Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
2 years ago
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Product Review
Items that I LOVE during month one:
Itzbeen Timer - In fact, I used the timer on this to time my contractions before going to the hospital! It is a very handy little timer that helps you to keep track of diaper changes, feeding, sleep and nursing habits. Definitely a must for a sleep deprived Momma!
Bravado Nursing Tanks/Bras - SO COMFY! I love them. They were expensive, but very well worth it. They make a nursing/pumping Mom feel slightly more human. There is only one place in Tulsa that sells them, thank goodness they do! These tanks and bras were much better than any other brand I found.
AngelCare Monitor - I already mentioned this in my last post, but I can't even begin to describe how awesome it is. I would definitely recommend this over a baby video monitor, I mean a video is only good if you are going to stay awake and watch it, right? This monitor has a pendulum that swings on the display to let you know there is movement. The nice thing about this one is that if you choose you can put the movement sensor on a continual tick, so it makes a gentle noise while sleeping that you can hear to know that your baby is still breathing, if baby stops breathing after 15 seconds an alarm goes off. It also has temperature controls that tells if it is too hot or too cold in the room, as well as your usual audio monitor. I have been very impressed by this product!
Sleep Sheep - This little one needs noise to sleep. I love the little Sleep Sheep that has 4 different options for sounds and can be set to run for 43 minutes. Works like a charm!
The Giraffe Rug - I love this little rug. It is perfect for nap times, for sitting him on the floor to play on, photo shoots and so forth. We have gotten SO much use out of it! It is super soft as well, which is part of the reason why Pearl thinks that this is hers. She tries to lay on it all the time and doesn't get why she is always forced off of it. She still hasn't quite figured that out, in fact the other day Camden was napping on it and was covered and she grabbed a toy and ran all over him. Luckily he was sleeping hard enough that it didn't wake him.
Lastly, I will leave you with pictures of the rug, with my little froggy sleeping on it!
Itzbeen Timer - In fact, I used the timer on this to time my contractions before going to the hospital! It is a very handy little timer that helps you to keep track of diaper changes, feeding, sleep and nursing habits. Definitely a must for a sleep deprived Momma!
Bravado Nursing Tanks/Bras - SO COMFY! I love them. They were expensive, but very well worth it. They make a nursing/pumping Mom feel slightly more human. There is only one place in Tulsa that sells them, thank goodness they do! These tanks and bras were much better than any other brand I found.
AngelCare Monitor - I already mentioned this in my last post, but I can't even begin to describe how awesome it is. I would definitely recommend this over a baby video monitor, I mean a video is only good if you are going to stay awake and watch it, right? This monitor has a pendulum that swings on the display to let you know there is movement. The nice thing about this one is that if you choose you can put the movement sensor on a continual tick, so it makes a gentle noise while sleeping that you can hear to know that your baby is still breathing, if baby stops breathing after 15 seconds an alarm goes off. It also has temperature controls that tells if it is too hot or too cold in the room, as well as your usual audio monitor. I have been very impressed by this product!
Sleep Sheep - This little one needs noise to sleep. I love the little Sleep Sheep that has 4 different options for sounds and can be set to run for 43 minutes. Works like a charm!
The Giraffe Rug - I love this little rug. It is perfect for nap times, for sitting him on the floor to play on, photo shoots and so forth. We have gotten SO much use out of it! It is super soft as well, which is part of the reason why Pearl thinks that this is hers. She tries to lay on it all the time and doesn't get why she is always forced off of it. She still hasn't quite figured that out, in fact the other day Camden was napping on it and was covered and she grabbed a toy and ran all over him. Luckily he was sleeping hard enough that it didn't wake him.
Lastly, I will leave you with pictures of the rug, with my little froggy sleeping on it!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Update: One Month Letter
Today was our one month appointment, or as they put on the stat sheet 4 weeks and 4 days.
Camden is 21 inches long and in the 25th percentile, he weighs 9 lbs, 12.5 ounces an is in the 25-50 percentile and his head is 36 centimeters which is 10th percentile.
