I was so excited that I was finally having a girl!
Now I'm pregnant with my third girl...God is Good!
We were anxious to have her, I was 2 days away from my due date. The 3 boys were all early, so I was expecting early! Had some early labor signs, but the hospital sent us home...
So the next day Mike and I took the boys, now 4 and 2, to the mall.
We saw Santa, took pictures, walked around and finally around noon, settled in at Barnes and Noble. I don't know what, but something magical happened there!
I suddenly had one strong contraction, and they never stopped after that...
We had promised the boys Friendly's for lunch, they were really looking forward to it, and it was just next door, so off we went!
By the time our food came I could hardly sit in the seat, actually I don't think I did sit in the seat...I held myself up off the seat! That was the quickest meal we ever ate.
Well, they ate, not me. I remember pulling in the garage to drop off the boys and the contractions were so strong I was breathing thru them.
I thought I was going to have her in the truck!
They took one look at me in triage and knew I was staying this time.
I had already dilated to 5 cm and was breathing thru contractions.
I choose an epidural this time, for a couple reasons...
one- Mike and I thought this was our last baby so why not take it easy this with this last one.
two- I didn't know how long and intense this labor was going to be...Griffin was before her and he was my hardest up to that point! I didn't want another replay...
three- Something I just wanted to try. plain and simple.
However I didn't look into the risks and pitfalls associated with an epidural. I assumed everybody got them, they must be safe:)
I get in a birthing room, they break my water and put in my epidural.
For those of you who haven't had an epidural, let me share with you briefly, how it felt...
I have always had a needle phobia first of all.
The anesthesiologist makes your husband leave the room.
Then the nurse helps hold you over the side of the bed leaning on a tray.
Meanwhile you are still having contractions...
You have to hunch your back over like a cat while your belly is being squeezed and is as hard as a medicine ball!
The injection site is numbed up with lidocaine and then then the epidural needle is inserted.
Which doesn't hurt and is placed and taped quickly.
With my epidural I was given a button to push whenever I wanted pain relief.
A patient controlled analgesia.
As soon as the medication was delivered however my body started shaking...
I couldn't control it! Like I was shivering in the cold weather...
So I didn't really rest while I was waiting to dilate, I was shaking so much!
A short hour later I was 10 cm and told to start pushing.
During the pushing somehow half of my belly and lower parts regained feeling, so half of me was numb and half wasn't! It was weird.
An hour later she was born at 6 o'clock! From from start to finish- 6 hours.
I look back and feel that epidural was a waste! I could have done as Ive previously done without the hassle, shaking, and back pain ( that lasted 9 plus months) !!
Pam was there for her birth, and that was the only other person besides my mom and spouse, that have attended. It was great to have another set of hands and support for Mike and I.
They ran out and got me dinner from Wendy's while the staff checked Breanna.
She weighed 8.3 lbs. My second smallest- Erik was the littlest.
I enjoyed my time in the hospital with her and kept her with me all the time.
She nursed well, so I thought...that I will save for another blog post!
As the next 6 mo were very challenging!
I wont go into details...but there was one complication with her birth, that resulted in a fractured
clavicle. None of the medical staff who examined her caught it at birth or at checkups. I found it a whole month later! Again...for another post. I need to finish this birth series first!
Saty tuned, as the next two posts are about my homebirth experiences:)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Griffin~ Baby Boy #3
People always ask me where I came up with Griffin's name. "Is it from Griffindor? Harry Potter?" No. I heard it on a morning talk show. Some actor named his son Griffin and they were calling him 'Finn" for short. I intended to do that, but we never have. He is always Griffin, Scott after my grandfather.
I anticipated Griffin's birth to be fast...No one told me that with baby 3, it could go either way...
Erik was 7 hours, Will was 3 hours, so it goes to stand that the next would be...
1 1/2?
Well that didn't happen! He was 13 hours coming! Now I realize for some that is a small amount of time, but not for me. I don't remember exactly when it started, but when my contractions were 5 min apart we went to the hospital. Sometime in the evening...
