You know you're a new mommy when...

You know you're a new mommy when your google search bar says "orange poop."

You know you're a new mommy when you check to see if your baby is breathing when he/she sleeps for more than an hour.

You know you're a new mommy when three hours of consecutive sleep feels like enough.

You know you're a new mommy when you have foreign substances on your shirt and you don't know or care if it's poop, spit up, breast milk, or the applesauce you spilled on yourself while squeezing a meal for yourself in.

You know you're a new mommy when you celebrate being able to wear pants with a zipper and button.

You know you're a new mommy when taking a shower is a highlight in your day. (or you know you're a new mommy when you can't remember the last time you took a shower. or you know you're a new mommy when you aren't sure if that smell is coming from you or the dog because it's been awhile since you had a few minutes to even think about taking a shower). 

doctors offices, labs, specialists, oh my.

I find myself wondering is it just because he's mine, or is he an exceptionally good looking baby?  :)

Landon's first week has been filled with many doctor's visits. He had his first pediatrician visit on Friday where he checked out well other than the jaundice (which we already were aware of from the hospital).  Our pediatrician did order that we have his bilirubin levels checked though, just to make sure they weren't dangerously high.  After another stop at the lab and having to wait for the weekend to be over, they came back borderline (12.3) but pediatrician wasn't concerned and did a follow up exam this morning to see if he was gaining weight and how he looked.  She thought maybe he looked more yellow, but I think he looks the same, if not better today. And he did start gaining weight back- 5 oz since Friday. Friday he was down from 7lbs at birth to 6lbs 6 oz and today back to 6lbs 11oz. We have our 2nd screen blood work ordered for tomorrow so we are back to the lab for that and getting his bilirubin levels checked again at the same time just to make sure they haven't gone up.

Also, today we had the follow-up with his orthopedic specialist.  She removed his cast and was happy with his knee already.  She told us today that her original plan was to probably have to recast him for 2-3 weeks but she was so happy with the results of just one week that she went ahead and got him out of the cast completely and put him into his brace for the hip dysplasia.  She says it normally takes 3 months for the brace to do it's job but we are determined that our little guy will prove her wrong.  He has been already....and his hip is feeling better than it was on day one just from having the weight of the cast holding it in position this past week.   We have a follow up in 10 days to readjust the position of the brace and will continue to see the specialist regularly to adjust and reaccess his progress.

The brace is called a Pavlik Harness and looks pretty intrusive but isn't too bad really.  My mom says "it looks so big on him!" but the truth is, everything looks big on him.  He's teeny tiny!
He is able to move around pretty normally and seems pretty comfy actually.  It just holds his legs out to the side in what I call a "froggy" position (and what the specialist calls, "man style").  He has to keep it on at all times so we won't be doing much as far as changing his outfits.  He'll have a onesie underneath and we'll try to find him some sleep sack outfits that fit over everything.  Landon has been wearing nothing but the brace and a diaper since we left the office today and it doesn't seem to phase him at all.  His umbilical cord came off today so we ARE going to slip him out of it tonight to give him his inaugural first dunk in the tub.  Hoping that this time next month he'll be showing so much progress that we're talking about taking it off sooner.

It's been trying at times with just the cast, and the brace is going to test our patience at diaper changing time as well, but we'll deal with it all as much as we need to if it means he'll be 100% in the future.

Perfectly Perfect Tailor Made "Suit"

Landon is here!  After starting contractions at 3am yesterday morning that continued until my doctors appointment at 9am, where we found out I was dilated 2cm and 80% effaces, my doctor decided to strip my membranes (meaning, thin out the little "cork" that was keeping my water from breaking, and thus helping my labor progress a little easier/quicker).  Well, it helped my labor get more painful and some other nasty stuff but when I went back to the hospital around 1pm, I was only 2 cm still.  I was put on the monitors and just when I thought the nurses were going to tell me to go home and tough out the pain I had been enduring since 3am, Landon decided to look '"sleepy" (inactive) enough that they admitted me and broke my water! woo hoo!.... well, I was still only at 3 cm and 90% effaced at that point, but my contractions definitely got more painful once the water was broke.  So much so that it wasn't long before I was sending Jason to find the nurse and get the epidural.  People talk about how painful getting an epidural can be and quite honestly, I was so numb from the pain of the contractions that I didn't even feel them putting something straight into my spine.  I still wasn't progressing past 3cm and of course the epidural probably wasn't helping, so doc decided to start pitocin at 8:15pm.  I warned them that I thought I'd go pretty fast once the pitocin was started... they might have doubted me but by 9 I was up to 5cm and by 10:15 when the on call doctor came in to introduce himself and check me, I was fully dilated and ready to push.  With numb legs and no pain, it took a few contractions, handful of hard pushes, and about 30 minutes later, at 10:51pm 05/18/10, Landon James Gouin arrived.

Also, just wanted to fill everyone in on Landon's hip/knee issue. When he was born his umbilical cord was wrapped around his left leg pinning it up and to the side of his body, his cord was also pretty short so he didn't have a whole lot of wiggle room with it either. It caused his knee to be hyperextended and also for his hip to be a little displaced. After talking to the orthopedic specialist today, neither issue (knee or hip) look like they will cause Landon any permanent issue. He did have a cast put on today to help the knee. In a week he will have that removed and then will be using what's called a Pavlik brace for a couple months to fix his hip. Doc said he is like a really really good suit with a little wrinkle. So we're just going to iron out the little wrinkle. Everything looks like it's there and it's not a malformation- it's most likely just from the position he was in for so long. Jason and I spent most of our first night as parents learning what it's like to worry about your child but were relieved once we spoke with the specialist today. Only downside to the brace is that he might not be able to wear some of the cute clothes everyone sent him (at first anyway) but small price to pay to have the most perfect "really really good suit" baby in the world (in my opinion of course). We are so blessed and completely in love! 

Can't wait for everyone to meet our bundle in person!

All Systems Go

I read an article recently entitled "You know You're In The 9th Month When..." It had some pretty good points listed and got me thinking about some of my own too.  Here's a compilation of the two...

-You know you're in the 9th month when you are feeling extra irritable. You are annoyed and frustrated by every little thing that normally wouldn't bother you.  Check! For me, this was first realized when all of a sudden I couldn't even stand the 5y/o kid I nanny for sitting close to me, hugging me, or even speaking some days. (lucky for the kid, I may have been irritable but I have good self control).
-You know you're in the 9th month when you drop something on the floor and take 2 minutes contemplating whether or not you really need to pick that up.
-You know you're in the 9th month when you find yourself staring in the mirror, talking to yourself, really really trying to believe those stretch marks are going to fade away.
-You know you're in the 9th month when you get to the top of the stairs and you have a feeling of accomplishment- so much so that a vision of reaching the summit at Mt. Everest plays through your head (...you're so out of breath you feel like you are at 29,000ft...).
-You know you're in the 9th month when you find yourself laying on the baby's room floor face down in crazy yoga positions at 4 am trying to relieve the pevlic pain that's been keeping you up all night.
(Another little known pregnancy reality: when bebe settles down into your pelvis preparing for the grand entrance, the pain felt in your pelvic joints may make you wonder if this is some type of cruel karma pay-back punishment for yanking Barbie's legs out of the sockets as a child.)
-You know you're in the 9th month when you continue sitting next to an annoying overly friendly talker at Starbucks for an entire 20 minutes because it takes you that long to find the will power to pull yourself (+bump) up and move.

We are definitely in the 9th month!  Landon is due sometime the first week of June... however, there's been some developments going on that have me and Jason believing he's going to be one, if not two, weeks early.  This feeling was confirmed (un-influenced) yesterday at my doc visit.  I say uninfluenced because I have purposely not been telling my doctor anything about my feeling of an early deliver because I didn't want to influence her opinion.  After my exam tuesday, we found out I'm 1cm dialated and about 50% effaced.

(for those of you a little out of the loop on the preggo lingo- dialation is the opening and effacement is the thinning of the cervix in preparation for labor.  If you don't know what the cervix is, well you should have been paying better attention in health class. ;)  Important part is that for Landon to make his way out, I have to get to 10cm dialated and 100% effaced.)

So my doc confirmed that I am starting to dialate and efface and that Landon IS in position (meaning he's head down). Then out of the blue she says "I think you're going to go early.. first time mom, dialating already... he's coming out sooner than we think."  She even threw in a quick "See you next week, ...or tonight!" joke as she walked out of the room.  We thought maybe we WERE going to actually end up there as Tuesday progressed and the exam had provoked lots of cramping and regular contractions that were getting stronger by the evening through the night.  BUT then they slowed and stopped. 
Now I'm feeling increasing pelvic pain (as mentioned above) from Landon's head being engaged in the pelvis (he's "locked and loaded") and adding that extra pressure to my already 'lax joints.

So here's a section I'm going to give a TMI warning on (even though I think this is all just part of the process and if you can't handle the reality of how we all were created and entered this world then that's on you.) but considered yourself warned just in case.

