A Day in the Life: Baby Edition

Posted in Family by teamtradermom

Oh how life has changed. When I did my original “Day in the Life” post, my day was mostly about work (I also did a DITL: Weekend Edition).

Not anymore.

At least, for right now.

Here’s what most of my days look like lately, and will for the next 10 weeks or so.

It’s hard to know when to “start” my day because it feels like it’s never ending. So I’ll start when the day officially starts – midnight.

12:00 a.m. I’m usually sleeping at this time. CJ and I have a system for overnight feedings where he takes the first few and I take the last few. Since I’m not nursing, it makes it easier to split shifts. That way, we can each get a 4-5 hour block of uninterrupted sleep. So, that means CJ’s on duty until about 2 or 3 am, at which point I take over.

Does that mean my day begins at 3am? I don’t know. It’s all pretty much a blur.

2:30 a.m. Basically, from 2:30 until about 7 a.m., I’m in the nursery. I feed Cora then put her back to bed.

I rinse out the bottle, go potty and then curl up in the recliner and try to get a few more winks until the next feeding.

Why don’t I go back to bed? Well, right now, Cora is waking up to eat about every 1.5 to 2 hours. And she makes grunting noises in her sleep. So, to be fair to CJ, I just sleep in the nursery so that he’s not awakened by me coming and going or her noises. Once she starts stretching out the feedings, I’ll go back to sleeping in the bed.

The recliner is actually quite comfortable. It reclines all the way back so I just curl up, wrap the blanket around me and I’m golden!

7:00 a.m. Isabella usually gets up around this time and will either go in to the master bedroom and snuggle with CJ or come in to the nursery and snuggle with me. Once we get up, I try to take a shower and get dressed right away. If I don’t do it immediately, chances of it happening at all are slim to none.

Most of the time one of the girls stays with me while I shower (Isabella watches cartoons and if it’s Cora, she sleeps or plays on her mat) and CJ takes the other one.

Today it was Cora who was my shower buddy!

And of course Samson is always close by, in the sunniest spot!

8:00 a.m. After getting ready for the day, it’s time for breakfast. Breakfast for me is either coffee or a smoothie and then a combination of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, yogurt or toast.

8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The bulk of the day is a mixture of feeding Cora, changing diapers and playing with Isabella.

Some days CJ takes Isabella out to a play group or story time hour, which gives me a nice break at home with just the baby.

On those days, I use the time she’s sleeping to get things done around the house, pay bills, update the blog or run errands.

Around 11:30 we have lunch followed by more of the same – feedings, diaper changes, and playing with Isabella.

Last week we planted sunflower seeds!

I tell you what – I do not know how stay-at-home parents do it in terms of keeping it fresh everyday. As many toys as Isabella has, I still find it hard to come up with new games or things to do. Isn’t that sad? I see how the days can become monotonous really quickly if you don’t take time to plan activities ahead or have a set schedule. I will probably try to set something up as the weeks go on – both for my sanity and to get Munchkin ready for pre-school in the fall. I hate to admit it but many times I turn the TV on to keep her occupied while I tend to Cora (if CJ isn’t around or unavailable). It’s become a bad habit. One that we’re going to curb immediately!

2:00 p.m.. This is my favorite part of the day – naptime! We usually get both girls down by about 2:30 and then it’s snoozeville for me too. CJ will sometimes stay up with Cora if her feeding/sleep schedule is slightly off of ours or nap with her downstairs on the couch. I always hit the bed and will get around 1.5 to 2 hours of sleep. I NEED this time. If I don’t get a nap, the rest of the day is miserable.

4:00 p.m. Up and at ‘em! If CJ hasn’t been able to catch a nap during the previous 2 hours, he’ll go upstairs and get some shut eye while I hang with the girls. It’s usually pretty quiet – feed Cora, get Isabella a light snack and read some books or color.

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Time to get dinner ready and eat! After Isabella was born, making meals seemed like a big challenge. We weren’t very good about planning ahead back then. Thank god for frozen meals people had made for us and gift cards to Pizza Hut!

This time around, I’ve stuck to planning meals out for the week every Sunday. This helps immensely. Most of the meals are simple ones because we don’t have the luxury of extra time to cook right now.

6:00 – 8:00 p.m. These 2 hours are spent doing quiet activities or getting ready for bed. I can’t give Isabella baths yet because I’m not supposed to lift anything over 10 lbs (so can’t lift her in to the tub) and it hurts to sit on anything hard (like the toilet lid) or stand for long periods. So we try to make it a family affair. We all go upstairs and CJ and Isabella do her bath time while I feed/watch Cora and fold laundry or just rest. Some nights if there is time, we will go back downstairs and watch part of a movie. And of course we always make time to read bedtime stories!

