Our entertainment

How can something that looks so sweet make such hideous smells? Our new form of entertainment in our sleep deprived state is our daughter...this somehow includes her poop and gas. This has had us in hysterics as we change her diapers! I remember reading or hearing that breastfed babies poo does not smell...oh ummm that person was totally mistaken! This is what we have observed so far...

1. Gas - horrible smell, but somehow causes her to smile and us to laugh.

2. The Streaker - This is when there was a poo earlier, and not all of it was expelled and then a little gas happens, and hence a streak in the diaper.

3. The Poop - This is when you need to be within the same room to hear it, and it is pretty small clean up (maybe 4-5 hot wash towels).

4. The Exploder - This is when you can hear the poo arrive in the diaper from across the house (1300 sq ft. is small, but still...). It generally requires 2-3 firings to be complete. If you are lucky she will do this when you are not holding her behind, but generally seems that she waits until that exact moment to deliver! The clean up of this is an artform generally requiring all hot wash towels from stash. This is why we are doing laundry once a day.

5. Wee - This is generally what is done after you take off the diaper to change #2-4, or has also been known to happen just as soon as the new clean diaper has just been readied for application, but not quite in time to catch the wee and save the changing table from another cleaning and ... changing.

We love you Sofia!

Breastfeeding

So Tom and I are sitting on the couch watching a movie tonight, and all of a sudden my boobs started to hurt. I turned to Tom and told him, and he looks at me and says "you better get the kid on there or grab the pump"...I look down and both boobs are leaking small puddles into my shirt. We both lost it for a few minutes...I then grabbed Sofia! Ah the joys of breastfeeding!

Sofia's first days

So the story continues...
We stayed at the hospital for 48 hours. They discharged Sofia with borderline jaundice and with instructions to put her on a "Bilibed" (phototherapy light bed that you can take home with you) constantly except for feedings. We had an appt. the next day for biliruben level check.
We had a really hard night, as she was sort of inconsolable and was not really happy with the bed situation.
At the next appt. we found out that biliruben levels had not changed much...not surprised as we only kept her down without crying for maybe 6 hours. What did surprise us was that she lost 14% of her body weight from birth. I was breast feeding like mad....nipples totally feeling it, so what was going on? Well were told to supplement with formula, as it was that my milk had not come in yet. Now I know that when your milk comes in your boobs have a mind of their own, and fire at will! Anyhow we supplemented for a few days with formula until my breastmilk finally came in 6 days after labor. Like I said - mind of their own!
Sofia had Dr. appts every day until the jaundice levels were down. We only had to use the bed one day after we supplemented. Apparently satisfied kids sleep well. Poor thing though had to get a heel stick every day as well. At least that is over now! We just had our final visit today, and thanks to breast milk Sofia gained about 3/4 lb over the weekend. We can now feed every 3 hours vice every 2, which can I say is very tiring!
She is starting to recognize us visually, and we had a smile today that wasn't while she was dreaming...it may have been just a coincidence, but I like to think she was actually smiling at me, and not having a involuntary reaction cause it was so heart melting!
Also included here is what happens after pregnancy...I won't even delve into the multitude of things going on with my abdominal area, but let me say it is quite interesting. The swollen ankles and feet were unexpected. I was wrong when I said my feet were swollen before...that was a joke compared to what did happen!
I am so glad to not have the extra weight in front though. I can touch my feet now, and sleep in many positions, and reach to get things without my belly dragging in them....this is in reference to the buffet we went to in which I was scooping out rice, and my belly landed in the water dish with the rice spoon in it. Lovely.

Sofia arrives!

