Thursday, September 15, 2011
Introducing...
Amelie Mae Beatrice Baum. Born September 14, 2011 at 9:57 a.m. Weighing 8 lbs even at birth, weighing 7 lbs. 13 oz. a day later. Measuring 21 and a quarter inches long, head 13 inches. Apgar was 8/9 due to a bit of purple in her feet. Quite a head of red hair, blue eyes.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Happy Early Halloween!
We plan to do a before and after picture of BugBat in a pumpkin outfit - should be cute :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Dear Daughter
Today I'm nearly a week overdue with you, and although I feel you moving inside me hourly, I feel like I don't even know you yet. I don't know what you look like, your personality, your preferences, how you eat, how you sleep. But I know I already love you and I will do anything I can to protect you and take care of you. I've wanted to meet you for a long time, and even though I'm already waiting longer than I thought I would need to, I'm as excited as ever to welcome you into our family and make us official parents.
It's hard to explain, but I feel that becoming a mother is not only going to completely change my life as I know it now, but make it more complete. As I sit here waiting for your birthday, I know things will be quite different in a few days, but I still can't imagine exactly how it will be for our lives to revolve around someone else, especially such a small someone. Yet, there is nothing more that I want to do.
I wish for you so many things. I hope you get a great mix of traits from your dad and me. Superficially, I hope you get Wombat's olive skin tone, eyes, and great smile, and my hair, lips, and runner legs. I hope you get from both of us perfect vision, great teeth, strong bones, healthy lungs, and overall athletic condition, so you may pursue anything physically that you want to, free from sickness or hardships. Mentally, I wish for you your dad's sense of humor, his confidence (but not necessarily his ego ;), his conviction, his energy, his practicality (both with money and life), his patience, and his ability to connect with all types of people. I wish for you my sensitivity, my ambition, my attention to details, my endurance, my respect (both for yourself and for others), and my gratitude for blessings.
Most importantly, I hope we can teach you the things in life that will make you happiest and give you all the advantages you need to be successful at whatever you try, while simultaneously bringing joy to others as well.
You are already a joy in my life, and ever since the day we discovered we were expecting you, I have felt a sense of peace, happiness, and purpose in my life that I did not have before. I promise I will love you unconditionally, and I'll always be here for you, even if and when we go through some hard times and decisions down the road. I know that being a parent requires not only personal sacrifices, but emotional ones that mean I might have to let you fall or suffer consequences on your own, so I will try my best to let you grow by experience when you need to. I know your father will do a great job as well, and I am so lucky to have found such a great man to be there for you.
I still can't believe I'll be holding you in my arms in less than 3 days. I can't wait to wish you a happy birthday in person soon, baby girl. Thank you for making me a mother and showing me what unconditional love at first sight really means. Love always, MomBug
It's hard to explain, but I feel that becoming a mother is not only going to completely change my life as I know it now, but make it more complete. As I sit here waiting for your birthday, I know things will be quite different in a few days, but I still can't imagine exactly how it will be for our lives to revolve around someone else, especially such a small someone. Yet, there is nothing more that I want to do.
I wish for you so many things. I hope you get a great mix of traits from your dad and me. Superficially, I hope you get Wombat's olive skin tone, eyes, and great smile, and my hair, lips, and runner legs. I hope you get from both of us perfect vision, great teeth, strong bones, healthy lungs, and overall athletic condition, so you may pursue anything physically that you want to, free from sickness or hardships. Mentally, I wish for you your dad's sense of humor, his confidence (but not necessarily his ego ;), his conviction, his energy, his practicality (both with money and life), his patience, and his ability to connect with all types of people. I wish for you my sensitivity, my ambition, my attention to details, my endurance, my respect (both for yourself and for others), and my gratitude for blessings.
Most importantly, I hope we can teach you the things in life that will make you happiest and give you all the advantages you need to be successful at whatever you try, while simultaneously bringing joy to others as well.
