Off of oxygen!

Michelle got off of oxygen entirely this afternoon! Now she still has to EAT more by bottle before she can come home. Please pray that she does much better with this tomorrow, as tonight was a bit discouraging - she was too sleepy to eat from the bottle. She has to eat more or she will have to stay longer.

First breastfeeding & first bottle!

To go home, Michelle has to:
1) Finish her IV antibiotics (Friday night is her last dose)
2) Eat a normal amount from a bottle/from the breast
3) Be off the oxygen (though she *might* be able to come home on a small amount of oxygen).
She's doing great on #1 and #2, but #3 is coming slower so far. She's only on 25-30% oxygen through a nasal cannula (room air is 21% O2), but she still needs it.

Yesterday, June 28th, I got to breastfeed her and also got to give her her first bottle. Because my milk supply stinks (like last time, despite all of my best efforts), she really has to eat from a bottle in order to go home. The unfortunate side effect of this is that she might not be able to breastfeed well at all later, but since I don't have too much milk, it's not the end of the world. We just want her healthy so she can come home soon.

 

As of June 27th

She was doing much better - off CPAP and onto just a nasal cannula with some oxygen to help her breathe. She is now getting formula/breastmilk through a nasogastric tube, in addition to some nutrition via IV (TPN).
 

In the NICU

After developing difficulty breathing about 20 hrs after her birth, Michelle was taken to the NICU, which is not a fun place for a baby to be. She had CPAP to help her breathe and IV antibiotics to fight what they think was pneumonia. She was being fed through an IV too.
 

She's Here!

Michelle Grace Stevenson
6 lb 11 oz, 19 inches long
born 6-23-06 at 8:02 am
 

38 week belly shot

This photo was taken on Saturday, June 17th. Wow, I'm looking a lot bigger than my 34 week belly shot. I guess that's as it should be!

3 days and counting

Only 3 days until baby girl is here! I am getting so excited. There are still lots of little details to take care of before she is here, but I'm mostly ready. I say mostly, not just because there are still things to do, but also because I'm not sure one can ever really be ready for a new little life that is YOUR responsibility to take care of. Regardless, it is very exciting, and it's hard to sleep now. When I wake up in the middle of the night (usually for the 2nd or 3rd time) to use the bathroom, it's hard to get back to sleep. My mind is racing with thoughts about the upcoming surgery, the baby (who will she look like? what will her personality be like? etc), and all of the stuff I'd like to get done before Friday.

I am feeling fabulous about meeting the goals I set for this pregnancy. When I found out I was pregnant, I wrote some weight-related goals for myself. They included 1) eating sensibly and tracking my WW points, 2) exercising for at least 28 points per week, 3) trying to gain only the ACOG recommended 15-25 lb (for a person who is overweight to start with - others need to gain 25-35 lb, but I was still 20 lb overweight). I have managed to achieve EVERY LAST ONE of these goals! I tracked my points every day. EVERY DAY. I exercised for more than 28 pts/wk every week. In fact, I exercised every day except for the days when I had 7:30 am OB appts (and some of those I still managed to exercise anyway). There were a couple weeks I was sick and couldn't get all the exercise points, but I don't count that against myself. Finally, I have gained only 19 lb so far, with 3 days to go. Fabulous! I DID IT!

My goals for the next few weeks -
1) Eat sensibly but don't try to lose for a couple weeks after the surgery (try not to gain as well - just eat to maintain). I need to allow my body a bit to recover before I start losing again. Besides, I expect to lose 15-20 lb in baby, placenta, amniotic fluid, extra blood volume, etc, so why push it?
2) Try to get in *some* exercise when I feel up to it. At least manage to walk around the block, if possible, at a slow speed. Work up to more as I am able. I'm going to miss my aerobic walking, but hopefully I'll be back up to speed soon.
3) Return to WW meetings on July 8th at 7:30 am. Janiece, I miss your meetings... I'll be back soon! I miss my friends at the meetings, too, so it will be great to be back. See you all in a few weeks!!! Once I return to meetings I'll have some new goals, which I will post.

Tantrums

Calvin has officially entered the tantrum stage. Don't give him what he wants, and he's likely to pitch a fit. A really good fit. Today it was a 20 minute fit because I wouldn't let him eat his breakfast while running around the house - I actually wanted him to sit at the table, funny that. He finally calmed down, sort of... but wasn't interested in sitting in the chair. Well, I needed to go grocery shopping, and we had to eat first, so in the chair he went, and of course he pitched another really good fit. Here is a sample. Anyway, he did stop after a couple of minutes and proceeded to decide that eating breakfast would be a good idea, much to my relief. I felt really bad for him and wished there was something I could do to make it better, other than caving in, but there wasn't. So, here we go... I'm scared, because my mom tells me my own tantrums were notoriously horrible. I guess it's payback time.

Can you hear this?

This NPR story has a link near the top for a cell phone ringtone that apparently only teens and young adults can hear:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5434687


I could hear it just fine, though, so my hearing is apparently exceptional for someone my age. Weird. I guess I didn't listen to too much loud music as a kid? Anyway, I'm curious to know how many of you over-30 types can hear it. I'm assuming if you're under 30 you can hear it, but if you can't, let me know. I am curious...

Random thoughts for the week

After not posting for a week (again), I'm back. Monday night women's group was good & helpful, as usual. They were all kind to listen to me ramble about how my life has gotten all chaotic again, despite my best intentions. I'm happy to report that 2 days later, things are better. I have been more deliberate about NOT planning too much and NOT trying to accomplish too much in one day. I have taken naps. I even managed to (gasp!) get up early and have a nice quiet time yesterday. Plus, at work, I addressed some issues of having too much to do, and gave some stuff to my co-workers. I always feel vaguely guilty when I have to admit that I just can't do everything, but the guilt didn't last very long this time. I mostly feel relieved that I don't have to try and cram all that stuff into my part-time presence in the lab, and I feel I'll do the things I do have to do much better now that I've handed some of the other projects over to others. Whew. Anyway, I do appreciate the prayers of the women on Monday, because they really did seem to help.

I'm finding myself increasingly tired and more uncomfortable. Baby girl's antics still delight, but sometimes at 3 am after the 2nd (or even 3rd) bathroom trip when I am trying to get back to sleep, the kicking/punching/rolling around is a bit difficult. All in all, I am still feeling great, though, and the pregnancy has been pretty easy overall, for which I am VERY grateful. It's just that with only 2 weeks and 2 days left until c-section day, I am getting super antsy to actually HOLD my baby and look into her eyes and cuddle her. I'm a bit like a kid at Christmas, counting down the days and the work days until she arrives. Of course, that makes time seem so much slower, but I just can't help it. It's so exciting! We've mostly got things ready for her, which is good. I'm also now seeing the doctor every week, which makes the countdown seem more real as well.

Well, it's time to read a few other blogs and then go to bed early. I need the rest!!!