lili
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PS Mommies Thread!
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lili
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10.3.08
Here’s my L&D story... (WARNING - it''s super long!)
On September 24th, I had my 36 week prenatal appointment, where we were SHOCKED to learn that I was at 4 cm dilated! I was completely shocked that I was at 4cm and not feeling much pain at all. My contractions felt different for the past few days but they still weren''t painful. My MW, M, also thought my water had broken because the fluids turned the nitrazine paper color. I was sent over to L&D and checked in and monitored. An u/s tech came in to do a quick check to make sure the baby''s head was still down and to check if there was lots of fluid in my uterus. Both positive. She doubted my membrane was grossly ruptured. They did the nitrazine paper tests and the fern test, which confirmed that my water had NOT broken. I was having irregular contractions from 2-10 minutes apart but when at around 10pm (5 hours later) they rechecked my cervix and it was still at 4cm dilated and 60% effaced. I wasn''t in active labor or there would have been change. Since I was not in active labor, my water was not broken, baby looked great on the u/s and on the monitor, and I was still a bit early (36.5 weeks), they recommended I go home. They thought I''d get better rest at home than at the hospital. When you are tired, you feel more pain. And since I wanted to try and go natural, I needed to get all the rest I could! This was my fifth visit to L&D and I thought for sure I’d be going home with a baby but I was wrong!
I got about 8 hours of sleep that night and rested throughout the day. I felt contractions but they were still irregular and not that painful. At 6pm though, I started feeling more painful contractions and they were regular, occurring around every 5 minutes. We ate dinner, knowing I''d probably be headed to L&D if these contractions stayed regular. At the one hour mark, I took a quick shower then called my doctor, and we headed to L&D. I kept thinking about how I''d miss the season premieres of Ugly Betty, Grey''s Anatomy, and ER. I''d been waiting a long time for this TV night! But of course baby was more important and exciting!
By 8:45pm, I was checked in very quickly since I had already completed all the check in paperwork, blood work, etc. the night before. The nurse, Sharon, who took care of me the night before found me a good L&D room (#11, my birth month!), equipped with telemetry, since she was familiar with my birth plan and knew I wanted to move around during labor. They hooked my up to the monitor. I was contracting irregularly still but every 2-5 minutes apart. I was 4-5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Definitely some change from the night before! Oh I loved my nurse and midwife. They let me watch TV from 9-11pm, so I watched half of Grey''s and ER while walking around in my room while DH was in MY hospital bed resting. At 11:30, the nurse checked me again right before the shift ended. I was 5 cm 100%! At 12:30am, my MW, S, checked me and I was 5-6 cm, 95% effaced. I found out that effacement can change depending on the position of the baby. She did an ultrasound to confirm baby was head down but wasn''t able to with 100% certainty (I knew he was) so she called in the doctor on call, the main doctor of the practice, Dr. S.
The next half an hour was crazy and chaotic. Lots of commotion. Dr. S said I was 6 cm and confirmed with the u/s that the baby is head down. She attempted to break my water but after several attempts, it didn''t break, which was odd because S said she felt it bulging just a short time ago. They warned me that with a contraction I may feel my water break since the bag may have been prodded at. At the same time two nurses were at my bedside, putting in a saline lock. The attempt on my left arm failed when she couldn''t find a good straight vein. It felt like she inserted the needle many times but DH said she stuck it in once and moved it around trying to find the vein. Oww! It hurt more than my contractions! Finally they decided to try my right arm, which didn''t even hurt (compared the my left arm) when they finally got the damn catheter in! It did burn and feel uncomfortable for hours after. It took awhile for it to feel like nothing was there, a lot longer than they said it would. DH said he was traumatized by watching all that and said I could have any jewelry I wanted. I told him to wait until he sees a baby come out of me!
Even though the nurse questioned my MW and doctor about starting Pitocin, they let me go through the night myself to see how I would progress. I was extremely happy with that. Since I was early and the baby looked great, they didn''t want to rush my L&D. So from 1-8am, nothing much happened. DH slept most of the time while I lay there anxious of what awaited me. I had my eyes closed but couldn’t fall asleep. I was able to nap for maybe an hour, much less than I hoped for. The nurse came in every hour or so for intermittent monitoring (around 20 minutes each hour). At 5:30, the nurse checked me and I was STILL at 6 cm. I was disappointed. All those contractions and no progress! An hour later, the contractions started to get a bit more intense. I was moaning through the contractions and focused on my breathing. They were still very manageable. DH was even sleeping at this time. My contractions were painful but manageable and I kept telling myself, "I CAN do this without drugs!"
At 9:30am, I was 7 cm and my MW came in and broke my water. I felt the gush of warm liquid and it continued to come out for hours later. DH didn''t want my water broken, what''s the rush he thought. But I didn''t object because I wanted things to progress. I didn''t want to be there forever! They were already saying my labor was a marathon. Around this time Cheryl, the nurse who was with me through all the pushing, got a call asking if I wanted an epidural right now. Cheryl, S, and I laughed because I wasn''t in much pain. Then they asked if I wanted it later and Cheryl informed them I''m going to try natural. DH later told me he didn''t find the humor in it.
By 10am, the contractions got excruciatingly painful! DH was up and helping me get through each one. I had asked Cheryl about my drug options. Since I was a FTM trying natural but open to epidural, one bag of IV fluids needed to be put in before I could get an epidural, so she started an IV bag of water and electrolytes.
Shortly after, I felt like I needed to poop, so at 7 cm, I managed to waddle to the toilet and make my last poop before having a baby. (The night after delivering, I have an enema because I wanted to make sure I could poop before going home. It was a very interesting experience!) About an hour into extremely painful contractions, Cheryl showed me the Hee Hee Hoo breathing technique and I started using this and a focal point (a vent on the wall, I liked the simplicity and symmetry of it), to get through my contractions, which were coming every 2 minutes or so, sometimes closer or longer. Often times it felt as though the contractions never completely disappeared. Cheryl did an awesome job at making sure my breathing was good so I wouldn’t wear myself out, hyperventilate, or pass out. Although I was feeling the contractions in the front my lower back was also killing me! I felt lots of pressure. My lower back hurt so badly through the contractions (as well as later when I was pushing and for a week after!). I tried to relax my shoulders and neck in between contractions. I was sitting upright in my bed, grimacing through each contraction. I was so tense! The contractions were so strong my entire body would heave with each one! DH was sitting on my feet, which helped during contractions. I''d use him as leverage and squirm my body through the pain. He would talk me through each contraction - if they were going up, at the peak, or going down. I told him what I liked to hear at the painful moments, like "you''re almost done!" We developed hand signals to communicate. If I pointed at the monitor, I wanted to know where the f*ck the contraction was at because I was in excruciating pain and I wanted it to end so badly. If I pointed to the window, I wanted water. Through each peak of the contractions, I kept telling myself, "It''ll pass. It''ll pass. I can get through this!" In between contractions, I used a cold towel to keep myself cool.
By 12pm, two hours in, I felt like it was never going to end! I wanted to know hoe much longer! The nurse admitted to me that I wasn’t progressing normally. After 5cm, you’re suppose to dilate a cm an hour. Who knew how long this painful labor could last! I was hardly getting any breaks! I asked Cheryl if could check my cervix to see if I made any progress. I wanted to know! But since my water was broken, it''s best to not check often since there''s a risk of infection to baby. I asked more about pain meds other than the epi. I decided I wanted fentanyl to relax me and take the edge off . So she had to check me. I WAS 9 CM! She didn''t feel comfortable giving me fentanyl so close to delivery. The baby would be drowsy and when I heard I was at 9 cm, I was ecstatic! Well, as ecstatic as I could be while in pain! I had made huge progress and was nearly there! Soon after, my MW came in and I told her I felt an incredible pressure down there and the urge to push with each contraction. She checked me and I was at 10 cm!!!!!!!!!!! The transition stage was a BITCH!
