38 week appointment continued...

This will be a detailed description of the labor and delivery.  I will put an astrict at the detailed part in case you would not care to read.

On Friday the 20th of April I went back to the Dr. for my NST (non-stress test).  I was very excited to go in because I hadn't been feeling Phoebe move much and I was excited to get to hear her and have her move like crazy from being "squished" by the monitors.  Elliana came with me to the appointment because right after my appointment we were going on a field trip with her school to Thanksgiving Point, to go to the Dinosaur Museum.

The NST didn't go well...Phoebe wasn't having a good "peak", meaning her heart rate was jumping as frequently or as high as they wanted it to.  She still wasn't moving much even after them pushing fluids and snacks on me.  They consulted with the Dr and decided to do an Ultrasound just to check everything out.  Again...not good.  My fluid levels had dropped in a week, from being 14+ to on Wednesday the 18th being 9+ to Friday being barely over 5.  Anything above 5 is considered a reasonable amount of fluid, but I was losing fluid and pretty fast.  It was determined that I had a small tear in the sac of water.  After the ultrasound they wanted me to meet with the Dr.  I of course called Tom and told him I was fine and would just keep him posted.  I am SO glad that he decided I was not fine and came to be with me.

After waiting about an hour to meet with the Dr we talked to him and it was decided that one of two things must happen.  I be put in the hospital on complete bed rest with 24 hour monitoring to watch the leak and keep an eye/ear on Phoebe's heart, or 2, try to VERY slowly induce me so I could still attempt my VBAC.

Tom and I both felt very strongly that we need to try and slowly induce me.  The hospital where I delivered has some funny rules and since I was trying to have a VBAC.  My Dr. must be at the hospital during the WHOLE process.  He had to do another induction and wasn't able to have me go straight to the hospital.  We decided to go get Elliana (my wonderful Aunt Stephanie had come and taken her to her field trip) and get some lunch.  We were just pulling in to my cousins house to have lunch with Ty and Laura and their girls when we got "the call".  We needed to get to the hospital.  A huge thanks to Ty and Laura for ALL of their help during our hospital stay.

We left Elliana with Ty and Laura and went straight to the hospital, it's about 1 p.m.  Remember, I had my appointment first thing this morning, at 8:30, I had an apple for breakfast and have not eaten again.  Tom would not stop on our way to the hospital to get me something to eat.  :(  I'm STARVING at this point.

We get to the hospital and I'm staying this time, the next time I leave the hospital will be with my baby, I'm SO excited!

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The Dr comes in to insert my fully catheter balloon that is going to soften my cervix and help it to dilate.  That is inserted at 2 p.m.  I decided to try and rest while I make Tom go home to get my pillow!  :)  Remember I was just going in for a routine check-up.  Tom gets back and nothing has really changed, I was at a 1 1/2 when they insert the balloon.  At about 5 p.m. I'm getting pretty uncomfortable,  but of course the Dr has gone to grab dinner.  He comes back to check on me about 6 and told me that the balloon needs to stay til about 7 or so.  He came back just before 8 and took out the balloon.  MAN alive that was a killer!  It was still pretty inflated and very uncomfortable coming out!  He checked me after taking the balloon out and I was dilated to a 5.  I was able to get my epidural at this point, OH the wonderful relief!  He told me to rest and he'd be back to check me later.

My parents came from Idaho Falls and stopped to get Elliana to keep her for the night.  They stopped by the hospital to say good night at about 11 p.m., the Dr had been in to check me and I was a 5 1/2.

I continued to try and sleep but I was pretty uncomfortable.  Tom however had no problem sleeping.  I got put on pitocin at about 8:30 by the way.  They had to do it VERY slowly because they didn't want to rupture my uterus because of the previous C-section.  Every time they would get the pit up past a certain level, Phoebe would starting having a hard time keeping her heart rate up.  At about 2 a.m. the nurse checked me and I was still a 5+.  I waited....and prayed a lot, I really wanted to have my VBAC and it wasn't looking very good.  I was devastated, this is something I wanted SO bad.

