Doctor Visit Updates

So here we are 2 weeks later and her jaundice is still not completely gone. We are going to the doctor now 2 sometimes 3 times a week. Her poor feet are constantly covered in band aids and I know she is just as tired of going to the doctor as we are. They tell us now that it is jaundice from the breast milk. We had to go to formula for a couple of days and it seemed to bring down her levels some. We were then cleared to go off formula and I could straight breast feed again. Her levels are not going up but they are still very slowly going down. A couple of days ago it was at a 15 and we were told to start her on vitamin D drops. We were told that until her levels go down to a 13, we need to continue going in to see the pediatrician. Yesterday turned eventfull when we discovered blood in her diaper mixed with her stools. I immediately called the doctor and we went up there. I asked about the drops and if that could have effected her system. They didn't seem to think so and didn't give it any thought. I, however, and skeptical. The first night I gave her the drops she seemed to take them fine. The second night I gave them to her she had her first and only projectile spit up. The third night I gave them to her she didn't take them very well at all. Then the next morning she has blood mixed with her poop??? Instead of telling us to stop giving them to her the doctor says that it could be an allergy to milk and that I may have to eliminate all dairy from my diet and that if we end up having to formula feed her, the formula is a very expensive brand. "Great" Last night I did not give her the drops and have not given them to her today. So far she has had a few bloody diapers but also a few regular ones. So, maybe she does have an allergy to dairy but I am thinking it is the drops. Especially since she was perfectly fine up until she started taking them. I am really counting on this next week to be the end of the doctor visits and that by friday her levels will be down to 13. We went back today and had it checked once again. So, we are now waiting to hear back from the lab of her stool sample from yesterday and her bilirubin levels from today. The good news is that her weight has now surpassed her birth weight and she is now at 8 lbs and 9 ounces. She is a normal healthy baby if she can just get passed these 2 experiences!!!

Our First Week

This last week has been very eventful. We got home and immediately people started coming over to visit and help out. Our family has been so great with all the help during the days and nights. This first week has been really hard. With the c-section and lack of sleep, recovery has been difficult. I have been trying to do a lot and get naps in and visit with people, all of which is difficult to do when you have an incision all across your bikini line. Jordan kept asking me why I was so tired. I keep telling him that he didn't just have surgery and that my body is physically tired as well as me being tired from lack of sleep. When we were at the hospital, just before leaving to come home we were told by the pediatrician not to worry about waking her up to feed her and allow her to wake us up. For the first couple of nights that's what we did and it was miserable. The next day I decided to forget what he doctor had said and started attempting to wake her up to feed every 3 hours. She wouldn't want to wake up and eat. I would try and feed her and she would eat for about 5 min before falling back asleep or other times she would eat really good, it wasn't consistent. It was really frustrating. She also wasn't on a sleeping schedule. The doctor's had told us to allow her to make the schedule and then after the first couple of weeks, we should begin a schedule for her to go by. I thought this sounded strange but being a first time parent I didn't know any better. When we woke up the day of her newborn appointment with our pediatrician (last Thursday) I noticed she was yellow. I got worried, we had only been home for 3 days and the night before she had looked good. It is crazy how fast they can change. I went and got my staples out while Jordan took Greer to the doctor. I met up with him laterat the doctor and we were told to stay by the phone, we might have to go to the hospital again and get her checked in to decrease her bilirubin. I thought, great... already she is having to go back to the hospital and all we did was follow the ped's instructions. Again, very frustrating. Later that day we got the phone call telling us we needed to get checked in and stay overnight. I started crying, I was so irritated! We hadn't been home long and we had to again leave our house. The room was at least really cute. It was decorated in animals and her bed looked like a tanning bed.


(She is so lady like! lol)

Staying at that hospital was a blessing in disguise. We had delivered at ETMC and there is not a lactation consultant there to guide you. At Trinity, they have several to help out and inform nursing mothers. They came in and talked to me about all that I was supposed to be doing and how to hold her to keep her from going to sleep, how to wake her up if she did fall asleep, and helped us get a schedule going. They helped me out a lot with questions I still had. They kept coming in and checking on us periodically throughout the night making sure all was going well. The next morning, we were told the good news. Greer's bilirubin count had gone down and we could go home. The lactation consultants came back in and went over things with me again. They gave me their number to call anytime if and when I had questions. I felt more comfortable going home this time, like I was more prepared. Since then, Greer has been waking up or has been easier to wake up to eat. Her color is back to pink and she is now tanner than momma. :) We are going to try this week to work more on the feeding schedule. She has been really good at nursing so we are going to try to bring in a bottle a day. I will nurse at 11 before both of us going to bed. Jordan will get up with a bottle at 2 to feed her and then I will get up at 5 to nurse. We are really hoping this will be better for us and for her. All 3 being able to get some sleep. She is also doing some things really early. She has already started picking her head up and leaving it up for several seconds at a time. She has also started throwing herself back! We have a smart kid on our hands. We went to the doctor again on Saturday for her follow up. Her bilirubin count was still really good, thank goodness. She was measured and was found to be in the 80th percentile for heighth and was at the weight she needed to be. Great news to hear after a really long and tiring week!

