The Hospital Stay

We were in the hospital after our delivery for 3 whole days and were released on the 4th day. We were so happy to be going home! I will say that we had a pretty nice stay. We had some amazing nurses taking care of Elizabeth and I and it was nice to have my husband stay with us the whole time.

When Elizabeth was born her Bili level was 8.6 which is right below the level of having Jaundice. The next few days her levels climbed little by little mostly due to not getting enough food from me. Because of this she also lost 9oz of her birth weight. When we left the hospital she weighed 6lbs 2oz and her Bili level was at 14. Because of this our pediatrician suggested we give her a formula bottle with each feeding to get her levels down. Every day since we left the hospital we have had to go back up to the hospital to get her levels checked. They climbed to 15 but have now started going down to 14.6. I am very lucky that she didn't have to be under any lights and so far we haven't had to bring home a Bili blanket. We just have to give her 20 minutes of sunlight through a window each day and give her a formula bottle with each feeding.

Here are some pics of our hospital stay:

Daddy & Liz right after being born

Our little family

Going home outfit

Liz' Life: 1 Week

 One Week

Sleeping: She sleeps most of the day. She is usually only up when I feed her and sometimes getting her to wake up to feed her is a challenge. She stays awake more at night on most nights.

Eating: Right now she is eating 1.5oz of breast milk and 1-2oz of formula at each feeding. This is to try to get her billi levels down.

Activity: Not much yet; a lot of sleeping mostly. When she is awake she is very quiet. She only cries when shes hungry. She moves her arms a lot and I love it when she stretches.

Likes: She likes to put her hands in her mouth which is really annoying when I'm trying to feed her.


Dislikes: She really hates taking baths. She cries through the whole thing.

First Doctor's Visit: She had her first visit on Friday. She had gained 6oz in just 4 days. Her ped said her lungs sound great. He also said that her head is a little small so we have to make sure it grows properly. Elizabeth wasn't born with Jaundice but she ended up getting it while we were still at the hospital so we've been going to the hospital to her checked every day since. At Friday's appointment her levels were going down. Because she still has Jaundice she didn't get her first shot. We go back tomorrow and hopefully she is back to her birth weight. She lost 9oz before we had left the hospital and as of Friday's visit is only 5oz away. Hopefully her billi levels have gone down. I'm interested to see how she takes getting her first shot.

Highlights of Week: Having family over to see our little girl.

We Had A Baby - The Delivery Story

That's right, 2 weeks before our due date, Elizabeth entered into this world! Last week my blood pressure had been really high and at my last doctor's visit she told me to keep an eye on it and call her if it got high. Last Friday I had a headache that wouldn't go away and my blood pressure was really high after taking a nap so I called my doctor and she told me to go ahead and go to the hospital to stay overnight to do another 24 hour urine. Of course as soon as I got to the hospital my blood pressure went down dramatically but I continued to have a headache. On Saturday the doctor gave me something for a migraine to see if my headache would go away and when it didn't she said she wanted to go ahead with the csection then just to be on safe side in case I did have preeclampsia and she didn't want to wait until the 24 hour urine was done.

Within the hour we were in the OR and Elizabeth was being born. I was so scared and nervous. I was nervous about the surgery but more nervous that Liz wasn't ready to come out and I wanted her to be healthy. My doctor kept reassuring me that everything was going to be OK. I got really nauseous during the procedure and threw up a little bit of fluid. Before I knew it Elizabeth was born. She weighed 6lbs 13 oz and was 19 in tall. She was born with a head full of dark hair with some light brown highlights. She is absolutely beautiful and we are so overjoyed.

Here's a pic of that day:

Stayed tuned for the rest of our hospital story!

Full Term

How far along? 37 Weeks 4 Days (We are full term!!!!!!!!)

Baby's size?  Baby Center says: She now  weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard).

Weight Gain? At Monday's doctor visit I gained 1lb since last week Total gain +33 1/2lbs. I started at 164 lbs and am now at 197.

Maternity clothes? Oh yes and even those are getting really tight

Stretch marks? Yes

Belly button in or out? Still in

Sleep? Not sleeping all that well. Getting harder to turn over.

Foods I am loving? Oranges and anything cold

Foods I am hating? Nothing at the moment

Best moment this week? Seeing our slideshow of our maternity pics

Symptoms? Cramping in my lower abdomen and a lot of pelvic pressure

Gender? A girl Elizabeth Grace Lopez

What I miss? Feeling normal

Dr. Appointment: This week's doctors visit was not that great. Liz' heart rate was good at 152. The doctor said I was still closed at that my pelvis sucked! So we are for sure having a csection. To the not so good news my blood pressure was high for the second week in a row and this time my pulse was  high too. My BP was 140 something/87. The doctor thought I might have preeclampsia and made me do a 24 hour urine and come back the next day and get my blood pressure taken again. Yesterday I went back to recheck my BP and it was higher than it was on Monday at 140 something/94 and my pulse was 105. So she sent me to the hospital lab to get blood work done and turn in my 24 hr urine. She was supposed to get the results in an hour but I didnt hear back from her till 4 hours later and I was going crazy! Good news is my urine came back good and I don't have preeclampsia but I do have gestational hypertension. She told me just to keep an eye on it and I have my next appointment next Monday. Hopefully then we will pick a date to have the csection and hopefully my BP has gone down some.

Has anyone else had this problem when they were pregnant?

Sorry I don't have a belly pic this week.

