I was incredibly blessed during my pregnancy. I only had 2 minor issues that surfaced during the last month - really, really bad swollen feet & ankles (I mean REALLY bad - I'd post a picture, but I'm just too embarrassed!) and pregnancy-induced carpel tunnel in my right hand (did you even know that could happen???). Of course, the little man decided to make the deliver a much bigger adventure than the pregnancy, but in the end everyone came out of it healthy. I'd say happy, too, but honestly a c-section is just no picnic. Obviously, I have no basis for comparison, so I can't say if the recovery is any worse than a vaginal delivery, but I have to admit to having had a really tough time that first week with the pain management.
A week after leaving the hospital, I went in for my not-quite-2-week checkup with my OB. The incision was healing nicely, and I was finally off the pain killers and was just taking a Motrin as needed. I was also pleasantly surprised that I had already lost the vast majority of the weight that I gained. (And, no, I don't plan to confess exactly how much I gained. Suffice it to say that it was more than I would have liked, but not enough that my doctor ever bothered to comment on it.) Most of the swelling in my feet had subsided. The only real lingering issue has the issue with my right hand which was really aggravating. The doctor was confident that both issues would resolve themselves over the coming weeks.
Luckily, he was right. Today is 5 weeks since the little man changed our world. I've lost several more pounds and have less than 10 to go. I can actually wear all of my pre-pregnancy shoes again, and the numbness in my right hand is almost completely gone. Now, if only I could figure out what to do about the bags under my eyes! ;-)
After a few folks pointed it out, I realized that I never shared the story of how our little man made it into this world. So here goes …
After waiting for weeks patiently for Logan to decide to start to drop and for my cervix start to soften and dialate, we all came to the realization that he was very, very happy right where he was and that he wasn't going to come out voluntarily. Since he was measuring at almost 9 pounds at 38 ½ weeks, the decision was made to induce labor and see how that would go. Monday night (7/7), my original due date, I checked into the hospital to begin the process. At 40 weeks pregnant, I was feeling pretty pathetic. I'm pretty sure this picture sums it up nicely:
That night, they administered 2 doses of Cytotec to help soften my cervix before they started the Pitocin Tuesday morning. I sent Chris home to get a good night's sleep instead of camping out in the less than comfy looking chair that occupied the corner of the labor & delivery room, and I hunkered down for what I knew would be a sleepless night - despite the ambian they gave me. I had my cup of ice chips, a couple of books and several movies to keep me company - oh, and the nurse who had to check my "progress" and vitals every hour or so. Luckily, she was really nice.
Chris was back at the hospital bright and early to keep me company as they started the Pitocin Tuesday morning. Then it was just a waiting game. Over the next several hours, I started having some minor contracts. Unfortunately, nothing regular or too terribly strong - just very uncomfortable. By late morning, I had only dilated to 3 cm, and Logan still hadn't engaged into the birth canal. Not exactly the progress we had hoped for.
When my doctor came to check on me right at noon, he decided to try to break my water to see if that would move things along. Let me just say this … that was NOT FUN. In the grand scheme of female procedures I would gladly sign up multiple annual exams any day of the week if it meant that I could forgo that experience again. For the ladies out there that have had this done, you understand. If you've haven't, hope that you never need to! Of course, by simple virtue of the fact that Logan hadn't dropped very far, trying to break the bag of water surrounding him would be understandably more difficult. Unfortunately, it proved to be impossible. And, to make matters worse, I started to bleed. A lot. When your doctor makes the very calm comment that he's "uncomfortable with the amount of blood he sees", it makes a high strung girl like me freak out a little. And, at this point, my scheduled induction became an emergency c-section.
Within minutes, the room was filled with people. Chris was taken away to get gowned up, and I was moved into the operating room. That all happened right after 12:00pm. By the time I got to the operating room, my doctor was already there, gowned & gloved up, and ready to go. The laughable part was when the anesthesiologist told me to lean forward so that he could put in the spinal block. You'd think that he wouldn't have been surprised by my "are you kidding me???" look. Chris was still getting ready, so someone helped me to lean forward as instructed. I have to admit that I was shocked when I realized it was my doctor helping and holding me and talking to me while they were working to get the spinal in. He was telling me how Logan was just fine and that he'd be with us in just a few minutes. I would have expected that most doctors would have let a nurse do the patient hand holding and comforting. I think that speaks volumes about the kind of physician he is.
Anyway - they got the spinal in and proceeded to start the poking process to make sure I was numb. The only problem was that I was scared to death to tell them I couldn't feel the pin they were poking me with because I was terrified that I'd feel them slicing me open! I think they finally figured out that I was on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and they decided that things might go a little more smoothly if I had a good dose of drugs to help me relax. Suffice it to say, I was stoned by the time it was over. After listening to the buzz of a razor and feeling a slight tugging pressure, Logan made his entrance at 12:32pm. I do (vaguely) remember hearing a baby cry and thinking holy crap,that's my son. From what they told us afterwards, Logan was so ticked off about them coming in after him that as soon as his little head was out (and before they could pull the rest of his body out), he started screaming bloody murder. That's my boy!
A lot of folks have asked if Chris got to cut the cord. The answer is an unfortunate no. The doctors were concerned enough about the bleeding that the priority was to first get Logan out and then second to figure out where the blood was coming from. That precluded the somewhat ceremonial cutting of the cord.
