The Little Pumpkin

What a great Halloween for B! We started off the morning (after a decent night...a hard time getting her down with Erik taking the bottle feeds at 12 and 2 and me having a fight to nurse at 4:30 and up again at 7:25) with a visit to the pedi's office at 8:30 in their new office. Since we were the only ones there (they were only seeing weight checks and sick kids since they still had a ton of unpacking and finishing up they were doing) at that time, I think B was their first patient in the new office! Heidi joined me at the appt so Erik could sleep in a bit (he was going to go hunting but rain and exhaustion thwarted his plans). B weighed in at 6'15" so she gained an ounce per day (typically 1/2 - 1 ounce/day so this was great) exactly since Tuesday and is almost back to birthweight at 8 days so we got clearance from the pedi to not come back until 1 month unless we were having issues. In addition, Dr. C also evaluated our nursing and she thought we were doing everything right but encouraged us to go through with our lactation consultant appointment tomorrow.

When we got home, Lauren worked with Erik to redo the office decor (as Erik had purged several of my books from the bookshelves so they'll be up in the attic as I haven't yet come to terms with parting with my Bio 101 or Chem 105 books and the like just quite yet). Haley and Alex came to visit and I just took a quick nap.

In the afternoon, we tried to do a photo session but B wasn't drunk on milk and was wide awake and crying most of the time so we got a few photos in, but nothing spectacular. Both Erik and Heidi stepped out to run some errands so I was able to get some of the photos with the bear and pottery barn chair done and dressed B up in her little pumpkin costume to take some more photos.

Trick or Treat started at 6 and Heidi handed out candy while we took B over to Irene's and Sara's. If I haven't mentioned it already, I love our neighborhood...all the trick-or-treaters were so polite..."trick-or-treat" followed by a "thank you" came from almost everyone. Erik was half tempted to dress up as one of our neighbors was giving out Yuengling to parents taking their kids around....that's awesome! Maybe next year, we'll be that house that gives our glasses of wine!

Afterwards, we were all pretty tired so we just settled in for the night with the Pens game (again, another great performance).

We took a bunch of pictures so hopefully we'll be able to add few here to the blog in a bit (yeah, I have way less time than I anticipated!)

Happy 1 Week Birthday!

It's so hard to believe that our baby is 1 week old. Time has flown by. This week has been a week of discovery, some occasional trying times, and realizing that there's so much room in your heart to love another humn being. You can never do too much holding, cuddling, loving, singing, dancing you can do with a newborn.

Last night, we fed her around 10:30pm and, after her slew of diaper changes, she went down at 11:30pm in the crib. Then, between 12-2, it was definitely a trying time of figuring out pacifier and feeding (she did get a bottle of BM). She went down again after feeding around 2:30, then up at 4:00 until 4:45, then up 6:30-7:15, then we all were up 10:15 for the day. After feeding, Erik had her for the morning while I got a chance to shower, shave and be a normal person. I did manage to get some laundry done. I also had the opportunity to just have a day where I didn't have anything to do (not that I don't have a list of 100 things to do but I just chose to not do any of them today). It was so nice to not have to deal with the bili lights today. Her coloring looks a lot better today.

I've been reading Happiest Baby on the Block and I must say, the swaddle, side, shhhing, swinging, and sucking have been working for us. With the bili lights, it was hard to do swaddling with her but today we tried to swaddle quite a bit and it worked well today. She's been spacing her feedings today about every 2.5-3 hours.

Our nicknames for her:
Yoda (the furrow in her brow and that round/oval head...yep, Yoda)
Pebbles (enough said....this may be our family Halloween costume next year)
Poopshitz (b/c her gastrocolic reflex is in full activity...you can almost guarantee a diaper change before feeding b/c the child refuses to touch a nipple with a drop of urine in her diaper and then is the loudest child on the face of the planet with poop letdown occuring over a period of 5 minutes then changing her before she finally eats......we've probably wasted about 20 diapers just b/c we changed her then tried to feed her and had a poop letdown)
Sweet Pea
Brookie
Brookie Bear
These are the ones that we use most frequently, but I'm sure we'll come up with a few more.

Erik and I just love smelling her....it's pure, unadulterated, perfume-free, au naturelle smell and it's so wonderful...I can't get enough of it b/c sure enough we'll be having a new smell once we start bath times. I just spent time today feeling and touching everything on her...her soft hair, her knobby knees, her wrinkled feet, her button nose with tiny milia, her soft as silk skin, her mullet-esque babyfine hair with receding hairline, her fingers with wragged nails, her flat butt with lack of a gluteus maximus, her spread eagle long-as-her-fingers toes....she's just so precious!

