Alyssa Nicole Harris Has Arrived!

Alyssa Nicole Harris, aka BabyHarris, has arrived!!

November 16, 2007 at 9:54am
7 lbs 4.3 oz and 19 1/4 inches


As many of you remember, I was blogging while in labor. That was lots of fun! No epidural until 2:30am. I'm not sure many of you know this, but according to the anesthesiologist, I'm "high strung" and I "don't know how to relax" so the epidural took 45 minutes to be put in place. Yes, 45 minutes. Not 4-5 minutes like most people, but actually 45 minutes! Granted, I have a high pain tolerance, but man oh man, I have no idea how people do it without the epidural. I wanted to ring this guy's neck for taking so long!

Anyway, labor was less than 14 hours which is good on a first delivery. Actual pushing labor was only 1 hour 14 minutes. I was on oxygen because the baby's heartrate was dropping during contractions. Well, the oxygen was making me a little light-headed and apparently my eyes were rolling in the back of my head a couple of times and I almost passed out. The nurse told me to relax several times and just let a couple of the contractions go by without pushing. My response?

"I'm not here to rest, I'm here to push and get her out of me!!" They all thought that was funny so I took over. Yes, the control freak in me started having to tell them when I was going to push because they didn't want to tell me when to push as they wanted me to rest. My doctor thought I would be pushing for about 3 hours, and out pops the head. He tells me that she has a ton of hair. That freaked me out because I was expecting bald since I had no heart burn. Boy (girl), does she have a lot of hair... and it's DARK! Mike and I are both fair skinned with auburn (red) hair. Granted, Mike was blonde as could be when he was younger, and I was bright red, but over the years, both of us got darker. I guess she's going to do the opposite.

Her eyes are this very dark blue-grey color, which I know can change in the next couple of years. I have brown and Mike has hazel. I wonder which way she'll go... thus far, she doesn't look like either one of us.

We also had our first scare. She was almost hospitalized for dehydration and losing 12% of her initial body weight, and 10% is typically the highest end doctors will tolerate. We had to swtich from breast to bottle for a day, and she gained 5.5 oz just in one day, and we'll go back to the breat (too much info?) at her next feeding in a couple of hours.

She's gorgeous and a high acheiver already! She can push off my shoulders and chest, she can stand up and take a few steps on my stomach and chest, and she bobs her head to music. I think the bobbing of her head is because I would beat my stomach like a drum when I listened to music in the car.

Anyway, I could go on and on. Instead, here are some more pictures!!


































The really good pictures are on Mike's laptop, and he hasn't transfered them over to our Shared file yet, but isn't she the cutest!!??

Water Broke- At Hospital in Labor

No one thought I would actually do it, but here I am in labor at the hospital and I'm posting a blog!!!

My water broke at 7:20pm Central time, and it's currently 11:45pm. I'm on a Pitocin drip to help increase the contractions for more consistency.

I'm SOOOO thirsty but no fluids allowed. My doctor said it was ok, but the anesthesiologist person said no... I can eat popsicles though.

I'll post again after the baby gets here!! YEAH!!

Doctor's Appt this morning

This has been a very frustrating weekend... still no baby. After spending 9 hours at the hospital Saturday night into Sunday, we were back at the hospital Sunday night at 10:30pm...

Still no baby! The on-call doctor was just so worried about when my doctor would be back in town and she seems "scared" to so anything. I did go to my regular doctor this morning and told him all about the weekend. He said that he believes that doctor is more used to working with HMOs and not PPOs and she was acting accordingly. I was like, she should have asked what my insurance was if she was concerned about it.

Either way, the doctor said it could be any day, maybe even today. He said my cervix is "favorable" and in great position.

We're very excited, but for a control freak like me, I hate not knowing which date it would be!! I feel like I've lost all control!! Is she a teenager already?? LOL

Back at Hospital Sunday Night

Last night, we headed back to the hospital. I was given a list of things that if they happened, I was supposed to call the doctor again. The things that worried me were the lack of fetal movement, the fact that contractions were less than 5 minutes apart and very intense around 3:30 that afternoon, but by 5, they were much further apart and not as intense, and also the diarrhea came back...

