Late in posting, but Baby Girl is here!

Madison Emily Blackmer was born April 1, 2015 at 6:57 am, weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.  After her swift arrival, friends and family all thought it was an April Fools joke when we called to say she'd been born.

It all started the morning of the 1st at 5:50 am.  I awoke to an odd feeling and thought it was my water breaking.  To the bathroom I went, still unsure of what was going on.  I began having a contraction, but didn't really realize it.  When the contraction subsided, I went back to the bedroom and said to Andy, "We might be having a baby today."  Another contraction came on and I breathed through it before deciding to try to lay down.  Laying down didn't last long as a 3rd contraction began and was quite intense.  It was at this point that Andy said, "We're going to the hospital."  He called Jim to come watch Josh, we packed a few more thing in our bags, brushed out teeth and began to head out.  When Andy talked to his dad he said it would be a few minutes, to which Andy replied, "we may not be here then."  The contractions were close together and very strong.  As we pulled out of one driveway Jim was pulling into the other.  I made Andy blow through stop signs and speed quite a bit.  He was honking and flashing the lights to get people to move out of our way.  As Andy sped down State Street at 80 mph I felt the need to push and continued to worry that we weren't going to make it to the hospital.  Fortunately, we made it and entered the emergency room where they quickly took me up to labor and delivery while Andy parked.  A nurse tried to hurry me into a gown which I did NOT want to do.  With her help I changed and got in bed.  By the time Andy came up to the delivery room I knew I needed to push, but the nurses wouldn't let me since Dr. Alqara wasn't in there yet.  Moments later he showed up and I immediately began pushing.  After just 3 rounds of pushing our beautiful baby girl made her entrance.  We were still in shock that everything went so quickly.  The nurses stated how lucky we were to make it to the hospital and that I could have been pushing as soon as we arrived.  Madison was healthy and we were both doing well.

36/37 Weeks

Yesterday was another doctor's appointment.  I couldn't get in last week at a time that wouldn't involve leaving work early.  So I had my appointment earlier in the week this week.  Dr. Scott was out this week so I saw Dr. Algara again.  It was a quick visit.  I had a few questions to discuss and the doctor was great about thoroughly answering all of them.  Then we listened to baby girl's heartbeat which was good in the 140s.  At that point the appointment was over.

I haven't been sleeping as well lately due to being uncomfortable and more frequent bathroom trips.  I also occasionally wake up gasping for breath if I've accidentally ended up sleeping on my back.  My feet and ankles have started getting a little swollen, but nothing like they did with Joshua yet.  Pressure has increased and with baby running out of room her movements are more uncomfortable.  In addition, exhaustion has set in and I'm ready to be done working.  I still have 2 more days this week and next week, then I'm done!  That is unless of course she makes her arrival sooner.  

Joshua is going through another phase of separation anxiety.  He does not like when I drop him off at Kathy's and has been crying or at least getting upset when I leave.  Kathy said he recovers fairly quickly most days.  It probably doesn't help that Lucas either hasn't been at Kathy's or doesn't come until later.  Adding to his separation difficulties, Joshua has been tough to get to bed lately.  He just doesn't want me to leave his room.  Some nights certain things work to help the situation, but then the next night the same thing might not work.  Even on days when he stays home with Andy he gets very upset when I leave.  I assume he senses the changes that are going to occur soon.  I'm apprehensive about how things will go when the baby is here and how Joshua will handle it.

As I said, Lucas hasn't been at Kathy's or comes late the last few days.  This is because Ashley was on bedrest and then had the baby on the 15th.  His name is Brayden and is still in the hospital.  He has been in the NICU for breathing problems but seems to be making progress.  Joshua loves to see the pictures of Brayden that Ashley sends me.  He is very excited about his buddy being a big brother.

Contractions, Hospital Visits, and Days off School...Oh My!

We have had a whirlwind week and a half!  As I mentioned in my last post Josh and Andy were sick with a stomach virus last weekend.  They were getting better Monday and Tuesday, and it was at this point that I started with a cold.  I prayed that it would just be a cold, but it turned into much more.