8:00 – 8:30 p.m. This is when Isabella goes to bed. To be honest, the adjustment of having a little sister has been hard for her. She doesn’t like sharing the attention so she’s been acting out negatively, most often at bedtime. She will dawdle or not listen or even tell us no when it’s time to go potty, brush her teeth, etc. We made a checklist for her to cross items off, which worked for a few nights but then that got old. We’re still trying to figure out a good solution but in the meantime, each day is a new adventure…or struggle.

8:30-10:00 p.m. By the end of the day I am exhausted and very sore. Overall my pain levels have gone down quite a bit but after wrangling 2 kids all day and dong various other chores/activities, things really start throbbing down below. So I take some time to sit on an ice pack, put my feet up and unwind. I also have to prepare for the night of feedings – getting bottles ready and such.

10:00 p.m. I try to head upstairs by 10 (sometimes earlier) so that I can be in bed by 10:30. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I lay on the floor and do some stretches, Kegels, ab exercises and push ups. I haven’t been cleared to workout yet because things are still tender in my nether regions, but I figure I can still do a little bit to start getting my upper body back in shape.

Then I hit the hay and am out like a light until it’s my turn for feedings.

And there you have it – my typical day. It’s completely different than what my days used to be like (working outside the home and such) and it’s been an adjustment. I’m pretty much at home, inside, for most of every day. I do get stir crazy but I also know it’s only temporary. I look forward to the coming weeks when the weather warms up (hopefully!) so we can get outside more. Also, once I’m able to walk and be on my feet longer, we can start doing family outings to the zoo or other fun places in Omaha.

It’ll be interesting to see how things change. Maybe I’ll do another DITL post in a month or so. I hope by then we’re stretching out nighttime feedings, doing more outings and generally feeling more human again!

Check out these other posts!

Cora’s birth story | Body A.D. | Team Trader 2.0

18Apr2013

Cora’s Birth Story

Posted in Cora by teamtradermom

Cora Jane is 11 days old so I figure it’s high time I documented her arrival into this world.

In my last post before giving birth, I mentioned 3 important factors to Cora’s story-

They thought she was a big baby. According to ultrasound measurements, she was clocking in at about 8 lbs. 6oz.
It was discovered that she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice.
We had a C-Section scheduled for Wednesday April 10th at 8:15 a.m.

We had a plan and I was comfortable with it.

And then everything changed.

Early Saturday morning (April 6), around 1:30 a.m., I awoke with a weird feeling in my stomach. I couldn’t tell if I had to throw up, poop or was having a contraction. I figured the bathroom was the best place to be so I went in and sat on the toilet. 20 minutes later I came out, after a bout of diarrhea and throwing up twice. I officially had a stomach bug. I would spend the next 4 hours alternating ends from which fluids exited my body. I tried to drink water in between but could keep nothing down. Finally at 5 a.m. I realized I was probably dehydrated and told CJ to take me in to the ER. I was more worried about the baby than myself. We called my parents to come over and stay with Isabella until we got back.

They checked us in to a triage room in the hospital since it didn’t look like I was going in to labor. I was so dehydrated that it took 2 nurses 3 tries to get the IV into my arm. My veins kept collapsing on them. We were there for 5 hours as they pumped me up with 3 liters of IV fluid and some medicine to help the nausea and diarrhea. They were monitoring the baby the whole time and she was never once in danger, thank God.

I was scared though. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Plus they told me that if I was still sick on Wednesday, they would have to postpone the C-Section! No way! I wanted this baby out!

I finally made it home around 2 p.m. and went straight up to nap. Slept for 3 hours, came down long enough to have some soup and then went back up to bed. I finally started to feel normal the next morning.

But that feeling wouldn’t last long.

After dinner on Sunday, I started to feel a bit queasy again. Great, I thought. This bug is rearing it’s ugly head. The nurses had said if I had any more vomiting or diarrhea, I would have to come back to the hospital. I really didn’t want that so I went to bed praying I would feel better in the morning.

