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SHE'S HERE!!!

The day has come to welcome Ms. Sydney Jo Larsen. She was born on Tuesday, July 19th at 9:28 am at RiverBend Hospital.  She was 9lbs. .4oz and 21inches long. Our adventure started at home on Monday night. We walked around the neighborhood for almost an hour, had dinner and then Phil and I went back out for another few laps. Let's just say, that walking DOES work! When we came home after the first walk I used the ball which actually stopped my contractions. When we were doing our walks we were timing contractions, we ended up going to the hospital when mine where 2 min. apart.
We made our way to the hospital where they admitted me and immediately got me hooked up to drugs to help. I ended up with 2 epidurals. We started with one that only did half of my body, so they gave me two boosters of drugs that only lasted an hour each. After getting to 8cm and getting stuck and not being able to handle the pain because the boosters were not working, they decided to take out my other epidural and put in a brand new one...which worked wonders!
After I made in to 10cm I finally got to push, I pushed for 13 min. : ) and out she came. Let's just say her head was definitely not the biggest part of her; her tummy was. Though the pushing and delivery went quickly the next few hours were horrendous! After I had Syd I hemorrhaged very badly and lost 6 units of blood. They said that part of the hemorrhaging was from my placenta not breaking away correctly. I had to go to the OR to have a partial D and C. Because of all the blood loss I had a blood transfusion of 2 units and stayed in the hospital for an extra two days.
Now that we are out and home, things have been a little rough. I have no energy and my blood counts are very low that it has been very hard to take care of Syd. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband that has helped with Syd and taking care of me. As well as all the wonderful new grandparents that have stayed at our house to take care of Syd so I can recover. Still to this day, I am hour by hour of how I feel and how much I can do. I still get very light headed and have already gone back to urgent care because of blood levels. Though we have had some major issues over the last week, which has made it a little hard to bond with Syd...she is perfect! She is a great sleeper, eater, and all functions are a go. I could not ask for a better daughter or a better support then our wonderful family and my husband. If not for them, I don't know what I would do.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support and kind thoughts. I will update as much as I can, but please be patient about pictures and visits. Here are some pictures to hopefully hold you over for a little while.

Trying to hang in there.

Went to what we thought would be our last doctors appointment on Monday, but it looks like we may have another. Everything is looking positive for her to come sometime this week. For this pregnant mom, "sometime this week" is not very satifying. Blood pressure was normal at 118/78 and I didn't gain an ounce from last week. The doctor checked me again and I am 2 almost 3 cm dialated and 70% effaced. He was a little surprised that I changed that much in a week on my own. He also tried to calculate how big she is now. At 36 weeks she was weighing in at around 7lbs. 11oz. but that was three weeks ago. Now he thinks she is around 9lbs. I am hoping that the whole +/- factor comes in on this one. As of right now we are just waiting. I am becoming more and more uncomfortable as the days go on. I have been trying to do my walks with Phil and bounce on my ball, but my hips are so out-a-wack that just getting in and out of bed hurts! I am trying not to become frustrated, but when you really have to just hang out at home because everything is sore, it stinks!
The doctor told us to make another appointment no later than Monday, but he thought (with a high chance) that he would not see us. I'll believe it when I see it. Sydney's due date is Sat. the 16th, so hopefully she will come then. Cross your fingers. Here is one of the last pregnant shots...hopefully the next photos I put on here will be me not prego.

New Blanket!

Finally finished Sydney's new crocheted blanket. I LOVE IT!! It is so soft and cuddly. I can't wait to bring her home in it. Thanks grandma for teaching me how to crochet, now you will be with her forever.

Week 38...and still counting.

