1 Week Old

Dear Brookster -

You are officially 1 week old today. It's hard to believe how quickly time has gone by since we brought you home from the hospital! So far:

--You seem to have your days and nights confused. You love to party from 3-5:00 am and hate waking up for feedings in the middle of the night. Sometimes it's even hard to wake you up during the day. We washed your full head of dark brown hair this afternoon and you slept through the entire beauty session!!!
--You've had tons of visitors and people that love you come by to say hi this week. You've been VERY well behaved for the most part, and seem to get mad only when you're hungry or gassy. You have quite the temper and some serious lungs. We sometimes try to quiet you by swaddling you, rocking you, or sticking our finger in your mouth. That works temporarily until you realize that nothing is coming out of said finger...
--You are surprisingly strong for a newborn!! You can almost lift your head, and we think you'll be rolling over early as you tend to shift from side to side in your crib.
--Your facial expressions crack us up. From lifting your brow to pursing your lips, when your big blue eyes are open you look like you're concentrating like crazy. Sometimes I wonder what's going through your little brain.

Our lives are so much richer with you in it. We get so excited about what the Lord is going to do with you and are loving you more and more every day!!

First Outing

We made our first outing today - to B's first doctor's appointment. She is still doing great and is a healthy baby girl - thankfully she's gained 2 oz since her hospital discharge. The doctor thinks she broke her collar bone, likely caused by contractions during my induction, but it's healing quickly and is apparently pretty common during labor. Despite the lack of sleep, we've had a fun few days and made it through the first night home. We're figuring things out one step at a time!

On our way to the doctor:


Sleeping in Daddy's lap:


Sporting Air Jordans from Uncle Bubbie:


Hanging out in the bouncer with Uncle Riggs:


Pretty princess:

Brooke Noelle

She was born at 11:56 am with a full head of hair and weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces, measuring 20 1/2 inches long. We survived the first night home and are figuring out this new adventure one step at a time. She is already wrapped around our fingers and we love her more than words could ever describe!!

Happy Birthday BG!!!!

After 40 weeks and 6 days, it's time for this little munchkin to come into the world. We will not be leaving the hospital without a baby this time. Happy Birthday to our precious new daughter!!!!!

Dancin', dancin'!!!!

K and I are both wondering why Weber Grill did not contact us to be in their new commercial. Clearly we would've been great candidates.



BG Bowen has no idea what she's in for...

Baby Update

Welp. Another week has gone by and baby remains extremely comfortable in her beach ball environment also known as my uterus. I went to the doctor this morning and am still not dilated. Baby also remains very high and has not dropped – same story, [insert whatever number – I’ve lost count] verse. Apparently my pelvic structure is small which could also be prohibiting baby from descending into the birth canal. Go figure...

SO – we scheduled a C section for next Monday, May 24 at 11:30. In response to the questions I’m sure you’re wondering:

-What about inducing again instead of opting straight for surgery?
Been there done that. The only thing that’s different now from when we tried inducing 2 weeks ago is my term. In theory my body could be more responsive to the induction drugs, but it’s not likely specifically since I’m not dilated any more than I was back then. My doctor also pointed out that recovery after laboring for hours and then ultimately going to a C section is more difficult and obviously more trying on your body. Had I been dilated today or had baby settled into my pelvis, I might feel differently, but at this point it makes more sense to me to just get her out!!

-If you want to just get her out, then why are you waiting so long to have a C-section?
Well. Let me tell you why. Because I want to wait that long!!! Really – we all know that I’m stubborn. Even though a C-section is the likely outcome (and I am mentally prepared for this to be the case), it is important to me to give my body every last chance to go into labor naturally on its own. Yes – it will suck being pregnant another week, and yes – we could get baby out sooner, and yes – I will probably have to have a C section no matter what because my pelvis is small and baby is not dropping. BUT - I am okay with all of those things and feel good about this decision. As long as baby is healthy and I’m not dying, then I can do anything for 1 more week even if it ultimately ends up being a week in vain.

Despite the fact that I lost 4 pounds this week (likely water weight), my maternity wardrobe is down to slim pickings. I went to Ross Dress for Less during lunch today and bought me another $9.99 maternity shirt to wear over the next few days. I could only laugh when the younger, buzzed Hispanic dude at the register told me I looked like I was about to “blow up.” Another favorite came from the cheesy Sam’s security guard who said, “I bet you have 9-1-1 on speed dial har har,” as I exited the store last Thursday…

And so begins another week of work, another week of waiting, and another week of making extra 100% sure that everything is done before baby arrives. At least there is a definitive light at the end of the tunnel and BG will finally make her grand appearance next Monday at the latest. Who says there’s anything wrong with being fashionably late??

