Tummy Time

We've got a long way to go before we master this belly stuff. Mostly Maeli just picks up her legs and kind of wobbles on her belly. She also roots around with her face, kind of a like a chicken pecking at the ground. But its pretty cute.




We had a two week check up and Dr. Hall was very pleased that she's weighing in at 8lbs 10oz. She has a little bit of a hernia still at her belly button, but he's not at all worried that it won't close on its own. She passed all her tests and, other than peeing on the nurse, was a perfect angle. Jeremy had to hold her while she had another PKU test done and I think it broke his heart when they poked her foot. But they both survived.


And just to let everyone know, I am healing nicely. My incision is looking really good, although the skin around it is so super sensitive, I don't know if that's from the surgery, or from having been stretched out for so long. I see the Doctor in a few weeks to make sure everything is good, but he took a peak at Maeli's appointment and is very happy with the progress. I even walked all the way downtown yesterday (My visiting teaching group went out fro ice cream, well worth the walk.) And I left Jeremy home alone with the baby for over an hour and I survived, maybe I will be able to handle having to go back to work.

Happy Father's Day

Not being one for breakfast, Jeremy had baby in bed this morning.


I just wanted to take a second and thank the Dads in my life for being so wonderful. First, my dad, who has always been willing to get silly with his girls. He's taught me a lot of different things, and we've had some special moments, but the hours and hours that he spent doing tuckins mean more to me than I think he could imagine. I love you Dad, thanks for making time to be a Dad, and not just a father.

My Father-in-law, who, although I've known him for 9 years, I'm still getting used to as a Father figure. But I'm so greatful to him for the Father he's been to Jeremy. The bond they share is so beautiful and untouchable, I hope someday Jeremy has a son to pass on all this McLain moutain man wisdom to.

My Brother, who I wondered about for a long time, has such a special love for his girls. He's so much better with daughters than he was with sisters. I'm greatful for all his advice, and for all his hand me downs. And I'm sorry for stealing your clothes in high school.

And my sweet husband. He's been a dad at heart for years, and now he finally has a baby of his own to schmooze over. I'm so greatful for his support, throughout the pregnancy, labor, and all our ups and downs until we finally had Maeli in our arms. I knew he'd be a great dad, but watching him with our little baby is so much more amazing than I ever imagined. He truly is a natural Dad.

There are dozens of other dads that we know and love. All the brothers-in-law, uncles, grandpas, and friends. We are thankful for the special role each of you play on our lives, and we appreciate the great example that you've been. We love you!

Last, I wanted to post a picture of me now that the pitocin is out of my system. I still have many pounds to go, but maybe Brian and Chanie will quit talking about my "puffyness"

Going Cordless

Maeli lost her cord yesterday, so to celebrate Dad gave her her first bathtub bath. She was all clean and shiny for church today; where she made a great impression on the ward who all think she's so cute! Here are the highlights of the bath.

Huge Blessings

On Wednesday, our tenant in the "old" trailer gave notice that he's moving out July 1st. On Thursday, Maeli and I sold the trailer for $1000 more than Jeremy and I paid for it 2 years ago. The guy took a look and wrote us a check that night. We loved having the rental income, but what a huge blessing to be rid of the trailer, and to have had zero time with it empty. We're so thankful.

On the flip side, today is our first day without Gramma Terry. We already miss being able to give Maeli away arounf 5:00 am, but we made it through the night. Although she did end up in bed with us for about 3 hours this morning. But, I was showered before 11:30, and I'm waiting for one more diaper before we get Maeli cleaned up for the day. I am really glad that its Friday though and Jeremy will be home the next two days to play with us. We're even going to try church on Sunday.

Home Sweet Home

We finally made it home! We're all trying to catch up on sleep while we have Gramma Terry here to help. Grandma & Grandpa McLain left today, and tomorrow we kind of have to start figuring out a real routine. But we're having so much fun!

Two of Maeli's nurses, Hawa & Normandie, taught her to love to swing while I was taking a nap. Normandie is just out of nursing school and Maeli was her only priority (it helped that by the end of our stay we were the only people in the OB). She kept sneaking in just to look at her because she's so beautiful.

