I like my feet

Today is the first time Caitlyn decided sucking her toes is fun. She will even pull off her socks! Lots of grunts and groans on her part but highly entertaining for all of us.

5 months

I'm having a hard time believing Cait is already 5 months old. Where has the time gone? Everyday brings more joy, more laughs, more love.
Each day I love her more. How is that even possible? Watching Neil with her, and seeing them together makes me emotional sometimes. (maybe I'm still hormonal!) I love the father that he is, so amazing and supportive. We are two very lucky girls to have him in our lives.
We have been doing weekly/monthly Tigger pics of Caitlyn. Posted is her 5 month pic.

Sleigh Bells Ring

Yesterday Cait and I went for a walk down the lane. I think she loves the outdoors! Especially when she is getting pulled in her custom made sleigh by Grandpa Remenda. We go on almost daily walks using the Bjorn. I'm hoping this winter I can snowshoe with Caitlyn in the sleigh. Let it snow!!!

Birth Story by Tanice (all the gory details)

Caitlyn was conceived..... nope not going there! I'm going to start this entry from about 36.5 weeks into our pregnancy.  I developed high blood pressure and was immediately put on modified bed rest.  My OB started talking induction. I was totally not prepared for this, my pregnancy was going/feeling perfectly.  I had read all the books and taken all the classes for a natural drug-free birthing experience.  I had to take my blood pressure 3-5 times a day and go into the Doctor's office twice a week.  Not only that, we had to have fetal assessments every week to check the baby's blood pressure as well. (My understanding is that they do this by measuring the heartbeat through the umbilical cord. Not sure exactly how... but we got to have extra ultrasounds so that was a bonus.)

A week went by and the Doc was still not happy with my blood pressure so she put me on meds to lower it.  I was absolutely heartbroken, I hadn't taken so much as a Tylenol this whole pregnancy and she wanted to put me on high blood pressure pills. After taking the drug I felt exactly the same as before except my blood pressure stabilized.  For now the doctor was happy.  I was doing weekly protein tests and they were ok.  At 39 weeks my protein tests came back with a borderline protein amount. (0.30 is when they start to worry, mine was at 0.32) My OB started to talk induction again.  She put me on the list, I was getting called that weekend.  On Saturday June 18th, they called me in and inserted a gel to ripen my cervix.  They sent me home and were going to call me back the next day if I didn't come in on my own.  Contractions started but nothing too crazy, I was at 2cm. We were called back and went back to the hospital at 11am the Sunday morning and they inserted Cervidil, a 2 inch piece of paper that they insert close to the cervix.  After they insert it they let you sit for 12 hours.  They checked me and I was only 2 cm.  So they put another round to Cevidil in and I have to say up to that point it was the most painful thing I have ever felt.  The Residents hands were HUGE, and he was not gentle. After spending Sunday night in the hospital and contracting every 5 and a half minutes, I was still only 2 cm and they decided to send me home.  The induction failed.

My contractions continued until late Monday night. I finally got a full night’s rest.  Wednesday afternoon my contractions came back, but they were only 8 minutes apart and stayed that way. Thursday afternoon I had a doctor’s appointment and she said I was 4cm! and my membranes were bulging.  YAY! She started to talk induction again…I asked her to hold off with hopes that the birth would continue naturally.  Contractions continued that day anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes apart. We ended up having a bonfire that night, roasted smokies over the pit and everything!  At 12:30am Friday morning, I was lying in bed and during a contraction, Swoooosh! My water broke. It was the weirdest feeling.  It was instant relief from the contraction and felt like a water balloon inside me that burst.  It was really cool.

We were off to the hospital an hour later.  The contractions slowed down but because my water broke they admitted me.  After 4 hours the back labor was so intense I got sterile water injections in my back. Still wanting a drug free birth, this was the best option at the time.  It hurt a lot, the injections felt like bee stings.  But, it worked! No more back labor, however, I could feel the front contractions now.  2 hours later I was still only 4 cm and contractions that were about 5 mins apart they started Citosin to speed things up.  By then I was so tired and worn out from contractions, we elected to get an epidural. 

Instant relief!  I didn’t really sleep at all, but I could rest.  The hours ticked by and still no progress.  The epidural had lost its effect because I had to lay on right side.  Every time I would change position baby’s heart rate would drop. At one point it went down to 55bpm.  In order for an epidural to have full effect you have to lie flat, as it works by gravity. Because I was lying on my right side I could still feel contractions in my left hip!  At 5pm June 24^th, the doctor checked me and I was 6-7cm and the baby’s head was sunny-side up and her chin was up instead of being tucked. The doctor said that there was no way her head was going to fit through my hips.  If we continued we would definitely be using forceps and even then she said I had a high chance of having a C-section.  With that risk, and because whenever I laid on my back, her heart rate would drop. We decided to have a C-section. An hour later at 6:20pm our beautiful daughter Caitlyn Marie Remenda was born.  She was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches long. Neil announced the sex to me and I was elated.  But, there was no crying. I started to panic, I was shaking so much.  Neil kept on reassuring me that everything was ok and they were working on her.  When they pulled her out of me she pooped and peed all over me and the floor!  She still wasn’t crying so they were moving her to a different room with more equipment. As they were leaving the OR she let out a wail. I felt better, but I still hadn’t seen my baby and I was still shaking.  A few minutes later (it felt like hours) I was wheeled into the recovery room and my beautiful daughter was placed in my arms.  I instantly stopped shaking. It was really cool.  She is perfect.  Her initial Apgar score was 3! The latter score was 9!

We ended up in the hospital until Monday afternoon due to some breastfeeding issues. But that’s a whole different story and I won’t bore you with the details.  Here is our first family photo.

 

Epic Meal Time

Caitlyn has been increasingly hungry lately. She used to go 3 hours between feeds, but now she is only going 2.5 hours. It could be a growth spurt but it could be just time for solids. Her pediatrician recommended starting her anytime between 4 and 6 months, so we started her today. Here is a quick video of all the excitement. I'm not sure how much actually got in her mouth, but it's a start!