J's Birth Story :) (long)

Mrs.HisOnly · July 2010

It all started Wednesday, July, 7 @ my 38 week appt. We went in for an ultrasound which was scheduled due to the trip to L&D I had made the week prior. Ultrasound went great. Fluid was still at a good enough level and J was doing great. After the u/s I went across the hall to meet with the OB. My nurse checked my BP with the regular cuff (which normally always gives me a high reading since I?m a big girl) and the BP came back pretty high. She went and got the big cuff but it was still high. After that the Dr. did an internal and I lost my mucus plug in the process. He had me get up get dressed and have Alexis and I meet him in his office to ?discuss a game plan?. He basically dove right in and said that he was concerned that my blood pressure was a little erratic my last few visits and that combined with my low fluid issue from the week prior he would feel better inducing me before things got more complicated. Now at this point I?m thinking okay we?ll be doing this early next week or in a few days etc. so I ask him when are we doing that and his response ?in a few hours?.

I took it pretty well J I was mostly nervous because my last wedding was on Saturday (July 10^th) and now I would not be able to make it. Otherwise, I wasn?t nervous I was just really excited and so was Alexis. I?ve been super uncomfortable and just ready for him to be here.

After the appt. we stopped by Alexis? job to pick up FMLA papers since we hadn?t done so yet, then to our good friends house to tell them the news, then home. We got to the house and finished putting the last items in my hospital bag. Thankfully it was all packed just needed toiletries etc. We hung out with Angel for a bit and left the house around 4:00pm. I cried a little before we left, couldn?t believe the next time I?d be home would be with our baby. We left and went to Chili?s to have a late lunch/early dinner since I knew they wouldn?t let me at again till the baby was born and got to the hospital @ 6:00pm.

I got in and after answering a bunch of different questions they hooked me up to the IV, which was probably one of the most painful parts of the whole experience. Then they ran a bunch of blood work because of the potential BP issues to verify what kind of induction meds I could be given and whether or not I was a candidate for the epi. Thankfully, all the blood work came back great and they started me on the cervadil at 9:00pm. They replaced it every 4 hours till the next morning.

At 9:00am, the nurse came in to start the Pitocin and let me know that my Dr. would be in soon to break my water. At around 10am Dr. K came in broke my water and I told me I was 1 centimeter dilated. Once my water was broken the contractions started coming and getting increasingly worse pretty quickly. Within the hour they were in the 100?s. I let it ride without the epi for about and hour and 15 minutes and once the contractions got in to the 120?s I called for the anesthesiologist. He arrived at 11:30 and the epi was done in about 10 minutes. It was the strangest feeling ever feeling that catheter go in my spine but it didn?t hurt at all. Within 20 minutes I couldn?t feel the contractions which was awesome but I also no longer had any control over the lower half of my body which proved to be a big pain in the ass for my husband who had to help me move in bed. More on that later Lol.

