One Week Postpartum

Well our little Mimi is one week old. It has been a crazy week. We had her last Wednesday at 12:50 pm, so she's officially one week now I guess.

The C section itself was not all that bad. I went to the chiropractor one last time Wednesday morning before we checked into the hospital at 10am. The Chiro thought maybe the baby had moved but I had my doubts. I still felt her little head camped out behind my belly button. Sure enough, the sonogram showed her still camped out in complete breech position. They put in my hep lock---one of the worst parts of the c section, and drew some blood from the other arm for some reason. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink, so the hole putting in IV's taking blood thing made me a little sweaty and sick feeling. Before we knew it, they wheeled me into the OR, put in my spinal, which was the second least pleasand experience, the spinal sent a lighting bolt of pain down my left leg and I got really scared and of course was crying. The guy was teasing me, which I didn't find very funny. They put up drapes so that I couldn't see anything and my body began to tingle and go numb from my chest down. My asthma was pretty bad that day and I was coughing, but with my diaphram numb, it was very difficult to cough. It felt so strange. They brought in my husband decked out in scrubs with his camera and began to cut. It actually felt like tickles. Within in minutes they held the baby over the drape and said "it's a girl!" She was crying and pinked right up. They cleaned her up and suctioned her mouth and nose and gave her to F, he brought her over to see me and I of course began to cry. So surreal to see your baby, to love something so much instantly without ever having seen it. By this time, they take the baby to the nursery and my husband followed and they give you some morphine while they stitch you back up. I had staples instead of stitches in my incision, which the doctor says heals better. They brought me into recovery for an hour before the baby came back to the room. I felt awesome. I was relaxed and calm and pain free. I felt this way for the next several hours. They keep you hooked up to several monitors, Iv's and such for the first night, which was really uncomfortable. You have cuffs on your legs to prevent clots, a blood pressure cuff that takes your pressure every 10 mins, and and IV and catheter. About 6 hours after the surgery the nurses help you up to the bathroom to get cleaned up and get you on your feet. This was a little crazy, I felt weak and sick. They gave me some anti-nausea medication after I was back in bed. I also felt very itchy, still no pain though. I don't remember much of the first night. I know I nursed the baby a bunch, and F changed her 8 poopy diapers. The next day I was in pain but the pain medication helped. I was able to get up to the bathroom and sit in a chair and hold the baby. I began to eat solid foods also. The next 2 days we had vistors, we slept, we fed the baby, and that's about it. The nurses come in almost every hour to massage your uterus, check your bleeding, and give you all sorts of drugs--some for nausea, some for itching, some for swelling, some for pain, some stool softeners, etc. etc. The doctors and midwives came in every day and checked on us as well. We opted to stay one extra day because I was in a lot of pain and discomfort and I knew once I got home I wouldn't get to relax as much, which is exactly what happened!

We got discharged Saturday afternoon. It was really exciting to take her home, but really painful to sit up in the car on the way home! lol. Mimi slept the entire way, I winced ever bump my husband hit in the road.

Since we got home, we've just been relaxing and getting used to having her around. People have come to visit and brought food which is so nice. It's really nice to not have to cook. We just heat up what people brought and voila, dinner! F has been somewhat helpful, he's great with the baby and does things when I ask, but he does let me do a little too much. I'll be doing dishes and be almost done and he'll be lack, oh honey dont' do those. I'm not very good at relaxing so it's not his fault. By the end of the day I can tell i've done too much. I get emotional and cranky and weepy and irrational, and I know it's time for a hot shower and some sleep.

My pain is getting easier to deal with and the incision is healing nicely. Breastfeeding is going great, I actually have too much milk--which is annoying because it leaks and she has trouble latching, but it's nice because I already have a couple of bottles frozen for later. I've been using my Medela pump after eat feeding, and sometimes before.

It's been really hard adjusting to pain and hormones and sleep deprivation but so worth it. I watch my husband hold her and kiss her and whisper little sweet things to her, and in the middle of the night I'll nurse her and she puts her little hand on me and I know it's all worth it.

I still feel brain dead and tired and like a train wreck, but everyday things get a little easier.

It's a girl

We had our baby on July 22nd at 12:50 via c section. She weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz and was 21 inches long. She's healthy and happy with a full head of dark hair like her daddy.

