E will be three months old tomorrow. Three months, and wow, have I learned!
1. Child care is expensive and popular. Put your name on the wait list before your baby is born or else you'll be on a year-long wait list for the inexpensive place while you have the privilege of paying $1,000 a month for the alternative.
2. Once you hit the 2-month mark, you get to see smiles that are directed at you, and not just those cute dreamy ones they have by accident.
3. If you don't want your baby to be addicted to TV, don't let him or her near it. The moving colors and lights are too attractive to ignore. My baby loves March Madness. Let's hope college basketball isn't too damaging to her developing mind.
4. Air travel with an infant can be scary, demanding of your marital relationship, draining on all your mental and physical resources, but rewarding when you get complimented on the unexpectedly quiet and reasonably good behavior of your little traveler.
5. Moving with a baby sucks, but if it's a local move and you have friends who will help out, it's not so bad.
6. Some Easter bonnets are better left in the 19th century with Little House on the Prairie.
7. Jealous cats will poop on your rug unless you pet them once in a while.
8. The generosity of friends and loved ones will never cease to amaze me!
9. Once babies get "grabby" it might be a good time for a shorter hairstyle. Or lots of updo's, ponytails, or other devices to avoid torture.
10. Keep those little fingernails trimmed, or someone might call Social Services and report you for the little scratches all over your baby's face.
These are only a few. Today was E's first day in a child care facility. It almost broke my heart to let her go, but she was really good. She wasn't fussy, she didn't get upset when I left her, and apparently was quite content during her five-hour stay. I will take her again tomorrow, and then it's her daddy's turn. I somehow think he will not handle it as well. As my grandmother said, "He's foolish over that baby." And she's right.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Today is the Due Date - Labor was like...
Today is the day our lovely daughter (referred to in this blog as E) was supposed to arrive. Okay, well really it's the estimated delivery date (EDD) based off the last period I had. I'm really glad she arrived a week ago. It was snowing today, nasty and gross out. School was cancelled, the roads were muck. I couldn't imagine trying to head to the hospital in this condition!
My hometown paper also published a story about E's arrival after recognition of my alma mater spread through the blog sites back home. They even included a link back to the west-coast newspaper's spread at the bottom of the online version of the article. I got a letter from the alumni association and a magnet that read "Future Pirate" on it as well!
Pictures will follow, but here are a few notes about labor and delivery:
* My contractions did not start until 3am on the 31st of December, and I barely noticed them as anything special until they started to actually feel uncomfortable, by about noon.
* Walking made them worse, which was a sure sign that they were REAL and not "practice contractions" (Braxton Hicks).
* I felt a trickle around 2:30pm, and was unsure if I'd peed myself so I went to the bathroom about 3 times in a row until I couldn't pee anymore. I still felt the trickle, so I knew I'd sprung a leak.
* I called the L&D ward around 3:30 to let them know, and they said for me to come in for a checkup. Expecting I'd just be sent back home, I didn't make snacks for Dev or pack the books we were going to read while waiting for labor to really get going.
* By the time we arrived at around 4:15, my contractions were 1 1/2 to 2 minutes apart and I was 4cm dilated. They admitted me at about 5:30.
* Things progressed quickly. The nurse anesthetist was called in to do my epidural at about 7:00. It took her six attempts because apparently, if you do a lot of situps, it makes the epidural space (between the vertebrae) very tight. My poor husband was holding me in position for the big needle, but after the third or fourth attempt, he started feeling funny and needed to sit down, so a nurse took over.
* The midwife broke the secondary bag of waters (yes, there are two layers) after the epidural kicked in because that makes contractions get serious in a hurry. I felt warm water gushes periodically with each contraction after the initial "sploosh." It was hard not to be grossed out.
* I had to get a "booster" in the epidural IV around 9:30 or 10:00 because the contractions had begun to feel like they did before I got the epidural in. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the drug but I'm sure it was some variant of morphine. I could still feel the contractions but they felt like pressure rather than pain.
* At around 11:45, they told me to start pushing. It really does feel like you need to poop, as I was told. You have to hold your breath and push in 10-second intervals, usually three pushes grouped together.
* At 12:33am on January 1, 2008, E entered the world as the first baby of the New Year in our county.
I cannot express to you the feelings I had. Neither can my husband. He did not cut the cord. However, since the baby's sex was a surprise, we got the opportunity to announce it to the birthing room once she came out. It was just amazing. And it all went super fast compared to most rookie mommies. That's why the nurses called me a "Rock Star" during the labor and delivery. That plus the extended epidural effort, I suppose. But if you want something bad enough, you'll endure most anything to get it.
