One Month!

Miss Luci hit the one month milestone on Saturday! Somehow this has been the quickest but longest month of my life...maybe it is the lack of sleep? On a good night she sleeps about 3 to 3.5 hours...maybe 4 hours at a time, and on a bad night she is up every few hours. We have started taking a bath every other night, and after the initial scare of being naked in some strange substance she actually calms down & likes it! Then we put on baby lotion & a little sleeper, eat & then go to sleep. On a bath night we start the process sometime around 8:30p and on a non-bath night somewhere between 9p and 9:30p. Then I run to bed & try to get to sleep as quickly as possible before she wakes up! Some mornings she's up after the 5a or 6a feeding, and some mornings I can get her to sleep until 8a or so. I think she's going to be a morning person...usually we only see the smiles first thing in the morning. These particular smiles were for Grandma Rosonke...I had the camera out & kept asking her to smile at the camera for Grandma Rosonke (Grandma Pierse was here at the time) & she obliged!

Clay is on vacation this week and Luci & I are delighted to have him around for 7 days straight! He's started getting up at night with us at least once just to hang out & keep me company. It helps the time go a little more quickly as I battle the burp beast! Our little one has some serious trouble burping...she is in pain until she gets it out, and then is in pain for a bit afterwards...not so fun at anytime, but especially not fun in the middle of the night. If we don't win the battle of the burp she might sleep for an hour, but when she wakes up it will be twice the battle it was before she fell asleep. I've tried all of the burping positions (high on the shoulder, across the knees, sitting & holding her chin in my hand, and one I invented that is sort of sitting, leaning over the arm position), I've tried a gentle pat & a firm pat, with a cupped hand and with a flat hand...and nothing seems to work consistently. If anyone has a secret weapon out there I'd much appreciate the advice! My forearms are seriously exhausted from all of this attempted burping!!

Grandma Pierse left on Saturday and Aunt Brooke came back Sunday night. She stays until Thursday and then Grandma Rosonke arrives on Friday. Clay & I feel incredibly blessed to have such strong support from our families...thank you families...you are the best!

Happy Birthday Grandma Pierse

Grandma Pierse is this week's hero...and Luci is so glad she was able to spend her Grandma's birthday with her yesterday. Happy Birthday Grandma Pierse!!

Luci's reflux seems to be improving. Each day is a little different (some better than others), but I think overall things are looking up. She is back to eating on a 3 hour schedule during the day - which is much easier for me than the 2 hour schedule. Last night she slept 4 hours at a time so I'm feeling pretty refreshed - for awhile there she was up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours...that was rough...thank goodness I had Harry Potter during those wee hours to keep me awake & going. I now only read it at night when I'm up with Luci...I'm determined to make it last as long as I can! I'm so sad the saga is coming to an end!

The first family photos...

Reflux it is...but still growing like a champ!

Miss Luci was diagnosed with GER (Gastroesophageal Reflux) this morning by Dr. Bhakta. He gave us a few suggestions that Dr. Brooke had already given us (smaller but more frequent feedings, good burps and keeping her elevated 30 minutes after eating), in addition to prescribing Zantac & another antacid. Hopefully they'll work and provide her (and her parents) with a bit of much needed relief.

The good news is that despite this reflux the kid is "growing like a champ" per Dr. Bhakta! She weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs, 2 oz this morning! That is up over 2 lbs in 10 days! Poor thing...she must have my metabolism...

I think she looks more & more like her daddy everyday...even the nurse this morning thought so! This is Dad's favorite little sleeper from the Oswicks - he calls it her "Dr. Seuss Sleeper." Something to do with the stripes?!?!

Luci gives a shout out today to Aunt Jen & Uncle Paul. She can't wait to meet them...she told me herself. She loves her lemon outfit & sweetpea boppy from them! Happy Anniversary Aunt Jen & Uncle Paul!

Thanks to Miss Amanda...

who was last nights savior; she came over and soothed Luci so I could get a few hours of much needed sleep. Amanda definitely has the mommy touch - Luci calmed right down the minute Amanda started talking to her. With her mommy skills it is no wonder Clara is the happiest little girl ever!

Luci had a great weekend and was sleeping well...then all of the sudden on Monday afternoon something changed and she became the baby who wouldn't sleep! She's spitting up a lot & maybe having a bit of reflux (we head to the dr. tomorrow for a reflux screening) that is interfering with her sleep. The worst part is listening to hear wrenching screams and body wriggles without being able to comfort her. Usually she gets very fussy, her face gets red, she's inconsolable...and then all is relieved with either a little toot, big spit up or a burp. It is heartbreaking to watch & I'm hoping I can get some solid advice from Dr. Bahkta tomorrow.

