Author: althea

Feb. 15: It’s a sunny morning, and the world is feeling a little clearer to me.  Sylvia has been napping for longer stretches – during the day she’s been asleep for nearly three hours.  At night, I don’t think she’s gone for more than about 1 1/2 hours of sleeping at a stretch.  One major improvement since the prior nights is that last night she would eat for 10 -20 minutes and then go back to sleep rather than just pretty much nurse constantly.  That gave me the opportunity to get some much-needed sleep:)
This morning she’s been snuggling in her little chair under her beautiful, soft pink blanket from my Aunt Kate.
Andrew spent much of the morning listening to a Fantasia 2000 CD we got him for Valentine’s Day.  He just loves Fantasia, and it’s neat to sit with him, curled up under the blankets and talk about what is happening during each part of the music.  He gets a far-away look in his eyes, and you can just tell that he is visualizing it all in his head.  “What happening now?” is his oft-repeated question.  He likes to be held during the scary parts and sometimes sings along or clucks his tongue in time to the music.  What a neat kid:)
Sunshine and sleep.  A good combination, I think!
I just copied all the photos that Granny Lu took over the last couple weeks, and I added them to the last few albums in the gallery.  Enjoy!

Feb. 14: Happy Valentine’s Day!  I’d intended to post loads of new photos this morning as a Valentine’s Day treat for everyone, but I entered a new state of exhaustion and just didn’t have the energy.  I wonder why?  We came home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, and it’s felt great to be back at home.  Bryan’s mom has been terrific…I’ve been so pampered and catered to these last few days.
What a treat!
Sylvia’s main interests right now are eating, sleeping, and eating.
Last night, I think she nursed or was asleep while nursing almost all night.  Unfortunately, that meant that I didn’t get as much sleep.
Today we’ve found that if we can amuse her (jiggling, walking, swaddling, holding) for a while, she’ll eat a full meal and then sleep for a couple hours.  I’m hoping to employ that technique tonight to try to get a couple hours of solid sleep!
Andrew has been doing really well.  He’s having a blast playing with Granny and Daddy, and he’s so sweet about wanting to hold or kiss or look at baby Sylvia.  I just love that boy:)
Sylvia had her first doctor’s appointment today, so Bryan and I made our first foray into the world since our drive home on Tuesday.  Sylvia is back up to her birth weight (7 lbs, 9 oz), and she passed all the healthy baby tests.
She’s currently sleeping on my chest while I type, and her little fingers are curled around the edge of my shirt.  I’ve uploaded new pictures to the gallery, so enjoy!

Feb. 11: We settled on her name, Sylvia Dotzour this morning. No middle name for this little miss. In my mind, her “silent” middle name is after me and my mom…no middle names there either:)
Sylvia was born at 12:55 am on Monday, February 11, 2008. She was 7 lbs, 9 oz and 19 inches long. Labor lasted about eight hours. It’s hard to believe that 24 hours ago was when I was really starting to go into labor! And now she’s here:)

Andrew got to meet Sylvia this morning. He came in bearing some cut out cookies that he and Granny made. His interactions with his sister were so sweet. Bryan encouraged him to sing her a song, so he did a boisterous rendition of “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” Before leaving, he also sang her “Rock-a-Bye Baby.” We gave Andrew the Bitty Baby that my mom had picked out for him as a big brother present. He really liked how its eyes opened and shut.

The little one has been nursing well and sleeping lots on this first day.
Photos of her and of our steady stream of visitors are in the gallery.

Feb. 11: I’ve so been wanting to write a post like this!  Our sweet little girl was born last night around 1 am.  The labor was powerful, and positive.  We’re still confirming a name for the little one, and we haven’t gotten much sleep this evening (it’s now 6 am), but I’m so full of joy and excitement that I’m having a hard time sleeping:)
I felt so loved and supported through this whole pregnancy…especially this last week of wait, wait waiting.  Thanks for being part of the circle of people who is welcoming out little one into the world.
Jessica shared a song with me last week that was so poignant that it made me sob to listen to.  If this baby news makes your emotional barometer go haywire, listen to this wonderful song for a little push over the edge.  It’s song 6 – Welcome to this world.
With love,
Althea

Feb. 10: It’s chilly here in Madison today.  I think the thermometer is hovering around -10!  Michael and Lisa came over for a waffle breakfast this morning, and Bryan and i are thinking about heading out to the mall to walk around for a while.  It’s just not a day that I feel like walking around outside!
LuAnn is putting Andrew down for his afternoon nap, and I’m calmly hoping to go into labor.  I was having some mild contractions through the night last night, but when I got up in the morning, they stopped.
I’m taking that as a good sign that my body is heading toward labor.
Thanks to everyone who has called and written with wonderfully supportive and loving thoughts.  I feel like we’re wrapped in a warm community of support.
Stay inside today!

Feb. 8: Well, here we are!  I think that since Andrew came five days early, I really had it in my mind that this baby would come early too.  I go to bed each night hoping that I’ll wake up in labor, but I keep sleeping through the night!  Each meal I wonder if it’s my last pre-baby meal, but nothing has happened yet.  My 20 week ultrasound put the due date at Feb. 14 rather than the 8th, so there’s always the possibility that the baby isn’t even actually late yet.  Yet, the waiting…especially knowing how the risks to the baby increase as time goes by…isn’t super easy!
Bryan and I sat together and talked to the baby a lot as she had a rollicking party in my belly.  Hard to imagine that we’re so close to holding her:)
I had my 40 week midwife appointment.  She did an ultrasound to confirm again that the head was down and to to make sure that the baby had a good amount of amniotic fluid.  Baby’s heart rate was good, and she was pretty active.  I continue to have lots of non-painful contractions, but there’s not much sign of progress toward labor.  But you never know…maybe tonight!

From BabyCenter.com

How your baby’s growing:

It’s hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it’s a snug fit through the birth canal during labor.
This so-called “molding” is the reason your baby’s noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it’s normal and temporary.

How your life’s changing:

After months of anticipation, your due date rolls around, and… you’re still pregnant. It’s a frustrating, but common, situation in which to find yourself. You may not be as late as you think, especially if you’re relying solely on a due date calculated from the day of your last period because sometimes women ovulate later than expected. Even with reliable dating, some women have prolonged pregnancies for no apparent reason.

You still have a couple of weeks before you’ll be considered “post-term.” But to be sure your baby is still thriving, your practitioner will schedule you for testing to keep an eye on her if your pregnancy continues.

You may have a biophysical profile (BPP), which consists of an ultrasound to look at your baby’s overall movements, breathing movements (movement of her chest muscles and diaphragm), and muscle tone (whether she opens and closes her hand or extends and then flexes her limbs), as well as the amount of amniotic fluid that surrounds her (important because it’s a reflection of how well the placenta is supporting your baby).

Fetal heart rate
monitoring (called a nonstress test or NST) will generally be done as well — by itself or as part of the BPP. Or, you may have what’s known as a modified BPP, which consists of an NST and an ultrasound to assess the amount of amniotic fluid.

If the fetal testing isn’t reassuring — the amniotic fluid level is too low, for example — you’ll be induced. If there’s a serious, urgent problem, you may have an immediate c-section.

Your practitioner will also check your cervix to see if it’s “ripening.” Its position, how soft it is, how effaced (thinned out) it is, and how dilated (open) it is can all affect when and how your labor is induced. If you don’t go into labor on your own, you’ll be induced, usually sometime between 41 and 42
weeks.