More to follow as time permits. She is awake and alert and ready to have dinner now, so I gotta run.
My hometown paper also published a story about E's arrival after recognition of my alma mater spread through the blog sites back home. They even included a link back to the west-coast newspaper's spread at the bottom of the online version of the article. I got a letter from the alumni association and a magnet that read "Future Pirate" on it as well!
Pictures will follow, but here are a few notes about labor and delivery:
* My contractions did not start until 3am on the 31st of December, and I barely noticed them as anything special until they started to actually feel uncomfortable, by about noon.
* Walking made them worse, which was a sure sign that they were REAL and not "practice contractions" (Braxton Hicks).
* I felt a trickle around 2:30pm, and was unsure if I'd peed myself so I went to the bathroom about 3 times in a row until I couldn't pee anymore. I still felt the trickle, so I knew I'd sprung a leak.
* I called the L&D ward around 3:30 to let them know, and they said for me to come in for a checkup. Expecting I'd just be sent back home, I didn't make snacks for Dev or pack the books we were going to read while waiting for labor to really get going.
* By the time we arrived at around 4:15, my contractions were 1 1/2 to 2 minutes apart and I was 4cm dilated. They admitted me at about 5:30.
* Things progressed quickly. The nurse anesthetist was called in to do my epidural at about 7:00. It took her six attempts because apparently, if you do a lot of situps, it makes the epidural space (between the vertebrae) very tight. My poor husband was holding me in position for the big needle, but after the third or fourth attempt, he started feeling funny and needed to sit down, so a nurse took over.
* The midwife broke the secondary bag of waters (yes, there are two layers) after the epidural kicked in because that makes contractions get serious in a hurry. I felt warm water gushes periodically with each contraction after the initial "sploosh." It was hard not to be grossed out.
* I had to get a "booster" in the epidural IV around 9:30 or 10:00 because the contractions had begun to feel like they did before I got the epidural in. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the drug but I'm sure it was some variant of morphine. I could still feel the contractions but they felt like pressure rather than pain.
* At around 11:45, they told me to start pushing. It really does feel like you need to poop, as I was told. You have to hold your breath and push in 10-second intervals, usually three pushes grouped together.
* At 12:33am on January 1, 2008, E entered the world as the first baby of the New Year in our county.
I cannot express to you the feelings I had. Neither can my husband. He did not cut the cord. However, since the baby's sex was a surprise, we got the opportunity to announce it to the birthing room once she came out. It was just amazing. And it all went super fast compared to most rookie mommies. That's why the nurses called me a "Rock Star" during the labor and delivery. That plus the extended epidural effort, I suppose. But if you want something bad enough, you'll endure most anything to get it.
More to follow as time permits. She is awake and alert and ready to have dinner now, so I gotta run.
Friday, January 4, 2008
She's here!
We had a beautiful new year baby. Since she was the FIRST, she was already on the Internet before she was even 24 hours old! More pictures and all the gory details to follow, but it's our first full day home from the hospital and we need the rest!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Ew, ew, ew....plus, practical advice
The last little bit of pregnancy is getting pretty disgusting. Apparently, one of the many purposes of the "membrane sweep" is to loosen the mucous plug. The membrane sweeping hurt like crap, as I mentioned in the previous blog. However, I'd say it was pretty productive if it caused this one step in pre-labor to happen.
In real life, the mucous plug looks like a really nasty loogie. This website has a picture of a real one if you really, really want to see an example. I was pretty disgusted by it. So this basically means labor could start in a few hours, or up to two weeks from now. I'm truly hoping for sooner rather than later, of course.
We went on a tour of the labor & delivery ward at the hospital last night. I highly recommend going at night, through the emergency department, so that you can find the birthing center from there. It's one thing to know how to get there from the entrance closest to it, but that might be closed after-hours or on weekends. If you need someone to give you a tour, you might want to call ahead to ensure that there is at least one birthing room available to look at, and that staff isn't too busy to take a few minutes and walk you around. I wish I had brought my camera. The birthing room was super-awesome and comfy-looking. Well, maybe in a couple days I'll get to be in one. There will be pictures then, of course!
In real life, the mucous plug looks like a really nasty loogie. This website has a picture of a real one if you really, really want to see an example. I was pretty disgusted by it. So this basically means labor could start in a few hours, or up to two weeks from now. I'm truly hoping for sooner rather than later, of course.
We went on a tour of the labor & delivery ward at the hospital last night. I highly recommend going at night, through the emergency department, so that you can find the birthing center from there. It's one thing to know how to get there from the entrance closest to it, but that might be closed after-hours or on weekends. If you need someone to give you a tour, you might want to call ahead to ensure that there is at least one birthing room available to look at, and that staff isn't too busy to take a few minutes and walk you around. I wish I had brought my camera. The birthing room was super-awesome and comfy-looking. Well, maybe in a couple days I'll get to be in one. There will be pictures then, of course!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
I Feel Like a Car
... except one that can feel pain.
I had my 38-week checkup today. They ask if there's any strange "knocking" (contractions), leaks, drips, etc. before checking under the hood themselves. Then, the "sweep" or "stripping" of membranes occurs. Wow, so I didn't know it would feel like I was being forcibly violated. I had to take a breather in between sweeps. The reason it was so painful is because my cervix is still pretty thick, so the midwife had to kind of jab to get in there. She promises it won't be as bad next time because the cervix will be thinner.
Before any poking and prodding, however, she told me I was 30% effaced and 1 1/2 cm dilated. It means practically nothing. But at least things are progressing. It's hard not to be discouraged at this point when you've heard about 3 different women (1 due the day before you, and 2 with due-dates after yours) already have babies. I'm trying to stay positive.
My dear husband is very encouraging and keeps me from turning into a crazy person. He's also reading "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin (we're using the 2nd edition but there is a 3rd edition out). It's sort of alleviating any mental trauma I've had about labor and delivery. Plus, it says quite clearly what my dear husband should be doing during all of it. It's pretty helpful, and I recommend it.
I had my 38-week checkup today. They ask if there's any strange "knocking" (contractions), leaks, drips, etc. before checking under the hood themselves. Then, the "sweep" or "stripping" of membranes occurs. Wow, so I didn't know it would feel like I was being forcibly violated. I had to take a breather in between sweeps. The reason it was so painful is because my cervix is still pretty thick, so the midwife had to kind of jab to get in there. She promises it won't be as bad next time because the cervix will be thinner.
Before any poking and prodding, however, she told me I was 30% effaced and 1 1/2 cm dilated. It means practically nothing. But at least things are progressing. It's hard not to be discouraged at this point when you've heard about 3 different women (1 due the day before you, and 2 with due-dates after yours) already have babies. I'm trying to stay positive.
My dear husband is very encouraging and keeps me from turning into a crazy person. He's also reading "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin (we're using the 2nd edition but there is a 3rd edition out). It's sort of alleviating any mental trauma I've had about labor and delivery. Plus, it says quite clearly what my dear husband should be doing during all of it. It's pretty helpful, and I recommend it.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Shocking Revelation
I was sitting here, minding my own business, when a crazy thought occurred to me.... I have absolutely NO idea what contractions feel like! Several people have asked me if I'm having Braxton-Hicks (practice contractions) and I always say no, because I figure I'd probably know if I did, right? But I don't know! My mom, always a giver of advice, said I would just feel "different." Ambiguity is awesome.
Another friend has advised I have my membranes stripped after 38 weeks. I think on my 39-week appointment, if the baby isn't doing anything progressively toward labor, I will!
Another friend has advised I have my membranes stripped after 38 weeks. I think on my 39-week appointment, if the baby isn't doing anything progressively toward labor, I will!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Nearing Week 36
OUCH!
That's pretty much all I do lately. There just isn't enough space left for the little one. And I use the term "little one" very loosely. The baby feels enormous to me. The space between my ribs and pelvis is not very accommodating, so Baby has decided to adjust all of my internal organs and bone structure. I feel rather like I've been run through the ringer a few times, or perhaps hit by a truck.
I spoke to a couple of other moms (new and experienced alike), and they all agree that pregnancy lasts just about one month longer than necessary. Maybe not to the baby, but definitely to the mom! Since I'm pretty much in that last month now (the unnecessary one), I have to say I agree.
Here's hoping I don't end up like the majority of first-timers and go 41 weeks!
That's pretty much all I do lately. There just isn't enough space left for the little one. And I use the term "little one" very loosely. The baby feels enormous to me. The space between my ribs and pelvis is not very accommodating, so Baby has decided to adjust all of my internal organs and bone structure. I feel rather like I've been run through the ringer a few times, or perhaps hit by a truck.
I spoke to a couple of other moms (new and experienced alike), and they all agree that pregnancy lasts just about one month longer than necessary. Maybe not to the baby, but definitely to the mom! Since I'm pretty much in that last month now (the unnecessary one), I have to say I agree.
Here's hoping I don't end up like the majority of first-timers and go 41 weeks!
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