They didn't have a birthing room for me, as they were full, so they kept us all night in an extra room on the surgical side where they usually hold C section patients. So here we were all night long, ...I might as well have stayed home, but I was making some progress with the contractions I was having, so they kept me. I was dilating with those contractions, but they weren't painful, not really. My water hadn't broke (It never does, we know now!) so pain level was OK. I kept telling them, break my water and get this going!! But they wouldn't because they had no rooms!! Finally around 4 am I got a birthing room! It was right next to the labor tub, so I soaked in that for a while, but preferred the shower in my room. I spent alot of time in there, so Mike tells me. Eventually they broke my water. Yes- that's when it got intense... I needed to dilate more, so the nurse had me rotating every 15 min. from left side, to all fours, to right side, back, etc... This was to supposed to help him 'spiral' down into my canal more. It worked. I bet the doctors got quite a kick out of seeing my 'moon' when they walked in, as I was on all fours in that bed!! Nice picture huh?
Come 7a at change of shift, I was asking for some pain meds...that never came. Little did I know that was the transition time. With in a short period of time I was pushing and they were scrambling to find the OB. So the doctor I labored with all night, was not the one who delivered him. Such an odd concept to me... However my nurse stayed and I pushed for an hour. Mike said he was doing the 'Superman' pose with his arms as he was coming out. I remember singing to Griffin the ABC song from across the room, as the nurse left him under the warmer and naked to go get supplies. We were alone, because Mike had gone for coffee. Griffin started crying and felt helpless to get him, so I thought If he heard my voice he would settle. So the nurse comes back in and I'm singing the ABC's. I actually was a little embarrassed. William was almost 2 so it was a song I sang alot and thought he might be familiar with it from hearing in utero. The nurse bragged about me to the other nurses that came in to help clean up, how uncomplicated his birth was. Meaning no pain meds, no epidural, no Pitocin... The OB tried to give me a Pitocin shot after he was born, but I refused. he was upset about that and said "We'll try without it but after baby 3 your uterus will be boggy. The nurse will have to come in and do alot of fundal massage. if it doesn't work, you'll need it..." That stuff is bad news!! It feels like its wringing your insides out! Was I fine? yes! The nurse did have do massage, and I did it too. Breastfeeding helps contract that uterus too, so I put him to the breast asap. I regret that I didn't nurse him longer. By 7 mo he was weaned. I was working part time in the Peds Ed and wasn't pumping enough, so my supply went down and it was too convenient to just give a bottle. Plus he was looking every which way when I nursed and never stayed on long. I still didn't know enough about breastfeeding... Just because a baby looks around alot doesn't mean they don't want you anymore. You just need to have a strategy. At 5 mo I flew with him and Erik to California to visit my sister Betsy and that decreased my supply too. I gave bottles instead of nursing more to build up my supply. Griffin was a beautiful baby with big blue eyes and lots of dark hair. Stay tuned for more adventures in childbearing....
I anticipated Griffin's birth to be fast...No one told me that with baby 3, it could go either way...
Erik was 7 hours, Will was 3 hours, so it goes to stand that the next would be...
1 1/2?
Well that didn't happen! He was 13 hours coming! Now I realize for some that is a small amount of time, but not for me. I don't remember exactly when it started, but when my contractions were 5 min apart we went to the hospital. Sometime in the evening...
They didn't have a birthing room for me, as they were full, so they kept us all night in an extra room on the surgical side where they usually hold C section patients. So here we were all night long, ...I might as well have stayed home, but I was making some progress with the contractions I was having, so they kept me. I was dilating with those contractions, but they weren't painful, not really. My water hadn't broke (It never does, we know now!) so pain level was OK. I kept telling them, break my water and get this going!! But they wouldn't because they had no rooms!! Finally around 4 am I got a birthing room! It was right next to the labor tub, so I soaked in that for a while, but preferred the shower in my room. I spent alot of time in there, so Mike tells me. Eventually they broke my water. Yes- that's when it got intense... I needed to dilate more, so the nurse had me rotating every 15 min. from left side, to all fours, to right side, back, etc... This was to supposed to help him 'spiral' down into my canal more. It worked. I bet the doctors got quite a kick out of seeing my 'moon' when they walked in, as I was on all fours in that bed!! Nice picture huh?
