Final Bump{less} Update

So this will be my final update in my pregnancy series and it makes me so sad.  I felt like I was pregnant for eternity so I don't remember what it's like not being pregnant.  I wrote my birth story here, and I have to admit that I was completely clueless when it came to pregnancy, labor, and, now, motherhood.  I had this naive image in my mind that my body and life would bounce back but truth is, it didn't.  I admittedly have a lot of baby weight to lose but I am in no hurry to lose it.  I'm exhausted, yes, but life feels richer.  I have daily hormonal breakdowns thinking about having to go back to work in two weeks and leaving Lucas at home.  I just love my boy so much.

Here are some facts about the new man in my life, Lucas Jose:

1. He has blue eyes and a lot of dark hair.  Such a stud muffin.

2. He hates being naked but loves taking baths.

3. He likes to shoot pee all over me when I change him.

4. He never had a problem with his latch, eating, etc - he's a piglet and he's a piglet because he snorts when he eats.

5. He smiles all the time.  It's adorable.

6. He loves being held and taking naps on people.

7. He looks just like my husband and nothing like me.  The nurses in the NICU said Lucas had a spunky personality so that must have come from me ;-)

8. He loves his mom the most and dad.

Check out my other bump updates here:
39 Weeks
36 Weeks
27 Weeks
21 Weeks
17 Weeks
13 Weeks
Finding Out 

Lucas Jose: The Birth Story

I'm writing Lucas' birth story completely unedited so I apologize ahead of time for any typos and grammatical errors.  I'll probably be forgetting a lot because it's all still a blur and I'm working on little sleep right now; although, sleep is getting better! Oh and today my husband and I are celebrating our third wedding anniversary and 13.5 years together...whoa!

So at 5 p.m. on July 16, 2013, my husband and I got to the hospital to be admitted and start the induction process.  My due date was not until July 23 but I had not been getting any sleep due to some complications so the doctor felt it was best to be induced.  Lucas was also measuring pretty large which also played into why I was induced.  Call me naive and unprepared but I thought that by being induced labor would happen quickly...yeah not so!  Weeks before this, I had planned to do my hair and makeup so I would look nice...yeah, mhmmm, okay.  Once the doctor said to go to the hospital to be admitted, I bolted - greasy hair and all.  I was in too much pain at this point to care what I looked like.  My husband now tells me that I arrived to the hospital in his gym shorts, shirt, and sandals.  I mean how attractive was I!  However, once at the hospital, I changed into my Gownie that my dad gifted me.  It had Lucas' name on the front and came with a matching pillow.

We spent the night in the hospital thinking that at any time I would go into labor.  I was having contractions but nothing too bad.  My sister also thought labor was imminent so she drove through the night from St. Petersburg so she wouldn't miss anything.  The next day was the longest day of my life.  They started the pitocin in the morning and from then on was paaiiinnn.  I had the most horrible back pain and was just so uncomfortable.  I was so relieved to see the anesthesiologist in the afternoon!  My dad is an anesthesiologist at this same hospital but he did not want to do my anesthesia.  My dad was actually the on call anesthesiologist that day-what are the odds!  He was so nervous that he was always in and out of my room.  Getting the epidural did not hurt at all.  What I really did not like was the loss of sensation in my legs and having to lay on my sides the whole time.  After awhile, my back started to REALLY hurt.  My husband and mom were taking turns massaging my back.  I ended up getting more numbing medication because of the intense back pain.  Holy cow my back hurt!  By this time, the nurse kept checking my cervix and I was really close.  It was around late afternoon but I wasn't expected to go into labor until late evening.  By this time, I hadn't had anything to eat except ice chips so I was already tired and hungry.  The only thing that got me through the pain was having lots of people around me - my husband never left my side, mom, sister, dad, mother-in-law, and my boss stopped by.  It was a wonderful distraction to have people around me and Bravo shows playing in the background.  I use to joke that I wanted Bravo in the background when I went to push and lo and behold Bravo was playing while I pushed (just not on purpose!)

