- When we came home his weight was down to 6 lbs 11 oz.
- Sweety Petey continued to go to the doctor daily for blood draws to check his bilirubin levels. By Thursday (after we had come home from the hospital on Monday) his levels were back down to normal. No more doctor visits.
- At his two week appointment he was 8 lbs 12oz. and 21" long
- At his two month appointment he was 12 lbs 9 oz. and 24" long.
- At his four month appointment he was 16 lbs 6 oz. and 26 1/2" long. 90th percentile for height and 76th percentile for weight.
- We never got used to breastfeeding so I continued to pump and supplement with formula. After 3 1/2 weeks I quit pumping. I pumped every 3 hours for that long and at the end I still couldn't get more then 1 to 2 oz. per session. It was definitely not enough to satisfy my son. I do regret that I wasn't able to breastfeed exclusively, but I also don't regret it at the same time. Not breastfeeding is a very freeing experience and there are many pluses (and many minuses, of course). I do not feel like I have lacked any bonding time/experiences with him at all because I didn't breastfeed. I can't imagine being any more closely bonded with my son than I am now.
- He has slept through the night since he was 11 weeks old. I honestly don't know how I could have gotten this lucky and I honestly don't know how it happened. I just knew that he could do it and he did. It just happened.
- We swaddled from the very beginning until he was 4 1/2 months old. Swaddle=Sanity I will buy a swaddle blanket for every single pregnant person that I know from now on. I don't care if they have registered for it or not.
- He rolled over from his tummy to his back pretty consistantly at around 8 weeks. Then about a week later he just stopped. I firmly believe that he hit a growth spurt and couldn't figure out how to turn his now huge body and noggin.
- At 4 1/2 months he started to consistantly go from tummy to back again and has just started at 5 months to occasionally go from back to tummy. It's that huge noggin of his...I swear.
- At 4 months he started to be VERY vocal. I mean he screams, screeches, coos, babbles, etc. Sometimes it is soooo loud. He gets it honestly from his daddy.
- He is very close to sitting on his own. Right now he just needs a little support. I'm excited for him to be able to do this.
- He began eating rice cereal once a day at 4 months and 1 week. Three weeks later he started eating it twice a day. At 5 months and 1 week he started having some baby food in the evening. Sweet potatos were the first item on his menu. He ate them well and didn't really seem to care one way or the other about them.
- The only time that he cries and/or is fussy is when he is tired and needs to sleep. A wet/dirty diaper has never bothered him and he has rarely cried because he was hungry.
- We have babywised him from the beginning. Eat,Play,Sleep. Repeat. I am not rigid about his eating schedule but we really don't deviate much at all. I am not rigid whatsoever about his nap schedule. He will definitely let us know when he needs a nap.
- He never had his days and nights mixed up...even when we were first home from the hospital.
- I love love love to give him a bath. He's always so happy and he just watches what I'm doing with this look of awe. I talk to him and he smiles and laughs. It is fabulous.
- By Christmas we had put away all of the 0-3 month clothes.
- He hated the bumbo seat until almost 4 months old.
- He looooooves his swing and has loved it since the beginning.
- He has extremely sensitive skin. If The OP rubs his face on his cheek it immediately breaks out even if The OP has just recently shaved.
- So far he has reacted well to both rounds of his vaccinations. He has cried, but I have been able to calm him down very quickly and he hasn't required any further tyleno.l.
- He has tolerated the car seat well and has rarely cried in the car so far.
- So far the furthest that we have taken him from home has been about 3 hours.
- He has stayed the night at his nana and opa's house four times so far.
- We started daycare on January 5th when he was three and a half months old. I cried, of course. It was very hard for me to give up that control of his caretaking. I still find a million things wrong with his sitter, but I know that she takes good care of him and cares about him. He is there from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm every day. It breaks my heart.
- I truly am his primary caregiver and I really don't mind. The OP loves him very very much, but he works a lot and when he gets home he is tired physically and mentally. So, the responsibilities mostly rest with me. Occasionally I get irritated about this, but most of the time I'm find with it. I'm a control freak so I like things done my way.
- God knew what he was doing when he gave me a child that would easily sleep through the night because a tornado wouldn't wake my husband when he is sleeping. It would all be up to me.
- At 1 1/2 weeks we went back to the pediatric cardiologist and Dr. Bricker already felt like his heart murmur was close to being completely closed. We will go back in April for the next check.
- We put together his exer-saucer at 4 months and he has always enjoyed it, but really started to show interest in it at around 5 months.
- I sing to him even though I have a horrible voice. Singing to my child is something that I never really thought I would do. When he was born, though, I found myself singing and he liked it! Surprises, surprises. I do have a limited repitoire though. The ABC's,Jesus Loves Me,The Eensy Weensy Spider,Twinkle Twinkle,You are my Sunshine, or I sing along with any video on CMT.
- He notices the dog, but doesn't really seem to be bothered by her presence. He just stares at her if she's in his line of sight, but other than that...nothing.
- I was shocked by how early he began to recognize strangers or people that he hasn't seen in a while. By four months old we were already dealing with that and I just didn't expect that until much later.
- He has from the beginning always woken up in a good mood. There's always a smile on his face.
- I have very brown eyes and The OP has very blue eyes. So far Sweety Petey has hazel eyes. I would bet money on it that they will eventually turn one way or the other. The OP had a cousin with hazel eyes and when she was little she always would call them weazel eyes. So that's what we call it. Weazel Eyes.
- He slept in our room in the Pack N Play for the first four weeks and then transitioned easily to his own crib in his own room.
- We run a vaporizer every night because it helps with his congestion that he was waking up with and because I believe that the "white noise" helps.
- He lights up when I read him the book ABC's by Dr. Suess.
- Since he has discovered his hands which was at about 3 months old he has been trying to suck his thumb. We are definitely ANTI-THUMBSUCKING!!! So we stick his pacifier in his mouth at every opportunity to try to curb this. His sitter has been instructed to do the same thing. We may very well be fighting a losing battle but we aren't going down without a fight :)
- He has always been most fussy in the evenings.
