Sunday, March 29, 2009
Snow
We got a few inches of the white stuff here in Wichita yesterday. It started sometime Friday night and came down for a several hours non-stop. We sat inside Saturday morning and just watched. It was extremely gusty...that snow was coming down sideways the entire time! It stopped around 1:00 Saturday afternoon, the sun came out, and the snow immediately started melting, but we went out to have some fun. We made 2 snowmen, one miniature and one bigger (who also turned out to be an ASU fan), and we bundled H-bear up and took her out just long enough to take a picture.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Not so little
Our "little girl" is not so little anymore! H-bear had her 2 week check-up last Friday, and she weighed 8 lbs, 15 oz! When she was born, they told us that initally she will lose about 10% of her body weight, and should get back up to her birth weight within 2 weeks. Well, it looks like she regained the weight, and then some! She also grew a little over an inch in length. Her eyes, ears, hip movement, and reflexes all looked fine, so she is a very healthy baby!
She is changing so much, right before our eyes! She doesn’t seem to have much control of her head, but she is definitely strengthening her neck muscles. If you hold her up against your shoulder, she will push away from you, holding up her head! She bobbles a little, so we are sure to keep a hand behind her head just in case. She is nowhere near holding her head up from a stomach-lying position though. We’ve tried some tummy time, and she really doesn’t like it. We’ll get there someday.
She is also getting a little more control of her hands. She grips our fingers stronger than she did early on, and she has just recently started grabbing my shirt and sometimes my hair (ouch).
Sleeping better these days, too. She’s been sleeping pretty consistently from about 9pm to midnight, and 1am to 4am. After that she is wide awake and usually won’t sleep again until about 9 or 10am, and takes several naps throughout the day.
Her umbilical cord stump fell out a few days ago, too. I saved it. I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but I can’t just throw it away! Anyway, this means she was able to get her first real bath. Until now we could only give her sponge baths with just water. Well, since she is so fond of peeing and pooping during baths, we didn’t want to sit her in a tub of water just yet. We have this mesh table thing that sits in the tub, so we laid her on that, used a soapy wash cloth, and poured water over her to rinse. I didn’t take any pictures, because we were having too much fun, but I will take some next time. She seemed to enjoy it! It was nice to finally wash her with some soap…I feel like she’s really clean now.
All the grandparents are gone! My mom was here for the first week after she was born, and D-husband’s parents were here the week after that. They left last Saturday, so it has been just the three of us the past few days! Actually, since D-husband is back at work full-time, it has been just me and H-bear yesterday and today! We’re doing just fine. I’ve really had to slow down…if I get one load of laundry done and get dinner started, it’s been a pretty productive day! We have fun though. She is such a happy baby.
We got her a swing a few days ago! She seems to like it for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then she's had enough of it. Here's a picture:
She is changing so much, right before our eyes! She doesn’t seem to have much control of her head, but she is definitely strengthening her neck muscles. If you hold her up against your shoulder, she will push away from you, holding up her head! She bobbles a little, so we are sure to keep a hand behind her head just in case. She is nowhere near holding her head up from a stomach-lying position though. We’ve tried some tummy time, and she really doesn’t like it. We’ll get there someday.
She is also getting a little more control of her hands. She grips our fingers stronger than she did early on, and she has just recently started grabbing my shirt and sometimes my hair (ouch).
Sleeping better these days, too. She’s been sleeping pretty consistently from about 9pm to midnight, and 1am to 4am. After that she is wide awake and usually won’t sleep again until about 9 or 10am, and takes several naps throughout the day.
Her umbilical cord stump fell out a few days ago, too. I saved it. I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but I can’t just throw it away! Anyway, this means she was able to get her first real bath. Until now we could only give her sponge baths with just water. Well, since she is so fond of peeing and pooping during baths, we didn’t want to sit her in a tub of water just yet. We have this mesh table thing that sits in the tub, so we laid her on that, used a soapy wash cloth, and poured water over her to rinse. I didn’t take any pictures, because we were having too much fun, but I will take some next time. She seemed to enjoy it! It was nice to finally wash her with some soap…I feel like she’s really clean now.