At 12:30 they came and checked me and I was 3cm. The contractions held strong and the pressure started increasing. At 1:15 they checked again and I was up to 6cm. At this point J?s heartbeat started dropping with every contraction so the nurses had me shifting from side to side in an effort to help keep that from happening. Moving a 250+lb pregnant lady with no lower body control is no easy task. My legs kept falling off the bed it was pretty amusing. Thankfully I have pretty decent upper body strength so I was able to help a bit. By 1:30 I started doing bad. The pressure was getting really bad and I told Alexis that I felt like I had to poop. I didn?t know if I legitimately had to poop because I had not done so in over 24 hours or if it was baby related. In order to solve this mystery the nurse checked me again and said I was still at 6cm. I asked her what I should do about the feeling since it apparently wasn?t the baby ready to come out and she said I should ?hold it?. So hold it I tried. Now, those of you who have been in labor before know that feeling in pretty much uncontrollable. As a first time mom I really did not know what to expect so when the pressure and uncontrollable feeling got worse REALLY quickly I started freaking out. I?ve seen enough episodes of Birth Day and A Baby Story to know what happens if you push too early. Close to 2:00pm I was on the verge of crying. I told Alexis that I didn?t know how I was going to handle ?holding it? and that I was scared because the baby wasn?t taking the contractions well. I prayed that they would just give me the c-section so I?d know my baby would be okay. My best friend who was trying to console me and convince me to just let my body do what it wants to do yelled for a nurse and demanded I be checked again. A different nurse checked and I was over 9cm. It had happened in 15 minutes! They had me get ?in to position? right away and she said we?d do a couple of practice pushes and see if we could call the Dr. but before I even started she said she knew we?d be ready to go. After my practice push they could see J?s head so within about 2 minutes Dr. K and the entire baby delivery cavalry were in the room (about 5 more people). I remember thinking as I was pushing that I couldn?t believe this was actually happening. I couldn?t believe I was actually giving birth to our son. That and this was all very ?Discovery Channel?. At that moment Alexis came by my side and looked at me and said ?We?re about to meet our Son?, Dr. K pulled out that big blue cloth that went over me which he dubbed ?the landing strip?, Alexis grabbed one leg my MIL the other and we were ready to go. Roughly 10-15 minutes/ 5-6 pushes later @ 2:17pm, after needing a last minute episiotomy since J?s shoulders were stuck and his umbilical cord was around his neck, our little boy was here. The first this I saw over the cloth was his little hands and a few seconds later they placed him on top of me. They suctioned his nose and mouth and then he let out his first cry, the most perfect sound in the world. The next 30 minutes or so were a blur I couldn?t be bothered with the fact that I was elevated 5 feet off the ground with my business all out while I was being sewn up. That beautiful little guy (6lbs 8oz 20? long) on the other side of the room was my son. Life couldn?t be more perfect. When they gave him to me again he looked right at me with his big eyes like he just knew EXACTLY who I was. My best friend says that for those moments it looked like I had pretty much forgotten there was anyone else there. She was right. After they checked him out the Pedi came over and told us he was ?perfect?.

They gave us about 40 minutes with him and then he was off to the nursery.

Life since then has been pretty surreal. At least once a day Alexis and I acknowledge that we can?t believe he?s actually ours. I stare at him sleeping for hours. He?s the most amazing thing I?ve ever seen.

His jaundice levels were a little high at the hospital so the Pedi wanted to see him the Monday after he was born. At that appt. his levels were okay and his weight was 6lbs 4oz. Dr. wasn?t concerned since most babies lose weight after birth. He asked to have him back on Thursday to check the bilirubin levels again. On Thursday they were better J also looked much less yellow and his weight had gone up to a whopping 7lbs J the breastfeeding never really worked out because he needs immediate satisfaction when it comes to food and for some reason getting it directly from me frustrates him. So I?ve been pumping and giving him the BM that way and it?s been working out great. I started off at about 5-8oz per pumping session and now I?m up to 10-15oz. I also have about 70oz frozen so I?m hoping that?s pretty good. As long as he gets what he needs I?m not really concerned with how.

Recovery from the episiotomy was pretty quick. The pain was gone by the end of the first week. It was a rough week though. I also suffered a mini-episode of either mastitis or a clogged duct. All I know is my fever was over 102 and I felt like crap. Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours. I did some serious pumping every 2 hours and lots of ice packs. Postpartum bleeding is almost gone.

Little by little things are starting to make sense and I feel a little more each day that I might actually be pretty good at this Mom thing J it?s all a process I suppose.

If you?ve made it this far thanks for reading! This may very well be my longest post ever next to my ?Last post as a Miss? Lol.

cocojack10 · July 2010

WOW! Thanks for sharing. All this does is scare me more, but at the same time make me more anxious to meet my sons.

Glad you are feeling better and adjusting to momyhood. ENJOY!

EliStar · July 2010

It made me so happy (and emotional) to read this! You were meant to be a mom, my friend

I'm just so happy for you and Alexis. ::big giant hugs:: Thanks for sharing your story!

