Dancer
12 years ago
Thursday, November 29, 2007
One down, dozens to go
Zachary has grown out of his first outfit! He has a cute "loved baby" blue onesie and hat outfit that we got for him at Birth and Beyond the day we left the hospital. I put it on him yesterday, and his hands were curled up against the mittens and his toes were jammed up in the booties. So even though he's still skinny enough to fit 2 or 3 of him inside the body of the outfit, he's gotten too long for it! We're so proud of our little string bean.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Dooby dooby due date
Zachary's finally full term today!
When I was pregnant, I complained about how there's this "myth" of the 9 month pregnancy (it's actually 40 weeks long, which is 10 months). I guess Zachary was listening to this myth as well and figured at 9 months it was time for him to make his appearance. I should be grateful to him though, because if the few days of discomfort I felt at 9 months were any indication of how the 10th month would be, it would have been a very long month...
We took Zachary in for a check-up yesterday to have him weighed and check for a possible eye infection. He was 6 lbs even -- so he's gaining well and the nursing seems to be working! And there's no eye infection -- it's just a clogged tear duct that will eventually resolve itself as he grows. In the meantime, we massage the tear duct with a warm compress to help him drain his tears.
Happy due date, little man! And keep on eating...we need to fatten you up so that I can start taking you out and showing you the world.
When I was pregnant, I complained about how there's this "myth" of the 9 month pregnancy (it's actually 40 weeks long, which is 10 months). I guess Zachary was listening to this myth as well and figured at 9 months it was time for him to make his appearance. I should be grateful to him though, because if the few days of discomfort I felt at 9 months were any indication of how the 10th month would be, it would have been a very long month...
We took Zachary in for a check-up yesterday to have him weighed and check for a possible eye infection. He was 6 lbs even -- so he's gaining well and the nursing seems to be working! And there's no eye infection -- it's just a clogged tear duct that will eventually resolve itself as he grows. In the meantime, we massage the tear duct with a warm compress to help him drain his tears.
Happy due date, little man! And keep on eating...we need to fatten you up so that I can start taking you out and showing you the world.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Happy 3 weeks!
Zachary's three weeks old today! And his actual due date is coming up next week! It's kind of funny how focused we were on his due date (November 27) for so long, and now it's finally coming up after we've already had him for nearly a month. I thought that I'd be working right up until his due date. Hah! I guess he showed me.
Zachary's still doing his favorite things: eating, sleeping, and going through diapers like nobody's business. He's also added new activities: fussing and crying (i.e. screaming like a banshee), mostly in the middle of the night. We're in the midst of weaning him from the bottle feedings, but we still give him a bottle (in addition to nursing) at night and that seems to settle him down a bit. During the day, he has a few more awake times but he still spends most of his time either nursing (every 1.5 - 2 hours) or sleeping.
My mom and stepdad arrived on Friday, so now we have more grandparents in the house! They are enchanted with their grandson (and keep commenting on how tiny and how beautiful he is) and are also really enjoying Cowboy. Cowboy is happy to finally get some attention again, and he's been a lucky dog because he gets extra walks with A-Mah and Opa now. He's also learning a bit of Mandarin and German -- which should come naturally to him since he is part Chow and part German Shepherd.
I've added a few more pictures from the last week, and I've started labeling each set by the date I post them. My mom also brought us a gift from my Da A-ie Wenmei (big auntie Wenmei -- my mom's older sister): a fancy digital camcorder! So now I might start posting videos too, as long as I can figure out how to do it.
Pictures: November 25
Zachary's still doing his favorite things: eating, sleeping, and going through diapers like nobody's business. He's also added new activities: fussing and crying (i.e. screaming like a banshee), mostly in the middle of the night. We're in the midst of weaning him from the bottle feedings, but we still give him a bottle (in addition to nursing) at night and that seems to settle him down a bit. During the day, he has a few more awake times but he still spends most of his time either nursing (every 1.5 - 2 hours) or sleeping.
My mom and stepdad arrived on Friday, so now we have more grandparents in the house! They are enchanted with their grandson (and keep commenting on how tiny and how beautiful he is) and are also really enjoying Cowboy. Cowboy is happy to finally get some attention again, and he's been a lucky dog because he gets extra walks with A-Mah and Opa now. He's also learning a bit of Mandarin and German -- which should come naturally to him since he is part Chow and part German Shepherd.
I've added a few more pictures from the last week, and I've started labeling each set by the date I post them. My mom also brought us a gift from my Da A-ie Wenmei (big auntie Wenmei -- my mom's older sister): a fancy digital camcorder! So now I might start posting videos too, as long as I can figure out how to do it.
