Bailey’s Birth Story, Part Two: The Recovery

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I wrote Bailey’s birth story back in May, but since giving birth to my little angel, I have actually had a lot of people ask me questions about the recovery. Now that I am thinking about it, that’s the part that I was the most worried about going into the whole thing. Not taking care of the baby, not contractions, just recovering- especially if I had to get stitches!

Let me preface this post by saying that there will be quite a bit of TMI here. Read at your own risk.

So I guess I pushed for somewhere around 35 minutes, and she was out. Almost immediately it seemed like they put her on my chest. She wasn’t the gross goopy thing I thought she would be. I loved her right away. I cried. I was not in any sort of pain, which was odd because I felt lots of pain during the pushing (specifically as her head and shoulders came out, so thank goodness it was only like five-ten minutes).

After I held her for a second and checked to make sure that she really WAS a girl, the nurses took her back I guess to do Apgars and to wipe her off and everything. That was when my OB, Dr. K, pushed on my uterus a little bit and the placenta or whatever came out. That was also painless and I did not see anything. Then she told me she would have to stitch me up a little bit. I was like, “What? Did I have an episiotomy?” She told me that I had torn just a little bit (I knew before this that she did not routinely do episiotomies, unless the tear was going to be worse without it). I remember being surprised, because no one told me I was tearing. I also realized that must have been what the horrible burning pain was. I thought the point of an epidural was to not have pain? It numbed the contractions completely, but I felt everything in the hoo hoo area. Or at least that’s what it seemed like.

WHen she started doing the stitching, I noticed there was a massive amount of blood on her clothes. At first I thought it was from me, but looking back I’m sure it was from when Bailey came out, not from my tearing The stitches weren’t too bad. This was the part I was dreading. I could feel what felt like tiny pin pricks here and there, but that was it. It wasn’t even enough to make me tense up or anything. At one point, she told me she had gone all the way down and would have to work her way up again. Also something about a second-degree tear. So I guess I had a decent amount of stitches, but I honestly never asked or looked.

After I was all stitched up and Bailey was clean, we both got to hold her again. I think Jonathon was holding her while I was being stitched as well. Then we had my parents come in to see her. I still was not in any pain. I ate chicken tenders, a grilled cheese sandwich, some fries, and some sort of chocolate cake/brownie thing. And I drank a Diet Coke. I had been hungry since like noon.

Once my parents left, a nurse helped me to the bathroom. I remember being really scared to walk there. It wasn’t bad. I peed for like ten minutes I think, and then she wiped my hoo hoo for me. If I had any modesty left, that’s the point where it all disappeared. She also helped me with the underwear and ice pack situation. If you haven’t given birth before, you should know not to expect to wear your own undies. The hospital gives you these awesome disposable underwear that are like a mesh one-size-fits-all thing. The healing process is a little messy in the beginning, so it’s great just to be able to toss these in the trash.

Once we were done with that, she took us to our regular room. I was in a wheelchair and carried Bailey. I remember being so proud of her. I wished it wasn’t midnight so that everyone could see my beautiful little girl as we went down the hall. I think Jonathon walked and carried our stuff. When we were in our room, we snuggled with Bailey for a while and I had to ask for help to go to the bathroom again. They make you call the nurse the first few times. Once I went to bed, I had a horrible time sleeping. I was exhausted, but I was so hot I just laid there and sweated. When the nurse came in to do my vitals around 3 a.m. I asked her if I had a fever from an infection. She told me that night sweats were very normal for a while after delivery. I finally drifted off but I think I woke up again around 7 when the pediatrician came.

The whole hospital stay was crazy. I was having lots of problems breastfeeding. Bailey just would not latch on right. We saw several lactation nurses. We had a few visitors- just family and like three friends. If I had it to do over again, I would insist on no visitors except the grandparents. I was so tired, and in no mood to chit chat. I didn’t want to coordinate my baby’s feeding around when people were coming. I needed that time to myself, but I didn’t know it then.

After about 24-36 hours I was able to stop wearing an icepack in my underwear. Oh, the icepacks. They are actually a newborn size Pampers diaper. They cut a hole in the lining and stick ice in there. Then they wrap up the diaper like a burrito and secure the tabs so that the ice gets absorbed as it melts. Great idea! On top of that I had the world’s largest maxi pad, and then on top of that I had three Tucks pads lined up in a row. I really had a completely pain-free recovery. My stitches never bothered me. I never felt them, and I never had to do sitz baths. I called my doctor at one point because I was worried that something was wrong, but she said I was just fortunate.

We waited until well after the six week postpartum checkup before we had sex again. Although my physical recovery was great, I was an emotional trainwreck. But more about that another day. I’m going to bed.

