D has been hard at work on his and K's costume. K is really excited. They are going to be too cute together!
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ~Ferris Bueller
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
PREVIEW: HALLOWEEN 2011
D has been hard at work on his and K's costume. K is really excited. They are going to be too cute together!
Monday, October 24, 2011
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD
This is the story of Baby C's birth.
As many of you know, I was scheduled to have be induced on Wednesday, October 12th. Deciding to be induced after my induction with K that ended in a c-section was a difficult one. It was Sarah who convinced me that I needed to at least try to VBAC. It wasn't until I talked with her that I realized how lucky I was to have a doctor who was willing and encouraging to let me try to be induced after delivering a baby via c-section.
The Monday before my induction, I met with my doctor and mid-wife to discuss my plans for labor. We agreed that I'd let the pitocin do it's magic for four hours. If after that amount of time nothing was happening, we'd opt for a repeat c-section. With a plan in place, I stopped eating and drinking at midnight on the 11th. At 5:40am, D and I were standing on the corner of our street by the metro station trying to hail a cab to get to the hospital by 6am. We arrived on time only to be told we were too early... it wasn't until I talked with the charge nurse about my plans to attempt a VBAC that were escorted into our labor and delivery room. It was the same room I had when I was induced with K. (This is just the first of many similarities between my two labor stories.)
I met with my doctor and several residents during my first hour in the hospital and was quickly hooked up to the IVs and monitors. They bumped my pitocin up slowly - didn't want to make my contractions too strong and rip my uterus. As soon as I started feeling some discomfort, I opted for an epidural. Managing my pain this go around was at the top of my priority list. If the epidural failed to take, I wanted to make the decision to have a repeat c-section with a clear mind; not in the throws of transition without my pain under control.
The anestheiologist was fantastic. Aside from the initial pain of the needle, the insertion of the epidural was painless - a pleasant surprise from my experience three years ago. About half an hour after its insertion, I started to feel some pain relief and the epidural continued to work until it fell out in my recovery room. Four hours into the induction came and went quickly. When we assessed the situation around lunchtime, I was making good progress and we decided to continue on. I was having contractions every 2.5 to 3 minutes and was around 5cm. Nice!
My doctor went off duty at dinner time. When we last talked she felt I was on track to have the baby before midnight. I was introduced to my night nurse and new attending on-call and sadly said good-bye to my favorite resident who would not be back until 7am. As evening wore on and nighttime set in, it was obvious to me that my baby would not be born on the 12th. Around midnight they examined me and I was about 7 cm. Not bad, but still a long way to go...
As the early morning hours set in, things got a little complicated... my legs went completely numb from the epidural and I constantly felt like I was falling out of bed, my blood pressure started to increase, the swelling in my hands and feet was getting a little out of control, and I started to run a fever. By 3am my fever was hovering at 103*. They started me on IV antibiotics - the assumption was that I had a uterine infection - and I completed my hat-trick of insertions --- I was lucky enough to have 1) a urinary catheter; 2) an internal uterine contraction monitor; and 3) rectal insertion of tylenol.
Thankfully the tylenol brought my fever down quickly and I felt much better. At 7am, my new nurse arrived and it was the same nurse that was with me through K's delivery (yeah!). Also, my favorite resident was back on duty and I was SO excited! We determined in the early morning hours that my baby was posterior. Since my pain was under control, I allowed one of the doctors to try to flip him internally. It was slightly uncomfortable (ok... it hurt) and the baby did flip over. But only to flip right back into the posterior position moments later. We decided (read: I was advised) to try to start pushing to see if I could get the baby to flip on its own.
And push I did... we pushed in this position and in that position - sitting up, lying down, on my right side. Unfortunately even at 10 cm dilation I still had a stubborn sliver of cervix that wasn't going away. During all my pushing my favor resident had to hold this little sliver of cervical tissue back - hoping the baby could slide around it. At 9am, we decided that I would try pushing for two hours. If during that time, the baby descended and flipped I was going to VBAC. About 45 minutes into pushing, my favorite resident told me to take a break. She left to consult with the attending OB. I was forced to sit up and pray for the baby to magically drop.
At 10am, my favorite resident and the attending came into the room to talk. Things were starting to get complicated... every time I pushed my baby's heart rate dropped, there was evidence of meconium in my amniotic fluid, my fever was increasing, and it had been 22 hours since my water was broken. While holding my hand, my favorite resident advised me to opt for a c-section. It didn't take much convincing. I knew the likelihood of a VBAC was slim to none. Plus I was tired, hungry, and feverish. After 28 hours of labor, it was time to return to the OR.
