Friday, September 28, 2012

First Pediatrician Visit

Today we had our first visit Audrey's pediatrician. Neal had a meeting at work and I was too chicken to go by myself so my mom went with me. Audrey loves riding in the car and usually falls asleep in the car seat. I also haven't been cleared yet by my doctor to lift her car seat.



The pediatrician was pleased with Audrey's growth and overall health. She weighs 7 lbs 6 oz. She was 7 lbs at birth and 6 lbs 9 oz at hospital discharge. They like for them to be back at their birthweight by 2 weeks of age. We're over the birthweight now. She's in the 26th percentile for weight, 46th percentile for heigth, and 48th percentile for head circumference. We're also going to start giving her Vitamin D drops since breast milk doesn't have a whole lot of Vitamin D in it. After the doctor visit, I changed & fed her then we ventured to Target. She had a mini-meltdown during her inaugural visit to Target. So I made the great escape and took her to the car to nurse her while my mom stood in line to pay. A few people in Target were getting to close to her for my liking so I didn't mind getting out of there. She calmed down so we met Neal for lunch at Pappy's. They sat us in a back corner where a lot of people wouldn't be around her.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Week of Firsts

We've made it 10 days and have already experienced many "firsts." We've also been home from the hospital one week today. Hard to believe I've already blown through nearly 2 weeks of my maternity leave.


First time meeting Mack.


First walk around the neighborhood.
First bath at home.
First photo shoot.


Reading books for the first time.
First time eating out.


Watching football with Daddy.


Monday, September 24, 2012

She's Here!

Introducing Audrey Anne Ferguson. Born on Monday, September 17, 2012, at 10:05 PM. Weighing in at 7 lbs 0 oz and measuring 20 1/4 inches long.


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Here's my attempt at remembering how it all went down. Last Sunday I was not feeling too hot. Vomiting and a very tight belly. Turns out I was having mild contractions and didn't know it. We went to Costco and HEB and planned out our week. Monday morning around 4 am, I felt my water break while I was laying in bed. I rushed to the bathroom just in time for the big gush that just wouldn't stop. Called the answering service for Dr. Roberts and they told us to come on in to labor & delivery. Called my mom around 4:15 to tell her this was it and it to head to Houston. Since we're only 5 minutes from the hospital, I took a quick shower since I didn't know when the next opportunity for this would be. Smart move because I didn't end up getting to shower until 3 days later. We already had pregistered at the hospital so we got into a room pretty quickly. My water was still leaking everywhere but the nurse wanted to do a little test to make sure it was in fact amniotic fluid. I don't think there was any doubt but I guess protocol is protocol. They got me all hooked up to monitors and the IV. Dr. Roberts came in around 7:30 or so to check me. Still a cm dilated but I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes which I still really couldn't feel. There was also a little bubble of the sac left so she popped that. I got hooked up to pitocin to get the labor progress going faster. I was checked every few hours and was dilating more and more each time. The pain started intensifying so I got the epidural around 1:30. Helped with the pain almost instantly but it was so weird not to be able to feel anything from the waist down. Getting the epidural itself hurt some. By the looks of the contractions on the monitor screen, I was really glad not to be feeling anything. They asked everyone to step out while their giving the epidural. Fine with me because that needle is huge and I didn't want anyone getting queasy while the anesthesiolost was trying to get that huge needle in my back. After they were done (20-30 minutes later), the nurse went to get Neal and Mom but couldn't find them. They came sneaking in a few minutes later with Chick-fil-a cups. The stinkers had walked across the sky walk to the mall to get lunch. Mind you I couldn't have anything but ice chips but I actually wasn't that hungry. Yet. I labored all afternoon, waiting and waiting. Still dilating but Audrey wasn't dropping as she should have been. She was very comfortable right at my pelvic bone. Around dinner time, I wasn't still only dilated to 9.5 cm and she hadn't dropped. The monitor was also showing that my contractions were slowing down. They watched me a few more hours and then decided to do a C-section at 9, 17 hours after we had arrived at the hospital. I was a little sad that this was the route we now had to go but my first priority was to get her here safely. They got me prepped for surgery and wheeled me back to the OR. I was a little freaked out and had a reaction to the medication. The top part of my body was shaking furiously and I was vomiting. Neal held my hand the whole time while I was crying because I felt so weird. I'll never forget that moment when they held Audrey over the curtain for me to see her the first time. Neal was able to see her get cleaned up, weighed and all that good stuff. I couldn't see anything because of where I was positioned. Neal then brought her over to me and cue the waterworks again. I just couldn't believe this little thing had just come out of me and she was ours to keep forever. While they sewed me up, Neal took Audrey out to the recovery room. It took about 30 minutes to get me put back together and I was vomiting the whole time. I was still sick when I got to recovery. I had to wait a long time to hold Audrey because I was still so sick. I'm sure I've forgotten many things but that's the story of how we became parents to the most awesome little girl ever. We stayed in the hospital for 3 days. Learned how to breastfeed. Learned that we had no idea what sleep deprivation really felt like. Learned that I could go 48 hours without eating. Learned that when someone offers to help you, take them up on that offer.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