So, Dr. Gomez sent me back up there around 10:30pm to be monitored for an hour. Everything was fine, and we were home and in bed before midnight. Baby's heartbeat was much slower, into the 120's instead of the normal 140-150's, but they said it was OK.

I was instructed to move my Wednesday appt with Dr. Downey to today, so I'm waiting for the office to open. We'll see!

Spent the Night in the Hospital- No Baby

Yesterday, I started having some pretty good contractions. About 9pm, I noticed they were about 6-7 minutes apart. I called the on-call doctor since mine is out of town. She told me to give it an hour. I gave it 2 hours...

At midnight, we gathered all the stuff needed, and we headed to the hospital. Contractions were coming 1-2 minutes apart and 4-5 minutes apart... but didn't dilate past 2cm, so they just sent me home. I was there for 9 hours!

Being sent home was good because I can actually eat something as I'm starving, but I don't like being sent home because the contractions are so close, how do I know when I should go back up there??

Oh well, I'll figure it out. Hopefully she comes today. PLEASE keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Week 38- BabyHarris Weekly Update

Well, I just got back from the doctor's... I'm a couple of days early of 38 weeks, but my doctor is going to a wedding and will be gone from Thursday thru Sunday, so I had to have my appt today.

I'm having contractions, but they are not consistant. They are either 20-25 minutes apart or they're more like 40-45 minutes apart. We need to get those closer together!

I'm about 2cm dilated, but still not enough to strip the membranes to do much of anything. It's another week of waiting, as I don't really want to go into labor with him gone and get stuck with a doctor that I don't know.

I've tried almost every trick out there, including a couple of things that were suggested from others commenting on my blog like working in the yard, and nothing... I heard a few days ago that eggplant parmesan can put you into labor, so that's for dinner tonight! I made it earlier and I'm just waiting until 4:30pm to put it in the oven to bake it. I love eggplant parmesan, but Mike doesn't, so I did double duty, as the nice wife I am, and made him chicken parmesan.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me!! Doctor doesn't leave town until Thursday around noon, so there is still time to have her tomorrow before he leaves!!

Week 37- BabyHarris Weekly Update

So frustrating, so frustrating!!! At today's appointment, it looks like she is just "baked" enough.

I am retaining so much water, it's starting to concern my doctor, but still not signs up pre-eclampsia. My hands are so red and I can barely type at times because my fingers are so swollen, I can barely bend them, especially in the mornings. My knees are getting much worse and it's hurting to walk. Blood is pooling behind my right knee which is causing more pain.

However, blood pressure is still fine, 118/60 so he sees no reason to actually induce as he still thinks it will lead to a C-Section. It's very nice of him to be so concerned about not performing a C-Section, whereas other doctors probably wouldn't care.

He hooked me up to a monitor for about 10 minutes to check activity and such. Apparently, I am having contractions, and I'm like, "that's" a contraction? I've been having those pains for a couple of weeks now, but I guess they're not strong enough to make a difference, but at least it makes me feel better to know that I actually am having contractions.

Diagnosis: SEX

I asked him if I could just acquire some sperm and insert. He laughed. He said he had never heard of anyone suggesting that. He said most people go to a sperm bank to become pregnant, not to become un-pregnant.

So frustrating... maybe she doesn't want to come until she has a name... looks like I've got a stubborn one on my hands!!

Today marks Week 37

Yes, today marks week 37 in this fabulous adventure of weight gain! However, my doctor's appointment isn't until tomorrow morning at 9am. Mike's company is throwing a lunch shower for us and the only appt time would have been 1:30pm and there was no way I was going to get on a scale right after a big lunch as we all know how skewed the numbers would be.

I'm feeling quite a bit of pressure so hopefully she's almost here! My bag is almist done being packed. Not really sure what else I'll need until it's time. I can't pack a phone, laptop, camera, batteries, or chargers until we're heading out the door because I need those things everyday. Mike still needs to put some of his things in the bag for in case there's a slumber party at the hospital!

I'm walking A LOT, and I'm told that helps. Oscar sure is enjoying all the walks, especially with the cooler weather.

I'll post an update after my appt tomorrow. Oh, and we might actually be getting closer with picking a name... Can anyone suggest any "good" 1 syllabole names for a middle name, except not Ann, Lynn, Leigh, Fae, Mae, Rae, Rose...