Celebrating our one month milestone by fitting into
our clothes better except for the fact that he's getting so
long he won't fit much longer!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
gDiapers: My review
This package comes with:
12 tiny gpants - fit my newborn 6lb 1 oz baby.
6 small little gpants
80 small g refills ( throwaways)
swish stick.
I was disappointed this did not come with any cloth liners and I had to purchase those separately. I had to buy a 6 pack for the 12 tiny gpants plus 6 for the little gpants.
I don't know if it's the fact that my son ( currently 3 weeks and 3 days) doesn't cry when he's wet and shifts about when he poos but still doesn't cry or if the diapers really don't work but I find that he's often wet through his clothes if he's slept through the diaper for a feeding or two. More often than not he's wetting through them completely and I continuously have to wash the liners and the cloth inserts. I will use the small gpants once he's older and be able to make a more through review as for now I"m considering another diaper type. Also the Velcro sticks to EVERYTHING in the dryer and the Velcro is starting to come apart from the fabric after 2 weeks of washings. Currently I'm considering Charlie Banana which was my other choice when looking for cloth diapers. I love the idea of the snaps now that I've used the Velcro version. I am committed to using the cloth diapers that can also be used as disposables - for friends and family.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Riley's Birth Story Plus Pictures!
Riley William was born on April 21, 2012 at 12:56pm. 6lbs, 1oz 19 inches long. A very tiny baby! I wasn't expecting him to be so tiny!
Over the last 6 weeks I developed pre-eclampsia which by 38 weeks turned into full blown toxemia. Sadly there are no reasons why you get or don't get pre-eclampsia. My doctor is amazing and wanted to keep me pregnant as long as it was safe for both me and Riley. The goal was to make it to 39 weeks and then be induced. My doctor knew about my desires for a natural birth and a natural pregnancy and I appreciate her taking my request into consideration as much as she possibly can. I appreciated that so so much especially because I'm a control freak and I'm working on getting over that. I didn't talk about it on the blog because I didn't want to worry anyone - especially the mothers. Over the last 6 weeks I've been doing 24 hour urine collections - only 2. I've had numerous blood tests to confirm my liver enzymes and wbc ( white blood count) were good which they were excellent. Had they been bad I would of been induced much sooner!
We arrived at the doctor's office on Friday 4/20 for my weekly appointment which had started to turn into a 2-3 time weekly appointment since my blood pressure and urine in protein were getting higher regardless of me taking medication. I had protein in my urine ( an increase from last time) and my blood pressure was in the 140s/90s. The doctor said "I'm over it, you're being induced." So she inserted a Foley Catheter to start my cervix dilating while we made our way to the hospital. It didn't hurt at all and just felt a little awkward. I started to feel cramping which she said was normal and I would feel it. She called the hospital and we left for home to gather our last minute things.
Once we got to the hospital I was feeling cramps every so often. By this time it had been an hour since the catheter. We registered and I got settled into our room - changing clothes, going over paperwork questions, calling our mother's to tell them about being induced, etc. The nurse hooked me up to the monitor for the required 20 minute reading to get my vitals and Riley's. She then told me what I thought was a cramp was a contraction! Imagine me shocked. I was like, oh well if it's like this I can handle it. We tried moving around the room, walking, squatting and whatnot to get Riley to move down and me further dilated. A little while later in the afternoon the doctor arrived and by now my contractions were more intense but still I was able to talk through them. She confirmed I was 3 cm dilated and said if she broke my water I would likely go naturally so that's what she did. It was the strangest feeling in the world. Just lots of warm water like I had peed my pants and it just seemed to keep flowing - especially once I stood up and had to go to the bathroom. After this part things begin to get a bit fuzzy. I was trying to get as much sleep as possible because I hadn't the night before. In fact I had planned to come home and nap after our doctor's appointment.
