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Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
31
I was remembering the other day that when I was 21, I went on a spring break habitat for Humanity trip. A leader asked us what We wanted to be doing in 10 years.
I said I wanted to be married to Ken and be a stay at home mom to a bunch of kids.
I may Have been Crazy but my dream came true! I love my life even though it's more challenging than I ever thought possible! Happy birthday to me :)
I said I wanted to be married to Ken and be a stay at home mom to a bunch of kids.
I may Have been Crazy but my dream came true! I love my life even though it's more challenging than I ever thought possible! Happy birthday to me :)
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Feeling better
I had a GREAT lactation consultant appointment today. I met with her last week but Leo was really too sleepy from his jaundice for her to really get a good grip on what was going on. Today he was much more alert so she could learn more about the problems he's having.
To answer some questions from the comments on the last post, I am still nursing him several times a day. He gets most of his nutrition from the bottle and pumped milk, but I am still trying. He likes it and gets a little milk from me. I don't want him to forget how to do it if and when we ever get him transferring milk from me more effectively.
Anyway, today she found that he has some problems with his suck - his lips and tongue are not doing what they're supposed to do. She gave me some finger exercises to do with his mouth, cheeks and chin to get him to strengthen those areas. She said this can be the result of all his facial bruising. Also he was laying a certain way in the womb, so he has the tendency to turn his head to the right. The left side of his neck is really tight, so she showed me how to gently turn his head and massage his neck muscles. These muscles lead to his cheeks and can affect his suck as well. She said these exercises can have a really big impact and it's possible that he'll improve. So I am cautiously optimistic at this point, and I'm going to make sure I do everything diligently. I also have another appointment with her next week, and I'm willing to meet with her until either we get it or she says it's not going to happen. She is really knowledgeable and was really sweet when I cried all the way through last week's meeting :-/
The good news is that Leo has gained 3 ounces in 5 days, and my supply is back up to where it should be right now. It dropped dramatically and she suggested taking an herb called fenugreek, and also eating every once in a while ;) It helped tremendously in just a few days.
More good news is Ken is on vacation until the end of the month!
To answer some questions from the comments on the last post, I am still nursing him several times a day. He gets most of his nutrition from the bottle and pumped milk, but I am still trying. He likes it and gets a little milk from me. I don't want him to forget how to do it if and when we ever get him transferring milk from me more effectively.
Anyway, today she found that he has some problems with his suck - his lips and tongue are not doing what they're supposed to do. She gave me some finger exercises to do with his mouth, cheeks and chin to get him to strengthen those areas. She said this can be the result of all his facial bruising. Also he was laying a certain way in the womb, so he has the tendency to turn his head to the right. The left side of his neck is really tight, so she showed me how to gently turn his head and massage his neck muscles. These muscles lead to his cheeks and can affect his suck as well. She said these exercises can have a really big impact and it's possible that he'll improve. So I am cautiously optimistic at this point, and I'm going to make sure I do everything diligently. I also have another appointment with her next week, and I'm willing to meet with her until either we get it or she says it's not going to happen. She is really knowledgeable and was really sweet when I cried all the way through last week's meeting :-/
The good news is that Leo has gained 3 ounces in 5 days, and my supply is back up to where it should be right now. It dropped dramatically and she suggested taking an herb called fenugreek, and also eating every once in a while ;) It helped tremendously in just a few days.
More good news is Ken is on vacation until the end of the month!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Feeding my baby
It took a while to figure it out. I'm coming to accept that his main source of nourishment will be through the bottle and pumped milk. I'm getting used to the fact that I'll be pumping for a long time. It's just not physically possible for him to nurse very much. I'm really sad about this. I'm happy that he's thriving and doing much better now, but sad that I have to pump and bottle feed him.
I've decided to pray for him and my other kids while I'm pumping. I'll pray for him to love and serve God in his life and follow His plan.
Please pray for us.
I've decided to pray for him and my other kids while I'm pumping. I'll pray for him to love and serve God in his life and follow His plan.