Went back to the doctor again yesterday. Pretty boring appointment, everything was normal. Blood pressure was 120/80 and gained a couple more pounds. The doctor measured my belly and it is finally shrinking a little, it only measured 40 cm. He said my belly will get a little smaller because she is coming down in my pelvis. I guess that's a good thing. I asked the doctor what we will do next and he said only about 10% of women come early or on their due date. BOOOO! We had a little discussion about if it were not for work coming so soon, I would let her bake in there until she wants to come out, but I mentioned to him I would really not like to let her go past her due date. 1. because she is supposedly big, 2. I told him I would like at least 6 weeks with her until I go back to work. After I mentioned that, I think he had a different perspective on the situation. He decided that checking me would help to see where we are, so he did...now I am 1-2cm and 60%, which is better than two weeks ago when I was 1cm and 30%. Dr. Copper said we will scrape my membranes next Monday which hopefully will get something going as well. We go back on Monday to have another check up. Hopefully something will change soon.

What happens when you are board? You crochet things!

Ok...ok. I am addicted to crocheting again. I stopped Syd's blanket yesterday (which is not a good thing) to try and crochet a hat. I attempted one in Portland with no success. So I found a video to teach it, and it worked. I made a green hat last night. Then I wanted to try something else, so I attempted a small flower, which also turned out last night. I am going to put a clip on the back of it so I can clip it to any hat or headband I have for Syd. This morning I still was not done (just getting started), I wanted to try a different type of flower that was bigger. I found another video about how to make a layered flower with 8 petals. I tried...and succeeded!! The bigger flower is a little big for the hat, but I might put it on a headband. Here are the picks of what I have been working on. I really want to try and make another cute hat that I saw in Portland, but I need other colors and I should be working on Syd's blanket. We'll see what I end up doing! It's a lot of fun to be crocheting while I can because it was my grandma who taught me how to do it when I was 6 or 7 years old. I am glad it stuck. Hopefully I can teach Syd!

***Update: The other hat that I wanted to try and make was a ladybug hat. I used thicker yarn thinking it would go faster, but it didn't. It actually made it harder because the stitches where stiffer. It turned out very cute, antennas and all, but it wont fit her until she is a little older. With the thicker yarn it didn't size right. Oh well. It is done. Now onto finishing Syd's blanket. Maybe that is why she has not come yet, she is waiting for me to finish it so she will have it all for herself. (Pics below)

37+ Weeks and still boring!

Just got back from the doctor for our 37th week appointment. This time was different because we met our new doctor, Dr. Cooper. He did all the same things that Dr. Betterton normally does. My blood pressure is back up to about what it started at 124/78. He measured my belly, but I forgot to ask what I measured. Last week at 36 weeks, I measured 41cm, so I have no idea what I am right now. We were a little worried when Dr. Cooper was trying to find her heart beat. Normally it is really loud and easy to find but this time it took a little bit. Everything turned out just fine. She is still very active and their was no conversation about her coming early. So I guess we are in it for the long haul, and our luck she will come around her guess date of July 16th not sooner. Oh well, as long as she is healthy we'll take it, we were just hoping for a little extra time with her before I went back to work. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Updates as they come. Here is one of the last belly shots at 37+ weeks. (Thanks Ponders for the shirt.)

News from the Doctor

So today Phil and I went to the doctor for our 36+ week check-up. We had an ultra-sound before to find out how big Syd really is. The tech lady took many many shots, which we got to keep. We then had our appointment with Dr.Betterton. When she arrived in the room to say hi, she had that LOOK. Then when she said "How are you and your big baby doing?" I looked at her with surprise. Dr.Betterton informed us that currently right now Sydney is sitting around 7lbs. 11oz. plus or minus some. Dr.Betterton is a little concerned because she is so big, and I still have 3+ weeks left until my due date. The one thing the doc. said was surprising was that her abdomen is bigger than her head. Normally, the head is the biggest part of the baby, and the one thing you have to worry about getting out. But in our case Syd's tummy section is bigger. I asked her about induction, just because I really don't want a 9lb. baby. She recommended that we don't because when you induce someone who has a bigger baby, it results more in C-sections. So we are doing more waiting.