At 12:50 a.m. on Monday, I awoke with a start. I had felt a distinct kick from the baby causing a contraction that was more intense than any I had before. I lay there for a minute waiting for it to go away, assuming it was another Braxton/Hicks. When it continued, I thought I should get up and go to the bathroom. As soon as I stood up, I felt a trickle run down my leg. My first thought was, “Oh great, now I’m peeing my pants!” Then I realized it could be something else – my water breaking. It wasn’t a big gush though so I was still unsure. I sat on the toilet until the contraction ended – which was about 10 minutes. I then texted CJ, who was downstairs watching TV.

He came running up and said, “You think?”

I told him what happened and we decided to sit and wait to see if any more contractions came. 15 minutes later came another, much shorter one. No fluid leakage. Than 10 minutes later another contraction. This time it came with a gush. I stood up and a pool started to form at my feet. I pointed to it and said, “See! Now do you believe me!” CJ’s eyes were huge and he said, “Ok so what do we do? Call an ambulance? Call your parents?”

He called my parents while I changed clothes (which I would have to do 2 more times as water kept coming out with every contraction. I finally got smart and put on a pad). Once again we headed to the hospital!

When we got there and to a room, things started moving fast. They had to try 4 times to get the IV in my arm as I was still a bit dehydrated from not having any food or drink since dinner on Sunday (due to the nausea). You can see from the bruises on my hands and arms all the different places they poked me over the course of both visits!

The contractions started coming faster and harder. Because I was trying for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarian), I was required to have an epidural, just in case they needed to whisk me off to surgery at some point. The nurse told me I could get it at any time but I held off. Not sure why. I guess I was trying to prove to myself that I could manage through the pain better this time than I did with Isabella. I think I did too. I stayed relaxed and just breathed through each one. I am actually quite proud of myself. But there definitely came a point when enough was enough.

They gave me the epidural but it was different than I remembered. With Isabella, they gave me enough to basically put my whole lower body to sleep. I couldn’t feel or move anything. This time, they only gave me enough to take the edge off the pain but I could still feel the pressure. So while it was some relief, it wasn’t what I had been expecting.

The pressure was almost as bad as the contractions had been. I told the nurse I wanted to push but they told me to wait and let the baby come down on its own first. After waiting for half an hour, it was time.

My doctor (Dr. S) came in and we pushed a few times. She could feel the baby’s head and it was turned slightly. She reached inside and straightened it but with every push, it would turn again. We were left with a few choices:

Keep going the way we were and see if we could straighten and get her out on our own. The risk here was that it could take a while and with her size and the umbilical cord around her neck, it could get dicey.
Give up the idea of a VBAC and go right in to surgery. No real risk here other than those that come with any surgery. Plus a much longer recovery time.
Use forceps. My doc admitted that she was not comfortable using the forceps herself but we could get one of the older doctors to do it. This was the option she recommended and I trust her immensely so we found the doc we needed (Dr. R) and had him take a look. He was confident he could get her out, using a combination of his pulling/straightening with the forceps while I pushed, in one shot. So, we went for it.

Once that decision was made, it was a flurry of activity. The nurses pulled out a cart and started setting up instruments and blankets and getting ready for the baby. The 2 doctors washed and gowned up. It was all done so fast and all I could do was lay there, watch and wait.

When everything was ready, Dr. R grabbed the forceps and got them into position.

I’m not gonna lie. When I saw how big they were I got nervous. What if he crushed the baby’s little head? What if he twisted the wrong way and broke her neck? But there was no time for me to panic. I had to trust in the doctors’ experience and knowledge and just do my part. When he was ready, he told me to push as hard as I could. So I did.

The next thing I know, there was a little baby sliding out of me, everyone started cheering and Dr. S said, “It’s a girl!”

I started laughing and crying at the same time. All the emotions of the weekend came out at once. I was relieved, excited, surprised, tired, and just plain overwhelmed.

Dr. S immediately handed her to me to hold, all bloody and covered in goo! She was so beautiful! They asked if we had a name and we laughed and said no! We were so certain it was a boy that we focused on boy names. It wouldn’t be until later that evening that we would decide on Cora. Isabella came up with the middle name – Jane.

CJ cut the cord and then the nurse whisked Cora away to be cleaned up and measured.

Meanwhile, Dr. S. had to stitch me up. The use of the forceps had caused tearing in 3 different places. Doc told me it wasn’t that bad but boy was she down there sewing me up for a long time. CJ joked that she must be making a quilt or something!

Finally she finished and we were allowed to hold the baby again.

Not the most flattering picture of me but hey, childbirth ain’t pretty. Yes, I was that tired. And hungry. I hadn’t had any food since 5pm Sunday and it was now around 9 a.m. Monday morning – and I had just done something equivalent to lifting a MACK truck! I was starving! I ordered food and they also gave me an IV to make sure I was plenty hydrated before transporting me up to my room.

