38 Weeks

Emma: 

     "Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)"

Me:

   This week I was hoping would be better than last, but it only got worse from here.  I thought I was doing better after the week of what I thought was strep throat.  But then over the weekend I got the flu.  It got so bad that I could not keep anything liquid or solid down.  My OB just told me to wait it out, but after a full day of throwing up almost every 20-30 minutes, I finally went to the hospital.  On Monday I went to Timpanogos labor and delivery, they gave me IV fluids and some anti-nasuea medication.  It helped a ton.

    The next day I had my 38 Week appointment with my OB.  He checked me and said that he didn't think I would be having Emma until 2013. I was not happy about that. I was very ready to be done being pregnant at that point. I was very achy and uncomfortable on top of having been sick for the last week or so.  I mentioned to him that I had not felt the baby move all morning (at this point it was past 11 am).  He sent me back to Timpanogos hospital to get a non stress test. So  Jake and I left the appointment and went straight to the hospital.  We were there for what felt like forever. They had monitors on me and were keeping track of Emma's heart rate and contractions (I wasn't having any contractions).   They did another ultrasound, then sent me back to the room to monitor Emma more. Then they sent us back to radiology, we waited and then they sent us back to the room to wait for the Perinatologist.  He did another, very long, ultrasound and informed us that he thought he saw an issue with her heart.  He said one ventricle of the heart was larger than another. He said it looked like an Aortic Coarctation which is a narrowing of the aorta that causes decreased blood flow to the lower half of the body.   At this point they started to get worried because Emma still wasn't moving like they wanted her to and now they were considering she might have a heart condition.  They decided that they were going to send us up to the University of Utah hospital to have a C-Section so that we could be closer to primary children's hospital.  At first they were talking about sending us by life flight but the weather was bad enough that it didn't seem worth it.  They changed the plan to transporting us by ambulance.

      At this point the decided they should start an IV before sending me up to the U.  Three different nurses came into my room to try and start an IV.  After they each tried, they finally called the Anesthesiologist to come start it.  Even the Anesthesiologist couldn't get the IV started so he decided to put it in my neck.   After that, the ambulance arrived, they loaded us up, and we headed to the University of Utah hospital.

      Once we got to the U, the nursing staff was shocked that Timp wasn't able to get an IV going. They were even more shocked that they decided to put it in my neck.  They got me hooked up to monitors and immediately did an ultrasound on Emma.  The doctor there decided that Emma was moving more and she wasn't as worried about lack of movement. she also looked for the Aortic Coarctation and told us that she was not seeing what the Perinatologist from timp was seeing.  They decided to just monitor us overnight and told us that they would get us in to have a fetal ecocardiogram done in the morning. This was a long and uncomfortable night. They also kept putting me on oxygen to hopefully saturate Emma's blood and keep her moving.

     The next morning they said that they couldn't get us in to get the fetal eco until friday ( this was wednesday the 19th) and said they were going to release us and have us come back then.  After so much up and down and not knowing what to expect, we had Jewel drive up to the hospital to get us since we rode in the ambulance the day before.

      We finally got home and decided we were completely exhausted. We took a very long peaceful nap.  We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. Jake and I went to eat at village inn that night to try and relax or reclaim some amount of normalcy after the week we had.  While we were there, the nurse from my doctors office called and wanted to check up on us since she had called the University of Utah hospital and they told her we were released.  She also told us that Dr. Judd went through all of the ultrasounds we had in the past to look at Emma's heart.  He wanted us to know that he didn't see anything abnormal in any of the images of the heart. She also told us how embarrassed he was that Timp couldn't get an IV going on me and ended up putting it in my neck.  I told the nurse I was very nervous to get an epidural after the anesthesiologist couldn't start an IV on me.  She suggested that we deliver at Orem Community Hospital since Dr. Judd delivers there and its an IHC hospital.  I agreed and she asked us to let her know how the fetal eco went on friday.
        We made it home and watched a movie called Unknown. I talked to Colby and Alyssa about the past couple of days and I jokingly told them that I would probably go into labor before we went back to get the fetal eco back at the U. We finally decided to go to bed that night and I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.  

