5 weeks!

Adalyn is 5 weeks! I can't believe it. 

My baby girl is already 5 weeks old.  Time is going way too fast.  We are trying to soak up every moment with our sweet baby, because she is growing so quickly.  We decided to do some Mommy and me pictures, because Mommy is always taking the pics.  

Adalyn celebrated her first Easter (which was technically week 5, even though we put pics under week 4) and got her first Easter basket from Grandpa Scott.  

This week Adalyn's cries are becoming more distinct and I can tell her hungry cry from her dirty diaper cry.  She is still chewing on her hands and has gagged herself a couple of times.  She is making even more noises this week: cooing, oohs, giggles, and squeals.  I love hearing her new sounds!  She has started to push with her legs during tummy time and when being held.  She loves to kick you when being held too.  

Mommy and Daddy went out for their first date night this week, while Nugget stayed with Granny.  This was the first time we were away from her for more than an hour.  She did great!  Mommy had a harder time, but had fun at the movies, eating sushi again, and going out for dessert!  

All about Adalyn:
Age: 5 weeks
Weight: ? Heavy!
Length: ? Didn't measure this week.
Eye color: hazel/gray
Hair: brown hair, longer in the back
Sleep: She still sleeps more during the day and has times when she is wide awake at night. We are having more good nights and some hard nights.  
Eating:  She eats every 1.5 to 2 hours.  She is a great nurser still.  
Favorite things: She loves to be held, swing, sit in her bouncy chair, and ride in the truck.
Milestones: Mommy and Daddy date night!  Distinct cries and pushing with her legs.
Outings: Just quick errands with mom.  
Words/sounds: Lots of squealing, grunting, screaming (happy), and cooing, oohs.   
Nicknames: Nugget, Nuggles, Nugs
Funny moments: Lots of grunts and giggles! 

4 weeks!

 Happy Easter!  

Adalyn is already one month old!  Time has gone by so quickly!  She was not very excited about modeling her Easter outfits, but we did it anyway.  She has grown a lot this week and is making a lot of new noises.  She has started to laugh and smile this week :)  She also widens her eyes and makes a crazy face when we make funny noises at her.  It is so cute!  She has discovered her hands and likes to chew and suck on them.  This week was the first time she had a bottle.  She did great and ate like a champ.  We also started a pacifier this week.  She only uses it occasionally and most of the time spits it across the room! She has started screaming and crying when we change her diaper.  It is horrible and heartbreaking to see tears! She doesn't stop until you pick her up.  It is getting old very fast! 

We had our first real outing with Mom and Dad.  We went to IHOP for breakfast, then to Kohls and Target for quick errands.  She slept through the entire trip.  She did get upset on the way home (and by upset, I mean complete meltdown.), because she had a dirty diaper and was hungry.  It was heartbreaking listening to her cry in her car seat.   

All about Adalyn:
Age: 4 weeks
Weight: 9 pounds 9 oz
Length: 21.75 inches (that is 1.25 inches she has grown in 2 weeks)
Eye color: hazel/gray
Hair: brown hair, longer in the back
Sleep: She still sleeps more during the day and has times when she is wide awake at night. We are having more good nights and some hard nights.  
Eating:  She eats every 1.5 to 2 hours.  She is a great nurser.  
Favorite things: She loves to be held, swing, sit in her bouncy chair, and ride in the truck.
Milestones: First bottle, started to like her paci, first big outing with Mom and Dad.
Outings: A trip to IHOP, Kohls, and Target.  
Words/sounds: Lots of squealing, grunting, screaming (happy), and cooing (I don't know how else to describe it).   
Nicknames: Nugget, Nuggles, Nugs
Funny moments: Lots of burping and farting! She also laughs at us!

3 weeks!

I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks!  Adalyn is growing so fast and I feel like she has changed so much already.  It is exciting, but makes me a little sad at the same time.  I am trying to soak up every moment.  This week was the first week of just mommy and Adalyn.  We had a few rough days, but it is still such a blessing to be able to be home with my little Nugget.  

