Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Play mat

The new toy of the week is the play mat. You play on it by yourself after a feeding for up to half an hour, which means free time for mommy to do fun things like laundry.

Friday, April 22, 2011

2 week Doctor visit

Thursday the 14th at the first doctor visit you weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces.

Today Friday the 22nd at the two week visit you weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces so back up to your birth weight.

Today also consisted of a blood test, but not to worry since you slept thru the whole thing.



Were very lucky to have grandpa with us this week, which is a huge help even more so last night when you didn't want to be put down till 3 AM.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

First week

We have been very lucky to have my mother in law visiting with us this week. She has been a huge help to say the least. The first morning she was here she had already vacuumed the house and cleaned the kitchen. The laundry all got done in record speeds.

The next day she drove us to the doctor, which went very well. The doctor is running the Boston marathon this week, which seemed like a small world. I also liked that she was okay with formula feeding made with tap water and even did that for her own children. We go back next week for a weight check.

She has also helped us to get RJ on a better sleep and eat schedule. RJ has been doing great with the eating and sleeping schedule. He's been eating every few hours and sleeping between. We have been very lucky that he only cries when he hes having his diaper changed.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Birth Story

I went to the bathroom Friday night around 5 and after trying to stand up realized my water was breaking. Every movement I made it kept breaking. I called out to Rob who started packing the car. After calling the doctor I showered and ate since I knew it could be a long night.
When we got to the hospital we had to wait around in the waiting room for an hour before even seeing a nurse. When we finally got to a triage room the nurse hooked me up to all the monitors and we waited and waited. The doctor came in to check me and said I was 4cm, but wasn’t having any contractions. After about another hour we moved to our labor and delivery room and got settled.
After a few hours I started to feel extreme pressure in my lower back and butt. The contraction monitors never picked them up and or anything to come later. The pain got unbearable real fast, but by the time I was crying for medications it was a long wait for the epidural. The nurse checked me and said I was 8cm and gave me medication in my IV to tide me over.  The anesthesiologist finally came and had trouble with the epidural because apparently I have scoliosis so it took him multiple tries to place it. It barely even took the edge off what I was calling contractions since the monitor still never picked them up.

I was checked again and was 10cm, but the baby was still high up so I was left to labor down for hours. After pushing and pushing for hours there was no progress at all. After many position changes to try to get the baby to come down it was discovered that he wasn’t in a good position. The doctor tried to move him around, which I thought was the most unpleasant thing ever. Next the doctor tried to use forceps to help pull him out and this is when I felt what true pain is. He couldn’t get them placed right and I was in so much pain and told him enough was enough and that I was done. By this point I had been in labor all night and was overtired. 
At this point it was discovered that I had a fever, which made the baby at risk for infection. I was given antibiotics while every NCUI doctor introduced themselves and told us the plan for taking him right after birth. I was prepped for a C section and things really starting getting nerve wrecking.  
I was taken to the OR, while Rob waited outside for me to be ready. It took a lot longer than usual because my doctor was just starting her shift and wanted to do the procedure. Finally everything was ready and Rob got to sit next to me, which made me feel a lot more at ease.  
When the doctor pulled the baby out and we heard the cry will go down as one of the best moments of my life. We both looked at each other with tears in our eyes and immediately fell in love. All the doctors were saying how much blonde hair he had and how big he was. He was taken to the corner of the room to get cleaned up and checked over by the NCUI team. Rob went over and would look back at me to let me know how it was going. Then he was brought over to say hello for a brief minute before being rushed off to the NCUI. Rob got to go with him to the NCUI, while my surgery was finished. It seemed like hours that I was alone and didn’t know what was going on with my baby.
After everything was finished with my surgery I was taken to recovery where Rob was waiting for me. He had pictures from the NCUI and got to hold him and feed him. We called both families and spent time in the recovery room resting. After a few hours we moved to our permanent recovery room. Rob spent time running back and forth between me and the NCUI. It would be hours before I was able to go up the NCUI by wheel chair to finally hold him.
Rob wheeled me up the NCUI to meet our son and this was another perfect moment. I got to hold him and snuggle him for hours. He was hooked up to all sorts of monitors that kept beeping and making us worry. But it didn’t stop us from looking at each other in amazement that we created this perfect boy.