Our family had a wonderful day today and I will share all the details with you after I get the pictures off the camera.
This Momma is feeling a bit emotional...I can't believe our baby is three years old today! I will write more about that when I post the pictures of our day. For now, I will share with you what I wrote 3 years ago today.
Knowing what I know now about the whole birthing process and such...reading back through my labor and experience is a bit overwhelming in a way.
The Good, Bad, & Ugly
The induction and birth...what a nightmare! I went in Friday night to be induced and they hooked me up to the monitors and gave me some drugs to get my cervix to soften. The next morning (Saturday) I was hooked up with some pitocin around 5 o'clock. By early afternoon I was maxed out on pitocin and had dilated a half centimeter and hadn't thinned out any more than 50% at best. So, I was taken off the pitocin for the evening, given another drug to soften the cervix...and a dinner.
Mothers-to-be....be forewarned...you don't get to eat while you're in the hospital at all really!
Anyhow, then I woke up Sunday morning and the pitocin was started up...again. And once again, by mid-afternoon I had only dilated to 1-2 centimeters and still hadn't softened. I would
also like to mention that being checked for progress is a bitch when you aren't
softened or dilated!
I was then presented with the choice of going home because the baby was doing great and was a happy little clam in there. By going home, I would have to go into the doctor mid-week and go back to be induced the following weekend hoping it would work.
So the facts....I was swollen like a freakin' balloon, couldn't bend my legs or move my toes or wear underwear....my uterus was so stretched out and was not responding to insanely high amounts of pitocin....and my blood pressure was still in the 140's over 70-something.
The induction and birth...what a nightmare! I went in Friday night to be induced and they hooked me up to the monitors and gave me some drugs to get my cervix to soften. The next morning (Saturday) I was hooked up with some pitocin around 5 o'clock. By early afternoon I was maxed out on pitocin and had dilated a half centimeter and hadn't thinned out any more than 50% at best. So, I was taken off the pitocin for the evening, given another drug to soften the cervix...and a dinner.
Mothers-to-be....be forewarned...you don't get to eat while you're in the hospital at all really!
Anyhow, then I woke up Sunday morning and the pitocin was started up...again. And once again, by mid-afternoon I had only dilated to 1-2 centimeters and still hadn't softened. I would
also like to mention that being checked for progress is a bitch when you aren't
softened or dilated!
I was then presented with the choice of going home because the baby was doing great and was a happy little clam in there. By going home, I would have to go into the doctor mid-week and go back to be induced the following weekend hoping it would work.
So the facts....I was swollen like a freakin' balloon, couldn't bend my legs or move my toes or wear underwear....my uterus was so stretched out and was not responding to insanely high amounts of pitocin....and my blood pressure was still in the 140's over 70-something.
Do we go home or have a c-section? Going home would mean more waiting and worrying that the Belly Monkey would keep growing like a weed, in addition to being worried about my
blood pressure. On the other hand, a c-section is a major operation with some pretty nasty side effects...including death.
Chances were that I wouldn't respond to the second attempt at induction and would end up having a c-section anyhow. So, I said the word and within 15 minutes the doctor was at the hospital and I already had a needle stuck into my back and had tingly legs!
They started cutting and then brought The Husband in...at which point I started freaking out because I thought Belly Monkey would arrive before him! So in he came, not even 10 seconds later, they said "You've got a big baby girl here!" Greg was video taping, from behind the infamous curtain, and sounded so nervous as he said "Oh my gosh, its a baby girl!" He
immediately went to the warming table with her and was looking from me to her the entire time and he was a champ to say the least!
It took about 30-45 minutes for them to shrink my uterus back down to fit back inside. They kneaded it like a dough ball, they punched it, they injected every known drug into it and it still was huge! After I was sewn up, they moved me to a recovery bed and into the recovery room. The Husband and I were left alone for a few minutes to meet our little girl and I knew instantly that her name would be Kelsey. I had a dream a few weeks ago of a little girl with dark hair and a nice complexion and her name was Kelsey. So, essentially she is the baby of my dreams!
