Birth Story

I know I have a lot to catch up on, but while it is fresh in my mind I am going to get this down.

Wednesday (May 12th):
Also known as Jared's Birthday! Went to the doctor for my weekly appointment and check up because I had been a little stressed lately and it was causing some issues. It started out as a routine check up, walked in, pissed in the cup, and then came the blood pressure reading. I was swollen, had high BP and was +1 on the protein in my urine. So I was sent across the street to the hospital for a prelim. diagnosis of mild preeclampsia. Ran home to grab a few things and make sure everything was locked up and cats fed, then I checked myself in. Instead of taken into a little room with a bed, I was in a birthing suite, that was my first hint that this was going to go the way it did. Hours of tests and constant monitoring, I was given the choice, 24hr urine tests, more monitoring, complete bed rest, and the chance of doing all this again next week but with more complications, OR we could induce and get her out before it got any worse. After talking to Sergio, the nurses and my doctor, we decided induction was the safest. Jared and Leah came over and brought me dinner after the office closed and kept us company for a bit. Jared called Godfather dibs if the baby was born before midnight because it was HIS BIRTHDAY, DAMNIT! :-)

Thursday (May 13th):
After a long night of BP monitoring, I was hooked up to the pitocin at 5am. Water was broken by my doc at 8am and the fun started! I asked for the epidural at 9:30 and after that had a great morning and afternoon. Then it got complicated. As I was "transitioning" I got sick and started throwing up, which was dropping the baby's heart rate and upping my BP. I made some progress, was at 9+, her head was engaged, and then I closed back up to an 8 and was having really bad back labor. Around 6pm after no progression, still vomiting, we discussed a c-section. Man, all I had to do was say the c word and they were all agreeing. I guess we were waiting for me to broach the subject. We induced labor to avoid these kind of complications, and I was all for anything to deliver her safely at this point and get this over with. So at 6:37 pm Liliana was born. She scored 9.9 on the APGAR, passed her hearing test, and was very healthy despite the massive cone-head.

Despite the complications, I couldn't have asked for better support and care that I received from the wonderful nurses and Sergio. It made it a much bearable experience and The Med really does have the best staff in the area.

Now I am off to get a nap before she wakes up. I will update on her first couple of days after her appointment on Wednesday.

I said "BOING!!!"

What a day! And it is only12:50pm. Started off this morning feeling like shit. But at least I found that the cause of my dizziness is stress/exhaustion related and not blood sugar. I felt perfectly fine until my rubber check. Then drama ensued with my boss and our technician. I am VERY proud of Jared for the way he handled it. If he hadn't been there, I don't know what we would have done. He is the only reason there is any $$ coming in and I don't think he gets the respect he deserves.

But other than that, things have been going pretty good! Sergio and I haven't fought in over a week, the house is cleanish, the fence is fixed and I was feeling pretty damn good... until yesterday. I fell asleep around 9pm, woke up at 10:30 and went to bed. Woke up at 9am really dizzy. My doctor prescribed a motion sickness drug for me but I can't take it and drive, so it does me no good at work when I have the car. I was worried that I had developed diabetes, but after this morning, turns out it is just exhaustion and drama.

So the baby doc appt... Hit my "DO NOT PASS" weight. :-( At the next appointment we are going to discuss induction. The doctor doesn't want me to get past my due date, so as early as next Friday, we could have a baby! Still scared. But thanks to Graci and Tara, I am now fully stocked and prepared, just have to pick up the nipples for the bottles, but that can wait until I find out how big she is and if she is going to even take a bottle. So there have been absolutely no changes "down there" and the little stubborn monster refuses to plant her ass where it belongs. I could tell she had moved back up when I had a hard time breathing the other night. Which plays havoc with my asthma and allergies.

I'm going to do the countdown for shits and giggles, but next week's we should have a definite date:

From and including: Thursday, May 6, 2010
To and including: Wednesday, May 19, 2010

It is 14 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Alternative time units

14 days can be converted to one of these units:

• 1,209,600 seconds
• 20,160 minutes
• 336 hours
• 2 weeks

What? Two in one day??

I have to do my obligatory weekly update so you will get two entries in one day. Lucky people.

Went in for my weekly appointment. BP looked really good. 114/74. Pulse was a little high, but it always is. So I got the usual treatment, piss in a cup, get weighed (gained a little but still under my goal weight), and then walk in to find a paper gown. Which I ripped within five minutes. Turned out I haven't been contracting enough to even be checked. So half naked for no reason.

Have I mentioned baby stuff is expensive?? Wow. I spent $107 at Target today. Sure $20 was in new white shirts for Sergio, $12 was a nursing bra, and I could have learned how to swaddle a baby instead of buying the swaddler and saved myself another $20, but it was such a cute pattern and it was a 2 pack. I did get everything but the breast pump, and that I am ordering next week. My bag is officially packed and I'm going to load it in the car tomorrow. I am sure I packed too much, but isn't it my prerogative as a first timer?

I think Sergio and I finally have everything worked out. We had a really long discussion, we both yelled and cried and in the end, we got dinner and had a really good night and day today. I surprised him with a PS3 game he wanted. He had been playing the demo and apparently it was some kind of game of the year last year. Hopefully things will stay this good. I have really missed him and our relationship.

