Connor (plus) Pictures

The girls barely acknowledged their brother in the hospital when they came to visit the afternoon he roomed with me (they weren't allowed in NICU for obvious reasons), but since coming home, they've become very interested in him. Cadence, especially, is doing great with the big sister thing. She's surprisingly capable while handling him, even able to pick him up entirely and adjust his position on her lap without dropping him. Megan's not quite as capable and requires help or a nearby pillow to prop the other half of him up, but she also loves to hold him when the chance arises.

Connor had his 2 week check up this morning. Doctor says he's doing well. There is some slight concern over his weight gain. He lost almost a full pound between birth and being discharged from the hospital and since then he's only gained 2oz back, coming in at an even 9lbs this morning. We've had some minor issues with nursing, but I think we're finally past the worst of it and he's finally filling diapers they way he's supposed to. We go in next week just to check his weight gain. I'm optimistic we'll have sufficient weight gain to make both myself and the doctor happy.

Connor Tsaliroi

It's taken me a few days to post this update that mostly everyone knows about. I was much better about this with both girls, but coming home this time was a bit more chaotic than the last two times. I was waiting to get my hands on some pictures to make this a pretty post, but pictures will wait until I can get them off various phones and cameras.

Connor Tsaliroi was born March 20 at 2:43pm via schedule c-section.

As posted earlier, the doctor was growing concerned about his size and the risks associated with a VBAC. I also had reached a point of "being done" and was frustrated by the sudden stop in pre-labor symptoms. Even the practice contractions had stopped and I had no labor signs, though I'd had them almost nonstop from 36 weeks until 38 weeks. So, we schedule the c-section for 39 weeks and 3 days, hoping I'd go into labor before then.

Wednesday morning, labor still hadn't started. We packed the last of my hospital bag, put things in the car, did one last load of dishes and headed out. The girls stayed with a friend from church and James and I headed toward the hospital. Things were already behind schedule when we showed up. Turns out everyone else decided Wednesday was a good day to have their babies as well. We spent the better part of 3 hours sitting in the pre-op room. Two hours after my appointment time, I was being wheeled back to the OR for the surgery. It was certainly a different experience. With Megan, they wheeled me back and knocked me out and I woke up an hour later. This time, I was awake. I won't say "wide awake" because once I had the spinal I got incredibly sleepy and nearly fell asleep from the sensation.

I probably amused the staff. The pre-op room was very stuffy and my temperature definitely rose to higher than normal. I was sweating like crazy and then had a major dizzy spell sitting up to take the anti-nausea stuff. While I was attempting to recover from that, they wheeled me into the air-conditioned halls and I felt even more loopy. Combine that with a general lack of sleep and I started rambling and swallowing my own tongue as I talked. Apparently I also got extremely pale while in the elevator, because one of the nurses commented that I had "pinked up" in the OR.

Anyway, Connor was pulled out to a round of "whoa" from the medical staff in the OR and the doctor leaned over to tell me "looks like the c-section was the right choice" (we'd both been rooting for the VBAC option to come to pass). Connor weighed in at 9lbs 12.8oz and cried the entire time, which might have been his downfall. The staff was a little worried about some of the sounds he was making as indicators of a lung issue and sent for NICU to take him. Luckily, one of the nurses realized I hadn't even seen him yet and brought him over for a few quick kisses from me before we were both wheeled out of the OR and separated.

Because they were so busy on Wednesday it took several hours to get me from the c-section recovery rooms to the post-partum rooms and it wasn't until the next morning that I had a doctor come in to see me and explain what was going on with Connor (I'd had a nurse come by and explain he had breathing issues and give me a way to contact them while I was bed-ridden, but the one time I did call there was little more she could tell me other than "he still has problems, but he's doing fine"). The doctor explained Connor had a pneumothorax and that they would be keeping a close eye on him but generally it healed itself in newborns without intervention. If it didn't, they'd do a simple procedure that should help and he'd be fine. So, in the end, it was a concern, but not a life-threatening one. They just had to keep an eye on him.

