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09/07/2010 at 03:29 pm
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09/07/2010 at 05:35 pm
Then the 1st doctor got there. They got me up and moved me to the OR. This is when things get really interesting. I walk into a room that is all white and cold, in all ways. They have me sit on the table and the
anesthesiologist began my spinal block, Susan was in front of me, walking me through the process. The local was a little uncomfortable, but when they started the spinal block it was interesting. My feet started to feel warm,
heavy, and tingly. After it was administered they asked me to lay down... I thought, "no problem, my legs are a little heavy, but I can do this." Then I realized that my butt was asleep. It made everybody laugh because I turned to Rob
and told him all about it. :) They got me on the table and the fun began....
Both doctors were in and the surgery started. Rob was sitting next to me and we were talking. I remember asking him when he thinks they were going to start. He said "they have started, can't you smell it?" Then we
commented about the smell, he said it smelled like being at the dentist's office when they are drilling your cavity, I said it smelled like burning hair (sorry if that is TMI for some of you). Before I knew it, I was feeling pressure, tugging
and pulling on my belly. They told Rob he could stand up to take some pictures. The first picture he got was of a little foot coming out of my belly. It is one of my favorite pictures. Then more tugging and pulling and
pushing. Turns out, he was a big boy. My doctor had to make the incision about 2 inches longer and ended up having to cut into my muscle to get the little man out. The next thing I end up hearing is that I am birthing a toddler because
of how big he is. Rob shows me a picture and all that crosses my mind is that he has to be 15-20lbs and that he can't be what is coming out of me, that is just too big!
Then I heard his cry... It was one of the best sounds I have ever heard. Rob went over to check him out. They ask him if he wants to cut the cord, he said he didn't really care, but had to because I said so. They brought
Nathan over to me so that I could see him and love on him for a few moments, then he was off to the nursery with his daddy. I started to feel a little loopy and started talking to my doctors, the anesthesiologist, and the nurses. I
asked them all how big they thought he was. I remember the highest someone guessed was 12.6. That made me feel a little better that my baby wasn't HUGE, but definitely big. The anesthesiologist eventually called the nursery because he
was so excited to find out. That is when I heard he was 11lbs 13oz. Holy crap! My baby was big and had a full head of hair... maybe he was a toddler.
A lot of the rest of the day is a blur to me (thanks to the good drugs, the pain, the amazement of my little man, and all of the people). I was taken into the recovery room and given Demerol. I was supposed to try to rest, but some
of my family came in to check on me. Then I was taken to the post-partum room. Rob helped the nurse wheel me there and I remember telling him it looked like he worked there pushing me in his scrubs. Nathan was brought into me
from the nursery and I finally got to look him over. I know we were together for a little bit (and attempted breastfeeding) before the craziness of all the family entering the room, but I don't remember how long. There were
sooooo many people there (at least 15) excited to see us, but mainly Nathan. The love & excitement in the room was palpable.
Once everyone left it was down to Nathan, Rob, and me. The loopy drugs were finally wearing off and I was able to relax and really get to cuddle with my little guy. It was such an amazing feeling to hold him and realize that I was
finally a mommy (and a little surreal looking at his size and thinking that he had been in my belly a few hours before).
So there you have it... the story of Nathan's birth day. It was one of my favorite days of my life.
Pictures: The night before As he was being born Moments after he was born Nathan & Daddy |
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09/07/2010 at 09:51 pm
Baby's Name: Isabella Date of Birth: May 24, 2010 Baby's Height: 19 inches Baby's Weight: 8 lbs 9 oz Story of Delivery: Because I had gestational diabetes I had an induction scheduled at 39 weeks. I was told the night before to have the meal of my life since I probably would not be eating for a couple of days. Oh man, if only I could! Because of GD my "last
meal" was grilled chicken and some veggies. Not very exciting. As you all can imagine the night before the induction was very restless. I was so excited and so scared all at the same time. On May 22nd my husband and I arrived at the hospital. When I
checked in I was not dilated at all. My body was sooo not ready to have a baby.
