Laughing with Sarah

When Eleanor was born, I was totally shocked that we'd had a girl, since I'd been convinced we were having a boy. As I was processing the happy news of our little girl, I had a strange thought: "Hm. Since it's a girl, she can't have hypospadias like Sam did, so yay for not having to worry about surgery in the first year of this new baby's life!" I'm pretty sure I said this out loud to Matt. I'm pretty sure I jinxed everything. Eleanor and I came home from the hospital on Saturday, December 31, just in time for New Year's. All was well. In her first few days home, she didn't so much love sleeping at night - hated being on her back, and was awake every 45 minutes or so, which meant a lot of bleary-eyed days for us parents, and at least a couple nights of sitting up with her and sleeping on the couch. But other than that, all was normal. We went in for a weight check on Monday, January 2, and she had gained a great amount of weight, and the ...

Because Owlet's c-section was a scheduled one, and because it was scheduled for December 27, the only way that I was going to spend Christmas with my family was if they all came here, which they did. My mom came in time for Christmas Eve, and then everybody else came in Christmas Day or the 26th. Christmas Eve was a lazy morning of breakfast out (per tradition), and then gearing up for three evening worship services. After the first of those three services, both of my legs blew up like balloons. It hit me, then and there, that despite all of my anxiety about the c-section procedure, I was so very ready to be done with this pregnancy. I was tired. My legs were puffy. I had crazy heartburn. I'd slept on the couch more nights than in my bed over the last couple weeks because I couldn't get comfortable. I drank lots of water the rest of the evening, and came home between services to put on pj's and put my feet up. I committed myself to sit through worship except when I ...

It's been a heck of a week and a half, so apologies for the tardiness of this post! Here are some pictures for you. 39 weeks - December 23, 2016 - My last regular weekly belly shot! December 27, 2016, 5:00 a.m. - The very last belly shot before heading to the hospital for baby day! December 27, 2016, 8:00 a.m. - Welcome to the world, Eleanor Ann! A cute, chubby-cheeked GIRL, born 8lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. Our beautiful sweetheart. December 27, late morning - Mama gets back from recovery and gets her first real snuggles with Eleanor December 27, evening - Sam gets to hang out with his baby sister. He is immediately smitten. Enjoy the pictures for now. There's a lot more to the story! Still to come are a write-up of Eleanor's birth story (boring for her, a little more exciting for me), and then an account of the last couple days, which have found us up at Mayo Clinic with a sick baby needing emergency surgery at a tender nine days old. We're still...

Two doctor's appointments have taken place since my last entry. The first one was quick and unsettling. It was a busy day and the clinic was running late, which wasn't a big deal for me, but seemed to up the anxiety of everybody around me. Weight was up a small but normal amount. Blood pressure still hovering in the 130s/80s. It was one of those half-naked appointments (fun times), to do the Group B strep swabs and a quick check for any progress whatsoever. Turns out this baby is hanging high, and there are absolutely no markers that (s)he is going anywhere anytime soon. Dr. Locke and I had another quick blood pressure chat, and even though I could tell that neither of us liked my numbers, he also said that, rationally, there was no reason to be worried. He said that, as a doctor, if he hadn't known my history, my BP numbers wouldn't cause him any concern. And so to be fair and reasoned with me as a professional, there was no sense in getting anxious. He also said tha...

After Wednesday's flurry of blood-pressure activity, I was scheduled for a blood pressure check and biophysical profile ultrasound for Thursday, and then another blood pressure check for Friday. For yesterday's BP check, they decided to go ahead and hook me up to the fancy machine that takes my blood pressure every two minutes over a span of fifteen minutes. I grabbed a book, settled into the chair, planted my feet flat on the floor, and watched my blood pressure settle lower and lower with each reading. My top number was back to normal - ranging from 122 at the highest to 118 or so at the lowest. My bottom number was still high - 80 to 83ish, but overall, things looked good. Then off to ultrasound for the biophysical profile, which is basically a very specific ultrasound that looks for specific markers of baby's health: amniotic fluid levels, general movement, fine movements, and thirty seconds straight of baby's practice breathing. The deal is that you have half a...

Today was a double-doctor day. This morning, my c-section consult with Dr. Davis, who will be my surgeon. This afternoon, my regular appointment with Dr. Locke. Matt came with me to my first appointment. We went in, sat down, the nurse checked my blood pressure (routine), and it was 130/80...ugh! Not what I was expecting. We decided to check again at the end of my appointment. The conversation with Dr. Davis was quick and less informative than I had expected. I'd thought that we would talk about some step-by-step details; y'know, exactly what to expect when we checked into the hospital, and what the procedure for the spinal anesthesia would be, and what the surgery itself would be like, and recovery. Instead, we mostly talked through the range of variables and complications, and that was is it. He asked if we had questions, and I have a million questions, but none of them seemed pertinent to anything we had actually talked about. I'll try to catch up with Dr. Locke on s...

