Going Home

All packed up and ready to go home! We are excited to take Pieper home to her brothers and sister and to be in our own space together as a family. We had great nurses and great care while we have been here, but we are just ready to be home, (and lets face it, why pay for more use of the hospital than you need!)

Bathing Beauty...in Blue

The night before we were planning on leaving the hospital, we noticed that Pieper was looking a little jaundice. So we had the nursery take her back and check her levels. And sure enough, they were in the 14's! Which is pretty high, high enough that they wanted to keep her in the nursery under the blue lights for the entire night. Which, allowed me to get a fairly good night of rest, but I was worried about how my little girl was. In the morning, after I had eaten breakfast, showered, and watched some TV, I was wondering when they would bring her back to my room. They finally showed up and said that her levels had dropped a little bit, but that they wanted her on a portable light for the rest of the day. I had been cleared to go home, and now we were waiting to see if the baby was going to be able to go home as well. After talking to the pediatrician, he agreed to let her go home on the condition that we take a bili light home with us and keep her on it as much as possible. After making arrangements for the light and doing all the paperwork to check out we were finally on our way home at about 2:30.

Photo Shoot, 1 day old

I couldn't resist taking a bunch a picture of Pieper when she was just 1 day old! How sweet is this new precious baby! I wanted to make sure and capture her teeny tiny features right from the start. I am so in awe and amazement with this new miracle we have have been blessed with that is straight from heaven!

More Visitors

Aunt Tara and Macee and Race came to visit on the second day as well as

Aunt Lydia and Makayla

Grandma Linda

Uncle Josh

 

We also saw My friends Melissa Pariona, and Karla Hillier. It was so fun to share our sweet little angel with our family and friends. We are so in love with her and cant wait to show her off to everyone!

The Visitors

Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen were the first visitors we had. They were super excited to meet their newest granddaughter!

We had to get a picture with Mommy

Tiny toes!

Grandma Yancey

Big brother Parker

Proudest big sister Paige! She was so excited for a girl!

Auntie Charyn

Grandpa Yancey

 

Paxten, checking Pieper out, deciding if he likes her.

He does like her after all!

My 4 kids with Grandpa Yancey!! I have 4 kids!!!!

The Delivery

After finding out that we were indeed going to have the baby in that morning it was a crazy rush to get me into the operating room. Matt and I hadn't brought in any of our things from the car because we didn't know if we would be staying for sure. After finding out that we would be here for a few days he made a trip to the car to get clothes, the camera, and all the things we would need while staying in the hospital. Meanwhile, while he was gone, the nurses got my IV in, I talked to the Anesthesiologist, signed the paperwork for the C-Section and Tubal, and talked to my doctor. They were just about to move me from the room to the operating room when Matt finally walked back in the door. For a minute I thought he wouldn't make it back for the delivery. While he was changing into his scrub clothes, I was in the operating room where they put in my spinal block, which I think hurts less than the IV. It took affect pretty quickly and I was numb from my chest down in a matter of minutes. Dr. Leavitt came in, painted my belly with  iodine, and was ready to get started. A minute later Matt came in to sit by me. They pulled the blue sheet up and the surgery began. This time it seems like it went more smoothly than the precious C-Sections. it seemed like it was quicker, less painful, and I didn't experience the nausea or light headedness like I have before. Within a few minutes, the Dr. said they were about to pull the baby out, Matt stood to watch and she seemed to be a little bit stuck in there. They had to use a vacuum to help pull her out, and she had so much hair that the vacuum didn't get a good suction on her and slipped right off. After the second attempt she was out and they pulled her out and said "Happy Birthday" and showed her quickly to me before handing her off to the nursery. She was born at 7:30 A.M. As the surgery was beginning Matt and I took guesses as to what we thought she would weigh. I said 6 lbs 14 oz. Matt said 6 lbs 9 oz. She ended up weighing 7 lbs. and was 19 inches long. After they got her cleaned up a bit Matt was able to take her and hold her right by me as they were finishing up the surgery. She was so beautiful and I couldn't wait to hold her. It took the Dr. about 30 more minutes to do the tubal and get me all sewn back up. After that I was wheeled into the recovery room where I was able to hold our new little girl for the first time. Pieper Jo Christiansen. She was absolutely adorable! We were able to feed her for the first time and Matt was able to go with her back to the nursery to help with her first bath while I recovered from the Anesthesia. It was about another hour before I was taken into a regular room and almost another hour before I was able to move my toes. It is the weirdest feeling to be telling your feet to move and it not responding. After getting settled into our room we were able to let friends and family know our good news. I was completely exhausted after being up the entire night and then having to go through the surgery, but I was not able to sleep because of all the excitement. Pieper got her first set of shots, passed her hearing test and everything looked perfect! She spent the majority of the first day in our room meeting friends and family as they came to visit. The kids were so excited to meet her, Paxten was a little hesitant at first, but then he decided that he wanted a turn holding her as well.

