Here's the picture that it up on the hospital's website. I'll try to post more on my fotolog in the next day or so.

The portrait ID is 010506
Lindsey


We're still having a rough time with nursing. She isn't latching at all. She pushes the nipple to the front of her mouth. The lactation consultant worked with us for hours in the hospital. She really was helpful and patient. I'm pumping lots and feeding her with a medecine dropper while allowing her to suck on my finger on the back part of the roof of her mouth in order to teach her where the nipple belongs. It's time consuming but I'm not having any milk supply issues at all. I've been consistantly pumping 4-5 ozs. every 2 hours or so. I'm putting her to the breast before feeding her with the dropper. Today she had a weight and jaundice check with the pediatrician and she was up 3 oz. since yesterday although it was on a different scale.

Recovering from the surgery is going okay. I'm still sore and tired but so glad to be home in my own bed. I was really nervous on Friday morning. When they started the surgery all of the bad memories of Kaelyn's birth came back to me. I suddenly remembered why I was so afraid of a c-section. I started feeling sick to my stomach from the pressure of them working on me. The anesthesioloist put some meds into my IV and I felt better almost instantly. Not being able to feel the bottom half of your body is the worst feeling. While I was being wheeled into the recovery room I starting vomiting all over myself. It was terrible. They sat the bed up for me and gave me more meds and things got much better from there. I was much more alert this time than for Kaelyn. This time in my spinal, they had given me a dermamorph which is time released into your body over 24 hours. For a full 24 hours I felt no pain and I didn't have the grogginess that I had with the morphine pump that I had last time. At home, I have percocets and Motrin but I'm just taking the Motrin because I can't function while taking the percocets.

Chad has been so helpful and I already know that I'll be in a panic just knowing that he has to go back to work on Tuesday.

We're home! We could have stayed until tomorrow but I was ready to get out of there. I'm tired and sore but doing okay. Nursing has been a struggle but we're working things out and I'm sure once my milk comes in things will get better. I'm not one but discouraged about how things are going. I know that this will be tough in the beginning but we're working on it. I saw the lactation consultant in the hospital a couple of times and my health insurance covers outpatient visits. I'm calling this afternoon to make one for the end of the week. If things smooth out before then I'll just cancel but at least I'll have it lined up.

Later I'll post the web address where her picture is located. She's beautiful with lots of dark hair. Kaelyn adores her and wants her all to herself. She doesn't want anyone else to have a turn holding her.

She's Here!!!

Lindsey Marie was born on August 27th at 2:06 p.m. She weighs 8 lbs. 1 oz. Both Mimi and the baby are doing well.

No news yet. I promise to post as soon as I hear something!

I'm still awake. I just can't seem to settle down. I think that I may turn on the air conditioner to see if the noise helps get me to sleep. Tomorrow night I'll be a mom of two girls. I can't wait to see what she looks like. We told Kaelyn that we would wait until she got to the hospital so that we can all decide on her name together. We've narrowed down the selections but we'd like to see her first. Today at my parents house we did an informal poll of how much she would weigh. I said 8lbs. 10z. which was the biggest guess. Kaelyn was only 5lbs 10oz. so anything in the 8lb range will be a big difference for me. We'll soon find out!

Chad only worked a half day today. I felt like I needed him around for emotional support today and we have a ton of things that we can get done before we leave for the hospital tomorrow. He's already cut the grass, brought it to the recycling center and now he's brought the van for an oil change and an inspection sticker. I want to change the sheets on the bed and tidy up a little.

I've drafted up an email so that Chad can send it when he gets home Friday night. I have Andrea's phone number but I'm not sure if he'll have a chance to call her. It depends how I feel. I know how he is, he won't want to leave me if I feel lousy. We can't use the cell phone from the hospital room, he will have to go down to the lobby.

