Our lil glow worm

If it's not one thing it's another.

Yesterday Thomas's bilirubin went from 5.5 to 9 (which isn't too crazy) but since we're in the hospital already the neonatologist decided to hook Thomas up to the Wallaby - or the bili lights. It's a cute sleeve that wraps around his belly and helps to get rid of the extra bilirubin floating around his body. He's Coomb's positive, meaning we have different blood types which doesn't help this matter.

As of this morning (12 hours later) his bilirubin only jumped up 1 point from 9 to 10.4, but it still bought us a set of bili lights to take home until it stops climbing - typically 2-5 days.

I'm curious to see lil Henry's reaction to both him being home and the really cool lights this lil one is sporting.

We Welcome into the World - Thomas Ryan

Thomas Ryan Charlton

1/25/12 - 5:25pm

6 lbs 7 oz, 18.5 inches

Our newest blessing has arrived and he's absolutely perfect!

Yesterday started out like any other day, I had a suspicion that he was going to be making his debut but overall I was feeling great!

I had my regular appointment with Dr. K at 10:45am and Henry decided he would come along. He doesn't always come to my appointments just because it's hard with work and not always needed. We had a babysitter lined up because taking him to these appointments is not fun for either of us and I take advantage and typically run errands after.

We had to wait a little bit at the appointment but that was fine - gave us an excuse to catch up on life :) The nurse called us back to do my vitals - weight: down another lb, BP: 120/76 (not horrible) and baby's HR: 134. All good thus far. Dr. K walked in 10ish minutes later and checked my cervix which was at 3 cm and completely effaced - so he stretched me a little bit to get things going. While talking about my weight loss (3 lbs over the past 3 weeks) he brought up that he was on service tomorrow (1/26/12) and would do an elective induction if that's what I thought was best. The weight loss was a slight red flag to Dr. K and us. Before talking further about this, he decided to hook me up to the Fetal Non Stress Test just to make sure baby was 'happy' in utero. I was having contractions every 5-7 minutes but baby's HR wasn't responding to them and kept a HR of 128 the entire time. The great thing was that the baby's HR wasn't decreasing with the contractions (meaning they were stressed) but the HR wasn't spiking either.

Dr. K decided to send me over to L & D to have them watch me for just a little bit longer. (The office is in the hospital so it's seriously a 5 minute walk to L&D) The very nice nurse hooked me up to the monitor and got my vitals once again. This is where it all began - it was like deja vu. My first BP was 138/101 (YIKES) and they were steadily going up - not by huge increments but still scary. This was when I was advised that we weren't going home. Because of my history the doctor wasn't going to play any games. Luckily my labs came back fine so I wasn't in a critical situation.

By this time it was already 1:30/1:45ish and we moved over to the room I would labor and deliver in. At 2:00 pm the doctor came in, talked a little and at 2:06pm broke my water - it was for real at this point! They started the evil drug called Pitocin at 2:15pm and since I had no intentions of getting an epidural, they started it at the lowest dose. Typically you increase the dose every 20-30 minutes, but I guess my body works well with it and within 20 minutes my contractions were 2 minutes apart. They weren't too painful, just uncomfortable. Once the Pitocin was started, Henry ran home to grab our bags (I was going to put them in the car that morning, but feared it would be a bad omen so they were all ready to go by the door!) Our house is about 25 minutes from the hospital and my contractions were getting stronger and stronger. By the time Henry got back (3:45pm) my contractions were 1 1/2 minutes apart and pretty uncomfortable.

Around 4:30pm my contractions were insane, I was having so much pressure and I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it naturally. I had the doctor check me and I was still 4 cm, which was what I was when she first checked me at 2:06pm. All I kept thinking was that I wasn't making any progress and it was SO painful. I talked to Henry around 4:50ish and we decided that doing an epidural was the best option. I called the nurse and told her, she then called the anesthesiologist. He was putting someone to sleep so he would be up as soon as he could. By this time my contractions were so painful that I was almost in tears, I was super sweaty and I gave Henry carpal tunnel syndrome from squeezing his hands! The nurse checked me, I was still a 4 and couldn't believe it. The longest 22 minutes went by and the pressure was tremendous, I couldn't help but push so I had her check me again. In just 22 minutes I went from 4 cm to 10 cm and told her to forget about the epidural - it was almost over. She called the doctor, he was in the room within 1 minute, I had 1 contraction and pushed, had another contraction and pushed again and that's when we met Thomas Ryan. I seriously only pushed through 2 contractions (1 1/2 minutes) and he was here - AMAZING!!!