38 Weeks

I went to the Dr. on the 29th of August. I was 37 weeks and 6 days. Past the days that I deliverd Paige and Paxten. I hit 38 weeks on Friday the 30th and each night I kept hoping that my water would break like it did with Paxten. The 31st rolled around, the first day of the fair, and I was feeling pretty good, big and tired, but normal for 38 weeks pregnant. Carla, Rachel, Sarah, Blake, Sophie, Caleb, Laura, Evelyn, and Adam came for the fair and I decided that I felt well enough to go with Matt and the kids. Charyn and Zander came down as well and we went to the fair. My thoughts were that if I went and walked around the fair that I would put myself in labor and have this baby sooner than the 10th. Or wishful thinking at least. As we were walking home from the fair I was thinking that I might regret walking around in the hot sun all day if I didn't go into labor and that I would be so sore the next day. After we got home we rested and visited with all the family, had pizza cooked on the trager and had homemade popcorn. We enjoyed the cool fall weather that evening and then said our good byes and Matt and I got the kids into bed.

As I was laying in bed I began to have contractions. Nothing new at this point during the pregnancy. I had regularly been having contractions, especially during the evening when she is most active. After they had been steady for over an hour I told Matt that it felt different from the other nights. We started to time them and when they were happening every 2 minutes and lasting about 45 seconds we decided to call the doctor.

When I called the doctor, he had transferred the phone lines to the on call doctor at the hospital. After telling him my history and what was going on, the only advice he gave was to go into the hospital and have them check me. It wasn't at all what I was expecting to hear, and I knew that if Dr. Leavitt had been the one that I talked to he would have given me better direction and advice on what to do. Do I had mixed emotions about whether or not to go in, I didn't want to drive all the way to Idaho Falls and have them tell me it was false labor and send me home. Yet I didn't want to wait too long and then something happen on the way to the hospital. So at about 1:00 in the morning we made the decision to head to the hospital. I called my mom and woke her up and told her that all that walking did something because I was having regular contractions. So she came over and Matt and I got all our things together just in case this was it. I had had my bag packed for over a month, Matt had to frantically get his packed and he insisted on taking a "quick" shower before we left. I was kind of annoyed that here I am in labor and he is the one that wants to take a shower. I just finished getting last minute things together, making sure we didn't leave anything behind that we would need. Matt gave me a Priesthood blessing before we left and I was comforted in knowing that the Lord was watching over us and our family and the doctors that would care for us. I was nervous and excited at the same time. Anxious and also worried. Matt had to stop on the way out of town for a drink to help him stay awake and then we were finally on our way to the hospital.

