Harli's first doctor's appointment

Miss Harli had her first doctor's appointment today. We are seeing Dr Fackrell since that's Kory's doctor and he sees babies. We thought we were only going to be able to see him for our newborn appointment but he sees patients birth and up. This was great to hear because Kory really likes him. The appointment today was mainly to check her weight and make sure that she was gaining weight instead of losing more. She left the hospital weighing 5lbs 7oz and this afternoon she weighed 5lbs 11.5oz! The doctor said that everything else looked good. I brought along my list of many questions. Luckily the dr answered most of them before I could ask them and he didn't mind he asking the other ones. I figure I'm a new mom and Kory hasn't done this in 15 years so we are bound to have MANY questions. The doctor kept commenting on how great she was doing. He was surprised that she was able to hold her head up so well and move around as much as she did for as small as she is. He said that she will just be a small baby. We go back next week for her two week check up and to once again check her weight. Harli was the talk of the office today! Kory thinks its because her name is so different but I think its because she's so cute!! Dr Fackrell said we make cute babies! I attached a couple of photos of Harli before her first doctor's appointment. She did so well and only cried when we had to strip her down to her diaper. Hopefully next week's appointment goes just as well.

Harli Grace Madson is finally here!!!

Harli Grace Madson was born at 923a on Thursday, October 22nd. She weighed 6lbs 1oz and measured 18.5" long. We were scheduled to have the C-Section at 7a but there were two emergency C-Sections that came in, so we were bumped. Surgery went great and Kory was able to be in the room. Once Harli was out she was having difficulty breathing on her own so they had to give her oxygen through a bag. It was scary to look over and see them doing this. They weren't too sure she was going to make it because her amniotic fluid was significantly low. Once she was able to breathe on her own, the NICU team was called in to evaluate her. Kory was able to be with her when they were running their tests. After thirty minutes, I was able to hold her. She gave a big cry and was able to clear out some fluid from her lungs. After that, she improved and was able to be in the room with us. She had to be under a heat lamp for a couple of hours. After four hours, she was taken off the heat lamp and was good to go. She has really thrived in the last few days. When she was visiting the pediatrician on Thursday she held her head up on her own. The doctor was very impressed. She had to be checked for jaundice twice a day but passed all those tests. All the other tests they have to do she always passed. Like most babies, she dropped weight after birth. On Friday, she was down to 5lbs 13oz. On Saturday, she was down to 5lbs 6oz. Once the baby gets under 5lbs 8oz they have to do a car seat test. After a feeding, they put the baby in the car seat for one hour to test how well they hold their head up and monitor their oxygen levels. She of course passed with flying colors and was cleared to go home. When we checked out of the hospital, she was 5lbs 7oz. We have to supplement 1/2 oz of formula with each feeding and we check in with the doctor tomorrow. Tomorrow's appointment is mainly to check her weight and see if she is losing or gaining weight. If she is gaining weight, we can stop the formula. Sunday night was our first night at home. It was a little rough since she still isn't on a schedule. Today she did much better eating on a schedule. I also didn't nap at all on Sunday so I was VERY tired during the night. My mother-in-law is staying with us for a few days and I was able to take a couple of naps today. I just need to remember to nap when she naps.

The wait is over...well almost!!

We had our last ultrasound this morning. It went ok. She was sleeping so they had to wake her up. The device they use looks and sounds like a fog horn. They put it right up to your belly. Well lets just say Miss Harli does NOT appreciate being woken up!!! It completely startled her! Kory said he could see my stomach move. They had to do it again because then she stopped moving. Well the second time she definitely gave them what they wanted because she would not stop moving! The ultrasound started with me almost passing out. I was on my back and I all of a sudden got real hot and the room started getting dark. I had to sit up and take a drink of water. That just made me feel off for the rest of the appt. I also felt very apprehensive going into the appt. They did a Bio-Physical Profile which she got 8 out of 8 on, so that is good. She only gained 1oz in two weeks…that is NOT good. She is supposed to gain 1/2lb per week. She currently weighs 5lbs 12oz. The doctors are going to go over all tests they did today and decide whether or not they should take her before Tuesday. As the ultrasound tech said “There’s no reason to keep her in there since she isn’t gaining any weight”. She would gain more being outside, in the NICU, and getting breast milk. So we are just waiting to hear back from the doctor. I took the news really hard. I kept it together until we got to the car and then I just lost it. I think it was a combination of hormones, almost passing out, and knowing that she isn’t growing that just set me off. Kory kept telling me to focus on the positive and reminded me that we are almost done. I know that he was only trying to help but at that time I just wanted to cry and be alone. I know that God will make sure everything is ok but I just wanted to have a good appt because I feel like each drs appt we have there is a new complication.

