TwO mOnTh WeLL ViSiT

Little bird had her two month "well" visit today. She was not a happy camper after this particular visit at the pediatrician's office. First, she was sleeping when we got there, so she wasn't happy when I had to strip her from her comfy clothes to get weighed and measured.

Head circumference= 16 inches (89th percentile)
Weight= 11.14 lbs. (63rd percentile)
Length= N/A (couldn't get an accurate measurement since she is in her pavlik harness)

The doctor spent a lot of time talking to me about how things were going and the vaccination schedule (which I was trying to express my concern and my decision to delay); however, my undressed daughter started getting fussy and began to cry and cry. Nothing seemed to soothe her and now she needed to get her vaccines. She ended up getting three shots. The first one went in her right thigh and she cried for two seconds. "Wow, she did great!" I thought. Well, we weren't finished. The next two went in her left thigh, back to back. Oh boy, she was super upset after the whole ordeal.

The "Well" visit didn't go as I would have liked it. I only wanted little bird to receive two shots but she ended up getting three. The doctor wanted to give her five, so I guess we compromised but at the end of the day I felt defeated because it's my child and my choice and the doctor should respect or at least follow the schedule I feel comfortable with. Am I wrong for thinking this way?

Little bird is sleeping right now but she is miserable when she is awake. I think the areas on her upper thighs where she got her shots is sore. It doesn't help that her harness cause her thighs to rub on her little tummy every time she moves her legs so she is reminded of the pain. poor little bird :(

P.S. Little bird has a big head like her father!

HiP DySpLaSiA

My little bird was diagnosed at birth with bilateral hip dysplasia. I was told that doctors usually don't notice hip dysplasia in newborns and that I should make an appointment with an orthopedist as soon as possible. Thus, I made an appointment for her to be seen (by an orthopedist) at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) for a month later (since that was the soonest I could get in). Meanwhile, my pediatrician checked her a day after discharge from the hospital and said she was fine. A week later his wife, the nurse practitioner, checked little bird's hips and confirmed she was "normal". Four weeks later, they noticed a hip click, my heart sank. The next day I had my orthopedic appointment, the hip specialist also reported that she felt fine but he would order an ultrasound to confirm it.


I arrived to CHOP thinking all would be fine since three people reported her hips were "normal". All was not fine, the ultrasound confirmed she did, in fact, have hip dysplasia (a mild form). I was soooo mad at everyone who said she was fine. That same day she was fitted for a pavik harness. It broke my heart to see her in this contraption. She cried and cried and so did I. Watching her try to move her legs made me cry even more. It was a sad day. 

After 48 hours, she seemed to adjust to it but it took more time for me to adjust to seeing her like that and to learn how to bath, nurse, etc. with this new thing attached. She has to wear it 24/7 and its really hard to deal with at first. I'm adjusting fine, now, that a month of her wearing it is approaching. She was told she has to wear it for at least three months; hopefully, that is all the treatment she needs. She has been wearing sleep sacks for the last month, I can't wait till her hips are "normal" and I can put her in cute outfits and make bath time fun again. Washcloth baths are not her favorite :( I know that things could be worse and I also know that this treatment is for the best; however, as a parent you just want your child to never feel any kind of pain or discomfort. 

Have you heard of hip dysplasia or know anyone who has gone through this?

PiNk TuTu

A couple weeks ago little bird had a little photo session with my dear friend Ashley to debut her hot pink tutu. It was loads of fun and super cute to see my little one so girly.

Isn't she adorable?

To see more of her in this cute tutu, visit Ashley's photography page here. 

Phillies Pride!

Avelina attended her first Phillies game this past Saturday. It was game 6 of the post season and we had seats in the Hall of Fame Club. 

Her gammy (my mother-in-law) made her a Phils blanket out of rally towels, its so cute.