At this point I think the contractions started coming harder and faster. I breathed through and tried to relax as much as possible. MIL and SIL arrived to check on me and hang out with the dogs until the baby arrived. Lots of waiting at this point and I was anxious to be checked to see if we had progressed but thankfully the nurses refused me since my bag of waters were broken they didn't want to increase the risk of infection. (The doctor at this point, checked my enzymes again and thankfully I was able to avoid the magnesium sulfate that she had planned on giving but we learned that I was in full blow toxemia or eclampsia.) However, a little while later I was beginning to feel the pain kick up a notch. It felt like intense menstrual cramps but no matter what way I turned I couldn't get comfortable. I labored through the contractions with Ryan right by my side for every single one. A little while later in the evening sometime I was checked and confirmed still only 3-4cm. I was disappointed because I knew if things didn't happen soon I would get pitocin.
Now contractions were intense and I was getting no rest between them. They were infrequent and no pattern was developing. I hated that. I was expecting things to start working by this time. I began to feel like I needed some pain medication but I didn't want to. I toyed with the idea for quite sometime before my intense thirst and tiredness took over. They offered Stadol and generally gave a small dosage but I asked if we could do half that and see how I felt. Immediately I felt dizzy which I absolutely loathe but if I kept my eyes closed I felt ok. I still felt thirsty no matter how much I drank and began to want to throw up but I couldn't. Ryan said it was the medicine but it kept the pain more dulled so struggled with more versus asking for an epidural. The nurse came in during this time and said that the doctor wanted to start pitocin but I asked if we could wait a bit to see if the Stadol helped and she said yes. I waited but nothing changed so they brought in the Pitocin and I was hooked up. Even with the fluids from the Pitocin I was still incredibly thirsty and nauseated. At this point it was about 3:00am and I was struggling. My nurse came in and said that she wasn't pushing the epidural but if I was thinking about it that I needed to make a decision soon because it would be too late and I knew that. So I got the epidural. The doctor arrived at around 6:30 just as my Stadol dosage was wearing off. He was joking around and I'm in a lull with the contractions but I knew around the time he went to inject me I'd have a contraction and of course I did. I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to hurry but I was still too nice. Finally I began to have some relief as I felt it slowly come over me. He asked if I felt better and I said yes, waiting for the rest of my body to go slightly numb. I felt the catheter when they put that in and I thought that it was just because I was waiting on it to work that it wasn't working. But the doctor came in and said "Are you still in pain?" I said "yes" and she said " get him back in here." So we had to do the epidural again and this time it took. It was awesome. I was finally able to sleep and no longer feeling nauseated. I'm not sure if pitocin was involved still or if it had been shut off. I fell asleep and rested. It was fantastic. A couple hours later the doctor woke me up to check me. I was still at just 4cm and disappointed again. So she took things into her own hands, literally and twisted Riley's head from a 4cm to an 8cm. Problem solved. Thankfully the epidural was fully working at this point!
The second time I was awoken in a flash of nurses saying, "it's time." I was having a really good nap too. They set me up to push because the baby's heart beat had dropped and it was just time to get this baby out. I pushed several times and she said that his head was right there and touched it within 3 inches. So I pushed but it wasn't working so well and she said that forceps needed to be used so she did - which was faster than a c-section would be and out he came!
Scarily he came out blue and not responding. He needed chest compressions to get his little pulse normal. He was rubbed and rubbed and had super mucus in his throat so he was being suctioned. He was finally stabilized in the nursery where they had to give him saline and water to flush the mucus out. He then was given antibiotics as I was recovering from the epidural. My blood pressure was still high at this point because I was shaking/shivering but not cold. It hurt and I hated to feel it but at that point I thought it was the medication wearing off. I hadn't had my blood pressure medicine in 24 hours so going from some to none was hard. We assumed ( and the doctors) that once I delivered it would be "normal". A few hours later I visited Riley in the nursery where he was being kept warm by a nice light. He had to stay until he was finished with his antibiotics. We were moved to a recovery room and I slept. I was in a bit of pain and still feeling the contractions or the left over contractions and asked for medicine. Again at this point I still wasn't given my blood pressure medicine and the next night it got dangerously high. So high that I was shaking again and so cold I thought it was going too low. I had to have a line put in my arm and be given more medication to lower my pressure immediately. I was checked every 15 minutes after that to confirm it was going down and we changed my medication overall.
