Our Miracle Blessing: Baby Kate

After adopting seven wonderful blessings, we were thrilled to find ourselves 15 weeks pregnant on our 15th Wedding Anniversary with "Our Miracle Blessing"!!!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

One Week OLD!!!

When we were discharged from the hospital, I was told to call the pediatrician's office on Tuesday, January 3, 2012... I literally had a 30 minute conversation with one of the nurses to discuss Baby Kate's feeding and dirty diaper information... luckily I had kept detailed records so I was able to provide plenty of details... the nurse told me that since my milk had come in on Saturday, I didn't need to supplement with formula and continue pumping... I was thrilled because I was exhausted trying to nurse, pump, and supplement her... at the same time, I was terrified to trust my body to be the only food for her...

Baby Kate seemed to want to be breast feed all of the time... and to be held as well... every noise or movement seemed to wake and startle her... I continued to be her one and only caregiver as I wasn't ready to let anyone other than my mom hold her...

The kids went back to school on Wednesday, the 4th, and Baby Kate had her first outing to a meeting at Tillman, our elementary school... Pat also found out that his out of town trips for Friday and three days the following week were going to be rescheduled in February!!!  I was thrilled that he would not be leaving us!!!

On Friday, Aunt Bev, Pat's aunt, arrived to help out... originally we picked these dates so she could help while Pat was out of town, now that he will be in town, he will be able to work longer hours as she can help with the kids...

After Mom reminded me that giving Baby Kate a pacifier when sleeping would reduce her risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and feeling confident that Baby Kate had a strong latch when breast feeding, I gave her a pacifier on Sunday...

Sunday was Sarah and Anna's second birthday... I left Baby Kate for the first time as I ran out to get some birthday hats, plates, and napkins, then picked up the pizza and cake...  Baby Kate was held for the entire party by my mom... Queeny insisted on feeding her more formula than I usually did and got her to burp and relieve a lot of gas... Baby Kate slept most of the time and was very content with her head on Queeny's shoulder...

On Monday, Baby Kate seemed to be much more relaxed and at ease... she seemed to sleep much more soundly and deeply... it was such a relief...

I was anxiously looking forward to Baby Kate's weight check at her two week visit on Tuesday...

First Calls to the After Hours Doctor and

ALMOST an Emergency Room VISIT!!!

I was terrified!!!

The afternoon of Monday, January 2, 2012, started out simply enough... my brother and his wife, Peter and Katie, came by to meet Baby Kate... My sister in law had the stomach flu the week Baby Kate was born and wanted to make sure she was healthy before visiting...

They had given Baby Kate the New Year's Onesie that she is wearing in these photos, so we wanted to have some photos of Baby Kate and Peter and Katie... we had also all joked about how much Baby Kate looked like Peter... after the photos, I held Baby Kate, unswaddled, in a blanket...

Since Baby Kate had lost over 10% of her birth weight and I was breastfeeding and supplementing her with formula, I was keeping a log of all of her feedings and wet/poopy diapers... around dinner time I realized she had pooped several times that afternoon... then she pooped again and it was six times in six hours... I began to get worried!!!

Since it was a holiday and after hours, we called the pediatrician's after hours number... a nurse from one of our local children's hospitals called back... she asked us to take Baby Kate's temperature... rectally it was 96.  we took it several times with different thermometers... I had no idea I had so many thermometers!!!  Then the nurse told us she was worried she had sepsis... WRONG thing to tell a worry wart like me!!!!  I panicked!!!!  She told me to put more clothes on Baby Kate, swaddle her tightly, and hold her for an hour... then take her temperature again and call the nurse line back...

As I held and rocked her, I prayed... please don't take my baby away... after about 50 minutes, I took her temperature again... it had gone up to 97 and she had not pooped again!!!! 

I called the nurse's line back and spoke with a different nurse... this one was a lot more calming... she seemed to think that Baby Kate had just gotten cold as we did not have her swaddled and that she was going to be just fine... Praise the Lord!!!!  I was to continue to keep her swaddled and to check her temperature in another hour... as long as it was going up or staying the same, she was probably fine... after checking a couple more times and saying prayers as the digits rose, I finally got some much needed sleep...

