16 days old

Our little cuppy cake is 16 days old today and still perfect.

Her 2 week check up she was up from her birth weight of 6.4 to 7 pounds even and up from 19 1/4" to now 20".

I cherish this time when she is so incredibly tiny because before I know it, she will be Kayla's age and almost going to Kindergarten. :(

She is still a fantastic sleeper and eater. She only wakes 2 times a night to eat and will sleep in 4 hour stretches, eat and go back to sleep. She is becoming more alert and her awake time periods are a few minutes longer. Yesterday, I got a serious big smile from her!

I cant get over how much she resembles my baby pictures!

One week

Not sure I like Carly being one week old already. Seriously. I'm afraid just like the other 2 kiddos, this time will be a long distant memory and I will miss the sound, and feel of a newborn baby.

Please freeze time for a while.

Things are going fantastic. We seriously could not have asked for a better baby in any way.

Out of the 3 babies, she is the best sleeper. She goes 3-4 hour stretches all night long before wanting to eat. 

And she never cries. I have figured out her "I'm hungry" sounds so I catch her before she gets mad to feed her. She eats, she burps, I change her diaper and then back to sleep for a few more hours. For example: Last night: I fed her at 8 pm. We went to bed and I didn't get a peep from her until 11:30. Back to sleep until 3:30 and back to sleep until a little after 6 am. 

During the day she is pretty much the same except between feedings she is awake about 20 minutes.

She sleeps through any and all loud sounds in the house...mostly her brother and sister.

She is starting to pick up her head for the first time yesterday. When she is on my chest she will lift her head to look at me. I love the wobble-ness (yes, I made up my own word) of a newborn. 

She is just perfection in every way. 

Absolutely perfect.

And her big sister and big brother are just loving her to pieces!

Birth Story- LONG!

Carly's birth did not go the way I had imagined. Not the way that I planned. Not the way I wanted. In a way I feel jipped on the birth process, the baby coming out, watching her enter the world, pulling her to my belly,  letting Dad cut her cord.

I have a lot of up and down emotions, but in the end I remember that she is alive, she healthy and she is a very happy, easy, content baby and she is all OURS, forever. And that is ALL that matters.

Anyways, it all started last Thursday (a week ago tomorrow) I woke up around 5:30 am and noticed I was slowly leaking a clear fluid. It felt like I was peeing myself but it clearly wasn't pee. I mentioned it to Nick and said said lets go to the hospital. I was sure that it would be a waste and we would be sent home. It was such a slow trickle I thought it was just normal fluids that has thinned out as the doctor had told me a week before at my normal weekly appointment.

At 7:30 we showed up at Labor and Delivery. I had called before leaving the house and they told me to come in to get checked. Its better to be safe rather than sorry.

The docs hooked me up to the monitors, baby was great, I was having no contractions. They checked my cervix,  I was still only 3 cm as I had been for the past 3 weeks. They swabbed me to test the fluid to see if it was amniotic. The test came back slightly positive so the doctor thought I had a small high tear that was leaking fluid very slow.

 Because of this, my water didn't officially break, but if it was a small tear in the membranes, I could risk infection. So the option to induce right then was given to us and we took it right away.

I was 38 weeks and 5 days, and healthy and the ultrasound showed a healthy baby ready to be born. 

At 10 am pitocin was started. I dilated to 4 cm. Once I hit the 4 cm I could feel the contractions but they were not painful. 

 At 12:45 I had got up to use the bathroom once more before the contractions got too painful and as soon I hit the bathroom, no question about it... my water broke. It was like in the movies. A huge gush of clear water all over my legs and the floor. A sign things were on the move!

At 1:11 pm the pain had really begun. The Dad had to convince Mom to ask finally for the epidural. So I did. Before it was administered, the doctor checked me and I was a whopping 6 cm! I made it all the way to 6 cm without pain medication. Go me!

The pain got really intense as the epidural was being given at 5 pm...thank God I decided to ask for it when I did. 

Here is where it got scary and difficult. Most of this I do not remember, I'm going by what Nick has told me happened.

At 5:45 pm I passed out because my blood pressure dropped in reaction to having too much epidural. ( My body has a very, I mean very extremely low tolerance for any type of medications. We told the anesthesiologist this, but no doctor every really believes just how low I mean) He administered 10 (whatever volume they use for this) which is what a normal person gets for labor. 

They stopped the epidural and pitocin for about an hour to give the baby and myself a break. 

I was still 6 cm. 

They restarted it about 7:30 pm.

My blood pressure dropped again, and I nearly was passed out completely again. The baby's heart rate had dropped from the 140's to the 40's to the 30's and for a second even to zero. 

