PSD

Paisley Sofia Dean

April 2, 2013

10:41pm

6 lbs 8 ozs 

19.5 ins

We have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl, four weeks to the day, early. This experience was drastically different than the last but no less difficult. It all began with a very rough night with Sebastian on April 1st. He was up all night long crying with a tummy ache. He refused to let his Daddy hold him and he wouldn't lay down to go to sleep, he wanted to be rocked, by Mama. So, I rocked and rocked and rocked while we watched Rescuers Down Under and tried to figure out why he was so miserable! He finally fell asleep around 5:30am and slept til about 8am. I got him up and took him in the shower with me, he enjoyed sitting in the warm water for awhile. 

This is when I started to feel like something might be going on with the little one inside. I began having Braxton Hicks that lasted quite awhile and she seemed almost frozen hard in my stomach during the entire shower. I started to have real contractions around 9am, I have had a TON of Braxton Hicks during both of my pregnancies but I can always tell the difference between those and real contractions due to the pain. It started off subtle and it took me a bit to figure out that I was consistently having cramps and contractions. I started timing them and they were all about 1:50 seconds apart for an hour. They slowed down to every 5 mins when we headed into work. 

Sebastian seemed to be feeling better, whatever was bothering him the night before must have passed. I texted Jonathan and told him to stay by his phone cause I knew I was having some type of contractions. Of course, he immediately began freaking out but I told him I wanted to wait it out and see if it continued before making any drastic decisions or letting anyone else know. 

I continued to time them and decided to call the doctor at lunchtime since they had not lightened up at all and seemed to be gradually getting more and more prominent. I kept Jonathan updated and he stayed at class until I could figure out what was going on. The on-call nurse said to drink tons of water and rest and see if they calmed down in a few hours. My mom knew something was up, since we work right beside each other and I was in obvious discomfort. I continued to time them and they continued to be 5-7 mins apart the entire afternoon.

I made another call to the nurse around 4:40pm since I knew they would be closing soon and wanted to see what they suggested. Now, it just so happens that this was the ONE WEEK that my doctor was on vacation (for the record, she was out of town when Sebastian was born). The nurse consulted another doctor in the practice and they wanted me to go to the Maternity Center at the hospital to be evaluated since they had continued throughout the day. Since I still was unsure of whether or not I was in labor, we decided to continue to keep it to ourselves. Jonathan rushed down from UNCC to meet me at my parent's house. We dropped Sebastian off with my Dad and Samuel and Jonathan, my mom and I headed off to the Maternity Center. 

By the time we reached my parent's house, the contractions had gotten progressively worse. All day they were subtle and consistent but now they were EVERY two minutes and made me want to crawl out of the chair. The hospital was waiting for us and I got checked in relatively quickly. They confirmed that I was indeed having very regular, strong contractions every 2 minutes. The on-call doctor, who is the same doctor that delivered Sebastian, wanted to see if a bag of fluids would stop the contractions. She also checked to see if my cervix was progressing at all, I was at 1.5 cm and was 80% thinned. After doing the cervical check, the doctor seemed to realize I was in active labor. We tried the IV fluids but it did the opposite of slow down the contractions. They were intensifying and quickly. She checked me again an hour later and I was already at 3 cm. Everyone was worried because I was only 36 weeks along and they really wanted me to hold her in there until at least 37 weeks but with my cervix progressing to 3 cm, there was no way to stop the labor. 

The decision was made pretty quickly that it was time to go ahead and deliver her. At 9pm, I was wheeled back for the c-section. Still experiencing some pretty extreme contractions, I was grateful for the spinal block. I had the same anesthesiologist and OBGYN for both Sebastian and baby girl. They both remembered the trauma surrounding my last delivery and everyone was doing double checks with everything to prevent a repeat! 