You are already a joy in my life, and ever since the day we discovered we were expecting you, I have felt a sense of peace, happiness, and purpose in my life that I did not have before. I promise I will love you unconditionally, and I'll always be here for you, even if and when we go through some hard times and decisions down the road. I know that being a parent requires not only personal sacrifices, but emotional ones that mean I might have to let you fall or suffer consequences on your own, so I will try my best to let you grow by experience when you need to. I know your father will do a great job as well, and I am so lucky to have found such a great man to be there for you.
I still can't believe I'll be holding you in my arms in less than 3 days. I can't wait to wish you a happy birthday in person soon, baby girl. Thank you for making me a mother and showing me what unconditional love at first sight really means. Love always, MomBug
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Good: BugBat passed her non-stress test this morning with flying colors, moving 3-4 times in 20 minutes, and raising her heart rate each time. She is still surrounded by plenty of fluids and she's measuring approximately 7 lbs 6 oz, according to some quick ultrasound estimates. Her head is also in a perfect position for birth, facing down and towards my spine. It's already very low (which explains the bowling ball feeling I've had lately), and my cervix is quite soft, but not dilating any further than past visits yet (1 centimeter, darn it). It was fun to see her on the ultrasound - her legs look so long already! They were folded up tight, and I can't help but wonder if she's getting uncomfortable, poor thing.
Bad: Still no signs of active labor, and I'm scheduled to go in for an inducement on Tuesday, September 13th at 9 pm, so that she will likely be delivered on Wednesday, September 14th when Dr. Dave is on call at Riverside. Hear that, Bugbat? Your eviction is in 5 days!
Ugly: The chance that I'll need a c-section is over 30% if I am induced, since the baby may experience more distress, and since my body may take longer to progress than if I naturally went into labor. The ugly is also my emotions this week after the fatigue of always being ready and anxious to meet her is beginning to get to me. Physically I still feel fine (amazingly), but I think I'm getting pre-partum depression from the lack of control in starting labor naturally and the added pressure of an inducement date creeping closer. Just ask poor Wombat who had to endure my first real breakdown last night when I HAD to have cookie dough from the store because nothing else sounded good at 8 pm, just after he returned from the grocery store an hour earlier haha. It was so important that crying was the only solution for 20 minutes until I could get some.
His recitation of the "f*** you, hormones!" from "Knocked Up" was also not amusing until after I satisfied my craving with two whole bites, at which time I decided I didn't need any more.
So 5 more days max until we finally meet our little one.....a full month after she has been considered full term haha. Oh well, a bigger baby is a healthier baby, which is especially good if I need a c-section since it may take up to 4 days for my milk to come in. I just want to be able to take care of her properly - it will make me sad if I can't hold her and feed her right away, but I'll accept it if it's safer in the long run. And if I need the surgery, then at least I'll already have a scar for the future tummy tuck I'll want....the important things ;) Can't wait to finally meet you, little girl, one way or another!
Bad: Still no signs of active labor, and I'm scheduled to go in for an inducement on Tuesday, September 13th at 9 pm, so that she will likely be delivered on Wednesday, September 14th when Dr. Dave is on call at Riverside. Hear that, Bugbat? Your eviction is in 5 days!
Ugly: The chance that I'll need a c-section is over 30% if I am induced, since the baby may experience more distress, and since my body may take longer to progress than if I naturally went into labor. The ugly is also my emotions this week after the fatigue of always being ready and anxious to meet her is beginning to get to me. Physically I still feel fine (amazingly), but I think I'm getting pre-partum depression from the lack of control in starting labor naturally and the added pressure of an inducement date creeping closer. Just ask poor Wombat who had to endure my first real breakdown last night when I HAD to have cookie dough from the store because nothing else sounded good at 8 pm, just after he returned from the grocery store an hour earlier haha. It was so important that crying was the only solution for 20 minutes until I could get some.