He got his 2nd round of Hepatitis B. After the nurse gave him the shot he immediately drew his leg up. She kept trying to get him to straighten it out so she could band aid it when she said "gosh he is awful strong!" as she could barely get him to cooperate. He cried during the shot, but as soon as I picked him up to comfort him he stopped and was looking around like nothing had happened. Since we have been home he is slightly fussier, but I am still one proud Momma!
In other news, I had my check up with the doctor today. He found a stitch still present which he had to take out! And now everything feels MUCH better.
Well, Fussy McFusserson is waking up, time for a meal!
Camden is 21 inches long and in the 25th percentile, he weighs 9 lbs, 12.5 ounces an is in the 25-50 percentile and his head is 36 centimeters which is 10th percentile.
He got his 2nd round of Hepatitis B. After the nurse gave him the shot he immediately drew his leg up. She kept trying to get him to straighten it out so she could band aid it when she said "gosh he is awful strong!" as she could barely get him to cooperate. He cried during the shot, but as soon as I picked him up to comfort him he stopped and was looking around like nothing had happened. Since we have been home he is slightly fussier, but I am still one proud Momma!
In other news, I had my check up with the doctor today. He found a stitch still present which he had to take out! And now everything feels MUCH better.
Well, Fussy McFusserson is waking up, time for a meal!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
One Month: A Letter
Dear Camden,
Today you are one month old.
It's funny how I went from willing time to speed up so you would get here, to now wishing time would slow down because you are growing and changing so fast!
This month has been full of lots of excitement and learning how to add you to our lives. From the day you arrived you have always been an alert little one, and this still holds true today. You aren't much of one for sleeping, be it at night or for naps during the day. Mom has tried valiantly to put you on a sleep schedule, but you are determined to march at the beat of your own drum.
You were born with some adorable birth marks, one on the right side of your forehead near your hairline (you can see in the above picture), and two stork bites - one on your right eyelid and one at the nape of your neck. Some days your eyelid looks rather red, other days your eyes are so wide that you can't even see it. Your hair is lightening up a bit, and your eyebrows are still invisible for the most part. :)
You are eating every three hours or so, and anywhere from 3-5 ounces, with four being a safe and common average. We do a combination of nursing and pumping to be bottle fed. We try to stick with the eat, awake, sleep time but as I mentioned earlier, you tend to skip lots of the "sleep" times. Speaking of sleeping, you are not much of one for sleeping on your back. Here this past week, we have managed to 'trick' you into falling asleep on your back on a large fluffy pillow, but if we move you or attempt to get you to fall asleep in your crib on your back you wake up in angry protest as soon as you are placed there, usually waking you out of a deep slumber. You even went through a period of hating your swing because it meant you would be on your back! You have definitely been a tummy sleeper, and we don't have to worry about making sure you get enough "tummy time" because that is almost all you get. In fact, this made your Mommy so paranoid she had to buy the AngelCare Monitor that senses movement and lets her know if you were to stop breathing by setting off an alarm. You can't be too safe! By two weeks old, you have been able to lift your head and turn it to the other side while laying on your tummy. Your little neck muscles are getting stronger by the day!
You are beginning to see more daily, you stare in amazement at the fan and lights, and because you are getting better at seeing you let us lay you on your back for play time. Too bad you don't sleep there yet! You recognize Mom and Dad's voice, always turning towards us when we talk.
You are still wearing newborn diapers, and it never ceases to amaze us how your peenie can outsmart us on diaper changes. Clever little thing. Your dad has had to worst luck of it all, projectile poops and old faithful geyser all at the same time. He was so nervous about diaper changes for a while that he called for back up for a good week or two.
You can still fit into most of your newborn clothes. Some 0-3 month clothes fit you like a charm, others are still rather large on you. At your first pediatrician appointment days after you were born, you weighed in at 6 pounds 13.5 ounces. A mere week later you weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. That's 10 ounces in a week! Mommy was so proud. :) Our next appointment is tomorrow, can't wait to see how much of a chunk you are then!
This is one of your favorite faces to make.