Around 9 p.m., my mom noticed that I was shivering.  She placed her hand on my forehead and thought I felt warm.  The nurse checked my temperature and I definitely had a fever so they started me on antibiotics.  After about an hour, I was told it was time to start pushing.  My dad left the room (nerves) and although I thought I would only want my husband and one other person in the room, I was in so much pain that I didn't care who was in there.  So my husband grabbed one leg and my sister the other.  After one push, my sister got queasy and switched with my mom...wussy!  Long story short, I pushed for TWO hours...nothing...the epidural started wearing off, I could feel everything, I was tired, hungry...defeated.  The C-Section talk started and I just broke down in tears.  This is not what I had wanted and I was scared.  I asked if I could push for 30 more minutes...30 minutes go by and nothing.  I was getting a C-Section whether I liked it or not.  Looking back, the C-Section was probably the easiest part of the whole labor experience.  I even fell asleep on the table!

I honestly don't remember a lot except asking the nurse when my husband would be in the surgery room.  The anesthesiologist was awesome.  He could see the expressions on my face during the surgery and since I couldn't see over the sheet that was blocking my view, he was informing me the whole time about what was happening.  I am so grateful for him.  Then all of sudden, I heard a small cry and Lucas is quickly lifted up for us to see him!  He was born July 18, 2013 at 1:28 a.m. weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces at 21.5 long.  I had tears in my eyes as I turned to my husband and kept saying "he's perfect!"  I then fell asleep lol!  I don't remember being wheeled back to my room.  I just remember waking up with my mom by my side and a nurse walking in saying that Lucas was taken to the NICU and my husband was with him.  Because of my fever and an infection in the amniotic fluid, Lucas had to start antibiotics and a tube to take out any fluid he may have in his system.  I start to cry again because I realized that I hadn't held my baby and wouldn't be able to for awhile.  I cried because I didn't know what he looked like and just every emotion I had been holding in the past day and a half.

My husband came back into the room and handed me his cell phone where he had taken hundreds of photos of Lucas.  Even though he was so swollen and was hooked up to so many monitors and tubes, he was beautiful in my eyes!  My husband and I got a little bit of sleep but it was hard to sleep after everything that had happened.  I woke up to the pains from the C-Section and was anxious to see my baby.  I was taken to the NICU and as soon as I laid eyes on him, it was love at first sight.  Although he developed jaundice, it wasn't enough to have the therapy so from the day he was born until we were discharged that Sunday, Lucas just got better and better. From the day he was born, he was always smiling!

We are so grateful for the staff at North Florida Regional Medical Center.  We were treated with such kindness and care that we are forever grateful for.  We ordered pizza and cookies for the labor and delivery nurses and the nurses at the NICU but we can never show how much we truly appreciated them.

So after almost 33 hours in labor, I have a beautiful baby boy that is currently asleep on my chest as I type.  We are so blessed that he is okay and that he is in our lives.

39 Weeks Preggo Update

Hopefully, this will be the last of my updates since I'm in my final week of pregnancy!  Some days I feel like the time passed by way too fast but most times I feel like I've been pregnant forever.  Unfortunately, the last two weeks have sucked.  I've experienced all the yucky and uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms and then some.  On Saturday, I went to the hospital because my contractions were 5-6 minutes apart but being only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, I was sent home.  Now, it looks like I'm having a long prelabor.  Ugh.

My original plan was to work right up until my water breaks, however, I'm now working from home until I'm off maternity leave.  I'm kind of a workaholic so I fear that I'll lose my mind but the health of my baby is the most important thing to me right now.  Thankfully, even though I feel really crappy, Lucas is healthier than ever!

Weight Gain?:  I've gained a total of about 35 pounds.

Maternity Clothes?:  I'm mostly wearing dresses now and my husband's work out clothes at night! Ha!

Symptoms?:  Ugh, yuck.  Very crampy and uncomfortable.

Sleep?:  Sleep is non existent because of my hip pain.  I started using the Snoogle more and that really helps!

