apparently we have lots of milk at our house!
warning: this is about milk and miles' gas. if that is TMI for you, then skip this post!
yesterday miles and i went to the hospital to visit a lactation consultant to help us out. specifically to help me out as i was miserable! miles eats so often and so...enthusiastically?...that i was about to die. she asked me if he had been weighed recently, which he hadn't been weighed in about 10 days, since his 1 month checkup. so she weighed him and he was a whopping 8lbs 13oz...an entire pound heavier than at his checkup. insane! though she did say that she thought miles was a beautiful baby, well proportioned but just can't tell anymore that he was a tiny little 3wks early baby. i just say he's a little fattie.
after doing her lactation consultant thing, she decided we have 2 issues. the 1st is that i have tons of milk! apparently miles is having to drink milk from a water hose turned on full blast. she gave me some tips to help us out and some of them are already working...i think our experience is headed to a more positive place. she did keep making comments like "some women take sudafed and are dismayed that their milk supply lessens...of course that wouldn't be...well, it wouldn't be devasting to you now would it?" and she also mentioned that i could donate milk to the milk bank if i was interested...who knew there was even such a thing!
then 2nd issue we are having is miles is dealing with reflux. the things i am doing for my milk supply issue should help out some, as will time...as he gets a more mature digestive system. in the meantime she suggested 2 over the counter meds that might help, and also notified my doctor that a prescription med might end up being necessary so that miles is more comfortable and we don't all go crazy while waiting for his digestive system to mature. she watched him for over an hour after he ate, and i think it drove her crazy! so you can imagine how we feel when he eats about 10-12 times per day. i was pleased he was in full spit-up mode as i wanted her to get a clear picture of what we are dealing with.
i went to cvs last night and picked up both meds. i had read about them online and was curious to try them, but was hesitant to just give him randonm stuff without some sort of permission from a medical professional caring for miles. when she recommended them, i jumped at the chance! we tried the mylicon drops first (the other is called gripe water) and....well, i don't want to jinx anything here...but so far.....AWESOME. he liked the taste so he immediately stopped crying. and then... he was happy. we were watching a movie and he was just looking around. then he fell asleep.
in fact, this morning, he stayed awake for over 2 hours...the entire time between 2 feedings. he still spit up several times, but he seemed content. he just layed and looked around...no grunting and turning red and starting to scream at random times and suddenly stopping. unfortunately, these 2+ hours occured from 4.45am until just past 7am...somehow i will have to teach him that early rising is just plain unacceptable in this household.
i didn't give him anymore this morning (you can give them to him after every feeding), but after he ate this afternoon he was showing signs of being uncomfortable, even after spitting up several times and me putting him in the sling. within 2 minutes of the mylicon drops touching his lips...he was sleeping peacefully. and has been for awhile now.
therefore this post was made possible by...mylicon drops. my current best friend. along with the lactation consultant (which is free by the way. well unless you consider the cost of delivering the baby at that hospital. i would venture to say the cost is "built in")
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
o no you didn't....
well you had to know it wasn't a good sign when pallets of shingles appeared with no warning in our front yard on friday afternoon. it was hard to be too upset about it since this whole 'get a new roof because the old one was damaged by hail' process has been going on for 3 months...no lie...3 months!
the day seemed further doomed from the start when i was still awake at 2am, reading a book and rocking miles. he then decided he would like to eat nonstop from 2.30-4.30...ouch! what can i say, the poor guy has some "catching up" growing to do. unfortunately he then took another hour to fall asleep due to some gas pains. finally, at 5.30 we both passed out.
and then it happened. at 7.30am the house began shaking and rumbling. our new roof was coming, with no warning or knock on the door even. we got up and moped around until we could take the banging and hammering and stomping no more. at 10.30am we headed out the door to just go away somewhere.
now we actually had plenty of errands that we could have run and been very productive. unfortunately ross and i were so exhausted we couldn't process that idea and i'm really surprised we actually made it anywhere at all. we headed to academy as i had a birthday giftcard there! on the way there, miles was fussy. this is rather unusual as he is quite fond of his car seat.
when we arrived to academy, i got his sling ready and ross got him out of the car seat. and it was then that we discovered the cause of poor miles' angst.
yes, he had his first blow out diaper. up the back, on the clothes, all over the car seat, nasty diaper. hmm. so i busted out the diaper changing pad and began damage control. all went fairly well except that i had previously used an emergency outfit so the only one i had left was a longsleeve nightshirt but on it went. i shall be more diligent about properly stocking backup clothes in the future.
naturally miles was much happier after this episode. he slept while we shopped in academy. then i fed him in the car as we sat dazed and confused, trying to figure out where we could go next. we considered a movie but decided we would never make it out awake. ross was looking at apps on his phone, in particular a coupon app that declared chick-fil-a was giving away free milkshakes today to fathers if they had their child present. cool!
