6 days until baby gets here... for real.

Well well, this is my 6th to last day pregnant. After all the speculation and doctors appointments and talking...


Yes, we have a scheduled c-section because our dear daughter is a chunker. She was estimated to be around 9 pounds 11 oz (give or take a pound) This means the doctors no longer recommend attempting a vaginal delivery. Thats when my heart breaks a little and yes there were tears.

Of course I have been reading about natural drug free births and really wanted to test myself, my stamina, and proudly wear the badge of honor as I delivered my baby but thats not our story this time around.


I am disappointed and its a hard feeling to swallow because I don't want to feel disappointed when it is such a momentous time in our lives. BUT there was a a part of me excited for the labor, the waiting, the pushing, the commotion of "She's coming" 


My more stable mind (which has been on hiatus for weeks now) knows the risks far out weigh the common sense and everyone wants to play it safe with our lives. So that is exactly what we are going to do. 


We got the news around noon yesterday and its my nightly 3-4 am wake up time and I am still in a bubble about it. 


She is really coming, and I have a date a time? What. My home that has been filled with baby stuff is actually going to be put to use... next week? It so unreal. 


I am trying to take it one day at a time because my brain just cannot comprehend whats coming. Tonight was supposed to be when we signed the contract with the sitter but our first pet cat is sick again and the Mr. is pretty bummed about it so I don't want to push him tonight to hurry up and deal with the cat thing so we can deal with the sitter thing. Its a rough week for him, all these crazy emotions flying around. 


We also waited until the absolute last minute to choose a pediatrician, I have an appointment with them Monday afternoon. They scheduled a prenatal visit for me, what that entails, I will soon find out. 


And Monday is pretty much where my brain stops. It has yet to go beyond that date so for now, yea I will leave it at that. 

Hospital fun

I went into the hospital on Sunday for a routine 20 minute CTG scan - they hook you up to a fetal monitor that traces the babies’ heartbeats and also checks for contractions. To make a long story short, they became concerned because some contractions were showing up on the trace – I knew I was having them, but I hadn’t worried since they were so mild and so irregular (especially since they can last for weeks and mine had been going on for several days without worsening).

They put me on nifedipine to stop the contractions and I spent the next couple of hours periodically hooked up to the CTG – things settled down a fair amount but not all the way, so they kept me in for observation and further monitoring and treatment for the next 2 nights, which was about as thrilling as you might imagine (mmm...hospital food...).

Possibly the worst photo of me EVER. Hopefully the enormous bare belly isn't too disturbing...

By yesterday afternoon everything had smoothed out, so they did an ultrasound to double check that all was OK (along with the most painful internal exam I've ever had - OMG the doctor was awful) and then released me with a prescription for more meds and instructions to do even less than I had been before, which basically means I can do...well, nothing, really. I don’t have to stay in bed, but I’m not allowed to do much else.

The part of all of this that has me upset is that they’ve also adjusted my due date forward. For some reason, the hospital has taken my original due date – May 3 – and added five days to it. I asked three nurses and two doctors why the date was different, and none of them could give me an answer beyond, “That’s what it says here. Besides, five days isn’t that long.”

Well maybe it’s not that long to THEM, but the date I deliver on is a little tricky. My hospital will only take births from 36 weeks onward – anything before that and I will be transferred to a hospital that is a 45 minute drive away (that's the best case scenario – if they didn’t have space, I’d have to go to Sydney). So changing my due date means that in order to stay here, I have to hold on for another TWO weeks instead of one...and frankly, at the moment that extra week looks stunningly difficult.

I’ve been steadily focused on April 5 (the day I hit 36 weeks, which is considered term for twins) for months; it’s been such rough going and I've been hanging on with teeth and nails for the last few weeks - having that date to count down to has meant a lot to me. So for someone to suddenly switch the goalposts is just...well, it’s very hard to deal with, even if it is only a week...I've cried over this more times than I want to admit, I just feel so disheartened.