Well "Hi" to everyone, and thank you so much for all the well wishes! We are just starting to get some sleep around here and catch up on things. So I know you all want details so here goes...
So it was my water leaking at 3 am that morning of the 18th. We decided to wait until contractions got bad or at least regular. That never happened, but what did happen scared the crap out of me - at around 3 pm my water broke...no no not even Hollywood style, but holy crap there is a lake around me, and I am on the floor trying to keep some in to cushion the baby! That was my first freak out episode....Tom held it together for me, and kept telling me it was ok, but 5 bath towels later I was really concerned that I had lost too much. At around 4 pm we headed to the hospital where our doula met us....I dripped my way to L & D apologizing to the staff about the floor. Had to walk with a towel between my legs which I am sure looked hilarious!
Dr. examines me and "what?!" I am still only 3 cm. Good news is that now that you can feel the baby better the weight estimate dropped to high 7! Yay! We walk the typhoon ramp between intermittent fetal monitoring, and contractions set in. I think my doula has accurate times, but I think around 5 or 6 am the morning of the 19th I had to start pushing. I could not hold back the reverse vomit that was going on. Pushing contractions are so strong I really thought I was going to be hurled across the room! I was 9-10 cm, but I had a little bit of cervix left - I believe it was called an anterior lip. Anyhow this required that when I pushed the Dr. was trying to push the cervix around the babies head...can I just say "OUCH!".
Ok so Dr. shift change and I get the woman Dr. that I wanted! Yippee! Around 7-8 am after pushing Sofia down a little more the Dr. tells me that she is sideways and this is why we are not making much progress. Since I am on no drugs at this time she tells me there is nothing she can do to turn the kid - I just have to somehow summon superhuman strength after 14+ hours of labor and pushing...oh ok! I tried and tried, but I just did not have it in me anymore (2nd freak out). In comes the anesthesia man from heaven! I ended up getting a spinal just to get through the last 3 or so hours - it was fantastic! Weird to see my legs move and not feel them though! Now that I have drugs the Dr. proceeds to stick every finger possible into my personal space and tries to move the baby around with each push and even sometimes when I am not pushing. Tom stated that he really was not expecting the amount of blood that happened during all this. I didn't look too much down there...I don't even want to know! This is the 3rd freak out because I am pooping at every push, and I was so embarrassed! The only thing that sort of makes it better is that the Dr. said that is how she knew I was pushing right. I officially have no dignity left. At around 10 the Dr. was getting worried about infection occuring as my water had been broken for a while. She started talking about a forcep delivery, and I was not happy because she wanted to give me another 2 shots to help numb my area for that. Enter 4th total freak out/melt down. I kept pushing until I finally had to give into the shots - here comes the Dr. with a 10 inch needle - holy crap! Did not work to numb me, so forceps are out. Luckily...the spinal was wearing off, so I was starting to get some real good pushes in.
The last 4 contractions were the hardest because now is the time you don't push, but you need to push just enough to keep the baby from sliding back up...meanwhile she is literally between your legs....this hurts like hell! I had to get her out, so I was trying my hardest and finally after 4 or 5 contractions she finally made her way out at 11:43 am!
She was blue...her nickname is now Smurfette. They took her over and suctioned her lungs a few times, and did all the other regular stimulations, and finally we heard her cry. Tom was so excited and was telling me that we did it, and I was like crying and saying..."I am sorry, but I don't think I can do this again". HAHAHAHH
The kid decided to have her first poop and wee in the warmer while they were working on her...oh and this was only the beginning!

I think my water broke!

I don't want to get too excited just yet, but at around 3 this morning I had an interesting experience. Will not go into the details, but I have been having trickles of fluid when I lay down and get back up ever since. Probably her big head plugging it up when I sit up. I had intense contractions for over an hour at 6-7 min apart. Then was hungry...went to kitchen to eat, and remembered that I was not thinking this would happen at all - I was banking on Tuesday's induction. We had left all dishes and kitchen dirty, as I was going to clean the house today....so I decided to clean the kitchen through contractions from about 4 to 5. Fun times! Tom was napping on couch through me telling him when a contraction started! ahahhaha! We were able to get a little sleep after the cleaning....and now we are trying to get the contractions back up to pace. Going to shower...my final shower for a while...ewwww, and do the final packing of our bags. We know that when we call the hospital they will want us to come in to verify water breakage, and will probably admit, so they can monitor Sofia. She is still very active, so I am not worried at this stage, and all fluid is clear. We will send e-mails when we leave, and some of you will have to forward if we missed someone. We will try to make a few quick phone calls as well. I really hope this is it!!