One of your favorite things to do is to be cuddled and held. Your favorite spot to sleep is on someones chest, be it Mom's or Dad's, or one of the many family members that come to visit you. While sleeping you make the cutest noises. You are a very vocal sleeper. You will smile and giggle while sleeping, sometimes it even wakes you up! You can go from giggling and smiling to crying in your sleep, but the cry will last a mere few seconds before it fades away. It sure makes us wonder what such a little lovie like you is dreaming about!
This is you smiling while you sleep. Precious!
This picture is one of the lucky times you fell asleep on your back in the fluffy pillow, next to Big sis!
You sleep just like your Mama, contorted and content!
We have been taking you on lots of outings, going to the grocery store, going to shop, you have been to two birthday parties for your cousins, and going and visiting all of the grandparents and great-grandparents. You are well behaved on these trips, sometimes alert and refusing to sleep, other times you sleep most of the time we are out. You love your infant sling, we take lots of walks around the neighborhood with Big Sister.
You have been such a joy to our lives, despite the immense lack of sleep. :) We are so blessed to have added you to our lives and we can't wait to see what God has in store for your future!
Love,
Mommy
My gangsta baby :)
Today you are one month old.
It's funny how I went from willing time to speed up so you would get here, to now wishing time would slow down because you are growing and changing so fast!
This month has been full of lots of excitement and learning how to add you to our lives. From the day you arrived you have always been an alert little one, and this still holds true today. You aren't much of one for sleeping, be it at night or for naps during the day. Mom has tried valiantly to put you on a sleep schedule, but you are determined to march at the beat of your own drum.
You were born with some adorable birth marks, one on the right side of your forehead near your hairline (you can see in the above picture), and two stork bites - one on your right eyelid and one at the nape of your neck. Some days your eyelid looks rather red, other days your eyes are so wide that you can't even see it. Your hair is lightening up a bit, and your eyebrows are still invisible for the most part. :)
You are eating every three hours or so, and anywhere from 3-5 ounces, with four being a safe and common average. We do a combination of nursing and pumping to be bottle fed. We try to stick with the eat, awake, sleep time but as I mentioned earlier, you tend to skip lots of the "sleep" times. Speaking of sleeping, you are not much of one for sleeping on your back. Here this past week, we have managed to 'trick' you into falling asleep on your back on a large fluffy pillow, but if we move you or attempt to get you to fall asleep in your crib on your back you wake up in angry protest as soon as you are placed there, usually waking you out of a deep slumber. You even went through a period of hating your swing because it meant you would be on your back! You have definitely been a tummy sleeper, and we don't have to worry about making sure you get enough "tummy time" because that is almost all you get. In fact, this made your Mommy so paranoid she had to buy the AngelCare Monitor that senses movement and lets her know if you were to stop breathing by setting off an alarm. You can't be too safe! By two weeks old, you have been able to lift your head and turn it to the other side while laying on your tummy. Your little neck muscles are getting stronger by the day!
You are beginning to see more daily, you stare in amazement at the fan and lights, and because you are getting better at seeing you let us lay you on your back for play time. Too bad you don't sleep there yet! You recognize Mom and Dad's voice, always turning towards us when we talk.
You are still wearing newborn diapers, and it never ceases to amaze us how your peenie can outsmart us on diaper changes. Clever little thing. Your dad has had to worst luck of it all, projectile poops and old faithful geyser all at the same time. He was so nervous about diaper changes for a while that he called for back up for a good week or two.
You can still fit into most of your newborn clothes. Some 0-3 month clothes fit you like a charm, others are still rather large on you. At your first pediatrician appointment days after you were born, you weighed in at 6 pounds 13.5 ounces. A mere week later you weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. That's 10 ounces in a week! Mommy was so proud. :) Our next appointment is tomorrow, can't wait to see how much of a chunk you are then!
This is one of your favorite faces to make.
One of your favorite things to do is to be cuddled and held. Your favorite spot to sleep is on someones chest, be it Mom's or Dad's, or one of the many family members that come to visit you. While sleeping you make the cutest noises. You are a very vocal sleeper. You will smile and giggle while sleeping, sometimes it even wakes you up! You can go from giggling and smiling to crying in your sleep, but the cry will last a mere few seconds before it fades away. It sure makes us wonder what such a little lovie like you is dreaming about!
