Bryn Elizabeth Sterner

Bryn Elizabeth Sterner arrived Thursday, September 22nd at 7:34 p.m., weighing 8 lbs, 10.5 ounces and measuring 19 and 1/2 inches long.  She is perfect and such a joy.  We can't imagine or really even remember our lives without her.  The last week has been very hectic, but I'll try to summarize for her scrapbook as best possible her birth experience up to heading home from the hospital.

We went to the hospital at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 21st to start the induction process.   Here is our last "belly picture." 

As soon as we got to the hospital, we learned that preparing a "birth plan" can be a complete waste of time.  Our goal was for me to be able to walk around the hospital and stay as mobile as possible during labor until an epidural was necessary.  We walked in and learned that due to my blood pressure, I would be bed ridden and laying on my left side until Bryn decided to arrive.  Birth plan was out the window from the beginning.  That evening, we started the first round of labor-inducing medicine, Cervadil.  Cervadil has a 90-95% success rate according to our doctor in doing what it is supposed to do.  Although it was not funny at the time, we can now laugh about the fact that Thursday morning we learned that Cervadil does not work at all on me.  We moved forward anyway and around 7:30 Thursday morning, we started the lovely drug called Pitocin.  After 10 hours of contractions and reaching the maximum amount of Pitocin allowed, we also learned that neither Pitocin or contractions work for me.  I can now proudly say that after 24 hours of drug-induced labor, I am able to dilate to a "1/2".  The goal is 10 for those of you who don't know.  I flunked.

At 5:30 p.m., our doctor told us we could either have a c-section that night or we could try another 24 hours of Cervadil and Pitocin, but that he rarely seen that work and did not think it would work on me.  By 6:30, we were headed into the OR!  Other than the 4 attempts to insert the epidural into my spine, the c-section was pretty easy for all of us.  Nick and I just wanted to meet our baby.  Bryn, however, was not as excited to enter the world.  The doctor had a difficult time getting her out because she was so high.  I think she pushed herself up further out to be stubborn.  After what seemed like forever, the doctor finally called out "you have a girl" and there were tears by all on the north side of the curtain.  Here are the first pictures of our little family.

Here is Bryn with her very first guests in the recovery room, great-grandparents Catherine and Ellis Lee.

On Saturday, the hospital sent their photography company to our room for Bryn's first professional pictures.  Of course, we purchased the entire package.  Here are a few of our favorites! 

We finally got to bring Bryn home on Sunday.  Her "going home" ride was approximately 7 minutes long, but she wanted to get all dressed up for it.

We are very gently being prodded by friends and family to post these now.  We will soon try to post pictures of Bryn with her grandparents and people who came and visited her upon her arrival!

Here we go!

Don't be alarmed...but we're heading to the hospital!

4 days to go!

We can't believe that in just a few days we will finally be able to meet Baby Sterner!  Our doctor is having us come in Wednesday night to start the induction process unless Baby decides to come sooner on his or her own (which is not looking likely).  The inducement is necessary due to the preeclampsia.  Baby Sterner should be born sometime on Thursday, September 22nd.  We are also excited that it looks like he/she will be sharing a birthday with Grandma Sterner! 

A week from today, we should be home from the hospital!  We will send a text message out to all of you after we get to know our little one and give you the news! 

We have been filling our days with going to the doctor (every Monday and Thursday) and I have been wrapping up a few things at work as best able on bed rest.  We also have been cleaning a lot and have finished the Baby's room.  Here are some pics!  

 

Here is the usual view from the rocking chair.  Poor animals.  They are very good about not making noise at the gate so far.  

 

 

Baby Center is a little off, since we know Baby Sterner will be a little bit bigger than their estimate, but for what it is worth, Baby Center says!

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
See what your baby looks like this week.

Tegan Sterner

Time for Part II in our animal series. This week will be highlighting Tegan and her escapades over the last five years. There are a few things we need to tell you about Tegan:

1. Tegan was the runt of her litter and was the smallest of her siblings when we got her at the Lawrence Humane Society.



2. Her head really hasn't grown much since then...In fact, it may be the exact same size.

3. Tegan is more than a bit neurotic...In fact, she has several fears. They may have began with this bath, but we think it was more likely because she was outweighed by her brother for the first year of her life. He continues to show a general distaste for her to this day.



4. Tegan loves to shove herself into tight spaces if she can, and in particular loves to get into a tiny little ball whenever possible.




5. Somewhere after her 1st birthday Tegan developed a very specific fear of cameras. She acts as if the camera might steal her soul. She can recognize them by sound, flash, and absolutely refuses to pose for them. And, no matter who takes a picture, she always blames her Mother. Always.

We believe this may be the moment when she began to distrust:



She never trusted a camera or her Mother again.

6. This is not Tegan's only fear. She also has irrational fears of: Wii remotes, tennis balls, smoke alarms, flea medicine, the hose, strollers (that could be interesting), walkers, little people, alarms, really anything that beeps, and hail.

7. Tegan loves to run, chase, bark, and jump. Her favorite thing to do is to sprint from the very back of the yard and leap up all the steps to the deck. She only really bites it about 20% of the time.