Baby Kate's Baptism

When I set up Baby Kate's Baptism during the summer, I was CONFIDENT that she would arrive in early December... Never did I think she would wait to be born until her scheduled C Section...

I wanted my uncle, Uncle Jimmy, who is a Jesuit priest, the priest who married us and baptized our first four children to preform the ceremony for our four children who were yet to be baptized... since Uncle Jimmy lives across the state and would be in St. Louis on December 31, 2011... we decided that would be the baptismal date...

Our parish Church had a wedding scheduled for the afternoon, so we had to be finished by 11:45 am... so the ceremony was to begin at 10:30 am... what a busy morning... we left the hospital @ 9 am and arrived home just before 9:30- we were out the door as a family of ten for our first outing @ 10:15...  Thank God, literally, Queeny got all of the kids dressed!!!

Baby Kate was sleeping soundly in her car seat, so we decided to wait until we got to the Church to dress her... she was also ready to eat after she was changed, so Queeny fed her about an ounce of formula before the ceremony...

I had asked Baby Kate's Godmother to be her Godmother at Lizzy's 1st Communion Ceremony in April, 2011... I had just found out I was pregnant and was thrilled!!!! 

Baby Kate's Godparents, Laura and Don, are friends of ours that we met in 1998... Laura and I met at our infertility nurse's office... Laura and Don were in the beginning stages of adopting two children from Eastern Europe... they allowed us to follow along on their journey and inspired us to adopt from Eastern Europe as well... as they like to share, "but we (they) stopped at three children..."  Now, Laura and Don are Godparents to four of our children... two who were born in Russia and two who were born in the United States...  In fact, their two oldest children took the photos of the ceremony... all three of their children are close friends of our kids... we are thrilled to live about a mile from each other!!!

After the ceremony, we came home to enjoy each other's company, cake, and coffee...

Laura said she knew it was time to go home when she looked over and I was falling asleep...

Home Is Where The Heart Is...

Finally HOME!!!!

Queeny was watching all of the kids... they were anxiously waiting in the family room for our arrival... I let Pat carry in Baby Kate in her car seat and hurried in to see the twins... Much to my surprise, they didn't punish me for being away... they were very interested in seeing the baby and were busy repeating, "Baby, baby" over and over... they were much more interestedinseeing their baby sister than me...I don't blame them... instead, I grabbed the camera and took the following photos!!!

Once they saw her and the "newness" wore off, Sarah wanted me pick her up and hold her... since I wasn't allowed to pick up more than 10 pounds, I asked her to go with me to sit in a chair that was less than a few feet away... this infuriated her... she wanted me to pick her up right then and there... I went and sat in the chair and encouraged her to come over... she was not happy, but eventually allowed me to hold her in the chair... meanwhile Anna was busy playing with her siblings and payed very little attention to me... funny, I thought it would be the other way around, with Sarah ignoring me and Anna wanting attention...

I was thrilled to discover that all of the girls had their hair brushed, everyone had brushed their teeth, and all were fed... the only thing left to do before the baptism was to put on their outfits!!!

Four Weeks Ago...

Our Miracle Blessing was born!!!

I still can't believe she is here and now four weeks old!!!

I bet she has been is someone's arm, usually mine, about 22-23 hours a day... since birth....she has been in her papasan cradle swing three times- not for longer than 10 minutes... all she has to do is make a peep and she is picked up... and she has been fed on her demand except during the night when I would wake her every 3+ hours... she almost immediately falls asleep after latching onto my breast... up until yesterday, she would cry when her clothes were changed... she briefly falls asleep and wakes when she is put down... her favorite sleeping position is in the crook of my right arm, laying on her left side, snuggled up against my right side and breast feeding... unless she has gas, she almost immediately falls asleep when in this position... I obsessively make sure the covers are no where near her and only sleep in a tee shirt to make sure fabric is not near her face... she is not a fan of "tummy time" so she only does it when I am laying on the bed and she can lay across my tummy and I pat and rub her back...

Monday, January 23, 2012

Baby Kate's and My Hospital Room

We were rushed out of the recovery room and into our hospital room... At the time of writing this post, just 26 days later, neither parent can remember why we left early... Pat thinks it was because I was obsessed with breastfeeding, I think it was because Baby Kate needed to be under the warmer and I wanted to keep her with me... they couldn't bring a warmer into the recovery room and I had met all of the requirements such as holding down fluids and my vitals were where they were supposed to be, so they let us leave a bit early...

