Chloe's first bath

I was able to get some fantastic sleep today (thanks Rob!) after a long night last night. Chloe was very good I feel much more like a rockstar breastfeeding with the miracle invention of a nipple shield. I like it, Chloe likes it, it's here to stay! :)

This afternoon, we took the leap and gave her a bath. Well, a sponge bath really since her cord hasn't fallen off yet. She tolerated the whole experience pretty well. She didn't like being chilled, and she certainly let us know how she felt about it.

Here's a picture from the hospital... the combos were contraband and they tasted great.

Here are some pictures from yesterday and today.

Pretty as a...

Isn't she lovely?

Things continue to go well. We haven't been getting much sleep, but I know that's to be expected. Chloe is so cute. She is sleeping well (better during the day than at night), is very alert when she's awake and is eating like a rock star. She tends to fall asleep after about 10 minutes, but I've been able to keep things going.

Yesterday we went to the doctor's to check on Chloe's jaundice. The doctor got the results late and was nice enough to call us at 9pm when he got the results to let us know that everything is fine. She was up 1 point to 12 something. But my milk has come in, she's eating and pooing on a regular basis, so we've probably turned the corner on all of it.

Later in the day yesterday, we ventured to Cub (after Rob went to Discount Tire to have them fix our leaking tire, which had a small nail in it - thank God we didn't get stuck somewhere on our first venture out!!!). I had a couple of things to pick up with the pharmacy and we got a couple of meals. I was moving really slow, but other than that the trip went very well. It also gave us the opportunity to use our "travel system" for the first time - very smooth and we were glad that we have it. Today was a mellow day for me. I was able to get in a couple of naps, while Chloe was sleeping.

I'm having problems posting pictures, will try to add them in another post.

Say hello!

Hi Everyone!
Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's some good reading!

Before:

During

and the outstanding results

Chloe Rae Bolla

Chloe Rae Bolla joined our family Sunday, 10/21/07 at 8:54 am. She weighs 8 lbs 1 oz, 21 and 3/4 inches long. She has a full head of very dark hair and is beautiful (of course). All of us are doing great and we will be leaving the hospital sometime on Wednesday. I will share pictures when I get home.

It's about 6 and I just got done feeding her and bringing her back to the nursery so I could get some sleep, but wanted to share our great news.

Maybe room at the inn

I called about 50 minutes ago (after I did get some more sleep) and they still did not have any beds available. We just got a call from the charge nurse, who asked us to be in at 9. So, now we are officially getting up and ready to leave. Let's hope a lot of other moms pushed out their babies and they found beds for them all so they don't get in our way today! hehe

No room at the inn

Well... 5 am. Mercy called. They don't have any beds for me at 6:15, so instead of sitting in a waiting room, I should go back to bed and try to get some sleep. She said they would have some discharges, but everytime someone leaves someone else walks in the door. At the very least it won't be 6:15. She said that they would call us later with an update.

A pleasant surprise

I tried to prepare myself for today's appointment. I'm not comfortable, according to people at work I'm "huge", I'm getting close to my due date with the diabetes the kid is probably already big and I want to be put on the schedule to be induced on my due date. I'm not taking no for an answer. I brought my back up. Rob was also prepped. He was going to ask about how far past our due date we would be allowed to go. We were going to get answers! :)

So, we show up for our appointment. They are running on time (which never happens), my weight is fine, my blood pressure is fine. The doctor comes in and says, "Well, let's see what is going on. If there is anything maybe we can push things along today." What exactly does that mean, I ask. "Well, let's just check things out..." and then - "I'd like to get you on the schedule to be induced tomorrow. How does that sound? I'll go make sure they have an opening." She came back and said we are expected at the hospital at 6:15.

Let's pretend that it was Rob and my power of persuasion.

Wish us luck!

You're still here?!

I know I'm not the only one who has experienced this, but I do have to comment. I know I don't have a great filter between my head and my mouth, but I can keep my mouth shut when I should. There are some other people: not so much. I am walking to my desk Monday morning (I still have my coat on and everything) and this girl I barely know, but is typically very nice, drops her jaw and says "Oh my God, you are HUGE!" and "You're still here?!?"


I should have thanked her for inspiring me to continue to come to work everyday when it's so easy to pop out of bed and sprint to my desk every day. :-)


Then, another day, I'm making copies and a woman from another department who I've been in about 2 meetings with and who I barely say hello to when we pass in the hall, starts grilling me about breastfeeding. I understand people have strong opinions, but sharing them in the copy room with a complete stranger? I did a lot of listening and understood her point of view, but let's say I completely disagreed with what she was saying. Did she honestly think that I would change my mind because of her opinion and what decided to share with me? Crazy!

My friends and coworkers have been great and it's so nice how supportive most people are in general - so I will take the off the wall remarks and file them away in the "Aren't you glad you have more tact than that person" file - I know we all have one!

:-)

Are we there yet?

I had a nice relaxing weekend. My good friends Sarah, Deb and Emily brought me out to eat and for a pedicure on Saturday. We also got some shopping in. It was very nice and relaxing and I really appreciated the time being pampered! My boss' threats to Sarah and Deb that the pedicure "better not" put me into labor worked. My feet look fabulous, but nothing else is going on.

