Sunday, October 23, 2011

My Labor and Delivery story

My labor and delivery story, there will be TMI involved so if you don't want all the details don't read!

I was jolted out of a dead sleep at about 5:40am and was really confused. My legs and bed were wet and I thought I had wet the bed. I got up and there was another slight gush of liquid. Really confused now, it occurred to me that my water could of broke, but they always tell you that rarely happens so it couldn't be. I called my partner as he was on his way to work and we proceeded to have to the most random conversation ever. I basically called him and said I was confused but didn't want to tell him what I was confused about, pretty sure he was getting pretty annoyed but I didn't want to say i think my water broke only to find out i wet pants. I proceeded to walk around and no more liquid came out, so I convinced myself that i indeed just wet myself. After talking to him for about 5min i went back to bed thinking I was crazy but still googled "water breaking" It said to put on a pad and see if more fluid collects. I got out of bed to do so and another gush. At this point my bloody show started as well but I was unaware that was what it was. I was being very irrational thinking I lost all bladder control and was now dying due to blood. My partner finally decided that he was just going to head back to house and we'd go to the hospital to see what was happening.

We got to admitting  about 6:30am and told them what was happening and instead of being startled by what I said the nurse was super excited for us and said it all sounds very promising. We were taken to the labor and delivery room and checked in. I was 3cm dilated and was starting to contract about every7-10min. My doctor came in about 7:30am and started me on my group B strep antibiotics. Once those were done i was good to go home till my contractions got 5min apart or 8hrs later for my second dose of antibiotics, whichever came first.

We went home at about 9am and proceeded to finish packing my hospital bags. Contractions were pretty steadily 6-8min apart and starting to get painful. We ate lunch and walked around the living room watching TV. By about 2:00pm the contractions were 5-6min apart and getting painful. I tried having a bath and that really did not help as I did not have room to move. We continued to hang out in the living room and use movement and a hot bean bag to help ease the pain. We decided to head back to the hospital just before 3:30pm as contractions were still 5-6min apart and I was due for antibiotics at 4:00pm (turns out it they were due at 5 but oh well). I got my antibiotics at 5:00pm and after that the contractions really started coming hard and fast. It was getting really hard to concentrate and breath through them. Walking and being upright definitely helped and the worst contractions were when I was sitting or laying and one would come. Those were the worst and I just couldn't get on top of them, I pretty much white knuckled it through those.I was getting really tired at this point and having a hard time staying up right, the 3hrs of sleep for the last few weeks really caught up to me. At about 7-7:30 pm my doctor came back and checked me and I was about 6cm dilated. I asked for the epidural and after some contemplation about whether or not the hospital had enough staff for me to get one, my doctor said she'd stay with me and to get me the epidural. It took about an hour for the on call doc to come give me one and I have never been so scared in my life! I am glad I got it but boy was I nervous, I didn't know I could sweat like that!

Happy and Pain free!!

After about 25 min I had complete relief on both sides and was happily waiting for a nap. My doc checked meat around 8:30 and I was 7cm dilated. She left and was going to come back about 11:30pm. I managed to nod in and out of sleep for about 1.5hrs before my doc returned. I was almost 8-9cm when she checked just before 12:00am but I still had quite a bit of a lip in the front so it was hard to give an exact number. I was really curious what a dilating cervix felt like and my doc put a sterile glove on and let me feel. It was really neat to feel how low babies head was. It came up just after this that I hadn't peed in a really long time and that I was to numb to feel I had to go, YAY! They used a catheter and found out that I had a ridiculously full bladder (like almost a litre!) and that was why the front of my cervix was not dilating like it should. After emptying my bladder they checked me again and I had the slightest lip left. They let me a go another 20min and the lip was still there. At 1:26am they had me start pushing through the lip and sure enough it left. We were planning for my partner to catch the baby and they got him all done in sterile gown and gloves! It was pretty funny!

Its a GIRL!!!



Avalon Kate
Born on October 1, 2011 at 3:23am
6lbs, 6oz and 19inches long



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

39 Weeks

How Far Along: 39 weeks, one more week!!
Size of baby: A small pumpkin
Weight Gain:
Belly:

What I Love: How bold the limbs stick out of my belly. It's fun to tickle babies feet waking him/her up and causing him/her to pull in their legs.

What I Miss: Being 28 weeks pregnant. That was the best time!

Cravings: Still loving hamburgers and sweets. Having a hard time eating healthy these days.

Symptoms: Tired, exhausted, emotional. Lack of sleep I think is the biggest factor though. I also find that I don't eat as much and am still struggling with heartburn if I'm not on top of the meds.

Sleep: Not getting much and usually get about 3-5 overnight and 2 one-two hour naps throughout the day.

