Life at Home

It has been two weeks now since we came home with Kylie from the hospital.  I feel like the days go by slow and yet it is hard to believe that it has been two weeks already.  We go in for Kylie's two week check-up today.  I will admit that the first few nights at home were rough.  It is interesting how much I don't know despite all that I researched before Kylie was born.  Raising our little girl will be the toughest learning process I'll go through yet.  Even tougher than all that I've learned about teaching, which is quite hard as there is so much to learn.  I am grateful that I won't have to go through learning how to be a parent alone and that Scott is right there with me.  It is a comfort that we will be learning together.

Lessons learned so far:

1. No one can prepare you for how hard breastfeeding can be.  I honestly didn't think it would be as much of a struggle as it is.  Even with help from the lactation specialists in the hospital, I didn't feel secure in breastfeeding when we left.  Since being home, I am still struggling with it.  There have been many expressions of frustration and tears with this.  When talking with others, it does help a little in hearing their struggles with breastfeeding.  However, it doesn't fix the problems I have.  I am learning to now just take it day by day.  Things have been improved a little and we'll see how things progress with time.   
2. The worry and stress you feel increases x10.  Things became worrisome when we took Kylie to the doctor two days later (we went to the doctor then because we were seeing someone different than the one we saw in the hospital).  Kylie weighed 7 lbs 13 oz when she was born, but two days later weighed 6 lbs 12 oz.  Yes, babies always lose some weight and then it takes 2-4 weeks for them to get back to their birth weight.  One pound is a lot to lose in just a few days though.  The doctor said that was about as much as we want her to lose before things become concerning.  So, we went home and fed her every 2 hours on the dot.  I even kept a log of every feeding and diaper changes.  At the doctor's the very next day, Kylie now weighed 6 lbs 7 oz.  She lost even more weight!  The doctor suggested supplementing with some formula and to come in on Monday to check her weight again.  After supplementing the weekend, Kylie then weighed 7 lbs 1.5 oz!!  What a relief it was to know that she was actually getting something to eat now.  I'm still supplementing and hopefully as things get easier with breastfeeding, the amount of formula will decrease, but the worry we'll feel for our little girl will not.
3. Sleep really is non-existent.   The first two nights were really bad because Kylie was so hungry, she was unhappy and awake for most of the night.  Once we started supplementing, Kylie became much happier and started sleeping in 3-4 hour stretches at night.  A much better improvement over the 1-2 hour stretches she was doing before.  Right now, it seems that she gets really gassy after feeding, so she's not sleeping as well.  I know that there is information out there about sleep training (books and Kyle's sister knows a lot), so I want to look more into doing that soon once we figure out Kylie's tummy issues.
4.  Family & friends are genuinely willing to help.  We had family and some good friends come and visit in the hospital which was very nice.  It was amazing that dinner every night the week we came home was taken care of.  I had gone shopping the week before to stock up on groceries and we didn't really use anything that I bought because we were so well fed.  It is hard for me to ask for help, but it is reassuring that family and friends are here if we need them.
5. Scott is a natural in his role as husband and father.  I am amazed at how much Scott has been a help through everything--from the pregnancy to delivery to being at home. He has been my rock in staying sane.  I truly appreciate everything he's done and I hope I'll be able to return the favor.
6. Kylie is the cutest baby girl we've seen.  Of course, Scott & I are a little biased, but here's some pictures to prove it. :)

We've all been taking naps when we can.

Getting warm after a bath in the ducky towel.

I love bath time!

I'm ready for my close-up!

I love my pacifier.

Ready to head to another doctor's appointment!

Mommy trying to wake me up to eat, but being unsuccessful.

I like to sit in weird positions.

Sleeping angel.

Our New Arrival

*Birth story ahead.  It is long and semi-detailed; mostly for my remembering.  Skip to the pictures if you'd like.*

Alright, let's see if I can relay the birth story of Kylie.  It started Saturday night around 11:00pm when I went upstairs to go to bed.  Scott was going to stay up a little longer and watch something on the T.V.  I tried to go to sleep, but the contractions were coming.  It was enough that I couldn't sleep and an hour and a half later, went downstairs to hang out with Scott.  We put on the movie Stardust to watch and during the whole movie, I was having contractions. We started timing them and it was around 3am when the contractions were becoming more regular. 

We made sure we had everything and left.  I was worried that it was false labor because it seemed that the contractions were very short and I remembered reading that they should be about 1 minute long for it to be real labor.  Despite the duration of the contractions, they were very consistent in how far apart they were--4 minutes.  I had been told that once you arrive at the hospital they don't let you eat or drink, so be sure to eat something before you head in.  I had actually thrown up dinner right before we left the house, but I didn't want to go in on an empty stomach.  We found a McDonald's (one of the few 24 hour restaurants) and just got drinks because I really couldn't stomach any food.

We arrived at the hospital around 4:00am and checked in.  When the nurse checked me, she said I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced, so I was staying. I expressed wanting an epidural and within an hour of checking into the room, I received it.  I was surprised at how quickly I got it, but I guess the anesthesiologist wanted to do it before his shift was over that morning (so he could also check on me during his shift instead of after).  Getting the epidural really wasn't that bad, but I became so numb!  I really had a hard time feeling the lower half of my body.  Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for it since I couldn't feel the contractions at all, but it was weird not really being able to move my legs.