Let the demo begin...

They're not wasting any time destroying our new house, that's for sure. The workers pretty much demo-ed the whole inside in 1 day, have since hauled off all the mess, and are now framing the inside based on our new design plan. New windows and a new roof will likely begin next week. Here's the first of many "before" pictures.





And P.S. - still no baby...

Ha

Made me laugh today. From Erin - thank you, friend!!!

Is this working???

Unfortunately I don't think so. Baby still feels sunny side up and has yet to drop. Guess she's still not ready...

Definitely still cookin'...

As an update from yesterday's post, unfortunately my doctor's appointment this morning was rather uneventful. No change in my cervix, and baby is still floating high. My doctor thinks that I'm not dilating because of the baby's position - she's putting pressure on my cervix and not allowing the muscle to relax and open. I'm now 39 weeks, and apparently data shows that 80% of women in my situation are at risk for a C section; however, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I'm in the 20% bucket!!

The plan going forward is just to wait and see what happens. I go back next Monday for a regular check-up again, and if she's still not ready to come out yet we'll talk about another potential induction as I'll be going into my 41st week at that point. My hope is that baby turns and drops. I've read a couple doula websites and have been practicing inversion, a technique that's supposed to help posterior babies rotate. It's quite the uncomfortable position, but I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Mom and Dad left to go back home today and I'll probably go back to work tomorrow. I really don't want to waste a week of my short term disability leave, and my lack of desire to sit around twidling my thumbs for the next week remains. I find myself getting surprisingly more excited about baby. I think this weekend I was still in a daze - going through the motions and not really processing what I thought was about to happen. Now that attempt #1 has come and gone, my anticipation is greater and I'm more ready and anxious to be a mom. I know that God has a plan for getting this little one out, and I'm ready to fully embrace His will whatever that may be!

Still Cookin'

Friday's agenda:

1) Sign the closing docs for our new house - CHECK!


2) Head to the hospital to begin induction for BG Bowen - CHECK!!!



Saturday's agenda:

Go into labor and have baby....

Revised Saturday agenda:

Receive pitocin beginning at 9:00 am, have contractions all day long, eat 6 popsicles and 7 peanut butter M&M's complimented with ice chips, take multiple naps, sit in rocking chair and read magazines, watch TV, chat with nurses, and finally -

go home as labor is not progressing and BG Bowen is clearly not ready to come out yet.

Oh man. I thought I would be a mom on Mother's Day holding our precious new daughter!!! Yet here I sit having just gone to Sears to buy double ovens for our new home and preparing to potentially go see a movie this evening with my stretched belly still the size of a watermelon.

I can't say that I'm super frustrated or disappointed or upset really. I mean yeah, it was a waste being at the hospital for 24 hours this weekend, but I feel a peace about not having a baby just quite yet. As some of you know, the induction was mostly scheduled due to my extremely irritating PUPPS rash and the potential liver complications resulting from my pregnancy. I found out on Wednesday that my liver is just fine (amen!!), and thought long and hard about not being induced after all as the reason switched from "medically necessary" to more of a "comfort decision." Yes, my rash is still incredibly itchy [and worse today than it was last week after being suffocated by contraction / baby monitoring devices for an extended period of time], but it's still bearable.

After a long conversation with my doctor [who is AMAZING by the way], I went ahead and decided to go forward with the induction. I will say though - I did have some "what if I wait?" feelings in the back of my head, and was mostly concerned with the risk of having to have a C section. Because baby is floating and sunny side up, my chances of having to have a C section are high anyways according to stats from my perinatologist, so I thought - might as well go have baby now!!!

So we went to the hospital on Friday night at 9:00. They checked us in and placed cytotec on my cervix at midnight and again at 4:00 am to help soften / dilate my cervix. At 6:00 am we moved down into labor and delivery. At that point I was having regular contractions (and had been all night - even when I first checked in); however, wasn't dilated at all. They finally started me on pitocin around 9:00 on Saturday morning.

