Wow - it has been a long time. Shocker, of shockers - we had a 5th baby!
When Pippa was 6 weeks or so, I confided in hubby that I would like him to hold off on his vasectomy - because I wasn't sure I was done. To my joy, he said that he'd really like another baby, in another 2 or 3 years. (This is where the shock comes in.) About 6 weeks later, I found out I was expecting baby #5. We were in the throws of waiting for orders to hubby's new duty station with the U.S. Coast Guard. I was having a bit of insomnia. I was waking up early to pee at 5am, instead of sleeping through till 7am or so. One morning I took a test to, "put my mind at ease". I about fell down when that 2nd line was immediate and dark! To make long story short - we welcomed Israel Godric into our arms via planned c-section on November 26th 2007.
While we were sure we were done - neither hubby or I wanted to do anything permanent. And I suffered from pretty severe PPD. It took me a good year to be completely back to my old self. And about a 15 months ago, when Izzy was just 3, and Pippa just 4 - hubby and I decided to get out of the family planning business. We realized that God knows much better than we do, how many children we should have. And so here we are. Not preventing, not trying. So, I am hoping there will be a hatchling #6, and even maybe a #7. My periods without clomid are very sporadic. I regularly go 3-6 months between them. And while I will be 40 here very soon (less than 3 months) - nothing is too hard for YHVH.
I guess the biggest reason I started this blog back up is because of what happened today. We are Torah observant followers of Yeshua. We attend a small home church, on Saturdays. Today, we had a work party at the leader's house to ready to back yard for summer and get things straightened up for the younger kids to play down there if they get antsy during the teachings. While weeding, and chatting with the ladies about family size and babies, and how much I would love more - Dorthy, the sweet, godly, 82 year old woman who the kids affectionately call Grandma D had a word for me. She looked right into my eyes and said, "God is telling me you are going to have another child." Oh was I so over joyed! I know YHVH speaks to us about others. I have gotten encouraging words for others from YHVH before. She even asked that I write this down in my prayer journal, so when it happened I would remember what she said, and encourage her that she was indeed hearing from YHVH. Giddy with excitement, I continued to chatter. Then Grandma D turns from her task again and says, "And I believe the child is going to be another girl". She said she wasn't sure if that last part was YHVH, or her - but she clearly had an insight that it would be a girl. So, here I am. Restarting the blog. Not knowing how often I'll write or check in. But I did just have to write this down. I pray we are blessed with hatchling #6 soon. Oh how I would love another little girl! Praise YHVH, who always keeps His promises. Now I wait, for His perfect timing.
Shalom.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thursday, January 04, 2007
I am sadly closing out this blog. We have had our 4th blessing and our family is now complete. I have my moments when I realize how quickly Pippa's infancy is flying by...3 weeks already; and I think that maybe another would be nice. But those moments are fleeting. Most often I feel a sense of completion with her. Like we are done, and our family is as God has intended it. Hubby is going to get snipped sometime in the near future. So unless the Lord works a miracle we won't be having any more. It is bitter sweet - but I look at Pippa and my heart is full of, you are the one we were waiting for. Hubby and I definitely had the feeling our family was missing someone, and now she is with us.
I look back over this blog that was started during our struggle with infertility. My diagnosis with PCOS. Clomid. And finally the conception of sweet Pippa. It was a long road. There were times I wondered if it truly was in the Lord's plans to give us another child. I remember the Sunday in church my heart cried out to the Lord during worship. As tears streamed down my cheeks I told the Lord that I only want what He wants for my family and that if that meant no more children, please take the desire out of my heart for more. It was but 3 weeks later that I got my +HPT. I guess the Lord was waiting for me to give the desires of my heart to Him. To be submissive to His will.
Thanks be to God! On to raising our blessing, may I be the mom He wants me to be.
I look back over this blog that was started during our struggle with infertility. My diagnosis with PCOS. Clomid. And finally the conception of sweet Pippa. It was a long road. There were times I wondered if it truly was in the Lord's plans to give us another child. I remember the Sunday in church my heart cried out to the Lord during worship. As tears streamed down my cheeks I told the Lord that I only want what He wants for my family and that if that meant no more children, please take the desire out of my heart for more. It was but 3 weeks later that I got my +HPT. I guess the Lord was waiting for me to give the desires of my heart to Him. To be submissive to His will.