I'm still on the medication and monitoring my blood pressure every few hours but thankfully it seems we're in a pattern now of "normal" although it's not yet a normal blood pressure it's getting there. I've had to learn to be patient with my body. I expected to be able to spring back to normal within a few days but that's not been the case. It's been 8 days and I'm finally feeling better. I think I put too much pressure on myself to get better immediately and be super mom - surviving on little to no sleep while Ryan was working.
I have to say my husband has been absolutely amazing. In fact, amazing is an understatement. He is the best father I imagined he would be and better. He was incredible during labor and helping me doing all the dirty work, never leaving my side. I could feel the love he has for me during this time. I could see he loves me as much as I love him and I would do the same for him if he needed it.
So was my birth as I expected? Absolutely not. My "plan" technically failed. I was told later that I was in labor for 20 hours before asking for pain medication. I couldn't believe that. I feel a bit proud of that fact. If I could go back I would get the epidural sooner so I could have slept more. That's the only thing I would have changed.Riley and I are home and healthy and that's what matters. In May, Ryan has the entire month off so our little trio will have some excellent bonding time that I am looking forward to.We had our check up and Riley has gained 4 oz and right on track.
Pictures will come once I get our announcements out - they'll arrive soon and then a few pics on the blog of the happy baby.
Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks taken here and there:
Over the last 6 weeks I developed pre-eclampsia which by 38 weeks turned into full blown toxemia. Sadly there are no reasons why you get or don't get pre-eclampsia. My doctor is amazing and wanted to keep me pregnant as long as it was safe for both me and Riley. The goal was to make it to 39 weeks and then be induced. My doctor knew about my desires for a natural birth and a natural pregnancy and I appreciate her taking my request into consideration as much as she possibly can. I appreciated that so so much especially because I'm a control freak and I'm working on getting over that. I didn't talk about it on the blog because I didn't want to worry anyone - especially the mothers. Over the last 6 weeks I've been doing 24 hour urine collections - only 2. I've had numerous blood tests to confirm my liver enzymes and wbc ( white blood count) were good which they were excellent. Had they been bad I would of been induced much sooner!
We arrived at the doctor's office on Friday 4/20 for my weekly appointment which had started to turn into a 2-3 time weekly appointment since my blood pressure and urine in protein were getting higher regardless of me taking medication. I had protein in my urine ( an increase from last time) and my blood pressure was in the 140s/90s. The doctor said "I'm over it, you're being induced." So she inserted a Foley Catheter to start my cervix dilating while we made our way to the hospital. It didn't hurt at all and just felt a little awkward. I started to feel cramping which she said was normal and I would feel it. She called the hospital and we left for home to gather our last minute things.
Once we got to the hospital I was feeling cramps every so often. By this time it had been an hour since the catheter. We registered and I got settled into our room - changing clothes, going over paperwork questions, calling our mother's to tell them about being induced, etc. The nurse hooked me up to the monitor for the required 20 minute reading to get my vitals and Riley's. She then told me what I thought was a cramp was a contraction! Imagine me shocked. I was like, oh well if it's like this I can handle it. We tried moving around the room, walking, squatting and whatnot to get Riley to move down and me further dilated. A little while later in the afternoon the doctor arrived and by now my contractions were more intense but still I was able to talk through them. She confirmed I was 3 cm dilated and said if she broke my water I would likely go naturally so that's what she did. It was the strangest feeling in the world. Just lots of warm water like I had peed my pants and it just seemed to keep flowing - especially once I stood up and had to go to the bathroom. After this part things begin to get a bit fuzzy. I was trying to get as much sleep as possible because I hadn't the night before. In fact I had planned to come home and nap after our doctor's appointment.
At this point I think the contractions started coming harder and faster. I breathed through and tried to relax as much as possible. MIL and SIL arrived to check on me and hang out with the dogs until the baby arrived. Lots of waiting at this point and I was anxious to be checked to see if we had progressed but thankfully the nurses refused me since my bag of waters were broken they didn't want to increase the risk of infection. (The doctor at this point, checked my enzymes again and thankfully I was able to avoid the magnesium sulfate that she had planned on giving but we learned that I was in full blow toxemia or eclampsia.) However, a little while later I was beginning to feel the pain kick up a notch. It felt like intense menstrual cramps but no matter what way I turned I couldn't get comfortable. I labored through the contractions with Ryan right by my side for every single one. A little while later in the evening sometime I was checked and confirmed still only 3-4cm. I was disappointed because I knew if things didn't happen soon I would get pitocin.