Around 2p this afternoon, my doctor called to go over the findings of the ultrasound. She said that Baby Madson simply doesn't have any room left in there. So....drum roll please....we are having Baby Madson TOMORROW!!!! The doctor doesn't forsee her having to be in the NICU. She might have fluid in her lungs but that is common with babies that are breech. So Baby Madson is just going to be a small little thing but as far as they can see she is very healthy. Kory and I are excited and nervous. I thought we were prepared but then being told you're going to be a parent in twelve (ok a little more than that) hours definitely changes things. I know that everything is packed and we are ready to go. It just seems so weird that the time is finally here! We will keep everyone posted after she is born and try to send some photos!!!

The date is set!!

Tuesday, October 27th at 7a we go in for the C-Section. We are pleased that Dr Shaw will be able to deliver Baby Madson. I have another growth ultrasound on October 21st. Dr Shaw and Dr Drake will go over the results of the ultrasound and decide if Baby Madson needs to come before the 27th. Kory and I are very happy to have a date set and to have a plan!!

Finally a plan

We had our ultrasound yesterday and Harli is still breech. She does however have both legs down (much more lady like). She has her head under my right rib cage and her bottom by my left hip. Her legs are crossed and bent under her. The dr's appt today went good. Dr Shaw wants to move the due date back to Nov 3rd…but since Harli is still breech I won't go that late. We discussed doing an external version (the dr physically moves the baby) vs a C-Section. We went over the pros and cons of both. If something were to go wrong during the external version, a C-Section would be done. The success rate of an external version is only 56%. Kory and I weighed the pros and cons of each and have decided we will do the C-Section. The external version just isn't something we are comfortable with. They will do a C-Section at 39 weeks (which conveniently is Oct 26th). Dr Shaw wanted to push the due date back so that would give Harli an extra week to gain a little more weight. Right now, she is 5lbs 9oz. She will gain 1/2lb each week. By Oct 26th, she will be roughly 7lbs. Dr Shaw said that I can go into labor before Oct 26th and they will just take her at that point. I am starting to have contractions, but they are nothing time able. Many women have contractions for weeks before they go into labor. Dr Shaw was pleased that the contractions had started because that means my body is making progress. We go back next week to finalize a date for the C-Section. I will keep you posted on when that is. Right now, we feel that we will just stick with Oct 26th since that's the due date we were originally given. We feel very at peace with our decision and it's nice to have a date to look forward to instead of not knowing. We are also aware that this could change at any minute, but having some sort of a game plan works for us!

FULL TERM!!!!!

Baby Madson is officially full term!! Even though she's not due for another three weeks, if she comes now her chances of spending time in the NICU are lowered significantly. Kory and I had a chat with her and let her know she can come at any time now. She is no longer grounded! We have another ultrasound on Wednesday. We were originally scheduled to have one on October 21st, but since this is five days before her due date they wanted to see us before then. Hopefully after Wednesday we will have more news as to when they think she'll be here. Baby Madson is still breech, though it does feel like she now has both legs down. If she is still breech after the ultrasound on Wednesday, we will discuss with Dr Shaw on Thursday what she would like to do. Many doctors don't do external versions (they manually move the baby to be head down) because the baby ends up going back to the breech position. It can also cause the cord to get wrapped around the neck.

I finally painted Baby Madson's name on the wall. Now we just need to do a little more decorating and add more color to her room. Its nice to be pretty much done with the nursery except for last minute things. The hospital bag is packed. All the necessary items have been purchased. Now we just wait for Baby Madson to make her grand entrance. I will have a Baby Madson update after Thursday's appointment.