Theo Andrew Has Arrived!!

YAY, I finally had my baby! Well, it was a little while ago now but life has gotten a little busier and it's been hard to make time to blog. = )

Theo Andrew was born on September 7th at 10:26pm. I was able to do another natural waterbirth and things went very well, though much different than my first waterbirth experience.

I was woken up by contractions at about 6am and immediately sensed that they were different from the strong Braxton Hicks contractions I'd been having for about half my pregnancy. I started timing them, and they were about 6 minutes apart at first, so I called my midwife. She told me to wait about a half an hour to make sure they didn't stop before doing anything else. If they didn't stop, I was to call my sister to come get Ari, call Drew to come home from work, and head to the hospital. Well, they didn't stop, so I called everyone and started getting my stuff together. I actually had most of my hospital bag packed already this time, which made things a lot less frantic. Yay me!! = D

My mom, my sister Esther and Drew all arrived and helped me finish packing. My sister Naomi came and got Ari, and we then headed to St. Joseph's hospital. We arrived around 10:30am when all was said and done. I was able to walk up to the maternity ward because I was still in early labor. The reason they wanted me to come in even though things weren't very intense yet is because I was Strep B positive, so they wanted to get the first round of antibiotics flowing. My sister Anna, and two friends who were there to observe, met us there.

I got to my room and they had me lay down for a little while to get a baseline heart rate on the baby. After that I was able to walk around until my antibiotics came. They wanted to double check which one I should have since I'm allergic to so many. I ended up having to get the same one as last time, which made my scalp itchy. It was much less bothersome this time though, and the itching didn't last for as long either which I was thankful for.

With my first pregnancy, they left the IV port for my entire labor and delivery in case I needed a second round of antibiotics. However, I never ended up needing the second dose and the port caused me so much discomfort and irritation. So, this time I asked the nurse and midwife if they could take it out and reinsert it later if necessary. The first midwife said that she'd have to talk to the midwife that was coming on shift next, since she would be the one that would be working with me at the time of potential reinsertion. Well, when we asked the next midwife, she said YES!! I was so thankful, especially because I never ended up needing a second dosage this time either and was able to fully use my hand. = D

The next many hours were fairly uneventful. I was still in early labor and spent most of my time walking the halls trying to get things going. I also surfed Facebook and chatted with my labor team and friends, who were there to observe, to pass the time. I did a bunch of leaning over whenever I wasn't walking, because the baby was still somewhat sideways (though head down) and the midwife was hoping he'd swing down to face the right way. It ended up working, by the way!

One very interesting element is that this was all taking place on my sister Anna's birthday! We ended up canceling her family birthday party that was scheduled for the evening, because she was part of my labor team. With how slowly things were progressing, someone came up with the idea to have the party for her in one of the maternity ward's family waiting rooms. So that evening, desserts were brought, family was rounded up and we had her party! It was a lot of fun. I was able to attend as well, working through my still manageable contractions, and even had some pie because my midwife said I could. (I loved her!)

When the party started winding down, I decided to go lay down in my room alone to rest up for what I thought would be a very long night of intense labor once things eventually started getting further along. I laid down and was able to doze off a little bit. While I was lying there though, my contractions started getting more intense. I really started having to focus and breathe through them. With each one, I pictured a humongous wave rising and rising (like those big surfer waves) and then as each contraction started to let off I pictured that wave rolling over and me surfing through the tunnel of water. This was sooo helpful for dealing with the pain. I never even asked for pain meds this time!

At this point, no one was in the room but me. Finally, my mom came back into the room. She had called me about five minutes earlier asking if I thought she had time to run an errand, but after hearing the way I was starting to breathe, she decided that she probably did not have time!

She rounded up my labor team, which consisted of my husband and my sister Anna, as my sister Esther who was there to photograph, and two friends who were there to observe, and things started getting really intense, very fast. I was rechecked and dilated to an 8, so they said, "Fill the tub!" I stayed laying on my side in bed and Drew stood with me applying some lower back pressure, which felt good. Someone came back in and said the tub was ready and the midwife asked me if I was able to walk over there. I said yes, because I figured walking would help me keep progressing.

By the time I stood up, I was having very intense contractions that were very close together. Before I even started walking... I felt the urge to PUSH! I couldn't believe it. Everything was happening sooo fast! Anna and the midwife led me down the hall. When we got about halfway to the waterbirthing room, I had another contraction and my water broke. Oops! Sorry carpet. = )

I got in the room and into the tub. I felt such an intense urge to push that I asked my midwife, "Can I push now?!!" I wanted to make sure I was dilated enough. She said, "Just listen to your body and do what it says". So, I pushed. I pushed on top of pushing on top of pushing. At this point, there was practically NO break in between my contractions. I couldn't even use my surfer wave image it was so intense. Instinct took over. I reached out my hand in hopes that someone would squeeze it- I couldn't even get words out to ask for it. Anna grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard, which I was sooo thankful for.

