Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Logan's Birth Story - Kelly's version
Logan D.
June 10, 2008
8 lbs. 4 oz.
20 inches
Monday, June 9th, 2008
8:00 a.m. Lacie’s bag of water breaks!
11:14 a.m. Lacie calls her doula, Kelly, to tell her that she’s pretty sure her bag of water has broken.
12:00 p.m. Kelly calls to check in with Lacie as she leaves Beloit; Shawn picks up the phone and says that Lacie is on the phone with the Midwife, Rose.
12:45 p.m. Lacie and Kelly speak again by phone. At noon, contractions were between 3-8 minutes apart. The Midwife told Lacie that as soon as the contractions become regular, she should go in to the hospital for her IV dose of antibiotics. At the latest, they’d like to see her by 4:00 p.m., and will try to “hold off” on augmenting labor with Pitocin until 10:00 p.m. Lacie’s contractions have now stopped.
1:45 p.m. Kelly arrives at Shawn and Lacie’s house. Shawn has just arrived home from the store- having just bought more fresh pineapple. Ethan is excitedly running around while eating bits of his lunch.
2:45 p.m. Kelly suggests that Shawn and Lacie try some manual nipple stimulation to naturally bring the contractions back.
3:30 p.m. Lacie reports that her contractions have intensified and have become more regular. Lacie, Shawn and Kelly gather bags and organize for the trips for Ethan’s drop-off, then the hospital.
4:30 p.m. Lacie and Shawn drop Ethan off at their friend’s house.
4:55 p.m. Lacie and Shawn arrive at Alexian Brothers Medical Center, with Kelly following. Lacie walks through the parking garage and into the hospital like a woman with a mission!
5:02 p.m. Nurse Haley guides Lacie and Shawn into Room 1- the room with the tub! Lacie thrilled with this room assignment.
5:12 p.m. Midwife Rose arrives and introduces herself.
6:05 p.m. After paperwork is signed and IV is started, Rose arrives to perform the first check on Lacie. 3 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced and at -3 station. Way to go, Lacie!
Rose recommends nipple stimulation to get labor moving along more consistently, and Shawn and Lacie are given privacy.
6:50 p.m. Lacie rocks on the birth ball while Shawn sits behind her for support. (Lacie’s own mix of music plays in the background) This position works incredibly well for a while.
7:30 p.m. Shift Change! Nurse Stevie comes on for the night shift.
8:15 p.m. Nurse Stevie and Midwife Rose suggest Lacie walk the halls for a while. Lacie and Shawn do a long lap, but Lacie- and baby- do NOT like this! Contractions slow.
8:50 p.m.-
9:30 p.m. Lacie, now sitting in recliner- has been relaxing, taking deep, cleansing breaths for some time. Shawn pulls up a chair next to the recliner, and turns on the T.V. Lacie adamantly states that this is not the time for Shawn to watch sports. He pauses on CSI Miami and turns to Lacie, who agrees that this is fine. Aah, laboring to crime scene investigations!
Shawn and Kelly massage Lacie’s arms and legs. Lacie is having regular, fairly strong contractions again, but is able to rest for a few minutes with eyes closed in between each.
9:40 p.m. Lacie says she is really tired. Shawn continues to stroke Lacie’s arm gently as Kelly covers her with a light sheet and raises her feet onto a padded footstool.
9:50 p.m. Lacie’s contractions are now consistently 5 minutes apart, and are quite intense.
10:10 p.m. Midwife Rose checks Lacie’s progression; Lacie is now 5 centimeters dilated, 80 % effaced and at -2 station.
10:30 p.m. Lacie returns to the birth ball, while leaning on the bed. Shawn sits behind her and strokes her back rhythmically. Shawn uses “nukkles” on Lacie’s back softly for a while. Soon, she requests he use only his hands again.
Lacie continues to relax on the birth ball- leaning both back onto Shawn at times, and forward onto the bed and resting- for over an hour.
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
12:18 a.m.-
12:55 a.m. Music continues to play in the background. Lacie gets restless and says she needs to change positions. She stands up between contractions, and Kelly suggests she drape over Shawn’s shoulders and do a “slow dance” motion.
This slows contractions. Lacie moves quickly to sit on the edge of the bed and leans over Shawn, who kneels on the floor. This position works better, but Lacie REALLY wants to get into the tub if she can.