The little one is up...I'll try to post some more photos later today!

Aunt Brooke

is this weeks lifesaver...she watched Luci last night after the 9pm and 12am feedings so this new mom could get some sleep. And Miss Luci cooperated by sleeping from 3am to 6am! Then she slept from 6:30 to 7:30 before fussing. Brooke leaves tomorrow and now I'm dreading that, but Dad will be home shortly after she leaves so we should be all right. I feel very blessed to have had all of this help, and we are looking forward to Grandma Pierse returning when it is time for Dad to leave. Luci sends her thanks & love to Grandma Rosonke, Aunt Brooke & Grandma Pierse!

Luci Bird

Well everyday gets better, but each night seems to be two steps forward and one step back. Aunt Brookie Nae & Sunidh watched Luci this morning so I could go back to sleep...it is amazing what a little sleep does for my attitude and general physical well being. Not getting more than 2.5 hours of sleep at any one time for weeks is much harder than I anticipated. The lack of sleep combined with the spinal headache made the last few weeks really tough, but the good news is that the headache is finally getting better. As for Luci, she may be a bit tongue tied (yes, it is an actual condition) and while it shouldn't prevent her from speaking correctly, it is making nursing a bit more difficult. She sucks & sucks but doesn't get as much bang for her buck as someone without this condition would. Lucky for us Amanda hooked us up with a speech pathologist who specializes in infant feeding, so tomorrow we go see her & a lactation consultant at the same time. I'm really hoping they can give us some suggestions to make the nursing go a little better. As I was warned, it is hard...really hard. I just didn't quite comprehend how hard - which maybe was a good thing. She'd much rather just hang out & sleep than eat...until I take her off...at which point she starts behaving like a little starving bird...mouth open, tongue searching, eyes wide, head bobbing around wildly...thus earning her the nickname of Luci Bird.

The first doctor visit was yesterday and all looks well. She's not quite back at her birth weight - she's at 8lbs .6oz vs. 8lbs 2oz, but Dr. Bahkta said she looks great. We need to keep a close eye on her until we get this feeding trouble resolved, but hopefully the appointment tomorrow will help with that. As for her long self, the girl is already up 1/2 inch to 23 inches!! Our newborn is almost 2 feet tall! The worst part of the whole appointment was that her newbie parents forgot the diaper bag...so when she peed, pooped and threw up all over the scale at the doctors office we looked like the new parents we are as we had to ask for wipes & diapers. All the while I kept promising her we'd get better at this parenting thing...let's hope I honor my promise!

Luci sends a shout out to her Uncle Ben who turns 22 today. Happy Birthday Uncle Ben!! Aunt Brooke says we should have some rice in your honor...

We're alive!

My apologies to all of you well meaning callers...I've been avoiding the phone for almost a month now! There are just so many changes I'm coming to terms with that I can't seem to muster the energy for a simple conversation.

Obviously we made it through the birth, despite it going in a completely different direction than we had intended. I had the epidural, and boy was I ready for it by the time we relented. Unfortunately it ended up being a 'bad epidural' (Woodlands Mom lingo) and I started the Friday after Luci's birth with the worst headache I'd ever had in my life. A chat with an anesthesiologist confirmed it was indeed a spinal headache - a headache caused by a poke in the spine that causes spinal fluid to leak out...resulting in the worst headache ever. Fortunately you can get relief from the headache by lying flat on your back. This would be a perfect solution after giving birth, as I was exhausted, but it certainly made it difficult, if not impossible to care for our newborn. Luckily there is a fix (a blood patch), but it involves another needle in your back & a great deal of blood drawn...but I managed through it despite the nurse passing out (Clay had to help her sit down while holding Luci...it was quite an event). I felt great Friday & Saturday, but the headache came back Saturday night.

More to come later...the posts might be a bit choppy for awhile as I blog in between caring for Luci. Clay is on a trip & my mom went out for a walk so I'm on my own. Mom leaves tomorrow & I'll admit I'm a bit terrified to be responsible for this tiny blessing without her. She's been an unbelievable help & I hope someday I can do for Luci what mom has done for me.

Gotta go.

Home again

We got back from the hospital on Friday, and are slowly adjusting to our crazy new life. Having friends and family here to help out has been a life saver. My parents just left on Saturday afternoon, but Britt's mom is still here and will hopefully be able to stay through the end of this week.

A Navy pilot friend of mine once described caring for a newborn as "Not very intuitive. Even the intake and exhaust operations aren't as simple as you'd think." That pretty much sums it up -despite all the books we've read and classes we took, there is still a lot of trial and error. Once again, thank goodness for having family and friends to help keep us on track.

My apologies for not getting pics out any sooner, so without further ado, here is our Miss Luci!




On the way to the hospital.




About 30 minutes old!



Super cute!

Look at her long legs.

All dressed up.

Here she is!

Lucia Rosonke Pierse made her debut July 25, 2007 at 9:11 pm. She weighs 8 lbs 2 oz, and is 22 1/2 inches tall. She has big blue eyes and quite a bit of curly sandy blond hair. She is very alert and seems to respond with familiarity to the sounds of our voices.

It's been quite a day! Britt was fully dilated by about 5:30 pm and Dr Beena came in and said it was time to start pushing. Britt pushed for a few minutes, but Luci wouldn't budge, so Dr Beena decided to let Britt rest for about 90 minutes, to see if her natural contractions would get things going.

Britt started feeling the urge to push around 7:00 and that's when it started to get really tough for her. She had near-continuous contractions for about two hours as Luci slowly made her way down the tunnel. By 9:00, Britt was getting really tired and frustrated, but Beena was able to get the suction on Luci's head and help pull her out the rest of the way.

I could go into further detail of what happened over the next few minutes, but this is a G-rated website. So - for my dad and for Liz Jobe and for anyone else who appreciates brevity over detail in this instance, suffice to say that Britt and Luci made it just fine and both are resting quietly. Actually, there are little snores coming from each of them, but both are resting peacefully! :)

- Clay

At the hospital

Britt and I arrived at the hospital last night and all is well; no baby just yet, but we're making good progress!

We got in around 8:00pm and met with Dr Beena shortly afterwards. A quick check showed that Britt's dilation hadn't progressed beyond 1.5 cm - where it's been for a week - so the doctor gave her Cytotec, a cervical "ripening" agent.

We were both able to get some sleep last night, even though Britt was still having regular, if somewhat unproductive contractions. Our nurse started the induction process - with Pitocin - around 5:00 this morning.

By 9:00 this morning, Britt was dilated around 3-4 cm and started having regular, increasingly painful contractions. The Pitocin-induced contractions were really brutal, however, and after about 45 minutes of continuous pain, we decided to get the epidural.

Now - at 3:00 pm, she's dilated to 5 cm and feeling better than she has in months, if a little nauseous. Britt just told me that she finally feels that Luci is ready to come out, and Dr Beena told me earlier she is confident Luci will be born today!

So - my apologies for keeping most of you in suspense today, but it took me a little while to figure out how to connect my Jurassic era computer to the hospital's LAN.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers; I'll write again when we have more news!

-Clay

Type A

Well, no news today. I am still 1.5 cm dilated and my contractions were not very strong or regular this morning. As of now we are scheduled to start the induction process at 8pm tomorrow (Tuesday) night. We'll check into the hospital and be monitored for about an hour to make sure all is well. Once we've established Luci is still happy, we'll soon disrupt her world as she knows it and start the eviction.

As you may or may not realize, we really have had very lofty goals of a completely un-medicated child birth. Given we are starting the entire process with meds, clearly things are not going to go as we had hoped. Being SO type A, and having spent soo much time learning as much as we can about natural child birth, clearly this is not how we envisioned bringing our daughter into the world. That being said, we have the utmost faith in our child care provider, and at this point she feels this course of action will provide the best possible outcome. All of the reading in the world cannot compare with her experience, medical knowledge and judgement. We can only put our faith in her and in God that this is how it is all supposed to go. We all share the goal of a healthy mom & healthy baby, and we are trying to stay focused on the sweet baby girl we'll soon be holding... please keep us all in your thoughts & prayers tomorrow night and Wednesday.

Patience

No news...I'll post again after our 10am doctor appointment tomorrow. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Still no news

We went to visit Dr. Johnson again this morning - no news to report. I'm still 1.5 cm dilated, and still having contractions. Luci's heartbeat looked great & the ultrasound estimated her weight at 8 lbs, 7 ounces with an error rate of + or - 10%....so yes, we could be looking at a big baby girl. We go to see Dr. Johnson again on Monday morning. If Luci is still camped out as of Tuesday night we'll be admitted to the hospital to get the induction moving. We are praying she decides to come on her own before then...