All the grandparents are gone! My mom was here for the first week after she was born, and D-husband’s parents were here the week after that. They left last Saturday, so it has been just the three of us the past few days! Actually, since D-husband is back at work full-time, it has been just me and H-bear yesterday and today! We’re doing just fine. I’ve really had to slow down…if I get one load of laundry done and get dinner started, it’s been a pretty productive day! We have fun though. She is such a happy baby.
We got her a swing a few days ago! She seems to like it for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then she's had enough of it. Here's a picture:
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
One night at a time...
The first night home from the hospital was great. H-bear slept like a champ; we had to wake her up to feed her, otherwise she would have slept straight through the night. We were pretty excited about it, and wondered who all these people are who talk about being kept up all night with their fussy newborns?
The next night set us straight. She cried and cried and just wouldn’t settle down. We passed her back and forth between us and took turns trying to get some sleep.
The days have been fun. It’s amazing to see her learn to stretch out her arms and legs. She makes new faces and noises everyday, too. She can open her eyes real wide, and recently we’ve noticed that she seems transfixed by bright lights, and especially the TV. She can’t focus on anything more than about a foot away, but she can definitely see the bright flashing light on the screen.
We’ve learned that she only likes to poop in clean diapers (right after bring changed). She also likes to poop during baths.
I’ve successfully clipped her fingernails twice so far, which has prevented any more self-inflicted scratches.
On Monday, the 9th, we took her to her first doctor’s appointment with Dr. Arensdorf. She did great, and we go back this Friday for her 2-week check-up. This was her first time out of the apartment! Her first “real” outing was on the 13th (8 days old) when my mom and I took her to the grocery store. She slept in her sling that goes around my shoulders, and probably hardly noticed where she was. She's also been to church, as well.
We have had a few good night like that first one, and several bad ones where none of us get a wink. Most nights are somewhere in the middle, where she’ll be fussy on and off, with a good 4-hour nap somewhere in the middle. Her cries aren’t too loud, fortunately for our neighbors, but she just fidgets and flails and refuses to settle down enough to fall asleep. We’ve tried swaddling but she frees herself very easily. We just do our best, and nap during the day. She’s only 12 days old, so it’s a bit too much to expect much consistency yet.
D-husband has gone back to work full-time now, so I get H-bear all to myself during the nights. It’s not easy, but I’m still loving it. It’s frustrating when I know her belly is full and her diaper is empty, and she still won’t sleep, but I stay up with her as long as she needs me to. We just take it one night at a time, enjoy the good nights when she sleeps, and try to remember that the day is coming when she will sleep all the way through the night, every night.
The next night set us straight. She cried and cried and just wouldn’t settle down. We passed her back and forth between us and took turns trying to get some sleep.
The days have been fun. It’s amazing to see her learn to stretch out her arms and legs. She makes new faces and noises everyday, too. She can open her eyes real wide, and recently we’ve noticed that she seems transfixed by bright lights, and especially the TV. She can’t focus on anything more than about a foot away, but she can definitely see the bright flashing light on the screen.
We’ve learned that she only likes to poop in clean diapers (right after bring changed). She also likes to poop during baths.
I’ve successfully clipped her fingernails twice so far, which has prevented any more self-inflicted scratches.
On Monday, the 9th, we took her to her first doctor’s appointment with Dr. Arensdorf. She did great, and we go back this Friday for her 2-week check-up. This was her first time out of the apartment! Her first “real” outing was on the 13th (8 days old) when my mom and I took her to the grocery store. She slept in her sling that goes around my shoulders, and probably hardly noticed where she was. She's also been to church, as well.
We have had a few good night like that first one, and several bad ones where none of us get a wink. Most nights are somewhere in the middle, where she’ll be fussy on and off, with a good 4-hour nap somewhere in the middle. Her cries aren’t too loud, fortunately for our neighbors, but she just fidgets and flails and refuses to settle down enough to fall asleep. We’ve tried swaddling but she frees herself very easily. We just do our best, and nap during the day. She’s only 12 days old, so it’s a bit too much to expect much consistency yet.
D-husband has gone back to work full-time now, so I get H-bear all to myself during the nights. It’s not easy, but I’m still loving it. It’s frustrating when I know her belly is full and her diaper is empty, and she still won’t sleep, but I stay up with her as long as she needs me to. We just take it one night at a time, enjoy the good nights when she sleeps, and try to remember that the day is coming when she will sleep all the way through the night, every night.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
In the hospital
The first night in the hospital we didn’t get much sleep. We were both tired, but too preoccupied with figuring out how to hold, feed, and change her. The nurses didn’t tell us how to do anything without us asking first, and they were very helpful whenever we had questions. The next day (March 6th) flew by, with doctors and nurses coming to check on us, as well as visits from a lactation consultant and the hospital photographer. H-bear slept a lot, which we knew would not last, but it was nice for the time being.
