Monday, October 27, 2008

Wow.

I had forgotten what it was like to have a newborn. Hence why I am blogging at 4:23 in the morning. Jake just had his 4am feeding and I am waiting for him to decide if he wants to sleep or be awake, so I figured I would come on here and update.

Jake is doing great. He is an amazing little boy. He isn't a crier at all, he only cries when he is hungry and when he is tired. He's a snuggler, he likes to be swaddled and held for hours on end. I'm breastfeeding, and that has gone really well so far. He's a good little eater, so I'm not super worried about how much he is eating.

I'm doing great too. Since I don't have any stitches or anything, I am healing REALLY fast. I feel fantastic! I've lost more than half of my baby weight, 13 pounds left to go. I'm taking at least one 2-hour nap a day, so that helps out a LOT.

Dan and I have worked out a system since I'm pumping---he takes Jake until 4 am and then I take him until Dan wakes up. It really is a great deal, we each get enough sleep and life is good :)

i'll post some pics soon, Jake has decided to sleep and I am going to crash on the couch!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

He's heeeerrrrreeeeeeeee!

Announcing Jacob Daniel Young!
The Young Family
Daddy, Lindsey and Jake
Lindsey holds Jake for the first time
Lindsey watches over baby brother while he "warms up"

YAY!



Jacob Daniel Young was born yesterday, Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at 11:41 am. He was nine pounds, 2 ounces and 21 inches long.



Here's the story, brief as it is.



5:15-get woken to take a shower, change, etc.



6:00-get checked (1 cm), start fluids in IV



6:30-Pitocin starts, so do the contractions!



8:20-Dan finally wakes up.



8:30-Dr. Lebel comes in, checks me (3 cm), breaks my water (not painful--thank God!)



10:00-Dr. Smith comes in to see me. Checks me, 6 cm dilated.



10:45-My nurse Ashley checks me, 8-9 cm.



11:15-having pressure, fully dilated but baby is not down enough, so we start to push to get him down. They stop me after the first contraction. Apparently I am a good pusher, and they need to set up in my room!



11:41-with less than five minutes of pushing, Jacob Daniel arrives in the world! However, Jake wasn't breathing too well, so it ended up being a half hour before I even got to hold him :(



And now he is healthy and happy. He's been sleeping most of the time, he woke up twice in the night, once at 2 and again at 6. I can deal with that. I'm having some trouble with bleeding, but I should be ok.




Sunday, October 19, 2008

The final Hurrah

We had an amazing final weekend as a family of three. We basically did everything that Lindsey wanted to do, and it was one of the best weekends in my life. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing little girl and a fantastic husband. I'm really a lucky woman.

Saturday:

We woke up around 10am, had some breakfast, showered, got dressed, lounged around the house, then went to Herdklotz Park for play and a picnic. I had some homework that I needed to do, so Dan and Lindsey played on the playground while my trusty ol' laptop and I kept eachother company. I finished all my homework and we sat and had lunch on the soccer field. After lunch, Dan and Lindsey played soccer for a little while, then we all laid in the grass and watched the clouds. It was awesome.




After the park, we went to the Halloween Highway on Pleasantburg Road and got Lindsey and Jake matching costumes...which you will see if you are patient! We had a good time walking around the store looking for costumes, and it gave us good ideas for next year as well.

Right after leaving the Halloween store, we went in search of the perfect pumpkin at St. Giles Church on Hudson Road. Some slim pickin's this year, but what do you expect with our drought? We found one that was "almost perfect" though!


Saturday night was spent playing the Wii, doing scrapbooking, and other fun stuff. We also carved the pumpkin, which Lindsey USED to be a big fan of, until she discovered that she is super girly when it comes to putting her hands in yuckiness (so am I, but I was TRYING to set an example!)