Edited to add: I think I stopped the heavy postpartum bleeding around a week and a half. I didn’t completely stop bleeding for almost five weeks. I still have not had a period- but I am almost exclusively breastfeeding so hopefully that makes it hold off a little longer!

Bailey’s Birth Story

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Well, I promised myself I would get this written sometime this week- and I wanted to do it before I forget too much. I wrote down some quick notes during the labor so I could remember the details. But I am already to the point where I am saying, “I don’t think it was that bad. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Am I forgetting the time without the epidural? Is Bailey just totally worth it and I can gloss over the yucky stuff? Or is this a point every mom gets to afterwards?

Warning: This is very long and detailed, because it’s mostly written for me to remember everything. Read at your own risk.

My due date was April 14th, which was a Saturday. At that point I was 4 cm dilated and 85% effaced. I was not having any contractions that I could feel. Some slight achiness in my lower back for a few days, and I was using the bathroom for, um, number two quite frequently. I kept hoping labor was beginning but finally I realized this baby didn’t want to come out on her own. So we headed into the hospital at 7:30 a.m. on Monday the 16th for my Pitocin induction.

Funny thing: The entire time we have lived at our house, our power has never gone out. Not in the July storm last summer. Not in the ice storm this winter. But when I woke up early on the morning of the 16th, our power was out. We had the joy of showering and getting ready for the hospital by candlelight. No breakfast of toast. No blow drying my hair. Not a tragedy, but things already weren’t going “according to plan.”

We arrived at the hospital about 7:20 a.m. and began checking in. The lady at L&D registration was very nice. I had already preregistered online, but I’m not sure it saved me any time. There was still plenty of paperwork. A woman came in for her scheduled c-section about this time. With her baby daddy and her ELEVEN MONTH OLD daughter. Um, was she just going to wait outside the operating room until mommy and daddy were done? Then a girl came in with her husband and mother and she was seriously in labor. They had to get her a wheelchair and she was breathing through contractions. At that point I was glad that I was being induced and would be safely in a hospital bed when that happened.

They had me change into a gown and get comfortable in a bed. Hooked up external monitors to my belly- one for contractions and one for baby’s heartbeat. I was told I had to leave the monitors on because of the Pitocin, but I could unhook them to go potty or walk around briefly. They started the Pitocin shortly after 9 a.m. and began at 2 cc. They said they would be increasing it by 2 cc every half hour. At this time they also began an iv of fluids and one of antibiotics. NO, I didn’t have Strep. It’s because I had heart surgery as a baby so they do it as a preventative measure for endocarditis. And I am allergic to penicillin so I was also tagged with a big red allergy bracelet. They also confirmed that I was slightly past 4 cm…still… The nurse who got everything started was really nice and showed me how to read the monitors so I could watch my contractions and stuff. At first the baby’s heartbeat seemed really high to me but then it slowed down and stabilized around about 150-155.

Throughout the morning I was only having some slight lower back pain. I went to the bathroom about twelve times. We watched some Friends episodes on DVD. Watched some crappy daytime television. I tried to nap. Jonathon called his work. Around noon my mom came up so that he could leave and eat lunch. I could only have popsicles or ice, so I didn’t want him to eat in front of me. I was starving. At 12:45 my OB came over and checked on me. Not an internal, just asked me how I was doing and looked at my charts. In the early afternoon I started getting more uncomfortable. My Pit was around 14-16 cc at this point, I think. I was getting kind of irritated and having Jonathon rub my lower back. But still nothing too bad. And I wasn’t hungry anymore. It felt more comfortable to sit up on the edge of the bed than to lay down.

At 3 p.m. they checked me again. My Pitocin had been at 18 cc for a while now, and they said that was the highest they could take it without special permission from my OB and internal fetal monitoring. I was still only at 5 cm, so I had gone less than a centimeter after 6 hours. No wonder I wasn’t feeling much pain. They told me that my doctor had given permission for them to break my water. At 4:00, the house OB (who was the same woman I had seen at 27 weeks with my bladder infection when I thought my amniotic fluid was leaking) came in to do it. She remembered me and joked that the last time she had seen me, we were worried my fluid was leaking, and now she was there to make it leak. She was a really fun and easy going doctor and made me feel comfortable. They put some towels under me and she poked a little thingy up me. I felt a small popping sensation and then a big gush of bathtub-temperature water. It felt like I had just peed all over myself. It was completely painless, and the fluid kept leaking out in small spurts the rest of the day because your body keeps producing more until the baby comes out.

Within about 20 minutes of breaking my water, I was having really painful contractions. At first I could breathe through them but within about another ten minutes I was flailing around on the bed and telling Jonathon that I needed help and I couldn’t do it. I was kind of panicking. I think it was shocking because the pain just came out of nowhere, like I had been fine and then WHAM, and the contractions were so strong because of the Pitocin.