At that point, the doctor made the decision to take me back for an emergency c-section. 

I was in shock. I was out of it. I didnt totally get what she meant until they started wheeling me back.

Skipping ahead a little, the baby was born at 9:10 pm. We heard her cry about a minute later and I could turn to my right and see her on the scale. It was then that we were told the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice.

A tiny 6 pounds 4 oz and 19 1/4" long.

Thank you God for the doctor who made the hard choice for the c section. 

Its not only physically hard but also emotionally hard.

But, 

we have this baby that was so worth every second.

Kayla checking out her sister on going home day.

Time for Mom and baby sister to go home!

Not liking Dad buckling her.

Kayla not happy that her baby is crying.

Dad putting her in the car seat.

Caden checking her out in the elevator.

Going home.

Kayla and baby waiting for Dad to bring the car up.

Walking to the car.

Tired, swollen Mom's first day home.

Getting in the car.

Carly Joy is here!

So, the last post about 5 days was a lie. She was here just 2 days later!

It was an unpleasant, scary and almost sorta traumatic birth. I will post the details as I get a chance. Right now, we are tired, and exhausted. Its our first full day home so we are trying to adjust and figure out our new routine and schedule. I have Nick here helping me off work for 3 weeks and he is doing AMAZING. Tomorrow night my Mother In Law comes in until June.

So, I make you wait no more....

CARLY JOY

Born: 21 March, 9:10 PM via C-section. (Details on this later) 6 pounds 4 ounces 19 1/4" long
Happy, healthy, baby girl!

After pitocin started, but before the major pain began. And the last belly picture! I am very swollen and bloated here from all the fluids.

Nick was in the nursery with Carly right after birth while I was getting stitched back up in the operating room.

This is my favorite picture of her I think...She looks so happy to be born. And this picture looks so much like myself as a baby. I cant get over it! But at the same time, when shes asleep, I think she looks just like her Dad.

Hair pretties

I stopped buying pretty hair accessories for Kayla a long time ago because of how expensive they have gotten over the past couple of years. Outrageous.

So I looked into ordering stuff to make my own and realized if I can make them for myself, then I can share with all my friends and who ever else loves little girl hair things. For a much better price. 

So, over the past couple of weeks I been ordering things.

I don't have everything yet but I have some things. 

Im so ready to have everything so I can start making more and selling them to all of you!

Here is one for sale! Price is only $2.00 and $3.50 with shipping. Let me know if you would like it. I accept paypal and can accept cash through the mail.

I have bought these before from other 'boutiques' and have paid upwards toward $9 each.

That is crazy! Im done paying that much for hair things that dont need to cost that much! Done!

Here is another one I have made a few days ago and sold 2 of them yesterday to my very first customer

who bought them for his nieces!

These are stretchy lace headbands with shabby chiffon flowers. I have many more styles of headbands and flowers with accessories on their way in the mail.

I also plan to make bows from ribbon once this pregnancy carpel tunnel issue is gone. As well as tutu's, hair bow holders and hats :)

5

5 more days little girl. 

5.

Just FIVE.

I'm speechless.

Of course, you are beyond welcome to come sooner and be an early bird like your Dad, and sister.

Then I will get pain relief in my back much sooner. And be that much closer to all this carpel tunnel stuff being gone.

Induction date scheduled

I don't even feel like posting but I need to keep up with all this before I lose track of details and dates.

Ugh. I had such hopes of going into my appointment day, seeing my favorite midwife, and coming out with an  induction date sometime this week.

But, not.

I saw a lady that I have not seen once this entire pregnancy. The joys of military healthy care.

The lady was nice, she examined me. I'm still 3 cm. I had mentioned at 2 am this morning I felt what was like a bubble pop and I never felt that before. So she checked the fluids I had to see if it was amniotic  which is wasn't and I figured it wasn't. She then did ultrasound and examined the baby and her fluids and all was great. My blood pressure was perfect and the baby's heart rate was great. So, considering that we are both healthy and on track she doesn't want to induce until the 39th week. I am frustrated and disappointed but at the same time I cant get mad. She is right. Since week 39 falls on a Saturday for me, and they don't do inductions on weekends, I am scheduled to be induced on Monday the 25th at 5 am. One more week. 6 more days not counting today. And yes, I know this is not a long wait...but when you are at the end of pregnancy...every day feels like a week.

I am so uncomfortable. I cant sleep because of the carpel tunnel pain and numbness. :( Not to mention the 100 other reasons that make me so uncomfortable. BLAH.

One more week. 6 more days. I.can.do.it.

I don't see the baby coming on her own at all before then, I just still feel no different and it's just pure gut instinct. Lets hope I'm wrong.