She's such a happy girl now that WE'VE GOT MILK!

Just for the record, Dad was the first one to bring the baby to bed. We'll see what he has to say about that in 4 years.

Nurse Jenny & Maeli. Jenny was my nurse while I was in labor, clear into pushing, and she helped a ton while we were getting the hang on feeding.

Maeli in her swing at home.

Finally made it home!

Our big Girl!

Hanging out with Gramma Terry during nap time for Mom & Dad.--See Sheila, she is doing her job!

Ready to go for a walk.

Our first walk as a family, we made it all the way to the mail box and back!

50/50

So we might not get to go home until tomorrow. Maeli has lost more than 10% of her body weight, so we're giving her some formula and trying to get things to start on their own. Dr. Hall isn't too worried about her, just wants to get things stable before he sends us home. She's got good color and is very fiesty--She must have a lot of Brame in her, she gets so anxious to eat that she works herself into a frenzy and can't calm down.

Thursday

Happy shower day! Its nice to be clean...

Here are her cute tootsies that I just can't help but want to nibble on. She's so super cute!

We have a binki baby! Turns out she has a little fever, coupled with my not-yet here milk supply she's had a rough day, but it looks like we'll get to go home tomorrow.

The hospital gives all the new parents a fancy meal for two. We were too tired to eat very much of it, but the nurses offered to take Meali for us so we could eat in peace. Jeremy gave up first and crashed on the couch, the food was really good. And way fancier than we expected. We even got sparkling cider.

More pictures!!!

Mom and Maeli


Gramma and Maeli


Maeli - Shhh she's sleeping.


Dad and Maeli

Pictures!!!

Forgive the nudity. But as you can see she has all her parts and a good cry.




Its bath time!!!


Finally its Mommy time.

Sweetness

Jeremy and I have been hanging out in the room with Maeli while Beth is in recovery. Maeli had her first bath and Dad dressed her. I got a quick turn holding her, but people keep coming to do stuff to her. Her eyes have been opened all the time and she looks around. She also keeps making sucking noises. Recovery just called and Jeremy got to take her to see Mom and get something to eat. She is definitely a keeper. Her color is beautiful and she has more hair than I first thought, but it is light. Dr. Hall said Beth is doing great. I'll just hang out until they get back here. I'm so proud that I can't stand it. My camera battery is almost used up already and I'll recharge it tonight so that I can take more pictures tomorrow. I'm a happy grandma.

She's Here

8#8oz - 20" and beautiful. Blonde fuzz. They only let me in the nursery for a moment. Jeremy said that Beth is doing great and he is going back to be with her. When she gets to recovery, they will let her hold Maeli and nurse her. I have to wait until they get back to the room before I can touch her. Jeremy took pictures and will get more and post them when he gets back to the room.

C-Section

We've been pushing for an hour now. Maeli got to zero-station after the first few pushes but since then she hasn't moved. Doctor Hall thinks that Maeli's head is just too big. Her water has been broken for over 24 hours now and she is in risk of infection. So... We are going to have a C-section right now. We should have a baby within the hour. Thank you for all your prayers we just have a little longer to go now.

Pushing...

They are letting her push!!!

Ahhhh drugs...

It is 11:45 now. Beth has been having some pretty good contractions since 2:00 this morning so at around 8:00 we asked the nurse to give her some epinephrine (Super pain killer) so that she could sleep for a while. She has gotten a shot of that on the hour for the past three hours and has been sleeping between most of her contractions and even through some of them. I took the opportunity to take a nap during the last three hours. Gramma Terry has been reading and keeping watch. She even fell asleep a few times.

As of 10:00 she was dialated to a 6 and at that rate is probably more like a 7 or better now. We are looking forward to the time when she gets to push and we get to see our Maeli.

Dialating...

