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| Martin six days old |
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| Uncle Chris and Aunt Michelle |
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| Martin nine days |
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| First movie night, watching Frozen |
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| Elaine (2yr), Isaac (2 1/2yr), and Mara (5yr) We did have a picture of them clothed and civilized! |
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
First weeks home
Monday, January 19, 2015
December 6, 2015: "The king has been born"
[Title a direct quote from the VCU pediatrician. Not THE King, of course, but the king of our house now.]
Martin arrived at 10:37PM on Saturday, December 6th weighing 6lb. 5oz. and measuring 19.5in. long We were both healthy and are recovering wonderfully, thanks be to God! Below is our full birth story, if you are interested in the details. I am writing it for my own benefit, as it was such a life-changing experience that I don't want to forget - and I hope to repeat someday, without the dramatic car ride.
It started hours after my original due date had passed. My mom had arrived three days prior, which is the only thing I was waiting for.
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| Minutes after birth |
It started hours after my original due date had passed. My mom had arrived three days prior, which is the only thing I was waiting for.
3:50AM I awoke with a cramping discomfort and was too excited to go back to sleep. I timed a few more, each 30min apart. Time to get up, have a granola bar and protein shake, and make fudge for the midwife and nurses - I was determined to go bearing a token of gratitude, as planned. The tray was in the freezer cooling by around 6 o'clock, so I got in the shower. Then I sat next to Mike and told him "I think today is the day." We relaxed in bed, trying to rest and save up energy. Kelly texts back saying she dreamed I went into labor and was 5cm by the afternoon. That seemed like a promising sign. I started estimating that I would have him around/by dinner time.
9:00AM The "pressure waves" stayed 30-40min apart at the same intensity, so we decided to try our first walk. There was a steady drizzle of rain, which annoyed me until I realized it is December, this could have easily been some kind of dangerous, wintery precipitation. I chose to appreciate the rain. But seriously, did it have to be so perfectly steady and incessant? The walk didn't change the sensations, so we went back to the house to rest and get dry. Mike made me an egg and cheese sandwich and we hung around a while, starting to question if this was actually going to develop into anything. After an hour or so we went for a second walk, with rain coats this time, reaching about the same result; the waves maybe got slightly more intense and maybe 10min closer together. Overall, it didn't seem to convince us the active stage was anytime soon. We wondered again whether it was "false" labor, but I remained pretty certain this was not going to let up, even if it took a long time to start progressing.
11:00AM I opted to rest in bed over taking a third walk and was glad I did, because I slept until close to 2 o'clock. The sensations were still there, 40min apart resting and 30min walking. Something compelled us to go buy Christmas lights for our tree, so around 4:00PM we ran out to Wal-Mart for the decorations and some grocery items for Mom's meals. I barely stopped to notice the sensations, but kept alert for them to be sure we could keep track of the frequency. Shopping was a nice way to continue walking without being exposed to the elements and it also kept our minds off of how slowly time was passing.
6:00PM Soon after getting back home, I noticed a change happening. It prompted us to do some last minute preparations and by 7:00PM I told Mike we needed to retire back to our room to focus. For the next 2 1/2 hours, we waited for the contractions to get longer and more intense before calling the midwife. They were close (4min) but not long (40sec) so I thought we needed to wait longer before calling.
9:30PM Mike made the smart decision to call the hospital and the nurse-midwife, Amber, told us it wasn't time to come in yet. She told us that we would know when a "change" occurred in the feeling of things and that's when we should head in. When they were "on top of each other" and I could no longer talk through one. I think that was happening as we were on the phone with her because I soon became very restless and started to lose my cool a bit. I told Mike I wanted to get in the shower. That felt a lot better, until I started feeling pressure down low, like I read about when the baby is heading down the birth canal (ready to be born). Uh oh. I told Mike, "We need to leave now." We hopped around trying to get dried and dressed (difficult),
10:05PM Mike called Amber back to tell her we were leaving. I was just getting into the seat when my water broke. I was thinking "Great, I read they get more intense after the water breaks. It's just my luck I get to be in the car for the worst of it." It turns out the intensity and discomfort were not my biggest problems. I needed to push. How did that happen? Did we seriously wait too long and now I am going to be that woman who is having the baby on the way to the hospital? Yes, yes I am. Mike gets Amber back on the phone.
Mike - "She's feeling pressure..."
Susie - "I'm trying not to push!" Translation: I am pushing, but trying not to freak Mike out.
Amber - (Reassurance, instruction) "If anything happens, pull over, call me back and I'll walk you through it. It's easy, you can do it." What??? Forget that, I'm not having a baby on the side of the road. I'll just huff and scream and watch Mike going 80mph (did I mention it was a DOWNPOUR?).
Susie - "Oh God, my body is pushing!"
Can you give me credit, I actually held Mike back from running a red light or two?
