The Dirty Details…my labor story

Saturday 9/19 started out normal.  Me watching t.v. and not really doing much, husb was doing the laundry.

At 2:30, I went to get some frozen yogurt at a local shop because it was so hot and quickly went back home to eat it.  After I was done, husb and I took a nap together.

At 4:20, I woke up needing to use the bathroom, but was having the worst time trying to go #2.  When I got up, I saw a gooey pink blob in the toilet.  My “bloody show.”  Hmmm, I thought, I guess my water is gonna break sometime in the next few days.  Then I started feeling lower pelvic cramps and decided to eat a chicken bake since I hadn’t eaten real food in a while.  Then I noticed the cramps didn’t feel like my normal Braxton-Hicks and that something just wasn’t right. Plus they were every 10 minutes. 

After waiting an hour, I woke up husb and told him I felt funny.  Maybe we should go to the hospital so I can get checked.  He was too concerned about his headache and thought we should wait a while.  The pains were getting more intense and insisted that we go.  He went to get my mom, who was in another room, and I told her my assessment.  She also thought I lost my mucus plug and told me to take  shower to see if the contractions stop.  After, I showered, it only got worse. Both my mom and husb finally agreed with me and both needed to get dressed to leave.  My dad was on his way to a party, so we told him to go and we’ll see what was going on with me. 

I was ready to go, but everyone else took forever!  The pains were so intense, I started feeling nauseaous. Husb was really taking too long, so mom and I went together and he came later with the luggage.

At 6:15p, I was checked into L&D triage.  I was contracting every 5 min, but only 1+cm dilated and 50% effaced.  They wanted to wait an hour to see what happens.  I threw up repeatedly! And that was a sign that baby was coming. Deep breathing helped me through the intense contractions.  There came a point where when one stopped, another one started right away.  They checked my cervix and I was 4cm already. Husb came finally.

I was then admitted to deliver and my nurse Sharon was the same nurse who took care of me after my water broke with the twins.  She was so happy to be there for the happy occasion.  My mom is friends with a lot of the L&D nurses, so the charge nurse kept asking her who she wanted to take care of me. 

At 8 something, I was checked again and now 5 cm, time for my epidural please!  After my labs and IV were done, I needed a shot of Stadol to help  take the edge off.  I couldn’t talk or sit still at this time because the pain was 10 out of 10!  With the Stadol, the pain was a little less, I was just a little “high” and able to sit still.  The anesthesiologist came in and placed my epidural with no problems. 

At 9 something, I was up to 7 cm and feeling sleepy. But mom and husb kept talking to me, so I didn’t get to sleep much.

At 10 something, I was up to 9 cm. 

At 11 something, I was fully dilated, but MeMe was floating high and they didn’t want me to have to push for hours to bring her down, so we let nature do her thing.

At 12 something am, MeMe was much lower and I was starting to feel my contractions again.  It was less painful, but the wonderful numbing powers of my epidural had diminished. MeMe was wiggling her way into my pelvis and her head was molding so they did a quick US to make sure it was her head and not her butt cheeks.

At 1:15am, it was time to start pushing.  Big breath in and out, then big breath in and PUSH! 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.  My mom and husb were holding my legs up for me.  When MeMe was crowning, the doc came in barely had her sterile gear on.  Crowning stung and was very uncomfortable.  I can’t imagine what it feels like au naturale! 

MeMe’s head popped out and then the rest and I only had a minor 1st degree tear.  Doc put 3 stitches in to stop the bleeding.  Other than that, no crazy complications.

MeMe placed on my belly with a towel, then taken by the nursery nurse to be checked out.  When they said she was 5lbs and 15oz, I was sooo shocked. I thought she was at least 6.5lbs because of the US done at 33 weeks.  We all cried and held her.

The doc wanted her blood sugars checked because she was so small.  She had one low sugar (44) so from then on, every feeding was breast first, then top it off with some formula.  After that, her sugars were steady. We stayed in L&D until about 5 am.

My mom’s friend was my postpartum nurse so they all hooked me up with extra supplies. And made the whole experience wonderful.  Mom’s coworkers kept coming in the room so that they can see the baby! I stayed in the hospital until Monday afternoon since I have tons of help and expertise at home (thanks mom).

We gave thank you mugs to all of my nurses.

We also gave thanks and praise to God for giving us this blessing.  She is our angel on earth!

36 weeks

 

The week I have longed for and never thought I would get to.

Thank you God!

