Hello ladies! I'm hoping to catch up and read through some of these birth stories this week, so exciting to see everyone with their new babes. I've been missing for a week, due to the arrival of little Fred! An old man's name for a baby with the cutest old man face ever.
I was induced Monday night, January 6, and he arrived January 7 at 3:06pm, 7 lb 15oz and 22 inches. Some quick takeaways from the experience:
I don't regret being induced at all, I do regret a little not getting the epidural sooner, as I went into labor almost immediately after starting the induction and dealt with the contractions for a long sleepless night before getting the epi the next morning (thankfully I immediately fell asleep so I had the energy to push later in the day).
Also on the epi: Could anyone else totally feel it going in? It wasn't
pain, but it was like getting a tooth filled. I was numbed but I could feel it going into my spine and it
freaked me out. I screamed.
My husband and the L&D nurse who coached me through pushing got to hear some outstanding curse words. The epi had been lowered to let me better feel the contractions and the PRESSURE, my god the pressure! I was unprepared for the feeling like I was trying to shit out a bowling ball (not that far off, Freddie's head is 13.5 inches around) after a day of feeling only mild pressure. Luckily he was out after 45 minutes of pushing or I might have started speaking in tongues.
I am starting to feel like the standard for hospital stay should be 3 days instead of 2, because as a FTM I didn't realize that the birth euphoria masks a lot of discomfort at first. I felt like a million dollars for about 48 hours post partum. It was day 3 that I was like "woah".
Breastfeeding isn't going well, and I am a combination of
extremely depressed and
extremely tempted to just quit so I can get more rest and help with feeding him. Guilt and hormones ahoy.
I love him so much I can hardly stand it!
Re: Baby's here!
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sibling love
Carter Robert 7.18.08 | Brynn Sophia 5.24.10 | Reid Joseph 9.10.12 | Emerson Mae 1.27.14
You are doing a great job though! I hope you are able to get more rest and that BFing gets easier for you. It is tough, especially as a new mom. Good luck. Fred is adorable!
SAHM to 4 kiddos... K (5/05), N (4/09), C (11/10) and Baby A 1/13/14
I didn't realize until I saw your comments that all my "takeaways" were pretty negative. Ha! I didn't mean it to be that way, so here are some positive aspects too:
I'm really proud of how I did. Like I said, I didn't deal well with the "butt pressure" during transition and pushing. But I never gave up, made it through all the pushing counts without quitting and really forced myself to focus. When I thought back on it later I felt a huge surge of pride about the whole thing. It was a boost and now I know if we have another that I can totally do this.
The post-partum bathroom visits weren't the horror show I envisioned. TMI alert: I pooped only about 12 hours after giving birth and it was fine, despite having stitches from a second degree tear. Whoo hoo!
Oh yeah, speaking of, I did not poop during labor according to DH, whoo hoo!
Also, I thought I had posted two pics, here's a bonus!
DS #1 Born 01/07/2014, DS #2 Born 12/17/2014
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TTC Since 8/2011
BFP #1 5/13/12 * EDD 1/24/13 * MC at 7 wks 4 days on 6/11/12
BFP #2 5/13/13 * Current EDD 1/23/14
Baby N born 2/8/14