The last few weeks have been interesting. I'm titling this post "On Again, Off Again" primarily thanks to Sophia. I was beginning to be convinced that her reflux was giving her a great deal of issues. Then she started doing better. Three good routine days of sleeping, eating and being awake. Went to the pediatrician for her one month well check. Everything looked great. She's actually gained two pounds and six ounces in four weeks! She was 6lbs, 3oz at birth and 8lbs, 9oz at her one month. That's exciting. The doctor said if she seemed like she was going back into her super fussy, spitup, sleeplessness to call and she'd call in a script for us to try the baby Zantac. After our visit that day, we were back to a bad night of sleep. Then another. But then the last two nights have been good again. SO... I'm not sure what's going on with this little one but she's been on again, off again with her routines. Which means we've been on again, off again with sleep. Since I'm up with her during the night, on the mornings she wakes around five and insists she's up for good, James gets up with her. That's a blessing for sure.
I will say that her being my third baby has had definite perks. I feel much more confident in my parenting a baby. It also allots me time to sit each day (to nurse) that I normally wouldn't take. And people are much more willing to offer help when they see me out with the three kids (ages 3 and under) by myself. That said, I don't get out very often with all three of them by myself. It's too much work and way too tiring. Instead, I invite people to my place to visit and try to run errands when my husband can be home.
The kids are continuing to adjust. They're doing better with each other than they were. We're still having our hardest time with Benjamin. I think part of it is the fact that he's almost two (his birthday is next month), partly teeth that are coming in and then partly the change in our lives. He ADORES Sophia and you really have to watch him to make sure he doesn't smother her (literally) with hugs and kisses. But he's wanting to demand everything he wants, when he wants it and how he wants it. So we're having to direct most of our parenting energies on him right now.
Hannah continues to grow and mature. She certainly has her moments but over all it's so neat to watch her start to process and understand life better. She'll be four in May. We were praying for Japan one night and I was telling her, in kid-speak, what had happened. You could see her empathy and her prayer was so sweet. Now every time she sees a map, she asks me where Japan is. I'm beginning to look forward to doing more official homeschool stuff with her this fall.
Until next time...
Take Care,
Terra
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Our Family of Five and Reflux
When I'm pregnant, I write weekly pregnancy updates. I figure that a weekly blog is doable so I'm going to try to sustain that pace with the regular ins and outs of every day family life.
Sophia is now two weeks old and we're continuing to get in the groove of our new life as a family of five. At the beginning of the week, we took her to the pediatrician because she'd been sounding very congested and gagging a lot - especially at night time. Long story short, the doctor confidently diagnosed her as having reflux. He said it's very likely to get worse as she gets a little older and considering so far, her symptoms have been worse after night time feedings and not as bad during the day. So now we're learning the ropes of dealing with a baby with reflux. Fortunately, we've received a great deal of counsel and suggestions to help. If her symptoms seem to get worse and she appears to be in more pain, we may try some meds to help as well. We'll ask the doctor about that at her one month checkup. Overall though, she's doing great and has been such a sweetheart. She's already over a pound more than her birth weight which is fantastic!
Benjamin and Hannah are adjusting okay. They are both super sweet and helpful with Sophia herself. However, they've found much reason to fight amongst one another. Benjamin is realizing he can test my willingness to discipline him if I'm in the middle of nursing Sophia. So the biggest adjustment for me personally has been constant and consistent discipline with the older two. The day after we came home from the hospital, both older kids got sick and were running fevers. We praise God that Sophia did not get whatever it was they had.
James and I are doing well. He took a week off from work after the baby came to help around the house and get adjusted. He's been great in helping in every way he can. In addition to that, since my mom is still living with us, she has been a HUGE help as well. When James and I were at the hospital and even since we've been home, she's not only helped with the kids but cooked/cleaned/given baths and way more! It's been a true blessing to have her here during this time.
It's been four days since James went back to work and life went back to usual (in the general sense). So far we're surviving well. By God's grace, we'll continue to grow and thrive as the weeks and months continue!
Until next time...
Terra
Sophia is now two weeks old and we're continuing to get in the groove of our new life as a family of five. At the beginning of the week, we took her to the pediatrician because she'd been sounding very congested and gagging a lot - especially at night time. Long story short, the doctor confidently diagnosed her as having reflux. He said it's very likely to get worse as she gets a little older and considering so far, her symptoms have been worse after night time feedings and not as bad during the day. So now we're learning the ropes of dealing with a baby with reflux. Fortunately, we've received a great deal of counsel and suggestions to help. If her symptoms seem to get worse and she appears to be in more pain, we may try some meds to help as well. We'll ask the doctor about that at her one month checkup. Overall though, she's doing great and has been such a sweetheart. She's already over a pound more than her birth weight which is fantastic!
Benjamin and Hannah are adjusting okay. They are both super sweet and helpful with Sophia herself. However, they've found much reason to fight amongst one another. Benjamin is realizing he can test my willingness to discipline him if I'm in the middle of nursing Sophia. So the biggest adjustment for me personally has been constant and consistent discipline with the older two. The day after we came home from the hospital, both older kids got sick and were running fevers. We praise God that Sophia did not get whatever it was they had.
