My Birth Story - Part V

Here is the fifth and 2nd to last installment of my birth story. I have to post it because I've started to get threatening emails and even a phone call! I love that you are in suspense. All two of you.

7:00am - When the baby's heart rate dropped, I heard some panic in Stephanie's voice as she called for the doctor. At 7:00am, my doctor walked in the door. My actual doctor came to birth my baby. The first words out of his mouth were "I am very disappointed in your uterus, but thanks for letting me sleep through the night." He did a quick check and announced that I was fully effaced, fully dilated and ready to push. By this time, the baby's heart rate had resumed to normal. He explained that it is very common for the heart rate to drop during Transition. Transition is when your body is 10cm dilated and ready to give birth. As it was 7:00am, Stephanie, the nurse who had been with us all night long was at the end of her shift. She apologized, wished us luck and was off. Libby, a nurse intern and her supervisor took over.

7:05am - DG woke up and I started to cry. Even though I was in no pain, I was super nervous. He reassured me that everything would be ok. I cursed the fact that I had not taken my bra off earlier in the night. Somewhere around 3 in the morning, I made a feeble attempt to remove it, only to be foiled by it getting caught on all of the wires I was hooked up to. At this point it was futile and was in a tangled mess caught around my body. I considered asking the nurse to cut if off of me.

7:15am - The table with all of the implements was getting set up and the foot of my bed was removed. I was lying flat on my back, the one position that I never wanted to give birth in. I asked to be raised up so I could watch what was going on. Nick Drake was playing on my IPod birthing mix and the doctor joked about it being from a car commercial.

7:22am - Everyone got into place.

Seventh Generation Diapers

When I first discussed diapers here, I had no idea what I was in for. Now on Hadley's 3 month birthday, I've got some diaper changes under my belt (about 594 give or take) and can make a more educated judgement on diaper brands.

The results are in and Seventh Generation diapers are my favorite for wearablity and usability. Following in a close second is Huggies with Pampers pulling up the rear. Har-Har. Just a little diaper humor for you.

Addendum: I just purchased some Seventh Generation diapers (in bulk) on diapers.com for .19 cents per diaper. I think Pampers were the cheapest in bulk for .16 cents per diaper. Because I ordered in bulk, I also got free shipping! We should now have enough diapers until she moves up to the next size. I figured this out with an easy math problem by estimating that she uses 10 diapers a day and she gains 1 ounce a day. Then I calculated how many diapers she needs until she gains enough weight to move on to the next size.

My Birth Story - Part IV

4:20am - With the Pitocin finally kicking in, my labor went from 0 to 60 in a heart beat. I knew that it was time for drugs because I was out of my mind. DG asked me if I was sure that I wanted an epidural. This is what he was trained to do in our birthing class. And since I had been fine all night, and the contractions had not bothered me, even I was surprised with their sudden onslaught. However, I knew that they were not going to get any easier, and since I wasn't able to walk around, use the tub, the birth ball, or get in any positions we had practiced since I was wired up with monitors, there was no way I could let my body relax.

4:45am - There was a long line for the anesthesiologist, but Stephanie, our nurse, who had been with us since the beginning, got us to the front of the line. Forty-five excruciating minutes later, and Lois came to save me. Earlier in the evening, I had been more terrified of getting an epidural than making it through the contractions. However when I hit the wall and was confined to the bed, there was no amount of breathing that I could do to remain present. The scariest part of the epidural was leaning over the bed with a needle in my back and having to remain perfectly still through a contraction. But once it was injected, I was like a brand new woman. I went from out of my head to fun and joking in two minutes.

I had asked for a light epidural because I still wanted to be able to feel my legs and push through the birth. It was beautiful the way this worked out. The one thing that I remember about Lois is that she noticed my overbite and made reference to how dramatic it was. Few people notice it, but that's what we call the Allbee overbite, uh huh. I think Hadley is getting it as well. Poor thing.

5:30am - Stephanie put in the catheter. At this point, I didn't care. Stick me with whatever, let my pee sit in a bag next to the bed, but give me my baby.

5:00-7:00am - DG slept on the bed/bench next to me, but I could not. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. I was too excited to sleep because I knew when I woke up that I would get to have a baby. Well that and the heart pressure cuff cut blood flow off in my arm every 10 minutes.

6:55am - Out of nowhere, the baby's heart rate dropped. Stephanie sounded really nervous and yelled for the doctor. She put me on oxygen immediately.

I Grew Her in my Belly

I still can't believe that I grew her in my belly and pushed her out. Here she is at 12 weeks and smiling. I must have said something wickedly funny to induce this look.

She is in her stripped jail house outfit, one of the many cute hand-me-downs that I've received from DGs sister. Her Nana made the mistake of calling this one the Jail Bait outfit. I had to inform her that it would be another 16 years before she would have one of those outfits and over my dead carcass.

My Baby Story - Part III

11:00pm - We had been walking the halls since 8:30pm. While I was walking, I timed my contractions at 3 minutes apart. Once I lay down however, they slowed to every 5-10 minutes. The Doctor checked me and I had not dilated any further. At this point, they wanted to keep me on all of the monitors so I was to remain bed ridden. They tried 3 times to get an IV in me and this was more painful than the contractions. They finally had to send in the nurse supervisor.

11:30pm - DG and I started to joke about my one runaway nose hair and how I had forgotten to take care of it that week. I thought it would scratch up the baby's face once she got here and I snuggled up to her.

1:15am -Since I had not progressed any further, the doctor came in and gave the ok to start the Pitocin. I already had an IV, so they started with a small amount.

1:30am - DG started blogging. I dictated my post from the bed. I also had him send an email to my book club to let them know that I would not be there that night.

2:00am - We took a nap for an hour.

3:00am - They upped the Pitocin level and my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart, but totally bearable. I think this is when I started bragging that I could do this all night and day if I had to. The nurse just laughed.

3:15am - For the 5th time that night, I tried to take off my bra. Unfortunately it was caught up in all of the wires, monitors and IVs that I was attached to. By now it was unhooked, hanging off both shoulders and uncomfortably binding. I was never able to get it off.

3:30am - I called my mother (2 hour time difference) because I knew she would be up. Little did I know that she had been pacing nervously all night. We had not spoken since 8:00pm, so she didn't know what was going on. I gave her an update and we chit chatted about the weather for awhile.

4:00am - They upped the Pitocin level again. My contractions immediately went from a 4 on the pain scale to a 10. My pelvis felt like it was about to crack in half. I got that wild crazy look that you see in the movies as my entire body convulsed and tensed during each contraction. I was no longer in my body, but hovering over the bed.

4:20am I lasted through about 6 contractions and my whole body was violently shaking when I looked DG in the eye and told him that I needed an epidural.

A Brief Interlude

And we interrupt this story to let you know that at 12 weeks, Hadley slept through the night last night! Good girl.

Unfortunately, I did not. When I woke up at 4:15am and realized that she had not gotten up, I bolted out of bed, turned on the light, and poked her to see if she was ok. I was so riled up that I couldn't fall back to sleep. So I proceeded to poke her every 20 minutes until she got up at 6am. I did not learn this technique in a book, this is what I like to call hands on parenting. I am not proud.

My Birth Story - Part II

November 26, 2007

6:00pm I spoke with my Doctor and told him that I thought my water had broken. I asked him if I could wait a few hours before going in because I wanted to hang out and make dinner. I still had all of the Thanksgiving leftovers to use and I was going to make turkey soup that night. However, he was convinced that since I was already so far dilated that I was going to go fast so he wanted me to get to the hospital. Our bags were already packed from the day before, so while DG packed up the car, I made us turkey sandwiches. I knew I had to eat dinner in the car because once I got there, I would not be allowed any more food.

7:00pm After dropping the dogs off with Cynthia, we arrived at the hospital at 7pm. I cursed the fact that I haven't purchased maxi pads since the early 90's and that I had 5 soaked through paper towels in my underwear. Stephanie, our nurse came in to hook me up to the monitors and do a swab test to check for amniotic fluid. Her Q-Tip turned black immediately which meant we were full steam ahead.

7:15pm We were put in the biggest room. This hospital recently revamped their maternity ward, so the rooms are like being in a resort hotel with hardwood floors, leather chairs, and a sleeping bench for David.

