* can't believe i am supposed to still be pregnant right now
* so happy to finally see the bones and veins in my feet!
* i wish i could get the feeling back in my right hand
* pip is super cute
* she gained 12 oz at her dr's visit on wed.
* her umbilical cord finally fell off last night. amy accidentally stepped on it. yuck!
* very thankful to have the best framily ever. thanks for bringing us yummy dinners.
* breastfeeding is tough. i can totally see why people don't continue it or move to formula
* kinda glad we can't really leave the house with her yet. 107 today? really?
* had my first tiny glass of champagne last night, : )
* couldn't imagine doing this without amy. love you!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
the day she was born...
it was a typical sunday for us. the only thing we had planned was meeting up for a breakfast taco at Cherrywood and the usual sunday grocery shop. the day before we were able to go out to sibby's to swim, so we were pretty relaxed. it was a nice day, somewhat overcast for the first time. amy and i even had the whole pool to ourselves.
so we met john, lee, melanie and amo for a quick breakfast. i make fun and blame her early arrival on the chorizo taco and latte that i had. maybe i really didn't have a decaf? some of the conversation at the table is funny, thinking back. i commented that i was wondering that if she decided to come the next day, what was she doing inside of me? just hanging out? melanie even said that i was quite lopsided that morning. her butt was definitely sticking out during the 2 weeks prior to arrival. anyway, we went on our way to central market and made sure we stuck to our list of planned meals and snacks for the week. at checkout i felt a little more tired than usual telling amy that i was going to sit in the car and wait for her. usually, i will pay and she would go get the car and pick me up. that day, my legs were tired! unpacked the car and at noon, amy and i decided to take a nap.
i stayed downstairs and amy went upstairs with the dogs. i woke up around 1:30 feeling rested and started channel surfing. found a bad movie with kevin costner and ashton kutcher. at some point i got up to go to the restroom and felt the usual braxton hicks contraction, feeling pressure that goes away with moving around, then sat back down on the couch. about maybe 15 mins later, i felt a different kind of twinge of pain that i haven't had before. of course i continued to watch t.v., but it happened again. not sure how long it lasted. around 2:15 i went upstairs to let amy know that i felt funny. that is really what i said to her because i didn't know if i should be concerned or not. she went back to sleep. then, the hard hitting contractions came out of nowhere. the worst pain i have ever felt. i told amy that we should pack a bag just in case, but i basically thought that if this were false labor, real labor must suck. we tried to time them, but they were coming every 2 minutes! we were so confused. where did the stages of labor go? why didn't my water break? aren't i supposed to go through hours of labor? nope. not us. we called the number that contacts a nurse in our practice. she called back and basically told me to give it an hour and walk it out. no way! after a few more massive contractions, i told amy we needed to go NOW! she called jean and we headed to the hospital.
the ride over was painful and i hope no one looked over at us at the stoplights because i'm sure it was a site to see. we pulled into the hospital about 8 mins later and amy dropped me off at the door and put me in a wheelchair. she had to go park and it seemed like forever before she was back. made it to the second floor and the admissions person clearly saw that i was in pain as she was asking us a few questions. they knew that we were on our way since we called the nurse back and told her that i couldn't wait any longer. as we turned the corner a nurse wheeled us into a room filled with at least 5 nurses. they were awesome. they were asking me tons of questions and i could only talk in between contractions. which were still coming every 2 minutes. they even had to undress me, put the iv in, etc between them since they were so strong. one nurse in particular made sure i made it through each contraction, coaching me and making me listen and focus on what she was saying. i finally made it into the bed and they began hooking me up to the monitors. we were super shocked to find out that i was dilated already to a 7! a freakin 7 only after about 1 hour and 1/2. then i heard the word epidural. my new best friend. as soon as they administered it the pain magically went away. completely! i could feel a little pressure every time a contraction came, but the drugs were wonderful. all of the nurses were running around taking such good care of us. they talked us through everything step by step. after a few hours (which didn't seem like long, thanks to the epidural), they told me it was time to push. this was around 6pm. 2 of the nurses commented that i will probably only have to push 1 or 2 times since i progressed so quickly in a short amount of time. well, they were wrong. i tried a few positions to get little girl out. i wasn't in pain so it was strange to push as hard has i could because i couldn't feel what i was doing. they told me i was doing a good job and continued to check me and baby. the only scary part was when harper's heart tones started to slow down. next thing i knew, i was on my hands and knees. the nurse also inserted a different monitor on pip's head. they finally told me what was going on and i realized that i could hear her heart slowing in the monitors. it came back up quickly and we were then back to pushing. she still wasn't progressing like she was supposed to. the doctor on call finally came in, sat on the corner of my bed and explained what was happening. she told us that i could probably sit here and push for several more hours, but she is most likely not going to come out. with her heart tones decreasing early, the slow progression and the fact that she is facing down (called sunny side up), i would need to have a c-section. she was very confident in her explanation and all i could do was look at amy and jean. their expressions were clear in that i needed to do this.