I got some good sleep last night. I think I only had to get up 3 times during the night, and I barely woke up when I did. I also slept in this morning, so I'm feeling very rested - which obviously may be the last time I type that in years.

Rob and I made a trip into Babies R Us today. We picked up things that we think we are going to need - though I'm sure we forgot or aren't aware of something (s)... Making my list of things to bring to the hospital tonight. I have heard very mixed messages about what I need and don't need, so I'm sure that unless I'm induced in 2 weeks or something I'm going with the minimum, since Rob can always bring in more after the fact. Item #1 for the list - camera!

Bun is still in the oven

I had my appointment today after meeting my mom and dad for breakfast (very nice - thank you!). To summarize what's going on: Nothing. Still. Nothing. Dr. M said after checking me, "You aren't having a baby today!"

Everything is going good, the baby is doing well. My doctor ordered a non stress test. Nothing really to report with that either. She said that I'm higher risk with the diabetes so she wanted the test, but after further evaluation it's possible she may have just wanted to use the monitor - which is brand new to the clinic. :-) I was the first patient to have a NST at the clinic, aside from the employee who they did the demo on. On the super plus side - I'm glad I didn't have to go to the hospital for the test!!

The baby's heart rate was around 155 to 160 for the 20 minutes or so I was there. At first she was very active but she probably entered a sleep cycle because she didn't move all that much. When she did move her heart rate went up - as it should. The doctor said that the test was "reactive" (which is what we were looking for) and that she would see me next week, unless I deliver before then (not sounding likely!). Well, this will give me more time to get stuff together at work, so they don't wonder what the heck I've been working on lately. :-)

I'm meeting a couple friends for lunch and a pedicure tomorrow, I'm really looking forward to seeing them outside of work, revisiting where we at lunch all the time when we worked in our old building and having my feet look pretty again. My boss said that a pedicure could put me into labor - and if it does she's blaming my two coworkers for everything! :-) I can handle that!

Weekend update

This weekend I went to my friend Kat's birthday party (Surprise!). Her husband was a superstar birthday planner. We surprised her by showing up to take her to get a manicure. A limo picked showed up at the house and he had appropriate drinks ready for all of us for the ride (water for me!)... we got our nails done, had enough time to ride around a little bit and show up at her house where more friends were waiting there to surprise her!! (He even had games to "buy off" their kids for not going to the park like they told their mom they were going to do in the afternoon!) Dinner was served followed up with a Dairy Queen cake! It was a lot of fun - I hope that she felt pampered for her special 30th birthday!

This morning Rob and I went out for breakfast and drove by a couple of places along Lake Minnetonka. After we got home, we were able to get a lot done. I swept out the garage and Rob put our patio furniture away for the winter (I hope he can still move because I didn't help lift anything). I assembled the bouncy seat, swing and stroller and we have the car seat base all set up in the car. Some blankets, the crib sheet and changing pad cover are in the wash as I type. I also just finished up writing thank you notes to my coworkers - so I can deliver those tomorrow. I still have some stuff that I need to put away/find a spot for from my work shower - if I have enough energy I'm going to try to finish that up tonight!

I haven't packed a bag for the hospital yet and didn't make the trip to Babies R Us for a couple items I think we still need- but I'm still feeling pretty good about things (I'm sure we have lots of time!) :-)

37 Weeks

I had my 37 week appointment today. Baby's heart was beating 132 beats per minute, I'm measuring right on at 37 weeks, I officially have been told that I don't have strep b and other than that there is nothing to report. Dr. M. checked me out and told me that she could say with great confidence that there wouldn't be a baby in the next day. Nothing going on.

Today at work was "productive" in a fun way. I went a bunch of meetings (blah blah blah) - but I can safely say without fear of over speaking that people either really like me or I have information about them they don't want other people to know. :-) My coworkers had a baby shower for me today. My boss, Jody, brought in 3 pans of homemade lasagna, penne pasta with white sauce, salads, a homemade completely decorated cake, balloons, games the whole works. I work with a bunch of different departments - so there were a lot more people there than what I was expecting - from Benefit Design, Physician/Executive Benefits, HRIS, Corporate HR and the HR Service Center. The food was great, I had a fabulous time and I think everyone had fun- especially making fun of the three men who looked horribly unsure of themselves experiencing a baby shower for the first time!

Also - my coworkers are so kind and generous. I came home with several new outfits (for the baby of course), a couple of blankets, socks, hats, towels, bath time goodies, diapers, changing pad w/ cover and.... get this... our "travel system"!!! The baby pimp mobile with stroller, carseat, base, fold with one hand, lots of storage, can't take your baby out of the hospital without it - travel system. It was overwhelming and very exciting. We will now be allowed to leave the hospital with our child! Yeah! :-)

I'm feeling much better about having what we will need when we first come home. We have to make our list of a couple of small things that would be good to get out of the way, but for the most part, I think we're in good shape.

Now I suppose I should put my bag together to be ready leave the house, should I go into labor sometime in the next 3 weeks.