Maternity Pic Slideshow

I would like to share our maternity pic session with all of you. Here is the link http://goldenphotography.net/viewing/?slideshowID=172557 and the password is HJE.

I just got this so we haven't decided which ones we are going to purchase but the following are my favorite: #2, #6, #14, #17, #18, #22, #27, #29, #37 and #50.

I think my face looks totally fat in a lot of them and I look like I have a double chin and I'm kinda wishing I would have worn something with sleeves but I was trying to make my belly stick out as much as possible since I don't think its very big.

Let me know what yall think!

Bored, Oh So Bored

It has now been just over a month since I was laid off and I can't tell you how boring my life is! Yes it was a little nice the first few days of not having to go into work but now I have this daily routine that is so boring and of course not getting paid sux! Here is what my daily routine consists of:

6:30-7:30 a.m. Wake up with the hubby and eat breakfast
7:30-9:30 a.m. Go back to sleep after hubby leaves for work
9:30-Noon        Eat a snack, Watch TV, Read a book, Look for jobs
Noon-2 p.m.     Eat lunch, watch A Baby Story, read a book, get online
2-4:30 p.m.       Either take a nap or read/watch tv
4:30-5:30 p.m.  Wash Dishes and make dinner
5:30-6 p.m.        Eat dinner when the hubby gets home
6-10 p.m.           Eat a snack, watch tv, read
10 p.m.              Go to sleep and wake up every couple of  hours to use the bathroom

This is pretty much what I do every day. I swear I feel like all I do is sleep and eat most of the time. I have never been good at staying home and doing NOTHING for more than a day. I get restless and bored. It's not like I have money to go just drive around with the way gas prices are and go to lunch with friends/family since I barely have money to pay my bills.

I really hope that I find a job after Liz is born. I know that once she gets here my life is going to be a lot more hectic and I won't have time to be bored and then I'm not gonna want to go back to work but right now I really need something to do!

Since I've always had a job, I was wondering if any of you have ever been laid off or without a job for a period of time, what did you do?

9 Months

How far along? 36 Weeks 2 Days (Hello Month 9!)

Baby's size?  Baby Center says: She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long.

Weight Gain? At today's doctor visit I gained 1lb since last week Total gain +32 1/2lbs. I started at 164 lbs and am now at 196.

Maternity clothes? Oh yes and even those are getting really tight

Stretch marks? Yes

Belly button in or out? Still in

Sleep? Waking up a couple of times during the night

Foods I am loving? Nothing really

Foods I am hating? Nothing at the moment

Best moment this week? Taking our maternity pics! They were so fun and I'm excited to see how they turn out.

Symptoms? Cramping in my lower abdomen and a lot of pelvic pressure

Gender? A girl Elizabeth Grace Lopez

What I miss? Feeling normal

Dr. Appointment: I had an appointment today and Liz' heart rate was 162 and my blood pressure was a little high. I let the doctor know of the symptoms I'd been having and was for sure I was dilated. When she checked me she told me I wasn't dilated but the baby's head was definitely down and pushing on my pelvis. Then she gave me some not sooo good news. She said that my pelvis was really really tight and not open like it should be. She said that she will keep checking it but more than likely I will end up having to have a csection. Not what I wanted to hear.

I know that doesn't make me any less of a mother or anything like that it just sux for a lot of different reasons.

1. Financially it is going to cost us more
2. I will have to be in the hospital for an extra day
3. I don't get to hold her right after I deliver
4. The recovery time is longer and harder

I just have to think everything happens for a reason and I would rather have a csection than to have my pelvic bone broken.

Belly Pic:

More Pics from Shower #2

Here are some pics of the shower that my friend Chey took with her professional camera.

Showering Elizabeth with Love: Shower #2

Sunday my foster family hosted my second baby shower! It was at a tea room in Katy and it was very quaint. We received a lot more things that we had registered for and the food was fantastic! I didn't have anyone taking pics of me and my guests or of me opening gifts but I did get some pics of the food and when we put the gifts in her room after. I feel very blessed to have the friends and family that I do!

Me with my New Mommy To Be Tiara

Some of the yummy foods

The yummy desserts

Some of her gifts from the day

Diapers received from the day

35 Weeks

How far along? 35 Weeks 3 Days (Last week of month 8!)

Baby's size?  Baby Center says: over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon).

Weight Gain? At yesterday's Dr visit I gained 1lb and 1/2  since last week Total gain +31 1/2lbs. I can't wait to start loosing weight as I feel so fat!

Maternity clothes? Oh yes

Stretch marks? Have some on my boobs now. Rubbing Palmers oil on 2-3x a day.

Belly button in or out? Still in

Sleep? Waking up more often this week and having trouble falling asleep because of leg cramps.

Foods I am loving? Nothing really

Foods I am hating? Nothing at the moment

Best moment this week? Seeing my family and friends at my 2nd baby shower this past weekend

Symptoms? Really bad Acid Reflux and leg cramps

Gender? A girl Elizabeth Grace Lopez

What I miss? Not being so fat!

Dr. Appointment: I had an appointment yesterday and Liz' heart rate was still 158 and my blood pressure is still very good. My culture came back negative so I don't have to have antibiotics during labor. I got my card that has all my vitals on it to show when I get to the hospital for my delivery. Belly is measuring good as well. Have next appointment next week.

What I'm looking forward to this week: Our Maternity pics on Saturday. Also a little nervous about them because my face has been so dry and I just know I'm going to look horrible :(

Belly Pic: