Arden's First Outings

I have had a terrible case if cabin fever these past two weeks. I havent stayed in the house this long since ....... I cant even remember a time. Everyone has been keeping me tied down to my bed. They barely let me walk to the bathroom on my own LOL.

Well Arden and I finally were able to make an escape this weekend. Auntie Cree got married this weekend so of course I needed something to wear. I wanted to get out to the mall to try to find something flattering on Friday. Mommy decided to chaperone me since they still wont let me drive! Somehow we found our way to Bloomindales. Arden's first shopping trip was at Bloomies. I may be setting myself up for disaster when she is older. If she shops at Bloomies at 2 weeks I can only imagine how expensive her taste will be at 15! LOL. At any rate. We stayed there for hours and tried on lots of dressed only to decide that I would try to make one of my old dresses at home work. It was a good outing for me though although I did get quite tired by the time we left.

On Saturday we went to the wedding. It was very nice. Ari was dressed like a princess. She had on a pretty yellow eyelet dress from The Children's Place that Auntie Akiba bought her, which was paired with a cream ruffled cardigan. Too cute! Both pieces were way too big for her tiny frame but she still looked very pretty. She got to meet a lot of new friends and everyone was so struck by how beautiful she is. I know I may be biased but I must say that she is a very pretty newborn!

Anyway, here are some pics of us at the wedding. I am so glad I got to get out. I only have one more week at home then I will have to return to school. I am not looking forward to that.

Ari's 1st Two Weeks

Well the little princess will be 2 weeks old this weekend. She has been a joy to have around. She is a very good baby. She rarely cries and when she does it is short lived. Her sleeping patterns are a bit off, but that is to be expected. She sleeps her longest stretches in the afternoon and only an hour or 2 at a time during the night. But she is so cute that I can't complain. I just smile when I look at her (sometimes she smiles back!)

Arden seems to be pretty advanced for her young age. She has been holding her head up for short periods since she was 2 days old, and she really is gaining control of her neck muscles now. She also lets out little giggles when she smiles!

Arden had her 1st doctor's appointment and he said that she is perfect. I couldnt agree more! She does have a little jaundice, but its nothing to worry about.

I am recovering well. My incision is healing well. It is still a little sore but it isnt bad at all. I have lost all of that extra fluid that I had accumulated during the end of the pregnancy and I am almost already back to my old size. Once this swelling goes completely down I will be back in my jeans comfortably. Yay!

As you all saw, Arden started out VERY fair at birth, but she has since gotten a bit more peachy. She looks like she has been sitting in the window getting a little tan! The older she gets the more she looks like I did as a baby. He facial expressions are completely mine. It's really funny to watch yourself in miniature form! Here are some pics of her during her 1st 2 weeks at home.

My Ari Berry is Finally Here!!

My baby girl made her entrance on Saturday, March 11, 2006 at 11:23 pm. She weighed 6 pounds, 4.7 ounces. 19 inches long.

She is just beautiful. She is doing absolutely wonderfully. I love her so very much and I couldnt be happier.

Ok I will give you the condensed birth story. I went in for the induction at 7 am. They gave me a gel to open my cervix and I started having contractions pretty soon after that. I was still only 1 cm dilated. At 12 noon they started the dreaded pitocin. The contractions got stronger, but I was still doing well with them. I didnt want to have any drugs. At 1 pm they broke my water. I was still only 1-2 cm! They kept turning up the pitocin every 15 min. The contractions were really getting stronger, but I was still ok. I was watching the 2nd season of 24 on DVD. At 4 the doc came and checked me again. I was only 2-3 cm! He was getting concerned because I wasnt progressing consistently with the amount of pitocin he was giving me because my contractions were very strong. He thought that despite the fact that I was very relaxed, my muscles were staying tense, preventing my cervix from dilating. So he told me he wanted me to get an epidural. I didnt want it, but he said that I really should get it to allow my muscles to relax because without it he didnt think they would relax on their own. So I consented to the epi. But it didnt work on me. The anesthesiologist tried 4 times to adjust my dosages but I still felt all the pain. I got relief for only 15 min. So I labored on in full pain despite the epi. They kept cranking up the pitocin to "challenge "my cervix. The baby wasnt handling the pitocin well. Her heart rate kept dropping because the contractions would "couple" I would get 2 or 3 in a row about 10-20 seconds apart. Then I wouldnt get anything for about 2 min. Then 2-3 in row again. It was stressing teh baby. So they turned off the pitocin to try to let the contractions even out and to let the baby and me rest a bit. They did even out, so they turned the pitocin back on. The baby seemed to be doing better, so they kept cranking up the pitocin. (The contractions were REALLY bad, but I was still handling them, although I have no clue what happened at the end of the 24 DVDs!) At 10 pm the doc came to check me again and he said I was onlt 4 cm! UGH!!! He said that something was wrong because the amount of pitocin I had and the strength of my contractions should have delivered the baby hours before. He said the baby wasnt tolerating the pitocin well and heart rate was dropping showing that she was under stress. He said I needed a c-section. I was upset and frustrated because that was the last thing I wanted but I didnt want to endanger my daughter. So I consented to the c-section.

