Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Last 9 Months
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| 13 weeks |
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| 19 weeks |
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| 24 weeks |
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| 25 weeks |
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| 28 weeks |
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| 30 weeks |
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| 31 weeks |
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| 32 weeks |
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| 33 weeks |
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| 34 weeks |
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| 35 weeks |
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| 36 weeks |
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| 37 weeks! |
One Month Later. . .
To say that a lot has changed since the last post is definitely an understatement!
We'd like to introduce you to Sydney Kate Fitzmaurice!
She was born May 9th at 9PM and was 5lbs 8oz, 18 inches long.
So how did we get here??
Well. . .unfortunately, around the last week of April, I started having really severe round ligament pain that brought us to the hospital. I spent the night at Sutter Memorial on pain medication and was told by Dr. Chan, "NO MORE WORK!" This was a week earlier than planned so needless to say, there were a lot of loose ends that I couldn't wrap up. :( I spent that week trying to stay somewhat comfortable but was unable to sleep due to pain that I was also having in my hip/pelvis area. It was extremely uncomfortable to sleep on either side so I spent many nights pacing around the house and icing my pain.
After about two weeks of very little sleep and pain, on May7th, I started to get some unusual cramping that was exacerbating the ligament and pelvic pain that I was already having. Walking around seemed to help so despite the discomfort, I decided to go to the Sacramento Rivercats game. ??
That night the pain got much worse and continued to worsen over the course of the next day. By Sunday night, Kevin and I had a decision to make. Do we go to the hospital again? I was out of pain meds and we didn't like the idea of me taking MORE meds when I had three more weeks before my due date. Sunday night, we ended up driving in and the pain had me in tears.
After being hooked up to the monitors, the triage Nurse asked me, "Did you know that you're having contractions?" Well, I knew that I had some unusual cramping but it was still noting compared to the pain that I had endured the two weeks prior!
The on-call Dr decided to admit me even though I was only 1-2cm dilated. They just couldn't send me home in the pain that I was in. Kevin and I spent the night in the labor room - poor Kevin had to make due with the recliner they provided but having him by my side was all I could ever ask for.
The next day, I stayed medicated for the pain until about 11AM. At that point I was still 1-2cm dilated and Dr. Chan decided that at noon, we'd start the Epidural and the Pitocin. At 2PM, Dr. Chan broke the bag of waters, and by 3PM, I was 5cm. By 6:45PM I was told I was at 10cm and that it was time to push!
Having my family and Kevin by my side was the best thing I could ask for!
Ericka and Kevin - you both got my through the toughest 24 hours! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
After 2 hours and 15mins, and ending up with a 102 fever, Syndey was born and the next 10 mins were heartbreaking. The cord was wrapped around her neck and her color was off. She was whisked from the room, and my family followed. I was left in the labor room wondering what was going on. Then about 30 mins later, Syndey Kate was wheeled in, already in her Isolette, and I was told she was being taken to the NICU to address the fluid in her lungs which was causing very belabored breathing.
That night was very emotional for us. I was brought to the Post-Partum room, after visting Syndey in the NICU (very difficult), and was told that Kevin could stay in the second bed that was in the shared room, and was instructed that I should start pumping right away.
I stayed in the hospital until Thursday, May 12th, and was discharged - without Sydney. By that time, she was on an antiobiotic cycle (due to the fever I contracted during labor) and was receiving phototherapy for her jaundice. Our drive home was very sad.
Kevin and I went back and forth to the hospital for two feedings a day for the next four days, and to bring Sydney milk, and then FINALLY - we were able to take her home on Tuesday, May 17th!
Check out more pictures of Sydney here!
We'd like to introduce you to Sydney Kate Fitzmaurice!
She was born May 9th at 9PM and was 5lbs 8oz, 18 inches long.
So how did we get here??
Well. . .unfortunately, around the last week of April, I started having really severe round ligament pain that brought us to the hospital. I spent the night at Sutter Memorial on pain medication and was told by Dr. Chan, "NO MORE WORK!" This was a week earlier than planned so needless to say, there were a lot of loose ends that I couldn't wrap up. :( I spent that week trying to stay somewhat comfortable but was unable to sleep due to pain that I was also having in my hip/pelvis area. It was extremely uncomfortable to sleep on either side so I spent many nights pacing around the house and icing my pain.
After about two weeks of very little sleep and pain, on May7th, I started to get some unusual cramping that was exacerbating the ligament and pelvic pain that I was already having. Walking around seemed to help so despite the discomfort, I decided to go to the Sacramento Rivercats game. ??
That night the pain got much worse and continued to worsen over the course of the next day. By Sunday night, Kevin and I had a decision to make. Do we go to the hospital again? I was out of pain meds and we didn't like the idea of me taking MORE meds when I had three more weeks before my due date. Sunday night, we ended up driving in and the pain had me in tears.