At 4:40 I asked for an epidural. At 4:45 I told Jonathon to go find the anesthesiologist and tell him to hurry the hell up. He was in my room within minutes of my second request. My current nurse, Jo, was a big woman and not my favorite. She just didn’t have the most sweet bedside manner. They raised the bed up really high and he cleaned my back and inserted the needle or whatever. The pain from it wasn’t too bad. I think it was nothing compared to the contractions. The hardest part was that I wasn’t allowed to move at all, even during contractions. I was leaning over with my chin against my chest and they had me hugging a pillow. The air was getting hot in front of my face and I started feeling kind of icky. Then the anesthesiologist informed me that he catheter for the epidural kept going into a blood vessel instead of where it was supposed to. He had to take out the needle, reclean the area, and reinsert it THREE times, each time poking stuff around inside me and causing funny twinges and hot feelings. The second time it was in, he told the nurse I was going to “go something-cardic” (I don’t remember the word but I think it started with a T) and then I could feel myself about to pass out… I started to worry that it would never work and finally it did. Within about a minute the pain started easing up. Within about five minutes I was laying back against the pillows and couldn’t feel any pain at all. I could still move my legs, but that’s about it.

Around 5:30-5:45, once the epidural was in, they checked me again and I was 7 cm, so it seemed that breaking my water really sped things up. They also gave me a catheter at this point- which I was dreading but I couldn’t feel a thing. I spent the next few hours just laying around. My parents came up and visited. I was in a great mood and looking forward to the baby being here. My second nurse of the day, Stephanie, went home at 7 and her replacement, Nancy, arrived. She was wonderful. She checked me at about 7:15 and said I was 9.5 cm and 100% effaced. I also noticed at this point that they had turned the Pitocin off and I asked about it. She said the baby’s heartrate had a few dips and that’s why they shut it off but I had been progressing fine without it. At this point we were waiting for the baby to move down more and for me to get that last half centimeter. Around 8:45 they said I was 10 cm and I could “practice” pushing but that it would be easier to wait for the baby to move down a little on her own from the contractions. I did a few practice pushes and it was weird. I didn’t really have any urge to do it and I was afraid I was going to poop. The nurse said that if I pooped it was normal and at least I knew I was pushing correctly.

Around 9:00 I started feeling the urge to push when contractions came. It felt like a lot of pressure in my rear area and I could tell exactly when I needed to push. At first the nurse helped me count and hold my breath because it was hard to get it all coordinated. She asked me if I wanted a mirror and I thought I wouldn’t but I asked for it. I could just see some gray thing in there but she said that was the head. My first concern was whether the baby had hair, and she said she was pretty sure she didn’t have much. I knew it. After a few more pushes she told me the doctor had been called and was on her way and that I needed to stop pushing until she got there. That was the hard part. I cheated and pushed a few times anyway because it was really uncomfortable not to. Once I could feel the head coming out I asked her to take away the mirror. I didn’t want any more detail. It was burning, and I asked them to up the epidural, which they did.

Dr. K ran in and put her gear on really fast. I was so relieved to see her. At this point Bailey’s head was about a third of the way out. Two more contractions and the head was out (and pain, the burning pain, I think I was making some weird noises at this point) and then one more contraction for her shoulders and the rest of her body seemed to just slide out. She was born at 9:38 pm and was 7 lbs 7 oz, 19.75 inches long. They put her on me right away and I think I just stared at her with tears in my eyes. She was so pink and wrinkly and perfect. And I was so relieved to see that she really WAS a girl. Her apgars were 8 at one minute and 9 at five minutes.

We stayed in the L&D room for about two hours after the birth, I think. I had to have stitches from tearing (apparently that’s what the burning was- I’m glad I didn’t know while it was happening) but even the stitches didn’t bother me because I was so happy and busy watching everything they were doing with Bailey. Jonathon was so proud and busy taking pictures. He kept saying how beautiful and precious she was. He got to hold her, and then he went to the waiting room to get my parents. They came in to see the baby and then he went to the cafeteria with my dad to get me some chicken strips and a grilled cheese. I was starving.

I also nursed Bailey about a half hour after she was born. She did really well that first time. The latching problem didn’t start until about her third feeding (and was completely fixed by about four or five days old). Once the epidural had worn off, a nurse helped me to the bathroom and then we went in a wheelchair to my regular room, where I stayed for two nights.

Someday I might write a few notes about the rest of my time in the hospital and my recovery. This was enough for now.

