Everything has gone smoothly since we got home if you ask me. Jensen is a great baby who doesn't cry unless he is hungry (and I wait too long to notice the hunger signs), is wet/poopy, or really just needs someone to hold him. It only takes a few minutes to figure out what is wrong and another few minutes to fix the problem. Oh and he also cries pretty hard when he is naked. I would have thought that babies like to be out of there diapers?!
Anyway, we have had a few sleepless nights, but in general it has gone well. He wakes up about every 2-3 hours and nurses and gets changed and goes right back to sleep. I am averaging about 7 hours of sleep when Corey helps in the night. Last night was the best! I got to sleep from 11-4:30 while Corey took care of him. Jensen went down in his crib at 2 and then I didn't have to start feeding and changing until 4:30! I can't believe I got a solid 5 1/2 hours of sleep! It was amazing! I must say that there are times during the day when I am definitely tired, but I don't nap. I am too busy trying to get things done when he is sleeping.
Corey and our families have been a great help with taking care of me and Jensen. I am not supposed to do much or lift anything heavier than the baby. I go nuts staring at things left out and undone, so it is nice when we have help to do it so that it doesn't stress me out.
I am still extremely sore around my incision area, but I feel great otherwise. I got a band to go around my hips that also puts pressure on my incision to help the swelling and fluids move away. Hopefully within the next week or so I start to see improvements.
Okay... Jensen is crying and needs to be changed. I will try to write more about the first week later.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hospital recovery
I was in the hospital from the 6th (although technically the 5th but was sent home) until Monday the 10th. I am so glad I stayed that long since I needed all the help I could get while recovering. I had an IV that administered morphine, fluids, and Benadryl from the time I was admitted until the morning of the 7th (Friday). Once all of that got taken out I had to walk to the bathroom for the first time and it felt like it was a mile away. My legs and feet ended up extremely swollen from all the fluids and pain medicine I was on and it took a week for them to go back to normal. I had a hard time walking partly because of how big my feet were! The few days in the hospital all became mushed together between visitors, all the doctors and nurses checking on the both us constantly, and having to walk the halls of the hospital. I was very grateful on Sunday when I had a nurse named Jackie who was also the lactation specialist there. She was super young, beautiful, and extremely helpful! My milk came in on Sunday which was perfect so that she could ensure I was getting a proper latch. I must say that because of her I am no longer in pain when I nurse! Thanks Jackie!
Corey and I got to bring Jensen home on Monday the 10th and we were extremely excited to finally be leaving the hospital! We were also starving so we stopped at McDonalds on the way home. We got home around 11:30ish and continued to rest and put things away the rest of the day.
Corey and I got to bring Jensen home on Monday the 10th and we were extremely excited to finally be leaving the hospital! We were also starving so we stopped at McDonalds on the way home. We got home around 11:30ish and continued to rest and put things away the rest of the day.
Jensen's birthday
I got wheeled into the OR, but they had already upped my drugs and barely remember a thing. I remember them strapping down my arms and I remember hearing Corey's voice, but I kept my eyes closed. I feel asleep during the surgery and woke up to hear Jensen cry. I was so drugged that I remember less than 2 minutes of the surgery and repair. I remember seeing Corey holding Jensen right by me and asking to kiss Jensen. That is all I remember. The next thing I know I back in the labor and delivery room I was first in. I couldn't wake up and I kept shaking. I was actually shaking so bad that I was scared. I wasn't cold although I did ask for more blankets in hopes that would help. I wanted to hold Jensen and see what he looked like but I could barely feel any of my body. I was numb from my ribs down.
I was told in the labor and delivery room that Jensen was 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long. He was a lot smaller than I thought he was going to be. I wish I could have delivered vaginally and I don't think it would have been so bad with him being small. He was born at exactly 12 noon! How fun and how easy to remember! I was still extremely sleepy and everytime I woke up someone else was holding my baby. It was Corey or my mom, or Marissa. I believe it was 2 pm when I was moved upstairs to the 2nd floor where the maternity ward is. Around that time I started to feel a lot better and although I still couldn't move my legs by myself I was regaining feeling and I wasn't shaking as bad. Plus, I was finally feeling like I could stay awake for more than a minute at a time. I finally held my son and actually take a close look at him. My mom helped me hold him for a minute after I got back to the original room but it scared me to hold him and I asked her to take him back. I never got a good look at him.
I found out that his cord was wrapped around his leg, arm, and neck and that it was a great thing that I didn't progress any faster and put him in more stress. I was disappointed to have to have a c-section since that is the last thing I wanted, but I got the same amazing result- my beautiful son!
I was told in the labor and delivery room that Jensen was 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long. He was a lot smaller than I thought he was going to be. I wish I could have delivered vaginally and I don't think it would have been so bad with him being small. He was born at exactly 12 noon! How fun and how easy to remember! I was still extremely sleepy and everytime I woke up someone else was holding my baby. It was Corey or my mom, or Marissa. I believe it was 2 pm when I was moved upstairs to the 2nd floor where the maternity ward is. Around that time I started to feel a lot better and although I still couldn't move my legs by myself I was regaining feeling and I wasn't shaking as bad. Plus, I was finally feeling like I could stay awake for more than a minute at a time. I finally held my son and actually take a close look at him. My mom helped me hold him for a minute after I got back to the original room but it scared me to hold him and I asked her to take him back. I never got a good look at him.
I found out that his cord was wrapped around his leg, arm, and neck and that it was a great thing that I didn't progress any faster and put him in more stress. I was disappointed to have to have a c-section since that is the last thing I wanted, but I got the same amazing result- my beautiful son!
October 6th
So I made it home from the hospital around 11:30 and I barely made it in to the house before a strong contraction hit. I thought I was going to die! I figured if I already hurt that much and was on morphine I wasn't going to make it. I had no idea what the pain would be like, but I wasn't ready for what was about to come.
I tossed and turned in bed, hunched over the bed, got on the floor on all fours, nothing was helping. I slept about 15 minutes from 11:30 until 4 am when I finally told Corey that we are going back to the hospital. There was no way they would send me home this time and that if I had to stay and be monitored I would, but I was in desperate need of more pain medicine. We got to the hospital at 5 am and while crying at the front desk they realized that there was no point in being monitored in the Triage rooms and they admitted me right then. I got wheeled back to a room, hooked up, got checked (I was at 3cm and 90-100% effaced) and got an epidural all by 5:30 am.
I tried resting after the epidural kicked in since I heard that labor can be a long process and to rest before having to push. I believe the next time I got checked was at 7 am and there was no changed. They broke my water and then came back around 8 and started me on Petocin since there was no change still. After this the timing of everything was a blur. I remember watching the monitor of my contractions and Jensen's heart beat and seeing that every time I had a contraction his heart rate dropped. No one said anything for a while and I was starting to get worried. A nurse finally said that she had been in contact with Dr. B who had been watching the same screen in his office for a while and deciding what to do. They unhooked my belly monitors and put an internal monitor on Jensen. Then they put in a tube that put fluid back in to see if it would help his heart rate during contractions. They watched this for about an hour. Nothing was changing. During that time they also stopped the Petocin. My contractions because much smaller but his heart rate was still dropping.
I was at 100% and 5-6cm around 11am, but they told me that I would need a c-section due to his heart. The nurse said that his cord is wrapped around him somewhere and that I don't have any other option of getting him out. They brought in the scrubs for Corey and the lunch lady looking cap for me and I was off for surgery.
Then.....
I tossed and turned in bed, hunched over the bed, got on the floor on all fours, nothing was helping. I slept about 15 minutes from 11:30 until 4 am when I finally told Corey that we are going back to the hospital. There was no way they would send me home this time and that if I had to stay and be monitored I would, but I was in desperate need of more pain medicine. We got to the hospital at 5 am and while crying at the front desk they realized that there was no point in being monitored in the Triage rooms and they admitted me right then. I got wheeled back to a room, hooked up, got checked (I was at 3cm and 90-100% effaced) and got an epidural all by 5:30 am.
