Amelia's New Blog

Amelia has started blogging... Enjoy!

http://amelialynnfort.blogspot.com/

My First Month of Motherhood...

I have dreamed about writing this post for weeks! I think about what I would write, compose beautifully crafted sentences while sitting in the bathtub, but I never actually find the time to write it. I literally wrote half of this first paragraph with one hand, while calming Amelia with the other.

Amelia is now 5 weeks old and Roger and I both are completely in love with her.

The First Month (an overview)
Our first month was extreemly eventful. After having our hospital stay extended an extra two days due to Amelia's jaundice levels and my high blood pressure, we came home and started settling into our new life as parents. I was thrilled that Roger was able to take a week off of work and then we eased me into staying at home mommyhood with him going back for half days the first two days and my sister came to help for 3 days after that. The stay at home mommy jitters were a little overwhelming, but my sister said the most powerful thing on our way out the door for Amelia's first trip in the car. When I told her I was nervous she said, "Ash, people do it every day"... Ahhh! What a lightbulb moment! Once my stay at home mom jitters subsided, things got much easier.

At Amelia's 2 week appointment we found out that she was down to 6 pounds (she was 6 pounds 10 ounces at birth), we also found out that day that my blood pressure had not gone down and was actually higher than it was pre-delivery. My blood pressure medication was increased and I began supplementing with formula to fatten Amelia up... we had our work cut out for us and of course Christmas was only a few days away!

My parents arrived 2 days later to celebrate Christmas with us and I cooked a full turkey dinner (I know I'm crazy). I of course got sick from sitting in the pediatrician's waiting room and ended up being sick for the next 3 weeks (I'm still not 100%)... Once my parents ooh'd and aww'd over Amelia for a few days, they left and the Fort Grandparents arrived about 24 hours later.

It was wonderful to have all of our family here for the holidays, but I was really ready to see what life would be like with a normal routine. I think all babies need a routine and so do sleep deprived mommies.

Here are some answers to our commonly asked questions...

Are You Getting Any Sleep
I cannot say I have any complaints about Amelia's sleeping patterns. The first two nights after we came home I was paranoid about SIDS so I slept on her floor.... since this is not condusive to a good night of sleep, I ended up buying a co-sleeper that goes in the bed and protects the her from me rolling over, but allows me to keep an eye on her throughout the night. I am going to start transitioning her back into her bed this week, but I know it's going to be hard on both of us.

Amelia eats every 3 hours at this point so we stay up until 1am, she wakes me up at 4am to eat (we're usually up about an hour) and then at 7am I hand her off to Roger. He feeds her and gets ready for work and lays her back in with me. Amelia will usually let me sleep until 9am or 10am after that, so all in all it's a pretty decent night of sleep. We've had one night where she has slept through the night, but I knew it was a fluke. I take all the night shifts (Roger has relieved me a couple of times on the weekend). This is my choice, I've seen Roger when he's sleep deprived, it's not a pretty picture! I need him to have energy to go to work and support me when he's here in the evenings. So far it's working out great. Roger has also been FANTASTIC about getting me to go take naps when he is homes... sometimes they're from 8pm to 10pm (that's what happens when the writers strike!)

Does She Cry Alot?
Amelia is SO mellow. She rarely cries and if she does, she can usually be soothed in less than 30 seconds... the only exception to this is when she needs to poop, but hey don't we all want to cry when we need to poop? She does fuss when she's hungry, but as soon as you get food to her she's happy and quiet. She's a great self soother and is very content in her bouncy chair or swing... I'm praying that we've really gotten this lucky and that colic will not rear it's ugly head!

So Do You Have a Life?
We are starting to... Amelia loves to go shopping, she takes her best nap of the day during "fieldtrip time" (my name for when we go run errands). Roger and I have taken her to Kincaids for hamburgers and Spring Creek Barbeque... we haven't done the full sit down exprience yet, but we're working up our nerve. She will be attending her first social event this weekend and I can't wait to introduce her to our friends. Due to the holidays and flu season, she actually hasn't met many of them.

How is Your Health?
I'm doing MUCH better! My blood pressure is finally under control (with medication) and is back to normal pre-pregnancy levels! I have lost ALL of my pregnancy weight and 15 additional pounds. I had no complications from my surgery, I was sore the first week, but since then the only thing I have is some numbness at the incesion site. I have my 6 week appointment this week and I will hopefully be completely back to normal!

How is Amelia's Health?
As of Thursday, she is now 7 pounds, 5 ounces, so she is finally gaining weight! I had my first mom freakout last week and took her to the doctor. Her pinky finger is SUPER red and it turns out it is a birthmark, but I had no way of knowing that. It will fade as she gets older.

Will you be keeping this blog?
Yes. I plan to change it to just Amelia updates... Hopefully more often than once a month!

Where are the pictures?
The best place to find pictures of Amelia is http://www.amelialynn.shutterfly.com and http://picasaweb.google.com/amelialynnfort

How long did it take you to write this post?
About an hour and a half... it's 1am and I started at about 11:30pm. Amelia decided she was hungry about 11:45 so I fed her a bottle and tried to type with one hand, then she got fussy and I had to stop completely, finally she passed out on my stomach and I was able to put the laptop on my knees... she is SOUND asleep.

Is it everything you thought it would be?
ABSOLUTELY! I never knew I could love someone this much, we are forever bonded together.

Amelia Lynn is Here!

She is PERFECT! Amelia arrived December 6th, 2007 at 8:02 in the morning. She is 6 pounds and 10 ounces and 18.25 inches long (I was 6 pounds and 4 oz and 18.25). She does indeed have long legs!! She has a FULL head of brown hair (thank GOD since I made all those bows), beautiful blue eyes like her dad, and my coloring so we'll see what happens with that hair! She scored a 9 on the Apgar test and aced her hearing test today... She has the most adoring 2 sets of grandparents who cannot put her down and an Aunt Rinny who is very in love with her.