Everything checked out other than the shocker of Syd's size. My blood pressure was 100/70 and I only gained 1lb. over the past week. Dr.Betterton also checked me and said things were soft and I was dialated to 1cm. I guess that is good? Our other news is that Dr.Betterton is taking a medical leave starting July 7th, so she might not be here when Sydney comes. We are going to meet another doctor next week (Dr. Cooper) that she recommended for us. The funny part about this is that Dr.Cooper was a girlfriend of mines doctor for her little ones, but when it came to her delivering, Dr.Cooper was not available, my doctor (Dr.Betterton) delivered both her little ones. Now we are doing a switch-a-roo.
We'll have to see what happens as time goes by. But until then, here are some pics that we got today. One of her foot and two of her little head. One of which has her with a little smerk on her face. Phil and I think she has Phil's lips. I think she looks a lot like Phil, but we'll see when she gets here.

Running out of room.

We are getting down to the wire. We go in today to see how Syd is doing size wise. I will post more info later today. Here is an updated belly photo. It may look the same as others, but colors of outfits change how big I look. I do know though that she is running out of room, and everyday I am even more uncomfortable. Updates to come later. Wish us luck!

Week 35

Finally another doctors appointment. We were suppose to go last Monday, but I had an all day field trip so we went today, which put us three weeks since our last one. Everything looks pretty good. I have officially gained exactly 30 lbs. which is pretty awesome because they say between 25-35 is good growth. My blood pressure was right on track again at 104/68. Based on when I first started going to the doctor, I am 35 weeks along, once again when she measured me, I measured BIG! Last time at 33 weeks I measure 36 cm and this time at 35 weeks I am measuring 38cm. They say that each cm should equal about/close to what week you are in. Based on this, Dr.Betterton thinks that Sydney is a little big already. So big, that next Tuesday I go in again for our new weekly appointments, and she wants me to have an ultra sound and get checked to see her real size.
I'm a little nervous but I think everything will work out. One of the crazy things I did find out today was that the doctor thinks that I am having Braxton Hicks (?) contractions. When she measured me today she noticed that my belly was rock hard. When she asked if I had been having contractions, I said "I don't know, I don't know what they feel like?" that's when she responded with "I think you are having one (a Braxton Hicks one) right now." That's when I informed her that I have been having those for a couple of weeks, I just thought it was Syd pushing on my belly and making it hard.
WHO KNEW!
With all this info. that I had no idea about and the ultra sound and check coming up, I am getting excited but nervous. We'll have to see what next Tuesday brings us.

P.S. I also was the lucky recipient of a warm bath that was drawn for me, with calming Epsom salts and lit candles. What a great husband I have. If he spoils Syd the way he spoils me, us Larsen girls are set for life. LOVE HIM!!!

Finished Nursery!

Baby Sydney's nursery is finally finished! We have a couple of things that we have to get, but for the most part everything is finally done. I finished painting the trees last week and put up the flowers on the walls. I found a frame for the Wordle and managed to get that up as well. We also were able to get our mattress for the crib thanks to Grandpa, Mickey and Donna. We washed and folded all the new outfits from the showers and my wonderful girlfriend Ashley helped me re-organize to make it all fit. Enjoy the pictures and hope that everyone can come see it in person when Syd comes.

33 Weeks and the Countdown has started!

I went to the doctor last Monday at 32 weeks, but have been so busy to post. Sorry! I am now at 33 weeks. The doctor says everything is going perfect. My blood pressure went back up like the doctor wanted; it was 110/66. I gained 3 lbs. these last two weeks, which put me at 4 for the month. Not bad to almost be done and only have gained 23 lbs. I think I am over the whole weight gain drama. It is what it is, and it is all for Syd. Dr. Betterton tried her best to measure my belly last time. I don't know what I measured, but lets just say, when the doctor tries to measure your belly from bottom to top three times and you ask "Is everything ok?" and she says "well, I am trying to find the top of her and she seems to be a little big in there" Hmmmmm... lets think about this. I have been asking her if she is sure that July 16th is her due date and every time she says yes. When I asked her at this appointment, all she could say is "you know...they can come whenever they want." That tells me that she has no idea! Oh well, Syd will come when she wants, just not too early I hope. She is still moving around daily, but all her movements are right under my rib cage and are more pushing than kicking. The doctor says that probably means she is head down, getting ready. Her space is definitly limited, which causes me to move a little slower because she weighs more (about 4lbs. and 17 in. long) but she has moved down so I can breath. Which is a major plus.  Hope to keep the updates coming for all, but for now here is what Sydney has done to my belly the last couple of weeks. : )

I got my Mother-to-be Day gift today!!!

