Thursday, April 4, 2013
Here he is!
These were yesterday. He's 11 days old and back up to his birth weight, and has grown 3/4 inch.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Birth Story Part 2
The first thing they did when we got back was get me hooked up to an IV and get the penicillin going. I had tested positive for Strep B and they really wanted to make sure I got at least 2 doses 4 hours apart. The nurse was really good and diluted the medicine so it didn't burn at all going in like I had heard it could. They then started me on the pitocin to get my contractions going a little bit stronger. At about 6:15 they turned up the pitocin to a 4 and his heart rate dropped to about 84, so they had me get in bed and lay on my left side and turned off the pitocin, and he climbed back up fast. So I laid there for 1/2 hour until they turned back on the pit, and then a little bit longer to make sure he was okay. They turned the pit back up to a 4 and then at 8:00 the midwife, who was an older lady from Denmark, Jabka, told me I was at a 4 1/2 (from a 3 when I came in) and that he was still a little to high for her to feel comfortable breaking my water; she said when they're not more in the birth canal the risk is higher of the chord wrapping around the neck. So she said she'd wait until hour or two to break it, and to go ahead and walk around and see if that helped move things along. Which I was happy to do.
So I got out of bed, Robby left the room for a minute, and I felt the baby drop and my water broke. Very weird sensation; him dropping. I called the nurse and she came in and checked and said it looked like there was meconium in the water so the NICU team would be in there in case they were needed at delivery. A NICU nurse came in later just to explain things which was nice. I kept walking around and even though the contractions were all in my back the spacing was better than it usually is with my labors; they would last about 25-30 seconds and I'd have 2-3 minutes in between. Normally they come right on top of each other when I'm induced. The nurse kept coming in asking if I was ready for my epidural and I kept saying I felt like I was doing really good! She was nervous things would get going and I wouldn't be able to get one like I had said I wanted. Finally at 9:150 I said I was ready so the anthesiologist came in and we got it in about 9:30. Jabka came in at about 9:45 and said I was at a 7 and broke my water the rest of the way; I guess it was a foresack of water that had broken. So we thought things would move pretty quickly; I had had the second dose of antibiotics for the Strep B so I was ready to go.
After that, things slowed way down. I think maybe because I was in more "natural" labor than I'd ever been in before the epidural and being in bed really slowed it down. They also weren't super aggressive with the pitocin. Which was nice because it felt more natural. I think the highest they turned it up was a 6. At about 11:30 I was feeling pressure during contractions but not in-between; the nurse checked me and I was at a 9. But I just wasn't moving past that. Robby and I watched a few episodes of The Office on TV and then Jabka checked me at 12:30 AM and said I was still at a 9. Finally around 1:00-1:15 AM I decided I was done being pregnant, said a prayer, and decided to start pushing during the contractions. So I did and at about that time Jabka came in to check me again and said, "Why don't we have you push and see what happens." My thought, exactly! So that's what we did, and it didn't take very long for me to get to a 10 and be ready. It was all kind of hazy after that; from going to a 9 to a 10 and pushing. Robby had a hard time at about that point and had to sit down on the couch, so I did the whole thing solo. I don't think we'll ever have another baby but if I do my mom will need to be there to hold my hand!
When I was pushing I could feel everything on the inside-the epidural worked to keep my contractions at bay but certainly not for pushing him out! I was so ready for him to be done, and I have a history of being able to push my babies out pretty good. He came out after about 5-10 minutes of active pushing. The NICU team was there but I heard Jabka say, "He looks good," and then she was handing him to me before anything else. I saw him cry for the first time as he came toward me. He gave two little cries and then he was on my chest and I was the one crying and crying and laughing. The nurse said, "He stays there for an hour" I just couldn't believe he was finally here. And I loved the fact that he got to be on me before they did anything else. They cleaned him off on me, put a hat and band on him, I delivered the placenta, and she cut the chord. Robby by then was standing by me, but opted to not cut the chord. She said it was a good thing he came when he did, the placenta was green, I guess because of the meconium! She showed it to me (I asked to see it) and it really was green.
Grant looked just perfect. He had a little frown in his chin just like Lance but was much broader in the shoulders than Lance. He has dark hair but not as much as the other three kids had. And no eyebrows. I was able to feed him as soon as I wanted and he nursed like a champ. After he was on me an hour Robby got to hold him and then they weighed he and gave him a bath. He smelled a little ripe, which made me laugh. Jabka said she had to turn him a bit to get him out, and I tore some. But not too much, she said about 8-10 stitches. I think she did a great job stitching me up; they have really not been too sore at all.
All in all I think it was my best birth and labor experience. I really loved having a midwife and the attention she gave us. Our nurse was great too, I was her only patient. Grant Robert Hammond finally came at 1:37 AM on March 23, 2013. He weighed 7 lb 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Head was 13 cm. And he's perfect!