Now contractions were intense and I was getting no rest between them. They were infrequent and no pattern was developing. I hated that. I was expecting things to start working by this time. I began to feel like I needed some pain medication but I didn't want to. I toyed with the idea for quite sometime before my intense thirst and tiredness took over. They offered Stadol and generally gave a small dosage but I asked if we could do half that and see how I felt. Immediately I felt dizzy which I absolutely loathe but if I kept my eyes closed I felt ok. I still felt thirsty no matter how much I drank and began to want to throw up but I couldn't. Ryan said it was the medicine but it kept the pain more dulled so struggled with more versus asking for an epidural. The nurse came in during this time and said that the doctor wanted to start pitocin but I asked if we could wait a bit to see if the Stadol helped and she said yes. I waited but nothing changed so they brought in the Pitocin and I was hooked up. Even with the fluids from the Pitocin I was still incredibly thirsty and nauseated. At this point it was about 3:00am and I was struggling. My nurse came in and said that she wasn't pushing the epidural but if I was thinking about it that I needed to make a decision soon because it would be too late and I knew that. So I got the epidural. The doctor arrived at around 6:30 just as my Stadol dosage was wearing off. He was joking around and I'm in a lull with the contractions but I knew around the time he went to inject me I'd have a contraction and of course I did. I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to hurry but I was still too nice. Finally I began to have some relief as I felt it slowly come over me. He asked if I felt better and I said yes, waiting for the rest of my body to go slightly numb. I felt the catheter when they put that in and I thought that it was just because I was waiting on it to work that it wasn't working. But the doctor came in and said "Are you still in pain?" I said "yes" and she said " get him back in here." So we had to do the epidural again and this time it took. It was awesome. I was finally able to sleep and no longer feeling nauseated. I'm not sure if pitocin was involved still or if it had been shut off. I fell asleep and rested. It was fantastic. A couple hours later the doctor woke me up to check me. I was still at just 4cm and disappointed again. So she took things into her own hands, literally and twisted Riley's head from a 4cm to an 8cm. Problem solved. Thankfully the epidural was fully working at this point!
The second time I was awoken in a flash of nurses saying, "it's time." I was having a really good nap too. They set me up to push because the baby's heart beat had dropped and it was just time to get this baby out. I pushed several times and she said that his head was right there and touched it within 3 inches. So I pushed but it wasn't working so well and she said that forceps needed to be used so she did - which was faster than a c-section would be and out he came!
Scarily he came out blue and not responding. He needed chest compressions to get his little pulse normal. He was rubbed and rubbed and had super mucus in his throat so he was being suctioned. He was finally stabilized in the nursery where they had to give him saline and water to flush the mucus out. He then was given antibiotics as I was recovering from the epidural. My blood pressure was still high at this point because I was shaking/shivering but not cold. It hurt and I hated to feel it but at that point I thought it was the medication wearing off. I hadn't had my blood pressure medicine in 24 hours so going from some to none was hard. We assumed ( and the doctors) that once I delivered it would be "normal". A few hours later I visited Riley in the nursery where he was being kept warm by a nice light. He had to stay until he was finished with his antibiotics. We were moved to a recovery room and I slept. I was in a bit of pain and still feeling the contractions or the left over contractions and asked for medicine. Again at this point I still wasn't given my blood pressure medicine and the next night it got dangerously high. So high that I was shaking again and so cold I thought it was going too low. I had to have a line put in my arm and be given more medication to lower my pressure immediately. I was checked every 15 minutes after that to confirm it was going down and we changed my medication overall.
I'm still on the medication and monitoring my blood pressure every few hours but thankfully it seems we're in a pattern now of "normal" although it's not yet a normal blood pressure it's getting there. I've had to learn to be patient with my body. I expected to be able to spring back to normal within a few days but that's not been the case. It's been 8 days and I'm finally feeling better. I think I put too much pressure on myself to get better immediately and be super mom - surviving on little to no sleep while Ryan was working.