      It was about 1:45 am when I jolted awake and gasped.  I said something to the effect of, "Jake!"  sleepily he asked "what?"

"Either I just peed myself, or my water just broke!"

He jumped out of bed and stood there staring at me.  he said, "ok, so... what do we do?"  I told him to grab a bunch of towels and start the car, "we're going to the hospital."

As Jake was running around the house trying to get things together, start the car, get dressed, etc.  I was completely grossed out by the fact that I couldn't move without more... "water" going everywhere. Every time I moved, I couldn't help but say something like, "EWWW!" or "Grossss!"

     We decided that the mattress was ruined.  I kept trying to move off the bed. I was completely shocked at how much liquid was in there.  Jake got me a big towel and I held it between my legs as a waddled out to the car.  It was freezing outside. There was snow on the ground and some falling lightly.  We covered the seat of the car so I wouldn't ruin that too.  At this point we decided that just going to Utah Valley hospital was the best option since we hadn't had the fetal eco yet. We weren't sure if Emma would come and have lots of complications so we decided to just go to the best hospital we could.  We pulled up in front of the hospital and Jake ran in to get a wheelchair.  We decided to just leave the car where it was.  There was a security guard inside that looked at us and jokingly said, "no babies in the lobby!" as he pointed to the elevators.

      We got to Labor & Delivery and the nurses were saying something about another one "riding the towel pony" referring to the towel I was straddling. I wasn't having any contractions at this point and was actually really excited at the idea of finally getting to meet our Emma!  I changed into a hospital gown and then was hooked up to monitors again to keep track of Emma's heart rate.   We waited for quite a while to see if my body would start contractions on its own but it didn't.  After a couple of hours they came in with Pitocin (a drug to induce labor/start contractions)  I asked how fast contractions would start after they gave me the medication and the nurse assured me that it would take ten minutes or so.  It wasn't even a full minute after she pushed the medication that I started having contractions.  This ended up being a bad thing.  Each contraction caused Emma's heart rate to drop dramatically.  The worst went from her heart rate being in the 150's then dropping to 40-50 beats per minute. They immediately stopped the Pitocin and came in to put internal monitors on her.  I'll spare the details but it was very painful for me and I'm sure it didn't feel good for Emma either.  The heart monitor was a little needle they stick in the top of her head!   They waited another couple of hours to see if my body would start labor on its own, but again it didn't.  It was at this point I asked for the epidural.  I'm sure many moms out there think I'm a wuss for not wanting to feel anymore contractions, but I think if there is a way I can go through this in less pain, I'm all for it!   The anesthesiologist came in and had zero bedside manner, but was very efficient at what he did and it was quick.  They tried one more time to start Pitocin. My nurse was busy with another patient or something, but as soon as I had another contraction two nurses came running into my room to stop the Pitocin and move me so I was laying on my other side.  At this point the OB working at the hospital that night came in and told me they didn't think it was worth it to keep trying to deliver her naturally and that a c-section would be safer for Emma.  They had a shift change somewhere in the next few minutes and there was a new Anesthesiologist. He was great, and had a wonderful bedside manner.  He came in and gave me a different medication in the epidural as they wheeled me to the OR.  They said it was a combination of stress, adrenaline, and the temperature of the operating room, but I was shaking uncontrollably.  The OR felt like it was 20 degrees!  I usually don't get grossed out by anything but for some reason when they were moving me to the operating table and I couldn't feel  the lower half of my body, seeing them move my legs around like they were dead was nauseating to me.  They had Jake suit up in what looked like a painter's suit and he was sitting right next to me by my head the whole time.  They gave me a blanket type thing that went over my arms and inflated with warm air during the surgery.  That was a life saver, it helped me stop shaking so much and I relaxed a little.  The Anesthesiologist was great, and entertaining. They put the sheet thing up so that I couldn't see what was going on and a few minutes later the  anesthesiologist asked me if they could start. I looked at him confused and he immediately followed with, just kidding, they already have.  "That's how we tell if you're really numb."   I knew that the procedure to get her out was quick, but I thought the closing up part took alot longer than it did. The entire thing was less than 30 minutes.
     The doctor by my head was telling me that they were almost done getting her out when he said, "oh, its a good thing we took her by c-section, the cord was wrapped around her neck three times."   I was very relieved that they had her out. I heard suctioning and then for the first time I heard her little cry.  I couldn't help it, I just started bawling. She was here, she was alive, I could breathe again, and she was out of me!  They held her up  over the sheet for me to see her and then immediately rushed her out to a room full of doctors and nurses to make sure she was okay.  I told Jake to go with her and the surgeons closed me up. The anesthesiologist was great and kept going in to check on her, then coming back to update me.  When they got her checked out, and sort of cleaned up, they let Jake bring her back in to me so I could see her.  Then they took her again and sent her to get completely checked out and cleaned up in the nursery.
    There was lots of waiting after this. Waiting to move me to the Mother/Baby floor, waiting for the room to be cleaned, waiting for the epidural to wear off, waiting to get to hold Emma.  They finally moved us to the Mother/Baby floor and got us settled in.  It wasn't until at least 10 pm that night that I could even hold her.  I got to spend a little time with her and then they came back in to tell us that they were sending her up to the NICU.  She wasn't eating like she should and my milk hadn't come in yet. They were also having trouble keeping her glucose levels up.  
     The next couple days they kept Emma in the NICU and we went up to feed her and visit her.  They told us that they didn't see anything wrong with her heart but that she has something called Goldenhar's Syndrome.  Basically the eye, ear, and jaw of one side of the face are effected.  Emma has an ear that didn't form on the right side of her head, the iris on the right side of her head is slightly oval shaped instead of round, and her jaw is a bit small. (although Jake and I don't see anything but the ear)  We go to feed her around 3 times a day. We started out trying to feed her with a syringe while I tried to nurse her.   She wasn't waking up when she was hungry and wasn't getting enough to eat from a bottle or nursing.  They had to put an IV and a feeding tube in to keep her glucose levels up and to make sure she was getting enough to eat.  
     I was released 4 days after she was born.   We went home and I was having trouble sleeping.  I called a nurse at the OB's office and she told me to go to the emergency room because they were worried about possible blood clots.  I was absolutely not excited about going back to the hospital, I just got home!  We went anyway and the ER was very, VERY busy.  We got to the triage nurse and she ended up having us wait in the office with her for a minute while a room was cleaned.  She told us there might be a riot if the waiting room saw me walk in ahead of them so she took us through a back door to get into the ER and to the room.  The doctor we saw looked younger than me, but we were assured by the nurses that he was great at what he does and went to duke.   They decided to to a CT.  Two different ER techs attempted to start an IV but then they went to get the doctor who used an ultrasound to put one in.   They used contrast in the CT so I had to "pump and dump" for 24 hours, I was not happy about this, but I guess its better than causing problems with Emma.  The CT results came back and the doctor told me I had a blood clot in my lung.  They immediately started me on an injection medication I had to give myself twice a day.  They also wanted to monitor me overnight so it was another night at Utah Valley hospital.

37 Weeks

Emma:

     "Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz."

Me:
    This week was rough.  Saturday Jake and I rode the new Frontrunner train to Salt Lake City. It was free the first day if you brought canned food. We waited for over an hour an a half outside with no wind cover and if was COLD!  I was already not feeling great that day but I think this is what started the sickness for the next week. I ended up with what I thought was strep throat.  The culture came back negative though so I guess it was just a bug.  I could barely swallow and the week was actually pretty miserable. I finally went to my 37 week OB appointment and got some antibiotics. It helped and I started feeling better.  So much for working this week. 

