(T)arina and (A)tkins in Chicago » Pickle

Liora’s Birth

Tarina — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:54:57 +0000

On Friday May 7th, 10 days after our Pickle was due, I had an appointment with my midwife. She checked my cervix and found that there was no dilation. On the way home, I kept feeling cramping sensations. I got home and started timing them. By that afternoon, I was convinced that I was in labor.
We called our doula and she came over to help us through these early stages. Friday night did not bring much sleep. I had contractions every couple of minutes and Atkins was up with me for each one. I was able to sleep in between the contractions, though, and by Saturday morning they had gotten much stronger. The doula and I decided that it was time to go to the hospital and so off we went! The car ride was not exactly fun, but we made it there.
When we got to the hospital, labor had really progressed. It was difficult to answer all the questions that people kept asking me. I was in a pseudo-trance for a lot of the time. Luckily I had Atkins, who helped me though the difficult times.

Our birth plan involved keeping things as natural as possible and I was looking forward to laboring in the tub. Unfortunately, once we made it up to the delivery room, the fetal monitor showed that Pickle’s heart rate was dipping at certain times. Since things were not 100% normal, I was unable to use the tub. The midwife decided to break my bag of water and speed things along. Once that happened, they noticed meconium, meaning the baby had pooped in the amniotic fluid. This can cause problems, obviously. Once the water was broken, my contractions got a lot more painful. That was when I decided to go for the epidural. Our entire birth plan was shot, and I was in quite a bit of pain. They put the epidural in and it was like a whole new world! My pain was basically gone. Each contraction brought a much less painful sensation. Unfortunately, Pickle’s heart rate was dropping after each contraction, so the doctor decided it was time to go for a c-section. After about 24 hours of labor, I was dilated to 7.5 cm, and was going in for surgery. I had prepared myself a bit mentally for the possibility of a cesarean but I was still scared when they rolled me into the operating room. It was a good thing I had gotten the epidural, otherwise I would have been put under general anesthesia.

Once we were in the operating room, the doctor delivered Pickle in a very short amount of time. Atkins was able to peek over the surgical drape, and he was the one to announce that we had a little girl. Since she had meconium in the fluid, she was taken immediately by the neonatal specialists and I never even heard her cry. While I was being sutured, we discussed names. Kind-of surreal, really. Our midwife came back and forth from the room where our new little girl was being assessed and told us that she was absolutely beautiful. She also mentioned that she had really long feet, which made us laugh.

The first time I was able to see my beautiful daughter was as we were both being wheeled out of our respective rooms. I was on my gurney and she was in her incubator. She had wide-open eyes and the cutest little pouty mouth. The doctors were worried about her respiration so she was to stay a while in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) so they could monitor her breathing. She was breathing well on her own but with a little increased effort.

Sometime during Saturday night, our little girl had a seizure. The staff saw her right arm moving in an erratic manner. They gave her an anti-seizure medication and ordered several tests, the first of which was a CAT scan. The doctors told us that they were concerned that our tiny girl had a stroke in utero. When the CAT scan came back normal, they ordered more tests, including an MRI and an EEG. EEGs monitor brain waves and are measured using electrical leads at various points on the head. The EEG picked up some abnormal brain waves. Also during her time in the NICU, her heart rate was being observed and became concerning because it was getting very low. So, more tests were ordered, including a 12-lead ECG, an echocardiogram and a Holter monitor.

Everything came back normal. The seizure activity stopped. While we were waiting on all the tests, they were running pathology on my placenta (which they didn’t even tell me they were doing, but I’m glad to know they did) and they found some evidence of inflammation on the baby side. I had never had so much as a cold during my pregnancy, so this inflammation remains a bit of a mystery. They were concerned about infection, however, so they decided to keep her on IV antibiotics for 7 full days.