So in the words of Peggy Lee- "Cause it's a good day for paying your bills;
And it's a good day for curing your ills, So take a deep breath and throw away your pills; Cause it's a good day from morning' till night"

Annnndddddd here is the countdown for the week...

From and including: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
To and including: Wednesday, May 19, 2010

It is 22 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Alternative time units

22 days can be converted to one of these units:

• 1,900,800 seconds
• 31,680 minutes
• 528 hours
• 3 weeks (rounded down)

The "Science" of Baby Names

I stumbled upon this article this morning about the Science of Baby Names. When it came time to name our baby I had one name stuck in my head. I just couldn't get past it. Now it was a compromise between what I really wanted, Lila, and what I ended up with because with the middle name we chose Lila wouldn't work. So at six or seven weeks into this, she was named.

Back to this article... it made an interesting point in the trends of baby naming. When I worked at Kiddie Kandids in Southern California we had at least 4 Aidens a day. We even have an Aiden in the family. So from popular to the odd, I have a niece named Starling. Now in this article they talk about how popular books are creating a trend in baby names. Esme, Bella, Edward. I love the name Esme, but then I am a sucker for old fashioned names. But what bothers me is that women, grown-ass women, are naming their children after characters in a sub-par book series or worse, they have never read the books and are just going off the movies. Now I enjoy Twilight when I am in need of something to wash my brain out with nonsense and fluff, but enough to name my child after whiny Bella, no thank you. I could get into the sick fascination the 30+ crowd has for this series, but I won't. Just baby names. I am sure there are "Truebies" who are naming their kids Bill, Sookie, and Eric. But Twilight names?? Come on people, think about it... "Mommy, how did you chose my name?" and then set them down and let them watch the sparkly emo vamps. I will say one thing in closing the only good thing about naming your kid Esme or Edward is that it is bringing back those old names and giving them new life.

Rachel and the Septimana Horribilis

This week has been horrible so far, so I am just going to do a baby update and a quick side note.

I have not gained any weight, thank goodness! Had an "exam" (shoot me!) and found out that things are moving along, but not too fast. I am supposed to walk 20 minutes a day to get the kid to get down and stay down. As opposed to getting pissed off when she gets her head thumped and move up and punish me the whole day. I guess I should just be grateful that she is in the right position at least.

Got the new tires on the car, $320 later. Got into it with Sergio earlier this week, hence the Septimana horribilis. I don't know what to do any more. I know this is a tough time for him and things are changing quickly, but SERIOUSLY?! And if I could round all these desperate bitches up in a room and hose them down I would. Women who pursue and pay attention to a married man need to be taken out behind their trailer and smacked a few times. But I'm not going to get into it. :-(

I normally don't pray, but I am PRAYING that next week is better for all of us. If it isn't, it will be taken out behind the trailer too!!

From and including: Wednesday, April 21, 2010
To and including: Wednesday, May 19, 2010

It is 29 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

29 days can be converted to one of these units:

• 2,505,600 seconds
• 41,760 minutes
• 696 hours
• 4 weeks (rounded down)

Busy Wednesday

Had my second of my weekly visits to the baby doc before I am supposed to pop. Everything looks good, the kid is active, has a strong heart beat and my BP and swelling were all normal. We discussed labor signs and when to go to the hospital. Because I am GBS positive, I have to go in within an hour or so of my water breaking.

Took care of some problems I was having with Wells Fargo. Walked in to close one account, ended up opening another and got half of my overdraft reimbursed. So now I have an account for my automatic drafts, and an account for my debits. I hate how a lot of companies are making it so you have to have a automatic draft every month, my car insurance and Verizon for one! But this will make it so I know what I have in the accounts, bill will be separate from everything else, and no holds will be placed on my pay. Also paid Sergio's last installment of his tickets for College Station. Finally, no more $200/month in payments to the court. Now if we can keep him out of trouble...

My mother's day present came today. Sergio gave me a little bit of shit for ordering it and wearing it before mother's day, but you know what? Bite me! It's pretty and I love it! Wow, Mother's Day... Can you believe that someone is going to let me be responsible for another person?? I feel like we have so much to do in so little time. And the fact that the doctor said that if I went into labor tonight that they wouldn't stop it. Scary.

Countdown:

From and including: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
To and including: Wednesday, May 19, 2010

It is 36 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Or 1 month, 6 days including the end date

Alternative time units

36 days can be converted to one of these units:

• 3,110,400 seconds
• 51,840 minutes
• 864 hours
• 5 weeks (rounded down)

Attack of the First Post!!

I have almost abandoned my LJ, and after keeping that since 2003, I think it is time to start new. I am sure this blog will get all fancy once I get the hang of it, but for right now you will have to forgive me.

Here is where we stand right now: Today to May 19th

It is 43 days from the start date to the end date, end date included, 1 month, 13 days including the end date, 6 weeks (rounded down)

Had the last of my bi-monthly OB appointments and now I am at weekly. No longer anemic, gained more weight than I care to admit at this point, and I have perpetually plugged sinuses. Had the baby shower at the end of last month. Received some beautiful handmade blankets and some pretty cute outfits. This kid is going to be the best dressed baby! Really enjoyed having everyone over, first real party I have thrown in years. I learned a lot about what NOT to do at a baby shower, like buy wine and allow people to get fuckered. But all in all, I had fun!

I guess that is all for now, I am going to play with the settings and pretty fonts.