[mnm000]

Good luck today J!!!! You did an awesome job carrying your babies this long! I'm sure you are so thrilled to be meeting them soon! Enjoy, and I can't wait to hear all about it!

[amybeth]

Anyone hear from J or Viki today? Viki posted in the middle of the night, but I'm wondering if she went back to the hospital given that her Dr said that she'd be delivering in the next day or so!

My appointment went well today. My NST results were great. The little guy was the most active today that he has been for any of the other NSTs! I also had a doozy of a contraction while on the monitor, which my Dr asked me about too. It didn't hurt with the exception of the fact that my fibroid was digging into my right ribs and the munchkin's foot was digging into my left ribs! In being hooked up to the machine, I wasn't able to really move to get more comfy so it made the contraction super tough. My Dr said that unless the contractions get more regular and painful, that I just stick it out at home until our scheduled c-section on Monday! Otherwise I go into L&D and they'll do the c-section then instead.

Praying that the little guy stays put for 6 more days as I really like the two Dr's that are scheduled to do my surgery on Monday!!! They are my two favorite in the practice!!! That plus I know the longer he can stay inside, the better it is for him!

[houmasue]

Sydney! Congratulations Scarlett!

Mary Kay – I know exactly how you feel. Valerie is the exact same way except she is fussy all day long. The only time she sleeps in when she is in my or my DH’s arms and sometimes when she is in her carseat. I brought her to the pediatrician for her reflux and they put her on Zantac but I don’t think it is helping. My DH is talking about bringing her to a specialist in New Orleans because someone he knows just had a baby a week before us and his baby has reflux and this Dr was able to help. Are you BF’ing or bottle feeding? The pediatrician says that bottle feeding makes reflux worse. Also, I have heard that if you put a little cereal in the baby’s formula it helps. I am BF’ing so I haven’t tried it.

Viki – Good luck!!!! I hope you have an easy delivery.
Good Luck today J!!!

AFM and Valerie – She is still very fussy and can be quite inconsolable at times. DH has been great at helping me out with her when he is home but unfortunately he has to work.
How many of you are returning back to work soon? I have 2 weeks left of maternity leave and it’s back to work for me. I have yet to be able to pump any milk to store for Valerie to drink at the baby sitter because she has to be held in an upright position for 15 – 20 minutes after she eats. Also, I am really not looking forward to going back to work and having to leave her.

[hopefulmama]

Good Luck J!!!

Amy I'm so glad you're having your rest time. Enjoy! I'm glad your appt went well. I'll cross my fingers that you make it until Monday - can't believe your date is that close!

Mary Kay Thanks for asking. I was wondering about you and Angela too. I'm feeling a little better - I have ups and downs too. I know what you mean - two of me in one house would be difficult. It's great that we have dh's that balance us out. I hope they tell you that prozac would be fine. I get so worried taking medications - I keep worrying that if I got preg on my own (unlikely) and was taking certain meds that something could happen to the baby. This is partly due to my anxiety issues and partly b/c of my son who passed away (I was taking BP meds that the Drs say should have been OK but I'm not 100% convinced). As far as reflux goes, my younger ds had reflux and it was tough. The pain cry was tough to hear and he was not a great sleeper so that was tough too. Plus, he spit up continuously. It did get better - they gave him some medication (an acid reducer) and at some point they told me to add cereal to his bottle and this helped alot (it gave more weight to the formula and helped him to keep it down). I do agree with Sue though that bfing is supposed to be better for reflux and I thought you were bfing so that's good. He was 7 or 8 months old when I really felt he kept liquids down well (I know that sounds far away right now but he got better gradually so even when he was younger than 7 or 8 months it was getting better and better) - he had issues with solids for a while but that also got better with time. Poor kid also had reactive airways disease and was sick alot - the Drs think this might have been partially due to breathing in his spit up (he didn't always spit up completely). BTW THe bunny ears pics are adorable.

Angela I'm glad your day improved. I know what you mean about the mommy guilt. I'm having the same feelings regarding my older ds's. They are close in age (have similar needs and interests) so I haven't had to really split myself too much as far as they go but now with the baby here I'm feeling pulled in 2 directions.

Jen I'm so glad that your babies are doing well. The 27th is getting closer and closer - not too long now!!