It finally came!! Phil is officially the BEST daddy-to-be. He ordered my diaper bag that I really wanted, and it finally came today. It is so beautiful and fits my style. I am so excited to start using it. It is a Petunia Pickle Bottom box bag. It has room for everything and comes with a nice changing pad built right in to the front. You can carry it like a purse or throw it on your back and wear it like a backpack (that is the part I like the most). It is wonderful!!!

30 Week Doctor Appointment

Went to the doctor today for our 30 week check-up. Everything is going well. I am measuring 32cm, which still puts me in the 30 week category. She checked my blood pressure, which was on the low side, which is what it has been doing over the last 2 months or so. The doctor says that my blood pressure is fine and that it is suppose to slowly drop. It will start to climb back to more of a normal rate in about a month or so. The doctor said that if it didn't drop that it would be the beginning signs of pre-clampsia. So good thing it dropped. Her heart rate was 155 which is pretty active. The doctor had a hard time finding it because she would not stop moving. The best part of our whole 5 min. with Dr. Betterton was that I found out I only gained a pound in the last 2 weeks. I was pretty excited! I was however a little bummed when I found out that I would not get another ultra-sound at 32 weeks. The doctors says it's because I am having a normal boring pregnancy. Everything is great and I am not having any issues, so that is why I won't get one.  I guess that is ok, I would rather have a boring pregnancy and miss out on a ultra-sound then have a hard pregnancy and get a lot of them.

All in all, the doctor says everything is going really well and her due date is still holding strong at July 16th. Lets cross our fingers for that date at the latest. I want more time with her before I go back to work. I know selfish!!

Mom-to-be Day!

This weekend has been exhausting. I can definitely tell that it is getting closer. She is moving and pushing up into my rib cage more and more. She is now supposedly 3lb. and is almost 16 in. long. I am feeling the change in weight. It is harder to do everything and going to sleep finally stinks. My under belly is a lot more sensitive if I move to fast. Thought I ripped something in my right side when I got out of bed the other day. : ( Thank goodness for my fabulous husband who takes really good care of me, even in the middle of the night. I am very lucky to have someone that cares about us (Syd and I), as much as Phil does. We are both getting more and more excited by the day, but it is going by fast.

For my first Mom-to-be day, I was spoiled. I got to sleep in, had breakfast together, relaxed at home and worked on Syd's crotchet blanket, Phil surprised me with the diaper bag that I wanted and we found a new light for Syd's room. So many wonderful things in one day. AMAZING!

To finish off the day, Phil and I decided to take another belly shot, but we were adventurous...just skin! We go for our 30 week appointment tomorrow. We will post details of the visit tomorrow.  Take a look at what 30 weeks looks like on me...I think I am pulling it off quite well! : )

The Craziness is starting!