Kaelyn had a meltdown last night, I knew it was coming. She claims that she's afraid to have a sister but I know the truth. She's really afraid of me staying at the hospital. I told her that it's okay to be afraid and we snuggled in bed for a long time. She cried alot. I was able to stay strong until she fell asleep. This morning she woke when Chad left for work and we stayed awake for about an hour talking. She seemed much better and chatted alot. We fell back to sleep and when we woke up she told me that it was fun talking in bed this morning. She's seems much better now and she's very happy that Chad came home early and will have vacation all next week.

I'm proud of myself. My aunt called this morning, she is in Calif. on vacation. She asked if on her way home from the airport on Sunday if they could stop by and visit. I politely told her that after my last c-section I had so many visitors and it was too much for me to handle and I was hoping to cut back on the amount of visitors this time. She said she understood. I'm glad that I stood up for myself. I have a hard time with that sometimes.

Nothing has changed. The dr. said that I really hadn't changed at yesterday's appt, although she was generous enough to give me 1cm even though it was a tight 1cm. My c-section is scheduled for Friday at 1:30pm. Memere is picking Kaelyn up at 10am because we need to be at the hospital at 11:30am. My mom will pick her up in the afternoon and bring her to the hospital to see me and the baby. I'm trying not to think about it but it's hard.

I keep telling myself that I have to get over this and prepare myself for what might be a tough time after the surgery. I will have to focus all of my energy on breastfeeding and not worry about anyone or anything else. I struggled with this after my last c-section and I failed and I won't fail again. I guess this is another reason I'm so afraid of the surgery.

I can't help but feel that my body is failing me once again. My weight has always been a battle. I've battled with PCOS since I was 20 years old. I couldn't get pregnant without the help of medication, which thankfully worked. My body isn't going into labor like it should. I just feel like the odds are always against me! Others have no idea how difficult it is for me to get over having a c-section. Most people can't believe that I hadn't opted to have an elective c-section this time around. Or when they find out that I'm having one on Friday, they say "At least it will be over with." Yeah, it will be over but not the way I wanted it to be. I transferred my care more than halfway through my pregnancy so that I would be given the opportunity to have a vbac and I still won't have the opportunity. It sucks!!!

The waiting continues. I woke up at 3:30am with very painful contractions but they only lasted an hour. What a tease. I have to call the dr. office after 1pm today to find out the date and time they have been able to schedule the c-section for. They were going to try for the very last minute but it all depended on the operating room schedule.

I'm happy that I've been able to avoid an elevated blood pressure. When I was pregnant with Kaelyn my blood pressure got so high that they gave me an IV of magnesium sulfate. I think that horrible medication kicked my ass more that the surgery did. I won't need it this time.

Please keep sending good labor thoughts my way. It isn't over yet, I still have time.

I'm sitting on the excercise ball typing this. It's one of the only positions I feel comfortable in. I had my chiro appt. yesterday and I had mild contractions the rest of the night but they were gone when I woke up this morning. I had another appt with him this morning and I really feel like her head may be engaged. I have lots of pressure that I've never experienced before. I can barely walk because the pressure is uncomfortable. No contractions though. Right now we're headed out for a ride and maybe I'll be able to get out near the ocean for a short walk. Kaelyn is begging for clams again. I already told her that she needs to get her shellfish license and go dig her own clams. She's got expensive taste for a 4 (almost 5) year old.

We also signed her up for gymnastics. We had taken a little time off but she's been bugging me all summer to go back. Her first class is on her b-day, Sept 11. She also starts school on Sept 7th. This is going to be a challenge for me this winter. I'll need to get her to school for 12:00pm and then head out again to pick her up at 2:30pm. It won't be so bad until the cold weather arrives. She's still in a carseat so its not so easy for anyone else to pick her up without advanced planning.

I'm still here. I had my dr. appt today and there's no change at all. They'll be calling me today or tomorrow to schedule a c-section for the end of next week just in case I don't go into labor. I've scheduled an appt with my chiropractor for tomorrow in the hopes that he can get things moving here. Can you tell I'm getting a little nervous?