This week Adalyn has continued to make little noises.  She is grunting and squealing still, but she has also started a shrill scream when she has a dirty diaper.  She has become a very noisy eater.  She smacks her lips, sighs, and grunts!  She loves bath time now!  She still doesn't like being naked, but she is okay with it when she is soaking in her little tub.  We did a lot of reading this week.  She loves to be rocked and read to.  This week she also outgrew some of her newborn clothes :( Her footed pjs are too short now.  

WAR EAGLE! Gotta teach them early!

All about Adalyn:
Age: 3 week
Weight: ? We don't have a scale
Length: ?
Eye color: hazel
Hair: brown hair, longer in the back
Sleep: She sleeps more during the day and is wide awake between 12 and 3 am.  We have had some great nights and some hard nights.  A couple of nights we camped out in the living room on an air mattress next to the swing, so daddy could get some sleep.
Eating:  She eats every 1.5 to 2 hours.  She is a great nurser.  
Favorite things: She loves to be held, swing, sit in her bouncy chair, and ride in the truck.
Milestones: Outgrew newborn clothes this week :( First week with just mommy.  
Outings: A quick trip to the store and that was it.  She slept through everything. 
Words/sounds: Squealing, grunting, and a shrill scream this week!  
Nicknames: Nugget and Nuggles
Funny moments: Lots of burping and farting! 

2 weeks new!

Time is flying!  Our little Nugget is growing so fast.  This week was just mommy, daddy, and Nugget.  We had a good week, even though we didn't get much sleep.  Adalyn still likes to be awake late at night/early morning.  We started using our newborn cloth diapers this week!  So far so good.  They really are pretty easy to use and so cute!  

We went to the pediatrician this week for a 2 week checkup.  Adalyn did great and is a healthy growing girl!  She is gaining weight like a champ.  Her PKU/Newborn screening test was all normal/negative!  She doesn't go back to the pediatrician until 2 months now.  

This week has been pretty eventful.  Daddy got initiated while changing a diaper.  Adalyn sneezed and farted while he was changing her and he got sprayed with poop :)  On March 10th, Adalyn's umbilical stump fell off, so now she has a belly button!  We started doing tummy time this week.  She enjoys it.  She is already pushing herself up a little bit and can hold her head up briefly.  She has started grunting and squealing this week too.  It is pretty funny to listen to her little noises.  She started smiling for real (not just gas) and blowing spit bubbles.  It is so adorable.  She still has hiccups a lot (just like when she was in my belly), but the gripe water helps get rid of them most of the time.  

Modeling her new diaper!

All about Adalyn:
Age: 2 weeks
Weight: 8 pounds 9 oz (March 15)
Length: 20.5 inches
Eye color: hazel
Hair: brown hair, longer in the back
Sleep: She sleeps more during the day and is wide awake between 12 and 3 am.  Some nights she slept great and just woke up to eat.
Eating:  She eats every 1.5 to 2 hours.  She is a great nurser.  
Favorite things: She loves to cuddle, swing, sit in her bouncy chair, and ride in the truck.
Milestones: First real bath after her umbilical stump fell off.
Outings: We went to Walmart quickly this week.  She slept the whole time in her car seat in the cart. 
Words/sounds: She grunts and squeals this week. 
Nicknames: Nugget, Nuggles 
Funny moments: Brandon getting a poop shower,  Nugget is very gassy.  She has some seriously loud farts and burps!   

Adalyn's First Week!

We made it through our first week at home!  Time has flown by and Adalyn has changed so much already.  My mom and Brandon were both home with us the first week and were a huge help.  My whole body was sore for the first few days, but now I am mostly sore from my episiotomy and sutures.  I can not do much walking or standing.  I am taking Motrin for pain and inflammation.  My poor feet and ankles are swollen and ugly.  At the end of week one, my feet were back to normal and I could get back into my regular jeans that I was wearing around 3-7 months pregnant.  I am so happy to not have the itchy belly band on my tummy!  I have also been able to wear my wedding band, but still can't get my engagement ring on.  I can't wait to be able to walk and get some exercise.  My belly button has gone back in!  

I am still in awe of the sweet little angel Brandon and I created!  We love to cuddle her and stare at her.  We have made a great parenting team.  Brandon is great at soothing Adalyn.  She loves when he plays with her legs, rocks her, and rubs her tummy.  These same tricks do not work for me.  He is also a great diaper changer!  We have been napping during the day when she naps so we have some energy for night time.  We have just been trying to soak up every precious moment.  

