A Birth Story, Part 1

So I am finally getting around to writing up M's birth story. Im pretty longwinded so Ive broken it up into a couple of posts. 

On September 14^th, 2011, my due date, I spent the day running errands with my mom. On the way home from base I told her that I had a new “heavy” feeling. I wasnt having contractions, but I definitely felt different. Later that afternoon we sat at the dining room table, mom working on her charts, me working on a pregnancy photo book. At 4:30 my lower back began to hurt. This was nothing new as my back had been hurting for almost 10 months! At 4:54 though, I had a contraction. Just a tightening of my abdomen. It didn’t hurt, but it was noticeable. At 5:02, I had another. At 5:11, another. I told my mom that I was having contractions and sent Jason a text at work letting him know. I wasn’t sure if this was the real thing or not because I had been having Braxton Hicks for weeks, but I was really hoping so! I cooked dinner for us all and the contractions kept coming. They were 6 to 20 minutes apart. After dinner they stopped for about 20 minutes so Jason and I went on a walk. We wanted to keep them coming! We couldn’t believe that after 10 months of waiting, this might finally be the real thing. On our walk we saw a bright light- space material (a satellite, maybe?) shoot across the sky and break up into two pieces. It was a sign. By nine I was sure that this was real labor and that the big event would be soon. We attempted to go to bed around 9:30/10 because we knew we would not be getting much sleep soon, but as I lay there, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I was too excited! I decided to get up and shower. My contractions were about 4-6 minutes apart by this time. After my shower I went back into the bedroom and told Jason to get up and finish packing our bag. We would be going to the hospital soon, I was sure. He got up and we both got dressed and went downstairs to tell Mom.

The contractions were coming more regularly and were beginning to pick up in intensity. I had to breathe through them, but they werent too bad at this point. The best pain reliever was walking. As long as I was walking, the pain wasn’t bad. We called L&D at 11:00pm and told them that my contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart and increasing in intensity. They advised me to stay at home until they were 3-4 minutes apart and stronger. We were pretty disappointed because we were ready to go and get this show started, but we managed to stay at home for another hour. We called them again at midnight since my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and instead of asking if we could come in, we told them we were on our way. The pain was getting worse, but still very manageable and even mild if I could walk during the contraction.

When we arrived at the hospital and pulled up to the gate, the gate guard asked us to shut off the engine and step out of the car. They wanted to do a car search! A panicked look immediately crossed my face as I breathed through another contraction. Jason told the guard that I was in labor and that we couldn’t stop. The guard said, “Oh! Ok, go on then!” and told the other guards that I was in labor. As we drove by they yelled out  “Good Luck!” Jason dropped Mom and I off at the ER entrance while he went to park the car. 

We walked up to L & D and checked in. The nurse, Becky, led us to Room 3, aka, THE room. This was the room that we wanted. We were told it was the biggest and the best room during our tour of the unit several weeks earlier when we attended our childbirth class. Our friends had also just delivered their baby in that room exactly two weeks before and they confirmed its awesomeness. Turns out I was the only patient on the unit that night. 

I changed into a gown and got into bed at 1245. Becky checked my cervix for progress. They don’t normally admit a patient unless their cervix is dilated to a 4. I was a 2 at my last appointment a week before so I was hoping I was at least a 4 now. According to her, I was dilated to 3 and 80% effaced. I was a little disappointed and worried they would send me home. Becky asked me if I would like to go home for a while longer or stay and of course I said stay! I wasn’t giving up Room #3! =) 

Stay tuned for part two....

It's Been Awhile...

Hi!

(waves)

Remember me?

It's been awhile.

With an almost 10 week old who is very...spirited and fiery, blogging has definitely been pushed to the back burner. The way back burner. M is a doll baby most days, but requests a lot of attention and loves for her momma to hold and walk with her and of course entertain her. Add in the fact that she prefers to nap in my arms rather than anywhere else, well, that makes blogging, emailing or doing much of anything else for that matter, difficult to say the least. Thankfully, she is becoming more independent and interested in her surroundings, so I am slowly acquiring more "me" time during the day. I havent been very good at reading your blogs, much less commenting, but I am trying to catch up! Some very interesting, happy and/or challenging things have been happening to you, my bloggy loves, and I am eager to get caught up and back in touch with you!

A quick baby update:
M is smiling, cooing and laughing often throughout the day now. She hasnt mastered rolling over yet, but how could she, when she's always being held? So we're working on more tummy and playmat time. She learned how to spit and blow spit bubbles this past weekend. Not fun for mommy when Im trying to give her medication, but so adorable any other time. She's constantly chewing/sucking on something, be it her hand, my arm, daddy's fingers or her beloved Nuk paci. The drooling has also started. We have had a bout with thrush, a very mild case. She only had a couple of spots on her tongue, but thanks to my professional background, I knew exactly what it was and we caught it super early. We're both on meds for a week and Im very much hoping this kicks it. M was diagnosed with reflux when she was two weeks old. She's been on Zantac since, which has helped, but I have started a trial off of the Zantac to see if she really still needs it. Id like for her to only be taking medications if she truly needs them. So far, she's been doing great off of it.

She had her 2 month appt last week, complete with shots. No fun for mommy, but she handled them really well. I was able to breastfeed her during the injections and she only cried for about 30 seconds before going right back to eating. It was a great distraction and comfort measure for her and I highly recommend it to all of you breastfeeding mommas out there. She weighs almost 11 lbs and is just over 23 inches long. She's already grown out of so many of her clothing! Im so proud, but sad too. She's growing so quickly! We are cloth diapering and for the most part, love it! We have had a problem with a rash at night if she's wearing them. Im thinking it's either because she is going so long between changes at night or due to the detergent that we are using- Rocking Green, unscented. I spoke to a friend who recommended double stuffing the diapers at night since M soaks through one. Ill be trying that tonight.

We are prepping for Thanksgiving today. Im making a Pumpkin chocolate chip cake, a recipe I found here. Ive never made it before, but it looks and smells so good! I love all things pumpkin, so Thanksgiving just wouldnt be complete without a pumpkin dessert (or two!). I used the organic pumpkin that Becca sent me in my awesome care package. Im also making a chicken and green bean casserole that I found here. I cant believe Im not making anything from Pinterest! I did make two dinners this week that I found there. There were stellar! We are spending the holiday at a friends house with a few other couples and kids. I am excited, though I do wish we could be home with family. This is the second Thanksgiving in a row that we've missed at home. In fact, Ive only been home for two Thanksgivings in the last seven years. This was the "major" holiday that I always chose to work at the hospital so I could have Christmas off. We will be skyping with family tomorrow evening, so that will help with the homesickness. I think having a child now makes holidays that much more special and that much more difficult when we cant be with family. At least J will be home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! Woohoo!

What are all of you doing for Turkey Day? I hope you have a wonderful, laughter filled day! I am super jealous, but also relieved that I will be missing out on Black Friday yet again this year. Im pretty much finished with my Christmas shopping, so I dont need anything anyway, but I may cyber stalk a few of my favorite stores... =)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!