I tried resting after the epidural kicked in since I heard that labor can be a long process and to rest before having to push. I believe the next time I got checked was at 7 am and there was no changed. They broke my water and then came back around 8 and started me on Petocin since there was no change still. After this the timing of everything was a blur. I remember watching the monitor of my contractions and Jensen's heart beat and seeing that every time I had a contraction his heart rate dropped. No one said anything for a while and I was starting to get worried. A nurse finally said that she had been in contact with Dr. B who had been watching the same screen in his office for a while and deciding what to do. They unhooked my belly monitors and put an internal monitor on Jensen. Then they put in a tube that put fluid back in to see if it would help his heart rate during contractions. They watched this for about an hour. Nothing was changing. During that time they also stopped the Petocin. My contractions because much smaller but his heart rate was still dropping.
I was at 100% and 5-6cm around 11am, but they told me that I would need a c-section due to his heart. The nurse said that his cord is wrapped around him somewhere and that I don't have any other option of getting him out. They brought in the scrubs for Corey and the lunch lady looking cap for me and I was off for surgery.
Then.....
Updating... finally
Today I decided it was finally time to catch up the blog since I want to keep it going to keep track of important (and not-so-important) things regarding Jensen and our family.
The last time I wrote it was the 4th of October and the day before my original due date. I was feeling extremely frustrated that nothing had changed at my doctors appointment and was set on getting induced. Little did I know he would be here within 48 hours. I will make a seperate post on the labor/delivery/hospital stay. For now, I want to write about the day before he got here.
On my due date (the 5th) I decided to go walk the mall with Anja and Ava to see if it would get things moving. Everyone always talked about how to jump-start your own labor but I told myself that I wasn't going to drink the teas, castor oil, eat spicy foods, have sex (sounded awful at this point!), or any of the other crazy things out there. The one thing I did do was walk A LOT! I knew that walking really helped things get going and it would help lower the baby into the birth canal. I figured it wouldn't hurt to walk and shop and gossip with Anja and visit with Ava.
By the time I was leaving the mall that afternoon after we walked for about 1.5 hours I was getting really bad contractions. I told Anja it was time to go. I got into my car just in time for an awful contraction. It had me doubled over in pain so I figured that I was in active labor at this point, but no need to rush to the hospital. I was supposed to visit Theresa and check out her new apartment but I was in so much pain I came home. I sat, layed on the couch, took a bath, made dinner, took a walk... nothing seemed to help the pain or take my mind off the pain. I tried timing my contractions but either I wasn't doing a good job or something because I was clocking them at about 6-7 minutes apart.
I called my mom at home around 7 pm after everything I tried failed and told her I was in a ton of pain. I had to stop talking to breath through a contraction and she told me it was time to go to the hospital. Corey and I didn't rush out of here, but we did make sure to have the hospital bag ready and called his mom to take Dakota if we were admitted. We got to IMC around 8 pm and they hooked me up to all the monitors and checked my cervix. Bummer, I was still at 1.5cm and 60% effaced. The only positive was that my contractions were 4 minutes apart. Because I wasn't dilated much I was still in the category of "early" labor. I asked for some pain medicine and they gave me a shot of morphine in my butt. They watched me for almost 3 hours and still no change so they sent me home. I could barely make it to the car and thought I was going to die when we were in the car - especially driving over the speed bumps in the apartment complex.
Then...........
The last time I wrote it was the 4th of October and the day before my original due date. I was feeling extremely frustrated that nothing had changed at my doctors appointment and was set on getting induced. Little did I know he would be here within 48 hours. I will make a seperate post on the labor/delivery/hospital stay. For now, I want to write about the day before he got here.
On my due date (the 5th) I decided to go walk the mall with Anja and Ava to see if it would get things moving. Everyone always talked about how to jump-start your own labor but I told myself that I wasn't going to drink the teas, castor oil, eat spicy foods, have sex (sounded awful at this point!), or any of the other crazy things out there. The one thing I did do was walk A LOT! I knew that walking really helped things get going and it would help lower the baby into the birth canal. I figured it wouldn't hurt to walk and shop and gossip with Anja and visit with Ava.
