One week old

It has been a roller coaster of a week.

She seems to have bottomed out on her weight loss, and started bouncing back quick. She gained 5 ozs in 3 days.

She's getting better, I think, with sleeping at night. We have to get up a few times a night for feedings, but for the most part she is doing good. Her appetite has sky-rocketed. I don't know where she's putting all that food, but sometimes it seems we are in a constant feeding frenzy. The pediatrician said she is hitting her first growth spurt.

She still has a gunky eye, but I hear that is normal in newborns. We're keeping a watch on it.

She's already holding herself up when it's tummy time, and she's holding her head up when she's held to be burped. She's a very strong little lady!

Not much more news right now. Just playing the feeding / diaper changing / sleeping / repeat game. More to follow!

~ Joe

She loves the boppy!

Sweet Dreams!

Monkey Feet

She actually held my finger with her toes the other day!

Day 4 Update

Thought of the day: "Trinity is getting way too spoiled way too fast"

Nothing like sleeping with the most beautiful baby in the world at your side.

Once we got up, Ginny and I spent the morning trying to play catch-up. These feedings every three hours take up a LOT of time. We're still working on our routine.

We had a follow-up with the pediatrician today, to check her jaundice and overall health. Dr didn't seem too worried about the jaundice. She's continued to lose a little weight, but it hasn't gotten to a critical level yet. All babies lose weight, and she's still in the normal range. Dr did want us to come back on Friday for a quick weigh in, though, just to make sure the weight loss has leveled off.

Trinity's umbilical cord stump fell off this morning. It was actually kinda funny the way it happened. Ginny had taken her to her room and was getting her "dressed pretty for daddy". Next thing I know, Ginny came around the corner and said "look at your beautiful baby". It was about then, we saw something fall...

She was absolutely gorgeous in her purple dress, by the way!

~ Joe

Day 3 update

Thought of the day: "Did we get enough diapers?"

She's a sweetheart. Absolutely amazing. She does, however, have her mommy's frustration level. Once she gets frustrated (and it doesn't take long at all) it takes over an hour to calm her back down.

She didn't sleep at all night number 1. Night number 2 was a little bit better. I was able to get her sleeping from about 2:30am till about 6:00am so Ginny could try and catch up on her sleep. Then I passed her off at 6:00 and tried catching up myself.

It has been interesting trying to learn how to coordinate everything that needs to be done. Feedings, diaper changes, sleeping, cuddling. pictures, ointment for her little cracked ankles, diaper changes, soothing, and diaper changes. It keeps us busy.

I find myself checking her for breathing quite often. I don't think I would be quite this bad if it wasn't for the incident at birth. Oh, and I've begun checking her temperature ever couple of hours as well. (I know, it's overkill. I can't help it)

She is still learning that she can suck on daddy all she wants, but she still isn't going to get anything from it. But, when I go back to work with hickies all over my neck, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

She has already got one heck of a strong neck. 2 days old and she's already trying to hold her head up on her own, and has headbutted the side of my face more than once. Oh, and those legs!! She fights me like no other during diaper changes. It takes an extra 15 minutes just because of her putting up a fight! Maybe she'll learn that if she just cooperates, it'll be done in half the time...

or maybe not!

We're still battling a little jaundice. We've got to make an appointment for the pediatrician tomorrow just to have it checked again to make sure it is going down.

We've still got a lot to learn, and we are still hitting our fair share of roadblocks. But I know everything will turn out just fine!

~ Joe

She sure loves her thumb!

yummy thumb!

cranky!

Sweet baby

Birth details

Ok, sorry for the delay on all of this. Things have been hectic, as you can imagine.

I'm sure you already know, labor was one heck of an experience. Ginny did wonderfully. I'm very proud of her. Our goal was healthy mom, healthy baby, and we got it. She even managed to stay drug free throughout the process.

Sorry if some of the details are incorrect. Days are still kinda running into each other right now.

Ginny's contractions started Friday morning at 2:00am. They began getting stronger around 4:00am. Our doula, Aimee, (she was amazing by the way; we couldn't have done it without her) came over to the house around 10:00am. She helped Ginny rotate between relaxing, and walking/staying active during her contractions. This continued throughout the day, with no major changes.

Around 5:30pm, the decision was made to head to the hospital. Some of Ginny's symptoms and signs at that point were indicating that she might have been farther along than we thought. So we made the trip. Found out at the hospital that we weren't as far along as we thought. (2cm 80% -1) The Dr was notified and she asked the nurses to keep Ginny for a couple hours and check her progress again. I think it was around 8:00pm when she was checked again. (4cm 90% 0) and the decision was made to admit her into the hospital for birth.

From then, till sometime in the early morning on Saturday, Ginny worked through a lot of HARD contractions. She was in a lot of pain, and it broke my heart to see her like she was. But she is strong, and just kept on.

By 6:00am they checked her again (6cm 100% 0) and the Dr began discussing options to help speed up the labor. Ginny was exhausted at this point, and was concerned that she wouldn't have the energy to make it through "pushing" if the contractions continued for several more hours like they had been. We mutually agreed to have the BOW broken, despite this being against our original birth plan.