So I got out of bed, Robby left the room for a minute, and I felt the baby drop and my water broke. Very weird sensation; him dropping. I called the nurse and she came in and checked and said it looked like there was meconium in the water so the NICU team would be in there in case they were needed at delivery. A NICU nurse came in later just to explain things which was nice. I kept walking around and even though the contractions were all in my back the spacing was better than it usually is with my labors; they would last about 25-30 seconds and I'd have 2-3 minutes in between. Normally they come right on top of each other when I'm induced. The nurse kept coming in asking if I was ready for my epidural and I kept saying I felt like I was doing really good! She was nervous things would get going and I wouldn't be able to get one like I had said I wanted. Finally at 9:150 I said I was ready so the anthesiologist came in and we got it in about 9:30. Jabka came in at about 9:45 and said I was at a 7 and broke my water the rest of the way; I guess it was a foresack of water that had broken. So we thought things would move pretty quickly; I had had the second dose of antibiotics for the Strep B so I was ready to go.
After that, things slowed way down. I think maybe because I was in more "natural" labor than I'd ever been in before the epidural and being in bed really slowed it down. They also weren't super aggressive with the pitocin. Which was nice because it felt more natural. I think the highest they turned it up was a 6. At about 11:30 I was feeling pressure during contractions but not in-between; the nurse checked me and I was at a 9. But I just wasn't moving past that. Robby and I watched a few episodes of The Office on TV and then Jabka checked me at 12:30 AM and said I was still at a 9. Finally around 1:00-1:15 AM I decided I was done being pregnant, said a prayer, and decided to start pushing during the contractions. So I did and at about that time Jabka came in to check me again and said, "Why don't we have you push and see what happens." My thought, exactly! So that's what we did, and it didn't take very long for me to get to a 10 and be ready. It was all kind of hazy after that; from going to a 9 to a 10 and pushing. Robby had a hard time at about that point and had to sit down on the couch, so I did the whole thing solo. I don't think we'll ever have another baby but if I do my mom will need to be there to hold my hand!
When I was pushing I could feel everything on the inside-the epidural worked to keep my contractions at bay but certainly not for pushing him out! I was so ready for him to be done, and I have a history of being able to push my babies out pretty good. He came out after about 5-10 minutes of active pushing. The NICU team was there but I heard Jabka say, "He looks good," and then she was handing him to me before anything else. I saw him cry for the first time as he came toward me. He gave two little cries and then he was on my chest and I was the one crying and crying and laughing. The nurse said, "He stays there for an hour" I just couldn't believe he was finally here. And I loved the fact that he got to be on me before they did anything else. They cleaned him off on me, put a hat and band on him, I delivered the placenta, and she cut the chord. Robby by then was standing by me, but opted to not cut the chord. She said it was a good thing he came when he did, the placenta was green, I guess because of the meconium! She showed it to me (I asked to see it) and it really was green.
Grant looked just perfect. He had a little frown in his chin just like Lance but was much broader in the shoulders than Lance. He has dark hair but not as much as the other three kids had. And no eyebrows. I was able to feed him as soon as I wanted and he nursed like a champ. After he was on me an hour Robby got to hold him and then they weighed he and gave him a bath. He smelled a little ripe, which made me laugh. Jabka said she had to turn him a bit to get him out, and I tore some. But not too much, she said about 8-10 stitches. I think she did a great job stitching me up; they have really not been too sore at all.
All in all I think it was my best birth and labor experience. I really loved having a midwife and the attention she gave us. Our nurse was great too, I was her only patient. Grant Robert Hammond finally came at 1:37 AM on March 23, 2013. He weighed 7 lb 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Head was 13 cm. And he's perfect!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Birth Story Part 1
So I want to document as much as I can, and I know i can't do it all in one sitting, so here we go. My due date was Thursday, March 21, and even though I had been having lots of contractions over the past several weeks, nothing permanent was happening. They were much more real contractions than I've ever had before, I could tell because I would feel them in my back, and any time I've been in real labor that's where my contractions go. Last Monday I almost thought I was in labor for real but then they stopped. Thursday we had nothing going on, so I took the kids and went to spin class at the gym, just to get us out of the house and give me something to do! And it felt really good to have a good workout. I figured it wouldn't get the baby out, the day before I'd jogged for 1/2 hour and it just made me hurt. Spinning never made me hurt afterward it just felt good. Mom got here Thursday night and we were set to go in Friday at noon to be induced.
Robby took Lily to preschool on Friday morning and then, about 15 minutes before we were going to leave we got a phone call from the hospital telling us they were full and they'd call us in a couple of hours when/if they got room. Talk about disappointment! I'd been doing really well handling my nerves until then. And Robby was frustrated too. I had to leave the house and go on a walk for a few minutes to not lose it. Mom and I went and picked up Lily from preschool, and she was very confused as to why I wasn't at the hospital having her baby brother! I told her hopefully he'd come today, though they probably wouldn't be able to see him until Saturday now.
