Im back.......and with LOTS of news........lets just say I REALLY need to think of a new name for this little neglected blog of mine
I wanted to post a little background info on my previous births
before getting to "the most recent" amazingness i am so thankful I was
able to experience. Don't get me wrong each one of them was super
special in their own way. Let me just recap them all, as I remember
them.
Kaylee my strong willed, mothering type, who can NOT wait
to grow up. She was born at 5:15pm Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at GMH. She
weighed 7lb 15.4oz. I added the .4 because the nurses actually argued
as to whether or not they should list her at 7lb 15oz or bump her up to
8lb even. Whoever voted for the 7lb 15oz won, because that's what ended
up being her official weight. She measured 20.75 inches long and pretty
sure she scored 9 on both APGAR tests. I was induced with her somewhere
between 5 and 7 days early; mostly because I was terrified of going
into labor while teaching 18 4yr olds. I totally wish I would've know
better. So we basically picked her birthday, told no one, showed up to
the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, started the typical
induction protocol and things started moving along rather quickly. I had
decided I wanted to try going without the epidural, but when it came
down to it I felt bullied by the nurses and sad to say Marcus scared me
into it too. I think he was persuaded by the nurses as well. I dilated
quickly the contractions were strong and close and when the nurse came
in and said "you know it could be up to 2 hours before you get pain
relief from the time you ask for your epidural". So I caved. Had my
epidural shortly after and progressed even faster. I could only lay on
my right side because if I ever tried to switch to my left side, move in
the slightest way, Kaylee's heart rate would be affected and that
didn't sit well with the nurses. So I was banished to my right side no
matter how uncomfortable I was. And I also remember them trying to screw
that fetal monitor thingy to her head, but thankfully she had so much
hair they couldn't get it attached. What was I thinking? Oh I forgot to
mention I had one of those "nurses in training" assigned to me too,
which I didn't really have a problem with, they have to learn sometime
right?? The reason why I mentioned that was because when it came time to
push she had me sitting in a nearly upright position. My body was
basically in a "V" shape. The baby could not descend any further due to
this position so all my attempts at pushing, for like 1-2 hours mind
you, were fruitless. I was beginning to tire, when I perked up and heard
the doctors and nurses talking quietly by the door about a possible
C-sec. I piped up rather loud and said "I will NOT have this baby by
C-sec, so you might as well stop discussing that as an option". I tend
to get really moody and hostile in labor. ;) shortly after that my head
nurse came in to check on me and asked if I was comfortable and why I
was in such an upright position. She suggested they lay the table back
flat and BAM like 3 pushes later out pops Kaylee into our world! Why
didn't I think of that? Total time in labor was about 9-10 hours and I
required a few stitches for a minor tear. I was able to attempt nursing
her almost immediately. Had a bit of trouble, knowing what I know now I
had lots of trouble, and we were off to our postpartum room. She got all
the routine procedures done to her accept that I asked that she be
bathed in my room, not sure if it was her real first bath or not but
they did bath her in my room. I had to be catheterized a few hours after
having her because I had no feeling in my right leg, due to the
epidural, so I was unable to get up and go to the bathroom by myself. It
wasn't until the next day that I regained my mobility. So NOT cool! She
went to the nursery each night and during the day when I requested it.
We were discharged with a healthy baby 2 days later and our little
family became a little bit bigger.
Ainslee my super sensitive,
caring, thoughtful child was born at the same hospital at 12:34pm
Thursday, February 12th, 2009. She weighed 7lb 4oz and was 20.25 inches
long. Both her APGAR scores were also 9. I was also induced with her
approximately 7 days early, it was originally scheduled for 15 days
early due to our move to Hawaii. But when that fell through we moved the
date back. I chose induction again primarily because I still felt such a
high about Kaylee's birth, in my eyes it was perfect. (You know how
they describe that feeling of your first high, that is never attainable
again which is why people get addicted to drugs so easily. I wouldn't
know firsthand but I clearly remember learning about it in school.) so
for that reason only I chose to attempt to recreate the amazingness and
induce again. Why didn't I realize that the amazingness I felt came from
the fact that I brought home a beautiful, perfect baby girl. It wasn't
the manner in which we chose to bring her home (make sense). Anyways, so
again we picked the birthday, we told people about our induction this
time, kaylee spent the night at my parents house the night before so we
could go to the hospital early the next morning to start the routine all
over again. Again I wanted to try and go without the epidural,
especially with the complications I suffered after delivery last time. I
asked if I could get up and walk around or squat or just try and manage
my pain naturally. All my requests were denied. Finally, I was able to
convince them to just let me get up and go to the bathroom. Labor
progressed much faster this time and again I caved and got the epidural.