Almost 48 Hours Old

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Just a quick post to update on Bailey. We are going home from the hospital tonight. She is doing very well and is very healthy… a little trouble breastfeeding but we are working hard and we have a plan, thanks to the wonderful lactation consultants at the hospital.

She is right about 7 pounds now… also she had a little bruising on her head so they have been checking her billirubin levels to watch for jaundice- apparently her body will make more red blood cells to fight the bruise so they have to make sure they get processed correctly. We have a pediatrician appt on Friday and we love our pediatrician, so we are really happy with that whole situation.

I am feeling very good and in fact today I wore “real clothes” and put on some makeup. I am not in any pain at all- I have a few stitches but I don’t even notice them and I’m just trying to take it easy.

I am excited about being home with our baby- and of course we would love for people to come see her maybe within the next few days or so. We’ll have our cell phones off when we are sleeping so don’t worry about bothering us- but please let us tell you when it would be a good time for company

More pictures from Monday and Tuesday- don’t have the newest ones uploaded yet-
and in no particular order because apparently my brain isn’t that organized right now!

Bailey is HERE!

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Born on Monday, April 16th at 9:38 pm
7 lbs 7 oz
19 inches long

We are all doing well- very busy and very tired! The labor and delivery went smoothly, for the most part. Bailey needs to figure out this eating thing a little better, but hopefully that will come with time.

We will update more later as we get a chance.

Induction Tomorrow Morning

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Just a quick note to let you all know that we still haven’t had the baby- so we are going in to be induced as planned tomorrow morning- 7:30- and we will call people and/or post an update once she is here and everything settles down.

Please pray that everything goes well. I’m a little nervous and we’re trying to stay distracted right now.

Updated (10:37 pm) I think the baby has FINALLY dropped today. I feel like I can’t empty my bladder all the time and it is uncomfortable to walk. And I am having trouble moving from sitting to standing. It just feels like a lot of pressure and a little bit of lower backache- but still no contractions!

Good baby- please help your mommy out and get as far down there as you can!

Missing You Already

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I just realized something- I keep thinking I am so anxious to be done being pregnant and just have Bailey here- but I will never have her THIS CLOSE to me again. From the minute she comes out, she will start growing up. That’s so fast. I shouldn’t be wishing this time away. I have decided I am going to try to enjoy every single little squirm and foot poke these last few days. I always assume I will have other pregnancy(ies) but who knows- this could be my only one- and I am just wishing it away.

This is my little baby girl who I have wanted for as long as I can remember. I know I would love a little boy too, but this is my dream baby. I know we are in for a rough road ahead and hopefully not too much spoiling, but she is already perfect in my eyes. I think that’s why I can’t wait to see her. But the next thing I know she will be walking and talking and not my little baby anymore…. so I need to enjoy EACH day with her. Plus, it’s been pointed out to me that it won’t ever be this easy again and I’ll wish I could put her back inside for an hour or two and catch a nap

The other realization I had last night was that Jonathon and I have a maximum of FIVE nights together as a “couple” before we become parents. I don’t really consider us a family right now. I mean, I know we technically are, but we still seem like Just Jonathon and Tara. We are going to become a whole Family of Three in less than a week. I cried because I am worried that I will miss just us.

He reminded me of a freakout I had the night before we left for our honeymoon. (Not our wedding night, the next night)… I actually called my mom in tears at bedtime and said, “I can’t believe I’m living with a boy! I don’t know if I’m going to like this!” I was completely scared- and apparently not too worried about hurting his feelings, either- but I was terrified of the unknown. But last night he reminded me of this, and was like, “Look, now you’re so scared for that to change. But it’s going to be the same way. Scary at first and then you won’t be able to imagine anything else.”

I guess I am just feeling a little overly emotional and apprehensive of so much changing. And of course worrying about the birth- I’m sure that’s contributing to my freaking out.

Anyway, Bailey, I am looking forward to seeing you whenever you are ready to come out. But I need to warn you: Monday is your deadline to decide to come out on your own

Checkup and Induction Question

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Today was my 38 week 5 day doctors visit… I guess it was disappointing in a way. For one, I was hoping to not make it to this appointment. I wish the doctors had never guessed that I would go early, because then I would still be expecting to be pregnant right now.

The appointment started out with my blood pressure being way higher than usual. 132/94 or something like that- please don’t comment on it and scare me because I don’t need anything else to stress over right now but yes that is high for me.

So I made a joke about them sending me over to the hospital right now, and the nurse actually said that I wouldn’t want to go now because L&D is FULL! How the heck does that happen? Besides a full moon and a low pressure system both in one week… anyway she said that people are starting out in the hallways and that they have postponed all the scheduled inductions for now and told people to stay home until they get a phone call! How crazy is that? ANd this isn’t some little podunk hospital. We’re talking about one of the main hospitals here in St. Louis. She said I need to hold off at least a few hours to go into labor so that they can get some of those people cleared out and/or delivered! I guess it’s good that I didn’t go in this morning before my appointment like I was hoping to On that note, I won’t be doing any walking or eating spicy food until at least tomorrow.

