Hospital Happenings - Day 1 & 2 update

Larkin is a day and a half old now and she has been doing great. Her weight is down to 5 lbs. 9.2 oz., but a slight weight drop is expected after birth. Her bilirubin level is at the medium level right now so she has slight jaundice (which is normal for preemies), so they'll continue to watch her over today to make sure that she doesn't require the blue light. Larkin is learning how to breastfeed and in the mean time is being supplemented to make sure that she gets enough food to keep her weight up and to help lower her bilirubin level. She's eating about 1 oz. at each feeding now.

Not surprisingly, baby Larkin has Brian wrapped around her little finger - he is totally smitten! I just stare at her in amazement... I can't believe she's ours!

Here are a few shots from her over the last day. Volunteers at the hospital make the baby hats so she's had a pink one and now is using a lilac one. They are precious!

Meet our May Flower, Larkin McCann Hittle!!!

Brian and I are the proud to introduce our new daughter, Larkin McCann Hittle! We were expecting a June Bug, but she wanted to come a little earlier and be our May Flower instead!

Larkin was born at 36.5 weeks on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 9:35pm. She weighed 5 lbs., 14.9 oz. and is 18 inches long. She's got luscious lips and big eyes, not to mention a decent amount of hair (that seems to come together in the middle like a faux-hawk)!

All of us are doing really well. Larkin is healthy and while I'm a little sore, everything with the birth went very smoothly. Brian cut the cord too. The grandparents are here with us now, so we're all jockeying for our time with her! She's just perfect and we are so in love with her.

For those of you curious about her name... Larkin is just a name we came across that we love. We had seen an actress in a show with that name and while the show wasn't on TV for long, the uniqueness of the name really stuck with us. Neither of us thought much about it over the next year or so (even after the show stopped running) until we came across it in an awesome baby naming book (and a corresponding website) called the Baby Name Wizard over Thanksgiving. We both just fell in love with it then and knew that was going to be our little girl's name. The origin of Larkin is Latin and it means "crowned with laurels". McCann is my paternal grandmother's maiden name and we thought the positive energy from the "McCann sisters" (of which there were many) would be fantastic for Larkin.

Above are pictures from directly after Larkin's birth. They monitored her for a few hours just to be sure she was a-okay since she was born early, but she did great! More pictures from Day 1 will come tomorrow - for now I need to get some sleep!

In Labor!

Early this morning at 6:40am, I was cuddling with Brian in bed when my water broke. There was little mistaking it, but I wasn't having any noticeable contractions. We were in so much shock and excitement that we rushed about, trying to remember all the things we needed to do... call the doctors and family, finishing packing the bags for hospital, feed the pets, calling to cancel various appointments, etc.

The doctor said that we should head into the hospital as soon as we could and we arrived at about 8:45am. The first two pictures are from when we first arrived in our hospital room #530. It's an awesome birthing suite where the birthing bed (that you can see in the background) is taken out after the birth and you can then pull down a queen bed from the wall so both Brian and I could sleep there. There is medical equipment hidden behind the pictures hanging on the walls and there's also a large jacuzzi bath tub in the bathroom.

The latter two pictures are me during labor. I used a birthing ball some of the time and liked that as a change from the bed. They eventually put me on Pitocin to spur on more regular contractions and make them effective in dilating me. I really could barely feel most of the contractions and our nurse kept telling me that she needed to get me to feel pain! Our nurse, Brandy, was so wonderful... we got along so well that she stayed an extra 4 hours after her shift ended in order to help with the delivery. We were so grateful.

It was when I was about 4.5 cm dilated that I decided it would be a good time to ask for my epidural. I had the anaesthesiologist that the nurses refer to as the "Godfather of Epidurals". He was so fast and did such a great job... I could feel that I was having contractions and I could feel/move my legs, feet, etc. just fine - I just didn't feel any pain. I dilated the last 5 cm. fairly quickly and then finally it was time to push. I pushed for 1 hour (with fantastic coaching from Brian and his mom, Peggy) and then our May Flower made her debut!