i didn't realize that the procedure only takes about 20 mins with an additional 30 mins or so to put me back together. amy suited up and jean went to tell the gang the news. speaking of gang, we had quite a few people in the waiting room. team pip waited patiently of her arrival. amo, mel, kerry, john and lee were the first to show up. mel was in charge of the phone tree and kept others informed. steph and milissa show up later as well. i was taken to the operating room and given additional medication that completely numbed me from chest down. couldn't even feel my arms. the room seemed extra bright with people prepping me for surgery. the conversation was very odd during my time in there. can't really repeat what was said, but let's just say that everyone was in a good mood joking around. they went to get amy and she sat by my head behind the curtain. amy said that there was a lot of movement and jerking of my body. not really something that i wanted to hear. they asked amy if she wanted to peak over and see pip before they cut the cord. seconds later we heard her cry. amy went over with the nurse and watched them clean her off. they even did her footprint immediately as well. i could only lay there and watched from far away. i began to cry so hard that i could hardly see what they were doing. amy looked over at me with the biggest smile on her face. they then wheeled her away as amy followed. they strangest thing began to happen as they were sewing me back together. my jaw started quivering. not the kind of quivering that you get when you watch a girly movie, it was shaking violently to the point that it gave me a headache. i tried everything to stop it, but it just took over. the anesthesiologist said it was due to the drugs and eventually gave me another one to stop the movement.
i was moved to recovery and a nurse monitored me closely. while i was there amy was with harper while they weighed, measured and cleaned her. there was even a picture of her holding her in the nursery as team pip watched through the window. during recovery i had slightly elevated blood pressure readings and moderate bleeding that eventually subsided. i was moved into the room where i would spend the next 4 days. i didn't even leave the room until day 3 when amy took me for a walk in the hallway. amy was so awesome during that time. i was unable to get up for the first few days since i was hooked up to the iv and had a catheter. amy changed every diaper and had to get up every 3 hours with me to hand pip to me. she was forced to learn quickly and now she is a pro and diaper changes and swaddling. there was lots of action in the hospital whether it was the nurses coming in to the room to assess me or harper or someone taking my meal order for the day or bringing the food or housekeeping or someone bringing my meds. they took excellent care of us, don't get me wrong. this part of the hospital was new, so the room was pretty big with a nice big bathroom, pullout couch for amy and a flat screen t.v. it was nice to finally leave on thursday though. we loaded her up in the car seat and headed home. auntie jean and grandma jan made the transition easy. we really appreciated everything they did and continue to do for us. now it's just one day at a time...
so we met john, lee, melanie and amo for a quick breakfast. i make fun and blame her early arrival on the chorizo taco and latte that i had. maybe i really didn't have a decaf? some of the conversation at the table is funny, thinking back. i commented that i was wondering that if she decided to come the next day, what was she doing inside of me? just hanging out? melanie even said that i was quite lopsided that morning. her butt was definitely sticking out during the 2 weeks prior to arrival. anyway, we went on our way to central market and made sure we stuck to our list of planned meals and snacks for the week. at checkout i felt a little more tired than usual telling amy that i was going to sit in the car and wait for her. usually, i will pay and she would go get the car and pick me up. that day, my legs were tired! unpacked the car and at noon, amy and i decided to take a nap.
