We went to the ob Monday afternoon and had an ultrasound and a dilation check. 2 cm and 80% effaced. U/S showed a big, chubby boy making faces at us. The u/s can estimate the baby's weight with a margin of error of 1 lb either way. 2 measurements: 9 lb 8 oz and 9 lb 14 oz. yikes!!! So ob said that a partner could induce me the next morning or we could wait till Thursday and he could do the inducing. THis is the same dr that delivered Amber and he's the one who demonstrated the movement of the cervix w/his hand on his own head (see this little video demo I did... http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k152/augalinfp/?action=view¤t=MOV01833.flv ) We had already decided that if we chose inducing, we'd rather he do it. So we made arrangements to be at the hospital at 6:30 Thursday morning.
The next day I began to consider an elective/planned c-section. I became concerned (scared) that I'd work and work and then end up w/having it anyway but would be exhausted from the labor. I worked through that and got some great info from my friend (yay Barrie!) that is a doula in Dallas. I decided that I wouldn't even bring it up but would deal with it if necessary. Barrie's site: http://birthingmatters.net/
This was good all around for me, let me get a lot of loose ends tied up, stock up on some groceries and get the floor vacuumed! Priorities, you know.
Also, it gave me a chance to actually pack my bag. No, I had not packed. Shut up.
Thursday morning, Chad and I had a peaceful, affectionate drive to the hospital. (We fussed about the monster suitcase I had packed FULL of crap and how when he moved the drivers seat back all the way to the rear of the van that the baby's car seat tilted up to the roof and how he would have to just cut his arms and legs off about 4 inches to accomodate the car seat behind the driver.)
We got upstairs to the labor/delivery room and my labor nurse was a girl that had been at AU at the same time as us and had finished h.s. a year after Chad at same school. She knew him and me and I was uncomfortable for a good long time, till she laughed at me for it. Oh well. Chad's cousin's wife had been my labor nurse w/Amber. I guess anonymity is impossible for me. We had left the camera downstairs in the bag. Didn't want to tote the monster bag upstairs until I was settled in and had met w/the dr. But I wanted to take one last picture of me with my big ol' gut. So, I begged Deanna (nurse) to wait and sent Chad after monster bag anyway.
Dr Blake came over and we made a tentative schedule. Start the pitocin drip, epidural then break my water. (by the way, w/Amber, we did pitocin, break water THEN epidural. I DEFINITELY prefer the way we did it w/Chance!!!)
We had visitors. Amber colored in a coloring book on the floor in my room. We watched a little tv. We laughed. Around lunch, dr gave me my epidural. My contractions were steady but not too painful to handle. I could have gone a little longer w/o the epidural but didn't want to get too tired from them. We waited till I was "good and numb" and then he broke my water.
Now, this dr does his own epidurals and I love them! My feet and legs felt like they were asleep. My skin was tingly but I could definitely move around and MIGHT could have walked a little bit. Yes, I'd been clumsy as crap, but I think I could have walked. My water squirted up to dr's elbow. He laughed and said "you got my arm wet". I laughed and said "sorry". He said "why are you laughing, if you're sorry" I said "well YOU'RE laughing!"
We hung around a little longer and waited on me to dilate. Some time around 2:45 or 3:00, Deanna called dr from his office (across hospital parking lot and in a separate building) and said, "come on! 10cm and ready to push" to me: "he's got a lot of black hair!"
btw, I felt great. The contraction monitor was showing my contractions going off the scale, but I never felt them.
I love epidurals. Epidurals are good. Pain is bad.
I pushed a few times before dr made it in. I pushed maybe 15 times and he said, "look at that black hair!"
9 lbs 22.5 inches APGAR of about 9 (don't remember really). The nurse took him over and started weighing and measuring him. He peed the Mississippi River. If they had weighed him before he peed, he might have been 9.5 lbs!
He was perfect. He stuck his finger up his nose. (got a picture of that)
Chad looked over at dr finishing w/me and got puny. Big baby. He sat down w/a wet paper towel and closed his eyes for a few minutes. (got a picture of that too!)
Amber got to go w/Chad to help give him his first bath. He nursed for probably 5-8 minutes before going to his bath. He was good and active but not near as "mouthy" as Amber at birth.
We waited on my epidural to wear off and they brought me some dinner from cafeteria. I had been STARVING all day. I ate some okra and corn and placed an order for beef stew from Cracker Barrell. There was a crowd in the room w/me and we were having a good time. I was feeling good. Tired. About to fall asleep but good.
Things get a little fuzzy here but... For some reason, they all left and were putting together the dinner orders. I paged the nurse and said I felt sick. Before they could get in there, Beverly came in and stuck a bed pan in front of me. I puked. She was standing there w/me when the nurses came in and got everyone out of the hall. I passed out (still in bed) and puked on the floor while out. Chad tried to help but then turned it over to the not-as-squeamish.
