We are so thrilled that my sister Erin and her husband Paul had their baby boy, Nolan James, on March 25th! I have been waiting for that nugget since July ! They get to experience how much fun a baby boy is, which I can confirm is THE BESSTT!
I’m so happy that my parents are able to visit them in Berlin and snuggle with Mr. Noley Guacamoley. He has lots of dark brown hair that I’m now obsessed with because it looks so soft and fluffy and my baby is still baldo!
Can’t wait for July so we can get some cousin time in!
I was exactly 38 weeks at work last tuesday, and working away on an excel spreadsheet. After about an hour, I had this really strange visual disturbance in my right eye. I thought maybe it was from squinting at the screen, but it kept getting stronger and harder to see. At one point, I couldn’t see what I was typing anymore! I would describe it as a zigzag line across my eye that was rainbow colored and flashing…very strange and super unusual for me as I have no vision issues.
At any rate, I knew this was odd and after about 30 minutes of blurriness, I made the call to my sister-in-law Catherine to confirm that this was indeed worth coming into the clinic to get checked. Patrick picked me up, and we decided to get it checked out- just in case. HA.
After some quick assessments, it was determined by my OB that I had developed several signs of preeclampsia. (high blood pressure, headache, visual disturbance) My OB came back in and very calmly and frankly said since baby was 38 weeks, it was safer to go ahead and deliver me instead of waiting for it to become worse. Patrick and I were like—holy crap. I tried to remain calm, and we were literally walked over to the hospital and admitted to labor and delivery! I am SO glad that I pre-registered at the hospital early!
Our “birthing suite” was actually super nice and I was able to have a quick shower before getting robed up. Around noon I was hooked up to some fluids, a blood pressure cuff, and they took some blood to run a couple tests to see how I was fairing. My platelets were not where my OB wanted them to be, so I was hooked up to magnesium in order to prevent the onset of a seizure. That meant that I was bed-bound for delivery. I’ll spare the other details, but I was induced with some meds and labored all day, overnight, and into the next morning.
At around 10 AM, one of my nurses came in to have me use a little peanut shaped birthing ball to help with dilation– Last she had checked, I was at a 5. She went to check the internal fetal monitor, and saw that I had dilated to a 10- we were ready to push!!! I again, tried to remain calm and keep my heart from racing too much! My OB came in and scrubbed up, and several nurses from NICU came. My OB said that if baby came out and cried, they would let me keep him, do some skin-to-skin and not have to send him to NICU. I was really glad my OB vocalized that, & we of course hoped he’d come out screaming!
I kept very quiet and focused during the pushing. I think I even told Patrick and my OB that I wasn’t disinterested, I was just trying to get my Zen on so I didn’t panic! It’s sort of hard to remember but I pushed through about 5-15 contractions and he came on out screaming! They placed him on my chest and we got to snuggle for 45 minutes before they even came back to do his newborn assessments.
Even though we had a surprise delivery and some complications, the whole experience was super positive, peaceful, and I laughed and smiled through most of it! Patrick was awesome at feeding me my water and ice chips.
Just admitted and gowned-up – last pic of the bump!Last picture of just the two of usGetting comfortable in bed – I would be there awhile…Just got the word that it was time to push!We did it!Alien BabyAunt Catherine with the lil guyEnjoying skin to skinWoot – we have a bebe!YawnFirst pic as a familyDad and BabyGrandma & Grandpa3 Patricks – only missing the last Pat (my dad!)Chillen with that eye goopSnuggled & BundledSkin to skin with DadYay!Nice and toastyHe’s a natural!Goomba
I am 37 weeks! At my 36-week appointment, they measured and estimated him at 7 pounds already….I know those things can be off by a full pound either way, but still pretty large! I was also 1 cm dilated. None of this really means anything labor-wise, mainly just that I got a big boy in there and things are starting to get uncomfortable!
As far as symptoms and comfort, I am still able to sleep really well, although getting into a good position is a little trickier. Depending on the weather, my ankles are definitely getting swollen, and I’ve officially removed my wedding rings…just in case! Also my face is all fat and round. yayyyy. Sitting at my desk is not particularly comfortable, but luckily I only have 2-3 weeks of work left. Getting all of my stuff at work organized for when I leave has been going well, although at this point I’m pretty much out-to-lunch and ready to just be like BYE.
IN OTHER NEWS……
My sister Erin is having a BEBE! Baby Powers is going to have a lil Baby Carroll Cousin!!!! YAY!
We are so so so thrilled and excited for Erin & Paul…..It is so cool to be able to have cousins so close in age, as well as the fact that my older sister and I get to be preggo together! I have tried to impart my best advice the last few months, and it appears she also is having an amazing “Bay Pregnancy” too!
Yay – we’ve reached the milestone known as viability – 24 weeks of pregnancy! Baby P must be growing a ton because I feel like I’ve officially sprouted an undeniable bump! Not to mention that I’ve gained 20 lbs so far!
To celebrate, I went in and had my blood glucose test this morning- where you drink that sugary juice and then they draw your blood an hour later. Much fun! I do have to say that I feel so lucky to receive medical care with this practice – I see my OB every single appointment! It’s nice to be able to check in with her – even briefly. I can’t believe we’re already 6 months along!
& FINALLY – Quick shout-out to these Naturalizer “Salma” sandals! They are seriously comfortable and have been great for work and the weekend. Patrick, as well as the docs at work, are going to start “tut-tutting” me if I keep wearing heels, so these are a nice compromise! Highly recommend these!
We had our official anatomy scan this week where they confirmed that baby P is still indeed a boy!
Essentially they check out how his organs and such are developing — you can even see the 4 chambers of the heart! So cool. My Dr. said that everything was looking great, so we are very happy. Here are some pics from the latest sonogram!
Little profile:
Check out that spine!
little Feets!
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE
I have also started feeling some movement! It started about 2 weeks ago, but I wasn’t quite sure if it was the baby just yet…But it has become a pretty regular occurrence and is a fun little reminder that the bean is bouncing around in there. After a week of trying to get the timing just right, Patrick was finally able to feel him move too! such a cool moment 🙂
Last week I got to take advantage of some medical equipment we had in our lab at work- an ultrasound machine! Although the image wasn’t nearly as clear as the ones we get at my OB’s office, it was still fun to get another little sneak peak of the little guy. He appeared to have some long legs and looked like he was ready for some more room to stretch out! We have our official anatomy scan on June 2nd. They will check out baby P’s organ development and check to make sure he is still a boy! 🙂
We also got to borrow my Sister-in-Law’s doppler – so fun to be able to check on his little heart beat and find out where he’s hanging out!
& some boring things…
My most notable symptom this past month has been sciatica, which is pretty common in pregnancy. Luckily, working with a bunch of DOs every day has led me to be much more familiar with my anatomy, and we actually were working with the students last week on stretches and OMT to help relieve pain in that region. Stretching out my piriformis muscle has made a huge difference. I guess this is a lil PSA for any others you know who are struggling with sciatica.
the little powers. 