Last day of being pregnant

Here's a picture of Dahlia last night eating icecream, rather gelato. I asked Grace to go for a walk, but we ended up just eating sugar instead!

So tomorrow is my scheduled c-section. I had the weekend to go through all these emotions of anger, disappointment, acceptance, you know the drill. I am however seeing a chiropractor (yesterday, today, and tomorrow) as a last ditch effort to get baby to turn around, so far the head is still camped out behind my belly button. The chiropractor uses something called the Webster technique. I must be honest, I'm not too optimistic after what the OB told us Friday night at our ECV technique. It appears as though baby has been wedged down there for awhile and the midwives just missed it. Not there fault though, the last ultrasound I had was at 21 weeks and baby was head down then.

So I'm awake at 6am, with my husband snoring next to me and decided to just get up. I had some Ego's and watched you tube and made a list of things I want to get done today, my last day of being pregnant. It's kind of sad for some reason. I told my friend Grace yesterday that the only thing I think i'll miss besides the baby kicking is the fact that it's acceptable to have this many chins and be this large when you're 40 weeks pregnant! After the baby comes I'm just gonna be another overweight mom for awhile! Besides re-packing my hospital bag and last minute cleaning I think I want Franco to take me to Sushi for dinner tonite. It's not likely I'll get out of the house to go to a restaurant for awhile and Sushi isn't so great as takeout.

I'd say my main fear of the c section is how long my recover will take, already unhappy with my body, i'll have a longer healing time than with a vaginal birth to let things heal before I can start running or go to the gym to start weight training again.

Well, I guess that's all. This is the end of being pregnant.

ECV did not work :-(

It appears the baby's butt is wedged in my pelvis as if he/she was sitting in a bucket.

So we went into the hospital tonight and had the ECV done by a very handsome enthusiastic doctor, which was not exactly a comfortable experience. He said normally he has a 50% success rate, but he likes to do the procedure at 36 weeks. Our baby was estimated to be 8 lbs, and as he thought, he wasn't able to turn the baby. He said with breech moms they like to do planned c sections by 39 weeks, and me being over 39 weeks he said they'll likely schedule a c section for early next week. I have to call Monday to talk to the midwives about scheduling it.

I know that the c section will be safer for the baby, but I can't help but be disappointed and scared. I had really prepared myself to have a vaginal birth, and I was really looking forward to the experience. I'm really worried at how hard the recovery will be from the c section. My husband, got bless his heart is a good guy, but not the most helpful around the house. I'm really afraid that it will be frustrating to watch my house become a messy wreck around me, and i'll be tired and upset and unable to do the things I want. I guess the best thing to do is have a positive attitude and realize having a healthy baby is all that matters. I'm also worried about my body being able to recover from the surgery.

Surprise! Your baby is breech

I had F come with me to my apt. today because I was getting "one last" untrasound to check the size of the baby. To our unhappy surprise, the baby has turned and is now in the flank breech position securely having its butt lodged in my pelvis. I was a little upset, but we just said thanks to the technician and went downstairs for our midwife apt. I got my 2nd fav midwife today, who was very understanding that 1. we were upset and 2. That yes we were willing to try whatever we could do to get the baby to turn.

Tonite, if the labor and deliver floor is not too busy, we are going to go in and have ECV done, where they try to manually rotate the baby by applying pressure from the outside. If that works, we go home and wait to go into labor, if it doesn't work we are going to try to get an apt. with a chiropractor that specializes in "turning babies." So no I have to wait, without eating or drinking, until 6:30 tonight to call the hospital and see if they have space available. If so, we are going in at 7:30 for the procedure. If they are too busy, they will do the procedure tomorrow. They did tell us that there is a risk that the procedure could 1. cause my membranes to rupture, putting me into labor 2. cause the placenta to tear and necessitate a c section or 3. put the baby in distress to necessitate a c section. Either way, if the baby does not turn, we have to get a c section next week. So, we're gonna give it a try. I am so hungry I feel like barfing right now, i'm nervous also. So...we may have the baby tonite, tomorrow or next week. We shall see. Wish me luck.