Come 7a at change of shift, I was asking for some pain meds...that never came. Little did I know that was the transition time. With in a short period of time I was pushing and they were scrambling to find the OB. So the doctor I labored with all night, was not the one who delivered him. Such an odd concept to me... However my nurse stayed and I pushed for an hour. Mike said he was doing the 'Superman' pose with his arms as he was coming out. I remember singing to Griffin the ABC song from across the room, as the nurse left him under the warmer and naked to go get supplies. We were alone, because Mike had gone for coffee. Griffin started crying and felt helpless to get him, so I thought If he heard my voice he would settle. So the nurse comes back in and I'm singing the ABC's. I actually was a little embarrassed. William was almost 2 so it was a song I sang alot and thought he might be familiar with it from hearing in utero. The nurse bragged about me to the other nurses that came in to help clean up, how uncomplicated his birth was. Meaning no pain meds, no epidural, no Pitocin... The OB tried to give me a Pitocin shot after he was born, but I refused. he was upset about that and said "We'll try without it but after baby 3 your uterus will be boggy. The nurse will have to come in and do alot of fundal massage. if it doesn't work, you'll need it..." That stuff is bad news!! It feels like its wringing your insides out! Was I fine? yes! The nurse did have do massage, and I did it too. Breastfeeding helps contract that uterus too, so I put him to the breast asap. I regret that I didn't nurse him longer. By 7 mo he was weaned. I was working part time in the Peds Ed and wasn't pumping enough, so my supply went down and it was too convenient to just give a bottle. Plus he was looking every which way when I nursed and never stayed on long. I still didn't know enough about breastfeeding... Just because a baby looks around alot doesn't mean they don't want you anymore. You just need to have a strategy. At 5 mo I flew with him and Erik to California to visit my sister Betsy and that decreased my supply too. I gave bottles instead of nursing more to build up my supply. Griffin was a beautiful baby with big blue eyes and lots of dark hair. Stay tuned for more adventures in childbearing....
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
William~A Knight's Tale
The response from Erik's birth post was so overwhelmingly positive! It was very encouraging and has given me momentum to continue on...
William's name came to me after watching 'A Knight's Tale' with Heath Ledger. We call him 'Will'. He is also named after his great-grandfather, Mike's grandpa, Richard.
As a side note~ the kids middle names all are from our grandparents, either Mike or I....yes, we are running out of selections...
Will's birth was by far my shortest and easiest~ which is odd because there was 7 years between him and Erik. Where as the other births are only 2 years apart.
I had just started cooking a pot of pasta for dinner when I sat down on the couch and felt a 'pop'. I'm not really sure what that was...as my water never did break. In just a few minutes I knew we were in labor and contractions got strong quickly. By the time the pasta was done boiling I could hardly stand in the kitchen, and yet sitting was tough too! Mike ate fast lets just say~ and I passed on that meal! We took off for RGH asap!
Mike and I found our nurse comical, after the fact. She was settling us in to the room, here's the picture... I know my body is getting ready to do business, so I start ripping off my clothes and climb into the bed to breath and relax. She is trying to do paperwork and ask all kinds of questions...then she gives me a cup and tells me she needs a urine sample! I cant believe she is asking me this stuff and I just tell Mike to answer all the questions. I did use her cup but honestly felt like I would deliver him right in that bathroom! She finally really takes a good look at me and says " I think I need to get a doctor in here..." No kidding!! I was 8 cm dilated at that point ( for those of you who don't know, you need to be 10 cm in order to push). My OB breaks my water and instantly I'm 10! Somewhere in there I did get a dose of Nubain ( a drug to take the edge off ) thru a butter fly needle. I hate needles so I was trying to avoid an IV at all cost. A resident MD comes in to my quiet, subdued, lights dimmed, classical music atmosphere and starts talking to me, telling me how the heart beat looks, etc... Its obvious I was in the zone! Couldn't he tell?? Mike tells me I told him to shut up and get out...I don't remember it quite like that.... I think I was more polite than that. Well, either way, he never did come back in:)
Another funny element to this tale involves Mike.... I'm laboring, and the next thing I know the nurse is asking if HE is alright?? Does he need a chair,etc... He was about to pass out from what he says is the heat in the room. That combined with woofing down a pasta dinner. Hmm... Ill let you decide...