At 12:45pm, I started to push! SWEET RELIEF!!! I felt like I had the world''s largest poop stuck in me that you can''t get out! It still hurt but pushing was a relief! The pushing stage was exhausting. I pushed in every position imaginable. Standard way laying in bed, on the toilet, squatting on the side of the bed, all-fours position, side lying, squatting with a squatting bar, and not sure what this is called - feet up and out on sides of squatting bar and using my arms to lift myself up with a sheet draped over the bar. That last position was by far the hardest one and took a ton of arm strength. (4 days later and my arms are still super sore!) I was moving around very often, trying new positions that would hopefully help me make progress. It was funny (at the time I didn’t find it funny since I was in too much pain) when the nurse wanted me to move up towards the head of the bed she would say, “put your crack in the crack!” Every contraction was 3 pushes, sometimes 4. There are lots of things to concentrate on while bearing down and the nurse reminded me every step of the way - rectum up to the light, small of back arched down, push into the pain, legs out and up, quick breath out, deep breath in, and hold your breath but don''t hold tension in your face. I wasn’t supposed to make any sounds during pushing so I did when I took my quick breath out. DH said I let out a big “UGH.” The correct way of pushing is just like taking a bowel movement. DH later told me I pooped many times while pushing. He said at least ten times but I only saw one, when DH slowly took the towel away (the nurse wasn’t there at that time). All the other times the nurse took it away so quickly. I was surprised to hear that because I couldn’t tell. The whole time I was pushing I felt like I needed to vomit. I felt my food coming up with every push and a few times vomit actually entered my mouth and I could taste what I had nibbled on that morning. It was disgusting! I couldn’t get it to come out. I later learned I had what’s called a hiatal hernia. For a few days after, eating and drinking felt weird – I could feel food and liquids going down and it was uncomfortable. I had to eat slowly and small amounts. I must have been pretty loud during the tradition and pushing phases, as my voice was horse after.
About an hour into pushing, you could see my baby''s hair while I pushed. I requested a mirror so I could see. I got a glimpse a few times but I was concentrating so hard that my eyes were hardly open to look. I''d rather focus all my energy to the pushing. The MW said I''m almost there and maybe had 30 more minutes of pushing to go, maybe more or less. With each push, I kept telling myself, "IT''S ALMOST OVER!". But it was far from over and hours went by! There was lots of time where the MW and nurse tried to lighten the mood with jokes and they managed to get a smile out of me but I was too damn tired to laugh! They even laughed at my orange teeth and lips after I ate the one popsicle. During pushing they put lots of oils and jelly around my perineal area.
Sometime into pushing, an internal fetal monitor was placed inside me to monitor the baby’s heart rate. They sometimes couldn’t tell if they were picking up rates from me or the baby and wanted to make sure he wasn’t in distress. It was a little annoying to have a cord coming out of my vagina and something stuck to my inner thigh but most of the time I was too busy to notice.
When I was 3 hours into pushing, my MW said I had to empty my bladder since it was full and could be getting in the way. The IV was giving me fluids and I was eating ice chips. I miraculously got to the bathroom but wasn’t able to go. My MW inserted a catheter to empty my bladder. I hardly felt the burn of it going in. It was so weird to be emptying your bladder without feeling a thing! Boy was it full. 600ml of urine was emptied!
At around 3 hours, things got dicey. I stopped making progress with the pushing, so the MW called the on-call doctor. Dr. X, to come check up on me. They would probably have to use a vacuum to try and get him out. The baby was looking great throughout all the contractions and pushing so they let me go this long. But at 3 hours they didn’t want me pushing much longer as it’s not good for the baby or me. Fatigue usually sets in too and the pushes aren’t as strong and effective. Although, I felt more frustrated than tired from all the pushing! Dr. X did a very thorough examine on me, which hurt so badly! It made pushing painful and in between pushing, I had to breath through the pain. I didn''t have any breaks! With each push, she tried to stretch out my vagina around the baby''s head. It hurt so much! She talked very softly to herself and the MW about my situation. I could barely hear her, much less understand what she was saying. DH heard her say that she thought my tailbone was in the way but my pelvic area was big enough and there was lots of room for him to come out. I’m a tiny girl (they asked my height (I’m 5 feet even) and shoe size while I was pushing) and I hoped I could get him out vaginally! They would try to use a vacuum to get him out. While they waited for backup and got the vacuum ready, Dr. X explained to me the procedure and the risks involved. It scared me to hear hematoma and hemorrhage but I just wanted him out! I trusted my doctor and MW so I just nodded as she spoke. They got the stirrups out and I knew that I was close to delivery my baby!
During a contraction the baby’s heart rate went down to 80-90. They were having hard time trying to get a good reading and kept moving the external monitor around my belly while I had contractions. They were getting worried. They told me not to push during the next contraction. Are you freaking kidding me??? I asked how because it just seemed impossible to not push. I tried my best. They gave me an oxygen mask to wear and it was so annoying because every time I pushed it fell down my face. Cheryl warmed me about the ring of fire and to push right through that pain, it''s normal. I was actually relieved when I started to feel the ring of fire. I felt it now every time I pushed. I knew that I had to be close if I felt it and I pushed right through the fire-y pain! Baby must have heard all the commotion and risks of the vacuum because a miracle happened!
The room was chaotic. DH said at one point there was 10 people in there, including us. Dr. S, the main doctor of the practice stopped by to see how I was doing. So I had my MW, two doctors, pediatrician, and several nurses all in the room. It was crazy but I was in my own little world, focused on pushing with all my might and getting my baby out! So many people were cheering me on and telling the doctors and me what an amazing pusher I am and how I''ve been so strong and consistent throughout. They said show the doctor what you can do! One of the doctors even starting clapping and saying "yay, yay, I can see more of the baby!" There was lots of cheering going on, which helped because the contractions were coming frequently, every 1.5 to 2 minutes! I felt like I didn’t have any breaks. When I felt a contraction coming along, I let it build, and with all my strength pushed so hard – I had to get him out! I did not want to have a cesarean section after 20 hours of labor! They said last contraction – the baby will be out! But then the baby didn’t come out. I was so frustrated!
And the miracle!!! DH told me what he saw during my last 3 pushes. The MW told me to push, I clarified “even without a contraction?” and so I did! The baby’s head was crowning during the third to last push. My MW informed me she had to do an episiotomy. I nodded. I just wanted him out! I heard a snip but didn’t feel it. During the second to last push, half his had was out. With the final push, I felt increasable pressure, then my baby slid out of me! It was AMAZING! Derek came into this world at 5:13pm on Friday, September 26, 2008.
My MW placed him on my stomach for 30 second or so. His back was facing me so I couldn’t see him but he let out a small cry and it was the most wonderful sound ever! I put my left hand on his thigh while I cried tears of happiness. I took a few deep breaths, as I was overwhelmed with emotions. Derek was taken away so he could be examined by the pedi. DH held my hand and we exchanged our first look as parents. He kissed my cheek and was in awe of what I had just done. DH said he was light headed and needed to sit down. He had a spaced out look. Good thing the couch was right behind him so he sat down to take a breather. I asked him to go take pictures of our baby being examined. He also got to trim our son’s umbilical cord. Shortly after, with a small push, I delivered the placenta. It felt like a small, soft, smooth thing sliding out. Later, we examined the placenta. It’s gross but fascinating! DH took a few pictures of it, one of which is the coolest picture of the umbilical cord and placenta. He also got one of the amniotic sac and hole where baby came out of. While I was being stitched up, I was looking over to see what they were doing with my baby and my MW and I made small talk. Soon after, my baby was placed in my arms. I got to hold Derek for the first time and I fell instantly in love with my son. Looking at him made me forget about all the pain I just went through the last 20.5 hours and I forgave him for being stubborn. I had to push for 4.5 hours before he decided to enter this world! At least he arrived at 13 after, my favorite number and birthday! He was perfect. He has my noise and hands. With the preterm labor, bed rest, and all the drugs I took, I am so relieved that I have a healthy baby boy. I made it 10 days off nifedipine.