James and I are doing well. He took a week off from work after the baby came to help around the house and get adjusted. He's been great in helping in every way he can. In addition to that, since my mom is still living with us, she has been a HUGE help as well. When James and I were at the hospital and even since we've been home, she's not only helped with the kids but cooked/cleaned/given baths and way more! It's been a true blessing to have her here during this time.
It's been four days since James went back to work and life went back to usual (in the general sense). So far we're surviving well. By God's grace, we'll continue to grow and thrive as the weeks and months continue!
Until next time...
Terra
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Week 41: Sophia Makes her Grand Entrance!
You know as well as I do, I was beginning to think it'd never happen! :) About four and a half hours after my last pregnancy post, I woke up with strong contractions and really bad heartburn (probably the fault of that ginormous cheeseburger I ate). Not getting too excited yet, I took some Tums and went back to bed. An hour later (about 2am), I was still awake as the contractions were way to strong to go back to sleep. I decided to go ahead and get out of bed. My husband had worked late and was just getting ready to go to sleep when I came out of the bedroom. He asked if everything was okay. I told him my contractions were very strong but were only about 8-10 minutes apart. Soon after, I went to the restroom to discover pink-tinged mucous. I knew the time had FINALLY come. I went ahead and took a shower before we left, not knowing when my next would be. We started gathering our things and trying to contact a babysitter for the next day. We had several people that had told us we could call but then unforeseen things came up for many of them. I was starting to stress but finally got everything lined up.
Here's the kicker, by 3:30am (only 2 and a half hours after my labor had started) my contractions had closed into 3-4 minutes apart and were increasingly painful. My doula told me not to wait much longer to get to the hospital because my last labor had been a fairly quick one as well after I got past 3cm. We headed out. On the way, I noticed my husband's gas light was on in his car. I know I gave him a death stare. I told him if the car died on the way to the hospital I would kill him. He assured me that 'he knew his car and we would have plenty of gas.' Ha! And then...to make it even more humorous, we swung by a Redbox that was on the way to drop off a movie so we didn't forget about it!
As I was getting out of the car when we arrived at the hospital, I went into another contraction. I told my husband to wait just a moment and then we could head into the ER. As soon as the contraction ended, I took a step and felt a gush of fluid. I looked at him and said, "either I just peed on myself or my water broke." Two steps further and it was very obvious my water had broken. We walked inside and I went up to the registration lady in the ER. I asked if this was where I was supposed to go for ER. She looked at me kind of funny, said "yes" and then asked what I was there for. Really?! I said, "I'm having a baby and I'm dripping stuff all over your floor." She then quickly took me back to some other registration people. They couldn't believe I was there to deliver because I was laughing about everything. Seriously. I don't know why or how but I found everything humorous that evening/morning. Finally, after being unable to find me in their system the first few attempts, they realized they'd better do something. One of them asked if this was my first baby. When I told them it was my third, they quickly changed their speed and someone said they needed to get me upstairs asap before I had the baby right there.
Insisting on putting me in the wheelchair on the way up, the ER person pleaded with me not to have the baby in the elevator - said it'd almost been done. When we got to L&D, someone suggested bringing me to triage. The other nurse said I was definitely not going to triage and took me straight to a room. I hopped out of the wheelchair with this crazy amount of energy (call it adrenaline?) that I had. They all continued to laugh at me and my spunk. After getting changed and being checked, I was 5cm dilated at about 4:30am.
I had to remain on the monitors for the first 30 minutes to make sure the baby and myself were okay. As is typical of me and my labors, I slowed down a bit in progression/contractions. As soon as I had permission, I was taken off the monitors and stood bedside to continue laboring. My doula and a friend who soon plans be a doula herself were there with my husband and I. We continued to have good conversation and crack many jokes in between contractions. I find it a true gift that the Lord gives us a break between contractions to 'ease' things a bit. Again, I continued laughing about everything. Maybe that was my means of distraction? I'm not sure.
My doula had told me to be sure and tell her whenever I felt a change in pressure or like I was going to have a bowel movement. At one point, I started crying uncontrollably and knew I had to be close. I felt the pressure and told her I thought I should be checked. No sooner did the words come out of my mouth, my midwife and two nurses came into the room. My midwife looked at me, called for a nursery nurse and said, "Let's have a baby." After another contraction, she told me that considering this was my third birth, I could probably go ahead and start pushing to 'get this over with.' I was all about that! She asked me if there was a particular position I wanted to deliver in. She said I could lay on my side, squat, get on all fours if I wanted, it was up to me. I'd never been given such an option before! I told her I had no idea and asked my doula, who suggested lying on my side.
I started pushing at about 8:05am. My contractions slowed incredibly (to about 4-5min apart). During the second, the baby's head was seen. My midwife told me we'd probably have her out with the next contraction. I'd been fairly quiet during most of the labor contractions, minus some moaning and groaning towards the end. But when it came time to push, my husband later told me he didn't think he'd ever heard me scream so loud. Ha! Surely enough, the head did emerge on the third contraction. They told me she was here and I started to feel relief. Then they informed me that I should be able to get the shoulders out on the next push. I just about lost it. I thought she was already out! I remember screaming something about 'getting this kid out of me.' By God's grace, the next push sealed the deal and Sophia was finally here!
