One Month Old and Sleep Issues

Well the good news is that we have reached the one month mark and my little one is growing like a weed. I can't believe how big she has grown in such a short amount of time. I wouldn't be surprised if Tuesday at our weigh in she's over ten pounds.

Breastfeeding is going well and with the herbs I'm taking I have been able to nurse her full time with little supplementation. However it doesn't leave me much room to stock up for when I'm away from her. But I'm just happy giving her what nutrition I can and will continue to do so as long as I can. I am proud that after my surgery I am still able to do so and our Lactation Consultant says I am doing extremely well for having reduction surgery and better than she thought I would do.

The last thing I ever expected in my life was to have a child who didn't want to sleep. For forty-eight hours I have been unable to sleep or put my child down. For some reason she refused to lie down on her own or down period. Unless she was held upright against my chest she wouldn't rest. And even when she did rest it was for 5 minutes before she'd start screaming again. So Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I dealt with her. Last night when Adam got home he took the reigns and all night I got to sleep consecutively. He got up to change her and feed her, once he was done feeding her he would wake me up so I could pump while he tried to get her back down and to my surprise it worked. She actually slept and in her own bed. I slept until 10am and then she was back on my watch today. So far this evening she hasn't eaten much so we'll see what this evening has in store for us.

Growth Check

Today's Measurements - 9 pounds 10 ounces

Growth Check

Today's Measurements - 9 pounds 8 ounces, 21 3/4 inches long

Herbs and then some

Today was another breastfeeding support group meeting and unfortunately Bella lost 2 ounces. The lactation consultant wants me to try some Fenugreek pills to help increase the supply. In the mean time we're supposed to give her an extra ounce after each feeding to make sure she's getting enough food. This should also help with her fussiness. Only time will tell if I can make enough to satisfy her.


Today's Measurements - 9 pounds 0 ounces

Gaige & Arabella

My sister, Amy, and my nephew, Gaige, were able to meet Bella for the first time. Amy had been at the hospital, but due to the long labor wasn't able to stick around to see her after the birth. Then as we all know Bella was in the NICU and couldn't be seen by anyone but Adam & I. Then her kids got sick. Fortunately Gaige was all better and able to meet her whereas Demi will have to wait a little longer to meet & hold her. Gaige loved her and was the cutest holding her!

My First Shower

Let me just say it is ten times easier to give an infant a shower than it is a bath. It was great for us. She loved playing under the water. She didn't even scream at me once. And did she ever love getting her hair washed. It was great until I handed her to daddy, then she was cold. But daddy did his best to hurry and warm her up. Then I couldn't quit sniffing her because "She's a clean baby." I can't wait for the next one!

Has anyone seen my cord?

Yay!!!! No more umbilical stump for our little girl. It was so annoying as it always got caught on her diapers. We still have some goo coming out, but the doctor said it should be gone in a couple of days and then she will truly have a cute little belly button to show off.

Growth Check

Today's Measurements - 9 pounds 2 ounces

Our First Trip to The Pediatrician

Arabella is such a big girl. Aside from peeing all over the scale while we attempted to change her blow out Bella did very well. She's growing and everything looks perfect. Next check up is January 23rd.

Today's Measurements - 8 pounds 15 ounces, 21 1/2 inches long

Our family has begun...

The best feeling ever

Such cute feet

Proud Daddy

4 Days Old

On December 31, 2008, Adam and I began a wonderful journey into parenthood. Our beautiful daughter, Arabella Emma Sharp, entered the world and stole our hearts. Here is our story...