Avelina's BiRtH sToRy

(Sorry for the long wait for this posting)

My due date was Saturday, August 28, 2010. On Sunday morning, August 29th, at 1am my water broke. Unfortunately, I thought I had peed myself from a weak bladder (which you tend to develop late in your pregnancy since the baby is really low) so I did not take the leakage seriously and returned to bed after clean up. I woke up Sunday morning around 9am and informed my hubby while he started to make breakfast about my "accident". He asked if I had called the Birth Center and as I was telling him I had no other labor signs so I must have peed myself I started to feel some cramping. The "cramping" felt very faint, just a slight discomfort; thus, I wasn't really concerned about it at first. Until that very moment, I had never experienced any of the symptoms that you learn about to inform you that your body is about to go into labor (i.e. cramping, burst of energy, loss of mucus plug, water breaking, etc.). I told my hubby, my mother, and my hubby's father (mom and my F.I.L. were visiting for the weekend) that I was going to lay down for a while so I can time the "cramping" as per hubby's request. To my surprise, the "cramping" was consistent and were 4 minutes apart; thus, I was having contractions, right? Hubby insisted I call the Birth Center and inform them about what had happened early this morning and my current symptoms, just to be on the safe side. After talking to a midwife it was decided that I grab my hospital bag and head down to the Center to determine if my bag of waters had in fact been broken.

I was convinced that this was a false alarm but gathered my things anyway. Hubby and I made our way to the center. Once at the center, the midwife instructed me to test my urine for proteins as I always do on every visit. This urine sample was different from all the rest...when I looked at my sample I noticed a little surprise in the cup...I lost my mucus plug!!! I was soooo nervous about this discovery but needed confirmation so I told my hubby about it; although, I was embarrassed to show him. But if I was in early labor he was going to see much worst soon enough. We informed the midwife of our discovery and she said that it was normal and she would now check to see if my water had broke. I allowed her to check and run her tests and she confirmed that my water had in fact been broken and insisted that she run a "stress test" to determine if I was experiencing contractions and to monitor my daughter's heartbeat. Her findings revealed that baby's heartbeat was strong and I was definitely having contractions even though I was in no pain. She decided to admit me...

Hubby and I called our parents to inform them that we were going to have a baby soon. We walked down to the birthing suites and picked our birthing room and got settled in. Throughout the afternoon our parents visited, we had lunch, and I spent most of the time bouncing on the birthing ball (aka medicine/exercise ball) to pass the time. The contractions started to get closer and the pain seemed to increase but as long as hubby applied pressure to my lower back, I could bounce through it. I kept drinking water and Gatorade to keep hydrated so multiple bathroom breaks were a must. Unfortunately, every time I had to go to the bathroom I was on my own during a contraction, no bouncing or pressure on my back. You really have to be your own motivator when your on your own. I had to keep telling myself, "I can get through it, it will end soon". I was equally anxious about pushing, I had this feeling that I had to go "number 2" but read many times that would be the feeling right before delivery so I was scared that I would deliver if I pushed. Feeling like you have to go "number 2" every time you go to the bathroom is not fun. It started to get harder to wipe yourself clean as well since your body is tensing and you really can't bend or reach around your body as before.

The midwife would come in at random times to check in on things and my vitals. The first time she checked for dilation she informed me that I was about 4 centimeters dilated, our baby was 100% effaced and I would be delivering that night. Well, the first two things were right but the last thing she said we would soon find out was wrong. The nursing assistant recommended I get into the tub at this point to help with the pain and to get my body to relax for further dilation. WOW! I would recommend this for everyone able. The tub was filled with warm water and the jets were a perfect distraction, it was sooo relaxing.

Since it's been over a month, the rest of the details of the "Birth Day" events are not as specific:
At some point the midwife came back and checked dilation. I had only progressed a half of a centimeter more. since I wasn't progressing fast enough on my own because I was too tense, she recommended two options. First, I could be transfered to the hospital right then and get an epidural and pitocin or Second, I can get a dose of Stadol (narcotic) to relax my body in hopes to get my body to dilate further. I really wanted to have a natural, as possible, child birth so I opted for the Stadol. After a couple minutes, I felt nothing and took a nap with some funny visuals.  When the narcotic wore off and the midwife checked dilation I had ONLY progressed another half of a centimeter, it was four hours later, so it was not the news I wanted to hear. Overall, labor was already passed the 24 hour mark.