His recitation of the "f*** you, hormones!" from "Knocked Up" was also not amusing until after I satisfied my craving with two whole bites, at which time I decided I didn't need any more.
So 5 more days max until we finally meet our little one.....a full month after she has been considered full term haha. Oh well, a bigger baby is a healthier baby, which is especially good if I need a c-section since it may take up to 4 days for my milk to come in. I just want to be able to take care of her properly - it will make me sad if I can't hold her and feed her right away, but I'll accept it if it's safer in the long run. And if I need the surgery, then at least I'll already have a scar for the future tummy tuck I'll want....the important things ;) Can't wait to finally meet you, little girl, one way or another!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Anniversary and Wedding Recap
*Warning: picture heavy post*
So besides using more toilet paper in the last week than I usually do in a month, it's been a lovely anniversary with Wombat. Being 40 weeks pregnant kept us at home most of the day, but we enjoyed being alone together with some great foot rubs and homemade meals :) Wombat also did an amazing job surprising me with fun gifts on our "paper anniversary":
Since I began this blog post-wedding, now would be a great time to recap one of the best days of my life.
So besides using more toilet paper in the last week than I usually do in a month, it's been a lovely anniversary with Wombat. Being 40 weeks pregnant kept us at home most of the day, but we enjoyed being alone together with some great foot rubs and homemade meals :) Wombat also did an amazing job surprising me with fun gifts on our "paper anniversary":
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| These should be handy at the hospital or while BFing soon. |
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| Bonus Present: an outfit I was drooling over at Gymboree for BugBat - with Papillons! :) |
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| Katamari earrings haha (one of Dorian's favorite games) |
Since I began this blog post-wedding, now would be a great time to recap one of the best days of my life.
September 5, 2010:
the day
the rings
the gift bag
the morning
the lunch
the preparation
the venue
the flower girls
the groom
the bride
the chuppah
the kiss
married
the wedding party
the reception
the dance
the photo booth
the cake
the hora
the flowers
the favors
the happily ever after
BONUS Music Video: http://www.vimeo.com/17980478
So happy anniversary, Wombat, I love you even more now than I though I could one year ago. I couldn't imagine a better life with you and I can't wait for even more amazing years to come!
Love always, Buggy
Sweet dreams ;)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Uneventful Update
So our 40th week appointment was today, and it was disappointingly uneventful. No new progress as far as effacement and dilation, and the doctor jumped right into discussing inducement. The good news is that he believes (with 40+ years of experience) that the healthiest babies arrive between 40 and 41 weeks, so he moved my inducement date up to Tuesday, September 13th, so we have less than 2 weeks to go, guaranteed! If we wait longer, we could run into the placenta beginning to fail and/or amniotic fluid getting low and/or a higher probability of needing a C-section. The best part about going up to/past our due date is that BugBat will be fully ready to go, and she may sleep for longer periods of time if she has a bigger stomach at the get-go, since she'll be able to eat more at a time and not wake up to be fed every 2 hours.
Dr. Dave does not believe in stripping the membranes because of the risk of infection, so instead the plan is to use a foley bulb (which sounds much more pleasant than it likely feels), and then begin pitocin later if need be. The good news is that we only need to wait a max of one more week to see her, because if we make it until next Thursday, we will have a stress test with an ultrasound to measure the fluids, so we'll get to see her little face and make sure that she is, in fact, a girl. They will also be able to better estimate her size, which is exciting. Oddly, I'm still measuring a bit small, at 37-38 cms, and I'm still at a steady 155 lbs, so perhaps this weight plateau has slowed things down a bit. It's not for lack of trying though - I figured I may as well enjoy myself these last few weeks and I've been indulging in steak and thai food, yum!
Nothing else to report today - it's reassuring to know that we'll finally get to meet our daughter one way or another very soon, and perhaps now we can enjoy a few more nights to ourselves...including our real anniversary this coming Monday <3 Maybe my next post will be a little recap of our wedding/honeymoon since I've yet to do one.
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