I’m seeing my OBGYN tomorrow and am going to discuss the date issue with him. I don’t know if he has any influence at the hospital (he used to work in the high risk clinic there and is still respected by many of the staff), but I really hope that somehow they’ll change the date back to May 3. Personally, I think it was probably a simple transcription error somewhere along the line (‘3’ and ‘8’ do look similar) since May 8 doesn’t even match up with any projected dates from any of the bajillion ultrasounds I’ve had, but no one will admit that’s a possibility. If they won’t change it, well...these kids will come when they feel like it and I don’t know if holding on for another two weeks is realistic at this stage, so if we have to go somewhere else, then that’s how it will have to be.

We're so close to the finish line now - please wish us luck...

Le Sigh...

I have such a range of emotions happening right now and I can't seem to sort them all out..

I don't know if you remember, but I posted earlier about my plans to be there to help my sister-in-law when she delivers her 3rd baby. Well, that didn't happen...for a few good reasons. And I'm thinking, it was better this way.

Here's the story...

Dear sis-in-law (SIL) was due sometime between March 2nd and March 9th. (You know, the whole cycle vs. ultrasound due date thing?) March 2nd (ultrasound DD) came and went and I was on stand by to race to the hospital at any moment. We waited and waited (nothing new when it comes to having babies, of course) and it was getting closer to the weekend. The monkey wrench in the plans were that my family and friends had planned a 30th birthday bash for me on Sunday, so obviously wouldn't be able to make it on that day. We had different back up plans for if it happened on the weekend, so it was totally fine, but I was hoping it wouldn't happen while I was gone.

Of course, SIL started having regular contractions on Sunday morning. I conceded to the fact that I wasn't going to be there for the birth. So I went on with the day, excited about the b-day plans that my wonderful DH and best friends had put together. It was a fabulous day full of great famiily, great friends, and great food and gifts.

We got periodic updates throughout the day on SIL's situation. She never actually checked into the hospital, because she wanted to labor without being hooked up to machines laying on a bed. She wandered the hospital all day long...poor thing. Finally, that night when her contractions started getting further apart they told her she should go home. (Keep in mind that we live 30 minutes from the nearest hospital) So she and my brother-in-law went home for the night, taking the big walk of shame out of the hospital.

To make a long story short, she was laboring throughout the night and then decided at about 6am yesterday morning that they needed to start heading back to the hospital. Her hubby was determined to wait until her water broke, but that still hadn't happened. She was having a lot of back labor and knew she needed to go back. Well, they did make it to the hospital...the hospital parking garage, that is. Baby decided to make her grand entrance in the car inside the hospital parking garage!!! Oh.my.word. Craziness.

Baby girl and mama are perfectly healthy and happy, thank the Lord!! I went and saw them yesterday afternoon and she is as cute as can be...all 8 lbs & 21 1/4 inches of her.

Now that it's all said and done things are starting to hit me. I am so happy for them...but I'm on the verge of tears at any moment. I knew back when I found out that she was pregnant that it would be pretty tough on me to see her with brand new baby in hand, especially if I still didn't have any prospects for a new baby of my own. And of course, that's the situation I find myself in...

Like I said earlier, I really don't know how to sort it all out. For now I keep this dream close to my heart and I continue to pray that it becomes a reality.

WHISPER
by A Fine Frenzy

Running the race
Like a mouse in a cage getting nowhere
but I'm trying
Forging ahead
But I'm stuck in the bed that I made
so I'm lying

But if you keep real close
Yeah, you stay real close
I will reach you

I'm down to a whisper
In a daydream on a hill
Shut down to a whisper
Can you hear me still

Eager to please,
Trying to be what they need
But I'm so very tired
I've stopped trying to find
Any peace in my mind
Because it tangles the wires

But if you keep real close
Yeah, you stay real close
I will reach you

I'm down to a whisper
In a daydream on a hill
Shut down to a whisper
Can you hear me
Can you hear me still

The sound tires on my lips
To fade away into forgetting

I'm down to a whisper
In a daydream on a hill
Shut down to a whisper
Can you hear me
Can you hear me

I'm down to a whisper
In a daydream on a hill
Shut down to a whisper
Can you hear me
Can you hear me still

Snowy Days and Slippery Roads

Thankfully this post ends positively, but it was a very close call!