so we went to chick-fil-a for lunch and ross got his free milkshake, and then we dropped by to see charles & cynthia. finally we decided to just go back home as we could not fathom dragging ourselves to any more shopping establishments. the banging continued. i was rocking miles in his nursery but he kept jumping awake when there were loud noises. we moved to an area of the house that seemed to have already been completed and both passed out for about one hour. it was only an hour but it made a world of difference.
a new roof, no sleep, a free shake as ross' first daddy perk, and one nasty diaper...though at some point it ceases to just be a dirty "diaper" as it has escaped those confines. it becomes sort of just a dirty mess. kind of like today...
the day seemed further doomed from the start when i was still awake at 2am, reading a book and rocking miles. he then decided he would like to eat nonstop from 2.30-4.30...ouch! what can i say, the poor guy has some "catching up" growing to do. unfortunately he then took another hour to fall asleep due to some gas pains. finally, at 5.30 we both passed out.
and then it happened. at 7.30am the house began shaking and rumbling. our new roof was coming, with no warning or knock on the door even. we got up and moped around until we could take the banging and hammering and stomping no more. at 10.30am we headed out the door to just go away somewhere.
now we actually had plenty of errands that we could have run and been very productive. unfortunately ross and i were so exhausted we couldn't process that idea and i'm really surprised we actually made it anywhere at all. we headed to academy as i had a birthday giftcard there! on the way there, miles was fussy. this is rather unusual as he is quite fond of his car seat.
when we arrived to academy, i got his sling ready and ross got him out of the car seat. and it was then that we discovered the cause of poor miles' angst.
yes, he had his first blow out diaper. up the back, on the clothes, all over the car seat, nasty diaper. hmm. so i busted out the diaper changing pad and began damage control. all went fairly well except that i had previously used an emergency outfit so the only one i had left was a longsleeve nightshirt but on it went. i shall be more diligent about properly stocking backup clothes in the future.
naturally miles was much happier after this episode. he slept while we shopped in academy. then i fed him in the car as we sat dazed and confused, trying to figure out where we could go next. we considered a movie but decided we would never make it out awake. ross was looking at apps on his phone, in particular a coupon app that declared chick-fil-a was giving away free milkshakes today to fathers if they had their child present. cool!
so we went to chick-fil-a for lunch and ross got his free milkshake, and then we dropped by to see charles & cynthia. finally we decided to just go back home as we could not fathom dragging ourselves to any more shopping establishments. the banging continued. i was rocking miles in his nursery but he kept jumping awake when there were loud noises. we moved to an area of the house that seemed to have already been completed and both passed out for about one hour. it was only an hour but it made a world of difference.
a new roof, no sleep, a free shake as ross' first daddy perk, and one nasty diaper...though at some point it ceases to just be a dirty "diaper" as it has escaped those confines. it becomes sort of just a dirty mess. kind of like today...
Thursday, June 18, 2009
1 month: what i like about you
dear miles,
on sunday june 14 you were officially one month old! in some ways i can hardly believe it and in other ways it seems like you've been here forever (read: i honestly have difficulty remembering the last time i slept through the night). you had your checkup with the doctor on tuesday. you weighed a whopping 7lbs 13oz (fattie!) and had grown 1.5 inches, putting you at 20.5 inches. you are starting to look like a little boy now!
here are the things you can do:
eat
and you have become quite the little piggie...you like to eat allllll the time. you pretty much want to eat every 2-3hours, but some days you go on an eating marathon and want to eat every 1.5 hours. i don't like those days very much. you also spit up all the time! maybe 4-5 times between each feeding. grossss.
sleep
we swaddle you in the nighttime and put you in your bouncy seat to sleep. you really like how it vibrates, but you are starting to dislike the swaddle....you wriggle and squirm until your hands pop out so that you can have them near your face, just how you like it. but then your startle reflex wakes you up. sigh. what are we going to do? we bought a noise machine for you to try out. i think the heartbeat noise will be your favorite. your favorite place to sleep is in your sling, attached to me. i usually put you in there during the afternoons and you will sleep for several hours. you will sleep even if i vacuum or do the dishes. and sometimes i even accidentally drip water on you, but you don't seem to mind. you also like to sleep on my chest. i think it helps your tummy to feel better. i like it too. :)
poop
you do this quite frequently. you also burp and toot like a full grown man!
these are the things i love about you:
-the way you look up at my face when i am holding you
-when you reach up to touch my face
-when you try really hard to suck your thumb. sometimes you end up picking your nose instead. this makes you really mad, but you are the one doing it and i don't think you realize it!
- the smacking noises you make when you are sucking your pacifier or thumb
-when you hold the pacifier in your mouth
-your dark blue eyes
- the way you put your arm in front of your mouth when you are done eating
- the faces you make! you are so expressive when you are eating, pooping, and sleeping
-when i'm holding you in your sling and i feel your fingers reaching out to touch me
- the way you open your mouth like a little bird and swing your head frantically back and forth when you are hungry.
- the way your root around like a little piglet when you are hungry. you are getting more forceful with your head bobbing, and sometimes you get a nice clavicle or chin to your forehead on accident!
-your tiny fingers and toes! your little feet are starting to get fat!
-when you turn to your side when i lay you down because you can't stand laying on your back
- when you make O's with your mouth....usually followed by spitting up everywhere. its disarmingly and distractingly cute
- your hair! its so cute. it always gets frizzy and crazy after your bath. i call it your mad scientist hair
-the way your whole head and body turn bright red and you try to stand up with your feet whenever you are struggling a lil bit :)
-you love to ride in your carseat and listen to music. you do NOT like when we stop at red lights. sometimes you fuss until we get going again
-the way you hold your face with your hands
-the little noises you make while you are sleeping
-how you use your hands and arms as pillows for your cheeks
- the way you scoot yourself around when you are laying on my chest so that your head can be right over my heart...just where you belong!
on sunday june 14 you were officially one month old! in some ways i can hardly believe it and in other ways it seems like you've been here forever (read: i honestly have difficulty remembering the last time i slept through the night). you had your checkup with the doctor on tuesday. you weighed a whopping 7lbs 13oz (fattie!) and had grown 1.5 inches, putting you at 20.5 inches. you are starting to look like a little boy now!
here are the things you can do:
eat
and you have become quite the little piggie...you like to eat allllll the time. you pretty much want to eat every 2-3hours, but some days you go on an eating marathon and want to eat every 1.5 hours. i don't like those days very much. you also spit up all the time! maybe 4-5 times between each feeding. grossss.
sleep
we swaddle you in the nighttime and put you in your bouncy seat to sleep. you really like how it vibrates, but you are starting to dislike the swaddle....you wriggle and squirm until your hands pop out so that you can have them near your face, just how you like it. but then your startle reflex wakes you up. sigh. what are we going to do? we bought a noise machine for you to try out. i think the heartbeat noise will be your favorite. your favorite place to sleep is in your sling, attached to me. i usually put you in there during the afternoons and you will sleep for several hours. you will sleep even if i vacuum or do the dishes. and sometimes i even accidentally drip water on you, but you don't seem to mind. you also like to sleep on my chest. i think it helps your tummy to feel better. i like it too. :)
poop
you do this quite frequently. you also burp and toot like a full grown man!
these are the things i love about you:
-the way you look up at my face when i am holding you
-when you reach up to touch my face
-when you try really hard to suck your thumb. sometimes you end up picking your nose instead. this makes you really mad, but you are the one doing it and i don't think you realize it!
- the smacking noises you make when you are sucking your pacifier or thumb
-when you hold the pacifier in your mouth
-your dark blue eyes
- the way you put your arm in front of your mouth when you are done eating
- the faces you make! you are so expressive when you are eating, pooping, and sleeping
-when i'm holding you in your sling and i feel your fingers reaching out to touch me
- the way you open your mouth like a little bird and swing your head frantically back and forth when you are hungry.
- the way your root around like a little piglet when you are hungry. you are getting more forceful with your head bobbing, and sometimes you get a nice clavicle or chin to your forehead on accident!
-your tiny fingers and toes! your little feet are starting to get fat!
-when you turn to your side when i lay you down because you can't stand laying on your back
- when you make O's with your mouth....usually followed by spitting up everywhere. its disarmingly and distractingly cute
- your hair! its so cute. it always gets frizzy and crazy after your bath. i call it your mad scientist hair
-the way your whole head and body turn bright red and you try to stand up with your feet whenever you are struggling a lil bit :)
-you love to ride in your carseat and listen to music. you do NOT like when we stop at red lights. sometimes you fuss until we get going again
-the way you hold your face with your hands
-the little noises you make while you are sleeping
-how you use your hands and arms as pillows for your cheeks
- the way you scoot yourself around when you are laying on my chest so that your head can be right over my heart...just where you belong!
Monday, June 15, 2009
road trip to c stat
on saturday june 6th, miles went on his first roadtrip. it was an impromptu visit to the thriving metropolis of college station, home of the fightin texas aggies. what better place for a first road trip?? o yeah. its also the home of a lot of family and a second home to my family, which is why we went there! my parents were in c stat to pick up my little brother and i had mistakenly told my mom that i was thinking of coming to visit "this weekend", really meaning the following weekend when they would be back in town. when she called on saturday to see when we would be coming, i knew this was a grandma who could not be disappointed! ross was playing tennis at the high school so we drove over there to see if he would like to make the trip. he DID want to come along, so we decided to spend saturday night in c stat since we would be getting a late start.
the goal was to leave town at 3pm and return the following day. but after booking a hotel online, making sure the pets had food and water, feeding miles, and loading up our stuff and all the baby stuff...it was 4pm. miles loves to ride in his car seat and this day was no different. he went right to sleep. when we were about 10min away from c stat (which is 100miles/ 2hrs away from home), miles woke up and was ready to eat! i went ahead and pulled over so ross could hop in the backseat and feed miles a bottle before we arrived. this way he would be ready to see people when we arrived.