By the time I was leaving the mall that afternoon after we walked for about 1.5 hours I was getting really bad contractions. I told Anja it was time to go. I got into my car just in time for an awful contraction. It had me doubled over in pain so I figured that I was in active labor at this point, but no need to rush to the hospital. I was supposed to visit Theresa and check out her new apartment but I was in so much pain I came home. I sat, layed on the couch, took a bath, made dinner, took a walk... nothing seemed to help the pain or take my mind off the pain. I tried timing my contractions but either I wasn't doing a good job or something because I was clocking them at about 6-7 minutes apart.
I called my mom at home around 7 pm after everything I tried failed and told her I was in a ton of pain. I had to stop talking to breath through a contraction and she told me it was time to go to the hospital. Corey and I didn't rush out of here, but we did make sure to have the hospital bag ready and called his mom to take Dakota if we were admitted. We got to IMC around 8 pm and they hooked me up to all the monitors and checked my cervix. Bummer, I was still at 1.5cm and 60% effaced. The only positive was that my contractions were 4 minutes apart. Because I wasn't dilated much I was still in the category of "early" labor. I asked for some pain medicine and they gave me a shot of morphine in my butt. They watched me for almost 3 hours and still no change so they sent me home. I could barely make it to the car and thought I was going to die when we were in the car - especially driving over the speed bumps in the apartment complex.
Then...........
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Week 40 and no signs of a baby
The only sign of having a baby is the fact that my belly could not get any larger! Okay, that is probably not true, however my belly has stayed the same size for a few weeks now so I hope it doesn't get any bigger.
Sunday was an interesting day! Corey and I went to Walmart to pick up a weeks worth of groceries (because if Jensen comes I don't want food to go bad in the fridge) and I started getting really bad contractions. When we got home I put the food away, made lasagna, and ate. During that time I tried to time my contractions but it felt like one constant contraction that would not go away. I tried to call the doctor on-call, but it would not let me leave a message. I got in the bath for an hour and the pain would not subside regardless of the position I was in. I knew I was having real labor pains (especially in my back) but it was hard to tell how far apart they were. When I got out of the bath I timed a few and they seemed to be between 6-8 minutes apart. Because I could not get a hold of the doctor I told Corey that we should go to the hospital to see if I have made any progress because they were getting much closer together. I had a 98% gut feeling that we would be sent home within an hour or two, but I wanted to make sure that everything was okay. Everything turned out fine and my contractions were 8 minutes apart like I anticipated. I was still only at a 1 and 60% so we were sent home. The nurse was really nice though and gave me some good tips on what to watch for, etc. She said that since I am having small, consistant contractions that I am in early labor, but it may take days or even weeks to be in active labor. I was able to put my mind at ease and came home and went right to bed.
Monday was a pretty slow day. I slept fairly well that night and in the morning I got up when Corey did to go to work. I slowly moved around the house and then went to get Marissa and Rylee so we could walk around the mall and get this baby moving before lunch time. My mom came over for lunch and then after I tried to take a nap but the apartment inspectors were here (they come twice a year and replace filters, etc) and they ended up here for a long time because they had to fix our sink. Corey was home by then (around 2:30) so I just laid down and did nothing! We ate left overs for dinner so I didn't have to get up and cook - left overs are a brilliant idea!
I had my 40 week doctor's appointment today (Tuesday) and had Corey come with me. Tomorrow is officially 40 weeks and my due date. I figured since there was no sign of Jensen's arrival in the coming days it would be good for him to come and we could talk about inducing. Sure enough nothing has changed since last week or even Sunday... I am still at 1cm and 60%. Dr. B said that he is in surgery all day on Wednesday and is out of town the rest of the week next week so he wanted to try and get me induced early in the week. He sort of had to "work the system" to get me approved to go in earlier than the 41 week mark. The plan for right now is to see Dr. B on Monday morning and see if anything changes. We already scheduled the induction to take place and I should go into the hospital on Monday night and get started on Certival and then Tuesday morning start on Pitocin. Certival from online pictures looks a little like a flat tampon that stays in for up to 12 hours to help with thinning of the cervix. Since I am already at 60% hopefully it doesn't take 12 hours to do its job. Then they will do Pitocin which will dilate me.