We walked into Labor and Delivery and got right into a room. I got my hospital gown on and they hooked me up to the monitors to see how the baby was doing and the timing and strength of the contractions. At this point we heard that Dr. Leavitt was back into town and would be available if anything happened. Yay!! We had arrived at the hospital at about 2:00 A.M. After answering the pleathera of questions for about an hour, I was left to just sit there in the bed waiting....wondering....waiting.....to see if anything was going to happen. I had been checked and was only dilated to a 1 and my cervix was very thick. Not really what I wanted to hear. At this point Matt has now been asleep in the chair in my room for about 1/2 an hour, so much for a drink to keep him awake! Hahaha! So the rest of the night I sat there contracting and playing Candy Crush and Facebooking on my phone (What did I do without and IPhone before with my other kids?!) The nurse came in about 4:00 AM and said that she had talked to Dr. Leavitt and he wanted me to get hydrated and see if that would effect the contractions. I drank 32 oz of water over the next 30 minutes and then we waited some more.  The contractions kept on coming and were becoming a little more intense. The nurse checked me again, still a 1, but my cervix had thinned out quite a bit. At 6:30 She came back in and said that Dr. Leavitt had decided that I really was in labor and I had progressed enough to convince him to go ahead and do the C-Section. After that things went very quickly.

37 weeks

I had an appointment with Dr. Leavitt and we got a date scheduled for the C-Section. If I do not have this baby sooner she will be arriving on the 10th of September at 7:00 in the morning. That will put me at 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I will admit when I was talking to the Dr. and this is the date he said, I was a little disappointed. I don't want to be pregnant longer than I have to be and that is longer than I have gone with any of my pregnancies so it just seemed like such a long ways a way. Also I think because both Paige and Paxten were born just after 37 weeks, that I got that in my head as when I would be delivering this one as well. If I had gone to 40 weeks with the rest I may not have been quite as anxious to be done. I also thought the preeclampsia would be playing a key role in this pregnancy and delivery, but so far I have not been affected by it. My blood pressure has been great and I haven't had the protein in my urine, and all the lab test they have done to check my organs have been normal, so I have been grateful for that. The other thing that really got me about the 10th of September is that is Paige's first official day of Kindergarten. I really wanted to be able to be there to help her get ready, take pictures, and see her get on the bus. I wanted to be able to pick her up after her first days and see how it went. So I was already having Mother's guilt about not being there for her on that once in a lifetime day. But there was nothing I could really do about the date. According to hospital policy they can not do a C-section before 39 weeks unless medically necessary. Dr. Leavitt does surgeries on Tuesdays, and I turn 39 weeks the Friday before the 10th, the 6th. So it pushes me to almost 40 weeks, unless of course I go into labor on my own then they wont stop it and we will have the surgery then. At this point I think that this little girl is too comfortable and it going to have to be pulled out!! 1 good thing about going to the 10th, I will be able to go to the Fair and eat some yummy food!

36 Weeks

August 16th...36 weeks...only 28 more days to go, or less!! I can see the end in sight and it is driving me crazy. I can't wait to be able to breathe again and to not have pain in my upper legs and pelvic area. I have not seen my doctor for a few weeks and therefore have not scheduled a day for this little baby to arrive. I am hoping that since my water broke with Paxten that that will happen again and she will decide to come on her own. The chances of that really happening are slim. I have hardly gained any weight, which I am more than thrilled about I am at a weight gain of about 8 lbs and my blood pressure has been just about perfect! Go figure! The kids are getting excited as well about meeting their little sister. Paxten is still adament that he does not want a little sister or to be a big brother. It may be a hard adjustment for him when she does finally arrive. The baby is a mover and seems to be doing acrobatics in my belly. I do love feeling her move around a knowing that is a sign that she is safe, and healthy. She gets the hiccups quite often, like 3 or 4 times a day and that can be pretty bothersome at times, but it still amazes me that I can feel that and know exactly what it is. She is most active at night at about 9-10:00, so that may be a challenge if she keeps that schedule when she arrives. Although I know that we will be in for a big adjustment any way with adjusting to a new baby, Parker and Paige starting school, and having 4 kids to shuttle around and take care of. I am sure our house will become a house of chaos! But we will take it!!