1:00 a.m. Midwife Rose comes to check Lacie before entering the tub. Progress: 6 centimeters dilated, 90 % effaced and -1 station. Lacie’s reaction, which is priceless: “Already? Cool…” (This is not something often heard from women in active labor!)
The tub seems to take an eternity to fill. Lacie’s anticipation- and tension- rise. Kelly gently strokes the tight muscles of her brow and tight shoulders during contractions to encourage these areas to relax. Lacie breathes through her contractions beautifully.
1:38 a.m. Lacie and Shawn enter the tub. “God, that feels awesome…” Lacie says, as she slides in opposite Shawn. Shawn massages Lacie’s legs and feet. Kelly puts a cold damp cloth on Lacie’s forehead.
Almost immediately, Lacie is rocked by an intense contraction and cannot get comfortable. She cries out with the intensity, and Kelly works with her to lower her cry, to moan deeply. This helps to control the intensity for the remainder of the contraction.
Lacie lowers herself to the lowest level of the tub so that her belly can be submerged under the water. With the next contraction, she shakily begins to moan, then blurts out “STOP TOUCH!”
1:58 a.m. Lacie has gotten very uncomfortable in the tub, and has stated a few times that she “wants to be done” and is “too tired” to continue. She gets out of the tub quickly with the help of Shawn, Kelly and a nurse relieving Stevie who is on a break.
2:15 a.m.-
2:45 a.m. Lacie is very shaky- though HOT from the steamy tub- and is not comfortable with any positions for laboring (all typical of the “transition” stage). There are spells of crying and not wanting to continue… but this passes.
2:45 a.m. Lacie drapes her upper body over Kelly’s for a few contractions, while Kelly tells her that this WILL pass and she WILL do it. Lacie has come so far!
Position change: Lacie sits on the birth ball again, rocking side-to-side, while Shawn rubs her back.
3:00 a.m. Lacie wants to try another position. She tries a side-lying position, which helps Nurse Stevie to get good EFM and Doppler readings. However, although this is a nice position for Lacie to rest in, it is a poor position for having contractions. As soon as Stevie has a good reading completed, Lacie sits up and goes to the bathroom.
3:11 a.m. “I’m feeling pushy!” Lacie says from the bathroom…. Nurse Stevie pages the Midwife, Rose to come to the room right away.
3:15 a.m. Lacie asks to be checked; she is now 10 centimeters dilated, 100 % effaced and at 0 station! “Can I push?” Lacie asks Rose, who replies, “whenever you are ready and feel that urge…” Lacie gets up to change positions, everyone watches as her intuition guides her.
Lacie complains of back pressure and pain. She leans over the birth ball balanced on the chair and sways back and forth, with Kelly’s hands guiding her hips. Kelly gently does a double hip squeeze to alleviate the pressure- which feels good to Lacie. Shawn gently strokes Lacie’s arms in a downward motion and tells her how great she is doing.
Lacie quickly shifts to a squatting position and makes grunty, pushy noises. Rose gets low to the floor with a special lamp and looks to see signs of the baby…
3:30 a.m. Lacie announces- as she moves quickly in the direction of the bathroom (pausing for a contraction)- that she needs to go to the bathroom. Rose and Kelly validate from the doorway that the toilet is a great position for the pushing stage, while Nurse Stevie enters to check the baby’s vitals.
Lacie starts to cry out loudly, but Shawn helps her to focus by mimicking her, then moaning deeply, encouraging Lacie to do the same. Lacie soon is moaning lowly through contractions with Shawn, and breathing a few deep breaths in between.
3:36 a.m. Lacie moves off the toilet and wants to rest her tired legs on the bed. Rose suggests the squat bar, and lowers the bottom of the bed. Lacie inches down towards the bottom edge of the raised section, grabs on to the squat bar, and heaves herself up- like a pro! She pushes thoroughly through a few contractions, then rests her bottom on the edge of the bed again.
3:42 a.m. Lacie adjusts herself into a supported semi-squat, with Shawn and Kelly on each side of her while she holds her knees and pushes. Lacie reminds Rose that Shawn wants to catch!
3:45 a.m. Rose directs Shawn to grab a pair of gloves-quickly- and come to her right side, as Kelly encourages Lacie to reach down and touch her baby’s head.