Then, by 8:00am ish, Ginny started feeling the urge to push during contractions. They had the nurse check her for full dialation (she was!) and the Dr was paged.

8:45am Trinity made her entry into the world, and for the first few minutes, scared the crap out of myself and Ginny both. She came out bluish-grey, unresponsive, not breathing, and limp. The doctor and nurse staff were amazing. Dr took complete control of the situation, the nurses jumped into gear, and after a couple minutes of organized chaos, Trinity was responding, breathing on her own, and looking a lot better; she was taken to the nursery for monitoring, but I got to go with her.

Nurses and doctor said her initial delay in responsiveness is not unusual. Sometimes the birth process can do some weird things to the baby (They explained it a lot better to me, but since I'm going on about 30 something hours of little to no sleep, that's the best I can do right now)

She got a 2 Apgar rating at birth, but then quickly bounced back, getting a 7 at 5mins and an 8 at 10mins.

With a little luck, mom and baby will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow morning.

I'll get more pics and things posted. Sorry to everyone who sent texts and didn't get a response. Our phones were literally going off the hook. I couldn't keep up with it all, and gave up, as I had other things to keep up with at the time. :)

Thanks for all the support we have had during this time in our lives. We appreciate it all. Now I'm heading back to be with mommy and baby, and hopefully get some sleep!

~ Joe

One exhausted momma!

the first hour

Apgar at birth - 2

Apgar at birth - 2
At 5 mins - 7
At 10 mins - 8

Trinity Grace - born 5/23/09

Trinity Grace - born 5/23/09 8:45am
6 lbs 14.9 ozs
Length 19.5 in
Head 12.25 in
Chest 12.5 in
Natural birth - no drugs.

after a very scary entrance

after a very scary entrance to the world, trinity was born at 8:45 this morning. she's doing fine now. details in time.

Monitoring breathing...

birth stats

birth hasnt gone exactly as

birth hasnt gone exactly as planned. still no baby. dr has intervened. more details later.

what day is it now?

what day is it now? ginny is going through transition but her body is doing it in spurts, giving her chances to rest.

she's still being stubborn. i

she's still being stubborn. i guess she decided to wait till after midnight. still working through contractions.

still at the hospital. no

still at the hospital. no baby yet. ginny is putting up one hell of a fight. i'm very proud of her.

on our way to the

on our way to the hospital!

Hurry up and wait...

Labor is a bunch of hurry up and wait, isn't it?

Today has been long, but I think we might be starting to make progress. Ginny is getting tired of the contractions, and I don't blame her. They haven't let up all day.

Sorry to keep everyone in suspense. I haven't updated much because not a lot has changed. Today has been a lot of the same thing, just repeated over and over.

I'm very proud of Ginny. She is doing wonderfully. Trinity has been kicking a squirming all day today; I'm not sure if she is trying to work her way out, or just fight with the contractions. Either way, she's definitely stubborn!

Anyway, that's all for now. I will continue to update as any new developments come along.

~ Joe

the past 20 mins have

the past 20 mins have been progressive. stronger and longer contractions now. starting to see progress!

Trinity is going to be

Trinity is going to be a stubborn baby. Contractions continue, but no major change as of yet. will continue to update...

just to clear things up,

just to clear things up, she is still in the early stages of labor. we have not left for the hospital yet.

Today?

This looks like today is the day.

Contractions began around 2am, got stronger around 4am, been timing them since 5:30. They are getting stronger, and have been pretty close together from the very beginning.

I'll try to keep everyone updated as the day goes on.

~ Joe

ginny is showing signs of

ginny is showing signs of labor this morning. not sure yet if its false or not. still too early. i'll update soon.

just wrapped up at the

just wrapped up at the weekly Ob appt. Dr thinks she is around 7.5 pounds. All is well so far. Still waiting on her!

Ginny's contractions continue, and something

Ginny's braxton-hicks contractions continue, and something still tells me Trinity may be coming tomorrow. I guess only time will tell!

Still Waiting....

Well it's about time for an update, although there's nothing new to report, this is just what's going on..
This little one is going to be stubborn! I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions pretty often since Saturday. They're not as regular as Saturday, but a precious few of them are now accompanied with a crampy feeling, as if everything is warming up for the big show. I had two of these contractions in a row yesterday, and it was borderline painful (sounds strange but I'm excited about those contractions b/c it gives me a chance to practice relaxing and breathing through them). I've also been drinking raspberry leaf tea to help with stronger contractions, as well as taking Evening Primrose Oil to try to speed things along. I'm really anxious to get this show on the road!
Again, we will alert everyone as best as we can when we're fairly sure true labor has begun; until then, we're just as anxious as you are! :P

no major changes in contractions,

no major changes in contractions, but they seem to be more spaced out now. we quit monitoring them for the time being.

contractions continue anywhere between 2

contractions continue anywhere between 2 and 20 mins apart. no change in intensity.

Trinity Watch 2009 Update

Ok, I debated on not posting this, as I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but here's the latest.