Since the baby would need to be immediately seen by the pediatric team due to the meconium, I called my mom and asked her to join us at the hospital. This would allow D to go with the baby and me to have my own care-giver in the recovery room.
At 10:30am on Thursday the 13th, exactly 24 hours AFTER my scheduled c-section from the day before, I was wheeled into the OR for my repeat c-section. Thankfully, due to a working epidural, I did not need a spinal block. All my medications were administered through the epidural. I was numb in 15 minutes and ready to go. My favorite resident was on my right side giving me encouragement and updates throughout the operation.
At 10:52am, we received word that it was a BOY!
I don't remember much - fighting back the urge to puke, trying to keep my shivering under control, and worrying about my little guy - but I do remember tears of joy and the sound of a baby crying. I also remember hearing someone say that he was a BIG little fellow.
D went to be with him as the pediatric team did there thing. I got word that he was healthy and weighed in at 9 lbs 4 oz; nearly three pounds heavier than K.
How on earth did that happen?!?!
D left the OR to go with the baby. I was left in the OR while the doctors finished putting my insides back together. At one point I remember telling the doctors I was going to sleep and that is exactly what I did. My favorite resident woke me up some time later to tell me that they were going to move me onto a different bed and back to my recovery room. When I arrived my mom was there along with D. We were joined soon thereafter by baby C.
He was perfect.
I spent four more days in the hospital recovering and fighting a UTI and uterine infection. My daily doses of three different IV antibiotics wiped out each of the infections and by Saturday my fever was gone for good. We received word on Saturday that I would be discharged on Sunday.
So at noon on Sunday, October 16th we left GW Hospital as a family of four.
And now we begin the next chapter of our lives...
As many of you know, I was scheduled to have be induced on Wednesday, October 12th. Deciding to be induced after my induction with K that ended in a c-section was a difficult one. It was Sarah who convinced me that I needed to at least try to VBAC. It wasn't until I talked with her that I realized how lucky I was to have a doctor who was willing and encouraging to let me try to be induced after delivering a baby via c-section.
The Monday before my induction, I met with my doctor and mid-wife to discuss my plans for labor. We agreed that I'd let the pitocin do it's magic for four hours. If after that amount of time nothing was happening, we'd opt for a repeat c-section. With a plan in place, I stopped eating and drinking at midnight on the 11th. At 5:40am, D and I were standing on the corner of our street by the metro station trying to hail a cab to get to the hospital by 6am. We arrived on time only to be told we were too early... it wasn't until I talked with the charge nurse about my plans to attempt a VBAC that were escorted into our labor and delivery room. It was the same room I had when I was induced with K. (This is just the first of many similarities between my two labor stories.)
I met with my doctor and several residents during my first hour in the hospital and was quickly hooked up to the IVs and monitors. They bumped my pitocin up slowly - didn't want to make my contractions too strong and rip my uterus. As soon as I started feeling some discomfort, I opted for an epidural. Managing my pain this go around was at the top of my priority list. If the epidural failed to take, I wanted to make the decision to have a repeat c-section with a clear mind; not in the throws of transition without my pain under control.
The anestheiologist was fantastic. Aside from the initial pain of the needle, the insertion of the epidural was painless - a pleasant surprise from my experience three years ago. About half an hour after its insertion, I started to feel some pain relief and the epidural continued to work until it fell out in my recovery room. Four hours into the induction came and went quickly. When we assessed the situation around lunchtime, I was making good progress and we decided to continue on. I was having contractions every 2.5 to 3 minutes and was around 5cm. Nice!
My doctor went off duty at dinner time. When we last talked she felt I was on track to have the baby before midnight. I was introduced to my night nurse and new attending on-call and sadly said good-bye to my favorite resident who would not be back until 7am. As evening wore on and nighttime set in, it was obvious to me that my baby would not be born on the 12th. Around midnight they examined me and I was about 7 cm. Not bad, but still a long way to go...
As the early morning hours set in, things got a little complicated... my legs went completely numb from the epidural and I constantly felt like I was falling out of bed, my blood pressure started to increase, the swelling in my hands and feet was getting a little out of control, and I started to run a fever. By 3am my fever was hovering at 103*. They started me on IV antibiotics - the assumption was that I had a uterine infection - and I completed my hat-trick of insertions --- I was lucky enough to have 1) a urinary catheter; 2) an internal uterine contraction monitor; and 3) rectal insertion of tylenol.
Thankfully the tylenol brought my fever down quickly and I felt much better. At 7am, my new nurse arrived and it was the same nurse that was with me through K's delivery (yeah!). Also, my favorite resident was back on duty and I was SO excited! We determined in the early morning hours that my baby was posterior. Since my pain was under control, I allowed one of the doctors to try to flip him internally. It was slightly uncomfortable (ok... it hurt) and the baby did flip over. But only to flip right back into the posterior position moments later. We decided (read: I was advised) to try to start pushing to see if I could get the baby to flip on its own.