Everyone remarked that Baby Kate had a lot of hair, was very alert, and was a beautiful baby!!!  I couldn't help but agree!!!  I was so stunned that immediately after being born, she was trying to hold her head up!!!

In our room, Baby Kate got her hair washed by the nurse who took care of her in the recovery room... the nurse from the nursery who would take care of Baby Kate for the rest of the afternoon came in and gave us our newborn gifts from the hospital (a mini blanket with ribbon tags around the edges) and Similac Formula Company's gift (an organizer with formula samples and coupons) and stocked the drawers under the bassinet with diapers, blankets, tee shirts, wipes, etc... she also brought me the kit to express breast milk...

Pat hung out for a while, then left to go to his "usual" after birth meal at The Village Bar... last time I discovered this on the credit card statement, this time I encouraged him to go... he had a "Better Burger", French Fries, Splurged on Onion Rings, and two beers... by his own admittance, he fell off his low carbohydrate diet...

Knowing that Mrs. Kathy (our version of Mary Poppins) arrived around 9 am to relieve Mom so she could watch my niece and nephew and Pat was to relieve Mrs. Kathy after lunch... he headed home after his celebratory lunch...

I took the opportunity to get some much needed rest... I also enjoyed the time to snuggle with and discover just how amazing every part of Baby Kate is!!!  She has the most adorable tiny patch of longer hair on one part of her ear that I do not think anyone else has discovered...

The pediatrician on call from our doctor's office stopped by and said Baby Kate looked great!!!

Around 4 pm, my Mom arrived to meet Baby Kate... we discussed how big she was and how my brother Richard was also an 8+ pound baby... we also discussed that Baby Kate looked like me as a newborn... then Mom decided that she needed to organize and put all of my belongings away... since I knew I wouldn't be out of bed until the next day, I was thrilled that she did this for me...

Mom offered to watch Sarah and Anna, so that Pat could bring the older kids to visit as we decided that as far as Sarah and Anna were concerned, "Out of sight was out of mind" when it came to me... not wanting to upset them and trying to imagine them running around the hospital room with Pat and the older five, I agreed...

My friend Laura poked her head in the room and I had to ask her and her family to come back after dinner as my kids would be there any minute and would be heartbroken if any other kids saw Baby Kate before they did...

Soon there after, Pat and the older kids arrived... it was so great to see them!!!  Each loved getting to see and hold their new baby sister... before we knew it, Laura and her family arrived and the room was packed!!!

I decided I needed to change Baby Kate's clothes so that we could take her photo in her Onesie Outfit I lovingly and obsessively created and her "Just Born" sticker... since I was confident Baby Kate would be born early and be tiny... which she was born at 39 weeks and 6 days AND 8 pounds 5 ounces... I bought the newborn sized onesies that fit up to 8 pounds... let's just say, she was not easily fitting into the outfit... before I knew it, bright red blood was squirting everywhere... since I had a room full of 8 kids (5 of mine and 3 of Laura's) I was wondering where the blood was coming from... was I hemorrhaging??? and from where???  What a relief when I discovered that I had pulled my IV out of my hand while trying to cram Baby Kate into this Onesie for a photo... honestly who else does this happen to???  Quickly, I turned off the IV and applied pressure to my hand... then called for the nurse... since Laura and her family have known me for 12+ years, we all had a good laugh about this...

Soon after the IV incident, everyone decided to call it a night and Baby Kate and I were alone again... knowing that I desperately needed sleep, I allowed Baby Kate to go to the nursery so I could sleep with the agreement that the nurse would bring her back if she was crying and for her feedings every 2-3 hours...

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I was still in a lot of pain and knew today was the day the nurse would remove the catheter, which would mean that I would have to make the painful walk to the bathroom with my box of epidural medication and tubing in my hands... not much fun!!!  In fact, I was dreading it...



In the morning, I called home and reminded the kids that I wanted them to each make a card with a picture of Baby Kate and write what they thought of her the first time they saw her...Mrs. Kathy came around 9 so Pat could go into the office until 12:30 or 1, then come home and work from home on the computer while the twins napped... Later in the afternoon, Pat brought Jack and Mary Christine up for a visit while Mom watched the other kids... It was great to see them, although I wished all of the older kids had decided to visit as well... Pat brought the cards the kids made, so that helped with my homesickness a bit... the cards were adorable and be forever cherished!!!  I proudly displayed the cards by the window and looked at them often during my stay!!! 