When I went in for the surgery at 11pm, they were going to try an epi again but of course with higher doses. It seemed that it was working pretty well, despite the fact that the other epi failed on me. The other options were a spinal tap or general anesthesia to knock me completely out, which i didnt want. So they started the surgery. I was fine until they started to pull the baby out. I started to feel pain. Once they pulled her out and started to work on me, I was in terrible pain. I was happy to see my baby girl, but I couldnt even focus because the pain was becoming overwhelming. I guess the medicine wasnt fully effective on me. My sis, Auntie C, told the lady manning the drugs that I was in pain, that I felt way more than just pressure. The lady started pumping me with drugs but it wasnt helping. By that time I was on the verge of screaming. I dont know what the lady gave me but the next thing I knew I was waking up in the OR. I guess my body may have just shut down and let me sleep until they finished stitching me up. I woke up and they put teh baby in my arms.

It turned out taht Arden had turned (I think during my labor) and her butt was coming out first, so she wouldnt fit. Also the cord was wrapped around her neck, hence the lowered heart rate. So I went through 16 hours of labor on pitocin only to have a c-section

At any rate, she is doing great now. It wasnt what I planned but the end result has been heavenly. I am so in love with my little Berry and I cant wait to watch her grow.

Here are some pics for everyone to enjoy!

The BIG Day

Well all of my attempts have been futile. All the teas and acupuncture and coaxing and begging have not made Arden want to come out. I kind of feel bad because I am rushing her. She does technically have another week to go. But I am on a time constraint and I need her to go now.

So the doctor has agreed to induce me tomorrow at 7am. Hopefully sometime in the afternoon I will be holding my sweet baby girl. :) So everyone please send out your prayers for me and Arden because I know that neither of us is going to enjoy this pitocin induction very much. I just hope that she tolerates it well enough for her to be delivered naturally and not to require a c-section.

I guess I will post her 39 week stats since that is where she will be tomorrow.

At this point, Arden is ready for life outside of the womb. She actively practices sucking and breathing reflexes.

Not much else to be said. The next post from me will hopefully be a picture of the little princess.

On Pins and Needles

Ok, well the walking has not put me into spontaneous labor yet so I am going to try one last thing. I went to my chiropractor yesterday and she suggested that I try acupuncture before I get induced at the hospital with pitocin. (Pitocin makes for such a hard labor and I wont be a good experience for me or Arden). Acupuncture has been known to stimulate strong contractions enough to send people staright to labor and delivery. So I have an acupunture appointment today at 5. I am hoping that it works and I have this baby today or Friday. :) If it doesnt work, then I will talk to my doctor on Friday about the induction.

Everyone, keep your fingers crossed for me, ok????

Walking to the Finishline

Well this is the final stretch for me and Arden. This week is her week. My spring break starts next week and I need her to be born by then. My doctor knows that I only will have 2 weeks of class that I will be able to miss, so he suggested that he may induce me on Saturday the 11th, if she doesnt come on her own this week, so that I will have the baby home for spring break. I really dont want to be induced but I know that the extra week with the baby is HUGE, so I am going to do it if necessary.

I hope she will come on her own and have been doing what I can to help her along. I have been drinking teas. I went walking for 3 hours at Tyson's mall trying to coax the baby out. I guess I am going to walk my way to the finishline. I told Arden that the eviction notice has been posted and that her days are numbered! She can go peaceably this week on her own, or by force on Saturday. The choice is hers! LOL. I hope she decides to cooperate.