He nursed immediately for 45 minutes and then was sent over the warmer because his temp was a little low. They were having a hard time getting him to retain his temp so he spent the night in the NICU :( but were great with coming and getting me to nurse him when needed. By 2 am he was doing a pretty good job maintaining his temp so they were able to bring him to me, but he still had to go back just to be monitored.

The neonatologist just left my room and all is good with him. He's feeding well, and maintaining his temp so I'm just waiting for them to bring him.

Henry also went home to get my parents and the little man so it's going to get busy in here very soon. I'm savoring the quiet but can't wait to see my little guys - together!!

God is good

T-minus 4 days until D day

That's right, this Friday is D day for Baby C #2! I'm feeling great for the most part so there's really no complaints on my end - just wish I knew when exactly he/she was going to make his/her debut! The only time I'm uncomfortable is when he/she moves. It's crazy to watch this baby stretch inside of my belly - you can seriously see the bum on one side and a heel coming out of the other side!

We did have a great weekend to prepare for this little one. Friday evening Henry and I decided to have a date night. The sitter came at 5:30pm, we went out for sushi (cooked of course) and then went to a movie. The movie (Red Tails) was a great storyline, just not great acting. We were home by 9:30pm and in bed by 10pm - party animals!!

Saturday it snowed (all of 3 inches), but it was a gross day of sleet and freezing rain so we stayed in. Daddy did some work and cleaned up the sidewalks and driveway outside. All in all is was just a lazy pj day of coloring, doing stickers (Henry's new favorite activity) and reading the same books over and over! Saturday night we decided to make a new recipe and it was so yummy. Henry (who has been spoiling me with all his cooking) made us tilapia coated with dijon mustard and almond, panko, parsley crust. He laid the fish over a bed of arugula and we had some tasty risotto on the side. We then played a game of Jenga after dinner and called it a night.

Sunday we went to church in the morning, came home for a little brunch and then headed to the King of Prussia mall to walk this baby out. We walked for roughly 2 hours and the little guy just relaxed in his stroller while watching all the people. We let him out a few times to get some of his energy out and he thought he was king of the world...and LOVED all the water fountains. We did a little shopping at Trader Joes to stock the fridge/freezer and then came home. Henry again made a fantastic dinner. This time he made mini lamb chops and brussel sprouts (my fav!!). We had a little frozen yogurt while watching the football game and we were in bed by 9:15pm - my favorite kind of night.

It's another gloomy, rainy day today so we're just enjoying cuddle time, reading and of course putting stickers everywhere!!

Enjoy your Monday!

39 week appointment

Yesterday I had my 39th week appointment (I was 38 weeks 4 days) and like a broken record - all is going well! My BP is holding strong at 96/60, I'm down yet another pound (which is typical at this point per the doc) and the baby's HR was 134. I got another lovely exam and thought he was trying to put me into labor - OUCH! I'm still at 2cm but a VERY ripe 2 - meaning my cervix is super soft and completely effaced. He said not to get discouraged by this because he had a lady in a few weeks ago who was at 6 cm at her routine visit, however they had to induce her 2 weeks later because she never progressed any further. I can't imagine walking around knowing I was 6 cm dilated.

I'm still having contractions, but still not regular. They are getting stronger as the days go by so we'll just have to wait and see. I just pray for a healthy lil baby and a safe delivery.

Stay tuned...

Still Pregnant...

Today marks the day (on a gestation timeline) that I had Henry. Circumstances were a little different, but I carried him 38 weeks 3 days.

As of now I'm feeling quite well. I've been having contractions, but nothing painful and they aren't rhythmic. I've also been getting a little more crampy, but overall I feel great. Tomorrow I have my next appointment so I'll just have to wait and see if I've made any progress since last week. I've been walking like crazy and sitting on my exercise ball daily.

Stay tuned!

(38 weeks 1 day - before a baby shower I attended Saturday morning)

Almost 38 weeks!!

Yesterday was my almost 38 week appointment and another ultrasound. All is going well thus far. My weight is down another pound - however I'm blaming the stomach bug I had last week! My BP was a little high for me 120/80, but nothing off the charts. Baby's HR was 128-130 on ultrasound and doppler.

I had my ultrasound first. It's pretty neat having one this far along. Baby C had a case of the hiccups and you could see his/her belly going in and out. You could also see Baby C practicing their breathing techniques via the ribs going in and out. We didn't get any good photos since it's harder once the baby is this far along and takes up so much space. Baby was a little over 6 lbs and my fluid levels looked great. All great news.

Next I had my weekly appointment with Dr. K. I'm 2 cm dilated, still 70% effaced and the head is in position (thus the reason I'm feeling SO much pressure lately).

I've been having the cramping contractions, but nothing shorter than 8 minutes apart and then they subside over time. We've been doing A LOT of walking to help progress labor, but the baby will tell us when he/she is ready!