Thank You!!

Thank you all so much for your kind comments & voicemail messages....gives me warm fuzzies to know we have so many caring friends & family. We are trying REALLY hard to stay patient, but it is hard!! We went to the doctor yesterday at 2pm and didn't arrive home until after 7pm. When we got to Dr. Johnson's I finally got to go into the fancy room with the leather recliner. I had seen pregnant moms go in there before, but never quite knew how you managed to get the recliner room...well, you just have to be full term! Once in the recliner you get hooked up to the fetal monitor that charts the baby's heart beat & the mom's contractions. I was having fairly regular contractions (which we knew), but Luci's heart beat wasn't behaving quite as expected. So...after a brief exam that revealed that I'm only 1.5 cm dilated (.5 cm progress in a week - boo) despite all of these contractions we were sent over to the hospital to have a bio-physical profile of Luci done via ultrasound. Basically both Luci & I are working really hard but just not getting anywhere, so Dr. Johnson wanted to make sure Luci was tolerating these non productive contractions all right. Clearly we still both have a lot of work to do, and Dr. Johnson wanted to make sure we are both still doing well and will have the strength for active labor once it finally hits.

The ultrasound took FOREVER. The first lady was pushing on my stomach super hard & it really hurt. Then she called in the big guns & another lady did the whole thing over. Apparently when a baby is full term & so big it creates lots of shadows that make it difficult to get the job done. The second lady was much more gentle, and finally at 7pm the event was over. We got a call just now letting us know that Luci appears to be totally fine hanging out in there, scoring an 8 out of 8 for well being. So no eviction notice being served yet - she has until Wednesday the 25th to come on her own accord. Tomorrow we go back to see Dr. Johnson for more monitoring, and then we have another ultrasound to estimate how big our baby girl is. I'll post another update tomorrow afternoon. Until then, keep praying for labor pain...I hear pain is a good thing at this point.

No news

Still here, still waiting. The wagons are drawn - Clay's parents arrived last night and my mom and youngest sister Baylee are due in later tonight. Staying super hydrated seems to be the key to keeping cramps at bay. Tomorrow afternoon we see Dr. Beena, and are going to talk to her about trying some Castor Oil...supposedly a method of natural induction. Beyond that, we are all just going to keep hanging out! Brooke's bet is on Friday night...any other takers? I'm curious to see what happens to my little baby widget over on the left of the screen tomorrow!

Cranky

Well we are still here, just hanging out...waiting. Thanks to all of you who have called to check up on me and I apologize for not being very good at returning calls lately...I'm too cranky. Physically I've been having cramps & belly tightening fairly regularly since Wednesday at 4pm. They are tiring, but not painful per se...just uncomfortable & taxing. Yesterday the cramps were quite bad & I burst into tears at one point telling Clay she was never going to come out & play. He was very sweet and suggested we get out of the house and go for a drive...so we did & it was a welcome distraction. This morning I woke up with more cramping & belly tightenings about 10 minutes apart. It was raining & we fell back asleep, only to awake to belly tightenings every 3 - 5 minutes. I didn't think it could be the real thing because I wasn't in much pain, but we both got very excited & hopeful. After about 90 minutes of these 3 - 5 minute tightenings we called Dr. Johnson...who told us that if I could talk through the tightening that this was not the real thing. Needless to say we were both BUMMED...and now I'm even more cranky from the letdown of it all. I'm trying really hard to stay positive & focused on how lucky and blessed we are, because I do know we truly are. She'll come on her own time when she's ready, and as Clay keeps reminding me I'm not even due until Wednesday. So my new approach is to just assume she won't be here until a week from Wednesday...at that point given the induction I know we won't have too much farther to go. So that's my current plan...we'll keep you all posted. :)

Pain for a reason!

Well we had our 39 weeks, 1 day appointment this afternoon...and I'm 1 cm dilated!! Only 9 cm more & some pushing to go until we get to meet our Luci. I've been having very irregular contractions since about 4pm yesterday. They are uncomfortable and maybe mildly painful, but I'm sure I'll soon say there were nothing compared to what was to come. Usually they go something like this...

Me (in my head): hmmm...is that Luci moving or is this a contraction? Oh, I'm getting kind of hot...hmmm...kind of hurts, kind of hurts...
Me to Clay: CLAY! Feel my belly!! Is that Luci or a contraction?
Clay: Hmmm....I think it is a contraction. Your belly is pretty hard. Yep, I think it is a contraction.
Me to Clay: What time is it?

