Wednesday, July 20, 2005

She's here!!!


Whew! What a week! I started having contractions at 10pm on Saturday night, we got to the hospital at 1am sunday. Had some Stadol and went all loopy...did NOTHING for the pain, but made me not care as much about it. I kept saying really goofy things, which I am sure Dan will continue to remind me of for years to come! Finally got an epidural, which got rid of the pain of the contractions, BUT left me with the most incredible urge to push...at 5 cm dilation...YIKES. SO I spent 3 hours trying NOT to push with every contraction. Had a really bad reaction to the bladder catheter, so that had to go (thank GOD they agreed to take it out, I was in so much pain). Epidural started wearing off, but all anesthesia docs were in an emergency, so it took them a good 2 hours to come back and reinforce it. Meanwhile...trying not to push... When I was fully dilated, the nurse called in the doc, I pushed for 7 min and out popped my beautiful girl. The downside of it going so quickly was there was no time for a proper episiotomy, SO, I am stitched up in a few spots, and not all that comfy... I know I really lucked out in the pushing dept, but honestly, I was probably inadvertently pushing while trying not to for 3 hours, so that probably hhelped her move down.
OK so enough of the gory details! Here's my munchkin!!!
Piper Kenna, 7lb 6 oz, July 17th

Thursday, July 14, 2005

5 days to go...

I am starting to seriously doubt that I am going to have this baby early! According to the doctor yesterday I was "officially" not dilated, though the "outside" end of my cervix had started to open, the inside end had not. It has begun to thin a bit, but not enough to call it an "official change". However the doctor did say that she hoped she wouldn't see me at my next appointment, next wednesday, so that gave me a little hope. But the bambino is still head down, which is good, and I got another size esitmate of 6.5lbs, so either Dr. Brooks last time gave me a final size estimate rather than an "at this time" size estimate, Dr. Lope de Haro doesn't know what she is talking about, or my child has not grown in a month (which is not the case). But then again, size estimates are not to be trusted at all, as they are almost always wrong, and in either direction.

And I thought I was antsy a few weeks ago... I am downright climbing the WALLS now! I am trying really hard not to do too much, but it's almost impossible. The more I lay down the more I think about when the baby is going to come and the more it stresses me out, etc. etc. So I am reading a lot, as many non-pregnancy-related books as I can. Watching a whole lot of TV, and sleeping... but I am still going batty! Today I have stamped the final curtain, painted a watercolor for the baby's room wall, done 2 loads of laundry, and am contemplating the dishes, though I am not sure my back can take it. And it's only 2pm!!!

Alrighty, I should lie down for a bit...then maybe I'll tackle the dishes!

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Nothing to report...

Just sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my child to decide to make an appearance! (I appreciate that I am still 9 days from my due date...but I am absolutely CONVINCED that I am going to go early) Braxton-Hicks have picked up the past few days, having some almost every day, though not as long of bouts as before. Yesterday they were off and on for most of the day until about midnight or so. Definately starting to get antsy. Looked up "natural labor inducers" on the web yesterday...no real good news. Basically everything that everyone suggests doesn't have any shred of proof that it works. My favorite was castor oil, a few teaspoons a few times a day. The reasoning was it will cause your bowels to cramp and you to have diarrhea, which will in turn cause the uterus to have "sympathy contractions"... I almost fell out of my chair...my uterus is going to have SYMPATHY contractions for my bowels??? That was a little too new-agey even for me. Many of the midwives/doulas on the sites suggested visualization exercises in which you visualize yourself talking to your baby and asking him/her why they have decided not to come yet. While it is true (scientifically) that the baby does send the hormone signal to the mother to begin labor, I think that discussing with your unborn child WHY they have DECIDED not to come is a BIT too far-fetched for me as well... So I will continue on with the not-so-loony-sounding methods, such as walking, and stair climbing. If my uterus wants to have sympathy contractions, it's just going to have to do it without castor oil!

Monday, July 04, 2005

It's official!

The baby has dropped...repeat...the baby has dropped! Confirmed by side by side photo comparison, the baby is officially "much lower" than she was before (hasn't been confirmed by the doctor yet but photos don't lie). The dropping in question occured at 9pm on Saturday night. I was having Braxton-Hicks (big surprise there...) and decided it was time to walk. Walking usually makes them feel better. Dan came around to help me stand up, and as I was in the process of standing I had the absolute WORST pain in my lower abdomen, this horrible stretching pulling pain. I, of course, sat back down. Once it went away and I stood up, the butt lump was gone from under my boobs and had dropped a good 3-4 inches down, and my lower belly then felt MUCH heavier. We have been looking forward to the dropping for a while now, as it is supposed to alleviate breathing problems, make eating easier, and signal that the baby is coming. Well... it hasn't really alleviated breathing problems, especially not when laying down, just gave her more room to stretch her legs out and get underneath my lungs. I think I definately ate more yesterday than I have been able too, so I guess that's true. And according to the book, in a first pregnancy, dropping can occur right before, or up to 4 weeks before delivery...helpful! At this point if I have to wait 4 more weeks (2 weeks past my due date) I am going to give birth to a 15 lb baby...NO THANK YOU! Other downfalls to the dropping... stairs suck! Going up stairs has become nearly impossible, going down isn't that much fun either but at least I have forward momentum helping. I can't sleep again for 2 reasons, lack of a good position (the belly is completely different now so I have to figure out again how to get comfortable) and constant dreams about my water breaking (and therefore constant wakenings to check and see if my water has broken). Another downfall, hemorrhoids...'nuff said. And my lower belly feels so much heavier. Good thing, munchkin definately has more room and has become quite active again, still just squirming, not a lot of kicks anymore...which is a good thing, if she'd kick she'd probably kick right through at this point!

Yesterday was the 4th of July party at MIL's. The usual...the 10 of us go to Holly's, sit in the back yard, eat the same food we had 2 weeks ago at the Father's Day party, Dave and Kathleen talk about how horrible Devlin is right in front of him. Everyone babies Amber to the point that she has become a whiny crying infant anytime she doesn't get her way (for example, she got out of a chair to go play, I sat down in said chair, and she cryed and threw a fit, so much so that she tripped up the stairs and actually bumped her legs and then started actually crying). My child will not be babied. When she falls (assuming she is not really hurt) we will pick her up, dust her off, tell her she is OK, and send her back out. None of this "oh you poor thing are you ok let me see oh you poor little girl" crap. They have completely made Amber into a helpless, hopeless little being who can do absoultely nothing for herself (she cried for 20 min yesterday because her hotdog was on a bun and not cut up like she wanted it, and she can't cut it up herself...she's 8). I refuse to let this happen to my daughter. She will be strong, she will be independent, she will be in charge of her own actions, and she will take resposibility for them (once she is old enough to understand of course). And they want to have more kids...lord help us!