After I was all prepped, Jonathan was able to come in and sit with me (much nicer than last time) and they got underway. Let me just say, it was quite a different experience being awake while they dig around in your stomach. The pressure and constriction on your lungs and sights and sounds are indescribable. I was not in pain but I was extremely uncomfortable through the whole thing. About 10 minutes in to the delivery, I started to vomit from the pressure and medications, a very difficult task when half your body is numb and unmovable. 

Paisley Sofia Dean was born at 10:41pm and I was so very excited to be able to see her right away! It was a very brief glance and she was the color of a smurf but I at least got to see her. I heard her crying a few seconds later and breathed a very heavy sigh of relief! Jonathan went to see her and be by her side ( I was still throwing up and couldn't really see her). Would you believe that our little baby girl, despite being 4 weeks early, needed no NICU assistance after birth! I am so very proud and was so very relieved because the doctors were really worried she would need help. 

It took them a bit longer to finish me so Jonathan and Paisley left the OR and went back to our room where Mamie was waiting to meet our baby girl! Jonathan proudly rolled her through the hallways and into OUR room....it is so wonderful to have been able to have her right away! I was in a lot of pain right after surgery and it took me about 20 minutes to settle down and get comfortable before getting to really enjoy seeing her and holding her but it was a fabulous feeling!

She clocked in at 6 lbs 8 ozs and was 19.5 ins long. She is the most petite little thing ever, her head is just so tiny. It doesn't look like it in pictures but her little head in no bigger than an apple. It was well after midnight by the time we all got settled in...she did very well the first night. I just tried to rest and keep the pain under control while nursing her ever 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Because of her gestational age, she had to have her blood sugar tested before each feeding to see if she was able to regulate it on her own. This made it very difficult to feed her cause I had to wait on the nurse to come in and test her blood sugar each and every time. Jonathan was great and helped continuously throughout the wee hours of the morning. She did very well for the first few tests, but her sugars dropped very low around her noon feeding. It felt like the nurse went into panic mode...she was running all over the place trying to figure out what steps she had to take next. We started with feeding her every hour to hour and a half and then supplemented her with a little bit of formula to see if it would push the sugar higher. It took until well into the night and many heel sticks later to get it back up where it needed to be.

Sebastian stayed with Mamie and Pops while we were in the hospital and did very well for NEVER having spent a night away from Mommy. He came to visit his new sister the day after she was born and it was so cute to see! He was so tender and sweet and wanted to see her and touch her but also wanted to keep his distance. He was also very excited to see mommy and wanted to sit with me for awhile, which was exactly what I needed.

 
Paisley and I got some good rest in before our release on April 5th. Mamie came home with us and Sebastian to help out with our first week home! She was amazing...we wouldn't have made it without her. I can't lift more than 10 lbs so doing anything with Sebastian was off limits and it felt like recovery this time has been a lot worse. My medicine was not doing what it was intended to...I was counting down the minutes til I could take it again only to get a few mins of relief. They also only gave me enough to last two days out of the hospital, which is ridiculous for a major surgery like that...I had to call and see if they would give me a refill and possibly even something a tad stronger. My doctor was great and did both.

Once home, it was a lot of sleeping and trying to let other people help me out with everything! We had quite a few visitors.

We spent the the week at home, with lots of helping hands. Sebastian got to play in his pool for the first time since the weather was beautiful!

Sebastian loves his baby sister...he is all over her with kisses as often as he can!

 

It has been a drastically different experience than last time, although no easier! We are now happily enjoying our baby girl! Our family of four feels wonderfully complete!

An Outdoor Easter (cause if we are anywhere else, we are screaming!)

It has been a busy week!!!

Mamie and Pops' 30th wedding anniversary was on March 26th...Happy Anniversary and thank you for giving us 30 long years of a united marriage! We hope you guys enjoy at least 30 more together!

