Foster's Birth Story!

Wednesday I went in to the OB to turn in my second 24 hour urine collection and have an ultrasound. I had been thinking that bedrest had been going well and they were going to just tell me to keep hanging in there. WRONG. My OB said that she was no longer comfortable with me being at home and managing me there and she was going to go call my MFM.

She walked back into the room and said  "Lets have a baby!"...... Immediate shock and panic. She said that labor and delivery was full but to head home, pack my bags and be ready because they were going to call me to come in as soon as they had a room that night. She also gave me the "come to jesus" talk telling me that realistically my odds of having a c-section are VERY high. I have an extremely narrow pelvis and my body isnt dilating or effacing on its own yet. I still opted to try for the induction since this is the delivery that I had dreamed about and pictured in my head. I know things dont always go as planned but I wanted to be able to say that I tried everything.

So, I went home and started to rush around the house because NOTHING was ready. My DH had to install the car seat and I had to pack bags for baby and myself and DH. My house wasnt done being cleaned and the carpet cleaners hasnt come yet... how could this be happening?!
We got to the hospital at 9pm and got our room and got settled in. My OB was in the hospital so she came over and talked to us and it was so nice to see her and know that she was following us all the way.

The first thing that we tried was Cervadil. It is supposed to ripen your cervix and start you dilating. The way that drug works is that you put it in and wait 12 hours and then check to see how it worked. Right before placing the Cervadil the resident came in and checked my cervix because I as having contractions ever 4 minutes steadily but no progress. So, in went the cervadil and12 hours later they checked me (11am the next day) and it had done NOTHING. We were so disappointed and it seemed like such a waste of time. 

The next plan was so use cytotech which does the same thing as cervadil but just works differently. The only problem here was that in order to use this drug you have to have less than 12 contractions in an hour and i was having them every 2 to 3 minutes. So, no cytotech.

We went on to pitocin. We upped the dose many times and sometimes had to bring it back down because my worthless contractions were too close together. They did multiple cervical checks but nothing was changing except my cervix was getting softer. They decided that they thought they might be able to force a fingertip through my cervix so they wanted to try a foley balloon to cause my to dilate to 4cm.

By this time I was extrememly frustrated and done. Baby refused to stay on the monitor so there was literally a nurse in the room with us 90% of the time trying to get him on the monitor... my belly was SO sore from them poking that monitor around for hours and hours. I was ready to throw that monitor! Haha.

The resident came in to do that foley and immediately said that he wouldnt be able to get it because of the awkward position of my cervix. He said that he would have to go get another Dr. The new Dr came in and he was about 70 years old and they tell me that he and his father are the 2 doctors that brought this procedure to the US in the 1980s. He starts and let me tell you that it was the most painful thing that I have maybe ever felt. I was emotionally exhausted at this point and the pain added to that I just had had it. He kept asking for different tools and trying to force it when it just wasnt working. After a few minutes I was literaly crying so hard that I was almost screaming and I said I didnt want to do it anymore and the Dr would not stop! My husband and my nurse tried to get him to stop and he wouldnt. Finally he said that my cervix just wouldnt allow it and that I was only the second patient he had EVER had that he was unsuccessful on. Gee, thanks buddy.

After 28 hours of induction and no progress I was ready to throw in the towel so they called my OB and she said she was gonna come in right then and it was c-section time. This is when I panicked and realized I was about to have surgery, eek!

My blood pressure got really high and they decided that I couldnt walk to the OR, they were gonna have to roll me there in my bed. They did a spinal block and it was surgery time.

At 12:55am July 22nd Foster Everett D_____ was born at exactly 36 weeks, 6 pounds 14 ounces, and 19.4 inches long. He cried immediately and in turn I cried immediately. I could not believe that after all we had been through our miracle was finally here. It was emotional to say the least. I still cry when I think about it.
They took him over to the warmer and worked on him immediately. They then wrapped him up and brought him to Justin and I got to see him for a moment and kiss his head. Then they had to take him to the nursery they said and I told Justin to go with them.

After surgery they took me to the recovery room and I got to see my parents, justin's parents, justin's aunt, and cousin. It was so nice to see them and they were all headed back out to the waiting room to wait and see Foster.