3:47 a.m. Happy Birthday, Logan! Great catching, dad!!
(Musical accompaniment at moment of birth: RENT Soundtrack)
June 10, 2008
8 lbs. 4 oz.
20 inches
Monday, June 9th, 2008
8:00 a.m. Lacie’s bag of water breaks!
11:14 a.m. Lacie calls her doula, Kelly, to tell her that she’s pretty sure her bag of water has broken.
12:00 p.m. Kelly calls to check in with Lacie as she leaves Beloit; Shawn picks up the phone and says that Lacie is on the phone with the Midwife, Rose.
12:45 p.m. Lacie and Kelly speak again by phone. At noon, contractions were between 3-8 minutes apart. The Midwife told Lacie that as soon as the contractions become regular, she should go in to the hospital for her IV dose of antibiotics. At the latest, they’d like to see her by 4:00 p.m., and will try to “hold off” on augmenting labor with Pitocin until 10:00 p.m. Lacie’s contractions have now stopped.
1:45 p.m. Kelly arrives at Shawn and Lacie’s house. Shawn has just arrived home from the store- having just bought more fresh pineapple. Ethan is excitedly running around while eating bits of his lunch.
2:45 p.m. Kelly suggests that Shawn and Lacie try some manual nipple stimulation to naturally bring the contractions back.
3:30 p.m. Lacie reports that her contractions have intensified and have become more regular. Lacie, Shawn and Kelly gather bags and organize for the trips for Ethan’s drop-off, then the hospital.
4:30 p.m. Lacie and Shawn drop Ethan off at their friend’s house.
4:55 p.m. Lacie and Shawn arrive at Alexian Brothers Medical Center, with Kelly following. Lacie walks through the parking garage and into the hospital like a woman with a mission!
5:02 p.m. Nurse Haley guides Lacie and Shawn into Room 1- the room with the tub! Lacie thrilled with this room assignment.
5:12 p.m. Midwife Rose arrives and introduces herself.
6:05 p.m. After paperwork is signed and IV is started, Rose arrives to perform the first check on Lacie. 3 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced and at -3 station. Way to go, Lacie!
Rose recommends nipple stimulation to get labor moving along more consistently, and Shawn and Lacie are given privacy.
6:50 p.m. Lacie rocks on the birth ball while Shawn sits behind her for support. (Lacie’s own mix of music plays in the background) This position works incredibly well for a while.
7:30 p.m. Shift Change! Nurse Stevie comes on for the night shift.
8:15 p.m. Nurse Stevie and Midwife Rose suggest Lacie walk the halls for a while. Lacie and Shawn do a long lap, but Lacie- and baby- do NOT like this! Contractions slow.
8:50 p.m.-
9:30 p.m. Lacie, now sitting in recliner- has been relaxing, taking deep, cleansing breaths for some time. Shawn pulls up a chair next to the recliner, and turns on the T.V. Lacie adamantly states that this is not the time for Shawn to watch sports. He pauses on CSI Miami and turns to Lacie, who agrees that this is fine. Aah, laboring to crime scene investigations!
Shawn and Kelly massage Lacie’s arms and legs. Lacie is having regular, fairly strong contractions again, but is able to rest for a few minutes with eyes closed in between each.
9:40 p.m. Lacie says she is really tired. Shawn continues to stroke Lacie’s arm gently as Kelly covers her with a light sheet and raises her feet onto a padded footstool.
9:50 p.m. Lacie’s contractions are now consistently 5 minutes apart, and are quite intense.
10:10 p.m. Midwife Rose checks Lacie’s progression; Lacie is now 5 centimeters dilated, 80 % effaced and at -2 station.
10:30 p.m. Lacie returns to the birth ball, while leaning on the bed. Shawn sits behind her and strokes her back rhythmically. Shawn uses “nukkles” on Lacie’s back softly for a while. Soon, she requests he use only his hands again.
Lacie continues to relax on the birth ball- leaning both back onto Shawn at times, and forward onto the bed and resting- for over an hour.
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
12:18 a.m.-
12:55 a.m. Music continues to play in the background. Lacie gets restless and says she needs to change positions. She stands up between contractions, and Kelly suggests she drape over Shawn’s shoulders and do a “slow dance” motion.