They started Beth again on petosin at about 10:30. We went to bed around 11:30. Beth has been up since about 2:00. I woke up at around 6:00. She is dialated to a 3 and is having good painful contractions. They were going to put an internal monitor on the baby but Maeli's head is cocked slightly and they can't get to the top of her head. They think that is why Beth has not been dialating very quickly. They just did an ultrasound to make sure. Right now we are trying different positions in bed to try to get Maeli lined back up right.

There is still some meconium in the ambiotic fluid but Maeli's heart rate has been staying strong and constant. They are both really tough girls and they are going to get through this just fine.

The New Plan as of 7:30

They turned off the pitocin, in half an hour I get to be all disconnected (provided eveything still looks good wih the baby) and then I can get out of bed! Intermittent monitoring, and then a check at 10:00. If there's room they'll put a monitor on the baby's scalp and an internal monitor on me. And probably more pitocin at that point. Dr. Hall will check things out and we'll be able to see if there's anyway for me to get things going effectivly, if not it sounds like we're talking c-section. But nurse Jessica really thinks having a break from the pitocin will help.

6:00 - Skip-bo Again.

As of a half an hour ago she was dialated to 1.5 centimeters. Contractions are no more painful than last time I blogged. She is still having contractions every 3 minutes or so. So we are back to playing skip-bo. We get lots of visits from the nurse because Maeli likes to move around alot and they have to adjust the heart monitor on Beths tummy.

5:00

Still in the status quo. Beth has rolled back on her back and that has made the contractions less painful. They are still about 3 minutes apart. Doctor hall is here and is talking to us about where we are in the labor process.

Laboring...

Beth has started to actually have painful contractions now. She has the appearence of a laboring mom. She is laying on her side and that seems to help Maeli keep her heart rate up during the contractions. They want to put a monitor on the baby as soon as they know that they can safely put it in.

She's leaking

It has been over ten hours since they started Beth on Petocyn. But she is still only dialated to under 2 centimeters. At 1:45 her water broke during a contraction. It looks like there is a little meconium in the fluid. We are hoping that labor will progress faster now.

Pitocin

Started the actual drugs around 4:00 this morning. Moderate progress so far, Maeli is doing well with the contracions, and I'm tolerating the medicine well. Labor sure is a snoozefest. We're watching tv and playing games....waiting waiting.

Turnin' In

They've drugged me so I'll sleep tonight. The nurse is hoping I can get at least 5 hours, so she's planning on starting me on Pitocin at 3:30am at the latest. But I can start at 2:00 if I can't sleep. I've been having contractions, but they can't check me until the stuff has been working for 12 hours. But things are getting more intense. Jeremy is spending the night here with me, but mom went home to our house about an hour ago. Thank you everyone who is thinking of us! As soon as we have the baby (and she and I are both cleaned up) we welcome visitors, we're in room 103. Have a good night!

At the hospital

Finally! We checked into the hospital at 1:00 today. Beth has been on Cervidil since 2:00. She has been having more intense contractions since she has been on it. They are actually starting to hurt a little. They are going to wait to see what the Cervidil does until 2:00 AM and then make a decision on whether or not to use the Petosin. Thats the update!

1:00

As of right now we get to go to the hospital at one.

Sigh

Maybe this afternoon, they're going to call me between 12:00-1:00 and let me know the plan. My doctor is at the hospital and they're going to check with him and see what he wants to do.

Are you kidding?

One of the babies born last night needs some "extra care" so the night shift nurse didn't feel comfortable having me come in this morning. When the day shift gets there, evaluates everything and has a chance to get settled, they are supposed to call me and let me know where we're at. But 2 things make me less sad--1. My baby does not need "extra care" so its alright to not be a priority & 2. There's an OB nurse on the list waiting to be induced too, and I'm before her.

Not Tonight

They'll call me at 6:00am and let me know if I can come in and get started on the Pitocin. Meanwhile, I'm still not doing anything on my own. Mom says that all of us just needed a little push to get started, but then we came fast...maybe we'll get her sometime tomorrow.

Standby

2 people in active labor, we're next on the list to go to the hospital as soon as someone has a baby. So we're waiting for the phone call that says we can go in and try to get started. AARGH!