Please pray for us.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Leo pictures
Julie was kind enough to come over and take pictures of Leo today. Wow she is talented! Thank you Julie!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The birth of Leo Michael
I had talked to Ken on Dec 7 and we discussed when we would be going to Mass the next day for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. We decided he would go at 6:30am and I would go at 7:00pm. I woke up on Dec. 8 at 4am having some contractions. I didn't wake Ken up, I just kind of watched the clock and they were about every 5 minutes and very consistent. By the time Ken got up at 6, they were getting stronger. I told Ken I thought maybe today was the day, even though I was 38 weeks 1 day, and I've never gone that early. Also I've had contractions like that before, but I just had a feeling. I told him to go ahead and go to Mass, and I got up and took a shower and packed our bag. By the time he got home, I pretty much knew he was coming that day. The contractions were around 3 minutes apart and getting stronger. I just kept walking around our house to try to get things moving - I didn't really want another 18 hour labor! I called my mom and asked if Ken could bring the kids to her house because I wanted to stay home for a while. I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 so I figured I'd just go and see where I was then. So Ken dropped the kids off and stopped at Starbucks and got himself a coffee and me some of their oatmeal. I ate that, walked around, texted a few friends, and sent out a notice on facebook that I was looking for intentions to pray for during labor. (I didn't mention I was actually IN labor!) I got some great intentions to pray for and prayed for all of them! So we went to the doctor with our bags packed. She checked me and I was only 2 cm dilated, but she could tell I was uncomfortable and she felt my contractions so she said she thought today was the day. She suggested that we go walk around the mall for awhile and gave us her cell and said to call in a few hours. We went to Borders and walked around for a few hours. We bought both kids a gift for their baby brother to give them when they visited him in the hospital. By the time we left, my contractions were every 2 minutes, and were lasting 1 minute and 3o seconds. They were very uncomfortable and when I stood up I felt a lot of pressure. So we called the doctor and she had us come back to the office for another check. She hooked me up to the monitor and came in and checked me again. After all that I was a big fat 3 cm dilated! She suggested that we go up to Labor and Delivery and she break my water. Even though I told myself I wasn't going to let her do that this time, I was progressing SO slowly I decided to go for it. We got up there, got hooked up, and she broke my water. A few hours later I was at 4. At 8pm I was at 6. Seriously? The third kid?? The doctor said that she would really suggest I try a little pitocin. By this point, 16 hours later, I decided I would go for the pitocin and epidural. So much for a natural birth. However, I gotta say I love that epidural ;) It kicked in about 8:30. She checked me again around 9:30, I was at 8. Around 10:15 I told the nurse I needed to push. She checked me and I was fully dilated and his head was right there. She told me not to push, the doc was on her way. That was the HARDEST part of the whole thing. I was shaking and trying my hardest to breathe through the contractions and not push. It took every ounce of strength I had! She came in just in time, I pushed once and his head came out. He had the most beautiful head of thick dark curly hair. His cord was completely wrapped around his neck. Then one more push and he was out at 10:32pm, after 18 1/2 hours of labor! They put him on my chest. I could not believe his hair or his cheeks. He was just beautiful. He was 8 lbs 12 oz, 20 3/4 inches long.
In addition to his cord being around his neck, he also had a true knot in his cord. The doctor said it was "chilling" whenever she saw that. So scary. I didn't get to hold him for too long when the took him over to examine him, because of the cord issues.
I was looking over there at him while she sewed up my little tear. I heard the nurse say to Ken... "Put your finger in his mouth. You feel that? He has a cleft palate."
I had absolutely no idea what that meant, what it entailed, what would happen. I was kind of in shock because of the cord and the palate. I was really worried. My doctor assured me that he'd be fine and I should be able to nurse him. The nurse said she didn't think he'd need surgery til he was over a year. But I still didn't know what would happen. They cleaned him up and gave him back to me. He was just beautiful and perfect. They said his lip and gum weren't involved, just his palate. I tried to nurse him in the delivery room and he latched on and off just like my other newborns. It turns out 22 babies were born that day and night, so we waited down there for several hours before we were moved up to the room.
We got up to the room about 2am. The nurses came in and checked us. I went to the bathroom by myself (the nurse was surprised, lol) Then a lactation consultant came in and tried to get him to latch on. We used a modified football hold so he was sitting more upright. I was able to feed him a little bit and we got left alone at 4 am. Yes we were up for 24 hours. Then of course someone came to take our vitals at 4:45, and then i got up at 5:45. I took a shower and got ready for Leo's pediatrician to come. I had lots of questions for him. He came around 7:30. He said he was going to refer us to this great surgeon who would come see us that day. He said that a lot of cleft palate babies are able to nurse, most have to have some kind of supplementation. Not knowing whether he'd be able to breastfeed caused me the most anxiety all day. I called the lactation consultant in every time we tried, and they were very helpful. We tried all kinds of positions, nipple shield, etc. I had to pump every 2 hours and feed him the colostrum with a syringe. And I had to try to nurse him every 2 hours as well. We focused so much on feeding for the three days we were in the hospital that we asked our family and friends not to come. It was the first time we didn't have many visitors, but it was really good to be able to focus on feeding him.
