The first two weeks according to Preslie

Hi.

 My name is Preslie.

 

Mommy wanted me to update you all on what I've been up to my first two weeks of life.

April 2, 2013

 Mommy already gave her account of how I was forced out of my warm, dark, cozy womb. So far this new, bright world isn't that bad.

Going home from the hospital, April 3, 2013

My first week I had this weird thing called jaundice. Mommy and Daddy had to take me to the doctor three times after we got home from the hospital, and each time I had to get my heel pricked. It hurt really bad and made me cry. Mommy said it made them feel so sad for me.

In order for the jaundice to go away, Mommy tried to feed me lots of milkies, but because I didn't feel like crying the first few days it made it harder for her milkies to come in. So the doctor lady said Mommy needed to supplement with formula because I was losing too much weight and the jaundice was getting worse. Mommy was pretty sad about that.

I'm all better now though, and Mommy and Daddy always talk about how big my belly is because milkies are my favorite. Mommy's milkies seem to make my tummy hurt, so her and the doctor lady are trying to figure out what works best for me. Either way, I love milkies!

Here are some of my favorite things:

Mommy and Daddy (duh)

Milkies

Bath time

My swaddle

Having my hair brushed

Milkies

The swing

Nap time

Daddy's voice

Being outside

Sleeping with my mouth open

Milkies

 

Mommy says I'm on a fairly good schedule for only being two weeks old. I go nigh-nights at 11pm in Mommy and Daddy's room in my little crib and I sleep for three hours. Then Mommy has to wake me up to change my diaper and feed me. Then she rocks me to sleep and I have dreams for another three hours and then Daddy wakes me up to change me again and I get more milkies. Then I go back to sleep until morning time. During the day, Mommy and I spend a lot of time together and I eat, sleep and poop. I take nappies in my crib in my nursery during the day.

I get 2.5 ounces of milkies every 2 to 2 1/2 hours. My nappies usually last an hour to two hours. During my nappies Mommy says she tries to rush around the house to get as much done as she can before I wake back up.

I've had a lot of people come visit me. I don't know who they all are yet, but Mommy and Daddy tell me that I'll be spoiled rotten by them all.

Grammy and Me

Grandpa and Me

Uncle JJ and Me

Grandma and Me

 Uncle Matthew (aka Uncle Machew) and Me

Aunt Courtney (aka Auntie Frug) and Me

Great Grandma Helen and Me

 Aunt Lynn and Me

 Aunt Lis and Me

Cousin Carter (8 weeks) and Me

Okay. I'm going to get ready to do some crying because it's time for some more milkies.

Baby snuggles,

Preslie

Preslie's Birth Story - Part II

At about 4am the nurse came in and said it was time to start pushing to get the baby down and ready for birth.

I had heard the saying "Every pregnancy/delivery is different" throughout my whole pregnancy. I knew to believe it but let me just tell you that every pregnancy/delivery is different! I had heard of other women who've recently given birth say they only had to push three or four times. Well, that was not the case with me. I pushed for 2 hours and 20 minutes before this sweet thing decided to grace us with her presence.

 

During that time I have never felt so exhausted in my whole entire 30 years of life! There were times I'd open my eyes after pushing and not really remember where I was. Oh, and by this time the epidural was definitely wearing off.

The closer I was to delivering, the more nurses started showing up to prepare for the baby. The main nurse we had was awesome. She was so nice and encouraging. There was this other nurse though, that I did not like. She was so rough and pushy (no pun intended). I guess that's kind of a good thing because as I was pushing I would get pissed and just push harder to shut the lady up. I was not a fan of her.

At the end, the doctor said she was going to put her scrubs on since I was just about four pushes away from delivering. As soon as her scrubs were on and she told me to push, Preslie shot right out! The doctor caught her mid-air. That was the biggest relief, ever. I immediately felt my stomach and was amazed at how it just deflated.

Preslie came out with the cord wrapped around her body. Which led her to not be breathing when she was born. However, she still came out bright-eyed and smiling. The doctor laid her on my stomach and the nurses started rubbing her with the towels but she still wasn't breathing and she was blue. I was trying to tell them to take her away because she didn't look right and wasn't crying. So they finally took her to the warming table and about six nurses and a couple doctors worked on her for about 30 minutes. Kevin and I just held hands and were quiet the whole time because no one would really tell us anything. They had to suction a whole bunch of fluid from her stomach but Baby Girl ended up being just fine. She just wanted to give her parents a good scare. Oh, and her heart regulated itself once she was born, so that was a big relief.

 First bath

There's no way to really explain the feeling of your child being born, but it was just an overwhelming feeling of emotions. I will never forget her big eyes looking directly at me as soon as she was delivered.