Once they let me out of bed Thursday morning, I paced my room a few times before I decided I was ready to go to NICU and finally get to see him, though it was after lunchtime before I felt up to it, since NICU was on a different floor than post-partum recovery, so I had to trek out to the elevators, go up a floor and then walk back to NICU. A few times, if I forgot to take my pain medicine or was due for another dose too soon, the trek back was quite painful and slow-going. During my first visit, the head nurse told me he had improved enough that I should be able to try nursing at my next visit (thus far, he'd gone 24 hours with only IV fluids, giving him a puffy look). I was able to nurse him at my next visit and then made periodic visits over the next 24 hours to feed him again until he was released from NICU and taken to my room Friday afternoon.

The girls were able to visit me twice. Both times they were happy to see me and not so happy to leave. The first time, Megan started crying as the elevator doors closed (I'd walked out with them on my way to NICU). The second time, I had to stay in the room with Connor and James had to carry her screaming out of my room and down the hall (yeah, I cried a little).

After one night of rooming with Connor and having a bit of a struggle with nursing once my milk started to come in, we were discharged. Of course, this process took several hours. Thankfully, another friend from church was more than willing to take the girls for the day so we could get through the process without worrying about them. It was a blessing, of course, since the whole thing was delayed by an extra two hours due to a few hiccups on the hospital's end (including somehow messing up my blood test and getting a false positive on my Hep B test). More than grateful to finally be heading home and see the girls again.

It's been a little over 2 days at home and it's been a slow adjustment, trying to fit Connor and his needs and my sleep deprivation into my day to day with the girls. Thankfully, James is off of work for the week to help while I learn some new ropes and relearn the old ones. Next week will probably be the longest week as I adjust to doing it all on my own. It's a blessing that newborns sleep so much, though Connor is proving to be my fussiest sleeper of the three, which is causing some difficulties. I already feel "survival mode" coming on as I consider the lack of schedule that will be my life for the next few weeks (months?). Thank goodness the girls are pretty independent and able to entertain each other, or content to just sit next to me when they're feeling snuggly.

37 weeks & Ultrasound

Just had our 37 week check-up, complete with final growth ultrasound yesterday afternoon. My body is showing no indication that Connor will be coming any time soon, but that doesn't mean he can't make his appearance any day now. So, I guess we'll see. Due to measurements, there's a chance he'll likely be here within the next 2 weeks, one way or another. I don't know the details on that. The doctor and I will be having a long chat at my appointment next week.

Anyway, the ultrasound was pretty standard. There were no concerns over anything other than his size, so other than a quick check for his heartbeat and double-checking his kidney and bladder and taking a peek at the placenta, they took the measurements they needed and I was in and out in 15 minutes. The technician estimated his weight at 7lbs 14oz (+/- 1lb). His head and belly measured the furthest ahead (39 weeks and 41 weeks respectively), so we'll see what he comes out at!

He amused the technician again, happily showing off he was a boy when she went to take a peek. And yes, I have another embarrassing ultrasound picture for the album. ;-) We now have 4 ultrasounds with very obvious boy parts and equally obvious pictures. Connor does not want us to doubt anything, apparently.

Unfortunately, due to his size and position, we didn't get any ultrasound pictures worth sharing. I have some fuzzy pictures of his "face" but with his chin tucked into his chest (which is good!) and his hands covering the rest of his face, all you see is a black blur that is one eye and some gray fuzz that's supposed to be his forehead and part of his nose. If you want cute pictures, go back to this post.

In the mean time, here's one final picture of pregnant me, 37 weeks + 3 days (do I look as tired as I feel?):

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has come and gone with it's usual quiet ease, but we did have some special little tidbits. James bought me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Sadly, they only lasted the afternoon before Megan snatched the three biggest ones and hid under the table to pull the petals off. The rest of the flowers have been safely tucked on the counter, where they don't get seen as often, but at least they're safe from Megan's flower-loving fingers.

As for James, I didn't get him anything special, but the girls happily created "cards" for him. We dug through our little arts and crafts box to find suitable items to use and the girls had fun. Handprints, cardboard tubes rolled to be heart-shaped stamps, crayons, and foam stickers to spell out their names. If you peek in the bottom right hand corner of Cadence's, you'll see where she copied her name. Megan's "heart" stamps are... well, she tried, lol. They both had a blast and they were both so excited to show them to James as soon as he got home (he reacted with appropriate enthusiasm, of course):

About My Girls

So... my girls are pretty awesome.

Now that they're so much older, so much of their awesomeness has become "routine" and it's harder to notice the new things they pick up. But then, sometimes, they'll say or do something and I'll think "holy cow..." and realize just how old they are.

For example: I bought the girls some cheap magna doodles at our local corner store. Since they both wanted the pink one, I wrote their names on them with a permanent marker to tell them apart and avoid the inevitable squabbles. Megan lost interest in hers rather quickly, but Cadence, my little artist has been carrying hers around (with Megan's stylus, since Cadence's lost the magnet in its tip) with her pretty much nonstop (I think I know what the Easter bunny is getting her this year...). I've bragged about Cadence's artistic skills in the past, but she really is advanced for her age and doing stupendously. She'll hold up pictures and I can recognize them without her telling me what they are. She draws mermaids, castles, ships, cats, cups, princesses, babies, etc. I watched her draw a castle and she narrated as she did, pointing out the towers and the grass and the tree and the princess, etc.

She also totally stunned me by holding up her doodle pad with a legible version of her name (copied from where I'd written it).

Both girls love music and singing and pick up on their primary songs quickly. Cadence is just a little bit faster, due to her age, but Megan is not far behind her. They both learned all four verses to "I Am a Child of God" and are on their way to learning both verses of "My Heavenly Father Loves Me". I'm determined my girls will know the primary program songs as well as any of the senior primary kids by the time September rolls around. ;-) They also know a large number of songs from Disney movies, probably more than they "should", but what can I say? They love their princesses.

The music has evolved into their creativity. "Brave" doesn't have any specific songs for the girls to memorize, so Cadence makes it up and calls it Merida's song. It changes daily. I try to get video of them singing, but by the time I have my camera in hand, they usually stop, no matter how sneaky I am. They play so well together and I love listening to their make believe conversations and stories. They're often based on their favorite movie characters, but still 100% unique.

I wish I could pinpoint Megan's "special skill", like Cadence's art. However, Megan's still young enough it just hasn't shown itself. She's definitely the more social of the two and her imagination goes further. She adjusts to new situations easier than her sister. Other than a brief meltdown the other week because James took her to primary instead of me, she's fully adjusted to Sunbeams. In fact, last Sunday she gave her first talk in primary. No ideas on how it went. I had to teach and James stayed home sick, so the presidency walked her through it. She might not have been understood (she has a lot of words, but she talks so fast the whole things blurs into gibberish), but I'm sure she did well.

I still maintain her physical manipulation skills are above par. They'd have to be to keep up with her sister starting at such a young age. Only my own fear keeps her held back, because goodness knows she doesn't know the meaning of the word some days.

I talk to the girls about Connor daily. They'll get in moods where they want to "play with him" (shake my belly) or "kiss him" (self-explanatory). When Megan cuddles with me, Connor tends to kick a lot and she'll get a little smile on her face when I ask about it. I love watching them interact with the baby dolls they have. It makes me so excited to see them interact with their baby brother when he comes here. Cadence insists she's too little to hold Connor when he comes, but I bet we'll be able to change her mind once he's here. At that point, we might have issues trying to get her to not hold him. He'll quickly become their favorite toy. ;-)

Baby Shower

Some lovely women from my ward threw a baby shower for myself and another woman due in only two weeks. It was a great little get together, complete with good food and lots of chit-chat (which is the whole reason to go to those things, right?)

I had a blast. :-)

I also walked out with a lot of the basics I wanted. Some light blankets, towel & washcloths, some books, lots of clothes, diapers and wipes. All that's left for me to get my hands on are a few more odds and ends (lotion, shampoo, diaper cream, etc.) and we'll actually be "ready". There are a couple more bigger items (dual receiver monitor, swing, etc.) that I'd like to get, but none of them are necessities, so I'm not stressing about them. Plus, I have a month to get around to picking them up if I really want to.

We are at 33 weeks today. Less than two months until my due date and exactly one month (since February is exactly 4 weeks) until I'm "full term". Next week, when I'm 34 weeks, my doctor will not actively stop labor should it start, but we want at least 3 more weeks of cooking time here.

Connor and I are still measuring on the larger side, but no major concerns to be had. I remain the most uncomfortable I have ever been while pregnant, but at least I'm not having the indigestion issues I did with Cadence or the car accident-induced pre-term labor I had with Megan, so I'll keep my complaining to a minimum.