Pictures: November 25
Monday, November 19, 2007
2-week check-up
We had our 2-week check-up today to see how Zachary's weight gain is going, get his hearing tested and do his second PKU test. His least favorite thing is to be stripped naked and placed somewhere (such as a scale) without anyone touching him, but he survived it and even managed to shoot off the water pistol while on the scale. Our goal was to get him back to his birth weight (5 lbs 7 oz) and he passed with flying colors! He weighed 5 lbs 11 oz, so he's doing just great!
This also means that we can stop with the force-feeding triple play (nurse - bottle - pump every 3 hours) and start to wean him off the bottle. Once he's off the bottle, I won't have to pump after every feeding...and this would make the feedings much quicker. I might even manage to get a whole 2.5 hours of continuous sleep at some point!
Zachary also had his measurements done, and he's still a little guy. He's 19.25 inches long (10th percentile) and his head circumference is 34 cm (10th percentile). His weight puts him in the 5th percentile for newborns. So he's on the charts...but just barely. But he's doing well considering that he's still not even due for another week!
He ended up not having his hearing tested because the machine wouldn't work, so we'll do that at his 4-week check-up. He did have the PKU done, which was awful. They slice the bottom of his heel (and yes, the doctor even showed us how the blade slices rather than pokes, because a slice makes it bleed more) and squeeze a ridiculous amount of blood out onto five circles on a sheet of paper. I hope that anemia isn't included as one of the tests they do, because how could he not be anemic after losing that much blood? (Am I starting to sound like a frantic mother? I was ready to smack the doctor when I saw how much blood he was squeezing out.)
The doctor then stuck a band-aid on the cut and told me to take it off in 20 minutes. When I did, Zachary's heel started bleeding like crazy. I was in the middle of trying to change him and didn't know what to do as he kicked and got blood on everything. So I just picked him up half-dressed and held a damp towel to the cut to apply pressure. It finally stopped bleeding after about 15 minutes. No more PKUs for Zachary. Grrr.
Also, this morning Gramma Hill left for Colorado. We were all sad to see her go, because she's been a huge help and it's been really nice for her to spend so much time with Zachary. Hopefully she'll be back to see Zachary soon!
So that was our day, and it was a big one: Gramma left, we saw the doctor, and it was Mama's first full day home alone with Zachary. And we all survived, although no laundry got done and Mama and Daddy haven't eaten anything yet. Luckily, my mom and step-dad are arriving on Friday, so we'll have a couple more weeks of help and grandparents!
This also means that we can stop with the force-feeding triple play (nurse - bottle - pump every 3 hours) and start to wean him off the bottle. Once he's off the bottle, I won't have to pump after every feeding...and this would make the feedings much quicker. I might even manage to get a whole 2.5 hours of continuous sleep at some point!
Zachary also had his measurements done, and he's still a little guy. He's 19.25 inches long (10th percentile) and his head circumference is 34 cm (10th percentile). His weight puts him in the 5th percentile for newborns. So he's on the charts...but just barely. But he's doing well considering that he's still not even due for another week!
He ended up not having his hearing tested because the machine wouldn't work, so we'll do that at his 4-week check-up. He did have the PKU done, which was awful. They slice the bottom of his heel (and yes, the doctor even showed us how the blade slices rather than pokes, because a slice makes it bleed more) and squeeze a ridiculous amount of blood out onto five circles on a sheet of paper. I hope that anemia isn't included as one of the tests they do, because how could he not be anemic after losing that much blood? (Am I starting to sound like a frantic mother? I was ready to smack the doctor when I saw how much blood he was squeezing out.)
The doctor then stuck a band-aid on the cut and told me to take it off in 20 minutes. When I did, Zachary's heel started bleeding like crazy. I was in the middle of trying to change him and didn't know what to do as he kicked and got blood on everything. So I just picked him up half-dressed and held a damp towel to the cut to apply pressure. It finally stopped bleeding after about 15 minutes. No more PKUs for Zachary. Grrr.
Also, this morning Gramma Hill left for Colorado. We were all sad to see her go, because she's been a huge help and it's been really nice for her to spend so much time with Zachary. Hopefully she'll be back to see Zachary soon!
So that was our day, and it was a big one: Gramma left, we saw the doctor, and it was Mama's first full day home alone with Zachary. And we all survived, although no laundry got done and Mama and Daddy haven't eaten anything yet. Luckily, my mom and step-dad are arriving on Friday, so we'll have a couple more weeks of help and grandparents!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Zachary's second week
I've just added a few pictures from Zachary's second week. He's starting to fill out a bit, and he's got the funniest expressions! It's hard to catch them on camera, but I'm making my best effort.
He's also learned a couple new party tricks, his favorite one being the "water pistol" game. He waits until we have his diaper off, and then he lets fly and tries to douse as much around him as he can. He's quite adept at getting his onesie and the changing pad, but sometimes he even manages to get his hat, socks, and the sheets on Mama and Daddy's bed. I haven't managed to get any action shots of that yet, because I'm usually busy ducking out of the way or scrambling to cover things up.