Another doctor appointment down, only a few more to go. I can not believe it. I went in for my 28th week check up yesterday. All is well with me and Sydney. I measured exactly 28cm, which puts me at 28 weeks. I gained another 6 lbs. for a total 19 lbs. so far. I guess I am still in a good weight zone, according to the doctor. Blood pressure is perfect and everything went well for a whole 5 min. that I spent with my doctor, but I guess less time with her means less problems. I also had my glucose test as well, had to drink the juice and wait an hour to get my blood drawn. Then I got another shot for some sort of virus thing that will make me not fight off the baby. We now start going every two weeks until my 9th month, where we then go every week. I can't believe it is going so fast.
Sydney is doing well. She is moving all over the place. She has finally learned how to push on my belly instead of kick. NOT FUN! She is still floating around in different positions. According to the doctor she is not head down at all. It is exciting that she is getting used to Phil, before when she would kick and Phil would want to feel, she would stop. Now she listens to his voice and gives him a little tap dance performance. Now the fact that it is going to be the 3 of us is kicking in, literally.
We have also been working on the baby room. We finished putting up the paintings on one wall and we are working on the tree for the other side. I will post pictures in the photo album so you can all see the progress. So many little things are going on right now it is craziness, from baby room, baby things, doctors appointments, baby showers coming up, kids getting ready to be third graders, packing up my classroom, resting, spending time with Phil and crocheting a blanket for her. So many things, but everything has been worth it.

New Craft-No wet diapers in my stuff!

I have been running across these new bags at different baby stores I have been going to. They are called wet/dry bags. They come in all different sizes and styles, but the ones in the stores are really expensive, so....... I made my own. The reason that they are called wet/dry bags are because they have a different type of material on the inside of them that is waterproof, so you can put wet diapers or clothing inside and it won't make your other items in your bag wet. Take a look at my first one I have made. I am pretty proud of it!

Update on Baby Larsen

Going back to the doctor later this month. Our last check-up went well, other than me freaking out about gaining 9 lbs. in a month. Something I never thought I could do, but she has some part in it too. Everything is well. After our last appointment she was really moving a lot. Side to side and punching and kicking all over. Now that we are into our 26th week, she has started to be more picky with her movements. She has not been giving me as many quick little kicks and punches. She has been taking her time and pushing more on my sides and top of my belly then kicking. Once in a while she gives me a big one two punch, which makes my whole belly move. I just giggle when that happens. According to the e-mails I get each week, she is around 1 lb. 10 oz. Getting BIGGER : )
Very excited about everything that is going on with this new adventure. Finally understanding what most moms always talk about when it comes to being out of breath. I am still able to do everything, but I take more breaks with my kids (who handle it so perfectly) and I have noticed that if I bend over for too long or move to fast in a certain way I get the enjoyment of what I think is acid reflux. JOY! Oh well, if all of these things are the worst of it right now, and I am able to sleep through the night and eat normally, I will take it.

SIze Tags for the Baby Girl

Getting our little one on the right track. Tonight I spent my evening making size tags for her closet to separate her clothes. I saw some at the store, but they were boring and ugly, so I made my own.

25 Weeks

Everything is going well. Tummy is getting bigger, which has started to cause a few new things. Besides bumping into more things with my belly, I have been more and more out of breath and had to take more breaks due to being light headed.
The little one is still kicking away on a daily basis. Her kicks are getting stronger and much more noticeable. She tries to hide from her daddy when he tries to feel her kicks, but once in while he gets to feel a good one. Keep you posted on any changes and updates!

-Angela, Phil and Baby Larsen

24 Weeks and counting!

Phil and I went to the doctor again yesterday for our 24 week check-up. Everything is going well. This month I gained the most out of all my months of being pregnant (9lbs.) I talked to the doctor about it, but she said everything is fine because I had not gained that much in the months prior. I have gained a total of 13lbs. so far, but realizing that the major weight gain is coming is a little scary. Phil finally got to hear the heart beat for the first time. He has seen it on the ultrasound, but you can't hear it. Her heart beat was 140 (normal).
Our next appointment is in 4 weeks, right after Easter. I will have a glucose test at the next appointment, but based on past appointments, Dr. Betterton thinks I should be fine.

After the next appointment I will already be in my third trimester, I can't believe it. It is going by so fast. She is already more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. Supposedly she should grow at least 4 oz. each week for the next few weeks then it will go up. She is kicking and punching on a daily basis and tends to be more active in the evening from about 5 on. Other than being tired and sleeping becoming more awkward, everything is going well and Phil is taking very good care of his now two princesses. We are totally spoiled!