Love,
Jennifer
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Brooklyn's Binky
Brooklyn loves her binky! We tried to get her to use the new orthodontic ones that are suppose to be good for when the baby starts getting teeth, but she wouldn't have it. She uses the round rubber one that the hospital gave us. She won't take anything else. We had to go out and search through Babies R Us to find other binkies just like that one. You wouldn't think they would be hard to find, but we only found one other brand like them. We were starting to think we would have to try to buy some from the hospital or something. Anyway, the binky is great. It helps keep Brooklyn calm and comfortable and she loves it.
Love,
Jennifer
Love,
Jennifer
Brooklyn and her Daddy
Brooklyn already has her daddy wrapped around her finger. She understands all the wacky animal noises he makes at her and loves hearing her daddy's voice. The first few weeks, he was the only on that could get her to wake up. The first weekend was really hard since we had to wake her up every two hours. Dale would wake her up by singing her a song called Hippo Feeding Time. He said she looks like a little baby hippo because when she yawns she stretches her mouth open all the way. The song actually worked for a while, but then she got used to her daddy's silliness and now he has to do other things to try to get her awake. She is quickly getting used to him though.
Anyway, the first few weeks, anytime she heard his voice she would wake up. When Dale had to go back to work the week after she was born, she would sleep all day and wake up when he got home because she would hear his voice. When he was holding her she was busy looking around, exploring everything around her and getting to know her daddy's face. I would hold her, and she would go to sleep.
Just last week, Dale started playing what he calls "Rawr" with her. He was holding her and would say "rawr" at her, and make a face. She would then in return make some kind of noise of her own and try to mock that same face back at him. The went back and forth doing this with each other for about 10 minutes. This is now his favorite thing to do with her besides take pictures, which he is addicted to doing.
We have, from the time she was born alone, which is less than a months time, over 3000 pictures of Brooklyn. Dale even bought a new camera so he could make sure that he has good quality pictures of her. They have special "photo shoot" times two of three times a day right now where Dale just takes tons of pictures of her. I am sure this will slow down some when he returns to work next week. He has been on vacation to spend time with her the past two weeks. I have a feeling Brooklyn is going to grow up and either hate having her picture taken, or she is going to think it is perfectly natural to have a camera in her face all the time.
Anyway, like I said, Brooklyn loves her daddy and I know as she gets older she will love him more and more because he is just eaten up with her and loves playing with her and spending time with her. He takes such great care of her and does more things for her, like changing her diapers and clothes than I have had a chance to do. I pretty much feed her and get her to sleep and he does everything else. As a matter of fact, Brooklyn loves her daddy so much that she has peed and pooped on him more than anyone else!
More to come later!
Love,
Jennifer
Anyway, the first few weeks, anytime she heard his voice she would wake up. When Dale had to go back to work the week after she was born, she would sleep all day and wake up when he got home because she would hear his voice. When he was holding her she was busy looking around, exploring everything around her and getting to know her daddy's face. I would hold her, and she would go to sleep.
Just last week, Dale started playing what he calls "Rawr" with her. He was holding her and would say "rawr" at her, and make a face. She would then in return make some kind of noise of her own and try to mock that same face back at him. The went back and forth doing this with each other for about 10 minutes. This is now his favorite thing to do with her besides take pictures, which he is addicted to doing.
We have, from the time she was born alone, which is less than a months time, over 3000 pictures of Brooklyn. Dale even bought a new camera so he could make sure that he has good quality pictures of her. They have special "photo shoot" times two of three times a day right now where Dale just takes tons of pictures of her. I am sure this will slow down some when he returns to work next week. He has been on vacation to spend time with her the past two weeks. I have a feeling Brooklyn is going to grow up and either hate having her picture taken, or she is going to think it is perfectly natural to have a camera in her face all the time.
Anyway, like I said, Brooklyn loves her daddy and I know as she gets older she will love him more and more because he is just eaten up with her and loves playing with her and spending time with her. He takes such great care of her and does more things for her, like changing her diapers and clothes than I have had a chance to do. I pretty much feed her and get her to sleep and he does everything else. As a matter of fact, Brooklyn loves her daddy so much that she has peed and pooped on him more than anyone else!
More to come later!
Love,
Jennifer
Brooklyn's First Time Away
Brooklyn's first time away from her momma and daddy was on Saturday, December 13th, 2008. It was the hardest thing to do, but we had to get some Christmas shopping done, so my mom, Grandma Carrie, watched her for a couple of hours while we ran around town. I was ready to get back to her after about 10 minutes, but survived for about two hours.
Since then, she has been away from us a couple of times. We have gone away to see an NBA game. That time her Grandma Belinda watched her for us. The grandmothers have had their fair share of time with her and watching her for us so we can get things done. It's not easy trying to take a baby everywhere with you. It's getting easier to leave her behind since I have become more comfortable with the grandmothers watching her since they have spent so much time with her. I still call and check up on her a lot though and can't leave her behind for too long since she has to be fed so often. It helps with the separation anxiety though and I know the grandmas really enjoy their time with her too.
Love,
Jennifer
Since then, she has been away from us a couple of times. We have gone away to see an NBA game. That time her Grandma Belinda watched her for us. The grandmothers have had their fair share of time with her and watching her for us so we can get things done. It's not easy trying to take a baby everywhere with you. It's getting easier to leave her behind since I have become more comfortable with the grandmothers watching her since they have spent so much time with her. I still call and check up on her a lot though and can't leave her behind for too long since she has to be fed so often. It helps with the separation anxiety though and I know the grandmas really enjoy their time with her too.
Love,
Jennifer
Brooklyn's First Trip Out
Brooklyn's first trip out in public, besides to the doctor's office, was to Western Sizzler on December 12th, where we had dinner with Dale's family. It was very nerve racking having her out around strangers because I didn't want random people trying to come up and touch her. Luckily we didn't have that problem and Brooklyn slept through all of dinner and did great. She's such a good baby!
Since then Brooklyn has been out many times and we still haven't had problems, knock on wood. We took her out to Sooner Fashion Mall, Sam's Club, and Wal-Mart and she slept through it all. We think she likes the noise and movement. She's also been to see Santa Clause, but that post will come later.
Love,
Jennifer
Since then Brooklyn has been out many times and we still haven't had problems, knock on wood. We took her out to Sooner Fashion Mall, Sam's Club, and Wal-Mart and she slept through it all. We think she likes the noise and movement. She's also been to see Santa Clause, but that post will come later.
Love,
Jennifer
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Brooklyn's Jaundice
As previously mentioned, we had some problems with Brooklyn being jaundice for about her first week. The nurses had to make her poop before we left the hospital. We also were having problems getting her to have a wet diaper and were afraid something was wrong. So that Friday after she was born, the 5th of December, we had to take Brooklyn to the doctor.
Dr. Beard was great with her. She was concerned however because she had lost some weight, down to 5 pounds 12 ounces, that she might not be getting enough the eat. However, my milk had just come in that night before so she wanted us to be on a strict feeding schedule with Brooklyn over the weekend to try to get her weight back up. She also wanted to make sure that she wasn't becoming jaundice so we had to have another heel prick test done. Brooklyn's daddy had to hold her for this test because I couldn't stand to hear her cry at that point and me not be able to fix what was wrong. After she had her heel pricked, Dr. Beard called us a couple of hours later with the results which came back high. She wanted to see us back in the office the following Monday, the 8th, the check her levels again.
So that following Monday we went in to have her heel pricked again and the check her weight. After no sleep over the weekend from having to wake her up every two hours to feed her, Brooklyn had gained back some weight and was at 6 pounds 1 ounce. Then we took her to have her heel pricked again. Dr. Beard called us back that night and said that it was about the same level, but a little lower. She wanted her to come back again the next day, the 9th to ave one more heel prick done to make sure that her levels were on their way down instead of rising.
The next day we went straight to the lab to have her test done. This time I had built up enough courage to hold Brooklyn myself while they did the test. It wasn't so bad because Brooklyn takes getting blood drawn much better than I do. She started to cry once and then was fine. Later that night Dr. Beard called us back and told us that her levels had lowered another point so it looked like she was on her way down and was going good. We just needed to continue to feed her about every three hours to make sure she was staying well hydrated and getting enough to eat. She didn't need to see us again until our two week appointment the following week.
I felt so bad that I had to subject my baby to those heel pricks. Four in a week was a lot and I was just happy that she was doing better so she wouldn't have to get anymore. She hasn't had any problems with being jaundice since then though and has been doing great.
Love,
Jennifer
Dr. Beard was great with her. She was concerned however because she had lost some weight, down to 5 pounds 12 ounces, that she might not be getting enough the eat. However, my milk had just come in that night before so she wanted us to be on a strict feeding schedule with Brooklyn over the weekend to try to get her weight back up. She also wanted to make sure that she wasn't becoming jaundice so we had to have another heel prick test done. Brooklyn's daddy had to hold her for this test because I couldn't stand to hear her cry at that point and me not be able to fix what was wrong. After she had her heel pricked, Dr. Beard called us a couple of hours later with the results which came back high. She wanted to see us back in the office the following Monday, the 8th, the check her levels again.
So that following Monday we went in to have her heel pricked again and the check her weight. After no sleep over the weekend from having to wake her up every two hours to feed her, Brooklyn had gained back some weight and was at 6 pounds 1 ounce. Then we took her to have her heel pricked again. Dr. Beard called us back that night and said that it was about the same level, but a little lower. She wanted her to come back again the next day, the 9th to ave one more heel prick done to make sure that her levels were on their way down instead of rising.
The next day we went straight to the lab to have her test done. This time I had built up enough courage to hold Brooklyn myself while they did the test. It wasn't so bad because Brooklyn takes getting blood drawn much better than I do. She started to cry once and then was fine. Later that night Dr. Beard called us back and told us that her levels had lowered another point so it looked like she was on her way down and was going good. We just needed to continue to feed her about every three hours to make sure she was staying well hydrated and getting enough to eat. She didn't need to see us again until our two week appointment the following week.
I felt so bad that I had to subject my baby to those heel pricks. Four in a week was a lot and I was just happy that she was doing better so she wouldn't have to get anymore. She hasn't had any problems with being jaundice since then though and has been doing great.
Love,
Jennifer
The Day The Puppy Was Born
December 2, 2008 is the day that our lives were forever changed. On this day, Brooklyn Carly Belle Spoonemore was born. It was a glorious day that, when looking back on it, seemed to come and go way too fast.
