4 Weeks Old

Elizabeth is 4 weeks old today.  Here we are eating strawberries from the backyard, and wearing strawberry hats.

Handknit by Jane, a colleague from work.  Thanks Jane.

It is hard to believe that we have already had four weeks with Elizabeth.  We'll take it; extra days on earth with the sweet little girl!  Though, I may have to take back my earlier comments about her being super sweet and content.  Holy moly.  Now that we are up to her due date, she woke up.  She has wanted to eat nonstop and has been exercising her lungs when she has not been eating.  And, those are some powerful lungs for such a tiny little bird.  She, like all of us, has had a cold the past few days, so maybe she is just catching up from her few days of lethargy. 

She is getting better

Carolyn, that is! 

She is getting far more comfortable and gentler with her sister.  The first thing she does in the morning is run into Elizabeth's room and sings her a song. Last night as she went to bed, she said, "I really love my sister."

Sweet.

Memorial Day Weekend

We started off the long weekend with Carolyn's "End of the Year Ceremony" at school on Friday night.  All the kids in her class put on a performance -- they sang 7 songs, one from each continent.  One song was in Spanish, another was in a native American language, and most of them were hard songs to learn.  I was impressed.  After they sang, each child received a certificate, and the kindergarteners graduated.  The teachers made a video, showing each child and the activities they have done throughout the year.  Then, all of the families ate dinner together, while the kids ran around like kooks on the patio and in the gym.  We are very pleased with her school.

On Saturday, we hosted our friends for a cookout.  Sara, Eddie, Annie, Kate.  This is the family that took Carolyn while I was in labor.  The girls had a blast.  The weather was cold, so we had to bring the cookout inside.  The girls are going to visit their grandma for all of June.  Carolyn will miss her friends.

 

On Sunday, Carolyn had a playdate with Grant. We then created some beautiful birthday gifts for Grandma Carol and Grandpa Mike (wait until you see your creations later this summer).  And, on Monday, we went to a cookout and birthday party for our friend Nikki.  Then, we met our friends Heather, Lukas, and Oliver at the park.

It was a busy weekend.  And, we did all this with Elizabeth.  If all had gone according to the plan, we would have been spending the holiday weekend at the hospital, awaiting her arrival.  Elizabeth's due date was May 27, Sunday.

MVI_3281 a video by boo4172002 on Flickr.

MVI_3279 a video by boo4172002 on Flickr.

MVI_3272 a video by boo4172002 on Flickr.

Three Weeks Old

To me, she is looking a little bit bigger.  Or maybe we are just getting used to the tiny little babe.

Here are some pictures to show give you perspective of how tiny she really is.

hey blog readers,

If you have time and want to see what's been going on in our life in April and May, make sure you hit the "older post" link at the bottom of the page.  I posted nearly four pages worth of blog entries the past few days.  That should catch us up.  I will try to update it frequently and regularly. 

-becky

Two Weeks Old

Hand knit by Dee Quinn.  Thanks Dee Dee.

One Week Old

Elizabeth's Garden

When Carolyn was born, my dad created a garden for her, a little corner in our downstairs courtyard.  So, when Elizabeth was born, he wanted to create another little garden.  Carolyn's garden was acreated with a japanese maple.  He planted another japanese maple in our yard for Elizabeth.  Thanks dad.

Carolyn's Garden

Elizabeth's Garden

First Visitors

The arrival of Elizabeth Grace took us by surprise.  However, when we told my parents that I was in the hospital in labor, they immediately began looking for flights.  My mom arrived about an hour before I was discharged from the hopsital on May 7.  My dad arrived a few days later.  Introducing them to our daughter and having them around to help out with big sister Carolyn was so appreciated. I think they ended up entertaining Carolyn more than anything.  There was so much change and disruptiion in Carolyn's world, it was nice to have some extra adults available to give Carolyn some much needed TLC and attention. And, of course, they got to hold the sleepy little newborn a lot too.

Jaundice

When we first got home, we just thought she had nice coloring.  She looked suntanned.