As much as I was loving my time alone with Baby Kate, I was also realizing it was probably the only time we would have alone, AND missing all of our other blessings... yes, an emotional mess in the  making...still brings tears to my eyes almost 4 weeks later... Since I chose not to watch TV, I also had time to reminisce about all of our blessings and their unique and individual journey to our family... I realized how quickly time was flying by, how much each of the children had grown, and how I really need to enjoy the stage where they are each and every day....

I was beginning to feel bloated and uncomfortable... starting to fear I was going to be constipated... 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

My epidural ran out of medication around 4 am, so the anesthesiologist on call decided to remove it when she stopped by for rounds around 6 am... I wish I would have asked her to SLOWLY remove the tape from my back... it hurt so badly that I literally cursed at her and asked how much skin did she remove... she lied and said none- just hair... well the mirror in the bathroom didn't lie... luckily, after the initial pain went away, the red spot did not cause additional pain...

I called home for my morning conversation with my family... the call didn't go well...

About mid morning, the newborn photographer came by and took the most amazing photos of Baby Kate as she remarked how alert she was during the entire photo shoot...

I called home again around 11:30 to check in with Mrs. Kathy and the kids... Mrs. Kathy sounded miserable... she had come down with the stomach flu I had the week before... the kids were out of control and she felt awful... Fearing Baby Kate would catch the flu as I had planned to come home the next day, I was furious that Pat had allowed Mrs. Kathy to stay and expose our entire home to the virus again... Luckily, Pat was on his way home to relieve her...

For the first time, I was literally in tears when the lactation consultant came in to help Baby Kate and I with breastfeeding... I explained the situation to her, my nurse, Baby Kate's nurse, and the pediatrician... all decided it would be best for us to stay until Saturday... my nurse asked for the kids to stay at home... my mom had previously offered to watch the kids so Pat could come up later, she was just as frustrated as I was with Pat's decision...Late in the afternoon, I finally answered Pat's phone call and told him the kids were not allowed to visit and that Baby Kate and I would not be coming home on Friday...

Around 2 pm, my cousin, Julie, and her husband stopped by to meet Baby Kate... they brought me the most amazing and yummy ice cream sundae complete with caramel, chocolate and pecans... it was gone in no time!!!  While they were visiting, Dr. Lackey, from the pediatrician's office stopped by and declared Baby Kate just perfect... which is always nice to hear!!!

After the epidural was removed, my itching also stopped!!! But, just as I feared... soon after I began the oral pain medication, nausea started... and the bloating continued and seemed to worsen, even after several doses of an anti gas tablet... after consulting with my nurse about this all day, late in the afternoon, we decided a suppository was the best option as I was miserable...

Once the suppository did it's job, I decided to take a much needed and desired shower... I also decided to follow the nurse's suggestion to take a walk and chose to walk to the nursery to get Baby Kate instead of having them bring her back to me... I did a couple of laps around the floor with Baby Kate riding in her bassinet, then went back to our room... once again, the nausea and bloating were getting the best of me and I decided to go to bed...

Friday, December 30, 2011

My emotions were all over the place as my hormones really started to fluctuate... I also continued to be nauseated and bloated... add the fact that I hadn't seen Sarah and Anna since Monday night; William, Patrick, and Lizzy since Tuesday night; and Jack and Beanie since Wednesday night; a perfect hormonal, emotional nightmare was brewing... I was supposed to have gone home on Friday, but realized I wasn't ready... neither was Baby Kate...

