Aunt Jennifer
Cousins Brianna & Zachary
"Aunt" Courtney Boehrer
Grandma Courtney (Greg's Mom)
We Have Arrived!!!
11 years ago
April 23, 2009
The Story of Macy's Birth
When I left work on Wednesday, April 15th (1 week before my April 23rddue date), I left my desk clean and in order. For some reason I felt the need to make sure all loose ends were taken care of before I left. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and picked up the ingredients to make 3-Cheese Chicken Enchiladas (including extra spicy salsa!). Old wives tale or not, I was willing to try anything to spark labor early. Greg and I took our nightly walk- I felt a little more tired than normal but pushed on to do our full walk. We got home, ate and went to bed early. I woke up suddenly at 3:20 AM when I felt a warm sensation. I woke Greg up and said I think my water broke, he said “no, I am sure it didn’t”. Then I got out of bed and stood up and it was like a water balloon dropped to the floor – my water definitely broke (thank goodness for hardwood floors by the way!). Of course we had been waiting for this moment for 9 months but now that it was happening we suddenly forgot what to do. . .so I called the doctor and he confirmed that we needed to head to the hospital. We took time to shower, pack our last minute items in our bag and were off to the hospital.
We arrived at 5:30 AM and only spent a couple minutes in triage before being admitted into our labor and delivery room. I got hooked up to the monitors to track my contractions and the baby’s heart rate and the waiting game began for my contractions to start and for me to start dilating. We were lucky enough to have a great nurse, Kim, who said she was going on vacation at 4 PM and wanted to meet our baby before then. We tried walking the halls but that didn’t get things going so at 9 AM I was hooked up to a Pitosin drip. They slowly started to increase the dosage and before long I was feeling pretty intense contractions but still was barely dilated to 2 cm. By 3 PM the contractions were brutal and I was given an epidural. That was the magic potion and was feeling pretty good until they said the baby’s heart rate was dropping with every contraction. The put in an internal monitor to measure my contractions and an internal monitor that connected to the baby’s head to monitor her vitals. Dr. Petersen came in to check the status once the monitors were in place and he took one look at the data and immediately said we would need to do an immediate emergency C-Section.
In the next 5 minutes, it seemed like chaos in my room. One nurse and one doctor turned into a lot of folks in my room and a flurry of activity. Greg was ushered out to change into scrubs, I was hooked up to oxygen and was wheeled into the operating room. I was prepped for surgery (luckily I already had my epidural). A sheet was draped across my chest so even though I was awake I couldn’t see what was going on. Greg came in and was able to sit by my head during the procedure. I could only feel slight pressure in my abdomen but could hear them talking about the surgery as it was happening so I told Greg to talk to me about ANYTHING other than the surgery so I didn’t think about it. Since we both love the NBA and it was play-off time, we talked about each NBA team and their chances at winning the championship (i.e do you think Boston still has a chance with Kevin Garnet out with an injury). . . sounds silly but it did take my mind of what was going on. Then before we knew it, the doctor appeared at our side with the baby in his arms!!
As it turns out, she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice and her arm once so the C-section was the right call. She was so precious and so small!!! We were prepping ourselves for a big baby so we were surprised when Macy Anna Courtney was born at 6:10 PM and was only 7 pounds 1 oz and 20 ½ inches long. They brought her over to me so I could kiss her before they cleaned her up. Then she was cleaned up and brought over to me and Greg. Greg got to hold her next to me for a few minutes before they took Greg and Macy out of the room to get cleaned up while I was stitched up.
I joined them in the recovery room about 45 minutes later. I was doing ok, but my blood pressure dropped really low and my body was shaking uncontrollably. They stabilized the blood pressure with medicine and a heat blanket was put over me to try to stop the shaking. After an hour or two it worked and the shaking stopped. While I was under the heat blanket, I was able to have skin to skin contact with Macy on my chest. It was such a magical experience to have her laying there. I think that calmed my body more than the heat blanket! We were moved later that night into the mother/baby unit which is where we stayed for the rest of our hospital stay. Macy stayed in our room with us. That night and the next whole day seemed to fly by (could have something to do with the morphine drip I was on!). Macy passed all of her tests in the hospital with flying colors and is a very healthy baby – we are so blessed!
Macy testing out her lungs!
Our first family photo.
Meeting Daddy.
A kiss for Mommy.