Our light at the end of the tunnel!

I was really excited to have my no medical intervention birth, but now I am just thrilled to hear at our appt today our midwife come in and say "we have scheduled you for an induction on Sep 21st".
My cervix has not changed at all. Issue seems to be that Sofia's head will not engage (drop into my pelvis). From what I am understanding them tell me is that contractions and an engaged head are needed to open the cervix. Furthermore something like the head engaging also helps the contractions come regularly. My theory is that the head was too big 2 weeks ago to engage! We will see what happens. Labor still has a chance of starting on it's own, but my gut feeling is that I will be induced, and then have to have a C-section due to head size. Figures that the exact opposite of what I wanted will happen. I think that is what they called character building via life lessons. Either way there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I am very happy about that.

Due day has come and gone

Well Sep 12th is passing by and will be over in a few hours. Still no labor. I had a little mental breakdown and we decided to get out for a bit. We went down to the base beach...very nice, but the amount of trash was disturbing. I am going to write a complaint to the camp commander, and once I am able I will go down and do some pick up myself. No marine corps family beach should look this way. I picked up as much as I could fit in a plastic bag I found down there, so that made me feel a little better. Anyhow...then we decided to get some sushi...yes it is safe here for pregnant women, as in Japan as it is so fresh. There is a 100 yen sushi bar down the street from us, and plates of sushi just go by on a little conveyor. It was delicious! The bar even has hot water spigot, so you can make tea yourself. Then tonight there were 2 different Eisa/Matsuri dances(summer festival dances. Very cool, but not too many places to sit. Tom was able to get some good pictures, and I will post them tomorrow if he downloads them off the camera. I hope the drums were enticing for Sofia. I wish she would figure out (before she hits 10 lbs) that there is way more interesting stuff outside the uterus! Dr. appt. tomorrow to probably schedule induction by the 20th, as that will be 41 weeks.
Off to bed now.

Still waiting

On a humorous note...Tom's office now has a pool going for a free coffee. HAHAHHAH

WTF!?

Well as you can see we are not at the hospital. Contractions stalled, and I am disgruntled.

Today will most likely be the day

Well we went to the hospital yesterday, and after checking the Dr. told me I was 90% effaced and maybe 2 cm, so I had my membranes stripped to help along the process, which let me say was very painful! The Dr. had to actually break through the cervix, as his finger is bigger than 2 cm....lovely. I would hate to see what other "invasive" procedures feel like. Anyhow we got home and not much difference. I was a little crampy and sore, but after what just occurred it seemed reasonable. Started having stronger contractions last night around 10, and awoke this morning to 6 min apart decent contractions. We are headed to another Dr. appt. at 7 am here, so won't be home for a bit. May end up staying at the hospital depending on where my contractions are in the next hour and what the Dr. says. I hope to labor at home for as long as possible though. No breaking water yet.
I have to hop in the shower now, so will update or call key persons in the phone tree (haahahh) soon.

Ok so I am back and I am now 2-3 cm dilated and still having regular contractions. The midwife said that I will most likely be in labor by tonight, so YIPPEE!! Thanks to the Noel side of the family I will be delivering an estimated high 8 to 9 lb baby girl! Tom just laughed and smiled at the confirmation of her size. I am not that excited about it! I am going to try and rest, as we did not sleep well last night or for that long, so e-mails will be sent on our way to the hospital, and doula will e-mail pic and summary after birth.

FINALLY!!

Well no luck!