At this time, another midwife was assigned for a change of shift. The new midwife Denise was amazing! She held my hand during each contraction and helped me breath through them as it started to get harder for me to do so without support. Hubby was still a trooper and continued to provide the lower back pressure I desperately needed. I will admit that I was exhausted and would find myself crying through some of these contractions, I started to feel defeated. The new midwife checked for dilation and informed me that the left side of my cervix was not softening, it was a "hard piece"  preventing me to dilate further. She tried pushing it out of the way and had no success. She had me go for a walk and we tried the tub again; however, hours later no change.

At 3pm the next day (August 30th), the midwife made the executive decision to transfer me to the hospital for an epi and pitocin since I was in labor for longer than anticipated and further dilation was not happening on its own. Luckily, baby was not in distress. I tried my best to avoid this hospital transfer but I knew at this point it was for the best. We got my things together and drove over to the hospital (one block away). I was admitted and waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive to give me the epidural. In the meantime, I was hooked up to the monitors and got to enjoy some ice chips since my eating and drinking privileges were now revoked, boo!

The anesthesiologist arrived and gave me my epidural. It wasn't bad at all. People make it out to be so scary but it felt like a little pinch. I didn't see the needle but hubby did and he says it was loooong. Now that the epi was administered and the pit was on a drip, I was able to relax and take a nap. Hubby napped as well, we both needed it. At around 6pm, the midwife returned to check for dilation but mainly to see if my cervix was softening. It was not, so she increased the pit and we waited two more hours. At around 8pm, she checked again and bought another physician to get a second decision before telling me that I may have to get a C-section because it's approaching 48 hours of labor and my cervix is still hard on the left side. I was soooo upset and couldn't believe that this was going to happen to me especially since I was trying so hard to have a vaginal delivery for so long.

The midwife understood my birth plan and suggested we try again to push the hard part of my cervix out of the way. She informed me that if it didn't work I would have to have an emergency c-section. I understood. She told me to push with all my might and I did just that. Let me tell you it is very hard to determine if you are actually pushing since you are numb from the epidural but I tried anyway. After three tries, the midwife had success and we were ready to delivery my baby girl :)

I placed one leg on hubby's hip and the other on the nurse assistant's hip and with each contraction I pulled my thighs close to my upper body, took a deep breath, held it and pushed really hard. In between each contraction push, hubby fed me ice chips, I was THIRSTY. The midwife made sure to spread oil down on my lady parts to avoid tearing. After about six pushes, our baby's head was exiting and hubby was shocked at the amount of hair she had. The midwife had us feel our baby's head, it was slimy, lol. After a couple more pushes our baby entered our world and her cries brought us so much joy. The midwife placed her directly on my chest and our baby looked up at me as she peed and pooped on me, lol. None the less, she was the most precious thing I have ever seen. As soon as the umbilical cord stopped pulsating, hubby cut the cord. She stayed with me for sometime to bond before being taken away for a weight, etc.The oil the midwife used worked because I only had to get three stitches for a small tear.

Hubby and I made it through the journey of child birth together and Avelina was the end result! 

Avelina's Stats

Avelina's Stats 

Birth:
                  Weight: 7 lbs. 3 oz.
                  Height: 19.5 inches

Discharge from Hospital (3 days old):
                  Weight: 6 lbs. 9 oz.

1st Doctor's Visit (4 days old):
                  Weight: 6 lbs. 14 oz.

2 Week Old Check-up:
                 Weight: 8 lbs. 1 oz.

                  Height: 20.5 inches

Month Old Check-up:
                Weight: 9 lbs. 5 oz.
                 Height: 21.5 inches

seems like Momma's nursing is helping baby bird grow