Tonight, Heidi, Lauren, and Nate came over tonight to watch the Pens game and they get some Brookie time. We got General Tso's from China House in Mars and are having a relaxing evening. Tomorrow morning, we have a weight check and jaundice check and hopefully our bili lights get-up can be sent back.

Lots of posts!

I have a lot of posts waiting to be finished (birth story, hospital experience, our first days home)....they should be finished tomorrow...I just needed to find a few moments! So, definitely check back through posts b/c they'll be dated the day I started the post!

MiCasa Monday: Deferred...

For obvious reasons, I haven't had time to do this post. I hope you understand! The post for next Monday is already in the works!

Our Pumpkin's Arrival...the rest of the story!

Yeah, so let me just say I totally planned to nest, facebook, catch up on blogs, etc the entire day while I labored b/c I figured a first time baby after SROM at 5am wouldn't be born until at least 5-8pm...we were even guessing when during the Pens game she'd be born (though what we thought were conservative guesses was 4pm by Erik and 4:16pm by me)...

So, needless to say, right after I posted my last update around 12:45, Dr. S walked in around 12:45pm while he was up on L&D and just wanted to check to see how far I had progressed (I had been on pit for about 5 hours by this point and granted, with contractions, I was feeling a little pressure but nothing outstanding or severe or even minor that I would call. With a few pushes of the PCEA button, any wince of pain had gone away). We were guessing I'd be maybe 5cm by this point (or at least hoping). I wanted to call our birth photographer after being checked b/c I didn't want her sitting around all day so we figured around noon would be a good time b/c I estimated being around 5-6cm which would give her enough time to get some of the casual labor shots and give me some time to get ready (mainly put in contacts...I actually wanted to see the babe when she was born!). Likewise, we figured our family was all at our house by this point so we could call to give them an update.

Needless to say, I was completely taken aback, shocked, etc when he said "oh, you're ready to push when you want to or you can labor down a bit...you're complete, complete and +2 and the head's right here." As I already mentioned, this was not something I was expecting, he was expecting, or that we were ready for. So, I hurried up and called our birth photographer and told her to RUSH in b/c we were ready to push. I asked Dr. S to let me labor down a bit and give me about 30 minutes so I could mentally get ready for this, let the photographer here and call our parents since I knew they were at lunch.

The photographer got here in about 20 minutes (as for the photographer, this was something that, based on my Nesting and some blogs I follow (lifeinmotionphotography.com), I loved the idea of birth photography and to give Erik a chance to relax and enjoy and to not worry about taking pictures. Through the Nest, I found our photographer. I saw something on her blog about her doing birth photography so after some emails back and forth, this was something she really wanted to do but had a hard time finding interested people b/c a lot of people have misconceptions thinking she'd be "right there" taking pictures...whereas, I have seen other photographer's examples where you pretty much capture the first breath, those first few moments as a family, the experience of the birth, and the fun stuff like foot prints so I knew what I wanted from the photographer. When I discussed this concept and overall style with her, we were an instant mesh in what we both wanted....we were going to be her first birth photography experience and we were getting a totally great deal instead of paying $1000+ just for the shooting based on what I researched from other photographers. I was excited for her enthusiasm to do this since I had a difficult time finding other pro photographers who wanted to do this style.).

I was disappointed I didn't get a ton of laboring pix but considering that when she got here, I was literally at +3 with little time left b/c she was having a dip here and there with contractions so I had to start pushing. Brooklyn was coming sooner than anyone expected. I started pushing at 1:40pm...20 minutes of pushing (like 8 sets of 3 pushes b/c my ctx weren't picking up on the monitor so we were relying on my feeling worsening pressure) and her head was pretty much out. This may be TMI but I had the mirrors down so I could watch. I was having a hard time figuring out how I needed to push so by watching the mirror, I could see what worked and waht didn't work based on how I was moving her. This allowed me just a few sets of pushes to get her from not going back in. She was stable about an inch or so out and Kelly called Dr. S. We waited a few minutes and every set of contractions, she inched (okay, millimetered) herself out a bit more so she called the charge nurse, Jane, to come in just in case. I'm talking up a storm to Erik, the photographer, the nurses, etc about every random thing I could think of to keep from pushing. After about 5 minutes of waiting for Dr. S, we had to turn off the pitocin...it was so hard not to subconsciously push with the contractions so by shutting it off, it at least made her progress slow down.