I told the doctor I was concerned that I was possibly leaking fluid and so she checked my water and it didn’t seem to have broken or be leaking. She used one of those pH strips and it didn’t change color, and then she checked something under a microscope and it wasn’t amniotic fluid- so I guess I have just been peeing my pants a little bit lately. Lovely. Yet another reason I would like to have this baby soon.

The other not-so-exciting news is that I am at 3.5 cm right now… which SOUNDS good since I haven’t been even having contractions yet, but it’s only a half a centimeter since last week. Jonathon was there and he said something like, “Only a half a centimeter in a whole week?” I got kind of snippy and said something like, “Yes, I’ve been telling my cervix not to do anything. I’d like to be pregnant forever!” She didn’t mention effacement this week so I was assuming no change (still at 75%) and didn’t want to ask. I asked if the baby was any lower and she tried to look hopeful and said, “Maybe just a smidge.” Great. Thanks. The good news is that she’s still head down. My belly has definitely gotten lopsided to the right lately so I was a little curious if she had twisted herself around.

Then the last event of the day was…. drumroll…. scheduling my induction! Ahhhhhhhhhhh I don’t want to be induced. This was NOT part of my plan. Everything I’ve heard about being induced has not been good. My due date is April 14th, which is a Saturday, and she said I could pick any day the week after that and they won’t let me go MORE than a week past my due date. So I randomly picked Monday the 16th (yes, still in hopes that I can make it to the wedding on the 20th but if I didn’t go until then that’s kind of doubtful anyway). She said I could change the date anytime… so now I am thinking maybe I should have made it for Wednesday the 18th or something instead and give Bailey a little more time to get out on her own. What are your thoughts? I would like to hear opinions from people who have been induced- please no horror stories but just helpful input about my options!

The crazy thing is that even if I go past my due date and I’m induced, I will definitely have a baby within two weeks from today! Wow…

Not Yet

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No baby yet.

Last night I woke up with contractions during the night. Started to get excited because I had several and they were painful… but still far enough apart that I could kind of fall asleep in between. Next thing I knew it was three hours later and they had stopped.

Nothing really going on here today. And today was the day I “hoped” I would have the baby, because of the full moon. Although it’s during the night tonight, so I guess anything could still happen. I am just so anxious to meet Bailey.

My next date I kind of randomly picked is April 5th. We’ll see about that.

Updated: Nope, not during the night either. Today I am having lunch with my mom and then we are taking a long walk whether she wants to or not. This baby is getting out of me somehow. I haven’t *quite* resorted to sex yet, though.

Full Moon April 2

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The next full moon in our area is on April 2nd, according to this website.

U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department

Sun and Moon Data for One Day

The following information is provided for St. Louis

Monday
2 April 2007 Universal Time – 5h

SUN
Begin civil twilight 06:18
Sunrise 06:45
Sun transit 13:04
Sunset 19:25
End civil twilight 19:52

MOON
Moonrise 18:43 on preceding day
Moon transit 00:42
Moonset 06:33
Moonrise 19:42
Moonset 06:54 on following day

Full Moon on 2 April 2007 at 12:15 (Universal Time – 5h).

Maybe you’re not thrilled by this information- or maybe you are wondering why the heck I even care. Well, I’m not into astronomy or moon phases or any of that stuff at all. I couldn’t care less about weather stuff, either. BUT: I have heard from multiple people, including maternity floor hospital staff, that tons more babies are born during a full moon.

So I think I am mentally changing my due date to April 2nd or 3rd. Just for fun.

Hospital Packing List

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Edited with updates to my packing list- by the way the bag is packed now and here’s what we have:

Me
comfortable cotton pants
nursing-type shirt and extra shirts
2 nursing bras
maternity clothes to wear home
socks
old undies
slippers
lotion
chapstick
saline/nasal wash (I’ve heard this is good since the hospital is so dry)
extra contacts and solution- I don’t wear glasses but I have been told I can keep contacts in during L&D at this hospital
flip flops
ponytail holders and jaws clippies
nail file
deoderant/shampoo/conditioner/toothbrush/toothpaste
hairbrush
makeup
cell phone charger and phone list to call people
Baby Whisperer book to read
Sudoku puzzle book and pencils- just in case I am in labor for hours and hours
breast pads
maxi pads
notebook and pens
pillow
my Care Bear fleece blanket

Labor
massager
rice socks
cd and/or dvds
extra chapstick
lollipops

Jonathon
change of clothes (we only live 20 mins from the hospital so most likely he will go back home at some point during my stay)
pajama pants
video camera/charger/extension cord (NOT videoing the birth, FYI)
digital camera/charger
possibly laptop- does anyone know if my particular hospital has wi-fi?
toothbrush/paste/deoderant
change for vending machines

Bailey
2 onesies
outfit for pictures- including hat and bow depending on her head situation
2 blanket options for picture background
going home outfit
socks
pacifier

WHAT ARE WE FORGETTING???

