Labor and Delivery and How We're Doing at Home

On Monday August 27^th at our doctor’s appointment, I had a pelvic exam and the doctor said I was slightly dilated!  He said we could come into his office and discuss our options.  Aaron and I were so excited and we hoped that we would get the opportunity to induce ASAP.  The doctor gave us 3 options:  Wait a week (yeah, right), Be induced on Thursday the 30^th and go into the hospital on Wednesday the 29^th for cytotec, or Be induced on Tuesday the 28^th and go into the hospital that very night for cytotec.  We looked at each other and didn’t try to hide our smiles.  We chose to go ahead and start the cytotec that night!  It was about 4:30 at that time and the doctor called the hospital to make sure they’d have a room in Labor and Delivery for us.  The hospital told him to have us come at 7pm that night.  That meant we only had 2 and a half hours to gather up our stuff and alert our family that Little Michael was soon to be on his way! :)

 
We raced home and gathered up our hospital bags and then raced over to the neighborhood to say good-bye to our families as we prepared to celebrate the soon-to-be-birth of our son!  We arrived at the hospital at 6:45 (we didn’t want to be late for this monumental occasion).  We sat in the car and ate the dinner my mom had prepared for us.  Once inside, the receptionist said we could go straight upstairs to Labor and Delivery since I had already submitted my Pre-Admission Form.  Well, once we got upstairs, to our dismay we were thrown into what is known as “shift change.”  The 7 o’clock time frame when you’re not the responsibility of the day-shift nurses, and you’re not the responsibility of the night-shift nurses.  The Labor and Delivery Charge nurse told us to go sign in in the emergency room.  We explained that the receptionist downstairs told us we didn’t have to do that, but this Charge nurse wasn’t in agreement.  So, we had to make our way to the ER—not exactly the place I wanted to be: in a room with a lot of sickly people, as I was preparing to give birth to my healthy boy.  After we signed in at the ER, we were brought back upstairs.  We were told in the ER that we’d be put in a holding room.  But the Labor and Delivery Charge nurse once again had her own plan.  She said we had to wait in 2^nd floor waiting room until they called us.  She said it would be about an hour.  It was about 7:30 at this time.  So, we trudged over to the public waiting room filled with rambunctious families and the smell of their fast food dinners.  :( We were both pretty perturbed at this point.  I texted our family to let them know of the hold up and received an appropriate text back: “There’s no room at the Inn.”  We felt pushed around and handed off from one person to the next… and no one really knew what was going on.  After an hour and a half, Aaron went back to the nursing station to find out the progress on getting a room.  They told him they were cleaning the room and it wouldn’t be much longer.  By this point, the people in the waiting room (a non-rambunctious family) noticed my rotund belly and asked if we were here to deliver.  We said yes, and they were appalled that we had to wait in the public waiting room.  I was in agreement.  My parents and brother arrived to hang out with us in the waiting room.  Around 10:00, we were finally called back by our sweet night-nurse.  We said good-bye to our family and made our way to Labor and Delivery Room 5.  The rounds of Cytotec were started and we settled in for the night.  We didn’t get much sleep, but it was nice to finally be in a room and know that we would soon meet our little boy!  The Petocin was started in my IV at 6:00am and the contractions started rolling in. The next morning, I met my day-shift nurse and she was wonderful too.    Around 10:00am, I chose to get an epidural.  After getting the epidural, I was much more relaxed.  Mom and Aaron were in the room with me.  In the afternoon, the nurse said we could do a practice push… “just to see how I’d do.”  I gave it everything I had, and she said “Whoa!  That’s good.  I don’t think  we’ll have any problem.”  A little while later, she called the doctor who didn’t believe I was nearly ready to have this baby! The doctor arrived a short while after the phone call.  I pushed about 3 times and out came Michael!  As he came out, the doctor said “Reba, look.  Look at this beautiful baby.”  It felt so surreal to see this little boy who we have prayed for and dream about.  He cried immediately, which is exactly what I wanted to hear!  It was the perfect ending to this pregnancy and the perfect beginning of parenthood.  Aaron and I had a wonderful hour with him after he was born before he was taken to the nursery for his weigh-in and measurement. 

Once we got to Post-Partum, we hit a couple of snafoos.  Because Michael was a big baby (8lbs, 14 oz), he had a hard time regulating his own blood sugar.  The nurses say this is common in big babies and small babies.  Michael was used to how I regulate my blood sugar, and he was programmed to my body’s schedule.  Once he was born and on his own, it was a little harder for him to keep his blood sugar at a normal level.  That meant that he had to be hooked up to IVs and had to spend his days in the well-baby nursery. 