10:30PM Amber and team meet us on the parking deck (they were dramatically communicating over the blue tooth "Turn right turn right! Is that you in the white car?". They got me into the wheelchair - on my knees, since I had a baby's head partially sticking out - sorry for the graphic description - and up to the room in minutes. Then a few pushes and that was it! They put us in the tub right away where we enjoyed some quiet, peaceful minutes. It was beautifully hands-off on their part (the advantage of having the midwife and not an ob/gyn).
The week prior we spent a few days with the Dardens in their new beautiful house. We almost canceled, because I started to worry about starting labor there, but in the end we knew it was a safe place to be and we would have plenty of time to travel back if need be. It was a wonderful visit. I wish I had pictures to share, but the only one on Mike's phone has someone in their diaper so...we'll keep that in the family.
6:00PM Soon after getting back home, I noticed a change happening. It prompted us to do some last minute preparations and by 7:00PM I told Mike we needed to retire back to our room to focus. For the next 2 1/2 hours, we waited for the contractions to get longer and more intense before calling the midwife. They were close (4min) but not long (40sec) so I thought we needed to wait longer before calling.
9:30PM Mike made the smart decision to call the hospital and the nurse-midwife, Amber, told us it wasn't time to come in yet. She told us that we would know when a "change" occurred in the feeling of things and that's when we should head in. When they were "on top of each other" and I could no longer talk through one. I think that was happening as we were on the phone with her because I soon became very restless and started to lose my cool a bit. I told Mike I wanted to get in the shower. That felt a lot better, until I started feeling pressure down low, like I read about when the baby is heading down the birth canal (ready to be born). Uh oh. I told Mike, "We need to leave now." We hopped around trying to get dried and dressed (difficult),
10:05PM Mike called Amber back to tell her we were leaving. I was just getting into the seat when my water broke. I was thinking "Great, I read they get more intense after the water breaks. It's just my luck I get to be in the car for the worst of it." It turns out the intensity and discomfort were not my biggest problems. I needed to push. How did that happen? Did we seriously wait too long and now I am going to be that woman who is having the baby on the way to the hospital? Yes, yes I am. Mike gets Amber back on the phone.
Mike - "She's feeling pressure..."
Susie - "I'm trying not to push!" Translation: I am pushing, but trying not to freak Mike out.
Amber - (Reassurance, instruction) "If anything happens, pull over, call me back and I'll walk you through it. It's easy, you can do it." What??? Forget that, I'm not having a baby on the side of the road. I'll just huff and scream and watch Mike going 80mph (did I mention it was a DOWNPOUR?).
Susie - "Oh God, my body is pushing!"
Can you give me credit, I actually held Mike back from running a red light or two?
10:30PM Amber and team meet us on the parking deck (they were dramatically communicating over the blue tooth "Turn right turn right! Is that you in the white car?". They got me into the wheelchair - on my knees, since I had a baby's head partially sticking out - sorry for the graphic description - and up to the room in minutes. Then a few pushes and that was it! They put us in the tub right away where we enjoyed some quiet, peaceful minutes. It was beautifully hands-off on their part (the advantage of having the midwife and not an ob/gyn).
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| One day old |
Elaine was an angel. Mammom brought her the next day before lunch. Elaine looked at me and said, "What's that?" and I explained who that was. I don't think she completely got it but was fine with me holding a baby. It took her a day or two to really want to touch/kiss him. Mammom said she had been concerned about me and very eager to come visit me in the hospital.
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| We all needed a good cup of coffee at that point |
The post-partum recovery was as good as I could hope for. I had no tearing, so soreness was minimal - almost no cramping, which the midwife attributed to the immediate soaking I had gotten in the tub. The first 24 hours he was a textbook newborn - sleeping, occasional short feedings - the total opposite of Elaine. It was much more restful than her first day.
Breastfeeding was touch and go around days 2-4. He was a great latcher, but it all started to go the same direction as my first experience: I was hearing the same noise, like a clicking, and it was growing increasingly uncomfortable. The hospital pediatrician noticed he had a low attached frenulum under the upper lip and tongue, which makes it more difficult for them to breastfeed. He cut the two frenulums and after a few days it did improve. We were also more strategic about putting him on to feed, which helped a lot. At Grandview hospital they encouraged me to put the baby on as often and as long as she needed, but that was 40min on and 20min off sometimes, which was just too difficult on my body.
*************************** Home at three days ***************************
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| Making pepperoni bread with Mammom |
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| Mammom was able to stay a few days, then had to return home to help Dad recover from his surgery on his hand |
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| We got a tree the night before and Mammom and Elaine started decorating the house |
The week prior we spent a few days with the Dardens in their new beautiful house. We almost canceled, because I started to worry about starting labor there, but in the end we knew it was a safe place to be and we would have plenty of time to travel back if need be. It was a wonderful visit. I wish I had pictures to share, but the only one on Mike's phone has someone in their diaper so...we'll keep that in the family.
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