Pops' birthday was on March 30th! We will omit his age :) but I had quite the difficult time trying to figure out what to get him this year. He has everything and hates clutter so I can't just go get him something I think looks nice, it has to have a purpose! I did overhear him saying he thinks placemats might look nice on the kitchen table...so I ran with it! In a family as large as mine, determining the number of placemats to purchase was a whole other troubling task. I settled on 10 of each pattern. The patterns complemented each other so he can mix and match for up to 20 guests! He liked them, so it was a win! Happy Birthday, Pops....we love you bunches and are so happy to have celebrated with you! Sebastian even dressed up for the occasion...he looked so handsome in his preppy shorts...YES, we finally had a day of shorts weather!

The forecast was calling for cloudy skies and wet climate most of the holiday weekend but we actually got pretty lucky. The storm that was due to hit Saturday morning, actually hit us through the night on Friday. This left some very moist grass but a BEAUTIFUL day of 60 degree weather on Saturday! We could actually wear shorts and even felt hot when sitting in the direct sunlight! So, I preppied (yes, that's a real word) up Sebastian and we headed over to Mamie and Pops' house to celebrate the old man's birthday!

As I have mentioned in previous posts...Sebastian is obsessed with the outdoors! He will literally sit at the front, back and garage doors just crying to go out. Night or day, rain or shine, freezing or decent, he wants to be out enjoying the fresh air. Generally, we try to accommodate, but...sometimes enough is enough or it is just too darn cold! He has the biggest fit when I let him into the garage, he thinks he is getting to play in his wagon, and then pull a fast one on him and usher him into the car! You would think the world was ending! We try to soothe with a ball for him to hold during the trip but it usually results in tears for most of the ride. I have been torn between getting all my last minute errands done (before this baby pops out) and just going home and letting the poor boy be a boy and play outside.

Anywho, I have trailed a bit...Saturday was so beautiful and it was so nice to actually be able to let Sebastian play without having him bundled up in two coats and mittens and a hat! He spent almost the ENTIRE afternoon in Mamie and Pops' backyard, playing ball and just wandering around. He was outside so much that he missed his morning nap (a huge mistake) and was pretty grumpy from about 5pm on! He managed to scrape up his little knee and face planted towards the end of the day, scrapping his little nose a bit. It was a great day though, I love that he is outdoorsy and wants to play and be a boy but we are struggling with finding a happy medium of indoor vs. outdoor time, complete meltdowns occur several times a day!

Easter morning, we started off bright and early...8am mass to avoid the crowds! This meant being up before the sun but I think it was worth it because I can only imagine how packed the other masses were. As Fr. Paul so eloquently put it..."You guys are the smart ones...I think you made a wise decision getting up early because the 9:30am mass is predicted to be crazy." Sebastian was dressed in his Sunday/Easter best...so cute in a tie! He did really well throughout the mass...he has no patience for sitting still so the fact that we had no fits and no shouting episodes was wonderful.

We went over to spend the holiday with Mamie and Pops after church...made cinnamon rolls for breakfast! The Easter bunny decided NOT to hide our baskets this year...not too bummed about this one...and Sebastian was very intrigued by the mound of candy and toys. He especially loved the play screwdriver!

We also had a small (just Sebastian) egg hunt. It was quite funny. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, but we hid them in clear view and once he discovered there was a Jelly Bean inside the egg, he was determined to locate them all. He would find an egg, shake it and then find an Aunt or Uncle to get the Jelly Bean out before looking for another one. At one point, he had a whole cheek full of half chewed Jelly Beans! It was quite cute because he was a really good seeker :)

Once again, we spent most of the day outdoors. The forecast called for thunderstorms on Sunday but we just had cloud cover and slightly lower temperatures than Saturday. It did rain Saturday night but that was ok.

It was ok to be out in but by golly, after Friday, Saturday and Sunday spent mostly outside...I just wanted to sit on the couch! It is hard to have him outside at my parent's house because they have a giant pool in the backyard....pavers everywhere (not a lot of grass)....steps around the pool...pine needles surrounding the pavers and just about every other hazard you can image. Not at all ideal for babies/toddlers. In our yard, I can usually open up the back door and let him loose...its fenced and about as baby proof as you can get, very little for him to get into trouble with. However, if it has rained a lot, our yard becomes quite squishy and the slope of our driveway makes me too nervous to have him out there. So, it is constant, close range following when he is playing outside at my parent's house, you don't get a moment to just sit and rest.