Blackout Dates

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I had a realization- Bailey cannot be born on certain days. I thought my MIL’s birthday was on Wednesday the 14th, but it’s actually on Monday the 19th. So she can’t be born on Monday. I really don’t want them to share a birthday. I want Bailey to have her OWN birthday! (If you have read my previous posts about in-laws you will understand that there is also a greater issue here).

The other day she can’t be born is TOMORROW! Not on St. Patrick’s Day. Yes, I realize Bailey is a good Irish name, and in fact our last name is Irish too… but then her whole life people will be like, “Oh, a St. Patty’s Day birthday! Blah blah blah…” I’d like to pass on the holiday birthdays.

If we can make it past these two dates, then we just have to watch out for April Fool’s Day. Although that wouldn’t really be a big deal at all. It might be kind of fun. And Easter, that would be cool too but it changes every year anyway.

So, Bailey, if you are listening: You cannot come out tomorrow or Monday.

Thank you.

32 Weeks and Some Thoughts About the Birth

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Information according to Babycenter (italics are me talking):

How your baby’s growing: By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

How your life’s changing:
Your blood volume (the plasma plus red blood cells) is now about 40 to 50 percent greater than before you became pregnant to accommodate the needs of you and your baby. (This extra amount also helps make up for any blood you’ll lose when giving birth.) You’re also gaining a pound a week now, yikes! and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and adding pressure on your abdomen, you may be dealing with heartburn more often or feeling a little short of breath. Yeah, heartburn has become pretty much a constant thing in the evenings. I am keeping Tums on my nightstand- out of the bottle and ready to go so I can grab them anytime!

To help with shortness of breath, try eating smaller quantities more often (rather than three daily feasts) and sleeping propped up. Those smaller meals should help with the heartburn, too. Smaller meals seem to be mandatory now. If I eat too much, I am horribly uncomfortable.

As your baby grows, the increasing concentration of weight in your growing belly causes a change in your posture and a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, your abdominal muscles are stretching, hormones are making your ligaments more lax, and your growing uterus may even press on some nerves. All of this can contribute to low back pain and possibly to some pain in your buttocks and thighs as well. Let your caregiver know if you have severe pain or feel numbness or tingling in your legs.

Decision Guide: Who should be in the labor room with you?

Childbirth is an intensely personal experience, as is your decision whether to have additional family members, friends, or labor coaches in the birthing room with you. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare your guest list:

• Labor and delivery nurses come and go according to their shifts, so if you’d like to be attended continuously by one person, a private labor coach or doula is a good option. I briefly thought about getting a doula. There is a mom, Vicki, in the playgroup that I’m in with Alison. She just finished her training or whatever to be a doula. But then I also think that might be more for people interested in natural childbirth, which I’m not- AT ALL! We are planning to get an epidural, but first I’m going to see how long I can go without. Just because I don’t want it to slow down the labor too much… but if it starts sucking really bad, I’m not holding out!

• Some husbands or partners may be confused about their role in the birth or reluctant to participate if others are present. If you bring outside relatives or coaches in, make sure your partner is on board with the plan.

• You may be under pressure from mothers or mothers-in-law who are eager to be in the delivery room for the birth of their grandchild — regardless of your wishes to keep the experience private. If you want to be alone with your partner, don’t be afraid to enlist hospital staff for support in carrying out your wishes and keeping relatives out of the delivery room. We are planning on not having anyone (other than hospital staff of course) in with us. No moms or dads or friends. Except: I am reserving the right to call my mom into the room in case of emergency. Emergency being extreme panic on my part. For some reason she can calm me down better than anyone else. Jonathon knows this, and knows that it is a possibility for her to come in at some point. But not stay. I imagine my parents coming to the hospital sometime during the labor/delivery so that they can see Bailey fairly soon after she’s born. Once she’s clean and we have a little time with her, then I want the grandparents to come in. Well, not Jonathon’s parents. Hopefully they will still be in Oklahoma at this point. I don’t want them to even come in town until we’ve been home from the hospital for a week or so. And even then, they’re not staying at our house. They already know this, and I am sticking to it.

Childbirth Class #5 -and more-

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Wednesday night we had our fifth- and second to last- childbirth class.