There was literally one fibrous band holding her back during this time. Finally, 15 minutes later around 2:15 or so, he arrived in the room (he was doing a procedure...in the meantime, that little fibrous band held her back b/c literally one more strong push and she would've been out). When Dr. S came in and saw her, he said "Signal fair catch...everyone step back...don't touch her or we'll have a baby right there." He got dressed and they took down the bed. That fibrous band was the only thing holding her in and after one little snip of the band, she pretty much came out and a small push brought the rest of her head out. I remember looking up and seeing her hand come out with her head...it was right up there by her face. She was born at 2:25pm. She went straight to my stomach/chest. I was in awe looking at this little precious creature on my stomach...all gooey, bloody and not as bad of a conehead as I imagined! Erik cut the cord and she stayed on my belly about 10-15 minutes while I delivered the placenta and he checked everything out.

When I was being sewed, she went over to the warmer and was cleaned up. Erik went over to see her too and then, yes, I updated FB (hey, there's not a lot to do when you're laying there with someone sewing you up). The epidural was awesome as I didn't feel a thing...I gave myself an extra few pushes of the PCEA and just laid there watching and taking everything in. My daughter was there...crying away! It was funny...right as she was coming out, I heard the text sounds and Lauren texted that they just arrived. Dr. S took the pumpkin back to the clinic...he was so excited to get candy from a patient!

Then, we had some time with just us and some photos....then we had the family come back slowly to meet her. Mom and dad, then dad sent back Andrea, then Lauren and Heidi and then they all were in the room. Lauren brought a basket with snacks and I started devouring Swedish fish and sixlets (and started on a mountain dew because I was starving!). The newborn nurses swung by and checked her out. We were in the LDR until about 5:30pm and then I was wheeled to post-partum. I ordered food the moment I got to the room (2704) so it was ready by the time we got settled :) Mom, dad, Andrea, Lauren and Heidi stuck around for a little while until around 7:00 or so and then they left to go home to get Primanti's for dinner. I must say we saw our nurse for 5 minutes to check us in, bring me an ibuprofen and that's about it...then it took like an hour for the nurse to bring me a percocet when I realized ibuprofen wasn't cutting it if I wanted to get out of bed. Let's just hope the nurse on tonight is a little responsive to when I need something.

It was just the 3 of us and we were scared to death that it was just us and our daughter. We watched the Pens game (they won!!) and around 10pm or so, a beautiful, 20-minute++ fireworks show was right outside the window in Oakland (I think it was Pitt homecoming...you could see the Cathedral of Learning in the background...we tried to get pix but we just got a reflection). It was so beautiful and we kept saying how it just capped off a perfect day.

I went into today without a birth plan (I had a general idea of what I wanted but I didn't want to be one of those people who had a detailed birth plan such that I'd be disappointed if it wasn't followed exactly) b/c I understand as well as anyone that the best laid birth plans will just go to rest and the day will turn out to be the exact opposite of the birth plan. Even though I didn't have a birth plan, the past 24 hours was exactly how I would've wanted my birth plan to read. Today was simply flawless...everything was remarkable and we have our baby, Brooklyn Sydney (yep, it was a pretty easy decision to go with Sydney), sitting here in our arms...life is perfect...our family is complete!

Brooklyn Sydney Ligda

Brooklyn Sydney Ligda arrived at 2:25pm today! She was 7lbs, 1 oz and 19 3/4 inches long. We're all doing well and we'll be posting pictures soon (probably posting them all the shutterfly then adding them to the blog next week sometime!)

An Awesome Morning...

So, I think I mentioned some of this earlier, but I'll reiterate...

We came in around 6am to the room (LDR 3), got checked in, had the IV started (on the second try), drew blood with a butterfly since the IV wouldn't draw back, etc. We started pitocin around 7am since I already had orders from the induction aspect and my ctx were only every 2-3-7 min and not regular.

Erik and I brought in those plastic jack o'lanterns for our nurses, my anesthesia peeps, the residents, the office staff (for Dr. S to take down when he remembered), and one for our post-partum nurses. They were definitely appreciated and everyone commented on them. Hey, I've been there, done that and love when patients would bring in cookies or candy for the team taking care of them.

Dr. S came in around 7:30am to check me (right after the last post) and I was 75%/2/0 and let me just say that he had to change his scrubs after....oh dear, he tried to assess whether the back of her head was in the front or back and that little bit of manipulation sent a geyser in his direction.

I noticed the ctx were way more painful after pit (I'd say 1/10 pre-pit and 3/10 post-pit in pain levels thinking of 10/10 being those women I've heard screaming their heads off). I held out until 8:30am (mainly b/c I knew there was shift change for anesthesia and also I wanted to see what ctx really felt like and tried to imagine them getting worse) and then I requested my epidural. I figure I was definitely getting one so the moment I started to feel mildly uncomfortable, I called uncle and it was the best decision ever.