After the delivery, I swelled up even bigger and could no longer bend my legs or really move. My kidneys were not working. I had an IV of saline full open for almost 24 hours to try and get my kidneys to kick in. Finally I started to produce urine and was back in business. The c-section incision itself doesn't and never did really hurt...but my legs and basically my whole body hurt because my skin was so stretched! I spent 3 days in the hospital and it wasn't really too bad.
Another tip for new Mom's to be....send your baby to the nursery at night and just request the little one be brought in to feed. Also, it is a very good idea for your husband or baby daddy to stay the night with you in the hospital. The Husband spent every minute with me, took fantastic notes, and is an expert in breastfeeding now!
Breastfeeding...I knew it would be hard, but I thought it would be hard in a different way. Because my kidneys shut down and I lost two huge buckets of blood...my milk didn't come in a quickly as Kelsey wanted or needed. It finally made it's appearance yesterday and hasn't stopped coming in! I'm convinced I have the hugest knockers ever! The hard part of breastfeeding, for me, is how the hell do I manage the milk, pumping, feeding, storing and not
being too full to feed my little chow hound? She latches on so perfectly, but she falls asleep quite easily. She is getting better now and will nurse for about 15-20 minutes now and I have been pumping here and there in 2-3 minute stints.
blood pressure. On the other hand, a c-section is a major operation with some pretty nasty side effects...including death.
Chances were that I wouldn't respond to the second attempt at induction and would end up having a c-section anyhow. So, I said the word and within 15 minutes the doctor was at the hospital and I already had a needle stuck into my back and had tingly legs!
They started cutting and then brought The Husband in...at which point I started freaking out because I thought Belly Monkey would arrive before him! So in he came, not even 10 seconds later, they said "You've got a big baby girl here!" Greg was video taping, from behind the infamous curtain, and sounded so nervous as he said "Oh my gosh, its a baby girl!" He
immediately went to the warming table with her and was looking from me to her the entire time and he was a champ to say the least!
It took about 30-45 minutes for them to shrink my uterus back down to fit back inside. They kneaded it like a dough ball, they punched it, they injected every known drug into it and it still was huge! After I was sewn up, they moved me to a recovery bed and into the recovery room. The Husband and I were left alone for a few minutes to meet our little girl and I knew instantly that her name would be Kelsey. I had a dream a few weeks ago of a little girl with dark hair and a nice complexion and her name was Kelsey. So, essentially she is the baby of my dreams!
After the delivery, I swelled up even bigger and could no longer bend my legs or really move. My kidneys were not working. I had an IV of saline full open for almost 24 hours to try and get my kidneys to kick in. Finally I started to produce urine and was back in business. The c-section incision itself doesn't and never did really hurt...but my legs and basically my whole body hurt because my skin was so stretched! I spent 3 days in the hospital and it wasn't really too bad.
Another tip for new Mom's to be....send your baby to the nursery at night and just request the little one be brought in to feed. Also, it is a very good idea for your husband or baby daddy to stay the night with you in the hospital. The Husband spent every minute with me, took fantastic notes, and is an expert in breastfeeding now!
Breastfeeding...I knew it would be hard, but I thought it would be hard in a different way. Because my kidneys shut down and I lost two huge buckets of blood...my milk didn't come in a quickly as Kelsey wanted or needed. It finally made it's appearance yesterday and hasn't stopped coming in! I'm convinced I have the hugest knockers ever! The hard part of breastfeeding, for me, is how the hell do I manage the milk, pumping, feeding, storing and not
being too full to feed my little chow hound? She latches on so perfectly, but she falls asleep quite easily. She is getting better now and will nurse for about 15-20 minutes now and I have been pumping here and there in 2-3 minute stints.
No comments:
Post a Comment