11/21/12 the beginning of our NEW "normal"

 As difficult as this whole process has been, I think writing my birth story will be therapeutic.
Here we go! (FYI There are some pictures... none are graphic. Just a fair warning!)
Let me start off with this. I was "due" November 5th. That day came and went. I didn't think much of it because with Lydia I went 40 weeks and 2days. After 40 weeks came and went and I was headed quickly into 41 weeks I began to get discouraged and tired. Thinking back on my many thoughts of "this baby is never going to come" are now silly. Babies always show up... it might just take a little longer for some to come around. 

Anyhow, November 16th I started having a few contractions. Nothing major, no pain. Just a few every now and again. No big deal. They started coming a bit closer together after I drank my Castor oil milkshake (yes, I WAS THAT desperate.... TWICE!). I called my midwife, Kim, and she decided she had better head over. She came over and timed my contractions, checked the baby's heartbeat, my blood pressure, and started me on some herbal supplements to make my contractions stronger. She was there with her student midwife, Emily. About an hour into their visit and some walking the block in the cold with Hillary and Nathanael, we decided that this wasn't going anywhere. My contractions had stopped. Just stopped. Everyone went home and I went to bed. Nothing. Major let down. I had another appointment with her on the 19th. Everyone was hoping I wouldn't make it to the appointment. That I would have the baby sooner. Sure enough I made it to the appointment where we decided to sweep my membranes. I ended up being 2cm dilated and 50-75% effaced. It didn't do anything though. I think maybe some cramping but that was it. I kept in close contact with Kim for the next few days trying to decide what to do since we were rapidly closing in on 42 weeks. We decided that another round of Castor oil milkshakes were in the plan. So, I started them up again. Wednesday the 21st of November (41 weeks and 6 days) at 9AM I drank my second Castor oil milkshake. I had Nathanael stay home from work and my mom watched Lydia. I texted Kim and Hillary to let them know they deed had been done (or was being done). About a half an hour later the milkshake came back to haunt me. I couldn't keep it down (sorry! But its part of the story). I immediately texted Kim and asked her what to do. She said to come in to the office and she would check to see my progress (if there was any). She checked me and sure enough.... No change! BLAH! We decided to go ahead and sweep my membranes again and see if that helped. She got me to 4cm before I left the office. We decided that the plan would be to go home rest, maybe do some walking, squats, anything to get contractions going (You name it, I tried it!) and if nothing happened by 7 PM she would be on her way to my house to break my water! The drive home was exciting! I felt some cramping. Maybe a few slight contractions but nothing major. I was going to have my baby SOON! Like really soon. I would finally get to meet her face to face by early morning at the latest! I called Hillary to give her an update. I also texted Audrey and asked if she would come. I had a feeling I might need extra hands with Lydia and needed an extra calming spirit! When we got home I rested on the couch while mom and Nathanael made sure everything was prepared. Nothing more happened contraction wise. Kim texted around 6PM to see how I was. She decided to head over to the house after dinner and see if we couldn't get the ball rolling. She arrived around 7:45PM and we got right down to business. Lydia had fallen asleep per her schedule so we used my mom's room to break my water in. My water was broken around 8:15PM. I labored in the living room, chatting and laughing between contractions. Holding onto Nathanael when they got stronger. They came on quickly after my water broke (just like they did with Lydia). After a bit Kim told me she thought it would be okay for me to get in the water. Hillary, Audrey, and Nathanael had been heating up pot of water to pour into the pool to keep it warm enough. Lydia woke up sometime after me getting in the pool so my mom held her on the couch and she fell back asleep quickly. I got in the pool and allowed myself to go to my birth place in my mind. But I couldn't get comfortable. I remembered with Lydia being most comfortable on the toilet but this time I couldn't find my spot. I labored in the pool while being given ice water and having frozen towels (thank you Audrey for that idea!!) put around my neck. Nathanael was in the pool with me being my rock the entire time. Every time I moved he got onto his hands and knees so I could lean on him like a table. 
About ten minutes before Leonora was born I went to the bathroom to sit on the toilet thinking it would be more comfortable. I was wrong. But as I walked down the hall to the bathroom I heard Kim say, "Are you going to make it back?" I said, "I don't know." to which her reply was, "ummm... okay. Well, let me know if you feel her head." It was pretty hysterical. I wish I had the energy to laugh then!
 I made it back to the tub where I started to get the urge to push... I thought. I wasn't totally sure. I even said, "I think I'm pushing." So, I went with it. And with a few "Oh my God"s and one quick leg movement Leonora was born! Big sister even woke up just in time to meet her little sissy. 10:26PM November 21st, 2012. Two and a half hours BEFORE Thanksgiving (Lydia was 21 mins AFTER Easter). Two and a half hours before my 42 week mark. Four pushes. She was covered in vernix and had a head full of dark, thick, curly hair. After (almost) 42 weeks my second beauty was here. At home. In the water. Just like I had planned. My labor and delivery was beautiful.