Memorial Day Couples Baby Shower

Brian's parents, Peggy and Jim, threw us a fantastic couples baby shower on Memorial Day evening. Above is a picture of some of our friends that were able to join us and another one of us with Brian's parents. I will post a picture of the gifts once I gather them all together and take a photo. The gifts that were bestowed upon us were generous and so thoughtful - we loved them all! Thank you to everyone who has thought of us and our baby!

During the shower, Peggy had us all play a fun little game. Everyone had to guess what the circumference measurement would be when Brian and I stood together belly to belly. The guesses ranged from 50-83 inches (Matt, really 83 inches?!?!)... the actual measurement ended up being 59 inches, which led to Tom getting a gift bottle of wine for his guess of 56 inches. We then had people guess boy vs. girl and the winning guess was that were were going to have a boy! The party was great fun and we had a blast.

Little did we know that this would be our last event before the BIG birthday!

Buddha Belly - 34 weeks

I feel as though I'm all belly right now! Doesn't it look like a buddha belly? Even though I haven't had random strangers come up and touch my belly yet, they do love to comment on it... guessing how far along I am seems to be a favorite. I'm 34 weeks along today and despite my continued growing, Little Hittle's home is starting to get a bit cramped. I'm measuring ~35.75" around at my waist and have gained about 21-22 lbs. so far. I'm feeling really good, although I find walking up hills to be a bit more tiring than I used to... after all, I've gained over 20% of my pre-pregnancy body weight!

Surprise Work Baby Shower!

Today sure was a fun day at work! After having lunch with my friend Sarah, I entered my office suite to a surprise baby shower! There were ~25 people there for the surprise party, and I was completely shocked. I really had no idea! Along with the cake, punch, and group of great friends/colleagues, there was a pile of wonderful gifts that I had a blast opening up. Above is a picture of the gifts we were so generously given. Little Hittle will get great use out of everything. To my colleagues, Brian and I are so grateful for your thoughtfulness... thank you all so much!

Welcome Sierra Dineen Hensley!

Little Hittle has a new cousin! Brian's sister, Jenny, and her husband Greg welcomed a baby daughter today. Her name is Sierra and she is such a cutie. She was born at 7lbs 12oz and 21" long and she has reddish-blonde hair. We are so happy for them and can't wait to meet our adorable niece. Congrats, Jenny and Greg!

A Basket of Hope

With Mother's Day around the corner, you're probably thinking about what to get your mom this year. Instead of spending $50+ on flowers, chocolate and a card, I hope you'll consider giving your mom a gift she'll never forget and will truly appreciate...a Basket of Hope. What mother wouldn't want a basket of hope for Mother's Day (or in my case, Mother-to-be Day)? Brian... hint... hint...

Heifer International is a non-profit organization that Brian and I enthusiastically support. The concept is wonderful… you donate an animal that Heifer gives (on your behalf) to a family in need, wherever in the world that may be…Africa, South America, Asia, U.S., etc. They teach the family to care for the animal and, in return, the animal provides the family with a means for long-term self-reliance, instead of only short-term relief like other charities. The Heifer animal provides both a source of food and income (e.g., from selling the wool, milk, eggs, etc.). And, when a family’s animal has offspring, they donate that offspring to a neighboring family in need. Thus, each donation is truly a gift that keeps on giving!

In a Basket of Hope donation ($50), a family in need will receive a basket full of rabbits and chicks. What can rabbits and chicks provide? A LOT! For families with little land and few resources, rabbits are the perfect solution. So long as they are warm and dry, rabbits thrive, and they love to eat leftover vegetables. In turn, families get nitrogen-rich manure to use on gardens or to sell as fertilizer. And since rabbits have up to 40 offspring a year, they provide families with steady sources of protein and income. Chicks are equally as valuable...starting at six months, chickens can lay up to 200 eggs a year — a reliable source of protein for children who otherwise subsist mostly on starches. Extra eggs can be sold to pay for school, clothes and medicine. And in the vegetable garden, chickens peck at bugs and weeds, scratch up the soil and enrich it with droppings. If only every $50 we spent could do so much!

