2 Week Post Pregnancy Poll!

How far along? 2 weeks and 1 day since my C-Section
Total weight gain/loss: The day I delivered Macy I topped the scales with a 57 lbs weight gain.....whoops! I am happy to report that I am now down 45 lbs with only 15 lbs to drop!
Maternity Clothes? Yep, I am still wearing my maternity pants. I tried to squeeze my fat butt into some of my old jeans and I was unsuccessful.
Stretch Marks: Thank goodness I only I have the stretch marks on my hips that I developed early on in my pregnancy. All and all I am pleased that I am not covered in stretch marks after my 57 lbs weight gain.
Sleep: For the most part Macy does ok during the night (or at least she has over the last 4 nights.....knock on wood). I don't mind getting up with her during the night but I do wonder what it's like to go a whole 8 hours with uninterrupted sleep!
Best moment this week: Every moment I spend with Miss Macy. Already I can see developmental changes in her!
Food Cravings: Well, I have cut out junk food and I mostly eat Special K because it's quick and not bad for you
Gender: Still in shock that I had a baby girl!
Belly Button in or out? It's in but right now my belly has the consistency of a bowl of mashed potatoes
What I miss: Being able to leave my house for more than an hour at a time without planning when I will feed Macy next
Weekly Wisdom: Motherhood is so much different that I expected. I am more patient than I thought I would be, when she cries I want to cry with her because I hate that she is upset, changing dirty diapers is REALLY not that bad, breast feeding is harder than I thought, I miss her when I am more than 5 minutes away from her (even when I am taking a shower!) and I love her more than I ever imagined.

Update on Macy

Yesterday was Macy's two week doctors appointment. Everything is going great with my baby girl except she is not gaining weight as quickly as the doctor would like. Her birth weight was 8 lbs 4 oz and yesterday she weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz (last week she was down to 7 lbs 3 oz). Apparently, I am feeding Macy too much which is causing her not to gain adequate weight. Sounds backwards, right??! Well, Macy is basically using me as a human pacifier (I am not joking when I say she wants to feed all the time!) and is wasting too many calories by sucking. Since she is nursing non stop, my body doesn't have time to produce enough milk for her which explains her slow weight gain. The doctor told me to let her cry and only feed her every two to three hours and not on demand like I was. Sounds simple, but I am having the hardest time letting her cry. It breaks my heart to see her fussing. She makes the sadest little faces that just melts my heart! Thankfully I have Jason to help keep me strong. I have to bring Macy back to the doctors next week to weigh in. If she hasn't gained an acceptable amount of weight by then the doctor suggested I supplement formula at least once a day.

I will be sure to have an update next week on Miss Macy's weight gain!

...And Baby Macy Ryan Meier Makes 3!!

It's been a busy two weeks and unfortunately I have neglected updating my blog. Since my last post I am happy to report that Jason and I have welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world......and things didn't go as I originally planned! Macy Ryan Meier came into this world on December 8, 2009 at 4:48 pm weighing 8 lbs 4 oz and she was 19 inches long. Here is a breakdown of events over the last two weeks:

December 3 - Jason and I meet with Dr. Shoemaker and he informed me that my cervix was progressing and the baby was in head down. He decided that on Monday December 7th I would meet with him again and I would be induced that night. He promised me that I would have a baby by Tuesday December 8 which was wonderful news to us! Jason and I immediately called our parents and they booked their airline tickets out to Texas for the birth of the baby. All I had to do was wait and complete my last preparations for the baby. The weekend was surreal knowing that it would be our last weekend of peace for some time.

December 7 - I had a doctors appointment at 2:30 so I spent the day packing our hospital bag of all the essentials. I also spent the morning remembering my coping techniques that I learned in Lamaze class. I made sure I remained calm and didn't freak myself out about pushing a baby out my crotch later that day. Jason and I headed up to Corpus a little early so we could get something to eat before I would be admitted into the hospital. I was anxious and nervous about what the day had in store for me and I even cried a little on the way to my doctors appointment.

Jason and I meet with Dr. Shoemaker for my examination and sadly I hadn't progressed any since my last appointment and the baby hadn't dropped as low as he would have liked. He told me he wanted to meet with me the following Monday which was December 14 (and both of our parents would have already been back in FL!) to discuss induction then. I was reluctant to speak up but I reminded him of his promise that I would have a baby no later than December 8th and based on that information our parents bought plane tickets. He decided to send me for a growth ultrasound since they previously had been concerned about the size of the baby. It was neat to see my baby for one last time. Once the doctor received the results of the ultrasound he was shocked at how big the baby was measuring......9.5 lbs! After much discussion with the doctor, we decided that a C-Section was the only way to go. I was not thrilled with the idea of a C-Section but I scheduled my appointment for 4 PM on Tuesday December 8th.

On the car ride home from the hospital I cried a little. I was really bummed about having to have a C-Section. I didn't want the long recovery time and plus I was just scared of surgery!

December 8th - I woke up early that day and enjoyed a low key morning with my parents while Jason slept. Before I knew it it was time for me to start getting ready for my big day at the hospital. I had to be at the hospital by 1 PM to get registered and get prepped for surgery. Finally around 4:30 they wheeled be back to surgery. I was given a spinal tab that numbed me from the waist down and some other drug that I don't recall the name of. The anesthesiologist referred to it as "the happy drug" which is exactly what it was. As soon as that drug hit my system I could feel it. I immediately wanted to sleep and I think my eyes rolled back in my head a few times. Unfortunately, the drug took away my ability process my emotions. I had envisioned for months that when I heard "It's a boy/girl" would be the greatest moment of my life but instead I was too much in a daze to process the moment. I did manage to stay alert when they pulled the baby out. Jason got a great picture of me seeing the baby for the first time although I will admit I vaguely remember the moment.