The girls are ready to see their brother, well, Cadence is (Megan doesn't seem to notice half the time). Cadence talks about it frequently, though she knows we have to wait until after James's birthday and that Connor needs to get a little bigger, first. If ultrasounds were accurate, he's almost big enough, though. With average weight gain calculated in, he's probably a little over 5lbs right now, which is about where they estimated Megan's weight at this gestational age, so we shall see.

Finish off with a quick picture of me at 33 weeks (Enjoy, and feel free to comment on how great I look for so close to full term):

(Later this week, I'll post an update about the girls, I promise. They're pretty awesome, after all)

3D Ultrasound with Connor

We went to an elective 3D ultrasound place this past weekend. I'd been toying with the idea so the girls could see him and the deciding factor was that James was unable to attend any of the three ultrasound I've already had and wouldn't be able to attend the 4th one I'll be getting next month (due to his size, the doctor said he will be requesting another growth ultrasound just to check up on him, no concerns, just as a precaution for any potential concerns).

It was an enjoyable experience, though the girls lost interest quickly. Connor was mostly asleep the whole time, he didn't do anything worth watching for longer than the first few minutes. Yawns are only cute to moms, I think. Anyway, a few of my favorites:

It must have been a "stars aligning" moment, because the technician was just gushing about how well it all worked out. Comments about my fluid levels and position, etc. Many people have commented that they're not as creepy looking as other 3D pictures and I tend to agree. He looks just like his sisters, though. I can't wait to see those cheeks and that sweet mouth and nose in real life. The tech also said it looks like he's already got a full head of hair at 31 weeks. So the question is: red like James or dark like mine was when I was born? I should take bets. ;-)

After the ultrasound, we had a brief break before we took the girls to the drop-off daycare and James and I went on the hospital tour to get an idea of where to go on D-Day. It was a nice experience. The hospital isn't as nice as Bakersfield Memorial, but just about anything will be better than KMC, where I delivered Cadence. Ideally, I'll only be there a day, so... There wasn't anything new or unusual about the hospital but it's a good thing we went, since James and I got a little lost getting there. Not to the hospital, we made it there without an issue, but I did make a wrong turn trying to get to the parking structure and we had to stop and consult two maps on the wall to figure out where to go next to find the maternity section. Glad we got lost then and not while I'm in actual labor!

January Pictures

New Years Eve. We bought some Panda Express. Cadence saw me using chopsticks and asked to try. She did surprisingly well for a first timer:

After eating less Chinese food than I normally would, I felt pretty full. Laying down helps move Connor away from my stomach so the digestive system can actually do its job. James had his finger over the flash, but for some reason the picture amused me. The sticker on my belly? Megan wanted Connor to have it.

The girls have their own mini entertainment system in the dining room so they can enjoy their movies when James and I want/need the larger TV for ourselves. At first, we let them watch their quiet time movies here, but now that the novelty has worn off, they're back on the couch where I can keep a better eye on them:

Tonight, the girls and I made brownies for dessert. I instructed the girls they were not allowed to leave the kitchen until my beater was white again. They happily complied. I busted up laughing when I turned around and caught Cadence licking it:

29 Week Sneak Peek

Due to "measuring large" at my last doctor appointment, I got another little peek at Connor this morning. :-) It seems I'm not the only one measuring large. Little Connor is already estimated to be a hefty 3lbs 12oz (margin of error means he could be anywhere between 3lbs 3oz and 4lbs 5oz). While that may not seem like a lot to some, it is the 93rd percentile for his gestational age and is actually closer to the average weight of a baby 3 weeks older than him. If he gains the average of 5lbs between now and 40 weeks, he's likely to be in the 8lb range on his due date, closing in on 9lbs.

That is, of course, assuming the measurements are spot on. Megan herself measured 2-3 weeks ahead when they estimated her weight at 33 weeks. She came out "above average" for her age, but not by any extreme amount. So, it's just a wait and see.

Connor reacted as I've come to recognize as "normal". As soon as that wand pushed on my belly and invaded his space he was fighting back. He eventually accepted the poking and prodding and, other than a few stubborn kicks, he tucked his hands up by his face and went to sleep. Darn shame, too. The tech attempted to get me a nice 3D picture of his face, but with his hands in the way, she couldn't get a clear shot. Had a good laugh. To estimate his size/weight, the tech needed to measure his femur, but every time she'd get that focused, he's scoot over and "show off the goods". She eventually got the measurement, but it took 3 or 4 tries to make it work. And if the "borderline obscene" picture I had from the 21 week ultrasound wasn't enough to erase any doubts Connor is a boy, there's another one tucked into the 29 week pack of pictures. Definitely boy.