Tuesday (3/4/15) I woke up not feeling well- stuffy nose, achy, and overall feeling blah.  I had an IEP meeting at school so I powered through and got ready.  After my meeting I started feeling better, however later in the day I started feeling worse.  In addition to my other symptoms, my back was sore and I had a lot of pressure from the baby.  It crossed my mind that I was going into labor but didn't think it would happen.  After school I left ASAP and got Josh, then parked myself on the couch for the evening.  Around 5pm the contractions started.  After a call to Ashley, she directed me to drink some water and lay down.  Unfortunately this didn't help and the contractions continued.  I called the doctor on call, and he directed me to drink a lot of water (8 glasses), relax, and if the contractions didn't slow down that I needed to head to the hospital.  We got Josh to bed and waited a while longer.  Then around 9 Andy decided time was up and we needed to go to the hospital.  Jim came over and off we went.  They got me up to labor and delivery pretty quickly.  Next they had me change, give a urine sample, then started various tests.  I was about 3 to 4 cm dilated and the contractions continued.  They started an IV and gave me some medicine to try to stop the contractions.  At some point, its all a little blurry now, the nurse informed me that they were going to keep me over night and continue to try to stop labor.  It was determined that dehydration and impending illness set me into inactive labor.  Neither of us got great sleep, but my contractions slowed over night.  The doctor came in around 9am and checked me again.  Still 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced.  He told us that if they couldn't get the contractions to stop that we might be staying longer and having the baby.  As the stomach virus was setting in and contractions slowly continued, we were moved to a delivery room.  Through the day the contractions mostly stopped and by about 4 the doctor checked me, finding no progress.  He suggested we head home if we were comfortable with that.  I was getting more uncomfortable and was happy to go home to recover from the virus.  I stayed home from work through the rest of the week to rest and recover.  Andy and I both agreed that we would never wish that virus on anyone!

Friday I had my regularly scheduled appointment with Dr. Scott.  She did the test for Group B Strep and checked me, still no progress.  I asked if I could return to work Monday.  She was hesitant, but after I told her that start testing would be starting and I could sit a lot, she agreed.  As I've started to feel better this weekend, I have pushed myself to get up and do things.  It didn't take much pushing, I was tired of sitting so much.  However, it has become evident that the modified bed rest is necessary and I will have to take it easy until I regain more strength or baby girl makes her arrival.

We are hoping for an uneventful couple of weeks before baby's arrival!

"Baby sister, be nice to Mommy!" 2/27/15

Joshua at times seems to be excited about his baby sister's arrival.  If she starts kicking me he likes to tell her to stop and be nice to Mommy.  Recently he was cuddling on me with his head on my belly.  Baby girl kept pushing on his head, so he reached over and and pushed/hit my belly.  I hadn't said anything to him about what she as doing.  He just kept reaching over and pushing back.

A couple days ago I had my 34 week ultrasound and appointment.  I had to take the afternoon off in order to go to the appointment.  It was a stressful afternoon with both Joshua and Andy being sick.  Joshua had an appointment and Andy wasn't feeling up to taking him.  He rose to the occasion and took Josh, only to find out it was a virus and had to run its course.  My appointment went well.  Baby girl is still growing on track, although small, she is following the growth curve.  She's in the 25th percentile which Dr. Scott said is not a concern.  I go to the doctor every week now and will have another ultrasound at 37 weeks.  The ultrasound is to continue to monitor her growth and check fluid levels.  Dr. Scott that everything is good to go for normal delivery on time.

As Joshua keeps telling me (as if I wasn't aware) "my belly keeps getting bigger."  My belly button has popped, my back often hurts and my hands and feet get swollen occasionally.  I have figured out some better sleeping positions, so luckily I am still getting decent sleep.

Joshua has been doing well with potty training.  He even wakes up at night when he has to go.  Although I'd rather not have to get up with him, I'm proud of him and feel its worth it.

32 Weeks

I never posted about my 28 week appointment.  We had an ultrasound at that appointment to check baby girl's size.  Her size appears to be right on track and she looked pretty cute.  The 3D ultrasounds were creepy in the beginning, but now that she has filled out more it's not so weird.  During the ultrasound she kept sucking on her wrist.  We also caught a glimpse of her yawning.

Today I had my 32 week appointment.  Since Dr. Scott is still out recovering from surgery, I had my appointment with the new doctor in the group, Dr. Acuara (spelling??).  Last time we saw Dr. Hollman, the doctor that delivered Joshua.  I liked the new doctor; so that was comforting since we don't know who will be there for delivery.  He got a brief update from me then asked how I've been feeling.  I said that just in the last week or so I have started feeling puffy and swollen.  Sleeping is becoming more uncomfortable since I can't sleep on my back, it's hard to roll over, and my shoulders and hips often begin to hurt from sleeping on my sides.  In addition to the physical struggles, my anxiety has increased lately.  The stress of preparing for maternity leave at school, including annual review preparations, along with the stress of the baby's due date approaching, and caring for Joshua, has all combined to make for higher anxiety.  I mentioned this to the doctor and he said it is perfectly normal.  The baby has been pretty active.  Much like her big brother was, she tends to be most active in the evenings.  Also like Joshua, she moves and kicks more when Andy is talking to her.  I enjoy feeling her kick when Joshua talks to her too.

