Hey! My name is Brittany. : ] I live in Ohio, but dream of warmer weather in some other state. My wonderful boyfriend is Austin and we have been together for over five years now, I would not change a thing! I adore nature and indie music. In my spare time, I like to make bows for my daughter and even some of my friends and their little girls. I am trying to improve so that someday I can actually sell them. : ]
The picture above is me pregnant with my daughter, Eleanor, at 29 weeks and one of our five cats, Maximus, loving on both of us. We are animal lovers and rescuers. We have five cats (Kitty, Alex, Max, Rose, and Gwen) and one dog (Stella), and they are all rescues!
You might have noticed, I have piercings! I have eight at the moment (both lobes, both tragus, left nostril, left rook, right Monroe, and right cartilage). I plan on getting a few more as well as a couple tattoos at some point in the future.
This is our daughter, Eleanor Maeve. The first picture is her at 20 weeks during her Anatomy scan and the second picture is her beautiful face in 3D at 33 weeks during a scan to check on her kidneys. I was previously told that due to severe endometriosis, that I would experience difficult conceiving and carrying a child to term. Ellie is an absolute blessing to Austin and I.
Providing all is well, I intend on breastfeeding for one full year. Austin and I have decided to use cloth full time! We have almost completed our entire stash, although I am sure that I will continue buying more and more diapers because I am truly addicted. We will also be making homemade disposable wipes. The recipe we are using is simple, just warm water, tea tree oil, and lavender oil. If you have any questions about our parenting styles, please feel free to ask! I am more than happy to share.
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Eleanor Maeve arrived March 17, 2013 at 3:41 PM via emergency c-section. Ellie weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 19 inches long. I began having contraction around 6PM on the 16th, but waited until they were stronger and closer together. The next day around noon, Austin and I decided to head the the hospital. I was only dilated to 3CM, but they monitored me for one hour to see if I progressed. During the hour, Ellie's heartbeat dropped from 160 bpm to 20 bpm and then to 0, but it would come back up.
They decided to admit me and see if I labored naturally, but planning on inducing me. I was moved to my labor suite where they continued to monitor me. Ellie's heart dropped again to 0, but this time it would not come back up. Tons of nurses and doctors came running in, moving me side to side trying to raise her heart rate. Then, they broke my water and inserted a Foley ball with the intention of inducing me, but her heart just would not come up. They immediately prepared me for an emergency c-section.
I received a spinal right away and it kicked in immediately. I was laid down and Austin was rushed into the room quickly because our daughter was dying... The doctors had to move so fast. I never realized they had started the surgery until I heard my daughter cry for the very first time, my heart exploded with joy. Her cord was wrapped around her neck twice and every time I contracted, it would squeeze tighter. She was taken to her incubator and they made sure all was well. Austin got to cut her cord and then she was swaddled and given to him to hold. She was then laid on my arms so that I could see her.
I was taken to the recovery room and she was taken to the nursery for her testing, shots, and bath. After a short time, she was brought to me and a lactation consultant arrived shortly after. We began breastfeeding right away and Ellie did wonderful! She ate for over 30 minutes on each breast. Our hospital stay was just lovely. Everything went very well, until the second day when her jaundice levels skyrocketed. She was placed in a bilibed and on a biliblanket to control it. We were both sent home the next day around 5PM.
I am so in love. She is a perfect baby! I am cherishing every single moment with her, especially because the doctors told me that if we would have waited an hour to head to the hospital, it is likely that she would have died and not been able to be revived. We are so lucky...
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Important Dates:
07/21/12 - BFP!! I am going to be a mommy!
07/26/12 - Family doctor appointment, confirmed pregnancy, OB/GYN referral
07/30/12 - Morning Sickness has officially set in.
08/01/12 - Prenatal appointment, measuring a couple days behind
08/21/12 - Nurse appointment, ultrasound ordered for three weeks from now
08/30/12 - Prenatal appointment
09/12/12 - First ultrasound, heartbeat was 165! <3
09/26/12 - Prenatal appointment
09/29/12 -
Started feeling flutters!
10/24/12 - Prenatal appointment, high blood pressure, ultrasound ordered
10/27/12 -
Started feeling kicks, inside and out!
11/07/12 - Anatomy ultrasound!
IT'S A GIRL!
11/10/12 -
Started SEEING kicks!
11/16/12 -
Austin started seeing kicks!
11/21/12 - Prenatal appointment, ultrasound ordered
11/26/12 -
Began feeling hiccups!
12/06/12 - Anatomy ultrasound! Take two. : ]
12/19/12 - Prenatal appointment, one-hour glucose test [failed]
12/24/12 - Work related accident, monitored at L&D
01/03/13 - Prenatal appointment, three-hour glucose test [passed]
01/17/13 - Prenatal appointment
01/31/13 - Prenatal appointment, ultrasound ordered
02/07/13 - Ultrasound with specialist
02/14/13 - Prenatal appointment
02/22/13 - Baby shower!
02/28/13 - Prenatal appointment
03/07/13 - Prenatal appointment
03/14/13 - Prenatal appointment, 1cm dilated, 40% effaced
03/17/13 - Ellie was born via emergency c-section!
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If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask!
