more pics of Zoe

Here are some more pics of baby Zoe. Hopefully these come across better than the others we've taken, which are a bit dark. We're all still doing well. Zoe continues to eat like a little piglet, though it is very hard to relax about her intake. I'm nursing and therefore don't know exactly how much she eats so I (like every other nursing mother) have to take my cues from her. This is a total switch from Rhys, whose every cc was written down (literally) for the first six months he was home so we could keep track of how much he was (or wasn't) eating. Zoe hasn't gained any weight, but she hasn't lost any either. We weighed her last night and she is the same weight she was the day before we were discharged. I know it takes a bit before babies gain back to their birth weight, and as I said I know she isn't hungry I just don't know exactly how much she's eating.

getting hungry

checking out my Daddy

sleeping through all Big Brother's noise

courtesy of Cody... I threw this in for fun

smitten

We are in love with our baby girl. If you are one of the lucky and experience "normal" pregnancies I can not adequately describe to you the feeling of living week to week, for 36 weeks, hoping your body will allow your baby to make it where Zoe did. But somehow we got our wished-for ending. She came out protesting, pink and healthy, and after a small problem of low blood sugar was able to come home with us like a regular newborn. Zoe is a new normal for us and despite the lack of sleep we're loving it.

Zoe loves to be swaddled. And eat - she is a little porker! She is sleeping extremely well right now, mostly in the Boppy lounger, waking every 2-4 hours to eat. She hated her first bath last night. She has quite a set of lungs for being so tiny. It is strange for me to say she's tiny when Rhys was 1lb 7oz at birth, but it's true. But then again, nearly everything with her is completely opposite from our experience with Rhys so far. The pedi checked her out before before discharge and was happy, so we'll bring her back in another week or so for a checkup.

According to my OB everything went well with my surgery and my uterus looked great. Very funny that he seemed to be patting himself on the back for a job well done with my prior classical incision. Seems odd now that I was able to ask him "how does my uterus look?" while lying on the OR table. The scar tissue is there and visible but looked as he hoped so he was able to do a regular c-section cut this time. Great news!

Rhys has been a little stinker the last few days. I think partly because Cody and I were gone for several days, but also because he has a new noise-maker that has invaded his house. He will smile at Zoe but doesn't want to get too close yet. He has been whining a lot more than normal and very little makes him happy. Ugh! He knows something is up so I guess my predictions that he will know no difference weren't accurate!

Zoe update

Little miss Zoe was released from the NICU yesterday morning. She only ended up needing the IV for a few hours and then was a "normal" baby Tuesday night while they monitored her (sans IV) to make sure all was really well. After lunch yesterday she was brought to our room and we had her all afternoon. Cody and I chose to send her back to the nursery last night so we could get some much needed sleep. And here she is with us again, bright and early this morning. She is such a cutie pie. But I'm not biased or anything. :) Zoe is eating like a champ. Cody and I really have no idea what to do with a newborn since Rhys was more than five month old when he came home and already had a host of quirks we were well aware of. She's a little bitty thing, but has quite a bit of chub on her for being less than 6 pounds. She really seems to love her paci as well and does quite a good job of keeping it in her mouth all on her own.

Recovery hasn't been too bad so far. As soon as I got up yesterday morning I started to feel the soreness set in. By yesterday afternoon I could barely get out of bed without wincing. Luckily the pain isn't severe and is easily controlled with meds. Though I have had some serious cramping that I do not remember from last time. Oddly enough the cramping is also making my shoulder hurt pretty badly, which my OB says is not uncommon.

Rhys came to visit us yesterday, though it was before Zoe was brought to our room so he hasn't met his little sister yet. While Rhys was here Cody brought him up to the NICU to say hello to all his old friends.

Hopefully we'll be discharged tomorrow and can get settled in at home. I am desperately wanting to sleep in my own bed and I know Cody is ready to get out of here too. We'll post more pics as soon as we can take some more good ones!

she's here!

Meet Zoe Elizabeth... Born at 1:12 p.m. this afternoon, weighing 5lb 13oz and measuring 17 1/4" long. Sorry for the delay in posting. We were late getting into the OR and then ended up being in recovery for several hours waiting on my room to be cleaned. But, I digress... :)


Immediately after delivery Zoe was assessed by the NICU team and was doing great, despite a few noises she was making when breathing. She came into recovery with us and was then taken to the nursery to get cleaned up and allow her to "transition". The glucose test revealed she had a low blood sugar so she was given a bit of formula and retested. Her levels came up but then went back down fairly quickly so she was wheeled into recovery to see us before heading to the NICU for a glucose IV. Once in the NICU it was noted her O2 saturation was great, but her breathing was a bit fast. They told us this was probably due to her method of delivery. Cody has been to see her several times today and as of late this afternoon her breathing is normal and her blood sugar is responding to their "treatment".


Even though I've gotten a fair amount of time with her today I am anxious for tomorrow morning when I will be able to get out of bed and go see her. So far I am feeling great. Much different from my last delivery. My legs are no longer numb and my incision is a bit tender but I haven't had much discomfort so far. We want to thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We will definitely keep updates posted as we find out more about Zoe tomorrow.

March for Babies update

As of today Team Rhys and Bentley has raised nearly $1,200 for March of Dimes! That is amazing!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. And if you haven't gotten around to it yet there are still six weeks left to sign up to walk with us. All you need to do is click on the banner to the right of our blog and add your name. We'd love to have you all!

Just so you know, you are donating and walking for kids like this....

...who, without March of Dimes research, would not have the opportunity at a healthy life.

In Little Sister news, I had my final peri scan today. "Little" might not be an appropriate description if her weight estimate is correct. The peri is estimating little miss to weigh 6lbs 2oz. Wow! Of course that is plus/minus one pound. But even if she is weighing only 5lbs right now, she will be well over that by delivery next week. We are thrilled! As a side note, Little Sister was absolutely not cooperating today and gave the u/s tech a very hard time. Her face stayed buried against my side near my pelvic bone the entire time, while her legs remained crossed as though she was sitting on the ground. There was no amount of shaking and prodding that would convince her to move. I'm thinking that might be an indication of things to come. :)

t minus one week

Today was my last OB appointment. What?! I can't describe the feeling of getting this far and having a planned delivery! Instead of counting by weeks, we are now counting down by days! My cervix is still closed but Little Sister is very low (my OB could feel her when he checked my cervix). I'm having slightly increased contractions but they are still random and well within my threshold. Most of the time I think it is baby movement I'm feeling because I can feel her ball up on one side or the other while the rest of my uterus remains soft. I also can feel her punching down on my cervix at times and my inner thigh muscles are incredibly sore. Not sure if that is related, but I suppose it could be.

So, what does this mean? She's definitely coming out at 36 weeks! I have one last peri appointment later this week to get a pre-op scan and final weight/anatomy scan. We're really hoping Little Sister is at least 5 pounds, but given her prior estimated weight gain this shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully she wont need any time in the NICU, but if she does we are prepared. One of Rhys's "old" primary nurses is going to attend the delivery and I know she'll give her the VIP treatment if Little Sister needs any help.

Rhys has recently started having separation anxiety. What timing! Not only that, but his little attitude is really getting bad. Used to when he would fuss he was easily appeased - hand him a toy, switch his position, talk to him or make funny faces. That isn't really the case any more. He is acting like he knows what he wants and he'll keep whining until you figure it out. I think part of the problem is that his cognition is more advanced than his motor skills and he is getting really frustrated when he can't move like he'd like to. I've said it before, but I am really hoping this incredible frustration will make him so mad he pushes his limits.