3 week appointment!

Hannah had her 3 week checkup today and had some blood drawn from her heel for the PKU testing. It hurt me to watch her scream and be in pain!!! She weighted 6 lbs 13 oz when we left the hospital and now weights 8 lbs 3 oz!!!! She's getting chunky! But still beautiful! I'm nursing so its great to know she's gaining weight, it means I'm doing something right!!! She is amazing, we are still in awe that she is our baby girl!!! I really think that the way you are when your pregnant and your personality really show through in your child, even baby (or newborn). I'm a very happy outgoing person (most days! ha) and she's that way too, always happy smiling, and just peaceful. For now right?!?! I will post her 3 week old pictures tomorrow! I forgot to take a 2 week old pic of her with a sign :( please forgive me! I will try harder! Well hope everyone enjoyed the update of our baby Hannah!!!! Goodnight!!!

Updated.......Finally!!

OK so here are the picture's that I promised! :) So last Wednesday after my doctor's appointment we had some visitors, the girls I babysat for, Chloe and Carson! They were so excited to meet Hannah! I love those girls and can't wait for Hannah to get big and start playing with them!! They are so well behaved and so much fun!!! I miss them!



Hannah is also 2 weeks old today!! Yay! I can't believe she is 2 weeks already!!!

On Friday we headed home to Richmond, VA for Hannah to meet the rest of the gang there!! Everyone fell in love with her and she was probably held all day on Saturday! (eeekk!!) But she was a great sport about it and slept really well that night!!! Here is a picture of Hannah with my grandparents (her great-grandparents) Nana Ernie and Papa Billy!!! They were in Texas when she was born and couldn't wait to get home to meet her!!!


It was a great time at home, a little crazy at times, but once she get's older it will be easier to get out and see people and do things!! We actually got out and had a great time at our friend Stacey and Nick's house!!! We got to see lots of friends that we have not seen in a long time!! Too bad I did not get any pictures :( We have all been friends since Elementary school so its awesome to finally catch up with everyone! We miss that part of being away, having people you have a history with. Again with being home, we got lots of baby clothes and this one outfit from my mom's friend, it was so cute and the grandma's sure loved it!! I have no idea why!! :o)


Well that about wraps up what we have been up too! Back in MD now and it's back to work for Daddy!! Hope everyone is doing good!!

Where did the weekeng go......????

Pic's are coming and more info but we took our first road trip to Richmond, VA this weekend to visit and have Hannah meet all our family and friends!!! It went very well and everyone loved her!!! I have not been feeling well, really tired and sore from a very busy weekend so hopefully tomorrow I will be able to upload the pics and write more! For now I'm off to give the little one a bath and then bedtime!!!

Time Flys when your having fun!!

I have to say, I thought I would be able to keep up on the blog, keep the house together, myself showered and decent looking, and relax!! HAHAHA the joke is on me! I have taken everyone's advice and nap when she naps, then its time to feed, (I'm nursing so it takes a while and only I can do it) then after feeding a much needed diaper change then play time and she's back to sleep! When I was pregnant and at home, time went by so slowly now the day fly's by!!! I look down and its 5:00 time for Daddy to get home!!!

This weekend we had Gemma (Remi's sister) and Kenny her boyfriend come up and visit, it was really nice to have some extra hands with Hannah and she just loved being held by both of them!! Of course I did not take any pictures!!! (Need to get better about that) Then Saturday night we had some friends of ours over, Erika and Kenny and their 6 month old little boy Toby, had a great dinner of crabcakes, veggies, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and cupcakes for dessert!!! Yummy! Thanks to Kenny (Gemma's BF) and Gemma for cooking and cleaning! It was awesome!!! I only took one picture of Hannah and Toby, its such a difference between them! I can't get over how fast they grow! It's just amazing!!! I can already till a difference in Hannah, her cheeks are filing out more, her eyelashes are getting darker, and more hair is growing. My mom thinks she looks like Remi, when we go home this weekend we will check out our baby pictures to find out!!! She has pretty dark blue eyes and dark hair and eyelashes but her eyebrows are still very blond. So we will see!!! She amazes us everyday!!! I would love to know what she is always dreaming of, because she smiles, giggles and just makes these adorable faces when she is sleeping!!!! Well off to try and get dinner together while Hannah is snoozing!! Hope everyone is having a great week!!!!

It's been ONE week......(and a few days)

Ok so Miss. Hannah has had a lot of firsts....... First trip home, first visit with lots of friends and family, first beer (it was St. Patty's Day come on!! ) haha first bath which she screamed the entire time, then later learned she loves them!! Her first dinner out to Luke's with the entire family! And celebrated her first week birthday!!!! Man we have been busy!!! We have had an amazing week, thanks to my parents for lending a huge hand!!! Thanks you guys are the best!!! They cooked, cleaned, entertained, allowed me to nap, and of course spoiled little Hannah! She is so alert and already cracking a smile, (I promise) she trys SO hard to hold her head up that she ends up looking like she is bobbing for apples or a bobble head doll!!! Really funny to watch! My folks are leaving today :( so it will just be Hannah and Me for most of the day (eekk!!!) while Remi is working then this weekend, we are having Gemma and Kenny come visit!!!! Gemma is an Aunt for the first time so she can't wait to get up here and see her niece!!!!! Hope everyone had a great week and once I (Ashley) get the hang of being a mom and this blogging thing I will be updating it more!!!









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Home Again Home Again

Ok, Now you get Ashley. I had intended to start this blog a while ago and like most things I wanted to do before baby came, I did not get it done. This way it gave Remi something to do while we just waited for the time when our baby wanted to meet us!!! So while I sat in pain for hours and hours, Remi sat and blogged about every little event that went on! He was wonderful! I could not have asked for a better coach, he was right there by my side the entire time. He brought me ice chips, massaged my back, calmed me down, and even held my head when I got sick. I love him!

Anyway now we are home and in mommy and daddy mode & we love every minute of it!!! She is even precious and perfect at 3am when she's crying and won't go to sleep!! We are actually lucky, we have so much help. My parents and brother and his girlfriend are up for the week, cooking, cleaning, helping me get Hannah on a schedule, just having people around makes the transition easier. Hannah has been doing the 2 1/2-3 hour feedings very well, then she naps and last night slept from 11pm-6:30am then, we snuggled for an hour in bed with daddy till he went off to work, then it was feeding time! She woke up happy and alert. She smiles already, coo's, laughs, and just gives you a look that melts your heart!!! Well that's about it for now, or till we upload more pictures of her first bath at home, her first St. Patrick's Day, and more!! And for those wondering, Remi has actually changed more diapers (even stinky ones) than me! I have heard that some were wondering if he knew how and he does it very well!!!!

Day 2 and we're out!

Hannah is sleeping now after getting her Hep-B shot and her foot pricked for a small army of tests. Momma still isn't sleeping. I don't know how she's still moving around on the couple of hours a night that she's getting!
Hannah kept us up to about 4am last night, either screaming for food or eating it. When she finally did sleep, she was out until 1130 or so this morning. Dr.s exams nor hairdryers could wake her!
Ash's Dr. told us this morning that we could either leave today or tomorrow, whatever we wanted, which confused Sue, our nurse. She wasn't sure how to write that up in the system! It seems that Dr. Lockhart is pretty vague in his orders on occasion!
So, if all goes according to plan, we'll be wheels up from the hospital about 7pm, and we'll have mommy and baby home and comfy by 8!

1 Day Old

Things have settled down around here now, with baby and momma almost having a routine. Hannah is eating voraciously at times, then sleeping deeply at others. She's a joy, she's probably only cried for about 5 minutes total in the last 24 hours.
Ashley is doing very well. Her stomach hurts from the uterus contracting down in size, and the ankle booties (which prevent clots) are a little constricting, but most of the time there is too much excitement in the room to focus on those things.

Visiting Hours

If anyone is interested, the hospital has no set visiting hours, permits up to 5 people in the room at once, and allows kids over 12, (oh, and we love guests) so if you are in the area, send Ashley an email or call either one of us for directions and more info.
We're likely going to be here until Saturday, then at home after that.

So what happened?