3.02.2009
Details to Remember
Quick Facts to get us up to date -
2.26.2009
Hospital Stay
After the birth the epidural wore off quickly. We were moved to a mother/baby room and I was feeling AWESOME! I cannot explain how great I felt. We watched the nurse bathe our son and there were several family members and close friends there to share this moment with us. We tried nursing and didn't have much success, but I wasn't worried at that point we would just keep trying. I didn't sleep at all that night. I just stared at my child (watching to make sure the he was breathing...I'm a dork) and listened to my husband snore. The next day was overwhelming to say the least. We had So.Many. visitors. All I really wanted to do was go home. I felt fine. Yes, I had some pain, but I just wanted to take my baby and go home. I enjoyed most of the visitors. It barely gave us time for nursing though...I was agitated about that. Sweety was happy, calm, quiet all day. He tolerated all of the visitors very well. He never skipped a beat. The Op's ex-wife brought C and D to visit their new little brother. Having her in my hospital room touching my son was not the highlight of my day to say the least. That night The OP ended up going home very late. I was a little upset by this, but only because I was starting to feel frazzled. Unraveled if you will. Everything was kind of catching up to me. I took a shower after he left and realized that what I thought was body wash had actually been shampoo so I had no real soap and I had to wash my body with shampoo. Then I realized that I had no hair dryer so my hair had to air dry. At one point I was holding Petey and I knew that I had to use the restroom, but when I got up and laid him down I peed all over myself. Obviously my muscles were not what they used to be so I would have to take that into account from then on. Around 3 am my nurse came in and said that she was taking the baby for his checkup and would have him back to me in an hour. She didn't bring him back until 6 and I was livid, scared, upset, etc. She informed me that while checking up on him she had noticed that his breathing rate was very elevated and that she had called the pediatrician to come in and look at him. They had done a chest x-ray and were waiting for the pediatrician to look at it to diagnose. He had also started to develop jaundice so they needed to make sure that he was getting food intake in order to rid his body of the toxins. I started bawling. I called The OP and he made his way quickly to the hospital. Around 8:30 another lactation consultant came in. I was in no mood for this woman. By the time she left I wanted to end.her. We worked on the nursing, but I was so upset and worked up that it wasn't working. Nothing that she said to me was helping. I just wanted him to eat so that I could make sure that at least something was going right in his body. I told her that I wanted to supplement due to his health concerns. We had no idea what was really going on and I just wanted to give him some kind of sustenance. Of course, she tried to talk me out of it. I started crying again. She started telling me about post partum depression and that maybe I should see someone. Did I feel like hurting my son...she actually asked me that! I lost it. Was she kidding me? I had just found out that there could be something really wrong with my son and she expected me to just be fine with that?!?!? By the time she left I had demanded to be given formula to feed him and we had rented a hospital pump for me to use for the remainder of my stay. I would feed him every 3 hours and pump right after. He drank that first bottle like a thirsty animal living in the desert. I knew in my heart that I was doing the right thing. I will never see another lactation consultant again in my life. The nerve of that woman.
The pediatrician came in the late morning and told us that his chest x-ray looked fine, but that she had heard what could be a small murmur in his heart. They were going to keep us here overnight because the pediatric cardiologist would be here in the morning to see him. He would stay under the blue lights for his jaundice during the entire time he was in the pediatric wing. At some point tomorrow, if the ped. cardiologist thought everything was ok, he would be circumcized and we would be able to go home. Long story short, we didn't get up to the pediatric wing until 9:00 pm that night and the pediatric cardiologist was waiting for us there. He listend to Petey's heart, asked us questions and declared that he most likely had what is called a ventral defect which is a common heart murmur that usually closes on it's own during the first year of the childs life. It should pose no problems to him. I was sooo relieved. After that he was placed under the blue lights with the little mask over his face. It was horrible. I did not sleep, yet again. I did not shower yet again. I was miserable. Finally by the next morning Petey's bilirubin levels had gone down enough that the pediatrician cleared him to be circumcized so that was done around lunchtime. Then his next bilirubin check was down enough that we could be released from the hospital. There was just one small problem. Our onery child had not urinated since his circumcision. We weren't allowed to leave until he did that. I was beside myself. I was crying, I was beyond tired, I was absolutely loosing my mind. The OP probably thought that I was definitely loosing it. We were at the hospital until 6:30 just waiting for him to take a pee pee. It was actually comical. We just stared at him waiting for the little yellow line on his diaper to turn green. Finally the nurse came back in to check on him and as soon as she pulled back his diaper he started peeing all over himself and her. We actually cheered. I changed his clothes as fast as humanly possible. We put him in the carseat and we made our getaway. We literally ran with him to the car - that's how much we wanted to get out of there. I slept for a very long time that night only getting up long enough to pump and go back to sleep. The next day I felt like a new woman. I wasn't crazy or hysterical anymore. I was ready to take over my mommy duties and spend time with my husband and my son. I have never looked back.
The pediatrician came in the late morning and told us that his chest x-ray looked fine, but that she had heard what could be a small murmur in his heart. They were going to keep us here overnight because the pediatric cardiologist would be here in the morning to see him. He would stay under the blue lights for his jaundice during the entire time he was in the pediatric wing. At some point tomorrow, if the ped. cardiologist thought everything was ok, he would be circumcized and we would be able to go home. Long story short, we didn't get up to the pediatric wing until 9:00 pm that night and the pediatric cardiologist was waiting for us there. He listend to Petey's heart, asked us questions and declared that he most likely had what is called a ventral defect which is a common heart murmur that usually closes on it's own during the first year of the childs life. It should pose no problems to him. I was sooo relieved. After that he was placed under the blue lights with the little mask over his face. It was horrible. I did not sleep, yet again. I did not shower yet again. I was miserable. Finally by the next morning Petey's bilirubin levels had gone down enough that the pediatrician cleared him to be circumcized so that was done around lunchtime. Then his next bilirubin check was down enough that we could be released from the hospital. There was just one small problem. Our onery child had not urinated since his circumcision. We weren't allowed to leave until he did that. I was beside myself. I was crying, I was beyond tired, I was absolutely loosing my mind. The OP probably thought that I was definitely loosing it. We were at the hospital until 6:30 just waiting for him to take a pee pee. It was actually comical. We just stared at him waiting for the little yellow line on his diaper to turn green. Finally the nurse came back in to check on him and as soon as she pulled back his diaper he started peeing all over himself and her. We actually cheered. I changed his clothes as fast as humanly possible. We put him in the carseat and we made our getaway. We literally ran with him to the car - that's how much we wanted to get out of there. I slept for a very long time that night only getting up long enough to pump and go back to sleep. The next day I felt like a new woman. I wasn't crazy or hysterical anymore. I was ready to take over my mommy duties and spend time with my husband and my son. I have never looked back.