This is you smiling while you sleep. Precious!
This picture is one of the lucky times you fell asleep on your back in the fluffy pillow, next to Big sis!
You sleep just like your Mama, contorted and content!
We have been taking you on lots of outings, going to the grocery store, going to shop, you have been to two birthday parties for your cousins, and going and visiting all of the grandparents and great-grandparents. You are well behaved on these trips, sometimes alert and refusing to sleep, other times you sleep most of the time we are out. You love your infant sling, we take lots of walks around the neighborhood with Big Sister.
You have been such a joy to our lives, despite the immense lack of sleep. :) We are so blessed to have added you to our lives and we can't wait to see what God has in store for your future!
Love,
Mommy
My gangsta baby :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
SIDS
Let me set the scene:
Husband and I are taking Pearl and Camden for a walk around the neighborhood. Camden is in his infant sling and Chris is wearing him. Chris begins to sneeze and attempts to turn his head away, almost tripping while covering Camden from the sneeze.
While watching him I call out a warning that he better not trip while carrying our precious cargo. That is when husband retorts with a ornery grin, "What? I didn't want to sneeze on him, I don't want him to catch SIDS!"
What a nut.
Husband and I are taking Pearl and Camden for a walk around the neighborhood. Camden is in his infant sling and Chris is wearing him. Chris begins to sneeze and attempts to turn his head away, almost tripping while covering Camden from the sneeze.
While watching him I call out a warning that he better not trip while carrying our precious cargo. That is when husband retorts with a ornery grin, "What? I didn't want to sneeze on him, I don't want him to catch SIDS!"
What a nut.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Birth Story
So, I figure I will type this out and document it here, because one day I will want to remember the entire story of how it happened. Here goes nothing!
Thursday, August 19th.
DH's birthday. He said he didn't want anything for his birthday but his son. But his son wasn't coming yet! He had lots of issues deciding where to eat for his birthday dinner, finally settling on Stone Mill BBQ in Broken Arrow. It was fantastic as usual, and afterwards we went to Cherry Berry for dessert, which was really a treat for me since DH could probably care less about froyo. He would much rather have a concrete from Freckles. We caught up on the events of our day, where I mentioned to DH that I had in fact requested Monday the 23rd off before my induce date so that I could have a nice three day weekend and get stuff finalized around the house.
Friday, August 20th.
A pretty regular day at work. It was very surreal walking out of the doors at 315 and knowing that I wouldn't be back until November and when I came back I would first have to drop off my SON at daycare. Insane!!
Saturday, August 21st.
Chris and I spent the day running errands, cleaning house and such. I managed to put together a lasagna from PDub's cookbook and freeze it to cook after baby arrived. Went to church, then I got to pick out our "last supper" out with just the two of us. It was pretty easy for me to decide on Mexican food, El Tequila.
Sunday, August 22nd.
Slept in after a not so good night of sleep. (What's new). DH and I spent the morning attempting to put together the pack and play, grilling the turkey that was taking up too much space in the freezer (which would also leave us plenty of leftovers after baby) and cleaning house. I ate my leftover mexican food for lunch. around one or so I noticed I wasn't feeling so hot. Kept having to use the restroom to poop, I was figuring that the leftover mexican food was not sitting well in my tummy.
2:15p.m. - Attempt to nap. Can't get comfortable. Still not feeling well and just about pooped everything in me, out. (Sorry if its TIMI) Get up and decide to watch DH carve a turkey. DH asks if we still wanna take the dog swimming and if I would find that relaxing. I decide its a no go, just not feeling it.
4:00p.m. - I decide maybe it could be something else. Labor, maybe?? I get out my timer and time how often my "stomach pains" are coming. About 7-8 minutes apart. No wonder I couldn't nap.