Thanks be to God! On to raising our blessing, may I be the mom He wants me to be.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Pippa is here!
Short story...Pippa Louise was born on Wednesday 12/13/06 at 3:54am. Weighing in at 7lb 03 oz and 21 inches long. She was born via emergency c-section.
Long Story...I had my weekly NST on Monday 12/11/06 at 1pm. I just barely get out of there in time to go down stairs for my 2pm OB appt. I am given the NST strip and told that my OB will sign off on it down there. Ok. So I go down stairs and see the OB. I am measuring 43 weeks - but all else seems well. If I don't deliver by my 39w appt. we will schedule an induction then. Ok. Great. Come back in 1 week. On my way out the doc. stops me and says the NST strip didn't look "reassuring" - so I need to go back up to the Fetal Assessment Until and have a BPP (Bio-Physical Profile).
I get up to the FAU. The Nurse is doing the BPP and can not get baby to move enough or do any practice breathing movements during the 30 minute procedure. She calls the perinatologist in. He continues to look for those things for another 10 minutes and then says to me, "You need to stay and have the baby today". What? Can't I go home and give my kids a hug? Arrange child care? "No." says doc. I have to stay or baby could die. Ok. I call DH and tell him. He will try and arrange child care.
I walk over the L&D and check in. Bad news. They are swamped! No room at the inn...please take a seat in the waiting room. An hour or so passes and they have a room for me. They start the IV and not much else. Pretty soon an OB comes in. Since he tells me I am 2cm and 50% effaced they are going to try going with a low dose of Pitocin. They try that for hours and hours. Hubby gets Lianne and Vito to stay over night with the kids. We play cards, dominoes, and Yahtzee. Nothing is happening. Hubby goes home around 5am to relieve Lianne and Vito and get the girls off to school. It is now Tuesday morning.
Have I mentioned how inattentive they are at the Balboa Navy Medical Center? Sometimes hours go by without anyone checking in on me. And we are taking 4 hours sometimes. There were no TV's - no radios - NOTHING. And the best part? The nurse call buttons weren't working. Oh and God forbid if it is an hour before or after shift change - then you could DIE before anyone would bother with you.
Onward soldiers! LATE Tuesday morning another set of docs come in. This time I am told, "sorry - your outer cervix may be 2cm but your inner cervix is closed, thick and long". They put a pill called cytotech near my cervix and leave me to "ripen" for 4 hour. Yep - alone. 5 hours later (get how they DIDN'T come back at 4 hours) the place more Cytotech. Yep - another 4 hour wait for me.
It is now about 8pm...ish Tuesday night. Another shift change has taken place. This time an AWESOME doc. came in and was sooo pissed about how this whole thing had been handled. I can hear her ranting down the hall about why was my baby allowed to "slip away" from the monitor when I had been brought in for induction because of unreassuring fetal heart tones. Anyway - she tells me at the 4 hour mark she will be back to check me and start pitocin. And she is!!!
11:30pm Tuesday night. The Cytotech has worked! My entire cervix (inner and outer OS) is a full 2cm dilated and 25% effaced. Time for pitocin again. Within 45 minutes of starting pitocin my water breaks - nice and clear. But baby is still high, a (-3). The contractions start and I am going to be brave and see how far I can get without an epidural. Almost right away baby is having decels with just about every contraction. My OB comes in a few hours later and says while it is concerning, the baby is recovering every time rather nicely. He checks me and I am 7cm, 80% effaced and baby is +1. He talks to me about the possibility of a c-section if baby ceases to recover from these contractions. He puts on oxygen mask on my face and puts me on my side, telling me to breath deep.
Approximately 3am Wednesday the 13th. Wow, I made it to the 13th???!!! This means 3 of the 4 kids will have birthdays on the 13th's. Cool. The contractions are getting hard to breath through and I am loosing my concentration as I hear baby's heart rate decelerate wayyy too low. I look at the monitor and I am not in the midst of a contraction. I hold my breath (figuratively) and slowly baby's heart rate goes back up to normal. In comes the doctor who tells me he thinks that a c-section is probably the safest way to go - and that he is going to find the chief OB on the floor and he'll be back.
Approximately 3:30am. The OB and Chief OB come into my room. The chief OB says, "well baby looks stable now". I am fearing that she is going to play roulette with my baby's life. Just then the baby's heart rate takes a BIG dive. And I do mean BIG!!!! It dropped to less than 50BPM and WOULD NOT RECOVER. My heart is pounding. The chief OB panics and is yelling at a nurse to put me in some position and boom the head of the bed is thrust toward the floor! At the same moment the foot of the bed is raised.
Suddenly that little bed is rocketing down the hall and into the OR. The anesthesiologist with the kindest and warmest blue eyes was there telling me about giving me a spinal. The Chief OB screeches at him that this baby does not have time to waste waiting for a spinal!...that I need to be put under "NOW". Bam! I am shuttled onto this TINY narrow OR gurney. My arms are stretched out and strapped to padded bars. A mask is placed on my face. I hear the anesthesiologist tell an nurse anesthetist about some for of pressure he wants him to apply to me and he has the intubation gadgets in his hand.
I panic! I manage to free an arm and slap his hand away from my face and start to cry - begging him not to intubate me while I am awake. He strokes my forehead and replaces my mask. He tells me to take 5 really deep breathes because he really wants to oxygenate baby before they start. He also tells me (and I quote) "sweetheart - don't worry. I won't let them do ANYTHING to you until I am sure you are 100% out". He shows me a needle and says "I am putting this into your IV now. You are going to feel warm - but that will pass very soon".
The next thing I know I wake in some old hospital room that has been converted into an OB/c-section recovery area. At first I don't know where I am and then I try to move and remember the impending c-section. With a scratchy voice I take the Oxygen off my face and ask, "Did my baby make it?". I closed my eyes not wanting to hear what could possibly be very bad news. Soon the corpsman is by my side reassuring me that Pippa was fine. She was in the NICU - and had apgars of 8/8. As soon as I recover enough they will bring her into me. Praise God, thank you Jesus - I squeak out as I slump back down onto the bed. It is 7am-ish Wednesday morning.
I must call Hubby! Is my next thought. He had left Tuesday evening (with the holidays we hadn't bee able to arrange over night child care) and he wasn't even aware the danger Pippa had been in - or that I had the baby at all. But the pull of all the Morphine I am on sucks me back into sleep.
"Breath Ms Ambriz!!!!" I hear the corpsman shout at me from across the room. I guess whenever I was dozing I wasn't breathing deep enough and my O2 levels fell sharply. My cell phone rang from somewhere. It was Hubby. Someone handed me the phone. Hi honey - Pippa is here. We almost lost her... emergency c-section. Before I knew it Hubby was at my side as was my beautiful, sweet little girl. And it is true what they say. C-section babies are the most beautiful!
Short story...Pippa Louise was born on Wednesday 12/13/06 at 3:54am. Weighing in at 7lb 03 oz and 21 inches long. She was born via emergency c-section.
Long Story...I had my weekly NST on Monday 12/11/06 at 1pm. I just barely get out of there in time to go down stairs for my 2pm OB appt. I am given the NST strip and told that my OB will sign off on it down there. Ok. So I go down stairs and see the OB. I am measuring 43 weeks - but all else seems well. If I don't deliver by my 39w appt. we will schedule an induction then. Ok. Great. Come back in 1 week. On my way out the doc. stops me and says the NST strip didn't look "reassuring" - so I need to go back up to the Fetal Assessment Until and have a BPP (Bio-Physical Profile).
I get up to the FAU. The Nurse is doing the BPP and can not get baby to move enough or do any practice breathing movements during the 30 minute procedure. She calls the perinatologist in. He continues to look for those things for another 10 minutes and then says to me, "You need to stay and have the baby today". What? Can't I go home and give my kids a hug? Arrange child care? "No." says doc. I have to stay or baby could die. Ok. I call DH and tell him. He will try and arrange child care.
I walk over the L&D and check in. Bad news. They are swamped! No room at the inn...please take a seat in the waiting room. An hour or so passes and they have a room for me. They start the IV and not much else. Pretty soon an OB comes in. Since he tells me I am 2cm and 50% effaced they are going to try going with a low dose of Pitocin. They try that for hours and hours. Hubby gets Lianne and Vito to stay over night with the kids. We play cards, dominoes, and Yahtzee. Nothing is happening. Hubby goes home around 5am to relieve Lianne and Vito and get the girls off to school. It is now Tuesday morning.
Have I mentioned how inattentive they are at the Balboa Navy Medical Center? Sometimes hours go by without anyone checking in on me. And we are taking 4 hours sometimes. There were no TV's - no radios - NOTHING. And the best part? The nurse call buttons weren't working. Oh and God forbid if it is an hour before or after shift change - then you could DIE before anyone would bother with you.
Onward soldiers! LATE Tuesday morning another set of docs come in. This time I am told, "sorry - your outer cervix may be 2cm but your inner cervix is closed, thick and long". They put a pill called cytotech near my cervix and leave me to "ripen" for 4 hour. Yep - alone. 5 hours later (get how they DIDN'T come back at 4 hours) the place more Cytotech. Yep - another 4 hour wait for me.
It is now about 8pm...ish Tuesday night. Another shift change has taken place. This time an AWESOME doc. came in and was sooo pissed about how this whole thing had been handled. I can hear her ranting down the hall about why was my baby allowed to "slip away" from the monitor when I had been brought in for induction because of unreassuring fetal heart tones. Anyway - she tells me at the 4 hour mark she will be back to check me and start pitocin. And she is!!!
11:30pm Tuesday night. The Cytotech has worked! My entire cervix (inner and outer OS) is a full 2cm dilated and 25% effaced. Time for pitocin again. Within 45 minutes of starting pitocin my water breaks - nice and clear. But baby is still high, a (-3). The contractions start and I am going to be brave and see how far I can get without an epidural. Almost right away baby is having decels with just about every contraction. My OB comes in a few hours later and says while it is concerning, the baby is recovering every time rather nicely. He checks me and I am 7cm, 80% effaced and baby is +1. He talks to me about the possibility of a c-section if baby ceases to recover from these contractions. He puts on oxygen mask on my face and puts me on my side, telling me to breath deep.
Approximately 3am Wednesday the 13th. Wow, I made it to the 13th???!!! This means 3 of the 4 kids will have birthdays on the 13th's. Cool. The contractions are getting hard to breath through and I am loosing my concentration as I hear baby's heart rate decelerate wayyy too low. I look at the monitor and I am not in the midst of a contraction. I hold my breath (figuratively) and slowly baby's heart rate goes back up to normal. In comes the doctor who tells me he thinks that a c-section is probably the safest way to go - and that he is going to find the chief OB on the floor and he'll be back.
Approximately 3:30am. The OB and Chief OB come into my room. The chief OB says, "well baby looks stable now". I am fearing that she is going to play roulette with my baby's life. Just then the baby's heart rate takes a BIG dive. And I do mean BIG!!!! It dropped to less than 50BPM and WOULD NOT RECOVER. My heart is pounding. The chief OB panics and is yelling at a nurse to put me in some position and boom the head of the bed is thrust toward the floor! At the same moment the foot of the bed is raised.
Suddenly that little bed is rocketing down the hall and into the OR. The anesthesiologist with the kindest and warmest blue eyes was there telling me about giving me a spinal. The Chief OB screeches at him that this baby does not have time to waste waiting for a spinal!...that I need to be put under "NOW". Bam! I am shuttled onto this TINY narrow OR gurney. My arms are stretched out and strapped to padded bars. A mask is placed on my face. I hear the anesthesiologist tell an nurse anesthetist about some for of pressure he wants him to apply to me and he has the intubation gadgets in his hand.
I panic! I manage to free an arm and slap his hand away from my face and start to cry - begging him not to intubate me while I am awake. He strokes my forehead and replaces my mask. He tells me to take 5 really deep breathes because he really wants to oxygenate baby before they start. He also tells me (and I quote) "sweetheart - don't worry. I won't let them do ANYTHING to you until I am sure you are 100% out". He shows me a needle and says "I am putting this into your IV now. You are going to feel warm - but that will pass very soon".
The next thing I know I wake in some old hospital room that has been converted into an OB/c-section recovery area. At first I don't know where I am and then I try to move and remember the impending c-section. With a scratchy voice I take the Oxygen off my face and ask, "Did my baby make it?". I closed my eyes not wanting to hear what could possibly be very bad news. Soon the corpsman is by my side reassuring me that Pippa was fine. She was in the NICU - and had apgars of 8/8. As soon as I recover enough they will bring her into me. Praise God, thank you Jesus - I squeak out as I slump back down onto the bed. It is 7am-ish Wednesday morning.
