Baby Pictures: http://www.jdimension.com/gallery/baby/ (opens in new window). New pics start on PAGE 34 of the album.
******The gallery has been updated! Photos are uploaded through May 17, 2009. ******

Baby Videos: Denny has some videos posted online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/den-zone/

Baby Update: Sunday, May 31, 2009

It's been since March since I last updated the page. We are on Facebook, so that's where I put most of our updates. Catherine had her 6 month appointment about 2 1/2 weeks ago. She weighed 13lbs and 9oz. At this point, we think she's about 14 lbs or so. At the appoitment, the doctor said he was impressed that she was sitting up (tripod style).

She'll be 7 months old on the 9th. She is now sitting up without problems (with the occassional roll-over from leaning too far). She love standing and holding onto the doggy (now baby) gates. She can get up on all fours and rock, but there is no crawling yet. We need to help her get in both the sitting and standing positions, but she's almost there in both accounts.

She is doing a lot of baby talk and zerberts! She is barely making consonant sounds - we might have heard the letter B the other day, but we're not sure.

She doesn't sleep through the night. It's actually gotten worse since we regularly started her on solid foods (rice cereal and fruit). We think her belly is just having a little bit of time adjusting.

Other than that, she is the most fantastic baby! She is so cheerful and so easy going. She will let anyone hold her which is nice for mommy!

To recap Catherine's adventures, she was born on Sunday, November 9th and then sent via ambulance to McLeod Hospital (1.5 hrs away) on Monday, November 10th. She stayed in the NICU until she was released back to Grand Strand on November 18th. She was released from Grand Strnd on November 21st. Her original release date was not supposed to be before Thanksgiving, so we consider her one tough cookie :) Her actual due date was December 23.

Baby Details:

Catherine Marie French
arrived on Sunday, November 9, 2008
at 8:11pm
4 lbs, 7 oz, and 17 1/2 inches
Born premature at 33 weeks 5 days (original due date: December 23, 2008)

Birth Story

So, the weekend before Catherine was born, I was really doing a lot.  We had a shower at our house and I did all kinds of work - cleaning, organizing, etc...  It really did wipe me out!  I called the doc mid-week letting him know that I was nauseous, but he said that without a headache, I should be okay.  He was right.... I felt better after two days.  Still tired, but not feeling sick.  On Friday, I stayed on the couch most of the day (thank goodness I have a laptop).  Not feeling well, so tired, but I didn't do a thing.  Same thing on Saturday.  My hubby said that I had just done too much and I need to listen, blah blah blah.  On Sunday, I felt some movement more toward my pelvic area.  I thought maybe she was "dropping" into position which I read could happen weeks before birth.  All morning, we sat on the couch and wrote thank you cards for shower gifts.  I was grading off and on, but my brain was mush, so I would grade an assignment, write a thank you note, etc... My hubby wanted to go to the dump to take the recycle and I said no.  I wasn't up to it. 

At about 12:45 I got up and made a sandwich and grabbed some chips and dip (terrible, I know, but it was left over from the shower and looked good!!!).  While I was just sitting down to eat, maybe after a bite or two, my hubby was on his way into the kitchen to grab something as well.  I felt a whoosh of wet in my pants (YIKES) and asked him to watch my plate for a second (didn't want my youngest pup to grab my lunch).  I had been noticing some extra mucus and had forgotten to ask the doc about it, so though maybe it was just some more slime (wonder now if all that slime was my mucus plug going away).

I sat down on the toilet and water just poured out.  I knew I wasn't peeing my pants.  I got nervous since it was pure liquid... not slimy.  I stood up, poured down my legs.  Sat down, poured.  Stood up, poured.  Okay, something serious is going on.  I pulled off my shorts and threw the bathroom towel on the floor as I just drained there :(  I called the hubby and said that I think there is a problem.   When he saw me and I told him liquid was pouring out, he knew what I knew - the baby was coming whether we liked it or not!

I called the doctor and got the answering service.  I called my SIL (mother of 2 and nurse). She said to get to the hospital right away and confirmed what we were hoping would not be true.  Every time I took a step, water poured out.  It was kind of funny!  In the birthing class (we had just taken the week before), they said that only 10% of women have a big gush!  I joked that I'd be in that 10%!

Anyway, the doc called back.  My voice was shaking asking if it could be ANYTHING else.  He said to go to the hospital.  He’d meet us there.  Okay, baby was coming.  My uncle joked that I had packed my bag too early!  I had the baby outfit, some pajamas and underwear, but hadn’t finished putting anything else in – like a change of clothes since we had PLENTY of time.
We had been dog-sitting our older pup’s doggy family (her mother, father, and sister) so at the time, we had five mini-dachshunds running around.  Now they were all in on the situation!  I said we need to get them out to potty, but they would not listen to my husband.  I had changed clothes and called them out.  They followed me everywhere.  NICE!  Anyway, we called our friends who were actually within about ½ hour of picking their dogs up.  We made the plan for them to take our girls too.  All set to go.