Chris got a great video of them getting this all cleaned up:
While they were getting the little man cleaned up, they were still working on me to make sure that whatever produced the quantity of blood that got us to the OR in the first place wasn't still bleeding. After almost another 30 minutes of rooting around, the doctors deemed that there were no other sources of bleeding, and they stitched me up. (Okay, to be honest, they stapled me up, but that sounds weird, doesn't it?) In the end, it was determined that the most likely cause of the bleeding that caused the original concern was a nicked placenta - a known complication of manually breaking the fluid sack. But, better safe than sorry.
In the meantime, Chris brought Logan over to say hi …
(Yes, I was really stoned!)
After an hour, I finally made it to the recovery room where I got to hold my son for the first time!
Then Chris went with him for his first bath. He decided to video the whole thing both for posterity and instruction. Such a smart man I married!
It seemed crazy that after 9 months of waiting for him he came in such a rush, but that's how these things happen, I guess. You can check out more photos of that chaotic day here.
And, that's the story! You can check out more photos from that day here.
Well, here's another one of those long overdue posts …
Given the fact that Chris and I made my parents wait 8 long years after we got married to finally decide to give them a grandchild, I felt that Mom deserved a day to simply celebrate the fact that she was finally going to be a grandmother. So, at the end of May, Angie and I ventured down to San Antonio to throw Mom a Grandma-to-be Shower. Angie's mom Karen, who lives just about 25 minutes away from my mom, generously offered to host the event, and she has an awesome setup with her stamp room for just such events.
And, here's the guest of honor!
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some more advice, so the ladies in attendance also made a page for the advice book that was started at my baby shower.
That's my Aunt Gayle hard at work imparting her words of wisdom!
Karen was in charge of the main activity of the afternoon - a brag scrapbook for Mom. The ladies created pages for the scrapbook so that all I have to do is put in pictures for Mom when the time comes. (Yes, Mom … I'm working on it!)
Of course, there were gifts for the Grandma-to-be and a few for me, too.
It was a fun afternoon celebrating her impending grandmother-hood with Mom! Check out more photos here.
I'm more than a little embarrassed that it's taken me so long to post this blog entry, but better late than never right?
On the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend (how appropriate, right?), 3 of my very best girlfriends got together and threw an incredible shower for yours truly to celebrate Logan's impending arrival. Picture here from left to right - Angie, Dana, & Kathy truly were the hostesses with the mostess.
Angie kicked off the festivities in a manner of speaking by sending out an adorable, handmade invitation with a very Seussy feel:
Angie also served as the official photographer of the day. So, all of the photos are her handy work - hence why you don't see her beaming smile in the photos. She also had the brainstorm to create a wonderful memento of the day - an advice book from all of the ladies who attended to help me figure out this parenting thing. As the guests arrived, they got to go upstairs for a tour of the nursery. Then they had their photo snapped and took pen in hand to offer of their words of womanly wisdom. The result is a wonderful combination guest & advice book. Sweet!
After that fun, the guests went back down stairs to enjoy the spread of yummy food love that Kathy prepared. She's addicted to the Food Network, and we all reaped the benefits of it! :-)
Obviously, Kathy also created this awesome cake for the occasion. Notice how she beautifully incorporated the Seuss theme and also managed to replicate the stars and swirls design from Angie's invitation. She is GOOD!
Dana was the game-master of the day. She led us in the Candy Bar Game where all of the candy bars are related to pregnancy or labor & deliver in some way. Then we played Name That Baby Food. If that isn't a perplexed look I don't know what is!
Of course, I'm eternally grateful for the generosity of the guests. We had lots of fun ooohing and aaahing over the adorable gifts.
The event was the perfect way to celebrate with friends! To see more photos, check out the photo album.
In honor of his father's tradition of wearing Hawaiian shirts to work on Fridays, I found Logan a couple of Hawaiian onesies at Old Navy. He wore his first one today.
I took Logan in for another weight check yesterday, and he is up to 9 pounds 3 ounces! That means that he's gained 1 ½ pounds in just the last week, and he's surpassed his birth weight.
Unfortunately, my milk production still isn't enough for him yet, so we're still supplementing with formula. The lactation consultant said it could take at least 2 weeks for my milk supply to catch up. In the meantime, it's taking an hour plus (and sometimes as much as two hours) each and every time we feed him between nursing, supplementing, & pumping. So, as is to be expected, the days still pretty much revolve around that. On the upside, since he's doing so well, we can (and do!) let him go a little longer at night and we usually get an almost 3-4 hour stretch of sleep. Who knew that I would ever be ecstatic over a whopping 3 or 4 hours of sleep??? But, that's life with a newborn, right?
It seems to be somewhat noteworthy that today has been my first full day at home with Logan by myself, and so far so good. Chris is transitioning back to work this week - working from home Monday, Wednesday, & Friday and going into the office Tuesday (today) & Thursday. He'll go back into the office full time next week. It's been a bit of a challenge to juggle everything with just my 2 hands and to not have anyone to holler out to when I'm a hand or two short of being able to accomplish some task, but I think I'm figuring it out. Mostly. Let's put it this way - neither of us has cried too much today. :-)
Today's onesie declares the little man as "F. B. I. - Fat Bald Innocent". Even though both the "fat" & the "bald" aren't completely accurate, it's still an adorable onesie!
Unfortunately, we have made the discovery that Logan tends to spit up quite a bit more with formula than breast milk. Today, Little Man decided to play baby volcano and it ended up all over his face. Don't ask how … I'm not even sure myself.
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