Being a Mom!

Well being a mom is great but it is time consuming. It seems like as soon as I have fed and changed Ruby, I have a second to breath and then I get to do it all again. I love being a mom but I am definitely adjusting to our new schedule and way of life.
Well to keep everyone updated, we came home from the hospital last Saturday. We were glad that we were all able to come home together because Ruby had to spend her first night in the NICU. Her oxygen levels kept dropping and she couldn't keep them up by herself, so they took her down to NICU to keep an eye on her. Well as soon as they took her down there, she was able to breath on her own (of course). They kept her in NICU until the morning to make sure that she would be okay. When our pediatrician came to check on her Friday he explained to us that normally they would not consider this a reason to bring a baby to NICU but it was IHC's policy. Most babies take about 4 hours to breath on their own but it took Ruby about 7 hours, so that is why they took her down.

Ready to go home!!!

The day that we were released from the hospital, they checked her jaundice level and she was at a 12. I guess that when they get into the mid twenties they really start to worry because it means that their liver is not working properly (I think). So on Sunday our pediatrician had us bring her back to the hospital to have her tested again to make sure that it didn't jump to much. Well it had jumped up to 19, so he wanted her on the lights. Let's just say that she hated to lay on the bed because she had to just lay there with her diaper on and she likes to be bundled up tight. So on Sunday night, Aubree stayed over to help. It was a very long night of crying and no sleep. On Monday we went back to the doctor and she had only dropped to 14 so we got to have another night with the lights. On Tuesday I took her back to the doctor and this time she had dropped to 12.5, so he gave us clearance to not use the lights for a few days. Then on Thursday I took her back for one last check and the doctor told us that she looked great so we were officially done with the whole jaundice thing. Thank Goodness!

The light bed to help with her jaundice.

It was really fun to see how Abe responded to Ruby. He has gotten used to having the house to himself. He was really curious and he loves to smell her. He came up and got right next to her while she was in her bouncer. Ruby doesn't mind him but he is now acting jealous and picked on. I guess it might take a little bit for him to realize that now someone has taken his place as #1.

Ruby's 1st encounter with Abe! Nose to Nose!!!

It has also been fun to see the way that Will has taken to being a dad. He is so cute with her and he loves to hold and cuddle her. Her favorite place to sleep is on his chest while he lying down. This morning he woke up to feed her at six and brought her out to the living room. Well I fell back asleep until 10:30 and he just hung out with her and let me catch up on my sleep. He is a great dad and I am lucky to have him!

She HATES the bath!
Sweet Girl!

She's here!

I am just going to do a quick post to let you all know that Ruby is here! She came yesterday at 2:43 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and she was 18 1/2 inches long. She had to be in nicu last night because she couldn't keep her oxygen level up. The pediatrician came and checked her this morning and said that she looked great. She was able to come and stay with us in our room after she was released. She is so adorable!!! We are all coming home tomorrow and we are excited she's here!

She's coming tomorrow!

I went to my doctor's again today and I have great news! I am being induced tomorrow!!! I am 39 weeks today so I went in for my weekly check up. On Thursday, of last week, I started to have a really itchy stomach so I thought that it was just dry. I put on lotion every few hours to help it. Wrong thing to do! It just irritated something and I broke out with a huge rash all over my stomach. So on Friday I called the nurse and she told me to take some Benadryl and call if it got worst. They thought it was just a heat rash. So, since then I have been rubbing a Benadryl cream on my stomach about 4 times a day and trying not to itch it. Then yesterday, I started to notice that the bumps were spreading to my legs and closer to my back. I tried not to panic and I made sure that I mentioned it to my doctor today.
So when I went in today I mentioned the rash and how it was spreading and not getting better. He took a look and informed me that it wasn't a heat rash like they thought, it was something called PUPPS. PUPPS is something that some pregnant women develop during the 3rd trimester of their pregnancy. It is not harmful to the baby but it itches like crazy. It looks like hives but they never go away! The only thing to get rid of it, is to deliver your baby. Dr. Merrill said that he could give me stuff to help the itch, but it would not go away and it will get worse as it gets warmer. His suggestion was to induce me tomorrow because this can be considered a medical reason to be induced and it won't go away. Well, there was no argument from me!!! So he called the hospital to schedule it and I am 4th on the list. He said that I should be fine to be induced because I am dilated to a 3 and 85 % effaced, so my body should handle it okay. I am glad that I am effacing because he said that he wouldn't have induced me if my cervix wasn't softening.
So to sum it up, I am being induced tomorrow and I am so happy! I will be glad to finally have Ruby here! I will post pictures soon and let you all know how we are doing.