Everyone's going Private--WTF

Being 39 weeks preggo, I have lots of time on my hands these last few days. I follow a lot of different preggo ladies on youtube. I noticed that a lot of people I follow, "stopped" making updates. I was like "oh I bet they're just busy with their new babies," but in reality they are all just making new accounts and setting them to private. Which is fine, but WTF, why spend nine months spilling your beans about your pregnancy and muscus plugs and leaky boobs, then all of a sudden get shy and go private? What's the point? You only wanted the attention while you were pregnant? Hopefully after I have the baby I'll be really busy actually writing my dissertation and taking care of the baby instead of cleaning and watching youtube.

Acupuncture--will it work?

Hey guys, this Thursday is 39 weeks. I am exhausted and fed up being pregnant. Everyone keeps saying, be patient, the baby will come when it wants. I find this response irritating, especially from my husband, who sleeps just fine, enjoys his after work cocktails and isn't carrying 30 lbs of baby in front of him. Then there's all the well wishers calling everyday saying "have you had that baby yet?" This statement makes me want to scream. Do I sound like an annoyed pregnant lady?

So last night my friend Nicole did acupuncture on me to help "naturally induce labor" there are some spots in the inside of your shin, between your thumb and index finger, and around the next ears and face that are supposed to channel energy down through your uterus I guess and help labor move along. Well, it wasn't as scary as I thought having these tiny hairlike needles sticking out of me. It barely hurt and really relaxed me. A few hours later I had contractions every 5 minutes for an hour, which was really exciting. Then it just stopped. Then disappointment and frustration set in. Back to square one, being a ticking pregnant time bomb.

Well if i make it to this Friday I get an ultrasound before my apt, so atleast that will be fun. I think I have a cold or an ear infection. My throat is sore, my ear feels full and I am congested. Perhaps it didn't' help that I went on a cleaning frenzy this morning in the kitchen and hall closet. Nesting Nesting Nesting. It was the last closet that I hadn't emptied, cleaned and sterilized. We also got our stroller frame for the carseat last night. F and I were pretty impressed with the ease of assembly, operation, and the fact that it's small and lightweight. I highly recommend it, especially if you don't want to fork out the big bucks for an infant pram and you don't want one of those giant trunk filling travel systems. I'll post a picture later.

38 Weeks

Well yesterday was my 38 week! I had my midwife apt and was a lot happier leaving their office this week than I was last week. I got to see one of my favorite midwives. She lectured me a little on my lung wheezing and how I don't use my inhalers properly, but then she offered to check me to see if I had made any progress from 36 weeks (where I was 1cm dilated and "soft"). She said I was 2cm dilated and had one of the most favorable cervixes she had seen all day (her words exactly). I don't really know what this means, lol, but it sounded good and she said it with excitement. She said to make an apt. for next week and she wanted me to have an ultrasound beforehand to make sure the baby was not too large. She said she didn't think the baby would be too big, my fundus measures right on each week and I haven't put on godly amounts of weight (29 lbs so far), but she said its standard for patients who were HERE COMES THE TAG...Overweight when they became pregnant. Why do they "tag" people, just lie to me and tell me you make all women get an ultrasound at 39 weeks, lol.

Anyway...so my blood pressure was good, i've gained 20 lbs, and I am ready to have this baby. It appears I have a tear in my upper abdominal muscles, which she says occurs often, but it is really painfal to cough or laugh or hit my belly on a table or anything. She said "try not to have another baby for a few years" and I said "no problem!"

We had the carseat installed in F's subaru, when it is "correctly" installed as done by the nice technician, my knees hit the dashboard if I ride in the front, lol. So I guess we'll be taking road trips with me in the back seat! She said when we switch to a convertable front facing seat after 1 year there will be plenty more space.

Hope everything is well with anyone else. I am going to continue my mission to have this baby. My friend Nicole is doing accupuncture on me tomorrow, and I've been walking 2-3 miles a day with Grace. So wish me luck, better yet, wish that I have my baby soon! lol

Approaching 38 weeks

Kind of funny how I have all this "time" on my hands to post between weeks and multiple times per week. It is because I feel so miserable I've stopped working and my days consist of eating, walking, cleaning, and napping. It seems like that's all I have energy for. When I say cleaning, I mean I may fold a load of laundry--pretty sad. Thank god the cleaning lady comes biweekly or i'd have weird stuff growing in our shower or something.

