Today I'm wearing a pair of pre-pregnancy pants!! Kinda. I had to jerry rig the button closure with an elastic band. Hey, the rest of the pants fit!!
These were a pair of pants that were big on be before Olivia was a twinkle in my eye. Currently, they are fitting my legs and butt very well. The fit on the waist leaves a bit to be desired.
I think this counts as a milestone.....and even if it doesn't...I'm counting it anyway.
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Post Baby Milestone #1
Finally I'm able to put my engagement ring and wedding band back on!! I've had my wedding band on for a couple weeks, but hadn't been able to get the engagement ring over my knuckle. Today, I forced it on over that knuckle and headed off to work. Who knows if I'm going to be able to get it off, but it's on there, and after only 2 months and 7 days. :)
Now for getting back into my pre - pregnancy clothes (this will undoubtedly take much longer).
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Olivia's Arrival
I've been absent, again, for a few weeks. This time, though, it was for a good reason. I had my baby! Her arrival was early (5 weeks) and quite a surprise. Now that everyone is happy and healthy and at home it's time for me to tell the tale of her arrival. It's a long one, so grab a cup of coffee before you start reading :)
The Thursday of my second week of bed rest I went to the doctors for my twice weekly checkup and Non Stress Test and got a nearly clean bill of health. The midwife thought that my blood pressure had gone down a good amount, my swelling was much better, and there was no longer protein in my urine. She even talked about maybe sending me back to work (which honestly made me incredibly nervous). Everything seemed good, so that night I actually let myself get up off the couch to help Hubs prepare dinner. It seemed like maybe I was going to be able to make it to June before I had the baby after all.
Friday morning I woke up and was absolutely STARVING. I woke Hubs up and asked him if he would make me something (he was absolutely INCREDIBLE while I was on bed rest and waited on me completely. I am a such lucky girl). He made me some cereal (I <3 cereal) . I scarfed it down and then went back to sleep. When I woke up again I had a weird pain on the right side of my upper abdomen, but I figured it was just heartburn. I kinda took it easy all morning, but the "heartburn" got worse. The more it started to hurt, the less I began to believe that it was actually heartburn. Up till this point, I hadn't mentioned anything to Hubs. When I did, he wanted me to call the doctor just to make sure. So, I did call the doctor, and they wanted me to come in right away. I was scared. I had Googled upper abdomen pain, and it wasn't sounding good for someone who already had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. As I was getting dressed to go to the doctors I noticed that my stomach was feeling kinda weird and was really really hard, but since I was basically having a panic attack I didn't think much of it. There was way too much on my mind at that point anyways.
At the doctors I was poked and prodded and then told to go to the hospital for more tests. Since it was Friday afternoon, the labs at the office were taking a while to come back, so my OB wanted me to go to the hospital to have them run again. I absolutely didn't want to go to the hospital. Bed rest at home was bad enough, I did NOT want to have to go on bed rest at the hospital. Nowhere in my mind did I think that I was going to the hospital to deliver a baby. At this point the pain in my upper abdomen was making it hard to breathe, and my stomach was still feeling weird. I was worried about the upper abdomen pain, but the stomachache I thought was just cause I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since breakfast (thank God Hubs had made me eat an English muffin with scrambled eggs for second breakfast around ten).
Hubs and I had agonized over where we should have the baby. We had initially planned on having her at Brigham and Women's, and then switched to Newton Wellesley. Unfortunately, now none of that mattered. Since I was only 34 weeks 6 days we had to go to Brigham and Women's. Newton Wellesley didn't deliver babies that early. The hospital was absolutely huge, and I was still trying to convince myself that everything was okay.
We went to registration, and then upstairs to labor and delivery. I was taken to triage where they did their workup and tried to decide what to do with me. My blood pressure was high, liver enzymes elevated (which meant that the pain in my upper abdomen was probably a swollen liver), and I was having regular contractions (the stomachache). The doctor on call decided that my pre-eclampsia had gotten severe, and it was time to induce. Only then did it hit me that I was actually going to have the baby.
They got me settled in my room, started me on pitocin and magnesium sulfate (to keep me from having seizures). The nurse had mentioned that some people get nauseous from the magnesium. This may have been an understatement. It made me throw up A LOT. What I didn't know then, was that this was just my first bout of throwing up for the evening. There would be much more.