This slows contractions. Lacie moves quickly to sit on the edge of the bed and leans over Shawn, who kneels on the floor. This position works better, but Lacie REALLY wants to get into the tub if she can.
1:00 a.m. Midwife Rose comes to check Lacie before entering the tub. Progress: 6 centimeters dilated, 90 % effaced and -1 station. Lacie’s reaction, which is priceless: “Already? Cool…” (This is not something often heard from women in active labor!)
The tub seems to take an eternity to fill. Lacie’s anticipation- and tension- rise. Kelly gently strokes the tight muscles of her brow and tight shoulders during contractions to encourage these areas to relax. Lacie breathes through her contractions beautifully.
1:38 a.m. Lacie and Shawn enter the tub. “God, that feels awesome…” Lacie says, as she slides in opposite Shawn. Shawn massages Lacie’s legs and feet. Kelly puts a cold damp cloth on Lacie’s forehead.
Almost immediately, Lacie is rocked by an intense contraction and cannot get comfortable. She cries out with the intensity, and Kelly works with her to lower her cry, to moan deeply. This helps to control the intensity for the remainder of the contraction.
Lacie lowers herself to the lowest level of the tub so that her belly can be submerged under the water. With the next contraction, she shakily begins to moan, then blurts out “STOP TOUCH!”
1:58 a.m. Lacie has gotten very uncomfortable in the tub, and has stated a few times that she “wants to be done” and is “too tired” to continue. She gets out of the tub quickly with the help of Shawn, Kelly and a nurse relieving Stevie who is on a break.
2:15 a.m.-
2:45 a.m. Lacie is very shaky- though HOT from the steamy tub- and is not comfortable with any positions for laboring (all typical of the “transition” stage). There are spells of crying and not wanting to continue… but this passes.
2:45 a.m. Lacie drapes her upper body over Kelly’s for a few contractions, while Kelly tells her that this WILL pass and she WILL do it. Lacie has come so far!
Position change: Lacie sits on the birth ball again, rocking side-to-side, while Shawn rubs her back.
3:00 a.m. Lacie wants to try another position. She tries a side-lying position, which helps Nurse Stevie to get good EFM and Doppler readings. However, although this is a nice position for Lacie to rest in, it is a poor position for having contractions. As soon as Stevie has a good reading completed, Lacie sits up and goes to the bathroom.
3:11 a.m. “I’m feeling pushy!” Lacie says from the bathroom…. Nurse Stevie pages the Midwife, Rose to come to the room right away.
3:15 a.m. Lacie asks to be checked; she is now 10 centimeters dilated, 100 % effaced and at 0 station! “Can I push?” Lacie asks Rose, who replies, “whenever you are ready and feel that urge…” Lacie gets up to change positions, everyone watches as her intuition guides her.
Lacie complains of back pressure and pain. She leans over the birth ball balanced on the chair and sways back and forth, with Kelly’s hands guiding her hips. Kelly gently does a double hip squeeze to alleviate the pressure- which feels good to Lacie. Shawn gently strokes Lacie’s arms in a downward motion and tells her how great she is doing.
Lacie quickly shifts to a squatting position and makes grunty, pushy noises. Rose gets low to the floor with a special lamp and looks to see signs of the baby…
3:30 a.m. Lacie announces- as she moves quickly in the direction of the bathroom (pausing for a contraction)- that she needs to go to the bathroom. Rose and Kelly validate from the doorway that the toilet is a great position for the pushing stage, while Nurse Stevie enters to check the baby’s vitals.
Lacie starts to cry out loudly, but Shawn helps her to focus by mimicking her, then moaning deeply, encouraging Lacie to do the same. Lacie soon is moaning lowly through contractions with Shawn, and breathing a few deep breaths in between.
3:36 a.m. Lacie moves off the toilet and wants to rest her tired legs on the bed. Rose suggests the squat bar, and lowers the bottom of the bed. Lacie inches down towards the bottom edge of the raised section, grabs on to the squat bar, and heaves herself up- like a pro! She pushes thoroughly through a few contractions, then rests her bottom on the edge of the bed again.
3:42 a.m. Lacie adjusts herself into a supported semi-squat, with Shawn and Kelly on each side of her while she holds her knees and pushes. Lacie reminds Rose that Shawn wants to catch!