We arrived at 5:30 AM and only spent a couple minutes in triage before being admitted into our labor and delivery room. I got hooked up to the monitors to track my contractions and the baby’s heart rate and the waiting game began for my contractions to start and for me to start dilating. We were lucky enough to have a great nurse, Kim, who said she was going on vacation at 4 PM and wanted to meet our baby before then. We tried walking the halls but that didn’t get things going so at 9 AM I was hooked up to a Pitosin drip. They slowly started to increase the dosage and before long I was feeling pretty intense contractions but still was barely dilated to 2 cm. By 3 PM the contractions were brutal and I was given an epidural. That was the magic potion and was feeling pretty good until they said the baby’s heart rate was dropping with every contraction. The put in an internal monitor to measure my contractions and an internal monitor that connected to the baby’s head to monitor her vitals. Dr. Petersen came in to check the status once the monitors were in place and he took one look at the data and immediately said we would need to do an immediate emergency C-Section.
In the next 5 minutes, it seemed like chaos in my room. One nurse and one doctor turned into a lot of folks in my room and a flurry of activity. Greg was ushered out to change into scrubs, I was hooked up to oxygen and was wheeled into the operating room. I was prepped for surgery (luckily I already had my epidural). A sheet was draped across my chest so even though I was awake I couldn’t see what was going on. Greg came in and was able to sit by my head during the procedure. I could only feel slight pressure in my abdomen but could hear them talking about the surgery as it was happening so I told Greg to talk to me about ANYTHING other than the surgery so I didn’t think about it. Since we both love the NBA and it was play-off time, we talked about each NBA team and their chances at winning the championship (i.e do you think Boston still has a chance with Kevin Garnet out with an injury). . . sounds silly but it did take my mind of what was going on. Then before we knew it, the doctor appeared at our side with the baby in his arms!!
As it turns out, she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice and her arm once so the C-section was the right call. She was so precious and so small!!! We were prepping ourselves for a big baby so we were surprised when Macy Anna Courtney was born at 6:10 PM and was only 7 pounds 1 oz and 20 ½ inches long. They brought her over to me so I could kiss her before they cleaned her up. Then she was cleaned up and brought over to me and Greg. Greg got to hold her next to me for a few minutes before they took Greg and Macy out of the room to get cleaned up while I was stitched up.
I joined them in the recovery room about 45 minutes later. I was doing ok, but my blood pressure dropped really low and my body was shaking uncontrollably. They stabilized the blood pressure with medicine and a heat blanket was put over me to try to stop the shaking. After an hour or two it worked and the shaking stopped. While I was under the heat blanket, I was able to have skin to skin contact with Macy on my chest. It was such a magical experience to have her laying there. I think that calmed my body more than the heat blanket! We were moved later that night into the mother/baby unit which is where we stayed for the rest of our hospital stay. Macy stayed in our room with us. That night and the next whole day seemed to fly by (could have something to do with the morphine drip I was on!). Macy passed all of her tests in the hospital with flying colors and is a very healthy baby – we are so blessed!
Macy testing out her lungs!
Our first family photo.
Meeting Daddy.
A kiss for Mommy.April 22, 2009
April 12, 2009
Week 38 - The Nursery is DONE!
To say we are ready to have the baby is an understatement!! I am excited to say that the nursery is completely done - just waiting for the baby!! I now have weekly doctor appointments - no progress just yet. However this week I have started getting contractions. They are not painful just uncomfortable. They seem to come and go randomly and are not regular at all so I know it doesn't mean labor is around the corner but it is nice to know my body is doing something to get ready for birth!! Let's hope this week at my appointment there is some sort of "progress"!!!! We are ready to meet our little girl!!!!
Check out the nursery pictures!!!
Check out the nursery pictures!!!
March 11, 2009
Week 34 - "Nesting"
I am pretty sure the “nesting” instinct has kicked in for me. As Greg puts it, I was a “whirlwind” this past weekend getting stuff ready for the baby. I did 6 loads of baby laundry (clothes, towels, bedding, blankets), put everything away, cleaned closets, organized her room, rearranged her room (a couple times – sorry to Greg who had to move all of the furniture!), made her bed, had Greg put together all of her gadgets and toys, tested the video monitor, and of course had to run out and buy a ton of stuff too!!! Whew. . . got a lot done but still feel like there is a lot to do! However, as much work as it was, I have to say it was SO MUCH FUN! I am sure the novelty of washing and folding all of her little clothes will wear off but this first time was fun!!
I had my 34 week doctor’s appointment this morning. She was moving around during the appointment (and they think she had the hiccups) so they had trouble getting an accurate heart rate using a Doppler so they opted to do an ultrasound. She was pretty active during the ultrasound too but they were able to get a strong heart beat (159 beats per minute) and said everything looks great. . . guess she just wanted to play this morning. They were also able to get an estimate of her weight at this point. . . she is 5 pounds 7 ounces right now. Yikes – she could be a pretty big baby if she continues to grow like that in the next 6 weeks and I go full term!!!