38 Weeks

38 Weeks. Also could be called "Big as a house" week. Not much new this week. Just continuing to feel like I'm going to pop. At my last appointment, I was still only dilated 1 cm. Just a waiting game. Waiting to see when Little Miss wants to make her debut.


Last weekend, we installed the car seat.


Puppy got his "ready for baby" haircut.


Just a funny I found.



Saturday, September 8, 2012

37 Weeks

37 Weeks. We have made it to term so she has permission to come whenever she's ready now. Of course, the longer she cooks, the better. I've been extrememly blessed to have a healthy pregnancy, but I'm getting really close to admitting that I'm done. D-O-N-E! Last night, her little foot finally found my rib. Ouch! No need to rehash how uncomfortable sleep is at this point. I think we're as ready and prepared as we can be. We'll just have to figure it out as we go. I'm sitting here typing this wondering if this is the last weekend we'll have just the two of us. I feel like it's still a couple weeks away though. 37 Week Bump.




After friendly coaxing from my mom, my bags for the hospital are finally packed. I think the puppy wants to go too. Maybe we can sneak him in.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Updates with the Girl

We got to take probably our last peek at Baby Girl today at the doctor. She's ready and in position: head down and facing toward my back. After taking all her measurements, her weight was estimated to be 7 lbs, 2 oz with a pound margin of error in either direction. Babies at this stage usually gain about 1/2 a pound a week until they make their debut. Looks like we've got a big girl on our hands. By the way, we snuck another peek between the legs and she's still a she.



Her foot.


Girl's got hair! Maybe not a lot, but it looks like she's got a little fuzz.


I had another fun internal check and have made a little progress. I'm dilated 1 cm which really doesn't mean much. I could go into labor tonight or in a few weeks. I think I'm going to finish packing my hospital bag soon just in case. Here's what I found when I walked into the living room yesterday. Think somebody is ready for a baby? I love my goofy husband!


Saturday, September 1, 2012

36 Weeks

36 weeks baby! I'm starting to "get" how uncomfortable the end of pregnancy can be. People warned me, but everything has gone so well so far, I actually thought I'd just coast to the end. One day I'll be able to sleep again without my hips being on fire or having to get up many times during the night to pee/get a Tums or be able to walk without waddling or be able to tie my shoes. Keeping my eye on the prize. Today happens to be the first day of September too. It's finally here! I look pretty tired in my picture. I usually take them in the morning but forgot this times so I took this after a long week of school. Focus on the belly, not the face.



I had my doctor's appointment on Thursday. Measuring on track and her heartbeat was 143. She also checked my cervix (oh that was fun, let me tell you)and it's completely closed. I also had my blood tested for HIV and they tested me for Group B Strep as well (I won't go into detail where they test you for that, but it's not in your throat!) Oh and I've gained 22 lbs so far. My friend Glenda is due 5 days after me and we're already planning our workout plans to get back in shape after these girls get here.

It looks more like a baby in our house everyday. I think my Mom has the nesting bug too because she puts something together everytime she comes over. Not that I'm complaining. Neither is Neal. He's getting off pretty easy as far as putting all the gear together. I think we'll leave the swing just for him. We're trying to put stuff around the house to get Mack used to it. Honestly, I don't think he cares. He'll sniff it and then walk away. Just wait until there's a crying baby in there and we'll see if he changes his mind.