Bella's First Visit to the Pediatrician

Bella went to visit our pediatrician, Dr. Saade in his office when she was 4 days old!   Thanks to Joy and Jeremy May for introducing us to him.


On our way to the doctor!

He is an awesome Christian man! He spent a lot of time talking with Chris and I about our priorities: God, our marriage, then Bella. He told us that making sure our marriage is strong and supporting each other will help Bella Rose grow into a well-rounded little girl.
We were also proud because Bella was again deemed "perfect" by the doctor!  When she left the hospital she was down to 7 lbs 5 oz. However, when she weighed at the doctor's office (at just 4 days old) she was already up to 7 lbs 10 oz! 

We are so glad to have such a wonderful doctor!

Dr. Saade and Bella Rose!

Welcome to the Family!

Chris and I slept  for the majority of Thursday morning with the exception of having doctor's in and out to do vitals checks.  Our pediatrician came in and said Bella was absolutely perfect! We were so excited because there had been a few complications during birth. At one point, they thought she might be at a high risk for jaundice but after several negative tests...she was cleared! 

Mid morning, the nurses told us it was time for Bella Rose's first bath! Chris went with her while I caught some zzz's!  Bella did not like the bath! The nurse told Chris that she had not seen that much hair on a baby in a long time! In fact she had to wash it 3 times and it still wasn't completely clean!  Baby girl gets thick hair from her momma!

After her first bath!

After lunch, family started arriving. My mom, dad, and stepmom all arrived around mid afternoon on Thursday. They were so excited to meet the newest addition to the family.

Pop C and Kit Kat see Bella for the first time!

G Mommy sees Bella Rose for the first time!

Chris' parents came by on Friday afternoon.  Also, my brother drove all the way from Mississippi just to visit for a few hours!

Uncle Chris loves sweet Bella Rose!

Paw Paw and Mia meet Bella Rose!

We had a lot of love in the room!

Chris' sister and her family came a week later to meet Bella. Ayleiah and Leionna were a little nervous to be around such a tiny baby!

Aunt Cam and Uncle Sid

Bella Rose and her cousins!

Bella Rose is so loved and cherished by our family! :)

Let the pushing begin!

At 12 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24th the nurse came in to teach me some "practice pushing" and to cut off my epidural in preparation for me to start pushing. Our nurse explained that at any time I needed more epidural they could get it for me. Rashelle, our nurse, had Chris grab a leg and help her with my pushes.  Yep, Chris was all up in the action! It was at that time that she discovered that Bella was face up.  This posed a problem. So at 12:30 p.m. they decided to see if Bella would turn naturally. I sat for an hour or so (without epidural) waiting to see if she would turn on her own. At 1:30 a.m. they came in and said she had still not turned. We were going to push and see if they could turn her as she was coming out.  My epidural had been turned off since 12, so I knew I was in for a treat.

I started pushing and boy was it hard work! Chris was right there with me, holding my leg, wiping off my sweat, encouraging me. I was sweating and in lots of pain. But it was totally worth it!  I just kept thinking about seeing my little girl's face!  After pushing for what seemed like an eternity (really only 15 minutes), the doctor came in to assist.  She told me that Bella would come out a little bit and then inch back in...well, that wasn't encouraging.  I told them at that point I needed more drugs...and it was silent. Hmm, ok..guess they weren't going to give me my meds!  I continued to push and breathe, push and breathe. I just wanted Bella out!

The doctor kept telling me to push "him" out. I was a little concerned that she knew something I didn't know...but I rolled with it. Then Dr. Klein told me to get angry...and boy did I get angry. I pushed harder and harder. When I saw 5 more nurses come in and start cheering me on...I knew I was close! 

After pushing for 50 minutes or so, Chris said he looked down and didn't see Bella. He looked back at me to check and see if I was alright...and when he turned back down he saw her head...then her body! She came out super fast!

I was so relieved to have her out. Although, pushing without pain meds was not my original plan. As Dr. Klein was finishing up, I told her that was in a lot of pain and she immediately called for more epidural. Yep, that's right, I got drugs after I had the baby! Irony!

Chris said when they put her on my chest I kept saying "it's ok sweet girl" because she was crying. All I know is... I was exhausted, hungry, and had just been given pain meds. I wasn't going to last long. Apparently, they fingerprinted me at some point after delivery...definitely don't remember that.

The nurses weighed and cleaned up Bella in the room so Chris was over with her telling me all the details.  7 lbs 7 oz. 19 inches!  What a beautiful baby!

After delivery, I passed out. Chris watched Bella while I took a nap.  Within 2 hours, we were moved to a recovery room. I remember holding Bella and saying to her "your first elevator ride".  After that, we both crashed.

More to come....

Labor...Woowzer!

At my Wednesday's doctor's appointment, Dr. Alarcon told me that they had planned for me to be induced on Thursday, Feb. 24. However, they took my blood pressure and told me that I was 160/110 and must go to the hospital that day to have the baby!  He said I must have been in a lot of pain. Um, yeah, I would consider being in labor overnight at home a lot of pain.  I had gone from a fingertip dilated the night before to 2 cm dilated that morning! It's hard work, folks!

I called Chris at work and said I have good news and bad news. Bad news first...he always says. So I said my blood pressure is super high. Good news..the doctor wants me to go in today to have the baby!!

Chris left work immediately and we met at home to drop off a car and to double check we had everything together (typical Chris).  It was difficult driving home while having contractions but I got through it!  I immediately started calling family to notify them that Bella would be making her arrival soon!