I was really dreading this one because she said we were going to watch a video of a live c-section. I can think of more appealing things. And considering the complete grossness of just the vaginal birth video, I thought this one would be like witnessing a murder. It really wasn’t too bad at all. Most of it was illustrations. The video itself didn’t show any cutting or moving around of flesh or organs or anything like that. It went from illustrations, then kind of fast-forwarded to a video of a little baby after it had been taken out. All that worry for nothing.

We also talked more about actual “scenarios” this time. The teacher set a timer and each time it went off she gave us a scenario to work through as a couple. For example- you are getting in your car after eating at a restaurant and you feel fluid run down your leg. What do you do? Jonathon and I are like “Go to the hospital????” Apparently the right answer was to try to determine if it was amniotic fluid, then call doctor, then head to hospital. We are going to be so lost at this.

We didn’t do any more breathing stuff or exercise ball stuff at this class. Which is just fine with me- I think we kind of figured out how to count and breath like three weeks ago anyway. It really can’t be that complicated.

I am looking forward to next week’s class a little more. It’s the one where we actually talk about bringing home and caring for the baby. Yay! I think I know a lot of the basics like swaddling, diaper changing, etc but Jonathon will be all new to this and it will be fun to do it together Also I don’t know anything about the belly buttons. (Speaking of belly buttons, Sandra Boynton has the cutest book about them!)

Yesterday I just kind of took it easy. I ran a few errands and got my car fixed. The stupid low fluid light has been on, but it was just a hose that needed to be replaced. Only $23 for the hose, courtesy of Jiffy Lube (who my husband hates but I am currently having a great love affair with). They didn’t charge me for labor, either. Went to the grocery store and picked up a few things for dinner. Came home and did a little laundry.

For dinner I made these frozen stir-fry veggies (not from scratch, just out of a package and including the sauce, duh) and chicken fried rice (Lipton). I may not be a from-scratch cooker, but I can combine packages and mixes with the best of them!

Hospital Visit

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Warning: Contains medical information and maybe a little TMI in some parts, but I wanted to document everything that happened and also a lot of people have been curious exactly what happened.

Wednesday at work, I noticed during the day that I was possibly leaking something (or was repeatedly peeing my pants without noticing, but I don’t think that was the case). I was kind of concerned, but then we had our childbirth class and I got distracted. We took a tour of the hospital, and my back started hurting really bad- lower back, where I usually have pain, but much worse than normal. It was to the point that I could hardly keep up with the tour.

We got home at about 9:30 and I felt horrible. Just kind of achey around my uterus and pelvic area, but it’s so hard to know what’s “normal” pregnancy stuff and what is different, especially since this is my first baby! I started having contractions here and there around 10:30- I assumed Braxton-Hicks because they didn’t hurt, but then I realized they weren’t going away with fluids or change in activity or anything.

I called my doctor to see what I should do (thinking maybe rest, more fluids, come see her in the morning, etc) and she told me to go to the hospital. Although I was terrified, I was also relieved because I knew my baby would be safe and I wouldn’t be worrying all night.

We got to the hospital around 12:00 am and they asked me if I was in labor. I told them I didn’t think so. They took me into Triage Room #3, which we had just seen on our hospital tour! Everyone at the hospital was really nice and helpful and comforting, which makes me think that I can survive the labor and delivery. I also calmed down a lot once we were there, and got in control of myself. The first thing they did was take a urine sample, then hook me up to fetal monitors, and I was relieved to hear the baby’s heartbeat. The nurse took all my info while I laid there. Then she left for about a half an hour, and Jonathon and I sat there and tried to figure out why nobody was checking on us.

She came back in and said baby was fine, so they were turning off the heartbeat monitor thing. She asked if I felt any contractions, and I said I thought I had a couple. She told me that I was actually having them about every three to four minutes, and they wanted to monitor me for longer to try to figure out why and make sure that I wasn’t going into labor. She brought the staff OB in with her, who was great and apparently SHE goes to the same OB that I do!

With all that still hooked up, they did the worst pap smear/internal exam I have ever had. It seemed to involve a lot of tools. She explained that they were checking to make sure my water hadn’t broken, and she made me cough a few times to see if anything came out. Then they took swipes of a few things to test for infections. She said that my cervix had softened on the outside, but was still hard on the inside and long or whatever they measure for. She said she was assuming the softening was from being irritated by the infection. Nurses and staff OB left again. When she returned, she said that the tests so far were all negative but asked if I would like STD tests done… I declined… she said there was definitely an infection present- lots of white blood cells and bacteria and also something about aerobic vs anaerobic cells. I don’t know why she was telling me that- I’m not a doctor and wasn’t following it at all. Had a few vague flashbacks of college biology but I couldn’t make sense of anything.