My MW and nurse said I did an amazing job. My nurse has been a L&D nurse for 40 years and she''s NEVER seen anyone push as long as I did (and with no drugs!). Every push I did was strong just like the first. And after the delivery she said there are not too many births I cry at. Another nurse I had during recovery heard about my L&D and said I was her hero and she was amazed. She was tired just helping in a 3-hour labor. And her big question was, “Why do it no drugs?” It made me think about why I wanted to have a natural childbirth. I wanted to feel every moment of my son’s birth and I didn’t want him medicated when he first entered into this world. I still cannot believe what I did during L&D. It’s definitely the most amazing thing I''ve ever done. It was like an out of body experience because I don’t know how I was able to last through 20.5 hours of labor with 3 hours of torturous contractions and 4.5 hours of pushing. I don’t know where I got the energy. And the crazy thing is as I write this, I don’t recall the pain being that bad. I’d try another natural birth with my second child, when that time comes, which won’t be anytime soon!
Cheryl was an angel. I couldn''t have done it without my nurse. She was so encouraging. I am so appreciative of her. I could not thank her enough. L&D nurses do an amazing job. (I thought of you Dani! I am sure you''ve helped countless women through their L&D and for that I want to thank you!) I love her and my MW! They did a great job at following my birth plan.
I love being a mommy. It feels so natural like I was meant for motherhood. I think I’m doing pretty well recovering. I was very swollen down there after L&D. At the check up a day after, my MW, M said, “If it makes you feel better I’ve seen worse. I can tell you, you don’t have two testicles down there.”
DH has been amazing. There have been a few sleep-deprived moments where we’ll get frustrated and snap at each other but most of the time we make a great team. He’s been very attentive to my needs as well as the baby’s needs. Daddy is the one who changed all the diapers the first few days when I could barely move. It seems like being a daddy comes very naturally to him. He comforts our son often and loves it. He’ll hold Derek while working on his laptop and doesn’t want to put him down. He sings and talks to him and it melts my heart. I can’t help but smile and I feel so happy and content. I’ve never been more in love with DH. My heart has grown with love for both my boys. I can’t believe that Derek is a week old today! My baby is growing up too fast already. I wish he could stay small with his cute little cry forever!
Here’s my L&D story... (WARNING - it''s super long!)
On September 24th, I had my 36 week prenatal appointment, where we were SHOCKED to learn that I was at 4 cm dilated! I was completely shocked that I was at 4cm and not feeling much pain at all. My contractions felt different for the past few days but they still weren''t painful. My MW, M, also thought my water had broken because the fluids turned the nitrazine paper color. I was sent over to L&D and checked in and monitored. An u/s tech came in to do a quick check to make sure the baby''s head was still down and to check if there was lots of fluid in my uterus. Both positive. She doubted my membrane was grossly ruptured. They did the nitrazine paper tests and the fern test, which confirmed that my water had NOT broken. I was having irregular contractions from 2-10 minutes apart but when at around 10pm (5 hours later) they rechecked my cervix and it was still at 4cm dilated and 60% effaced. I wasn''t in active labor or there would have been change. Since I was not in active labor, my water was not broken, baby looked great on the u/s and on the monitor, and I was still a bit early (36.5 weeks), they recommended I go home. They thought I''d get better rest at home than at the hospital. When you are tired, you feel more pain. And since I wanted to try and go natural, I needed to get all the rest I could! This was my fifth visit to L&D and I thought for sure I’d be going home with a baby but I was wrong!
I got about 8 hours of sleep that night and rested throughout the day. I felt contractions but they were still irregular and not that painful. At 6pm though, I started feeling more painful contractions and they were regular, occurring around every 5 minutes. We ate dinner, knowing I''d probably be headed to L&D if these contractions stayed regular. At the one hour mark, I took a quick shower then called my doctor, and we headed to L&D. I kept thinking about how I''d miss the season premieres of Ugly Betty, Grey''s Anatomy, and ER. I''d been waiting a long time for this TV night! But of course baby was more important and exciting!
By 8:45pm, I was checked in very quickly since I had already completed all the check in paperwork, blood work, etc. the night before. The nurse, Sharon, who took care of me the night before found me a good L&D room (#11, my birth month!), equipped with telemetry, since she was familiar with my birth plan and knew I wanted to move around during labor. They hooked my up to the monitor. I was contracting irregularly still but every 2-5 minutes apart. I was 4-5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Definitely some change from the night before! Oh I loved my nurse and midwife. They let me watch TV from 9-11pm, so I watched half of Grey''s and ER while walking around in my room while DH was in MY hospital bed resting. At 11:30, the nurse checked me again right before the shift ended. I was 5 cm 100%! At 12:30am, my MW, S, checked me and I was 5-6 cm, 95% effaced. I found out that effacement can change depending on the position of the baby. She did an ultrasound to confirm baby was head down but wasn''t able to with 100% certainty (I knew he was) so she called in the doctor on call, the main doctor of the practice, Dr. S.
The next half an hour was crazy and chaotic. Lots of commotion. Dr. S said I was 6 cm and confirmed with the u/s that the baby is head down. She attempted to break my water but after several attempts, it didn''t break, which was odd because S said she felt it bulging just a short time ago. They warned me that with a contraction I may feel my water break since the bag may have been prodded at. At the same time two nurses were at my bedside, putting in a saline lock. The attempt on my left arm failed when she couldn''t find a good straight vein. It felt like she inserted the needle many times but DH said she stuck it in once and moved it around trying to find the vein. Oww! It hurt more than my contractions! Finally they decided to try my right arm, which didn''t even hurt (compared the my left arm) when they finally got the damn catheter in! It did burn and feel uncomfortable for hours after. It took awhile for it to feel like nothing was there, a lot longer than they said it would. DH said he was traumatized by watching all that and said I could have any jewelry I wanted. I told him to wait until he sees a baby come out of me!
Even though the nurse questioned my MW and doctor about starting Pitocin, they let me go through the night myself to see how I would progress. I was extremely happy with that. Since I was early and the baby looked great, they didn''t want to rush my L&D. So from 1-8am, nothing much happened. DH slept most of the time while I lay there anxious of what awaited me. I had my eyes closed but couldn’t fall asleep. I was able to nap for maybe an hour, much less than I hoped for. The nurse came in every hour or so for intermittent monitoring (around 20 minutes each hour). At 5:30, the nurse checked me and I was STILL at 6 cm. I was disappointed. All those contractions and no progress! An hour later, the contractions started to get a bit more intense. I was moaning through the contractions and focused on my breathing. They were still very manageable. DH was even sleeping at this time. My contractions were painful but manageable and I kept telling myself, "I CAN do this without drugs!"
At 9:30am, I was 7 cm and my MW came in and broke my water. I felt the gush of warm liquid and it continued to come out for hours later. DH didn''t want my water broken, what''s the rush he thought. But I didn''t object because I wanted things to progress. I didn''t want to be there forever! They were already saying my labor was a marathon. Around this time Cheryl, the nurse who was with me through all the pushing, got a call asking if I wanted an epidural right now. Cheryl, S, and I laughed because I wasn''t in much pain. Then they asked if I wanted it later and Cheryl informed them I''m going to try natural. DH later told me he didn''t find the humor in it.
By 10am, the contractions got excruciatingly painful! DH was up and helping me get through each one. I had asked Cheryl about my drug options. Since I was a FTM trying natural but open to epidural, one bag of IV fluids needed to be put in before I could get an epidural, so she started an IV bag of water and electrolytes.
Shortly after, I felt like I needed to poop, so at 7 cm, I managed to waddle to the toilet and make my last poop before having a baby. (The night after delivering, I have an enema because I wanted to make sure I could poop before going home. It was a very interesting experience!) About an hour into extremely painful contractions, Cheryl showed me the Hee Hee Hoo breathing technique and I started using this and a focal point (a vent on the wall, I liked the simplicity and symmetry of it), to get through my contractions, which were coming every 2 minutes or so, sometimes closer or longer. Often times it felt as though the contractions never completely disappeared. Cheryl did an awesome job at making sure my breathing was good so I wouldn’t wear myself out, hyperventilate, or pass out. Although I was feeling the contractions in the front my lower back was also killing me! I felt lots of pressure. My lower back hurt so badly through the contractions (as well as later when I was pushing and for a week after!). I tried to relax my shoulders and neck in between contractions. I was sitting upright in my bed, grimacing through each contraction. I was so tense! The contractions were so strong my entire body would heave with each one! DH was sitting on my feet, which helped during contractions. I''d use him as leverage and squirm my body through the pain. He would talk me through each contraction - if they were going up, at the peak, or going down. I told him what I liked to hear at the painful moments, like "you''re almost done!" We developed hand signals to communicate. If I pointed at the monitor, I wanted to know where the f*ck the contraction was at because I was in excruciating pain and I wanted it to end so badly. If I pointed to the window, I wanted water. Through each peak of the contractions, I kept telling myself, "It''ll pass. It''ll pass. I can get through this!" In between contractions, I used a cold towel to keep myself cool.