And push I did... we pushed in this position and in that position - sitting up, lying down, on my right side. Unfortunately even at 10 cm dilation I still had a stubborn sliver of cervix that wasn't going away. During all my pushing my favor resident had to hold this little sliver of cervical tissue back - hoping the baby could slide around it. At 9am, we decided that I would try pushing for two hours. If during that time, the baby descended and flipped I was going to VBAC. About 45 minutes into pushing, my favorite resident told me to take a break. She left to consult with the attending OB. I was forced to sit up and pray for the baby to magically drop.
At 10am, my favorite resident and the attending came into the room to talk. Things were starting to get complicated... every time I pushed my baby's heart rate dropped, there was evidence of meconium in my amniotic fluid, my fever was increasing, and it had been 22 hours since my water was broken. While holding my hand, my favorite resident advised me to opt for a c-section. It didn't take much convincing. I knew the likelihood of a VBAC was slim to none. Plus I was tired, hungry, and feverish. After 28 hours of labor, it was time to return to the OR.
Since the baby would need to be immediately seen by the pediatric team due to the meconium, I called my mom and asked her to join us at the hospital. This would allow D to go with the baby and me to have my own care-giver in the recovery room.
At 10:30am on Thursday the 13th, exactly 24 hours AFTER my scheduled c-section from the day before, I was wheeled into the OR for my repeat c-section. Thankfully, due to a working epidural, I did not need a spinal block. All my medications were administered through the epidural. I was numb in 15 minutes and ready to go. My favorite resident was on my right side giving me encouragement and updates throughout the operation.
At 10:52am, we received word that it was a BOY!
I don't remember much - fighting back the urge to puke, trying to keep my shivering under control, and worrying about my little guy - but I do remember tears of joy and the sound of a baby crying. I also remember hearing someone say that he was a BIG little fellow.
D went to be with him as the pediatric team did there thing. I got word that he was healthy and weighed in at 9 lbs 4 oz; nearly three pounds heavier than K.
How on earth did that happen?!?!
D left the OR to go with the baby. I was left in the OR while the doctors finished putting my insides back together. At one point I remember telling the doctors I was going to sleep and that is exactly what I did. My favorite resident woke me up some time later to tell me that they were going to move me onto a different bed and back to my recovery room. When I arrived my mom was there along with D. We were joined soon thereafter by baby C.
He was perfect.
I spent four more days in the hospital recovering and fighting a UTI and uterine infection. My daily doses of three different IV antibiotics wiped out each of the infections and by Saturday my fever was gone for good. We received word on Saturday that I would be discharged on Sunday.
So at noon on Sunday, October 16th we left GW Hospital as a family of four.
And now we begin the next chapter of our lives...
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
SIMILARITIES
The jury is still out on whether K and C look alike. There are some similarities, but also many differences. What do you think?
Monday, October 17, 2011
TWO
My two. I am the proud mother of TWO children.
On Thursday, October 13th we became a family of four. We had a L-O-N-G stay at the hospital, but in the end we returned home. All four of us - my wonderful husband and my two children.
Yes, K is an amazing big sister. And, yes, baby boy CR is supplementing with formula. My little chub-ster (9 lbs 4 oz) cannot wait for my milk to come in.
We are feeling blessed beyond belief...
On Thursday, October 13th we became a family of four. We had a L-O-N-G stay at the hospital, but in the end we returned home. All four of us - my wonderful husband and my two children.
Yes, K is an amazing big sister. And, yes, baby boy CR is supplementing with formula. My little chub-ster (9 lbs 4 oz) cannot wait for my milk to come in.
We are feeling blessed beyond belief...
Monday, October 10, 2011
EVICTION NOTICE
Baby Joel ---
The time has come. Your welcome, medically speaking, is over. You have about 38 hours to leave your current home or you will be removed (forcefully).
You have made my belly your home for 41 weeks and several days. According to my doctor, my placenta is growing weaker, my blood pressure is increasing, and the risks of delivering are also increasing. You need to come out. My mid-wife thinks you weigh about seven pounds and based on your kicking skills I'm sure you are ready for a little more room. Last night while sitting around willing you to come out and reading The Atlantic I was able to confirm you have five toes on your left foot. You kicked so hard I actually saw your footprint in my belly.