Here's a few pics just because...

(We visited Nana over New Year's weekend)

(Our little cheeser with his new favorite toy)

(I tried sauce for the first time last week and I seriously walked away for a minute to put something in the sink and this is what I came back to!!!!)

37 weeks pregnant with stomach flu = worst night EVER

Yesterday started out like any other day. I got a bunch of stuff done in the morning and made a soup since a college friend of mine was stopping over for lunch. We've had contractors here all week so I took advantage of the lull of quietness from 9:30-10:30 and took a nap myself. When I woke, I just didn't feel right - I was SO nauseous (which has been happening a lot lately). I hopped in the shower while Henry continued to nap and that seemed to have helped a little.

Alex came over around noon and we enjoyed catching up all while playing with the busy lil guy. She bought him a new toy for Christmas and he was in Heaven - it's the Vtech vacuum that picks up blocks. Alex left around 2:30pm, I put Henry down and I sat on the couch for a little bit since I still wasn't feeling right.

He woke up, we played like normal and around dinner time he started getting pretty fussy. I was blaming it on his last 1st molar that is still bruised and waiting to pop through his gum. Crazy part was, I made him pasta for dinner and he wouldn't eat ANYTHING. Now Henry is my big eater and never lets any food go to waste (unless my parents dog is here!). I made him some soft food like rice cereal, a banana and yogurt and he ate some. At 6:40pm I took him upstairs, gave him a little Tylenol and tried giving him his milk. He would take any of it! His nighttime milk is something I'm trying to get rid of so I was talking with daddy and said maybe he's ready to nix it too. He was screaming - so around 7:15pm I went up and cuddled with him for a bit and he was out. I was exhausted so I decided to call it a night around 8pm and had planned on reading.

As soon as I got into bed, I heard a scream from his room - it was different this time. I quickly went into his room and he had thrown up EVERYWHERE...I mean everywhere. I changed him, the linens, washed the walls and his crib and did a load of laundry. By the time I got him back to sleep it was 10 after 9. I came back into our room and decided to turn out the lights since it was most likely going to be a LONG night. Around 9:30pm I didn't feel too well, went to the bathroom and got sick. I was up every 10 minutes throwing up last night and it didn't ease at all until 8 this morning. It was the worst feeling ever! Henry was still in Atlanta, I was scared that it would hurt the baby and so on. I called my doc around 2am and the on call doc just said to keep sipping gatorade - which I was doing but NOTHING would stay down. Luckily Henry only had his 1 occurence. He did wake up once in the middle of the night but put himself back to sleep.

I called Henry at 1:15 am and he booked the first flight out of Atlanta and has been home all day, nursing me back to health.

It's now 10 after 5 and all I've had to eat all day is 1 saltine and 1 pretzel. My back is killing me and my legs ache. Luckily we had a babysitter lined up so that I could run errands - and she's been a lifesaver today. I've tried to nap, however the guys have been upstairs on the 3rd floor drywalling - important part: Henry napped right through all the banging.

I would NEVER wish this upon anyone else, and being 37 weeks pregnant has only made it worse. My abs are KILLING me.

36 week recap/37 week update

A little behind - sounds all too familiar these days! Last Thursday I had my 36 week appointment and all was good. BP 100/70, no weight gain (but no weight loss), HR was 128 (must have been sleeping for once!). I'm still measuring like 4 weeks behind so they ordered me another ultrasound, however the Perinatologist is booked until next Wednesday the 11th so we'll just have to wait. Dr. K checked me for GBS (group B strep) and while down there checked to see if I was dilated at all. As of last week I was 1/2-1 cm.

Today was my 37 week appointment - a few days early. I've gained a pound (total weight gain - 17 lbs), BP 110/70, HR was 156-158 and measuring small...but at this point I can't imagine I'll catch up at all. Dr. K informed me that my GBS came back negative, which is one less thing to worry about! He also checked me and I'm currently 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. He said the head was down but still has a little bit to go. It's REALLY starting to sink in that this baby could be here at any moment!! This was the progress I was at with Henry at 38 weeks and had him 3 days later - YIKES!!

Henry (daddy) is down in Atlanta until Friday morning - and this is his last bit of travel until the baby arrives, so I'm just going to keep my legs crossed that this baby stays put!!

On another note: I'm really starting to get mommy guilt. I'm afraid that lil Henry is going to be so sad that some other baby is stealing his mommy away. I truly believe he senses something because he's been extra clingy to me and just cuddles with me all day! On the opposite spectrum, he's going to have a best friend to play with and I can't wait to watch them grow up together!

Stay tuned for updates :)