I kept trying to stay awake because I was expecting them to bring me my baby but the first thing I heard was that he was in the NICU with CPAP, oxygen, a feeing tube, IV, and monitors. It broke my heart that he was having such a hard time and I wasnt there with him. They told me that I wasnt going to be able to go to the mother-baby floor right away because I had to be transferred to high risk and be on a magnesium sulfate drip for 24 hours for my sever preeclampsia. I wouldnt be able to see my baby until after that was over.
Worst. news. ever.

Justin and the family all got to go see him and Justing brought pictures to show me. It was so nice to see him but I wanted to hold him so badly. After going through all of that I couldnt believe I didnt ever get to hold him =(

I ended up getting off my magnesium sulfate drip after 12 hours instead of 24 and the next afternoon I got to see my baby boy. It was such an amazing moment to get to look at him and know that he was real.

He spent about 48 hours in the NICU (as did I, haha). Then on Monday we went home.

Tuesday he had some issues and we went to the pediatrician and he had 3 attacks of respiratory distress in the office and we got sent to Children's hospital. He was admitted and we spent every moment there with him. Its so sad to see a tiny little preemie get poked and prodded but we knew it was for the best. They thinking that he has severe reflux and so we are trying a few things to improve it. Yesterday afternoon we came home and we are hoping to stay home this time!!!!

And its induction time..... a month early.

When I went to the Dr yesterday I was expecting to just turn in my 24 hour urine and have an ultrasound. I thought things were going pretty well but I guess I was wrong, lol.

 My mild preeclampsia turned into severe preeclampsia and my liver enzymes were slightly elevated and my OB and MFM agreed there was no point in squeaking out another week and making me sicker so they said "Its time to have a baby".

I got the the hospital at 9pm last night and got admitted to a L&D room and my OB was in the hospital so she came in and talked to us again. 

Here is the deal: Odds are that I am going to end up with a c-section due to having an extremely narrow pelvis and uncooperative cervix. BUT my OB knows that I really wanted a vaginal delivery and dont want a c-sect so she agreed to let me try! I had from last night till friday lunch time to get this baby out or we are having a c-section on friday.

They put in cervadil last night that has to stay in for 12 hours then they will check me so I will get checked at 11 today!!! PLEASE BE WORKING! Then we will go from there. I am having contractions on my own every 2 to 4 minutes but my cervix was firm and closed when they put the cervadil in. 

OB Appt

I had another OB appt this morning as follow up to the 2 hospitalizations I have had in the past week. 

Blood pressures still stink, NST was good. OB is worried and feels we are on the edge of bedresting it out and inducing me. She has me doing another 24 hour urine overnight tonight to see if the protein amount in my urine has gotten worse or stayed about the same. I am taking that in tomorrow and having a growth ultrasound to check on Foster and check that he is still growing in there and that his growth didnt slow due to the issues.

I am still contracting a lot. Usually every 5 to 6 minutes but not making any progress.... cervix is still closed (she checked it today).

They also drew labs today to look at my liver etc. On top of that she started me on a blood pressure med which she normally hospitalized for but let me do it at home since im an RN and she was comfortable that I would monitor myself well and contact her with any issues.

So for now we are still playing it day-to-day. The bad news is that my OB goes on vacation next week and she and I both agree it would be DEVASTATING if I had him when she wasn't there to deliver so we are avoiding next week at all costs! 

Bedrest

First, I never posted my 35 weeks bump pic so here it is:

Now that I am on bedrest and out of work my mom has been coming over to help me which is SO SO SO SO nice of her and a huge help. She came over Monday to prep a dinner for JD and I and to help me wash bottles and nipples and stuff. Here are some pictures:

Overdue update!

So last I updated I was in L&D doing a 24 hour urine and have contractions every 5 to 6 minutes but they werent making any changes to my cervix. I completed the 24 hour urine on thursday and the results were NOT what they wanted. I was diagnosed with mild preeclampsia but they agreed to send me home thursday evening to bedrest and to see my OB the next morning for a BP check and urine dip to make a plan.

So Friday morning I went to the OB. Blood pressure was 150 (something) over 106. Ob put me on bedrest and said NO MORE WORK and we are going to play it day by day. I have to be checking my blood pressure at home and if my systolic (top number) goes over 160 or my diastolic (bottom number) goes over 110 I would have to go to L&D and do hospital bedrest or deliver.

