Year: 2009

– my belly button came back

– i can easily walk up a flight of stairs rather than drag myself up by the hand rail

– i pee like a normal person

– i eat food at a normal frequency

– i can lay on my back w/o feeling like my lungs are being flattened

– i lost ten lbs

the night before was awful again. around 3am paul had to take lucas downstairs  and walked him all over the house and up and down stairs to try to calm him and keep him away from me for two hours so i could sleep. he was wanting to be fed constantly. hed fall asleep while nursing but the second i tried to set him down hed start wailing so i was trying to “nurse/pacify” him from midnight to 3am straight until paul took him. i was so frustrated and exhausted and my boobs were broken and bleeding.

thankfully we had our lactation appt. we were there for 2.5 hours. they weighed him and he had lost a little weight (7.48 instead of the 7.49 he left the hospital at) and he hadnt pooped at all yet nor had but one wet diaper when he should have been at 5. that plus how often he was wanting to feed they told us he wasnt getting enough to eat. they said it was like trying to drink thru a pinched straw – it was so much work to get a little bit of food hed get tired and fall asleep before totally full and then wake up again soon cause he was still hungry. so they had us start supplimenting with formula and he had some while we were there. he went home and passed out for 6 hours! now that he is on formula and getting enough food he only wakes up every 2-3 hours and we can actually get some sleep. plus with the bottles paul can feed him half the time, too so i dont have to wake up for every feeding. im still pumping and giving him the breastmilk in a bottle with what little i have, but the formula has been a life saver.

formula per feeding – 2oz…my pumping – ~20mL/ 1/2 oz so only 1/4 what he was needing

i changed my first diaper today. paul was in the basement so i fed, burped, diapered, and dressed lucas all myself (usually paul does all that stuff). changing a diaper is really hard cause he kicks his legs all over the place.  feedings are still awful with him eating every hour and a half and its really hard to get him to latch on and he goes straight from waking to wailing making it harder to get him to calm down to eat.

My milk came in today 😀 Paul went to the hospital and got the pump and when i pumped i was surprised how much milk  came out. i dont know how much there is sposed to be but i havent had any trouble keeping up with lucas’s demand so far. i have an appt weds with the lactation consultant so ill learn more then.

lucas got his 1st manicure today. he had scratched his face yest so id covered his hands but this seemed to really upset him cause he couldnt suck on his hands so i filed his nails today while he was sleeping.

i tried carrying him around in the sling while i did laundry and ended up sore and back aching so i guess i should stick to the bed.

i still cant hear out my left ear, major throat congestion and have nearly completely lost my voice

last night (1st night at home) didnt go well. i dont know if he just wanted to eat more than usual or if it was the nail thing or what but he kept crying and we couldnt figure out what he wanted. (grr just spilled the milk on myself cause i was typing this and dropped the pump). so paul and i were both exhausted and half asleep and irritated at each other. today tho he has been totally fine and has been eating on a steady schedule (every 1-2 hours) and sleeping in btwn.

at 6am the nurse came in to do the PKU screening test. she gave him a tiny amount of sugar water and then a pacifier and then pricked his heel with one of those little finger prick needles. she then put drops of the blood on a piece of paper. lucas didnt cry at all and this is where we discovered the pacifier … the baby mute button. the rest of the morning was the usual laying around sleeping/feeding. Dr Kola came by again to do a physical and said he was looking well and so we didnt need to come to his office until thurs when he is a week old. the nurse said that meant lucas was doing well if he didnt have to be seen again for a week. we packed up our ton of stuff and then once we got the bill ($1800ish) we were cleared to go home. we left around 11:30 am on Mothers Day.

once home i immediately got in the shower. it felt sooo good to be home. pauls mom must have seen our car cause she called just as i was getting out of the shower and told paul she was coming over. paul tried to tell her not to but she hung up on him and came over anyway. he came up to tell me she was coming over and i was like “nooooo, im not ready for people to come over i just got home tell her no”. so he sent her away thankfully and i got to lay down in my own bed and relax. just being home and showered i was feeling much better. i tried to put some hydrogen peroxide in my ear but its still blocked.

around 2 eric and betsy came over to meet lucas. they brought us some broccoli cheese coup and a little musical elephant toy for lucas. i must have taken a nap in there somewhere cause paul told me they were coming over and next thing i knew paul was telling me they were here. a little bit after they left matt came over with abby. she was super interested in checking out lucas. the cats have been funny. annabelle walked up to the carrier, did a small sniff, and then walked off to see me. later on when lucas cried it caught her attention so she really went over to smell him. ashton has been the funniest. at first he didnt notice lucas in my lap and was trying to investigate the pack n play by the bed. once he noticed lucas he was riveted. he kept staring at him like he really wanted to check him out but was keeping his distance like he couldnt decide if lucas was safe or not. booda, katrina, and jasmine all just kinda sniffed him a minute cautiously and then lost interest. whenever he cries abby comes running over to check him out and then sits on the bed nearby.