After the we left the house, we decided to stop for food. At this point, it had almost been 24 hours since I had eaten, and I knew they would not give me food at the hospital.  We went to Chick-fil-A. As soon as Chris took the bag from the cashier, I started to get sick. I'm sure it was nerves! So I didn't eat...but at least Chris did.  This officially marks the first time in 8 years that Chris has seen me vomit. It was a big deal!  But he handled it well.

Chris dropped me off at the door of the hospital, and he went to park. As I walked in the hospital door, my telephone rang. It was the doctor checking on me. I guess I was supposed to immediately go to the hospital. It had only been an hour and a half since I left the doctor's office, but they were concerned.  I told him I was there and about to be admitted.  I was admitted at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, February 23rd.

We were so excited and everything was happening so fast!  We were admitted to a delivery room and got comfy (well, as comfy as you can be for being in labor).  We were told I would continue to have contractions for awhile before they added the Pitocin to my system to speed things along.  Our nurse, Jean, was super sweet. She has been a nurse for 30 years and took the time to explain everything to us. She even showed Chris how to read the contraction monitor.

Chris also was called to duty when I was getting my IV put in. I was so dehydrated from not having eaten and then vomiting, that they had to hang 2 bags of fluid to try and hydrate me. This caused a problem with them finding a vein for my IV. 2 nurses tried several times to get a vein. During one try, I had a contraction and threw up. Chris was so supportive! I have an awesome husband! They had to call the IV team (which we expected to be somewhat like a SWAT team, but we were disappointed when it was just one lady and a cart). Finally, we got the IV in and the fluids began to take effect.

At 3 p.m. they introduced Pitocin to help me dilate.  I had some serious contractions from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Chris helped by holding my hand and pressing hard on my back.  At 4 p.m., I had an epidural.  I can't explain this sensation in any other words but an electric shock. Of course, it didn't help that I had a contraction during the insertion.  Once the epidural kicked in, my legs felt super bloated and almost as if they weren't part of my body. Since I felt nothing below my chest, I had to be turned every hour or so. That was an experience for sure!

By 8 p.m., I was 6 cm dilated. Progressing quite nicely!  My blood pressure was down and I was having contractions around every minute or two. The intensity of my contractions were coming along as well. Dr. Klein (my OBGYN) explained that at this point I would dilate a cm every hour. So she expected we would start pushing around midnight.

Chris and I decided we would kick back and watch American Idol. Our nurse, Rashelle, advised us to sleep...but we were too jazzed. We did get about half an hour of sleep. But parents/siblings kept calling to check in and our adrenaline was pumping!

We were well on our way to meeting our little one!


Mommy and Daddy excited to meet our little girl!



In labor! Can't believe how rosy my cheeks were!



False Alarm: The Beginning of Labor

So here's the story...

I had heard many people tell me about how they went to the hospital only to get sent home. So I wanted to be sure that I was in labor before we went.  Well, needless to say...I still got sent home.  Here's how it all went down.

I started having contractions on Monday night but they were infrequent. They continued throughout the day Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, they were between 5-8 minutes apart. We called the doctor because I was having horrible back pain. Dr. Alarcon said that this is "early labor" and I should wait until my contractions were 3-5 min. apart. So we did just that. I refused to eat dinner b/c I was nervous that I would get sick while laboring at the hospital. Chris and I sat down and watched t.v. and at the end of the show I told Chris he better get something to eat b/c we were going to the hospital. He asked if I was serious...and I said Yes! At that time my contractions were 4 minutes a part. Chris was too nervous to eat...but he managed to get something down.  After he ran around the house double checking everything, we were ready to go around 10:30 p.m.

On our way to the hospital!

We arrived at Kennestone and were checked out in Triage.  They saw that I was having contractions, but I was only a finger tip dilated. Therefore, they told me I could go home with pain medication or stick around for an hour and walk around the hospital to see if I dilated further.

In Triage...waiting to hear if we are staying or going !

Well, I chose to walk around. Again, I didn't want to be the girl that gets sent home from the hospital. After 30 min. of walking around, I couldn't take it anymore. We decided to go home where I would be more comfortable. They gave me Percocet for my pain and sent me on my way. We arrived home around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
I was in so much pain and feeling really nauseated. Chris was so sweet. He gave me the bed and slept on the floor beside it (he didn't want to leave me).  That night, I continued to have contractions (sleeping between them) and horrible back pain! I also started vomiting (thanks to the Percocet).  When Wednesday morning rolled around, I was super glad to have a 10:30 appointment with my doctor!

More to come....

Past Due

So, Bella Rose is now 3 days overdue.  Some of Chris' friends joke that she is late, and she gets that from her daddy. Others say she is stubborn like her mommy! 

Either way, we have received tons of advice on how to move things along.

Here is the advice we have received so far:

1. Go for long walks
2. Have sex
3. Eat Eggplant Parmesan from Scalini's
4. Drink hot water mixed with cumin
5. Drink castrol oil and orange juice (never do this...it causes nausea and diarrhea)
6. Nipple stimulation
7. Acupuncture
8. Eat spicy foods
9. Stretch
10. Hula hoop

I told Chris we should just go to the club tonight and dance her out! :)

We are ready to meet our little girl!

40 Week Check Up!

This week I saw Dr. Bauer!

Weight Gain: 2 lbs this week for a total gain of 24 lbs

Blood Pressure: 118/78

Bella's Heart Rate: 145 bpm

Belly Measurement: 41 cm

Exam: I am still not dilated! :(

Doctor's Recommendations: Dr. Bauer said that I could dilate naturally at any time. However, if I have not dilated by next Wed., we will then schedule an induction.  He said that the possible date for induction is the evening of Feb. 27 (otherwise know as Oscar Night).  I am concerned about being induced, going through several strenuous hours of labor, only to be told I will need a C-section.  I am putting all this in God's hands as I have no control over the when or how! 

And that's this week's update! :)