Happy Birthday Caroline!

              Happy Birthday Caroline!

          Caroline Charlene Konesheck

                   November 9, 2015

                 7 pounds 10 ounces

                          19 inches

                     Born at 12:30PM

Sweet Caroline {12 Days}

Oh sweet Caroline...you are just a dream!   You have instantly made your way into all our hearts. I still can't believe that we are a family of 4 and have two sweet girls. 

We came home from the hospital on Tuesday, November 10th around dinner time. We were greeted by Lolli, Pops and big sister Madison.  We ate dinner as a family of 4 and spent lots of time with Madison. 

Thursday morning, we went to the doctor for Caroline's 2 day check up. She weighed 7lbs 8oz, almost back to her birth weight of 7lbs 10oz. We ended up bringing Madison also because she has had a cough for 3 weeks. Turns out she had a sinus infection and the beginnings of an ear infection. 

Our first outing as a family of 4!

Saturday and Sunday, Eric was gone all day for a class. He is beginning a Physical Therapy Fellowship program, which will last 3 years. We always say he is a lifetime student...apparently a Doctorate degree isn't enough for him. ;) Thankfully his program is in Houston, which is wonderful since there are only 22 programs across the entire United States. He will be going to class 1 weekend every 6-8 weeks and the first class happened to fall the week we had Caroline. 

I was able to manage 2 kiddos by myself for a couple hours both mornings...winning! My parents came and stayed with us during the day. They were such a huge help!

Eric decided to take off work Monday to have 1 extra day at home. We started the morning by taking family and newborn pictures. I am hoping some turned out well! It was so humid, so my hair was a mess. Caroline had a huge blow out diaper 10 minutes in and Madison was playing shy. She loved looking for frogs in the pond!

Tuesday through Friday, Caroline and I were on our own! Eric went back to work and Madison was at school. We had a calm, uneventful week full of feeding, sleeping and snuggling on the couch. 

Madison has definitely been going through a transition the past couple weeks. I keep thinking a lot of it was her not feeling well, because our last 2 days have been better. She will be perfectly fine one minute, then all of a sudden she will not listen/tell us no/start crying/throw a tantrum. We really haven't ever seen this behavior from her, so we are trying to figure out the best way to work through this. Bedtime has been rough...We sit in Madison's room for a few minutes each night while she goes to sleep. The past 2 weeks, she will refuse to get in her bed. I end up leaving each night because she isn't listening after many attempts/warnings. Madison cries...I cry...it hasn't been good. I end up going back after about 30 minutes to give her a kiss and pray for both of us. 

We have been trying to spend time with Madison alone each night while Caroline sleeps, have extra patience and consistency. We are really at a loss and hope we come to the other side of this sibling/ 2 year old transition before long. Madison and I went for a walk yesterday and her and Eric went to the Katy football game tonight. 

Caroline is going with the flow and getting use to life at home. We have been feeding and sleeping on demand, but she has kind of put herself on a 2.5-3 hour eating schedule already. At night, she usually eats around 10:00pm, 2:00am and 6:00am. It really only feels like we are waking up once during the night, which is great.

We are working through some spit up issues. After Caroline eats, we have to have her sit up on our shoulder for about 15 minutes. She has had a few projectile spit up incidents where it comes spewing out her mouth and nose. We are starting to recognize when it is starting, so we can sit her up and get ready to catch. ;)

The best part of this week has been seeing Madison become a big sister. She loves holding and kissing Caroline. She loves to see Caroline every morning and when she gets home from school. I can't wait to continue to watch their relationship grow over the years. 

39 Weeks {Last Pregnancy Update}

We made it to 39 weeks with sweet Caroline! The past couple weeks have been an adventure and I am so thankful to have gotten to this point. We will go in tomorrow morning, November 9th, to be induced!

   

Past Week: This past week was my first full week of being on bedrest. Monday, I came down with a nasty stomach virus that Madison had last week and my parents had this weekend. A stomach bug at 38 weeks pregnant is no joke! I felt like it took me until Friday to fully recover. 

I went to the dr on Friday and my blood pressure was a little high. The dr started to discuss different delivery options and we decided that Caroline is a healthy size and I was a good candidate for an induction. I am already dilated to 2cm, so hopefully things will go smoothly. I have had tons of anxiety about labor this time, which I never had with Madison. As soon and the dr set the induction for Monday, tons of my anxiety went away. 

Preparing: We spent the weekend doing a few last minute things and spending tons of time with Madison. I think we are as ready as we can be! Clothes are washed, baby bed is ready, laundry and dishes are done, bathrooms are clean! Eric and my parents have been a huge help the past 10 days as I have been on bedrest. Madison loves playing with Caroline's things!

Big Sister: It has not set in that Madison is going to be a big sister. She was playing with some of Caroline's stuff today and I looked at her and thought that she still seems so little. I can't wait for the moment when Madison gets to meet Caroline. We have talked about to, but I don't think she understands that there is actually a baby in my belly and Caroline will get to come home with us. She has definitely been extra loving this week, wanting to cuddle with us and always wanting to "sit with the mommy" on the couch. 

Final Night: We have to be at the hospital at 5am, so we took Madison to my parents house for the night. She didn't bat and eye when we left. Eric and I went to dinner, came home to finish a few things and are hoping we can sleep a little tonight. 

The dr said he expects a baby by dinner time, so hopefully that is the case! Madison was an overachiever...I went from 1cm dilated to holding her in my arms in 3 hours. Here's to hoping for a quick, smooth delivery, as little pain as possible and my ability to cope with the pain. Once we get to see Caroline, it will be worth the wait!