However, by Monday afternoon May 7, when we went back to the doctor, she was even more yellowish. The doc sent us down to the lab to check her bilirubin levels.  She called us within an hour of leaving the office, saying her levels were quite high and that a home-health company would be bringing some equipment over that evening.  That began Elizabeth's "light" days.  She had to lay on the bili-bed or a bili-blanket every minute, except when she was getting her diaper changed.  The ligths turned on Monday evening around 8pm and were turned off on Thursday morning around 8am.  She had to go to the hospital daily for blood checks, which fortunatley dropped fairly quickly each day.  The jaundice was going away.  Her liver was working.  She was becoming a fair-skinned pink baby.

Her levels were 22.6, which is high, but when the doc called with her first blood results, I wrote down 26.2 on a piece of scrap paper. And what did I do with that information? I googled what the numbers meant, of course. Apparently, levels above 25 indicate serious concerns like hospitalization, possible brain damage, blood transfusions, etc.  I was more than nervous that first night with her on the bed, and felt incredibly relieved the next morning when we went back to the hospital. It was then that the doc told me that her levels were 22.6, not 26.2.  Phew.  Maybe a sleep deprived mother should not be trusted with copying important details like that.    

Coming Home

Elizabeth failed her car-seat test, so we received a car-bed before leaving the hospital.  It is like a car seat, except she lays completely flat in it.  Her muscle tone is not very good, so she could not maintain her oxygen levels when she sat in the car seat.  Steve installed the car-bed in the car, and I was wheeled out of the hospital, ready to go home.

Here is Carolyn waiting in the front yard for us to come home.  Her sign said, "I love you more than anything"

 

We arrive.



We show her her room, and check her out.



We are a family of four. It feels good to be home.



Newborn Photos

Photos from the hospital.....

 

May 3 - May 5

At about 330 in the morning, we were transferred out of our labor and delivery room to another room in the "nursery" part of the hospital.  Our nurses introduced themselves.  They took my and Elizabeth's vitals.  They asked me what sort of pain meds I needed; and I declined everything saying I felt very little pain (other than when they came in to push on my belly).  I settled into my bed.  Elizabeth was swaddled up like a burito laying in the bassinet. Steve quickly pulled out the couch and fell asleep. With too many emotions running through my body to actually fall asleep, I tried to nurse Elizabeth, who clearly did not yet have the coordination to nurse.  The nurses told me to keep trying throughout the rest of the night, but to not worry too much about it; that we would work with a lactation consultant in the morning.  I then unwrapped Elizabeth from her blankets, put her on my chest, and she fell sound asleep on my chest.  She was perfect.  I think I just stared at her, until the nurses came back in around 630 in the morning.  Too tired to even sleep.  And too overwhelmed by how much I already loved this perfect little being who was sound asleep on my chest.

When the lactation consultant came in the next morning, she suggested we syringe feed her some of the colustrum that I had pumped the day before while in labor and delivery. Elizabeth took it.  Then, out of pure luck, she latched on and ate a little.  But, it was clear that she was still trying to figure out exactly how to get her mouth to work.  I kept trying to breastfeed her that day and with each session, she got a little more coordination, but without much consistency.  So, I pumped some more, and continued to syringe feed her that first day.  Sometime during the middle-of-the-night of her second day, she started to show a little more coordination. Our breastfeeding journey had begun. 

After spending the night on an uncomfortable hospital fold-out couch, Steve went home and picked up Carolyn from school.  She was excited to meet her baby sister, but was a bit hesitant when she came into my hospital room.  Nevertheless, she quickly jumped in bed with me.  As we unwrapped Elizabeth from the blankets, Carolyn kept saying how small and cute she was.  She said that she would call her sister "Bird" and "Cutes."  She tried to open and close her eyes, like you would do with a baby doll.  She counted her fingers and toes.  She sang her a lullaby.

      

Later that evening when she came back to visit, she asked if she could hold her.  That is when we discovered that we need to teach her some rules about how to interact with her sister.  She was not exactly gentle with her.

Mom and baby were discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning, May 5th.

May 1 - May 3

As April ended and May began, I was feeling pretty confident that I was ready for the baby.  The rooms were done, the clothes were sorted, remaining supplies were purchased.  In fact, one day after I ran a few baby-related errands, I came home and announced to Steve, "I am ready for the baby." 