Deanna Gosh that sounds tough with dh being away so often. My dh went on several trips while I was pregnant - I can't even imagine him going away right now.

Sue Oh wow it sounds like Valerie is really uncomfortable. Hang in there. Like I said to Mary Kay it gets better. I'm sure you know that but sometimes it helps to hear it again.

AFM and Emma we are doing well. She is an easy baby. I'm still pretty tired though. Today my ds's went back to school so it was back to a somewhat regular routine though dh is helping out more. Overall the day went well - even got a short nap in between homework and feeding Emma!

[bq122]

Quick Question because now that I signed on and finished reading John John is getting up...ugghh I'll catch up as soon as I feed him.
But I noticed some of you mentioned cereal in the bottle. I remember that when my son was about 6 weeks he had the reflux bad and I had to bring him to the gastro dr. and he made me get this..SPOON FEED HIM. Can you imagine spoon feeding a 6 week old. It takes forever and its very messy..
But if you can Do you guys remember whether it was oatmeal or rice that goes first.
Thanks...BBL.....
uugghh now Billy's demanding something...LOL..
Boys.....

[Spaitts]

Wow, the days really fly by when you have a newborn, don't they??! I've been meaning to update everyone on Felix' birth story, but it's just been hectic around here. Fortunately, everyone is doing well; I'm recovering nicely from the c-section, and he is doing awesome with the breastfeeding, so that's such a relief.

As I mentioned, labor ended up being a long and drawn out affair for me. It started last Friday night at home around 2.45 AM, and contrary to what it said in all my pregnancy books, the contractions did not start out 20-30 minutes apart, but more like every 7-8 minutes. Man, that was rough, cuz there was just no break. The worst was that I had intense back labor, and that was something I was just not prepared for - the pain really was excruciating. We got to the hospital around 12.30 PM, and by then I was only 3 cm, but it was enough to get me admitted. They offered me the epidural right away, but DH and I had decided that I would try to hold out as long as possible to avoid the very common scenario where labor slows down after you have the epidural and then they need to give you pitocin. Instead, I opted for fentanyl which, I have to say, was a great drug. It took the edge off, so I could still feel the contractions, but they were manageable. I got to 5 cm within a few hours, and then the nurse told me that the anestisiologist had a c-section, so I had to decide whether I wanted the epidural immediate or wait. I decided to wait and opted for another round of fentanyl. However, it does not work as well the second time around, so by the time the anestisiologist came, I was screaming for relief! It was pain like I have never experienced before -- I know it's such a cliche, but it really was out of this world painful, especially in my back. DH later told me I was screaming "I don't want to do this anymore!", LOL! Once the epidural was in though it was smooth sailing until I was fully dilated; at 7 cm the OB broke my water to get the little guy moving, because he just wasn't moving down the birth canal at all.

Once they told me to start pushing, he still wasn't moving, and that's when we had a rather scary moment where his heart rate dropped to the low 90s, and the doctor started talking about an emergency c-section. However, he recovered, and then I ended up pushing for 2 hours, but to no avail. At that point the doctor was getting worried, cuz she couldn't figure out how he was presenting - she was worried he had his brow first, and that made her not want to suction him out. Ultimately, after almost 20 hours of labor she recommended the c-section, and by then I just wanted to get the little guy out.

The c-section itself was fine; I was so drugged up and tired by then, but DH got to cut the cord when Felix finally came out. It was really good that we decided to do the c-section, cuz he was both "sunny side up" and sort of on the diagonal, and there was no way he would have made it out vaginally. Unfortunately, he had swallowed some meconium and was not breathing properly, so they took him to the NICU. I only got to see him for 30 seconds, and that was hard. DH went with him, but it was really scary not to know what was happening to your baby for the longest time. Finally after 3 hours they brought him to my room and I got to hold him for the first time. He was just SO CUTE!!! And worth every painful contraction for sure.

But the drama, of course, didn't end there, because the next day they came and took him back to the NICU because of low blood sugar. I wasn't allowed to go with him which was super super hard -- I cried and cried, cuz I just wanted to be with my baby. Fortunately, once again DH was there with him, and later in the day I talked the nurse into letting me go over there in a wheelchair. It was really hard to feel like you just didn't get to bond with your baby. He was in the NICU the second time a little over 24 hours, and then we finally got to have him in our room. On Tuesday his sugar levels dropped again (and I totally lost my s*** and yelled at the nurses!), but they managed to get him back on track with some formula and colostrum that I had pumped.