I am really tired today. Maybe all that walking is taking its toll. I didnt sleep very well last night. My belly is sore and kind of crampy and tight. I keep having little contractions but nothing to write home about. Every time she moves it hurts me. Maybe she is preparing herself? I don't know. All I know is that I am ready and she needs to get ready too...quickly.

Clone Pics Are Up!

As promised I have posted the picture of me as a VERY newborn baby and the picture of Arden Brielle that it resembles. For some reason, blogger is not posting the pictures in the proper size and they are barely visible. So I will invite you all to look at my baby page on babyfit.com. Go to the photo gallery and look for the pic of me as a baby and compare it to the one of Arden right next to it. (You can access the photogallery by clicking the box on the right side of the screen that says something like "visit my baby page photo gallery"). Let me know what you think. Is it wishful thinking or does she seem to look like I did? There are also updated pics of Arden's room with the accessories.

In other news. I am now 38 weeks. Hopefully I will be posting a picture of my baby (in living color) very soon. Here are my stats for this week.

Arden's growth has slowed down a great deal, with the exception of fat production. Because of space limitations, she bends her arms and legs, holding them close to the body. She is probably close to 6 pounds or more at this stage.

Once again not much to tell. Basically the synopsis is, she's ready to come out!

That's all for now. I will keep you posted on any developments.

Updated Pics

As promised, here are some more recent pics of me. They were taken last weekend when I began week 37. (No laughing at my fat face and double chin! I know I am chubby.)

I went to the doc today and everything looks good. I have even started to dilate (although it's only 1 cm, but that is better than nothing!)

OK enjoy the pics. I'll try to scan my baby pic with Ari's today. (But I wont make any promises!)

The Countdown!

Hooray, I am full term now. As I write I am officially 37.5 weeks. I can definitely say that I am feeling more than ready for this to be over. I have gained more than enough weight, 28 pounds (actually its average for a pregnancy and I probably should have gained more bc I was a bit "underweight" to begin with...but it was more than enough for me.) I had only gained 1/4 of a pound last week (even though in the two previous weeks I had gained 4 pounds...double the average gain for a 2 week period!) so I think i am done with my weight gain even though the baby is still getting bigger. But I am definitely burdened by these extra pounds. I find myself out of breath when I walk up stairs. My knees ache when I go to stand up, sit down, squat... I have a very hard time getting in and out of my VERY low sports car. I cant tie my shoes and have trouble putting on socks. (Its actually quite funny to watch me try to get dressed in the morning. I should tape myself one day so I can laugh about it later. LOL. So pretty much I am in a state of chronic fatigue and it doesnt help that I have to make my way up and down several flights of steps daily at school. When I am lucky I will find a soul willing to carry my bags but often times I do it myself (sometimes I just refuse help...I guess it's my pride.) And now to add insult to injury I am all puffy all over. My ankles are HUGE. My feet seem to be close to their normal size but my ankles look like they have been badly sprained. They are so huge that my socks seem to cut off circulation. I rarely have time to elevate my feet, which I am sure doesnt help my cause. My ankles give me the most trouble when I first wake up. Every morning I roll (literally) out of bed to let the dog go outside quickly (he wakes me up every morning between 6-7 to "tinkle"). The problem is that when I get up and try to walk, the blood/fluid rushes down to my feet and ankles and I am literally in pain when I try to walk. It feels like I am walking on needles. It's awful.

So I gladly say that I am in countdown mode. Arden can come tomorrow for all I care. I am so tired and ready to have a waist again honestly. I really am hoping that she will get here before Mar 12 when my spring break starts, that way I can have an extra week at home with her, because I will only be able to take off 2 weeks from class. Everyone, send out the {{{{{{{labor vibes}}}}}}} please. Anyone have any guesses as to when she will arrive? Maybe we should start a pool.

Ok here are my 37 week stats:

By this time, the baby has developed a firm grasp, has practiced breathing, and automatically turns toward light sources! Your baby’s body becomes fuller and rounder as body fat continues to rise.

As you can see there isnt much to say about her because she is fully cooked and ready to come out!! I wish she would just hurry up!