2.13.2009
Birth Story Cont...
On the way to the hospital I called The OP and various friends. They were all surprised of course, and The OP was trying to get to the hospital as quickly as he could. I was admitted around 2:30 and hooked up to the monitors. The nurses asked me a million questions and input everything into their computer. The entire time I kept waiting for my water to break like at any moment, but of course it didn't. I mean...she did say BULGING. The monitors showed that I was having mild contractions. Again, who knew? Not me.
I had been there for about an hour when Ms. C came in to check me and break my water. When she checked me I was already closer to 5 cm. Then she pulled out the knitting needle. WOW, I had heard stories about this, but you really can't understand until it's happened to you. The needle and her hand go up into the nether regions and she broke my water while holding the baby's head. Fluid just began gushing out. It was a crazy crazy feeling. Then she guided the baby's head slowly to it's resting point as to not allow the cord to prolapse or anything of that nature. Once in a lifetime experience. She informed me that she and Dr. C were here at the hospital and that Dr. C wanted to deliver this baby so she would be in to check on me from now on. As she left I began to immediately have contractions. I couldn't believe how just breaking my water could make things go from zero to 60 in a flash! The contractions were strong and about five minutes apart. I endured them for about 45 minutes when I decided that I was ready for the epidural. I wasn't trying to be super woman! Give me the pain management!!! In my head I was really thinking that I could still be here laboring for another 12 to 24 hours...who knew? No one could predict these things. People around me kept saying the baby will be here sooner than you think. Some of my loved ones were waiting in the waiting room and I kept thinking why are they waiting?? This could take forever!! They could be here all night. I actually felt pressure to have this baby so that it wouldn't inconvenience people. How stupid is that?? I can't believe that I remember feeling that way, but I did. Amazing.
By the time the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural I was beyond ready. I had never moaned or anything of that nature, but everytime I had a contraction it was excrutiating. It felt like the worst menstrual cramps anyone could ever imagine. It never actually felt like I was making progress, but I guess that I was. Dr. Bennet was the name of the anesthesiologist. He was weird. He didn't make me feel calm at all. I was just thinking...GET THIS DONE AND LEAVE BUDDY!! Oh, and the nurse that I had! Oh she was horrible. I need to back track and talk about her. She was the worst nurse on the face of the planet. This was her FIRST day at this particular hospital so she was in training. The nurse that was training her was trying to help me, but this new nurse was out to "prove herself" and I was her way of doing that. She decided to draw my blood for the lab from my hand! MY HAND!!! It was more excrutiating than the contractions. I will never allow anyone to do that to me again. She, of course, couldn't get enough blood to come out of my hand so then she also had to stick me in the arm. My IV had to stay in my hand. I was furious. I was in so much pain though that I was like gosh if this hurts this much then what will delivery feel like?!?!? She was awful. I couldn't wait for 7 pm to get here so that she would leave and go home and a new nurse would come. So back to the epidural. Very uncomfortable. Not too bad pain wise, just completely uncomfortable. Having a contraction while not being able to breathe because you are curled into a ball around your huge belly while a doctor sticks multiple needles in your back and weirdo nurse is standing in front of you trying to comfort you. Fun Times.
The epidural did not take long to take effect. Pretty soon I couldn't feel a thing. It was great because I had no pain, but at the same time I had NO FEELING. I kind of started to panic because I couldn't move from the waist down. I was helpless. I kept looking at The OP for reassurance and asking him how was I going to push this baby out when I couldn't even move my legs. Everytime a nurse or doctor came in I apologized to them for my lack of ability to move. I'm a retard. Like they didn't see this same thing every day. My curiosity was killing me. How did this work out in the end? How would I be able to deliver a baby? The epidural was like a double edged sword for me. Took away the pain, but also wayyyyy lowered my blood pressure and made me nauseous. Throughout the rest of my labor I threw up about ever half an hour. In between vomits I felt great. Not a problem. Then it would just hit me and I would ask for the throw up thingy and I would dry heave and it would be over. Can I say that I'm sooo glad that the only thing that I had had to eat that day was a bowl of cereal? That completely worked out in my favor....in many ways if you know what I mean. So, the blood pressure thing was pretty serious. Pitocin was put on hold until that was under control. I had to be given several doses of the drug that raises blood pressure before it would go back anywhere near normal. This took about an hour and a half. If that hadn't happened then Sweety Petey would have been born much sooner. I was never really worried about the danger of this blood pressure thing, but I know that it was serious if they couldn't get it reversed.
When my bp was good the nurses got the go ahead to start pitocin. At this point I was at 5 cm and Dr. C came in to attached an internal heart monitor (screws lightly into the baby's scalp and don't let them tell you that it doesn't leave a mark because it definitely did). Then the nurses installed a catheter so that I wouldn't pee all over myself. Each time someone came in to do something to me The OP and a nurse had to move my legs because they were completely dead weight. It was somewhat frightening to especially since I have the tendency to be quite claustrophobic.