By 12pm, two hours in, I felt like it was never going to end! I wanted to know hoe much longer! The nurse admitted to me that I wasn’t progressing normally. After 5cm, you’re suppose to dilate a cm an hour. Who knew how long this painful labor could last! I was hardly getting any breaks! I asked Cheryl if could check my cervix to see if I made any progress. I wanted to know! But since my water was broken, it''s best to not check often since there''s a risk of infection to baby. I asked more about pain meds other than the epi. I decided I wanted fentanyl to relax me and take the edge off . So she had to check me. I WAS 9 CM! She didn''t feel comfortable giving me fentanyl so close to delivery. The baby would be drowsy and when I heard I was at 9 cm, I was ecstatic! Well, as ecstatic as I could be while in pain! I had made huge progress and was nearly there! Soon after, my MW came in and I told her I felt an incredible pressure down there and the urge to push with each contraction. She checked me and I was at 10 cm!!!!!!!!!!! The transition stage was a BITCH!
At 12:45pm, I started to push! SWEET RELIEF!!! I felt like I had the world''s largest poop stuck in me that you can''t get out! It still hurt but pushing was a relief! The pushing stage was exhausting. I pushed in every position imaginable. Standard way laying in bed, on the toilet, squatting on the side of the bed, all-fours position, side lying, squatting with a squatting bar, and not sure what this is called - feet up and out on sides of squatting bar and using my arms to lift myself up with a sheet draped over the bar. That last position was by far the hardest one and took a ton of arm strength. (4 days later and my arms are still super sore!) I was moving around very often, trying new positions that would hopefully help me make progress. It was funny (at the time I didn’t find it funny since I was in too much pain) when the nurse wanted me to move up towards the head of the bed she would say, “put your crack in the crack!” Every contraction was 3 pushes, sometimes 4. There are lots of things to concentrate on while bearing down and the nurse reminded me every step of the way - rectum up to the light, small of back arched down, push into the pain, legs out and up, quick breath out, deep breath in, and hold your breath but don''t hold tension in your face. I wasn’t supposed to make any sounds during pushing so I did when I took my quick breath out. DH said I let out a big “UGH.” The correct way of pushing is just like taking a bowel movement. DH later told me I pooped many times while pushing. He said at least ten times but I only saw one, when DH slowly took the towel away (the nurse wasn’t there at that time). All the other times the nurse took it away so quickly. I was surprised to hear that because I couldn’t tell. The whole time I was pushing I felt like I needed to vomit. I felt my food coming up with every push and a few times vomit actually entered my mouth and I could taste what I had nibbled on that morning. It was disgusting! I couldn’t get it to come out. I later learned I had what’s called a hiatal hernia. For a few days after, eating and drinking felt weird – I could feel food and liquids going down and it was uncomfortable. I had to eat slowly and small amounts. I must have been pretty loud during the tradition and pushing phases, as my voice was horse after.
About an hour into pushing, you could see my baby''s hair while I pushed. I requested a mirror so I could see. I got a glimpse a few times but I was concentrating so hard that my eyes were hardly open to look. I''d rather focus all my energy to the pushing. The MW said I''m almost there and maybe had 30 more minutes of pushing to go, maybe more or less. With each push, I kept telling myself, "IT''S ALMOST OVER!". But it was far from over and hours went by! There was lots of time where the MW and nurse tried to lighten the mood with jokes and they managed to get a smile out of me but I was too damn tired to laugh! They even laughed at my orange teeth and lips after I ate the one popsicle. During pushing they put lots of oils and jelly around my perineal area.
Sometime into pushing, an internal fetal monitor was placed inside me to monitor the baby’s heart rate. They sometimes couldn’t tell if they were picking up rates from me or the baby and wanted to make sure he wasn’t in distress. It was a little annoying to have a cord coming out of my vagina and something stuck to my inner thigh but most of the time I was too busy to notice.
When I was 3 hours into pushing, my MW said I had to empty my bladder since it was full and could be getting in the way. The IV was giving me fluids and I was eating ice chips. I miraculously got to the bathroom but wasn’t able to go. My MW inserted a catheter to empty my bladder. I hardly felt the burn of it going in. It was so weird to be emptying your bladder without feeling a thing! Boy was it full. 600ml of urine was emptied!
At around 3 hours, things got dicey. I stopped making progress with the pushing, so the MW called the on-call doctor. Dr. X, to come check up on me. They would probably have to use a vacuum to try and get him out. The baby was looking great throughout all the contractions and pushing so they let me go this long. But at 3 hours they didn’t want me pushing much longer as it’s not good for the baby or me. Fatigue usually sets in too and the pushes aren’t as strong and effective. Although, I felt more frustrated than tired from all the pushing! Dr. X did a very thorough examine on me, which hurt so badly! It made pushing painful and in between pushing, I had to breath through the pain. I didn''t have any breaks! With each push, she tried to stretch out my vagina around the baby''s head. It hurt so much! She talked very softly to herself and the MW about my situation. I could barely hear her, much less understand what she was saying. DH heard her say that she thought my tailbone was in the way but my pelvic area was big enough and there was lots of room for him to come out. I’m a tiny girl (they asked my height (I’m 5 feet even) and shoe size while I was pushing) and I hoped I could get him out vaginally! They would try to use a vacuum to get him out. While they waited for backup and got the vacuum ready, Dr. X explained to me the procedure and the risks involved. It scared me to hear hematoma and hemorrhage but I just wanted him out! I trusted my doctor and MW so I just nodded as she spoke. They got the stirrups out and I knew that I was close to delivery my baby!
During a contraction the baby’s heart rate went down to 80-90. They were having hard time trying to get a good reading and kept moving the external monitor around my belly while I had contractions. They were getting worried. They told me not to push during the next contraction. Are you freaking kidding me??? I asked how because it just seemed impossible to not push. I tried my best. They gave me an oxygen mask to wear and it was so annoying because every time I pushed it fell down my face. Cheryl warmed me about the ring of fire and to push right through that pain, it''s normal. I was actually relieved when I started to feel the ring of fire. I felt it now every time I pushed. I knew that I had to be close if I felt it and I pushed right through the fire-y pain! Baby must have heard all the commotion and risks of the vacuum because a miracle happened!
The room was chaotic. DH said at one point there was 10 people in there, including us. Dr. S, the main doctor of the practice stopped by to see how I was doing. So I had my MW, two doctors, pediatrician, and several nurses all in the room. It was crazy but I was in my own little world, focused on pushing with all my might and getting my baby out! So many people were cheering me on and telling the doctors and me what an amazing pusher I am and how I''ve been so strong and consistent throughout. They said show the doctor what you can do! One of the doctors even starting clapping and saying "yay, yay, I can see more of the baby!" There was lots of cheering going on, which helped because the contractions were coming frequently, every 1.5 to 2 minutes! I felt like I didn’t have any breaks. When I felt a contraction coming along, I let it build, and with all my strength pushed so hard – I had to get him out! I did not want to have a cesarean section after 20 hours of labor! They said last contraction – the baby will be out! But then the baby didn’t come out. I was so frustrated!
And the miracle!!! DH told me what he saw during my last 3 pushes. The MW told me to push, I clarified “even without a contraction?” and so I did! The baby’s head was crowning during the third to last push. My MW informed me she had to do an episiotomy. I nodded. I just wanted him out! I heard a snip but didn’t feel it. During the second to last push, half his had was out. With the final push, I felt increasable pressure, then my baby slid out of me! It was AMAZING! Derek came into this world at 5:13pm on Friday, September 26, 2008.