They started me on Cytotec (I was so naive that I did not even know all the dangers of that pill until I looked it up after I had the baby). Cytotec is given every 5 hours with a maximum of 4 dosage. I was given 3 and then had an exam and I was still at zero. They then tried to insert a Foley Catheter but because I was not dilated at all, it hurt like hell and did not work. They were never able to insert it properly. Next they tried Pitocin...that did nothing for me either. After about 25 hrs I was still at zero. Because my baby had not dropped, I was not dilating, and after a few exams they felt that my pelvis was too small to birth a 8lb baby (thats what the estimate was based on the ultrasound I had the day before). They then told me that a c-section would be the best way to deliver my baby. I had to wait almost 2 days for my c-section once the decision was made because their were a bunch of emergencies that morning and I was at the bottom of their list in order of urgency. As I was wheeled in to the OR I was so nervous. It still did not set in that I was about to meet my daughter. Everything was so surreal. I was freaking out about the spinal. I heard so many horror stories but honestly, it did not hurt at all! Just a very weird feeling. During the c-section I felt very nausea and I felt like I could not breath at times. I was very scared. As soon as my daughter was delivered all my worries went away. She was perfect! Recovery was very hard for me. I never imagined I would be in so much pain. It took me a good 3-4 weeks to feel semi normal again. The first couple of weeks were extremely hard. But as time went on things just started to fall in to place and we all got into a good rhythm. Once she started sleeping through the night at around 8 weeks, it all just got so much easier. Sleep does wonders! My little girl is now 3 months and my husband is already asking when we are having the next one. The morning we checked into the hospital-39 weeks Day 1 3 months
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09/08/2010 at 11:17 am
Because my water had finally broken, the nurse wanted to check me again to make sure the baby's head was in the right position and that there was no umbilical cord trying to come out first. I crawled into bed and was put back on the fetal
monitor for a few minutes. Everything was great and I was complete at 10cm! The on-call obstetrician was called... my OB was on vacation. I was able to adjust the bed so I was in a sitting upright/squat position that was much more comfortable than
laying flat. My body was ready for the baby to come out, at each contract ion my body was trying to push with or without my participation. Trying not to push through these contractions was, by far, the MOST DIFFICULT part of my labor. It took all of
my strength to NOT push when it was all my body wanted to do. Right about this time, a nurse showed up to start my friggin Hep Lock. I had mentioned before that I was a hard stick, so our nurse, Maria, called a LVN to start my IV. After the LVN blew
two veins in my left arm, reinforcements were called in and a phlebotomist got one going on my right hand. I know it took them a while because they would stop their work whenever I had a contraction... which was every 60 seconds. I felt like
bashing their heads against the wall. If I had better sense at the time, I would have declined the Hep Lock at the time. Finally, after what seemed like hours, (it was probably only ten minutes) the on-call OB arrived and I could start pushing. It was an amazing feeling to be able to push. I finally got to participate in what my body was doing instead of just breathing or humming through each contraction. DH was SO amazing reminding me to breathe through each contraction and to keep my face as relaxed as possible. I actually started to panic if he wasn't holding my hand, rubbing my knee or my back. His touch kept me focused and calm. I pushed my way through half a dozen contractions with the OB perched on at the foot of my bed monitoring my progress. She was just sitting there, wearing only one glove, and was very chill about the whole thing. DH was starting to wonder if she was going to catch this baby one-handed. She finally said something like, "two more contractions... " and then suddenly the room got moving. She got all gowned up and the bottom half of the bed was detatched. DH said it was pretty amazing to watch as they got everything ready for the baby to arrive. All of this took only one or two minutes too because I only had one contraction during all of this. I was incredibly thankful that I had about thirty seconds of rest in between each contraction. After about three or four pushes, I finally started feeling the baby crowning. I had a few moments of sheer panic thinking, "there's no way my body can stretch that far!!" (my mom warned me I'd have that feeling) I remember getting