About four hours passed before the doctor checked me again. As far as my "labor" was going I had progressed nowhere. I was still having regular contractions, but I couldn't even feel them. My labs however were progressing for the worse. Both my liver enzymes and blood pressure were going up, and my platelet count was slowly dropping. The doctor suggested abandoning the induction and doing a c-section. I really, really didn't want a c-section, but the fetal monitor was showing that the baby was still doing really well. Both Hubs, the doctor and I, thought it was best to do the c-section while the baby was still doing well, instead of continuing the induction until both the baby and I were in distress.
So much for my medication and intervention free birth!
At fifty minutes past midnight, on May 7th, my baby girl, Olivia, was born. I was exactly 35 weeks pregnant. Since she was so early, there was a team of medical specialists waiting for her arrival to access her (pediatrician, neonatologist, respiratory therapist..etc.). She didn't cry right away, which made for the most terrifying couple seconds. Hubs left my side and went over to see her and make sure she was okay. Our daughter clocked in at just a mere 4 lbs 5ozs and 16 inches. Hubs snapped a bunch of pictures of her and brought them over to me to see (since I hadn't seen her yet). Olivia had some fluid in her lungs and needed to go to the NICU, but before her team left with her, they pulled aside my curtain so that I could meet her. All through my pregnancy I had imagined how happy I would be after delivery when they first placed the baby on my chest. Though it didn't happen exactly as I had imagined, the happiness I felt the moment I first saw my daughter was indescribable. I fell in love with her instantly.
I stayed in the hospital recovering for four days and Olivia stayed for nineteen. Those nineteen days she spent in the NICU were the hardest, most emotional days of my life. Leaving the hospital without her was excruciating. It absolutely broke my heart. I started crying the day before I left and didn't really stop until she got home. I can't imagine how hard it must be for the parents of babies that need to stay for months and months before coming home. She came home the Thursday before last and has been sucking down bottles like a champ since then. I'm so glad to have her home, that I could care less about the sleepless nights and countless diaper changes.
In summary, Olivia's arrival was a rough ride for all three of us (Me, Her and Hubs), but we're all healthy and happy and can't imagine life without one another.
 |
| Miss Olivia Barbara :) |
Friday morning I woke up and was absolutely STARVING. I woke Hubs up and asked him if he would make me something (he was absolutely INCREDIBLE while I was on bed rest and waited on me completely. I am a such lucky girl). He made me some cereal (I <3 cereal) . I scarfed it down and then went back to sleep. When I woke up again I had a weird pain on the right side of my upper abdomen, but I figured it was just heartburn. I kinda took it easy all morning, but the "heartburn" got worse. The more it started to hurt, the less I began to believe that it was actually heartburn. Up till this point, I hadn't mentioned anything to Hubs. When I did, he wanted me to call the doctor just to make sure. So, I did call the doctor, and they wanted me to come in right away. I was scared. I had Googled upper abdomen pain, and it wasn't sounding good for someone who already had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. As I was getting dressed to go to the doctors I noticed that my stomach was feeling kinda weird and was really really hard, but since I was basically having a panic attack I didn't think much of it. There was way too much on my mind at that point anyways.
At the doctors I was poked and prodded and then told to go to the hospital for more tests. Since it was Friday afternoon, the labs at the office were taking a while to come back, so my OB wanted me to go to the hospital to have them run again. I absolutely didn't want to go to the hospital. Bed rest at home was bad enough, I did NOT want to have to go on bed rest at the hospital. Nowhere in my mind did I think that I was going to the hospital to deliver a baby. At this point the pain in my upper abdomen was making it hard to breathe, and my stomach was still feeling weird. I was worried about the upper abdomen pain, but the stomachache I thought was just cause I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since breakfast (thank God Hubs had made me eat an English muffin with scrambled eggs for second breakfast around ten).
Hubs and I had agonized over where we should have the baby. We had initially planned on having her at Brigham and Women's, and then switched to Newton Wellesley. Unfortunately, now none of that mattered. Since I was only 34 weeks 6 days we had to go to Brigham and Women's. Newton Wellesley didn't deliver babies that early. The hospital was absolutely huge, and I was still trying to convince myself that everything was okay.