The hospital is not far, so I started the dish washer, grabbed my bag and we left.  We got to the hospital at 1:42. I was swooshing at every step to the emergency room entrance.  I was not having contractions or anything at this point.  
I got to the room and they had me change.  I was still soaking and they did a test to see if it was the water.  Yup.  Confirmed.  My doctor came in and it was the first time I had ever seen him looked concerned.  Our appointments are usually an “okay, another uneventful meeting… see you next time” kind of thing.  He asked me about how it happened, what I was doing, etc… I started to panic asking if I had done something to make it happen – but he calmed me down and said no.  He left for a long time.  When he came back, he said that he was on his up-to-the second database considering all of our options.  He did an U/S and had trouble getting information because I had little fluid left.  He estimated her at 4lbs 7oz.  He decided that we must go ahead and get her out and that he opted not to give her steroids.

He told us that he would start us off on one type of drug and see how things progressed.  After about 12 hours, he would switch to an IV drug to hopefully have the baby by some time the next day.  I was admitted, etc, etc…  and took the pill at probably 4pm.  I don’t know the name of it, but it began with a Z.  My hubby – lazing around with me that morning – hadn’t even taken a shower, so I said he should go ahead home, take a shower, etc…. since it sounded like we’d be there a while.  Big mistake.

Labor progressed fast after I took that pill.  Within the hour, I was having painful contractions.  The nurse looked at the monitor and said that I wasn’t.  Okay.  I don’t know what I’m doing, so I believe her.  By 5:30 or so, I’m not able to relax and trying to work through them.  She said she wasn’t really seeing them on the screen and asked how far apart they were.  I said I wasn’t catching a break – maybe every minute or two!  She left.  I CALLED her back and asked for pain killers.  At this point, the contractions were just one on top of the other.  She gave me something in my IV and said that since I was in pain, she’d measure me.  This was about 5:50pm.  She measured me at 1 ½ to 2 cm and 90% effaced.  She said the baby was way down there.  She looked and noticed the monitor had slipped.  Indeed, I was having contractions!  Okay, so now she believes me.

She ordered the epidural.  I said I didn’t think I could have one before 4 cm and asked about it wearing off.  For those who want to know… she said it DOESN’T wear off and if I needed it for another six hours, or whatever, I could have it.  She didn’t know where I heard it wore off after 2 hours. Good to know for future reference.  Anyway, she said the epi would be ready at 7pm.  She suggested I call my hubby since I was in real labor at this point. I figured I didn’t want to worry him, but two more contractions later, I called.  He was in the parking lot! 

She asked how far apart my contractions were.  I said they felt like every other SECOND!  She checked the monitor and confirmed something and left.  Denny showed up.  Not a minute later (I think this was 6:10pm), the nurse came back in – in a rush – with some other lady.  I was getting a shot and the other lady was near the IV thing.  I asked what was wrong (between my every-second-contraction).  I got an oxygen mask put on me.   The lady said the baby wasn’t reacting well to having so many contractions so quickly!   I said I WASN’T EITHER.  The shot was to slow them down.  Ah HA!  See?  Now, everyone believes me.

The pain killer didn’t last ½ hour.  The contractions were quite painful when EPI MAN showed up. They had hubby leave.  I was having such a hard time that the epi doc asked how close I was.  I said something about 1 ½ to 2 cm not more than an hour ago.  The nurse confirmed what I said (this was a different nurse) and he had concerns.  He said they better hurry and check me again.  He felt I must be further along.  He got the epi working in one shot.  Ah!  Immediate relief.   He told the nurse again what he felt and she said she’d check.  As soon as he left and I was on my back, she measured.  Complete panic now!  I was NINE centimeters!  She ran out and a bunch of stuff happened at once.  I don’t know what time this was.  By now it was probably 7:30 or so. 

They wheeled in a cart of stuff and turned on the lights, etc… on the baby table in the room.  The doctor (who, thank goodness, only lives about 5 mins away) showed up.  I asked what the heck?  Baby already?  He was laughing – quite pleased with the drug he chose and said that you never know.  Sometimes it doesn’t work and it apparently did in my case.

He took a look and had some more concerns.  He said that my body just wasn’t ready to have the baby yet.  My hips hadn’t spread and things were REALLY tight. He said he might have to use forceps b/c she was small and it might be hard to get her out.  NO WAY.  I wanted to get her out w/out them.  I asked if I’d be getting an episiotomy and he said NO WAY – NOT WITH A 4LB BABY.  I was glad and said I’d try not to poop in the process!  Hahaha  (Though I was serious!  It was on my mind.)