I must call Hubby! Is my next thought. He had left Tuesday evening (with the holidays we hadn't bee able to arrange over night child care) and he wasn't even aware the danger Pippa had been in - or that I had the baby at all. But the pull of all the Morphine I am on sucks me back into sleep.
"Breath Ms Ambriz!!!!" I hear the corpsman shout at me from across the room. I guess whenever I was dozing I wasn't breathing deep enough and my O2 levels fell sharply. My cell phone rang from somewhere. It was Hubby. Someone handed me the phone. Hi honey - Pippa is here. We almost lost her... emergency c-section. Before I knew it Hubby was at my side as was my beautiful, sweet little girl. And it is true what they say. C-section babies are the most beautiful!
Monday, December 11, 2006
38w 0d
I have an OB appt. and a NST later today. Thanks be to Diana who can watch Jack until Hubby gets off from work! I have been cramping a lot with some serious back ache. Hoping I am dilating some. I am making a major shopping trip to Costco this morning. That way Hubby has lots of nutritious but quick things he can make the kids in case I end up having the baby this week. If I don't - they will end up at fast food every day. Ick. The thought off days of Happy Meals non stop makes my tummy do flips. BLECK.
I have been looking back at this blog that was started when we were going through infertility. How far we have come - soley by the grace of God. And here I sit, full term and waiting on baby - completely on the other side of this journey. Well almost. I guess completely on the other side would be holding little Pippa Lou in my arms. Any day now.
Hubby gets 5 "free" days off from his command when we have the baby. AND, they approved his leave. So, he will also have an additional 25 days off. All and all he will have 1 while month off after baby arrives. Not so many men get to do that. I remember those first 3 weeks being so difficult! It will be nice to have him here and able to take Essie to and from school and not have to worry about packing baby up. I may complain about some aspects of the military life - like the low pay, and the fact that it is them and not us who dictates our lives. However, there are also lots of perks too.
I have an OB appt. and a NST later today. Thanks be to Diana who can watch Jack until Hubby gets off from work! I have been cramping a lot with some serious back ache. Hoping I am dilating some. I am making a major shopping trip to Costco this morning. That way Hubby has lots of nutritious but quick things he can make the kids in case I end up having the baby this week. If I don't - they will end up at fast food every day. Ick. The thought off days of Happy Meals non stop makes my tummy do flips. BLECK.
I have been looking back at this blog that was started when we were going through infertility. How far we have come - soley by the grace of God. And here I sit, full term and waiting on baby - completely on the other side of this journey. Well almost. I guess completely on the other side would be holding little Pippa Lou in my arms. Any day now.
Hubby gets 5 "free" days off from his command when we have the baby. AND, they approved his leave. So, he will also have an additional 25 days off. All and all he will have 1 while month off after baby arrives. Not so many men get to do that. I remember those first 3 weeks being so difficult! It will be nice to have him here and able to take Essie to and from school and not have to worry about packing baby up. I may complain about some aspects of the military life - like the low pay, and the fact that it is them and not us who dictates our lives. However, there are also lots of perks too.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
37w 2d
Ok, ok, trying not to be so tardy on these baby updates. Monday I had my 37 week appt. My shock and surprise when I measured...get this...43 weeks! Yikes! I am still only up 3 pounds this entire pregnancy, and am beginning to think that this is going to be one big girl. My OB put in a consult to see the perinatologist and have another measurment u/s. Other than that, all went well. They lost my GBS swab and so had to do it again. Another cervix check discovered that my cervix, while it isn't as posterior as it was last week is still closed - although soft and thinning. Come back next week.
Tuesday I had my weekly NST. Fluid level was down from 15 to 10, which apparently is normal this late in pregnancy. Pippa is still head down. What a relief.
So here I sit, just a waiting. I am officially "term", so she can come at any time...although I personally hope she waits until I am over this cold. Oh and one of my upper left molars cracked and now hurts mildly. I am praying the Lord holds it together until Pippa is born. I am in no shape to be having major dental work. I am sure this will at least be a crown - possibly a root canal. Ugh. With my phobia there is no way I could have that done without the special gas and the little relaxation pills to take about an hour before hand.
