Now we can put up the tree.

The day after Thanksgiving, Brooklyn asked if it was Christmas time now and if we can finally put up the tree. I couldn't say no. :) Of course, when she said "we" I should have known what that really meant.

 

Josh and Matt did puzzles, Brooklyn played in the box and with the bubble wrappings, and I ended up putting the tree up by myself.



 

But, when it came time for the star, tradition took over and Brooklyn, assisted by Daddy, put the star on top.

 

We are all enjoying the beautifully decorated Christmas tree this year. :)



 

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Thanksgiving 2012

So, for Thanksgiving this year, I suggested to Matt that we order the meal from a yummy restaurant to avoid the mess and use of our time. I caved when he told me he would do everything... yeah right (although he did cook the turkey by himself, and it turned out super yummy). :/ We did have a great meal, but with a two week old and two other littles, it was not worth the time we put into making it all and then cleaning it all up afterwards. At least we had a yummy Thanksgiving meal. :)

 

The turkey Matt made... it was so delicious! ... better than any others I've made in the past.

 

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Alayna at home

The day after we got home, we had Alayna's bilirubin levels checked and they had gone up significantly to the point that she looked pretty jaundice. So, her pediatrician gave us an at-home treatment, the Billi-blanket, which is actually NOT a blanket, but a board of lights that she had to lay on continuously. She stayed on the lights for about 4-5 days until her levels came back down.

 

Hangin with her very proud and adoring big sister. (You can kinda see the blue glowing aura in Alayna's blanket from her light pad)

 

Proud sister

 

My favorite up close pics of Alayna.

 

Alayna's second bath at home... her first bath at home was a bit rushed as there were other things to be done (ie put older ones to bed). She does like her baths

 

With a new baby at home, and momma still recovering, Josh and Brooklyn got to have A LOT more iPad time.

 

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Alayna comes home

Because Alayna was technically a preemie and because I was strep B positive, we stayed till Tuesday evening. We were also unsure of Alayna's jaundice condition. Her bilirubin levels were just barely in the risk zone, and she hadn't poopied in almost two days. She was, however, already eating very well, so her docs agreed to discharge her on the condition that we continue to monitor her bilirubin levels daily with her pediatrician. So, we packed up to go, and as soon as she was dressed in her going-home clothes, she had an enormous poopie, and we were all very relieved. But she was still a bit jaundice looking, and we still need to have her levels checked daily.

 

All ready to go home:

 

Our welcome home (sorry about the bits of slight immodesty):

 

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Alayna meets family

Matt brought my mom, Josh and Brooklyn up to the hospital to meet Alayna. My mom was especially happy she was still here visiting/helping so she could meet her newest grandbaby... not even a day old.

 

Brooklyn is incredibly excited to have a little sister, too. And, she couldn't wait to hold her.

 

Josh... well... he noticed baby Alayna ("baby Layna" as Josh says it), but didn't really want to hold or even touch her, yet. I think he's just unsure what she is right now.

 

I was so happy to have my loved ones visit us.

 

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Baby Alayna is here!

First pics with mommy and daddy.

 

Alayna hangin out in the nursery while Momma was in the OR.

 

It all started at around 4 pm on Saturday while Matt and I were at the movies (watching James Bond Skyfall). My mom insisted we go out on a date, our last one for a while, so we did (didn't take much convincing). I started having back pain about halfway through the movie. It got worse by the end, so we skipped dinner and went home to call the doctor, grab our hospital bag and head to the hospital. We got to the hospital at around 6pm and I was at 5 cm... this was definitely it. We settled in for the night hoping it would not take very long. The back pain was pretty intolerable, but after a caring nurse helped me into a different position, the back pain was illiminated. Then came the question... epidural or not? I chose no drugs to give Alayna her best chance at 35 weeks (albeit not that significant of an advantage, but still an advantage). It was actually tolerable till I got to about 8-9 cm. But the relief I knew I would feel as soon as she was born was motivation to stay calm. About 1 1/2 hours later (and after begging the doc to let me push) I was pushing. A few pushes through only one contraction, Alayna Marie was out and crying at 12:08 am on Novenmber 11, 2012. She weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 19 in long. I can't imagine how big she would've been had she made it full term. She only struggled a little bit to breathe, but within an hour was perfectly normal. I, on the other hand, had a complication with the placenta. It would not come out... It was still strongly attached. So, they attempted, quite painfully, to manually dislodge it there in the birthing room. It was still not coming out, so they took me to the OR to put me under (they said this was going to hurt too much), and literally had to rip it out and then perform a D&C. They let me sleep for a couple of hours afterwards, thankfully - I was pretty tired. I finally got some quality time with my new baby girl:

 

 

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Close call

Today, I went to the doctor because I was having contractions one right after the other all night last night and all morning this morning. Since I was at three cm last Wednesday, I was a little concerned this might be it at 34 weeks. None of the contractions were painful, just uncomfortable, like they have been for the last four months. They were, however, right on top of each other and not stopping. At the doc, they said I was still a three but now 75% effaced (versus 25% last week). They sent me to the hospital to be monitored, and sure enough I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. They kept me all day giving me fluids (even though I was far from dehydrated - I've been drinking 80-90 oz of water per day) and medicine to stop the contractions. I finally stopped having them so close together (only 15 minutes apart), and they sent me home on very strict bedrest. Luckily, I convinced my mom to stay and help me here while my dad went back home alone to Miami on the 1st. What wonderful, selfless parents I have. We're hoping baby girl keeps cooking for at least one more week. In the meantime, Josh and Brooklyn are enjoying their time with grandma.

 

Grandma playing with Joshy at the playground, while I, of course, am sitting on a bench spectating.

 

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