So we definitely had some rough days in the hospital for sure. Seeing him in the NICU was one of the hardest things ever, and he wasn't even premature or had any of the problems a lot of kids who end up there have, but still - as a new mom it's just heartbreaking. I really feel for all you moms who've had to go through that.

On a happier note, though, Felix had already gained back 4 oz at his first check up two days after discharge, and he's eating like crazy, so this should all be behind us now.

Here are a couple of pictures of when I got to hold Felix for the first time

Felix compressed.jpgMom Felix Compressed.jpg

[amybeth]

Aw Mette! Felix is adorable and you look great in the photo too! What a crazy birth story and an experience I'm sure you'll never forget!

I'm glad the little guy is doing so well though!

[BabyOBabyIWantABaby]

Mette-Felix is a cutie
I was J's buddy but have not heard from her.Hopefully all is well!

[amybeth]

TMI Warning...

I just went to the bathroom for the gazillionth time in the last few hours, and there was a big glob of dark brown/burgandy mucus on the TP. Did I just lose (or start to lose) my mucus plug or is this the start of something more like a bloody show? I don't know what either looks or feels like. Am I going to make it until Monday?!?!?

I told DH cuz I am a bit nervous. He asked if everything else was ok and it is. I'm a bit crampy, but nothing more than I've had the last few days. My contractions aren't regular or too close together either. I had my OB appointment today but she didn't do an exam... just the NST, so it's not like it was just irritation from that.

[BabyOBabyIWantABaby]

Originally Posted by amybeth

TMI Warning...

I just went to the bathroom for the gazillionth time in the last few hours, and there was a big glob of dark brown/burgandy mucus on the TP. Did I just lose (or start to lose) my mucus plug or is this the start of something more like a bloody show? I don't know what either looks or feels like. Am I going to make it until Monday?!?!?

I told DH cuz I am a bit nervous. He asked if everything else was ok and it is. I'm a bit crampy, but nothing more than I've had the last few days. My contractions aren't regular or too close together either. I had my OB appointment today but she didn't do an exam... just the NST, so it's not like it was just irritation from that.

I'm not sure but it sounds like a good sign !
Keep us updated!

[hopefulmama]

Originally Posted by bq122

Quick Question because now that I signed on and finished reading John John is getting up...ugghh I'll catch up as soon as I feed him.
But I noticed some of you mentioned cereal in the bottle. I remember that when my son was about 6 weeks he had the reflux bad and I had to bring him to the gastro dr. and he made me get this..SPOON FEED HIM. Can you imagine spoon feeding a 6 week old. It takes forever and its very messy..
But if you can Do you guys remember whether it was oatmeal or rice that goes first.
Thanks...BBL.....
uugghh now Billy's demanding something...LOL..
Boys.....

rice cereal goes first

[bq122]

Mette - Thanks for the story..You def. went thru alot to bring that handsome boy into this world. He is so cute. He looks like a little man.

Amy - OMG.. sounds like it could be the start of something. Def. keep us posted.

Audra - Thank you..

[hopefulmama]

Amy sounds like the mucous plug. Doesn't necessarily mean you'll go into labor right way though - could even be a few days. That's what the Dr told a friend os mine though she ended up going into labor several hours after losing her mucous plug.

Mette Felix is adorable! Love the blonde hair! I'm glad he's doing so well - def scary what you went through with him.

[amybeth]

Update on me... nothing exciting to report. I slept horribly last night. I kept tossing and turning thinking something was wrong. No more mucus or bleeding of any sorts since the one time last night. We'll see how today goes.

DH had a tummy-chat with the little one last night and told him to stay put until Monday. I wonder how well he'll listen to his Daddy!!!

[cali_girl_in_sweden]

Hi girls!

Can't even believe that I found time to stop in for a sec. We are finally home now and trying to find our feet. I have not read the forum so have no clue as to who else has delivered and what not. I would be lying if I said I would be able to catch up. Maybe someone who hasn't delivered and has a couple of minutes can just write a little list updating me so I can fix the regular update list?

A bit overwhelmed right now but very happy. I'll have to come back and post Sydney's birth story ...

Good luck ladies and I hope to come back tomorrow and see if the list can be fixed .

Hugs