She said they wanted to do ANOTHER pee test to check for a bladder infection. She explained how to give a sterile sample in this really weird container, and said that if that didn’t work I would have to get a catheter. Yuck. First I had to drink this GIANT thing of water (but I got to take home the really cool mug) and then I almost peed on the floor while trying to clean myself in preparation for the “sterile sample.” I was almost in tears because I had to go so bad and I didn’t want to screw it up and get cathetered.

Those results weren’t going to be in until the next day, so she said they were just going to treat me for a generic infection with an antibiotic. They gave me Flagyl (I swear this is the worst stuff I’ve ever had, I puked four times with the first dose and it still upsets my stomach each time I take it) and she said my doctor could re-evaluate at my appointment next week and make any changes. Until then, I am instructed to not have sex, and no exercise or heavy lifting. If I have more than four contractions in an hour, or if I have them regularly every 10-15 minutes, I am supposed to call my doctor.

So basically, their conclusion was: This mystery infection (which I am guessing is a bladder infection) caused my cervix to get weird and other things to happen, such as contractions and pain. I am not at higher risk for preterm labor, but since this happened I need to be monitored a little more carefully and take it easy. Apparently bladder infections during pregnancy don’t always have the same symptoms as they do at other times.

We got home from the hospital about 3-3:30 in the morning. I have a renewed confidence in the hospital staff and in how well the birth will go. I am not worried about the baby. I am taking my antibiotics, even though they suck. And I am promising myself to rest more- Jonathon said he wanted to start helping out more around the house, so I will try to take him up on that.

First Childbirth Class

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Last night was our first childbirth class at the hospital. It went much better than I expected. I think we were both pretty nervous before the class. All we knew was that we were supposed to bring two pillows and a blanket. Actually I am SURE we were both nervous… because Jonathon kept stalling at getting ready and almost made us late, and then he took some stupid back roads on the way there and slowed us down even more. I think it was a result of him being nervous, and then of course I cried on the way there and yelled at him.

Once we got to the class, it was fine. The teacher was really friendly. There were about six other couples in the class, maybe eight. I’ll have to count next time. We started off by checking in and getting receipts for the insurance company. Then we went around and introduced ourselves and said what we were having and when. Everyone in the class knew whether they were having a boy or a girl. Except for one weird couple who said they knew but didn’t want to tell. WTF? Jonathon thinks they are having a boy, because the husband kept talking about being excited to play with the kid’s toys.

We were split up into girls and guys for an icebreaker. We had to write down two lists as a group- one being the positives of pregnancy and the other being the negatives. It was funny to see what we listed compared to what the guys listed. For example, a positive for the girls was “not having to change kitty litter anymore.” A negative for the guys was “Being the only one who can change kitty litter.” Obviously there were much more sentimental things on the list than that, too. But it just helped to get everyone talking.

The teacher began by talking about body changes during pregnancy. She showed lots of posters- and passed them around- about what was going on inside our bodies. I think it helped Jonathon to see that my bladder really IS squished under the baby, and my stomach and intestines really ARE competing with my rib cage for space.

The next topic was signs of preterm labor. Which I’m still confused about. Is preterm labor when you go into labor early, or is it just false signs of labor??

She talked about nutrition a little bit, which I always find boring. I guess I should be more interested, but I am very frustrated in general with my eating habits and lack of being able to diet right now. Fortunately that section wasn’t too long.

The last thing we did was turn the lights off and do some relaxation/breathing techniques. Not things that will be used while the baby is actually coming out, but more like what to do when contractions start or you’re still waiting to go to the hospital and need to relax or whatever. We talked about making a birth plan and starting to think about things we would like to see happen. She stressed that “we are the customer” at the hospital and they will do things the way we want. She also mentioned that each room has a shower and we can use that to help us relax if we are interested. That sounded really appealing to me. I’m all for getting an epidural, but I want to try to wait a little bit if possible so that it doesn’t slow things down any more than it has to.

Our homework for next week is to practice kegel exercises at home. Apparently they will increase control of something during labor or contractions or something… Also we are supposed to find and bring in an object for a focal point.

I really liked most of the things about the class. There was one thing that really annoyed me. If it happens again next week, I’m going to say something. There is a huge window in the classroom, and the teacher kept it open the whole time because apparently someone was hot. Well hello, it’s January and some of us are freezing! Not only was the window open, she turned a huge fan on and it was blowing right at me. I put my coat on and she didn’t seem to get the hint. I know a few other people were cold too. Not all pregnant women are freakishly hot all the time. And if they are, they should wear cooler clothes instead of sweaters, instead of making the rest of us suffer with the frigid January night air.