Still the same!

I went to the Dr.'s today and I am pretty much still the same. I am 80% effaced and dilated to a 2 maybe a 3. He said that I could go any day or I could be pregnant for a few more weeks. The good news is that he said that he can induce me right at 41 weeks, if we need to. So that is only 3 weeks from tomorrow, on June 24th (let's hope I come before then). There really is an end in sight!!! By all of my symptoms he doesn't think I'll make it to my due date, but who really knows. I'll keep everyone updated.
School is now out and it is wonderful! It was over on Friday. I am teaching summer school this week, just so I don't go crazy! It is really easy cause the students only come from 9-11:30 and there is only about 15 that come. It's easy money and it's helping to keep me sane!!!

Showered with love!

I just wanted to take a minute and thank all of my great friends and family that showered me and Ruby with love. During the month of May, I have had people throwing showers for me and Ruby. It started with Will's mom, aunts and Grandma. Then I had my great friends Audrey and Kira throw me one. Next was the 1st grade team at my school and that one was a complete surprise!!! Then Sariah threw me one for our ward. Next, one of my dance classes threw me a surprise shower at the end of class. Last my sweet sisters, all 5 of them, and my mom threw me one yesterday. Ruby got tons of great things and she will definitely be the best dressed little girl! Thank you so much. We are glad that you are in our lives and we can't wait till Ruby gets to meet all of you!!!

3 Weeks to Go!

So I went to the doctor's yesterday and everything looks the same. He said that I am still 80% effaced and dilated to a 2. I am still having contractions but they have slowed down to about 8-10 minutes apart. So now we are just playing Ruby's waiting game. He said that she could come tomorrow or wait a few weeks. It's all up to her! Let's hope she wants to come soon!!!
I went back to work today and we only have 2 days left!!! I am planning on teaching summer school next week, unless I am having a baby. I figure why not make a little extra money instead of sitting around. We have our dance festival tomorrow and then a lot of my students get checked out right after. Last year I only had 6 kids stay out of my 26 kids. On Friday, the kids only come from 8:45-10:15 and then the teachers have a luncheon. I can't believe how fast this year has gone.

Nothing is stopping these contractions!!!

I have now officially been having contractions since Wednesday morning! I started having consistent contractions on Wednesday morning and by lunchtime they were 3-4 minutes apart but they didn't really hurt. So around 2 I called my doctor and he said to go to labor and delivery to get checked. So we went to the hospital thinking it might be time for Ruby to come.
They checked me and told me I was 70% effaced and dilated to a 1, maybe a 2. Well a few days earlier, when I saw my doctor I was only 25% effaced and not dilated at all. So I had made some progress since then. While at the hospital, my contractions went to 1-3 minutes apart. They called Dr. Merrill to see what they wanted to do, because going by my 1st due date I was 38 1/2 weeks along but going by my second due date (June 17th) I was only 36 weeks along. My Dr. wanted them to give me the shot to stop the contractions to see if we could give Ruby a few more days to cook! So they sent me home but my contractions continued to come about every 4 minutes and they never stopped like they wanted them too. They told me to come back when they were about 2-3 minutes apart and a little uncomfortable, because they weren't really hurting me when they were 1-2 minutes apart in the hospital.
So today I woke up and they started out being only 2-3 minutes apart. By about 9 o'clock this morning they were 1-2 minutes when I was walking around and they were more uncomfortable but I could still talk fine through them. So we went to the hospital again and they checked me. I was now 80% effaced and I hadn't dilated any more. But my contractions were now 1-2 minutes apart and the last shot they gave me did nothing to them, when they should have stopped them. So my Dr. had them give me a shot of morphine to see if we could get my uterus to stop contracting. They also told me I had to stay down all weekend until Monday. If I wasn't having any contractions, I could go to work on Tuesday and then go to my doctor on Wednesday because that would put me to 37 weeks and then it wouldn't be considered a preterm birth. Well since I have a great principal, she has already gotten me a sub for all of next week and she told me to stay down.
I have been out all day, because of the morphine, but the contractions haven't stopped yet. They have slowed down, but it should have stopped it. So now we just have to wait until they are really painful or my water breaks. I guess we'll see what happens in the next few days. I wish my body would respond to the things they're doing. Especially since they won't let me have her until Wednesday. So I guess we'll see what Ruby has in mind!!!