I had to be at Moore Medical Center at 7 o'clock in the morning to get checked in and ready to be induced for labor. My mom, Grandma Carrie, and Dale's mom, Grandma Belinda both met us up at the hospital that morning.
Once we got checked in we were taken to room 202 where our nurse Melissa was waiting for us. Melissa would be our nurse for the delivery and the rest of the day until her shift was up. She was a very calm, quiet, and nice nurse. She got me set up on the monitor and got my iv started, which I was not excited about. Lucky for me it didn't seem to hurt near as bad as I thought it would. She then got me hooked up to the medicine to start labor. By this time it was 8 o'clock.
At about 8:30, Dr. Fletcher stopped in and broke my water to get everything going faster since I was barely having contractions from the medicine. This was not a pleasant experience. It didn't hurt at all. It was just extremely uncomfortable because here I am in nothing but a hospital gown with a puppy pee pad underneath me and leaking fluid that I have no control over. It feels like you peed your pants and you just have to sit there in it.
Not long after my water broke I started to feel the contractions start. To make me a little more comfortable Melissa started bringing me some pain medicine. At this point in time I was still completely set on not getting an epidural. More time continued to go by and I continued to dilate at a good pace with the contractions getting stronger. I would recommend taking the prepared child birth classes for the breathing techniques. Your throat will be sore after all is said and done from the heavy breathing, but they really did help. The pain pill they gave me was helping some, but it was also making me really tired.
By about 12:30 or so I was starting to be in pain and was only dilated to a 6 almost a 7. My contractions were starting to come on more frequently and a lot stronger than before. Then by 1:30 in the afternoon I was in pain. My contractions were one after another with no break. They were hurting me so bad that I was crying and couldn't communicate very well because I couldn't see I was in that much pain. I was so glad that I had Dale there by my side the whole time because I needed his hand to squeeze. I thought for sure by that time I had to be almost fully dilated. The nurse checked though and I was only at a 7. At that point, they would not be able to give me anymore pain medication because it could affect the baby. As much as I wanted to be able to do everything naturally, I just couldn't handle it. Dale, knowing this, told the nurse to bring in the anesthesiologist because I would need an epidural to be able to get through the rest of the delivery.
After that I don't remember much else or how much time really lapsed. Lucky for Brooklyn, her daddy took video after I received the epidural. I didn't want it because I am terrified of needles. However, I was in so much pain from the contractions and so distracted with getting through them that I did not even notice when the anesthesiologist put the epidural in. The only thing that went wrong with it came later after Brooklyn arrived. The tape that they used to hold the tube in was the strong adhesive tape that my skin is allergic to, so for about two days after, if not longer, you could tell where my epidural was on my back.
After the epidural was given to me, the world was great! I didn't like the fact that I couldn't feel my legs or move them on my own, but I wasn't in anymore pain almost immediately. The doctor was still in the room when I asked when I would have my next contraction and the nurse told me I was having one right that moment, a big one, and I didn't feel a thing. It was great. My mistake was taking the last dose of pain medication and then getting the epidural because I was so relaxed and then the last does of medicine made me sleepy, so I was out. Dale has video of me talking that I don't even remember.
It was about 1 o'clock when I got the epidural and it didn't take long after that when the nurse came in and checked and said I was fully dilated. They called Dr. Fletcher to come deliver Brooklyn. While we were waiting for the doctor to arrive, the delivery nurses had me try to practice pushing. Since I couldn't feel anything from the waste below, they wanted me to try to see if I would be able to push and know what to do. I gave three practice pushes and the nurses told me that was good and to stop. I had no idea what I was really doing, but apparently, Brooklyn was ready to come out and had started to crown at that point. They were afraid if I practiced anymore that I would deliver her before Dr. Fletcher arrived.
Dr. Fletcher finally arrived about 3:22 in the afternoon. At that point she didn't even have her gloves all the way on before she told me to go ahead and start trying to push since I was having a contraction at that very moment. I started to push and she was like "WHOA! OK hold on." Then she told me to give it one more push and Brooklyn was born! I was so happy that she came out as easy as she did. I was so afraid they would have to use the vacuum or forceps to get her out. Instead she came out so fast that the doctor wasn't even prepared and the nurse with the camera couldn't even get there fast enough since they video tape (G rated) the birth.
When Brooklyn was born she came out crying at 3:25 in the afternoon. She wasn't even all the way out before she started crying. I was in such shock at what I had just done that when Dr. Fletcher plopped Brooklyn on my belly all blue and slimy and crying, I didn't know what to do. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I froze. I think I remember trying to cry tears of joy, but at the same time I was terrified because she was so tiny and I was so afraid to touch her because she just didn't seem real. Then another part of me was very freaked out because she was blue and that was one thing I didn't know to expect and I was afraid something was wrong with her since she was blue! All together though, it was just the best feeling ever knowing that I just brought the most beautiful six pound, three ounce, twenty inch long miracle into the world.
Dale got to cut her umbilical cord and then followed her over to the warming station with the nurses where they cleaned her up and took care of her. He then got o cut her umbilical cord again since they didn't catch it on taped the first time. He got most of everything they did to her on tape and took a bunch of photos. It seemed like it was taking forever for them to get her back over to me. Dr. Fletcher was talking to me about how everything went but I couldn't focus because I was too busy trying to watch Dale and Brooklyn. I do remember her telling me hat we made the right decision by delivering her early because my fluid was lower than they thought. She said the fluid I lost when she broke my water was it and that usually there is more fluid after the baby is born. In my case there wasn't anymore fluid. She told me had we waited longer like we were thinking about doing so she would come on her own, that it would have put her in danger.
Anyway, the whole time Brooklyn was at the warming station she was crying. I remember thinking to myself, oh my God... if she is that loud now, I am in trouble. Lucky for me, she is just the opposite now. She was very frustrated that day though being passed around so much with everyone there to see her. By the end of the day, Dale, Brooklyn, and I was all exhausted.
Dale and I got to hold Brooklyn to ourselves for about 5 or 10 minutes before we opened the door and let my mom and Belinda in to see her. We wanted the grandmothers to have some special time with her by themselves before the rest of the family, who were all there ready to see her, came in. They were in just as much awe with her as Dale and I were. I found out later from Dale's Uncle Raymond that they were outside our room with their ears to the door and started crying when they heard her cry.
After they had their time with her, we let everyone else in to see her. I can't even begin to list everyone that was there. Partly because there were so many people, and then also because I was still pretty drugged up from the medicine still. Eventually everyone left though and things started to calm down. Dale stayed the night and slept in the chair in the room, helping me with her throughout the night. She slept on me that night because I did not want to put her down. Nurses came in periodically throughout the night to check her vitals and to take blood work and make sure I was doing ok. It was nice having a button to push whenever I had a question about something or thought that something was wrong.
The next day was pretty mellow. My mom came up and held her so I could get some sleep, then Belinda came up later to help out also and help us get home that night. We were only in the hospital for a little over 24 hours. We would have been gone sooner but we couldn't get Brooklyn to poop. Turns out she was jaundice and the nurses had to mess with her to make her poop. Other than that one problem, everything else checked out great for me and for Brooklyn. The pediatrician came in that morning, December 3rd to check her out. She passed her hearing test and the doctor, doctor Reba Beard, said she looked great. We were originally going to go with Dr. Harmon as her pediatrician but have since decided to stick with Dr. Beard since she has seen Brooklyn from day one and knows about all the issues that we have had with her since her birth, which I will go into at a later time.
The 3rd was kind of an overwhelming day that seemed to go by too fast though. I got my complimentary back massage, which was SO nice. Dale and I also got a steak dinner, which was built up to be way more than it should have been. It wasn't all that great, but it was food. That was luckily our only meal we actually had from the hospital. When it came time to leave, I wasn't ready. It was scary to me because I wasn't going to have a nurse that I could just press a button and they would be right there.
That is basically it though. I'm sure I am forgetting something but that is the gist of it all. Looking back, everything seems like one big blur, but it was one of the best days of my life and I am so happy and grateful that Dale and I have such a healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl!
Love,
Jennifer
I had to be at Moore Medical Center at 7 o'clock in the morning to get checked in and ready to be induced for labor. My mom, Grandma Carrie, and Dale's mom, Grandma Belinda both met us up at the hospital that morning.
Once we got checked in we were taken to room 202 where our nurse Melissa was waiting for us. Melissa would be our nurse for the delivery and the rest of the day until her shift was up. She was a very calm, quiet, and nice nurse. She got me set up on the monitor and got my iv started, which I was not excited about. Lucky for me it didn't seem to hurt near as bad as I thought it would. She then got me hooked up to the medicine to start labor. By this time it was 8 o'clock.
At about 8:30, Dr. Fletcher stopped in and broke my water to get everything going faster since I was barely having contractions from the medicine. This was not a pleasant experience. It didn't hurt at all. It was just extremely uncomfortable because here I am in nothing but a hospital gown with a puppy pee pad underneath me and leaking fluid that I have no control over. It feels like you peed your pants and you just have to sit there in it.
Not long after my water broke I started to feel the contractions start. To make me a little more comfortable Melissa started bringing me some pain medicine. At this point in time I was still completely set on not getting an epidural. More time continued to go by and I continued to dilate at a good pace with the contractions getting stronger. I would recommend taking the prepared child birth classes for the breathing techniques. Your throat will be sore after all is said and done from the heavy breathing, but they really did help. The pain pill they gave me was helping some, but it was also making me really tired.
By about 12:30 or so I was starting to be in pain and was only dilated to a 6 almost a 7. My contractions were starting to come on more frequently and a lot stronger than before. Then by 1:30 in the afternoon I was in pain. My contractions were one after another with no break. They were hurting me so bad that I was crying and couldn't communicate very well because I couldn't see I was in that much pain. I was so glad that I had Dale there by my side the whole time because I needed his hand to squeeze. I thought for sure by that time I had to be almost fully dilated. The nurse checked though and I was only at a 7. At that point, they would not be able to give me anymore pain medication because it could affect the baby. As much as I wanted to be able to do everything naturally, I just couldn't handle it. Dale, knowing this, told the nurse to bring in the anesthesiologist because I would need an epidural to be able to get through the rest of the delivery.
After that I don't remember much else or how much time really lapsed. Lucky for Brooklyn, her daddy took video after I received the epidural. I didn't want it because I am terrified of needles. However, I was in so much pain from the contractions and so distracted with getting through them that I did not even notice when the anesthesiologist put the epidural in. The only thing that went wrong with it came later after Brooklyn arrived. The tape that they used to hold the tube in was the strong adhesive tape that my skin is allergic to, so for about two days after, if not longer, you could tell where my epidural was on my back.