Mrs.ClariC · July 2010

I'm so happy for you guys! Thanks for sharing your story:) Baby J looks perfect!!

Mrs.Form · July 2010

Aw what an amazing story. Congrats!!

FutureHernandez · July 2010

I'm sitting here all teary eyed. And I'm robob!tch, so that says a ton. I've said it before--he's adorable and he's your twin!

Mrs.HisOnly:

I started off at about 5-8oz per pumping session and now I?m up to 10-15oz. I also have about 70oz frozen so I?m hoping that?s pretty good.

Holy mother of milk. That's a ton of milk, girl! I've never heard of anyone pumping that much and I'm in training to become a LLL leader!

MRS.IHEARTMIKE · July 2010

How cute is that! I love reading Birth Stories... God bless him and your family. YAY! MOM

Albah · July 2010

Pregnant lady over here all emotional!

Great story and congrats again!! Enjoy every moment!

PJ33062 · July 2010

aww!! that's awesome! thanks for sharing! Congrats to you and your family. Enjoy mommyhood!

SoontobeSavino · July 2010

How wonderful! Congrats on your new bundle of joy!

mrsjessnjorge · July 2010

Beautiful story! God bless your new family

PS- AMAZING job with the pumping! That is tons of milk a session!!!

melly&jimmy · July 2010

Congratulations to you and your family! He is tooo cute! Thanks for sharing your birth story..

Virginny · July 2010

Wow, what a nice read. Congrats to you and your hubby on such a cute little guy! Glad everything worked out so well and J is happy and healthy. And kudos on the pumping.

Gator09 · July 2010

awww

I am so glad he is here and you can enjoy the joys of motherhood!

Snshine · July 2010

Beautiful! Congratulations! I'm so glad you're enjoying every moment!

NatandRick · July 2010

Awww, congratulations!! That was a great birth story! And you're pumping 10 to 15 oz, I wish

turtlebabies · July 2010

WOW! I know everyone thanks you for sharing but I really am thankful. I've never had a baby and while I've been close to many who have, I've never been there. I felt like I was there! LOL! Sounds every bit as amazing as I imagine it. I'm so glad that in the end it all turned out great and that you are now home enjoying your baby boy. I wish you all many blessings.

sandye · July 2010

What a wonderful birth story. Thanks for sharing. Congrats on becoming a mommy.

rach312 · July 2010

What a wonderful birth story! Enjoy your little man.

StephE623 · July 2010

Thank you for sharing that with us! What a great birth story. I'm glad you are enjoying your new life and I have to tell you that you will be amazed at the fact that J is yours every single day.

Great job on the pumping! It's rare to pump that much in the beginning so keep up the good work

TayLynn · July 2010

Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!

And ditto the others, that's a great amount of milk! Wowza!

Did they evaluate him for tongue tie? That can affect the baby's ability to nurse.

Exclusively pumping can be a lot of work. If it works for your family, great. I would just hate for you to quit pumping because it is demanding of your time. It basically takes twice as long to feed the baby when you have to pump it first. Some that EP have difficulty maintaining their supply. I'm not saying that to discourage you at all. It sounds like you're off to a great start.

But if you would like to get him back on the breast, you can still do it at this stage. Maybe contact the LLL or a LC to help you. It's common for newborns to want to eat immediately. It's a like a switch gets flipped and they are instantly starving. But there are early feeding cues (like rooting, tongue thrust, or even just looking around) that you will start to pick up on. Crying is the last (and loudest LOL!) cue. Or even simply offering to nurse a little sooner than you would normally feed him.

It's hard to nurse a crying baby. They are often too upset at that point to latch on. You can offer your little finger for the baby to suck on for a few seconds to calm him. Then latch him on.

If you want to EP, then go for it! Breastmilk is great no matter the delivery method as long as it works for your family.

If there's anything I can help with send me a PM or email

taylynnp@gmail.com

Good luck and enjoy your little guy!