The cardiologist diagnosed her with sinus bradycardia, which means that her heart rate is a normal rhythm, just slow. When she was in deep sleep it would dip down into the 60s. (It’s funny, though, because as I was in labor, my heart rate was about 52. Everyone kept asking if I were athletic and if that heart rate was normal for me. I always laughed when they asked if I were athletic, as would anyone who knew me. haha.) Though as the time progressed, her heart rate did not get below the low 80s. As for the seizures, the neurologist thinks it may just have been due to her traumatic birth. As for the traumatic birth, well, we don’t really know what caused that.

During this time, Atkins and I had to decide what to name our new little daughter. Of course, we had decided on a boy name, but hadn’t quite pinned down the girl’s name yet. We had two choices that we liked. Liora stood out to both of us. I liked the way it sounded, especially with Meyer as the last name, and the meaning “light” also struck me as fitting. Wren was a name that I always liked, and I found out that Atkins liked it a lot too. So, we started saying it, never really fully committing until the birth certificate representative came in. We decided to make it official and Liora Wren Meyer was transcribed into the ages.

It’s funny now, looking back on 41 and 4/7 weeks of calling her Pickle. We joked that she would be called Pickle for the rest of her life but as soon as we saw her, even before we had named her, we realized that she wasn’t Pickle anymore. Pickle was a mystery, a living entity in my body that we could never really see. This is Liora, our daughter, a small person in her own right and no longer an unknown.

Now we get to spend the rest of our lives getting to know Liora: her preferences, her likes and dislikes. Will she be girly? A tomboy? Will she like dolls or stuffed animals? Will she be a Daddy’s girl? The questions are endless.

Whatever she decides to be, she will be our little Liora, the light of our lives. And we are happy to finally have her home with us, where she belongs.

The nursery, almost 100% done

Tarina — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:36:35 +0000

I figured I would put some pics of the nursery up for those who aren’t able to check it out in person. I put my little paintings up on the walls, along with some other decorations, loaded up the dresser and the changing table with Pickle necessities and basically got everything straightened out. All we need now is this little baby to come play with us.

So, here’s some pics. I also tried a couple of panorama shots, so I’ll set those up up front. It’s easier to see how everything comes together. These are taken from opposite corners. It’s a pretty small room, though, so there’s a lot of overlap. The camera couldn’t get everything, which is why I took some other pics as well.

Here are other pics taken with a little more height so you can more easily see the decoration.

Unfortunately, I can’t figure out how to put pictures side-by-side on this damn blog, so you’ll have to deal with them as-is. ;) You can click on each one and bring up a slightly bigger version, so you should be able to see some good detail.

So, you may have noticed that I said the nursery is ALMOST 100% done. What could possibly be left, you must be asking yourself. haha. Or not. Maybe you didn’t even see that. Anyway, the only think I’d like to do is put the baby’s name up over the crib on the wall. Yes, I know, everyone is doing it, but I don’t care. I think it’s cute. Well, the only thing stopping me from doing it is that we don’t have a baby yet! :) Once the baby comes, I’ll work on getting that done. That means it’ll probably happen in the next 6 months or so. Considering that I’ll be a tad busy there for a while. haha.

Hopefully the next blog post will show Pickle on the outside of the tummy. I’m 5 days overdue as of this post, so it really should be any day now. :)
Keep an eye on the blog! (I’ll probably have Atkins type a little something up as I will likely be sleeping.)

38 weeks and counting…

Tarina — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:54:36 +0000

Okay, I have been told that I need to post new pics since it’s been a couple of months. Atkins and I decided that today was the day to update the world on Pickle’s (and my) growth. So, it’s been almost 8 weeks since the last set of pics and yes, I am bigger. Haha. In fact, most of you probably already skipped ahead to the pictures and aren’t even reading this. It’s okay, I won’t take too much offense.