On Monday morning I was driving our Jeep (with 4x4 and fabulous tires) to the nearest city to finish up my Christmas shopping when the unthinkable happened. It was the first morning of snow and I was driving extra carefully with road conditions in my little town the way they are, and I began to slide. I didn't even have time to think, but I tried to frantically stop the slide- to no avail. Before I knew it I was bumping and banging full tilt down a huge embankment on the side of the road, and while I thought I would never stop, a huge tree had other ideas. I finally smashed into a tree at what felt like great speed. The air bags went off and my glasses went flying off my face. I can't describe the panicky feeling of thinking that I would be trapped in a smoke filled vehicle at the bottom of a what I considered a ravine, and on top of it I couldn't see! I had to literally stop myself sternly and take a deep breath and make a plan. I managed to open the window so that I could breathe and find my cell phone on the floor completely covered my everything that used to be in my purse. As I undid my seatbelt I had to simultaneously pray that the car wouldn't shift and move further down the embankment and that I would have cell service in a place that usually doesn't.

I don't know how, but nothing on my body was broken, and I felt only mild discomfort under the adrenaline. I phoned my husband and (for his sake) thankfully he didn't answer so I called my Father in Law next, and I am so proud that I didn't give in to the panic I was feeling and said very calmly to him, "Hi, I have been in a fairly serious accident, and I am going to need some help. Can you please come and get me?" He must have been so confused at first. I couldn't even tell exactly where I was, and I was SO scared that no one would be able to find me because you couldn't see the jeep from the road unless you were looking for it.

Eventually some lovely, lovely people came when they happened to actually see the slide marks in combination with my taillights. They climbed down to my car and hoisted/dragged me up the embankment through some seriously rough terrain. I will be forever grateful that they were there. It helped me so much to make small talk rather than freak out. I began feeling cramping, and I was terrified that the accident had hurt the baby. I was convinced I would see blood everywhere when I got checked out. What a feeling.

My husband, my FIL, and our family friend came to the rescue, and were appalled that I had walked out of the accident with only bruises. The jeep had travelled forty feet down and straight into a huge tree. My husband and I drove straight to the hospital while my FIL organized getting the Jeep towed out.

What a great experience at the hospital, and to my relief it confirmed my decision to choose that hospital for the birth. The nurses were magnificent and performed every test they could to appease my mind and make sure the baby and I were ok. I am so thankful that they made such a terrifying and possibly tragic experience so safe and comforting.

I was given a physical for my injuries (mainly gigantic bruising), blood and urine tests, and the baby was checked quickly with an ultrasound for a heartbeat, then an ultrasound for the placenta (which they let Ryan in to see the baby again), and a non stress test. Everything but for my urine test checked out ok! They found some red blood in my urine that I am to watch carefully for any changes, but otherwise, miraculously, both my little guy and I are ok! I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I couldn't speak.

Now I am feeling the effects of some pelvis pain that discourages me from walking or making any quick movements. I have an abrasion on my face and the biggest bruises I have ever seen on my boobs, shoulders, and legs. All of this is nothing in comparison to what could have happened and I am so thankful to be alive. It truly feels like a Christmas miracle.

I have to make my insurance claim today and the only hugely worrisome thing about this experience is that we may not get a fair reimbursement from our insurance company. I know I shouldn't be worried about that, but the jeep was my husband's baby and I feel a tremendous amount of guilt that this happened even though it was not my fault. I hope it works out as best as possible.

On a bright note, I am feeling the baby so much more than before! The ultrasound confirmed that the baby is still head near my ribs and facing my spine, so the non stress test nurse made a note on my file because apparently they need to keep their eye on it if he remains breech. I think it's much too early to worry about that!