everyone was so glad to see us....i mean, miles. everyone took turns holding him..his mawmaw, his grandparents, his auntie jen, and his great aunt and uncle. LJ and PJ were intrigued with baby miles, particularly his pacifier. we had a great cookout and chatted. jfer came with us to our hotel and held miles and fed him before heading to her house.
miles did great at the hotel. we had brought his bouncy seat that he sleeps in and so he had no problems. he woke up early on sunday so i drove him over to say goodbye to my parents at the J's house. then M and i chatted and she held miles for most of the morning. then we all went geocaching! we found one cache in a nice shaded park. the second cache was in a nice poison ivy field so we decided to leave it there.
then we decided it was time to head back to austin. miles again did awesome in the car, and we decided the road trip was a definite success. we were so glad to go and see everyone.
so glad in fact that i decided to return the following week by myself! my family was back down for bekah's new student conference. thursday the 11th was my birthday, but i ended up being too tired to make the trip that day, after a rough night with miles. its a good thing too, because we ended up with a huge storm complete with a tornado that evening! on friday miles woke up at 5.45 am and i decided to make the trip.
we got on the road about 7am and miles slept. when i got about 30min away, i could hear him stirring. i decided to pull over to a mcdonalds parking lot and fed him a bottle. at this point it had been about 3hrs since he had last ate and i knew he wouldn't last much longer! he usually eats every 2-3 hrs so he had already held out for quite awhile. i just left him in the car seat to feed him the bottle because i didn't feel like going through the whole process and risking him not being pleased when i put him back in. he was then content to ride the rest of the way. we spent the day just relaxing and visiting with family. we all went out to dinner at a mexican restaurant to celebrate my birthday. i wore miles in my sling and he contentdly slept the whole time we were there. we further celebrated my birthday with ice cream cake, and then sadly it was time for miles and i to head back home.
we left about 8.30pm and miles proceeded to scream and cry for the next 20min. i have never heard him cry so much! it was so sad, but short of turning around and spending the night in c stat i didn't have many options. i knew he wasn't hungry and i didn't really get so desperate as to pull over into a gas station to try to comfort him. so i let him cry and it made me want to cry! but eventually he fell asleep and stayed that way until we were about 10min from home and he started right back where he had left off. i was so glad to hold him when we got home! i felt bad he had woken back up and still had not been comforted. so i laid on the couch and he fell asleep on my chest for several hours before we got up and went to bed.
i am so glad we were able to see everyone and i know miles enjoyed it too! we have our sights on a road trip to the dfw area soon, which is greater than 1 feeding cycle span so we will see how that goes..
the goal was to leave town at 3pm and return the following day. but after booking a hotel online, making sure the pets had food and water, feeding miles, and loading up our stuff and all the baby stuff...it was 4pm. miles loves to ride in his car seat and this day was no different. he went right to sleep. when we were about 10min away from c stat (which is 100miles/ 2hrs away from home), miles woke up and was ready to eat! i went ahead and pulled over so ross could hop in the backseat and feed miles a bottle before we arrived. this way he would be ready to see people when we arrived.
everyone was so glad to see us....i mean, miles. everyone took turns holding him..his mawmaw, his grandparents, his auntie jen, and his great aunt and uncle. LJ and PJ were intrigued with baby miles, particularly his pacifier. we had a great cookout and chatted. jfer came with us to our hotel and held miles and fed him before heading to her house.
miles did great at the hotel. we had brought his bouncy seat that he sleeps in and so he had no problems. he woke up early on sunday so i drove him over to say goodbye to my parents at the J's house. then M and i chatted and she held miles for most of the morning. then we all went geocaching! we found one cache in a nice shaded park. the second cache was in a nice poison ivy field so we decided to leave it there.
then we decided it was time to head back to austin. miles again did awesome in the car, and we decided the road trip was a definite success. we were so glad to go and see everyone.
so glad in fact that i decided to return the following week by myself! my family was back down for bekah's new student conference. thursday the 11th was my birthday, but i ended up being too tired to make the trip that day, after a rough night with miles. its a good thing too, because we ended up with a huge storm complete with a tornado that evening! on friday miles woke up at 5.45 am and i decided to make the trip.
we got on the road about 7am and miles slept. when i got about 30min away, i could hear him stirring. i decided to pull over to a mcdonalds parking lot and fed him a bottle. at this point it had been about 3hrs since he had last ate and i knew he wouldn't last much longer! he usually eats every 2-3 hrs so he had already held out for quite awhile. i just left him in the car seat to feed him the bottle because i didn't feel like going through the whole process and risking him not being pleased when i put him back in. he was then content to ride the rest of the way. we spent the day just relaxing and visiting with family. we all went out to dinner at a mexican restaurant to celebrate my birthday. i wore miles in my sling and he contentdly slept the whole time we were there. we further celebrated my birthday with ice cream cake, and then sadly it was time for miles and i to head back home.
we left about 8.30pm and miles proceeded to scream and cry for the next 20min. i have never heard him cry so much! it was so sad, but short of turning around and spending the night in c stat i didn't have many options. i knew he wasn't hungry and i didn't really get so desperate as to pull over into a gas station to try to comfort him. so i let him cry and it made me want to cry! but eventually he fell asleep and stayed that way until we were about 10min from home and he started right back where he had left off. i was so glad to hold him when we got home! i felt bad he had woken back up and still had not been comforted. so i laid on the couch and he fell asleep on my chest for several hours before we got up and went to bed.
i am so glad we were able to see everyone and i know miles enjoyed it too! we have our sights on a road trip to the dfw area soon, which is greater than 1 feeding cycle span so we will see how that goes..