Adalyn is doing great.  She loves to eat!  Her birth weight was 7 pounds 14 ounces.  When we left the hospital, she weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces.  At her first pediatrician appointment on Day 4, she weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces already!   She is a great sleeper during the day, but likes to be awake around 2-4 am.  She is a sweet and happy baby.  She does cry when she needs to be fed or changed and she can scream!  Her very angry cry sounds like a donkey.  She is a gassy girl, who can make a serious fart.  She enjoyed her sponge baths as long as we kept the bathroom nice and warm.  

All about Adalyn:
Age: 1 week
Weight: 7 pounds 13 ounces (Monday, March 4th)
Length: 19.5 inches
Eye color: still blue right now
Hair: brown hair, longer in the back
Sleep: She sleeps more during the day and is wide awake between 2 and 4 am.  
Eating:  She eats every 1.5 to 2 hours.  She is a great nurser.  
Favorite things: She loves to cuddle, swing, sit in her bouncy chair, and ride in the truck.
Milestones: Newborn pictures with Bella Posa!  She had her first sponge bath at home.  We started using our cloth diapers during the day.  
Outings: We have only been out to the pediatrician and to visit Daddy's work so far.  
Words/sounds: She grunts, farts, and burps so far.  And of course, cries when she needs something.  
Nicknames: Nugget (I started calling her this when I was pregnant), Nuggles (because she loves to snuggle), Princess
Funny moments: Trying to get baby clothes on can be interesting.  Getting the hang of diaper changing is also comical, but no big mishaps yet.  

Photos by Bella Posa:

Adalyn's Arrival

Adalyn's birth story is a long one.  I'm going to share the condensed version here, because really no one wants to hear the whole thing and I don't want to remember every detail of the 51 hours.  

February 26th around 8pm, my contractions started.  I had 4 that hour and about 6 every hour until midnight.  At midnight we went to sleep, so I stopped counting.  The contractions were uncomfortable, but for the most part nothing I couldn't sleep through.  

I woke up at 6am on the 27th starving and still having contractions.  My mom was on her way here (a 6 hour drive) so she wouldn't miss the birth (little did we know she had plenty of time).  Brandon made me some turkey bacon and toast.  I walked around, sat on the birth ball, and took a nap.  The contractions were mild, but frequent.  They were coming every 5 minutes consistently by around 10am.  The hospital said to stay home and walk until the pain was too strong to walk or talk through.  At this point, I got in the bath to try to relax.  Walking was uncomfortable, but I was making laps around the dining room table.  The poor dogs were so worried about me and confused by my pacing.  Around 3:30pm, the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and had gotten to the point that we thought it was time to go in.  

When we arrived at the hospital, I was 4cm dilated and fully effaced.  They said I could go ahead and be admitted or go home to walk around some more.  I didn't feel like going home, so we opted to go ahead and get the process started.  They admitted me, placed my IV catheter, and started fluids.  I continued to have contractions that became more frequent and more intense.  From here, things begin to blur together.  My first midwife, Shelly James, continued to check in on me.  After a couple of hours, she rechecked me.  I was around 5cm dilated (not much progress).  At this point, we decided to go ahead and break my water to try to speed things up. She was optimistic that things would happen quickly now.  We were all optimistic at this point.  

The morning of February 28th rolled in and I was still only about 6cm.  Major Villacorta, who was my midwife throughout pregnancy, was on labor and delivery for the day.  She thought it was time to start Pitocin.  With the Pitocin, my contractions became very strong and painful.  Thank goodness for my support system of Brandon, my mom, and Kristy!  They were wonderful and so encouraging.  A couple of hours later, on exam, she found that my bag of water was still intact and I hadn't progressed.  Apparently, I must have had a forebag of water that they broke the first time.  Major V, added an internal monitor (just a probe inserted into my uterus next to baby) to check my contractions internally (more accurate than the external monitor) and determined they were not strong enough to cause adequate progression.  My dose of Pitocin was increased and my water was broken again (for real this time).  It was now afternoon and I was in a tremendous amount of pain, in addition to being discouraged and exhausted.  This birth had swerved greatly from our birth plan.  Major V came back to check me a couple of hours later and I was still only around 7cm.  They continued to increase my dose of Pitocin every hour.  I was so discouraged and exhausted.  I decided to leave my plan for natural childbirth behind and get an epidural to help my body relax (this is about hour 46).   I was able to relax with much less pain for a couple of hours before I was fully dilated and ready to push.  