We went to registration, and then upstairs to labor and delivery. I was taken to triage where they did their workup and tried to decide what to do with me. My blood pressure was high, liver enzymes elevated (which meant that the pain in my upper abdomen was probably a swollen liver), and I was having regular contractions (the stomachache). The doctor on call decided that my pre-eclampsia had gotten severe, and it was time to induce. Only then did it hit me that I was actually going to have the baby.
They got me settled in my room, started me on pitocin and magnesium sulfate (to keep me from having seizures). The nurse had mentioned that some people get nauseous from the magnesium. This may have been an understatement. It made me throw up A LOT. What I didn't know then, was that this was just my first bout of throwing up for the evening. There would be much more.
About four hours passed before the doctor checked me again. As far as my "labor" was going I had progressed nowhere. I was still having regular contractions, but I couldn't even feel them. My labs however were progressing for the worse. Both my liver enzymes and blood pressure were going up, and my platelet count was slowly dropping. The doctor suggested abandoning the induction and doing a c-section. I really, really didn't want a c-section, but the fetal monitor was showing that the baby was still doing really well. Both Hubs, the doctor and I, thought it was best to do the c-section while the baby was still doing well, instead of continuing the induction until both the baby and I were in distress.
So much for my medication and intervention free birth!
At fifty minutes past midnight, on May 7th, my baby girl, Olivia, was born. I was exactly 35 weeks pregnant. Since she was so early, there was a team of medical specialists waiting for her arrival to access her (pediatrician, neonatologist, respiratory therapist..etc.). She didn't cry right away, which made for the most terrifying couple seconds. Hubs left my side and went over to see her and make sure she was okay. Our daughter clocked in at just a mere 4 lbs 5ozs and 16 inches. Hubs snapped a bunch of pictures of her and brought them over to me to see (since I hadn't seen her yet). Olivia had some fluid in her lungs and needed to go to the NICU, but before her team left with her, they pulled aside my curtain so that I could meet her. All through my pregnancy I had imagined how happy I would be after delivery when they first placed the baby on my chest. Though it didn't happen exactly as I had imagined, the happiness I felt the moment I first saw my daughter was indescribable. I fell in love with her instantly.
I stayed in the hospital recovering for four days and Olivia stayed for nineteen. Those nineteen days she spent in the NICU were the hardest, most emotional days of my life. Leaving the hospital without her was excruciating. It absolutely broke my heart. I started crying the day before I left and didn't really stop until she got home. I can't imagine how hard it must be for the parents of babies that need to stay for months and months before coming home. She came home the Thursday before last and has been sucking down bottles like a champ since then. I'm so glad to have her home, that I could care less about the sleepless nights and countless diaper changes.
In summary, Olivia's arrival was a rough ride for all three of us (Me, Her and Hubs), but we're all healthy and happy and can't imagine life without one another.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Restin' Up
Last Wednesday I went to see my midwife for my regular "how's your pregnancy" going check-up. To my surprise my "normal" pregnancy had taken a turn for the worse. My blood pressure had risen quite high, and the swelling (that I had been complaining about for weeks) was an issue. They whisked me off to the lab for blood work, called the OB that had been overseeing my care, and put me on a strict regimen of bed rest.
Turns out that all of the symptoms that had been making my pregnancy unbearable lately were all due to the fact that I have developed pre-eclampsia. Now that I have pre-eclampsia, my normal pregnancy has become high risk very quickly. It was so upsetting how fast everything changed. When I went into my appointment, I was right on track for having the spontaneous birth, natural delivery that I had planned. By the time I left, that wasn't looking so likely anymore. But, it's okay, because at the end, I'll still have the same sweet baby. So, I'm keeping my chin up :)
With all of my new found time, I've been catching up on reading and watching movies. I finally got a chance to watch The Young Victoria. My sister has been raving about that one for at least a year. I watched it Thursday as part of my royal wedding preparation. I loved it. The costumes were beautiful, and I just can't help loving a good story about the British Royalty.