I actually feel much better today. I was able to get alot of sleep last night. I just keep telling myself that my body knows what it is suppossed to do and it will happen. I did try to pump this morning and it didn't cause any contractions. I was surprised and delighted to see that my body is lactating like it is suppossed to. I also went to the health food store yesterday and picked up some raspberry leaf tea and I'm drinking that. It even tastes yummy.

Now we're headed to my parents house for supper.

I won't hide the fact that I'm a little discouraged. I had my dr. appt this morning and there is no change. I'm 50% effaced and not dilated at all. I hope and pray that things start moving along soon. I thought for sure I would be at least 1cm with all those contractions I had on Sunday night. I see the dr. again on Thursday and I have until the end of next week for mother nature to take over and send me into labor. If not, they'll schedule me for a c-section because they don't induce VBAC patients. The dr. knows this is a concern of mine and he stressed that we still have time and lots can happen in a small amount of time. It didn't help, I still cried after I left the office. I don't want surgery!!!!!

Thanks to all for all of the positive thoughts. We're headed to the mall right now for some walking.

I fell asleep around 2am and slept through until now. I'm not having any more contractions. I guess it was a good idea to let Chad sleep. He's gonna be disapointed when I wake him up at 5:30am for work. Oh well, it is encouraging that things seem to be moving in the right direction.

I'm too uncomfortable to sleep. I was starting to wonder if I was just experiencing gas pains or something so I took a Tums. I'm not sure if Tums would really help gas pains but it was worth a try. The pain is still there. I have a low dull backache that radiates to the front. I guess these really are contractions. I'm a rookie since I never did get to this stage with Kaelyn. I've been resting in bed since I last posted hoping to doze off a little. I told Chad to go sleep since I'm sure I'll need him more later. Plus, I think that I was in denial and I figured he'll probably have to work in the morning because this isn't the real thing.

In the event that this really is labor I'll try to post before I leave for the hospital. If you don't hear from me for awhile it's because I was able to fall asleep and get some rest. Or, if I'm not able to post before I leave for the hospital I'll have Andrea post it here once the baby arrives.

Yesterday was a very eventful day. My mom went to my eye exam with me. After we were done there she dragged me around the mall. As we were driving home, with Kaelyn and my neice in the backseat, we drove by a little bus shelter. There was a man sprawled out, or should I say passed out. It was my uncle, my mother's brother who is an alcoholic. We didn't want the kids to see so I pulled and parked near some bushes and my mother went over to him. He's also very sickly and she wanted to be sure that he was okay. She came back and said that he couldn't even respond to her and he was struggling to breathe. She called 911 and when we saw the ambulance coming down the road we left. I know that it sounds horrible that we left but EMS could handle him alot better than we could. We didn't need to upset the kids by them seeing him in his drunken sickly state. The town cops and paramedics know him very well since he's the town drunk and oddly enough they treat him very well. Once we got home my mom called to make sure that he had gone to the hospital. He stayed overnight and they released him this morning. How sad. His whole body is just shutting down from so many years of drinking. He is only a few years older than my mom but he looks 25 years older. It bothered me alot yesterday.

My little clam digger, Kaelyn has been asking for a clam boil so last night we went out for dinner and we ordered one. You should have seen her eating her steamed clams with butter all over her chin. Today, she split 3lbs of Portuguese style mussels with Chad for lunch. Chad made them.

Last but not least, I'm starting to have contractions. Nothing that I can time regularly but they are uncomfortable. I haven't told anyone except for Chad because who knows how long this will last for. It would be nice if it could be soon. Oh, and these contractions have forced me into finished packing my bag and getting a bag ready for Kaelyn.

It's D-Day but I'd honestly be surprised if I went into labor in the next couple of days. I'm feeling no differently at all. I'm fine with that, although I'm very anxious to meet this new little person in our lives. Last night I kept dreaming that I was in labor.