We were in the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights. We learned some things from having Isabella and took full advantage of the facilities this time around. I know they recommend having baby stay in the room with you the whole time but come on, mama needed her rest. So we had them take her to the nursery during our nap times and overnight. I had trouble sleeping the first night because of the pain so the second night they gave me a sleeping pill, which helped. All the nurses that we had were amazing and awesome. While the doctors are the “experts”, it’s the nurses that truly run the hospital and take care of the patients. I was actually a bit sad to leave and go back to reality – a new reality.

So, there you have it. That’s how Cora came in to the world. I got the chance to have a vaginal birth and though it was hard, it was worth it. The feeling of having a baby come out from inside of you, by your own power, is one like no other. There were a few scary moments but I completely trusted my doctors and nurses the whole time and knew we would both be ok.

If you liked this, check out these other posts!

Body A.D. | Team Trader 2.0 | Isabella’s Birth Story

16Apr2013

Body A.D.

Posted in Body A.D. by teamtradermom

My body B.C. (Before Cora), looked like this.

(Taken after completing the Warrior Dash in June 2012)

(Taken outside the Olympic Swim Trials in June 2012)

My body at the end of the pregnancy looked like this:

And now today, 1 week A.D. (After Delivery), I look like this:

Basically I look like I did at about 26 weeks pregnant.

This is totally normal. Ones bump doesn’t just go away overnight.

Which sucks.

But at least it’s shrinking. I’ve dropped 24 pounds since giving birth, which is comprised of baby, placenta, blood and other fluids from the uterus and water weight. 24 lbs in 1 week ain’t bad…but it will level off soon and I’ll have to start doing real work.

I have been paying better attention to my diet – eating more fresh produce, whole grains, and less processed stuff. I’ve also drastically limited the sweets. Not eliminated mind you, just limited. There’s a big difference. If I eliminated sweets altogether, I’d fall off the band wagon in no time. But by allowing myself some indulgences, it’s easier to make better choices all around.

I am not allowed to workout yet and it’s killing me. I am good at that for sure. Exercise has always been my strong suit when it comes to maintaining a healthy body. I most likely won’t be able to get back to full workout mode until about 5 weeks from now, with the doc’s okay. I will be very ready.

But the time to heal is important too. I put my body through a lot over the last 9 months and in particular, the last week. I am very sore and deal with pain every single day. There is a lot of recovery needed and I don’t want to shortcut that and risk more issues down the line. It’s hard for me to “take it easy” and “do nothing”. I’m a doer. But it’s not really “doing nothing” – it’s allowing my body to heal which is a very important job.

So, while I really want to drop the last 24 pounds (if not more) quickly and feel like my old self again, I know that it’s a process. After Isabella it took me a full year to get it all off. I hope that it doesn’t take as long this time but if it does, so be it. Slow and steady wins the race!

In the meantime, I shall enjoy time with my girls and practice a little patience.

Check out these other posts!

Team Trader 2.0 | There’s a Light | Update in Pictures

13Apr2013

Team Trader 2.0

Posted in Cora by teamtradermom

Yawn.

As you can imagine, I’m not getting the greatest sleep these days. You know, with a new baby and all.

Meet Cora Jane.

She made her debut on Monday, 4/8 at 7:38 am. I plan to write a full account of her birth story one of these days, but for now I just wanted to give a quick update. Her birth saga is actually just that – a saga. Nothing was as I had imagined or planned it, yet it was all perfect in its own way.

I am doing well. Was able to have a successful VBAC. Although it hurts to walk or sit, I’m glad I pursued the VBAC option. It was an experience unlike any other.

Isabella was not quite sure what to think of Miss Cora at first.

She seemed to be more excited about the hospital itself, and the room service, than the actual baby. She refused to hold her and pretty much kept her distance. However, once we brought Cora home, she started to come around. She still won’t hold her, which is totally fine since Isabella is a big ball of energy and you never know when she’s going to jump up or do something silly, and some of the concepts of a baby are still foreign to her. She does like to “play” with her and every day she tells me how cute the baby is.

Already we can see so many differences between our 2 girls. Isabella was alert and active from the moment she came in to the world. Cora has been much more laid back and sleepy. Although not colicky or extremely bad, Isabella was way more fussy. She cried a lot. Cora just goes with the flow. Oh and of course, Isabella loved her pacifier from the second we gave it to her. Cora refuses to take one (thank God!) I guess all the categorizations they make about oldest and youngest children are true for us – at least so far!