Thought typhoon would bring on labor, but no luck so far. Could be that it was really a pathetic storm, and seemed just like another day of rain with a little extra wind. Had Dr. appt today, and he estimated Sofia at 8.25 lbs! Holy crap! So we are back to trying to soften the cervix and get labor going by this weekend. If not at next appt next Wed. will have membranes stripped. I walked the typhoon ramp at the naval hospital...it is known to help labor along, so I am crossing my fingers.
On a really cool note...Tom has to burn leave or he loses it, so he is taking the last 2 weeks in Sept. off! This will be great for bonding and helping with Sofia. I am really happy!
That is all for now.

Typhoon update

Well looks like it will be passing directly over us...and I mean it is landing very close to our Camp if not on it and then heading West across the island. Projected time is 1 pm tomorrow. We will be in TCOR 1 at 1 am tomorrow morning. We will see what happens, and how I feel by noonish tomorrow. I really hope labor kicks in by then and we can head safely to the hospital. Having contractions all day, and some are painful. YIPPEE! I have an appt on the 1st, but I think the bases will still be shut down, so I have another appt the week after that. At least if she isn't born by then I will get to that last appt. I am thinking about having them strip my membranes if Sofia has not arrived.
If internet is down you will not hear from us for a while, so cross your fingers that we still have internet before we head to the hospital if I am in labor. Otherwise you all might just get a summary and pic after the fact. Sorry, but it is all up to Sofia these days!

Sofia's possible grand entrance

Well I guess the previous post being the last was too much to ask.
So we wake up this morning after being hermits all weekend to find out that there is a typhoon expected and we are at TCOR 2(destructive winds within 24 hours). TCOR 4 is the bottom and TCOR 1 is the top with a few different side levels at TCOR 1. It is recommended that I head to the hospital at TCOR 1C(destructive winds within 12 hours), which is first side level of TCOR 1. I hear that is supposed to be around 6-8 am tomorrow morning. The hospital has already called house phone and cell phone to tell me what to bring to hospital. I am not that excited, and per Aunt Katie I can stay at home and they will come get me in a 7 ton or humvee if we can't make it to the hospital. Not that I think this is a wise use of Federal resources, but otherwise I will be laboring on a cot with vending machine snacks and no husband, so I will stay at home as long as possible to help with having a less stressful labor and hopefully try to enjoy the labor process as much as possible. If we don't make it then a home birth might be what happens....Aunt Katie be prepared for a phonecall! But really...I hear the locals will still be out like nothing is going on, so I am not worried. It will just be funny if Sofia decides to come during the typhoon. What an entrance, and what a story if we do have the 7 ton pick us up! Will keep you all posted, but not in labor yet.

Please let this be the last post!

Half way through 38 week and still waiting for Sofia. She is now around 7.5 lbs and feisty as ever! The other day there was a foot I think jutting out of my belly. I figured if I gently touch it she will withdraw it and relieve the stretching of my already maxed out belly, but no! She pushed right back...and there you have it. Apparently I had invaded her turf!
Finally the picture of the "ass&^%$" belly button and hopefully the last belly pic. It is not pretty people! Please notice that from the side we see no popping out of the belly button...it is completely flat, and it is really weird when I have a contraction sometimes it indents...ewwwww!

not quite yet

ok well today still a lot of hard contractions. Things are increasing, so hopefully soon! My laptop is down, so there will be communication issues with you all until I get it fixed. What happened you may be asking? Well due to pregnancy clumsiness and my slow to react arthritic hands I spilled a glass of water on it....right into the key board it went. This is after I had switched to plastic glasses, as I was no longer qualified to use glass ones. Broke two in the previous two days, and still have little splinter glass in my foot, which is so comfortable when I put my 157+ lbs on it! So I am limited to Tom's computer and he is already asleep, so I will not be able to log back in. Forgot to get password. It is interesting this night shift he is on mixed with my prelabor. I think this is the last night though YIPPEE!