4:15p.m. - I figure it would be a good idea to shower. I shower, shave my legs, spend lots of time letting the hot water hit my back as each contraction hits. They are coming about every 5-6 mins apart according to my timer. I get out of the shower and decide at this point I probably should have finished packing my bag. I walk around the house moaning with each contraction while throwing things in my bag that were left on my 'to be packed' list. Decide to forgo fixing my hair. At this point, I don't care. I think I managed to put a little makeup on, but I doubt it looked good. Husband is still buzzing around doing chores, asking "are you sure this is it?" while vaccuming, watering his plants and finishing up with the turkey. He of course is the voice of reason and asks "So are you sure you should go now? Cause if its not it they will send you home". At this point I am gettin' slightly cranky and retort during a contraction with a catty, "I don't see how its not IT, owwwwwwwww".
So we drive to the hospital, and each bump is just flat out annoying.
5:30p.m. - Arrive at the Labor and Delivery floor at SFSouth. There is NO ONE admitted, we are the only folks there. The nurses were playing Tai Pei on their computers. They check me in and hook me up to the monitors. They check me and break the bad news. I was only one cm and 80% effaced. At my doctors appt on Wednesday, I was one cm and 50% effaced, so really not much progress. At all. So the nurse breaks even more bad news to me and tells me that I have until shift change at 7 to make enough progress, otherwise they will send me home. She proceeds to explain to me that if MY doctor was the one on call, they would "give me the benefit of a doubt and let me stay since I was due to be induced Tuesday" but, the current doctor on call likes to see more progress before admitting. So I am thinking to myself, awesome. Husband tells me that I said some not so nice things about this doctor, the one who wasn't going to let me stay when I was in so much pain and despite the contractions being so close together. The nurse tells me to walk the halls and to drink tons of water. So, I do just that for an hour, until shift change at 7. Walking the halls was tough. Each time I had a contraction I had to stop and kneel over, and I made husband rub my lower back each time. I don't know how people go through labor without having a significant other to boss around, because he sure was helpful at this point. Good thing there wasn't anyone else on the floor to hear me crying out when the contractions were particularly painful. I don't know how else to describe it except that it literally felt like my lower half was attempting to separate itself from the upper half. As if it was trying to rip itself apart. Sounds awesome right? Pretty sure the entire time I was swearing off doing this again, because HOW RIDICULOUS IS IT THAT MEN JUST GET TO SIT BACK AND WATCH? :) I remember at this point telling Husband if they weren't going to let me stay I was NOT GOING TO GET BACK IN THE CAR. He knew better than at this point to argue with me but I told him I was going to wait in the waiting room moaning until they decided I could come back in.
7:00p.m. - Shift Change. The nurse comes in again puts me on the monitors and checks me again. I could see the surprise in her face and hear it in her voice when she said "Oh my gosh, five!" and I distinctly remember asking, "five what? centimeters?". I was thinking, now how is that possible?? So, after she nods yes to my question my next demand was "Drugs. When can I have drugs?". So of course, I have paperwork to fill out first, things to sign, fingerprints to take, etc. Then they say before I have the epidural I have to have an entire bag of fluids. Longest 20 minutes of my life were right then, as I was waiting for the nurse to find a vein to put a line in. She attempted in my forearm first, but no luck. So she moved to my hand. Finally, we had the fluids going and in the meantime my back labor was HELLISH. I attempted to watch Big Brother to distract me, but to no avail.
7:40p.m. - fluids are in. Waiting on anesthesiologist. He can't get there fast enough. A slight sting with the epi but then instant relief. Why people are so determined to do it without the drugs, I don't know. I mean, more power to them but good gracious having the pain relief was amazing. From there on out, according to Husband, I was a different person. And from this point everything was a piece of cake. I do remember telling the anesthesiologist that if I had the authority I would give him a raise.
7:45p.m. - Happiness. Glorious happiness. I watch the rest of Big Brother. Text a few people. Call family.
8:30ish - Nurse comes in to check me again. I am 7 centimeters. She breaks my water "on accident". It is disgustingly warm and TONS of it, the floodgates definitely opened up. She says she will be back later to check on me. In the meantime my Mom and Sister arrived and thankfully Sister brings some food for Husband who was starved at this point. They hang out for a while, watching the monitors, listening to Camden's heartbeat and offering encouraging words.