Today I am feeling a little down. I really hoped for some other kind of news, although I knew this was in the cards. I am hoping that if I have to get induced that the Certival will help dilate me to a 2 or 3 and they can break my water before starting Pitocin to see if that gets me moving. I am trying not to stress out and just let my body do what it is going to do. I trust my body to deliver a healthy baby regardless of how he comes out and what interventions have to take place.
If I don't have him in the next few days he will be here in a week! In the meantime I still trying to do a lot of walking, resting, and finishing last minute things. I should probably be prepping for my math course but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe that will be my goal this week - 1 hour per day of math until Jensen arrives. I HATE math!
Son, I know you like it in there, but as Rylee says "Come out, Jensen!" (as she knocks softly on my belly). We are all anxiously awaiting for you! I love you, son!
Sunday was an interesting day! Corey and I went to Walmart to pick up a weeks worth of groceries (because if Jensen comes I don't want food to go bad in the fridge) and I started getting really bad contractions. When we got home I put the food away, made lasagna, and ate. During that time I tried to time my contractions but it felt like one constant contraction that would not go away. I tried to call the doctor on-call, but it would not let me leave a message. I got in the bath for an hour and the pain would not subside regardless of the position I was in. I knew I was having real labor pains (especially in my back) but it was hard to tell how far apart they were. When I got out of the bath I timed a few and they seemed to be between 6-8 minutes apart. Because I could not get a hold of the doctor I told Corey that we should go to the hospital to see if I have made any progress because they were getting much closer together. I had a 98% gut feeling that we would be sent home within an hour or two, but I wanted to make sure that everything was okay. Everything turned out fine and my contractions were 8 minutes apart like I anticipated. I was still only at a 1 and 60% so we were sent home. The nurse was really nice though and gave me some good tips on what to watch for, etc. She said that since I am having small, consistant contractions that I am in early labor, but it may take days or even weeks to be in active labor. I was able to put my mind at ease and came home and went right to bed.
Monday was a pretty slow day. I slept fairly well that night and in the morning I got up when Corey did to go to work. I slowly moved around the house and then went to get Marissa and Rylee so we could walk around the mall and get this baby moving before lunch time. My mom came over for lunch and then after I tried to take a nap but the apartment inspectors were here (they come twice a year and replace filters, etc) and they ended up here for a long time because they had to fix our sink. Corey was home by then (around 2:30) so I just laid down and did nothing! We ate left overs for dinner so I didn't have to get up and cook - left overs are a brilliant idea!
I had my 40 week doctor's appointment today (Tuesday) and had Corey come with me. Tomorrow is officially 40 weeks and my due date. I figured since there was no sign of Jensen's arrival in the coming days it would be good for him to come and we could talk about inducing. Sure enough nothing has changed since last week or even Sunday... I am still at 1cm and 60%. Dr. B said that he is in surgery all day on Wednesday and is out of town the rest of the week next week so he wanted to try and get me induced early in the week. He sort of had to "work the system" to get me approved to go in earlier than the 41 week mark. The plan for right now is to see Dr. B on Monday morning and see if anything changes. We already scheduled the induction to take place and I should go into the hospital on Monday night and get started on Certival and then Tuesday morning start on Pitocin. Certival from online pictures looks a little like a flat tampon that stays in for up to 12 hours to help with thinning of the cervix. Since I am already at 60% hopefully it doesn't take 12 hours to do its job. Then they will do Pitocin which will dilate me.
Today I am feeling a little down. I really hoped for some other kind of news, although I knew this was in the cards. I am hoping that if I have to get induced that the Certival will help dilate me to a 2 or 3 and they can break my water before starting Pitocin to see if that gets me moving. I am trying not to stress out and just let my body do what it is going to do. I trust my body to deliver a healthy baby regardless of how he comes out and what interventions have to take place.
If I don't have him in the next few days he will be here in a week! In the meantime I still trying to do a lot of walking, resting, and finishing last minute things. I should probably be prepping for my math course but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe that will be my goal this week - 1 hour per day of math until Jensen arrives. I HATE math!
Son, I know you like it in there, but as Rylee says "Come out, Jensen!" (as she knocks softly on my belly). We are all anxiously awaiting for you! I love you, son!
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