It Takes A Village...Bedrest

A short update on the past few days...as of 37 weeks 6 days, I am officially on bedrest. 

Wednesday night, we were at my grandparents house for dinner and my feet got swollen really quickly. I didn't think much about it and just blamed it on a 13 hour day. When we got home, Eric checked my blood pressure. It was a little higher than normal, but not concerning, so I went to bed. We continued to monitor it Thursday morning and by 11:00 am it had gone up to 146/90. I gave my doctor a call, thinking they would have me come to the office to get checked. 

About 30 minutes later, they called back and said they wanted me to go to labor and delivery. I was so shocked they said that and quickly realized I wouldn't be coming back to work most likely. I quickly tried to get somethings together and do a few last minute tasks. I was extremely overwhelmed and not thinking straight. 

I left school around noon to head home to change before going to the hospital. The nurse called back and said that Methodist labor and delivery was full and they wanted me to go to UTMB Galveston. Since Eric works for Methodist, we needed to go to Methodist. At this point, we didn't know when a bed would open and thought we might have to go to Methodist in the med center. 

When I got home, I did what any rational pregnant person would do...washed 2 loads of laundry, made Halloween gifts for Madison's teachers and took a shower. Eric got home around 1:30 and we waited to hear back from the doctor. I was able to rest for a little while and then we decided to go to my parents house to get Madison. 

Around 5, the hospital called and said they had a bed ready for me. I called my mom to tell her our plan and she told me Madison was sick. She threw up after school and hadn't been herself. My mom brought Madison to our house and I broke down when they got there. I was overwhelmed and felt terrible that we had to leave Madison when she was sick. 

We didn't end up leaving for the hospital until close to 6:00. We got there, checked in and got into a room around 6:45. They hooked me up to monitor my blood pressure, Caroline's heartbeat and my contractions. When the dr came in, she had me lay on my left side. Shortly after that, my blood pressure significantly went down and averaged 115/60. After more monitoring and blood work, all tests looked good. 

The dr asked about my job and told me that I would be on bedrest until Caroline arrived. Thankfully, that will only be a couple more weeks at the most. 

Today, I am doing much better with the idea that I am not going back to work.  I rested during the day and went to my dr appointment this afternoon. The dr said he would really like me to make it to 39 weeks. I will go back next Friday and he will decide if we should induce or wait until Caroline's ready. At this point, I am hoping to let Caroline decide when she is ready. After going to the dr, I realized how much better I felt when I was laying down vs sitting up and walking. 

Long story short, I will be doing lots of laying and sitting in the upcoming days. We are so thankful to have my parents close by. They took over Madison last night when she was sick, Pops went to her Halloween party today and they will be helping in the afternoons to pick her up from school until Eric gets home from work. 

37 Weeks with Caroline

Things are getting real around here! I don't think it has truly set in that Caroline could be here any day or at most within the next 3 weeks. 

Baby's size- Caroline is 19 inches long and 6.25 pounds in weight. Caroline is growing about 1/2 lb a week!

Movement- There is nothing better than feeling Caroline move. Madison never moved much, so this is a new experience. I'm to the point now where I rarely feel kicks, just whole body movements. My stomach will roll and become lopsided. I love to feel Caroline's little booty sticking out by my belly button. This weekend, Madison was laying next to me. She sat up and started to rub the back of her head after Caroline gave her a few pushes. Sisterly love already...

How I'm feeling- I think I'm doing well all things considered. 37 weeks pregnant, working full time and keeping up with a 2 year old. I try to rest when I can... This past weekend, we stayed home for 2 days due to rain. It felt wonderful to relax!  On work days, my stomach starts to get really tight by about 2:30 pm and the Braxton hicks pick up. I'm really trying hard to push through and make sure Madison gets some quality time each night. We have been going to the park and playing outside quite a bit. 

Dr Visits- I have started my weekly dr visits. As of last week, the dr said Caroline is getting lower, but no dilation at this point. Caroline is measuring right on track with a strong heartbeat. So far, I've gained 12 pounds total. I think I had gained about 18 with Madison at this point. With Madison, I was going to the dr twice a week to monitor her movement. It is so different this time to be "normal" and have quick, easy dr appointments. 

Preparations- We are ready for you Caroline! This weekend we washed the rock and play sleeper, car seat and swing. We just need to install our car seat bases. I have Caroline's bag packed and a lot of my stuff together. I also went shopping Friday and got some random last minute things we needed. 

Big Sister Madison- Madison loves to talk about Caroline, touch my belly, go into Caroline's room and name all the things for "the baby" around the house. She came up to me tonight, but both her hands on my belly and said "hi baby Caroline". I melted... 

We are hoping for the best when it comes time for this transition. My biggest worry is the time we are in the hospital. I know Madison will be with people she knows and loves, but I just hope she does ok for those couple days. Her little world is about to change! I know we will miss her like crazy and be so anxious to get home. 

I can't wait to see Madison with Caroline! It is hard to believe that Madison will have a big sister, we will have a toddler and a newborn, we will have 2 girls...it is just amazing!  Eric said a few weeks ago that it was just a few years that we wondered when we would be able to have a baby. After a long 14 months, we found out we were pregnant with Madison in January 2013. Imagine our surprise when we got pregnant with Caroline right away in March 2015! Here we are today, 2 years and 2 baby girls. Life is pretty amazing!