I came around and the nurses stayed close. Everyone else was encouraged to let me rest. The nurses asked me if I thought I could go to the bathroom. They supported me and I went and they were helping me clean up and I commented that I felt like I had passed a few good sized clots. Not hurting. Not pukey again either. Then I felt faint, put head between my knees. Felt better. Raised my head. Let it fall back against the plumbing. The nurses started talking about how much I was bleeding and then they were whispering. I wanted to tell them to speak up but couldn't really make my mouth work. Got back to bed and puked again. I hung out in the labor/delivery room till they got my post-partum room ready (probably 2 hrs, my awareness of passage of time sucked). I was feeling a little better. I transferred to my private room. The previously VERY quiet labor/delivery floor had gotten busy.
They called the ob and he ordered a blood count and a shot of another drug to help stop my bleeding (name escapes me). That shot hurt like crap. That I remember very clearly. I ate a biscuit from Cracker Barrell. Chad fell asleep on the cot next to me. I kept the biscuit and drinks down. They helped me to the bathroom a bunch during the night. I ate another biscuit about 3am.
The next morning I was MUCH better. My blood count was pretty low compared to when I was admitted Thursday morning. But not critical. Wasn't needing a transfusion, just experienced a little shock b/c of the sudden change in blood count. But I started recovering and gaining strength Friday. By Friday evening, I returned the breast pump to the nurse's station and showed them how MUCH BETTER I felt so that they might get that darn IV thingy out of my arm. They had removed the IV line in the early morning but wanted to keep it ready in case I needed more fluids or something.
I've decided that should the time come that I KNOW that I'm getting an IV, I'm going to shave both arms all the way to my elbows.
We had a few visitors during the day and evening Friday. Chad began transporting plants and balloons and stuff home that night. There was no one on the floor when I go there. By Friday afternoon, there were 5 other babies in the nursery. And they were expecting 4 more by Saturday. It's just a small town hospital, but we've got GREAT ob's!
Saturday morning was snip snip day for Chance (done by ob). The pediatrician had checked him the night before and noticed a little yellowing and ordered a bilirubin count. It was a little high, but nothing to be concerned about. We were released and got home about 12:30 Saturday. We'll take him to the pediatrician Monday morning for another heel stick and are letting him sit in the sunlight as much as possible. It should clear up on its own in a few days. It seems to be breastfeeding jaundice, which makes a lot of sense. After that first nursing at birth, he would only fall deep asleep when I tried to nurse him, wouldn't latch on, just lay next to me and squeak. He just wasn't getting enough, but has DEFINITELY turned the corner on that. He nursed a LOT during the night last night (too sleepy to count, but think it was 5-7 times) and had nursed a good bit before bed.
Amber is in love w/her brother. She gets all worked up when he cries and REALLY wants to be the one to sooth him. But her efforts are a little too MUCH and don't really help a lot.
Anyway, we're all doing really well. He's handsome and squeaks like a baby eagle.
That was probably WAY too much information.
Pictures at my flickr page.... http://www.flickr.com/gp/77829191@N00/1MS6s7
The next day I began to consider an elective/planned c-section. I became concerned (scared) that I'd work and work and then end up w/having it anyway but would be exhausted from the labor. I worked through that and got some great info from my friend (yay Barrie!) that is a doula in Dallas. I decided that I wouldn't even bring it up but would deal with it if necessary. Barrie's site: http://birthingmatters.net/
This was good all around for me, let me get a lot of loose ends tied up, stock up on some groceries and get the floor vacuumed! Priorities, you know.
Also, it gave me a chance to actually pack my bag. No, I had not packed. Shut up.
Thursday morning, Chad and I had a peaceful, affectionate drive to the hospital. (We fussed about the monster suitcase I had packed FULL of crap and how when he moved the drivers seat back all the way to the rear of the van that the baby's car seat tilted up to the roof and how he would have to just cut his arms and legs off about 4 inches to accomodate the car seat behind the driver.)
We got upstairs to the labor/delivery room and my labor nurse was a girl that had been at AU at the same time as us and had finished h.s. a year after Chad at same school. She knew him and me and I was uncomfortable for a good long time, till she laughed at me for it. Oh well. Chad's cousin's wife had been my labor nurse w/Amber. I guess anonymity is impossible for me. We had left the camera downstairs in the bag. Didn't want to tote the monster bag upstairs until I was settled in and had met w/the dr. But I wanted to take one last picture of me with my big ol' gut. So, I begged Deanna (nurse) to wait and sent Chad after monster bag anyway.
Dr Blake came over and we made a tentative schedule. Start the pitocin drip, epidural then break my water. (by the way, w/Amber, we did pitocin, break water THEN epidural. I DEFINITELY prefer the way we did it w/Chance!!!)
We had visitors. Amber colored in a coloring book on the floor in my room. We watched a little tv. We laughed. Around lunch, dr gave me my epidural. My contractions were steady but not too painful to handle. I could have gone a little longer w/o the epidural but didn't want to get too tired from them. We waited till I was "good and numb" and then he broke my water.