Last night, Ginny and I sat down to watch a movie together and she began having what she was considering Braxton-Hicks contractions, except they were consistent. We finished our movie, and went to bed. This morning, she woke up with the contractions continuing. She says they are very mild, and don't hurt, but they are still consistent. We've begun logging times, and they are staying around 6-7 minutes apart since we began timing them. She said they have not increased in intensity at all.

We may just be looking at false labor, I think it's too early to tell at this point. I'll keep the site posted and send out a mass-text if anything changes.

~ Joe

Scare update

Yesterday, we went to our regularly scheduled OB appointment, but it turned out to be anything but regular.

But first, let me back up a bit.

At our previous appointment, we were unable to see the doctor, so we saw the midwife. She informed us that Ginny had traces of protein in her urine for the past 2 or 3 visits, and they wanted to do more tests to rule out the possibility of preclampsia. Ginny went back for those tests this past Monday. At that point, they told her the results would be available at our appointment on Wednesday.

For those of you who know Ginny, you probably know that she is a worry wart! So, naturally, she was concerned about these results. So, on Wednesday, when we went in for our visit, of course, she was anxious to get those results. Well, once the nurse took the first blood pressure test and it came out as 149/98, she asked Ginny "Do you normally have high blood pressure?" Knowing that this is a symptom of preclampsia, and still not knowing the results from the tests earlier in the week, I think those 7 words made Ginny's pressure rise even higher!

It was a little while before the dr made it into the room, and the entire time during the wait, I was trying to calm her down a bit (to little avail). I'll admit I was a little worried myself as well. It's hard to calm her down while hiding any nervousness in myself at the same time. Anyway, dr made it in and made it known that the high blood pressure reading was a cause for concern. However, she did tell us that the results from the tests earlier in the week all came back normal! 

She took Ginny's BP again, and it was still high. It had only dropped a couple points on each side. Dr turned off the lights, told her to lie down and calm down, and that they would be back in 5 minutes to do one final BP reading. 

Five minutes later, and no significant change in BP, we were told to go straight to the hospital for monitoring and more tests. The dr told us that if the pressure wouldn't drop, we might be looking at inducing and delivering that night.

Well, once we got to the hospital and got hooked up, her BP immediately began dropping. Within the 1st hour there, it had gotten back down to her normal range, 110/60. All of the blood work from the hospital came back normal, her BP stayed consistantly inbetween 98/50 and 115/65 and the fetal monitor showed the baby's heartrate consistantly between 150 - 180. The nurse at the hospital was awesome. She said all looks well, and wished Ginny good luck for labor day.

It was well after 1:00am when we finally made it home. I'm staying home with her today to make sure she takes this bed rest thing seriously.

So that's the latest. The hospital is all ready for us. All paperwork is done, and our bags are packed. Now just waiting for Trinity to say she's ready to come out.

~ Joe

we had a little scare

we had a little scare this evening and was at the hospital for a while. no baby yet. more info to follow. must sleep now.

Labor Watch 2009

As the day grows nearer, it appears that everyone is getting just as anxious as we are about Trinity's arrival.

Here's the communication plan for that day (whenever it maybe):

I will send out a mass text to everyone on my list noting that Ginny is in active labor, and Trinity may be coming soon! I will do this for my contacts and family, as well as hers.  Some calls will be made to few, but please don't feel left out if you don't get a phone call! Our "phone time" will be less important than other matters at hand during this period!

After the initial text message, I will report updates more often to the website than on text or phone calls. I can do this because the power of technology has made it very easy for me to post info to the site quickly and easily, no matter where I am. So, once you've gotten the initial text or phone call, be sure to check this website often for more updates. I expect you will get more information from this site than you will from us directly for a good while. 

After Trinity has been born, and everything has settled down and we've had a little time to rest, we will begin following up with everyone via text, and phone calls. I will get as many pictures as possible, but there will likely be a couple days delay in getting them posted online. Please be patient with us during this time.

Thank you for all of your support, and I am glad we have everyone to share this wonderful time in our lives!

~ Joe

Wahoo!

Alright, we've got 2 weeks and 4 days to go!  (If she's on schedule)  I can't believe in just that short a time our family will be one person bigger, and a whole nother life will just flip all we've known completely upside down.  It's kind of scary to think about it, but at the same time, it almost doesn't seem real.  All this moving around I've been feeling for months now = a person I will be holding and nurturing and watching grow.  Wow.

Today's my last day of work, and now that it's upon me, I'm scared!  What will I do to fill my time besides cleaning, cooking, exercising, and rest?!  I'm not sure that's enough for me..I've always been so goal-oriented.  I need, I suppose, to learn that this is a sort of goal in itself, only there's no reward at the end that I'm used to.  Ha ha!  Boy am I in for a culture shock!  

Trinity's still puuuushing, still thinks she can get out sideways I suppose.  She hasn't "dropped" yet, but I'm hoping that happens soon.  Good heartbeat, very active, and hiccups quite frequently.  And all I can think about is what is she going to look and act like..?  :)  

Hopefully soon I'll have good news for everyone and pics of our little one as well.  I can't wait to share the birth story and news a bit more interesting...  :)