After the epidural was given to me, the world was great! I didn't like the fact that I couldn't feel my legs or move them on my own, but I wasn't in anymore pain almost immediately. The doctor was still in the room when I asked when I would have my next contraction and the nurse told me I was having one right that moment, a big one, and I didn't feel a thing. It was great. My mistake was taking the last dose of pain medication and then getting the epidural because I was so relaxed and then the last does of medicine made me sleepy, so I was out. Dale has video of me talking that I don't even remember.
It was about 1 o'clock when I got the epidural and it didn't take long after that when the nurse came in and checked and said I was fully dilated. They called Dr. Fletcher to come deliver Brooklyn. While we were waiting for the doctor to arrive, the delivery nurses had me try to practice pushing. Since I couldn't feel anything from the waste below, they wanted me to try to see if I would be able to push and know what to do. I gave three practice pushes and the nurses told me that was good and to stop. I had no idea what I was really doing, but apparently, Brooklyn was ready to come out and had started to crown at that point. They were afraid if I practiced anymore that I would deliver her before Dr. Fletcher arrived.
Dr. Fletcher finally arrived about 3:22 in the afternoon. At that point she didn't even have her gloves all the way on before she told me to go ahead and start trying to push since I was having a contraction at that very moment. I started to push and she was like "WHOA! OK hold on." Then she told me to give it one more push and Brooklyn was born! I was so happy that she came out as easy as she did. I was so afraid they would have to use the vacuum or forceps to get her out. Instead she came out so fast that the doctor wasn't even prepared and the nurse with the camera couldn't even get there fast enough since they video tape (G rated) the birth.
When Brooklyn was born she came out crying at 3:25 in the afternoon. She wasn't even all the way out before she started crying. I was in such shock at what I had just done that when Dr. Fletcher plopped Brooklyn on my belly all blue and slimy and crying, I didn't know what to do. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I froze. I think I remember trying to cry tears of joy, but at the same time I was terrified because she was so tiny and I was so afraid to touch her because she just didn't seem real. Then another part of me was very freaked out because she was blue and that was one thing I didn't know to expect and I was afraid something was wrong with her since she was blue! All together though, it was just the best feeling ever knowing that I just brought the most beautiful six pound, three ounce, twenty inch long miracle into the world.
Dale got to cut her umbilical cord and then followed her over to the warming station with the nurses where they cleaned her up and took care of her. He then got o cut her umbilical cord again since they didn't catch it on taped the first time. He got most of everything they did to her on tape and took a bunch of photos. It seemed like it was taking forever for them to get her back over to me. Dr. Fletcher was talking to me about how everything went but I couldn't focus because I was too busy trying to watch Dale and Brooklyn. I do remember her telling me hat we made the right decision by delivering her early because my fluid was lower than they thought. She said the fluid I lost when she broke my water was it and that usually there is more fluid after the baby is born. In my case there wasn't anymore fluid. She told me had we waited longer like we were thinking about doing so she would come on her own, that it would have put her in danger.
Anyway, the whole time Brooklyn was at the warming station she was crying. I remember thinking to myself, oh my God... if she is that loud now, I am in trouble. Lucky for me, she is just the opposite now. She was very frustrated that day though being passed around so much with everyone there to see her. By the end of the day, Dale, Brooklyn, and I was all exhausted.
Dale and I got to hold Brooklyn to ourselves for about 5 or 10 minutes before we opened the door and let my mom and Belinda in to see her. We wanted the grandmothers to have some special time with her by themselves before the rest of the family, who were all there ready to see her, came in. They were in just as much awe with her as Dale and I were. I found out later from Dale's Uncle Raymond that they were outside our room with their ears to the door and started crying when they heard her cry.
After they had their time with her, we let everyone else in to see her. I can't even begin to list everyone that was there. Partly because there were so many people, and then also because I was still pretty drugged up from the medicine still. Eventually everyone left though and things started to calm down. Dale stayed the night and slept in the chair in the room, helping me with her throughout the night. She slept on me that night because I did not want to put her down. Nurses came in periodically throughout the night to check her vitals and to take blood work and make sure I was doing ok. It was nice having a button to push whenever I had a question about something or thought that something was wrong.
The next day was pretty mellow. My mom came up and held her so I could get some sleep, then Belinda came up later to help out also and help us get home that night. We were only in the hospital for a little over 24 hours. We would have been gone sooner but we couldn't get Brooklyn to poop. Turns out she was jaundice and the nurses had to mess with her to make her poop. Other than that one problem, everything else checked out great for me and for Brooklyn. The pediatrician came in that morning, December 3rd to check her out. She passed her hearing test and the doctor, doctor Reba Beard, said she looked great. We were originally going to go with Dr. Harmon as her pediatrician but have since decided to stick with Dr. Beard since she has seen Brooklyn from day one and knows about all the issues that we have had with her since her birth, which I will go into at a later time.
The 3rd was kind of an overwhelming day that seemed to go by too fast though. I got my complimentary back massage, which was SO nice. Dale and I also got a steak dinner, which was built up to be way more than it should have been. It wasn't all that great, but it was food. That was luckily our only meal we actually had from the hospital. When it came time to leave, I wasn't ready. It was scary to me because I wasn't going to have a nurse that I could just press a button and they would be right there.
That is basically it though. I'm sure I am forgetting something but that is the gist of it all. Looking back, everything seems like one big blur, but it was one of the best days of my life and I am so happy and grateful that Dale and I have such a healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl!
Love,
Jennifer
36 Week Doctor Appointment Continued...
So to complete the post about my 36 week doctor appointment... I didn't stop having contractions that day. In fact, shortly after that, Dale came home to take me up to the hospital. I called the hospital first to see what they thought I should do. They told me the best bet was to just go ahead and come in and they could hook me up to the monitor to check and make sure, so that is what we did. After all was said and done, it was a complete waste of my time.
We arrived at the hospital and went straight up to labor and delivery. When we got to the nurse's station we told them that I thought I was having contractions and that I had leaked a little bit, so we weren't sure what was going on. They told us that we would have to wait because both of their triage rooms were full right then, so they sent us to the waiting room and told us they would be with us shortly. Well, shortly turned into 20 minutes, which of was 20 minutes of waiting that I didn't mind too much because I wasn't in pain, just uncomfortable. Dale on the other hand was getting extremely irritated. So he went back up to the nurse's station and asked them what was going on and how much longer it was going to be. They told him not much longer and that they were cleaning up room right then and would come get me in a minute. Well that minute turned into another 25 minutes. We were fixing to get up and leave when they finally came to get us. We had to wait 45 minutes! By that time I was irritated.
When we got to the room the nurse had me change, and left the room for another 10 minutes before they came back in to hook the monitor up to my belly. At that point it was a different nurse, a RN by the name of Cynthia Popejoy. Her name is important because this nurse is by far the rudest, most incompetent, unprofessional nurse I have ever met. When she came in she asked what was going on and I explained everything to her. She then told me that if I wasn't in a lot of pain that I couldn't be in labor because contractions would be making me bend over in pain. I told her, no not necessarily because I was put on bed rest because I was in labor and that my contractions that the doctor said I was having then were lighter than the pains I was currently feeling.
She then hooked me up to the monitor and proceeded to pretty much explain to me how being pregnant worked and treated Dale and I like we were stupid and had no clue what was going on or what we were talking about which really started to irritate me. I don't need to be told to come into the hospital to be treated like a 5 year old. Throughout the conversation with her I kept telling her, "Yeah I know" thinking she would get the point that she didn't need to explain everything to me. I also told her that Dr. Fletcher is the one who put me on bed rest, that Dr. Fletcher took me off of the medicine, and that Dr. Fletcher and I had already discussed everything that was going on with me being in pre-term labor so early.
The nurse then asked if we were wanting to have Brooklyn that day. Dale and I both told her no, but if I was in labor and she was coming that there was nothing we could do about it and that I was scheduled to be induced on the 2nd anyway. She then went into a whole tangent about the risks of having Brooklyn early and treated us like we weren't aware of the fact that she could have under developed lungs. She continued saying that she might be under developed and have to be put in NICU for weeks before they would release her and that NICU was at Norman and that I needed to be aware of the fact that if she came early that I might not be able to be with her and that she would be taken away.
By now I was about to snap. I told her that I was fully aware of the risks and that Dr. Fletcher and I had already discussed everything that was going on and what the risks were, but that we were also sure that if she did come, she wouldn't have to be put in NICU because of her weight and that Dr. Fletcher was inducing me in less than a week anyway.
So then the nurse checked my cervix to see how dilated I was, which, usually when Dr. Fletcher does this, it's uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt. When nurse Popejoy did it, IT HURT! It hurt so bad that it made me cry. When she was done I told her what Dr. Fletcher had told me I was dilated to that morning. The nurse then tried to tell me that the doctor was wrong and I wasn't as far as she said. The nurse was trying to play my doctor, which is a big no no. Dr. Fletcher is the only one that I trusted telling me anything about my condition or my baby.
The nurse then asked me if I was having anymore contractions. I told her yes, that I felt like I was having one at the time. She looked at the monitor and said "Well I don't see where you are having on right now. We'll keep you hooked up a little bit longer though and I will go call your doctor and see what she wants to do. We will probably keep you hooked up for about an hour and then just send you home." She then left to room for about 10 minutes before returning. When she returned she told us that the doctor was going to go ahead and release me and that I was going to be sent home, even though I was still having what I thought were contractions.
Then the real bomb dropped. This nurse then asked me "So why were you wanting to have the baby today?" I told her "I wasn't wanting to have the baby today." She then said "Well that isn't what you told me a second ago."
That was it! I snapped! I told her " No what I told you was that if she came today then she comes. I told you that my doctor has scheduled me to be induced next week and that there is nothing I can do about it and honestly, it pisses me off that you come in here accusing me of trying to have my baby early when it s the doctors orders that I am going to be induced next week. I don't appreciate you coming in here and treating us like we are stupid when you guys were the ones that told us to come in the first place so I could be monitored because I wasn't sure if I was having contractions!!" I'm pretty sure I said a few other things too, but that was about the gist of it. The nurse didn't say another word and just had me sign my papers and walked out of the room.
I was SO mad that I was shaking. I could not believe that they would accuse me of coming into the hospital just to try to have Brooklyn early. If it were up to me she wouldn't have come as early as she did! My fluid count was low in the first place, which was the whole reason the doctor wanted her here no later than the 2nd of December. So I got dressed and left. As Dale and I were walking out I heard nurse Popejoy saying something to the other nurses about how I was being induced at 37 weeks like it was my choice.