Joshua seems to be excited about having a baby sister.  Although I'm not sure that he exactly understands what all will take place.  Josh has been a little more troublesome lately.  He wants things his way and gets very upset when he doesn't get what he wants.  Selective hearing seems to have entered Josh's repertoire.  This also causes tension.  On the bright side, Joshua is a very good helper.  He especially enjoys when he can do things like helping me cook, helping to make Andy's coffee, and sometimes getting things for us.  Joshua really enjoys doing crafts, especially ones that involve painting.

Only about 8 weeks to go until the baby's arrival.  As much as I'd like to make it until my last day of school, I'm kind of hoping she arrives early.

Roll Out to Celebrate Joshua's 3rd Birthday

My baby boy is 3!  Where has the time gone?  We celebrated his actual birthday just the 3 of us.  I took him to the sitter's (Kathy's) in the morning with some doughnuts to share.  Kathy is a wonderful person and had some birthday decorations up, made him his favorite lunch of chicken nuggets and fries, and got him a little gift.  When we got home  he played with Andy, and then we had chili for dinner per his request.  After dinner he got to open his gifts from us and Lisa.  Then it was time for his chocolate chip cookie cake.  He had a great day!

   

 We had his Rescue Bots themed birthday party on the 18th.  Several friends and family members attended.  I decided to order food from Rosati's to save me some time and stress.  I made brownie cupcakes with Rescue Bot characters stuck on top.  Joshua is a lucky boy and got some wonderful gifts.

Joshua continues to grow quickly and impresses us every day with new things he has learned (both good and bad).  He loves to rough house with Daddy and snuggle with Mommy.  He is a very sweet, thoughtful, little boy,  nearly bringing me to tears when he hugs me and says, "I love you" out of the blue.  I'd say its safe to say he is potty trained except for nighttime, and can even go #1 by himself.  He is quite imaginative when it comes to playing, and he can play independently for good periods of time.

We had his 3 year well-visit today and found out that he is in the 89th percentile for height.  Dr. Geddes said it appears he is doing well and we won't have to go back until he is 4 years old.

My friend, Amanda, always does a birthday interview with her kids.  I decided that this year Joshua was old enough to try it.  Here are his responses:

How old are you?  now I'm 3

What is your favorite color?  blue, red, green and orange

What is your favorite toy? my Heatwave dinosaur (Rescue Bots)

What is your favorite fruit? apples and orange, not an orange, just apple

What is your favorite show? Rescue Bots

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? noodles

What is your favorite outfit? clothes

What is your favorite snack? yogurt and peach and grapes and yogurt

What is  your favorite animal? my little bear

What is your favorite song? Rescue Bots song

What is your favorite book? Truckery Rhymes

Who is your best friend? Lucas

What is your favorite drink? milk

What makes you laugh? my silly song

What is your favorite holiday? Santa

What do  you like to take to bed with you at night? Sleepy  Puppy

What do you like to eat for breakfast? just yogurt

What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Oh uh noodles!  (he actually requested chili)

What do you like to do with  your family? play paint

Where do you like to go? a park

What do you want to be when you grow up?  play with Heatwave

26 Weeks Down....14 to Go

My 26 week appointments went well.  The ultrasound looked good.  We got some cute pictures of her (and 1 creepy one that we requested not be printed).  The ultrasound tech thought 1 wall of her heart was thickened but the doctor confirmed that everything looks good.  We will continue to monitor her size.  I also had to do my glucose tolerance test today.  YUCK!  I had to drink the orange drink then wait in the waiting room for Dr. Scott.  With the flu being so prevalent and some kids coughing in the waiting room, I did not touch anything.  Then I met with Dr. Scott for a few minutes.  She measured me and listened to the heartbeat.  Back out to the waiting room I went before having my blood drawn and leaving.  I start going to Dr. Scott every 2 weeks now.  I will see her on Jan. 15th and then have another ultrasound on the 19th.  The 19th will be a day full of doctors since Joshua has his 3-year appointment with Dr. Geddes.  If I remember correctly, he won't have to get any shots though.  I cannot believe my baby is going to be 3!  We have his birthday party planned for the 18th.  It is going to be a Rescue Bots theme.  Jeff created the awesome invitations for us, I just need to get them sent and figure out the rest of the details.  Watching my baby get older makes me sad, but I love seeing the little boy that he has become.