2 weeks 3 days old

Calli is two weeks old and is growing strong. Wednesday at her doctor appointment she weighed in at 9 pounds. She is almost official turkey size!

Wednesday was a big day out for us. Lots of first. We had an appointment at hubby's work to fill out some paperwork, then a visit to school followed by a doctor appointment. Long day out. I tried feeding Calli under the nursing cover for the first time and she ended up vomiting the full contents of her stomach all over me and her. I was afraid to feed her for the next couple of hours, so she really probably weighs more but was on a super empty stomach. 

The posts are few and far between because I can't seem to get my self together enough to sit down and post. I can't believe that the days are flying by so quickly. We wake up around 9 or 10 and when I turn around we are finishing dinner and thinking about the nighttime feedings. We've been tying to get out a bit so that we can get used to that before hubby goes back to work. Yesterday I took her out by myself for the first time, it was only an hour down the road to my mom's apartment but a solo trip nonetheless. 

I will work on posting more pictures, I promise. There isn't much else going on in my life other than keeping Calli fed, clean, clothed and happy so the posts will probably be short.

Later peeps.

xo

S

Calliope Viola Campbell

Wow is really all I can say. She has arrived! And what an arrival she made.

(DISCLAIMER- I am recounting my labor and delivery and some of it is gross and TMI)

On Wednesday morning at about 3am I woke up to use the bathroom. I was feeling lots of pressure, but neither of those things were strange or out of the ordinary. When I got to the toilet there was a huge gush of water before I could even get started. It being 3am and me not quite having my wits about me I wasn't sure if my water had really broken or not. I went back into the bedroom and asked my husband if he would get up and take a look and tell me what he thought. Even now when I write that I'm not really sure what better he would have known than me. But as we walked back to the bathroom there was another huge gush of water that confirmed my original suspicion. So first of all let me say that my water breaking was the funniest most comical things that has ever happened to me. It was nothing like the movies or TV shows because for me it didn't just drop in one big gush and was over. My water kept spilling for like 15 minutes, even in the shower, so the whole time I was laughing my ass off. The funniest part was my hubby, he kept saying ok, let's go to the hospital and I was busy trying not to get water everywhere I went. I had to dictate to him everything I needed from one spot because I wasn't interested in having a trail of water all over my house. 

We left for the hospital immediately and started the long labor. Right away they put me on pitocin to jumpstart contractions. That was the deal all day long. My body was just not responding and they had to give me the maximum possible. So around 5 or 6 pm I got an epidural thinking that things were getting going and that the baby would be coming soon. Not so much! The epidural slowed things down a bit and we didn't make any progress until 10pm. By then I was fully dilated and ready to push even though little lady's head was still not completely there. I didn't care, it felt better to push through it than to wait. So I pushed for about two hours and little lady arrived at 12:31 am on Thursday morning. She weighed 8lbs 5 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. While everyone was gushing over the baby I wasn't feeling well. The pitocin worked for my labor but was not working on getting the placenta out. The doctor was having some difficulty and I was losing lots of blood. My BP dropped and I was feeling terrible. My doctor was a rock star and pushed on my belly to get the placenta to come out and my uterus to start contracting. The rest of my visit in the hospital was awesome, lots of cuddles with my little lady. 

She is perfect.

Today she is already a week old and it took me that long to sit down and write this post. Whoa. This is not gonna be easy. 

Ciao, more soon.

XO

S

Dear Daughter

Today is April 14, 2013, a perfect day for you to make your arrival. You have a ton of people out here waiting to meet you and that keep asking when you might make your grand entrance. I really truly thought today would have been the perfect day, but apparently, until this moment you disagree. I really don't want us to start on the wrong foot here... I know that you will come when you are ready but won't you listen to my wise and sage advice and come tonight? I'm in a good place at work and the house is clean. The crib is here, your room is ready, there are lots of clothes and diapers to keep you happy. Our bags are packed for the hospital and sit by the door, just in case!
I've been trying lots of things to entice your arrival; I ate a ton of pineapple yesterday, cleaned like crazy today, I'm making a super spicy dinner for tonight... not sure what else you are looking for. I'm not above trying the yoga labor inducing dance , but I was hoping that you would come on your own.
Ok, tomorrow is Monday and back to work for me. I hope that you think about coming before our induction date because I think that would be ideal but I understand if you are just chilling and waiting it out.
We all love you already so much and can't wait to meet you.
Love
Your Mamma

The view from where I sit

No big announcement! Not ready yet. This lady still needs some time to cook.
But I felt like I needed one more post to pull it all together. A sort of "State of the Union" address.
Today I am 37 weeks pregnant and unless I go into labor naturally over the next two weeks my doctor will consider inducing me at 39 weeks. There are two reasons for this; 1) anxiety 2) She is a big girl and there is no reason that she can't come and meet us all at 39 weeks.
Which, if you at home are counting, puts me at about 2 weeks until this darling daughter comes into my life. It still doesn't seem real, but more real than it did 20 weeks ago. My belly is huge and I am starting to feel the constraints and limitations of being 9+ months preggo (I know, depends who you ask...). Sleeping is getting more and more difficult. Leg cramps, heartburn, turning over, little feet jabbing you in the ribs and just general feeling uncomfortable leads me to sleeping less and less. The days are less dramatic. Yes I am waddling and there is a lot of pressure everywhere but it is much more manageable. Now that the end is in sight I am less apt to complain. I do think I will miss this belly. I love rubbing it and seeing her move and shake and get the hiccups. But I am so excited to meet her and get to know her and start our life together. I am still working and plan on it until the very last day. Although I would love a day off, I think I might go stir crazy if I took too many days. And anyway Greg is home on April break the week of the 15th and I can get him to do all the things I would have been doing had I been home. Win- win!! He is also getting really excited. I think having a date in mind put things in perspective for both of us. Now all we talk about is what we need to get done.
So that's it... for now.
Ciao
xo
S

