Valentines 2015

Valentines 2015

Thursday, May 10, 2012

35 Weeks and busy, busy, busy!

It's been two weeks since I last posted, and it's been SO busy here.  Not that that should be an excuse, but it's definitely being honest!! Life is crazy in the Hollibaugh household!!

Here's what we've been up to:
Lots of playing with sidewalk chalk and playing in the yard =)



The OPMC Spring Clothing and Equipment sale (we had so much stuff to sell...and we still have so much stuff left! HA!)

Gramz and Grandpa came down and watched the girls the weekend of the sale so Si and I could work the sale, shop, clean up, etc.  The girls LOVE their Gramz!

Si's 30th birthday - our fabulous food at Joe's Crab Shack (YUM!!!)....and note that's not a beer bottle...it's root beer...and ice water...naturally =)

Planting flowers and planting the garden (I figured I should plant everything while I still could kind of bend over! The girls have been great helpers - they love to dig using my planters and water after everything is in the ground - very helpful! And Livvy has this fascination with brooms....)

Fostering an adorable black little baby girl pug puppy...and Livvy standing at the door with the pugs "barking" along with them at passerby's....HILARIOUS!

We are definitely staying busy!

And, we are 35 weeks pregnant this week.  Wowzers! We had an OB appointment on Tuesday and little man is looking great (although we got no pictures of him - bummer)! He is measuring in at 5 lbs 13 oz and is right on track to be an 8 lb baby if I make it to 40 weeks.  Crazy.  An 8 lb baby...what the heck will I do with that?!  The girls were 6 lbs for weeks!
Here's a current picture of me with little man...

One thing that I may not have shared yet on this blog is that I am hoping with this baby to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).  I wanted to have a vaginal birth with the girls, but because of my pre-eclampsia and the urgency in which the girls needed to be delivered, we decided that a C-section would be best. 

I have to tell you though, my recovery was awful.  AWFUL.  I personally wouldn't recommend a c-section to anyone. I'd had multiple surgeries before (although admittedly none as intensive as a c/s) so I thought I had a decent handle on what I was getting myself into.  Nope.  Inadequate pain control from the get go (I'm allergic to percocet and vicoden so they were only giving me tylenol #3 and 600 mg of Ibuprofen), paired with tons of fluid retention and my blood pressure being so high that they wouldn't let me out of bed, paired with nursing/pumping for twin babies and sheer exhaustion, paired with the fact that I didn't stop bleeding (until 2 D&C's and 12 weeks later), paired with the fact that I couldn't lay flat for 7 weeks and LIVED on the couch, made my c-section experience a less than pleasant one. 

Si liked it -naturally - he got to see the birth, there was no screaming, pushing, mess, etc. (lol), we knew when it was going to happen (within a day or two) so that was nice for planning purposes, and, well, Si didn't have to deal with the pain of recovery.  Of course HE liked it!

Not I though.  My OB assumed I would be doing a repeat c-section with little man.  I told him at 24 weeks that that was in no way my intention.  I wanted a VBAC.  I wanted pain control.  I wanted to be able to play with and maybe even pick up my girls (who are going to have no idea what is going on anyway) a week or two after delivery.

He tried to lure me into a repeat c-section with a mini tummy tuck (free of charge)....
It didn't work.
He told me that everything would have to be perfect for him to allow me to try for a VBAC....baby in the right position (head down, not breech, etc.), no pre-eclampsia or other conditions, no need to induce (because he won't induce a VBAC)...
It was far from a for sure thing....
BUT....
My body gets this whole baby thing now I think....=)
At 31 weeks Baby H was as breech as breech can be. 
But now?
Now he is head down, face towards my back (in PERFECT birthing position)
My cervix is soft, I am 50% effaced, and I am dilated 1 cm.

My OB is VERY pleased.  He said this is the best possible scenario for a VBAC.  Some women's cervix don't soften after a cesarean....some women don't dilate on their own....sometimes the babies don't participate and insist on being breech....but not mine!! 

Fingers crossed, but it sounds like I'm getting my VBAC!!! Woot woot!!!

One month to go!!!! And currently NO restrictions! YAY!

That's not stopping me from hiring someone to help with the cleaning around the house though...yup...I'm breaking down and hiring help.  The dining room walls need to be scrubbed (because my toddlers think it's fun to fling food EVERYWHERE) and I don't have the time or energy to do it, and I can't really get down on my hands and knees to scrub the shower, bathtub and floors...so...I'm paying someone to do it for me =).  Hopefully it doesn't break the bank!