Pictures: Zachary's second week
He's also learned a couple new party tricks, his favorite one being the "water pistol" game. He waits until we have his diaper off, and then he lets fly and tries to douse as much around him as he can. He's quite adept at getting his onesie and the changing pad, but sometimes he even manages to get his hat, socks, and the sheets on Mama and Daddy's bed. I haven't managed to get any action shots of that yet, because I'm usually busy ducking out of the way or scrambling to cover things up.
Pictures: Zachary's second week
Welcome back ankles
One of the many unexpected things about post partum recovery* for me has been the amount of fluid I retained due to the surgery and the IV during labor. I've been keeping close track of my weight during my pregnancy, so I know how much I weighed the day I went into labor and how much I weighed the day I was discharged from the hospital (2 days after Zachary's birth). It turns out I lost exactly ZERO pounds. In fact, I gained a half pound! I delivered a 5 -1/2 pound baby, but I still managed to GAIN weight??
Turns out I can thank the fluid retention. Insane amounts of fluid, making my feet, ankles, and legs swell up to proportions I've never seen before. I took some pictures of my feet, but I'm a little wary of posting them: fat little sausage toes smushed up against and digging trenches into chubby feet, melting into my non-existent ankles ("cankles" are a serious understatement in this case) and then onto my elephantine calves and knees. Not a pretty picture.
I talked to the doctor after the swelling was getting worse rather than better, and she said that it will take about two weeks to go down. It's a normal part of recovery, and I will find myself losing the fluid through night sweats and frequent bathroom breaks. And that's exactly what's been happening over the past week.
After several nights of sweating profusely all night long, I lost 4lbs of water weight in one night, 3lbs the next night. Since Tuesday, in fact, I've lost 12 lbs! That's got to be the easiest 12lbs I've ever lost in my life. It's kind of crazy how it happens, but I'm just so happy to have my ankles back! And I'm looking forward to wearing a pair of normal shoes again (last week I could barely squeeze my sausages into my enormously roomy wool clogs).
OK, enough about me. I'll be back soon to post more pictures of the little prince!
*To be fair, everything about post partum recovery has been unexpected to me because I never got that far in the pregnancy books. It's kind of like how I learned US history -- we never made it past WWII in the textbooks before the end of the school year, so the Vietnam and Korean wars were a mystery to me until I read about them on my own in college.
Turns out I can thank the fluid retention. Insane amounts of fluid, making my feet, ankles, and legs swell up to proportions I've never seen before. I took some pictures of my feet, but I'm a little wary of posting them: fat little sausage toes smushed up against and digging trenches into chubby feet, melting into my non-existent ankles ("cankles" are a serious understatement in this case) and then onto my elephantine calves and knees. Not a pretty picture.
I talked to the doctor after the swelling was getting worse rather than better, and she said that it will take about two weeks to go down. It's a normal part of recovery, and I will find myself losing the fluid through night sweats and frequent bathroom breaks. And that's exactly what's been happening over the past week.
After several nights of sweating profusely all night long, I lost 4lbs of water weight in one night, 3lbs the next night. Since Tuesday, in fact, I've lost 12 lbs! That's got to be the easiest 12lbs I've ever lost in my life. It's kind of crazy how it happens, but I'm just so happy to have my ankles back! And I'm looking forward to wearing a pair of normal shoes again (last week I could barely squeeze my sausages into my enormously roomy wool clogs).
OK, enough about me. I'll be back soon to post more pictures of the little prince!
*To be fair, everything about post partum recovery has been unexpected to me because I never got that far in the pregnancy books. It's kind of like how I learned US history -- we never made it past WWII in the textbooks before the end of the school year, so the Vietnam and Korean wars were a mystery to me until I read about them on my own in college.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Weight watchers
We had Zachary's second pediatric appointment/weigh-in today. We've been watching his weight closely because he lost a fair amount of his birth weight. He was 5 lbs 7 oz at birth, 5 lbs 0.6 oz when we left the hospital last Tuesday, and 4 lbs 13 oz at our first pediatric appointment on Thursday. We've been following a pretty intense schedule of nursing, followed by bottle feeding to supplement, followed by pumping (to get the milk for the bottles). This routine has been taking between 1.5 and 2 hrs each time, and we do it every 3-4 hours.
Tiring as it is, it seems to be working. Today he weighed 5 lbs 3 oz, which means he gained 6 oz in five days! We have another follow-up next Monday, and hopefully he will have gained another 4 oz by then -- thus reaching his birth weight. We were told to vary our feeding routine a bit and lighten up on the nursing but increase the number of feedings and pumping. Nursing is very strenuous for him and he's just too young to be able to handle it, so our goal is to fatten him up for a bit to give him the energy to go to full-time nursing eventually.
We were also told that we need to put him on house arrest -- just like his mama was for the last five weeks of her pregnancy. Since he's still so small, we need to be careful about keeping him healthy. We're not to take him out (other than for doctor appointments) or have many people around him until he's at least 6 weeks old, so he won't be debuting until mid-December. Poor guy -- so anxious to get here early, and now he's not allowed to meet anyone until three weeks after his original due date!
Regardless, we're so happy that he's gaining weight and that our round-the-clock feeding seems to be working! Now if we could just shave a bit of time off of the routine so that we get a bit more rest between cycles. I'll have to put my analyst hat on to see where I can gain efficiencies in the process...
Tiring as it is, it seems to be working. Today he weighed 5 lbs 3 oz, which means he gained 6 oz in five days! We have another follow-up next Monday, and hopefully he will have gained another 4 oz by then -- thus reaching his birth weight. We were told to vary our feeding routine a bit and lighten up on the nursing but increase the number of feedings and pumping. Nursing is very strenuous for him and he's just too young to be able to handle it, so our goal is to fatten him up for a bit to give him the energy to go to full-time nursing eventually.
We were also told that we need to put him on house arrest -- just like his mama was for the last five weeks of her pregnancy. Since he's still so small, we need to be careful about keeping him healthy. We're not to take him out (other than for doctor appointments) or have many people around him until he's at least 6 weeks old, so he won't be debuting until mid-December. Poor guy -- so anxious to get here early, and now he's not allowed to meet anyone until three weeks after his original due date!
Regardless, we're so happy that he's gaining weight and that our round-the-clock feeding seems to be working! Now if we could just shave a bit of time off of the routine so that we get a bit more rest between cycles. I'll have to put my analyst hat on to see where I can gain efficiencies in the process...
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Zachary's first week
Zachary will be one week old tomorrow, so I figure it's time to finally put up some more pictures. I can't believe it's already been a week since he was born...and I also can't believe it's only been a week since he was born! It's incredible how dramatically our lives have changed in such a short time, yet how "right" and natural it feels. We are definitely still learning how to be a family together (and we finally introduced Cowboy to Zachary to complete the picture), but every moment is amazing.
Pictures: Zachary's first week
Pictures: Zachary's first week
New links to pictures
I've added a new set of links to the left-hand column of this page so that it's easy for people to get directly to the picture sets on Flickr. The first link will take you to the page that shows all of the babyhill photo sets. The subsequent links will take you to the "details" page of each specific set. After the main link ("all babyhill collections"), the most recent pictures will be posted at the top of the list. Hopefully adding the links will help you find what you are looking for!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Birth story
Now that I've managed to get about 8 hours of sleep in (not all at once, of course), I feel completely refreshed and ready to post our birth story! (See, I knew those years of all-nighters at MIT, architecture school and as a consultant would come in handy at some point...)
Just a warning: This post might be a bit too much information for people who aren't interested in the nitty-gritty details of labor and delivery, so feel free to stop reading now! Don't worry though, the pictures at the end are relatively tame.
As you know, I posted on Saturday afternoon describing how funny I was feeling. Apparently, I was in labor already and managed to skip that whole "hours and hours of early labor building up to active labor" part. We finally decided to call the doctor on Saturday evening when Chris commented that my contractions were lasting for a long time and coming pretty frequently. I starting timing them and realized they were 45 - 90 seconds long, at intervals of 2 - 5 minutes. I called the doctor and he told us to go to triage.
In triage, they determined that I was still only 2cm dilated and 70% effaced, but my contractions were very strong and fast so they were going to admit me. We moved to a birthing suite in Labor & Delivery, where they monitored me for awhile in bed before finally letting me use the mobile monitor so that I could move around to manage the pain. I bounced on a birthing ball, paced around the room, and rocked in the glider as I tried to breathe through the contractions. Since I am a relatively quiet person by nature, Chris and I were curious how I'd be in labor - quiet or vocal. Turns out I'm rather vocal.
Chris was watching the contractions on the monitor and started naming the big ones after mountains: "Oh honey, you just climbed K2! And there's Everest! Whew, you made it up Denali!" He would tell me when I had a 14er (a class of mountains that are all over 14,000 ft tall -- climbing one is referred to as "bagging a 14er"), which meant the contraction went off the top of the chart and stayed off for awhile before coming back down. I was bagging 14ers left and right and I was in a lot of pain. The next time the nurse checked my cervix, she determined that the baby was posterior (facing up instead of down) which was causing severe back labor. Since I broke my lower back and cracked my pelvis in 2003, my OB had already warned me that any back labor would probably be excruciating, and she was right. Prior to labor, I wondered if it would be more painful to be in labor or to break my back. I now know that being in back labor is just like breaking my back...every 2-3 minutes.
I moaned and groaned and rocked and bounced my way through about 6 hours of labor but I'd only dilated to 4cm and wasn't progressing. At that point I gave in and said I'd like an epidural because I was nauseous and exhausted from the pain and my 14er contractions were coming right on top of one another with no breaks. The nurse sent for the anesthesiologist -- who was in surgery. The back-up was also in surgery, so they called for the 3rd in line, who had to drive into the hospital from home. He made it about an hour later, but when they hooked me up they found that my blood pressure was too low and they were worried that I would not be able to tolerate the epidural. They gave me a low dosage to help take the edge off, and I was finally able to lie down for awhile. Although I could still feel every contraction and had to breathe through them to cope, I wasn't getting sick or light-headed anymore.
After about an hour, they checked my cervix again and saw that I still hadn't progressed past 4 cm. The doctor decided to break my waters to see if that would help, and it sure did! My contractions got even harder and faster (I must have climbed a hundred mountain ranges by the end of the night!), and I was dilating much more quickly. However, the baby started distressing (heart rate was decelerating dramatically) after each contraction. They were concerned that the cord was being compressed, so they filled my uterus back up with fluid! I didn't even know that was an option. They also added an internal monitor so that they could monitor the baby more accurately, as well as something that monitored the exact strength of my contractions. So now, I had at least three tubes coming out of me (fetal monitor, uterine contraction monitor, tube to keep uterus filled with saline) plus the epidural and a host of other wires and tubes. So much for a "natural" birth!
After a couple more hours, I was dilated to 7cm and the epidural had completely worn off. The baby was still posterior, and now I couldn't leave the bed to walk around because of all of the monitors. They called the anesthesiologist back and he gave me another light epidural. Again, I could feel the contractions clearly, but the pain was manageable. I continued to labor, but each time I had a contraction, the baby's heart rate decelerated to below 50. They couldn't figure out why and were getting concerned. They knew that I wanted to do a vaginal birth, but at this point the doctor was warning me that if the baby's heart rate continued to be so unstable they would need to do a c-section.
I have to say, the doctors and nurses were extremely supportive of my desire to do a vaginal birth. They stayed with me and let me continue to labor as long as I could, and the second I dilated to 10cm they had me start pushing. At this point, I'd labored for over 12 hours. They had me push for awhile and the baby was descended to +2, but it just wouldn't progress any further. The heart rate kept plummeting and it was taking longer and longer for the baby to recover. Finally, the doctor apologized and said that he needed to get me to the OR immediately. He said that we'd tried everything and he'd let me go as long as possible, but it was too dangerous to let me labor any longer.
Everything was a whirlwind after that. I was wheeled into OR, Chris was given scrubs, and I was surrounded by doctors and nurses as they prepped me. I have to say, I was completely unprepared emotionally for this. Even through the pain of labor, my spirits were high and I felt like I was managing things pretty well. But I completely broke down when I realized I was having to do a c-section. Chris was upset too as he held my hand and told me how proud he was of me and how we would be just fine and everything was going to go well. I just sobbed as I was wheeled into OR.
The c-section was a blur -- I could feel tremendous pulling and pressure but not really any pain. As they were operating, every time I felt a tug I'd say, "Is the baby out? Is it OK? What is it? Is it a boy or girl?" When they finally got him out and told me he's a boy, I started sobbing again. I watched them take him over to the bassinet area to work on him, and I was freaking out because he wasn't crying. I kept saying, "Why isn't he crying? Why isn't he crying?" and the nurses kept assuring me that he was fine, they just needed to help him start breathing. It seemed to me that it took a LONG time for him to breathe on his own. I could also see as they lifted his arms up and dropped them to test his responsiveness, and they would just flop down like doll arms. I was so scared, but they told me that he was going to be OK and not to worry.
At the same time, I was feeling very disoriented from the medication. I was dizzy and nauseous and shaking uncontrollably, and they kept adjusting the meds to try to help me stabilize. I also couldn't keep my eyes open -- I felt like I was drunk to the point of passing out. When I finally heard little Zachary crying, I was so happy and relieved. But I was so out of it from the meds that I couldn't function. Chris has pictures of me with tears running down my face, a smile, and my eyes closed because I couldn't keep them open.
They finally finished stitching me up and Zachary and I were stable enough to be moved. We were moved back to our birthing suite, where the nurse continued to work with Zachary, giving him a bath and taking his vital signs. Chris says we were in the birthing suite for a couple hours after delivery, but I can barely remember that time at all. We were then moved to our post-partum room, and I can't remember that either.
Zachary was born at 6:49AM on Sunday. We were in our post-partum room by 10 AM, and for most of that day I was pretty disoriented and confused from the surgery and the medication. It was a really tough time -- I'd see Zachary and know he was my baby, but I just couldn't put it all together in my brain. It was scary to me, but I couldn't even focus long enough to understand what was going on.
Finally in the middle of the night on Sunday, my head started clearing up (I was off the narcotics and on a lighter pain med) and that's when BANG! it hit me. I fell completely head over heels in love with my baby boy. I managed to struggle my way out of bed (ever try to get out of bed with two layers of stitches and one layer of staples holding your abdomen together?) so that I could take him out of his bassinet. I put him in bed with me and just lay there holding him and crying.