Nurses are in and out preparing the warmer and getting things ready. One nurse predicts that there will be a baby by 10pm. Another says by midnight. At this point I realize the date is the 22nd (my favorite number) and I secretly hope it is before midnight! Nurses continue to let me 'labor'.
945ish (sorry - times got a little cloudy at this point, so much going on!) Nurse tells me I am 9plus and that there is "just a little lip in the way". She manipulates the lip to get it to widen, and before I know it, I am ten centimeters and she tells me I can push.
So, when the contractions hit, I do my pushing. Husband helps by holding a leg but completely staying out of the line of sight as he does is incredibly squeamish. Nurse tells me he doesn't have much hair. Thirty minutes later after more pushing, she states he does have more hair than she thought. Contractions are seeming to slow down in frequency, but I don't mind the break. Its pretty smooth sailing at this point, pushing when the nurse says and when I am 'feeling the urge to push'.
10:40p.m. - Nurse requests some pitocin so I can get baby under the pubic bone and ready to come out. She says we are super close but contractions are taking 7 minutes or more at this point. She starts the pitocin and I do three good pushes, then she tells me "whoa HOLD IT" and I am told to stop pushing as I have to wait for the doctor to arrive because baby is ready to come!
10:55ish - Doctor who originally wasn't going to admit me arrives. His name is Dr. Harris. I find him to be really nice and I mentally take back all those negative things I said about him. Contraction comes and he has me push. I do what he says and it feels like something comes flying out..turns out I shot a whole bunch of amniotic fluid at the doctors face. He jokes with me, "Well, we charge extra for that!" and tells me to push again.
11:07p.m. - This time I definitely feel something slip out, they have me push once more and they catch Camden and toss him on my chest. He's crying and loud and perfect! They take him right away to clean him off and weigh and measure him and before I know it, he's back in my arms. Nurses tell me that family was cheering in the hallway and dying to come in. After getting stitches and delivering the placenta and getting as cleaned up as possible, family comes in to celebrate. Nurse tells me that was "a great labor for the first time, you only pushed about an hour". I agree with her, as the whole thing did progress relatively fast and once I had the epidural it was a cakewalk.
Camden is bright eyed and alert after arrival and the nurses all tell me that he will "crash in an hour or two" but this little one takes after his dad and makes his own rules, and he stayed up most of the night. Luckily, being the only one on the floor, I let the nurses play with him for a few hours at the nurses station while I catch a few Zzzzs. Chris said he saw them holding him up out at the nurses station ooohhing and aaahhing over him and frequently discussing how he is "sooo cute!" The nurses up there were WONDERFUL and the whole experience was great. Everyone was helpful and answered all my nutty questions, put up with my crankiness when in pain and most importantly when there were swarms of nurses in the delivery room they were very encouraging and helpful in cheering me on, it was so nice to hear. I really couldn't of asked for a better experience.
And that my friends, is our birth story!
Thursday, August 19th.
DH's birthday. He said he didn't want anything for his birthday but his son. But his son wasn't coming yet! He had lots of issues deciding where to eat for his birthday dinner, finally settling on Stone Mill BBQ in Broken Arrow. It was fantastic as usual, and afterwards we went to Cherry Berry for dessert, which was really a treat for me since DH could probably care less about froyo. He would much rather have a concrete from Freckles. We caught up on the events of our day, where I mentioned to DH that I had in fact requested Monday the 23rd off before my induce date so that I could have a nice three day weekend and get stuff finalized around the house.
Friday, August 20th.
A pretty regular day at work. It was very surreal walking out of the doors at 315 and knowing that I wouldn't be back until November and when I came back I would first have to drop off my SON at daycare. Insane!!
Saturday, August 21st.
Chris and I spent the day running errands, cleaning house and such. I managed to put together a lasagna from PDub's cookbook and freeze it to cook after baby arrived. Went to church, then I got to pick out our "last supper" out with just the two of us. It was pretty easy for me to decide on Mexican food, El Tequila.
Sunday, August 22nd.