My MW placed him on my stomach for 30 second or so. His back was facing me so I couldn’t see him but he let out a small cry and it was the most wonderful sound ever! I put my left hand on his thigh while I cried tears of happiness. I took a few deep breaths, as I was overwhelmed with emotions. Derek was taken away so he could be examined by the pedi. DH held my hand and we exchanged our first look as parents. He kissed my cheek and was in awe of what I had just done. DH said he was light headed and needed to sit down. He had a spaced out look. Good thing the couch was right behind him so he sat down to take a breather. I asked him to go take pictures of our baby being examined. He also got to trim our son’s umbilical cord. Shortly after, with a small push, I delivered the placenta. It felt like a small, soft, smooth thing sliding out. Later, we examined the placenta. It’s gross but fascinating! DH took a few pictures of it, one of which is the coolest picture of the umbilical cord and placenta. He also got one of the amniotic sac and hole where baby came out of. While I was being stitched up, I was looking over to see what they were doing with my baby and my MW and I made small talk. Soon after, my baby was placed in my arms. I got to hold Derek for the first time and I fell instantly in love with my son. Looking at him made me forget about all the pain I just went through the last 20.5 hours and I forgave him for being stubborn. I had to push for 4.5 hours before he decided to enter this world! At least he arrived at 13 after, my favorite number and birthday! He was perfect. He has my noise and hands. With the preterm labor, bed rest, and all the drugs I took, I am so relieved that I have a healthy baby boy. I made it 10 days off nifedipine.
My MW and nurse said I did an amazing job. My nurse has been a L&D nurse for 40 years and she''s NEVER seen anyone push as long as I did (and with no drugs!). Every push I did was strong just like the first. And after the delivery she said there are not too many births I cry at. Another nurse I had during recovery heard about my L&D and said I was her hero and she was amazed. She was tired just helping in a 3-hour labor. And her big question was, “Why do it no drugs?” It made me think about why I wanted to have a natural childbirth. I wanted to feel every moment of my son’s birth and I didn’t want him medicated when he first entered into this world. I still cannot believe what I did during L&D. It’s definitely the most amazing thing I''ve ever done. It was like an out of body experience because I don’t know how I was able to last through 20.5 hours of labor with 3 hours of torturous contractions and 4.5 hours of pushing. I don’t know where I got the energy. And the crazy thing is as I write this, I don’t recall the pain being that bad. I’d try another natural birth with my second child, when that time comes, which won’t be anytime soon!
Cheryl was an angel. I couldn''t have done it without my nurse. She was so encouraging. I am so appreciative of her. I could not thank her enough. L&D nurses do an amazing job. (I thought of you Dani! I am sure you''ve helped countless women through their L&D and for that I want to thank you!) I love her and my MW! They did a great job at following my birth plan.
I love being a mommy. It feels so natural like I was meant for motherhood. I think I’m doing pretty well recovering. I was very swollen down there after L&D. At the check up a day after, my MW, M said, “If it makes you feel better I’ve seen worse. I can tell you, you don’t have two testicles down there.”
DH has been amazing. There have been a few sleep-deprived moments where we’ll get frustrated and snap at each other but most of the time we make a great team. He’s been very attentive to my needs as well as the baby’s needs. Daddy is the one who changed all the diapers the first few days when I could barely move. It seems like being a daddy comes very naturally to him. He comforts our son often and loves it. He’ll hold Derek while working on his laptop and doesn’t want to put him down. He sings and talks to him and it melts my heart. I can’t help but smile and I feel so happy and content. I’ve never been more in love with DH. My heart has grown with love for both my boys. I can’t believe that Derek is a week old today! My baby is growing up too fast already. I wish he could stay small with his cute little cry forever!
Jas12
Ideal_Rock
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Hi Momsies
Tgal--a big smile came across my face when i saw the 2 comparison pics of Amelia. She is getting so big and cuter by the day. She is a tall girl! No stats from me yet.
Tacori--you did a good job with the photo shoot girl! My fave is the one of T thru the bars of the outdoor bench. Very cute, she is such a pretty girl.
Diver--grrrr about the cat situation. Geez some harshness on that thread. yep, kids before pets. Of course you luv your kitty but you also gotta find a a solution that is good for all and that''s what you are trying to do.I hope some of those *helpful* suggestions work for you. And, i hate to add another worry but my doc warned me prior to having kids not to use those lysol-like germ killing products on surfaces that pets or kids may touch and then ingest (unless *extremely* well rinsed) b/c they are highly toxic and kill the good germs etc. The reason she brought it up is b/c i have a history of bad allergies and she warned me of being overly germ-phobic b/c some research suggests that is why our kids have weakened immunity etc. Not to suggest that you should allow cat droppings all over the house or anything (icky)--just thought i would be annoying and give ya something additional to stress over
Solution: for a couple of years now i have used vinegar or teatree oil as a disinfectant on floors and counters and charlie and i almost never get sick so i think they work just as well without the toxicity
Curly--yay for the pics! You and the baby are beautiful. Sounds like things are busy but good. Can''t wait to get another update from you
QT--i am thinking of you and meena--hope the tests aren;t too hard on her, and vent-away. That''s what we are here for
Ella--keep us posted! If u were using protection i am sure you''re fine so just take the test and put your already-busy mind at ease! I can''t believe K--she is a teeny-gymnast. So is she way stronger than G ?
Puffy--did u make a decision on the party yet?
It didn''t snow here! Just icy cold rain (much better-ha). I hate the winters here but i figure it''s the trade off for living in canada, which of course is the best country in the world
(jokin, don''t throw things across the border)
I am starting to slowly pack for my trip. Just 2 weeks away! I am starting to get a bit more excited. I know i just have to bite the bullet and come to terms with the reality that i will be trekking around the world with kids for the next 20 odd years (or until they don''t want to be seen with me any longer
)cuz it''s what this family does for fun and it''s worth the effort IMO. This is purely a leisure holiday so i think it will be fine. I just have this funny feeling that Co will start to sleep thru the night *right* before we leave or something. So it''s not having him around while we travel that bothers me, it''s disrupting what small semblance of a schedule we do (or might) have!
- I did realize that i get to cross another continent off my list (i have a goal of visiting each continent and even thou we will only be in africa for a few days i am going to count it cuz it may be years before i get back there) I just have Antartica left now
Tgal--a big smile came across my face when i saw the 2 comparison pics of Amelia. She is getting so big and cuter by the day. She is a tall girl! No stats from me yet.
Tacori--you did a good job with the photo shoot girl! My fave is the one of T thru the bars of the outdoor bench. Very cute, she is such a pretty girl.
Diver--grrrr about the cat situation. Geez some harshness on that thread. yep, kids before pets. Of course you luv your kitty but you also gotta find a a solution that is good for all and that''s what you are trying to do.I hope some of those *helpful* suggestions work for you. And, i hate to add another worry but my doc warned me prior to having kids not to use those lysol-like germ killing products on surfaces that pets or kids may touch and then ingest (unless *extremely* well rinsed) b/c they are highly toxic and kill the good germs etc. The reason she brought it up is b/c i have a history of bad allergies and she warned me of being overly germ-phobic b/c some research suggests that is why our kids have weakened immunity etc. Not to suggest that you should allow cat droppings all over the house or anything (icky)--just thought i would be annoying and give ya something additional to stress over
Solution: for a couple of years now i have used vinegar or teatree oil as a disinfectant on floors and counters and charlie and i almost never get sick so i think they work just as well without the toxicity
Curly--yay for the pics! You and the baby are beautiful. Sounds like things are busy but good. Can''t wait to get another update from you
QT--i am thinking of you and meena--hope the tests aren;t too hard on her, and vent-away. That''s what we are here for
Ella--keep us posted! If u were using protection i am sure you''re fine so just take the test and put your already-busy mind at ease! I can''t believe K--she is a teeny-gymnast. So is she way stronger than G ?