Filling the pool

First hard contraction

My rock

Trying not to break Mrs. Areline's fingers

Lovey and big sister

Hiney and Lydia

Shes here!

Newborn exam

My second little lamb

A LONG time coming.

This blog is a long time coming for more than one reason.
First, LEONORA IS HERE!! YAY!!!!!!!! (I know  you all knew that already but whatever!) After 41weeks and 6 day she was born at home, in the water, on November 21, 2012 (a few hours before Thanksgiving... Go figure. My kids ALWAYS miss the holidays by a few hours!) at 10:26pm after a 2 hour labor! She was 7lbs 2oz and 21 1/4 inches long.

Since then our lives have been a roller coaster to say the least. She was born full term (obviously) but had some premature qualities (which I'll write about when I get the time to write about her birth story). Nobody could figure it out and after a few hours of not being able to regulate her body temperature we decided to take her to the ER to find out what was going on. We all figured a few warming blankets some monitoring and we would be headed home. The Dr.s said lets watch her for 48 hours and then we should be good to go. 48 hours turned into five days. Five days into a week and a week into four weeks. She has been put through every test imaginable and every scan there is. Everything came back normal until one day her bilirubin levels went back up after a round of photo therapy. Thankfully this caught the Dr.'s attention and he decided to run some labs on her thyroid as extended jaundice levels are a sign of hypothyroidism. The results came back quickly and we were excited (weird I know) to hear that they were abnormal. FINALLY some sort of clue as to what was going on and why she couldn't come home. He informed us that they thyroid results weren't the part that was abnormal but the results from the pituitary gland (what controls your hormones... you would be surprised what gets affected when you lack hormones) were. He was going to transfer us to Tampa General Hospital where there was an endocrinologist who he had been contacting about Leonora.
It was SO hard to see her get loaded up into the little box thing that they use to transport the babies. I knew then that we were in for a long journey. Luckily when we got to Tampa General they already had a clue as to what direction to look. They started on the hormones they knew she was lacking and we had a pretty decent turn around. She was already starting to act like a different kid. Better and better each day. 

She is still doing really well. We have taken one step forward and what feels like a MILLION back but Nathanael has been here to assure me that its only one step back or sometimes even a half of a step. Right now we are still working on her eating properly. She has some congestion and we arent sure why which is making it a bit difficult for her to breathe and eat. We started her on a special bottle that seems to be easier than breast feeding (Which we werent having so much of an issue with as it was we werent thinking she was getting enough to eat due to her suck not being strong.... muscle issue due to hormones which it getting better) so we will actually be getting rid of the bottle and going back to the breast (Dr.'s recommendation which made me really happy... At this point I just want her to eat LOL). So, the next couple of days are really going to be crucial. I will probably be living, breathing, eating hospital (Like I havent been already LOL). I will probably be staying the night there to do every feeding by breast and hopefully see some sort of turn around. She will be seeing one more specialist about her congestion to see if it is caused from reflux or if there is an actual blockage there (which would also mess with feeding).

There is also a possibility that she will go home with a G tube (a feeding tube that goes directly into her stomach but is not permanent). I'm saying this so people aren't shocked or upset when they first see her and she has a tube connected to her. The Dr has already said we are going to try everything before a g tube get placed because he doesn't want to rush her on anything but he also knows that the place she will heal most is at home. He said that it will most likely be another week or two in the hospital depending on the results from the specialist and how she does with feedings. Either way she is going to be fine. We all will be (Her big sister is a TROOPER!! She has done nothing but amaze me through this whole thing... I'm blessed with some pretty amazing girls!). Its our new normal. And that's okay because shes her own person and this is her story.

Thankfully it was caught early on so there is no permanent damage to any of the organs that run off the hormones she was lacking. She will be on them for the rest of her life as there is no reversing this or making her pituitary grow.

The cause is unknown and isn't able to be detected in utero. In fact they grown normally while inside and are usually term babies with a normal birth weight and length. It is a rare condition that occurs in 1 out of 100,000. We are just that lucky! ;) 

Other than that shes healthy! She is a beautiful little girl who is extremely strong! We are so blessed and thankful to have her in our family! Its going to be a long journey and I know that this is just the beginning but I wouldn't change it for the world.