It seemed that just as he sat down they were telling me to push.  The epi was great b/c I was still able to feel my toes, move my legs, feel the need to push, etc… but there was no pain.  After a few mins of pushing, I was getting nervous.  It seemed like she wasn’t coming out.  He brought the forceps closer and I panicked!  I asked if he was going to use them.  He said not yet; he just likes to be ready and he’d tell me if he had to.  He also said that if I see him struggling, it’s because he is working hard to help pull me open.  He actually had to take his hands – one on each side, and PULL apart!   I don’t know what happened, but when I saw those forceps, I became super woman pusher.  I was determined to get her out. For the very next push, I pushed with EVERYTHING I had!  Apparently, I pushed so hard, I gave myself a hemorrhoid but didn’t poop!  Hahaha. 

Anyway, I could feel her coming!  Another push and her head was out.  My husband was telling me HER HEAD IS OUT!  HER HEAD IS OUT!  SHE’S ALMOST HERE! They had me pause while they checked for the cord, sucked her nose, etc.  The doc said I could feel her head.  I reached down and felt her slimy head :)  I had to push, and he said to go for it.  She slipped right out and they put her on my belly.  I told Denny to touch her too! I didn't want him to miss that moment!  She was wiggling and crying and Denny cut the cord. 

They confirmed a baby girl at 8:11pm.  The doc was very proud of his weight estimate from the U/S.  She did, indeed, weigh 4 lbs and 7 oz and was 17 ½ inches long.

They took her to the table and told Denny to go with them.  He was there while they cleaned and weighed her.  In the mean time, my placenta came out and I asked if I could see it. He showed me and was pleased at my interest!   He asked the nurse to send it to pathology to see if they could see if there was a reason she came so early.  Hubby was still with baby and the doc started to stitch.  I was like WHAT THE HECK?  SHE WAS A 4 LB BABY, REMEMBER?  He said he had to pull hard and I got some 2nd degree tears.  Oh well. 

They wrapped her up and let me hold her for a quick picture, but we didn’t have time to do anything else.  Denny didn’t even get to hold her.  They told me to give her a kiss and whisked her away.  They invited Denny to go along to the nursery. 
They cleaned me up, etc… and I waited for Denny to come back.  The doc congratulated me and went on his way. 
I’ll tell you one funny thing – I didn’t notice, but Saving Private Ryan was on.  Denny said that between pushes (while I was in another world), they would all watch the movie!  He said it was some crazy fighting scene when I gave birth.  LOL.  Watching movies while I’m giving birth ;)

They took the baby (at this time we hadn’t named her) and had her under an oxygen hood.  Denny’s parents arrived and got to see her.  They came in for a quick visit before I was out of the delivery room (had to wait a little while for them to finish cleaning, checking my bleeding, etc…).  By 9pm, I was moved to a recovery room.  The nurses were so fantastic!  It was a slow day in maternity so they gave us a double room!  Denny had his own bed. 

They said they were going to observe the baby over night and if she didn’t improve, she’d be shipped to another hospital.  We visited before we went to sleep and then I visited her at 4:30 am.  She opened her eyes and I was allowed to touch her feet. 
In the morning, my doctor checked on me.  He said that he had spoken to the pediatrician and warned me that the decision he will make will be in the best interest for the patient.  He said that if they send her to the other hospital, that it will be the best for her.  As for me, he was going to keep me another night and I could go first thing in the morning.  I guess he knew she was not going to stay.  He said that she was strong and had never seen a 33 wk baby even stay in that hospital overnight.

We went to the nursery.  The pediatrician had just gotten off the phone with the other hospital.  Her chest xrays were worse and they couldn’t care for her.  They were sending an ambulance with a respiratory team to transfer her.  I was crying.  They said we’d have until about noon.  We said we’d have her name picked out by then.

We had been going back and forth between Catherine Marie and Alexandra Marie.  My hubby is not Catholic, but I wanted a version of Mary for her middle name and a family name for her first name.  Catherine Marie was always my first pick, but either one would be fine.  We sort of didn’t make a decision when there was a knock at the door.   We couldn’t believe it. It was 10:30 am and they had our little girl in an incubator to take with them.  We were able to touch her arm.   Denny went to take a photo and the battery had died.  I went to take photo on the phone and my phone card was full!  No picture.  We didn’t have her name yet and they said it was fine and not to worry.