Here's the full story, now that we have gotten some sleep and rest!
Ash was technically in labor from 10pm on Tuesday on. Before that, the water was just broken and contractions were light but regular. She probably would have delivered the baby fairly quickly, had her pelvis been bigger or the baby's head smaller.
As it was, she contracted all evening, through the night, into the morning. The pain was incredibly intense, the Epidural lessened it for two hours, then the pain returned. A greater dose of epidural medicine was given, but with no results. By the time that the Dr. checked her at 5am, she was 4cm (up from 2cm at midnight). So with that admittedly small bit of progress, he adjusted her Pitocin dose, and left to go see office patients. By the time he returned at 11am, she was not dilated any further but was in a 10 out of 10 pain-wise with every contraction. I wasn't able to post anything in this time as I was allowing my hands to be used as stress balls. It was not the most enjoyable of mornings, but all of that was soon forgotten.
At 11:30am, when it was apparent that intervention was needed, the Dr. said "lets deliver this baby." He bumped two scheduled c-sections and Ashley was in the OR within 20 minutes. A few more minutes to let the anesthesia kick in (by the way Carrie, if you are reading this, one of the coolest jobs ever), and the surgery began. I'll write about that in another post, but being in the room during the operation was the experience of a lifetime.
When she popped out, her head resembled something from the Predator movie...it wasn't quite a conehead, but rather swept back (this photo shows it well). We're thinking that this was a result of the contractions trying to get the baby to move into an area for which it was too large. It's all but gone down now, btw. Completely normal for the head to flex like that.
Although the actual labor was painful and, as it turns out, unnecessary (with the operation), the whole process was nothing but rewarding for us both. We've got our little bundle of joy and we know that, for the next 11, a c-section (which neither of us was opposed to but never really considered as a possibility) is the most likely method of delivery. Also, I keep telling Ash that, after the pains of yesterday, everything else in life is going to seem easy!

Photos posted (and I'm a moron)

Photos are up at the Fotki site. Also, due to a communication difficulty in my brain, I mistakenly thought Hannah was spelled without an 'h'. I will dedicate the next 18 years to correcting this mistake.

Finally!

Oy. What a day. I'll post the full narrative later, but suffice to say the baby is here!!! At 12:14pm eastern, Ashley gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl, 7lbs even, 22 inches long, Hannah Elise Smith. Thank you to everyone who has been sending us messages all day, you'll understand later why it's taken us so long to post!

Photos to follow!!!

The Baby Smith Situation: Day 2

There's still no baby. Sorry! Momma has been up for most of the evening with moderate to severe contraction pains, which have been made better, but not eliminated, by the epidural. The Dr. will be in sometime soon to re-assess the situation.

Sweet Relief

The contractions were becoming too much to bear after being here about 20 hours, so Ashley was given an epidural just a few minutes ago. The doc was very professional and somewhat comedic, but with a very dry sense of humor. Almost as if he were British without the accent.
She's resting well now, dilated 3cm, fully effaced, just waiting to dilate more. Hopefully, with the new-found calm brought on the by the epidural, the process will begin to accelerate. We're now at 22 hours since her water broke, 19 hours at the hospital.
The folks just left to go to the house, where they will recharge their batteries and will return tomorrow morning for a hot cafeteria breakfast and, hopefully, a baby.

Full Swing

We're in full scale labor here since 10:00 pm eastern. Heavy contractions at regular intervals (like every 2 minutes), some dilation, 90% effacement, for those that are into technical terms.
Just got another shot of Stadol to try and make it through the next couple of hours.

A note about Facebooks

Incidentally, we cannot get to Facebook from the Hospital network...I have sporadic access to it (thanks to the impenetrable blast-shield of a baby-having building we are in) through my phone, but nothing regular or reliable, so Ash and I will have to wait until we get home to catch up on it.

Different strokes for different shifts

With each passing shift we learn more and more tricks and just general good info about this place, like Julie turning the bleep volume down and, our new nurse, Angie, showing us how to control the temp in the room.
I can put on a mean blood pressure cuff now, as well as push on some kneecaps with a vengeance. If watching Scrubs was my warm up, this is me in my prime. I'm not sure that Ashley shares the same sentiments, but by the time we get through 11 more of these pregnancies, we'll have the routine practically memorized.