We had some success nursing with and without the shield, and I also diligently pumped colostrum and fed him with a syringe every 2 hours. I got anywhere from 1-4 ml each time for the first day, then the next day I got up to 7-10 ml at each pumping session. My milk did not come in fully until the third day. By that time his biliruben levels were up and he had lost a whole pound. The nurses and lactation consultants said he was ok though, and we never did have to supplement formula. I was really happy about that.
The surgeon came the first evening. He was SO nice and put my mind at ease. Before he came, I didn't know if he'd need surgery in a few weeks, few months, or what. He said that he would have one surgery when he is around 18 months, and that should be the only one he needs. He explained what that entails, and said he'd have us come to his office in January to explain it in more detail. He looked at him and said he has a "complete cleft." He said that he would most likely be able to breastfeed with some extra help and patience. He also said I didn't have to do anything differently when starting solid food. After his surgery, they will follow up with him with their team until he's an adolescent, and give him any help he needs, with speech therapy or whatever.
The second day he was so sleepy he hardly ate for about 10 hours, just a few sips and a few syringes here and there. Not even the lactation consultants or nurses could wake him up. But in the afternoon he woke up and nursed for about 40 minutes, which was by far the best he's ever done. I had several different lactation consultants and nurses help us. He started doing better. But the pediatrician wanted us to stay one extra day to make sure we had it down, and to make sure his bili levels weren't too high when we left. Heck I didn't mind too much - it's almost like a vacation at that hospital! The food is fabulous, the nurses are great. I love it there. I did miss Madeleine and John Paul though. They were able to come meet him the first night. Madeleine was THRILLED, and got up on the bed with us, touched him, held him, and was just in awe. It was a beautiful thing to see. John Paul didn't pay much attention at all, but that was to be expected ;) We got to go home last night (Saturday.) But when we left, his bili levels were high so they wanted us to come back the next day for another blood test.
His first night home wasn't bad. It's a lot harder to feed him that the other babies. It takes longer for him to nurse, then I have to supplement with a special bottle, then I have to pump for the next supplement session. It takes quite a long time to feed him. I'm hoping and praying that when he gets a little bigger and stronger, we will just be able to breastfeed with some supplementation. I know nothing about this. He is doing MUCH better but it's taking a lot of work. But it's totally worth it to be able to nurse him. He is just a wonderful, sweet, beautiful baby and I love him SO much.
We took him back to get his levels checked and they were even higher than before. So they sent a home health care worker out today with a bili blanket. He has to lay on it 24/7 until they tell us he's ok. We have to go back tomorrow and check again.
Then Tuesday I am going to meet with his pediatrician and the lactation consultant at his office. And Thursday I am going back to the hospital for a follow up with their lactation consultants. We have got to get this feeding thing down. Please pray for that!
I am convinced that Jesus and His mother were watching out for my sweet baby. I know it's dangerous to have a cord around his neck and a knot in it as well. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. I am so thankful for our little miracle baby born on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
In addition to his cord being around his neck, he also had a true knot in his cord. The doctor said it was "chilling" whenever she saw that. So scary. I didn't get to hold him for too long when the took him over to examine him, because of the cord issues.
I was looking over there at him while she sewed up my little tear. I heard the nurse say to Ken... "Put your finger in his mouth. You feel that? He has a cleft palate."
I had absolutely no idea what that meant, what it entailed, what would happen. I was kind of in shock because of the cord and the palate. I was really worried. My doctor assured me that he'd be fine and I should be able to nurse him. The nurse said she didn't think he'd need surgery til he was over a year. But I still didn't know what would happen. They cleaned him up and gave him back to me. He was just beautiful and perfect. They said his lip and gum weren't involved, just his palate. I tried to nurse him in the delivery room and he latched on and off just like my other newborns. It turns out 22 babies were born that day and night, so we waited down there for several hours before we were moved up to the room.
We got up to the room about 2am. The nurses came in and checked us. I went to the bathroom by myself (the nurse was surprised, lol) Then a lactation consultant came in and tried to get him to latch on. We used a modified football hold so he was sitting more upright. I was able to feed him a little bit and we got left alone at 4 am. Yes we were up for 24 hours. Then of course someone came to take our vitals at 4:45, and then i got up at 5:45. I took a shower and got ready for Leo's pediatrician to come. I had lots of questions for him. He came around 7:30. He said he was going to refer us to this great surgeon who would come see us that day. He said that a lot of cleft palate babies are able to nurse, most have to have some kind of supplementation. Not knowing whether he'd be able to breastfeed caused me the most anxiety all day. I called the lactation consultant in every time we tried, and they were very helpful. We tried all kinds of positions, nipple shield, etc. I had to pump every 2 hours and feed him the colostrum with a syringe. And I had to try to nurse him every 2 hours as well. We focused so much on feeding for the three days we were in the hospital that we asked our family and friends not to come. It was the first time we didn't have many visitors, but it was really good to be able to focus on feeding him.
