December 8, 2002 - Sunday - I (Veronica) learn I am expecting #2 sometime in August! I calculate my due date as 8/8/03, and Raymond wakes up to surprising but wonderful news. We decide to wait to tell family since I'm only 3 1/2 weeks pregnant.
December 16, 2002 - My first prenatal appointment confirms my pregnancy (yay!) An ultrasound is scheduled for 10 weeks gestation, in January 2003. Soon I begin to have food & smell aversions, and I lose weight rapidly.
December 25, 2002 - Christmas - The extended family was let in on our secret--Kara wore a shirt that read, "I'm the big sister."
The happy parents-of-2-to-be.
Kara wearing the homemade "I'm the big sister" sweatshirt.
January 2003 - Ultrasound - The ultrasound dates the pregnancy two weeks behind LMP, so the baby's due date is moved back to August 21, 2003. The little bean is very healthy with a strong heartbeat. I order babybeat online, a portable doppler machine that lets you hear the baby's heartbeat. It's nice to check up on the baby weekly.
January 30, 2003 - I have some slight spotting & have lost 30 lbs since early December. Dr. Lucas orders a second ultrasound to check on the baby. She looks perfect, edd is still 8/21, and I am ordered to drink Gatorade (for the electrolytes) & try to keep food down.
February 2003 - I continue to lose a few pounds, but the baby is still doing well.
March 6, 2003 - Appointment Update - It went well. I did lose more weight but they weren't as concerned because I wasn't dehydrated this time. We heard the heartbeat (147) and my uterus is just below the belly button. I couldn't believe how much it's grown! I have to go in next Friday to give blood for the AFP test. My next appointment is April 3, with an ultrasound. I hope the baby isn't shy.
April 3, 2003 - Raymond and Kara accompany me to the 20 weeks ultrasound which we're hoping to find out the baby's gender. We were able to see the baby sucking her thumb & moving around like crazy (I drank orange juice before we went.) Kara & I want a girl, and Raymond said he didn't care. At one point, Raymond excitedly pointed to the screen & said, "is that a boy?" The ultrasound tech, Terry, laughed and said, "no, that's the umbilical cord." She looked & found the telltale "hamburger", three white lines, which meant Kailey was indeed a girl! Yay!!!
Mommy & Kara at the circus.
It's a girl! Estimated weight ~ 11 oz.
We attended the Flowertown Festival the weekend after this ultrasound. I'm 20 weeks here:
April 11, 2003 - Easter - Getting ready for church.
April 26, 2003 - Kara's 4th Birthday Party - 23 week pregnancy picture:
April 27-May 1, 2003 - CRUISE - Raymond & I went on a Carnival Cruise aboard the Fantasy cruiseship. It was indeed a fantasy come true. Kailey had a great time (in-utero) when we went snorkeling. Raymond found paradise on the Blue Lagoon Island in Nassau, Bahamas.
May 22, 2003 - Gestational Diabetes screening - I went in Thursday for my 1 hour glucose tolerance test, and I failed by 7 points! The cutoff was 139 and I was 146. The nurse said she has seen much higher results and doesn't think I really have gestational diabetes. I have lost weight this entire pregnancy, but everything has been well with the baby so far. I'm now on a high carbohydrate diet until Monday night, and then I have to fast until 8:30 Tuesday morning, then get the blood draws once an hour for three hours. I go get that test done Tuesday, go Wednesday for my Rhogam shot, and Monday for my 28 week appointment & another ultrasound since I'm still losing weight.
May 28, 2003 - Appointment Update - I'm very relieved today! I went yesterday for the 3 hour glucose tolerance test (I failed the 1 hour last Thursday.) I then had to go to the Dr this morning for my Rhogam shot, and they were able to give me the results of yesterday's test. I was 20-30 points under the cutoffs for the fasting, 1, 2, and 3 hour blood sugar levels, so they said I am not even borderline. I was very stressed this weekend, being on the high carbs diet & worrying about the outcome. I am so relieved now. I go Monday for my 28 weeks checkup & an ultrasound. I can't wait to see her again!
June 16-20, 2003 - GATLINBURG - Raymond, Kara, and I took one more trip to the Smokies before the baby's arrival. I was having pains on the way up to Gatlinburg, but we think it was just the long car ride. I was 30 weeks pregnant. We had a great time, eating at the The Old Mill, the Burning Bush, Parkway Pancake House, and visiting Dollywood, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, hiking Laurel Falls, and of course the outlet malls. We stayed in a quaint little motel off Gatlinburg's main strip. One morning after walking to breakfast, Kara decided to bend down to get a rock. I tripped over Kara & went down! A car turned around & offered assistance, but except for a few scrapes & bruises, as well as having the breath knocked out of us, everyone was OK. What a scare! After we recovered, we hiked Laurel Falls & then went to Dollywood.
June 28, 2003 - Baby Shower - Melissa Duer & Brandy McCants hosted my church baby shower. It was a fun day with good food & nice gifts.
July 2003 - Kailey began to measure small this month. She was a week to two weeks behind her due date. Several ultrasounds showed no problems, just a small baby.
July 4, 2003 - Kara & Mommy - Kailey will be out in a little over a month!