At 5 a.m. I was really uncomfortable and called the nurse....she checked me again and said I was still a 5. And that if I didn't change pretty drastically that she thought the Dr. was going to call me failure to progress and take the baby VIA C.  She expected the Dr to come to my room about 6 a.m.  I woke Tom at this point, scared, and very worried.  At 6 on the nose my amazing Dr came in.  He said lets check you...I'm exhausted at this point....so tired, STARVING and very pregnant.  I've been in labor all afternoon Friday and all through the night.  He gets this funny grin on his face and says, "well, let's call you a 8."  I said, Dr. Parker that's not funny, I've been in labor all night.  He replies "with that last contraction, you're a 9.  Let's get anesthesia back in to refill her epidural and have a baby."  I was shocked and SO overjoyed, it was going to work, I was going to be able to have my VBAC!

At 7:00 a.m. on Saturday April 21st, I was a 10.  I started pushing at 7:10 and Phoebe Kate Duncan was born at 7:52 a.m.  Delivered by her dad Thomas Alan Duncan.  Phoebe was born 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long (a shrimp in this family).  It was a wonderful experience to have Tom be able to deliver and a moment we will never forget.

*******done with the tmi details for those who didn't want to read them.

When Phoebe was born, she didn't cry, she was more grunting, it was a bit scary.  My parents rushed to the hospital with Elliana which I am SO grateful for, Elliana got to hold her sister for a few precious moments before it was decided that Phoebe needed to be evaluated at the NICU.  Note, her sats her AWESOME, her oxygen was at 98, she just wasn't crying.  Even after her first bath, her shots and her PKU test, no crying.  As a mom I was a bit freaked out.  Tom went to the NICU with Phoebe and I was moved to a Women's Center room.  My family went to the waiting room for a bit while I was checked out by the nurse to make sure everything was as it should be.  This is when everything changed...

Tom came to my room, he was hysterical, even distraught.  I knew then that something was wrong, what I didn't know...I then learned, that my baby was sick.  Phoebe was going to have to stay in the NICU.  I thought to myself and even asked Heavenly Father why me...I already had a NICU baby, isn't one hard enough, what do I need to learn Lord.  PLEASE let my baby be safe.

The NICU doctors thought that Phoebe had an infection, they were running tests on the placenta, they were sure I had given her the infection.  That's a terrible feeling to have as a mother to know that you got your baby sick, while you're trying to help her grow and develop.  Phoebe also had fluid in her lungs.  She was put immediately on a CPAP to open her lungs and antibiotics to fight off the infection.  See the next post for pictures and more details...

Easter

We are going to back track a little bit and let you see a bit of our Easter celebration!   

 Tom and Elliana at the Spanish Fork Easter Egg Hunt.  It was FREEZING cold but they had a blast!

 Dying Easter Eggs, Elliana thought this was so cool that you could change the color of the eggs.  She had a blast!

 Easter Morning she got: tons of candy, bubbles, an Easter Dress, and a train set.

 Playing with her trains

 Easter Dress she got to pick out with Dad.

Twirling to get the full effect.

38 week appointment

I had my 38 week appointment today, a few days late.  They processed my testing and though my levels were a little high, they were not preeclamptic.  So we will be running more tests throughout the week and going back in on Monday for results.  Phoebe is still doing great!  My BP is still pretty high and if it gets much higher, they won't let me stay pregnant.  I will keep everyone posted!  The Dr. ordered an ultra-sound today to check her fluid levels and her size.  Her fluid levels are low, but not abnormally low, so we have another ultra-sound scheduled for Monday.  She is measuring about 7 and a half pounds, she's going to be LOTS bigger than her sister Elliana, who weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 oz.

If there are any changes I will let everyone know either via FB or here.  Extra prayers that Phoebe decides to make her appearance soon and that I'm able to have my VBAC would be MOST appreciated!