From the time that they started pitocin to the time I began to push was not a very long time. I was just expecting this horrible, drawn out delivery, but God had other plans for me. A little before 9:00 pm Dr. C came in to check my progress and I was at 9 cm and she declared that I should begin pushing. They hooked up the calf stirrups on the bed and placed my calves in those and then instructed me to push during the next contraction. I was to pull back on my thighs while I pushed. The OP would hold one foot and my mother would hold the other. The nurses were actually thrilled that I had two people there for the birth so that they wouldn't have to bring in another nurse to hold my foot. I had never thought of it like that. So by this time the epidural had worn down to the point where I could tell that I was having a contraction, but there was no pain. It was like I could feel exactly what was happening to my body (and my baby) but there was no pain from it. I felt some pressure yes but no real pain. I would say that at this point my contractions were still a good three minutes apart. So, I would push when I felt one start. Push as we counted to 10, breath and repeat, breath and repeat and then we would wait for the next contraction. I did this for almost an hour and a half before Sweety Petey was born. At one point during the counting my doctor looked at my mother and told her that she had to quit holding her breath while I pushed because she was afraid that she was going to pass out! It was kind of hilarious because my mom didn't even realize that she was doing that. From then on out my mom would just count along with the nurse. Basically he was stuck behind my pubic bone and I would push and his head would come out so far and then he would retreat back inside. I was making progress but it was just taking a really long time. Meanwhile I was still throwing up. At one point I pushed and threw up and then pushed again right after. The OP told me later that he was really impressed with my skill :)
I would like to talk about the atmosphere in my delivery room while I was pushing. It was AMAZING! Something that I never expected...there was no tension, no fear, just a lighthearted sense of hope and excitement. In between contractions/pushing we would all have a conversation (even me) and The OP or my Dr. would crack a joke and we would laugh. I asked my doctor about her children and a charity that I knew that we were both involved in. After it was all over I felt so unbelievably lucky to have had that experience. I know that not many women get to experience childbirth like that and I just thank God for that blessing. Everyone in the room was so encouraging and helpful. There wasn't a single time where I began to feel like I couldn't get him out and there wasn't a single moment when delivering a healthy baby wasn't my ultimate goal. Dr. C stayed with me the entire time. I could tell that she was tired...this was her 8th baby to deliver in less than 24 hours! Towards the end the nurse pulled up these handles on the bed and told me that I could hold on to those as I pushed and that was soooo much better than holding onto my legs. I wondered if I was going to break them off because I was pulling back so hard on them. As he descended and came closer and closer to being born I began to feel increased pressure and I could tell that I was really making progress. As soon as I had pushed him past my pubic bone I knew what I had done and it was a breeze from there. The doctor and nurse scrambled to set up for the birth and begged me to be very still and not push because he was coming out so quickly that they hadn't had enough time to get ready. As soon as they were ready I pushed, did some half pushes (as my doctor called them) and then there he was. It was such a dream. Dr. C screamed, "open your eyes or you're going to miss it!" I opened them right in enough time to see her catch him from my body, suction his mouth and lay him on my chest.
In my mind I had pictured that by this point I would be bawling, but I wasn't. I did get misty eyed. My mom was bawling, The OP was smiling from ear to ear and he bent to give me a kiss and stare at our son. While he was on my chest I just stroked his face and tried to hold him, but it was like I didn't know exactly what to do. I just stared at him in disbelief about what had just occured. The nurse asked if I was ready for her to take him and I said yes. She took him over to the warmer and scale that were in the room and worked on him. He was absolutely screaming the entire time. From that moment on I was able to pick out his cry from that of any other baby. To me, his cry was so distinct. So...I had just given birth. The doctor sewed up a tear which only required a few stiches. The placenta was delivered easily. There was a lot of pressing around on my stomach. A lot of blood/fluid that I could feel gushing out. It was surprisingly not a messy event, though. The sheeting and the blue pads that the hospital uses were very good at keep things clean and neat. I was really surprised by that. I expected total grossness. Total yuck...but it was nothing like that. I lay in that bed for a while as the nurse finished with Petey (and no that's not really his name) and then she brought him back to us. 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 3/4" long. Perfect scores for his breathing and everything else. He.Was.Perfect. All the months of worrying about this moment were over and I felt absolutely jubilant and burden free.
He was here. He was ours. A product of The OP and me. A product of our love and devotion to one another. Perfect.
I had been there for about an hour when Ms. C came in to check me and break my water. When she checked me I was already closer to 5 cm. Then she pulled out the knitting needle. WOW, I had heard stories about this, but you really can't understand until it's happened to you. The needle and her hand go up into the nether regions and she broke my water while holding the baby's head. Fluid just began gushing out. It was a crazy crazy feeling. Then she guided the baby's head slowly to it's resting point as to not allow the cord to prolapse or anything of that nature. Once in a lifetime experience. She informed me that she and Dr. C were here at the hospital and that Dr. C wanted to deliver this baby so she would be in to check on me from now on. As she left I began to immediately have contractions. I couldn't believe how just breaking my water could make things go from zero to 60 in a flash! The contractions were strong and about five minutes apart. I endured them for about 45 minutes when I decided that I was ready for the epidural. I wasn't trying to be super woman! Give me the pain management!!! In my head I was really thinking that I could still be here laboring for another 12 to 24 hours...who knew? No one could predict these things. People around me kept saying the baby will be here sooner than you think. Some of my loved ones were waiting in the waiting room and I kept thinking why are they waiting?? This could take forever!! They could be here all night. I actually felt pressure to have this baby so that it wouldn't inconvenience people. How stupid is that?? I can't believe that I remember feeling that way, but I did. Amazing.
By the time the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural I was beyond ready. I had never moaned or anything of that nature, but everytime I had a contraction it was excrutiating. It felt like the worst menstrual cramps anyone could ever imagine. It never actually felt like I was making progress, but I guess that I was. Dr. Bennet was the name of the anesthesiologist. He was weird. He didn't make me feel calm at all. I was just thinking...GET THIS DONE AND LEAVE BUDDY!! Oh, and the nurse that I had! Oh she was horrible. I need to back track and talk about her. She was the worst nurse on the face of the planet. This was her FIRST day at this particular hospital so she was in training. The nurse that was training her was trying to help me, but this new nurse was out to "prove herself" and I was her way of doing that. She decided to draw my blood for the lab from my hand! MY HAND!!! It was more excrutiating than the contractions. I will never allow anyone to do that to me again. She, of course, couldn't get enough blood to come out of my hand so then she also had to stick me in the arm. My IV had to stay in my hand. I was furious. I was in so much pain though that I was like gosh if this hurts this much then what will delivery feel like?!?!? She was awful. I couldn't wait for 7 pm to get here so that she would leave and go home and a new nurse would come. So back to the epidural. Very uncomfortable. Not too bad pain wise, just completely uncomfortable. Having a contraction while not being able to breathe because you are curled into a ball around your huge belly while a doctor sticks multiple needles in your back and weirdo nurse is standing in front of you trying to comfort you. Fun Times.