C-Section July 4th

Okay, so here is the story:
On Saturday night we were finishing up eating when my water broke. At first I wasn't sure since it wasn't a sudden "gush" of fluid but kept streaming out little at a time. We called the doctor and she told us to get our stuff and head on up to the hospital. Jordan was so funny, he was freaking out! He was running all over the house getting phone chargers and little things put in our bags. I started out all calm but then with him flipping out, I started to lose it. I told him he needed to snap out of it really fast and that him acting this way was not going to help in any way, only will prolong us getting to the hospital. He calmed down slightly until we got the hospital. Hahaha, the nurse even got annoyed with him and had to snap him back to normal. I told him he was about to lose the ability of staying in the room during delivery. If he couldn't handle this, then he definitely couldn't handle delivery. That seemed to do the trick and he calmed down (for a little while). We got checked in and settled into our room at around 7:30. At 9 pm I still had not dilated anymore and was still at 50%. So, they started the petosin. They continued to check on me every few hours. It got to the wee hours of the morning on Sunday and I still had not changed. They started talking c-section and I started crying. I did not want the c-section, I had heard horror stories of recovery and I had wanted to be able to feel a little of the delivery when the time came, not be completely numbed up. Well, at 8 when I still had not dilated and was still at 50%, the c-section was decided on. I started panicking and got sick. I had amazing nurses and doctors! They really helped calm me down as much as possible. Doctor Willis was very calming and worked fast. The anesthesiologist was AMAZING! He was very calming too and told me exactly what was happening when it was happening and guided me through the operation. My delivery nurse was there all the time too, she had stayed past her time to get off to stay with me through the operation. :) Jordan was there holding my hand and talking to me, keeping my mind off of my abdomen laying there wide open.When I heard her cry I was so relieved and knew it was almost over. The nurses made a cute little bow for her to wear and keep her head warm.



Here is Greer with Dr. Willis. So glad she made everything as calm as could be. LOVE HER!



Here we are back in our room after the recovery period. I was ready for a nap!

Swelling and Stretch Marks

I have been priding myself in not having any of these the entire time I have been pregnant. Now, all of a sudden BAM! I have both. Greer has started to drop and therefore has started giving me stretch marks. YUCK! They are on the lower portion of my belly. I have been loading up more on the oil but so far, nothing. I am putting it on all the time. Unfortunately it seems to wear off with the way the clothes are fitting. I noticed today that they seem to be rising. My worst fear is that after all this is over I am going to have this horrible looking stomach and be so embarrassed, never to wear a swimsuit again. If anyone knows of any good remedies please tell me. The stretch marks are at least the small red ones that I have been told go away after time. I hope this is true. My wedding rings do not fit anymore. I am pushing the liquids. Yesterday I drank 2 bottle waters in a period of 15 min and then my sweet mom bought me a Rt. 44 Cranberry Limeade from sonic. I can't get enough, I am always thirsty! I hate not being able to wear at least my wedding band. I feel that people look at me and think I am this knocked up girl who isn't married. I should have a shirt that says,"I am married, but my rings don't fit." Maybe that would send out a wrong message though too. Anyways... so I didn't realize how truly swollen my feet were until yesterday before church. I had gotten all dressed and had my make up on and jewelry. I went to go put on my flats and couldn't fit into them. I knew my feet had swollen a little since heels had been out of the picture for several months. So, I thought maybe it was just those pair of shoes. I went to go put on another pair and the same thing. Ugh, I had no shoes to wear and thought about just not going anymore. Really depressing. Both Jordan and my mom said to just wear my crocks, but are you kidding me? I am not gonna be all dressed up and then have on crocks, how ridiculous. So I had to change clothes and went looking horrible. I am so ready for all this to be over and have all of this mess behind me. I am praying for no more stretch marks and that the temperature outside will not continue to rise above 100. I don't think my feet and hands can take anymore. I am counting down until July 12th when she will be here.

Only 3-4 Weeks Left!