i stayed downstairs and amy went upstairs with the dogs. i woke up around 1:30 feeling rested and started channel surfing. found a bad movie with kevin costner and ashton kutcher. at some point i got up to go to the restroom and felt the usual braxton hicks contraction, feeling pressure that goes away with moving around, then sat back down on the couch. about maybe 15 mins later, i felt a different kind of twinge of pain that i haven't had before. of course i continued to watch t.v., but it happened again. not sure how long it lasted. around 2:15 i went upstairs to let amy know that i felt funny. that is really what i said to her because i didn't know if i should be concerned or not. she went back to sleep. then, the hard hitting contractions came out of nowhere. the worst pain i have ever felt. i told amy that we should pack a bag just in case, but i basically thought that if this were false labor, real labor must suck. we tried to time them, but they were coming every 2 minutes! we were so confused. where did the stages of labor go? why didn't my water break? aren't i supposed to go through hours of labor? nope. not us. we called the number that contacts a nurse in our practice. she called back and basically told me to give it an hour and walk it out. no way! after a few more massive contractions, i told amy we needed to go NOW! she called jean and we headed to the hospital.
the ride over was painful and i hope no one looked over at us at the stoplights because i'm sure it was a site to see. we pulled into the hospital about 8 mins later and amy dropped me off at the door and put me in a wheelchair. she had to go park and it seemed like forever before she was back. made it to the second floor and the admissions person clearly saw that i was in pain as she was asking us a few questions. they knew that we were on our way since we called the nurse back and told her that i couldn't wait any longer. as we turned the corner a nurse wheeled us into a room filled with at least 5 nurses. they were awesome. they were asking me tons of questions and i could only talk in between contractions. which were still coming every 2 minutes. they even had to undress me, put the iv in, etc between them since they were so strong. one nurse in particular made sure i made it through each contraction, coaching me and making me listen and focus on what she was saying. i finally made it into the bed and they began hooking me up to the monitors. we were super shocked to find out that i was dilated already to a 7! a freakin 7 only after about 1 hour and 1/2. then i heard the word epidural. my new best friend. as soon as they administered it the pain magically went away. completely! i could feel a little pressure every time a contraction came, but the drugs were wonderful. all of the nurses were running around taking such good care of us. they talked us through everything step by step. after a few hours (which didn't seem like long, thanks to the epidural), they told me it was time to push. this was around 6pm. 2 of the nurses commented that i will probably only have to push 1 or 2 times since i progressed so quickly in a short amount of time. well, they were wrong. i tried a few positions to get little girl out. i wasn't in pain so it was strange to push as hard has i could because i couldn't feel what i was doing. they told me i was doing a good job and continued to check me and baby. the only scary part was when harper's heart tones started to slow down. next thing i knew, i was on my hands and knees. the nurse also inserted a different monitor on pip's head. they finally told me what was going on and i realized that i could hear her heart slowing in the monitors. it came back up quickly and we were then back to pushing. she still wasn't progressing like she was supposed to. the doctor on call finally came in, sat on the corner of my bed and explained what was happening. she told us that i could probably sit here and push for several more hours, but she is most likely not going to come out. with her heart tones decreasing early, the slow progression and the fact that she is facing down (called sunny side up), i would need to have a c-section. she was very confident in her explanation and all i could do was look at amy and jean. their expressions were clear in that i needed to do this.