Here are a few picture comparisons of the 2 girls.

Do you think they look alike? Also, notice that Isabella’s eyes are open and alert in every single picture while Cora is sleeping in most of them.

Day 1: Isabella

Cora –

Of course I had to take one with Samson (who by the way had a freak out moment when we first brought Cora home but has quickly welcomed her to the pack)

Isabella:

Cora:

And finally, wearing the same outfit:

Isabella:

Cora:

So there you have it. The adjustment has been much easier this time around, probably because we knew what to expect. We were a lot smarter about some things, having learned from experience. Not to say that it’s all been easy, but it definitely was not as jarring and life altering as it was the first time around. Having a more easy going baby helps a lot too.

Not sure how often I’ll be able to post but I will try to get back soon with Cora’s birth story and an update on how I’m feeling and doing. Operation “No more maternity jeans” has begun!

If you liked this, see how we got here!

There’s a Light | Stats | Nursery Reveal

5Apr2013

There’s a Light

Posted in Team Trader Baby (TTB) by teamtradermom

After what felt like a sometimes quick, sometimes long 9 months, we finally have an end in sight.

We have scheduled a C-section for April 10th.

35 weeks. Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

I know that was our original due date so it shouldn’t seem like such a big deal, but it is. A due date is just a guess. It’s an approximation. But the baby could really come at any time. But scheduling surgery, now that’s definite. Granted, the baby could still come anytime before the 10th but at least we know it won’t go any longer than that.

Which is a big relief for me.

I am ready to be done. You just reach a point where enough is enough. I’m not sleeping well. I feel like a beached whale. Things hurt. Clothes don’t fit (I seriously have only 3 pairs of pants I can wear at this point!). The time has come.

I had my last OB appointment yesterday.

My weight gain has slowed down (which is shocking to me since I’m eating like it’s going out of style). As everyone keeps saying – I’m all baby.

And it’s a big baby.

They had us do another ultrasound (we did one at 22 weeks and one at 32 weeks) to check the size.

Profile shot

8 pounds 6 ounces.

To put some perspective on that, Isabella was 8 lbs 4oz when she was born at 41 weeks (which is 2 weeks later than where we are now). So if we let this kid go another 2 weeks, it could easily be over 9 lbs.

They also discovered something else in the ultrasound.

3D of the baby’s face with an arm partially in front

The umbilical cord is wrapped twice around the baby’s neck.

When I first heard this, I panicked and thought we would need to do an emergency surgery or something but my doctor assured me that there’s nothing to worry about. This happens all the time, particularly in really active babies like TTB. There can sometimes be issues during a vaginal delivery if the cord starts to pull on the baby’s neck while it’s going through the birth canal but you just don’t know until it happens. And if it does, there are things they can do. Plus, there’s always a chance the baby could unwind itself as it moves around these last few days too.

Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

So, we were left with a decision. Keep waiting and see if this kid tries to come out on its own or schedule surgery. Given the size, umbilical cord situation and the fact that I haven’t progressed any in the last week, we thought it made the most sense to go ahead and schedule the C-section.

Next question was – for when?

We could really do it for any time next week but I have this hang up about not wanting to choose my child’s birthday for them. I’d rather leave it up to the universe. So I was indecisive. The doctor suggested we go ahead and just schedule it on the due date, which made sense to me. (Actually, we haven’t officially set the appointment yet. I’m still waiting for the hospital to call me back and confirm).

Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

When the doc did the cervical exam, she went ahead and stripped the membrane too. Basically, that means she stuck her finger through the cervix and scraped it around the sac of waters to separate the 2 from each other.

Yes, it was painful.

Doing this is thought to get things moving along a little bit and encourage labor. I actually did start having contractions last night. I’ve been having Braxton/Hicks contractions for a while but the ones yesterday were more intense and regular. I started timing them and they increased from every 30 minutes to every 10. I seriously thought maybe this was it – that we were starting labor! But when I went to bed and laid down, they all stopped and I haven’t had one since.

My body just likes to mess with me.

So, here we are. 5 days away from having a new little guy or gal in our family. 5 days seems like a really long time to me right now. As I was lying awake in bed last night, I could not imagine how I’m going to get through these last days without going crazy. Today it seems better in the light of day and I think if I stay occupied with Isabella and family fun, plus take lots of naps and rest, it’ll all be fine.

And the next thing I know, we’ll be a family of 4!