They're supposed to be able to up the dosage of pitocin every 15 minutes; however, because my contractions were so regular they had to hold off to avoid overstimulating my uterus. In fact, I only received half of the normal dosage all day because there wasn't enough down time in between each of my contractions to warrant giving me more meds. My doctor came in and checked at noon - no dilation - ugh, and again at 3:00 - a small change, maybe 1 cm dilated, but nothing to write home about. At that point she gave me 3 options. 1) Continue the pitocin for another 3-4 hours to see what happens, 2) Turn off the pitocin, eat some dinner, and try again tomorrow, or 3) Go home. She mentioned the C section option, but didn't really feel like it was the right thing to do. Had I been dilated 3-4 cm and not progressing or had baby been in distress, that would've been a different story. Baby's heartbeat was perfect and she wasn't stressed out at all. What it pretty much came down to was that my uterus knew what to do [she even called my contractions "beautiful!" and "text book"], but my cervix was clearly not cooperating.

At that point I decided to keep going on the pitocin. The slight change in my cervix at 3:00 was a little encouraging, and I was hopeful that labor might still kick in at any minute. I mean really - how can you have consistent contractions ALL DAY LONG at regular intervals and still not have a baby?? The thing about my contractions though is that they weren't painful. Not hurting at all. Mostly just causing my stomach to be rock hard. Apparently no pain = no gain, as pain would've indicated that my labor was actually progressing.

From 3-6 I will say that my contractions were a lot smaller according to the monitor, but there were a couple that hurt and were noticeably more uncomfortable than the ones I'd had earlier in the day. I felt them in my back, and also felt a slight crampy feeling in my abdomen. I moved to a rocking chair with the hopes that the rocking might help open my pelvis, yet when the doctor came in at 6:30 to check me again, I still was dilated only 1 cm, if that.

So she discharged me. Could she have done a C section, yes. She was on call that weekend and the timing would've worked out perfectly to just get baby out, yet she was still hesitant to even give me that option [did I mention she's amazing???]. So they turned off the pitocin, unhooked my IV, and I was on my way home.

The plan for now is to go back in on Monday for a check-up. My doctor is on call again Wednesday and mentioned giving my body a couple days to relax then inducing again mid next week. I might be on board with that if I go in tomorrow and I'm miraculously dilated 3 cm, but if I'm still hardly dilated with no greater that 50% effacement then what's the point? Clearly BG Bowen is on her own schedule!! I'm right at 39 weeks, so maybe she needs another couple weeks to finish cooking, or maybe the dry run this weekend will be enough to give her the boost she needs to come out on her own sometime within the next couple days. Either way, looks like she's inherited my stubbornness. :-)

Is there a doctor in the house?

K tells me sometimes that he wish he'd been a doctor instead of a finance major. I used to want to be a physical therapist, but this week I kind of wish I were a doctor too. I think it's mostly because my body is doing all these weird things related to the pregnancy. It's fascinating to me how everything works together, and I have such a curiosity about what's going on with my DNA and baby's DNA at the moment.

I had my 38 week check up this morning. The plan as of now is to induce on Friday night - just in time for Mother's Day! Doctor says baby is floating pretty high, so pray that she drops this week. Am a little nervous about the potential of a C section, but am coming to terms with the fact that it's a possibility and even if it does occur I'll be okay and so will baby. Apparently she's grown and is at around 7 1/2 pounds.

They drew more blood this week - this time to test for bile acid levels. Last week it was liver function. I'm certain that the doctor wants to rule out ICP - a pregnancy related liver disorder. Everything came back okay last week, but it is possible to have normal liver enzymes with elevated bile acids. Mostly I think they want to confirm that my itching is related to PUPPS and not ICP. [See - how can you not want to be a doctor too after wondering what all these weird acronyms mean and what rare and crazy things they're doing to my body???]

Am continuing to work this week, and probably will do so through Thursday. At this point having something to keep me occupied is better than twiddling my thumbs waiting for our child to be born. I'm nervous about delivery, mostly for baby's health and my ability to endure the pain of labor. Women have been giving birth for millions of years obviously, so I know I'll be fine, yet it's hard not to be a little anxious. Friends and family have been SO supportive and for that I'm grateful. Mostly I just can't wait to meet baby and see what she looks like.

In closing, K just informed me that my labor must be done by Saturday night so we can watch Betty White host SNL. Keep your fingers crossed that all will be well come 10:35 pm so we can see this hilarious old lady on TV...