With all the hormones- prostaglandins, and relaxin- my body is releasing to loosen everything up and prep me for labor, you'd think I'd be feeling like I just had a great day at the spa.  NoT so much! It actually means that my body feels like it's being yanked apart at the joints and if I was at the spa I don't think I'd order a colon cleanse. Thanks!    But nonetheless, it's all part of the process and prep work and all textbook pre-labor stuff. 
Here's how things have been progressing: I have had Braxton Hicks contractions ("practice contractions") since I was 20-something weeks along. At 33/34 weeks I had an increase in discharge that sent me to Labor and Delivery to get checked out for possible pre-term labor ended up being given a shot for contractions I didn't even realize I was having regularly at 10 minutes apart. I was not dialated but was almost 50% effaced at that time. At 35 weeks I started noticing cramping and then started loosing bits of the mucous plug over a few day period of time (I won't get into details, but if you don't know what a mucous plug is, it's basically mother natures version of a cork).  I also started having an increase in nasal sinus mucous and other secretions throughout my body (brought on my the hormonal changes prepping for labor). An increase in Braxton Hicks contractions and the spontaneous cramps continued into 36weeks as Jason and I began talking about our feelings that he's coming out a little earlier than planned (we thought a week early at that point).  Then as I mentioned above at 36 1/2 weeks we are dialated 1cm and a little over 50% effaced now and our doctor also has a feeling he's coming early too.  Feelings ARE just feelings though...
 
In the past few days there has been a definite increase in activity.  I'm nesting like crazy, feeling cramping more and more, having bouts of semi-painful contractions (10-20 minutes apart over a few hour period of time each evening), and having lots of pelvic and back pressure.

Today is my last day at work so I'm going to try to take it easy and see if I can get a little more comfortable/ get this pelvic pain under control with some rest and hydration ... but based on everything above, there's a very very real possiblity that this is all pre-labor and we'll be heading to the hospital soon!!

Final Stretch Update

Well, we are almost there!  In fact, Landon could be born any time now and be considered full term. 

Everything is done (for the most part)- his room is ready, he has clean clothes waiting to be worn, diapers are ready to be dirtied.  In the past few weeks/months I've also organized the closets, bathroom cabinets, kitchen cabinets, repainted the living room, scrubbed the crevices of the kitchen.... the car issues are solved, the gas tank is always ready... the bottles are sanitized, ALL the new clothes, blankets, towels, and bedding are washed and hung in the closet, the car seat is installed, the crib and changing table are assembled and accessorized, the bouncer seat is put together (after only a minor meltdown),... the coming home outfit is packed, copies of the birth plan are printed, and the hospital bag is almost full...

bottom line, we're about as ready as we can be. (oh wait, batteries! Other than still needing to buy some batteries...we're ready!)

As Reily layed sleeping peacfully between Jason and I in bed last night, I realized he really has NO clue what's about to happen in his life.  Poor puppy...   but I think he'll be alright.  I hope.  (I mean... I MAY have had a dream last night where he was a total wreck over it... He'll be ok. Right?)

Anyway, we can't wait for Landon's arrival!!  Jason and I find ourselves more and more guessing what day he's going to actually come and thinking about what he's going to be like when he's really here! Gawd, I can't wait!!

Realities

The realities of pregnancy have had me thinking, saying and hearing some pretty interesting things over the months so I thought I'd share a few...  Some are from conversations with other moms about their memories of their first pregnancies.. so probably some of these only other preggos and mommies will know what I'm talking about...and some others are things heard and overheard from doctors and nurses that would have most normal people going "WHAT?"

"Honey, does my ass look smaller or is my stomach just that much bigger now?"

"...if it's coming out light greenish and snot like it's normal... "

"I really need to ::belch::... burp"

"::sneeze:: ...oops!"

"whoa! it comes out from more than one place?"

"Did you smell it??"

"Doesn't counting sheep help?" - "It takes 7 pillows just to get comfortable, and that comfort usually only lasts about 10 minutes... if I'm not out by then, I have to adjust and start all over.  So no, sheep aren't really cutting it."

"When does it end?!"

Some other realities of pegnancy...

You have to pee uncontrollably, nonstop, every day and night except when the doctor asks for a sample.  Then, nada.

You don't know how it happens, but one minute you will be walking along just fine and the next, you will be laying on the ground.  Somewhere in between, you put your foot somewhere you couldn't see and your loose ligaments gave out, your new center of balance took and over and now you are down.

Stretch marks happen.  Get over it.

Prepare for "Whoa..."- Then people tell you just how big you are (like you didn't already know).

Pickles and ice cream is a sham.