After the baby was born she was whisked up to the nursery and Jason stayed with her the whole time. I was wheeled back to recovery for about an hour or so. This is when my memory really began to fail me. At some point I was taken to my room and was able to hold my baby for the first time. I am really disappointed that I don't remember holding her at all that night. I do know that I did become sick from the pain meds and I threw up....which was not nice considering I just had major surgery a few hours before! Poor Jason, he had to hold the bucket while I threw up!

The first few days in the hospital I was sore, more so than I was prepared for. There were a few moments that I thought I would never have another child because the pain was too much. The first time I got up to walk were the most painful steps of my life! Both my mom and Jason were a huge help to me, the even helped me to the restroom and to the shower. I never thought that my mom would be bathing me at the age of 28! The nurses who took care of me were also great. They really encouraged me to get out of bed and walk around, which made my recovery so much easier. I was really shocked at how well I healed and how quickly I felt like my old self after surgery and I quickly forgot the pain.

Macy and I were discharged late on Friday December 11. Lucky for me, my parents were still in town so it helped to have them around while we made the transition to a family at home.

Here are some pics of the last two weeks....

Me getting ready for surgery:

Me seeing Macy for the first time:

Macy's first picture:

Macy leaving the hospital:

Please say a prayer for my cervix....

In about 30 minutes I am heading to the doctors for my 39 week appointment. Please send your thoughts and prayers to my cervix so I am not at 0 cm and I can meet my baby!! I am wishing and hoping that I have made some progress since last week. However, I don't think that will be the case......I haven't felt any contractions or cramps yet.

I thought about calling the cops......

Last night I kept waking up to the sound of motorcycles. The noise went on until 2:00 AM and lasted for a few hours. My neighbor has a Harley Davidson and I thought for sure he was having a motorcycle party. I think I called him every curse word in the book. I was totally annoyed that A) he would have a party on Sunday night and B) they would be so inconsiderate to run their motorcycles at 2:00 in the morning. DIDN'T THEY KNOW I WAS 9 MONTHS PREGNANT??! After a few hours of trying to sleep through the noise I was ready to call the cops. Thankfully I was too lazy to get up and get my cell phone and I drifted back off to sleep. It was then that I noticed that wasn't motorcycle engines I was hearing.......that was ME snoring. I think even alone and in the dark my face turned bright red out of embarrassment. Thankfully I realized where the noise was coming from before I called the cops on myself. I would have really felt silly then!

Nursery Update

We are about 95% done with the nursery (good thing since the baby might be here next week!!). We have a few more things to finish up. We need to buy new closet doors since they are currently BRIGHT red (thanks to the previous owners - yuck). Hopefully we will be able to replace them this upcoming week......and they will be white! I also have some shelves that I would like to hang on the wall above the chair.

Anyway, here are some pictures I have taken of the nursery....

This is Exactly How I Feel

A friend of mine from an internet forum that I frequent sent me a post about her feelings she had the day before she was to be induced. I couldn't have said it any better myself, she has completely captured my emotions right now. While I am super excited to have this baby I am really sad to think I might not be pregnant this time next week. In actuality, I am shocked at how I feel. The last few weeks I thought I was ready to move on to the next stage and have this baby. Just last night I was telling Jason that I can't wait until I go into labor. But now that reality is sinking in I am having second thoughts. Yes, I can't be pregnant for the rest of my life but I did find comfort in thinking I had three weeks left in my pregnancy.

Anyway, enjoy this post from my friend Kate's blog. It is a letter she wrote to her daughter the day before being induced:

"Dear Lily,

You would think after nine months of carrying you, I'd be more prepared for this day. Well, I'm not. I'm still in a bit of disbelief that by this time tomorrow, I will probably be holding you in my arms instead of my belly. I think I'm just not ready to let you go yet.

In a lot of ways, though, I couldn't be more prepared. Your daddy and I have been busy these last few months getting your nursery ready, putting together things like swings and strollers for you, making arrangements for your daycare and your health care. All all of that is done, Lily.

I can't tell you how excited we are to meet you --to see your face for the very first time. I can't wait to hold your tiny hand for the first time or to feel your soft newborn skin for the very first time. Right now I can only imagine the little girl you're going to be. I don't know if you'll be easygoing like your dad or crazy anxious like your mom, but I do know you're going to be your very own little person, and I'm going to love watching every minute of it.

But for now, I really love having you right where you are. It hasn't always been easy to be pregnant, but those difficult moments are lost among the amazing ones. I love carrying you with me everywhere, knowing you're always here with me. I don't know, I guess I love not having to share you with anybody else right now. Right now it's just you and me.

But I know that it couldn't last forever. And I know we're about to move on the the best part. But I just wanted you to know how much I loved this time that we've had together.

See you very soon, baby girl.

Love,
Mama"

After reading this post, I was in tears. This is exactly how I feel. I was beginning to feel a little guilty because I afraid I wasn't excited as I should be. Luckily, I have a week to prepare for the concept of having a baby outside the womb (and a week to enjoy the remainder of my pregnancy)!