Even though I had worked with the lactation consultant each day, Baby Kate had a good latch on my breast, Baby Kate and I were "skin to skin" as much as humanly possible with her naked body (except her diaper) on my naked chest, and feedings every 2-3 hours which frequently turned into her being attached to my breast for hours at a time, my milk had yet to come in... and Baby Kate's birth weight more than 10%... I was told to breast feed her every feeding on both breasts, then pump 10 minutes after each feeding... I was also told they were going to call the pediatrician... I knew what this meant... we would have to supplement with formula... as Baby Kate's health was much more important than my desire to breast feed, I decided formula supplementation was best- even before hearing back from the doctor... having used the tube feeder attached to my breast before, I knew that was more stress than I could handle at the moment and that she had a strong latch on my breast,  I agreed to let her use a bottle with a slow flow nipple... we started out with supplementing .5 of an ounce and by the end of the day she was up to an ounce... the official news that the pediatrician said that Baby Kate was not to lose any more weight brought tears to my eyes and pain to my heart... I felt like my body just wasn't working right and was harming my precious baby... as I sobbed, I felt even more guilty that I was emotionally devastated over the fact that I had to feed her formula... that I was so upset and crying over this when I should be thrilled that she was healthy...

Mid afternoon, in spite of around the clock anti gas and nausea medicine, my bloating and nausea continued... my nurse and I decided that, as I had feared and previously discussed with the doctors, the oral narcotics/pain medication was making me nauseated... we decided to stop the oral prescription pain medication and just take the over the counter pain medication... in an attempt to get rid of some of the gas and bloating, I decided to go for another walk with Baby Kate in her bassinet...

After several laps around the floor, several nurses mentioned that I was getting a lot of exercise... it felt great to be moving and out of our room... plus I really wanted to get rid of the gas and bloating... my tummy was still huge and sounded like a drum when tapped on... one nurse looked directly at me and warned me that, "I better be careful... She would catch up with me later..."  That got me to hurry back into our room as quickly as possible... soon there after, it was time to pump and I couldn't get the hospital bed raised high enough so that I could hold Baby Kate in my lap while pumping... this brought me to tears... I was frustrated and angry... the lactation consultant and Baby Kate's nurse came to our room as I was sobbing... I explained the situation and what the scary nurse had warned... we decided she probably said "it", not "she", would catch up with me later- meaning that all of the walking would cause pains later... apparently the nurses only wanted me to walk once around the floor- just to get moving, not do several laps at a time- who would have thought that I would be the over achiever in laps??? The lactation consultant also shared stories of other new moms whose hormones got to them as well... which made me laugh... at least I wasn't crying over the dog food commercial...

Since I was still complaining about nausea, stomach pain, and bloating when the evening nurse came on at 7 pm, she decided to call the doctor and request a drug (Reglan?) that would help with all of the above AND increase breast milk... she finally got approval late in the evening and it seemed to help!!!  Finally my tummy was feeling better...

Since Baby Kate, Sarah, Anna, and Jack's baptism was in the morning, I decided to take another shower... the lactation consultant also thought the warm water may help my milk come in...

It was my last night to be in the hospital and I was physically and emotionally exhausted... I knew that once I was home, I'd be the one in charge of all of Baby Kate's needs and feedings... I decided I was going to have Baby Kate stay in the nursery other than for feedings and if she was upset so I could get some much needed rest... that was until I met her night nurse... the night nurse seemed really confused and a bit overwhelmed... I decided it would be best for me to keep Baby Kate with me during the night...

Saturday, December 31, 2011

I woke up feeling much better as the newest medication really seemed to be helping with my tummy- I was thrilled... I packed up our room and reminded the nurses that we needed to be discharged by 8 am... both my doctor and Baby Kate's had already filled out the discharge instructions, so the nurses on duty just needed to print it, review the information with us and get my signature... Mom went to our home to watch the kids and Pat arrived around 8... of course the entire process took longer than expected and we did not leave the room until almost 9 am...

Baby Kate smiled for the first time in the elevator... the lady pushing me asked if Baby Kate had siblings at home and Pat replied, "She has no idea what was waiting for her at home..."  I giggled and Baby Kate smiled as if to say I sure do and I can't wait to be home with my seven older siblings!!!

I did get the gal who wheeled Baby Kate and I out to take photos in front of the tree in the lobby... just as I had daydreamed about on the way in...

Much to Pat's and my delight, Baby Kate slept the entire way home...

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Favorite Photo EVER!!!!

I took this photo this afternoon of Baby Kate in her Baptismal Gown...



Here is another photo I like...

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Baby Kate's Recovery Room Visit

I was amazed and thrilled that Baby Kate and Pat came with me to the recovery room...  I was even more excited to get to hold her for the first time... and to get to nurse her... truly a dream come true!!!  When the nurse from the nursery came to get her for her newborn blood sugar level check and bath, I told her I wasn't ready to let her go and asked what my options were... I was thrilled that she actually accommodated my request and allowed me to hold her during her blood sugar check, repeated it when she failed, AND brought a syringe with a tiny tube attached to give formula to her as I held her to my breast so she could get her blood sugar level up to where it was supposed to be... then she bathed her at the foot of my bed so I could watch... I was so grateful to actually be a part of those experiences with Baby Kate!!!


Pat handled calling ViaCord to go over packaging information to ensure our Cord Blood and Tissue was ready for shipment and to arrange a carrier pick up...
 
Pat later told me that the details of our family were the talk of the recovery room as everyone asked if Baby Kate was our first and were surprised to learn she was our 8th blessing... Pat said one nurse asked if all were planned and he wasn't surehow to answer... I'm guessing that nurse wasn't familiar with the adoption process as I have yet to hear of an unplanned adoption...

As Baby Kate was wheeled in her bassinet and I was in my hospital bed out of the recovery room and towards our hospital room, Pat comment how strange it was to watch your baby and wife be wheeled in beds in front of you as he took this photo...

THREE Weeks AND

8 pounds and 10 OUNCES!!!! 

Baby Kate has regained her birth weight of 8 pounds 5 ounces plus 5 more ounces!!!

Since birth, Baby Kate is unable to completely fill her belly with milk directly from my breast, so I usually breast feed her until she falls asleep- which is usually 5-10 minutes into breast feeding on each breast, then supplement her with 3-4 ounces of expressed milk when I have some in the refrigerator, then pump to replenish my milk storage or if she is still sleeping, pump then feed her the milk just expressed from the bottle... usually, by her late evening feeding at 10-11 pm, I am out of stored milk and since formula stays in the tummy longer,  I feed her formula... Pat has been doing the evening feedings the past several nights....

The week of breast feeding, formula feeding and expressed breast milk feeding every 2-3 hours paid off with a 10 ounce gain... I was feeding her at 10-11 pm, then waking her about 2 pm and 5 pm during the night for more formula feedings... not to mention feeling like I was constantly bottle feeding or pumping in between... I thought I may lose my mind, did develop a clogged milk duct and did have a few "come aparts" as my Southern Friend, Alicia, would say... then on Tuesday morning, I accidentally slept through the 2 am feeding, waking at 4 am... guess what... Baby Kate was still alive, well AND sleeping, so I woke up, made a 3-4 ounce bottle and filled up that sleeping tummy...


She is doing a GREAT job of holding her head up, which she has literally been working on since birth and continues to be a very alert baby, almost constantly making eye contact... she also makes a lot more noises at night and definitely has more gas with tummy problems at night... I can always tell when her tummy hurts because she cries out in the most heart breaking cry right before she pulls her knees up to her chest and poops or gases... this of course breaks my heart!!!  I've started putting infant gas drops in her evening bottles to help out with this... I make her formula bottles for her 10-11 pm feeding, with the gas drops, and her middle of the night feeding as well... this seems to have helped...

Just since yesterday, I have been allowing her to make a noise without jumping up to check on her and then trying to shove her binky in her mouth for comfort... clearly she makes noises and can soothe herself without my interference... I think this is allowing her to get more rest... It certainly is allowing my nerves to relax, just a bit..

Monday, January 16, 2012

Baby Kate's Second Week



We started out with a visit to the pediatrician for her two week check up... Baby Kate weighed 8 pounds 5.8 ounces at birth... since my breast milk did not come in while we were at the hospital, her discharge weight, four days after birth, was 7 pounds 5 ounces... our pediatrician warned that she was NOT to lose more weight and I needed to begin supplementing with formula immediately... At her two week check up, she was up to 8 pounds... I was told to continue nursing, pumping breast milk, and supplementing with formula, then return the next Tuesday for a weight check when Baby Kate should be back to her birth weight or above... other than her weight, she was perfect!!!

We started out the week with feeding her 2-3 ounces every 2-3 hours... when I was able to sit down, I'd breast feed first, then pump and feed what I pumped and supplement with formula as needed... on Thursday, I increased her feedings 3-4 ounces every 2-3 hours... in the middle of the night, I'd pump if I had enough energy, and feed formula the other times... I would wake her for her feedings twice a night, usually 3 hours apart...

Aunt Bev stayed with us until Friday morning, primarily helping out with the twins, getting the Middles to the bus in the morning so I could sleep in, and getting dinner ready and cleaned up... My favorite part, other than sleeping in was the nightly back massages as she is a professional masseuse... several were with Baby Kate at my side and then two full body massages when Daddy was holding Baby Kate... I literally burst into tears when Pat was taking her to the airport on Friday morning...

Friday was the first day that I was home alone with the twins and Baby Kate...much to my relief, it went much better than I feared...

Instead of resting when Baby Kate is resting, I have been busy trying to play catch up with the laundry, dishes, email, photos, blog posts, etc... by Saturday, the sleep deprivation began to set in... by Sunday, I woke up with an extremely sore left breast which I think was a clogged milk duct, aches, pains, and feeling yucky... I slept most of the day, pumping what seemed like constantly, and taking pain reliever for the first time since leaving the hospital...

Pat was planning on going into the office for Martin Luther King Day, but decided he better stay home as all of the kids were off school... I'm thrilled he decided to do so as it was nice to have a day with everyone at home!!!

I'm looking forward to Baby Kate's weight check in the morning...

Thursday, January 12, 2012

This Little Piggy...

drank FOUR OUNCES at her noon feeding on January 12, 2012...just 16 days old... first I pumped two ounces, then gave her one ounce of formula which I added vitamins to, then she STILL seemed hungry, so I gave her another ounce of formula... almost immediately she fell asleep while I was trying to burp her... she has been very soundly sleeping for about 2.5 hours now...

Monday, January 9, 2012

Baby Kate's Birth Story

Baby Kate's delivery was quite an intimate group, with only our doctor, Dr. Bartlesmeyer, the Resident Obstetrician on duty, a nurse or two, the anesthesiologist, and nurse for Baby Kate...

It seemed like forever before Pat was allowed into the operating room... finally he was told to come in and soon there after Dr. Bartlesmeyer began surgery... Pat was videotaping with the camera around his neck... he looked so cute!!! We decided we really only wanted to video the birth and events afterward, so Pat focused the camera on me for what seemed like an eternity!!!  I'm hoping I asked him to film the room, but can't remember for sure...  It seemed like it was taking forever for Dr. Bartlesmeyer to announce "Uterus" which we were told is code for start filming, the baby will arrive next... I asked if everything was OK as the anesthesiologist had previously told me that she should be born about 15 minutes after entering the OR... Dr. Bartlesmeyer told me there was a lot of scar tissue from Sarah and Anna's birth that he had to remove and all was fine... finally I heard him declare, "UTERUS" and knew we were moments away from Baby Kate making her appearance!!!!


Pat turned the video camera away from me and began to tape over the blue curtain... I was super excited as I waited to hear Baby Kate's first cry... seems like I was waiting for an eternity... I could feel a lot of pushing and tugging which didn't hurt but felt strange... I didn't care about myself, just my Precious Princess... I could tell by the way Pat was clenching his teeth and grimacing that something was wrong... I felt so helpless and alone... I was so scared... The anesthesiologist told me that if it felt like the doctor was literally laying on my stomach, it was because he was... a nurse shouted out that she had lots of hair, another person announced that she was bigger than they thought as Dr. B had just predicted that she would weigh about 7 pounds 4 ounces... I was guessing 8 pounds 4-5 ounces... time moved so slowly as I continued to feel helpless and alone... I desperately wanted to hep but knew there was nothing I could do or say... I heard a machine turn on and visualized it was helping empty her huge bag of water... finally, I heard her cry... what a wonderful sound... I didn't care what she looked like, all I cared about was that she was safe and healthy... Pat later shared that the doctors had a difficult time getting her out... upon reviewing the video, her sweet head was out of my body while the doctor tried to get her body out... a lot of the video is blocked by someones back as they were pushing on my belly... the machine looked like and sounded like a circular hair dryer... since Baby Kate was born with a hematoma on the top of her head and a small cone head, I'm guessing it was a vacuum they used to get her out even though she was head down and near but not in the birth canal... I plan to ask the doctor about this at my 6 week check up...