really frustrated as a contraction ended when he crowning... to me it felt like he was halfway out! Then, suddenly, he was out and placed on my chest in one fluid movement. I opened my eyes and saw this beautiful baby screaming his head off as a couple of nurses rubbed his skin. I developed tunnel-vision and had no idea what was happening beyond him. All I could see was his angry face, full head of hair and incredibly long finger nails. It was an utterly amazing feeling that I will never forget. The nurses put my son on my chest, skin-to-skin, while my bottom half was tended to. I had a 2nd degree tear that needed a few stitches. A nurse asked us what his name was and we both agreed at that moment that Thomas was the winner. We ooohed and aahed at the features we immediately recognized as mine or DH's. Tommy stayed in my arms while my post-pardum room was arranged and they got stuff ready to transport us. He was only taken from me for a few minutes to be weighed and measured and to have footprints taken, and they did it right next to my bed. 6lbs, 8oz and 19.5 inches long. Apgar scores of 9 and 9. Since he was born after midnight, the hospital policy had us staying at least 24 hours after birth... which was more like 36 hours. I felt ready to go home about 6 hours after Tommy was born. The hospital air conditioning made my cough significantly worse and I was miserable. I was very close to signing out AMA, but since Tommy hadn't yet latched on perfectly, DH convinced me to stay. We were discharged on Tuesday afternoon, SO ready to go home.
DH was so awesome.
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chillin with the OB afterward
DH holding Tommy for the first time.
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09/08/2010 at 11:18 am
Breastfeeding had a very rocky start for me. Since he was a few weeks early, he always fell asleep while nursing and he took a long time to get the hang of latching on correctly. So, initially, breastfeeding was extremely painful for me. My milk came in the day after we got home from the hospital and I was able to pump a little bit to relieve my engorgement. He was eating plenty and gaining weight just fine, but it was just so excruciating for me. I remember thinking to myself one night, "I understand why SO many women give up!" But I refused to switch to formula knowing that I had plenty of milk for him that was better for him and free. After his first pediatrician appointment we had to bring him to the NICU to spend a few days under the bili-lights because he developed jaundice. DH and I went there so I could nurse for his 9am and noon feedings. Then we would return for his 9pm and midnight feedings. While there a LC spent some time helping me get his latch right. After we got home we still had some trouble, but he finally learned how to open his mouth wide enough. Once my poor nipples healed, we were breastfeeding pros! Cut to nearly 11 months later and I have lost all 28 of my pregnancy pounds plus an additional 15, thanks to breastfeeding, walking and stress over being a working mom. The biggest event in our lives is that Tommy is walking now... which has been a scary surprise to all of us.
Only being able to post 8000 characters at one time is kind of annoying... :-/ |
9 months old
Labor Day weekend|
09/09/2010 at 08:46 am
Baby's Name: Parker Bruce Date of Birth: 06/29/10 on his due date :) Baby's Height: 22.5 inches Baby's Weight: 9lb 5.4 oz Story of Delivery: My water broke around 5:45 on Monday June 28th (39 weeks 6 days). I told Rob that I wanted to wait a little bit to see if contractions would start on their own so I did some laundry and dishes then we went for a walk and grabbed some breakfast. He was a little antsy about getting to the hospital even reassuring him I felt fine didn't help so we made our way to the hospital. We checked in and they verified my water had broken and started me on antibiotics for Group B Strep. I thought they would give me more time to go into labor on my own but no... they wanted to start me on pitocin. I was upset because I didn't want to follow the path of pitocin, epidural, fetal distress, labor stalling and then c-section. I finally agreed since I was ruptured I couldn't really wait forever because it increases a risk for infection. Well after the pitocin was started the contractions of course became uncomfortable and I asked for a tylenol they sort of laughed at me but I just wanted to take the edge off and I didn't want an epidural so they gave me Stadol which I told them to give me half a dose because I didn't want to be out of it. The Stadol made me so dizzy I couldn't keep my eyes open and I felt like I was going to fall out of bed. I slept most of the day and they kept increasing the pitocin (typical hospital procedure) The contractions of course got worse and I was contemplating the epidural that I didn't want. I didn't