The epidural did not take long to take effect. Pretty soon I couldn't feel a thing. It was great because I had no pain, but at the same time I had NO FEELING. I kind of started to panic because I couldn't move from the waist down. I was helpless. I kept looking at The OP for reassurance and asking him how was I going to push this baby out when I couldn't even move my legs. Everytime a nurse or doctor came in I apologized to them for my lack of ability to move. I'm a retard. Like they didn't see this same thing every day. My curiosity was killing me. How did this work out in the end? How would I be able to deliver a baby? The epidural was like a double edged sword for me. Took away the pain, but also wayyyyy lowered my blood pressure and made me nauseous. Throughout the rest of my labor I threw up about ever half an hour. In between vomits I felt great. Not a problem. Then it would just hit me and I would ask for the throw up thingy and I would dry heave and it would be over. Can I say that I'm sooo glad that the only thing that I had had to eat that day was a bowl of cereal? That completely worked out in my favor....in many ways if you know what I mean. So, the blood pressure thing was pretty serious. Pitocin was put on hold until that was under control. I had to be given several doses of the drug that raises blood pressure before it would go back anywhere near normal. This took about an hour and a half. If that hadn't happened then Sweety Petey would have been born much sooner. I was never really worried about the danger of this blood pressure thing, but I know that it was serious if they couldn't get it reversed.
When my bp was good the nurses got the go ahead to start pitocin. At this point I was at 5 cm and Dr. C came in to attached an internal heart monitor (screws lightly into the baby's scalp and don't let them tell you that it doesn't leave a mark because it definitely did). Then the nurses installed a catheter so that I wouldn't pee all over myself. Each time someone came in to do something to me The OP and a nurse had to move my legs because they were completely dead weight. It was somewhat frightening to especially since I have the tendency to be quite claustrophobic.
From the time that they started pitocin to the time I began to push was not a very long time. I was just expecting this horrible, drawn out delivery, but God had other plans for me. A little before 9:00 pm Dr. C came in to check my progress and I was at 9 cm and she declared that I should begin pushing. They hooked up the calf stirrups on the bed and placed my calves in those and then instructed me to push during the next contraction. I was to pull back on my thighs while I pushed. The OP would hold one foot and my mother would hold the other. The nurses were actually thrilled that I had two people there for the birth so that they wouldn't have to bring in another nurse to hold my foot. I had never thought of it like that. So by this time the epidural had worn down to the point where I could tell that I was having a contraction, but there was no pain. It was like I could feel exactly what was happening to my body (and my baby) but there was no pain from it. I felt some pressure yes but no real pain. I would say that at this point my contractions were still a good three minutes apart. So, I would push when I felt one start. Push as we counted to 10, breath and repeat, breath and repeat and then we would wait for the next contraction. I did this for almost an hour and a half before Sweety Petey was born. At one point during the counting my doctor looked at my mother and told her that she had to quit holding her breath while I pushed because she was afraid that she was going to pass out! It was kind of hilarious because my mom didn't even realize that she was doing that. From then on out my mom would just count along with the nurse. Basically he was stuck behind my pubic bone and I would push and his head would come out so far and then he would retreat back inside. I was making progress but it was just taking a really long time. Meanwhile I was still throwing up. At one point I pushed and threw up and then pushed again right after. The OP told me later that he was really impressed with my skill :)
I would like to talk about the atmosphere in my delivery room while I was pushing. It was AMAZING! Something that I never expected...there was no tension, no fear, just a lighthearted sense of hope and excitement. In between contractions/pushing we would all have a conversation (even me) and The OP or my Dr. would crack a joke and we would laugh. I asked my doctor about her children and a charity that I knew that we were both involved in. After it was all over I felt so unbelievably lucky to have had that experience. I know that not many women get to experience childbirth like that and I just thank God for that blessing. Everyone in the room was so encouraging and helpful. There wasn't a single time where I began to feel like I couldn't get him out and there wasn't a single moment when delivering a healthy baby wasn't my ultimate goal. Dr. C stayed with me the entire time. I could tell that she was tired...this was her 8th baby to deliver in less than 24 hours! Towards the end the nurse pulled up these handles on the bed and told me that I could hold on to those as I pushed and that was soooo much better than holding onto my legs. I wondered if I was going to break them off because I was pulling back so hard on them. As he descended and came closer and closer to being born I began to feel increased pressure and I could tell that I was really making progress. As soon as I had pushed him past my pubic bone I knew what I had done and it was a breeze from there. The doctor and nurse scrambled to set up for the birth and begged me to be very still and not push because he was coming out so quickly that they hadn't had enough time to get ready. As soon as they were ready I pushed, did some half pushes (as my doctor called them) and then there he was. It was such a dream. Dr. C screamed, "open your eyes or you're going to miss it!" I opened them right in enough time to see her catch him from my body, suction his mouth and lay him on my chest.
In my mind I had pictured that by this point I would be bawling, but I wasn't. I did get misty eyed. My mom was bawling, The OP was smiling from ear to ear and he bent to give me a kiss and stare at our son. While he was on my chest I just stroked his face and tried to hold him, but it was like I didn't know exactly what to do. I just stared at him in disbelief about what had just occured. The nurse asked if I was ready for her to take him and I said yes. She took him over to the warmer and scale that were in the room and worked on him. He was absolutely screaming the entire time. From that moment on I was able to pick out his cry from that of any other baby. To me, his cry was so distinct. So...I had just given birth. The doctor sewed up a tear which only required a few stiches. The placenta was delivered easily. There was a lot of pressing around on my stomach. A lot of blood/fluid that I could feel gushing out. It was surprisingly not a messy event, though. The sheeting and the blue pads that the hospital uses were very good at keep things clean and neat. I was really surprised by that. I expected total grossness. Total yuck...but it was nothing like that. I lay in that bed for a while as the nurse finished with Petey (and no that's not really his name) and then she brought him back to us. 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 3/4" long. Perfect scores for his breathing and everything else. He.Was.Perfect. All the months of worrying about this moment were over and I felt absolutely jubilant and burden free.
He was here. He was ours. A product of The OP and me. A product of our love and devotion to one another. Perfect.
The day that God's Grace truly shined upon me.
The Birth Story...