I have an appointment with my midwife today, so I will mention that, but I think it's going to be a fairly normal appointment. I am slightly worried about weight gain as it seems to have increased rapidly this month considering I didn't gain anything for so long! I wouldn't be surprised if I gained close to ten pounds! Shocking, I know!

So, to leave off with a message, PLEASE, please, be careful driving. An accident is terrifying no matter what, but with a baby housed inside you it's a much different experience!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and stays safe!

She has arrived!

Yes, our beautiful baby GIRL (it's a girl!!!) arrived this past weekend. We couldn't be more in love with her if we tried.

I cannot believe it's been a month since I last posted on Pregosaur. I'm sorry for my silence, ladies, but the bed rest was getting to me and I really didn't feel like I had much to add to the blog. Mentally, I was just exhausted from thinking about all the medical information being thrown our way, and did not feel like writing about it...

Long story short, I started getting ultrasound monitoring (which still showed zero amniotic fluid, but growth on target), a fetal echo test, and daily home visits from ante-natal nurses (they did non-stress tests) starting in my 24th week. The nurses were optimistic and told me to hang in there. The doctors were mostly doom and gloom, preparing us for the worst.

We had a couple of labour scares, but we were able to complete a round of steroids in my 25th week.

And then the BIG EVENT happened on Sunday, November 8, 2009. Our daughter was born after 26 weeks, 1 day gestation.

My labour was pretty quick, which I understand is normal for pre-term babies. The evening before she was born, I started getting lots of pelvic pressure and I felt like the baby had dropped. I had talked to the nurse about it, but because I was not exhibiting any other symptoms of labour, she was unconcerned. I went to bed at my usual time, around 10:00 pm, and I slept well.

At 3:00 am, I woke up to pee and started feeling a backache and menstrual type cramps that were coming and going. After lying there for about 45 minutes, I woke up Mr. Legalosaur and got him to help me time them. We timed them for another 45 minutes or so, when it became obvious that they were coming and going every 4 minutes very predictably. Despite the fact that I was not having any contractions in the front pelvic region, we thought it best to go to the hospital to get assessed.

So we hopped in the car and made our way to the hospital. When I got there, the nurse hooked me up to the non-stress machine and walked away. The pains were now coming and going every 3 minutes. But there were no contractions showing up on the monitoring strip. I am no medical expert, but I had seen enough monitor strips over the few weeks previous that I could tell that the baby's heartrate was dipping every time I had one of my labour pains. Yet, they just let me sit there and wait.

I could tell the nurse did not believe I was truly in labour and thought that I was being a big baby. They had me sit on the monitor for almost an hour before the resident finally came in to see me. And that was only after I started vomiting that the nurse started to take me seriously and went to go get the resident.

A quick speculum check showed that I was already at 6 cm. (Turns out I had back labour only, which means no contractions showing up on the monitor!) The resident said, "I can see lots of black hair."

And that's when chaos broke out in my little assessment room. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity. Four nurses swooped in and started putting in my IV, filling out paperwork, adjusting my bed for transport, etc. I was very scared at that point, and in pain, so I don't really remember much of this point. I know I asked if I could get something for the pain, and they answered that I could...

They did another check of my cervix just 10 minutes later, and at that point I was at 9 cm. And they freaked out that I had progressed so quickly. The NICU team was called down stat, and I was wheeled away to the delivery room in the OR.

As I was being wheeled to the OR, I asked again about pain medication. I was told no, there was no time, we needed to get this baby out now. While I am not averse to the idea of a natural labour, I had intended to have some idea of how to breathe and focus, how to push, what to do... But I didn't have a clue. I wasn't ready. I was reeling from the idea that we were having our baby NOW and I wasn't ready for it. I really, truly thought we'd make it to at least 28 weeks.