After being hooked up to the monitors, the triage Nurse asked me, "Did you know that you're having contractions?" Well, I knew that I had some unusual cramping but it was still noting compared to the pain that I had endured the two weeks prior!
The on-call Dr decided to admit me even though I was only 1-2cm dilated. They just couldn't send me home in the pain that I was in. Kevin and I spent the night in the labor room - poor Kevin had to make due with the recliner they provided but having him by my side was all I could ever ask for.
The next day, I stayed medicated for the pain until about 11AM. At that point I was still 1-2cm dilated and Dr. Chan decided that at noon, we'd start the Epidural and the Pitocin. At 2PM, Dr. Chan broke the bag of waters, and by 3PM, I was 5cm. By 6:45PM I was told I was at 10cm and that it was time to push!
Having my family and Kevin by my side was the best thing I could ask for!
Ericka and Kevin - you both got my through the toughest 24 hours! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
After 2 hours and 15mins, and ending up with a 102 fever, Syndey was born and the next 10 mins were heartbreaking. The cord was wrapped around her neck and her color was off. She was whisked from the room, and my family followed. I was left in the labor room wondering what was going on. Then about 30 mins later, Syndey Kate was wheeled in, already in her Isolette, and I was told she was being taken to the NICU to address the fluid in her lungs which was causing very belabored breathing.
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| Sydney, the morning of May 10th. |
That night was very emotional for us. I was brought to the Post-Partum room, after visting Syndey in the NICU (very difficult), and was told that Kevin could stay in the second bed that was in the shared room, and was instructed that I should start pumping right away.
I stayed in the hospital until Thursday, May 12th, and was discharged - without Sydney. By that time, she was on an antiobiotic cycle (due to the fever I contracted during labor) and was receiving phototherapy for her jaundice. Our drive home was very sad.
Kevin and I went back and forth to the hospital for two feedings a day for the next four days, and to bring Sydney milk, and then FINALLY - we were able to take her home on Tuesday, May 17th!
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| Yay! We're going home! |
Check out more pictures of Sydney here!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Showered with Love
Great friends Liz, Genevieve & Jessica hosted a shower in honor of Baby Reichard and Baby Fitz at the Ly Household on April 10th. It was so wonderful for us all to catch up - both the guys and the girls. We had a yummy lunch, decorated onesies, and even had a bottle chugging contest - not easy!
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| Yvonne, G, Rox, Viv, Mel, Sienna, Nicole, Liz & Jess |
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| Jay, Jason, Derek, Kevin, Hung & Patrick |
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sugar & Spice!
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| The favor bags for the sweets |
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| The table decor |
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| The cake! |
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| Some of the goodies |
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| Rox with Uncle Ali and Auntie Yoli |
We had delicious a Mexican lunch - yummy tamales (hence the "Spice" in the "Sugar and Spice" theme!) and played of bunch of games before opening all of the wonderful gifts.
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| Grandma Lindemann guesses my belly size |
Once again, I was so honored to have so many friends and family come to support Kevin and myself during this exciting time. We received so many wonderful gifts and even three handmade blankets, which are so special to have! We will cherish them always.
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| Ali, Yoli, Mo, Ericka & Rox |
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| Andre, Yoli, Ali, Rox & Kevin |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Childbirth Classes: Check
For the last five weeks, Kevin and I have been attending the "Ready, Set, Deliver!" series of childbirth prep classes hosted by Sutter Hospital. Overall, it was a really great experience and a fantastic way to ease us into what to expect around the Labor and Delivery process.
We learned about the 3 stages of labor, and the various breathing techniques to get us through! Kevin will be a GREAT labor coach - I know it!! (No pressure Kevin!) We also talked about the potential medical interventions we can expect, toured Labor & Delivery at Sutter Memorial (labor and postpartum rooms), and how to cope with the numerous physical and emotional changes that we'll both be experiencing.
Last night, we attended a breastfeeding class, in which we covered how to get our baby girl to "latch," the importance of the bonding and skin-to-skin contact that will occur immediately after delivery, and the feeding schedule we should prepare for during the first 6 months.
LOTS of information - how are we going to remember it all!?! How will we know if we're doing it the "right" way??
The good news is that we're going to figure it out together and the best thing that we can do is take in all of the information made available to us, leverage the resources we've been given, but most importantly, we'll follow our instincts and our hearts and we'll be just fine.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Another Party in Honor of Baby Fitz
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| The gang's all here! |
We were fortunate to celebrate for a second time in honor of Baby Fitz, last Saturday, March 12th. Grammie Dawnie and Grandpa Jud hosted a great party for close family and friends that included a delicious lunch, Baby Shower Bingo, and of course, presents and cake!
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| Daddy Kevin tests out the new stroller |
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