If $50 is more than you want to spend, then consider giving a flock of either chicks, geese, or ducks for only $20. Or, if you want to spend more, then consider a lamb or a llama! You can find out more about all of the Heifer donation options and make your tax-deductible donation by going to our Hittle Family and Friends Gift Ark webpage by clicking here (this Heifer link is also in the right-hand column of the Little Hittle blog under Links). I thank you for donating and am confident your mom will love her basket of hope!

Burgeoning Belly - 31 weeks

Here are a few pictures of me from this morning, just before Brian and I headed out to our all-day Childbirth Education class. We enjoyed the class and learned a lot. When the lady explained how the baby has to turn to fit through the pelvis because the pelvic spines that stick out make the space tight, Brian declared that the spines shouldn't be there (as the lady confirmed they don't serve any real purpose other than being in the way) and as an engineer, he thinks a redesign is in order!

As for my belly, I'm still growing! I look like I'm toting a beach ball under my shirt, don't I? Let me tell you, it's making tying my shoes harder every day. My belly is ~35" around, and I've gained close to 20 lbs so far. I'm feeling pretty good, except that I definitely have the urge to put my feet up at the end of the day. Brian has been great about pampering me as I lounge!

3D-4D Ultrasound

Just for fun, Brian and I decided to have a 3D-4D ultrasound done today and here are a few of the 3D pictures we got. The 4th dimension is time, so the 4D just means we got a video of the session, in addition to the 3D still-shots. (FYI...the 3D machine works via algorithms, which explains the weird shadows and distortions in the images. Click on the pictures above to see them enlarged).

Brian and his mom, Peggy, joined me at the session. We were all able to watch the session on a 90-inch screen which was fantastic. While the sessions usually last about 20 minutes, we were in there for a good 50 minutes since Little Hittle was not completely cooperating! While the baby's head was down in my pelvis, it was stretching its legs so that its feet were down by its face, blocking the view for awhile. Then, once we got the legs to move out of the way, Little Hittle promptly placed a hand in front of his/her face! Geez! Maybe the baby is already camera shy... or, more likely, s/he is just a bit stubborn like me!

We got to see all sorts of cute things... Little Hittle stuck his/her tongue out a couple of times and did a lot of practice sucking, we saw that the baby has hair, and we got to see our cutie's chubby cheeks and luscious lips!

Pregnancy Brain

Do you ever feel like memory-impaired Dory from the movie Finding Nemo? I had to chuckle at myself this morning as I experienced an episode of "pregnancy brain" while I was getting dressed and ready for work. I started to get frustrated when I couldn't get my left eye contact out... only after several futile attempts did I realize that I couldn't get the contact out because it wasn't in there! It was morning and I was supposed to be putting IN my contacts. Duh! Then, when I went down to eat breakfast, I realized that I had already brushed my teeth too. Needless to say, I have especially clean teeth today (I brushed twice this morning).

Since about month 5, I've been "suffering" from what is called "pregnancy brain", "baby drain brain" or "momnesia". It's when a pregnant woman or mom to young children becomes forgetful, distracted or absentminded. Those of us afflicted by this phenomenon often find ourselves forgetting what we are going to say or do, dropping things, etc.. That actually reminds me of another instance I had last night while I was cooking dinner...I dropped almost the entire box of angel hair pasta noodles on the floor! Talk about playing pick up sticks! I have to say, though, being able to chalk up these silly antics to being pregnant is great... people are really forgiving!

There is a great debate over the true causes of this condition, but generally, the experts think this short-term memory loss is largely due to a few factors, 1) increased levels of the hormone progesterone, 2) lack of sleep, 3) distracting thoughts about the baby, 4) anemia (I actually am very slightly anemic right now so my doctor has put me on iron supplements).