July 24, 2003 - Appointment update - Well, I'm not AS worried now as I have been. I went in for my 36 weeks appointment this morning. I had the GBS swab & a NST today. The doctor said the baby was "reactive" during the NST & he wasn't as worried about her slow growth. She still measures 1-2 weeks behind (34-35w.) I'll have the NST every week until she's delivered. He also did an internal & said my cervix is high, but I'm a fingertip dilated & 40% effaced. He confirmed that if she's not here by the 14th, they'll induce. So, it's getting close & at least she grew this week (measured 33w last Thursday.)
July 31, 2003 - Appointment update - Well, today I went for my 37 week appointment. After all the BH contractions I've been having, I thought for sure that my cervix would be more dilated. However, I'm still a fingertip dilated, now 50% effaced. They also informed me that I'm GBS positive, even though I was not with my first pregnancy. So, they said I just have to have the antibiotics at least 6 hours before I deliver. I go back next Thursday, when I'll have another NST (had one today, along with contractions, baby was fine) and I'm scheduled for another ultrasound. She's measuring 36 weeks so I feel good about her size.
August 2003 - Dr. Lucas decided it was time for Kailey to arrive. An ultrasound on Thursday, August 7 showed that Kailey weighed 6 lbs 5 oz. Several non-stress tests showed that Kailey was doing well. Kailey's induction was scheduled for August 12, 2003.
August 9, 2003 - Saturday - Terry (Gramie) threw me a family baby shower. It was lots of fun...Kailey was enjoying her last days in the womb.
August 11, 2003 - Monday - One more non-stress test showed that Kailey was still doing well. Kailey's last day in the womb! Raymond & I had lunch at Atlanta Bread Company. I (& Kailey) had a chicken salad croissant. I couldn't sleep that night with heartburn & anxiousness for the next day. I woke up at 5:00 to get ready for the long day ahead.
Shower 8/9/03, and professional picture the week before Kailey was born.
August 12, 2003 - Tuesday - KAILEY'S BIRTHDAY - The Birth of Kailey Marie Owens
Kailey Marie was born August 12, 2003 at 2:36 p.m., weighing 6 lbs 6 oz, 19 inches long.
We arrived at the hospital at 7 am for the scheduled induction. By 8:30 I had my IV & the pitocin & antibiotics were started. I was 1 cm dilated & 80% effaced. I started feeling mild contractions until the doctor broke my water at 10:30, then they became stronger. I was 3 cm dilated & 100% effaced. After that point, the contractions were really strange, very strong & lasting 15 seconds, while coming every 30 seconds from finish to start of the next one. So, I had very little rest in between contractions. I was really hoping they were changing my cervix. I decided to try to wait as long as possible before receiving any IV medication. I thought labor would take a lot longer this time (I don't know why I thought that...my first labor lasted 6 hours/induction.) So, I waited until 1 pm when I started feeling more pressure & the pain was too much, then I requested Nubain in my IV. The nurse said it would feel like a 6 pack, and I felt totally out of it. I don't know why it effected me so differently this time. With DD #1, I had 3 shots of Nubain & didn't feel anything like this one shot. I would see double if I opened my eyes, and I was slurring my words. The contractions still hurt, but I could rest between them. I was 5 cm at 1 pm when I got this medication.
Well, I started feeling more & more pressure...that was the worst part. Then the nurse came in & said she thought the baby was having decels in the heartrate & she tried to put an internal monitor on her head. I was checked at this point 2:10 pm & I was 7 cm. She couldn't place the monitor because she said she would tear the cervix. Things went pretty very fast from there. I felt like I had to push within 10 minutes of being checked. The nurse checked again & said I only had a lip left. The doctor came & said he was going to deliver one lady first & then come back for me. I was so out of it, I didn't know what was going on, except I had to push! So, I started pushing because I couldn't stop. I told the nurse I was serious & then I felt burning! I was laying on my side trying not to push & I couldn't move. The nurse dove onto the bed & told DH to press the call button. He couldn't find it, then she said go get somebody. So he went to the door and yelled "somebody!" It was so funny after it was over with. I told my mom to get the video camera because I didn't want to miss the birth. The doctor finally got there & with 2 pushes (and a small episiotomy) she was here at 2:36 p.m. Then the scary stuff started. I looked down & saw a very small blue baby! DH said she had a loop of cord around her neck. I was so loopy, I remember the doctor holding her up & pulling out it seems like yards of umbilical cord. He then clamped it & let DH cut it. She wasn't crying, but no one seemed really concerned. They then whisked her to the warming bed & I look over & she's being given oxygen. Then they call for someone from the nursery & she's getting her lungs suctioned out. It was all scary & the whole room was quiet. It seemed like forever, but they finally let me hold her. They had to give her shots to get the Nubain out of her system. They said the medicine in combination with a fast birth caused her "slow start." I was kicking myself for taking the medicine. I could have done without it if I knew she was coming that fast. She also had low blood sugar, so they took her away to the nursery after I held her, and we didn't get her back until that night. Then she couldn't regulate her temperature & wouldn't wake up to eat. I finally got to nurse her 12 hours after she was born. I was upset about all she'd been through. She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz at birth, but since she was given formula & threw it up, and then we had to get used to nursing, she lost down to 5 lbs 12 oz. Luckily, we went back to the doctor Friday & she was up to 6 lbs. Things seem well now. She's just so tiny! Kara was almost 8 lbs at birth, and you don't realize how big of a difference 2 lbs are. 0-3 Months clothes just fall off Kailey. But she'll grow fast.