She said our goal is to get to 37 weeks (aka two weeks from the day I saw her).

She did give me permission to go ahead and be in the wedding that I was supposed to be in saturday but to take it very easy and stay off my feet. Well I was the maid of honor so that was kinda impossible.

The wedding was beautiful and my best friend made the most gorgeous bride. I was having almost constant contractions towards the end of the day (starting at about 530) and was also having stabbing pains in my right front side under my ribs. My blood pressure was floating right around where she was worried about it being so I called my OB after all the formalities were over (around 10pm) and unfortunately she said I had to go in to L&D because she was worried that the pain might be coming from my liver.  

So, to L&D we went. Luckily the labs she ran came back ok, my cervix was still closed,and the monitoring was better once I had been resting and they let us go home to bedrest with no exceptions. They think the pain was just stronger contractions maybe.

Here I am, parked on the couch! I cant believe we should meet this guy in less than 2 weeks more than likely, ahhhh! 

Im in labor & delivery....

I came to the MFM (in the hospital) for an NST and growth scan this morning. My blood pressure was running about 160's over 100ish. So they dipped my urine and it showed protein. I immediately got admitted and sent upstairs. My BP came down a tiny bit when they kept retaking it (150s over high 80s low 90s) so they didnt have to push BP meds.

They hooked me up to monitors and put an IV in and drew a bunch of labs. Turns out that my Braxton Hicks are quite regular and I have been having then every 5 to 6 minutes all day. They ended up calling the resident to come check me... OUCH! She even apologized and said  "Im sorry, I swear im not trying to reach your tonsils" haha, it really felt like her whole arm was in me (tmi sorry). Cervix is firm and closed. So they kept monitoring to see that Foster is handling the frequent contraction okay. 

We are doing a 24 hour urine to see where to go from here. They said if it comes back totally clean (no more protein) then I will just be Pregnancy induced hypertension. If it comes back with protein, but not too much, I will be mild preeclampsia.  and if there is tons well you know the drill.

So, my MFM came in and said that no its a game of trying to figure out if its ok for baby to stay in there or if its time for him to come out. Good news is that he has always measured about 3 weeks ahead so he would be a good size.

The most worrisome thing for me right now is that I am the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding on saturday. I cannot miss the wedding, not only am I a big part of it but I would just be devastated if I missed one of the most important days of her life. She means the world to me and I would be so upset. I know I have to do what is best but I just really want things to work out.

34 Weeks.... seriously?!

34 Weeks!

I cannot believe that I am 34 weeks pregnant. It seems like the whole pregnancy few by although I must admit that it is CRAWLING now.

Major changes: I have reached the point where I am totally uncomfortable. My feet and ankles swell like c.r.a.z.y. and my husband says that "they look like the Nutty Professors feet when he blows up"..... gee, thanks dear! Sleep is no more.... I wake up constantly, pee constantly and its nearly impossible to turn over in bed. I feel like a turtle that is on its shell (its back) trying to get back over.

Over the weekend I went to my husband's parent's house and got in their pool and it was heaven to feel all that weight lifted. I did have to go get a new tankini top because I could bare to have my stretch marks crawling out of the bottom of my old one. Poor, poor skin.... it will never be the same.

All in all we are just super excited for the little guy to arrive and to finally meet him. This coming weekend is my best friend's wedding!!!!! I am the maid of honor and I cant wait for her big day! We have been planning and I cant wait to see it all come together. I am terrified for my speech/toast though because I will be 100% sober...ouch!

After the wedding weekend she leaves for her honeymoon for a week and as soon as she gets back its Foster time!!! He can come as soon after the 25th as he wants =)

DIY Cornice Board

Getting a piece of fabric wide enough to make this cornice was the hardest part. The bolt is not long enough so I had to cute three sections and piece them together.... it sounds like it would be easy but it was extremely hard. This fabric is striped so we had to match it up and pim it PERFECTLY so that you would not be able to see the seams when it was finished. This also required me to sew an absolute perfect line while looking at the back of the fabric and not being able to see the lines.... TRUST ME, it was difficult.

My wonderful husband and father-in-law built the wood frame for me out of these long cuts of wood.

Then once the wooden frame was finished it was time to staple the batting on. The batting gives the cornice the cushy soft look that they have. I bought relatively thick batting and doubled it over.