want my progression to stop or stall and I wanted to be able to move around. The doctor came in and reassured me that none of these things would happen and I agreed to get the epidural. The epidural was strange I could feel my lower half it just was sluggish and felt like I had restless leg syndrome. I slept a little more and shift change came. The daytime nurse checked me and said I was 7cm and paper-thin that things should be happening quicker and the first 5cm are the hardest. The PM nurse checked me a couple hours into her shift and said I was 6-7cm and 80% effaced and she didn't like the "pattern" of my contractions. I was being monitored on an internal monitor that was placed inside me. She said she was going to call the doctor and update her on my progress. I knew what this meant and what she was suggesting be done. Most c-sections occur at 6pm and 10pm when doctors want to go home for dinner or don't want to be stuck in a vaginal delivery all night. The nurse came back around 9:30pm and said I had until 11pm to progress and if I didn't we would go forward with a c-section. After she left the room my husband said to me I hate being a cop sometimes and I asked him why and he told me he could tell by her physical and verbal cues she wasn't being honest. To say that I was devastated was an understatement I cried and begged for my husband to take out my IVs and bring me home that these people didn't have my best interests at heart and they just wanted to do a c-section and go home. The nurse came in to check on me at 10pm while I still had an hour to progress with her OR booties on and her surgical mask hanging out of her pocket and I knew then that in her mind I was having a c-section whether my body progressed or not. She had already made up her mind and I was so upset. She checked me at 11pm as promised and didn't say anything at all to me and walked out of the room. She came back in with meds to start me on before my c-section. I told her to wait until my OB arrived that I wanted to speak with her before proceeding any further. She turned off my pitocin so I stopped contracting and left the room and came back with booties, a cap, and scrubs for my husband to wear into surgery and the anesthesiologist to do my spinal block. I told the anesthesiologist I wanted to wait to talk to my OB first and she was expected to arrive in 15 minutes. He was visibly upset and told me it would take him 30 minutes to get set up and I proceeded to explain to him that I was sorry he had to wait fifteen minutes I knew it was late and he wanted to go home but I wanted to talk to my OB first. He looked to my husband to say something and my husband firmly told him we're waiting. My OB came in about 11:15pm and sat down and asked what was going on and I told her I felt like I wasn't given enough time and I didn't see the point of proceeding with a c-section and why I could have more time if the baby was doing well. She said she would check me and go from there. The OB checked my cervix and left the room. She came back and told me she had to call off the troops that I was dilated to 9cm the reason my contractions weren't showing a good "pattern" is because my internal monitor had come out and was sitting in my bed and we would start pushing in 20 minutes. Of course they had to restart the pitocin that the nurse had shut off. My husband noticed an alarm going off on my epidural so he let the nurse know and she shut it off (as in shut it off completely) So I started pushing when I felt the urge with each contraction and was progressing nicely I was surprised that I felt so much with the epidural (which now I know why) I was climbing the walls when he was crowning his head would bulge out and the go back in. They decided to try a vacuum assist because he was tolerating labor and delivery so well but told me they can only use the vacuum for a short period and that I had to get him out. When the doctor was trying to insert the vacuum I couldn't stand it I was screaming for her to please stop and the doctor asked why this was so difficult when I was on an epidural only then did it become known to everyone in the room that I was med free and there was no time to change it now. The doctor scolded the nurse for not communicating that to her ahead of time. They inserted the vacuum through my screams and we pushed on. I had a few moments that I wasn't sure if I could do it. His heart rate dropped and Rob told me I needed to get him out NOW and I pushed his head out and he was stuck at his shoulders and he wasn't breathing so a nurse jumped onto my abdomen with some kind of wrestling move and forced him out.He was born at 1:55 am June 29th. They took him to do some deep suction and work on his breathing. I had a lot of trouble passing the placenta and afterwards I had a lot of bleeding problems and had shots in my legs and was kept on pitocin all night to help my uterus contract. I have no clue how many stitches I had. About an hour after I delivered when he was stable and they had me taken care of I was finally able to hold him and breastfeed he is absolutely perfect. In a roundabout hellish way I sort of got the natural birth experience I wanted but it was one hell of a journey. They broke his collar bone during delivery and had swelling on the top of his head from the suction and bruising behind his ears but everything has healed and he is a healthy boy. When we were admitted |