The day was a blur… so busy.  Every time I went to pump, someone came in.  We also needed to watch some videos about shaken baby syndrome, etc…. Finally, at about 8pm, hubby went to go home, take a shower and get some food.  I figured I’d have a quiet night.  I finally got to sit on the sitz bath when there was a knock at my door.  It was another visitor.  Anyway, after all was said and done, Denny returned and we got some sleep.  I got up at about 5am and went down the hall to get some juice.  I started to cry because they were wheeling a baby down the hall to visit her mom.  The bed in the nursery where our girl was sleeping was now empty.  I was so sad.

We picked her name (Catherine Marie) and were discharged that morning.  We went home, showered picked up the prescriptions and headed to the other hospital. 

Catherine is doing well, but they said they didn’t expect her home for about a MONTH.  I absolutely lost it!  So many in the other hospital were trying to be positive and said “oh… after a few days of oxygen, she’ll probably be fine!”  We weren’t prepared for the news.

Overall, she is getting stronger.  It’s been hard – empty crib, etc… but we know that she’ll be big and strong!  She is actually a beef cake compared to some of the other preemies in there :)

So, there’s our birth story ;)

Pegnancy News (Email sent to some friends on 7/16/2008 explaining the pregnancy).

Subject: KNOCKED UP!!!!

I suppose that was a crass title to use, but I couldn't resist.  Okay, so I found out that I'm expecting a baby.  Of course, this comes with an odd story.

So, I don't remember when I got off the pill. Pill= bad Catholic :( It was probably about 6 months ago.  Denny and I thought it would be just fab for a pregnancy to start in August, so I could deliver in May of 2009.  But then again, if nothing happened, that was fine too.  Well, being very practical, I figured that I'd probably have a miscarriage, so we should start maybe around May.  Also, according to Agnieszka, I'm in the RED FOLDER (35+) so I didn't know how things would go.   Well, we never really started "trying" because, according to Denny, I got to bed by 10 and I sleep with two dogs). LOL. 

Monday of last week I thought I'd take a pregnancy test because I didn't have any "friends" visit me by the first week of July (I was looking for it the last week of June).  So, I figured that it wasn't a big deal and it could come this week, but I figured I'd go and get basal thermometer and a 3-pack of pregnancy tests to get ready for future attempts (if I could stay awake long enough to kick the dogs out of the bedroom).

I thought I'd take the ptest just to make sure it worked and everything. Holy crap.  Two pink lines.  I looked at the directions, then the stick, then the directions.  I shook the stick.  I dropped the stick - still two pink lines.  I guess you can't make them go away!  Hahaha.  I ran to the local walk-in clinic like a single, teenage mother!  I needed confirmation - ASAP. Confirmation obtained. 

Told Denny who was not so shocked as he apparently "doesn't shoot blanks" or some crap like that.

I made an appointment for an OBGYN.  I didn't have mine anymore since she left the practice.  I had the appointment yesterday afternoon.  They had to confirm pregnancy.  Pee in cup - confirmed (for the 3rd time). As I was talking to the nurse practitioner, we discussed things.  I said that the clinic thought my last period probably was not a "real" one since it was only about a day and not the usual 3.  I just thought I was lucky.  She said that it was possible.  So, I went on to say that from what I could recall, the month before was like that too, but I don't really keep records of that kind of stuff.  I just know SOMETHING came to see me every month.  Well, she wasn't too concerned and was about to send me on my way.  She said that we'll schedule this and that, blah blah blah for your next visit.  This is just consultation day.

Just as I was about to leave, the nurse practitioner asked me to" humor her for a minute" and had me get on the table.  I immediately looked around for sharp or pokey objects.  Nothing.  She grabbed this mini karaoke machine - a box with a speaker and a microphone.  She rolled that thing around on my belly and stopped at this swishy, rhythmic sound - a hear beat.  Holy cannoli!  Now she's interested in my story a bit more and says -  "Ah! You've got to be several months along!  We need an ultrasound right away!" Well, kudos to the clinic! 

I waited in the waiting room (again) which is a (whole other story) until they called me. 

I texted Denny:  "apparently sev mos along.  Need u/s to find out." 
I get a text back SEVEN MONTHS??? 
I re-text:  FYI... sev = several not seven. 

Poor Denny!  Okay, so I get into the room.  The tech turns the lights out and does her thing.  I can't see the screen. She's measuring and whatever. She says okay, Ms. Jean (oh how southern), you're 17 weeks and due December 22nd. (It ended up being the 23rd according to the print out.) 

WHAT?  17 weeks?  That's like MONTHS.  How many months is that????
(Apparently you cannot do simple math when in shock).  She said that 4 1/2 months and congratulated me on missing half of my pregnancy!  I said "I guess it's okay to tell people."  Hahaha So that's what I'm doing now.