March 26, 2013

My due date is April 26, 2013= things that make you go HOLY MOLY!!!
Hahaha not really. But we are in full preparatory mode. The room is painted. The dresser and crib are on the way (I assume since I ordered them months ago and they said they would get here). We are building the bassinet this weekend. The car seat is about to get unpacked. The clothes are getting washed. The bag just came out of the closet and I will pack it as I go along. Whoa. Lots doing in these parts.
35 weeks is crazy. Baby girl is big and that means I am big. And uncomfortable. Then I go my appointment and get an ultrasound to see how baby girl is breathing and check her fluid levels and I don't feel so uncomfortable anymore and I realize that before I know she will be in my arms. Today she flexed her foot for me and all I could think was that I will be kissing that foot so soon!!!
We are all anticipating her arrival. These days I go to the doctor once and week and we will start to make some plans. Next week I get another ultrasound to check her growth and that will be the real indicator on what comes next. Wahoo!!! So excited.
In other news:

• The job is still going great and we have hired a boss that will start April 10... probably moments before I start my leave... not really but it feels that way.
• Hubby's birthday is this week and we are still not making any plans. I will make him a special dinner, get him a cake and call it a night! Just what he wanted.
• This weekend is also Easter so we will get together with my family and my in-laws. It will be the last holiday we spend without our babygirl!
• The weather finally looks like it might want to cooperate and bring spring. Up until today it has been iffy, but the sun came out and it warmed up a bit and gave us all a little hope. The evenings are so nice because it stays light out until late. Lovin it!!

Watch out for my next post!! It could be the big announcement! Wahoo!

ciao

S

Another snow day

Again the predictions were wild. Some channels said 1-3 inches and some said 4-8; we probably got around 10+ inches in some areas. I can't really tell because I haven't been out much.
Hubby and I had to go out this morning for a dr appt. On the way back I was pretty sure that I wasn't making the trek into work. The roads were ridiculous. There were spin-outs everywhere and the radio was saying that there were accidents everywhere. Neither hubby nor I were looking forward to me on the road alone. I called and said that I would wait a few more hours to make a decision and when it didn't let up I decided to stay home. I've been working so I hope I don't have to take it as a day off; I'm hoarding my days for maternity leave... we'll see.
The appt this morning was interesting. Had another NST. Very different experience than in the hospital. This gal is big and uncooperative... much like her dad.
Today we talked a lot about inducing and c-sections. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.
ok, gotta get back to snow day work day.
Ciao
S

March

February out!
Whoa. That was a doozy of a month. Started out at a conference in Boston, which was great. Then a week later was the blizzard of the year! Some say the decade or even longer. We got 30ish inches at my house and stayed indoors for about 4 days. It took my hubby about 6 hours to clear it all. I felt so helpless to watch him from the window while he was doing all the heavy lifting. I was def ready to return to work after that, anything to get out of the house! The week after followed up with Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday (I spent in NY with my boss on a bunch of visits), Valentine's Day and then my birthday. Hubby and I tried to get reservations for the Sat night of my b-day weekend but most places were booked solid for V-day leftovers. So we stayed in and had a great time. We actually ended up going out to dinner the week after and had a super lovely time at one of our favorite restaurants. This weekend is just busy as all the rest have been; surprise dinner for a friend tonight, gym, taxes, groceries and a work event tomorrow and more visits with friends on Sunday! Whew.
Today marks 32 weeks pregnant. Baby girl is big (confirmed by both the crazy kicks in the ribs and the ultra sound from yesterday). The doctor is mildly concerned and we are working together to keep an eye on this. They are being really great to me and I appreciate it so much. I feel lucky to have such a great team looking after me and baby girl.
March also brings a b-day celebration for my hubby. For once in the 17 years that I've known him, I am going to abide by his wishes and not do a darn thing for him. He has said forever and a day that he hates his birthday and does not want to celebrate and every year I make him do something. I am the one that love love loves to celebrate and therefore don't understand his non celebratory stance. But not this year. He gets his way this year.
Not really much else to report. I am still loving the job and looking forward to welcoming a new boss soon. It has been a challenge to steer this ship with limited staff and I am excited at the prospect of building a great program here with someone that has so much experience. Not to say that I am not looking forward to my maternity leave too and glad that someone will be here in my absence.
One last nugget: This morning on the radio they said that meteorologically today is the first day of Spring... not sure what that means but BRING IT ON!!! (btw 9 days til Daylight Savings begins!)
Ciao for now!
xo
S