Okay, that's all for now! Hope you all are well!

If you have any information on VBACs or vaginal births in general that you think I should know, please feel free to share it!! Good, bad, ugly, whatever! I need to hear it so I know!!!

Until next time -
Megan

22 comments:

  1. Wow! Your c-section reminds me a lot of mine. I'm also allergic to all the "-sets", and had a terible recovery. I hope and pray that you are able to do a VBAC. I'll keep my fingers crossed too :)
    Your girls look so cute in their skirts. We spend a lot of time outdoors these days too.
    You look great, and I can't believe you're 35 weeks!!

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    1. Isn't it awful being allergic to "all the good stuff"?! Such a bummer!
      I'm so hopeful I can do the VBAC and have some better pain control - or have more control period I suppose!
      Aww, thanks! The girls can't get enough of being outside! I don't know how we survived the winter in all honesty...we are always outside now...hours and hours and hours a day! They can't get enough!

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  2. Oh my! This pregnancy has flown by... well for me anyway! LOL! Can't believe you're so close! I'll be praying for a simple and comfortable VBAC! BTW: LOVE those pig tails!!!

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    1. It really has flown by! Likely just because I've been so busy with two toddler tornadoes instead! HA!
      Yes, please pray simple and comfortable!!
      I love the pig tails too!! Livvy was SO thrilled that we got them in! She's been so patient with her hair and it's finally starting to pay off =). Hehe.

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  3. Woohoo! I hadn't heard from you in awhile!
    My blogging friend Adriel has a FANTASTIC VBAC story, she's over at Mommyhood Memos. IF (big huge massive IF!!!) we had another I wanted to do VBAC since I had Jack vaginally, but finding a DR around here to do it is nearly impossible :(

    You are looking great! Keep us posted!

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    1. Ooh, I will totally check her story out!!! Thank you!
      And I know - it seems that most docs are anti VBAC - but the research really doesn't support that. And honestly, had I not had an awful recovery the first time, I would have just gone with another C-section and not questioned it. But now that I know I have a choice and my OB is on board...VBAC away baby!!!
      Thanks for your support!!

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  4. That was a good 2 week update. Everything sounds fabulous. I'm looking forward to selling in my first multiple sale, hopefully in the fall.
    Well now, regarding vaginal delivery the best advice I got (and ignored) was to get the epidural before the doctor breaks your water (if they have to do that). The waters sort of insulate you from feeling the full force of contractions so its better to have your epidural already kicking in.

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    1. Ooh, so order the epidural right away. Check. I can definitely do that!
      Selling at the multiples sale was a good experience, but it was WAY more work than I thought it would be...just an FYI. I probably spent 40 hours sorting, hanging, and tagging everything...and in the end we made $400. Was it worth it? I'm undecided. Everyone has told me that the first time you sell it is the hardest and takes the longest because you have so much stuff, but after that it doesn't take but a fraction of the time because you still have your stuff marked and ready to go from the prior sales, and you only have to mark and hang new stuff that the kids have grown out of. IDK...I thought I would sell more. I think we sold MAYBE 35% of our stuff. I was hoping for at least half to be gone. High hopes I guess!!!

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  5. Hi Megan!
    Wow, you really don't have long to go, how exciting!!
    Personally for me, I recovered so much better after a c-section lol I have delivered once and had two c-sections after so the comparison is easy for me :)
    I hope you get your wish, looks like all is well!
    Hope you are feeling great, and don't worry about having an 8lb baby, I had two that were close to 9lb, but to me, they still looked tiny compared to the rest of the world :)

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    1. Good insight Kerry! So, I'm curious why the recovery after your sections was better than your vaginal delivery. Can you provide me more input on that? I'd really be interested to know!
      LOL - you are right - 8 lbs is still tiny compared to the rest of the world! It's just crazy to go through the baby clothes and think that I probably won't need the newborn size at all! The girls weren't out of newborn for 6 weeks after their birth! That's just crazy to me!

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  6. Holy smokes--that's a lot of clothes! I had to show my husband so the next time he thinks about giving me a hard time for buying kids' clothes, he'll realize it could be worse ;-)

    35 weeks?? No way. Time flies! Yay for a VBAC!