I've had two doctor appointments since I last showed up 'round these parts! One yesterday, one two weeks ago. Both incredibly uneventful. A nice, normal weight gain two weeks ago, a negligible weight gain between then and yesterday. Blood pressure still low. Belly measuring like it should. Owlet's heartbeat easy to find and normal. My next appointment is in another two weeks, and part of that day will be sitting with Dr. Davis, my surgeon, for a c-section consultation. Also, my next appointment is my last every-two-week appointment. After that, we go every week until Owlet gets here. We are officially on the schedule for a December 27 c-section (provided I make it that long). That is six weeks from yesterday. Yikes! Over this past weekend, I feel like a whole new batch of pregnancy hormones must have kicked in. Despite not really gaining any weight in the last two weeks, I spent the weekend feeling (and looking) like I had gained, like, ten pounds. My belly started to f...

So you pretty much know everything you need to know from the title. I had my next regular doctor's appointment today. Up about 3 pounds from last month, which puts me about about 15 pounds gained thus far. We didn't discuss my weight at all, so that makes me happy. At my last appointment, Dr. Locke wanted to check that I wasn't doing anything to keep from gaining weight (I'm not!), and in the meantime, everybody around me has started to freely comment on the size of my belly. The combination is a bit crazy-making. Dr. Locke re-confirmed that my bloodwork from earlier this month looked good (my baselines for all preeclampsia markers were totally normal), that my glucose level was under the gestational diabetes threshold (yay!), and that the ultrasound looked good (placenta has scooted up nice and high, away from my cervix and away from my c-section scar, and baby's growth is right on track). My blood pressure today was good and low, Owlet's heartbeat was ea...

Things around church have been pretty crazy. Many projects, many things to be planned, many concerns and crises, and far too many deaths and funerals. I've spent the last couple weeks falling asleep on the couch after putting Sam to bed, and then dragging myself upstairs to bed myself. It's just been that exhausting. Hence the lack of updates around here. The world has appeared to calm down a bit going into this week, though, and I am grateful. We had our most recent doctor's appointment nearly two weeks ago, at 25w5d. My blood pressure continues to stay nice and low (yay!). Owlet's heart rate continues to hover high (but well within the normal range), which continues to make us curious about the old wives' tale about faster heart rates indicating girl babies. My belly is pretty much the size it should be (just slightly bigger than average). My weight...was up from last time, but only a little. Apparently my total weight gain at this point is, like, 10-12 pounds...

If you don't want to read the rest of the story, no worries. The quick update: had my regular monthly OB appointment yesterday afternoon. My blood pressure was good (which, given the rest of my day, as you'll read, is a small miracle). Owlet was squiggling up a storm in my belly, and heartbeat was 144. Belly is measuring 22cm, which is spot-on for being nearly 22 weeks. A small and very appropriate weight gain over the last month. We talked over the ultrasound report, and everything looks good. The only thing to keep watch on is my placenta, and not for any of the reasons that I had suspected. Apparently, anterior placenta after a c-section could potentially signal that the placenta has nestled in and gotten itself stuck in my c-section scar, which wouldn't be the best. But Dr. Locke communicated that the risk is pretty low, and that there's nothing to do or worry about right now, and that we'll do a repeat ultrasound sometime before 30 weeks. Otherwise, all is well...

This is what I look like as of today: 21 weeks (August 19, 2016) Owlet is still wiggling up a storm, and the belly is definitely growing. I don't have another doctor's appointment until next Wednesday, when we'll get to talk over my ultrasound results in addition to the usual business of weight, blood pressure, Owlet's heart rate, etc. Funny (not so much) story: My ultrasound was last Friday, and the ultrasound tech was very kind. She did all her business, and then took time to show us fun pictures of Owlet wiggling around, and Owlet's crossed ankles, and cute profile shots and all. She told us that the radiologist would now look through the pictures and write a report, which would then be forwarded to my doctor, who would talk through the results with us. She warned us that this sometimes takes a couple of business days, and so, being a Friday, I didn't expect to hear anything until at least the middle of this week. I got a phone call on Monday morni...

Two "momentous" things today. First, I'm exactly 20 weeks! Which means that I am halfway through this pregnancy (minus a few days because, you know, planned c-section and all). It also means that it is time to start taking weekly bump pictures. I think that our bathroom mirror is particularly friendly, because I'm pretty sure that I'm bigger than this picture would suggest: 20 weeks (August 12, 2016) Second, we had our twenty week ultrasound today! Being a Friday, Sam and I started our morning with breakfast at Magpie, as usual, and then Matt picked us up and we all went over to the hospital together. We had explained to Sam that we were going to the doctor to see pictures of the baby. He was excited! Though I think that the "pictures" were not quite what he was expecting. We had a very nice ultrasound tech, and she explained that she was going to check a lot of things and take upwards of 100 pictures, but that she wouldn't be able to give ...