On September 16th I went in for my first visit of the week and had an ultrasound. Sweetey Petey was moving around nicely, he was practicing his breathing, and my fluid levels were still great. I distinctly remember asking the tech if the tech can ever tell if the baby has begun to descend into the birth canal. She told me that yes there are times that she cannot see part of the babies head due to it being in the birth canal. My baby, she said had not started to descend. So, I left that day with all of the rest of my visits scheduled and my eye on the prize. September 29th/30th we would meet our little guy. On the 19th I came in to have an NST. It was an absolutely beautiful late summer day. I was feeling good. I was pretty much dreading the NST just because of fear that the little guy wouldn't be behaving. My mother was with me and we had a nice chat in the waiting room. It was a glorious day. We had plans for the weekend and I had last minute baby things that I wanted to get done. The NST went well. I poked and prodded and jiggled my belly enough so that Petey was moving all around and his heart rate seemed great. The mid-wife Ms. C came into check the strip because Dr. C had just been called to an emergency c-section. The strip was great so she took me off the monitor. She asked me how I was feeling. My blood pressure had been super that day and my urine had been clean...Yay! She looked at my chart and noticed that I was 37 weeks exactly that day and announced that their policy is to start checking for progress at 37 weeks. I kind of humphed to myself...I believed that this was needless because there was no way that I had dilated whatsoever. So I stripped down for the torture. It hurt like the dickens. I had no idea that one woman could shove her entire hand SO FAR up into my lady parts! Seriously. It also seemed like she was really taking her time up there. She kept apologizing for taking so long. I just kept gritting my teeth and holding my breath. She pulled her hand out and it was covered in blood which really surprised me. I have no idea if that was normal or not. She said, "When did you say your induction was scheduled for?" I said the 29th. She said, "Well, you are definitely not going to make it until then. You are at 4 cm and your bag of waters is bulging. We are going to send you over to the hospital to have this baby. You are in luck because Dr. C and I are both on call today and this entire weekend so we will be there for you." I wish that I could have seen the look on my own face. Shock is not even the word. I almost didn't follow what she was saying. Having this baby today?!?!?! Seriously?!?!? Already at 4 cm?!??! Water bulging?!?! You had to be kidding me. No one has it this easy for the first baby. I had had a semi-difficult pregnancy...I never dreamed that I would hit the labor and delivery lotto. Ms. C said it all so calmly to me. Like it was just a walk in the park. My mother's face was priceless as well. I stuttered around not even able to form a sentence. My mind was racing, my heart was racing. I remember saying something like, "You're serious? I'm having this baby right now...today?" She informed me that she would call next door to the hospital and let them know that I was coming. They would get me settled and hooked up to the monitors and then she or Dr. C would be in to check me again and break my water. Then the labor would progress from there. Ummm ok?! I was truly speechless. She reassured me a little more and I brought up the fact that Dr. C had said that if this baby was estimated to weigh more than 8 1/2 lbs. that I would have a c-section no questions asked. She asked me if I would feel better if I had an ultra sound right then to check things out. I said yes so she told me to get dressed and go directly down to the ultra sound room. My mom and I just stared at each other. She was glowing. It was a magical moment. Umm, mom, The OP is an hour away working and dad is three hours away at our family farm which has little to no cell service. So she went out of the room while I got dressed and started to make phone calls.
During the ultra sound the baby was moving well, practicing his breathing, and had a good heart rate. The tech (who I knew very well by now!) was so excited for me. She said that she couldn't believe how lucky I was to have this happen with my very first baby. She was beaming for me. It was so nice of her. She measured everything twice and estimated the baby at just below 7 lbs. I was good to go. I was relieved. I had made peace with whatever delivery good might hand me. I wasn't afraid of surgery, but I also wasn't afraid of labor. I almost wished for labor. It's just a woman thing I guess. Like I wanted to say that I had lived through it. Been in the trenches.
I remember shaking uncontrollably from the anticipation of it all. I wasn't scared. I felt peace. I had prayed so much and God was answering my prayers. Throughout my pregnancy I had repeated two things to myself multiple times a day.
1) To remember that I have nothing to fear in this life because God is with me always.
2) God tells us to have courage without fear.
God was there with me in that room. Spurring me toward the delivery room. Holding my hand...wrapping his arms around my child. Keeping us safe. Giving me the courage to do this. To quit worrying about the potential what-ifs, the potential problems. I felt peace and that peace would see me through the delivery of my son.
So I took a deep breath. Then I had the courage to get up. I had the courage to make the phone calls that I needed to make. I had courage as I was admitted to the hospital. I had courage as I labored. And God's Grace shined upon me as I delivered my son.
Details will be in the next post.
On September 16th I went in for my first visit of the week and had an ultrasound. Sweetey Petey was moving around nicely, he was practicing his breathing, and my fluid levels were still great. I distinctly remember asking the tech if the tech can ever tell if the baby has begun to descend into the birth canal. She told me that yes there are times that she cannot see part of the babies head due to it being in the birth canal. My baby, she said had not started to descend. So, I left that day with all of the rest of my visits scheduled and my eye on the prize. September 29th/30th we would meet our little guy. On the 19th I came in to have an NST. It was an absolutely beautiful late summer day. I was feeling good. I was pretty much dreading the NST just because of fear that the little guy wouldn't be behaving. My mother was with me and we had a nice chat in the waiting room. It was a glorious day. We had plans for the weekend and I had last minute baby things that I wanted to get done. The NST went well. I poked and prodded and jiggled my belly enough so that Petey was moving all around and his heart rate seemed great. The mid-wife Ms. C came into check the strip because Dr. C had just been called to an emergency c-section. The strip was great so she took me off the monitor. She asked me how I was feeling. My blood pressure had been super that day and my urine had been clean...Yay! She looked at my chart and noticed that I was 37 weeks exactly that day and announced that their policy is to start checking for progress at 37 weeks. I kind of humphed to myself...I believed that this was needless because there was no way that I had dilated whatsoever. So I stripped down for the torture. It hurt like the dickens. I had no idea that one woman could shove her entire hand SO FAR up into my lady parts! Seriously. It also seemed like she was really taking her time up there. She kept apologizing for taking so long. I just kept gritting my teeth and holding my breath. She pulled her hand out and it was covered in blood which really surprised me. I have no idea if that was normal or not. She said, "When did you say your induction was scheduled for?" I said the 29th. She said, "Well, you are definitely not going to make it until then. You are at 4 cm and your bag of waters is bulging. We are going to send you over to the hospital to have this baby. You are in luck because Dr. C and I are both on call today and this entire weekend so we will be there for you." I wish that I could have seen the look on my own face. Shock is not even the word. I almost didn't follow what she was saying. Having this baby today?!?!?! Seriously?!?!? Already at 4 cm?!??! Water bulging?!?! You had to be kidding me. No one has it this easy for the first baby. I had had a semi-difficult pregnancy...I never dreamed that I would hit the labor and delivery lotto. Ms. C said it all so calmly to me. Like it was just a walk in the park. My mother's face was priceless as well. I stuttered around not even able to form a sentence. My mind was racing, my heart was racing. I remember saying something like, "You're serious? I'm having this baby right now...today?" She informed me that she would call next door to the hospital and let them know that I was coming. They would get me settled and hooked up to the monitors and then she or Dr. C would be in to check me again and break my water. Then the labor would progress from there. Ummm ok?! I was truly speechless. She reassured me a little more and I brought up the fact that Dr. C had said that if this baby was estimated to weigh more than 8 1/2 lbs. that I would have a c-section no questions asked. She asked me if I would feel better if I had an ultra sound right then to check things out. I said yes so she told me to get dressed and go directly down to the ultra sound room. My mom and I just stared at each other. She was glowing. It was a magical moment. Umm, mom, The OP is an hour away working and dad is three hours away at our family farm which has little to no cell service. So she went out of the room while I got dressed and started to make phone calls.