We had some success nursing with and without the shield, and I also diligently pumped colostrum and fed him with a syringe every 2 hours. I got anywhere from 1-4 ml each time for the first day, then the next day I got up to 7-10 ml at each pumping session. My milk did not come in fully until the third day. By that time his biliruben levels were up and he had lost a whole pound. The nurses and lactation consultants said he was ok though, and we never did have to supplement formula. I was really happy about that.
The surgeon came the first evening. He was SO nice and put my mind at ease. Before he came, I didn't know if he'd need surgery in a few weeks, few months, or what. He said that he would have one surgery when he is around 18 months, and that should be the only one he needs. He explained what that entails, and said he'd have us come to his office in January to explain it in more detail. He looked at him and said he has a "complete cleft." He said that he would most likely be able to breastfeed with some extra help and patience. He also said I didn't have to do anything differently when starting solid food. After his surgery, they will follow up with him with their team until he's an adolescent, and give him any help he needs, with speech therapy or whatever.
The second day he was so sleepy he hardly ate for about 10 hours, just a few sips and a few syringes here and there. Not even the lactation consultants or nurses could wake him up. But in the afternoon he woke up and nursed for about 40 minutes, which was by far the best he's ever done. I had several different lactation consultants and nurses help us. He started doing better. But the pediatrician wanted us to stay one extra day to make sure we had it down, and to make sure his bili levels weren't too high when we left. Heck I didn't mind too much - it's almost like a vacation at that hospital! The food is fabulous, the nurses are great. I love it there. I did miss Madeleine and John Paul though. They were able to come meet him the first night. Madeleine was THRILLED, and got up on the bed with us, touched him, held him, and was just in awe. It was a beautiful thing to see. John Paul didn't pay much attention at all, but that was to be expected ;) We got to go home last night (Saturday.) But when we left, his bili levels were high so they wanted us to come back the next day for another blood test.
His first night home wasn't bad. It's a lot harder to feed him that the other babies. It takes longer for him to nurse, then I have to supplement with a special bottle, then I have to pump for the next supplement session. It takes quite a long time to feed him. I'm hoping and praying that when he gets a little bigger and stronger, we will just be able to breastfeed with some supplementation. I know nothing about this. He is doing MUCH better but it's taking a lot of work. But it's totally worth it to be able to nurse him. He is just a wonderful, sweet, beautiful baby and I love him SO much.We took him back to get his levels checked and they were even higher than before. So they sent a home health care worker out today with a bili blanket. He has to lay on it 24/7 until they tell us he's ok. We have to go back tomorrow and check again.
Then Tuesday I am going to meet with his pediatrician and the lactation consultant at his office. And Thursday I am going back to the hospital for a follow up with their lactation consultants. We have got to get this feeding thing down. Please pray for that!
I am convinced that Jesus and His mother were watching out for my sweet baby. I know it's dangerous to have a cord around his neck and a knot in it as well. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. I am so thankful for our little miracle baby born on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Introducing...
Leo Michael!
8 lbs 8 oz 20 3/4 inches
He had a knot in his cord, the cord around his neck, and he has a cleft palate. Its 2:30 am and I'm about to work with a lactation consultant to try to feed him. Please pray for us!
Other than the cleft, he's healthy and beautiful with a full head of curly, dark hair!
8 lbs 8 oz 20 3/4 inches
He had a knot in his cord, the cord around his neck, and he has a cleft palate. Its 2:30 am and I'm about to work with a lactation consultant to try to feed him. Please pray for us!
Other than the cleft, he's healthy and beautiful with a full head of curly, dark hair!
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Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Beth's version of nesting
Cooking? Cleaning? Not so much. I wanted to get Madeleine a Christmas outfit but I looked at several stores and didn't like anything. And plus, since M is in a 4T, the last size in the little girl sizes, I looked at the "big girl" section too. Seriously, the clothes in that section either look like you're dressing your kid like a little teenager or a little hooker! Not so into that. So I decided to try to make her an outfit. I had a little bit of Christmas fabric and some red flannel, so yesterday at nap time I sat down and tried to make her a skirt. I also want to embellish a little white turtleneck with the same fabric, but haven't got to that yet. I was very pleasantly surprised at how the skirt turned out! Here's the back (she still has her name tag from the nursery during Mom's group and her name is spelled wrong!)
The side with her silly smile....