The second night she kept us awake quite a bit. I stayed up with her for most of it, because I wasn’t sure what time we might be going home the next day, and I didn’t want D-husband to be too tired to drive. I was enjoying every minute with her, anyways.
We had H-bear’s hearing tested, which she passed, and also took her to the nursery to have some blood taken for routine newborn tests. They had to prick her heel again to take the blood, and this time she really didn’t enjoy it at all. Pretty traumatic!
I had blood drawn twice a day while we were there. During labor, some routine blood work on me showed that my platelet levels were dropping. The tests during the first day showed no improvement, and they told me that if the levels still didn’t come up the next day, they would need to keep me an extra night. Luckily, they did increase and we were able to come home the evening of March 7th.
Getting into the car seat was another traumatic experience. While we tried to get the straps over her arms, she got a big scratch on her face from one of her sharp little fingernails. Once the car started moving though, she fell fast asleep. This has been the case every time we put her in the car!
Stories about life at home coming next…
The second night she kept us awake quite a bit. I stayed up with her for most of it, because I wasn’t sure what time we might be going home the next day, and I didn’t want D-husband to be too tired to drive. I was enjoying every minute with her, anyways.
We had H-bear’s hearing tested, which she passed, and also took her to the nursery to have some blood taken for routine newborn tests. They had to prick her heel again to take the blood, and this time she really didn’t enjoy it at all. Pretty traumatic!
I had blood drawn twice a day while we were there. During labor, some routine blood work on me showed that my platelet levels were dropping. The tests during the first day showed no improvement, and they told me that if the levels still didn’t come up the next day, they would need to keep me an extra night. Luckily, they did increase and we were able to come home the evening of March 7th.
Getting into the car seat was another traumatic experience. While we tried to get the straps over her arms, she got a big scratch on her face from one of her sharp little fingernails. Once the car started moving though, she fell fast asleep. This has been the case every time we put her in the car!
Stories about life at home coming next…
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Birth Story (warning- don't start unless you have a lot of time to kill...)
The day is pretty much a blur, and I’m not sure of the times that everything happened but I’m pretty sure of the order.
We went to the hospital at 5:30 on the morning of the 5th to be induced, because I had not gone into labor on my own. By 7:30 I was in a gown with the IV hooked up to my arm, and they started giving me Pitocin, a medication that would be given continuously to cause contractions for me. I was also hooked up to a external fetal monitor just like the one used in the NST, to monitor the contractions and the baby’s heart rate.
It took awhile for it to kick in, so I tried to relax as much as possible in the meantime. Finally I started feeling slight tightening in my lower belly that would slowly get higher and higher, up to the top, and then fade. Sorry, I can’t remember how long they lasted or how far apart they were. D-husband and I had fun watching them come and go on the monitor. They slowly got stronger and stronger, and I was nervous but so excited to finally be feeling something!
My OB, Dr. Arensdorf, stopped by to check on me a few times, but the doctor spending the most time with me was Dr. Fast, a resident. He and all the nurses were absolutely awesome. I couldn’t have asked for better people taking care of me.
An internal exam showed that I was 4 cm dilated, and another hour or two (really can’t remember), there was no change. Dr. Fast suggested that we break my water to help keep things moving. It was painless, but the contractions intensified a little after that. My blood pressure started getting pretty high, which concerned the doctor but he thought it might just be because of the pain.
One thing that they found interesting was that my contractions were not coming spaced at regular intervals. They were almost two at a time- two very close together and then a long gap before the next two. They had gotten pretty unbearable, bad enough that I couldn’t talk through them.
At this point I had not gotten out of bed at all, because I was tired from being up so early, and felt like I should save my energy. When another internal exam showed I was at 6 cm, I figured it was time for me to get up and help things move along. The contractions were getting incredibly uncomfortable, and I was able to breathe through them with D-husband there with me, but I knew moving around even a little could help too. I couldn’t leave the room with the monitor, so I sat on a birthing ball and rested my upper body on the bed.