That said, I had no idea that she would actually come this early.  I was hoping that I could be organized enough at home, so that I could focus on work for a few weeks and finish up the grading for the semester and tie up a few research projects before she actually arrived.  Sure, my belly was growing, sometimes I felt a little tired or awkward, but mostly I felt good.  I was ready to ride out the last month of pregnancy ....

That was the plan, until I went to bed fairly late on Tuesday May 1st.  Earlier in the evening, I was eating dinner and playing cards with some of the moms from Carolyn's school.  I got home around midnight, decided to take a long hot shower, and snuggled up next to my husband in bed.  Not more than an hour or two later, I woke up thinking I had just wet the bed.  I sort of chuckled to myself because earlier in the evening the moms I was with were all talking about embarassing stories of peeing their pants during late pregnancy.  By the time I walked to the bathroom, I realized that I was not peeing my pants.  Nope.  MY WATER HAD BROKEN.  I went back to the bedroom and started throwing a few things in a bag since I knew I would be going to the hospital sooner than later.  Steve woke up at that time and asked what I was doing.  My response?  THE BABY IS COMING.  His response?  NOT YET.  COME BACK TO BED.

We both took a few moments to wake up and digest what was going on.  I called the midwife on-call and she said that I needed to come into the hospital, since the baby was considered preterm, and to not wait at home.  So, Steve ran into his office to pick up his computers -- knowing that his work was going to be disrupted for a few days.  I emailed a few people cancelling appointments and meetings that I knew I would not be able to do.  I fretted for a moment when I realized that I had still not received, let alone graded, the fnal paper from my 28 grad students.  Oh well.   I bit the bullet around 3am and called my friend Nikki, who said that I could call her in the middle of the night if I needed any help with Carolyn.  When she groggily picked up her phone, she said, "Are you just testing me because you should not be having a baby yet!"  Before the sun came up, Steve was back from the office, Nikki arrived at our house (to watch Carolyn), and Steve and I were on our way to the hospital.

The triage nurse confirmed that I had not peed my pants, that indeed I was leaking amniotic fluid, and that I earned an admission to Labor and Delivery.  The only problem .... I was not in labor.  No real contractions at all.  Given that my water had broken and that the baby was now considered pre-term (I was 36 weeks and 1 day), they immediately started pumping me full of IV fluids and antibiotics.  They gave me a shot of steroids to boost the baby's lung functioning, as part of some clinical trial that I was eligible for. The baby's heart rate was being monitored, and another monitor was attached to my belly to measure contractions. But not much action.  At all.  The monitors showed a happy, healthy baby with no real distress and a happy healthy uterus not really ready to go into labor.  At that time, the sun was starting to come up.  It was clear that nothing was going to happen fast, so Steve ran home and explained to Carolyn what was going on.  He dropped her off at school, where he ran into another parent who agreed to take Carolyn's carseat and said that she would pick her up in the afternoon and let her spend the night at their house.  Phew.  Carolyn was covered for at least the next 24 hours.  Steve came back to the hospital.  Then, we both waited and waited and waited. We napped.  And, we joked that it was like we were on vacation, with absolutely nothing to do.  It was kind of nice.

At about 3 in the afternoon - nearly12 hours after we had been admitted and still no sign of any notable or consistent contractions - I asked my midwife what the options were.  She gave me three options -- 1) Pitocin (which would be administered via IV and would give me very intense contractions, which may or may not lead to a favorable delivery.  I was very against this), 2) Cytotek (which was something that I would take orally which was supposed to help my cervix soften), and 3) Nipple Stimulation.  I asked about the third option, thinking that it was not really a viable option to get labor started.  Basically, they were going to give me a breast pump and instructed me to put it on one breast at a time to simulate a contraction, take it off, wait a few minutes, and then repeat on the other side.  OK.  I was not convinced that it would work (nor was she frankly), but I figured it would buy me some time before we had to talk about the dreaded Pitocin option again.