In the OR suite, Mr. Legalosaur met with me after changing into scrubs and a fancy hairnet-shower-cap thingy. They put my legs into the air, and then I was told to push. And so push I did. It was painful, but not as painful as it could have been given my baby's tiny size. Really, the worst part was the resident pulling and stretching open my perineum so that there was lots of room for the baby to come out with minimal trauma. I think it took about 5 "episodes" of pushing (you push three or four quickly successive times when a contraction comes), about 15 minutes total, and our child was born.

They quickly cut her cord and rushed her over to the waiting NICU team. I heard one weak cry, and that was it. They didn't even tell me if I had a son or a daughter. I had to ask the ob-gyn to go check and let me know. She came back and told us it's a girl... and I remember thinking "A daughter! Our daughter." but mostly I was dying to see or hear her. And I was worried to death that she didn't survive the birth or was not going to live before I could feel her and touch her.

Sadly, the whole thing was such a whirlwind and we forgot our camera in the car. By the time we remembered and wanted to run down and get it, there was no time because baby was coming NOW. So all we have of our daughter's first hours of life are a couple of cell phone pictures on Mr. Legalosaur's blackberry. We had discussed previously that he should accompany her to the NICU, being that I would have to spend some time in recovery. If she did end up passing away, I didn't want her to pass on without a parent there. Luckily, he felt the same way.

I had to stay in the OR to deliver the placenta and to monitor my bleeding. I was there for almost an hour after the birth until I was finally put into a wheelchair and wheeled to my room on the recovery ward. Then they had to do vital monitoring, go through aftercare, and the nurse wanted me to go to bathroom with her watching to make sure that all was well down there. And then they forced me to eat breakfast before they would wheel me to the NICU, so I ate my food in record time and paged the nurse to take me up to see my baby girl.

The first time I saw her was almost two hours after she was born. I dissolved into tears at how tiny and fragile she looked. The neonatologist told me a bunch of stuff about her lungs and condition, but I don't really remember what she said now...

Turns out the likely reason for my early labour (aside from the premature rupture of my membranes) was infection. My placenta had areas of pus and infection on it.

Today, our little baby girl is doing amazingly well considering her prematurity (*knock on wood*). She is tiny, but feisty. She's proven to be the fighter I always knew she was, all throughout the pregnancy. When she grips my finger in the NICU, I cannot help but think that she would not be here if we had decided to terminate our pregnancy when my water broke at 20 weeks. I am soooo glad that we made the decision to wait and see what the future would bring. She is our miracle, the light of our lives. I treasure and cherish every moment I get to spend with her, and wouldn't trade them for the world.

And with that, this will be my last post on Pregosaur. I have decided that I have too much on my plate to go on and post on Littlesaur, as much as I would like to share my experience as a NICU parent. But I know I need to focus all my attention and energy on our daughter, and so that's what I'm going to do.

Thank you to all the readers for your thoughts, support and encouragement throughout my pregnancy. I will check back and see how the rest of the Pregosaurs are doing from time to time, and cheer you all on from the sidelines. Good luck to you all!

Not a great weekend

Note: I live in Australia, so if some of the dates/times seem a bit off in this post, just keep in mind that I'm a day ahead of most readers. Also, I'm sorry in advance that this is such a long one!


SATURDAY
At about 6.30pm, I started spotting. It wasn't enough to soak a pad, but it was enough to frighten me. It was brown, which I knew meant it wasn't fresh blood, but since I'd been instructed by my doctor after my last scare to take any spotting seriously, Mr Bibliosaur and I ran to the car and drove to the emergency room. I held it together until I had to talk to the hospital staff, and then I just broke down into tears. I explained the basics - I was nearly 15 weeks pregnant with twins, having some spotting and had miscarried in the past.