Saturday, June 13, 2009
it happened on our way to his appointment with the pediatrician to receive his 2nd PKU testing. he was one day shy of being 2 weeks old. miles cried in the car. it was heart wrenching, especially because he cries so rarely my heart wasn't quite used to the idea just yet. i felt hopelessly far from him; i in the front seat and he in the distant back seat. i couldn't even see his face!
i tried to console him, "its ok miles, its ok...we are almost there". i derived great motherly satisfaction in that my voice alone halted his crying almost immediately. i began to talk to him about anything i could think of. and then he began to cry again.
desperate, i tried something my mom had done while she was staying with us the week before - i sang. to be precise, i sang "this little light of mine" because it was what my mom had sung to him and the only song that could come into my mind. again, the screaming paused. i sang the same words over and over. i think this is why childrens songs are so repetitive. your brain is so exhausted from sleep deprivation and taxed by the crying you cannot be expected to remember anything other than one or two phrases. this worked temporarily and then the screams turned to a whimper and eventually faded as he fell asleep. just as we arrived at the doctor.
i tried to console him, "its ok miles, its ok...we are almost there". i derived great motherly satisfaction in that my voice alone halted his crying almost immediately. i began to talk to him about anything i could think of. and then he began to cry again.
desperate, i tried something my mom had done while she was staying with us the week before - i sang. to be precise, i sang "this little light of mine" because it was what my mom had sung to him and the only song that could come into my mind. again, the screaming paused. i sang the same words over and over. i think this is why childrens songs are so repetitive. your brain is so exhausted from sleep deprivation and taxed by the crying you cannot be expected to remember anything other than one or two phrases. this worked temporarily and then the screams turned to a whimper and eventually faded as he fell asleep. just as we arrived at the doctor.
happy birthday miles
on tuesday may 12th, i went to an appointment with the specialist who had done our 2 major ultrasounds earlier in my pregnancy. this was an extra visit due to my gestational hypertension. my doctor had ordered an NST, blood pressure check, and a complete growth scan on miles. miles did great on the NST, my blood pressure was elevated but not much more than it had been the previous week. the tech doing the scan told me that miles was pretty small. his head measured in the 8th percentile, his stomach measured in the 5th percentile, and his femur measured in the 8th percentile. anything less than the 10th percentile is considered Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR), which i was aware of from reading online so i kind of had a feeling of what was coming next. the specialist came in and redid some measurements and then let me know that she was going to recommend to my dr. that miles be induced as he would be 37wks the next day. probably he was not growing well because of my hypertension and leaving him inside would greatly increase his risk of complications and stillbirth. this was particularly true since he was not uniformly small, as his stomach was much smaller than the rest of him, which raised alarm flags even higher. it was about this point i started freaking out! not in a bad way, but in a wow, this is coming in a few days way.
i went out to the car and called ross who also started freaking out and then called my mom. i picked up a sandwich on my way home and then started thinking of all the things i needed/wanted to do before miles came. this made me very tired and so i took a nap! when i woke up i called my doctor to get the game plan. he went over the same information the specialist had gone over with me and then said he would like me to meet him at the hospital wednesday at 5pm to have this baby! i then called a bunch of people to let them know the baby was on his way, since i knew i wasn't going to be calling anyone right after he was born and i wanted to have the fun of telling people as well.
ross took off work on wednesday and we slept in a little before we started doing some last minute cleaning around the house all morning. his mom and sister arrived around noon, and then ross and i went out on some last minute errands. all this was particularly fun for me since i had been on bedrest for the past 2 weeks, but i was feeling very emotional and nervous about having this baby! ross and i both got haircuts and then went to get a few things at the mall and at target. then we came home, packed up our bags, and drove to the hospital!
we got checked into our room and they immediately hooked me up to the blood pressure machine and the fetal heartrate and contractions monitors. they called my doctor and he showed up a few minutes later and talked with ross and me for about an hour, telling us what to expect and answering questions. he left at 7pm and told us to enjoy dinner by 8pm because after that i would not be able to eat or drink anything until miles came, mostly because of the risk of needing to do a c-section. so ross left to pick up some things. he came back with some games and puzzles and charles came with taco cabana and then he and ross wrestled with our car seat. about 11pm, the nurse came and started my IV and then gave me some medicine (cervadil) that would take about 12hrs to get my body ready for labor. i must say that we had many shifts of nurses and all of them (except 1 really, but even she wasn't that bad) were just exceptionally friendly and helpful. we couldn't have been happier with the hospital, except ross wasn't impressed with the food or pull-out couch. but certainly things could have been way worse!