Countdown now at 3…

3 more days until snip snip! Super duper YAY! I’m getting excited with everyday that goes by.  I made an executive decision to quit my 17-P shots a little early because I figured the docs aren’t gonna stop me now if I go into labor so why should I be taking the shots to help relax my uterus anymore and delay the inevitable. The shots did their job in preventing me from having really early pre-term labor and from laboring with the stitches in.  They are cutting the stitches in 3 days since they know my body is already gearing up for the big day.

Thank you 17-P, but your job is done and I am eternally grateful. Next on the chopping block is the cerclage.

I was recently thinking of all the things I’ve learned while pregnant that I didn’t know.

• Hyperpigmentation. In certain areas, I have demarcation lines of where my skin got considerably darker.  Even in places that don’t usually see the sun.
• Loose hips.  My hips are sore all the time.  Getting out of bed is a painful.  I feel like I need a bilateral total hip replacement.
• Skin growths, such as skin tags or this tiny little wart on the left side of my nose that was never there before.
• Overwhelming fatigue, even when doing nothing at all.  I have spent many days in bed (such a wonderful luxury to not work) only to pass out watching a great show.  I keep missing the end!
• Too much time on your hands isn’t always a good thing. I had every intention to read and be more knowledgeable regarding work stuff, but I’ve been off for 20 weeks and haven’t looked at anything work related. Baby girl is all that matters.

But still, I am very grateful to God to get this far (35w6d) and the overall experience is a blessing.

I  have a few more little things to add to what I already have and then I can truly kick back and wait.

34 weeks and counting…

mmm, ice cream...

Today, MeMe is 34w5d. We had an appointment with the OB on Wednesday and baby girl is growing fine.  BP good, no weight gain, and nothing in my urine.  Great! We learned that from the US we had, she is about 5.5 to 6 lbs already and if I make it to 40 wks, she’ll be about 8 lbs or so.  Come out early please. The doc commented on my “uneventful, eventful pregnancy”.  Yep, ever since the cerclage surgery, everything has been peachy.  Nothing else has come up.  She also commented that if my cervix is truly incompetent, I’ll deliver pretty soon after the stitches are cut and she reminded me to pre-register at the hospital.  I have the paperwork, I just keep forgetting to turn it in. It requires me to actually walk in to my old work place.  Ha ha. 

The weather is so ridiculously hot, I can’t sleep at night or during the day, and the AC is starting to act up.  Sometimes I’m too scared to leave it on or put it so it’s extra frosty.  Fans are nice, but it’s blowing all this hot humid air around.  Southern Cali is supposed to be desert, so dry heat isn’t too bad.  But adding humidity to it is terrible.  This damn humidity is coming from the Hurricane down in Mexico.  Give us rain, not heat!

Preggie symptoms: feet and ankle swelling, palpitations when standing in a hot room (doc said to keep cool and don’t stand still), stronger BH contractions, rib kicks, super belly, indigestion, feeling full faster, shortness of breath when walking or going upstairs.  Husb hates when I go up and down the stairs a few times.  He tries to get me what I need.  He’s on pins and needles because he says I’m at that stage where I might pop.  If I go to the store, I have to have my cell with me to call in case I’m in labor.  His phone broke so he had to go a week without it, he really hated not being in touch.

Everything has arrived for MeMe.  Her playard/bassinet/changing table, stroller and carseat have all been unpacked and fully assembled.  “A” brought some leftover formula that her baby couldn’t eat because she had some kind of allergy/reaction to it, always vomiting a lot.  She swtiched to a different mix and it works better for her.  She brought like 6 or 7 cans of that stuff.  I plan to do both breast and bottle so we’ll see if I even use most of it.  Thanks anyway. Last big item I need at this time is a breast pump because I know I only have 12 weeks in a row off after she’s born, then I’ll be pumping my boobs during my lunch breaks. Her room has plenty of storage and stuff already, but decor can wait until we get our own house.  We have less than 3 months to get something with the help of that wonderful tax credit.  Then move in completely by Christmas. Tick tock. Husb doesn’t want the party until after we get the house.  He totally stole my thunder and I’m still not too happy about it.  I was really really jazzed about the party. She’ll be about 3-5 months by the time he wants to do it. I know by then she’ll be much cuter and more social, but grrrrrr!  I want my party!