The change in position on its own felt good, but the contractions were still pretty intense. Before they had started my labor the anesthesiologist had come in to tell me what pain management options were available, and all the risks, just in case I ended up using them. I remembered that she had told me about IV medication that would still allow me to feel the contractions, but would take the edge off. After I had been using the ball for awhile, I felt like I was reaching the limit of my ability to work through the contractions, so I asked for that medication, called Nubain.
The Nubain made the room spin a little a first, and though it did help the contractions were still putting me at my wit’s end. I stuck it out awhile longer, had another internal check, and I was between 8 and 9 cm! This was great news, but unfortunately the baby was still floating pretty high in my belly. Dr. Fast told me that being nearly completely dilated was great, but that there was no way of knowing how long it would take for the baby to move down into position, and the contractions were going to stay the same, if not get even more intense. At this point I think they had stopped the Pitocin, and I was contracting all on my own.
I can’t remember what time this was, probably mid- to late-afternoon, so I was feeling pretty beat. I was relaxing completely between contractions in order to save energy, but I was still getting physically, and mentally, exhausted. During one of those breaks I took a minute to clear my head, take stock of what the doctor had just told me, ask myself honestly how much more of this I could do, and decided it was time for an epidural. My main concern was having zero energy when it was finally time to push.
The anesthesiologist came in, and I sat on the edge of the bed for her to put the catheter into my back. It’s a gigantic needle, which tends to freak people out, but they numb your back first so you don't feel a thing. The hardest part was sitting perfectly still while she did it. I only had one contraction while she was working, but it took every bit of focus not to move.
After this I had to stay in bed of course, as I lost all feeling below the catheter site. The relief was incredible, I just took deep breaths and enjoyed it. I think I even dozed for a few minutes.
Later Dr. Fast came back to check me again. I was completely dilated and he told me it was time to push! Unfortunately the baby had not descended much at all, but pushing would help that along. By this point the epidural had started to wear off slightly, and I could just feel the peak of every contraction, which were still coming two at a time.
Dr. Fast directed me through the pushes, and it was very weird not being able to feel them for the most part. However, the epidural continued to lose effect, and soon I could feel the full force of each contraction, but only on the left side of my body! This is not unusual, from what I understand. I’m actually really glad I got that feeling back, because I knew when to push, and it gave me greater focus. Not having feeling on my right side kept me from getting completely wiped out, so the fact that the epidural was partially ineffective turned out to be a great thing for me.
Once I started feeling those contractions, pushing felt really good! When I focused and put every ounce of energy into it, I couldn’t feel the pain anymore. I focused on getting a good breath before each push, keeping my arms, legs, and face relaxed (to avoid wasting energy), and directing all my energy downward through my belly. I started out doing 3 pushes per contraction, with the nurses and Daniel counting to 10 for me through each one. I told them I thought I could do 4 per contraction, and we tried it, but I couldn’t do it so we went back to 3.
At some point during the pushing, the baby’s heart rate started to drop during each contraction, and although it would always come back up after the contraction was over, it was still a concern. They decided I needed an internal fetal monitor to keep a closer eye on the baby’s well-being. I think this was when I met Dr. Voth, the hospital OB. Dr. Arensdorf is primarily a family practice doctor, so she can do normal, routine deliveries, but when something doesn’t look right, the staff OB at the hospital steps in.
The internal monitor got hooked up, and then after several more pushes a few things happened. I had what you would call a “monster” contraction, or pair of contractions in my case, and the baby’s heart rate got low, and stayed low for a little too long before coming back up. Dr. Voth explained to me that the baby’s head was still behind my pubic bone. To be able to come out, the head would need to slide underneath it, with one big push from me. With every push I was coming close, but every time the baby’s head would slip back behind the bone.
He asked if I would like him to use forceps to help the head along. They are not used to pull the head, only to direct it properly. He was worried about the baby’s low heart rate, and also reminded me that I could exhaust myself trying to push past this bone, and that when I run out of energy the only remaining option in a c-section. At this point I had been pushing for about an hour and a half. I told him it was fine to use the forceps.
Because I had regained some feeling, they had to give me another epidural before they could use the forceps. He got them in place, told me to push with everything I had, and I felt the head slide under the pubic bone, just like he had said! It was incredible.