So that's my rather long-winded birth story. It wasn't what we planned or expected and there were some really difficult parts, but it was all so worth it! Zachary did have to spend one night in the infant care nursery because he was having trouble regulating his body temperature, and the poor little guy had to get his heel poked for a blood sugar test every 2 hours, but he's just fine now. To see some pictures from labor and delivery, click on the link below.
We are working on breastfeeding now and he's doing very well. The doctors said it might take awhile for him to completely catch on because he's premature and didn't have time to develop the suck/swallow reflex before he was born. He's finally starting to latch correctly, and I'm pumping every 2-3 hours to make sure we have enough milk for him in case he doesn't get what he needs from me directly. We're working on getting his weight up (he was down to 4lbs 13oz at our first check-up yesterday) and we hope that he'll be back over 5lbs soon. He's considered premature until he passes his due date (November 27) so we have to be a bit careful with him, but the pediatrician said that he's a very healthy baby and looks just great.
He's a strong, observant, sweet little boy and each day with him is just more and more amazing. I can't believe we brought this little miracle into the world!
Pictures: Labor and delivery
Just a warning: This post might be a bit too much information for people who aren't interested in the nitty-gritty details of labor and delivery, so feel free to stop reading now! Don't worry though, the pictures at the end are relatively tame.
As you know, I posted on Saturday afternoon describing how funny I was feeling. Apparently, I was in labor already and managed to skip that whole "hours and hours of early labor building up to active labor" part. We finally decided to call the doctor on Saturday evening when Chris commented that my contractions were lasting for a long time and coming pretty frequently. I starting timing them and realized they were 45 - 90 seconds long, at intervals of 2 - 5 minutes. I called the doctor and he told us to go to triage.
In triage, they determined that I was still only 2cm dilated and 70% effaced, but my contractions were very strong and fast so they were going to admit me. We moved to a birthing suite in Labor & Delivery, where they monitored me for awhile in bed before finally letting me use the mobile monitor so that I could move around to manage the pain. I bounced on a birthing ball, paced around the room, and rocked in the glider as I tried to breathe through the contractions. Since I am a relatively quiet person by nature, Chris and I were curious how I'd be in labor - quiet or vocal. Turns out I'm rather vocal.
Chris was watching the contractions on the monitor and started naming the big ones after mountains: "Oh honey, you just climbed K2! And there's Everest! Whew, you made it up Denali!" He would tell me when I had a 14er (a class of mountains that are all over 14,000 ft tall -- climbing one is referred to as "bagging a 14er"), which meant the contraction went off the top of the chart and stayed off for awhile before coming back down. I was bagging 14ers left and right and I was in a lot of pain. The next time the nurse checked my cervix, she determined that the baby was posterior (facing up instead of down) which was causing severe back labor. Since I broke my lower back and cracked my pelvis in 2003, my OB had already warned me that any back labor would probably be excruciating, and she was right. Prior to labor, I wondered if it would be more painful to be in labor or to break my back. I now know that being in back labor is just like breaking my back...every 2-3 minutes.
I moaned and groaned and rocked and bounced my way through about 6 hours of labor but I'd only dilated to 4cm and wasn't progressing. At that point I gave in and said I'd like an epidural because I was nauseous and exhausted from the pain and my 14er contractions were coming right on top of one another with no breaks. The nurse sent for the anesthesiologist -- who was in surgery. The back-up was also in surgery, so they called for the 3rd in line, who had to drive into the hospital from home. He made it about an hour later, but when they hooked me up they found that my blood pressure was too low and they were worried that I would not be able to tolerate the epidural. They gave me a low dosage to help take the edge off, and I was finally able to lie down for awhile. Although I could still feel every contraction and had to breathe through them to cope, I wasn't getting sick or light-headed anymore.
After about an hour, they checked my cervix again and saw that I still hadn't progressed past 4 cm. The doctor decided to break my waters to see if that would help, and it sure did! My contractions got even harder and faster (I must have climbed a hundred mountain ranges by the end of the night!), and I was dilating much more quickly. However, the baby started distressing (heart rate was decelerating dramatically) after each contraction. They were concerned that the cord was being compressed, so they filled my uterus back up with fluid! I didn't even know that was an option. They also added an internal monitor so that they could monitor the baby more accurately, as well as something that monitored the exact strength of my contractions. So now, I had at least three tubes coming out of me (fetal monitor, uterine contraction monitor, tube to keep uterus filled with saline) plus the epidural and a host of other wires and tubes. So much for a "natural" birth!