Whatever the cause, it is actually a fairly common condition among pregnant women (82%, according to The Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing). There have been all sorts of news and magazine articles and TV segments dedicated to this topic over the last couple of months... even NBC's Today show did a segment on "momnesia" last month. Below are two articles I found that try to explain more about this funny phenomenon, if you're interested: click here and here.

p.s. Brian had a case of sympathy pregnancy brain the other day too... someone asked him for our home phone number and he gave his old phone number from when he was a kid growing up! :)

Graduation to Third Trimester

We've hit another big milestone! Today, we are 28 weeks along and have officially entered our third trimester. Yay!

Little Hittle now weighs about 2.5 lbs and is roughly 15 inches long from head to foot. That means that the baby's weight has already increased more than 10 times in the last 11 weeks! Even so, now is the time that the baby really starts putting on more layers of fat. This is also the time that Little Hittle's brain really grows and s/he practices looking around... s/he can distinguish light now. His/her lungs are starting to produce surfactant which is needed in order for him/her to breath on his/her own. That's an important milestone to reach, in terms of fetal survival rates.

Finally, Little Hittle is moving like crazy now too! My belly gets contorted into all sorts of funny shapes. That, coupled with the baby's hiccups that I felt for the first time recently, keep me enthralled in watching my belly... it's practically like watching TV or a campfire!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! Brian, Little Hittle, and I are celebrating Easter this year with my family in the Hamptons. We've got the three of us, my Dad, my Mom, my sister Dana, her husband Greg, and their two sons, 4-year-old Gavin and 10-month-old Luke.

Last night we decorated Easter eggs and then watched old family videos. This morning, the boys hunted for Easter eggs. The Easter Bunny was good to our nephews this year. When we asked Gavin how many eggs he got, he said "about a million" and then later revised the number to a more reasonable estimate of 60.

We've loved the getaway with family and are happy that we're now officially in spring!

Belly of Fat - 27 weeks

We are 27 weeks today, so we have one more week until we are officially in the third trimester! Since my doctor doesn't want me traveling once I'm in my last trimester, we are enjoying our last big hoorah with my family in NYC and the Hampton's this Easter weekend.

I thought we were due for a new updated belly shot after a memorable event yesterday. I was playing with my 4-year-old nephew, Gavin, and he mumbled something about my "ball of fat." When I chuckled, he looked at me seriously and told me that if I exercised, I could get rid of that "ball of fat" that I was carrying!

So, that "ball of fat" (a.k.a. Little Hittle) is growing, kicking and doing great. My belly measures about 32" right now and I've probably gained about 15 lbs so far. My belly is sometimes lopsided because while Little Hittle's head is down in my pelvis, his/her butt often sticks out on the right side of my tummy. His/her little feet kick right around my belly button and lately there's been a bunch of kicking and pushing as Little Hittle has been making some additions to his/her house.

Ultrasound - 24 wks 2 days

Little Hittle says "hello" again! We are 24 weeks 2 days along today and we had a routine doctor's appointment where we were able to check in on Little Hittle via ultrasound. The baby's doing great! S/he is positioned with his/her head down, and its little feet are kicking near my belly button. Little Hittle's heart rate was 150 bpm and s/he weighed in at a healthy 1 lb. 9 oz., which is right on target for this stage of gestation. With that weight and a length somewhere around a foot long, Little Hittle roughly resembles an ear of corn!

The doctor pointed out the baby's head, stomach, hands, arms, legs, feet, etc. We actually could see a toenail on one of Little Hittle's big toes and we also saw a lens moving within one of Little Hittle's eyes (which are opening and closing now)! It's so amazing. Here's a cute picture of our munchkin in profile, with a hand on his/her forehead. Brian joked that it looked as if the baby had a headache (something we both suffer from and hope our little one doesn't inherit from either of us)!