Within 2 or 3 pushes she was out! While D-husband cut the cord, they held her up for me to see her before taking her away (they needed to examine her right away because of her low heart rate, and because it turns out the cord had been wrapped around her body). It was just a brief glimpse, and I remember that she was covered in blood, smaller than I had imagined, and in general I was just surprised that she was real. That sounds crazy, but I just couldn’t believe that this was the baby that had been inside me for 9 months!
I’m not disappointed that I didn’t get to hold her right away. I was completely exhausted. All I remember from the first few minutes after the birth was trying to catch my breath and waiting to hear her cry, which didn’t take more than a minute, I think. I think I was probably too tired to hold her even if they had given her to me.
In the meantime, D-husband took some video and some photos of H-bear being cleaned up, weighed, and measured. They put ointment in her eyes, and pricked her heel to get blood for some test (she didn’t make a peep), and then brought her to me. I don’t think I was quite ready, because as they put her in my arms I started to feel sick. D-husband was standing right there, and the nurse practically threw H-bear into his arms so she could give me a tray to throw up into. It was a bizarre moment- D-husband was totally unprepared, and I felt horrible because by that point I had been looking forward to holding her.
The hospital policy is that as soon as you can pee, you can go to your recovery room, where you spend the next two days. That was going to be more difficult for me because having just had another epidural, I had no feeling in my legs, and therefore couldn’t walk to the bathroom. I spent several hours slapping on my legs (I’m not sure that made a difference), and gradually I was able to wiggle my toes, then roll my ankles, and so on. I also finally got to hold H-bear and got a chance to start feeding her. The nurse asked if I could lift my leg straight up off the bed without bending my knee, and as soon as I could do that, she and D-husband helped me walk to the bathroom. It took awhile (my bladder was pretty traumatized, as you can imagine), and long story short: we made it to our recovery room just before 2 in the morning.
In the recovery room we had a full-size bed, TV, chairs and table, and a bassinet so we could keep her in our room all the time. It was a great set-up, and in my next post I’ll tell you about our two days in the hospital!
To be continued...
We went to the hospital at 5:30 on the morning of the 5th to be induced, because I had not gone into labor on my own. By 7:30 I was in a gown with the IV hooked up to my arm, and they started giving me Pitocin, a medication that would be given continuously to cause contractions for me. I was also hooked up to a external fetal monitor just like the one used in the NST, to monitor the contractions and the baby’s heart rate.
It took awhile for it to kick in, so I tried to relax as much as possible in the meantime. Finally I started feeling slight tightening in my lower belly that would slowly get higher and higher, up to the top, and then fade. Sorry, I can’t remember how long they lasted or how far apart they were. D-husband and I had fun watching them come and go on the monitor. They slowly got stronger and stronger, and I was nervous but so excited to finally be feeling something!
My OB, Dr. Arensdorf, stopped by to check on me a few times, but the doctor spending the most time with me was Dr. Fast, a resident. He and all the nurses were absolutely awesome. I couldn’t have asked for better people taking care of me.
An internal exam showed that I was 4 cm dilated, and another hour or two (really can’t remember), there was no change. Dr. Fast suggested that we break my water to help keep things moving. It was painless, but the contractions intensified a little after that. My blood pressure started getting pretty high, which concerned the doctor but he thought it might just be because of the pain.
One thing that they found interesting was that my contractions were not coming spaced at regular intervals. They were almost two at a time- two very close together and then a long gap before the next two. They had gotten pretty unbearable, bad enough that I couldn’t talk through them.
At this point I had not gotten out of bed at all, because I was tired from being up so early, and felt like I should save my energy. When another internal exam showed I was at 6 cm, I figured it was time for me to get up and help things move along. The contractions were getting incredibly uncomfortable, and I was able to breathe through them with D-husband there with me, but I knew moving around even a little could help too. I couldn’t leave the room with the monitor, so I sat on a birthing ball and rested my upper body on the bed.
The change in position on its own felt good, but the contractions were still pretty intense. Before they had started my labor the anesthesiologist had come in to tell me what pain management options were available, and all the risks, just in case I ended up using them. I remembered that she had told me about IV medication that would still allow me to feel the contractions, but would take the edge off. After I had been using the ball for awhile, I felt like I was reaching the limit of my ability to work through the contractions, so I asked for that medication, called Nubain.