The nurse escorted me to a bed and after a while, the doctor showed up - he asked me a few questions about my history, including how long we'd waited after the miscarriage in April to try to conceive again. "One cycle," I replied, "since that's all my doctor said we needed." The ER doctor proceeded to lecture me about how it was necessary to wait at least 3-6 months and we shouldn't have even tried before then; I just stared at him, confused and scared - what did it matter now how long we waited, when I'm already in the second trimester of another pregnancy? And besides, a little math easily showed that although we'd started trying again after a month, it took five cycles for me to actually get pregnant.

Just then a nurse came to tell the doctor that he had a phone call, and he excused himself. Since my room was right next to the nurses' station, we could overhear what was happening, and could clearly see that after he finished his phone call, he picked up the phone again and rang a colleague, asking them how long a woman should wait to get pregnant after a miscarriage. Mr Bibliosaur and I exchanged WTF? glances while listening to the conversation. After a minute or two, the ER doctor hung up and began working on a computer at the nurses' desk - trying to keep things light, Mr Bibliosaur and I joked a bit about him looking up symptoms on WebMD...so you can imagine how startled I was when the doctor eventually returned bearing a printout of this page from About.com regarding how long to wait to conceive after a miscarriage. Seriously?

The doctor's next question was if I'd had a blood group to test if I was rhesus negative for this pregnancy. I said no, but I had for the previous one, which had demonstrated that I had a positive blood type. The ER doctor insisted that we do another test, so my blood was drawn and Mr Bibliosaur and I sat in the room for a couple of hours, waiting for the results. Naturally, it came back showing I had a positive blood type, and the doctor said that the spotting was therefore nothing to worry about as it wasn't from to my body attacking the babies due to conflicting blood types. I just stared at him. He really thought that was the only potential cause of miscarriage? He wasn't going to examine me to see where the blood was coming from, or order an ultrasound to make sure the babies weren't distressed? He said no, these things wouldn't be necessary unless I started spotting again - I hadn't had any further bleeding in the three hours we were at the hospital - and discharged me. (For anyone wondering why I didn't I ask for a different doctor: I live in a small town, and from what I observed from my room next to the nurses' station, there is only one doctor working at a time in the emergency room on any given night.)

Two hours later, I started spotting again. I was beside myself - should I go back to the hospital? What if the doctor sent me home again? The spotting was still brown, not red - was I worrying over nothing? Eventually I decided that I wanted to head back to the hospital, so Mr Bibliosaur and I drove down again. This time, we waited for about half an hour to see a doctor, and during that time there was a shift change, which I felt privately grateful for - perhaps now I'd see someone who wouldn't need to google 'spotting during pregnancy'. Eventually, a new doctor came in and gave me a basic exam, listening to my heartbeat and lungs, and told me they'd like to keep me for observation until the OB arrived the next morning to check me out more thoroughly. An orderly from the regular ward would come down soon to escort me to the room where I would spend the night.

SUNDAY
Mr Bibliosaur wanted to stay with me until I was transferred, and we sat in the room holding hands for several hours, with nurses coming in every 20 minutes or so to say that the orderly would be there shortly. When it became clear that the orderly who would arrive "shortly" wasn't going to be making an appearance anytime soon, I sent Mr Bibliosaur home to get some sleep. By that stage, it was in the very early hours of Sunday morning, and I wanted to make sure he'd be able to drive home safely - after all, if I wasn't going to be examined right away, there wasn't any point in his staying at the hospital all night.

I don't know how long I waited in that room. Hours. First I continued to sit in the chair, still hopeful that the orderly would arrive at any minute. When it became clear that wouldn't be happening anytime soon, I miserably crawled up onto the bed in the room and curled up, trying to get some sleep. More time passed, and eventually the orderly did turn up with a wheelchair and took me up to the next floor, where the nurses settled me into a bed. I tried desperately to get some sleep, but I couldn't - the room was stifling, the bed uncomfortable, and I was scared and worried as the spotting continued throughout the night. As the sun rose, I drifted into an uneasy sleep, waking up a short time later when they brought in breakfast. Mr Bibliosaur arrived a little while later, and soon after, the OB entered the room with an ultrasound machine.