Guess what?  It totally worked.  Within a few seconds of turning on the breast pump, there was a contraction.  I felt it in my belly and could see it on the monitor.  I let it peak, then turned off the breast pump.  I repeated on the other side. Another contraction.  Perfectly spaced.  Ah.  The nurses and midwives were as impressed as I was.  After I had a series of 6-8 breast pump induced contractions, I would let my body do it on its own.  It would have a couple of contractions and then peter out.  So, I continued with the breast pump until my body was more fully ready to do it on its own.  I believe they said I officially went into active labor around 8pm.  Steve and I watched a movie. I walked up and down the halls a lot.  Then, as the contractions became a bit more intense, I napped or meditated.  At one point, my nurse (Michelle) asked if I wanted to sit on a ball.  I bounced there for a while.  It felt good to sit upright.  Then, my midwife (Claudia) asked if I wanted to sit in the tub.  Why not?  So I sat in the warm bathtub, which felt awesome even though the contractions were getting far more intense.  Then, as one particular contraction was coming down, I realized that I felt like I wanted to push at the end of it.  Claudia quickly helped me out of the tub, started to assemble the room and pediatricians, and I realized that delivery must be getting closer.       

I admit, I delivered this baby completely naturally, with no medical intervention.  It was a beautiful and awesome experience.  I am proud to say that I was able to do this with both girls, but it was not easy.  By the time I had to push her out, I was so exhausted, probably from missing the past night's sleep and hardly eating anything while I was at the hospital.  During the final stages of labor, I practically fell asleep between every contraction and had very little energy to fully push.  They gave me some oxygen for the final couple of pushes, which helped give me a boost of energy, and soon a baby girl was delivered.  Ah.  What an awesome feeling of relief when the baby leaves your body and enters the world, and you hear your child cry for the first time.   

ELIZABETH GRACE ALTMAN

May 3, 2012

12:57am

5 lbs 14 oz

Because she was considered preterm, a team of pediatricians had to look her over to make sure her breathing was OK and that there were no other complications from her earlier-than-expected delivery.  So, after a quick plop on my chest so I could see the perfectly petite little girl, some initial observations in the labor room, Elizabeth was taken to the nursery for some more tests.  She and Steve came back a little later.  During that time, my midwife continued to push on my belly to deliver the placenta.  After she delivered it, she showed it to me -- a long umbilical cord attached to a fairly significant "organ".  She explained it all to me, and showed me exactly where the sack had broken, causing my water to beak.  It was fascinating to see that this entire thing developed during the weeks of pregnancy and allowed a human to develop within my body.  I just looked at her and said, "Wow!  It is absolutely astounding what the female body does during pregnancy and delivery."  She smiled and said, "I agree, that is probably why I chose to be a midwife."   

All said and done, we were now a family of four.  I was more tired than I had ever been in my life.  I was more elated than I ever had been in my life. I was proud.  I was in love.  And, I was so very thankful for the caring and competent nurses and midwives at the University hospital -- because they gave me a turkey sandwich and lots of warm blankets so I would stop shivering.  But more importantly, because they took such good care of me and allowed us to patiently wait until my body was ready to deliver this baby.  As a person who wants to control just about everything in my life, it was a refreshing experience to allow and trust my body to do what it has evolved to do.  Seriously.  Childbirth and pregnancy are probably the most awe-inspiring things I will ever do in my life.  There is no drug, no thrill, no physical challenge that can top the emotions I have felt during the pregnancies and deliveries of my two girls.

May 2012 -- arrival of Elizabeth 098 a video by boo4172002 on Flickr.

Another Shower

Earlier in the day, on the day Elizabeth decided to make her appearance, I had a research team meeting.  It is a large group, and we often have food and find a reason to celebrate at our meetings.  This meeting, they decided to have a "welcome baby" celebration.  They brought in lots of pink cupcakes, punch, and all chipped in to give me a very generous gift certificate to buy Elizabeth some new clothes, so she would not always have to wear her sister's hand-me-downs. 

Little did we know that I would be in labor later that evening, after I went to bed.

Music & Dance Performance

At the end of the year, Carolyn's school has a music and dance performance. Here is Carolyn's class getting ready for their big performance. They sang Zebra Zydeco, Kookaburra, and did a dance to a circus song. Carolyn loved it, but she was far more shy and intimidated by the stage than I would have expected. In a classroom with 3-5 year olds, you can definitely tell that Carolyn is one of the youngest.