33 Weeks

I hit 33 weeks in pregnancy #4 on the 26th of July. I am starting to be really uncomfortable and sore. We are counting down the days until we get to meet our sweet little girl. It will be here before we know it!

30 Weeks

July 5th I was 30 weeks along. This picture was taken on the 4th before we left for our family reunion to Heise. Less than 100 days, 70 in fact! It has been SO SO HOT! I am feeling very hot and uncomfortable, but other than that I am doing good. We are getting a few things ready for the arrival of our little girl. Not much to get ready since we already have a girl. Paige is getting so excited for her sister to get here and had already called dibs on holding her first when she visits me in the hospital. She talks to my belly every day and tells Pieper (that is the name we have chosen) how much she loves her and how excited she is to meet her. It is pretty sweet.

25 Weeks

The 31st of May, 25 weeks pregnant. I am feeling good. It is starting to get really hot and i am not feeling very motivated, but maybe that is a good thing. I am taking it easy and my blood pressure is cooperating!

21 Weeks

Here is a picture of me 21 weeks along in pregnancy #4. This was on the 3rd of May. On the 6th of May we had our big Ultrasound to check on the baby and make sure that all was going well. It is always so fun to be able to see your baby on the screen growing and moving inside you. Sharla, the technician is so good at what she does and was very thorough with the ultrasouns and showed me everything that she was looking for and looking at on the screen. Our sweet little baby girl has a strong heart with 4 distinct chambers, we saw two working kidneys, a working bladder, a 3 vessel cord, no abnormalities in the growth of her head, (no sign of down syndrome), no cleft palate or lip, and the length and size of her bones, brain, and stomach were all right on track for being 21 weeks gestation. I was so excited and relieved to hear all this great news. At one point during the ultrasound she was able to get a 3D image of baby girl's face and I could totally see the resemblamce between her and the other kids. She is definitely going to fit in with the rest of our family. She raised her little had to her mouth at one point and it looked like she was waving to me. Amazing!! It makes me so eager and excited to meet this newest little miracle. I can't wait to hold this sweet girl in my arms! I am feeling pretty good at this point in the pregnancy. My blood pressure has stayed under control and has been in the 120's/75ish so as long as we can keep that under control we will good for a while. I have only gained about 5 lbs and I am feeling good about that. I may not look like that is all I have gained, but it must all be in my big belly! 19 more weeks! We are on the down hill now!

Your what???

Tuesday started like any other day on bed rest, other than Matt now is off of work for the next 5 weeks. He decided to start his time off early to be around to help me out. We still had a few things we wanted to get done before the baby arrived and Matt was now home to help. I wanted to get all the bedding changed and washed in both the kids rooms and our room so I did 6 loads of laundry that day (which really isn't bed rest I guess, but laundry isn't too exhausting...so I though) That filled my day in between resting and watching some television. That evening my groin area (sorry if that is too much info) was feeling very sore, like I had pulled a muscle or something and I was really uncomfortable. But I just thought it was the usual pregnancy pains. Matt and I went to bed and had just turned out the lights when I felt like I had peed the bed a little. I had just gone to the bathroom and was like man I can't believe I have to go again. I went into the bathroom and there was green liquid in my pants and a big gush of water....I couldn't believe it MY WATER BROKE!! Matt and I had talked about what we would do if that happened. Guess we would find out soon. I went back into the bed room and turned on the light and said "Matt, my water just broke!" he looked at me and said "are you sure?" Yes I was sure!!! He jumped out of bed and started getting ready. I called the Drs. office and got Scott who was on call. He told me to get to the hospital and that he would call Dr. Leavitt and let him know I was on the way. We then called my mom who came over to stay with the kids, who where already sleeping. It was about 11:00 before we left for the hospital thinking this is it!! I hadn't really been having contractions, but as we were driving to the hospital they started and continued to grow. Before we arrived they were coming about every 3 minutes and we starting to get more and more uncomfortable. We finally arrived at the hospital where they were waiting for me. I got all settled in, IVS started, and ready to go. The Anesthesiologist came and talked to me and assured me that this c-section would be way more comfortable then my last and he answered all my questions and we were ready to go. The Dr. came in, made sure I was ready and then they realized that my blood count was way off. My platelets were extremely high and they didn't want to do a spinal if my blody was fighting off an infection somewhere that we were unaware of. Well after some talk, they decided that it was probably from my blood condition, spherocytosis, and that it was probably normal for me. So we went ahead into the operating room. I received the spinal and then was numb. Dr. Leavitt and Scott started the c-section and about 10 minutes later our little BOY Paxten Wayne was born. 1:34 in the morning. He weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 inches long. He was rushed into the NICU to clean him up because of the presence of meconium in the water... the drs. finished sewing me up and I was wheeled into recovery a little after 2:00 in the morning. I was able to hold Paxten and to nurse him right then and was so excited that everything went smoothly and well. It was a whole lot different than any of my last 2 deliveries and I was so happy about that! We stayed in the hospital until Friday and were able to come home. We are enjoying having the newest member of our family with us. More to come later!

38 Weeks

I had my weekly Doctors appointment on the 7th of February. I had been in the previous Thursday for a followup from the last Monday. On that Thursday I had a blood pressure check and an NST to check on the baby. Everything looked good, blood pressure was still a little high, but not high enough that the doctor was too worried. My appointment on the 7th went well. Blood pressure was a little elevated but still alright. The NST that day showed good movement with the baby and the ultrasound showed that everything still looked good. My amniotic fluid level was down to a normal range, 16, and everything else looked right on track. I was measruing 38 weeks and the baby was guessed to weigh about 7 lbs. 8 oz. If so this will be our biggest baby yet. I was dialated to a 1 and 50% effaced, so not much happening on that end. So the doctor once again sent me home to stay on bed rest. I had to to another 24 hour protein count and some more blood work, but he thought he would see me on the 15th the scheduled day for the c-section.

37 Week

I forgot to post of picture of me at 37 weeks. Better late than never. January 31, 2011.

37 Weeks...Is There An End?

I had been feeling pretty good and was looking forward to the end of this pregnancy and was so glad that I have made it this long and that the baby is looking good. Then last weekend I starting feeling more uncomfortable and then I started noticing some swelling in my feet, hands and face. I know that is not a good thing. I kept thinking "I wonder what my blood pressure is?" But I held off calling the Dr. because I had a regular appointment on Monday. Sunday was the worst of the swelling and my hands and face weren't as swollen when I woke up on Monday, but my feet were bad! I went to the Dr., and wouldn't you know it, he had left to do a delivery!! Just my luck! I opted to wait and see if he came back soon because my blood pressure in the office was 158/83 or something like that the first time. So she let me rest for a few minutes and took it again. It was 138/100 or something just as bad. So she switched arms and it was 143/96...something that was still pretty high. So I knew I wanted to visit with the Dr and see what he wanted me to do (secretly I was hoping he would say see you in the morning for delivery....ya right!) So he made it back pretty quickly and did the regular checkup. Baby looked good, he was just concerned about the blood pressure and swelling. So he was going to put me on blood pressure medication asap and wants me to start having bi-weekly appts. Also for that day blood work, 24 hour urine protein, and a non-stress test. WOW!!! It was almost 5:00 at this point and decided he wanted the lab work as soon as possible so off I went to the hospital to have the labs done and the non-stress test.