During the ultra sound the baby was moving well, practicing his breathing, and had a good heart rate. The tech (who I knew very well by now!) was so excited for me. She said that she couldn't believe how lucky I was to have this happen with my very first baby. She was beaming for me. It was so nice of her. She measured everything twice and estimated the baby at just below 7 lbs. I was good to go. I was relieved. I had made peace with whatever delivery good might hand me. I wasn't afraid of surgery, but I also wasn't afraid of labor. I almost wished for labor. It's just a woman thing I guess. Like I wanted to say that I had lived through it. Been in the trenches.
I remember shaking uncontrollably from the anticipation of it all. I wasn't scared. I felt peace. I had prayed so much and God was answering my prayers. Throughout my pregnancy I had repeated two things to myself multiple times a day.
1) To remember that I have nothing to fear in this life because God is with me always.
2) God tells us to have courage without fear.
God was there with me in that room. Spurring me toward the delivery room. Holding my hand...wrapping his arms around my child. Keeping us safe. Giving me the courage to do this. To quit worrying about the potential what-ifs, the potential problems. I felt peace and that peace would see me through the delivery of my son.
So I took a deep breath. Then I had the courage to get up. I had the courage to make the phone calls that I needed to make. I had courage as I was admitted to the hospital. I had courage as I labored. And God's Grace shined upon me as I delivered my son.
Details will be in the next post.
2.11.2009
How it all came to the climax
At my last appointment at the very end of July my blood pressure was elevated. Let me tell you why. First, throughout this entire pregnancy I got sooo worked up with worry prior to every doctor's appointment. It was seriously rediculous. Well, this particular appointment was at 9:00 a.m. so I just stayed at home and planned to not go into work until after the appointment. So, I'm sitting there chilling trying to calm myself down (to keep my blood pressure down) when a local news brief comes on about a car accident that happened around 6:30 a.m. This accident happened on the same road that my best friend/sister of the heart drives on every single day to go to work. She drives through there around 6:30 every morning. I panicked. I called every number I could think of and I couldn't reach her. Finally the operator at her work connected me to a friend of hers that I know that she works with. I have never met this person, but somehow through my blubbering he was able to understand what I was saying and could tell me that he had just seen her and that she was fine. Yea, after that I had to go to the doctor. Of COURSE my bp was elevated. Anyway, when my doc saw that my bp was elevated she told me that I would be coming in to see her twice a week from that point forward. Once a week for a biophysical profile (u/s) and once a week for an NST (non stress test). Oh, Joy. Needless to say by the end of it all my doc and I were tight because I had been seeing her SO MUCH!
The week after that I went to see the endocrinologist and she wasn't happy with my blood sugar numbers. They weren't bad, they just were starting to creep up. I was put on insulin. A small dose in the morning and evening. What can I say? It was just one more thing. It really didn't bother me because being on insulin just made me feel more assurance that the gestational diabetes wasn't going to adversely affect Petey. Insulin is a natural substance...it actually made me feel a slight bit of relief.
So, August passed and I went in for a doctor's appointment on the Tuesday after Labor Day. It was an afternoon appointment. I went by myself. This was an ultrasound day. I go in, we see the kiddo, his heart rate is good, but he's not moving. She pokes around on my belly, has me move from side to side. Nothing. We do this for about 10 minutes and at the end of that time he does move, but only like once or twice. We didn't see any "practice breathing" happening either. So, I'm trying to not panic...I just figure he's asleep. He had been active all day long until that appointment. Due to the failing grade at the ultrasound we are sent to a room for an NST. I get hooked up (I hate those things) and I hear the now familiar blip blip blip of his heartbeat and I have my buzzer in hand to press every time I feel movement. When the nurse leaves the room I poked around on my belly, shake it all about to try to get him to move. Verrry little movement. Plus his heart rate is lower than normal. The doctor comes in, but it's not my doctor (she had to go perform an emergency c-section). She looks at the strip and is not happy. She says that his heartrate is not accelerating and decelerating like it should be. GRRREAT. She's sending me to the hospital for overnight observation...just to be sure. Complete. and. utter. panic. As I'm walking over to the hospital I call The OP and my mother...I'm bawling. It was not a pretty sight. I KNEW in my heart that the baby was fine, but I was still worried. Thankfully my doctor met me at my room and helped me get hooked up to the monitors. She reassured me. She was great to me. As the nurses began following my monitoring they realized that I was having strong full on contractions! Who knew?!?!?! Not me. So I was given a shot of teburtaline which made me shake like the devil as they said it would. Long story short I spent the night in labor and delivery being monitored all night long. He was a stinkin' acrobat in there all night long. THAT's when I knew that I was going to have a very onery boy on my hands. The next morning we had a high level ultrasound with the perinatologist which we passed with flying colors. Our boy was estimated to weigh 6 lbs 11 oz. Then we were sent home. It was terrifying. The rest of my visits would end up going fine. My induction was set for September 29th. I would be 38 1/2 weeks pregnant.
The week after that I went to see the endocrinologist and she wasn't happy with my blood sugar numbers. They weren't bad, they just were starting to creep up. I was put on insulin. A small dose in the morning and evening. What can I say? It was just one more thing. It really didn't bother me because being on insulin just made me feel more assurance that the gestational diabetes wasn't going to adversely affect Petey. Insulin is a natural substance...it actually made me feel a slight bit of relief.
