Thursday, November 30, 2006

Thursday

I haven't been able to blog as much as I would like for two reasons. Of course, obviously the first is, Lydia Catherine. She's rearranged our schedules :) Also, Frankie has been finishing up his last work for the semester (he's finished with the difficult stuff as of 5pm tomorrow). He's been spending a lot of time in the library and often takes his computer with him.
Yesterday we took Lydia Catherine to church for the first time! We figured since it was a Wednesday night, there wouldn't be as many people and it would go smoothly (we hoped). I have been so fearful ever since finding out I was pregnant about people holding her. I have a lot of valid concerns (it's flu, RSV and cold season!, I've seen people do unwise things and she's a tiny newborn)! I've probably written this before, but I'll write it again. First, our pediatrician said we should not take her into an 'uncontrolled crowd' for two months. Basically no one should be around her that might hold her without washing their hands. The pediatrician was very upfront about the dangers of sickness and that it comes from germs spread through hand contact. Secondly, I witnessed someone in Frankie's family put her fingers in an infants mouth. (Unwashed fingers with long, nasty fingernails). I also witnessed someone put an infants fingers in their mouth. The last thing is on two separate cases with two different babies I witnessed (among family and a friend) old people holding the babies precariously. Both because they could not see, but the child's head was at an alarming angle. One old woman walked/stumbled with the child.
I cannot deal with this. The thoughts makes me almost hysterical.
Ok, so anyway, I prayed fervently and reminded myself over and over that God loves her more than I do and He is completely sovereign.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thanksgiving

Lydia Catherine is 2 weeks and a day old today (and 2 hour and 14 minutes). This is her first Thanksgiving! Also it's my first Thanksgiving away from home. Because of Frankie's school (he has a big paper due next week), we weren't able to go to SC for Thanksgiving. He actually did say if I really wanted to we could go from Thurs-Saturday. I felt like the long drive and traveling back and forth between families would be too much on Lydia Catherine. I don't want her to have to face swarms of relatives (possibly sick ones!) this early.
Sooo, my turkey is in the oven. I've never cooked a turkey before, much less all the typical sided items that go with Thanksgiving. I'm attempting though. I have turkey, ham (both really small), rice, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoe casserole, herb potatoes, rolls and an apple pie for dessert. I hope it all turns out good.
I should mention that I think Lydia Catherine has colic. For the third night in a row, she's cried from around 10pm-2am for no apparent reason. I tried the obvious...feeding her, changing her, and even in desperation, gas drops (after calling the pediatrician to make sure it was safe). Nothing works. We tried a vibrating seat, singing, pacing, rocking, humming, etc. She gets calms for a few moments, but the crying doesn't stop until well after midnight. From 2 until 10 or so she sleeps with just a feeding or two between (and a couple of diaper changes). Frankie sang last night until he was almost hoarse. I think he went through every song he knows...from hymns to Christmas carols, to made up songs.
I just hate hearing her cry...especially not knowing what's wrong or how to help her!
One more tidbit, her umbilical cord/stump fell off this morning. Her first milestone.
I hope everyone (anyone) who reads this has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
By the way, to those who prayed for us during the time of pregnancy, labor and delivery, THANK YOU

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Saturday, November 18

It's Lydia Catherine's tenth day in the world. She's doing very well. On Wednesday night she started sleeping longer through the night. The first week she woke up every 1-2 hours. Since Wednesday, however, she's been sleeping about 2-4 hours between feedings. She is so precious and beautiful!
I'm a little amazed at how I feel about her. I mean, of course, I was excited at the thought of having a baby and I expected to love her. But I find myself not wanting to leave her in the bassinet when she's asleep, but wanting to hold her instead. Neither me nor Frankie can stand to hear her cry.
Frankie has also surprised me. So far he's been really great. He's changed several diapers (the first time he was pooped on and we got that on camera!). He also gets up almost every time I get up during the night. If I've had her awhile and he's here, he periodically comes and takes her from me. At night he's started (for the last couple of days) wanting her to fall asleep on his chest, then he puts her in the bassinet and tucks her in. It's cute. I think he'll be a great dad.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Pictures!