Evening Update

Ashley has a regular Christmas Tree (or Menorah, if that's your persuasion) full of drips to the left of her bed now. The Stadol, after a brief but ferocious spout of nausea, has taken the edge off of the migraine-like headache and, now coupled with some anti-nausea medication, is lulling Ash into a sweet trance (that may even lead to some sleep)
We've been at this for 14 hours now...hopefully the parts of the anatomy that have to do certain actions in the process will accelerate that process with Ash resting. The contractions seem to be far more regular now, but probably still not at the level that indicates that the body is ready to push the baby out.

It's 5:00 somewhere...

...but here it's now 10 past 6. No baby. We're going to be here into the wee hours, folks!
Regular contractions every 2 minutes or so, lasting for nearly a minute. No dilation to speak of last time the doc checked. Ashley is doing well, a little cranky, but that's to be expected. I don't know that I would be doing as well as she is if I had to squeeze a rugby ball out of my body.

Julie = Cool

She knows how to turn down the volume on the machine of doom!!!

Bleeping machine of doom

Ashley is hooked up to a birthing monitor system, which simultaneously monitors the baby's heartbeat, Ashley's uterine contractions, and takes her blood pressure.
This device also beeps mercilessly.
Everytime the device skips a contraction, detects an odd beat, or takes the blood pressure of the hospital bed while Ash is in the restroom, the thing starts up like a German U-Boat diving away from Allied depth charges.
We're into shift #3 now, still no real concrete labor process. The nurse, Julie now, is upping the concentration of Pitocin every 15 minutes, so hopefully things will be opening up soon!

Afternoon Tea

No tea here, but it's just that time. Ashley is resting now, with the Pitocin (thanks, Caroline [ed: too many people with the same name]!) taking more of an effect. Contractions harder and closer now, but still no baby! Our nurse rotates out at 3:30pm, which means we'll likely see a third shift of nurses. Hopefully jr. will arrive before we see shift #4!

The Lunchtime Update

So we're sitting here, still lightly contracting, getting ready to grab a bite (those of us that can eat). Ashley is being very patient, drinking only the clear liquids and eating the jello and Popsicles that are allowed.
The Dr. had our nurse, Kim, start the Pertosin (which I am probably misspelling) to heighten the contractions and speed things up a bit. Ashley is now hooked up to the IV pump and the blood pressure cuff, making her look something like Darth Vader with all the tubes and whatnot coming off her. She's a trooper!

Commenting Fixed

We've fixed the commenting having to be a registered user...so that's no longer an issue to folks who want to comment on our witty and well-written posts! :)

The Ins and the Outs

All the *laws are here, in and out. Both fought DC traffic fiercely and proved themselves worthy of watching Ashley squeeze little niblet out! Still having contractions, about 3-4 minutes apart, steadily increasing in intensity, but not unbearable yet.

Update and More Photos

We've just gotten back from our second set of laps around the ward. Ashley walks very fast for a pregnant person, especially taking corners! She's doing well, but no baby yet!

All photos are posted here: http://public.fotki.com/therumrunner/2009/its-ababy/

There's also a slideshow at the bottom of the page, but the full page is better!

Difficulties Resolved

We can now post photos, as long as they are small. Ashley actually likes this, as it shows less detail...so its a win-win-win. Photos should appear at the bottom of the page, under all the posts. :)

Contraction Junction

They're about 3-4 minutes apart! 30 seconds or so long! Perfect uterine form!

Technical Difficulties

We've been trying to post photos, but the hospital blocks uploads (and anything with the word 'facebook' in it, apparently. In fact, this post will probably get ganked. Stay tuned, we'll find a way...

Could it really be on time?

We're sitting here, Ashley is strapped to a machine monitoring contractions and the baby's heartbeat. The contractions are every 3-5 minutes, for about 30 seconds in duration. Heartbeat is 133. Just in case you are following at home. Will the baby be born today? Only time will tell!

It's 3(:45)am and I want to go to bed!

"I think you are getting your wish" Ashley says, as she shakes me awake at 3:45 am. I was dreaming peacefully of....well, something. I don't really recall, but I know it was peaceful. Then it was a flurry of socks, underwear, toiletries, and electronics as we got ready to leave the house.
We made it out of the door by 5:30, on the road to AAMC. A quick stop by McDonalds for some greasy b-fast goodness, and we were there. Well, almost. Ashley was giving me directions to the hospital (which I know how to get to, by the way) and they were confusing. So we went by it twice before we made it there. But we still had plenty of time!