Tutu Cute!

I can't wait for Sarah's jaundice to go away so we can get some professional pics done of our little sweetie!  

I found the cutest outfit for when we get pictures taken.  If you have never been to www.etsy.com you should really check it out!  It is a website for sellers of handmade items.  Crafters of all sorts sell their wares on the site.  I had a newborn hat and burp cloth embroidered from there for my soon to be newest niece, Anna.

I found a cute beanie and am having a tutu custom made to match!  Here is a pic of the beanie by seller MyBellaBows:

I am having seller PICKLEBUG make a custom tutu to match.  I will be willow green with an ivory bow.  Here is a picture of one of her tutus in a different color:

So all we need now is a photographer.  I don't really want prints, and it it so hard to find someone who will give you a CD.  I am thinking of going with Kristin with Just Be. Photography.  Kristin specializes in babies and kids and her main package is a 90 minute photo shoot with up to 4 people and a CD of all the hi-res images for $150.  Still not decided though, so if you have had a good experience with a photographer with similar pricing - Let me know.

First Well Baby Checkup

We had our first official well baby checkup today and Sarah gained a full pound since Friday!  She is up to 9 lbs 6 oz and 21 3/4 inches long.  Jaundice is looking better and we don't need to go back until her 2 month checkup.

Dr. Beck's tie of the day - Patriotic Santa

In other exciting news.... For the first time in 6 months I can wear my wedding band and engagement ring again and for the first time in several weeks - regular shoes!  Well, both are still a tight fit, but it is still an improvement.

To the Doctor

We made our first visit to Dr. Beck today to follow up on Sarah's jaundice.  Everything looked good and Sarah is now 8 lbs 6 oz at 5 days old!  Still 21 inches long.  She still has the jaundice, but it is slooooooowly getting better.  Dr. Beck said it might take quite awhile to clear since she has a large hematoma on her head from the birth that her body is trying to re-absorb.  Since she is less than a week old, we need to come back next week for her first official well baby checkup.

Sarah's Birth Story

Sarah Elizabeth is here! born 12/7 at 12:43pm - 8lbs 3oz - 21 inches long

Sarah really wanted to share momma's birthday! We had an induction scheduled for 5:30 Sunday morning, and I started contractions at 2am about 10min apart. We left for the hospital at the normal time and contractions were about 6min apart for 45min before we got there. I was 3-4cm when they checked me in!!! 

Since I was progressing so well, they decided to wait on Pitocin - especially since I didn't want the epidural. My nurse was great! She really stood up for me with the doctor to make sure I was able to get through it pain med free. My doctor came in around 9am when I was 5cm and broke my water after I had finished my IV antibiotics to try and and make my contractions more regular. The contractions were def more intense after that. My nurse was wonderful and helped Mark and I try several positions to make things more comfortable.

I think she knew I was starting to get to the end of my rope when I stayed at 7-8cm for awhile, so she had me do a bit of pushing and stretched my cervix a bit to try and get it over the baby's head. I was able to get to 9cm and she paged the doctor. She wanted to get me pushing soon and was worried because Sarah's heart rate was going down with the pushes. 

I found out that my doctor had 3 people in Labor and Delivery that morning (scheduled inductions) and that priority was given to people without pain meds. Well, it turns out me and someone else were both ready to push and neither of us had pain meds! He came in, checked me and wanted me to try doing some pushes on my side to see if the baby's heart rate was better. It was still dipping, so he though she may be face up. He wanted me to breath through a couple of contractions and then he left the room!!!

I was ready to start crying. After you have done some pushing, you REALLY do not someone to tell you to stop and that you are going to wait! I don't know what my nurse did - but she convinced the doctor that I needed to deliver first. They brought out forceps and said they may need to try and turn her face down if we couldn't get her out. My nurse bent down and whispered in my ear and told me there would be no forceps this morning - we were going to push out that baby! After pushing through 6 or so contractions (about 45 min total) she was out!!!

Turns out the reason her heart rate was dropping was she had a full knot in her cord that tightened as I pushed and caused her face to tilt sideways. She was fine as soon as they got her out and cut the cord! Made it just in time for lunch - and the nurses brought me a little birthday cake!!!

Testing right away showed that Sarah was Coombs positive. Her A positive blood and my O positive blood made her jaundiced. She spent some time under the phototherapy lights but was given the okay to be discharged with me yesterday! We are home now!