Now, this dr does his own epidurals and I love them! My feet and legs felt like they were asleep. My skin was tingly but I could definitely move around and MIGHT could have walked a little bit. Yes, I'd been clumsy as crap, but I think I could have walked. My water squirted up to dr's elbow. He laughed and said "you got my arm wet". I laughed and said "sorry". He said "why are you laughing, if you're sorry" I said "well YOU'RE laughing!"
We hung around a little longer and waited on me to dilate. Some time around 2:45 or 3:00, Deanna called dr from his office (across hospital parking lot and in a separate building) and said, "come on! 10cm and ready to push" to me: "he's got a lot of black hair!"
btw, I felt great. The contraction monitor was showing my contractions going off the scale, but I never felt them.
I love epidurals. Epidurals are good. Pain is bad.
I pushed a few times before dr made it in. I pushed maybe 15 times and he said, "look at that black hair!"
9 lbs 22.5 inches APGAR of about 9 (don't remember really). The nurse took him over and started weighing and measuring him. He peed the Mississippi River. If they had weighed him before he peed, he might have been 9.5 lbs!
He was perfect. He stuck his finger up his nose. (got a picture of that)
Chad looked over at dr finishing w/me and got puny. Big baby. He sat down w/a wet paper towel and closed his eyes for a few minutes. (got a picture of that too!)
Amber got to go w/Chad to help give him his first bath. He nursed for probably 5-8 minutes before going to his bath. He was good and active but not near as "mouthy" as Amber at birth.
We waited on my epidural to wear off and they brought me some dinner from cafeteria. I had been STARVING all day. I ate some okra and corn and placed an order for beef stew from Cracker Barrell. There was a crowd in the room w/me and we were having a good time. I was feeling good. Tired. About to fall asleep but good.
Things get a little fuzzy here but... For some reason, they all left and were putting together the dinner orders. I paged the nurse and said I felt sick. Before they could get in there, Beverly came in and stuck a bed pan in front of me. I puked. She was standing there w/me when the nurses came in and got everyone out of the hall. I passed out (still in bed) and puked on the floor while out. Chad tried to help but then turned it over to the not-as-squeamish.
I came around and the nurses stayed close. Everyone else was encouraged to let me rest. The nurses asked me if I thought I could go to the bathroom. They supported me and I went and they were helping me clean up and I commented that I felt like I had passed a few good sized clots. Not hurting. Not pukey again either. Then I felt faint, put head between my knees. Felt better. Raised my head. Let it fall back against the plumbing. The nurses started talking about how much I was bleeding and then they were whispering. I wanted to tell them to speak up but couldn't really make my mouth work. Got back to bed and puked again. I hung out in the labor/delivery room till they got my post-partum room ready (probably 2 hrs, my awareness of passage of time sucked). I was feeling a little better. I transferred to my private room. The previously VERY quiet labor/delivery floor had gotten busy.
They called the ob and he ordered a blood count and a shot of another drug to help stop my bleeding (name escapes me). That shot hurt like crap. That I remember very clearly. I ate a biscuit from Cracker Barrell. Chad fell asleep on the cot next to me. I kept the biscuit and drinks down. They helped me to the bathroom a bunch during the night. I ate another biscuit about 3am.
The next morning I was MUCH better. My blood count was pretty low compared to when I was admitted Thursday morning. But not critical. Wasn't needing a transfusion, just experienced a little shock b/c of the sudden change in blood count. But I started recovering and gaining strength Friday. By Friday evening, I returned the breast pump to the nurse's station and showed them how MUCH BETTER I felt so that they might get that darn IV thingy out of my arm. They had removed the IV line in the early morning but wanted to keep it ready in case I needed more fluids or something.
I've decided that should the time come that I KNOW that I'm getting an IV, I'm going to shave both arms all the way to my elbows.
We had a few visitors during the day and evening Friday. Chad began transporting plants and balloons and stuff home that night. There was no one on the floor when I go there. By Friday afternoon, there were 5 other babies in the nursery. And they were expecting 4 more by Saturday. It's just a small town hospital, but we've got GREAT ob's!
Saturday morning was snip snip day for Chance (done by ob). The pediatrician had checked him the night before and noticed a little yellowing and ordered a bilirubin count. It was a little high, but nothing to be concerned about. We were released and got home about 12:30 Saturday. We'll take him to the pediatrician Monday morning for another heel stick and are letting him sit in the sunlight as much as possible. It should clear up on its own in a few days. It seems to be breastfeeding jaundice, which makes a lot of sense. After that first nursing at birth, he would only fall deep asleep when I tried to nurse him, wouldn't latch on, just lay next to me and squeak. He just wasn't getting enough, but has DEFINITELY turned the corner on that. He nursed a LOT during the night last night (too sleepy to count, but think it was 5-7 times) and had nursed a good bit before bed.
Amber is in love w/her brother. She gets all worked up when he cries and REALLY wants to be the one to sooth him. But her efforts are a little too MUCH and don't really help a lot.
Anyway, we're all doing really well. He's handsome and squeaks like a baby eagle.
That was probably WAY too much information.
Pictures at my flickr page.... http://www.flickr.com/gp/77829191@N00/1MS6s7
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