Then this hippie- looking nurse comes in, who I came to love...and says" Oh I see you are using nipple stimulation for those contractions. Good job!" I had no idea what she was talking about! I opened my eyes, looked down, and sure enough I was holding my breasts. I don't know why, It was just comfortable. Maybe some innate part of my womanhood was surfacing, helping me do what my body needed to do. I tried putting my hands other places, but it never felt right and they kept migrating back up! I pushed for about 45 min ( my shortest push yet). And as his head was coming out the Ob says, "Oh look! A red head!" Sure enough he was red! As most of you know my Will. Very orange hair! We absolutely love it, as most people do, but he doesn't. Probably because it sets him apart. Makes him stand out and be different.
He weighed 8.9lbs and had a huge cephelahematoma on his head, from birth trauma/ pushing. I was nervous about that for a long time and was in the pediatricians frequently so he could keep checking it and reassuring me. Now with baby 7 on the way...I'm a little more realxed:) My symphysis pubis was spilt a little from his birth and made it hard to walk to for a few days. Ive never had that happen since. From start to finish, first contraction to the last, was 3 hours.
That middle aged 'hippie-nurse' with the tattoos and long braids did come back in again the next day. Thank God. Will had trouble regulating his temp and they kept taking him to place him under the warmer in the nursery. I was so bothered by that! How could I nurse and bond when he was gone all the time?! Well her shift starts and she brings him right in and says " I don't know why they didn't do this before, but undress him and keep him skin to skin on your chest for an hour. Lets see how his temp does with that." Sure enough! He got warm as toast. Don't ask me why I didn't think of that... Not only does it regulate body temp, but promotes breastfeeding! And he was a fabulous nurser! Weaned at 15 mo. I was working FT nights in the Pediatric ICU at the time also, so I had to pump alot. But It was worth it!
Thanks for sharing this with me~!
William's name came to me after watching 'A Knight's Tale' with Heath Ledger. We call him 'Will'. He is also named after his great-grandfather, Mike's grandpa, Richard.
As a side note~ the kids middle names all are from our grandparents, either Mike or I....yes, we are running out of selections...
Will's birth was by far my shortest and easiest~ which is odd because there was 7 years between him and Erik. Where as the other births are only 2 years apart.
I had just started cooking a pot of pasta for dinner when I sat down on the couch and felt a 'pop'. I'm not really sure what that was...as my water never did break. In just a few minutes I knew we were in labor and contractions got strong quickly. By the time the pasta was done boiling I could hardly stand in the kitchen, and yet sitting was tough too! Mike ate fast lets just say~ and I passed on that meal! We took off for RGH asap!
Mike and I found our nurse comical, after the fact. She was settling us in to the room, here's the picture... I know my body is getting ready to do business, so I start ripping off my clothes and climb into the bed to breath and relax. She is trying to do paperwork and ask all kinds of questions...then she gives me a cup and tells me she needs a urine sample! I cant believe she is asking me this stuff and I just tell Mike to answer all the questions. I did use her cup but honestly felt like I would deliver him right in that bathroom! She finally really takes a good look at me and says " I think I need to get a doctor in here..." No kidding!! I was 8 cm dilated at that point ( for those of you who don't know, you need to be 10 cm in order to push). My OB breaks my water and instantly I'm 10! Somewhere in there I did get a dose of Nubain ( a drug to take the edge off ) thru a butter fly needle. I hate needles so I was trying to avoid an IV at all cost. A resident MD comes in to my quiet, subdued, lights dimmed, classical music atmosphere and starts talking to me, telling me how the heart beat looks, etc... Its obvious I was in the zone! Couldn't he tell?? Mike tells me I told him to shut up and get out...I don't remember it quite like that.... I think I was more polite than that. Well, either way, he never did come back in:)
Another funny element to this tale involves Mike.... I'm laboring, and the next thing I know the nurse is asking if HE is alright?? Does he need a chair,etc... He was about to pass out from what he says is the heat in the room. That combined with woofing down a pasta dinner. Hmm... Ill let you decide...