That experience with the nurse and Moore Medical Center was the final straw for me. I called my doctors office to see if Dr. Fletcher practiced anywhere else because I did NOT want to have Brooklyn there. They told me no, that she doesn't. I informed them of what had just happened and they said that they would make sure that nurse Popejoy was not on my case and that she would have nothing to do with Brooklyn or be allowed anywhere near her. The doctors office then went through and answered my questions about how I was feeling and what I needed to watch out for in case I went into real labor which to hospital neglected to do.
I then called the patient liaison and filed a formal complaint against to nurse as well and informed them that if it wasn't for the fact that their hospital was the only facility my doctor practiced at that I would not be returning there. This wasn't the first bad experience I had with their facility. Now that I have had Brooklyn, I don't ever plan on going back to that hospital. I also learned from my stay in the hospital giving birth that their monitors for the contractions don't always pick up the contractions. So I very well could have been having contractions that day and the monitor just wasn't positioned right to pick them up.
So that was how the rest of my day went for November 25th. I'm sure there is something that I am forgetting to talk about from that day, but this post is long enough as it is and I have too many other good things to move on to and talk about. Just avoid nurse Cynthia Popejoy if you have to go to Moore Medical Center to have a baby!!
Love,
Jennifer
We arrived at the hospital and went straight up to labor and delivery. When we got to the nurse's station we told them that I thought I was having contractions and that I had leaked a little bit, so we weren't sure what was going on. They told us that we would have to wait because both of their triage rooms were full right then, so they sent us to the waiting room and told us they would be with us shortly. Well, shortly turned into 20 minutes, which of was 20 minutes of waiting that I didn't mind too much because I wasn't in pain, just uncomfortable. Dale on the other hand was getting extremely irritated. So he went back up to the nurse's station and asked them what was going on and how much longer it was going to be. They told him not much longer and that they were cleaning up room right then and would come get me in a minute. Well that minute turned into another 25 minutes. We were fixing to get up and leave when they finally came to get us. We had to wait 45 minutes! By that time I was irritated.
When we got to the room the nurse had me change, and left the room for another 10 minutes before they came back in to hook the monitor up to my belly. At that point it was a different nurse, a RN by the name of Cynthia Popejoy. Her name is important because this nurse is by far the rudest, most incompetent, unprofessional nurse I have ever met. When she came in she asked what was going on and I explained everything to her. She then told me that if I wasn't in a lot of pain that I couldn't be in labor because contractions would be making me bend over in pain. I told her, no not necessarily because I was put on bed rest because I was in labor and that my contractions that the doctor said I was having then were lighter than the pains I was currently feeling.
She then hooked me up to the monitor and proceeded to pretty much explain to me how being pregnant worked and treated Dale and I like we were stupid and had no clue what was going on or what we were talking about which really started to irritate me. I don't need to be told to come into the hospital to be treated like a 5 year old. Throughout the conversation with her I kept telling her, "Yeah I know" thinking she would get the point that she didn't need to explain everything to me. I also told her that Dr. Fletcher is the one who put me on bed rest, that Dr. Fletcher took me off of the medicine, and that Dr. Fletcher and I had already discussed everything that was going on with me being in pre-term labor so early.
The nurse then asked if we were wanting to have Brooklyn that day. Dale and I both told her no, but if I was in labor and she was coming that there was nothing we could do about it and that I was scheduled to be induced on the 2nd anyway. She then went into a whole tangent about the risks of having Brooklyn early and treated us like we weren't aware of the fact that she could have under developed lungs. She continued saying that she might be under developed and have to be put in NICU for weeks before they would release her and that NICU was at Norman and that I needed to be aware of the fact that if she came early that I might not be able to be with her and that she would be taken away.
By now I was about to snap. I told her that I was fully aware of the risks and that Dr. Fletcher and I had already discussed everything that was going on and what the risks were, but that we were also sure that if she did come, she wouldn't have to be put in NICU because of her weight and that Dr. Fletcher was inducing me in less than a week anyway.
So then the nurse checked my cervix to see how dilated I was, which, usually when Dr. Fletcher does this, it's uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt. When nurse Popejoy did it, IT HURT! It hurt so bad that it made me cry. When she was done I told her what Dr. Fletcher had told me I was dilated to that morning. The nurse then tried to tell me that the doctor was wrong and I wasn't as far as she said. The nurse was trying to play my doctor, which is a big no no. Dr. Fletcher is the only one that I trusted telling me anything about my condition or my baby.
The nurse then asked me if I was having anymore contractions. I told her yes, that I felt like I was having one at the time. She looked at the monitor and said "Well I don't see where you are having on right now. We'll keep you hooked up a little bit longer though and I will go call your doctor and see what she wants to do. We will probably keep you hooked up for about an hour and then just send you home." She then left to room for about 10 minutes before returning. When she returned she told us that the doctor was going to go ahead and release me and that I was going to be sent home, even though I was still having what I thought were contractions.
Then the real bomb dropped. This nurse then asked me "So why were you wanting to have the baby today?" I told her "I wasn't wanting to have the baby today." She then said "Well that isn't what you told me a second ago."
That was it! I snapped! I told her " No what I told you was that if she came today then she comes. I told you that my doctor has scheduled me to be induced next week and that there is nothing I can do about it and honestly, it pisses me off that you come in here accusing me of trying to have my baby early when it s the doctors orders that I am going to be induced next week. I don't appreciate you coming in here and treating us like we are stupid when you guys were the ones that told us to come in the first place so I could be monitored because I wasn't sure if I was having contractions!!" I'm pretty sure I said a few other things too, but that was about the gist of it. The nurse didn't say another word and just had me sign my papers and walked out of the room.
I was SO mad that I was shaking. I could not believe that they would accuse me of coming into the hospital just to try to have Brooklyn early. If it were up to me she wouldn't have come as early as she did! My fluid count was low in the first place, which was the whole reason the doctor wanted her here no later than the 2nd of December. So I got dressed and left. As Dale and I were walking out I heard nurse Popejoy saying something to the other nurses about how I was being induced at 37 weeks like it was my choice.
That experience with the nurse and Moore Medical Center was the final straw for me. I called my doctors office to see if Dr. Fletcher practiced anywhere else because I did NOT want to have Brooklyn there. They told me no, that she doesn't. I informed them of what had just happened and they said that they would make sure that nurse Popejoy was not on my case and that she would have nothing to do with Brooklyn or be allowed anywhere near her. The doctors office then went through and answered my questions about how I was feeling and what I needed to watch out for in case I went into real labor which to hospital neglected to do.
I then called the patient liaison and filed a formal complaint against to nurse as well and informed them that if it wasn't for the fact that their hospital was the only facility my doctor practiced at that I would not be returning there. This wasn't the first bad experience I had with their facility. Now that I have had Brooklyn, I don't ever plan on going back to that hospital. I also learned from my stay in the hospital giving birth that their monitors for the contractions don't always pick up the contractions. So I very well could have been having contractions that day and the monitor just wasn't positioned right to pick them up.
So that was how the rest of my day went for November 25th. I'm sure there is something that I am forgetting to talk about from that day, but this post is long enough as it is and I have too many other good things to move on to and talk about. Just avoid nurse Cynthia Popejoy if you have to go to Moore Medical Center to have a baby!!
Love,
Jennifer
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Baby Shower
The baby shower for Brooklyn was held on November 15, 2008 at 1 in the afternoon at the Moore Public Library Room A. Grandma Carrie and Grandma Belinda worked together to plan the shower. There were a lot of family and friends there and Brooklyn received a LOT of gifts. It took Daddy and I a while to go through all of them and to write down what we got from who. We are very grateful for everything that we received. It has all been very useful.
I would go through and list some of the things that we received, but it would take me forever to do that, so I will save that for her baby book which I also need to catch up on. Everything was beautiful though and it was all very overwhelming. I wish I could remember more to talk about but too much time has passed since the baby shower for me to remember details. I have posted a few pictures below though, so enjoy!
The table at the front door with Brooklyn's 1st Christmas tree.
Daddy and I behind the cake for the baby shower.
The gift table. These weren't even all the gifts!
Daddy and I opening Brooklyn's gifts.
The aftermath. This is what we had to go through once we got home!
I would go through and list some of the things that we received, but it would take me forever to do that, so I will save that for her baby book which I also need to catch up on. Everything was beautiful though and it was all very overwhelming. I wish I could remember more to talk about but too much time has passed since the baby shower for me to remember details. I have posted a few pictures below though, so enjoy!
The table at the front door with Brooklyn's 1st Christmas tree.
Daddy and I behind the cake for the baby shower.
The gift table. These weren't even all the gifts!
Daddy and I opening Brooklyn's gifts.
The aftermath. This is what we had to go through once we got home!
Love,
Jennifer
Jennifer
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Dreams Really Do Come True!
Yes everyone, it is true. Dreams really can come true! Brooklyn Carly Belle Spoonemore has finally arrived! I apologize for not keeping up with everything. Life has been such a blur since about the middle of November. I have so much to talk about and such little time to actually sit down and type it all out now. I promise to try to be better though. On to the good news though!
Just in case you haven't already heard, BROOKLYN IS HERE!!!!!
Brooklyn Carly Belle Spoonemore was born on December 2, 2008 at 3:25 PM at Moore Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds and 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. She has a head full of hair, as you can see from the pictures posted on the previous entry. I think she looks just like her daddy, like I have always thought, though I am told she looks a lot like me when I was a baby too. Her looks seem to change every day though.
Brooklyn is an amazingly beautiful baby. It is still so hard for her daddy and I to believe that God helped us create something so wonderfully special and SO beautiful. She is literally the best baby ever. She doesn't just randomly cry for no reason. She sleeps through everything and is just so incredibly sweet and adorable. I know, I know, I am partial since she is my daughter and all, but I honestly believe she is the most beautiful best baby ever and I have a lot people that will back me up on that statement!
Anyway, the story of her day of birth is one of many that I have to catch everyone up on. I know I will probably forget some things since it's been over a month since my last post and I am so scatterbrained now, but I will try my best to remember all the details. I also have to catch everyone up on the baby shower, the visit to the hospital the week before she was born, her first day out in public, her first bath, her first doctors appointment and much much more. Some of the stories might not be as long as they originally were going to be since my time is taken up by more important things now like Brooklyn. I will make sure to try to get everything caught up to date in the next few days though. So be prepared to read!!!