we then settled in for the night, though i was too excited/nervous to sleep at all, plus i was in some pain from the medicine. the nurse came in every few hours to check my blood pressure and the fetal heartrate monitor. she was also monitoring it via a computer at the nurse's station for the whole night. after a long, sleepless night, my doctor came in at 10am on thursday to check things out and get things going with an IV drip of pitocin. things had progressed a little bit through the night, but there was still a long ways to go. the doctor predicted a baby sometime around 7-11pm. the doctor came back for another check at noon, and then at 2pm when he checked me he also broke my water and declared i could have an epidural at anytime i liked. there was no turning back at this point, miles was definitely coming today!
up to that point i had been experiencing some pain, mostly cramping and lower back pain. the pain increased at this point and i began to feel very nauseous. about 4pm i asked for the anesthesiologist to come and do the epidural as i was rather miserable and nervous about throwing up everywhere. he came right away and it was not as bad as i had imagined it to be. he did about 75% strength and promised to come back if i would like him to make it stronger. about 5min later things seemed so much better! i was able to smile and chat with ross and the nurse.
the pediatrician oncall at the hospital came by and talked to us about the almost certainty that miles would need to spend some time in the Level II nursery. she also talked about the probability that he would not stay with us overnight and that he may even have to stay in the hospital for 1-2 weeks. she discussed the challenges he would most likely face and the things they were looking for. this probably should have freaked me out more than it did, but i was pretty medicated and sleep deprived so i was having some difficulty wrapping my mind around what she was saying.
we continued to increase the pitocin every 15-30min but the doctor seemed concerned. as my contractions began to increase, miles' heartrate was decelerating and i was not progressing very quickly. he frequently came in with a notebook and recorded information and told ross and i that this was make or break time and that things weren't looking particularly good for a vaginal delivery. about 5pm he turned off the pitocin and put me on oxygen. he also put an internal contraction monitor and a fetal heartrate monitor on miles' head so he could have a clear picture of what was going on.
this lasted for about 15 minutes and then suddenly i was in a great deal of pain. i tried pushing the button to see if that would help but that did nothing for me. the nurse was about to call the anesthesiologist back but then she was like oh, i know what's happening...your baby is probably dropping! sure enough she was right on, miles was on his way! my doctor checked in and thought miles was doing pretty good without the pitocin and with the oxygen and thought we were good to go.
we started the pushing process and my nurse was a very good coach and ross was a great help as well. about 5:50pm
the nurse pushed a button and called for a delivery table...stat! suddenly the room filled with about 5-7 nurses, all very excited. "you surprised us!" they said, as everyone was not expecting things to happen before the shift change at 7pm. the doctor came and about 15 minutes later out came miles. as soon as his head came out he started gurgling, even before the rest of him did. when he was fully out he started screaming and the doctor held him up and said "look here's your baby!" they asked ross to cut the cord. the first time he cut, it didn't go all the way through. after he cut through the second time, the doctor held up the cord and it squirted blood all over ross' face! both of them looked mortified but everyone got a huge laugh.
the nurses whisked miles away to the incubator that was right in our room and checked him out while the doctor finished up everything with me. they gave the doctor a hard time saying that he must have been sucking in his tummy on the ultrasound because he wasn't quite as skinny as they had thought and he was far more healthy than anyone expected. he beat the level II nursery weight limits by about 100 grams...or a bottle of aspirin as the doctor said. he had apgar scores of 9 and 9 and seemed to be doing awesome. they said he could stay in our room! one of the nurses brought him to me so he could eat. this nurse turned out to be our personal pediatrician's wife and she was really great. he had some trouble having the cheek strength to eat very well, but this was the last hurdle he would need to get over in order to go home with us (his temperature and breathing and blood sugars were good).
ross held miles for a few minutes and then i did as well before we ordered something to eat from the hospital room service. miles was then under the heat lamp warming up for quite awhile and one of the nurse's gave him a bath. no one could believe how great he looked and how healthy he was. he arrived at 6.17pm according to ross, but the hospital recorded it at as 6.20pm on may 14, 2009. he was 5lb 12oz and 19in long. his head circumference was 13cm.
ross' mom and sister had been in the waiting room and they came back to see him for a few minutes and then they left and ross, miles, and i settled in for our first night as a family! the nurses came in frequently and i had to wake up miles a few times to try to eat. we couldn't believe how tiny he was!