If you would like to please your mother on your first day of life, please start kicking in a downward direction. In order to attempt a VBAC on Wednesday, I need three things to occur: 1) I need my cervix to soften; 2) I need my cervix to dialate; and 3) I need you to drop. Currently your little head is about three-fingers length below my belly button - a little too far up. As much as it will hurt me now, start pushing downward (on whatever you can get your feet on) NOW. If one of these three things fail to happen before 6am on Wednesday, I'll be forced to undergo a repeat c-section, which means we'll miss Thai take-out on Friday evening for dinner and I will be forced to live on the second floor of our house for a week or so (no stairs post-c-section). I will also have to refrain from driving for a couple of weeks, which just complicates things.
So push downward, Joel. Push hard.
Love,
Mama-Bear
All things considered, I am doing fairly well for being nearly 2 weeks overdue. I'm tired and not sleeping well, but that is to be expected. My BP is a little high, but nothing to worry about 36 hours before eviction day. We have an OR reserved for 10:30am on Wednesday, but I'm hoping to go on further than the L&D room.
Here's hoping...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI... based on my tummy shape, most strangers believe I am having a boy. My mother and K's nanny, who will also be taking care of Joel, both feel strongly that I am having a boy. My father and grandmother both believe I am having a girl. The Y in my left eye suggests that I am having a girl.
Only (a short) time will tell...
I believe we have agreed on both a boy and girl name. Final agreements will be reached in the moments prior to birth.
The time has come. Your welcome, medically speaking, is over. You have about 38 hours to leave your current home or you will be removed (forcefully).
You have made my belly your home for 41 weeks and several days. According to my doctor, my placenta is growing weaker, my blood pressure is increasing, and the risks of delivering are also increasing. You need to come out. My mid-wife thinks you weigh about seven pounds and based on your kicking skills I'm sure you are ready for a little more room. Last night while sitting around willing you to come out and reading The Atlantic I was able to confirm you have five toes on your left foot. You kicked so hard I actually saw your footprint in my belly.
If you would like to please your mother on your first day of life, please start kicking in a downward direction. In order to attempt a VBAC on Wednesday, I need three things to occur: 1) I need my cervix to soften; 2) I need my cervix to dialate; and 3) I need you to drop. Currently your little head is about three-fingers length below my belly button - a little too far up. As much as it will hurt me now, start pushing downward (on whatever you can get your feet on) NOW. If one of these three things fail to happen before 6am on Wednesday, I'll be forced to undergo a repeat c-section, which means we'll miss Thai take-out on Friday evening for dinner and I will be forced to live on the second floor of our house for a week or so (no stairs post-c-section). I will also have to refrain from driving for a couple of weeks, which just complicates things.
So push downward, Joel. Push hard.
Love,
Mama-Bear
All things considered, I am doing fairly well for being nearly 2 weeks overdue. I'm tired and not sleeping well, but that is to be expected. My BP is a little high, but nothing to worry about 36 hours before eviction day. We have an OR reserved for 10:30am on Wednesday, but I'm hoping to go on further than the L&D room.
Here's hoping...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI... based on my tummy shape, most strangers believe I am having a boy. My mother and K's nanny, who will also be taking care of Joel, both feel strongly that I am having a boy. My father and grandmother both believe I am having a girl. The Y in my left eye suggests that I am having a girl.
Only (a short) time will tell...
I believe we have agreed on both a boy and girl name. Final agreements will be reached in the moments prior to birth.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
DANCE PARTY
D was delighted to learn that DJ Shadow's new album is being featured on the NPR web site. We listened to it this morning. This is a glimpse of K enjoying the music while eating lunch at the kitchen counter and helping to make applesauce. My baby easily found the beat.
Untitled from becky d on Vimeo.
I especially love D's closing comment: It's hip hop with a great sense of humor and a great sense of history.
Obviously.
Untitled from becky d on Vimeo.
I especially love D's closing comment: It's hip hop with a great sense of humor and a great sense of history.
Obviously.
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
We caught our third mouse last night.
Snap trap. No bait. Little sucker got into the pantry and did not get out.
The trap snapped so hard it flipped over and I couldn't see it this morning. I thought I smelled something funky, but when I didn't see the trap I assumed D had removed it last night. He found it about an hour later all tucked away in the corner of the pantry. Mouse dead.
Score: Us: 3 Mice: 0.
Well, maybe not zero... they ate a lot of our food.
I believe the war might might be over.
Snap trap. No bait. Little sucker got into the pantry and did not get out.
The trap snapped so hard it flipped over and I couldn't see it this morning. I thought I smelled something funky, but when I didn't see the trap I assumed D had removed it last night. He found it about an hour later all tucked away in the corner of the pantry. Mouse dead.
Score: Us: 3 Mice: 0.
Well, maybe not zero... they ate a lot of our food.
I believe the war might might be over.
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