Anyway, just for a gestational clock update, I am 37 weeks and 4 days preggers, which means Pickle’s due date is in 17 days. I’m curious. Will Pickle be early or late? I mean, the Anthonys have a tendency to not be on time for things, so I’m thinking s/he will be more on the late side. ;)

We’ve also put the nursery almost 100% together. I have to hang the paintings I finished as well as the mobile. I’m going to wait for professional help for the mobile though, because the ceiling is plaster and I’ve already made one big hole up there. My professional help is my dad, of course, who will be here in about 2 weeks! Yay!

Alright, enough yammering. On to the pictures:

The Ubiquitous Side-shot

Happy Momma!

Atkins told me to make a mad “you did this to me” face but this was the closest I could get. It’s halfway between “grr” and giggling.

I just keep growing!

Tarina — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:07:27 +0000

So, everything with Pickle seems to be going well. Hm, does that make me Pickle’s jar?
I had some blood work done last week and everything seemed to turn out just fine. No signs of gestational diabetes or anything like that. Honestly, I am enjoying my pregnancy quite a bit. Sure, there are some minor inconveniences like back pain when I sleep, swollen ankles and difficulty tying my shoes, but in the end, it’s really not so bad.
I’m almost 30 weeks now, and Pickle will technically be full-term in about 6 weeks, with a due date of just about 10 weeks from now. Pretty crazy. I remember back when I first realized I was pregnant and it seems so long ago. Looking at that little blue + on the test and thinking, “Hm” and then “whoa.”
Now I’m wondering how much bigger I’ll get and whether my belly button will pop from innie to outtie. And will I have to get Aktins to tie my shoes eventually? These are all very important questions. haha.

Anyhoots, Atkins took a few photos of me on Super Bowl Sunday. You can see more of them on his Flickr account to the right, but I thought I’d repost a couple here. Enjoy! :D

Meet Pickle

Tarina — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:24:48 +0000

Well, it’s taken me a while, but I finally got around to scanning the ultrasound images of Pickle. By the way, we are referring to our little one as “Pickle” so that we can try not to say “it” so much.
The first trimester was a little rough on me. Not only did I have some problems with morning sickness, but I had some bad experiences with my doctor. The good news is that I found a clinic I like much better, so everything seems to be working out well.

Here’s the first images we saw of Pickle, taken at 8 weeks. It’s amazing how little everything is. That big circular thing up top with the dark spot in the middle is not the head. It’s the yolk sac. So don’t get any weird ideas. ;)

After that, I had my falling out with the old clinic. Long story short, one of the doctors in the practice had a horrible bedside manner and I was not comfortable with the idea that she would have any chance in being the one on call when I delivered Pickle into this world. So, I left.
Thirteen weeks later, we went for the next ultrasound. Here is Pickle at 21 weeks, complete with labels. It’s amazing how you can see the bones and the features of the face. The picture wasn’t as cool at the in-motion scan, of course. We were able to see lips and nostrils, toes and fingers, brain and heart (and all the chambers of the heart) which was amazing!
And the best news of all is that everything is just as it should be and we still don’t know the sex of the baby, so don’t ask. haha.

That last image of Pickle’s feet is my favorite! How cute are those tiny little toes? I think I’m going to try to get that pic blown up and framed. It is way too cute to pass up. :)

Well, I hope that you enjoy your little peek at Pickle. We are getting very excited. The house is a bit of a mess of boxes right now. I have next week off, so I’m hoping to get things cleaned up and straightened out in that time. Having the big stuff put together will make it much nicer when I’m hugely pregnant and still want to nest. Then I can do fun little things like fold tiny socks over and over. haha!

It’s been pretty exciting feeling Pickle start moving around too. Atkins has been able to feel it on a couple of occasions, and I have already noticed patterns when Pickle seems more active. It’s typically around 7 or 8 at night when I feel the most movement. Pickle hasn’t woken me up in the middle of the night yet, but I expect with growth will come stronger kicks and more activity.

April 27th sounds so near and yet so far at the same time! Keep us all in your thoughts.
We love you guys!