3:45 a.m. Rose directs Shawn to grab a pair of gloves-quickly- and come to her right side, as Kelly encourages Lacie to reach down and touch her baby’s head.
3:47 a.m. Happy Birthday, Logan! Great catching, dad!!
(Musical accompaniment at moment of birth: RENT Soundtrack)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Logan's Birth Story
I woke up around 8am on June 9th to head to the bathroom, and as soon as I got out of bed I felt a trickle running down my leg. I was a bit embarrassed that I peed myself, but as the trickle kept on coming, I thought it might be something more than pee. I headed out to the living room to sit on my birth ball and bounce for a bit and see if I could get some contractions established. That didn't work very well, so I tried using my breastpump instead, and that did work. I had contractions on and off the rest of the morning and called my midwife around 11:30 to let her know what was going on. She said to keep up with the nipple stim and come into the hospital around 4 to start the antibiotics.
I called Kelly and had her start heading down, and we also called Shawn's mom to come and watch Ethan. When Kelly got there she had a few suggestions for other things we could do, including manual nipple stim, and that got some intense regular contrax going. We got ready to head to the hospital, and dropped Ethan off at Julie's house on the way, since MIL wasn't there yet.
When we got to the hospital, I hadn't had a contraction since we left home. I was a little worried as to what that would mean, but after I got settled in and hooked up to the antibiotics, Rose (the midwife) had us do some more nipple stim, and sure enough, it worked! Before we started (around 6pm), she checked me and I was 2-3 cm, 50% effaced, and -3 station. Long ways to go!
We dealt with the contractions for the next 4 hours, changing positions occasionally. Kelly was amazing - every time I got tired of a position she was right there to suggest other positions to try, and kept both Shawn and I encouraged to keep going. I surprised myself by dozing off between contractions - something I thought only people who had received pain meds could do. At 9:30, they hooked me up to the monitor to make sure Logan was handling the contractions well, and he passed with flying colors. After that, Rose checked me again and I was 5cm, 80% effaced, and -1 station. Progress!
After that the contractions were getting a little more intense and harder to breathe through. We were lucky enough to get the room with the big tub, and I decided to get in the tub around 1am. Contractions were absolutely brutal in there - I was thinking the whole time how it's total BS when they call a tub the 'midwives' epidural', but Shawn pointed out to me this morning that they could have been a lot worse if I wasn't in the water.
I got my second dose of antibiotics while I was in the tub, and when they were done I was SO happy to have that stupid heplock out of my hand. When that came out I was able to be on my hands and knees in the tub, which was much better than sitting, but still really awful.
At around 3, I had had enough of the tub and got out. I was a bit lost for a while - I couldn't decide where I wanted to be and decided to try the toilet. As soon as I sat down I had an uncontrollable urge to push, so they rushed me to the bed and checked me - sure enough, I was complete! Pushing was the best feeling ever - it still hurt, but it was a different kind of pain. The first couple of contractions I was standing up and leaning on the birth ball, which was sitting on a chair. At some point during the second contraction I remember dropping into a squat to push, and after that they put the squat bar on the bed. After one contraction on the bed I could feel that he was getting close, and with the next one he was crowning. I felt the 'ring of fire' but it wasn't as painful as I thought - I was probably so busy concentrating on pushing that I didn't care. Shawn didn't have time to wash his hands so he threw on a pair of gloves just in time to catch Logan as I pushed him out.
Logan Patrick came into the world at 3:47am on June 10. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20" long. His Apgars were 8/9/9. I was in labor for a total of around 19 hours, with around 3 hours of active labor, 1 1/2 hours of transition, and 20-30 minutes of pushing.
I held him for a bit after they got him breathing well, and Shawn cut the cord. We cuddled for a while and then the nurse took him over to weigh him and do all that other fun stuff while I dealt with the pain of delivering the placenta and getting stitched up. I had a small first-degree tear and just a few stitches. Holy cow, those hurt, even with the local anesthetic. I don't remember third stage being as painful with Ethan, but of course I had an epidural with him so it wouldn't have been painful.