I have to say my husband has been absolutely amazing. In fact, amazing is an understatement. He is the best father I imagined he would be and better. He was incredible during labor and helping me doing all the dirty work, never leaving my side. I could feel the love he has for me during this time. I could see he loves me as much as I love him and I would do the same for him if he needed it.
So was my birth as I expected? Absolutely not. My "plan" technically failed. I was told later that I was in labor for 20 hours before asking for pain medication. I couldn't believe that. I feel a bit proud of that fact. If I could go back I would get the epidural sooner so I could have slept more. That's the only thing I would have changed.Riley and I are home and healthy and that's what matters. In May, Ryan has the entire month off so our little trio will have some excellent bonding time that I am looking forward to.We had our check up and Riley has gained 4 oz and right on track.
Pictures will come once I get our announcements out - they'll arrive soon and then a few pics on the blog of the happy baby.
Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks taken here and there:
Monday, April 16, 2012
Thoughts
Because my doctor put the kibosh on my "Birth Plan" which really was "Birth Requests for Hospital," I've come up with an alternative solution. I've typed up a few things - only 6 and putting it in our folder with all our Hypnobirthing handouts so that Ryan can be sure to tell the hospital and OB the gentle reminders.
37 38 weeks and my little sister's 11th birthday. Oh how she would be overjoyed to have her nephew born on her birthday. She was a little disappointed when she found out it was a boy but I think that would make up for it. I have had a feeling that I will go into labor around 38 weeks for quite sometime now. That will be in about two weeks and on or about our 5th Wedding Anniversary. We plan to stay at home rather than our tradition of going out to eat just to make sure he doesn't arrive in the middle of dinner. According to the doctor I'm three days off the due date I say of May 5th so technically for them I'm due May 8th which makes my weeks a few days (2 or 3) off. I think they messed up with the calendar wheel that's used and I'm fairly certain of the time baby was conceived - a benefit of infertility treatments. I have enjoyed this experience of pregnancy but these last 6 weeks have been a little rough. Not that I'm uncomfortable because I'm not but it's difficult learning to let others do for you what you've been doing yourself for at least the last 15 years! Waiting on help is hard to do and waiting on another person's time-line is also difficult. But it does give me more perspective.
I often wonder - what will the surges feel like? Will I know it's true labor? I've had practice surges the entire pregnancy. Will I have to call Ryan or will he be at home? I have a feeling labor will start in the middle of the night, that is if I can actually get some sleep. It's 2:00am. My "normal" sleep time since the third trimester began. What will the dogs be like during early labor? Can I just get to the hospital to breath the baby down, birth him and come home? I hope to arrive at the hospital fully dilated since we're so close.
I'm anxious to get things done that I've been putting off simply because I feel like I have no desire.
Birth Requests:
- 1.) Let my husband, Ryan, catch the baby.
- 2.) Wait until umbilical cord stops pulsing before cutting.
- 3.) No pitocin to deliver the placenta unless emergency.
- 4.) Baby will be exclusively breastfed. NO pacifiers/binkys.
- 5.) Please wait to give eye drops until at least 2 hours after birth.
- 6.) Baby boy will be circumcised.
I often wonder - what will the surges feel like? Will I know it's true labor? I've had practice surges the entire pregnancy. Will I have to call Ryan or will he be at home? I have a feeling labor will start in the middle of the night, that is if I can actually get some sleep. It's 2:00am. My "normal" sleep time since the third trimester began. What will the dogs be like during early labor? Can I just get to the hospital to breath the baby down, birth him and come home? I hope to arrive at the hospital fully dilated since we're so close.
I'm anxious to get things done that I've been putting off simply because I feel like I have no desire.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
36 Weeks and Counting: A little update!
In case you're wondering I am still pregnant. We're reaching the end and I am looking forward to it so much. Things are going well and Riley and I are doing very good. We're anxious to meet our little guy in about 3 more weeks! I know that time is going to fly and thankfully I think we've got everything ready for him. I'm trying to keep off my feet and relax, getting as much sleep as I can for the days ahead of sleepless nights. I can't really do things by myself anymore and I'm pretty confined to home which is a lot more difficult than you'd think. I'm so bored of tv!
I hope to share more especially with the birth story of how things went once we get to that stage.
I hope to share more especially with the birth story of how things went once we get to that stage.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
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