The Nubain made the room spin a little a first, and though it did help the contractions were still putting me at my wit’s end. I stuck it out awhile longer, had another internal check, and I was between 8 and 9 cm! This was great news, but unfortunately the baby was still floating pretty high in my belly. Dr. Fast told me that being nearly completely dilated was great, but that there was no way of knowing how long it would take for the baby to move down into position, and the contractions were going to stay the same, if not get even more intense. At this point I think they had stopped the Pitocin, and I was contracting all on my own.
I can’t remember what time this was, probably mid- to late-afternoon, so I was feeling pretty beat. I was relaxing completely between contractions in order to save energy, but I was still getting physically, and mentally, exhausted. During one of those breaks I took a minute to clear my head, take stock of what the doctor had just told me, ask myself honestly how much more of this I could do, and decided it was time for an epidural. My main concern was having zero energy when it was finally time to push.
The anesthesiologist came in, and I sat on the edge of the bed for her to put the catheter into my back. It’s a gigantic needle, which tends to freak people out, but they numb your back first so you don't feel a thing. The hardest part was sitting perfectly still while she did it. I only had one contraction while she was working, but it took every bit of focus not to move.
After this I had to stay in bed of course, as I lost all feeling below the catheter site. The relief was incredible, I just took deep breaths and enjoyed it. I think I even dozed for a few minutes.
Later Dr. Fast came back to check me again. I was completely dilated and he told me it was time to push! Unfortunately the baby had not descended much at all, but pushing would help that along. By this point the epidural had started to wear off slightly, and I could just feel the peak of every contraction, which were still coming two at a time.
Dr. Fast directed me through the pushes, and it was very weird not being able to feel them for the most part. However, the epidural continued to lose effect, and soon I could feel the full force of each contraction, but only on the left side of my body! This is not unusual, from what I understand. I’m actually really glad I got that feeling back, because I knew when to push, and it gave me greater focus. Not having feeling on my right side kept me from getting completely wiped out, so the fact that the epidural was partially ineffective turned out to be a great thing for me.
Once I started feeling those contractions, pushing felt really good! When I focused and put every ounce of energy into it, I couldn’t feel the pain anymore. I focused on getting a good breath before each push, keeping my arms, legs, and face relaxed (to avoid wasting energy), and directing all my energy downward through my belly. I started out doing 3 pushes per contraction, with the nurses and Daniel counting to 10 for me through each one. I told them I thought I could do 4 per contraction, and we tried it, but I couldn’t do it so we went back to 3.
At some point during the pushing, the baby’s heart rate started to drop during each contraction, and although it would always come back up after the contraction was over, it was still a concern. They decided I needed an internal fetal monitor to keep a closer eye on the baby’s well-being. I think this was when I met Dr. Voth, the hospital OB. Dr. Arensdorf is primarily a family practice doctor, so she can do normal, routine deliveries, but when something doesn’t look right, the staff OB at the hospital steps in.
The internal monitor got hooked up, and then after several more pushes a few things happened. I had what you would call a “monster” contraction, or pair of contractions in my case, and the baby’s heart rate got low, and stayed low for a little too long before coming back up. Dr. Voth explained to me that the baby’s head was still behind my pubic bone. To be able to come out, the head would need to slide underneath it, with one big push from me. With every push I was coming close, but every time the baby’s head would slip back behind the bone.
He asked if I would like him to use forceps to help the head along. They are not used to pull the head, only to direct it properly. He was worried about the baby’s low heart rate, and also reminded me that I could exhaust myself trying to push past this bone, and that when I run out of energy the only remaining option in a c-section. At this point I had been pushing for about an hour and a half. I told him it was fine to use the forceps.
Because I had regained some feeling, they had to give me another epidural before they could use the forceps. He got them in place, told me to push with everything I had, and I felt the head slide under the pubic bone, just like he had said! It was incredible.
Within 2 or 3 pushes she was out! While D-husband cut the cord, they held her up for me to see her before taking her away (they needed to examine her right away because of her low heart rate, and because it turns out the cord had been wrapped around her body). It was just a brief glimpse, and I remember that she was covered in blood, smaller than I had imagined, and in general I was just surprised that she was real. That sounds crazy, but I just couldn’t believe that this was the baby that had been inside me for 9 months!