Then this hippie- looking nurse comes in, who I came to love...and says" Oh I see you are using nipple stimulation for those contractions. Good job!" I had no idea what she was talking about! I opened my eyes, looked down, and sure enough I was holding my breasts. I don't know why, It was just comfortable. Maybe some innate part of my womanhood was surfacing, helping me do what my body needed to do. I tried putting my hands other places, but it never felt right and they kept migrating back up! I pushed for about 45 min ( my shortest push yet). And as his head was coming out the Ob says, "Oh look! A red head!" Sure enough he was red! As most of you know my Will. Very orange hair! We absolutely love it, as most people do, but he doesn't. Probably because it sets him apart. Makes him stand out and be different.
He weighed 8.9lbs and had a huge cephelahematoma on his head, from birth trauma/ pushing. I was nervous about that for a long time and was in the pediatricians frequently so he could keep checking it and reassuring me. Now with baby 7 on the way...I'm a little more realxed:) My symphysis pubis was spilt a little from his birth and made it hard to walk to for a few days. Ive never had that happen since. From start to finish, first contraction to the last, was 3 hours.
That middle aged 'hippie-nurse' with the tattoos and long braids did come back in again the next day. Thank God. Will had trouble regulating his temp and they kept taking him to place him under the warmer in the nursery. I was so bothered by that! How could I nurse and bond when he was gone all the time?! Well her shift starts and she brings him right in and says " I don't know why they didn't do this before, but undress him and keep him skin to skin on your chest for an hour. Lets see how his temp does with that." Sure enough! He got warm as toast. Don't ask me why I didn't think of that... Not only does it regulate body temp, but promotes breastfeeding! And he was a fabulous nurser! Weaned at 15 mo. I was working FT nights in the Pediatric ICU at the time also, so I had to pump alot. But It was worth it!
Thanks for sharing this with me~!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Erik's birth
I realized that I never shared my birth stories on my blog...and it has always been something I've wanted to do. Rather than write a huge post about all 6 births I thought I'd break it up. So this is the first of 6 (7 yet to be born:)
I think some might be interested to know that I haven't always had home births. 4 were at the hospital, only 2 at home.
I had just turned 22, fresh out of nursing school, and newly married when I had Erik. This is how it began...
2 weeks before my due date, my sister Betsy and I walked around Carousal mall in the hopes that I would go into labor... With slight contractions all evening that finally got regular, I knew we were on our way~ I had labored most of that night lying next to Erik's Dad and trying to get rest in between contractions. By early am they were 5 min apart and I went to the hospital, saying goodbye to Betsy and my best friend Chris, as I came down the stairwell. I did some more walking at the hospital and dilated further, but my water hadn't broke, so they took care of that. I went from "Oh, this isn't so bad" to "Whoa! I need to start my breathing". Well,... my contractions weren't 'strong enough' for the doctor's taste, so they suggested a Pitocin drip...and what did I know??? Boy was I in for a surprise! I had taken a birthing class and knew I wanted to go 'natural', but that made it really hard!! That stuff is brutal. (Ive never had it since!) I had to step it up from just 'breathing' to really 'getting in the zone'. Mom helped me alot by rubbing my forearm in a rhythmic movement that helped me keep time with breaths. I had to tell her slow down or speed up~ and bless her heart~ she stood by bed like that for hours!! I did accept a dose of STADOL thru my IV. A drug that is supposed to "take the edge off". Somewhere in there I vomited the orange juice they let me drink. Fun times again! After about 6 hours of labor I had the urge to push and I was told they were prepping the birthing room and to hold on! Don't push yet! I remember being wheeled down the hall with a sheet over me, my arms holding my legs to my chest and gently pushing as we sped. Now I'm in a