"I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to see you," he said. "They didn't call me last night to tell me you were here last night, and only just mentioned it when I came in this morning." Hearing the irritation in his voice made me feel better - I can understand why the hospital staff wanted to keep me in for observation, but I was confused as to why they wouldn't give me an ultrasound first to make sure the babies were doing OK. The OB seemed as annoyed by this as I was, so at least now I knew I wasn't crazy for wondering why they did things in the opposite order.

Before he started the ultrasound, he asked me for a brief history of my pregnancy - I explained about my previous miscarriage, then about coming to the hospital twice the night before. "Wait," he interrupted me in a startled voice, "a doctor sent you home the first time?" I nodded, and he gritted his teeth before asking me for that doctor's name. Clearly someone was going to get a royal asschewing, and I can cheerfully say that I had absolutely no compunction about giving up the first doctor to the OB's wrath. After a couple more minutes, the OB started the ultrasound...

...and there they were. Both twins, healthy and alive, moving and waving. The OB told us that although any spotting can indicate a threatened miscarriage, this looked like a very viable pregnancy, and unless the bleeding increased, he thought things should be OK. I was instructed to take it easy for a day or two, and an hour later, I left the hospital.

MONDAY
Yesterday I only had a small amount of spotting before I left the hospital and then nothing for the rest of the day, and I was hopeful I'd seen the last of it. But this morning, there it was again.

From my online research, it could be something as simple as a broken capillary, or sometimes at this stage in a pregnancy the body will expel some old blood that it no longer needs. But regardless of what's causing it, it's still scary and I have to constantly reassure myself that everything is OK. One of the lasting effects of a miscarriage is that you can never quite feel relaxed about a pregnancy, and since identical twins are an inherently high risk category, it's made me even more prone to worry - so even though I know and understand that this is likely nothing to worry about, I'm terrified that this light brown spotting will suddenly become heavy and red, that I'll lose the babies that I already love so much.

Lying in my hospital bed that night, I couldn't help but think of Legalosaur and wonder how she and her little one are doing - I know that what I experienced this weekend wasn't anywhere near what she has been going through every single day, and I am in awe of her strength. They've come so far and fought so hard...I hope they're OK, that they're hanging in there.

Don't forget those hospital FREEBIES!

Everyone says it: When you check out of the hospital after giving birth, take everything not nailed down! And it's true... Take everything you can!

A tip: If you are kind to your nurses, they will help you score mad stuff on your discharge day! Mine did!

Another tip: Ask to be pumped so you can learn how, or, if you milk has come in, to relieve engorgement. Because then you might score a Medela Symphony pump kit, a $59 value!

To give you a glimpse of what you might expect... Below is the list of FREEBIES I scored at the hospital!

• 2 pairs of socks with tread (Love them!)
• 2 baby nasal aspirators, the one in her bassinet and a brand new one (Soooo helpful! I keep one at each changing station. And the hospital ones are better than the ones I got at the store)
• Handful of Lanolin sample tubes (Great for diaper bags!)
• 2 packs of gel soothies for my sore nips ($16 value. I used one pack and saved the other)
• Medela Symphony double pumping kit since I was engorged by the end of my stay and and needed to be pumped before I left ($59 value! I have used this with my rented pump and it saved us money that I already had this!)
• Souvenir swaddle blanket. My nurse offered this to me and got me a new/clean one! Yay!
• I also got to keep her baby hat!
• Whole new package of Pampers diapers
• New package of Pampers wipes
• Package of wipes that you can use with water
• Huge stack of disposable undies (Have not used them)
• Package of pads (Have not used them)
• Plastic water bottle to help you wash "down there" (Helpful)
• At our discharge class, we got a free Medela bag full of free samples and stuff and a free Enfamil shoulder bag also full of free samples and stuff.

OK... That's all I can think of! Hope this is helpful to you all... Kisses to all you mommies to be and baby dust to you TTC ladies. Wishing everyone the best!