Puffy--did u make a decision on the party yet?
It didn''t snow here! Just icy cold rain (much better-ha). I hate the winters here but i figure it''s the trade off for living in canada, which of course is the best country in the world
I am starting to slowly pack for my trip. Just 2 weeks away! I am starting to get a bit more excited. I know i just have to bite the bullet and come to terms with the reality that i will be trekking around the world with kids for the next 20 odd years (or until they don''t want to be seen with me any longer
- I did realize that i get to cross another continent off my list (i have a goal of visiting each continent and even thou we will only be in africa for a few days i am going to count it cuz it may be years before i get back there) I just have Antartica left now
snlee
Ideal_Rock
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qtiekiki
Ideal_Rock
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snlee
That''s an amazing birth stories. I have tremendous respects for all mommies who gave birth naturally, but especially for you because I''ve not heard/read about a 20 hrs labor and 3 hrs of pushing. I am glad you had a wonderful L&D nurse and MW, and that your DH is a great daddy and husband. Congrats again.
That''s an amazing birth stories. I have tremendous respects for all mommies who gave birth naturally, but especially for you because I''ve not heard/read about a 20 hrs labor and 3 hrs of pushing. I am glad you had a wonderful L&D nurse and MW, and that your DH is a great daddy and husband. Congrats again.
Jas12
Ideal_Rock
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- May 16, 2006
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Snlee--That is an INCREDIBLE story!!!!
You should be SO proud of yourself. I can''t believe your pushing stage was so long. ISn''t it just amazing what the body can accomplish?! You must feel like you can do anything after having endured that
. I was so sore after less than 30 min of pushing so i can only imagine how exhausted you must have been! And yep, everyone always talks about how you forget the pain and it is so true. Thanks for the detailed and candid story. Rest up.
Tacori E-ring
Super_Ideal_Rock
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Curly, Lucy is beautiful and you look great. Hope you are adjusting quickly.
lili, thank you! You are so sweet. People laughed at me for taking so many but I think you HAVE to! Like diamonds just b/c you take 100 pictures does NOT mean you will have 100 *good* pictures. I can''t believe she is 11 months...
MrsS, I did not know about that but I just did
Why not right? T STILL won''t use sippy cups. She will drink from a glass but not a sippy. Kinda annoying. When should I be concerned?
Burk, that is a big baby for 4 weeks early. Sorry you are so stressed!
Q, she does look like her mama!
snlee, wow! I cannot believe you did that naturally! I pushed 3+ hours with a weak epi and thought I was going to die. Your pregnancy and L&D was quite the adventure. I hope that means he''ll be a calm and happy newborn. Congrats again mommy!
Jas12, thanks! I really like that one too. You are going to have a great trip. Take lots of pics.
lili, thank you! You are so sweet. People laughed at me for taking so many but I think you HAVE to! Like diamonds just b/c you take 100 pictures does NOT mean you will have 100 *good* pictures. I can''t believe she is 11 months...
MrsS, I did not know about that but I just did
Burk, that is a big baby for 4 weeks early. Sorry you are so stressed!
Q, she does look like her mama!
snlee, wow! I cannot believe you did that naturally! I pushed 3+ hours with a weak epi and thought I was going to die. Your pregnancy and L&D was quite the adventure. I hope that means he''ll be a calm and happy newborn. Congrats again mommy!
Jas12, thanks! I really like that one too. You are going to have a great trip. Take lots of pics.
puffy
Brilliant_Rock
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snlee WOW!!! that is one crazy story! good job mama. i can''t believe you pushed for 4.5 hours! i would have died. isn''t being a mommy the best feeling in the world? is derek''s jaundice all better? so happy for you and glad that your DH is helping out a lot. enjoy these moments, they grow up way too fast!
qt ok, i totally see the resemblance between your baby pic and M''s. she is adorable. so sorry to hear about her ear and kidney. hoping that the tests go smoothly for the both of you!
jas12 thanks for asking about the party, but nope, nothing. we haven''t figured it out yet. part of the problem, i''m a get it down early kinda person, and DH is so last minute. so he doesn''t even want to have a real discussion about it until november-ish. we''ll figure something out. YAY for no snow!
qt ok, i totally see the resemblance between your baby pic and M''s. she is adorable. so sorry to hear about her ear and kidney. hoping that the tests go smoothly for the both of you!
jas12 thanks for asking about the party, but nope, nothing. we haven''t figured it out yet. part of the problem, i''m a get it down early kinda person, and DH is so last minute. so he doesn''t even want to have a real discussion about it until november-ish. we''ll figure something out. YAY for no snow!
lili
Ideal_Rock
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WOW Snlee!!!
What an incredible story.
You are incredibly amazing and one tough chicky!
If you can endure 25 hours of labor and delivery and WITHOUT pain relief too, you can endure practically anything.
Your second L&D will be a cinch then Definitely drug free for you.
Yup, the transition phase is a B*TCH.
I was very fortunate to have that phase short.
Is Derek back home now?
Hope is jaundice is under control.
What an incredible story.
You are incredibly amazing and one tough chicky!
If you can endure 25 hours of labor and delivery and WITHOUT pain relief too, you can endure practically anything.
Your second L&D will be a cinch then
Definitely drug free for you.Yup, the transition phase is a B*TCH.
I was very fortunate to have that phase short.
Is Derek back home now?
Hope is jaundice is under control.
lili
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lili
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MrsS
That''s funny that Jake got a surprised sip with his sippy cup.
I didn''t have any luck with J on the sippy either.
The caretaker at the daycare tried and she just didn''t like it.
Nibble on it and then turned away.
I basically just spoon feed her pedilyte instead.
I may try a straw and see....since she seems to suck the pedilyte out of the spoon.
------------
questions to mommies:
does your baby pinch you when s/he nurse?
j seems to develop this nasty pincher and always pinch me when she nurse...
I''ve got some nasty marks to prove it.
That''s funny that Jake got a surprised sip with his sippy cup.
I didn''t have any luck with J on the sippy either.
The caretaker at the daycare tried and she just didn''t like it.
Nibble on it and then turned away.
I basically just spoon feed her pedilyte instead.
I may try a straw and see....since she seems to suck the pedilyte out of the spoon.
------------
questions to mommies:
does your baby pinch you when s/he nurse?
j seems to develop this nasty pincher and always pinch me when she nurse...
I''ve got some nasty marks to prove it.
snlee
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Tacori E-ring
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sasa
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Thanks Puffy! I just hope I won''t pass on the cold to little B
Diver, sorry to hear about the cat problem, hope you will find a solution soon.
Tacori, the pictures are too cute~ she looks so adorable and tiny next to the park chair that make me want to just pick her up and giver her lots of hugs and kisses...Happy 11 months to Tessa!
Qtiekiki, sorry to hear about the sinus on her left ear. Hope the tests come back ok. Meena looked just like you in the picture.
ellaila, can''t believe K did a somersault on the changing table. It must have been scary but funny at the same time. Hope you get ur period soon..
Oh Curly, she''s so beautiful & you look great!
snlee, you are one strong woman!!
puffy
Brilliant_Rock
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snlee awwww.....so cute!! your boy has so much hair. looks like he might be in for a haircut soon. i brought B for his first hair cut at almost 3 months. how are you doing?
bobo how is little B doing? are you better from your cold?
Gloomy weekend over here in SF, rained last night. and STUPID me, i left my freaking sunroof open and it rained! i didn't even remember i left it open until DH got home and asked why is it open? so i ran outside in the rain to close it. usually it isn't a problem cause i park in the garage, but with the remodeling, everything is in the garage, so it would be a bit tight for me to park in there. ah well, i'll get over it. at least it's leather so it'll most likely dry off as opposed to being absorbed by the cloth seats or something.
ETA: Lili sorry about the pinching. and marks there?!?! YIKES and OUCH!!! but B never pinched so i can't really help you there. he basically cares way too much about his food to have me take it away for any reason. when he was first teething, he bit me a few times, and i would just stop nursing him for a few minutes so he learned quick to not mess with where the milk comes from. maybe it'll pass?
bobo how is little B doing? are you better from your cold?