After we got home Robby and I decided to go to Cheesecake Factory in Beaverton and then go and buy the carseat at the Target or Toys R Us nearby, and then go from there. So we did, and that was a nice distraction, and when we were on our way home around 2:30 they still hadn't called us. So we decided to swing by the hospital and basically see if they had room. I called my midwife's office because I was a little bit afraid that I was leaking fluid, and if they weren't going to induce me Friday and make me wait until Monday I wanted to make sure that I wasn't. So the midwife told me to go over to triage in labor and delivery and said most likely they'd let me stay no matter what.
At the hospital the lady at check-in was very nice and tried to make sure they checked me in by the doctors orders saying I was there to be induced, to reduce the likelihood of them sending me home. They then hooked me up to a heart rate and contraction monitor, and I was having pretty decent regularly spaced contractions. I wasn't leaking fluid but they talked to the midwife and they said there was room and that I could stay. We had told them if at all possible we'd like to. So that was great. We later found out his heartrate had dropped while in triage; I don't know if that had anything to do with them letting us stay or not. So we waited for about another hour until they had a room for us, and then at 5:00 they took us back to labor and delivery.
Robby took Lily to preschool on Friday morning and then, about 15 minutes before we were going to leave we got a phone call from the hospital telling us they were full and they'd call us in a couple of hours when/if they got room. Talk about disappointment! I'd been doing really well handling my nerves until then. And Robby was frustrated too. I had to leave the house and go on a walk for a few minutes to not lose it. Mom and I went and picked up Lily from preschool, and she was very confused as to why I wasn't at the hospital having her baby brother! I told her hopefully he'd come today, though they probably wouldn't be able to see him until Saturday now.
After we got home Robby and I decided to go to Cheesecake Factory in Beaverton and then go and buy the carseat at the Target or Toys R Us nearby, and then go from there. So we did, and that was a nice distraction, and when we were on our way home around 2:30 they still hadn't called us. So we decided to swing by the hospital and basically see if they had room. I called my midwife's office because I was a little bit afraid that I was leaking fluid, and if they weren't going to induce me Friday and make me wait until Monday I wanted to make sure that I wasn't. So the midwife told me to go over to triage in labor and delivery and said most likely they'd let me stay no matter what.
At the hospital the lady at check-in was very nice and tried to make sure they checked me in by the doctors orders saying I was there to be induced, to reduce the likelihood of them sending me home. They then hooked me up to a heart rate and contraction monitor, and I was having pretty decent regularly spaced contractions. I wasn't leaking fluid but they talked to the midwife and they said there was room and that I could stay. We had told them if at all possible we'd like to. So that was great. We later found out his heartrate had dropped while in triage; I don't know if that had anything to do with them letting us stay or not. So we waited for about another hour until they had a room for us, and then at 5:00 they took us back to labor and delivery.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Grant is here!
Grant was born on Saturday march 23 at 1:37. His full name is Grant Robert Hammond. He was 7 lb 14 oz and 20 1/2 inches, my biggest baby by 1/2 lb. I'll try to post the whole story soon, but it went well.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Due Date!
Its here! I made it to my due date for the first time ever. I've always been induced before it. Now I don't feel as bad about it since it appears my body doesn't want to go into labor on its own. At least when I think it should. I'm being induced tomorrow at noon. I'm dialated to a 3 and 75% effaced so at least I've made some progress. I have been going a bit crazy having no plans for today. Last night I had a panic attack about having this baby. I had to get out of the house; I went on a walk and took lots of deep breaths and said lots of prayers. It's hard to describe the anxiety, I think unless you have had something traumatic happen when you have given birth before. Or have lost a child. Serious, serious anxiety. Today we didn't have any plans and the house is mostly clean. I wasn't planning on going to Spin class but when I told the kids we'd go on a walk they said they wanted to go to the gym and I figured what the heck? I was having more anxiety and I love spin because I don't think when I'm doing it. I think the people there thought I was crazy but it was a really nice break. It's the one thing I still do that gets my heart rate up and it felt really good! It was only for about 40 minutes. So now I'm ready to finish cleaning and relax and pray this baby makes it here safely tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
House and baby update
Such a great, exciting title I know. So here's the quick update on the house-it closes tomorrow! We've signed everything and so has the owner; it just has to fund tomorrow. We're very excited, but we won't move in until April 20. They are renting back from us until April 15 and our lease in our house isn't up until April 30 so it works out really well. The house is 2,380 square feet, in a great neighborhood on the end of a cul-de-sac. It has a living room, dining room, kitchen, family room and den on the main floor and then 4 bedrooms upstairs. And then in a separate building in the back yard there is a media room-basically a movie theater. They are leaving the screen, projector, heat and A/C, couches, and then it has 2 levels of movie theatre chairs above the couches. So it should be a fun place to have people come over and hang out, and if the cousins want to spend the night out there or something. The house doesn't have a bonus room, and we really wanted one that did, so this was a nice compromise. We have already discussed limiting games, etc.
Sorry!
So I looked on my blog tonight and my slide show of Hawaii that I just haven't removed was replaced by adds, including porn! I'm so sorry if anyone saw anything they did not want to, and does anyone know how I report it to Blogger? I was so annoyed!
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