Ok, ok, trying not to be so tardy on these baby updates. Monday I had my 37 week appt. My shock and surprise when I measured...get this...43 weeks! Yikes! I am still only up 3 pounds this entire pregnancy, and am beginning to think that this is going to be one big girl. My OB put in a consult to see the perinatologist and have another measurment u/s. Other than that, all went well. They lost my GBS swab and so had to do it again. Another cervix check discovered that my cervix, while it isn't as posterior as it was last week is still closed - although soft and thinning. Come back next week.
Tuesday I had my weekly NST. Fluid level was down from 15 to 10, which apparently is normal this late in pregnancy. Pippa is still head down. What a relief.
So here I sit, just a waiting. I am officially "term", so she can come at any time...although I personally hope she waits until I am over this cold. Oh and one of my upper left molars cracked and now hurts mildly. I am praying the Lord holds it together until Pippa is born. I am in no shape to be having major dental work. I am sure this will at least be a crown - possibly a root canal. Ugh. With my phobia there is no way I could have that done without the special gas and the little relaxation pills to take about an hour before hand.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
36w 6d
Another late update. I had my 36w appt. this past Monday and here it is Saturday. Baby is no longer breech - floating high, but head down. Yay Pippa! I had a lovely internal exam - that was a little rough if you ask me. My adorable doc. couldn't find my cervix at first. Anyway I am closed and 50% effaced. I was measuring 41 weeks and the doc asked again, "How big were your other babies?". So again I told him that #1 was 7lbs 13oz at 40 weeks. #2 and #3 were the exact same...8lbs 2 oz at 39 weeks. Again I brought up induction dates since I know full well they won't let me go till 40 weeks. Again I get told, "well lets just see what your cervix is doing next week". SO I guess this is going to be a week by week think right up until the end. My BP was good 122/73. And I hadn't gained anything according to them, in the last week. So according to their scale I am at a total of +3 for this pregnancy. According to my scale I am +1. I go by my scale it seems to be more reliable.
My next appt. is Monday afternoon (12/4). 37w, I will officiallt be term. WOW. I have been having a lot of cramping, etc. since that pelvic exam last Monday. I am kinda excited to see if there has been any change. Then my NST is Tuesday (12/5).
So until then.....
Another late update. I had my 36w appt. this past Monday and here it is Saturday. Baby is no longer breech - floating high, but head down. Yay Pippa! I had a lovely internal exam - that was a little rough if you ask me. My adorable doc. couldn't find my cervix at first. Anyway I am closed and 50% effaced. I was measuring 41 weeks and the doc asked again, "How big were your other babies?". So again I told him that #1 was 7lbs 13oz at 40 weeks. #2 and #3 were the exact same...8lbs 2 oz at 39 weeks. Again I brought up induction dates since I know full well they won't let me go till 40 weeks. Again I get told, "well lets just see what your cervix is doing next week". SO I guess this is going to be a week by week think right up until the end. My BP was good 122/73. And I hadn't gained anything according to them, in the last week. So according to their scale I am at a total of +3 for this pregnancy. According to my scale I am +1. I go by my scale it seems to be more reliable.
My next appt. is Monday afternoon (12/4). 37w, I will officiallt be term. WOW. I have been having a lot of cramping, etc. since that pelvic exam last Monday. I am kinda excited to see if there has been any change. Then my NST is Tuesday (12/5).
So until then.....
Saturday, November 25, 2006
35w 6d
A little late in the update department here. I had my 35w appt on Monday. I was measuring 40 weeks! Yikes. Baby is/was breeech. They are going to start my weekly "checks" at the next appt. Oh yippee. My BP was good, weight was good. Pippa passed the NST with flying colors.
Next appt is Tuesday 21 Nov. in the afternoon. Wish us luck that baby has turned!
A little late in the update department here. I had my 35w appt on Monday. I was measuring 40 weeks! Yikes. Baby is/was breeech. They are going to start my weekly "checks" at the next appt. Oh yippee. My BP was good, weight was good. Pippa passed the NST with flying colors.
Next appt is Tuesday 21 Nov. in the afternoon. Wish us luck that baby has turned!
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