I think the nurse gave me a quick glance at Baby Kate before moving her to the warming bassinet for assessment... I was beyond thrilled to hear that she looked great and that her Apgar scores were 9 and 9... although her birth was slightly traumatic, she was thriving!!!! What more could I ask for?


Pat and I anxiously waited for Baby Kate to be weighed... we were stunned to see the scale register a whopping 8 pounds 5.8 ounces!!!


Dr. Bartlesmeyer shared that Baby Kate's umbilical cord was short, which was fine for her development, but not good for our collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells and tissue which we planned to privately bank with Via Cord... I asked him to please do his best and save whatever he could... I think they even called in more support for this as I heard another male voice from behind the curtain... soon after, Dr. B announced that he thought they were able to collect enough to be processed...


The nurse handed Baby Kate all cleaned up and swaddled to Pat... It was beyond amazing to watch him hold her for the first time... we took a few photos then I was wheeled to recovery while Pat carried Baby Kate...

Friday, January 6, 2012

Baby Kate's Pre Birth Story

I slept pretty well and awoke to the first snowfall of the season around 6 am... It was a beautiful 1-2 dusting that covered the trees... I was confident that this was a good sign of things to come that morning...  Pat said he had awoken around 5:30 due to his excitement about Baby Kate's birth.  I piddled around, wasting time as I do when I am nervous, blogging to Baby Kate and gathering a few needed items...


Mom arrived around 6:45 and I finally headed downstairs... soon, one by one, all of the 5 big kids came down... I decided it was a great time to do a final photo shoot... just Baby Kate and Me; Pat, Baby Kate and Me; The kids, Baby Kate and Me; and Mom, Baby Kate and Me...

Before I knew it, it was 7:15- the time we were told to arrive at the hospital... after another round of hugs, we were out the door... then I decided I needed a few photos of Baby Kate and Me in front of our home, in the snow... luckily Pat has learned to be patient and that it is faster to follow through on my requests than to argue, then follow through...

Pat had been warming up the car for a LONG time, which he knows drives me crazy because it wastes gas and I know that he does it to get me to move faster... finally we climb in... and I realize I forgot my purse, which has my photo id and insurance card in it... back inside Pat goes...

On the way to the hospital we hardly talk and occasionally hold hands... once there, Pat insists on opening the car door and helping me inside to a wheel chair, then he goes to park the car... this gives me a moment to reflect on the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the lobby... I really was to pose in front of it, but know we are out of time... I settle for a photo of Pat entering the hospital and hope to get a photo of Baby Kate and I in front of the tree as we are safely heading home...

Since Pat and I had been to the Woman's Evaluation Unit (which is across the hall from Labor and Delivery) just 5 days earlier for dehydration from the stomach flu, we knew just where to go...

Since this was a scheduled C Section which I was preregistered for and had completed the blood work for the day before, we were escorted to our awaiting room from the Labor and Delivery front desk... I was more excited than nervous at this point...

Once alone, we begin our usual belly photo shoot before I put on the gown... I also had time to grab a set of paper hats and booties for the Middle Peeps (Lizzy, Jack, and Mary C.) to play dress up with later... then the nurses came in to review my health history and start my IV...since I am well hydrated, the IV only took one try...

The nurses left and soon after the doctor who I met during my anesthesia consult the day before came in... I confirmed that he DID get to go home and sleep between our consult 19 hours earlier... he said he got off at 5 pm and did get some sleep... I was relieved to see him as I liked his personality the day before... the only part of the epidural that hurt was the part that he said would sting like a bee- and boy did it!!!!  This time I insisted Pat stay in front of me as I was VERY nervous!!!!  Briefly, I did have the "side effect" of a tingle or shock feeling running down my right side and leg... not really painful, just creepy and scary... Soon after the numbing medication was added, I began having my blood pressure drop and I would begin to feel nauseous... At one point, I pulled my numb lower half on my left side and rested on the bars holding me in bed... Soon I realized I would have a fuzzy feeling in my numb legs each time my pressure began to drop, so I was able to warn the anesthesiologist and he would watch the monitors then inject medication into my IV and I would feel much better within 30 seconds...

Before I knew it, the time for Pat to get dressed in his scrubs had come...

Then the nurses appeared and it was time to go to the Operating Room... They had Pat sit outside the room until the blue curtain was up...