I obviously am not the best blogger in the world. I thought that I would be doing so much better than this. At least 2 or 3 entries per month. I think I am averaging maybe 1? Anyway, school got out a couple of weeks ago and I am soooo thankful. Not only to be having a break but being able to sit when I need to. Those kids require so much more energy than I have right now and are too much of a handful. I am easily irritable and constantly uncomfortable so anything will set me off right now. Jordan is being so good during these final weeks with helping more around the house than usual and taking care of other things, like the dog and watering the yard. Since standing for long periods of time is off limits right now, he has even helped out with cooking! Bending over or squating down is very difficult too. The other day we were out shopping around. We are in the process of repainting our dresser to go in the nursery. So we were shopping for paint and other house hold items. I guess I had slippery fingers all day because I kept dropping everything! If Jordan hadn't been with me I wouldn't have even bothered with picking up the things. But when I would drop something, I would sigh and make a face. Jordan would stand there and laugh and then pick it up for me. So, as you know I have been having contractions known as braxton hicks. Well as we have been getting closer to the due date, these contractions have been coming more common and more sharp. They are really annoying and have on occasion caused me to stop in my track. Jordan has started laughing at me now as I walk. Apparently he gets a kick out of me waddling, isn't he sweet? This afternoon I had to get on to him though as it was about the third time he had laughed at me. We are having a garage sale today and tomorrow and with getting things ready I have made my calve muscles sore. So, today I did look funny as I walked. If you can imagine a 9 month pregnant person waddling AND limping at the same time, you can visualize what I look like walking. On a good note, I went to the doctor today for my regular 2 week check up. She told me that I am now 1 cm dialated, 50% effaced, and little Greer is head down and ready to come. She just needs to drop a little more. She keeps having the hiccups and continues to hit my ribs when she has them. It feels funny but it would be nicer if she was sitting a little lower. We scheduled an induction to be on July 12th just in case she has not arrived by then. With school and all the mess of paper work and confusion of getting things situated, it would be easiest if she was right on time or early. I am glad too that we have an actual day and I am not just in limbo. I need to take another picture soon and post it. Maybe I an get that done this week.

10 WEEKS TO GO!

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that I am going to deliver in 10 weeks! Every time I start thinking about it, I start freaking out. I am wondering if that is normal and why it is that I am freaking out. I mean, is it that we are still without some big important things like a stroller and our car seat? Is it that we are still without our bedding and changing table? Jordan and my grandfather are building the table this month and my grandmother and I are making the bedding this month too. So, I can cross that off our list. We are getting the carpets cleaned this month too so that is another thing off our list. My parents are being AWESOME and buying us our car seat and we have the money for the stroller too. So, really, why am I freaking out??? I guess it could be that I will be going into the unfamiliar territory soon. I have now decided that I will be getting an epidural. I was not so sure at first, but now that I am so anxious about the labor I have decided that I will be getting it. I will not be using some of that anesthesiologists they have at ETMC. There is one that has a hard time giving them without leaking any spinal fluid. Talk about not helping the anxious right??? Well, anyways, we went to see our doctor today for our first semi-weekly visit. We are currently meeting all the doctors in the practice and so far we have loved all of them. They are very comforting and answer any and all questions that we have as well as asking us questions of anything I should be experiencing and then further telling me why I am feeling or having any of those type of changes. So, lately I have started having contractions. They were first starting after I would do ZUMBA and then this weekend and on through the week, they have gotten more common. When I had several in a row on Monday, I called the nurse. She said that it could be normal to start feeling them. I have also been feeling some pain in my upper leg. Some times the pain makes it really hard for me to walk and I end up limping. She said that was normal too from the pressure of the baby. We talked to the doctor about all of this today again and she said that quote on quote, "It was time to start acting pregnant." I am supposed to stop rushing and walk slow, get up slow, and no sudden movements. All of that increases the pain and contractions and that I need to drink lots and lots of water. If you know me, this will all be really hard! I had to say goodbye to teaching ZUMBA for the rest of the pregnancy. I wanted to go all through May, and drinking lots and lots of water is really hard for me. As for the check up, she said the heartbeat was great... 146. HAHA, she had a hard time finding the baby. She is so high up and she was trying to get the heartbeat low in my belly. We go back again in 2 weeks!

New Car and Crib!

Wow! So I am really not good at keeping up with this blog. I thought that I would be better about it and need to start. Okay, so much has happened and now I don't know where to start. I don't have my camera with me to post some pictures so I will have to start with the beginning of the month...

Early this month, we decided that we had had enough fixing up the honda.





It has had constant oil leaks for the past couple of years. No matter where we take it and get it fixed, another leak comes up in the next couple of weeks. The latest leak came with power stearing fluid leak too. OH JOY! And, to top it all off, the air conditioner wasn't working for some reason and we were told that it was most likely the air compressor. So, needless to say, we were done with the car. It would cost too much to fix all the problems it had and we would be better off just getting a new/used car. Plus, with a baby on the way, we need two cars that had 4 doors. Can you imagine getting a car seat in and out of a 2 door car? I didn't want to try it.
So, we went and bought this car...





So, yes, now we have 2 Nissan Altimas. Atleast they are not the same color. And the funny thing is, we didn't try to get another Altima, it just happened. I told Jordan it looked like a mommy car hahaha. He loves it though so far. He said he didn't remember what having air conditioning felt like and loves it! Poor thing! I am glad he has a car now that is reliable and enjoyable.

Okay so on to the crib! After purchasing it and then waiting for A MONTH, it has finally arrived! We set it up last weekend and it is so pretty! Jordan had fun putting it together. I think it made him feel like he had accomplished something. I made sure to take lots of pictures of his first task as daddy. :)


So, this is him beginning the process...


Half way, looking good!


Getting it ready for the mattress...


The final step! Almost done!


Finished! Isn't it so cute? I can't wait for us to get the bedding made and have it in the crib.


The nursery is coming along and looking so cute! Next month we are getting the carpets cleaned and ready. I am so ready for it to be complete!