we relaxed all friday morning and then ross' mom and sister came to visit and also our friend grady came around lunchtime. and then my parents came to see miles in the afternoon. a lactation consultant came by to help us out with a supplementary nursing system to ensure miles was getting enough to eat since he didn't have much sucking strength. they also had me use a breast pump to make sure i would get a milk supply. ross was a big help with all of this as you would need about 8 hands to try to do all this by yourself. even during the night he was a trooper and got up to help me out. the doctor came by and thought things were looking good. my parents brought us dinner and we all ate together. some of my friends from school came by and then the rodelas and washingtons also came by that evening. we enjoyed showing him off! no one could believe how tiny he was!
we had a pretty good night friday but we were getting ready to be home! since miles was under 6lbs he needed to stay for monitoring for 48 hours before going home. on saturday morning my parents came back by and also the johnsons and ross' mom and sister came as well. the hospital pediatrician came by in the afternoon and signed miles off to go home. my doctor came back by and said i was good to go as well and started the discharge process. our pediatrician's wife came back and talked to us about caring for miles and then gave us a bunch of goodies and let us out the door! my mom came with us and we stopped for sonic drinks on the way home from the hospital. once we got home my mom made us dinner and got miles a birthday cake and a balloon with flowers for his homecoming. we couldn't believe he was here to stay!
ross and i had gotten in an "argument" on tuesday night about who was tougher and during the delivery process he conceded to me that i was perhaps tougher, though i imagine he was just trying to make me feel good. though i must say the doctor and nurses concurred that i was indeed tough. i will say the whole process had me very freaked out but in the end it was not as difficult or terrible as i had built it up to be in my head. though i don't think i would care to endure it without the epidural or the vicodin afterwards.
everyone had been telling me that childbirth is extremely painful but the result is well worth it. i found the pain to be less than i had thought and the reward to be far sweeter than i could have imagined.
i went out to the car and called ross who also started freaking out and then called my mom. i picked up a sandwich on my way home and then started thinking of all the things i needed/wanted to do before miles came. this made me very tired and so i took a nap! when i woke up i called my doctor to get the game plan. he went over the same information the specialist had gone over with me and then said he would like me to meet him at the hospital wednesday at 5pm to have this baby! i then called a bunch of people to let them know the baby was on his way, since i knew i wasn't going to be calling anyone right after he was born and i wanted to have the fun of telling people as well.
ross took off work on wednesday and we slept in a little before we started doing some last minute cleaning around the house all morning. his mom and sister arrived around noon, and then ross and i went out on some last minute errands. all this was particularly fun for me since i had been on bedrest for the past 2 weeks, but i was feeling very emotional and nervous about having this baby! ross and i both got haircuts and then went to get a few things at the mall and at target. then we came home, packed up our bags, and drove to the hospital!
we got checked into our room and they immediately hooked me up to the blood pressure machine and the fetal heartrate and contractions monitors. they called my doctor and he showed up a few minutes later and talked with ross and me for about an hour, telling us what to expect and answering questions. he left at 7pm and told us to enjoy dinner by 8pm because after that i would not be able to eat or drink anything until miles came, mostly because of the risk of needing to do a c-section. so ross left to pick up some things. he came back with some games and puzzles and charles came with taco cabana and then he and ross wrestled with our car seat. about 11pm, the nurse came and started my IV and then gave me some medicine (cervadil) that would take about 12hrs to get my body ready for labor. i must say that we had many shifts of nurses and all of them (except 1 really, but even she wasn't that bad) were just exceptionally friendly and helpful. we couldn't have been happier with the hospital, except ross wasn't impressed with the food or pull-out couch. but certainly things could have been way worse!
we then settled in for the night, though i was too excited/nervous to sleep at all, plus i was in some pain from the medicine. the nurse came in every few hours to check my blood pressure and the fetal heartrate monitor. she was also monitoring it via a computer at the nurse's station for the whole night. after a long, sleepless night, my doctor came in at 10am on thursday to check things out and get things going with an IV drip of pitocin. things had progressed a little bit through the night, but there was still a long ways to go. the doctor predicted a baby sometime around 7-11pm. the doctor came back for another check at noon, and then at 2pm when he checked me he also broke my water and declared i could have an epidural at anytime i liked. there was no turning back at this point, miles was definitely coming today!
up to that point i had been experiencing some pain, mostly cramping and lower back pain. the pain increased at this point and i began to feel very nauseous. about 4pm i asked for the anesthesiologist to come and do the epidural as i was rather miserable and nervous about throwing up everywhere. he came right away and it was not as bad as i had imagined it to be. he did about 75% strength and promised to come back if i would like him to make it stronger. about 5min later things seemed so much better! i was able to smile and chat with ross and the nurse.
the pediatrician oncall at the hospital came by and talked to us about the almost certainty that miles would need to spend some time in the Level II nursery. she also talked about the probability that he would not stay with us overnight and that he may even have to stay in the hospital for 1-2 weeks. she discussed the challenges he would most likely face and the things they were looking for. this probably should have freaked me out more than it did, but i was pretty medicated and sleep deprived so i was having some difficulty wrapping my mind around what she was saying.