After Rose was done with me, they brought Logan over and we tried nursing. He was kind of poking around and exploring and looking at us, and not really interested in nursing, which was OK by me. It was so cool seeing how alert he was right afterward - he didn't cry or anything, just looked around. Eventually I dozed off and Shawn says he latched on and ate a bit, but I don't remember a thing. LOL
We moved to our postpartum room around 6:15, and Kelly left shortly afterward. The three of us napped until 9, then got up and started to get ready for visitors. We gave Logan his first bath, and tried nursing again without much luck. My mom and sister got here around 10:30, and MIL brought Ethan by around 11:30. They all stayed the day and Shawn and I dozed on and off while they cooed over Logan. We finally got in a few good nursing sessions, and were rewarded with a bunch of poopy diapers and his first wet diaper. Ethan was a bit rambunctious, but he seems to understand that Logan is his baby brother, and he gave him a few kisses and pats. I think it'll be a bit of an adjustment for him, but I'm sure he'll do fine.
Around 5pm poor Shawn went to change a poopy diaper and ended up going through about 15 wipes catching a never-ending stream of poop. It was kind of funny, actually. :) We had our 'celebration dinner' of filet mignon and other stuff from the hospital food service (don't be fooled, it really wasn't that good), and now the three of us are just hanging out in the hospital room watching TV. We'll be heading home around noon tomorrow. :) Here's a picture of our little guy right after his bath -
I called Kelly and had her start heading down, and we also called Shawn's mom to come and watch Ethan. When Kelly got there she had a few suggestions for other things we could do, including manual nipple stim, and that got some intense regular contrax going. We got ready to head to the hospital, and dropped Ethan off at Julie's house on the way, since MIL wasn't there yet.
When we got to the hospital, I hadn't had a contraction since we left home. I was a little worried as to what that would mean, but after I got settled in and hooked up to the antibiotics, Rose (the midwife) had us do some more nipple stim, and sure enough, it worked! Before we started (around 6pm), she checked me and I was 2-3 cm, 50% effaced, and -3 station. Long ways to go!
We dealt with the contractions for the next 4 hours, changing positions occasionally. Kelly was amazing - every time I got tired of a position she was right there to suggest other positions to try, and kept both Shawn and I encouraged to keep going. I surprised myself by dozing off between contractions - something I thought only people who had received pain meds could do. At 9:30, they hooked me up to the monitor to make sure Logan was handling the contractions well, and he passed with flying colors. After that, Rose checked me again and I was 5cm, 80% effaced, and -1 station. Progress!
After that the contractions were getting a little more intense and harder to breathe through. We were lucky enough to get the room with the big tub, and I decided to get in the tub around 1am. Contractions were absolutely brutal in there - I was thinking the whole time how it's total BS when they call a tub the 'midwives' epidural', but Shawn pointed out to me this morning that they could have been a lot worse if I wasn't in the water.
I got my second dose of antibiotics while I was in the tub, and when they were done I was SO happy to have that stupid heplock out of my hand. When that came out I was able to be on my hands and knees in the tub, which was much better than sitting, but still really awful.
At around 3, I had had enough of the tub and got out. I was a bit lost for a while - I couldn't decide where I wanted to be and decided to try the toilet. As soon as I sat down I had an uncontrollable urge to push, so they rushed me to the bed and checked me - sure enough, I was complete! Pushing was the best feeling ever - it still hurt, but it was a different kind of pain. The first couple of contractions I was standing up and leaning on the birth ball, which was sitting on a chair. At some point during the second contraction I remember dropping into a squat to push, and after that they put the squat bar on the bed. After one contraction on the bed I could feel that he was getting close, and with the next one he was crowning. I felt the 'ring of fire' but it wasn't as painful as I thought - I was probably so busy concentrating on pushing that I didn't care. Shawn didn't have time to wash his hands so he threw on a pair of gloves just in time to catch Logan as I pushed him out.
Logan Patrick came into the world at 3:47am on June 10. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20" long. His Apgars were 8/9/9. I was in labor for a total of around 19 hours, with around 3 hours of active labor, 1 1/2 hours of transition, and 20-30 minutes of pushing.
I held him for a bit after they got him breathing well, and Shawn cut the cord. We cuddled for a while and then the nurse took him over to weigh him and do all that other fun stuff while I dealt with the pain of delivering the placenta and getting stitched up. I had a small first-degree tear and just a few stitches. Holy cow, those hurt, even with the local anesthetic. I don't remember third stage being as painful with Ethan, but of course I had an epidural with him so it wouldn't have been painful.