Love,
Jennifer
Just in case you haven't already heard, BROOKLYN IS HERE!!!!!
Brooklyn Carly Belle Spoonemore was born on December 2, 2008 at 3:25 PM at Moore Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds and 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. She has a head full of hair, as you can see from the pictures posted on the previous entry. I think she looks just like her daddy, like I have always thought, though I am told she looks a lot like me when I was a baby too. Her looks seem to change every day though.
Brooklyn is an amazingly beautiful baby. It is still so hard for her daddy and I to believe that God helped us create something so wonderfully special and SO beautiful. She is literally the best baby ever. She doesn't just randomly cry for no reason. She sleeps through everything and is just so incredibly sweet and adorable. I know, I know, I am partial since she is my daughter and all, but I honestly believe she is the most beautiful best baby ever and I have a lot people that will back me up on that statement!
Anyway, the story of her day of birth is one of many that I have to catch everyone up on. I know I will probably forget some things since it's been over a month since my last post and I am so scatterbrained now, but I will try my best to remember all the details. I also have to catch everyone up on the baby shower, the visit to the hospital the week before she was born, her first day out in public, her first bath, her first doctors appointment and much much more. Some of the stories might not be as long as they originally were going to be since my time is taken up by more important things now like Brooklyn. I will make sure to try to get everything caught up to date in the next few days though. So be prepared to read!!!
Love,
Jennifer
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
36 Week Doctor Appointment
Ok, so the time continues to get closer and closer. I'm starting to think it won't get here fast enough though. Brooklyn's Grandma Belinda took me around to all my appointments this morning. I had another ultrasound at 7:30 in the morning to measure the amount of fluid around Brooklyn. She is really out of room to move now, which explains why her feet are in my ribs all the time. The fluid amount went back up from last week from 8.1 to 9.2. Dr. Fletcher said the count is always higher in the morning and decreases through the day, but that I am maintaining a healthy level, so she thinks everything is fine.
After my ultrasound at 7:30 in the morning, I had to go upstairs to have another NST, Non Stress Test, done. I passed that fine. This time the chart actually picked up some small contractions that I have been having. I have been having random contractions off and on all morning though, especially when I am laying down.
When we were done with the stress test we headed over to Dr. Fletcher's office for my 9 o'clock appointment. Surprisingly enough, we got right in to see the doctor. They told me all my tests came back fine. My blood pressure was good and Brooklyn's heart beat was about 150 when we were at the doctor's office. Dr. Fletcher told me that I am not dilated to a loose three, which I am guessing is going into a 4 almost. She said I was 50% effaced and that Brooklyn was stationed at a negative 2, which means she is no longer just floating around and is down in position.
SO, with all of that being said, I could possible have Brooklyn any day now, or she could just wait until next Tuesday, December 2nd to be induced. Either way, we are less than a week away now. I have fully accepted the fact that the chances of me being in the hospital over Thanksgiving and even Black Friday have dramatically increased. Hopefully she will at least hold out until Saturday so I can still have turkey and pumpkin pie, and then go shopping Friday morning. Today was my last doctor appointment with Dr. Fletcher though until Brooklyn arrives. I have another NST to do on Thursday morning as long as I don't have her. Then next Tuesday I have to be at the hospital at 7 in the morning for them to induce.
If I don't stop having contractions here soon we might need to go to the hospital again though to see what is going on. I can't seem to get really get a timing on the contractions. I just know that I am having them. We shall see what happens though!
Love,
Jennifer
After my ultrasound at 7:30 in the morning, I had to go upstairs to have another NST, Non Stress Test, done. I passed that fine. This time the chart actually picked up some small contractions that I have been having. I have been having random contractions off and on all morning though, especially when I am laying down.
When we were done with the stress test we headed over to Dr. Fletcher's office for my 9 o'clock appointment. Surprisingly enough, we got right in to see the doctor. They told me all my tests came back fine. My blood pressure was good and Brooklyn's heart beat was about 150 when we were at the doctor's office. Dr. Fletcher told me that I am not dilated to a loose three, which I am guessing is going into a 4 almost. She said I was 50% effaced and that Brooklyn was stationed at a negative 2, which means she is no longer just floating around and is down in position.
SO, with all of that being said, I could possible have Brooklyn any day now, or she could just wait until next Tuesday, December 2nd to be induced. Either way, we are less than a week away now. I have fully accepted the fact that the chances of me being in the hospital over Thanksgiving and even Black Friday have dramatically increased. Hopefully she will at least hold out until Saturday so I can still have turkey and pumpkin pie, and then go shopping Friday morning. Today was my last doctor appointment with Dr. Fletcher though until Brooklyn arrives. I have another NST to do on Thursday morning as long as I don't have her. Then next Tuesday I have to be at the hospital at 7 in the morning for them to induce.
If I don't stop having contractions here soon we might need to go to the hospital again though to see what is going on. I can't seem to get really get a timing on the contractions. I just know that I am having them. We shall see what happens though!
Love,
Jennifer
Thursday, November 20, 2008
35 Week Doctor Appointment
Dale and I went in for our doctor appointment this morning at 9 o'clock. I think it's so funny how when he is with me we barely ever have to wait. There was only one other person in the waiting room ahead of us, so we were called back not long after we got there.
They did all the usual vital stuff and tests. Took my weight, still good, (not going to share that one!) and her heart beat was still in the average range. I measured out at 35 weeks and my blood pressure was 137/74, which was a little higher than it usually is when I go in, but still not bad.
Dr. Fletcher came in joking with me about how I just don't want to produce any extra fluid and proceeded to explain to Dale and I what was going on. She told me my fluid count was lower, at an 8, but that it was nothing to worry about at the moment. She explained to us why the fluid was so low. She said the placenta is like an egg timer. It only goes so long before it decides it's done with the whole pregnancy thing. Well the placenta is what provides the blood flow to the baby. So when it decides that it's done the blood flow to the baby decreases. From there, there baby realizes that it's not getting enough blood flow and to protect itself, rushes it's blood supply to it's head to protect it's brain. In doing this, it means that the baby's kidneys aren't producing as much as they usually would. Basically, amniotic fluid is baby pee. So when the baby's kidneys are producing enough fluid, then the fluid starts to run low, which puts the baby at a higher risk the lower and lower the fluid gets. The fluid is vital for the baby to be able to move around and function.
Dr. Fletcher told me that since I was at an 8 that I was still ok for the time being, but that she feels that I shouldn't go any longer than 37 weeks, or the first week in December, which is why they set a date to induce labor just in case she wouldn't come before that period of time. When Dale asked why they couldn't just induce me today she told us because the risk of delivering a baby at 35 weeks who might not be ready is much greater than delivering a baby at 37 weeks. At 35 weeks, Brooklyn's lungs might not still be completely developed because my body wouldn't have given her that last natural dosage of steroids like it would naturally verses inducing. Also, babies at 35 weeks can not control their body temperature near as well as a baby at 37 weeks. So all and all, it was safer for me to wait as long as possible because being an 8 fluid wise was not causing the baby any harm. Had I been a 5, then she would take Brooklyn immediately.
So to keep and eye on everything, I now have to go in every Tuesday and Thursday to the hospital to have a NST done. She said she will be able to tell from this test whether or not the baby is stressing out. I also have to have a BPP, or Bio Physical Profile, AKA ultrasound, done every Tuesday as well to measure the amount of fluid and her weight. When I asked the doctor about her weight gain she said she was not worried about it at all. That babies grow in spurts and that there was always room for a little error in those weight measurements.
The next thing we discussed with her was whether or not I needed to continue taking my medication for the contractions. She told me no! She said not to worry about taking any more of the medicine because if I have Brooklyn, then I have her. As far as bed rest, she did tell me to take it easy still and that laying around wouldn't hurt me. Dale asked if that meant I couldn't get out because I was dying to go shopping for baby stuff. Dr. Fletcher said to go ahead and that it was fine for me to do all of that. If doing so sends me into labor, then oh well. She said she didn't have a problem if I went into natural labor because that was my body telling itself that it was time. If it's time, then it's time, so be it because my uterus is a lot smarter than she is!
She said that she is not on call this weekend, but if something happens over the weekend, that she has it written on my charts for the hospital to call her first. She is on call over Thanksgiving, so if something happens then, she'll be there. She then checked my cervix and everything and said I was still dilated to a 2 at this point. She ran some other tests and told me that she would see me next week on Tuesday since they would be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday.
I also asked her why I wasn't able to eat too much without feeling like I was going to get sick. She told me that my stomach was literally up in my chest like I was feeling and that with the baby pushing on it all the time it has shrunk. With that being said, I need to eat 6 smaller meals a day instead of bigger meals otherwise I will make myself sick. Yay! I have never been so hungry but so unable to drink or eat anything in my life! I just hope I will be able to handle Thanksgiving! I am SO looking forward to turkey and pie!
Anyway, after we left the doctors office we had to go to the hospital so they could run a NST on me. After about 30 minutes of me laying there listening to Brooklyn's heart pound like a race horse and feeling her kick the crap out of me, they let us go. They said everything looked fine and that they would see me on Tuesday whenever I decided to come in. As for next Thursday, they said whenever I wanted to come in would be fine also and that I just needed to schedule my BPP with radiology before I left.
So my doctor appointment schedule for the next week is really nice. Now given that I don't have Brooklyn sometime this weekend, I have to be at the hospital around 7/ 7:15 in the morning next Tuesday for my 7:30 ultrasound. From there I have to go upstairs to have another NST done. After I am done with that I have to head over to Dr. Fletcher's office for my routine doctor appointment at 9 am. That should be nice since their last appointment that day is at noon because of the holiday weekend and the lady at the front desk went ahead and double booked us so we could get an earlier time. So I will probably be waiting a while there. Then sometime Thanksgiving day I have to run up to the hospital to have another NST done. All of this makes for a very busy week.
Anyway, with me being off of bed rest now, which I am SO excited about, Dale and I are finally going to be able to go to Wal-Mart and finish our baby shopping. I didn't think I would ever say this, but I can't wait to go to Wal-Mart!!
That is about it for my day so far though. I still need to talk about the baby shower, but I will have to do that another time because I need to get my bags ready for the hospital now just in case something happens!
Love,
Jennifer
They did all the usual vital stuff and tests. Took my weight, still good, (not going to share that one!) and her heart beat was still in the average range. I measured out at 35 weeks and my blood pressure was 137/74, which was a little higher than it usually is when I go in, but still not bad.