i didn't realize that the procedure only takes about 20 mins with an additional 30 mins or so to put me back together. amy suited up and jean went to tell the gang the news. speaking of gang, we had quite a few people in the waiting room. team pip waited patiently of her arrival. amo, mel, kerry, john and lee were the first to show up. mel was in charge of the phone tree and kept others informed. steph and milissa show up later as well. i was taken to the operating room and given additional medication that completely numbed me from chest down. couldn't even feel my arms. the room seemed extra bright with people prepping me for surgery. the conversation was very odd during my time in there. can't really repeat what was said, but let's just say that everyone was in a good mood joking around. they went to get amy and she sat by my head behind the curtain. amy said that there was a lot of movement and jerking of my body. not really something that i wanted to hear. they asked amy if she wanted to peak over and see pip before they cut the cord. seconds later we heard her cry. amy went over with the nurse and watched them clean her off. they even did her footprint immediately as well. i could only lay there and watched from far away. i began to cry so hard that i could hardly see what they were doing. amy looked over at me with the biggest smile on her face. they then wheeled her away as amy followed. they strangest thing began to happen as they were sewing me back together. my jaw started quivering. not the kind of quivering that you get when you watch a girly movie, it was shaking violently to the point that it gave me a headache. i tried everything to stop it, but it just took over. the anesthesiologist said it was due to the drugs and eventually gave me another one to stop the movement.
i was moved to recovery and a nurse monitored me closely. while i was there amy was with harper while they weighed, measured and cleaned her. there was even a picture of her holding her in the nursery as team pip watched through the window. during recovery i had slightly elevated blood pressure readings and moderate bleeding that eventually subsided. i was moved into the room where i would spend the next 4 days. i didn't even leave the room until day 3 when amy took me for a walk in the hallway. amy was so awesome during that time. i was unable to get up for the first few days since i was hooked up to the iv and had a catheter. amy changed every diaper and had to get up every 3 hours with me to hand pip to me. she was forced to learn quickly and now she is a pro and diaper changes and swaddling. there was lots of action in the hospital whether it was the nurses coming in to the room to assess me or harper or someone taking my meal order for the day or bringing the food or housekeeping or someone bringing my meds. they took excellent care of us, don't get me wrong. this part of the hospital was new, so the room was pretty big with a nice big bathroom, pullout couch for amy and a flat screen t.v. it was nice to finally leave on thursday though. we loaded her up in the car seat and headed home. auntie jean and grandma jan made the transition easy. we really appreciated everything they did and continue to do for us. now it's just one day at a time...
Friday, August 19, 2011
this is amy at our first pediatrician appointment. she did really well, considering our appt was at 9am and we were seen at 10am. the dr said she looked great and even was strong for her age. she was able to hold her head up when she put her on her stomach?
pip in her swing that my mom and dad bought for her. she loves, loves that motion, even when you hold her. poor charlie couldn't quite understand what was going on and kept getting hit by it. toby was interested in the stuffed animal that is at the end of the seat.
just a few pics of her while i was stuck in my hospital bed
she seems to always be in deep thought
our first night at home went really well. we had to wake HER up both times in the middle of the night to eat. not that i am complaining. the bassinet that grandfather bob brought from pennsylvania is not only beautiful but extremely helpful by the bedside.
pip in her swing that my mom and dad bought for her. she loves, loves that motion, even when you hold her. poor charlie couldn't quite understand what was going on and kept getting hit by it. toby was interested in the stuffed animal that is at the end of the seat.
just a few pics of her while i was stuck in my hospital bed
she seems to always be in deep thought
our first night at home went really well. we had to wake HER up both times in the middle of the night to eat. not that i am complaining. the bassinet that grandfather bob brought from pennsylvania is not only beautiful but extremely helpful by the bedside.
she is finally here!
ok guys, i am going to hopefully start blogging about our day to day events and add pictures if possible. i'm sure you will eventually get tired of emails or texts at some point, but i hope to document our days together no matter how amazing or boring. guess you will just have to check out the blog to see what wonderful things pip is getting into.
harper hunt reitz
8lbs
20 inches
8/14/11
9:00pm
harper hunt reitz
8lbs
20 inches
8/14/11
9:00pm
Friday, August 5, 2011
36 + 107 = hot, hot, hot
as of yesterday, i am officially at 36 weeks. 9 months down, 4 more weeks to go. still can't believe how hot it has been. granted, i am usually inside and work is always super cold, but the numbers are just insane. it was 103 at 9pm last night. i am fortunate enough to be able to work from home, so i am taking advantage of that. it makes a huge difference for me to do that. sitting at my workstation in front of the computer kills my feet! all of the blood rushes to them and i go home with club feet! my right hand has been the most annoying result of this pregnancy. for the past week, my last 3 fingers have been numb and tingling. that is in addition to my hands being swollen in general. or as i call it, claw hands.
amy and i put the car seat in the other day. we are going to get it checked out this weekend to make sure it is secure and installed correctly. guess i should start packing a bag for the hospital, huh?
looking forward to the appointment on tuesday. we get to see little girl! what in the world is she going to look like on the ultrasound screen? before our appointment we are also going to go to the pediatrician's office and meet our future doctor. the office is right around the corner from the house. it's going to be a busy week.