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09/27/2010 at 06:26 pm
Hi Girls, So my birth story is not quite as interesting as others since I had a scheduled C-section but here it goes. So Monday the 13th was supposed to be baby day. My iron and my blood pressure had been really low so we wanted to get him out as soon as he was ready to come. So at 37 1/2 weeks we had an amnio scheduled with a C that afternoon providing his lungs were mature. At 5:30am we were off to the hospital. We get there I get hooked up to the monitor and wait for our ob. Now I was really scared of the amnio to begin with but was not ready for what came next. First my ob came in re-went over what was going to happen and questions. Then all of a sudden it seemed like there were a million people in my room. There was my ob her partner (so a 2nd ob) my 2 nurses a third nurse who stopped in and then I know I saw about 3 more plus my DH and I. So what I had in my head was my ob with the ultrasound and a needle and maybe a nurse so when I was surrounded by all these people I kinda freaked! Now they sterilized my belly, found a good pocket on the 2nd try with the Ultra sound and then numbed the ar ea. Seriously it was that easy. I was told the numbing agent would burn so I was prepare for a big burn (like a penicillin shot) but no a tiny tiny burn. Then I felt nothing. I kept waiting for it to hurt and then it was over!!! Whoo hoo! On to the next phase waiting. We were told t would take about an hour but if I had my c-section we knew we would still have to wait a couple more hours. So we brought movies and books a laptop and were so excited to see our Little boy we couldn't use any of it. We watched some Tv but mainly just got really excited for Kiptons arrival. Then almost 2 hours later bad news. My ob came in and told us his lungs were transitional and we would have to wait another week. Bummer! We both got rea lly sad. Oh well a couple days later we felt better and were able to start getting excited about his impending arrival. On to Sept. 20!! So up at 3:30, left the house at 5:00 and in my room by 5:30am (yuk) Here I am Last prego photo right before I had to put on my lovely green gown ;) And my Dh in his gear ready to go After this I got dressed and they started my IV. After about an hour and 2 bags of saline solution later it was time to go. My Dh and I walked down the hall to the OR my DH had to wait outside till I was ready. I went in got up on the table and got ready for my spinal. I started getting nervous at this time knowing what was coming and the fact that I hate my spine touched. Then my back got numbed up that was the most painful part lots of sticks in the back but it doesn't last long. Then They put in the spinal (lots of uncomfortable pressure) Then I was down on the table the boots were on my cathoder was in and the curtain was up. At this point I was getting sick. As the numbness comes up to your lungs at first your chest gets heavy and it feels like its hard to breath, then nausea, got a little sick and then feel great. Had that perma smile on my face. :)There was some confusion on wether my DH could come in after they tested my numbness or the first incision with the nurses. Then I herd my ob tell them to get him now. My DH came in and I talked about anything and everything. Pretty soon he was out! My Dh gave me the play by play, 10 fingers 10 toes, weight, length, ect. I sent my DH off with Kip and I stayed and got sown up. Before I knew it I was back in my room. (my DH was pacing at that point I guess it had been about 20min or so since he had left) Before they took my spinal out I was given a dose of duramorph which was suppose to ward off the pain for 18 to 22 hour s but the more feeling I got back the worse I started to feel. I was given a dose of morphine to help and some drugs for the nausea which was back ( I got very good at using the little blue trash bags) After a couple hours of pain they gave me a couple different drugs and I started to feel better. Apparently morphine dose nothing for me, I get all of the side affects and none of the pain relief. That first day was ruff but we made it though and have an amazing little boy out of it. Ok I promised pictures and God knows I have enough so here are some from Kiptons first week.
Sorry about all the pics (can you tell I'm a proud mommy?) |