I am TOTALLY in love with her and so is her father. He is SO cute with her. She is a wonderful self soother and all the Happiest Baby on the Block concepts are working perfectly with her... Right now she is just laying here staring at me. Even her cries are sweet... they end in a meow like sound that sounds like "he he he"... it's adorable!

The hardest part has been recovering from the c-section... it is NOT an easy operation! The surgery itself was really scary to me (my first surgery ever) and the recovery has been painful. The first two days were a blur, today has been MUCH better thanks to the nurse adding motrin to my vicodin... it really worked!

I sent Roger home to sleep after the first night (the nurses would not leave us alone and it was pretty miserable) and Amelia and I have enjoyed spending the evenings together and then she goes to the nursery until her next feeding. She is a WONDERFUL cuddler!!!

Here is the link to view her hospital pictures... the password is fort http://www.webnursery.com/webnursery/parent/Registration.aspx?registrationcode=752hlee

You will also find pictures at http://www.amelialynn.shutterfly.com/action/

Today We Meet Amelia...

Forgive me if any of this rambles... it's 2:50 am and I just couldn't force myself to lay in bed any longer. I slept pretty well from 10:45 to 2am... but since then I've just been laying there thinking about the unbelievable joy this day brings.

We have to be at the hospital at 6am to check-in for surgery. Other than having my wisdom teeth out, I've never had surgery and I've never spent any time in a hospital. I'm nervous, but I know that c-sections are the most common surgery in the United States and I trust my doctor completely. The operating room is booked for 7:30am, so by the time most people are headed into work tomorrow, my job of a lifetime will have begun... I will finally be a mom!

Surreal does not even begin to describe how I feel about what lies ahead... I'm in utter disbelief of how much I can love someone that I've never met! Utter disbelief of how much my life can change in a matter of minutes... utter disbelif that I can give my heart and dedicate my life to someone before ever holding them in my arms. Yes, my life will truly change tomorrow... but I've always believed that the purpose of life is contributing to the next generation and that the best way I can do that is to raise an incredible kid or two.

In a few hours, that journey begins!

On a lighter note... We had the pleasure this evening of having my parents, Roger's parents and my sister over for some pizza and distraction. It was so wonderful to see the two families together both so excited about this little girl, she is surrounded by love.

There were lots of comments about the possibility of twins being in my stomach, I've gained 6 pounds in the last week and I am so short that I just look like a beach ball is stuffed under my shirt... here is my final belly pic.



Stay tuned for pictures of Miss Amelia Lynn Fort!

We Have a Delivery Date!!!

Tis the season for everyone's blood pressure to rise, so I guess when you have pre-eclampsia it's even worse! My blood pressure had stayed in the managable range, swelling in my feet had stayed down and I was feeling pretty good until last Friday. My blood pressure slowly started to rise and by Sunday it was in the "scary" zone... 160s/100s. My feet began to swell again and Monday morning I called the doctor's office.

I was sent to Labor & Delivery for a NST (non-stress test) for Amelia and some blood work and BP monitoring for me. Last time I was at Labor & Delivery I was in the triage area the whole time, kept my street clothes on and felt sure I was going home... I went in prepared for the same experience, but my expectations were quickly changed. I was put in a L&D room, put in a gown and told not to eat or drink anything else until further notice. I was scared! I called Roger and asked him to leave work and come sit with me... my worst fear is that they would decide to do a c-section and he wouldn't have time to get there.

So Roger came and sat by my side and we started mentally getting ready for our little girl to be here. After 4 hours of monitoring and bad tv, I was released to go home and told to see my doctor today for my regularly scheduled appointment.

The prognosis is that even though my blood pressure is high, my body and Amelia are handling it just fine. Well enough to wait until next week to deliver....

So Miss Amelia Lynn's birthdate will be Thursday, December 6, 2007!!

My doctor told me to get lots of rest from now until then and continue to monitor my blood pressure, but unless something drastic changes, she will see me in the OR next Thursday.

My c-section is scheduled for 7:30 am and hopefully if everything goes well we'll be accepting visitors Thursday evening/Friday morning. Roger will send an email out with the details after she is here.

The baby is coming!!! The baby is coming!!!

Here is my 36 week picture... we took it a day early...

35 week apt

Ok first of all internals suck! It wasn't so bad while I was there, but I spent the rest of the day having contractions and feeling icky... ended up going to bed for 3 hours. Yuck!

My blood pressure is high, but stable. Amelia looks good (they only do her weight ever other week). She was breathing and kicking and had a finger sticking in the air... she's so cute.

My doctor is calling the hospital to schedule my induction for the week of the 5th. She is also letting me choose if I want a scheduled c-section. She says that as of now my cervix is very high and closed and that it's not likely to change before 37 weeks, this will make induction VERY hard and labor VERY long and I could end up having an emergency c-section in the end...

Roger and I have talked and I think we are leaning towards the scheduled c-section route. The recovery from a scheduled c-section vs. an emergency c-section is much easier and this way we'll know a set date for everyone to head to town. I will probably need more help during the first few days home while recovering from surgery, but I think in the end it'll be worth it.

As soon as I have the date I will let everyone know. I'm going to call the dr's office tomorrow and let them know my decision.

I can't believe we only have 2 more weeks!

Amelia's Nursery

We finally finished Amelia's nursery... Here are some pics of her zoo themed room.

Door to her room with zoo mommies and babies...


View from door...


Changing table, diaper champ, growth chart & shelves...


Crib & more shelves...


All her treasures...


Closet door mural & letters...


Close-up of mural...


Bow holders...