 

Aaron and I would get to go to the nursery every 3 hours to feed and hold him.  It was hard not having him in the room with us!  Michael’s pediatrician said he’d have to keep up his blood sugar and show significant improvement if he were to come home on Thursday the 30^th, with Aaron and me.  That gave us something more to pray for!  We prayed and prayed that Michael would get to come home with us.  We didn’t want to leave our sweet baby in the hospital for a few days without us being right there with him.  Prayers were answered and Michael got to come home with us on Thursday the 30^th! 

The first 2 nights at home were hard.  We weren’t used to this whole “get up multiple times a night” kinda thing.  Fortunately, we have a wonderful supportive family.  My mom was a true gem.  She stayed with us on the first 2 nights so we could get used to this schedule. 

On Tuesday of this past week, Michael had his first doctor’s appointment.  He did a fantastic job!  He had his Auburn binky with him, and his doctor is an Auburn fan!  We know we picked the right doctor! :) After Michael’s pediatrician appointment, we took him to my Doctor’s office for his circumcision.  We weren’t able to have this done in the hospital since Michael had an IV.  Michael did great! 

I spent most of the weekdays last week hanging out with my mom and brother.  I’m not used to being by myself in the daytime since I’ve had a full-time job for two and a half years.  It’s also nerve-wracking to be a new mom! :) So, some days my mom came over to my house and other days, I went over to her house.  Most days it was a combination.  That was so helpful.  Once you’re used to talking to people all day long, it’s quite a change to have a little baby and a dog as your only companions. :)  Neither of them carry on a long conversation.

Overall, Michael is a sweet sweet baby.  We have really lucked out!  He is a strong boy.  He is holding his head up and does well during Tummy Time.  He attempted to roll over yesterday—and folks, this kid is only 11 days old! We expect that he’ll be walking next week. :)

A typical week day goes like this:

1:00am: wake up for the middle of the night feeding , diaper change, swaddle, back to sleep.

5:00am: wake up for “breakfast” while Daddy gets ready for work, diaper change, swaddle, back to sleep.

9:00am: wake up for “mid-morning brunch”, diaper change, clothes change, back to sleep (usually—on other mornings, he is more alert and spends time being held, or lying on a blanket looking at the ceiling fan, otherwise known as the “giant mobile in the sky.”)

12:40pm: Gets fussy as he waits the last 20 minutes til it’s time for lunch.  Usually, he can be entertained by songs, rocking, swaying, or bouncing.  He also loves his swing at our house and the bouncy seat at Nana’s house.

1:00pm: Lunch time.  He is very happy and content after lunch and a diaper change.  After lunch it can either be naptime or alert time. 

3:30pm: Daddy gets home from work! 

4:00pm- 5:00pm: Off and on fussy time as we wait the last hour til dinner time.  Sometimes Mommy caves and feeds early, but when that happens, the rest of the evening is thrown off as far as feedings go.

5:00pm: Dinner time.  Most days, Michael is content after dinner.  Sometimes, though, he knows it’s the end of the day and that means bed time is coming.  He doesn’t like getting ready for bed.

9:00pm.  Late-night snack and getting ready for bed.  After this feeding, Michael shows off his “tired cry.”  He doesn’t want the day’s fun to end!  Usually, he will be bounced, rocked, and swayed til he is relaxed.  Then he is swaddled and put in his bassinet for bed.  Usually, we don’t hear a peep until 1:00am!  (Or 2:00am!)

 

Yep, according to the schedule above, Michael eats every 4 hours.  Sometimes at night, he can go 5 hours before he wakes to eat.  Usually, I am the one waking him up for his middle of the night feedings.  He is a pretty contented little guy during the day time.  He cries when he is tired at the end of the day, or when he is hungry, or when his diaper is poopy.  Otherwise, he is the epitome of happy.  :) We are very blessed.

 

Here are some more "day-in-the-life" pictures:

Bath time:  Michael doesn't like getting his body washed, but he loves to have his head shampooed, until it has to get rinsed.

 

 

Totally relaxed at nap time!

 

 

 Ready for Bed!

Thanks for catching up with us!  I will keep the blog updated as we experience more milestones and as we learn more about the patterns and personality of Little Baby P. Prayers are continually appreciated!  Much love, Reba