7:30pm I had 2 monitors around my belly, one for the fetal heart beat and one to measure contractions. I also had a blood pressure cuff around my left arm. They wanted to monitor me for 20 minutes every hour. The Doctor on call wanted to start pitocin, but I told her that I wanted to give my labor a chance to progress naturally. If we weren't ready in 6 hours, then they could start it. DG and I started walking the halls.

Stephanie, our nurse also had me sign the release for the epidural. At that point I was wanting to see how far I could make it. Well that and I was terrified of a needle in my back. But she insisted that it would be better to have it just in case.

8:30pm We walked the halls for 3 hours taking quick 20 minute breaks to get my vitals checked. I was a sight in my double hospital gown, BLACK socks and black Dansko shoes. Crap if I didn’t forget to put on fun socks!

Here is a shot of our bathroom. Those pink pads on the sink are the diapers I had to wear all night to catch the amniotic fluid. Check out that awesome tub. Unfortunately, I never got to use it.



9:30pm When I went to the bathroom, I noticed some green in my continual flow of water and told the nurse about it. She explained that this is common and it meant that Hadley had pooped in utero and that it was coming out. This also meant that the NICU (Natal Intensive Care Unit) would have to be in the room during the delivery to take the baby immediately and suction out her nose and throat so that she didn't get poop in her lungs. *aw man*

My Birth Story - Part I

Here is the first installment of a six part series, on MY story of Hadley's birth:

Sunday, November 25, 2007

7:30am - Having made it through Thanksgiving and DGs surprise 40th birthday celebration the night before, I was officially ready to give birth. I had been 80% effaced and 4cm dilated for about two weeks so while eating breakfast in the morning, when I found that my pjs became slightly damp, I was convinced that my water had broken. I giggled with delight and I remember feeling so excited. DG can still remember the look on my face. I was ecstatic. We called the doctor, packed the car, dropped the dogs off, and headed to the hospital. Right before we left, I put on some pretty pink stripped socks thinking about when Cynthia had told me that her biggest pet peeve was the thought of giving birth in ugly black socks.

Two hours later, after being hooked up to monitors and having a few tests, we were told that my water had not broken and we were sent home. I felt like the girl that cried wolf. I was devastated and embarrassed. Total downer. Thank goodness Hotcakes was across the street so that I could go drown my misery in a plate full of pancakes. But not even the stack full of pumpkin scrumptiousness lifted my mood.

Monday, November 26, 2007

4:45pm – I was driving home from my weekly doctor's appointment and was on the phone giving my mother an update. I was 5cm dilated, 80% effaced and super crampy. For the second week in a row, my doctor had stripped my membranes. He was convinced that once I started, I was going to go fast.

5:00pm - By the time I got home, I was crossing my legs together because a little precious someone was sitting on my bladder. When I walked in the door, I bolted (ok, it was more like a fast waddle) upstairs to use the bathroom. Suddenly, I knew I wasn't going to make it. *crap* So much for all those kegels. However this time, something was different. Liquid kept flowing out of me. Because of the awfulness of the day before, I thought maybe I was just incontinent. So I cleaned up, put on clean underwear, and lay on my left side in bed.

I called my mom again, and told her not to get too excited, but I thought maybe this time my water really had broken. But what did I know? I was so confused. After 10 minutes, I got up again and soaked through my panties, but I still wasn't sure. I needed a sign. Over the next few minutes of walking back and forth to the bathroom, I noticed pools of water all over the floor. It had to be the real thing.

5:15pm - I heard the garage door open and met DG at the door without any pants on. “I think this is it, for real", I said.

The Story of Hadley's Birth

My pregnancy was perfect, except for the fact that I was terrified of actually giving birth. I was unable to even think about it until I was 8 months pregnant. I tried to read the chapters in the books about giving birth early on, but they made me sweaty, panicky and sleepless. So I gave it up. All I could hear in my head were the thousands of stories of other births and the numerous complications that could happen. Everyone has their own story of birthing their babies and all of them terrified me.

I ended up being worked up over nothing. My birth experience was amazing. DG and I talk about it all time and how much fun it was. This week, I am going to begin a six part series on the nitty gritty details of our birth story beyond just how big she was. So stay tuned...or maybe this is TMI and you will want to stay away. No wait, it won't be gory, I promise.