Slept in after a not so good night of sleep. (What's new). DH and I spent the morning attempting to put together the pack and play, grilling the turkey that was taking up too much space in the freezer (which would also leave us plenty of leftovers after baby) and cleaning house. I ate my leftover mexican food for lunch. around one or so I noticed I wasn't feeling so hot. Kept having to use the restroom to poop, I was figuring that the leftover mexican food was not sitting well in my tummy.
2:15p.m. - Attempt to nap. Can't get comfortable. Still not feeling well and just about pooped everything in me, out. (Sorry if its TIMI) Get up and decide to watch DH carve a turkey. DH asks if we still wanna take the dog swimming and if I would find that relaxing. I decide its a no go, just not feeling it.
4:00p.m. - I decide maybe it could be something else. Labor, maybe?? I get out my timer and time how often my "stomach pains" are coming. About 7-8 minutes apart. No wonder I couldn't nap.
4:15p.m. - I figure it would be a good idea to shower. I shower, shave my legs, spend lots of time letting the hot water hit my back as each contraction hits. They are coming about every 5-6 mins apart according to my timer. I get out of the shower and decide at this point I probably should have finished packing my bag. I walk around the house moaning with each contraction while throwing things in my bag that were left on my 'to be packed' list. Decide to forgo fixing my hair. At this point, I don't care. I think I managed to put a little makeup on, but I doubt it looked good. Husband is still buzzing around doing chores, asking "are you sure this is it?" while vaccuming, watering his plants and finishing up with the turkey. He of course is the voice of reason and asks "So are you sure you should go now? Cause if its not it they will send you home". At this point I am gettin' slightly cranky and retort during a contraction with a catty, "I don't see how its not IT, owwwwwwwww".
So we drive to the hospital, and each bump is just flat out annoying.
5:30p.m. - Arrive at the Labor and Delivery floor at SFSouth. There is NO ONE admitted, we are the only folks there. The nurses were playing Tai Pei on their computers. They check me in and hook me up to the monitors. They check me and break the bad news. I was only one cm and 80% effaced. At my doctors appt on Wednesday, I was one cm and 50% effaced, so really not much progress. At all. So the nurse breaks even more bad news to me and tells me that I have until shift change at 7 to make enough progress, otherwise they will send me home. She proceeds to explain to me that if MY doctor was the one on call, they would "give me the benefit of a doubt and let me stay since I was due to be induced Tuesday" but, the current doctor on call likes to see more progress before admitting. So I am thinking to myself, awesome. Husband tells me that I said some not so nice things about this doctor, the one who wasn't going to let me stay when I was in so much pain and despite the contractions being so close together. The nurse tells me to walk the halls and to drink tons of water. So, I do just that for an hour, until shift change at 7. Walking the halls was tough. Each time I had a contraction I had to stop and kneel over, and I made husband rub my lower back each time. I don't know how people go through labor without having a significant other to boss around, because he sure was helpful at this point. Good thing there wasn't anyone else on the floor to hear me crying out when the contractions were particularly painful. I don't know how else to describe it except that it literally felt like my lower half was attempting to separate itself from the upper half. As if it was trying to rip itself apart. Sounds awesome right? Pretty sure the entire time I was swearing off doing this again, because HOW RIDICULOUS IS IT THAT MEN JUST GET TO SIT BACK AND WATCH? :) I remember at this point telling Husband if they weren't going to let me stay I was NOT GOING TO GET BACK IN THE CAR. He knew better than at this point to argue with me but I told him I was going to wait in the waiting room moaning until they decided I could come back in.
7:00p.m. - Shift Change. The nurse comes in again puts me on the monitors and checks me again. I could see the surprise in her face and hear it in her voice when she said "Oh my gosh, five!" and I distinctly remember asking, "five what? centimeters?". I was thinking, now how is that possible?? So, after she nods yes to my question my next demand was "Drugs. When can I have drugs?". So of course, I have paperwork to fill out first, things to sign, fingerprints to take, etc. Then they say before I have the epidural I have to have an entire bag of fluids. Longest 20 minutes of my life were right then, as I was waiting for the nurse to find a vein to put a line in. She attempted in my forearm first, but no luck. So she moved to my hand. Finally, we had the fluids going and in the meantime my back labor was HELLISH. I attempted to watch Big Brother to distract me, but to no avail.