So, August passed and I went in for a doctor's appointment on the Tuesday after Labor Day. It was an afternoon appointment. I went by myself. This was an ultrasound day. I go in, we see the kiddo, his heart rate is good, but he's not moving. She pokes around on my belly, has me move from side to side. Nothing. We do this for about 10 minutes and at the end of that time he does move, but only like once or twice. We didn't see any "practice breathing" happening either. So, I'm trying to not panic...I just figure he's asleep. He had been active all day long until that appointment. Due to the failing grade at the ultrasound we are sent to a room for an NST. I get hooked up (I hate those things) and I hear the now familiar blip blip blip of his heartbeat and I have my buzzer in hand to press every time I feel movement. When the nurse leaves the room I poked around on my belly, shake it all about to try to get him to move. Verrry little movement. Plus his heart rate is lower than normal. The doctor comes in, but it's not my doctor (she had to go perform an emergency c-section). She looks at the strip and is not happy. She says that his heartrate is not accelerating and decelerating like it should be. GRRREAT. She's sending me to the hospital for overnight observation...just to be sure. Complete. and. utter. panic. As I'm walking over to the hospital I call The OP and my mother...I'm bawling. It was not a pretty sight. I KNEW in my heart that the baby was fine, but I was still worried. Thankfully my doctor met me at my room and helped me get hooked up to the monitors. She reassured me. She was great to me. As the nurses began following my monitoring they realized that I was having strong full on contractions! Who knew?!?!?! Not me. So I was given a shot of teburtaline which made me shake like the devil as they said it would. Long story short I spent the night in labor and delivery being monitored all night long. He was a stinkin' acrobat in there all night long. THAT's when I knew that I was going to have a very onery boy on my hands. The next morning we had a high level ultrasound with the perinatologist which we passed with flying colors. Our boy was estimated to weigh 6 lbs 11 oz. Then we were sent home. It was terrifying. The rest of my visits would end up going fine. My induction was set for September 29th. I would be 38 1/2 weeks pregnant.
Umm...Is this thing on?
I have absolutely no idea why I quit updating this blog. I could kick myself for it, I really could. I began this blog so that I could vent my frustrations and also so that I could remember all of the little details of my life that I will otherwise forget in about, ohhh 5 minutes. So, now I have given birth almost 5 months ago and I have written none of it down. Gah! I'm going to do my best to remember. I owe it to my son...yes, my son. That's where my last post left off. I was getting ready for the big reveal. The big Ta Da moment. 
The OP at the scene of the big reveal.
The OP at the scene of the big reveal.The Op and I went to the doctor at the end of May. I was so keyed up that all I was thinking about was if there was a healthy baby in there! I barely had time to worry about the gender. In my heart I always knew that there would be a little boy growing in there. I just know that my husband doesn't make girls so I was definitely not surprised when the tech announced the presence of boy parts and then proceeded to give us only five pictures from the ultrasound total...three were of his peepee. Seriously?!? Seriously. I was VERY miffed about that. Little did I know that I would be seeing that same tech again and again and again.
So, we were expecting a boy. The OP was much more excited than I was at first which is surprising considering this is his fourth boy. For me, I had to get used to the idea. It all seemed so surreal to me. One moment I was just expecting a baby and the next moment I was expecting a SON! His name was already picked out...He would have my father's first name and The OP's middle name. We went to the gray tomb (the office) to tell my parents. My father's face was PRICELESS. With one announcement I had made him the happiest guy in the world. He was going to have a grandson. All was right with the world in his eyes. We told everyone else after that and needless to say, no one was surprised. I don't want sweety petey (that's my little pet name for him now) to ever think that people weren't excited for his arrival. It's just that given his father's track record...no one REALLY believed that we would have a girl.
So May ran into June and I started to research what would go in his room, what I would register for, etc. BTW I THOROUGHLY enjoyed registering. I mean I absolutely loooooved it. Just so you know. In June we took a family vacay to FL. Me,The OP, C,D. That is an entire post unto itself. WOW, was that trip a dooozey. In July we cleaned out Petey's room, painted the walls, had the carpets cleaned, and started accumulating baby needs. It was truly a magical time in my life. I would just walk in his room and stare at the crib with my hand resting on my belly. I would just stand there and dream as I soaked it all in. I mean never in my life would I be in that position again. Pregnant with my first child, happily married, feeling good (for the most part), a quiet house around me...I reveled in this time.
During June and July I felt great, really. I was dealing with the gestational diabetes. I still had appointments with the endocrinologist every three weeks, appointments at the doctor ever four weeks. I followed the diet strictly. My blood sugar levels were great. My blood pressure was good, my urine was always clean, great heartbeat each time on the baby. I like to think of these two months as the sweet spot of my pregnancy. Boy were they sweet. My belly was growing, but I was still losing weight. I think that at the peak of my weight loss I had lost around 28 lbs. I did get tired easily and if I had to be up walking around for a long while I would start to feel badly. My stomach would ache and feel tight. It was almost painful. This happened almost daily. At the time I just thought it was normal growing pains. Now as I look back on it I think that I was having braxton hicks all along and didn't really realize it.
5.22.2008
Worried Excitement
So, our BIG ULTRASOUND is in five days and last night I lost my shit just thinking about it. I told my mom that there are very few things in life that could insight so much worry and yet so much excitement at the same time. I just don't really know how to deal with it. I cried and cried and cried last night to The OP. He was completely baffled (typical) because he couldn't figure out what was wrong. I am just so wound up with worry over this pregnancy. Every little twinge, ache, discharge (sorry gross I know), pain, etc sends me into the oblivion of freaking out. This ultrasound is no different. We haven't seen the baby since week 11. I haven't heard the heartbeat since week 15. Having a baby with health problems can happen to ANYONE. That's what The OP didn't understand with my worry. He kept saying "why do you think that something is wrong with the baby, like what?" I just told him that I don't THINK anything is wrong with the baby, but it can happen to anyone. There is a little girl, probably about three years old that we often see at a local restaurant that we frequent. She has no legs...her siblings are all 100% healthy, but she has no legs. You know that she was born that way. You know that her parents did nothing wrong to cause this problem...it just happened. That was my point to The OP. I want to be sooo excited about this ultrasound, about this moment in our lives...and I'm going to be. I'm determined to be. BUT, that doesn't negate the fact that it is possible that something is wrong. We have many people praying though, that nothing is wrong. That everything is fine. God has blessed us with this child. We are blessed beyond measure. Please, God bless us with it's health.
Stay tuned for my post about gender craziness...
Stay tuned for my post about gender craziness...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