Testing

I've been having really bad headaches for the last week or so, but the headache hasn't gone away since Friday.  When I was at the pharmacy today I decided to check my blood pressure.  It was extremely high, especially for me, 148/86.  I normally run about 90/60.  I decided to call my Dr, who sent me directly to Labor and Delivery for monitoring.  My BP slowly went down over the hour and a half I was there, and I got a "normal" reading of 128/88.  My Dr. was at the hospital and stopped by, because of my high BP and my headache he is worried about preeclampsia.  They are running the tests now and I should have results by Wednesday, I will keep everyone posted.  If I am diagnosed with preeclampsia, we will be having a baby very shortly there-after...and if not, then we'll just keep waiting, but my due date is about 10 days away, so we're getting close!  Can't wait to meet my little girl!  We are very excited to have her join our family!

37 Weeks

Tom's been pretty busy as of late, and we could never find a time for him to take a picture of me, so instead we have the classic in the mirror picture! : D

I'm just past 37 weeks and feeling alright, just ready to be done, so as soon as little miss Phoebe decides it is time, I will be willing and ready to have her come!  Tom's a little nervous about having her come, and I'm not sure why because he's such a great day!  But his work/schooling is VERY demanding, especially right now.  But he always makes sure to save us time, and we always have our Sundays together, unless he's on call, which has only happened twice.

Elliana is still doing great and is still just herself.  She had to go in for a minor surgery today, but did great!  She had to have her ear tube removed.  It had been in for over 2 years and they are only supposed to stay in a max of 18 months.  We wanted to get through the winter season before removing it in case she went back to getting ear infections.  She did great for the surgery and didn't even cry when they took her away; not the case for me....I cried.  It's so hard to not be able to "protect" your kids.  She woke up from the anesthesia great and even got an Easter Basket from the hospital!

Tom had one of his professors come in town from Denver and he took us out to dinner, all the Utah Students and their spouses.  It was SO nice to get out, without kids, and have a free dinner!  We went to Tucano's and clearly ate way too much!  It was so delicious though!

We're plugging along here, just anxiously awaiting the arrival of our cute little miss...

36 weeks

I can't believe I've made it this far!  I'm 36 weeks and feeling pretty miserable if we're being honest, and it's my blog so I feel like I can be honest.  I've been in the hospital twice this last week with fluid leaking, I was almost positive it was my water that broke; instead apparently I'm peeing my pants.  : (  Pregnancy in that respect is the WORST!  To have no control over your bodily functions is pretty bad, and embarrassing.

Phoebe is doing great though, she's still got plenty of fluid and she is growing well.  I still haven't gained any weight, and am feeling pretty good about that.

I've had to stop working and am on a "rest easy" directive from my Doctor.  I don't rest well, and I hate being "lazy" per-say.  It's no fun to just have to lie around.

I've finally gotten the nursery set up and will get pictures soon!

Tom and I have also finally decided on our double stroller and my parents are helping us buy it!  Thanks Mom and Dad!  I love how compactly it folds up since we only have cars, and it maneuvers so easily!  I'm very excited to go and purchase it, and I get to do that tomorrow!  Or as soon as Tom has time to go to the store with me to buy it, since he'd kill me if I tried to get it myself.

3 Years Old

I can't believe it!  My baby is 3, I know this post is a long time coming and I want to share some of the great pictures we got right before she turned 3.  So here are a few and then afterwards some of my favorite Elliana moments and sayings:

These amazing pictures were taken by the fabulous Jessica McAllister at Flourish Photography!  You can visit her website here: flourishgallery.blogspot.com  I'm SO in love with these pictures!  Thanks again Jess!

Elliana is:

38 3/4" - 85%
34 lbs - 79%
her head is still off the charts!  ;)

Elliana can do the following:

~write her name
~say her ABC's
~count to 20
~knows her colors
~fully potty trained
~buckle her own seat belt
~ride her tricycle and scooter
~get dressed

Favorite sayings, words and quotes of Elliana:

~Urslut (Ursula)
~ Daddy, you're a little tramp (courtesy of The Little Mermaid)
~sleeping booby (Sleeping Beauty, of course)
~Yesterday while driving in the car she informed me that she was tired, because she was talking a lot.  She does exactly that, talks a LOT!
~Birds hang upside down like possums

Elliana LOVES to sing songs and would love for me to sing her to sleep every night, she loves music.

We sure do love our little princess!