Soapbox time: True vs false incompetence.  That concept always pisses me off.  If it’s truly incompetent, the cervix will act A, B, C, but if it acts X, Y, Z, then it’s not.  Well that’s not really true at all.  Because a person can have A, B, and X and still have a crappy cervix that will cause a person to lose their baby.  The docs kept telling me that with my twins, they couldn’t tell if it was true incompetence based on my descriptions of what happened and my chart.  My water broke because of cervical dilation, but I did not fully dilate enough to deliver the babies without medicine.  So maybe I don’t need a cerclage.  Maybe my ass!  I needed one (or two) badly and it’s gotten me this far.  So if my cervix does not dilate after the stitch removal until Oct. 11th, so be it, but I’ll be damned if someone tells me my cervix wasn’t truly incompetent.

Awesome Ultrasound, awesome day

Got to see Miss MeMe and my cervix this morning.  She has baby fat and hair! Yay!  The tech didn’t say how much she weighed, but her measurements averaged 33w1d but I am 33w4d based on LMP.  She has consistently measured a few days behind because I ovulated later than the average 14 days rule, so it’s all good.  Due date doesn’t change for a handful of days!   Defintitely still a girl! We got some awesome pictures of her cute little baby face.  The tech let us watch her yawn and stick her tongue out.  We could see her practice breathing and trying to move in her crammed space.  She has plenty of amniotic fluid and the placenta is still good.  My cervix is a comfortable 3 cm, so not too worried there either. 

I think she has my nose, but mom and husb say she’s gonna look like him.  She has his forehead and overall shape of face.  We won’t really know until she comes out.  Either way, she’s my cutie! 

Our stroller/carseat came today and it’s gorgeous!  Husb took it out of the box and we were so giddy, it almost made us late for the appointment.  Playard is in transit, being shipped from Ohio according to the tracking #.  Should be here next week.

We have a date for the Cerclage Removal….drum roll please…….Sept 15th @ 0930.  Super yay!  MeMe’s shackles are coming off and she will be free to leave the premises! So just gotta hang out these next 3 weeks.  Soooo excited! 

The only thing that made the day suck was that it’s sooo freaking hot! I thought my skin was melting!

33 weeks of dreaming

MeMe is now a 33 weeks and is steadily getting bigger and bigger.  It’s so great to know that I’m so close to having her.  My mom says I look like I’ve dropped already.  We’ll see what the US says in 2 days. One good thing is that everyone that has seen me claims that I’m “all belly” which is a great compliment, but I know it’s not all true.  Thanks anyway.  MeMe is chillin, kicking me hard when I’m lying down.  When I’m standing and fussing around, I feel random BH contractions.  Yesterday, I kept feeling like I had be pee all the time.  It was either all the water I drank (it’s too freakin hot!) or she was hanging out by my bladder.

Husb and I had a date to watch a great movie (District nine)  and have dinner with some of my work-friends last Saturday.  It was fun, but wow, the birthday girl is a lush!  I couldn’t imagine having as many shots and long island iced teas that she had and to still be mobile.  My ass would’ve been knocked out!  It was good to see folks.  Everyone keeps asking what we’re doing for the baby and wants to be invited to whatever it is.  Sure people, it’s coming.

We are getting geared up for the big event in 3 weeks. I’m super excited.  I keep looking through my overnight bag to make sure I have what I need.  That bag has been packed since I was 16 weeks! Just in case I ended up hospitalized AGAIN! MeMe’s bag has been packed too, but I can’t remember when I started stuffing it.  Husb finally set up the small refrigerator and has figured out where to put things in baby’s room.  I still need to buy that pack-n-play in the next few days.  Just very lazy and sleepy these days.   

I’ve been having vivid baby dreams.  But I’ve had them for months now.  They started with when I was pregnant with the twins.  Here are a few I remember most:

1) I dreamt that I gave birth to one baby girl with a club foot after watching a show on discovery health about a baby with a club foot. This was while pregnant with two babies.

2) After the twins and my aunt died, I dreamt that they were communicating with me through dancing sunflowers in our backyard.  They were dancing and swinging and happy together.  The next day I woke up, there was a huge sunflower that sprung up on the hill part of the backyard.  We never had sunflowers grow before or after that day after the dream. Spooky.

3) I dreamt that I had MeMe early and she was really small, but forgot to buy blankets for her.  She kept crying and screaming because she was cold and I felt like the worst mother ever.  When I woke up, I ran to the store to buy receiving blankets and one of those fuzzy plush blankets.  Mom also started sewing some of the blankets she was making at the same time.  Weird, huh.

4) I dreamt that I had MeMe and she was fine.  We were happy.  But I went to a public bathroom and found a homeless couple trying to kill their small baby.  I kept screaming “take her to the hospital and let her live, she’ll be okay!” and they kept trying to smother her while she was crying.  So I took the baby from them and ran to the hospital. I woke up crying. 

