First of all, this new little bundle of ours is simply amazing! He's just perfect and has made the most wonderful addition to our family. He sleeps well, eats well and overall has the most pleasant personality.
Our first week & a half at home was great (exhausting as expected but great!), but things took a turn over Mother's Day weekend when I developed a complication that has rendered me completely useless. Two straight days in bed, four days on one antibiotic with worsening symptoms resulting in a repeat trip to my OB today for another two medications. And it'll be another 2 or so days before we know if this regimen is working. Guess only getting 2-hour stretches of sleep at most for over 2 weeks now has contributed to my body running itself into the ground.
In the meantime the only productive thing I can do is pump breast milk for the baby. I can't even nurse him, which for those of you who know me well, know how important this is to me. I am devastated but praying praying praying it's only temporary.
I haven't been able to care for my older two kids. I haven't been able to care for my baby. I pump, then hubs feeds him a bottle, changes his diapers/clothes, puts him to sleep, gets him when he wakes, all while caring for the older two, running errands with all three kids as needed, doing laundry, and making sure everyone has some sort of food to eat 3x/day. Talk about New Mommy of the Year, right? Ugh. I have never been more thankful for hubs.
I feel like a failure because I can't do anything for my family. I can't do anything for my new baby except watch his daddy love on him and care for him.
This is so much harder than I expected and I hate not having any control over the situation. I'm just praying that the infection I'm fighting will respond to the latest antibiotics and I will feel well enough to start nursing my baby and caring for my family oh so very soon.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Introducing...
Sorry for the delay! We've had a whirlwind week as you might imagine! I'll be back to share more soon... once I get through this whole sleep deprivation phase. ;)
We're so in love and are just smitten with this perfect little blessing!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
E's Birth Story
Once again, I've found myself significantly behind on posting to the blog here. Case in point? This post is E's birth story. He was born on April 30, 2013. I just found the draft of this post on blogger today -- February 4, 2017. So ya, apparently it's been almost 4 years and I still have yet to post E's birth story on the blog. #epicmomfail
So, without further ado, I give you: E's Birth Story!
Apologies for the lack of photos. Apparently this is what happens when you wait almost 4 years to post a birth story.
On Monday, April 29, 2013, we arrived at the hospital at 6:10 PM. We were set up in Room 432 by nurses Nina and Lois. Lois placed my IV.
At 6:50 PM, the Cervidil was placed to get started with the induction. I was 70% effaced, 1 cm dilated, and had a few early contractions that showed up on the monitor.
At 7:00 PM, it was time for the nurse shift change! Welcome to E's delivery, Judy!
I slept pretty well, considering how hugely pregnant and uncomfortable I was. At 5:30 AM, the Cervidil was removed and I took a shower.
At 6:30 AM, the IV fluid was started, and I was almost 2 cm, still 70% effaced. The Pitocin was started about 10 minutes later, and my delivery nurse Sarah took over at the morning shift change.
My water was broken at 8:15 AM, and I was measuring at 2 cm, 50%, -2 station. There's some work to do today!
At 10:15 AM, Chana took over for Sarah. I can't recall now (4 years later, OMG) why this was... maybe they had a low census and sent Sarah home? Totally possible.
I was up to 80%, 3 cm, -2 at 10:50 AM. My contractions started to stall, so I rested for a bit while the increased the Pitocin. It was still so slow-going, so Dr. Bradley increased the Pitocin again at 1:00 PM. By 1:30 PM, I was about 3-4 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and at -1 station. Ten minutes later, they started fluids to prep for the epidural (Praise Jesus!). So much relief once that epidural was placed!
By 3:10 PM, I was up to 4 cm, 90%, and still -1 station, so the Pitocin was increased again around 3:50 PM. More waiting. Patiently waiting... I didn't mind so much since I couldn't feel any pain. It was just the usual discomfort and some anxiousness to meet my little guy.
It was now 5:15 PM, I was at 5 cm, 90%, -1, so they increased the Pitocin again. One hour later, I was complete! It was FINALLY time to meet my sweet boy!
Literally two BIG pushes, and two little pushes, and that precious baby E was finally here!
This was the FIRST of my three deliveries that was "normal" and resulted in me immediately holding my baby after delivery. With LO's birth, I was given medication that knocked me out for about 2 hours while the doctor dealt with post-delivery complications, so there wasn't that immediate moment of bonding following her birth. With Chase's delivery, he was whisked away after a quick glimpse and taken to a stabilization room for over 2 hours, after which I was able to hold him for about 20 minutes and not again for almost a week. So to say it was a glorious moment to hold my brand-new, seconds-old baby immediately after delivery is an understatement!
So 7:00 PM rolls around and it's shift change again! Welcome to my recovery team, Chris!
I'll spare some of the details of the LONGEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE, but let's just say that the fact that I had gestational diabetes while I was pregnant with E made that first night absolutely horrible. Essentially, when he'd start crying in the middle of the night, wanting to be fed, I had to wait on a dadgum nurse to come in and POKE HIS HEEL to check his blood sugar before they'd let me feed him. You can imagine how many times this went on throughout his first night. I felt awful. The feeling of needing/wanting to feed your newborn son, and not having "permission" to do it until his blood sugar was logged? It. Was. The. Worst. Hubs and I were pretty sure we weren't about to go through another night like that one.
