Doing Great!

Kaylan is one week old today and is doing wonderful! She is so much better than Kenny ever was at this point. Kenny would only sleep two hours max and would wake up just long enough to eat and get his diaper changed. He was also a super fussy baby when he did wake up.

Kaylan is a polar opposite! She has slept five hours straight the last two nights and only wakes long enough to eat and get changed, then go back to sleep for two and a half more hours. She has also been staying up for long stretches of two to four hours. While she is awake she just looks around taking in her surroundings and only starts to fuss when she gets hungry. She will eat and then stay awake continuing to just look around.

We have not been able to start cloth diapering yet though, because she is so little. The cloth diapers I got are way too big on her little legs and make them stick straight out! So, for the time being we are stuck using disposable ones.

Kenny has been a great big brother! He loves to hold and kiss her. He also always has to know where she is. If he can't find her he gets very upset and starts yelling at me. The only issue he seems to have so far is he doesn't like it when she cries (which is rare). I think it makes him panic because he doesn't know what is wrong and how to help her. When she starts to cry he runs over to me and says mommy help sissy, help.

Kaylan had her first check up on Wednesday and was back up to 7 lbs. 1 oz, she was down to 6 lbs. 12 oz. when we were discharged from the hospital. The family doc said she is doing great and was surprised she was already able to lift and hold her head off the table for a few seconds when he had her on her belly. She goes back next week for another weight check to make sure she is still getting enough milk since she is breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding started great at the hospital! As soon as she was born she was trying to eat the nurses thumb. When they brought her over to me she latched right on and didn't have any issues at all! By the time we got home my milk had come in and I was extremely engorged! My nipples were very raw and had already scabbed up. Every time I fed her the scabs would break open and my nipples just continued to get worse. Because of the milk over supply I was having to pump two to three times a day just to get some relief since there was no way she could eat that much! On Tuesday I noticed a red splotch on my left breast and it turns out it was the start of Mastitis. The doctor put me on antibiotics and the splotch is already fading, along with the pain. (I have also had severe itching in both my ears and it turns out I have a skin infection in both ears so I am on an ointment for that as well) It has now been one week of breastfeeding and my nipples are still very tender, but the scabbing is starting to heal. The engorgement is almost gone and I have only had to pump once a day for the past few days. Because of all the issues though I have been able to get a nice supply of breastmilk into the freezer.

Well, I suppose that is all for now. We are all just trying to stay away from all the gross germs and illnesses out there!

Kaylan Jean Roland

On Thursday, October 15th I went in for my regular appt. and my midwife said she would see if the OB in charge would let her induce me on Friday morning since I was so uncomfortable. I headed home with the hope that he would agree and we would be going to the hospital first thing in the morning.

Well, at 2:30pm on Thursday she called me to let me know that Friday would not be an option because they already had 2 inductions scheduled and not enough nurses to cover a 3rd. She then gave me the option of coming in Saturday morning or that evening. We opted to head in that evening.

We arrived at the hospital at 4:00 pm and they started the pitocin at 5:00 pm (at that point I was still 2cm). My midwife came in at 9:00 pm and I was almost 4cm, she wanted to break my water but agreed to wait until I was 5cm. After she checked me she gave me the ok to get up and walk around or try different positions to help with the pain (the nurse wouldn't let me get up because they aren't supposed to let you off the monitors if you are on pitocin). When she came back at 11:00 pm I was 5cm and she went ahead and broke my water. I had to stay in bed for about 30 minutes because they wanted to make sure she settled back down into my pelvis, which was no fun!

But, after the 30 minutes I was then able to get up and get on the birthing ball. I stayed on the birthing ball until I was 8cm, but the nurse made me get in the bed because they kept losing her heartbeat due to the position I was in. She then put me on an internal monitor which meant I was stuck in the bed. Once that happened and I was no longer able to get into different positions the contraction became unbearable and I was begging for the epidural. But the anesthesiologist wasn't answering his pages.

After an hour of waiting for the anesthesiologist and crying out in pain my entire body was telling me to push but the nurse wouldn't let me because I still had a small lip left. After about 10 more minutes I yelled at her and told her I had to push and started pushing. She had to run and get my midwife. My midwife literally got there just in time to throw a gown on and deliver her. They didn't even have time to break the bed down!!

After about 4 or 5 pushes I felt her head slip out and the next thing I knew she was laying on my chest crying! It was so amazing to actually be able to feel everything. When Kenny was born the epidural was so strong I couldn't even feel the pressure to push or him coming out.

Kaylan Jean Roland was born on Friday, October 16th at 2:16 am. She weighs 7lbs. 5oz. and is 20 inches long. She has really dark blue eyes that look almost black around the edges and dirty blond hair. She has been doing really great at breastfeeding! Soon after she was born she was trying to eat the nurses finger, so they brought her over to me and she latched right on. She is also very content, she can go 2-3 hours between feedings and in between she sleeps really well or quietly looks around. She also loves to be in the swing in the nursery.

The only issue so far is she loves to suck and has been trying to use me as a pacifier this evening. So, we decided since she is doing so great at latching on that it would be ok to give her a pacifier. She is doing great with the paci now and has soothed herself to sleep. My only fear is that she will become paci dependent though!

We get to go home tomorrow morning shortly after breakfast. I am so excited to get to get out of here. We miss Kenny so much and he misses us a lot too. Last night when they were leaving he tried to tell Grandma and Grandpa goodbye and stay here with us. He will definately be happy to come home tomorrow and get cought up on his sleep since he doesn't sleep well there.

I guess that is all for now, I posted a bunch of pictures for everyone to see just how precious she is!

Still here

I just thought I would post an update. I am still pregnant :( I was so hoping I would at least be starting to get some contraction, but so far nothing. Just a lot of pain in my back and cramping. My midwife stripped my membranes on Monday (which is the cause of the latest discomfort) and I go back Thursday for her to try again. I still have a feeling she is going to be born on the ninth, we will just have to wait and see.

Ken is getting very anxious and anytime I wince in pain from her moving or something hurting he asks if I am in labor. It is starting to get really annoying, but I understand. We all just want to meet her SOOOO bad. So, come on baby girl and come out and meet us already!