36 Weeks

Emma:

      'Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly."

Me:
     Not much going on this week. I am definitely ready to be done with pregnancy! 

35 Weeks

Emma:
   "Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."

34 Weeks

Emma:
     "Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies."

Me:
We've been working on Emma's room this week. We went to Ikea and got a foot rest for the chair we already had along with white dresser for extra storage space.  Its been really fun putting a cute pink room together.

33 Weeks

Emma:
    "This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a cone head like appearance) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood."

Me:
  I had two doctors appointments this week. The (hopefully) final Perinatologist appointment, and my 33 week OB appointment.  The Perinatologist appointment again turned into a couple hour event. They wanted another non-stress test after the biophysical profile.  The first ultrasound that they did was quite entertaining. Emma would not. stop. moving.  I thought it was funny, but the ultrasound tech did not. at all. She kept trying to measure her femur, head, abdomen, and heart but Emma was moving so much that she couldn't get most of them.  I wasn't sure what to say... "I'm sorry?"  "Emma STOP it!?"  Right. But as soon as the doctor came in, Emma was completely still again.  It was pretty strange.  So then we had to get another non-stress test, which was also funny.  As soon as the nurse put the monitors on my tummy, Emma was kicking at them and rolling around like crazy again.  The normally 20  minute test went well over an hour and the nurse had to keep coming in to adjust the heart rate monitor. I ended up taking videos of her kicking. Every time she kicked, the monitor would pick up the whooshing sound.  It was really loud in that room! 
   I had my usual check up with my OB the next day.  It went well, nothing out of the ordinary, but I did ask the doctor about epidurals.  I thought it was funny that the first thing he said was, "just so you know, the anesthesiologist bills for the epidural by the hour, not by the dose." He then went on to explain that if I was getting an epidural, I should take advantage of the pain relief and even if I wasn't exactly in pain I should suggest that I needed more since the bill would be the same.  He also gave me his cell phone number in case they wouldn't listen to me when I asked for more.  I thought that was pretty funny.  But I also jokingly mentioned that I work at the hospital and would be making calls to people I know if they weren't taking care of my pain. :) 
   Its interesting that Emma gets startled more easily now.  I feel mean, but it cracks me up when random loud noises makes her jump.  For example, Jake and Mark were watching the Steelers game on tv. Something happened they didn't like, so they both simultaneously yell, "NOO!!"  Which made Emma jump, and made me laugh. Scary daddy and uncle Markie :) 

33 Week Belly

32 Weeks

Emma:
    "By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth."

Me:
        For some reason, morning sickness started up again.  I wake up and can't seem to do anything but lay in bed or hang out with my head in the toilet.  Its also quite painful since my abdomen is already stretched out so much. It feels like I'm pulling a muscle all the time.  Emma still has enough room to wiggle, kick, roll, punch, etc. but its getting uncomfortable and sort of nauseating when she does somersaults.  Don't get me wrong, being able to feel a person moving inside me is a pretty incredible feeling and I'm so lucky that I am able to have kids.  I guess I need to focus more on how amazing it is that my body is capable of doing this and less about how uncomfortable and generally painful it is.  I think about so many amazing women that for whatever reason can't have children who would be such great mothers.  It makes me sad for them but also makes me want to be a good mother and not take for granted that I am lucky enough to be able to be a mother.  Its also given me so much more respect for mothers in general, and especially my own.  She not only had 3 kids before me but then gave birth to a 10 lb 6 oz toddler!  Okay not a toddler, but seriously, I was a huge baby.  Everyone always told me "you'll understand when you're a mother."  I'm not even a mother yet and I have a whole new outlook on mothers and pregnancy.  I'm not done being pregnant and Emma isn't as big as I was. I know how uncomfortable and insane I feel right now. 

All I can say is Mom, you are one hell of a strong woman.  Thanks for putting up with me!  I love you.