we continued to increase the pitocin every 15-30min but the doctor seemed concerned. as my contractions began to increase, miles' heartrate was decelerating and i was not progressing very quickly. he frequently came in with a notebook and recorded information and told ross and i that this was make or break time and that things weren't looking particularly good for a vaginal delivery. about 5pm he turned off the pitocin and put me on oxygen. he also put an internal contraction monitor and a fetal heartrate monitor on miles' head so he could have a clear picture of what was going on.
this lasted for about 15 minutes and then suddenly i was in a great deal of pain. i tried pushing the button to see if that would help but that did nothing for me. the nurse was about to call the anesthesiologist back but then she was like oh, i know what's happening...your baby is probably dropping! sure enough she was right on, miles was on his way! my doctor checked in and thought miles was doing pretty good without the pitocin and with the oxygen and thought we were good to go.
we started the pushing process and my nurse was a very good coach and ross was a great help as well. about 5:50pm
the nurse pushed a button and called for a delivery table...stat! suddenly the room filled with about 5-7 nurses, all very excited. "you surprised us!" they said, as everyone was not expecting things to happen before the shift change at 7pm. the doctor came and about 15 minutes later out came miles. as soon as his head came out he started gurgling, even before the rest of him did. when he was fully out he started screaming and the doctor held him up and said "look here's your baby!" they asked ross to cut the cord. the first time he cut, it didn't go all the way through. after he cut through the second time, the doctor held up the cord and it squirted blood all over ross' face! both of them looked mortified but everyone got a huge laugh.
the nurses whisked miles away to the incubator that was right in our room and checked him out while the doctor finished up everything with me. they gave the doctor a hard time saying that he must have been sucking in his tummy on the ultrasound because he wasn't quite as skinny as they had thought and he was far more healthy than anyone expected. he beat the level II nursery weight limits by about 100 grams...or a bottle of aspirin as the doctor said. he had apgar scores of 9 and 9 and seemed to be doing awesome. they said he could stay in our room! one of the nurses brought him to me so he could eat. this nurse turned out to be our personal pediatrician's wife and she was really great. he had some trouble having the cheek strength to eat very well, but this was the last hurdle he would need to get over in order to go home with us (his temperature and breathing and blood sugars were good).
ross held miles for a few minutes and then i did as well before we ordered something to eat from the hospital room service. miles was then under the heat lamp warming up for quite awhile and one of the nurse's gave him a bath. no one could believe how great he looked and how healthy he was. he arrived at 6.17pm according to ross, but the hospital recorded it at as 6.20pm on may 14, 2009. he was 5lb 12oz and 19in long. his head circumference was 13cm.
ross' mom and sister had been in the waiting room and they came back to see him for a few minutes and then they left and ross, miles, and i settled in for our first night as a family! the nurses came in frequently and i had to wake up miles a few times to try to eat. we couldn't believe how tiny he was!
we relaxed all friday morning and then ross' mom and sister came to visit and also our friend grady came around lunchtime. and then my parents came to see miles in the afternoon. a lactation consultant came by to help us out with a supplementary nursing system to ensure miles was getting enough to eat since he didn't have much sucking strength. they also had me use a breast pump to make sure i would get a milk supply. ross was a big help with all of this as you would need about 8 hands to try to do all this by yourself. even during the night he was a trooper and got up to help me out. the doctor came by and thought things were looking good. my parents brought us dinner and we all ate together. some of my friends from school came by and then the rodelas and washingtons also came by that evening. we enjoyed showing him off! no one could believe how tiny he was!
we had a pretty good night friday but we were getting ready to be home! since miles was under 6lbs he needed to stay for monitoring for 48 hours before going home. on saturday morning my parents came back by and also the johnsons and ross' mom and sister came as well. the hospital pediatrician came by in the afternoon and signed miles off to go home. my doctor came back by and said i was good to go as well and started the discharge process. our pediatrician's wife came back and talked to us about caring for miles and then gave us a bunch of goodies and let us out the door! my mom came with us and we stopped for sonic drinks on the way home from the hospital. once we got home my mom made us dinner and got miles a birthday cake and a balloon with flowers for his homecoming. we couldn't believe he was here to stay!
ross and i had gotten in an "argument" on tuesday night about who was tougher and during the delivery process he conceded to me that i was perhaps tougher, though i imagine he was just trying to make me feel good. though i must say the doctor and nurses concurred that i was indeed tough. i will say the whole process had me very freaked out but in the end it was not as difficult or terrible as i had built it up to be in my head. though i don't think i would care to endure it without the epidural or the vicodin afterwards.
everyone had been telling me that childbirth is extremely painful but the result is well worth it. i found the pain to be less than i had thought and the reward to be far sweeter than i could have imagined.
new blog
unfortunately the site we were hosting hytnenhype.com on went down and deleted our account on 2 separate occasions. so we are moving on. or back. when in doubt, go with google products (blogger). at least for the time being. we are on the lookout for a new host to bring back the full site, but for now this blog should keep you updated on all things miles. i'm also bringing over some posts from the old site in case you want to re-live some of those moments.
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