A few things I want to make note of so I don't forget:
-I was surprised that she weighed over seven pounds. I couldn't believe a baby that size was in my tummy.
-She latched on and nursed with no problem. I was so thankful for that.
-She has a perfectly round head. I have a thing for the shape of babies' heads for some reason. Ha!
-The recovery after delivery has been tough! I was not prepared for the recovery process and the pain involved with that. I guess it's not something women really discuss because there's a cute baby to ooh and aww over instead. Or maybe recovery is different for everyone, but for me it's been painful. I still don't feel 100% yet and I think it'll take another week before I do.
-We didn't do that great of a job at taking pictures. It was tough to remember to do so with all the visitors and nurses coming in and out and trying to rest and take care of a baby in between. I can see now why some people choose to have someone come in to take photos for you.

We still can't believe she's finally here. To me, it doesn't feel real. I can't believe she's actually our baby and will live with us. I don't really feel like her mom. I know I will and this is all still new, but I feel like I'm babysitting her for now. I'm sure it'll all sink in eventually.

 A tired mommy and baby

A tired daddy (and wide awake baby)

In the end, I was in labor for a total of 46 hours and pushed for a little over 2 hours. It definitely was not the labor I expected, but the end result was more than I could dream of.

So far we're on cloud nine.

Preslie's Birth Story - Part I

The week leading up to Preslie's birth I was feeling more uncomfortable, but nothing out of the ordinary for being 38 weeks pregnant. I had an NST on Friday, March 29th, and while I was hooked up to the monitors, I apparently had three contractions. The nurse asked me if I felt them and I of course did but I didn't realize that's what they were. I just thought Preslie was stretching out in there, and they didn't hurt. But it was helpful to feel and know what I should be expecting.

That day and Saturday I took walks with Kevin and used the birthing ball. I had contractions here and there, but nothing major.

Easter Sunday morning, March 31st, is when things really started to pick up. I woke up at 8:30am with period-like cramps and stronger tightening of my stomach. Strong enough to wake me from sleep so I knew we were heading in the right direction. I also lost my mucus plug on this morning. Looking back now I can confidently say that Sunday morning is when labor started for me. Granted, it was early labor, but labor nonetheless. I told Kevin "Babe, it looks like we could be having an April Fools baby."

I had been keeping in touch with my parents during this time and they decided my mom should go ahead and come up to our house since there was no doubt the baby would be here any day. I'm so glad she did because while Kevin helped me get through contractions my mom was such a huge help around the house making food for us, cleaning up and doing laundry. She is a saint!

Kevin was beyond wonderful. He kept me sane and focused. I made a promise to myself that I would not scream and shout during my contractions. It's just not me. So we made sure I stayed focused and in control with slow, steady breathing. He was right beside me so I could squeeze his hand and he timed my contractions.

We monitored my contractions that day. By late afternoon they were getting stronger where I couldn't walk or talk and just had to breath through them. I was still able to do things around the house somewhat, but there was no denying they were stronger than that morning. That night we headed up to Kevin's grandma's for Easter dinner. I'll tell you that it was no easy feat to breath through contractions during Easter dinner. Ha!

Once we got back home the contractions started getting more intense. I didn't sleep that night because it just wasn't going to happen with the pain. So I spent the night walking, breathing and bouncing on the birthing ball.

Monday morning the contractions were painful. I was so exhausted too. My contractions were five minutes apart for an hour by 5:30am and were getting close to four minutes apart. But when Kevin called L&D they said they wanted me to labor for another hour at home before coming in. I was so furious. I was a walking (laboring) zombie at that point. Looking back now, it was good it happened the way it did because soon after my contractions let up a bit. I was able to get about an hour of sleep in. However, the misery started all over again.

So most of Monday consisted of me being in active labor. The contractions got stronger by the hour but kept steady at about eight to ten minutes apart. In case you were wondering what they feel like (because I always wondered), for me they felt like intense period cramps, along with almost a burning/cramping lower back pain, and a tightening of my whole stomach.

By Monday evening I just wanted to cry because I hadn't slept in so long. To try and calm myself and relax a little I took a warm bath and boy did that get things moving along! Within an hour of my bath my contractions were on fire. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give them a seven. They quickly got to five minutes apart for an hour, then four minutes apart. Kevin called L&D once again and basically told them we're coming in regardless of if they wanted me to labor another hour at home.

We left for the hospital at 7:30pm on April 1st. By the time we arrived my contractions were three minutes apart, and that pain level had creeped up to about a nine. Luckily, when I checked into L&D there was no one there so I was able to be checked right away. My doctor was also on duty so it felt good to be able to see a familiar face there and have her examine me. She checked me and I was five centimeters. I was so relieved that progress had been made after all that.