Matt was a little freaked out when I called and told him I was on my way to the hospital for some tests. But I wasn't too worried, the Dr. was calm and I knew I would have been able to tell if it was serious. I got to the hospital and the nurses in Labor and Delivery looked at me like I was crazy walking into the unit telling them what I was there for without a Drs. orders. But the called him and quickly verified why I was there, hooked me up to the machine and drew my blood (again!) The baby looked good, very active and I was having regular contractions...could I be in labor on my own?!! I wish!! The Dr. checked on me after about 1 hour and my blood pressure was way down, in the 126/60 range so what did he tell me?....BED REST for the duration on my pregnancy!! What?? How am I supposed to be on bed rest and still take care of 2 other kids and my house and all that other stuff?? Also still having bi-weekly appts for non-stress tests and blood pressure checks. I am currently filling a jug for the protein count and we will see what the lab results are on that. So we are still looking towards the 15th for the delivery, if all goes well the next few weeks. I just once want things to work out how I imagine them! So for now I am home all the time, relaxing and being bored. Trying not to see the mess and destruction the kids are making and just trying to get some sleep. Wish me luck...I am not one that sits still for long, I hope I can do it! Next appt on Thursday.

36 Weeks!

I had my regular Dr. appointment yesterday and all went well. I am 36 weeks along and the baby looked great. The Dr. had been concerned about the size of the baby last appointment and had me schedule an ultrasound for yesterday. I wasn't complaining...I get to see the baby again bigger this time. So Matt was able to go with me and we had a good ultrasound! The lady that does them is very knowledgeable and very thorough in the exam showing us where everything is and why that is important to see. So we saw the kidneys and the bladder and knew then knew things were working in that area, that the baby can eat and swallow. We also saw the heart beating and the 4 chambers, good news, no heart condition! We saw the umbilical cord with 3 vessels, that is good because most babies that have Chromosomal Deformities only have 2 vessels. So overall our baby is healthy and strong. It is measuring about 6 lbs, 9 oz. so a good size. My blood pressure was a tad high, but nothing to worry about. I have 2 more appointments with the Dr until the baby is here. Next week and the 7th, then the birth will be on the 15th. Can't wait to meet the newest member of the family!!! Oh by the way, still don't know the sex, we reminded her that we didn't want to know so it is still a surprise!!

My Cravings Lately

So I have once again been craving these lately.....



especially RAW! I craved these with my last pregnancy and would just eat them like an apple. But this pregnancy is a little different and I typically like them sliced thin, with the skins on, and the dirtier the better. Some nights I wake up in the middle if the night and I have to force myself not to go to the storage room to get a potato. Why do I love these so much?? I must truly be and Idahoan! In fact I went to the store yesterday to get some groceries and I was running low on my potato stash and was going to add a bag to my cart. When I caught myself looking for the bag that had the dirtiest potatoes in it! (they were all pretty clean and looked like they had been rinsed well) What am I doing?! I must be lacking iron, but they checked my blood the last appt. I had and nothing came up, so I guess it just goes back to my childhood eating dirt cakes and now I am suddenly craving it again. In fact I told Matt what happened at the store and he just rolled his eyes. Later that night I asked if he would grab me a potato while he was up. He asked if I wanted him to go outside and roll it in dirt first! He thinks it is funny, and gross. I asked if he wanted a bite...he said no! At least it is more healthy than a big bowl of ice cream!

Ahhh Sleep

I have not been able to sleep very well the last few weeks (well months really), but I just attributed it to being so pregnant and uncomfortable. Well Matt hasn't been sleeping well either and we we got thinking maybe our mattress is the problem. We have a king size bed and buying a new mattress is quite an investment. One that we really can't afford to do right now with all the hospital and doctor bills coming in. So I suggested we look at a mattress topper for the time being to get us by until we can get a new mattress. Well I bought one yesterday, it was $150!!! We decided to buy one of those memory foam toppers, hoping that it would make a big difference. We have slept on a memory foam bed and really liked it so getting a topper would be ideal. When I found one at the store I kind of gasped at the price, the realized it was cheap considering mattresses were in the $1500-$2500 range. It was an investment for the topper, but can I just say that this morning when I got up and had slept most of the night, minus the potty break at 2:00, I felt pretty good. So the investment paid off and I am hoping that the next few weeks I can catch as many zzz's as possible so I can be well rested for the arrival of this new little baby!! Oh I have 28 days until delivery! yay!! I can't wait!