Do I miss anything?:  Not being uncomfortable.

Movement?:  He's run out of room so his cute little kicks are now like a slow Matrix like move.

Anything making you sick or queasy?:  I still can't stand air fresheners.

Food cravings?:  Chocolate chip cookies and home cooked meals.

Have you started to show?:  YES.

Boy or a Girl?:  Boy!

Best Moment This Week?:  Realizing that in a couple of days I'll get to meet my lil man!  This past weekend, I picked up lots of cute little things for his newborn photos that I'm so excited about as well!

Check out my other bump updates here:
36 Weeks
27 Weeks
21 Weeks
17 Weeks
13 Weeks
Finding Out 

36 Weeks Preggo Update

It's been awhile since I've done a bump update and so much has changed!  Since the beginning of June, my symptoms have taken a downward spiral.  So far in this pregnancy, I've been pretty lucky and I definitely should have appreciated my second trimester because the third sucks!  Last Thursday, I woke up with an intense, sharp pain under my right rib.  This is the same spot that the baby loves to push and poke at all day long.  The pain was so bad I could barely move.  After going to the hospital and having a doctor check me, we learned that the baby's kicking and pushing, as well as normal stretching of the belly, made my abdominal muscle or ligament (can't remember which one) tore.  My H jokes that he's going to be an MMA fighter.  It's been feeling better after much rest but I'm still pretty uncomfortable especially because my legs and feet are so swollen.

Lately, I've been craving pampering products and nesting...lots of nesting.  Somehow I've convinced myself that my house is perpetually filthy and must be cleaned every day!  I've basically replaced all my shampoos, styling products, lotions, soaps, new makeup products, etc because I figured I won't get out much after the baby is born.  So now as I type this out I realize I'm neurotic and high maintenance! lol  I'll just blame it on the pregnancy for now :-)  You know the craziest part after all this complaining I've done?  I'm actually going to miss being pregnant!  Yep, I said it.  I'm going to miss having my baby with me 24/7.  Of course I'm more excited to meet him and have him physically in my life but I just don't how else to explain it except that I'll miss being pregnant.  Craziness.

On to the update...

Weight Gain?:  I've gained a total of about 30 pounds.

Maternity Clothes?:  Still wearing maternity bottoms and mostly maternity dresses.

Symptoms?:  As I stated above, my rib and muscle pain is bad and swelling is out of control.  Tests showed that I'm low in iron so I've been doubling up on iron and fiber which makes me a little queasy.

Sleep?:  Sleep is getting a little better although bathroom breaks are frequent.

Do I miss anything?:  Nope.

Movement?:  Holy cow this baby moves!  He punches all the time.  Since he's run out of room, his movements are more of punches than kicks.

Anything making you sick or queasy?:  I still can't stand air fresheners.

Food cravings?:  Butterfingers, sandwiches, gatorade.

Have you started to show?:  YES.

Boy or a Girl?:  Boy!

Best Moment This Week?:  Turning 30 last Tuesday!  I also got to see two of my sisters that live out of town.  I enjoyed showing them around the nursery and being with them because the next time I'll see them, Lucas will be here!  They both were constantly touching my belly and freaking out whenever the baby moved.  Melisa even cried when she was in the nursery and saw his little backpack packed up for the hospital.  Lucas is going to be one spoiled little boy!

Check out my other bump updates here:
27 Weeks
21 Weeks
17 Weeks

13 Weeks
Finding Out 

27 Weeks Preggo Update

I've been so busy lately that I forgot about my one year blogiversary that was April 22!  It's hard to imagine that I've been blogging for a year since it feels like it's only been a month or two.  Thank you to everyone and anyone who reads my blog :-)  For those of you that read and/or comment, I truly appreciate all of your kindness.

On to the update:

I learned at my last appointment that my due date may be pushed a week earlier so I may actually be 28 1/2 weeks.  My baby shower is tomorrow!  I can't wait to see loved ones and celebrate little Lucas :-)

The last time I did an update was at 21 weeks and my oh my have things changed and progressed...