Happy Valentines Day

I was sitting here reminiscing about what we were doing at this time last year. Joy had just come out for a great visit. Consequently, this is also the last time that I went out and got a little tipsy. Oh, the good old days.

Then on VD, I made DG some cookies. This year however, I just got him a card, shaved my legs and brushed my teeth. I thought this would be enough since last year, through a "he said she said" misunderstanding, I didn't even get a card. Apparently the guilt has stayed with him through the year. So this morning, I woke up to a beautiful hand written note, with the soundtrack for superbad, and was later suprised with a delivery of flowers. And if that wasn't enough, he brought home an amazing dinner. I LOVE me some DG.

Mini Me

With technology today, I will snap 100 photos of Hadley in 10 minutes and only keep the best five. Back when we were babies, it is a miracle that our parents have any photos of us at all with the slow shutter speeds, not being able to see your photos immediately and having to send the negatives off in the mail and wait to get them back. Remember those days? Then you would get your precious 24 pictures back only to find your finger in all of them. How patient we had to be!

Here's a picture of me at one week old. My dad thinks it's a spitting image of Hadley. Honestly though, how can you tell from this picture? This one is like the 95 I just deleted today. You can tell what era this photo is from because 1) The side rail of the crib goes up and down and 2) *gasp* there are stuffed animals in the crib. We know too much for our own good.

I've always wanted a mini me. From Day 1 we have been trying to figure out who Hadley looks like. We think she has Dave's nose, but the rest of her seems to be pure Allbee. Poor thing, I would notice that overbite a mile away. We will have to open a separate savings account for her orthodontist. Here is a better example. Compare Hadley at 2 months old to me at four months old. She has my eyes, expressive eyebrows, and widows peak. Can you tell?

The Incredible Baby Gym

We are using the E.A.S.Y. method with Hadley based on the technique from Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Her days consist of Eating, Activity and Sleep, in that order. The Y stands for You Time when the baby is sleeping. Or in other words, "scramble your ass around to get done as much work as you possibly can" time.

For our active time, which is usually around an hour long, I play guitar for her, we sing, kick our legs around, practice standing, have belly time, look at black and white pictures, giggle at rattles, watch a mobile in the bouncy seat, follow objects with our eyes, and try to imitate sounds. She is such a sponge that I've been feeling like she needs a little more stimulus, so I went to Babies R Us last week and got the Sit and Lay Play Gym.

There I was in the store, hemming and hawing over what model to get and should I get them because they were in excess of $55. Geesh, $55? Then I had to have a reality check and remind myself that I would easily drop $100 on a pair of jeans that made my legs look like I had just strut out of a college campus. So I decided on the one in the picture above. It was money well spent because she loves the freakin' crap out of that thing. And I love watching her play, giggle, and smile at all the fun toys.

Gratuitous Baby Shot

Little Red Riding Hood

He is so Handsome!

Babies are androgenous. Unless I dress Hadley in head to toe pink, she inevitably gets called a boy when we are out and people ooh and ahh over her.

This past week-end, she was called a boy twice. As we were leaving the mall, I was was carrying her around, all wide eyed and getting lots of stares and people saying "cute!". Then one couple walking by asked "How old is he?" "Two months", I said. "Oh he is very handsome." "Thanks," I giggled as DG and I looked at eachother and repeated to her "You ARE so handsome little miss pretty".

Virtual Tour

WHAT? No baby post? Hadley's fan club is going to riot. I've received requests to post pictures of the new house, but I don't like to because it is sooooo empty. We've been trying to furnish it one pillow at a time. Since we've made some progress on the upstairs, here are some pics in it's current state.

We live in a raised ranch or bi-level home. When you walk into the front door, there is a 2 story entryway. Go up six stairs and this is the view from the first level. It is one big room with the kitchen, living and dining room.


Turn to the right and see the living room with the new rug and red and white pictures that I bought at TJ Maxx. Score. The red pillows are from Target and the stripped pillow and blanket are from Restoration Hardware.

My other hot deal are the three mirrors on the back wall that I bought on Overstock. The bar stools came from there as well.

We're still up in the air about the paint color and a few more key pieces of furniture and the upstairs will be done.