Sunday was pretty great too. Dan let me sleep in until 10am again, and we lazed around the house for a couple of hours. Dan and Lindsey played with the race track, I did some more scrapbooking, Linds watched her favorite show and she helped me make breakfast...eggs and toast, our favorite! When we finally got up and moving we went to Michael's to get the stuff to make Jake's birth announcements and Lindsey got a craft pumpkin to decorate. Then we stopped at Toy's R US to get in the celebratory mood for Lindsey's birthday. She got a crown, balloon, coloring pages and stickers, which made her day---even more, Daddy bought her a new Littlest Pet Shop!


We went home and took a nap, because SOMEONE was getting a little grumpy and for once it wasn't me (Though I took full advantage of that naptime!). After nap we went to Boo in the Zoo, which for those of my loyal readers who aren't in Greenville, that is a non-scary Halloween adventure-y thingie where you get candy.


HERE is my Lindsey with her fantastic costume on...





Like I said, it was a great weekend, but we are looking forward to TUESDAY when our little guy makes us a family of four!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Drumroll, please...

TUESDAY is the day! FINALLY! YAY!

Had the doctor's appointment at 10:30 this morning. Bad blood pressure (148/92) and bad blood sugars have helped my doctors to decide that it is time for Jake to come out. Got checked, still no change, despite the terrible contractions I have been having. So, induction it is.

Monday night I will go to the hospital (provided that they have a bed available) and they will admit me and give me Cervidil to soften my cervix even more than it is. Then I will be given Pitocin first thing in the morning. Hopefully it goes quickly and with the help of an epidural, painlessly :)

Winona will be watching Lindsey, but Dan and I want Linds with us as much as possible to bond with her little brother. We are very excited, exhausted, terrified...all these emotions into one.

This weekend will be spent as a family of three for the last time in our lives. We'll go to the pumpkin patch, Boo in the Zoo and to the Color Clay Cafe to paint some pottery. Dan will work on Monday, and a friend will come to the hospital with me until he can be there.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

ch-ch-ch-changes

I have been stupidly watching the shows on TLC like A Baby Story, Deliver Me, Bringing Home Baby, etc...and I can't seem to stop crying! Now that it is time for me to be delivering my 2nd child, I find myself so terrified.

Our lives are going to change forever. Lindsey will not be the center of my universe any more, she will have to share me with someone else. She's so used to being my only one. I can't even get excited about her birthday that is in less than 2 weeks because I am so focused on getting her brother here safely and as soon as possible.

I am the sister to 3 siblings, but I can't remember a time with out my sisters---I mean, Eric came when I was 13, so I can remember life without him (not like I want to!). Will Lindsey remember life without her brother? Who knows.

All I know is that my life, Dan's life, Lindsey's life are changing and there is nothing that we can do about it. There is no stopping this. Everything is ready---his room is set, his bag for the hospital is packed (with his coming home outfit all washed and ready to go) and my bags are packed. I say that I am so ready to get him out, but in all actuality, I'm NOT! I can't believe how fast 38 weeks has gone. When Lindsey is asleep I wish that she would just wake up so I can hold her and pretend that she is still my baby, because there isn't much longer that she will be. I'm so irritatble and mean lately that I feel like I am taking everything out on her...and I feel like I will regret that for the rest of my life. My daughter is sleeping at the foot of my bed right now and I miss her so much because she isn't WITH me. But when she is awake, she's all over me like white on rice and that drives me insane.

So as of 10:30 tomorrow morning, we will have some semblance of an idea as to when I will have this little man. I can't believe that it is time. It really is a miracle that Jake has even survived this long. My father told me today that five months ago, he didn't expect that Jake would survive, though he would have cut out his tongue rather than tell me that. There is a downside to having medical personnel in your family...the same as it is to be a medical student when you are experiencing a high-risk pregnancy.

Jakey---I can't wait to meet you, my little miracle.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Give me a break.