These hormones are too much!

Another fabulous appointment (32w4d)

Yesterday, I had a pretty good doctor’s appointment with Dr. M’s office.  We had to wait 1.5 hours to be seen because the doc I was  assigned to was stuck doing an emergency C-section.  They were going to reschedule me for another day, but husb was pushy and insisted I be seen since I was “high-risk.”  So they managed to squeeze me in.  I told him not to act like that when I’m hospitalized! But I gotta hand it to him, he gets results.

My bp was good, mostly because I told the MA to give me a second to let my heart rate go down.  Belly is measuring on target and my urine was fine. Up 3 pounds in 2 weeks.  Been lazy and hungry! 

Doc wants me to get a US to check my cervical length and see how MeMe is growing.  Fantastic!  I haven’t seen her in 4 weeks! Then we asked about the Cerclage Removal and we found out it will be on L&D  at my hospital since it’s more sterile and I can be monitored for contractions. They will call me with the date that it will be scheduled but I should expect sometime after Sept 14th (36w1d).  Yay! Hopefully I’ll dilate right away and only have like a week or two until labor starts.  Mom thinks and dreamed that I’ll deliver on her birthday, Sept 24th.  Another Libra in the house!

We got some info on local pediatricians and the form to pre-register for the hospital. The new doc trained with Dr. S. way back in the day and she was pretty sharp on addressing any concerns. We’ll see another doc at my 34 wk appointment.

We also just bought MeMe’s stroller and carseat on +arget.com and it should be delivered to our house sometime next week.  After it arrives, then I’ll get the pack-n-play that she’ll be sleeping in.  It matches the travel system and has music/vibrations to help soothe her. It has a changing station built in, napper, and bassinet along with the playyard on the bottom.  We thought it was pretty cool when we first saw it, but now it’s no longer in the stores and we have to buy it online.  You would think that if it was being discontinued, it should be on sale! It’s a freakin’ clearance item.  Oh well. I just want it here by stitch cutting time.

I’ve been working on the Outdooring Party.  I find it more exciting to figure out.  Everyday I try to discuss it my mom or husb and I think they’re tired of me already! Can’t really plan for the baby anymore since a lot of it is learning on the spot.  So at least now that I have plenty of time, I can start the prep for the party.  I know when MeMe comes and I’ll be focusing on her that the thought of planning and organizing a party will be the last thing on my mind.  Mom and I planned the food and invite list just last night. We’ll have lots of ladies helping on the day of the party.

8 months now

MeMe is now a Super-preemie! Yay! 32 weeks of baking, so amazed to make it this long. This date was highlighted and circled months ago. I have had my cerclage in for exactly half my pregnancy. 16 weeks since the surgery and 4 weeks until the stitches can be cut. Husb is getting really excited, especially about the stitch removal (then he can finally get some nooky). We see Dr M on Tues and plan to get more details on that process. He’s been my cheerleader on days when I feel crappy and reminds me that she’s coming very soon so hang in there!

Symptoms: extreme hunger, gas, nausea, fatigue, super belly!

59 days left!

59 days left until my EDD! Awesome!

But, I feel like I’m ready now.  I’d be happy if she was born because I really really want to see and hold her already.  I know, I’m being selfish because she is not ready to come out yet, but I want her here!  I wish her lungs would hurry up and mature so I can deliver.  The suspense is killing me! I have no desire to wait until 40+ weeks.  37 or 38 would be just fine.

A coworker had her baby boy at 32 weeks last year. I think he was in the NICU for about 5 weeks or so.  He came out the womb 6 lbs at that time.  She had GD and I’m not sure what caused her to deliver so early since she never told me the whole story.  But he is 1 yr 3 mo and healthy now.  So it’s possible, but not ideal of course.

I guess I also want to deliver now because I’m uncomfortable.  Gotta work around the belly and work with the extra weight.  My joints don’t like it.  Husb and I can’t sleep in the same bed together.  He tosses and turns and takes up more than his alotted space.  Drives me nuts.  So by the time I get comfy and cozy, he steals the covers or I’ll have a sudden urge to go pee.  Crap!  It’s getting out of hand.  So we stagger, kinda like when I was working.  He sleeps at night and I sleep during the day or after 4 am (the time he leaves). 

