomen. They told me to come in to get checked out. Anyway, to make a long story short, my fever was up to 102.1 and they baby's heartrate was in the 180/190s, which they weren't overly suprised by considering I was sick. The doctor proceded by sending me over to Labor and Delivery for observation.

I spent Thursday night and Friday morning in the hospital being poked and prodded and being pumped full of 4 bags of IV fluids (causing me to gain about 5 pounds...YIKES!!) as they tried to figure out what was wrong with me. Fortunately, my fever broke on Thursday night, which resulted in the baby's heartbeat going back to normal. They never really did figure out the exact problem. My white blood cell count was elevated and I was probably dehydrated, which didn't help the fever. They ended up guessing it was probably some type of flu bug.

I am very glad to be at home out of the hospital. Once I was feeling better, it was actually quite boring. After being in there for awhile, Joe and I found ourselves actually wishing that the baby would come. We were already there...why not have the baby?!? The baby has other plans, however, and apparently wants to cook a little longer. She is continuing to make progress, however, to the outside world. On Thursday afternoon, I was 3cm dialted, 50% effaced, and she was at a -2. It will be interesting to see what happens between now at Tuesday when I have my next appointment. Who knows...maybe we won't make it that far:)

37 Week Pic...Not too bad for being sick! She definately has gotten rounder.

Only One Month to Go!

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Maternity Clothes: Yes.

Weigth Gain: My weight stayed the same (13 pounds) since the last week when I went to the doctor. I guess it depends on the day. Sometimes it more like 14 pounds. Who really cares at this point, right?!?

Stretch Marks: None

Sleep: Minus the trips to the bathroom, I have no complaints. I'm sure I don't help my cause since I drink a large glass of water each night before bed;)

Best Moment This Week: Celebrating Easter this past Sunday and being off all week long for spring break!! I also had my weekly doctor's appointment, and everything with baby looked great. She measured at 35 cm again, but was being stubborn in allowing the nurse to get an accurate reading of her heartbeat. It was somewhere in the 130s or 140.

Movement: Her movements have turned into more squirming motions rather than kicking. The doctor says this is normal since she doesn't have as much room to move around anymore. Her movements have also been more noticeable at certain periods of the day since I have been off of school. She has had hiccups the past two mornings:)

Food Cravings: No...my appetite has seemed to be decreasing over the past week or so. I guess there is not as much room for the food to go.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Only BH...I'm assuming that when I actually go into labor, I would know the difference.

Belly Button In Or Out: In/Flush with rest of stomach

What I Miss: Not having heartburn on a daily basis!! Before I was pregnant, I don't think I had ever had heartburn before. Now, it's inevitable that I get it pretty much every single day!! At least my days of getting it are numbered!!!

What I Am Looking Forward To: Being able to see our baby soon (well hopefully not too soon). Being off from school has given me time to wash all of her clothes, blankets, etc. Hopefully by the end of my break we can get a bag packed for the hospital, and then we should be good to go! Ahh!!

Milestones: It's hard to believe that we only have one month left! What's really hard to believe is that the baby really could come at anytime, and she should be perfectly healthy.