7:40p.m. - fluids are in. Waiting on anesthesiologist. He can't get there fast enough. A slight sting with the epi but then instant relief. Why people are so determined to do it without the drugs, I don't know. I mean, more power to them but good gracious having the pain relief was amazing. From there on out, according to Husband, I was a different person. And from this point everything was a piece of cake. I do remember telling the anesthesiologist that if I had the authority I would give him a raise.
7:45p.m. - Happiness. Glorious happiness. I watch the rest of Big Brother. Text a few people. Call family.
8:30ish - Nurse comes in to check me again. I am 7 centimeters. She breaks my water "on accident". It is disgustingly warm and TONS of it, the floodgates definitely opened up. She says she will be back later to check on me. In the meantime my Mom and Sister arrived and thankfully Sister brings some food for Husband who was starved at this point. They hang out for a while, watching the monitors, listening to Camden's heartbeat and offering encouraging words.
Nurses are in and out preparing the warmer and getting things ready. One nurse predicts that there will be a baby by 10pm. Another says by midnight. At this point I realize the date is the 22nd (my favorite number) and I secretly hope it is before midnight! Nurses continue to let me 'labor'.
945ish (sorry - times got a little cloudy at this point, so much going on!) Nurse tells me I am 9plus and that there is "just a little lip in the way". She manipulates the lip to get it to widen, and before I know it, I am ten centimeters and she tells me I can push.
So, when the contractions hit, I do my pushing. Husband helps by holding a leg but completely staying out of the line of sight as he does is incredibly squeamish. Nurse tells me he doesn't have much hair. Thirty minutes later after more pushing, she states he does have more hair than she thought. Contractions are seeming to slow down in frequency, but I don't mind the break. Its pretty smooth sailing at this point, pushing when the nurse says and when I am 'feeling the urge to push'.
10:40p.m. - Nurse requests some pitocin so I can get baby under the pubic bone and ready to come out. She says we are super close but contractions are taking 7 minutes or more at this point. She starts the pitocin and I do three good pushes, then she tells me "whoa HOLD IT" and I am told to stop pushing as I have to wait for the doctor to arrive because baby is ready to come!
10:55ish - Doctor who originally wasn't going to admit me arrives. His name is Dr. Harris. I find him to be really nice and I mentally take back all those negative things I said about him. Contraction comes and he has me push. I do what he says and it feels like something comes flying out..turns out I shot a whole bunch of amniotic fluid at the doctors face. He jokes with me, "Well, we charge extra for that!" and tells me to push again.
11:07p.m. - This time I definitely feel something slip out, they have me push once more and they catch Camden and toss him on my chest. He's crying and loud and perfect! They take him right away to clean him off and weigh and measure him and before I know it, he's back in my arms. Nurses tell me that family was cheering in the hallway and dying to come in. After getting stitches and delivering the placenta and getting as cleaned up as possible, family comes in to celebrate. Nurse tells me that was "a great labor for the first time, you only pushed about an hour". I agree with her, as the whole thing did progress relatively fast and once I had the epidural it was a cakewalk.
Camden is bright eyed and alert after arrival and the nurses all tell me that he will "crash in an hour or two" but this little one takes after his dad and makes his own rules, and he stayed up most of the night. Luckily, being the only one on the floor, I let the nurses play with him for a few hours at the nurses station while I catch a few Zzzzs. Chris said he saw them holding him up out at the nurses station ooohhing and aaahhing over him and frequently discussing how he is "sooo cute!" The nurses up there were WONDERFUL and the whole experience was great. Everyone was helpful and answered all my nutty questions, put up with my crankiness when in pain and most importantly when there were swarms of nurses in the delivery room they were very encouraging and helpful in cheering me on, it was so nice to hear. I really couldn't of asked for a better experience.
And that my friends, is our birth story!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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