February 28th 7ish pm, I was finally fully dilated and it was time to push.  I was also on my 3rd doctor, Dr Rich.  I pushed with each contraction and a lot of support from my team.  After an hour and a half had passed, I again had not made a lot of progress, because I could not feel what/where I was supposed to be pushing.  This was both a blessing and a hindrance.  We decided the best thing to do was to turn off the epidural so I could feel the contractions and the pushing (Unfortunately, we couldn't just turn the epidural down).  After about 30 minutes, I was definitely feeling the pain.  I was told we needed to get her out soon, because they do not usually let the pushing go on for more than 2.5 hours.  I had been through this much labor and I was not giving up and having a c-section now!  So the pushing continued!  Miss Adalyn continued her trend of doing things her way.  She was coming out with her head turned to the side, instead of face down.  This is probably why I was not progressing as expected and the pushing wasn't going smoothly, because she was not in the proper position.  They allowed me to continue pushing because I was determined and Adalyn was never stressed during labor.     

Around 11pm, Dr Rich came in to check our progress.  I had pushed her just to the edge of the vaginal opening, but couldn't get her through.  Dr Rich recommended an episiotomy to prevent extensive damage.  We also decided to use the vacuum extractor to help get her head out.  We discussed the pros and cons before doing anything.  Since she was already crowning, the risks were lessened and the biggest advantage was getting her out for both of our benefits.  The vacuum extractor is not as scary as it sounds.  It was a hand pumped suction cup essentially.  Adalyn's head was soon out!  I thought it was easy peasy from there, but no, the shoulders hurt!  However, it was over before I knew it and she was in my arms at 11:38pm!  From there nothing else mattered.  The pain and the hours of labor were a distant memory.  Brandon cut the umbilical cord and the nurse placed Adalyn on my chest for Kangaroo care.

Love at first sight doesn't even begin to describe the feeling of finally meeting and holding my baby girl.  They did have to take her from my chest briefly to suction some mucus.  Brandon stayed with her the entire time and then brought her back to me.  That was the second greatest moment of the night, seeing both of my loves together.  Meanwhile, I passed the placenta and was sutured up.  The rest of the night is a blissful blur!  

Kristy from Bella Posa Photography was with us for the birth (and much of the labor) to capture our priceless moments.

 

  

Week 39

We are at 39 weeks now!  Baby girl is due in 2 days.  She seems very cozy in there with no real signs of coming out anytime soon.  I am ready for her to come out now!!  Everything is ready and we are all ready to meet her!  I am becoming impatient, even though I know it won't do any good.  

I have had a few little contractions, but nothing serious.  I lost my mucus plug (gross, I know).  At my OB appointment this week my cervix was still about 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  The doctor stripped my membranes (separated them from the cervix) to try to stimulate labor.  That was over 24 hours ago and nothing has really changed.  I am really hoping she decides to come out this weekend. The doctor said if she hasn't come by my appointment next Thursday he wants to induce on Friday.  So we are hoping she comes before then!  

Here are the pictures of my latest projects.  A headband/bow holder and her name.   

 

How far along?: 39 weeks

Total weight gain?  21 pounds 

Baby is the size of a:  mini watermelon

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:  This week she is continuing to build a layer of fat to help regulate her body temperature after birth. 

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   I have adapted to only sleeping for an hour or two.  Then, I have to change positions and usually get up to go to the bathroom.  

Best moment of this week?: Listening to Adalyn's heartbeat.

Miss anything?:   Bending over easily. 

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  

Food cravings?:  Nothing really.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.

Belly button in or out?:  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time.

Looking forward to: Adalyn's arrival!

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn is much better with her turned head down and dropping lower.  I have occasional sciatic nerve pain.   

Next Appointment:  Friday, Feb 22 for an NST.  Thurs Feb 28 for an OB appointment.