Weight Gain?:  I've gained a total of about 15 pounds.

Maternity Clothes?:  Same maternity clothes and, unfortunately, pre-pregnancy tops are no longer fitting well.

Symptoms?:  Lots of swelling so I'm cutting down on salt.  I have tons of rib pain which makes it hard to sleep.  More thirsty than ever.  I was having horrible tooth pain around 25 weeks.  I thought it was because of the pregnancy because I had gone to the dentist in October and no cavities were found. Well, turns out I needed a root canal.  Having a root canal done at 6 months, with little to no pain medication and numbness was awful.  Luckily, I didn't experience too much pain and it was more uncomfortable than painful afterwards.

Sleep?:  I'm only getting up once or twice but rib pain keeps me up.

Do I miss anything?:  Nope.

Movement?:  YES!!!!  He kicks allllllllllll the time!  I had to laugh to myself the other day because I was at a court hearing and he kicked from start to finish.  It was awesome :-)

Anything making you sick or queasy?:  I still can't stand air fresheners.

Food cravings?:  Nutella and apples, Japanese food, ciabatta bread with olive oil

Have you started to show?:  YES.

Boy or a Girl?:  Boy.  I thought I would have a hard time buying boy clothes since I've never done that before but now I can't stop myself!  Lucas may even have more clothes than his dad.  Baby Gap is my favorite store so far.

Best Moment This Week?:  My cousins and aunt are in town for my baby shower tomorrow!  So excited!!

Check out my other bump updates here:
21 Weeks
17 Weeks

13 Weeks
Finding Out 

21 Weeks Preggo Update

We went to our 20 week appointment last week and it was such an amazing day.  The ultrasound we had checked for the baby's weight, size, checking for any problems, etc.  Since we already knew our baby is a boy, my main concern was that he was okay.  Thankfully, our baby boy is doing great!  He is on the larger side so I was told my due date may be a week earlier which would put me at 22 1/2 weeks today.  I'm not surprised he's a big baby since I was born at 11 pounds.  That's right people, 11 flipping pounds!  My grandfather said I came out ready to start kindergarten :-)

The best moment of the ultrasound was when we saw him "eating."  It was so cute to see his little mouth moving and see him stretching his arms. In fact, he was moving so much that the tech was chasing him around with the wand and I had to then move on my sides to see if he would settle down.  The tech asked me what I ate for breakfast because she usually has to give women something sugary to drink to get the baby moving but not me!  I was too embarrassed to tell her what I really ate for breakfast...a piece of flan...I mean what else would you expect me to eat for breakfast?  I was an 11 pound baby after all.

Weight Gain?:  I've gained a total of 5 pounds thus far.  I'm positive I've gained 5 more pounds since last week or else I'm extremely bloated/swollen (TMI).

Maternity Clothes?:  Maternity skirts, pants, and dresses are my saviors.

Symptoms?:  HEARTBURN and ACID REFLUX!!!  I broke down and got a prescription because it was keeping me up all night and making it difficult to function during the day.  I'm also getting really swollen at the end of the day.

Sleep?:  Same as other weeks so I copy pasted:  "Yes and no.  I sleep in spurts of 2 hours here or 3 hours there.  My husband bought me a Snoogle but he seems to use it more than me."

Do I miss anything?:  Not really.

Movement?:  Lots of fluttering and moving from this little guy but I can't wait to feel a real kick!

Anything making you sick or queasy?:  I still can't stand air fresheners.

Food cravings?:  Japanese food, olives, and brownies.

Have you started to show?:  Oh yes.

Boy or a Girl?:  Baby BOY Lucas

Best Moment This Week?:  Seeing my little man "eating" and stretching on the ultrasound :-)

Check out my other bump updates here:
17 Weeks

13 Weeks
Finding Out 

It's a...

BOY!!!!!

(Crappy Iphone pic and awkward angle but oh well!)