I bet if they would've checked me prior to giving me the epi they
wouldn't have given it, because I bet I was 9-10 cm dilated. She was
born about 10 minutes after getting the epidural with little effort
pushing. We were shocked and elated to hear we had another beautiful
baby girl! I nursed her immediately and introduced her to her big sister
shortly afterwards. Total time in labor was about 4-5 hours and I
didn't require any stitches. During our second attempt at nursing, in
delivery room, the nursery nurse came in and attempted to take her to
the nursery for "evaluation and tests". I protested and said she was
nursing and they could do the tests in my room when she was finished.
They stated it was "hospital protocol" to take all babies to the nursery
within 1 hour of birth." WHAT? So she came back at the one hour mark
and physically took her off of my breast and whisked her away to the
nursery for "testing". To say I was pissed was an understatement. When
they finally brought her back, not sure how much time had past, they
informed me that her blood sugar was low and they needed to give her
formula to raise it up. I thought my head was going to explode. I said
"so you took her while she was nursing, and bring her back to me saying
that she needs to eat because of her blood sugar?" Seriously? By this
time she was so exhausted she wouldn't perk up enough to nurse. I was
bullied more by the nurses about this whole blood sugar thing but
thankfully I won and she was not given formula, at least to my
knowledge. I asked if she could be bathed for the 1st time in my
room, they again gave me trouble but finally agreed to the
inconvenience. I didn't learn until days later that they actually bathed
her for the 1st time in the nursery and then lied to me about it! I did
allow her to go to the nursery at night but kept her in my room each
day. Nursing came easier to me this time around. We were discharged 2
days later and our little family got a bit bigger.
Brynlee my
OCD, impatient, game changer, but super lovable one came into our world
at 6:54 am on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011. She weighed 8lb 10.6oz so
they rounded her up to 8lb 11oz. She was 21 inches tall (but still think
they measured wrong). I'm pretty sure I recall her scoring an 8 on one
APGAR and 9 on the other. She is what I like to call my "unassisted
hospital birth." I was adamant I didn't want to be induced, I didn't
want to pick her birthday, I wanted what I set out for 5 years earlier
when I was pregnant with kaylee. I deserved to labor and deliver how I
wanted. This decision, I felt, was met with slight resistance from Marcus,
as I don't think he could understand why I wanted to be in pain when I
could have relief and why I wouldn't want to do the convenient thing and
induce again. Thankfully he came to support my decisions. I went into
labor with her while Marcus was at work about 2:40ish that morning. Got
up, cleaned some toilets, straightened my hair, called Marcus and my
mom.....you can read her whole birth story here. Basically this was
more in line with what I had in mind when I pictured how I wanted
originally to give birth. Well minus the trauma of it all. I wanted no
interventions I wanted to be able to labor as my body dictated. And I
didn't want them telling me what was "protocol". Again, I became hostile
in labor when they attempted to do things I wasn't comfortable with,
but for the most part I was pleased with this experience (again minus
the trauma). I kept her by my side, literally, for the entire time we
were in the hospital. I even had the nurses say to me when they came to
check my blood pressure at all hours of the night, "you are going to put
her back in her bassinet when you finish nursing....right???" Yeah sure
whatever I need to say to make you go away and leave me alone. I
struggled postpartum. I had issues I hadn't dealt with after my previous
deliveries, and thankfully I was able to work through them in the weeks
following her birth. She didn't have any of the typical "newborn
protocol" done to her. I'm pretty sure all I let them do was the heel
prick and the hearing screening. Nursing was super easy for me this time
and we were discharged 2 days later.
In a nutshell those are
the stories of my first 3 births as I recall them 7, 5, and 2 years
later. Stay tuned for the most recent birth story.....
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