cold delivery room, feet in stirrups and I was told to push now. After several good pushes the doctor told me to open my eyes, look down, grab the baby and pull him out! So I did! And that was the best part! I slid my hands under his armpits that were still tucked inside me and he slid out as I pulled him up onto my stomach. He weighed 7 .9 lbs. I kept saying "My baby~my baby~ Oh my very own baby" over and over... I was so in love with him! I couldn't believe they let me leave the hospital with him though. As If I wasn't qualified enough to care for him. He hadn't even really nursed well yet and had gotten very jaundice. I didn't read any breastfeeding books (yeah- that was dumb) and just expected him to latch right on. After all my mom nursed all 4 of us and it looked easy. He and I eventually did get the hang of it. Amazingly, I just fed him when he was hungry, and that was all. He plumped up a bit, but never was a big eater, still to this day! I went back to work at 6 mo and wasn't pumping ( I didn't know any better) and my supply went down so I started formula for his dad to feed him. By 7 mo we were done. I find that so sad now...
I hope this wasnt TMI and too long-winded!
I think some might be interested to know that I haven't always had home births. 4 were at the hospital, only 2 at home.
I had just turned 22, fresh out of nursing school, and newly married when I had Erik. This is how it began...
2 weeks before my due date, my sister Betsy and I walked around Carousal mall in the hopes that I would go into labor... With slight contractions all evening that finally got regular, I knew we were on our way~ I had labored most of that night lying next to Erik's Dad and trying to get rest in between contractions. By early am they were 5 min apart and I went to the hospital, saying goodbye to Betsy and my best friend Chris, as I came down the stairwell. I did some more walking at the hospital and dilated further, but my water hadn't broke, so they took care of that. I went from "Oh, this isn't so bad" to "Whoa! I need to start my breathing". Well,... my contractions weren't 'strong enough' for the doctor's taste, so they suggested a Pitocin drip...and what did I know??? Boy was I in for a surprise! I had taken a birthing class and knew I wanted to go 'natural', but that made it really hard!! That stuff is brutal. (Ive never had it since!) I had to step it up from just 'breathing' to really 'getting in the zone'. Mom helped me alot by rubbing my forearm in a rhythmic movement that helped me keep time with breaths. I had to tell her slow down or speed up~ and bless her heart~ she stood by bed like that for hours!! I did accept a dose of STADOL thru my IV. A drug that is supposed to "take the edge off". Somewhere in there I vomited the orange juice they let me drink. Fun times again! After about 6 hours of labor I had the urge to push and I was told they were prepping the birthing room and to hold on! Don't push yet! I remember being wheeled down the hall with a sheet over me, my arms holding my legs to my chest and gently pushing as we sped. Now I'm in a cold delivery room, feet in stirrups and I was told to push now. After several good pushes the doctor told me to open my eyes, look down, grab the baby and pull him out! So I did! And that was the best part! I slid my hands under his armpits that were still tucked inside me and he slid out as I pulled him up onto my stomach. He weighed 7 .9 lbs. I kept saying "My baby~my baby~ Oh my very own baby" over and over... I was so in love with him! I couldn't believe they let me leave the hospital with him though. As If I wasn't qualified enough to care for him. He hadn't even really nursed well yet and had gotten very jaundice. I didn't read any breastfeeding books (yeah- that was dumb) and just expected him to latch right on. After all my mom nursed all 4 of us and it looked easy. He and I eventually did get the hang of it. Amazingly, I just fed him when he was hungry, and that was all. He plumped up a bit, but never was a big eater, still to this day! I went back to work at 6 mo and wasn't pumping ( I didn't know any better) and my supply went down so I started formula for his dad to feed him. By 7 mo we were done. I find that so sad now...
I hope this wasnt TMI and too long-winded!
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