Our boy was not shy yesterday and showed us the money shot easily!  I KNEW it was going to be a boy.  I just had a feeling.  As the oldest of four girls and always wanting a little brother, I can't wait to have a little boy running around!  My husband went a little nutty buying a bunch of clothes for his little man but it was awesome to see him so excited.  He walked around the office the whole day showing everyone the ultrasounds pictures.  Needless to say, we are thrilled!  I now pray and hope that my little boy, Lucas, is healthy and well.

17 Week Preggo Update

Weight Gain?:  I gained one pound since my January appointment.  Right after my appointment yesterday, I inhaled a thanksgiving style lunch then burgers for dinner so my next appointment will more than likely see a larger weight gain!

Maternity Clothes?:  Yes, yes, and yes.  Thankfully, I had some gift cards to use up and clothes that were gifted to me over the holidays so I think I'm set on maternity clothes for a while.  

Symptoms?:  Acid reflux and allergies but other than that, I feel great!  I'm so happy that, hopefully, the sickness has gone away.  I feel like my old self again.  I even started going to the gym which helps me keep up my energy.

Sleep?:  Same as 13 weeks so I copy pasted:  "Yes and no.  I sleep in spurts of 2 hours here or 3 hours there.  My husband bought me a Snoogle but he seems to use it more than me."

Do I miss anything?:  Not really.

Movement?:  It's hard to describe but it feels like popcorn popping or a fishy swimming around lol  No real kicks yet though.

Anything making you sick or queasy?:  Just smells still.  I can't stand air fresheners nor the smell of food!

Food cravings?:  Japanese food, cuties oranges, lollipops, bread, bubblegum ice-cream (even though I can't flipping find any! Ugh)...

Have you started to show?:  Belly is out!

Boy or a Girl?:  BOY!!

Best Moment This Week?:  Finding out that our little baby is a boy and giving him a name...Lucas!


Check out my other bump updates here:
13 Weeks
Finding Out

13 Week Preggo Update

I love reading bloggers such as Schnelle, Veronika's Blushing, or Perfection Possibilities pregnancy updates so I've decided to do the same and keep track of my pregnancy this way.  I think this will just be a monthly thing and I'll summarize the month instead.  I also loved how Merrick wore the same dress when she did her updates so I'm going to try to remember to do the same.  I'm a copy cater.  I own it :-)

Weight Gain?:  I lost weight when I was sick but I'm pretty sure I've gained.  I'll find out on Friday at our next appointment.

Maternity Clothes?:  I tried to fight this as long as I could but my bump popped VERY early on.  I had to buy maternity bottoms just because yoga pants aren't acceptable at my office nor in court.  How I wish they were...

Symptoms?:  Thankfully, the nausea has gone away but now I have some bad acid reflux.  I had reflux before getting pregnant but it is definitely worse now.  I find that drinking chocolate milk helps it get better.

Sleep?:  Yes and no.  I sleep is spurts like 2 hours here or 3 hours there.  My husband bought me a Snoogle but he seems to use it more than me lol

Do I miss anything?:  Soft cheeses, cold deli meats, sleeping throughout the night, sushi

Movement?:  I sometimes think I feel a heartbeat or movement but I think it's too early for that.

Anything making you sick or queasy?:  Smells!!  Oh my goodness, air fresheners will literally make me sick.  Ahem...mom's air freshener.  The smell of chicken grosses me out too.

Food cravings?:  I mostly have cravings 'of the day' but lately cocoa krispies cereal, tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries, chocolate, and Japanese food.

Have you started to show?:  ABSOLUTELY!  It's crazy how early my belly popped.  Although I now love seeing the bump grow, I thought I would have a couple months to continue wearing my regular clothes but nope.  Belly is out in full force.

Boy or a Girl?:  Don't know yet but we finally decided on names!  The girl name came pretty easy and I love love love it.  The boy name was a little harder but we've finally decided.  So if it's a girl, I'll be calling her baby "O" until she's born or, if it's a boy, he'll be baby "L" :-)

Best Moment This Week?:  We're looking forward to our appointment on Friday and hoping that our little one is still healthy.