I hope this works! Here's a link to Shutterfly, where I downloaded lots of pictures from the first week.

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaMnLJw5cM2Lmo

Friday

My mom left this morning to go back to SC. This is the first time it's been just the three of us: Franke, Lydia Catherine & me.
We had a dr's appointment on Wednesday and Lydai Catherine was doing well. She weighed 7lbs, 10 oz, so she has really gained well. The dr also advised me to keep breast feeding and not ry to introduce her to the bottle for another week at least. She said I could start pumping to freeze milk for the future though.
Last night Lydia Catherine slept more than she ever has. Last week (for about 5 night after coming home) she was up every 1-2 hours to nurse and/or have a diaper change. Last night she slept 3-4 hours between nursing though! It was awesome! She is so pretty and perfect. It's really such a miracle...so amazing. We are so blessed.
I have not quite figured out how to put pics on here! I do have some on shutterfly, so I'm going to attempt to see if there's a way to link that site on here.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Tuesday Nov 14

THE BABY HAS ARRIVED. Lydia Catherine Melton arrived Wednesday, November 8, 2006 at 8:04am, weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and measuring 19 inches.
She is completely healthy and beautiful. :)
Last Monday I went to the OBGYN for an exam and to talk about possibly being induced. I was dilated 1 cm and she scheduled me for an induction on Monday, November 13 (yesterday). We left the dr's office and went to eat Mexican food (my husband and mom wanted to try anything to naturally induce labor). Monday night my stomach cramped all night...I stayed up most of the night on the couch. Tuesday morning by 9am, the 'cramping' seemed pretty regular but not really painful. When my mom got up, she timed the 'cramps/contractions and they were about 6-7 minutes apart for 3 hours. I called the dr and they said for me to just go on to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 1 or 2 pm and the Labor and Delivery nurse in the triage examined me. She said I was still 1 cm, and that it was false labor since there was no change in my cervix since Monday. I told her it was different than the false labor I had been experiencing. Her response was, "We'll see you on Monday." We went back to the apartment and I was confident that I was in the early stages of labor. I was also confident that I would not go back to the hospital until I was absolultely certain that I was in labor. The day progressed uneventfully until around 10pm, when the contractions became a little more uncomfortable. By 11pm contractions were every 6 minutes and I knew it was true labor. Frankie was pacing the floors, saying over and over, 'let's wake up your mom.' I refused to let him, but by midnight I changed my mind. I started bleeding some, which prompted me to dress quickly and make my way to the car. My mom and Frankie were nervous and quiet on the way to the hospital. Each contraction had me gripping the seat. We arrived, registered and went up to L&D. In triage, I was 7cm, contractions were every 5 minutes. By the time they got me to a room and on the monitors, I was ready for an epidural. I had considered delivering naturally, but Frankie and my mom both thought I should just get an epidural. The anestheiologist agreed to give a walking epidural, but by the time he arrived in the room, I was 9cm. He asked if I was sure I wanted it at this point since I had labored naturally for so long. I told him I did! Immediately, I was a different person! It was around 5:30, so I had been in labor (that was uncomfortable to painful) for 6 hours. The next two hours were completely comfortable and uncomplicated. My OBGYN came in around 7:30am and I ended up pushing for less than 15 minutes. I tore just a little (1st degree).
God blessed me so much with such a wonderful experience. By the time we were in the room with the baby, I was telling my husband I wasn't opposed to having five kids anymore.
The last few days have been tiring, but I know that's to be expected and it doesn't improve. I've slept about 10 hours since last Wednesday, but I feel fine.
I'll post more later. We have our first pediatrician's appointment tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

November

October has come and gone and still no baby! I have five or six more days until the due date (one dr said 5th, another said 6th). I PRAY she comes THIS WEEK! I have another dr's appointment on Friday for an ultrasound and exam. All along I've not wanted to be induced, but I'm leaning more that way at this point. I have really begun to swell...my feet, ankles, legs, hands, face are all like balloons. My blood pressure has continued to stay at around 110-120/70-80. Praise the Lord for that. Frankie is eager for the baby to arrive, as is my mom. I really would love for the baby to come this week while my mom is still here to help, as well.
Not much else new going on!