And the front! I love it and it looks adorable on her!
Oh and you can see our new tile in that picture too ;) I forgot to do a post on all that.
And don't forget to go see Sew's blog and congratulate her!!
The side with her silly smile....
And the front! I love it and it looks adorable on her!
Oh and you can see our new tile in that picture too ;) I forgot to do a post on all that.And don't forget to go see Sew's blog and congratulate her!!
Monday, December 06, 2010
Thanksgiving Picture
This is as big as I could get the picture, but this is 90% of the whole crazy family ;) I'm the fat one.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Quick Takes
1. My mom and I took the kids to the mall to see Santa. He asked Madeleine if she wanted an American Girl doll (wth). Several problems with this. a. She's 3. b. We're not spending that much TOTAL on her. c. What if she KNEW what that was and then expected Santa to bring it? Um.... luckily she's clueless about that. She's actually clueless about all the "popular" toys he asked her about. I'm pretty happy about this.
2. John Paul was fascinated but too scared to sit on his lap. He kept his head on Grandma's shoulder but did reach out to take the candy cane. Then he spent the rest of the day saying, "Santa's Watchin'!"
3. I can barely move anymore. It hurts to bend over, pick up Bud, do laundry, walk, etc. I know I'll feel so much better once this kid comes out. But I will do this as many times as God calls me to do it ;) The babies are TOTALLY worth it.
4. Seriously I can't believe I'll meet my third child in less than 3 weeks.
5. I need help with this one. I'm trying to figure out how to configure the van to get the kids in as easy as possible. Options: Put M and JP in the back, the baby behind the driver and take the other seat (behind the passenger) out. Pros are having both kids together back there, they can hand each other books and toys and stuff. Cons are not being able to reach them to hand them stuff, and having to crawl back there every time to buckle both of them in. (Madeleine can buckle herself in but not with her coat on.) Option 2, put just M in the back, put the baby behind the driver and put JP behind the passenger. Pros - I can still reach JP and get him in and out of the car easily. Cons: M will be by herself back there and I'll have to crawl into the back to get her buckled in. We'll have to make sure the floor is always clear so she can get herself in. There is NO WAY I could get myself around the carseats to get her in, so if she needed help I'd have to crawl in the back and help her. Ugh. How do you do this??
6. I got to meet Fr. Leo Patalinghug this week when he did our Parish Mission. He was great and I bought his cookbook and got his autograph. I've tried 4 recipes out of it and they've all been hits over here.
7. I have almost all my Christmas shopping done. I have to wait to do the rest until Ken gets his bonus, but it is all in my cart at Amazon. All I have to do is click on "order" and it'll be here in two days. Each kid gets three gifts so I've put a lot of thought into what to get them, and I think they'll be happy.
Have a great weekend everyone!
2. John Paul was fascinated but too scared to sit on his lap. He kept his head on Grandma's shoulder but did reach out to take the candy cane. Then he spent the rest of the day saying, "Santa's Watchin'!"
3. I can barely move anymore. It hurts to bend over, pick up Bud, do laundry, walk, etc. I know I'll feel so much better once this kid comes out. But I will do this as many times as God calls me to do it ;) The babies are TOTALLY worth it.
4. Seriously I can't believe I'll meet my third child in less than 3 weeks.
5. I need help with this one. I'm trying to figure out how to configure the van to get the kids in as easy as possible. Options: Put M and JP in the back, the baby behind the driver and take the other seat (behind the passenger) out. Pros are having both kids together back there, they can hand each other books and toys and stuff. Cons are not being able to reach them to hand them stuff, and having to crawl back there every time to buckle both of them in. (Madeleine can buckle herself in but not with her coat on.) Option 2, put just M in the back, put the baby behind the driver and put JP behind the passenger. Pros - I can still reach JP and get him in and out of the car easily. Cons: M will be by herself back there and I'll have to crawl into the back to get her buckled in. We'll have to make sure the floor is always clear so she can get herself in. There is NO WAY I could get myself around the carseats to get her in, so if she needed help I'd have to crawl in the back and help her. Ugh. How do you do this??
6. I got to meet Fr. Leo Patalinghug this week when he did our Parish Mission. He was great and I bought his cookbook and got his autograph. I've tried 4 recipes out of it and they've all been hits over here.
7. I have almost all my Christmas shopping done. I have to wait to do the rest until Ken gets his bonus, but it is all in my cart at Amazon. All I have to do is click on "order" and it'll be here in two days. Each kid gets three gifts so I've put a lot of thought into what to get them, and I think they'll be happy.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, December 02, 2010
This is Great!!
John Paul and I enjoyed this a few times this morning!
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