Bright and early, our day nurse Jill took over. She helped us fast-track all of the necessary discharge requirements (hearing test, circ, etc.) so we could HIT. THE. ROAD. And at 7:30 PM, we were DISCHARGED... 25 hours after little E's arrival.
I will always remember our trip home from the hospital. We stopped at Bi-Lo so we could pick up a small "birthday cake" for the kids to celebrate as they welcomed home their little brother. I was literally walking through the grocery store 25 hours after delivering a baby. It was so surreal. Seriously. So weird.
In hindsight, I kind of wish we had stayed one more night (if it weren't for the starving baby all night long!) because I would have loved to let LO and Chase come up to the hospital to meet their baby brother.
We arrived home, celebrated with the kids and their Gramma & Pa Pa, then settled in for our first night at home as a family of five. LOVE.
So, without further ado, I give you: E's Birth Story!
Apologies for the lack of photos. Apparently this is what happens when you wait almost 4 years to post a birth story.
On Monday, April 29, 2013, we arrived at the hospital at 6:10 PM. We were set up in Room 432 by nurses Nina and Lois. Lois placed my IV.
At 6:50 PM, the Cervidil was placed to get started with the induction. I was 70% effaced, 1 cm dilated, and had a few early contractions that showed up on the monitor.
At 7:00 PM, it was time for the nurse shift change! Welcome to E's delivery, Judy!
I slept pretty well, considering how hugely pregnant and uncomfortable I was. At 5:30 AM, the Cervidil was removed and I took a shower.
At 6:30 AM, the IV fluid was started, and I was almost 2 cm, still 70% effaced. The Pitocin was started about 10 minutes later, and my delivery nurse Sarah took over at the morning shift change.
My water was broken at 8:15 AM, and I was measuring at 2 cm, 50%, -2 station. There's some work to do today!
At 10:15 AM, Chana took over for Sarah. I can't recall now (4 years later, OMG) why this was... maybe they had a low census and sent Sarah home? Totally possible.
I was up to 80%, 3 cm, -2 at 10:50 AM. My contractions started to stall, so I rested for a bit while the increased the Pitocin. It was still so slow-going, so Dr. Bradley increased the Pitocin again at 1:00 PM. By 1:30 PM, I was about 3-4 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and at -1 station. Ten minutes later, they started fluids to prep for the epidural (Praise Jesus!). So much relief once that epidural was placed!
By 3:10 PM, I was up to 4 cm, 90%, and still -1 station, so the Pitocin was increased again around 3:50 PM. More waiting. Patiently waiting... I didn't mind so much since I couldn't feel any pain. It was just the usual discomfort and some anxiousness to meet my little guy.
It was now 5:15 PM, I was at 5 cm, 90%, -1, so they increased the Pitocin again. One hour later, I was complete! It was FINALLY time to meet my sweet boy!
Literally two BIG pushes, and two little pushes, and that precious baby E was finally here!
~ Baby E ~
4/30/2013
6:30 PM
6 lbs. 14 oz.
19 3/4"
This was the FIRST of my three deliveries that was "normal" and resulted in me immediately holding my baby after delivery. With LO's birth, I was given medication that knocked me out for about 2 hours while the doctor dealt with post-delivery complications, so there wasn't that immediate moment of bonding following her birth. With Chase's delivery, he was whisked away after a quick glimpse and taken to a stabilization room for over 2 hours, after which I was able to hold him for about 20 minutes and not again for almost a week. So to say it was a glorious moment to hold my brand-new, seconds-old baby immediately after delivery is an understatement!
So 7:00 PM rolls around and it's shift change again! Welcome to my recovery team, Chris!
I'll spare some of the details of the LONGEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE, but let's just say that the fact that I had gestational diabetes while I was pregnant with E made that first night absolutely horrible. Essentially, when he'd start crying in the middle of the night, wanting to be fed, I had to wait on a dadgum nurse to come in and POKE HIS HEEL to check his blood sugar before they'd let me feed him. You can imagine how many times this went on throughout his first night. I felt awful. The feeling of needing/wanting to feed your newborn son, and not having "permission" to do it until his blood sugar was logged? It. Was. The. Worst. Hubs and I were pretty sure we weren't about to go through another night like that one.
Bright and early, our day nurse Jill took over. She helped us fast-track all of the necessary discharge requirements (hearing test, circ, etc.) so we could HIT. THE. ROAD. And at 7:30 PM, we were DISCHARGED... 25 hours after little E's arrival.
I will always remember our trip home from the hospital. We stopped at Bi-Lo so we could pick up a small "birthday cake" for the kids to celebrate as they welcomed home their little brother. I was literally walking through the grocery store 25 hours after delivering a baby. It was so surreal. Seriously. So weird.
In hindsight, I kind of wish we had stayed one more night (if it weren't for the starving baby all night long!) because I would have loved to let LO and Chase come up to the hospital to meet their baby brother.
We arrived home, celebrated with the kids and their Gramma & Pa Pa, then settled in for our first night at home as a family of five. LOVE.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)