I’ve been watching a lot of delivery shows and “Bringing Home Baby” to see what works and doesn’t work.  I could’ve done the childbirth and breastfeeding class on Monday, but I realized there’s alot I already know and can learn from mom, the postpartum RN. So I’ll save my $$.  I went through a lot of childbirth stuff with the twins.  What a mucus plug looks like, what having your water breaks feels like,  the monitoring, IV lines, having your cervix checked manually, waiting to dilate enough (6 hours for the boys), the major contractions to help deliver (hurt like hell) and waiting for the placenta to come out.  Been there, done that.  I just know now that the baby is the size of a watermelon, the waiting and pain will be much worse.  Epidural please! I kinda know about that too.  Getting my spinal for the cerclage is pretty similar in procedure and effects.  The rest of the stuff I need to know, my doc and L&D nurses will gladly go over with me.  Now breastfeeding, mom goes over that every Sunday using one of my teddy bears.  Positioning of the baby, cues to look for, how to hold the equipment, and timing on each breast have been discussed.  And I guess we’ll keep discussing/practicing it because she wants me knowledgeable by the time I end up in the hospital.  Plus, I still have my nursing school books and plenty of time to read.

Other news, my best friend just came back from London (after studying abroad for 8 weeks) and is coming to visit.  Yay!  Also, it’s someone’s birthday at work, so that means dinner and drinks next weekend.  A break in monotony is always welcomed!

31 weeks of taking over

Little Miss MeMe is taking over.  She’s the first thing people see when they look at me.  For a while, my belly was big but still a little hideable, now there is no mistaking that I didn’t just swallow a basketball.  My neighbor cornered me the other day and yesterday, we went to a house party where she was the topic of conversation.

It was for a 2 year old’s birthday celebration, but more like a multi-generational party.  My parents, husb and I went to this party thrown by some members of our club/association.  A few of us Ghanaian-Americans get together monthly to discuss different topics and embrace culture. Mostly we throw parties/picnics and socialize.  They were very supportive after my boys died and brought us food when my aunt died shortly after that.  It’s like one big extended family with the older generations hanging out with the younger ones.  My parents have tons of kids to spoil and play with as if they were their grandkids.  I haven’t been to any meetings or gatherings in months, mostly because I had to work or because I was just lazy.  Husb said they always asked about me.  I think lots of people were really worried about my emotional state for a loooong time because I stayed in hiding.  Anyway, the party was extra cute. And it turns out the hostess, whose daughter was the birthday star, was 4.5 months pregnant as well. 

 She actually did a belly bump with me, it was pretty funny.  So then comes the questions about my belly.  Everyone was so happy I’m so close to delivering and there will be a new baby to join the group.  Babies get all the attention.  The babies will get held and passed around from woman to woman all night long.  There was a 6 month old cute little boy that was sitting on various laps and getting his cheeks messed with.  It’s hilarious. I don’t usually participate in the baby-passing; I just ask how old the baby is, wave hi to the little one, and say that he/she is cute.  I’m sure when MeMe is out of the cuddle phase, any new baby will make me want to hug and squeeze them too. One of my mom’s long-time friends said she was so excited she’s gonna be like another grandma.  MeMe is gonna get smothered everytime I bring her to a party/picnic/meeting. 

My parents have been advertising the “Outdooring” party already. Mom told some of her work friends already.  We were thinking November, before Christmas craziness kicks in.  It’ll give us a chance to use tradition to show off the baby and bring her into our community. Awesome!

MeMe is so big, I can’t imagine how things will be in 4 weeks.  When I lie down, all she does is kick and move.  Thump thump thump all night long.  My belly looks like a snake is moving underneath my skin.  Keep movin and groovin baby girl!  Other symptoms:  insomnia (pretty much all pregnancy long), sore hips when sleeping on either side for too long even with the body pillow between my knees, urinary frequency, fatigue, easily short-of-breath, hunger, indigestion, occasional acid reflux, vivid dreams, hands fall asleep randomly, lots of light belly stretchies (boo!).

BP during the week was good, still no ankle or pedal swelling. No bleeding and rare braxton-hicks.

Another cool thing was that the party was located near the area of Southern Cali we want to move to.  Husb and I spent most of the night analyzing the house layout, backyard, neighborhood, etc.  So the plan is still to move later this year.  Mom doesn’t like the idea because she thinks we’ll be too far and that I might regret having a longer commute to work.  Dad thinks it’s a great opportunity since the big homes are going for great prices.  If they can come up for a party, they can come up to see MeMe just as easily.  It’s okay mom, I know I probably wouldn’t want MeMe to move away from me either!