I’m not disappointed that I didn’t get to hold her right away. I was completely exhausted. All I remember from the first few minutes after the birth was trying to catch my breath and waiting to hear her cry, which didn’t take more than a minute, I think. I think I was probably too tired to hold her even if they had given her to me.
In the meantime, D-husband took some video and some photos of H-bear being cleaned up, weighed, and measured. They put ointment in her eyes, and pricked her heel to get blood for some test (she didn’t make a peep), and then brought her to me. I don’t think I was quite ready, because as they put her in my arms I started to feel sick. D-husband was standing right there, and the nurse practically threw H-bear into his arms so she could give me a tray to throw up into. It was a bizarre moment- D-husband was totally unprepared, and I felt horrible because by that point I had been looking forward to holding her.
The hospital policy is that as soon as you can pee, you can go to your recovery room, where you spend the next two days. That was going to be more difficult for me because having just had another epidural, I had no feeling in my legs, and therefore couldn’t walk to the bathroom. I spent several hours slapping on my legs (I’m not sure that made a difference), and gradually I was able to wiggle my toes, then roll my ankles, and so on. I also finally got to hold H-bear and got a chance to start feeding her. The nurse asked if I could lift my leg straight up off the bed without bending my knee, and as soon as I could do that, she and D-husband helped me walk to the bathroom. It took awhile (my bladder was pretty traumatized, as you can imagine), and long story short: we made it to our recovery room just before 2 in the morning.
In the recovery room we had a full-size bed, TV, chairs and table, and a bassinet so we could keep her in our room all the time. It was a great set-up, and in my next post I’ll tell you about our two days in the hospital!
To be continued...
Introducing...
Our daughter, H-bear Leger, was born March 5th at 7:01pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz., and was 20 inches. Sorry for the delay...we have had our hands full the past week!
Of course, her name is not really H-bear. We're not actually sure where the nickname came from, in fact. Anyways, that will be her name on this site, in order to deter all you creepers out there who would love nothing more than to know the full name of our newborn daughter. Shame.
We are all healthy and very happy- more details to come, but for now I know what you really want...
Pictures!
Of course, her name is not really H-bear. We're not actually sure where the nickname came from, in fact. Anyways, that will be her name on this site, in order to deter all you creepers out there who would love nothing more than to know the full name of our newborn daughter. Shame.
We are all healthy and very happy- more details to come, but for now I know what you really want...
Pictures!
Monday, March 2, 2009
NST and BPP
This morning we went to the hospital for two tests, just to make sure everything is still okay in there.
The first was a non-stress test. It was basically two flat disks strapped to my belly, one to monitor contractions, and one to monitor the baby's heart rate. I'm not sure about this, but I think if the heart rate gets too low during a contraction, that indicates a problem. They let it run for about 20 minutes. D-husband and I watched the monitors the whole time, even though we really weren't sure what any of the numbers meant. It was pretty easy to see which monitor was which though, and at one point the contraction monitor really spiked! I didn't feel a thing, but when we felt my belly it was very firm. As it went down, my belly got softer. It was so weird! The heart rate went up just a little bit, actually, but of course, I'm not the doctor so I tried not to worry about any of it. Didn't have another contraction the rest of the time we were in there.
The next test was a biophysical profile. It's an ultrasound, and looks for a few specific things like amniotic fluid volume, fetal movement, and a few other things. It was nice to see her again, even though she's so big that it was tough to distinguish body parts. The tech didn't really tell us anything. She did give us a few pictures, so here they are, but like I said she's so big that they don't look like much.
We grabbed some lunch before D-husband went back to work, and shortly after I got home I got a call from Dr. Arensdorf, our OB. She had already received the test results, and said everything looks "perfect". Woo hoo!! At our last appointment we had talked about inducing labor this Friday if I hadn't had the baby by then, but she said that unfortunately she has a meeting on Friday, so if we need to induce she would like to do it Thursday morning rather than wait until Monday. I told her I was a little confused about how to interpret the test results...I would have thought that if everything looked fine, we should wait longer. She said that's not necessarily always the case, and in any case she doesn't like to let anyone go past 41 weeks. I decided it would be fine to do it Thursday (she's the doc, after all, and I trust her), so she went ahead and put us on the schedule for Thursday morning!
Still hoping we won't get that far, of course... :)
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