After Rose was done with me, they brought Logan over and we tried nursing. He was kind of poking around and exploring and looking at us, and not really interested in nursing, which was OK by me. It was so cool seeing how alert he was right afterward - he didn't cry or anything, just looked around. Eventually I dozed off and Shawn says he latched on and ate a bit, but I don't remember a thing. LOL
We moved to our postpartum room around 6:15, and Kelly left shortly afterward. The three of us napped until 9, then got up and started to get ready for visitors. We gave Logan his first bath, and tried nursing again without much luck. My mom and sister got here around 10:30, and MIL brought Ethan by around 11:30. They all stayed the day and Shawn and I dozed on and off while they cooed over Logan. We finally got in a few good nursing sessions, and were rewarded with a bunch of poopy diapers and his first wet diaper. Ethan was a bit rambunctious, but he seems to understand that Logan is his baby brother, and he gave him a few kisses and pats. I think it'll be a bit of an adjustment for him, but I'm sure he'll do fine.
Around 5pm poor Shawn went to change a poopy diaper and ended up going through about 15 wipes catching a never-ending stream of poop. It was kind of funny, actually. :) We had our 'celebration dinner' of filet mignon and other stuff from the hospital food service (don't be fooled, it really wasn't that good), and now the three of us are just hanging out in the hospital room watching TV. We'll be heading home around noon tomorrow. :) Here's a picture of our little guy right after his bath -
Monday, April 28, 2008
So there's this chick in my pregnancy group that's driving me up the damn wall. First of all, she was on bedrest forever because of preterm labor - now she's being induced before her due date. I don't get that. Why go to so much trouble keeping him in, then kick him out at the end? There's no real reason for the induction, she's just uncomfortable. Give me a fucking break. We're all uncomfortable.
I started a thread a while ago for people that were planning natural births. She comes in and says that she's had the epidural twice but it didn't take either time. She wants one this time and thinks it'll be 'fun' to have a labor where the epidural actually works. Again, give me a fucking break. And stay out of my natural birth thread!
Now she's posting a couple of random breastfeeding things that are pissing me off. First, another girl in our group had her baby earlier this week, and he's jaundiced. Her ped told her to supplement with formula - surprise, surprise. *rolleyes* She posted a thread asking for advice on what to do about engorgement - she "can't" feed him all the time because she's supposed to alternate feedings. However, yesterday he had 4 poopy diapers and 4 wet diapers, so it sounds like he's getting plenty from the breast alone. I told her to tell her doctor to shove it, that formula doesn't have any magic ingredients that make bilirubin go away any faster. But this other chick is spouting off crap about supplementing. Just fucking shut up already!
Then she posts in the breastfeeding support thread, saying that she had an easy time of nursing her first two kids, but she liked giving the bottle better with her second so this time she just wants to go straight to the bottle, but wants to give as much breastmilk as possible, but doesn't know how to best go about this. Fine, whatever. At least she's not going straight to formula. But it's annoying the crap out of me that someone that had an easy time of nursing just doesn't want to. That on top of everything else that annoys me about her, and I just want to reach through the internet and smack her around a bit.
To top it off, she's naming her kid Wesley. I fucking HATE the name Wesley. As someone on another board said, it's the name of a sniveling little brat. Who names their kid Wesley in this day and age? Ick.
I started a thread a while ago for people that were planning natural births. She comes in and says that she's had the epidural twice but it didn't take either time. She wants one this time and thinks it'll be 'fun' to have a labor where the epidural actually works. Again, give me a fucking break. And stay out of my natural birth thread!
Now she's posting a couple of random breastfeeding things that are pissing me off. First, another girl in our group had her baby earlier this week, and he's jaundiced. Her ped told her to supplement with formula - surprise, surprise. *rolleyes* She posted a thread asking for advice on what to do about engorgement - she "can't" feed him all the time because she's supposed to alternate feedings. However, yesterday he had 4 poopy diapers and 4 wet diapers, so it sounds like he's getting plenty from the breast alone. I told her to tell her doctor to shove it, that formula doesn't have any magic ingredients that make bilirubin go away any faster. But this other chick is spouting off crap about supplementing. Just fucking shut up already!