I am physically miserable. Somehow in our Ikea trip, even though I was on my feet all day and only really ate swedish meatballs...I GAINED 4 LBS! My feet haven't returned to their normal size since the day we went. I guess it's water weight, but geesh. I feel a lot of pressure, I am definately insisting the midwife check me this week at my apt. Our carseat is getting installed Wednesday morning by the certified carseat people. I installed the carseat in my car by myself, but I signed F up to get his installed so the guy will show him and force him to do it, I know he's too lazy to read the instructions and go out and do it.

This week is bring your dog to work day, so Buddy is going to F's office thursday afternoon for some fun and games and dog treats. I'll have to brush him all pretty and put his nice red bandana on him. That will be the highlight of my day i'm sure. Sadly....

Well I'm trying to get things going labor wise--I drank raspberry leaf tea, I walked, I did some other things--nothing. I guess baby will come when baby wants. I'm become one of those frustrated ladies that would do anything to go into labor to be done with pregnancy. I just want to sleep on my stomach, go running, drink beer, oh and see the baby of course!

I posted a pic, but I wish there was a tool on Iphoto to crop out my three chins and fat rolls on my arms--gross, can't wait to hit the gym.

37 Weeks--5AM

Well I finally have my husband back with me after 6 days of him traveling out of town. It was really stressful having him gone, I thought oh god what if I go into labor and he misses it!? But, fortunately, he's back snoring away in bed at 5am and I am WIDE AWAKE! I fell asleep last night at midnight having all these weird muscle spasms in my stomach. Not really painful, or long-lasting, just these queasy uncomfortable spasms. Also, yesterday I noticed very little movement compared to other days. I didn't call the midwife because I have an apt. later today anyway. Plus I always feel really bad for calling, I know I shouldn't, I mean that's why I pay them.

This last month of pregnancy is just torture. Your kid is all baked and ready to go, but just sits there making you nervous, making you notice every single bodily function that may indicate labor. Finally I just got out of bed because I felt queasy and sick. My dog and I are sitting here eating wheat thins and cheese, well he thinks he's getting some wheat thins, but he can keep on staring at me! Hopefully this "early breakfast/late late night snack" will kick up my blood sugar and make the baby kick so I can feel better about it and go back to bed.

Well that post blew away 9 minutes. Maybe I'll post later today after my apt. Perhaps even post a picture of my gigantic self.


UPDATE FROM LATER THAT DAY...
So I went to my apt, the traffic was so bad I was five minutes late, so I was huffin' it from the parking garage. Needless to say my blood pressure was a little elevated, you think they would wait to take your blood pressure a few minutes after you get there. They were so busy today. I guess they were under staffed because of the holiday weekend. It was like an assembly line of pregnant ladies rolling through. I get rotated around the midwives, this week I had the hippy lady--funny she actually had on a tie die shirt today! lol. I told hippy lady I hadn't felt as much movement and about my weird muscle like spasms, so she sat me in a room for 25 minutes and strapped me to a monitor. I had 4 contractions and the baby kicked 5 times, so I guess I "passed." She said my fundus is measuring 37 cm, so that was right on. She said I sounded wheezy and to make sure to monitor my asthma medication carefully. She said she wasn't going to check me because her policy is to not check patients until they are 39 or 40 weeks because it just disturbs and irritates the tissue anyway. I was like WTF, what the F am I paying these people 4?! You wait all week feeling all physiologically weird, of course a pregnant lady wants to be checked to see if all those weird muscle spasms were contractions dilating her cervix! She said if I felt it was absolutely necessary she would do it, but she didn't think it was. She said it in one of those tones of voice where I would look like a bitch if I insisted, so I gave up and scheduled an apt. for next week and went on my way. I've been really hormonal and weepy about everything, so of course I sat in my car in the parking garage crying to my husband, who actually sounded like he cared for once, normally I can tell he's not really listening. So the goal is to do lots of walking and kick start this shin dig and hope this baby makes his/her way out soon.

One other rant--my husband's younger brother (age 14) told him on the phone yesterday that they showed our ultrasound video to a nurse where his dad (my father in law) works and that they know the sex of our baby. I was like WTF. If we wanted to know, we would have asked the technician ourselves, further more how fucking irritating for them to do that and brag to us that they know? Next time we have a baby I'm not sharing any information with anyone, people are so annoying. If they spoil the sex (of the baby) for us I will be so pisses, that would be unforgivable~ I'm going to take a nap and hope my hormones calm down!