Maternity Clothes: Not much left at all especially now that its starting to get cold!

Movement: Still lots and mostly at night which keeps me awake.

Purchase This Week: Some books, a sleep gown and a cute snugli.

Favourite Moment this Week: Almost having to be induced, we almost got to meet baby a bit earlier then expected. All is well so we will wait a little longer! As well golfing at almost full term.
Boy or Girl: I'm stumped this week. It could very well be either a boy or a girl, I'm losing my strong feeling as we get closer to meeting this little one


38 Weeks!

How Far Along: 38 Weeks
Size of baby:
Weight Gain:
Belly:

What I Love: Knowing that its only a matter of time before I get to hold bubs in my arms and find out if it is a he or a she

What I Miss: Being Comfortable!

Cravings: Bacon Cheeseburger Hamburgers! So good!

Symptoms: I am finally getting a few stretch marks! Noticing dark mark appearing all over, the heartburn is just awful and I suffer unless I take Xantac.  

Sleep: I can sleep but not for long periods of time and usually end up spending a lot of time awake at night.

Maternity Clothes: I have very very few things left. I actually purchased one last maternity shirt as I want more then 2 options.

Movement: Still moving tons. Its definitely more of a routine and baby loves to move from 9-12pm every night. Never fails!

Purchase This Week: A few cute outfits from carters and gap.

Favourite Moment this Week: Meeting with doulas and figuring out our birth plan. We are ready for baby now.
Boy or Girl: Leaning more towards boy, I just can't imagine bubs being a girl.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Maternity Photos

We had maternity photos done at 34 weeks and here are some of our favorites.





































36 Weeks

How Far Along: 36 Weeks
Size of baby: Large Cantaloupe, about 6lbs
Weight Gain: 172Lbs- For a total of 47 lbs gained. Getting really close to the 50lb mark!
Belly:

What I Love: That Baby is considered fully developed next week.

What I Miss: Moving easily, walking without a waddle, beer/wine and sleeping right through the night.

Cravings: Not to much, still sweets but am definitely running out of room in my tummy.

Symptoms: Starting to get Braxton Hicks contractions quite frequently, but nothing painful yet. Sore everything basically. I have a bunch of dark spots all over my body.

Sleep: Okay these days, not stressing about it to much and am probably getting about 8hrs a night.

Maternity Clothes: Really starting to run low on shirts that cover my belly completely and only have a few pairs of pants that still fit.

Movement: Lots and lots, its quite painful and wakes me up out of a dead sleep.

Purchase This Week: The last of our cloth diapering requirements, such as wet bags, pail liners and dryer balls. 

Favourite Moment this Week: Finishing off our cloth diapering stuff and starting to prep them for use. I cannot wait till we get to use them, so cute!!

Boy or Girl: Pretty strong feeling its a boy. I'm getting really impatient to know now!!

37 Weeks!!

How Far Along: 37 Weeks, We made it!! Baby can now come anytime and will be healthy and fully developed!!!
Size of baby: A watermelon, about 6.5lbs and 19 to 22 inches long.
Weight Gain: 169.9lbs. Apparently I did not like being 170lbs
Belly:

What I Love: That we made it this far! I cannot wait until bubs arrives now! We have finished almost everything and are just patiently waiting for the arrival.

What I Miss: Being not pregnant, I can't even remember what not pregnant is like anymore but I have a feeling the simple tasks will be a lot easier

Cravings: Rice pudding, hamburgers, and cheddar flavored rice crisps. Really not eating to much anymore as I get full really quick and end up with bad indigestion.

Symptoms: Big and sore all over. Feeling more and more tired. I have been waking up throughout the night and just getting up and doing things. Did laundry, organised and sterilized pacis at 3 am one morning.

Sleep: I have just accepted that sleep is not going to be the same. I usually go to bed about 12:00 wake up around 5-6am get up for 1-3hrs and go back to bed till 9:30-10:30ish and have an afternoon nap at about 2:00. I am so happy I am not working anymore and can be so flexible.

Maternity Clothes: Still have just a few things that fit comfortably.

Movement: Still lots and lots. Keeps me awake/wakes me up all the time. The kicks and movements are getting really strong and really makes some interesting lumps on my belly. We can also feel little hands and feet poking out.

Purchase This Week: Just a few last minute things. Car seat bundle bag to keep baby warm in our climate, some Baby Einstein DVDs (buy 1 get 1 free!!) and a few toys. We spent $98 and saved $58, that makes me super happy!!

Favourite Moment this Week: When I got lillies for making it to 37 weeks!
Boy or Girl:I think boy but have been getting more girl guesses. I cannot wait to find out!!