8. Tegan loves to follow her Daddy pretty much where ever he goes, and REALLY does not understand when glass doors stand in her way. Like any good house dog, she fully expects to be able to go in an out as she pleases.



9. Frequently Tegan gets to ride in the car, and often spends days with her best friend Sophie at Grandma and Grandpa Sterner's house. She loves to bark the whole way there and back, and chase any squirrels immediately upon arriving.

10. Some would say she is spoiled...They are probably right.



Tegan is very loved by her parents and we cannot wait to introduce her to the latest member of the family!!

For 37 weeks, Babycenter says:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
See what your baby looks like this week.

We learned last week that Baby Sterner currently weighs approximately 8lbs 2 oz.  We are not at all surprised.  Catherine is still on bed rest and visiting the doctor every 2-3 days.  Everything is looking great so far! 

First Trip to Labor and Delivery

Well, the three of us had an eventful week!  We started out pre-registering at the hospital on Monday, which was great!  Good thing too.  Turns out we needed it.   The only thing relevant we learned that some of our readers might want to remember is that when we have the baby, the baby will be listed at the hospital as "Baby Bell".  This does not mean that Baby Sterner is taking my name, it just means that mothers are generally more important than fathers.  Glad the officials set the record straight from the beginning.

Wednesday I had a regular doctor appointment and found out that my blood pressure was very high.   I thought something was different because, um, well, my face was numb and that's weird.   I got sent in to Labor & Delivery at SMMC and was admitted for the afternoon for some tests. 

Long story short, I have been put on bed rest for the rest of pregnancy due to preeclampsia.  The symptoms of preeclampsia are high blood pressure, rapid water weight gain, headaches, blurry vision and swelling.  On Wednesday I had the high blood pressure, rapid water weight gain and swelling.  After asking this question a half a dozen times to every medical person I ran into, it is NOT caused by what I have eaten during pregnancy.  They think it has something to do with how the baby implanted into the uterine wall.  It typically happens with first time moms and the symptoms do not usually show up until late in pregnancy. 

Good news is that on Friday we went back to the Dr. and my blood pressure was perfect and I had lost four pounds of water weight.  I asked him how I did that and the response was that this is why bed rest works.  Ok, I'm a believer.  We also had a sonogram and did some tests to make sure baby is still doing great and all I know is Baby Sterner scored an 8/8.  Not sure what all was tested, but it included the amniotic fluid, umbilical cord and well, I guess six other things.  Also, baby is head down and face down, so that is great news as well!  We did not get any guesstimates on the baby's weight or length, but we will have another test next week that should give us an idea.  I think the Dr. has an idea, because when I asked him what he thought, he said "well, now, nobody would expect you and Nick to have a six pounder." 

What does the bed rest/preeclampsia mean in terms of when baby will come?  I think the answer to that might change from day to day considering I now have to go to the doctor twice a week to have the baby monitored for 30 minutes and to check my weight and blood pressure.  If blood pressure continues to rise, it means baby must come out.  If everything continues to look great, there is a chance that I'll be sitting on the couch at 41 weeks with a past-due baby as well.

Dr. did say that "typically" girls with preeclampsia, even on bed rest, will have a steady rise in blood pressure that necessitates delivery.  Dr. mentioned to sonogram technician that "this baby will be here in 2-3 weeks" so we are going off of that.  I think it will be the week of the 19th and Nick thinks it will be the week of the 26th.   My back hopes that I am right and my brain hopes that Nick is right. 

Here are some things I have learned since Wednesday:

(1)  When you go into Labor & Delivery, try not to cry.  It makes the old lady at the front desk very nervous. 

(2)  High blood pressure makes some typically emotionless people cry.

(3)  Husbands like to be called before they go into a meeting 200 miles away if their wife is admitted into the hospital, not after. 

(4)  The beds in the fancy Labor & Delivery rooms are not comfortable.

(5)  The baby monitors are pretty cool until the baby moves and you stop hearing the heartbeat. 

(6)  The nurse will look at you like you are an idiot if you freak out when the baby moves and you stop hearing the heartbeat.  Apparently very normal.

(7)  Days of Our Lives is still on.  Jennifer and Jack are still fighting, just like last time I watched in 1987.

(8) While the doctor says that part of my bed rest should include not going into work due to stress, on my first day of bed rest I killed a silver fish, killed a spider, and watched the Season 8 finale of Grey's Anatomy which had the shooter methodically going through Seattle Grace.  This caused two very good screams, two very good jumps, one run around the house, a subsequent retrieval of a cat from under the bed, and 1 hour of on and off crying.  I'm thinking work is less stressful.

(9) Billable hours and bed rest are not a good combination.  Everyone at work has been wonderful though.  I will work from home a few hours a day until the baby comes and then will go on leave. 

The days of mommy pictures are likely over folks, but here are some great pictures of Nick at birthing class modeling the "empathy belly."

We have just one more birthing class and a lactation class, both next week.  Tegan's post is coming soon.  To give Nick credit, this week was a little hectic.  I'll ignore the fact that football started as well.

For 36 weeks, Baby Center says:

 

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

See what your baby looks like this week.