I am so thankful that he is unaware of the purpose of a swimming pool...I dread the day he figures that out because I definitely foresee that becoming just as much of an obsession as the great outdoors. It's going to be a splendid summer!

I am proud to say that this little girl has stayed in there at least til April! That has been my goal...for several weird reasons. One, my insurance plan renews on April 1st and I really wanted to pay my deductible once! Two, as you can tell from the above mentioned activities...March is already a busy month, we don't have any family birthdays in April so she will have the whole month to herself! Three, I really needed to have at least this long to prepare everything at work and welcome a few more weeks of training my substitute. Four, its springtime...we want to get as far away from the cold/sickness season as possible! Finally, Sebastian was 3 weeks early and although I was happy to lose the uncomfortable late-pregnancy symptoms, he really could have benefited from those last few weeks in the womb, so this little girl needs to soak up as much development as possible in there.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!!!

Big Boy Haircut

TOO SOON
By: Shel Silverstein

You've spilt you milk
And dumped the mashed
Potatoes in your chair.
There's tapioca in your nose
And broccoli in your hair.
Your applesauce is on the wall
And nothin's on your spoon.
I think perhaps we let you
Try to feed yourself too soon.

I'm pretty sure the above poem, by my all-time favorite kids author, describes my child to a tee when it comes to mealtime! He would rather wear the food than eat it! Cheese-Its are his lifeline at this point...gotta love that crunchy goodness.

He is now 17 1/2 months old and more interesting than ever! We have discovered that he has a fetish and love for shoes...it's quite cute! Mamie and Pops brought back an adorable pair of sneakers from Bonaire in the Caribbean. We tried them on Sebastian and he was hilarious... He went around the house showing everyone his new shoes. He would lift his foot and point to his sneakers and show everyone the cars on them.

In anticipation of the summer months, I have been trying to find a pair of sandals/flips for him to wear. This sounds like it shouldn't be that difficult right? He wears size 6 baby shoes...BUT...he has the strangest feet in that they are sooooo chunky on top. They aren't incredibly huge or anything, they just have very poofy tops. To give you an example, I bought him a pair of crocs and they only sell a size 4 and larger so I got the 4s, which at the time, he did not fit into. I figured he would grow into them...yeah, when he was finally ready to wear them, I squished his little foot in there only to discover that his poor little fatty tops oozzed out of the little holes. Needless to say, he never got to wear them! They were a great (BRAND NEW) handy me down to his cousin, Wesley.

So, this search for a pair of sandals/flips that will actually fit his feet has not been very productive. We bought a pair of Nike ones, when he wasn't with us, that had to be returned and he won't even try the ones with a thong. We exchanged the Nike sandals for an adorable pair of loafers, doesn't really help us for the summer, but they were cute and he LOVES them...couldn't wait to try them on.

On another note, I took Sebastian to get his first "Big Boy" haircut at a place called Pigtails and Crewcuts. Usually, Mamie just cuts his hair but it was getting wildly unmanageable of late and I arrived at my Dr. Appt too early today, so...since the barber was literally across the street, we ventured in. They have a fabulous set-up. The chairs are fire trucks, taxis, airplanes and cars and they play Disney movies in view of each seat. Sebastian was thrilled to get to sit in the Fire Truck and steer his way through "Tangled". He did beautifully! He usually does pretty good if I am close by and talk to him while its being cut but not a tear was shed and not a tantrum was thrown during the whole process. He was most upset about not being able to reach the bell on the fire truck...a true emergency. Jonathan freaked a little when I told him it cost me a whopping $17.00 but I said it was worth it if it was a good experience and he leaves happy verses traumatized. I hear all these horror stories about having to hold them down and screaming babies when the clippers come out...I'll fork up $17 bucks any day to have him smile through the whole thing and see haircuts as fun and not scary.

He looks quite handsome with his new hairdo!

My appointment went well...she is not too large measuring in at 34.5 weeks and I am 35 weeks. I have made it to the every week appointment breakdown...oh joy! Only four weeks left til delivery...its right around the corner!

Meeting the Easter Bunny

So, meeting the Easter Bunny went considerably better than meeting Santa a few months ago. When we pulled up to the rope and he got out of his stroller, he squealed with excitement! He was actually excited about seeing what this crazy large bunny was about!

Now, he was not as fond of the situation the closer we got to the sitting part. Luckily there was no one else in line so we could take as long as we wanted and our bunny was very patient. She had a squeaker in her paw, which helped IMMENSELY. It only took two tries to get him to sit next to her, not on her, cause that was NEVER going to happen.

Like usual, there were NO SMILES....we couldn't even get a fake smile out of him.

This was the best shot! Stone cold expression...

He is FINALLY out for good!!!

The long awaited day has finally arrived...no, I have not gone into labor although it would be welcomed at this point! After four long years of active duty and four years of inactive reserves, Jonathan got his HONORABLY DISCHARGED certificate from the United States Marine Corps!

When we first met...five long years ago...I very vividly remember having mixed feelings about the whole military thing. Not having grown up in a military family, my grandfather served but none of my immediate family, I was very unfamiliar with all things military. When my friend told me she had someone she wanted to introduce me to and that he was a Marine, my initial thought was "no, way...I'm not going to get attached to someone who will be gone half the time, military life is not for me!" But, she connected us anyway and although his first message was nothing spectacular, it was worth a second look. I could tell immediately that I would be missing out on the best thing in my life if I said "no" just because he was a military man.

Pictures from Iraq

It just so happened that Jonathan was deployed a whole two days prior to sending me my first message. I look back now and am grateful for this fact...I think meeting him, briefly or not, then watching him leave for seven months, would have been a nightmare. This way, we had to get to know each other solely through messages and words...you can tell a lot about someone when you have nothing to do but talk!

It was the LONGEST seven months of my life...my nine month pregnancy went by faster! When he finally came home on October 15, 2008 (after two delays), there really is no way to describe what kind of feelings I was flooded with. I could finally, physically feel that he was real and safe and excited to see me. I had numerous dreams about finally seeing him, always to wake up and feel that rush of disappointment but when it was finally real...its indescribable!

Just because he had finished his deployment by no means meant we were done with the military, it just meant I had changed my mind...he was worth the wait! I was now willing to go on this active/inactive journey with him. He was stationed at Camp Lejuene for at least another 8 months, which meant more long distance relationship but he was incredible and drove home to Charlotte every single weekend from October to June! He was discharged from active duty the day before my sister, Kristyn's wedding, on June 25, 2009. Active duty discharge meant the beginning of inactive reserves, which for us, was relatively event free...thank you, God! Even though you know the likeliness of being recalled is super slim, you always have it lingering in the back of your mind. For those of you who are pro-military life, it would probably be hard to understand but although Jonathan enjoyed the Marines Corps and values his time spent in the service, he never intended to be a lifetime Marine. After the birth of our son, it has become clear that he is definitely a family man...there is no way he could be away from his little man for more than a day and Sebastian is glued to his Daddy!

So, after five years for me and eight years for Jonathan, we are OVERJOYED to see that magic little piece of paper! I am grateful to the Marines for helping make Jonathan into the man he is today. I don't think we would have met or become the family we are today without his time spent in the service, BUT I am so thrilled to be free from that daunting contract! My husband is ALL mine now, no one else gets to tell him what to do or take him away for someone else's cause. We are happy to continue growing our family and start this new chapter in our life....military free!

SO extremely proud of you babe!!! I love you a ridiculous amount!!! Thank you for serving our country and thank you for making me the happiest woman in the world...we have a life to be envious of!

Like Father, Like Son

I am not sure if you can tell in this picture....

BUT...these two were made for each other!!! They are already BEST BUDS and they have only known each other for 17 months!