I was able to get a good solid hour of sleep before I woke up and started feeling contractions again.  The nurse checked me and I had dilated to a 6 now and still 90+% effaced.  Because I was so numb from the epidural, I needed to rotate every 30 or so minutes so one side doesn't get worse.  At one point, I needed to turn over and had Scott help me.  As I turned over, I started to feel really nauseous and threw up the drink I got from McDonald's.  However, when I sat up to throw up, my water broke!  We called the nurse, she came in, checked me and I was now dilated to a 9!

She quickly called my doctor to let him know what was going on.  I swear Kylie knew that this was supposed to be the day she was born.  At my last doctor's appointment, I was informed that he would be going out of town the next week, so to try to have the baby by then.  Also, he would be on-call Friday and Sunday, but not Saturday.  Kylie came the day before he headed off on vacation and a day he was on-call.  Crazy how things work out.  I sure was praying hard that it would.

Pushing lasted about 30 minutes and Kylie was born at 9:45am and 7 lbs, 13 oz., 19 inches long!!  While the nurse was washing her off, she noticed that Kylie wasn't getting enough oxygen.  They took Kylie to the nursery and pulled out a total of 15 milligrams of fluid from her stomach!  She was only in the nursery for about 2 1/2 hours though, so she did great in coming back.  Recovery for me went pretty well, actually.  I had some shakes after delivery and was super exhausted, so I was able to rest up while Kylie was in the nursery (Scott was there with her).  The only thing that I didn't enjoy was that I was numb in my right leg (from the epidural) until about 10:00 that night.  I couldn't stand on it at all, so I had to have a lot of help to go to the bathroom.  I was stuck in bed until the numbness went away.

Altogether, labor, delivery and recovery went quite well!!  Scott & I love our sweet girl and are so excited that she is a part of our family!  I know there will be a point where we won't be able to imagine life without her...and I am okay with that.

Now, pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

40 weeks and 3 days. Right before heading to the hospital.

Contraction!

All checked in!

She's here!  Just chilling while getting checked out.

7 lbs. 13 oz.

Done with labor and recovering.

Poor baby is on oxygen.

My mom loves the fact that Scott is asleep in the background.

Kylie with her daddy.

So sweet!

I love the cute hat they made her in the nursery.

Uncle Kyle

Aunt Brianna

Uncle Aaron

Grandma

First family picture!!

Fun surprise from my mom

Mommy and daddy love you Kylie Elizabeth Fletcher!!

Waiting In Anticipation

39 weeks pregnant!!

Between 35 to 39 weeks, I feel that I have grown a lot.  It will be surprising to see how much this baby girl weighs when she is born.  I had another ultrasound at 37 weeks to make sure that everything was measuring well with the baby since she measured the same twice in a row.  We asked the ultrasound tech how much she thinks the baby weighs and she said about 7 lbs 2 oz, give or take a pound.  I remember Scott being shocked at hearing that number.  He was so set on this girl being as tiny as he was at 5 lbs.  And he was the biggest in his family!  Now, if at 37 weeks she was measuring about 7 lbs and I am now 5 days away from my due date, I'm thinking I might have an 8+ lb baby. 

I have absolutely no clue when this baby is coming.  I have had no signs that there is any progressing.  I am dilated to 2 cm and 60-70% effaced, but that's been the same at my last two doctor visits.  Apparently, it's good that I'm already dilated to 2 cm, but I feel that this baby might be late.  I have not felt the Braxton Hicks contractions, which can be a helpful sign that something is happening.  It doesn't matter what I read about labor or what I hear from others about labor because it is so different for everyone.

I am part of this mommy group on Facebook where advice is given and questions are answered about anything.  I thought it was weird at first when a friend invited me to the group (because I'm not yet a mom), but I actually love being a part of it now.  I haven't asked any questions on there, but it's fun to see other people ask questions that I didn't realize I had as well.  People give their honest opinions about things and it's just another way to find out more information about whatever.  A lot of the group members live in Utah too and it's just a great support group.

There are a few girls in the group who are due days apart from me.  One girl, who is due the 9th, asked about how to progress her labor as nothing seemed to be happening and the responses were so different.  Some people gave advice to do things like stretch or eat pineapple (I didn't know that was something that could help...maybe because of the acidity?), but the majority just said that labor will happen on its own.  There were responses saying that contractions didn't occur until the day they were due or the only sign of labor was their water breaking.

It will be interesting to see how everything works for me.  I know this baby will come when she is supposed to, but sometimes the waiting gets hard.  Anyways, here is the last time I will be doing this fun questionnaire!

How far along?: 39 weeks! 5 days to go!
Total weight gain/loss?: I think in the end, it was between 25-30 lbs.
Maternity clothes?: Yeah. I only have one dress that I can wear to church too.
Stretch marks?: Nope! Lucky me! :)
Sleep?: Sleep happens when it can. There are nights where I sleep fine and then other nights where I have to sleep on the couch because of my back. I take tons of naps throughout the day now. This growing baby inside of me is wearing me out!
Missing anything?: A good nights sleep! Haha.
Movement?: Yup.  She doesn't kick as much as there's not much room in there, but just rolls around.
Food cravings?: I like anything cold. Popsicles, ice cream, water, snow cones, smoothies, etc.
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Not anymore!
Have you started to show yet?: I'm going to say yes. :)
Gender: Baby Girl!!
Labor signs: No. Sigh...
Belly button in or out: It has popped out, but not very much. You can't even see it through a shirt.
Wedding ring on or off: On, although my fingers swell from time to time and it gets a little tight.
Happy or moody most of the time: I'm happy. :)
Looking forward to: Meeting our sweet girl, Kylie!