Your Baby in Week 36 of Pregnancy
Forget your aching back (and everything else!) by trying to focus on your baby, who is now about six pounds and 20 inches long, with soft bones and cartilage to allow a safer journey through the exit door. Most of her systems (from circulatory to musculoskeletal) are ready for prime time, though her digestion system — which has done only practice runs so far — will kick into gear as she takes her first suckle at the breast or bottle.
amy and i put the car seat in the other day. we are going to get it checked out this weekend to make sure it is secure and installed correctly. guess i should start packing a bag for the hospital, huh?
looking forward to the appointment on tuesday. we get to see little girl! what in the world is she going to look like on the ultrasound screen? before our appointment we are also going to go to the pediatrician's office and meet our future doctor. the office is right around the corner from the house. it's going to be a busy week.
Your Baby in Week 36 of Pregnancy
Forget your aching back (and everything else!) by trying to focus on your baby, who is now about six pounds and 20 inches long, with soft bones and cartilage to allow a safer journey through the exit door. Most of her systems (from circulatory to musculoskeletal) are ready for prime time, though her digestion system — which has done only practice runs so far — will kick into gear as she takes her first suckle at the breast or bottle.
Monday, August 1, 2011
4 more weeks
amy and i are excited. we have a dr's appt on aug 9th, which includes an ultrasound. that means we get to see pip! haven't seen her since april too. expecting the technician to tell us that she is super long again. but i am measuring fine and there is no reason to think she is going to be a giant (yet). after this appointment, we go to weekly visits. yikes! we also have a breastfeeding class on aug 8th too. a new friend of ours is a lactation consultant for seton and teaches classes there. glad to have her on our side!
over the weekend, we went through all of our gifts from the shower. washed everything, broke down the boxes and tried to get the room organized. we got some really awesome stuff and very thoughtful gifts. amy and i really appreciate every single gift! i wonder when we are going to find time to write all of the thank you cards? grandma jan so kindly got us started with buying us cards, stamps and return labels. so we really don't have an excuse to get started on them.
tonight we are going to learn how to put the car seats in properly. should be easy, but doing it when it is 100 degrees outside may be challenge. or will the mosquitoes get the best of me?
Your Baby in Week 35 of Pregnancy
Your baby is standing tall (so to speak) this week at about 20 inches and continues her steady weight gain (she’s about 5.5 pounds). While she won't get much longer, she will continue to pack on the pounds — including large amounts of baby fat — right up 'til delivery day. Something else that's moving at a mind-boggling pace these day: fetal brain development! There’s a lot going on inside that tiny head, which is, by the way, still soft to allow an easier exit through the birth canal.
over the weekend, we went through all of our gifts from the shower. washed everything, broke down the boxes and tried to get the room organized. we got some really awesome stuff and very thoughtful gifts. amy and i really appreciate every single gift! i wonder when we are going to find time to write all of the thank you cards? grandma jan so kindly got us started with buying us cards, stamps and return labels. so we really don't have an excuse to get started on them.
tonight we are going to learn how to put the car seats in properly. should be easy, but doing it when it is 100 degrees outside may be challenge. or will the mosquitoes get the best of me?
Your Baby in Week 35 of Pregnancy
Your baby is standing tall (so to speak) this week at about 20 inches and continues her steady weight gain (she’s about 5.5 pounds). While she won't get much longer, she will continue to pack on the pounds — including large amounts of baby fat — right up 'til delivery day. Something else that's moving at a mind-boggling pace these day: fetal brain development! There’s a lot going on inside that tiny head, which is, by the way, still soft to allow an easier exit through the birth canal.
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