Meanwhile, as my mom was in the L&D waiting room she overheard two doctors talking about me. Doctor #1 asked Doctor #2 how far along I was. Doctor #2 said "Five centimeters." Doctor #1 said "Five centimeters?? She should've been in here a long time ago." My mom then spoke up and asked "Are you talking about my daughter, Kaysie?" The doctors looked at her and said "Sorry ma'am, we can't say." And my mom said "Well, I'm going to assume you are. We've been calling all day to get her in and you guys kept telling us to stay home." Doctor #1 said "Well, that is very unfortunate." Very interesting....

Anyways, I was taken to our delivery room and no sooner was I hooked up to an IV did the anesthesiologist arrive and provided me with an epidural. Looking back now, I know I could've gone without the drugs, but since I hadn't slept in so long, I knew without a doubt there was no way I'd be able to go through with pushing without some sort of rest.

About an hour after the epidural was placed I was checked again and was seven centimeters dilated. The nurse left us alone for a good three hours after that so Kevin and I could get some much-needed rest. They checked me once more some time after and when they did my water broke and I was complete. They wanted the baby to come down a little farther so I labored some more. If I hadn't had the epidural I would've been doing a lot of walking around to get her down and engaged, trust me.

I'm going to have to finish up the rest of this story a little later. A little Babe needs to be fed!

Introducing...

Our precious girl

Preslie Kay Marie Pino

Born Tuesday, April 2, 2013

at 6:20am

Weighing 7 pounds, 6.9 ounces

19 3/4 inches long

She was born bright-eyed and smiling

She looks a lot like me but has her daddy's pretty eyes

We're trying to grasp our new normal and get to know one another

Kevin is an incredible father

 I'm hoping to post more soon and provide some decent photos from our camera, a little about the Little Squirt (our nickname for her) and enlighten you with her birth story.

 Thank you all for the congrats and love and well wishes. We're so thrilled she's finally here!

xoxo,

Baby Pino: 38 Weeks (and a prayer)

How far along: 38 weeks and 2 days

I wanted to wait until I had my appointment yesterday before I updated. My doctor checked me and I'm not dilated by my cervix is soft, so that's a good thing.

However, when she listened to the baby's heartbeat she said it sounded irregular. So she sent me to get a non-stress test (NST) and I was in there for about an hour and Preslie's heartbeat is definitely irregular. That was the longest hour of my life looking at the monitor and seeing the heartbeat numbers all over the place. From what I can remember the nurse telling me is that it sounds like she's skipping a beat. So...now I go back every three days for a NST until she's born. In the meantime I need to have blood work done to check my thyroid and we should be hearing from the perinatologist any time now to schedule what I think will be an in-depth ultrasound of her heart.

The good news is that apparently this occurs more than people realize, and once the baby is born her heart rate adjusts on it's own soon after birth and there are no issues. But that doesn't make it any less worrisome for us as her parents.

It just sucks because we've had a great, uncomplicated pregnancy this whole time and now this last week and a half I'm filled with worry and what-ifs.

So if you could spare a prayer that this all turns out to be nothing and her little ticker is ticking like it should, we'd greatly appreciate it.

Weight gain/loss: Gained 18 pounds

 Size of baby: I was a little overwhelmed with the irregular heart beat news that I forgot to ask my doctor what her guess was on Preslie's size. But according to the baby sites she is weighing anywhere between 6 1/2 to 7 pounds now; 19 1/2 inches long; the size of a pumpkin (whoa!).

Gender: Girl

Movement: She's still a squirmy little thing. Her most active time is between 12am-2am.

Sleep: Everything I ever said before about sleeping well, I take back. Ha! Given that she likes to be up from 12-2am makes it difficult to fall asleep. Sleeping on my sides have made my hips go numb so I'm constantly turning from one side to the other all night. I've been avoiding naps later in the day because it makes it harder for me to fall asleep at night. Luckily, I can go on little sleep so this all isn't too unbearable.

Maternity clothes: Yes.

Symptoms: Sore hips while sleeping, lack of energy, no appetite, feeling nauseated more often than not.

Aversions: Sometimes it feels like there is nothing that sounds good and I'm only eating at this point to keep the baby and myself healthy, unless I'm craving something specifically.

Cravings: I had a specific craving for The Cheesecake Factory's strawberry lemonade last week. That is the best stuff ever made. I was able to enjoy two big glasses on Sunday when Kevin and I had an early dinner. As well as their avocado egg rolls. Yumm-oh! I've also been craving sweets from time to time.