After a couple more hours, I was dilated to 7cm and the epidural had completely worn off. The baby was still posterior, and now I couldn't leave the bed to walk around because of all of the monitors. They called the anesthesiologist back and he gave me another light epidural. Again, I could feel the contractions clearly, but the pain was manageable. I continued to labor, but each time I had a contraction, the baby's heart rate decelerated to below 50. They couldn't figure out why and were getting concerned. They knew that I wanted to do a vaginal birth, but at this point the doctor was warning me that if the baby's heart rate continued to be so unstable they would need to do a c-section.
I have to say, the doctors and nurses were extremely supportive of my desire to do a vaginal birth. They stayed with me and let me continue to labor as long as I could, and the second I dilated to 10cm they had me start pushing. At this point, I'd labored for over 12 hours. They had me push for awhile and the baby was descended to +2, but it just wouldn't progress any further. The heart rate kept plummeting and it was taking longer and longer for the baby to recover. Finally, the doctor apologized and said that he needed to get me to the OR immediately. He said that we'd tried everything and he'd let me go as long as possible, but it was too dangerous to let me labor any longer.
Everything was a whirlwind after that. I was wheeled into OR, Chris was given scrubs, and I was surrounded by doctors and nurses as they prepped me. I have to say, I was completely unprepared emotionally for this. Even through the pain of labor, my spirits were high and I felt like I was managing things pretty well. But I completely broke down when I realized I was having to do a c-section. Chris was upset too as he held my hand and told me how proud he was of me and how we would be just fine and everything was going to go well. I just sobbed as I was wheeled into OR.
The c-section was a blur -- I could feel tremendous pulling and pressure but not really any pain. As they were operating, every time I felt a tug I'd say, "Is the baby out? Is it OK? What is it? Is it a boy or girl?" When they finally got him out and told me he's a boy, I started sobbing again. I watched them take him over to the bassinet area to work on him, and I was freaking out because he wasn't crying. I kept saying, "Why isn't he crying? Why isn't he crying?" and the nurses kept assuring me that he was fine, they just needed to help him start breathing. It seemed to me that it took a LONG time for him to breathe on his own. I could also see as they lifted his arms up and dropped them to test his responsiveness, and they would just flop down like doll arms. I was so scared, but they told me that he was going to be OK and not to worry.
At the same time, I was feeling very disoriented from the medication. I was dizzy and nauseous and shaking uncontrollably, and they kept adjusting the meds to try to help me stabilize. I also couldn't keep my eyes open -- I felt like I was drunk to the point of passing out. When I finally heard little Zachary crying, I was so happy and relieved. But I was so out of it from the meds that I couldn't function. Chris has pictures of me with tears running down my face, a smile, and my eyes closed because I couldn't keep them open.
They finally finished stitching me up and Zachary and I were stable enough to be moved. We were moved back to our birthing suite, where the nurse continued to work with Zachary, giving him a bath and taking his vital signs. Chris says we were in the birthing suite for a couple hours after delivery, but I can barely remember that time at all. We were then moved to our post-partum room, and I can't remember that either.
Zachary was born at 6:49AM on Sunday. We were in our post-partum room by 10 AM, and for most of that day I was pretty disoriented and confused from the surgery and the medication. It was a really tough time -- I'd see Zachary and know he was my baby, but I just couldn't put it all together in my brain. It was scary to me, but I couldn't even focus long enough to understand what was going on.
Finally in the middle of the night on Sunday, my head started clearing up (I was off the narcotics and on a lighter pain med) and that's when BANG! it hit me. I fell completely head over heels in love with my baby boy. I managed to struggle my way out of bed (ever try to get out of bed with two layers of stitches and one layer of staples holding your abdomen together?) so that I could take him out of his bassinet. I put him in bed with me and just lay there holding him and crying.
So that's my rather long-winded birth story. It wasn't what we planned or expected and there were some really difficult parts, but it was all so worth it! Zachary did have to spend one night in the infant care nursery because he was having trouble regulating his body temperature, and the poor little guy had to get his heel poked for a blood sugar test every 2 hours, but he's just fine now. To see some pictures from labor and delivery, click on the link below.
We are working on breastfeeding now and he's doing very well. The doctors said it might take awhile for him to completely catch on because he's premature and didn't have time to develop the suck/swallow reflex before he was born. He's finally starting to latch correctly, and I'm pumping every 2-3 hours to make sure we have enough milk for him in case he doesn't get what he needs from me directly. We're working on getting his weight up (he was down to 4lbs 13oz at our first check-up yesterday) and we hope that he'll be back over 5lbs soon. He's considered premature until he passes his due date (November 27) so we have to be a bit careful with him, but the pediatrician said that he's a very healthy baby and looks just great.
He's a strong, observant, sweet little boy and each day with him is just more and more amazing. I can't believe we brought this little miracle into the world!
Pictures: Labor and delivery
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
baby zachary!