Gloomy weekend over here in SF, rained last night. and STUPID me, i left my freaking sunroof open and it rained! i didn't even remember i left it open until DH got home and asked why is it open? so i ran outside in the rain to close it. usually it isn't a problem cause i park in the garage, but with the remodeling, everything is in the garage, so it would be a bit tight for me to park in there. ah well, i'll get over it. at least it's leather so it'll most likely dry off as opposed to being absorbed by the cloth seats or something.
ETA: Lili sorry about the pinching. and marks there?!?! YIKES and OUCH!!! but B never pinched so i can't really help you there. he basically cares way too much about his food to have me take it away for any reason. when he was first teething, he bit me a few times, and i would just stop nursing him for a few minutes so he learned quick to not mess with where the milk comes from. maybe it'll pass?
lili
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snlee
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I will try to catch up with you all. It''s been crazy busy here. I feel like I''m posting too many egocentric posts. I hope you are all doing well!
Tacori, love the new avatar of T! She looks so grown up. Beautiful! BFing is going well. He''s latching on for long periods of time (up to 30 minutes on one side if I let him) and eating very often (9 to 11 times a day!). It seems I have a big milk supply and the engorgement is gone. Thank goodness! I try to pump in the morning so DH can do one night feeding and I can get some sleep. I''m bummed I didn''t get to pump this morning though because we had an early morning pedi appointment. Hopefully he''ll sleep for longer periods tonight. Last night he wanted to feed as often as every 1.5 hours. Exhausting! Thanks for asking.
Thanks to those who asked about D''s jaundice. We are back home now and he still has jaundice but it seems under control. At the pedi appointment today, he weighted 6 lbs 5 oz - a very healthy weight gain (5 oz since we left the hospital 1.5 days ago.
Here''s the whole jaundice story, for those who are interested. I have some pictures of D relaxing in his "tanning bed" but I''ll hold off posting them unless you guys are interested in seeing them.
10.2.08
At 4 days old, Derek went to his first pedi appointment. Everything looked good except his jaundice had gotten worse, as expected since it peaks around this time. It had spread down to his waist. The pedi (not the main one, she covers only on Tuesdays) gave us a lab slip to get his blood drawn. However, it was already 5pm when we left the office and all the labs closed at 5 so we thought we could wait until tomorrow to get the test done before our follow-up appointment. The pedi didn’t seem very concerned about his jaundice and wasn’t explicit that the blood had to be drawn that day! Lesson number one learned as parents, always ask to make sure! At 9pm our pedi called us frantic that she couldn’t find Derek’s lab results. We needed to get his blood drawn right away to see if he had to go to the hospital that night. She called in a lab request to a nearby ER and we went there to get his blood drawn. By 10:30 we were back home. If she didn’t call, we’d just go to our regular scheduled appointment the next day. It was 11:30 and I thought to myself, no call so good news. But 5 minutes later the phone rang. Derek had to be admitted to the hospital ASAP! His jaundice level was at 26.5, which is transfusion level, and at the point where it’s freak out time. At 20 they usually treat jaundice. At 25 or above, it’s extremely high. The doctor worked with the hospitals, other pedis, and called us back several times with updates. Since his level was so high, after consulting two other pedis, our pedi told us we needed to go to a specific hospital, where they could monitor and treat him better. We rushed around the house packing important items. Who knew how long we’d be at the hospital. I started to worry a little when our pedi called us and asked if we were in the car already, if we had formula to feed him, and we rushed out of the house! We both didn’t really know much about jaundice, which was a blessing or else I would have been freaking out!
We were checked into the hospital by 12:45am. I had just breastfed him before we left for the hospital but they wanted him to eat as much as he could so with my consent they formula feed him. The pedi was shocked at how fast he gulped that first bottle down! They ran another blood test and his level was at 27.1. They put him in the incubator with his little shades on and blasted him with photo therapy. The NICU was doing everything they could to treat him in the room so we didn’t have to be away from each other. I am so thankful for that. While this was happening the pedi explained to us his condition and treatment plan. Thank god our pedi stayed on top of things! And thank god we were on top of scheduling an appointment with our pedi and that they had an earlier opening than usual. We were so close to getting an appointment for the following day! This pedi said that if we didn’t come in tonight, it might have been too late the next morning! I balled my eyes out for a few minutes after the pedi left the room. I was so scared of his level getting to 30, where there’s a risk of brain damage and he’d need a transfusion.
The nurse came in every 2 hours to feed him and I woke up to pump. My milk was coming in and I was very engorged. I was very much in pain so I wanted to get the milk out, make sure to stimulate my breasts, and make sure Derek was still getting breast milk.
At 5:30am another blood test was done and the bilirubin level was 21.8. Yay! It was going down. I was so relieved that he wouldn’t need other treatment. He was still under the lights but less lights and he no longer needed to be feed every 2 hours with formula. I could breastfeed him again myself. Since my milk was coming in, the most important thing was to work on feeding and make sure we were a good breastfeeding team. The want to make sure he’s eating, peeing and pooping well to get that bad bilirubin out!
A group of doctors came in for rounds and the resident presented my case to the doctor. I felt like I was in Grey’s Anatomy! And the resident reminded us of George O’Malley! They talked similarly. They were pleased with the progress that Derek was making and said that they feel comfortable letting him come home when he reached around 13 or 14. We’d be staying over one more night.
At 1:30pm, his level was down to 17! He was also gaining weight like a champ! His birth weight was 6 lbs 7 oz and when he left the hospital he was down to 6 lbs 1 oz (down 13%, which is in the normal range). At the 3:30pm pedi appointment, he was down to 5 lbs 9 oz. The next day at 1am he was 5 lbs 10 oz and at 1pm he was 5 lbs 15 oz. Yay! He had gained 6 oz in less than 24 hours! Today at 8:30am, he was a healthy 6 lbs even! Woohoo! Even better, at 5:30am this morning, his bilirubin level was 12.3! Into the safe comfortable zone! My poor guy was pricked so many times. The last prick was done while I breastfed him and he didn’t cry. He didn’t seem bothered much. At least he wasn’t in much pain this morning. He was breastfeeding, peeing, and pooping like a champ! We were discharged, left the hospital this afternoon, and are finally back home. Home sweet home! We were only home for one full day in the last 6 days so it feels great to finally get a chance to settle in.
Even though it was sad that my son had to be checked in the hospital and spend days 5 and 6 of his life in an incubator, there were many positives. More free stuff – diapers, burp clothes, Medela pump supplies, mesh undies (love these!), pads, food cooked for us – hospital food is not bad at all!, adjustable hospital bed made my recovery a little easier, and most importantly a meeting with a lactation consultant, who was so helpful, much better than the first one I met with at the other hospital (she seemed rushed). This one took her time with me while I fed him and I learned so much from her. Her tips were awesome and helped immensely. Because of her, breastfeeding is going really well! He’s latching on well and it isn’t painful. And I have to say, I am loving my new boobs! Instant boob job! I’m still having a little pain from engorgement but it’s not bad. Well, no pain is really that bad now after going through natural childbirth!
Tacori, love the new avatar of T! She looks so grown up. Beautiful! BFing is going well. He''s latching on for long periods of time (up to 30 minutes on one side if I let him) and eating very often (9 to 11 times a day!). It seems I have a big milk supply and the engorgement is gone. Thank goodness! I try to pump in the morning so DH can do one night feeding and I can get some sleep. I''m bummed I didn''t get to pump this morning though because we had an early morning pedi appointment. Hopefully he''ll sleep for longer periods tonight. Last night he wanted to feed as often as every 1.5 hours. Exhausting! Thanks for asking.
Thanks to those who asked about D''s jaundice. We are back home now and he still has jaundice but it seems under control. At the pedi appointment today, he weighted 6 lbs 5 oz - a very healthy weight gain (5 oz since we left the hospital 1.5 days ago.
Here''s the whole jaundice story, for those who are interested. I have some pictures of D relaxing in his "tanning bed" but I''ll hold off posting them unless you guys are interested in seeing them.