Dr. Fletcher came in joking with me about how I just don't want to produce any extra fluid and proceeded to explain to Dale and I what was going on. She told me my fluid count was lower, at an 8, but that it was nothing to worry about at the moment. She explained to us why the fluid was so low. She said the placenta is like an egg timer. It only goes so long before it decides it's done with the whole pregnancy thing. Well the placenta is what provides the blood flow to the baby. So when it decides that it's done the blood flow to the baby decreases. From there, there baby realizes that it's not getting enough blood flow and to protect itself, rushes it's blood supply to it's head to protect it's brain. In doing this, it means that the baby's kidneys aren't producing as much as they usually would. Basically, amniotic fluid is baby pee. So when the baby's kidneys are producing enough fluid, then the fluid starts to run low, which puts the baby at a higher risk the lower and lower the fluid gets. The fluid is vital for the baby to be able to move around and function.
Dr. Fletcher told me that since I was at an 8 that I was still ok for the time being, but that she feels that I shouldn't go any longer than 37 weeks, or the first week in December, which is why they set a date to induce labor just in case she wouldn't come before that period of time. When Dale asked why they couldn't just induce me today she told us because the risk of delivering a baby at 35 weeks who might not be ready is much greater than delivering a baby at 37 weeks. At 35 weeks, Brooklyn's lungs might not still be completely developed because my body wouldn't have given her that last natural dosage of steroids like it would naturally verses inducing. Also, babies at 35 weeks can not control their body temperature near as well as a baby at 37 weeks. So all and all, it was safer for me to wait as long as possible because being an 8 fluid wise was not causing the baby any harm. Had I been a 5, then she would take Brooklyn immediately.
So to keep and eye on everything, I now have to go in every Tuesday and Thursday to the hospital to have a NST done. She said she will be able to tell from this test whether or not the baby is stressing out. I also have to have a BPP, or Bio Physical Profile, AKA ultrasound, done every Tuesday as well to measure the amount of fluid and her weight. When I asked the doctor about her weight gain she said she was not worried about it at all. That babies grow in spurts and that there was always room for a little error in those weight measurements.
The next thing we discussed with her was whether or not I needed to continue taking my medication for the contractions. She told me no! She said not to worry about taking any more of the medicine because if I have Brooklyn, then I have her. As far as bed rest, she did tell me to take it easy still and that laying around wouldn't hurt me. Dale asked if that meant I couldn't get out because I was dying to go shopping for baby stuff. Dr. Fletcher said to go ahead and that it was fine for me to do all of that. If doing so sends me into labor, then oh well. She said she didn't have a problem if I went into natural labor because that was my body telling itself that it was time. If it's time, then it's time, so be it because my uterus is a lot smarter than she is!
She said that she is not on call this weekend, but if something happens over the weekend, that she has it written on my charts for the hospital to call her first. She is on call over Thanksgiving, so if something happens then, she'll be there. She then checked my cervix and everything and said I was still dilated to a 2 at this point. She ran some other tests and told me that she would see me next week on Tuesday since they would be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday.
I also asked her why I wasn't able to eat too much without feeling like I was going to get sick. She told me that my stomach was literally up in my chest like I was feeling and that with the baby pushing on it all the time it has shrunk. With that being said, I need to eat 6 smaller meals a day instead of bigger meals otherwise I will make myself sick. Yay! I have never been so hungry but so unable to drink or eat anything in my life! I just hope I will be able to handle Thanksgiving! I am SO looking forward to turkey and pie!
Anyway, after we left the doctors office we had to go to the hospital so they could run a NST on me. After about 30 minutes of me laying there listening to Brooklyn's heart pound like a race horse and feeling her kick the crap out of me, they let us go. They said everything looked fine and that they would see me on Tuesday whenever I decided to come in. As for next Thursday, they said whenever I wanted to come in would be fine also and that I just needed to schedule my BPP with radiology before I left.
So my doctor appointment schedule for the next week is really nice. Now given that I don't have Brooklyn sometime this weekend, I have to be at the hospital around 7/ 7:15 in the morning next Tuesday for my 7:30 ultrasound. From there I have to go upstairs to have another NST done. After I am done with that I have to head over to Dr. Fletcher's office for my routine doctor appointment at 9 am. That should be nice since their last appointment that day is at noon because of the holiday weekend and the lady at the front desk went ahead and double booked us so we could get an earlier time. So I will probably be waiting a while there. Then sometime Thanksgiving day I have to run up to the hospital to have another NST done. All of this makes for a very busy week.
Anyway, with me being off of bed rest now, which I am SO excited about, Dale and I are finally going to be able to go to Wal-Mart and finish our baby shopping. I didn't think I would ever say this, but I can't wait to go to Wal-Mart!!
That is about it for my day so far though. I still need to talk about the baby shower, but I will have to do that another time because I need to get my bags ready for the hospital now just in case something happens!
Love,
Jennifer
Wednesday Worries
Big news for a non doctor appointment day. After my ultrasound Tuesday, Dale and I had some concerns about how little weight Brooklyn had gained in a weeks time. So I called and left a message with the nurses at my doctors office to see if they could have the doctor check into the results of the ultrasound because I was worried and wanted to make sure everything was still going ok.
It wasn't until later that afternoon when one of the nurses called me back. They said that Dr. Fletcher had been in surgery all day, but that they got the results back in and had messaged her with the fluid count results. It turns out that my initial thought of my fluid count being lower was right. I went from a 9 from the week before to an 8 for this week. They said it still wasn't dangerously low, so there wasn't any immediately danger or anything to worry about. The nurse told me that Dr. Fletcher would go over everything in detail with me tomorrow, Thursday, at my doctor's appointment and that she hadn't looked at the actual ultrasounds yet, but that she wanted to start getting the ball rolling on what was going to need to be done.
Apparently, since m fluid count continues to decrease, Dr. Fletcher now wants me to go in twice a week now to get a NST, Non Stress Test, done so she can monitor Brooklyn's heart beat and stress levels to make sure she is getting enough blood supply needed to function. She also wants me to continue my once a week ultrasound until Brooklyn arrives so she can keep a close eye on the fluid amount.
When I asked the nurse about the weight problem she said she wasn't sure because she hadn't noticed or asked the doctor about that because the main concern was the amount of fluid. She told me she would ask one of the other doctors in the office and call me back if they felt it was a big concern that needed to be addressed at that moment. She told me if she didn't call me back then I could just address the issue with Dr. Fletcher tomorrow morning.
With that being said, we ended out phone conversation and I called Dale and the grandmothers to let them know what was going on. In the middle of my phone conversation with Dale's mom Belinda, my cell phone rang. It was Dr. Fletcher's office and I became really nervous. When I answered it was the nurse again. She said that she hadn't had a chance to talk with the other doctor about the weight yet. She was calling me back because Dr. Fletcher had gotten with another one of the nurses and wanted her to go ahead and set me up to be induced!! Yeah! Induced! The nurse told me that Dr. Fletcher did not want me to go anywhere past 37 weeks before they would induce me, so she was going to call the hospital and schedule me for a date sometime in the first week of December and then call me back and let me know. When she called me back she said they had me on the books at the hospital for December 2, 2008. I needed to be at the hospital at 7 that morning for them to start the process. I was kind of in shock because setting an actual date made everything so much more real!
The nurse told me I would talk with Dr. Fletcher more the next day about everything, but that if and when she took me off of my medication Brooklyn didn't come by December 2nd, that she would definitely be here on that day, no later! So everyone, less than two weeks before we have a baby here. I went ahead and changed the due date on the count down from December 22nd, 2008, to December 2nd, 2008 so it is a little more accurate. Anyway, that is what happened on Wednesday. It made for a very interesting day! The day we found out for sure when Brooklyn would be here by! Everyone is really excited and nervous now, including me! I can't wait though!
Love,
Jennifer
It wasn't until later that afternoon when one of the nurses called me back. They said that Dr. Fletcher had been in surgery all day, but that they got the results back in and had messaged her with the fluid count results. It turns out that my initial thought of my fluid count being lower was right. I went from a 9 from the week before to an 8 for this week. They said it still wasn't dangerously low, so there wasn't any immediately danger or anything to worry about. The nurse told me that Dr. Fletcher would go over everything in detail with me tomorrow, Thursday, at my doctor's appointment and that she hadn't looked at the actual ultrasounds yet, but that she wanted to start getting the ball rolling on what was going to need to be done.
Apparently, since m fluid count continues to decrease, Dr. Fletcher now wants me to go in twice a week now to get a NST, Non Stress Test, done so she can monitor Brooklyn's heart beat and stress levels to make sure she is getting enough blood supply needed to function. She also wants me to continue my once a week ultrasound until Brooklyn arrives so she can keep a close eye on the fluid amount.
When I asked the nurse about the weight problem she said she wasn't sure because she hadn't noticed or asked the doctor about that because the main concern was the amount of fluid. She told me she would ask one of the other doctors in the office and call me back if they felt it was a big concern that needed to be addressed at that moment. She told me if she didn't call me back then I could just address the issue with Dr. Fletcher tomorrow morning.
With that being said, we ended out phone conversation and I called Dale and the grandmothers to let them know what was going on. In the middle of my phone conversation with Dale's mom Belinda, my cell phone rang. It was Dr. Fletcher's office and I became really nervous. When I answered it was the nurse again. She said that she hadn't had a chance to talk with the other doctor about the weight yet. She was calling me back because Dr. Fletcher had gotten with another one of the nurses and wanted her to go ahead and set me up to be induced!! Yeah! Induced! The nurse told me that Dr. Fletcher did not want me to go anywhere past 37 weeks before they would induce me, so she was going to call the hospital and schedule me for a date sometime in the first week of December and then call me back and let me know. When she called me back she said they had me on the books at the hospital for December 2, 2008. I needed to be at the hospital at 7 that morning for them to start the process. I was kind of in shock because setting an actual date made everything so much more real!
The nurse told me I would talk with Dr. Fletcher more the next day about everything, but that if and when she took me off of my medication Brooklyn didn't come by December 2nd, that she would definitely be here on that day, no later! So everyone, less than two weeks before we have a baby here. I went ahead and changed the due date on the count down from December 22nd, 2008, to December 2nd, 2008 so it is a little more accurate. Anyway, that is what happened on Wednesday. It made for a very interesting day! The day we found out for sure when Brooklyn would be here by! Everyone is really excited and nervous now, including me! I can't wait though!