On New Years Eve at 1:20 in the morning I awoke during a contraction and felt the need to use the restroom. I stumbled out of the bed and didn't make it more than five steps before my water broke. I then waddled as quickly as I could to the restroom, cleaned up and then got back in bed to let Adam know what had happened. I tapped him on the chest, got in his face and told him. His response, "okay." He then crawled out of bed and began getting dressed for our trip to the hospital. We rounded up a few last minute items and I called the hospital to let them know we would be on our way. Around 2:15 we arrived at the hospital and we whisked away to our labor room. At 3:00am the nurse checked me and I was only dilated to 4cm and 70% effaced. At 5:25am the nurse checked again and I was about the same. Around 8:50am we decided it would be good to take a couple of laps around the L&D floor. Upon my return to my room the nurse checked me again and I was now at 5cm and 80% effaced. By noon the nurse was talking to the doctor and they had discussed the possibility of needing to administer Pitocin to help me along. The doctor was going to give me until 1:00pm because it would be close to 12 hours that my membranes would have been ruptured and due to that fact we are now on a 24 hour time restriction to keep an infection at bay. At 12:55pm I agreed to let the nurse start an IV and Pitocin drip. Dr. Spell agreed to keep the dose as low as possible and the nurse agreed to not turn up the dose as often as they would normally. Then around 2:30pm they upped the dose of Pitocin for the first time. At 3:15pm I was checked again and found to still be at 5cm and 80% effaced as I had been since 9:00am. The nurse also discovered that Bella was stuck at my right hip so she wasn't exactly aligned in order to help me dilate. I then had to lie on my left side to coerce her to get where she needed to be. By 3:55pm Bella had moved into the correct position. After 16 hours of labor without pain medication the contractions began taking their toll and I gave in. I had previously asked Adam to get me an epidural twice earlier in the afternoon, when he was double checking with me I backed out and he helped me move forward without it, but at 5:45pm I couldn't take it any longer, so I finally said yes to the epidural. The first attempt at the epidural the anesthesiologist nicked a blood vessel and the test shot put my legs to sleep. That one was removed and a second epidural was attempted. Shortly after I began getting a little relief as I was still sitting up. The nurse then needed me to lie on my back and they propped up my right side to keep Bella off my blood vessel. My left thigh then began to go numb, however I was still feeling every contraction. I was then checked again at 6:10pm and was at 6cm and 100% effaced and Bella was now at a zero station. The anesthesiologist was called back to my room where he gave me a dose of the epidural directly into my catheter, but it still didn't work. So apparently my original plan of a pain drug-free birth was going to happen whether I liked it or not. At 8:00pm I was checked and now at 8cm. By 8:30pm I had reached 9cm, however the right side of my cervix didn't want to cooperate to allow Bella to pass through. I then laid on my left side and began to push once her head cleared my cervix. On December 31, 2008 at 9:56pm Arabella Emma Sharp was born. She weighed in at 8 pounds 7.3 ounces and was 21 inches long. It was definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life, next to marrying my husband of course. She had her cord wrapped around her neck once was arrived with her left hand held to her face. The doctor thinks that she was able to come out easier because of the position of her shoulder. Ah, but the story doesn't end there. I then spent the next hour and a half attempting to deliver the placenta that refused to detach itself from me. Luckily the doctor was able to go in and help remove the placenta, but that left me open for an infection. If that weren't enough I also had a significant amount of hemorrhaging, but luckily not enough to require a blood transfusion. After Bella was born it was discovered that both she and I had a fever. I was started on antibiotics shortly after. Bella's fever disappeared quickly, but at 7:00 the next morning the pediatrician came to visit us and let us know that her white blood cell count was elevated which was an indicator for an infection. He then proceeded to tell me that they would be taking my baby away from me and placing her in the NICU to start antibiotics. She would have to remain there for three days and I would still be able to feed her every three hours. The next three days were spent restless, sleepless and just exhausting. They started an IV in her little hand but by the second day it had come out and they had to change the site and chose to put it on the right side of her head. That was the most terrifying thing, to see my helpless baby with this contraption of tubes coming out of her head. The second day the pediatrician visited and let us know that her bilirubin levels were elevated, still in the low risk range, but she would need phototherapy for the remainder of her stay. To top it off instead of leaving on Saturday we would have to wait until Sunday to bring her home so they could observe her once her blood cultures came back negative for infection. As I ventured back to the NICU to feed her I was told that her IV fell out again and they had then moved it to the left side of her head. So daily my poor baby has been poked and prodded and tested and now is getting a fake bake. On top of all this, nursing my baby has been near impossible because she's a little pig. We have had to supplement with formula (at breast) until my milk came in, which luckily it has started showing up. Once home I thought it would be less stressful for me but no such luck. Finally today, January 6th, Bella nursed without supplement for the first time. I was so happy. I've cried so many tears over the things I can't control but in the end I wouldn't have it any other way. She's our precious little girl and I feel like the luckiest wife and mother on the entire planet.

A Family Trip To The Chiropractor

After going through labor like I did I decided it was time to see the chiropractor again. It wasn't a complete adjustment as I would normally get (pre-prego), but it helped. I can't wait until he can work his normal magic on me. Since Bella had been hold up inside of me for the past 9 months we thought it would be a great idea for someone to check out her spine. Can you believe it, Dr. Tim said she was the best baby he'd ever seen. He didn't really have too many adjustments to make and do you know the best part of the whole trip? She slept right through it, not a peep or a wink. We won't need to have her adjusted again until about six months.

We're Home!

We were finally sprung from the joint and brought our little one home. At the time of discharge she weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces. Four days old and we do what now????