Well, I guess my post from Saturday was a bit of an understatement. Zachary James was born at 6:49 AM on Sunday, November 4th! He was 5lbs 7oz and 18-1/4" long -- a tall and skinny boy! He was a bit early, but he's doing just fine and is already eating like a champ. He's super sweet and mellow and we are having a lot of fun getting to know him and learning how to be a mama and daddy. We were discharged from the hospital this evening and have been scrambling to get the house ready (we were ready with his nursery upstairs, but after an emergency c-section, we've had to change our plans and move into the guest bedroom downstairs). Bob and Kelly are here, which is a huge help as we get settled in.
I haven't had much sleep in the past few days, so I'm going to keep this post short. We have a few pictures posted already, and I'll post more when I have time.
Pictures:
Web Nursery official hospital photos
Flickr album: "Welcome Zachary James"
Now I have to go spoil my baby boy!
I haven't had much sleep in the past few days, so I'm going to keep this post short. We have a few pictures posted already, and I'll post more when I have time.
Pictures:
Web Nursery official hospital photos
Flickr album: "Welcome Zachary James"
Now I have to go spoil my baby boy!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The difference one day makes
Mama's toes
Baby's head
- Yesterday: Chipped red polish from month-old pedicure.
- Today: Fresh new mauve polish from my last pre-baby pedicure, ready for show time.
Baby's head
- Yesterday: I'm sure it's somewhere in there.
- Today: I know exactly where it is. It's really low in my pelvis, pushing up against my bladder.
- Yesterday: Feels like baby is "mooning", balling up, or stretching out on all sides at once. Not painful, just a general tight feeling across the top and front of belly. Here, touch my belly -- it's like I've got rock hard abs.
- Today: Feels like baby is trying to make a break for it. Moderately painful, low and deep pressure radiating from my pelvis around to my lower back. Don't talk to me. Don't touch me.
- Yesterday: Feel big and unwieldy, but still relatively mobile. Feels like baby and belly are growing by the second; somewhat concerned that belly will pop like a balloon. Slow down...I can't walk that quickly.
- Today: Feels like I'm carrying a bowling ball between my legs. You go on, I think I'm just going to sit here for a bit...
- Yesterday: Excited, looking forward to things moving along at a nice reasonable pace, happy that risk of pre-term delivery is over. Let's make sure to get all of the last minute tasks done so that we're ready for the baby!
- Today: All right, let's do it. I'm ready. I don't care if the nursery is done. We have the bed and some diapers, we'll survive.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Engaged for action
We just had our weekly NST and check-up, and it looks like babyhill is starting to get ready for his/her big debut! I'm dilated to 1 cm, 60% effaced, and the baby has engaged to the -1 station. This all means that labor could start anytime between now and 3 weeks from now...which we already knew. But at least we know things are moving at a nice reasonable pace, unlike the stressful pre-term pace we were having before.
My doctor also gave me a prescription for knee-hi compression stockings. Yay! Not only will my insurance cover a large portion of the cost (those little things are PRICEY...especially considering how unattractive they are!), but now I can go back to wearing my low-rise maternity pants without having to hitch them up every two seconds. At this point in my pregnancy, the low-rise pants are much more comfy than the full-belly pants because they put less pressure on the baby.
On the way home from the hospital, a warning light switched on in the car and the screen said, "Airbag fault". It seemed to us that a defective airbag is a particularly bad thing to have when one is 9+ months pregnant, so we called the dealer to see if we could get the car serviced. Initially we were told that they would try to fit us in next week, but once Chris explained that his wife is pregnant and ready to pop any second, they quickly offered to take the car today and provide a loaner car until my car is ready. Neat how this pregnancy thing works!
So now I have a zippy little Golf (I requested it, even though they wanted to give me the higher end Jetta) to play in for the weekend. I love it! And Chris has installed the extra infant car seat base into his car in case we need to head to the hospital before I get my car back.
We're ready to go! Now it's just a waiting game...
My doctor also gave me a prescription for knee-hi compression stockings. Yay! Not only will my insurance cover a large portion of the cost (those little things are PRICEY...especially considering how unattractive they are!), but now I can go back to wearing my low-rise maternity pants without having to hitch them up every two seconds. At this point in my pregnancy, the low-rise pants are much more comfy than the full-belly pants because they put less pressure on the baby.
On the way home from the hospital, a warning light switched on in the car and the screen said, "Airbag fault". It seemed to us that a defective airbag is a particularly bad thing to have when one is 9+ months pregnant, so we called the dealer to see if we could get the car serviced. Initially we were told that they would try to fit us in next week, but once Chris explained that his wife is pregnant and ready to pop any second, they quickly offered to take the car today and provide a loaner car until my car is ready. Neat how this pregnancy thing works!
So now I have a zippy little Golf (I requested it, even though they wanted to give me the higher end Jetta) to play in for the weekend. I love it! And Chris has installed the extra infant car seat base into his car in case we need to head to the hospital before I get my car back.
We're ready to go! Now it's just a waiting game...
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