mom brought the 3 of us dinner from ocharleys and some meds from the pharmacy for me and *jellybeans*. we hung out for a bit while paul was napping and then i napped on the couch. i had bought mom a mothers day card and had lucas sign it by putting the pen in his hand (newborn grip reflex) and placing the card in front of the pen. only 2 days old and my baby can write – he must be a genius.

paul and i spent most the evening just hanging out in the bedroom. i took a bath while he watched some stupid movie on tv and then i lay around/ read my book.

in short:

dr kola came by again for a checkup and ordered a jaundice test. hes a little  yellow in the face but below the levels to be of concern so we are just sposed to get him a little sunlight

hearing test – pass

visitors: glenn and kids, dad, matt and sarah, mom and ron

photo person, first steps person (hospital/community programs for new parents), lactation consulatant, nurses, Dr Little, Dr Kola – lots of people in and out today

lactation consult – i *finally* got my pump and she showed me how to use it. i can see that i have a little bit of colostrum. they werent there for very long. i have an appt to go back for a full visit later on

dinner closed – all the hospital food places were freakin closed by 7pm when paul went to get me dinner (hospital foods served are literally inedible and everything is always brought to me cold) so he had to run out to cracker barrel and bring us dinner

After the triage room they moved me up to my labor/delivery room. They called in the anesthesiologist to do the epidural at 745. first he gave me a shot of local like a lidocaine or something which was no big deal. then came much badness. i guess i couldnt curl over enuf cuz he couldnt find a good spot. it was awful despite having the numbing meds. i was about to cry and said maybe i shouldnt get an epi after all. it took about 15mins to get the epidural and once the doc left i did start to cry. the experience was scary and i was scared about what was to come as well. it didnt take long for the epi to kick in. it felt like when your legs fall asleep – not the hurting tingly part but when its past that to being numb and u cant stand up on them. also i completely couldnt feel the contractions anymore. i had two monitors velcroed around my belly. one was playing lucas’s heartbeat on a monitor and one was measuring my contractions. paul would look at the monitor and tell me i was having one but i couldnt tell. i had a push button for anytime i needed more of the epi. i had been given pitocin then as well to speed up the contractions and after a little bit a catheter was added since i wouldnt be able to feel to pee. the catheter was uncomfortable…like a tampon incorrectly placed, but at least there was no pain. at this point we were just sitting around waiting for the pitocin and contractions to do their thing. paul used this time to call people and tell them we were in the hospital. a couple of times i started feeling the contractions come thru so i hit the button and theyd go away. i was a little worried about hitting it too often but they didnt say anything about there being a limit.

at around 1130 they came in to check me and they broke the amniotic sac and upped the pitocin. by 1140 i was 6cm and 90% effaced. mom stopped by around 1 but i told her it would still be a long time probably since i still had to go from 6-10. they told me to let them know if i felt pressure in my bottom. not too much later i was feeling a little butt pressure plus the contractions getting worse. i hit the button and started to tell the nurse (angela). i got as far as “pressure” and she said ok ill check you. she checked me and i was shocked to hear her say i was at 10 and ready to start pushing! he was already descended (the pressure i was feeling) and she could see the top of his head! she took away the bottom half of the bed and pulled out the stirrups and had me start pushing with the contractions (1:50pm). paul said he could see the hair/top of the head trying to come out. when things got a little closer she called in Dr Little and they coached me on when to push. since i could feel absolutely nothing i was worried i wasnt pushing hard enough, but they said i was doing well. lucas wasnt liking being in the birth canal and his heartrate would drop a bunch when i pushed and then go back up when i rested. i was worried theyd hafta use a vacuum to get him out right away or worst case an emergency c-section. turned out to not be a problem cause when he finally got close he just popped right out head, shoulder, body nearly all at once. it felt sooooo weird cause i could feel his slimy body wiggling against me. he was born at 2:30pm … less than 40 mins from when i started pushing. turns out the delivery was the easiest part of the whole labor process.

dr little worked quickly since he was born with the cord around his neck and also a knot in it and then they whisked him over to the baby tray where they could suction him and clean him and check his lungs. there had been a little bit of meconium in the amniotic fluid so they had to take care of that but it was all fine. they gave him a bath (which he did not like) and let paul cut the rest of the umbilical cord off of him. meanwhile i was getting stitched up by dr little so i couldnt really see what was going on but paul was with him and taking pix. i just lay there staring over at the bassinet thingy (it was clear so i could see bits of what was going on) and thinking how surreal it was that i had a baby. that the squiggly little newborn over there was actually *my* baby. i think i was in shock. finally i was done and lucas was done and paul was able to carry him over to me. we took turns holding him and i took a bunch of pix. paul and his awesome iphone was able to take pix and put them up on facebook right away which was really neat.