Today we are headed to the mall and then I'm going to get new glasses. Mine have taken a beating and I can't seem to get them straight. Chad has to keep telling me to fix my glasses cause they are crooked.

Today I had a dr. appt which was a blessing. Last night I noticed that the baby's movement had decreased. I was okay with that, I just figured there's not much room left in there. This morning I woke up early and stayed in bed for a long time and she hadn't moved. This continued and I was pretty nervous all the way to my appt. Chad knew something was bothering me and I admitted it to him on the drive. I told the dr. and he wasn't concerned. He found her heartbeat on the doppler right away and I had a quick NST and sure enough she started moving. She's still moving but definitely not as much so I guess time is getting close. Plus, my maternity clothes are becoming uncomfortable so it's got to be time soon or else I'll have to start wearing drapes.

I also used my gift certificate for my pedicure today and it was heavenly. My feet feel so soft and they're so pretty. I'm definitely not a girly girl. I don't wear jewelry, except for my wedding and engagement rings, I don't polish my finger nails and I only occasionally wear make-up. I do love to wear toe nail polish though. I never leave the house with sandals unless my toenails are polished.

It's been pretty quiet around here. Not much to report. Chad is on vacation and that has been so helpful. He's able to keep Kaelyn entertained while I work or rest. He even did the grocery shopping today. I made the list and he had no problems. He's going to drop me off at my parents house in a while to go swimming. He is working at the Phish concert tonight.

My dad bought a new truck. Yesterday we drove him to Hyannis to pick it up. We did a little shopping and then came home. I was exhausted, mostly because I hadn't been sleeping. I did finally get a good night of rest last night.

I'm in nesting mode. Not because I want to but because I have to. Chad is on vacation this week so he's being a tremendous help. Yesterday the two of us cleaned the kitchen, dining room and the half bath. It was really fall cleaning a little early. It feels so good to have a sparkling clean fridge. Today, we tackled my office. Now I'm working and he's outside with Kaelyn painting the back porch. Our next task, probably tomorrow will be the foyer and the living room. We really need to steam clean the carpet. Then we'll be just about ready for the baby to arrive. Except my hospital bag, I haven't packed that but I can do that soon. Eeek!

Tonight I have my monthly LLL meeting. I'm looking forward to the meeting but I'm not looking forward to driving there and back.

Testing!

Mimi has asked me to post baby news when the time comes. This is a test post.

I tweaked the template a little bit. Please email me if it looks funny.

Hopefully I will posting again soon!

I guess I spoke too soon. We went from hot and extrememly humid to pumpkin picking weather. My maternity clothes are starting to become too small for me so that's a sure sign that the time is getting close. I noticed today that the baby seemed to drop alot. I'm having a much easier time breathing and Chad and my mom both commented on how low I was. I guess that could be the reason I started with a low dull back ache. It would be ideal if I had the baby this weekend since Chad is on vacation this week (his plant closes completely for the week). I'm not getting my hopes up though. He'll have another week of vacation once the baby is born.

I'm ready for the cooler weather. I've been spending lots of time in the pool and the air conditioner. Feeling weightless in the water had been really helping my achey body. Until today! My legs, knees, hips and pelvis are so crickety and sore.

I had my weekly appt today and found out that I tested positive for Group B strep. I was so upset. Up until this point I had no reason to have an IV when I show up at the hospital. The dr. stated alot of the same things that I found in this article which calmed me down a bit but he still recommended a bad of IV antibiotics when I get there. He assured me that they would disconnect me once the bag has finished. I guess I feel like I've been knocked off of my pedestal. I assumed that because I had tested negative with Kaelyn I definitely would test negative again. Wrong.

Kaelyn is at my parent's house which is a huge help since I feel so lousy today. They're on vacation this week and Chad is on vacation next week. Then he'll go back to work until I have the baby and then he'll take some more time off. My mother also can take some time off to help me out.