PAK- pumping at keyboard! 😉
Thankfully this evening’s visit was a terrific one! Our favorite nurse was on duty and Kayley was doing well. She was at 32% oxygen this morning (21% is room air), 28% when we got there this evening and it was turned down to 25% while we were there and it didn’t phase her one bit. It’d be even better if she was ready for less pressure but I’ll take less oxygen for now. Her breathing was slower too so we had a happy visit. I didn’t ask to hold her but I got to do simple things like change her diaper, take her temperature, hold her up while they zeroed out the scale (the bed she is in does amazing things!), hold her feeding tube as the breastmilk moved down the tube and then I spent a lot of time just holding her pacifier in her mouth since she was awake and rooting around. She loves to suck- it is really comforting to her. We spent 10 minutes getting her positioned *just so* so her hand was holding her pacifier in her mouth before she drifted off to sleep and we left. It was peaceful.
She is taking 30cc breastmilk/formula every 3 hours and on this she gained weight today- yay! She weighed 6 lb 9 oz last night and 6 lb 11 oz tonight. I pump 8x a day and I don’t quite make what she takes yet but I often come close- today I pumped 27 cc’s twice and 26 once… very close! If she stays at 30 cc’s tomorrow I just might overtake her, haha. Gives me a challenge! I am pumping now and it looks like a good one!
Trend for her is to have great evening and poor mornings though so we kind of grimace as we walk in there for the first time every day. Fingers crossed that tomorrow she will tolerste less pressure with the c-pap and maybe she’ll wean off of it by the following day. I can hope. I really want to hold her without gloves or headgear- neither which has happened yet. And to breastfeed her would be so wonderful! She has to maintain slow breathing so that she can breath and suck and not be at risk for inhaling the milk.
ETA: I pumped 43 cc’s!!! Holy cow… mooo! LOL.
3 and a half days old…

Kayley is Bee-utiful!!! Not a birthmark on her from what I can tell and has a fair good amount of dark hair. She was born breech! She peed and pooped before her head was delivered- haha!
Unfortunately even though I am now home, she is not. She has been in the NICU since leaving the OR. She has lung issues (collapsing, air leaks, rapid breathing, etc.) AND a mystery infection where tests indicate infection of some sort but cultures so far have come back negative so we don’t have any idea what kind or where. She has been on antibiotics since day 1 but this test result = a minimum 7 day NICU stay. We wonder whether her lung issues or her infection will clear up first. Sigh.
It was so hard to leave her there. It is hard to not hold her- I have only 2x and both times she was asleep and had breathing gear on (specifically c-pap). Sometimes she is agitated and we really can’t touch her. Sometimes she is doing well and looks right at me while I talk to her.
Hard also to pump pump pump. I’ve never breastfed her and I wonder if the transition will be soon and be smooth or not… I am pumping fairly well though I never seem to be quite what she is eating. She takes all her feeds by a tiny tube that goes down her mouth and into her stomach. It is kinda cool because they can pull whatever is left in her stomach out again later and look at it- to see if she digested it and more. Haha.
Amazingly, Miss Kayley is a tiny peanut. She started out 7-1 and now is down to 6-9. She is just precious and I hope the next few days are mostly good progress and few setbacks.
Kayley just born…

1 day old…

2 days old…

Eeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppp!!!!!!

Official weight gain… 10 lbs. Largely influenced by the fact that my swelling is almost nonexistent right now. I have no idea why this time was different. With Andy my ankles flowed over my socks, lol, and I gained 6 lbs in the last week alone. A definite difference from my typical 25 pounds but I’m not complaining!
Blood pressure higher… 130/90 and +1 for protein again. I think that would have gotten a 24 hour jug o’ pee test if it wasn’t for the imminent delivery.
I had a NST and she passed with flying colors. Wish I could make her move like she did when I’m worried about it.
Tick tock… I’ll be in the hospital in less than 60 hours! It’s nearly showtime!

The Baby Expo was today. This is the end result of 4 hours of walking… minus all the papers and booklets to read. Just the loot! OMG I’m tired!!! LOL. Click it.

Everything still okay. B/P still in that almost high but normal for me range. +1 protein in my urine. I gained back the pound I lost last week- total of 10. I now measure 41 weeks!!!
The exciting news is that my c-section has been moved to next Friday!!! 10 days!!! I can’t wait to hold and love on her!!
36w6d…

I saw the nurse AGAIN since my OB was at yet another emergency c-section. I found out I don’t have to do the Group Beta Strep but I also won’t be checked for dilation… so if I go into labor on my own it’ll be a surprise! Measuring 39 weeks- so only up one in 2 weeks, thank goodness. Lost a pound (yeah… nausea strikes again- after breakfast and lunch, anyway…) for a total of 9. Heartbeat fine, another trace of protein in my urine. B/P a little high… something like 128/88… but pretty normal for me.
No swelling but my hands and feet feel tight now. My hips killed me last night… we’ll see if that continues.
2 more appts to go! 20 days!

Gained 3 pounds- total of 10. Trace of protein (4th time in a row!), slightly high b/p. Had a huge contraction as I was walking to the exam room. I had the nurse laughing at me. Those suckers are hard to walk through! I told the OB that this is the appt that she tells me I’m gonna have a BIG baby… she said “Yup! You are!” Baby measures 38 weeks… so I grew 4.5 weeks worth in 2 weeks. Gonna be another big one. And I have more than a month to go…
I don’t know why but my OB keeps getting called to a delivery as I’m in the exam room waiting for her… haha. I’ve seen her only once in the 3 appts prior to today. I could hear her on the phone in the hall telling the person on the other end “I have just one quick OB that I *have* to see… tell her not to push!!”
Baby is transverse with her back along my ribs. Uterus can grow no higher… it’s all out from here! LOL.

We had a wonderful lasagna and Garfield filled party! 😀

My Birthday boy!!!

YUM! The first time I ever made orange flavored frosting!

I just love their new Garfield shirts!!!

We went to park day today and a friend who I haven’t seen in aboout 2 years was there. I was sitting at a picnic table and she came right up and we had a great conversation. Then she tells me I must’ve lost some serious weight, yadda yadda. I laughed and said that was really funny since I’m 8 months pregnant. She gives me the odd eye and says “NO WAY!!” So I stood up and showed her my belly and we had a really good laugh about it. There was no way she could’ve seen my belly and apparently my face is a lot thinner than it used to be.
It’s been such a long time since we dieted… I’d kind of forgotten, lol. I’ve felt good all day. 😆
Very ironicly, I have gained more weight in the last 2 weeks than I had all pregnancy til now. I was up 3 pounds and now I’m up 4 more. Hahahahaha. Otherwise it was a good appt. My b/p is low again. I’ve had trace protein in my urine for the last 3 visits but I think that’s ok. I’m measuring 33.5 weeks… so 1.5 weeks ahead. Still ok I think. My feet are almost healed from the sunburn (yeah, I sunburned the tops of my feet powerwashing the sidewalks on Saturday- DOH!), though still a bit swollen. Baby still moves all around. She’s most often vertical during the night, when I mostly sleep on my side and then turns transverse during the day. It’s odd to care less about it… except when I can’t breathe or bend over. 😛
4 OB appts to go! 48 days to go!
Easter was a blast!! We spent the day with some good friends who we don’t get to see all that often. I love days like that!
Brendan’s birthday party is on Saturday. I am always so nervous before things like this. I really don’t enjoy “entertaining” but in the end it is worth it. We also brought cupcakes to the park today and everyone sang to him. That was fun!