With Hubs help I loaded up my Nook and have been powering my way through the new books he added. Right now I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first Hunger Games book. My sister in law recommended that I read those. I'm really enjoying it so far.
I'm thinking I'm going to try starting another knitting or crochet project too. Of course, now that I'm simply lying on the couch full time for the next three weeks or so, I'll be better with updating the blog. Promise ;)
Turns out that all of the symptoms that had been making my pregnancy unbearable lately were all due to the fact that I have developed pre-eclampsia. Now that I have pre-eclampsia, my normal pregnancy has become high risk very quickly. It was so upsetting how fast everything changed. When I went into my appointment, I was right on track for having the spontaneous birth, natural delivery that I had planned. By the time I left, that wasn't looking so likely anymore. But, it's okay, because at the end, I'll still have the same sweet baby. So, I'm keeping my chin up :)
With all of my new found time, I've been catching up on reading and watching movies. I finally got a chance to watch The Young Victoria. My sister has been raving about that one for at least a year. I watched it Thursday as part of my royal wedding preparation. I loved it. The costumes were beautiful, and I just can't help loving a good story about the British Royalty.
With Hubs help I loaded up my Nook and have been powering my way through the new books he added. Right now I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first Hunger Games book. My sister in law recommended that I read those. I'm really enjoying it so far.
I'm thinking I'm going to try starting another knitting or crochet project too. Of course, now that I'm simply lying on the couch full time for the next three weeks or so, I'll be better with updating the blog. Promise ;)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
My Pregnancy Wardrobe
Early in my pregnancy, maybe at like 8 weeks I complained to my mother that my work pants were getting tight. She came down for a visit, took me to the maternity section of Macy's and bought me some maternity work pants. She said I was NOT to squish HER Irish baby. (Since I announced my pregnancy my mom has been telling everyone that she is having an Irish grandbaby. I guess all the other grandbabies are just French, like basically everyone else in Maine.) These maternity pants and another pair (which I received as a hand-me-down, from my friend Veronica) have been, basically, the extent of my maternity wardrobe, until last night.
I resisted against buying maternity clothes early on because of the price and size. They not only are pricey, most of them were just too big for me. I bought a bunch of tops at Forever 21 for like 5 dollars a piece in two sizes larger than what I usually wear. I wore these t shirts to work with my pants and cardigans. I would throw in a nice necklace to class it up a bit. It became my pregnancy uniform. For example:
(Where are most of these pictures taken? Umm...at my work. They have great full size mirrors in the bathroom and the gym locker room. Housekeeping keeps the glass on these mirrors much cleaner than I keep the glass on mine. Can't blame a girl for seeing a good mirror and using it! )
This got me though basically 27 weeks of pregnancy (you'll have to trust me since I haven't updated my "bump" picture collection in a few weeks....). But, last Saturday I realized my "midriff" wasnt quite being covered in all the Forever 21 tees anymore. It was a sad day for my work wardrobe.
I had to go to the mall last night and spend an exorbitant amount of money on actual maternity clothes. Hopefully, it's enough to get me to June.
The new clothes are nice, but I miss my comfy tees. Thank goodness I will still be able to wear them at home where no one cares if I'm "business casual" or not.
I resisted against buying maternity clothes early on because of the price and size. They not only are pricey, most of them were just too big for me. I bought a bunch of tops at Forever 21 for like 5 dollars a piece in two sizes larger than what I usually wear. I wore these t shirts to work with my pants and cardigans. I would throw in a nice necklace to class it up a bit. It became my pregnancy uniform. For example:
 |
| 14ish weeks |
 |
| 17 weeks |
 |
| 19 weeks |
 |
| 20ish weeks |
This got me though basically 27 weeks of pregnancy (you'll have to trust me since I haven't updated my "bump" picture collection in a few weeks....). But, last Saturday I realized my "midriff" wasnt quite being covered in all the Forever 21 tees anymore. It was a sad day for my work wardrobe.
I had to go to the mall last night and spend an exorbitant amount of money on actual maternity clothes. Hopefully, it's enough to get me to June.
The new clothes are nice, but I miss my comfy tees. Thank goodness I will still be able to wear them at home where no one cares if I'm "business casual" or not.
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