On top of all the loveliness that is being 38 weeks pregnant, I seem to have caught a virus as well. Fantastic. Lindsey was sick on Saturday, she threw up three times and was just blah all day. I started feeling yucky yesterday morning...then it go progressively worse until I was yakking every five minutes. I literally vomited out everything that I had in me. So, we went to the hospital (where I should own a time-share by now) and got hooked up to the monitor (contractions every two minutes), got checked (100% effaced, 1 cm dilated....still) and waited. And waited. And waited. We were there for three hours until 3:30 am. Dan and I were exhausted, Lindsey had gone to my in-law's house for the night so she wouldn't have to come to the hospital.

One of the reasons I had to wait so long was that the computers were having issues, so it took forever to get some Staidol and Phenegran. Add on to that that a woman came in at 10 cm dilated and crowning. I wish I was that woman...though I don't know if I could do it without the drugs :)

So now, I'm exhausted and doped up on medicine...these meds make me feel like I am on some mind-trip. I can hardly keep my eyes open, but Dan has to work today...and he goes in early for a meeting! Hopefully I can take a nap with Lindsey a little later.

I see the doctor on Thursday...and we'll be discussing our options! YAY

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Mind wanderings of an almost 38-wk pregnant person.

Ah. Quiet. Dan just went to get Lindsey from my in-laws house. She spent the night because around 10pm last night, I sat down by the tub to give Lindsey a bath, and wound up wet...hmmm. I thought, did my water just break, or did I pee myself?

Apparently I just peed myself.

No, I just have had a lot of yumminess...erm...leaking? So, we went to the hospital (AGAIN) and they checked, had me walk for an hour, checked me again, and told me to go home and go walking today. WHY THE HELL AREN'T THESE CONTRACTIONS DOING ANYTHING?!?!?!?!?!

First of all, I'm trying to figure out if they want me to get this kid out, or if they just want me to get off my fat-ass and do something. It could possibly be a compination of the two. Either way, I have gotten more exercise in the past three days than I have in the entire time that I have been pregnant. We walked three miles on Friday, one mile yesterday, and today we are going to Fall for Greenville downtown, and I am sure that I will do about another three miles or so just with that. I'm really coming to HATE my cervix, and I can not WAIT until I can get my tubes tied so I never ever have to go through this hell that is childbearing again.

What the frick was I thinking? I mean honestly. I would have been so happy living my life with only giving birth once. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I had to do it again. What am I, a dumbass?!

So it is off to walk, have sex, and stimulate my nipples for now. I'll update soon the rantings and ravings of a completely insane woman.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

My cervix hates me.

God damn it all.

So, I'm having these horrid contractions that are anywhere from 2-4 minutes apart...but they aren't freaking doing ANYTHING! I'm still only 1 cm dilated.

I am so disappointed. I'm HUGE and UNCOMFORTABLE.

I'm tempted to find some knitting needles to break my own water.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Is He Coming?!

Tuesday: after cerc came out, 50% effaced

Wednesday: 90% effaced

Thursday: 100% effaced, 1 cm dilated and baby is in position for labor, hence why I can not walk any more.

They think Jake is going to come tomorrow!!! I think 10/10 is a great birthday to have. The mucous plug is gone, the contractions are 2 minutes apart, and I've started to have some spotting (gross, maybe. Sorry for TMI, but hey, you came on a pregnant woman's blog) so it is expected that Jake is going to make his worldly entrance by the end of the weekend. I sure hope so, I'm sick of being pregnant and feeling this way. Contractions suck ass. They really do.

So, I'm waiting for Dan to come home to help me dilate a little more :) Then we are headed to the mall first thing in the morning to walk out this baby!

Wish us luck!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

37 weeks pregnant

I'm still big, fat and pregnant.

UGH.

I got my cerclage out yesterday. Very uncomfortable (no one tells you that!) and I was REALLY hoping that Jake would follow the cerclage. No such luck, I suppose. So, I suffer on. His ultrasound was good, they guesstimate his size to be around 7 1/2 pounds already. At 37 weeks? Holy GOD! He's going to be a big guy. We did some more 3-D pics but he was grumpy during the whole thing. One of the cool things was that we got to see his feet in 3-D...he has Dan's monkey toes. HAHA!