Then we wait 10 minutes, or maybe 12, or maybe 16, or maybe 20 & we play the whole game over again. I was pretty uncomfortable before bed last night, but I slept like a rock & woke up this morning feeling just fine. I had a few contractions this morning, but again, nothing regular. Please note these irregular contractions & the fact that I'm 1 cm dilated are not very good predictors of how soon Luci will arrive...but it is certainly a step in the right direction and I'll take what I can get at this point! I was going to be a little depressed if this pain was for nothing...the thought of what 'real' results bringing pain must feel like was a bit daunting. Dr. Beena said she's got 4 moms (I'm one of them :) who are ready to go anytime, and 2 of them are 4 or 5 cm dilated and have been for awhile!!

So now we keep hanging out & waiting. We'll see Dr. Beena again on Wednesday (our due date) if Luci hasn't yet arrived. After that we'll see her every 2 days and then induce no later than Wednesday the 25th if she hasn't decided to come on her own by then. Our new, cheaper cable that we had installed yesterday managed to break overnight, so Clay's watching a creepy movie on DVD and I'm going to go read a book now. We'll keep everyone posted!

Things I'll miss...and things I won't!

Things I'll miss:
My hair. It looks better than it ever...like ever in my entire life.
The dessert card...no one judges a pregnant lady eating dessert.
Filet-O-Fish sandwiches...another guilty pleasure I've been partaking in far more than my husband likes.
Having a good reason to hang out on the sofa on my left side watching TV.
Having a good reason not to travel...and to stay home with my kitkats.
Having a good reason not to be on litterbox duty.
Random women telling me (always in a public restroom) how great I look when I tell them I'm due in a week and a half...this is a new one!
The anticipation and looming excitement of meeting the most significant contribution Clay & I have made to the world yet...both as individuals and as a couple.

Things I won't:
Having to force myself to stay hydrated, knowing I'll be in the bathroom every 10 minutes or less as a result.
Snoring.
Heartburn and Tums.
Preparation H.
Random people asking when I'm due and then being surprised at how far I have to go.
The inability to have a strong cup of coffee, glass of wine, sushi, soft cheese and cold meat sandwiches (that's deli meat for all of you non-Rosonkes).
Looking at my body as though it is science experiment every morning because the changes are really too much to rationally & emotionally comprehend.
My crooked negro medelo (known as the linea negra to every one but Clay & me).
Not being able to see my feet as I walk down stairs.
Being hot...ALL of the time.
The inability to wear my clothes, shoes & rings.
Feeling like my body is going to break when I try to roll over or get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.
The swelling in my feet & this giant belly.

38 weeks, 1 day

We had our 38 week appointment this morning...we're becoming quite the fixture at Dr. Johnson's office these days (as are many other women with huge bellies)! I lost 2 lbs over last week so Dr. Johnson said I need to eat up - to which I replied, "can do!" No changes to report...I am not dilated at this point, and Luci is still 'fairly high'. That being said, my heartburn has improved significantly over a week ago, so she must have dropped at least a little bit. She is in a great position for labor and birth, so hopefully she stays that way & just moves down a bit! The placenta looks good, but does have little calcification spots that are visible on the ultrasound. Dr. Johnson said this means that Luci is physically mature enough to be ready any day! Until that day, Clay & I will just keep hanging out watching TV, doing some shopping, eating stuff, taking little walks and sleeping in!

Sadly Clay's laptop is sick, so it is at the Geek Squad for the next week or so. I promise to post some photos as soon as it returns!

37 weeks - full term!

I'm now past the 37 weeks mark - which makes Luci full term! That being said, she still seems pretty content to hang out in her current digs...as of yesterday I wasn't dilated at all. Clay left just a few minutes ago and gets home on Saturday afternoon, so we'll keep our fingers crossed she's content until at least then. I'm getting more & more uncomfortable, lethargic and immobile. Yesterday I had a lot of cramping (a good thing when you are full term, per Dr. Johnson) and my feet were so swollen we put ice on them! My blood pressure is still really low, so the swelling isn't anything to be concerned about as long as I stay hydrated. I'm watching lots of TV (so much that I'm actually bored of it...and I love TV!) and reading books about baby sleep habits. We've finished with the Bradley classes, her clothes are washed and the nursery is ready to go. Now we wait until SHE'S ready!