Love,
Jennifer
Tuesday Ultrasound
So part of my doctor's preventative care is going to get an ultrasound done every week now until Brooklyn is here to check the amount of fluid. I went this past Tuesday, November 18th, so the doctor would have the results in by my Thursday appointment. For the most part, everything seemed to be ok. Brooklyn was moving around and still healthy. Her heart beat was in it's usual 150-160 range. The ultrasound tech took all of her measurements to get her weight, and also measured out the pockets of fluid. After the tech took all the measurements, she told us her approximate weight was 5 pounds 1 ounce. This concerned me because that meant she ad only gained 2 ounces in the past week. She is suppose to be gaining half a pound, or 8 ounces, a week now.
The tech couldn't tell me anything about the amount of fluid she measured, but I could tell that it didn't look like it was as much as the previous week. I also asked about her umbilical cord to see if they could tell if it was anywhere around her neck, just to make sure. They told me she is so crowded in my belly now that there really isn't a way to tell. As long as she continues to move around though she should be fine. So that was basically it for that day. They told me that they should have the results to the doctor's office by the next day, and I was free to go until next week.
Love,
Jennifer
The tech couldn't tell me anything about the amount of fluid she measured, but I could tell that it didn't look like it was as much as the previous week. I also asked about her umbilical cord to see if they could tell if it was anywhere around her neck, just to make sure. They told me she is so crowded in my belly now that there really isn't a way to tell. As long as she continues to move around though she should be fine. So that was basically it for that day. They told me that they should have the results to the doctor's office by the next day, and I was free to go until next week.
Love,
Jennifer
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Brooklyn & Momma at 35 Weeks
This is the most recent picture of me at 35 weeks pregnant with Brooklyn. I can't believe how much weight I have gained! My face looks so chubby now! Anyway, this picture was just taken yesterday, November 18th 2008. Look how big she has gotten!
Love,
Jennifer
Brooklyn Kicked Her Daddy!!
Before I forget what day it happened, I might as well go ahead and post about it even though it will be out of order with other events.
So Monday evening, Dale was laying his head on my belly and I was playing with his hair when all of a sudden Brooklyn kicked him! She did not like him being in her space I guess. It was pretty funny though that she got so upset at him that she kicked him in the head! After wards she gave herself the hiccups, which was pretty cool because Dale was able to lay on my belly and hear her have the hiccups. I just thought it was pretty funny because of how much of an attitude Brooklyn seems to have already and she's not even here yet. So now it's marked down in the pages of her history... the first time she kicked her daddy in the head, Monday, November 17, 2008! Haha!
Love,
Jennifer
So Monday evening, Dale was laying his head on my belly and I was playing with his hair when all of a sudden Brooklyn kicked him! She did not like him being in her space I guess. It was pretty funny though that she got so upset at him that she kicked him in the head! After wards she gave herself the hiccups, which was pretty cool because Dale was able to lay on my belly and hear her have the hiccups. I just thought it was pretty funny because of how much of an attitude Brooklyn seems to have already and she's not even here yet. So now it's marked down in the pages of her history... the first time she kicked her daddy in the head, Monday, November 17, 2008! Haha!
Love,
Jennifer
34 Week Doctor Appointment
Almost a week later, I have finally found some time to sit down and post about Brooklyn's last doctor appointment. Being almost a week later, and since SO much has happened since then, I know I'm not going to be able to remember everything in detail. I know, I know, I need to be better about keeping up with everything. It has just become so much harder to do the closer the time gets.
Anyway, my mom, Grandma Carrie took me to my appointment this time. For some reason, every time she takes me, we wind up having to wait forever. When Dale takes me, we never have to wait too long... it's weird. Dr. Fletcher was running behind AGAIN, what a surprise, I know. So I think we had to wait about an hour before we even got called back. Let's just say my appointment was at 10:30 in the morning and I didn't get to leave the office until almost 12:30ish that afternoon.
As for the usual vitals and stuff, everything was good. My blood pressure was still good and her heart beat was still up in the 150's. I also lost a pound over the week, which is awesome for me because I am trying hard to keep myself healthy and not gain a lot of extra weight.
So once we got back to the freezing cold room to see the doctor and got to wait a little longer, Dr. Fletcher came in with the results of my ultrasound from the Tuesday (November 11th) before. She told me she had some concerns because the fluid measurements came back low. She said for where I was in my pregnancy, 34 weeks, she wanted my fluid count to be around 12 (whatever the measurement term they use for fluid is). My fluid count was at 9. She said it wasn't dangerous, but that it was something she definitely wanted to keep an eye on. She informed me that if it were to get dramatically lower, like to 6 or 5, that she would have to take Brooklyn early. So to keep an eye on this problem, she wanted me to go in every week until Brooklyn arrives to have an ultrasound/ growth scan done. She wants to keep a close eye on how much fluid is around her and how much I might be losing.
Dr. Fletcher then told me that with her weight, 4 pounds 15 ounces, that it was enough to keep her out of NICU given that nothing else would go wrong. Next she got me set up to do a NST, or a Non-Stress Test. This test just consisted of them strapping a heart monitor to my belly as well as a monitor for my contractions. I had to stay hooked up to the monitor for over 20 minutes and had to press a button every time I felt Brooklyn move. Given that it was lunch time and I hadn't had a chance to eat before the appointment, Brooklyn was hungry. So she moved around a LOT! Every time I pressed the button for her movement, it would mark it on the heart rate sheet. What the doctor was watching out for was for her heart rate to go up after each of her movements. Once the NST was done, the doctor looked over the results and said that I just barely got by but that everything looked ok.
I also asked Dr. Fletcher about setting up a birth plan. She told me if I wanted to write one out that I might as well just plan to have a c-section. She said the majority of her patients who write out a birth plan wind up having to have a c-section. Then she went over what she does and what her rules are for the delivery. She said she was pretty easy going as wasn't one of the doctors what tried to force drugs on her patients or anything. She said basically her only rule was that I HAD to have an IV in case she needed to administer any drugs in case of an emergency. I knew that was a requirement already, but it is still something I am not looking forward to because they put their IVs right in the middle of your arm and they hurt!
The doctor also told me to start taking my higher dose of medicine every 4 hours now instead of every 6. The doctor checked me out also to make sure nothing else was going on and said I was still at a two, so I was still doing good.
Anyway, that was basically it, or at least that is all I can remember. My next appointment is tomorrow, Thursday, November 20th. I also had an ultrasound to check the fluid amount again which they got me in for yesterday. I will update everyone on that tomorrow though as well as the baby shower from this past weekend and Brooklyn kicking her daddy in the head AND developments from today and the doctor appointment tomorrow. So much to do, so little time!
Love,
Jennifer
Anyway, my mom, Grandma Carrie took me to my appointment this time. For some reason, every time she takes me, we wind up having to wait forever. When Dale takes me, we never have to wait too long... it's weird. Dr. Fletcher was running behind AGAIN, what a surprise, I know. So I think we had to wait about an hour before we even got called back. Let's just say my appointment was at 10:30 in the morning and I didn't get to leave the office until almost 12:30ish that afternoon.
As for the usual vitals and stuff, everything was good. My blood pressure was still good and her heart beat was still up in the 150's. I also lost a pound over the week, which is awesome for me because I am trying hard to keep myself healthy and not gain a lot of extra weight.
So once we got back to the freezing cold room to see the doctor and got to wait a little longer, Dr. Fletcher came in with the results of my ultrasound from the Tuesday (November 11th) before. She told me she had some concerns because the fluid measurements came back low. She said for where I was in my pregnancy, 34 weeks, she wanted my fluid count to be around 12 (whatever the measurement term they use for fluid is). My fluid count was at 9. She said it wasn't dangerous, but that it was something she definitely wanted to keep an eye on. She informed me that if it were to get dramatically lower, like to 6 or 5, that she would have to take Brooklyn early. So to keep an eye on this problem, she wanted me to go in every week until Brooklyn arrives to have an ultrasound/ growth scan done. She wants to keep a close eye on how much fluid is around her and how much I might be losing.
Dr. Fletcher then told me that with her weight, 4 pounds 15 ounces, that it was enough to keep her out of NICU given that nothing else would go wrong. Next she got me set up to do a NST, or a Non-Stress Test. This test just consisted of them strapping a heart monitor to my belly as well as a monitor for my contractions. I had to stay hooked up to the monitor for over 20 minutes and had to press a button every time I felt Brooklyn move. Given that it was lunch time and I hadn't had a chance to eat before the appointment, Brooklyn was hungry. So she moved around a LOT! Every time I pressed the button for her movement, it would mark it on the heart rate sheet. What the doctor was watching out for was for her heart rate to go up after each of her movements. Once the NST was done, the doctor looked over the results and said that I just barely got by but that everything looked ok.
I also asked Dr. Fletcher about setting up a birth plan. She told me if I wanted to write one out that I might as well just plan to have a c-section. She said the majority of her patients who write out a birth plan wind up having to have a c-section. Then she went over what she does and what her rules are for the delivery. She said she was pretty easy going as wasn't one of the doctors what tried to force drugs on her patients or anything. She said basically her only rule was that I HAD to have an IV in case she needed to administer any drugs in case of an emergency. I knew that was a requirement already, but it is still something I am not looking forward to because they put their IVs right in the middle of your arm and they hurt!
The doctor also told me to start taking my higher dose of medicine every 4 hours now instead of every 6. The doctor checked me out also to make sure nothing else was going on and said I was still at a two, so I was still doing good.
Anyway, that was basically it, or at least that is all I can remember. My next appointment is tomorrow, Thursday, November 20th. I also had an ultrasound to check the fluid amount again which they got me in for yesterday. I will update everyone on that tomorrow though as well as the baby shower from this past weekend and Brooklyn kicking her daddy in the head AND developments from today and the doctor appointment tomorrow. So much to do, so little time!
Love,
Jennifer
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ultrasounds
It's time for me to play catch up. I have been so busy this past week that I haven't had a chance to post about what has been going on. So let's start with the ultrasounds. Dale's mom, Grandma Belinda, took me in last Tuesday morning, November 11th, and had my growth scan ultrasound done. Dr. Fletcher wanted the ultrasound tech to do any ultrasound to figure out how much Brooklyn weighed and to also measure the amount of fluid around her.
The ultrasound went fine. The tech we had was really nice and explained everything she was doing the whole time. It is getting harder and harder to distinguish Brooklyn from everything else around her since she is getting so big. Her head looks huge now, which is kind of scary for me. She barely has any room to move also. She definitely won't be putting her foot up to her face anytime soon. I knew she was getting a lot bigger though because she is stretching my tummy out really bad. It seems like the harder I try to not get stretch marks, the more I get. What is funny is that the only place I have them on my tummy right now is where she lays all the time.