What I miss: Not being uncomfortable and being able to move a little more freely.

Best moment this week: Spending a lot of time with Kevin. He's been working from home a little more since I've been off so it's been nice being able to eat breakfast with him in the mornings and hang out with him in the afternoons.

What I'm looking forward to: Just to have a healthy baby here soon.

Baby Daddy: Every day Kevin tells me how much he thinks of Preslie and how he can't wait to have her here and hold her. He's going to be a good daddy.

A daily recap

I want to jot down what I've been doing since I've been off work. More for my own memory than anything else.

Mon. 3/11: 

 Caught up on bills, submitted my state disability claim, was on the phone for hours with HR trying to access my work account from home, then on the phone for some more hours with my hospital.

Cleaned up around the house and made dinner.

Took the dogs for a walk.

Tues. 3/12: 

Made a trip to Babies R Us to return duplicates and get the last of the things we needed from our registry.

Worked a little on the nursery.

Made phone calls.

Started looking for freezer meal recipes and making a grocery list.

Kev and I went out to dinner.

Wed. 3/13:

Gathered tax info for my meeting with our CPA.

Went grocery shopping.

Took the dogs for a walk.

 Made dinner.

Finished the Mom's on Call baby book (this is the method we'll be using for Preslie).

Thurs. 3/14:

Finished up Preslie's nursery and took pictures of it.

 Met with the CPA.

Took the dogs for a walk.

Edited pictures and posted about Baby's nursery.

Fri. 3/15:

Pretty much spent the entire ever-loving day making frozen meals. My mom will be here for a couple weeks after Preslie is born, so she'll be in charge of some dinners, but once she's gone and the nights Kevin doesn't feel like cooking our frozen meals will come in pretty handy.

  Sat. 3/16:

Cleaned the house.

Got the guest rooms ready for visitors once Preslie arrives.

Organized a hall closet that had been driving me crazy for a while.

Went through a box from our move (we still have about 4 boxes left so this felt like a big accomplishment).

Kevin and I went shopping for a couple hours.

Went to dinner.

Went over to a friends house to watch the UFC fight.

Sun. 3/17: 

I rested most of the day and took the dogs on a long walk this evening.

Mon. 3/18: 

Started laundry.

Paid bills and did some more stuff for state disability.

Gathered more tax information for the CPA.

Helped Kevin with dinner.

The end.

 

Baby Pino: 37 Weeks

Thank you everyone for the nursery love!!

How far along: 37 weeks. 

Finally full term and it feels good! I don't think there's any expectant mother or parents who aren't thankful they've passed another week. There are a lot of worries that go on while carrying a baby and the fact that we're healthy and still going strong is a big relief and blessing.

Weight gain/loss: Gained 17 1/2 pounds.

I didn't gain any weight this week, but I've been doing a lot of walking. I'm even wearing poor Stella out! I've been trying to walk the dogs every day, and they're not just strolling walks. I am powering through them!

Size of baby: Approximately 6 - 6 1/2 pounds (I'm thinking less than that though); a little over 19 inches long; the size of a winter melon.

Gender: Girl

Movement: So much of it. 

I thought it'd let up a little the more she grows and the less room she has but these past few days she has been non-stop. She's beating me up!

Sleep: I think I may be experiencing some pregnancy insomnia. 

It takes me a couple hours to fall asleep. But don't worry, I'm having no problem sleeping in. ;)

Maternity clothes: Of course.

Symptoms: Two occasions of false labor. Talk about frustrating! 

On Tuesday night I had seven straight hours of contractions that ranged from 30-50 seconds, every five to ten minutes. I didn't sleep at all that night. I thought for sure the next day we'd be having a baby, but once I finally did fall asleep and wake up....nothing.

Yesterday I went for a really long walk and the contractions were pretty painful for a couple straight hours, and then as soon as I laid down....nothing.

So I'm not getting my hopes up anymore. Unless my water breaks or I have that really big contraction, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and wait. 

Aversions: Sometimes just food in general, but nothing specific.

Cravings: ICEE's, root beer, eggs and hashbrowns.

What I miss: Nothing at the moment. I'm thoroughly enjoying staying home! I'm looking forward to hopefully getting a day of rest soon because so far I've had something going on each day.

Best moment this week: This isn't really baby-related, but I've started the Downton Abbey series and I'm obsessed!

What I'm looking forward to: Of course for Preslie to come.

Baby Daddy: He got a lot done over the weekend that I was nagging him about. Like pulling weeds and cleaning the garage. None of that stuff directly affected me, but I just couldn't stand any of that stuff so he appeased me and did it all. Probably to shut me up, but I understand. Ha!