I pushed and pushed. All of a sudden, I felt pressure, and burning, then pushed again and the pressure was gone. My son was already practically out!!! They told me to reach down, and I pulled him up and out of the water. It was amazing. All the pain was gone, and euphoria took its place. Not only that, but I was overcome by a sense of deja vu when I saw his face. This little boy looked sooo much like Ari that I felt like I had birthed the same child twice! Well, I was in love. I called out for Drew, trying to focus and see where he was and he came over and we shared a few minutes with our new son. = D

I held him in the tub for a while and then they had me get out do deliver the placenta on the bed. After that, while I was having skin-on-skin time with my baby and attempting to nurse for the first time, I was sewn up. I didn't tear bad, but did need some stitches. Theo latched on immediately to nurse. It was amazing how alert he was!

After I was wheeled into my hospital room, the rest of my siblings and my dad arrived to meet Theo. We announced his name, took a family photo and then everyone left so we could get some rest. Drew also went home because he does not sleep well in the hospital (which we learned last time) and wanted to be well rested to bring Ari to meet Theo the next day.

I won't bore you with all the details about what happens postpartum with newborn care and mommy care, but it all went very well. The only issue we had, was that Theo was doing some pretty intense gagging on thick, clear, foamy mucous. It was scary. They ended up lavaging him. That's where they suck out the contents of the stomach. Sad, I know. But, they ended up getting 10cc of mucous out! After that, he did not gag anymore, and was able to burp and spit up like a normal baby... without turning purple. Thank God!

So.. I think that's all I'll write about the hospital stay. On to how things have gone since arriving home:

The first week was a little rough; regular baby blues stuff... hormones. We did have some threat of Theo getting pretty jaundiced, so we were in and out of the clinic a few times getting blood drawn to stay on top of things. But by about a week old, his numbers were decreasing and we were told he was in the clear. That was stressful though. Also, no one warned me about how HUGE Ari was going to look when I saw him after having Theo. I had about 5 or so good sobbing sessions on that topic alone.

The second week was a lot better. My mom helped me out a LOT through those first two weeks, which was amazing. This third week has gone pretty smoothly! I had Ari on such a great schedule, that I've been able to just fit Theo into it. Of course, more of my time is definitely taken up with nursing and additional baths, diaper changing and laundry, so things are different.

For me, going from one to two kids has been much easier than going from zero to one so far, though Drew has felt the opposite. For him, this has been harder in that he now has to do more since we have one-on-one coverage instead of two-on-one. He's adapting very quickly though, from my perspective, and is such a good dad. = )

At first Ari was pretty much indifferent to Theo but recently he's started to show more signs of interest. He works at saying his name, he walks up to him and gives him little hugs here and there (lays his head on Theo's stomach while Theo's in his little chair) and says "shhhh" and "it's okay" when Theo's crying. He's even brought over a couple toys to him. It's sooo cute. I think that Ari's enjoying having another being in the house though he can't play with him yet, and I'm so looking forward to when they are old enough to play together. = )

I myself am healing up nicely and feeling almost back to normal physically, though I still have some weight to lose of course. I've finally figured out the Moby wrap I have (with major help from my mom) so I am going to start trying to venture out into walks with the boys. I don't have a double stroller yet, so I'll carry Theo and push Ari in the stroller... if all goes well. I look forward to getting more exercise!

I had been having some major tooth pain right after getting home from the hospital, but through prayer from tons of people, God has given me relief until I can get to the dentist next Wednesday. I haven't even had to take any pain meds for the past 5 days or so! My wrists and a shoulder have been acting up too... probably from getting used to holding a baby to nurse again as well as Ari's recent weight gain which has made him INCREDIBLY heavy! I'm hoping to get healing for those too so that I don't have to go to the doctor for them. Feel free to join me in prayer!

Sleeping is going fairly well also. Theo's been sleeping up to 6 hrs a night without waking up to nurse. I've been worried about it actually, wondering if it's normal and healthy for him to go that long between feedings. So, I called the clinic lactation consultant today and she said that as long as he's having the amount of wet and dirty diapers he should be, and is feeding well during the day, that I can let him sleep during the night. Well he is, and he is, so... hurray; I can sleep!! = D

Well, I think that's all for now. I'm sure I've missed some interesting details, but I'm pretty tired and have to feed Theo now, so I should go. Thanks everyone for your support, and hopefully I'll be able to blog more as I start getting more and more sleep. = )

Till next post!