10.2.08
At 4 days old, Derek went to his first pedi appointment. Everything looked good except his jaundice had gotten worse, as expected since it peaks around this time. It had spread down to his waist. The pedi (not the main one, she covers only on Tuesdays) gave us a lab slip to get his blood drawn. However, it was already 5pm when we left the office and all the labs closed at 5 so we thought we could wait until tomorrow to get the test done before our follow-up appointment. The pedi didn’t seem very concerned about his jaundice and wasn’t explicit that the blood had to be drawn that day! Lesson number one learned as parents, always ask to make sure! At 9pm our pedi called us frantic that she couldn’t find Derek’s lab results. We needed to get his blood drawn right away to see if he had to go to the hospital that night. She called in a lab request to a nearby ER and we went there to get his blood drawn. By 10:30 we were back home. If she didn’t call, we’d just go to our regular scheduled appointment the next day. It was 11:30 and I thought to myself, no call so good news. But 5 minutes later the phone rang. Derek had to be admitted to the hospital ASAP! His jaundice level was at 26.5, which is transfusion level, and at the point where it’s freak out time. At 20 they usually treat jaundice. At 25 or above, it’s extremely high. The doctor worked with the hospitals, other pedis, and called us back several times with updates. Since his level was so high, after consulting two other pedis, our pedi told us we needed to go to a specific hospital, where they could monitor and treat him better. We rushed around the house packing important items. Who knew how long we’d be at the hospital. I started to worry a little when our pedi called us and asked if we were in the car already, if we had formula to feed him, and we rushed out of the house! We both didn’t really know much about jaundice, which was a blessing or else I would have been freaking out!
We were checked into the hospital by 12:45am. I had just breastfed him before we left for the hospital but they wanted him to eat as much as he could so with my consent they formula feed him. The pedi was shocked at how fast he gulped that first bottle down! They ran another blood test and his level was at 27.1. They put him in the incubator with his little shades on and blasted him with photo therapy. The NICU was doing everything they could to treat him in the room so we didn’t have to be away from each other. I am so thankful for that. While this was happening the pedi explained to us his condition and treatment plan. Thank god our pedi stayed on top of things! And thank god we were on top of scheduling an appointment with our pedi and that they had an earlier opening than usual. We were so close to getting an appointment for the following day! This pedi said that if we didn’t come in tonight, it might have been too late the next morning! I balled my eyes out for a few minutes after the pedi left the room. I was so scared of his level getting to 30, where there’s a risk of brain damage and he’d need a transfusion.
The nurse came in every 2 hours to feed him and I woke up to pump. My milk was coming in and I was very engorged. I was very much in pain so I wanted to get the milk out, make sure to stimulate my breasts, and make sure Derek was still getting breast milk.
At 5:30am another blood test was done and the bilirubin level was 21.8. Yay! It was going down. I was so relieved that he wouldn’t need other treatment. He was still under the lights but less lights and he no longer needed to be feed every 2 hours with formula. I could breastfeed him again myself. Since my milk was coming in, the most important thing was to work on feeding and make sure we were a good breastfeeding team. The want to make sure he’s eating, peeing and pooping well to get that bad bilirubin out!
A group of doctors came in for rounds and the resident presented my case to the doctor. I felt like I was in Grey’s Anatomy! And the resident reminded us of George O’Malley! They talked similarly. They were pleased with the progress that Derek was making and said that they feel comfortable letting him come home when he reached around 13 or 14. We’d be staying over one more night.
At 1:30pm, his level was down to 17! He was also gaining weight like a champ! His birth weight was 6 lbs 7 oz and when he left the hospital he was down to 6 lbs 1 oz (down 13%, which is in the normal range). At the 3:30pm pedi appointment, he was down to 5 lbs 9 oz. The next day at 1am he was 5 lbs 10 oz and at 1pm he was 5 lbs 15 oz. Yay! He had gained 6 oz in less than 24 hours! Today at 8:30am, he was a healthy 6 lbs even! Woohoo! Even better, at 5:30am this morning, his bilirubin level was 12.3! Into the safe comfortable zone! My poor guy was pricked so many times. The last prick was done while I breastfed him and he didn’t cry. He didn’t seem bothered much. At least he wasn’t in much pain this morning. He was breastfeeding, peeing, and pooping like a champ! We were discharged, left the hospital this afternoon, and are finally back home. Home sweet home! We were only home for one full day in the last 6 days so it feels great to finally get a chance to settle in.
Even though it was sad that my son had to be checked in the hospital and spend days 5 and 6 of his life in an incubator, there were many positives. More free stuff – diapers, burp clothes, Medela pump supplies, mesh undies (love these!), pads, food cooked for us – hospital food is not bad at all!, adjustable hospital bed made my recovery a little easier, and most importantly a meeting with a lactation consultant, who was so helpful, much better than the first one I met with at the other hospital (she seemed rushed). This one took her time with me while I fed him and I learned so much from her. Her tips were awesome and helped immensely. Because of her, breastfeeding is going really well! He’s latching on well and it isn’t painful. And I have to say, I am loving my new boobs! Instant boob job! I’m still having a little pain from engorgement but it’s not bad. Well, no pain is really that bad now after going through natural childbirth!
lili
Ideal_Rock
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Snlee
Of course we love to see them.
Look what bunch of people you are asking
Thanks for sharing Derek's jaundice episode.
Hopefully that would be your last rush to the hospital.
Glad everything is okay with Derek.
And glad to hear that something else good come out of his hospital stay
Derek is eating like a champ!!
Can't believe he gained that much in a day.
Enjoy every moment during this first month....he'll go so fast I tell ya.
qtiekiki
Ideal_Rock
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snlee
Thank goodness your pedi was on top of things. You are so positive and strong. I guess Derek is finally home and doing much better.
A good LC and support is so important in breastfeeding, and I am glad your second LC was helpful. LOL on the instant boob job. I just hope mines go to back to their original size when I am done breastfeeding, but I have a feeling that they'll be smaller and saggy because that's how they are when I am not full.
Derek is adorable. He looks bigger than 6lbs something.
Thank goodness your pedi was on top of things. You are so positive and strong. I guess Derek is finally home and doing much better.
A good LC and support is so important in breastfeeding, and I am glad your second LC was helpful. LOL on the instant boob job. I just hope mines go to back to their original size when I am done breastfeeding, but I have a feeling that they'll be smaller and saggy because that's how they are when I am not full.
Derek is adorable. He looks bigger than 6lbs something.
jas
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lili
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Jas12
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Snlee--what a scary few days. i didn''t know jaundice could get so serious so fast. I am glad all is well now and that Derek is feeding terrifically (getting that good latch from the get-go is so key to enjoying BF instead of suffering through it). Keep up the good work momma!
Qtiekiki--i am afraid of what my boobs are going to look like after this gig as well--blech
. I told DH that he can''t comment later since he is encouraging me to BF as long as i can. I am ready to invest in some good push-up bras
Lili--too bad J isn''t taking the sippy cup. I haven''t had much luck either. Q for you: did you by chance ever notice baby food at any of the self-serve eateries on any of your celebrity cruises? I called Celebrity this week to ask if they had fruit/veg purees etc. readily available. They couldn''t provide an answer (the agent was obviously just reading from a manual or something cuz she just repeated the same info about Similac being available--even after i explained that it was not formula i was asking about. I was SO annoyed). I am going to bring a box of rice cereal and some cans of food, but i would rather not pack that stuff if i don''t have to. So much to pack!
Qtiekiki--i am afraid of what my boobs are going to look like after this gig as well--blech
Lili--too bad J isn''t taking the sippy cup. I haven''t had much luck either. Q for you: did you by chance ever notice baby food at any of the self-serve eateries on any of your celebrity cruises? I called Celebrity this week to ask if they had fruit/veg purees etc. readily available. They couldn''t provide an answer (the agent was obviously just reading from a manual or something cuz she just repeated the same info about Similac being available--even after i explained that it was not formula i was asking about. I was SO annoyed). I am going to bring a box of rice cereal and some cans of food, but i would rather not pack that stuff if i don''t have to. So much to pack!
snlee
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snlee
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snlee
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snlee
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