Little Miss Brooklyn weighed 4 pounds and 15 ounces though. Only one ounce away from being 5 whole pounds. I was pretty happy about those results because that means if she comes early now, unless there is something else wrong with her, she won't have to stay in NICU.
Brooklyn was still down in position though and REALLY low. I don't think the tech could have gone down any lower to try to get the measurements of her head! So she is ready to come out. I honestly think now that I won't last more than a week after the doctor takes me off my medicine before I have her. However, Brooklyn could become stubborn and just decide to stay because it wouldn't be on her arriving on her own terms, which I could see happening since she has such an attitude already! Any way, I think that was about it for that appointment.
Love,
Jennifer
The ultrasound went fine. The tech we had was really nice and explained everything she was doing the whole time. It is getting harder and harder to distinguish Brooklyn from everything else around her since she is getting so big. Her head looks huge now, which is kind of scary for me. She barely has any room to move also. She definitely won't be putting her foot up to her face anytime soon. I knew she was getting a lot bigger though because she is stretching my tummy out really bad. It seems like the harder I try to not get stretch marks, the more I get. What is funny is that the only place I have them on my tummy right now is where she lays all the time.
Little Miss Brooklyn weighed 4 pounds and 15 ounces though. Only one ounce away from being 5 whole pounds. I was pretty happy about those results because that means if she comes early now, unless there is something else wrong with her, she won't have to stay in NICU.
Brooklyn was still down in position though and REALLY low. I don't think the tech could have gone down any lower to try to get the measurements of her head! So she is ready to come out. I honestly think now that I won't last more than a week after the doctor takes me off my medicine before I have her. However, Brooklyn could become stubborn and just decide to stay because it wouldn't be on her arriving on her own terms, which I could see happening since she has such an attitude already! Any way, I think that was about it for that appointment.
Love,
Jennifer
Monday, November 10, 2008
Brooklyn's Mommy & Daddy
Dale and I went this past Saturday, November 8th, and had the last pictures of us taken before Brooklyn gets here. Below are just a few of the pictures that we had taken.
Friday, November 07, 2008
33 Week Doctor Appointment
Oh boy... well girl, but did we get some news yesterday at my doctor's appointment! To start from the beginning, my blood pressure was still good, 122/80. I measured right at 33 when they measured my tummy. Brooklyn's heart beat was at 156 bpm, which is good.
So now for the interesting stuff. We got back to the room to see the doctor and I told her I had been having more contractions since Tuesday evening than I have been having the past two weeks since I have been on the medicine to stop them. They haven't been bad contractions, just cramp like feelings in my back. She told me that I will still have contractions while on the medicine, but that she doesn't want me to have any if possible. So she has increased my dose of medication to take to 5mg, which so far hasn't affected me. I just have to take it every 6 hours instead of 4 now.
Next, which I guess will be the routine until Brooklyn is born, she checked to make sure I hadn't dilated any more. She said I was still where I was at two weeks ago, which was great. (Dilated to a 1 almost a 2) She told me that she thinks I will have an easy delivery because 20% of the work is already done. That, to me, was GREAT news. Hopefully it pans out that way, because my prepared child birth classes were starting to freak me out. There is so much that will be going on during labor and delivery that I was starting to get overwhelmed with it all.
Anyway, then I asked the doctor about the bed rest that she has me on. I asked her how long I was going to be on bed rest and what was going to happen after she took me off. She said she wants me on bed rest until at least 35 1/2 - 36 weeks, which falls right at Thanksgiving. At that point in time, she will take me off of bed rest and off of the medication I am taking. If I have Brooklyn after that point, then she will be out of the danger zone of having to go into NICU, (Newborn/ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). She told me what she wants for us is to be able to take Brooklyn home instead of her staying in the hospital for a couple of weeks.
I asked how that might affect my insurance and all since she will be taking me off of bed rest. She said it shouldn't at all simply because (HERE'S THE KICKER) she doesn't expect me to go more than a week after she takes me off of bed rest before I have Brooklyn. She told Dale and I that her goal was to get me to/ through Thanksgiving. So instead of Brooklyn being here on December 22nd, Dr. Fletcher thinks she will be here anywhere from around Thanksgiving to maybe the first week in December!!!! Either way, she will DEFINITELY be here before Christmas!!!
We mentioned that we knew a few people that went into preterm labor and that they were still a few weeks late, so could that happen to us. She said she wouldn't let us go more than two weeks after she took me off of bed rest and the medication. She kept reassuring us that she didn't think it would be an issue at all though and said "honestly, I don't expect her to make it through Thanksgiving." That kind of surprised the crap out of Dale and I because we were thinking we had about a month if not longer to get everything ready. From what the doctor is telling us though, we have about 3 weeks!!
Dr. Fletcher then ordered another ultrasound. She said she wanted to get a new weight for Brooklyn. She wanted to do this as a precaution in case I came in next week and was dilated any further and had to go into full labor. She said if she can show Moore Medical Center that the baby was past 4 1/2- 5 pounds that she would be able to keep Brooklyn out of NICU, which was her goal because she did NOT want her to have to be in NICU. Moore Medical Center doesn't have a NICU unit, so they would have to transfer Brooklyn to probably Norman Regional and keep her there until she was ready to come home. So Dr. Fletcher's nurse is suppose to schedule me an appointment at the hospital for next week to get another ultrasound done! Just when I thought we wouldn't have anymore ultrasounds too!
I'm not worried at all about Brooklyn being under weight. She weighed almost 4 pounds 2 weeks ago, 3 pounds 12 ounces to be exact. She is suppose to be gaining 1/2 a pound every week, which would be a whole pound since the last ultrasound they did. She should be about 5 pounds by the time I have the ultrasound next week, which would be great. As much as she is stretching out my belly, she has to be gaining weight!
My next doctor appointment is Thursday at 10:30 AM. Hopefully everything is still going ok since the baby shower is that following weekend! The doctor said that it would be fine for me to do things like go to the baby shower. She also told me that it would be ok for me to go ahead and take the Infant CPR class I had signed up for which is next Friday and to go get our pictures done this Saturday, which I am VERY excited about now. She said as long as I am not up walking around stores or trying to paint a room, then I should be ok.
So that is pretty much it. The time keeps getting closer and closer. I'm just excited that she will be here for Christmas. Dale's theory is that she wants turkey, which is why she is trying to come so early! Let's hope she doesn't come on Thanksgiving though. I want some turkey and pie!!
Love,
Jennifer
So now for the interesting stuff. We got back to the room to see the doctor and I told her I had been having more contractions since Tuesday evening than I have been having the past two weeks since I have been on the medicine to stop them. They haven't been bad contractions, just cramp like feelings in my back. She told me that I will still have contractions while on the medicine, but that she doesn't want me to have any if possible. So she has increased my dose of medication to take to 5mg, which so far hasn't affected me. I just have to take it every 6 hours instead of 4 now.
Next, which I guess will be the routine until Brooklyn is born, she checked to make sure I hadn't dilated any more. She said I was still where I was at two weeks ago, which was great. (Dilated to a 1 almost a 2) She told me that she thinks I will have an easy delivery because 20% of the work is already done. That, to me, was GREAT news. Hopefully it pans out that way, because my prepared child birth classes were starting to freak me out. There is so much that will be going on during labor and delivery that I was starting to get overwhelmed with it all.
Anyway, then I asked the doctor about the bed rest that she has me on. I asked her how long I was going to be on bed rest and what was going to happen after she took me off. She said she wants me on bed rest until at least 35 1/2 - 36 weeks, which falls right at Thanksgiving. At that point in time, she will take me off of bed rest and off of the medication I am taking. If I have Brooklyn after that point, then she will be out of the danger zone of having to go into NICU, (Newborn/ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). She told me what she wants for us is to be able to take Brooklyn home instead of her staying in the hospital for a couple of weeks.
I asked how that might affect my insurance and all since she will be taking me off of bed rest. She said it shouldn't at all simply because (HERE'S THE KICKER) she doesn't expect me to go more than a week after she takes me off of bed rest before I have Brooklyn. She told Dale and I that her goal was to get me to/ through Thanksgiving. So instead of Brooklyn being here on December 22nd, Dr. Fletcher thinks she will be here anywhere from around Thanksgiving to maybe the first week in December!!!! Either way, she will DEFINITELY be here before Christmas!!!
We mentioned that we knew a few people that went into preterm labor and that they were still a few weeks late, so could that happen to us. She said she wouldn't let us go more than two weeks after she took me off of bed rest and the medication. She kept reassuring us that she didn't think it would be an issue at all though and said "honestly, I don't expect her to make it through Thanksgiving." That kind of surprised the crap out of Dale and I because we were thinking we had about a month if not longer to get everything ready. From what the doctor is telling us though, we have about 3 weeks!!
Dr. Fletcher then ordered another ultrasound. She said she wanted to get a new weight for Brooklyn. She wanted to do this as a precaution in case I came in next week and was dilated any further and had to go into full labor. She said if she can show Moore Medical Center that the baby was past 4 1/2- 5 pounds that she would be able to keep Brooklyn out of NICU, which was her goal because she did NOT want her to have to be in NICU. Moore Medical Center doesn't have a NICU unit, so they would have to transfer Brooklyn to probably Norman Regional and keep her there until she was ready to come home. So Dr. Fletcher's nurse is suppose to schedule me an appointment at the hospital for next week to get another ultrasound done! Just when I thought we wouldn't have anymore ultrasounds too!
I'm not worried at all about Brooklyn being under weight. She weighed almost 4 pounds 2 weeks ago, 3 pounds 12 ounces to be exact. She is suppose to be gaining 1/2 a pound every week, which would be a whole pound since the last ultrasound they did. She should be about 5 pounds by the time I have the ultrasound next week, which would be great. As much as she is stretching out my belly, she has to be gaining weight!
My next doctor appointment is Thursday at 10:30 AM. Hopefully everything is still going ok since the baby shower is that following weekend! The doctor said that it would be fine for me to do things like go to the baby shower. She also told me that it would be ok for me to go ahead and take the Infant CPR class I had signed up for which is next Friday and to go get our pictures done this Saturday, which I am VERY excited about now. She said as long as I am not up walking around stores or trying to paint a room, then I should be ok.
So that is pretty much it. The time keeps getting closer and closer. I'm just excited that she will be here for Christmas. Dale's theory is that she wants turkey, which is why she is trying to come so early! Let's hope she doesn't come on Thanksgiving though. I want some turkey and pie!!
Love,
Jennifer
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