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    1. It is a TON of clothes!! We went a little gangbusters I think...and I think that maybe the grandparents had a bit to do with it too =). A decent portion ended up being the wrong season...and we were gifted with bags of clothes from other mommas too (I'm guessing what they didn't sell at their garage sales)...plus I had 5 (!!!) showers! To say I got a lot of stuff is an understatement! I didn't realize I had this much stuff until I had to sort it, organize it, and tag it all!!
      It could always be worse ;)

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  7. You look amazing and your girlies look so cute too! I had a vaginal birth with my girls and the recovery was incredible. (Well, I got a spinal headache from the epidural and had to get a blood patch but that was some kind of really rare complication). You would think pushing 2 babies out of your body would make it hard to get up and around for awhile but I was really really lucky- I was walking around the hospital within a day or 2 and my mom took me out twice while the girls were still in the hospital (only for 8 days). So within 8 days after their birth, I managed to go out to eat and go shopping at Wal-Mart and felt fine. I totally believe vaginal is the way to go if you have a choice. BUT! The important thing is to get that little man out safely with both of you healthy afterwards. Good luck with your birth no matter what happens! I can't wait to see what Bri and Livvy think of being big sisters!

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    1. Thank you!! I am thrilled that you had a vaginal delivery with your girls! That is amazing!! So many twins are born via C-section and no one thinks twice about it. Yay for an incredible recovery! Boo for spinal headache though - believe it or not - I've had a spinal headache before and had to get a blood patch so I know exactly what you are talking about! Amazing how quickly you feel better after the blood patch though isn't it?! Like 50 million times better instantly! LOL! Although if you just lay totally flat you are fine too...so bizarre!
      I agree - I will do whatever I need to do to get little man out safe and sound. I hope that is with a vaginal delivery, but if not, that's okay too! I will just hope for better pain control this time =). Thanks for your insight!!!!

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  8. I hope the VBAC works out for you! I think it would be an awesome experience this time around. Good luck and I can't wait to see pictures of this adorable addition to your family :)

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    1. Aww, thanks!! I hope it works out too! And I hope that a VBAC is indeed what I really want - LOL! I don't know since I've never done it, but that's how most babies are delivered, so there must be a reason why!! I hope its an awesome and amazing experience for both me and my hubby (instead of just hubby this time!) =). Thanks for your support!

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  9. You look FAN-tabulous! I feel like we just found out you were pregnant yesterday...LOL! And busy you have been...we had our sale a few weekends ago and it was a huge success. We should share notes! It would be interesting to hear how the sales work acorss North America dontcha think?

    I sure hope everythig works out the way you want it to and don;t let anyone tell you what to do!!! Tell them your Canadian pal will come up there and make some "noise" LOL!

    Happy Thursday!

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  10. Hi there, my name is Julie I have compound heterozygous for mutations, C677T and A1298C. I have 4 children. My first was born Emergency cesarean section, and after that horrible experience, I DEMANDED a (VBAC) with all 3 of my other children against my OB's request. All 3 of my next deliveries were done natural with no Epidural!! Again, against the anestesiologists and OB's request. All 3 were born early around 35 to 36 wks gestation. All born fine. If you know what you want, trust your own instincts!!! It will all be ok!!!! Vaginal delivery is a breeze in healing incomparison to a C-section!!!

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  11. Hi there its Lexi! Glad everything is going well! I am starting IVF in June! I am on BCP! Getting super excited. Thanks for your help!!

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  12. I agree. You look great! Hoping all is going well!

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  13. The reason your cervix might not open is that you may well have scar tissue. It is very common in those of us with a hx of IF and those who have had cesarean births. This article explains better than I can and explains using EPO to help: http://www.birthresourcenetwork.org/blog/98-cervical-scar-tissue-a-big-issue-that-no-one-is-talking-about

    Wishing you the best for a wonderful VBAC!

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  14. Megan, I just wanted to check in on you and see how you are doing. Any baby yet? I will hope and pray for your VBAC to come through! I wanted to have a VBAC but ended up having to have another C section...sad to say that the recovery from this second one was even worse than the first. Probably because I was on my own with two toddlers, the baby and a huge set of stairs to conquer everytime I needed to use the bathroom, seven days post operation. I am keeping my fingers crossed for your birth and can't wait to hear when your baby is born! You look great by the way!

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!