Then she posts in the breastfeeding support thread, saying that she had an easy time of nursing her first two kids, but she liked giving the bottle better with her second so this time she just wants to go straight to the bottle, but wants to give as much breastmilk as possible, but doesn't know how to best go about this. Fine, whatever. At least she's not going straight to formula. But it's annoying the crap out of me that someone that had an easy time of nursing just doesn't want to. That on top of everything else that annoys me about her, and I just want to reach through the internet and smack her around a bit.
To top it off, she's naming her kid Wesley. I fucking HATE the name Wesley. As someone on another board said, it's the name of a sniveling little brat. Who names their kid Wesley in this day and age? Ick.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
More pregnant annoyances
My pregnancy group has been talking a lot about inductions and c-sections lately, and it's driving me up the wall. At least one of the inductions is purely for convenience, and while I understand that it's nice to have childcare lined up for older kids, it still bugs me.
And I saw a post in another group tonight that's driving me up the fucking wall. Someone was induced at 38 weeks (no apparent medical reason, just because baby was big) and her baby was 9 lbs. 15 oz. And of course, along with that announcement came the "Good thing her doctor didn't let her go to her due date!" Because heaven knows, once a baby gets to 10 lbs. there's just no way they can be born vaginally. *cough*bullshit*cough*
For crying out loud. I'm sure if his lungs hadn't been fully developed and he was in the NICU, there would be no "Good thing her doctor induced early!" Actually, though, I'm sure there would have been some spin about how thank goodness they got him out when they did or he might have DIED. Hooray for doctors that stick their noses in where they don't belong!
You know what? I kind of hope our munchkin weighs 11 lbs. Because I want to push him out and tell everyone to kiss my ass. Then breastfeed him exclusively, and again tell everyone to kiss my ass. Because I would just be a goddamn medical miracle on BOLU!
Then again, I have some cute newborn-size stuff that an 11 lb. baby won't fit into, so 8 lbs. is fine, too. LOL
And I saw a post in another group tonight that's driving me up the fucking wall. Someone was induced at 38 weeks (no apparent medical reason, just because baby was big) and her baby was 9 lbs. 15 oz. And of course, along with that announcement came the "Good thing her doctor didn't let her go to her due date!" Because heaven knows, once a baby gets to 10 lbs. there's just no way they can be born vaginally. *cough*bullshit*cough*
For crying out loud. I'm sure if his lungs hadn't been fully developed and he was in the NICU, there would be no "Good thing her doctor induced early!" Actually, though, I'm sure there would have been some spin about how thank goodness they got him out when they did or he might have DIED. Hooray for doctors that stick their noses in where they don't belong!
You know what? I kind of hope our munchkin weighs 11 lbs. Because I want to push him out and tell everyone to kiss my ass. Then breastfeed him exclusively, and again tell everyone to kiss my ass. Because I would just be a goddamn medical miracle on BOLU!
Then again, I have some cute newborn-size stuff that an 11 lb. baby won't fit into, so 8 lbs. is fine, too. LOL
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Pregnant Lady Ranting
I'm a very strong advocate of natural birth. Inductions/c-sections out of convenience piss me off more than just about anything.
So it's really bugging the shit out of me that I'm in a pregnancy group with an assload of people who are talking about scheduling their inductions, and if their doctor won't go for that, scheduling a c-section. A couple of them came into my natural birthing thread to post about how they want an induction, or how they walk in the door and ask for an epidural. STAY OUT OF MY THREAD, FUCKERS! UGH! I don't want to hear about it! You don't see me going into the c-section support thread and talking about how I want to go natural (meaning sans drugs), do you? No! Because I DON'T BELONG THERE.
Rant over...for now. I'm very rant-y lately.
So it's really bugging the shit out of me that I'm in a pregnancy group with an assload of people who are talking about scheduling their inductions, and if their doctor won't go for that, scheduling a c-section. A couple of them came into my natural birthing thread to post about how they want an induction, or how they walk in the door and ask for an epidural. STAY OUT OF MY THREAD, FUCKERS! UGH! I don't want to hear about it! You don't see me going into the c-section support thread and talking about how I want to go natural (meaning sans drugs), do you? No! Because I DON'T BELONG THERE.
Rant over...for now. I'm very rant-y lately.
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