Here's the kicker, by 3:30am (only 2 and a half hours after my labor had started) my contractions had closed into 3-4 minutes apart and were increasingly painful. My doula told me not to wait much longer to get to the hospital because my last labor had been a fairly quick one as well after I got past 3cm. We headed out. On the way, I noticed my husband's gas light was on in his car. I know I gave him a death stare. I told him if the car died on the way to the hospital I would kill him. He assured me that 'he knew his car and we would have plenty of gas.' Ha! And then...to make it even more humorous, we swung by a Redbox that was on the way to drop off a movie so we didn't forget about it!
As I was getting out of the car when we arrived at the hospital, I went into another contraction. I told my husband to wait just a moment and then we could head into the ER. As soon as the contraction ended, I took a step and felt a gush of fluid. I looked at him and said, "either I just peed on myself or my water broke." Two steps further and it was very obvious my water had broken. We walked inside and I went up to the registration lady in the ER. I asked if this was where I was supposed to go for ER. She looked at me kind of funny, said "yes" and then asked what I was there for. Really?! I said, "I'm having a baby and I'm dripping stuff all over your floor." She then quickly took me back to some other registration people. They couldn't believe I was there to deliver because I was laughing about everything. Seriously. I don't know why or how but I found everything humorous that evening/morning. Finally, after being unable to find me in their system the first few attempts, they realized they'd better do something. One of them asked if this was my first baby. When I told them it was my third, they quickly changed their speed and someone said they needed to get me upstairs asap before I had the baby right there.
Insisting on putting me in the wheelchair on the way up, the ER person pleaded with me not to have the baby in the elevator - said it'd almost been done. When we got to L&D, someone suggested bringing me to triage. The other nurse said I was definitely not going to triage and took me straight to a room. I hopped out of the wheelchair with this crazy amount of energy (call it adrenaline?) that I had. They all continued to laugh at me and my spunk. After getting changed and being checked, I was 5cm dilated at about 4:30am.
I had to remain on the monitors for the first 30 minutes to make sure the baby and myself were okay. As is typical of me and my labors, I slowed down a bit in progression/contractions. As soon as I had permission, I was taken off the monitors and stood bedside to continue laboring. My doula and a friend who soon plans be a doula herself were there with my husband and I. We continued to have good conversation and crack many jokes in between contractions. I find it a true gift that the Lord gives us a break between contractions to 'ease' things a bit. Again, I continued laughing about everything. Maybe that was my means of distraction? I'm not sure.
My doula had told me to be sure and tell her whenever I felt a change in pressure or like I was going to have a bowel movement. At one point, I started crying uncontrollably and knew I had to be close. I felt the pressure and told her I thought I should be checked. No sooner did the words come out of my mouth, my midwife and two nurses came into the room. My midwife looked at me, called for a nursery nurse and said, "Let's have a baby." After another contraction, she told me that considering this was my third birth, I could probably go ahead and start pushing to 'get this over with.' I was all about that! She asked me if there was a particular position I wanted to deliver in. She said I could lay on my side, squat, get on all fours if I wanted, it was up to me. I'd never been given such an option before! I told her I had no idea and asked my doula, who suggested lying on my side.
I started pushing at about 8:05am. My contractions slowed incredibly (to about 4-5min apart). During the second, the baby's head was seen. My midwife told me we'd probably have her out with the next contraction. I'd been fairly quiet during most of the labor contractions, minus some moaning and groaning towards the end. But when it came time to push, my husband later told me he didn't think he'd ever heard me scream so loud. Ha! Surely enough, the head did emerge on the third contraction. They told me she was here and I started to feel relief. Then they informed me that I should be able to get the shoulders out on the next push. I just about lost it. I thought she was already out! I remember screaming something about 'getting this kid out of me.' By God's grace, the next push sealed the deal and Sophia was finally here!
The entire process was SO amazingly blessed. Start to finish was only 7 1/2 hours. I had no lacerations or other medical issues. As a matter of fact, I didn't even have to use the Heplock that had been placed for fluids or anything. Sophia's APGARs were both 9. She had no bruises or marks and even a round little head! She was placed on my chest, slightly wiped off and I was allowed to keep her for one entire hour before they took her to be weighed/cleaned/etc. At one week overdue, she was 6lbs, 2oz and 18in long. She has a head full of dark brown hair, super long eyelashes and dimples to die for. :) The entire hospital stay was fairly restful, smooth and over in 2 days. She came home nursing like a champ and with just a touch of jaundice (not worrisome). The kids are totally in love with her.
I think each pregnancy got harder and harder for me. And yet, each delivery was easier than the one before. Though we're not 100% sure, this will likely be our last biological baby. We've always had hearts to adopt and think that will be our next means of adding to our family. We'll see!
Thank you for following our story! If you want to continue to keep up with us, you're welcome to follow our family blog at jamesandterra.blogspot.com .
Many blessings to you all.
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