Going home

On Wednesday we were released to go home. This is when all the stress started! Patrick took all of our belongings and went home to get my car so that we could take her home. When Patrick was done loading the truck it would not start. He called Tiffany and borrowed her car so that he could go get my car. Mean while, I was at the hospital not knowing that any of this was going on. Bridgette was really restless and I couldn't calm her. I finally called the nursery nurse to come help me. Our day time nursery nurse was wonderful and she came to my rescue. Bridgette passed out and I called to order our celebration meal which was steak and lobster. Patrick arrived back at the hospital a nervous wreck. I asked what happened and he was hesitant to tell me but he finally did. He told me he thought the truck would have to be towed. I told him not to worry about it and that tomorrow he could deal with it.

After our lunch we were all set to go and we loaded the baby in her car seat and headed home. When we got home she slept for several hours. She was very tired because she had to have her stomach drained that morning because she was spitting up amniotic fluid. Apparently it stressed her out and she was exhausted. We enjoyed the rest of our day at home together and Grandma Jumper came to visit.

Our first night was long. Neither one of us could relax enough to fall asleep and at one point we changed about 5-6 dirty diapers in a row. It just kept on coming and it was a 2 man job. These were the first diapers I got to change because Patrick changed all of them in the hospital. It was a chore but I loved it!

The Due Date

Patrick and I went to bed on 1/16/11 ready to get some sleep. I had been having some contractions all day but they were not very close together. I was desperately trying to send myself into labor. We went shopping at 5 different stores so that I would be up and walking. Then we went to hang out with the Frasco's and Emily made me some raspberry tea in hopes that it would send me into labor. Well I'm not sure if it was the tea but that night I didn't sleep a wink. I was up every 20 minutes starting at 12:00 having contractions and then every 10 minutes from about 2:20 on. At 4:45 I shouted at Patrick that I thought my water had broke. He frantically jumped out of bed and helped me assess the situation. We called the Dr. on call but of course they didn't return our call very quickly. We decided we better go to the hospital to get everything checked out because they hadn't prepared us for what came out of my body (we'll leave it at that). We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 and I was dilated to a 3 and my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Shortly after arriving the dr. on call called my phone and talked to the nurse. They decided that I was in labor and that we would be having a baby that day.

I never would have thought that she would arrive on her due date. But I am a very scheduled person so maybe she will get that trait from me. It worked out perfect in my world! At 8:00 the doctor came in and broke my water. Around 8:30 they started Pitocin because my contractions weren't seeming to progress like they should be. At 9:50 I requested my epidural. Once I had that I was golden!!! Then it was the waiting game. Patrick and I made a lot of phone calls and hung out with him mom and Don. We couldn't believe how quickly all of this was happening. At 2:00ish I told the nurse that I wasn't in pain but that I could feel the contractions. I told her the pump button wasn't helping. She told me to stop hitting the pump and she checked me, I was dilated to a 9 1/2. It was go time! We were just waiting on the doctor to arrive and then we would have a baby. The doctor arrived shortly after 3:00 and 12 minutes and 11 pushes later Bridgette was now in this big scary world and out of the cozy womb!

Patrick was wonderful during the whole labor and delivery. He thought he might not make it through but instead he was all up in my business with the doctor and nurse. He was an amazing support and I don't think it would have gone as quickly if it wasn't for his positive attitude and love. He never left Bridgette's side once she was born. He took a lot of great photos that I won't post and a lot that I will post.

That night was a long night because my epidural had taken stronger to my left leg than my right. I couldn't feel my left leg until about 6:00am. The nurse was wonderful and patient and helped me out of bed every time I needed to get up. Bridgette spent the whole first night in our room with us and I loved watching her sleep and getting to feed her.

The next day we had a lot of visitors and come that night I was exhausted. I sent Bridgette to the nursery and requested some pain meds so that I could sleep. Patrick and I both slept great! Every 4 hours she was brought into the room so that I could feed her and then the nurse would return and take her back to the nursery. We missed her but were thankful for a nights rest before we went home.

39th Week

This was a long week for me. It included a trip to the hospital, finishing up my last week of work, and having a lot of contractions that were not consistent but annoying. I had a hard time sleeping this week because I usually had the contractions at night. I got a good nights rest every other night. We were really looking forward to our last docotor appointment on our due date to find out more info about how far I had progressed and to talk more about our inducing date. I was really getting uncomfortable and was really ready to meet her. By the 39th week I was tired of being pregnant and was ready to have my body back.

Test Run at Hospital

Yesterday I came home from work and was really tired. I took about an hour long nap. When I work up I felt a little nauseous. Patrick had called to say that he was working late so I just relaxed and talked with a few people on the phone. Around 6:30 my stomach hurt really bad and I knew that it was going to be a long evening. I called Patrick around 7:15 and told him he needed to come home because I wasn't feeling well at all. He came straight home and took good care of me. I had called the Dr. on call and he told me that as long as I could keep liquids down and my symptoms didn't get worse then I should be fine. He said if anything got worse then I need to head straight to the hospital. Patrick got me some water and some pepto and put in a movie for me because I was cold and wanted to stay in bed. Needless to say all of that came back up =) A few minutes later I started to see spots and couldn't see clearly. I alerted Patrick that we needed to go to the hospital so he finished his bowl of ice cream and changed his clothes and then we were on our way.

They promptly greeted us and took me straight into a room. First thing she needed was a urine sample (of course, I think she wanted to make sure I was really pregnant) and due to being violently ill I could barely go. The nurse hooked me up to some monitors and checked my blood pressure. Everything looked great for the baby but for me my blood pressure was high and all over the place. My doc ordered fluids to be given through IV and that I had to spend the night at the hospital for monitoring.

It was a long night!! The nurses were wonderful but sleeping is impossible when the BP cuff squeezes your arm to death once an hour, the IV pole beeps constantly, the fetal monitor prints constantly, and the nurse checks on your frequently. If you thought I had it bad you should have seen the chair that Patrick had to sleep in =) It was quite the sight to see his feet sticking off about 6 inches, 3 blankets covering him because they were all too short, and he was right by the window and was freezing because it was like 15 degrees outside.

It was an adventure and we were sad when they sent us home at 9:00am because that meant her birthday would not be 1-11-11. I am feeling much better now and hopefully this baby will be ready to join our family soon. We now know what we need to bring with us for our next trip to hospital and hopefully next time we will come home with a baby.

37 weeks

This week was long because Patrick and I both had bad colds. I spent most of it sleeping and recovering from my cold. It was also my last week before I had to return to work so I took full advantage of being lazy. The baby is doing well. She moves often and it is a little freaky when you see her whole foot go from my belly button to my rib cabe. It is amazing that you can distinguish body parts when she moves now! Only 2 more weeks until we get to meet her!!

We also took maternity pictures this week. Our sister-in-law Amy took them for us and she did a great job! I'm not sure I am ever going to want to remember how big my butt and face were but I am glad that we got pictures of just us before we become a family.