38 Weeks Pregnant!

This is not a picture of my own stomach, but let me tell you.. a LOT of this is going on. I thought it was a super cute photo, so I'm including it. = )

I had my 38 week midwife appointment today. I guess I did last till that one after all. ; )

Things are still going well. My fundal height (the distance from my pubic bone to the top of your uterus) measured 37cm this week which is a week under, since I'm 38 weeks, but not a problem. I am dilated to 3cm now but still about 70% effaced. My midwife was like, "Well, at least you've taken care of almost all of early labor already!" I hadn't thought about that. According to BabyCenter.com, "Early labor ends when your cervix is about 4 centimeters dilated and your progress starts to accelerate." Maybe this means that things will go a lot quicker this time around! NOT that I'm complaining about 13 1/2 hrs (for you who had ridiculously long labors). She said the baby's heart rate is very good with a baseline in the 140s and acceleration into the 160s when he's active; a very healthy boy. = )

We then talked a little bit about how I'm doing overall. I told her that it's been a very rough week for me emotionally. Of course I'm uncomfortable at this point, but I'm also battling a cold that's been going through our family, starting with Ari. I thought I'd escaped with just the sniffles, but now I'm feeling very drained all the time also. Despite that... I have NOT been able to sleep. This is beyond pregnancy insomnia and normal troubles of trying to get comfortable. I'm exhausted. For the past 4 or 5 nights, all I have thought about as I get into the early evening hours is, "Please God, don't let me go into labor tonight; I don't think I can do it with how little sleep I've gotten. Please wait until after I get a good night sleep," but a good night sleep never comes. This concerned my midwife as well, because labor definitely requires energy. So she has prescribed me a sleep aid. I am sooo hopeful that I will actually get a good night's rest tonight, and that maybe it will even help kick this cold in the butt.

We finished our visit with her telling me that she is on call most of this Labor Day weekend, so if I go into labor during that time, there's a pretty good chance she could be the one there to "catch" my baby! ("catch" is the term used to describe the role of the midwife, since it's the mother who is really delivering the baby) I think it would be pretty neat if she could be there. She was the one I've seen all the way through both my pregnancies, but didn't happen to be on hospital shift when I had Ari. Labor Day, Sept 5th, 2011, was my original guess for what day I would have this baby, so who knows! Only God. = )

On a final note, I wanted to ponder a very sensitive topic, hopefully with grace and love. Know that this is not directed towards anyone specifically; it's just something that's been on my mind lately as I've heard about and discussed many hard circumstances regarding pregnancies.

I know something of what it's like to want to conceive a baby and not be able to, though not nearly to the extreme of may people I know. Drew and I tried on and off for about 2 years before we got pregnant with Ari. I dealt with a lot of jealousy and bitterness towards other pregnant women during that time, as well as embarrassment that there was something wrong with me, and heartache for what I longed for so badly; to have a baby of my own. Well, I finally did get pregnant, obviously. But being pregnant, for me, has been hard both physically and emotionally, in a variety of different ways, from beginning to end each time.

Hardships of any kind are just that; hard. But people who have had trouble conceiving deal with, what I believe, is an unnecessary pressure once they do get pregnant. They feel like they must be happy at all times, no matter what, because they are lucky to be pregnant. These people sometimes put that same burden on other pregnant women up until the point that they themselves get pregnant, and judge those who aren't living up to their standards. In my opinion, this is unhealthy all around. We are told to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn; not to demand that people "should" feel a certain way, just because it's easier for us to handle.

I believe it is possible to understand how truly blessed you are to be pregnant and still dislike, and have a hard time, being pregnant at the same time. I personally do not like being pregnant, but I am SO glad that I have been able to get pregnant and so far carry one child to birth. I pray every night that this baby would stay healthy and that the cord would stay far away from his neck; I KNOW that it's possible to lose a child even up to your due date and am grateful for each day that he is alive in there.

There is definitely a place for tact in how to talk about pregnancy hardships one-on-one with a person who is having trouble getting pregnant; some people are much better at it than others (I have put my foot in my mouth out of good intentions more than once). But it's an impossible burden to try and figure out how your words might affect all the individual people who might read something you've written in a status or on a blog, where so many people may read it. The safer alternative is just to never write anything about the topic, which is just extreme and does not encourage an atmosphere of "going through life together", which I believe is what most of us seek through social media.

I have a heart for women who have trouble carrying pregnancies and pray for as many of them as I can think of on a regular basis. I hope that any of you reading this who fall into that category WILL get pregnant, and that when you do, your pregnancy will not be riddled with guilt and pressure to always be happy if you have a hard time with nausea or any of the other very unpleasant things that can come along with it. God comforts us in the midst of our trials and helps us work our way through; He does not expect us to suck it up and ignore them. = )

I apologize if this has offended anyone. My heart's intention is that it actually draws us into mourning, hoping and rejoicing WITH one another, rather than against each other in the two camps of "can" and "can't". God Bless till next time. = )