Introducing Leilani!!
 

Hello, ladies! Jason and I are happy to introduce our little bundle of joy to all of you! Leilani was born on Friday, Aug 12 at 5:44 pm weighing 7 lbs. 9 oz. at 19.5 inches long.

It was a quick labor, but I developed preeclampsia during it, so things didn't go quite the way we wanted. I progressed very quickly and eventually conceded that I really needed and wanted the epidural to get through it all. We brought Leilani home on Sat., but my preeclampsia held on and I was back in the hospital being admitted for high blood pressure the following Monday. I would have been allowed to keep Leilani with me, but the doctor advised against it on account of my high bp and the stress of taking care of her. Jason stayed in the hospital with me and Leilani went home to stay with my parents. It was HEARTBREAKING and didn't help me feel much better. I was put on magnesium sulfate for 48 hours to reduce my seizure risk and help the bp come down. Unfortunately, my bp never came down, so the doc prescribed bp meds and told me I may end up on them forever or may get off of them one day, depending on how my body did.

Overall I spent 3 days in the hospital without Leilani (she visited about an hour to three hours each day), and finally went home on 800 mg of bp meds daily. My parents left back home on Saturday and Jason and I were on our own with Leilani for the first time ever.

Now things seem to be going really well. I have a UTI from the catheter while I was hospitalized, but my bp meds have already been cut back to 1/4 of what they were when we left the hospital.

Leilani is thriving and has already gained 1 lb and 1/2 an inch in length. I am breastfeeding and pumping and we have been able to keep her fed without formula since I left the hospital, which was a big goal of ours from the beginning. She actually sleeps most of the night, with a few wake-ups for feeding and fussing. It was definitely a rough start, but everything is going pretty well now and we feel so blessed!

I hope you are all doing well and I do plan to be back soon for another update!!

LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS!! You are so blessed, Kim. Congratulations on your little bundle of joy, and hope your BP is doing better!

She is a beauty.

Oh my! She is such a beautiful baby, and I got all choked up looking at her. CONGRATULATIONS, Mommy & Daddy! :hug:

I'm glad everything turned out OK after all and that you are both fine. Now, you take care to nurse yourself back to good health, and enjoy your precious gift from God.

Awwwwww....
What a great head of hair on her. She's beautiful.
:congrat:

She's beautiful! Congrats!
I hope you get well soon!

She is wonderful! Congratulations!

Oh, Kim! She is beautiful! I looooooooooooooooove her little cheeks!!

Beautiful! And congrats on your breastfeeding success so far. One f the most challenging yet rewarding things a mom will ever do :) Hope your BP improves! I had preeclampsia too but an odd case with no high BP

Awwwww, she is beautiful!!! Look at all that hair!!! Congratulations, Kim!!!

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing pictures with us and I hope you are feeling better every single day! I especially love the family portrait!

Take care, Kim!

Just adorable! I know how much you wanted her. Best wishes to all three of you as you recover and start the next phase of life.

"Sweet Leilani - Heavenly flower" is today's ear worm. :)

Congratulations!

Wow. Eclampsia can be really scary. Luckily everything turned out well and you're already down to 1/4th the BP meds. Maybe with continued care and improvement of your health you can eliminate them all together.

I'm not sure where you are in West Texas (I'm out here too :D ) there's a ton of breastfeeding support. I know of one medical supply place that has everything you could want for breastfeeding/pumping. Also, be sure to use your lactation consultants at the hospital if you have any issues.

Congratulations!!

Congrats Kim! She is beautiful!!

Enjoy every cuddle & coo!!

Gorgeous! Such juicy cheeks!!!! Congrats to you both!

Congratulations Kim and Jason!!! She is beautiful, love those cheeks!! I pray that you will be off your medication for BP soon. Thank you for sharing your precious gift with us.

Congrats!!!!!!

Oh my goodness she is BEAUTIFUL! And she really does look like a Leilani! She's perfect, congratulations!

Beautiful! Congratz!

Thanks, everyone! We think she's absolutely beautiful and are totally smitten with her. She really is a wonderful baby, even last night when she didn't sleep much. She was awake, but not fussy.

Jason ADORES her and has her in his arms whenever he can. He goes back to work next week, so he's spending a lot of time with her right now. He helps me out whenever he can, so I've got it pretty easy for now!

I am dealing with what the doctor calls "postpartum anxiety disorder". She prescribed Zoloft, but I decided not to start taking it just yet. We are trying to develop some coping mechanisms and preventative steps to take. I just don't want to be on more medicine right now and since it may go away naturally as my hormones balance out, I don't want to be stuck on something I may not need a few weeks from now. Hopefully I'll be able to tackle this mentally with the support of friends and family until my next appointment and I can have a good enough report then to avoid taking the Zoloft.

Thanks again for all the compliments, congratulations, and well-wishes! They are appreciated!!

Bless you, Kim.

Please reach out for help with the anxiety - I do not want to seem like a downer, but it can creep up on you. Talk to people all the time, make sure you get outside, and for sure have a great list of things to do/think about when the anxiety starts to be felt.

Give that baby a big wet sloppy kiss!
Be well -

Beautiful baby Kim. I'm glad you've got plenty of help & support. Hope you're getting plenty of rest too!

Big ups girlfriend!

Thanks so much, everyone!

Bea, thank you so much for your concern! I have been surrounded by really supportive friends and family and they're all doing everything they can to help me. I am in contact with my doctor and she will refer me to a mental health specialist if I feel its needed. I am feeling wonderful right now, though, and have had some anxiety creep up on me, but I'm working with DH to develop coping skills and have been able to keep excessive anxiety at bay.

Today was my first trial day of being alone with baby while hubs is at work and it went beautifully! I'm feeling so great that I baked some pumpkin chocolate chip bars for hubs and my sisters, who will be in town in a few hours.

Dear Kim -
Awesome. Excellent news. I hope everyone knows how real and serious both anxiety and depression can be - at all times, but post-partum can really be hard. People expect women to be "all happy a goo goo eyed" over this amazing baby, and we ARE, but still - the anxiety just sneaks in even amongst the love and joy.
It sounds like you TOTALLY have the handle on it - blessing on you for being willing to reach out to those around you. You have the best outlook on it, and you will be fine, along with that gorgeous baby girl!

Be well -

What a beautiful little girl - and a beautiful family!
Congratulations Kim. :hug:
Leilani is blessed to have a mom and dad who prayed for her so long and who love her so much.

Congrats Kim! She is beautiful! :hug: