Post by manybellsdown on Jun 17, 2016 10:47:05 GMT -5
Thank you all for your good lucks! We did it. Elliot was born yesterday afternoon, 6/16/16. He is 7 pounds, 9 ounces, nearly two pounds smaller than my first, making him really small to me (relatively speaking of course). He is perfect.
I'll be back with the story. I'm trying to remember how to take care of a newborn. I forgot about burping, for example. The searing nipple pain is coming back to me. The baby snuggles are, too.
UPDATE, the wordy birth story:
At 40w4d, we checked in at 3:30am for induction. I was having a lot of feels about this, compounded I'm sure by the fact that it necessarily sleep-deprived me right off the bat. I basically teared up and/or cried at nearly every statement made with most any feeling said to me.
With that as background, we got into our room and started a very low dose of Pitocin by 4:30am. A person in actual labor, whose water had broken, was just ahead of us at the triage check-in. I was jealous of her. I didn't start feeling anything for at least an hour, and the contractions were very mild. I stayed in bed for the most part and tried to rest.
Things picked up a bit between 8:00 and 9:00am, when my doctor arrived to check me and break my water. This process was excruciating. My body naturally reflexed its way away from my doctor, who did not like that and kept saying things about how we need to break the water, it will only prolong things if we don't, etc. etc. I was finally like, "I get it, this just really hurts." She told the nurse I was 3cm. I came in at 2cm, so, fun.
At the end of the seemingly unending process, my bed actually broke. Like I fell a few inches as it slammed to the ground. Between my doctor's apparent lack of bedside manner, the 3cm, and the bed, I was crying and wondering if these were all signs that we should have kept waiting. H was the best during these moments, thankfully.
I got a new bed. The contractions, as predicted, picked up in intensity. I used the labor ball for awhile but ultimately asked for an epidural when I was told there was a list. With my first, I was NOT told about any list, and it took over an hour for him to arrive, with much worse contractions. This time, he showed up right away. I felt kind of silly for getting it so soon, which caused me to tear up some more. There's a theme here.
Epidurals, though, are real nice. My mom showed up. The doctor came back around noon. I was just 4cm. Seriously? We watched a movie. It feels odd that part of my labor experience was just sitting there, watching a movie. I was really tired. She came back again at 2:00pm. 7cm! Okay! I felt better about that.
After this check, they had me switch sides, and this is where the epidural pretty much stopped working. I pushed the button and waited for the relief. The anesthesiologist (who could have been cast in Grey's Anatomy--he was cute) had said the meds would take about 20 minutes to kick in after a button push. I talked to my mom and H between contractions and watched the clock. I had to stay in bed because of the tingly legs, so I essentially just held onto the bed rail and buzzed my lips/groaned/whined during contractions. The epidural was really only taking the edge off. 20 minutes came and went, twice. I pressed the button again, twice.
My doctor came in a little after 3:00pm and said she thought I'd be further along by now (helpful!). I told her about the contractions. She checked me and immediately said DON'T PUSH because his head is right there. Wait, what? I had apparently labored 3cm and through transition in the past hour, and I was feeling so much because the contractions were that strong. My doctor and the nurse moved with precision and got everything ready. I let my mom stay, which was not the plan at all but clearly meant a lot to her.
I pushed through about 1.5 contractions, and he was out in less than five minutes. This is what I call a win. They put him on my chest, and I cried some more. He was here, and his tiny cry was the best.
poof photo--will share more on private board
I'll be back with the story. I'm trying to remember how to take care of a newborn. I forgot about burping, for example. The searing nipple pain is coming back to me. The baby snuggles are, too.
UPDATE, the wordy birth story:
At 40w4d, we checked in at 3:30am for induction. I was having a lot of feels about this, compounded I'm sure by the fact that it necessarily sleep-deprived me right off the bat. I basically teared up and/or cried at nearly every statement made with most any feeling said to me.
With that as background, we got into our room and started a very low dose of Pitocin by 4:30am. A person in actual labor, whose water had broken, was just ahead of us at the triage check-in. I was jealous of her. I didn't start feeling anything for at least an hour, and the contractions were very mild. I stayed in bed for the most part and tried to rest.
Things picked up a bit between 8:00 and 9:00am, when my doctor arrived to check me and break my water. This process was excruciating. My body naturally reflexed its way away from my doctor, who did not like that and kept saying things about how we need to break the water, it will only prolong things if we don't, etc. etc. I was finally like, "I get it, this just really hurts." She told the nurse I was 3cm. I came in at 2cm, so, fun.
At the end of the seemingly unending process, my bed actually broke. Like I fell a few inches as it slammed to the ground. Between my doctor's apparent lack of bedside manner, the 3cm, and the bed, I was crying and wondering if these were all signs that we should have kept waiting. H was the best during these moments, thankfully.
I got a new bed. The contractions, as predicted, picked up in intensity. I used the labor ball for awhile but ultimately asked for an epidural when I was told there was a list. With my first, I was NOT told about any list, and it took over an hour for him to arrive, with much worse contractions. This time, he showed up right away. I felt kind of silly for getting it so soon, which caused me to tear up some more. There's a theme here.
Epidurals, though, are real nice. My mom showed up. The doctor came back around noon. I was just 4cm. Seriously? We watched a movie. It feels odd that part of my labor experience was just sitting there, watching a movie. I was really tired. She came back again at 2:00pm. 7cm! Okay! I felt better about that.
After this check, they had me switch sides, and this is where the epidural pretty much stopped working. I pushed the button and waited for the relief. The anesthesiologist (who could have been cast in Grey's Anatomy--he was cute) had said the meds would take about 20 minutes to kick in after a button push. I talked to my mom and H between contractions and watched the clock. I had to stay in bed because of the tingly legs, so I essentially just held onto the bed rail and buzzed my lips/groaned/whined during contractions. The epidural was really only taking the edge off. 20 minutes came and went, twice. I pressed the button again, twice.
My doctor came in a little after 3:00pm and said she thought I'd be further along by now (helpful!). I told her about the contractions. She checked me and immediately said DON'T PUSH because his head is right there. Wait, what? I had apparently labored 3cm and through transition in the past hour, and I was feeling so much because the contractions were that strong. My doctor and the nurse moved with precision and got everything ready. I let my mom stay, which was not the plan at all but clearly meant a lot to her.
I pushed through about 1.5 contractions, and he was out in less than five minutes. This is what I call a win. They put him on my chest, and I cried some more. He was here, and his tiny cry was the best.
poof photo--will share more on private board