Check out the picture below of today’s ultrasound!!!
I had my 34 week doctor’s appointment this morning. She was moving around during the appointment (and they think she had the hiccups) so they had trouble getting an accurate heart rate using a Doppler so they opted to do an ultrasound. She was pretty active during the ultrasound too but they were able to get a strong heart beat (159 beats per minute) and said everything looks great. . . guess she just wanted to play this morning. They were also able to get an estimate of her weight at this point. . . she is 5 pounds 7 ounces right now. Yikes – she could be a pretty big baby if she continues to grow like that in the next 6 weeks and I go full term!!!
Check out the picture below of today’s ultrasound!!!
March 2, 2009
Baby Shower in Kalamazoo
This past weekend I had a baby shower in Kalamazoo with all of my girlfriends and it was awesome! Huge thank you to Jennifer, Nancy and Courtney for planning such a special shower for me. Although I have to admit it was a little hard for me to watch all of my friends enjoying wine while I was drinking sparkling juice!! The generosity of my friends is amazing and now I have all of the “gadgets” and “goodies” I will need to bring this baby home! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends!! 7 more weeks until my due date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are going to start putting the nursery together soon and will post pictures as soon as it is complete!!
Check out the super cool "diaper cake" from Anita - each layer is a gift box filled with goodies - thank you Anita!!!
Nancy, Jennifer, Courtney and Lori - thank you for a great shower!!!!
Me and Courtney (notice the baby sock corsage Anita had made for me!!)
Wow!!
Thank you to Meghan & Anna Martin and my nieces Brianna and Kiley for all of the help at the shower. They greeted everyone at the door, directed traffic and helped me open all of the presents! They are the best!
Opening presents
Check out the super cool "diaper cake" from Anita - each layer is a gift box filled with goodies - thank you Anita!!!
Nancy, Jennifer, Courtney and Lori - thank you for a great shower!!!!
Me and Courtney (notice the baby sock corsage Anita had made for me!!)
Wow!!
Thank you to Meghan & Anna Martin and my nieces Brianna and Kiley for all of the help at the shower. They greeted everyone at the door, directed traffic and helped me open all of the presents! They are the best!
Opening presents
February 22, 2009
Baby Shower in Port Huron
Yesterday I had a baby shower at Greg's Mom's house in Port Huron. The shower was thrown by Tara Coffindaffer (my good friend/Greg's cousin), Cathy Kota (Tara's mom) and Mary Antrobus (Greg's aunt). The shower was a lot of fun and we had a HUGE turnout of Greg's relatives, family friends and neighbors. I was overwhelmed with the generosity and love from everyone. It is so amazing to think about the network of family and friends our baby is lucky enough to be born into. We are truly blessed. A huge thank you to Tara, Cathy, Mary and of course Andie!!!!!
Diaper cake made by Diane Coffindaffer
Cupcakes from Aunt Mary
Me and Tara
I had a little helper opening presents!
Diaper cake made by Diane Coffindaffer
Cupcakes from Aunt Mary
Me and Tara
I had a little helper opening presents!January 25, 2009
27 Weeks
How time flies - I can't believe I am 27 weeks along already!! I am still feeling pretty good although getting increasingly uncomfortable as I get bigger and the baby gets bigger. Sleeping continues to be an issue but it is all worth it when I feel her kick!! She is very active lately and has become more predicable. Her most active part of the day is when I get home from work and lay on the couch - she moves around for a hour straight. That is my favorite part of the day - special mom and baby time!!!
The weeks after the holidays passed very quickly. I spent a week in Phoenix for work. The weather was beautiful and the meeting was great but it was very exhausting. I was on my feet from 5:30AM to 10:00PM most days! Luckily my friend Jenny (who I was helping plan the meeting with) took really good care of me and made sure I put my feet up during the day!!
The weeks after the holidays passed very quickly. I spent a week in Phoenix for work. The weather was beautiful and the meeting was great but it was very exhausting. I was on my feet from 5:30AM to 10:00PM most days! Luckily my friend Jenny (who I was helping plan the meeting with) took really good care of me and made sure I put my feet up during the day!!
Gift From My Sales Reps
While I was out in Phoenix for our Sales Meeting - our team went to Dave and Busters and played video games one night. A group of my sales reps all saved their "tickets" and bought a GIGANTIC bear for the baby (and a guitar hero for me and Greg)!! What a great team!!!
The bear in the nursery - it is almost as tall as the changing table!!!!
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