while waiting to get our postpartum room upstairs, they had me try to breast feed him and latched him on to me. after a second i freaked out cause i noticed he wasnt breathing and he looked sortof blue to me. i was freaking out and about to start crying and had hit the nurse call button and was telling paul to go find the nurse cause i thought he had died!!!  paul took lucas from me when i first started freaking out. he told me that newborns dont breathe in a regular pattern like we do ( i wasnt sure if i believed him at the time cause i was so scared but i later read it in a book as well), and by then he was already breathing again. the nurse checked him and said he was fine, that its not uncommon for them to be blue when first born and the way you tell if there is really a problem is to look at their gums and see if they are blue.

around 4pm we were moved to the postpartum room wed be in for the next two days. soon after mom got there and then dad did, too. we all hung out and took pix. dr kola, the pediatrician, came in that evening and did the exam on him including checking all the funny baby reflexes. he said lucas was doing well and that hed come back the next day for another check. lauren and kristie came in and we all hung out with lucas some more.

the nurses come to check on me and lucas every hour and told me to tell them when i was ready for a trip to the bathroom. i didnt really hafta go and figured id wait till the company was gone to worry about it since i was wearing the lovely hospital gown full of cracks, slits, and holes. i figured they just wanted to escort me to the bathroom cause of the epi and my legs not totally working. turns out if was cause of the *pain*. i wasnt in pain until id tried to get up and walk around but once i did i discovered how sore i was.

the rest of the night was me attempting to breastfeed when he was awake ( i had to have the nurse latch him on every time cause i couldnt get it) while paul took care of all the burping and diaper changes and basically everythign else. from about 3am-7am we had a stretch where all 3 of us got to sleep but other than that it was a lot of short naps in btwn feedings and the nurses coming in and out to check on stuff.

to be continued…

the movie ended at 12:45 am and i had been having sharper pains towards the end of it. when i went up to go to the bathroom at 12:30 am i had my bloody show. the book said that it could still be days until anything really happened, but for me once i had that i was having the really bad cramps a lot. i used pauls little iphone application to time the contractions and they were about 5-7 mins apart. because im always unsure about everything and cause i wasnt expecting there to be any real labor when id just been checked and been at 0 cm, i was unsure about my timings.  plus i was so sleepy i didnt want us to get up and pack everything to go to the hospital just to get sent back home. finally as the pain was increasing and was fairly regular i woke up paul and told him i was hurting and didnt know what to do. in a half asleep state he told me to keep timing and go call the doctor. i waited a few mins to get some better calculations ( i dozed a little in the 2-3am hour) and then called. dr dyar called me back liek 5 mins later (4am) anmd suggested i take a hot bath for an hour. he said if it wasnt labor the pains would slow down and if it was real theyd speed up. so from 4 to 430 i sat in the tub timing.by now they were coming about 3-5 mins apart and the pain was intense. sorta like when i had endometriosis cramps but a little worse. not bad enuf to make me cry, but bad enuf that i really wanted some medicine.

at 430 i got out of the tub and told paul i wanted to go to the hospital. wearily he got up and started getting ready while i packed last minute stuff in the suitcase. twds the end i had to have paul finish stuff (like feed the fish) cuz i was hurting and had to sit down. on the way to the hospital i sent mom a text at 545 telling her that i was going to the hospital. i knew shed be getting up for school anyhow so i wouldnt wake her, but i didnt msg other people yet since it was so early. paul said its a good thing we left when we did cause much longer and thered have been the morning traffic on 75. when we got to the hospital they did some paperwork and gave me wristbands and then sent me to triage at about 7am which is basically a room with a bed where they check you and get you ready. they gave me my IV and did a quick ultrasound to confirm he was head down. when the nurse checked me it was incredibly painful. at that point i did want to cry. something about my cervix being way in the back that she couldnt reach it and kept having to stick her hand further up there. she gave up and waited for the doc. Dr Little came in shortly after and checked me … this time it hurt a little less and said that i was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. yay, i was being admitted and not being sent home.

continued…

i woke up at 6:55am with a bad cramp. it felt like intestinal cramping when you get diarrhea but i didnt go. since i was now 2 days past due i was hoping it might be contractions but i wasnt really sure. i went back to sleep. at 7:21am i woke up with the cramp again. this time i did go to the bathroom but was also having menstrual-like cramps but i went back to sleep. at 7:58 it happened again and im really trying to figure out if these are 30 min apart contractions or not so im timing them. they came again at 8:10, 8:21, 8:58, 9:27, 10:02, etc. i was really hoping i was having contractions but wasnt really sure. i was already scheduled for my regular doc appt at 2:45pm with dr dyar so i decided to wait and see how things went.

when i got to the doc, he checked me and said i was still completely closed. i was really disappointed. i asked him about the cramps and he said that they were contractions but they were just little ones not big enuf to open me. basically it looked like i wouldnt be going into labor anytime soon. we made an appt for me to go to the hospital monday night with the plan to be induced tues morning.

after the doc, i went to my moms and we went to a movie. then when i got home paul and i went to the grocery store. id been having the menstrual-type cramps all day with the bigger pains here and there but was still up and about. at the end of the grocery store i wasnt feeling well and went to sit in the car while paul checked out. at home we laid around watching tv and then a movie xXx.

continued…