So, went to the doctor today for my 37 week appt. WOOT. Had my cervix checked (no WOOT) and I was not dilated yet, but I am 90% effaced (thinned out) so I suppose that is a good thing. My blood pressure was SUPER high for me (normally I am in the high 110s, low 120s over the high 70s, and today it was 140/88....ewww) and now I am swollen up like a moon pie. It's ugly, truly it is.

So after the appointment, Lindsey and I went and walked around the mall for an hour. I had to get some nursing bras and then I bought the new Nicholas Sparks book for something to occupy myself until Jake decides that it is time for him to make his appearance.

I think I had my sights set too high. I was REALLY hoping to have him (or at least get STARTED on having him) yesterday or today. And while I am still having contractions, they aren't doing much. Perhaps by this weekend he will come. I really effing hope so. I want my body back!

Tonight Lindsey is going over to her friend's house tonight to play, while Mandy, Stephanie, Janna and I go out for a final HURRAH for me. We're going for Don Pablo's...we figure we should spice him out of me! Pepcid, here I come! I was hoping to get a pedicure as well, but my feet are super swollen and uncomfortable, maybe we might have to skip it, but maybe not. Either way, I want to forget that I am going to have a baby for a little while, and get out with my friends before my life is dictated by a small infant. I have the best friends in the WORLD!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Sleepless AGAIN?!

Grrrr.

A pregnant woman needs the most sleep possible. Not only is she carrying that little one (who isn't so little, might I add), but she is breathing, eating, drinking and functioning for that little one. So you would think that the pregnant woman could get a little sleep.

Nope.

Not happenin'.

So, I sit here, it is 6:50 am, and I FINALLY went to bed at 2 am, after watching three tv shows and counting 700 billion dollars of economic crisis. I should do something productive, like nest some more. I don't think that my house has ever looked so good. Perhaps I will scrapbook. I'm almost done with Lindsey's 4th year, which was my goal to do before Jake gets here...so yeah. Scrapbooking. But I don't WANNA!!! I want to climb in bed and go back to sleep, but Dan is hogging the bed and has probably taken over my pillows by now.

*SIGH*

So the cerclage comes out tomorrow. Maybe I'm worrying about that. I really really REALLY want to go into labor this week. And I'm nervous about not going into labor. I keep having mixed fears: Either A) My water has broken and I don't know it...and Jake will suffer, or B) I won't have my baby until 39 weeks and I will miss out on Lindsey's birthday. Either way really sucks. Thank God my original fear of Jake not really being a boy was resolved when we saw his winky at the US on Wednesday :)

OK...so, scrapbooking it is. GAH. I can't WAIT to not be PG and nasty any more.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

3-D Ultrasound Pictures

Grumpy faced Jake...look at those lips!Looking much happier---a smile for his sister :)
On Wednesday the 1st we had a bio-physical profile ultrasound done at my OB's office. Our sonographer took pity on this being our 21st ultrasound and we STILL hadn't been able to see Jake in 3-D because he always had his face buried in the placenta OR he had his hands in front of his face. Soooo...here he is! Isn't he fantastic?
We are very much looking forward to seeing him soon. Shouldn't be too much longer now!


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

seriously??

OK...so I had contractions lasting 40 seconds every 5 minutes like they wanted. I call, they send me to the hospital. They monitor me, and I'm still having these contractions.

AND THEY GAVE ME THE SAME MEDICINE THAT I JUST GOT TAKEN OFF OF TO STOP THE CONTRACTIONS!!!!!

You have GOT to be kidding me. This is just getting ridiculous. So, I'm laying there, my best friend has to bring me, since Dan is at work and I don't want to get him alarmed (it was 10:45, and he gets out at 11:30, so there was no need for him to leave a half hour early). Lindsey is watching her DVD player, and the nurse comes in and says that the doctor wants me to have meds. They give me 3 shots in the bum, and give me the option to stay or go home. I go home.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD.

I am so bloody frustrated. (I've been watching too much Gordon Ramsay and kitchen nightmares!)