Mike Maromonte had done my epidural. I definitely felt comfortable with him since he was one of the fellows when I was on my rotation and I knew that he wouldn't make me nervous. It was so weird to experience everything I've explained to my patients before...I was like, "oh, that's what that part feels like."

For the lidocaine, it truly does burn. It definitely surprised me! As for the Tuohy needle, it does feel like a pressure in your back and I really could feel him walking off bone and when he was a little to the left. It seemed like it was taking longer than usual b/c well, you're sitting there all vulnerable but it probably took about 4 minutes for him to get it. All the while, Erik is sitting there on the chair watching and Patty is helping to keep me in position. It's hard to stay in the curled shrimp or cat arching its back position and I had to reposition in the middle to help open my spaces. I couldn't feel the thread of the catheter but I did feel the bolus of lido/epi as it did feel like a small pressure in my back.

It was an awesome insertion and awesome epidural. I truly felt my legs get numb and heavy and I figured that I had a T9 level. It was really an out-of-body type experience b/c I could move and feel my legs but they felt so weird. I started on my right side and took a short nap with Erik and sure enough about an hour later when my BP cuff went up, my right leg was numb and I had to flip over. Kelly, my nurse, had to help move me b/c, while I could move my left leg, my right was really numb and hard to move. So, I flipped to the left and napped again. I kept flipping about every hour or so. I did do the PCEA and didn't really need it until maybe 11am or so. Katie stopped by to visit and likewise, Mike and Giorgio stopped in to see how things were doing.

I was lucky to have been able to nap, send emails and do stuff on the computer on and off since like 9:30 after the epidural went in. Around 11, I noticed when I was on my right side that I felt a ctx on the left side of my abdomen. I pushed the button and switched the left (while dragging my right leg with me!) and within 5 minutes, my pain was gone. Until now, I pushed the button 3 times I think.

My pitocin was adjusted quite a bit and I think I'm at 10 now but my ctx definitely have regulated themselves now at about every 1-2 minutes. I don't feel them one bit but I have noticed that I'm starting to feel some pressure with the contractions. I'm hoping Dr. S comes in to check me soon. Erik and I are having a birth photographer so that Erik didn't feel like he needed to take a bunch of pictures...we wanted him to enjoy this moment but both MB and I didn't want her sitting around the whole day.

Erik is calling 4pm as birth time but my vote is 4:16pm. I think we're both pretty conservative on this. Erik and I have just been enjoying talking about things. We spent this morning napping, on the computer, or just chatting...it's been really special. I did send him out around 11-11:30 to go grab lunch and he just got back a few minutes ago. He went to Quaker Steak for wings and fries. I told him that he could bring it back but out of respect for my ice chip status, he ate there.

It's so nice that it's just the 2 of us. Our family arrived at the house and are getting lunch and taking care of Crosby. We just wanted labor to be about us and not have family there while I labored. We plan to call them when I start to push so that they'll be here for after she's born and after I'm cleaned, they can come back to meet her. We were very happy that our family supported this decision but know they're chomping at the bit for the call to come down (heck, it wouldn't surprise me if they were sitting downstairs in the cafeteria or something).

At this point, I'm pretty numb and I don't feel any part of the contractions. I'm super comfortable and DH and I are just chatting and relaxing. We chose not to have anyone in the room until after she's born (minus the photographer person who is coming in a bit) so that we could enjoy these last few moments as us. I hope this continues b/c this would be like the best labor ever.

Really, I have utmost respect for anyone who does this without an epidural b/c after just a few minor pitocin contractions, I was immediately thinking that this was for the birds and no way I was going to be uncomfortable for God-only-knows how long b/c I'd rather be sleeping, relaxing, etc that tired from pain and not sleeping. I even had a fear as Mike was doing the epidural that he wouldn't be able to get it and I'd have to go au naturelle and that thought just scared me. I actually thought "I would never have gotten pregnant if I had to do this without an epi...that wasn't part of my plan"....hehe!

I must say I was GBS positive so I had to get penicillin at 8am and again at noon and damn, that burns, hurts, etc....my whole arm, elbow joint, hand...EVERYTHING just hurt and ached. When she slowed down the rate, it still hurt so I just asked her both times to run it as fast as it would go to get it over with! They have been having a hard time keeping the contraction monitor on so Kelly or Jane keep coming in to readjust and her heartbeat has dropped even lower in my abdomen so she's definitely descending...so much so that I have to keep my legs straight to keep the monitor on!

And Dr. S just walked in the room....so hopefully we've made progress (hopefully about 5cm or so) so I can call MB to come in....