After the batting we CAREFULLY stretched and stapled the fabric over the batting. Make sure to fold all corners and make the pretty!

And its complete!

Pictures of it hanging in the nursery to come later today!!! (Its been hanging but for some reason I dont have any pictures of it on my computer!)

DIY Nursery Curtains- Part 1

No matter how hard I tried I could not find curtains in the colors and patterns that I wanted. Our house had very large and high windows so curtains are hard to find in the length that we need and if we do find them they cost a FORTUNE. So, I decided that I would make my own.

I went to a bunch of different fabric stores and finally found what I wanted/needed at Fabric Farms. My plan was so make curtains with straps to hang them and a cornice board that would hide the top of them. Well the salesperson at Fabric Farms showed me a DIY grommet set that I just couldnt resist so I decided to give it a try.

The fabric was not straight on the bolt and I realized this once I got home and was starting the project. Thank god for my mother-in-law because she spent a whole day indulging my crazy and helping me cut the fabric just right! We had to lay the fabric out on the floor and match the light blocking backing to it (I want that room dark for naps!) and then cut and tape them to the wood floor.

I then went around the edges and folded in the seams and pinned them all. I then sewed the seams on my sewing machine and brought the curtains back to the floor! It was time to pin on the grommet tape to the top of the curtains. So I pinned that on.

Then it was back to the sewing machine!
The bottom edges had to remain unsown so that they could hang with the lining and not wrinkle or trap air. So I had to angle the corners and stitch them down so that they looked clean.
After all of that (which, trust me, took 16 hours for the 2 panels) my husband attached the front of the grommets to the grommet take and it was time to hang them the next day!!!!!

Here is how they turned out:

We absolutely LOVED how the grommet tape and grommets turned out. Truth be told I didnt really need to make a cornice because these grommets looked so nice but I had already bought the fabric so part 2 of this project is coming!!!!

DIY Frame Wall

I wanted to plan a frame wall for Foster's nursery above his dresser so I set out to do this without spending a ton of money.

Supplies:
~Frames of varying sizes- I got all my frames on clearance at michaels and hobby lobby and they were scuffed up and scratched so I planned to paint them.
~Scrapbook papers- I used scrapbook papers to fill many of my frames instead of photos so that they would compliment the room and the shadowbox
~Large Prints of your choice- I used alphabet and number prints to use for the larger frames
~First year Frame- I will add Foster's pictures to this as we take them each month after he is born

~Paint- if you plan to paint the frames
~Nails
~Someone who is good at hanging =)

1. First I painted the frames white with the left over paint that we had from painting the wainscoting in the nursery.
2. Figure out how you want to lay out your frames and what pictures you want in what frames. This was the hardest part for me, I had trouble figuring out what papers and photos to put where!
3. Fill the frames and get someone good at hanging to hang them up!
4. ENJOY!

DIY Shadowbox

Since I had so many people ask me how I made the shadowbox I am going to give the directions below! First I want to give credit to Jen @ The World of Dennifer, again, who gave me the idea and how to that I tweaked!

So here is a list of supplies:

1- 12x12 shadowbox (or whatever size you want to make). I got mine at target for $9.98!

1 (or in my case 2)- Paper Punches- I used Martha Stewart paper punches because they word really well.

1- 12x12 (or your size)- white piece of cardstock to stick all the punches onto

Cardstock in patterns that you want to punch out of (paper is too thin and you really need something thicker to use so cardstock works great!)

1- Small package of Glue Dots

1- Ruler

1- Pencil

Steps:

1. Gather materials

2. Use the punch (or punches) to punch out your animals/shapes

3. I marked 1 inch margins around the edge of the cardstock so that I wouldnt cover up any punches and it would be symmetric (because I am obsessive).

4. I then went across the top with a ruler and made a tiny dot at every inch to put the punches on. I only marked the first row.

5. Stick the first row of punches to the paper and then follow each row. (I did an outline of owls then did elephants, which were wider, in the center so my center rows had more space between elephants to accommodate).

6. Use ruler to apply all other rows in straight fashion

7. Place in shadowbox!

Tips:

- Press glue dots down FIRMLY

- Lay out all the punches before you glue any to make sure that you like the pattern and that you dont have any identical pattern punches close together (if you are OCD like me).

- Have fun!