I didn't actually talk to the doctor at the hospital today like I normally do once the whole thing was done. He got called in for a consultation and the nurse offered to just have him forward the results to my personal doctor and go over them with him at my appointment next week. The tech said there was nothing that stood out as unusual to her, so I decided that's "good enough for now" and we'll see what my doctor says when I see him next Tuesday.

Sunbeam, Take 2

Megan's first day is a Sunbeam this morning. Try as we could, nothing would get Megan excited about going to primary. In fact, mentioning the inevitable was likely to prompt a protest and a few (or more) tears. Still, when the time came, she clung to my hand, followed me into the noisy, kid-filled, chair-filled, stranger-filled primary room and quietly sat in the chair I led her to. She watched James and I as we edged out, as silent as ever, and we thought we were in the clear. But a few steps down the hall and we heard her start crying.

Learning from past mistakes, James returned to the room and I fled. While sitting in my own class, I heard Megan's tears as she and James walked the hall for a short time, and when I had to run out to the car, I peeked in the primary room window and saw Megan in James's lap with her fingers in her mouth. James was able to leave and another parent took over keeping her calm, which is promising that she'd allow a stranger to step into that role. Another teacher of junior primary told me she did well from the on, but was not happy with the transition from sharing time/singing time to class time, but I did peek into her classroom and saw her sitting quietly and when I picked her up, she was all smiles, so I assume that part went well.

Cadence slipped into CTR 4 without issue. James says she was misbehaving as usual from the get-go. I am amused that she'll be friendly with her little partner in crime in the ward, but when the little girl waves and says hello to Cadence anywhere else, Cadence is suddenly shy and won't acknowledge them. In fact, Cadence's friend got dirty looks for even looking at her over the back of the pew this morning.

James and I had a good laugh when we were in the foyer (the church pew was just too uncomfortable for me this morning and I had to get up and walk, and then needed somewhere extra comfortable to sit, so we claimed the couch in the foyer for the last half of Sacrament). For a large portion of our time in the foyer, another person came out with their 1 year old daughter. For some unknown reason, this little girl terrified Cadence. When the toddler toddled over toward where Cadence was coloring, Cadence picked up her crayons and book and backed away then ran over to us and sat between us. When the little girl walked along the couch and used James's knee to hold herself steady, her next hand grip was Cadence's foot and Cadence lifted her foot out of reach, refusing to let her touch her. It was highly amusing.

I am now teaching CTR 8 this year. I was teaching CTR 7 last year, which means I have kept the same group of kids. I am very pleased with this change, because I genuinely enjoy teaching the class I have and am looking forward to teaching them for another year. Plus, I get to teach lessons that are scripture based, rather than themed. Motivation to study my scriptures more!

Connor is doing well, as far as we can tell. He is kicking hard and often, and I'm pretty sure he has regularly schedule dance parties (or gymnastic practice). It's not uncommon for my stomach to be bouncing, especially on his busy days. Megan, who tends to lean against my stomach the most, gets kicked frequently and generally ignores it. I can't coax the girls to hold a hand in place to feel when he's actually kicking, but they've both felt it. He's easily the most active of the three in utero. I think he's doing everything he can to earn the "most uncomfortable pregnancy" award. This morning he got his foot or fist or something wedged against my hip bone and pushed with all his might. Kind of hurt. I'm also pretty sure he flips from head-down to head-up position every other day, because the location of his movement is not regular in any way.

Due to the doctor's minor concern over how large my fundal height (pregnant stomach) was measuring, we'll be going in for an ultrasound this Tuesday. I'm not concerned and am quite certain I only measured large due to a recent growth spurt/weight gain, but better safe than sorry. I should get a nice estimate of how big he is and I'm always happy to get another peek at the boy. We'll also be doing an elective ultrasound that both the girls and James can go to (due to limited scheduling options and James's high-demand job, getting a medical ultrasound appointment he could attend without issue proved difficult). We'll be doing that in 2 weeks, which is the absolute latest for a "good" 3D ultrasound, before he starts getting squished and running out of space.

29 weeks today, so, in 8 weeks, it'll be "safe" for him to come, and he should be here 11 weeks at the latest (because at that point, he doesn't have a choice). Time for time to start crawling...