Labor and Delivery

*** WARNING... Don't read if you don't want to hear every gross detail about my labor and delivery***

It was about 12:40am on the 10th of December, I just got back in bed after peeing when I had the feeling like I just leaked pee in my pants.  Of course this couldn't be the case because like I said, I'd just emptied my bladder.  So I went back to the bathroom. I thought about waking Craig right then, but then second guessed myself.  Did my water break or not?  With Kendra it was a gush and I had no doubt.  This time I wasn't sure.  I changed my pantyliner and got back in bed.  I thought, If my water did break, something else will happen to verify that, I wasn't going to wake up everyone for a false alarm.  I got up to pee only once more that night, and I was not really wet at all.  So I decided I must have imagined it.  When we all were awake the next morning I mentioned to Craig that I thought my water broke that night, but I wasn't quite sure.  Then I went to the bathroom again and I was wet and it smelt weird.  So, we called the Doctor, but it was Saturday so no one was in the office.  We decided to go to the hospital just to get me checked so we wouldn't worry about it all day. 

After they checked me, sure enough my water broke and I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced.  They thought it was funny that I went back to sleep for 6 hours.  I got admitted and checked into my labor and delivery room around 10:00am.  Craig's parents came and picked up Kendra and I got started on pitocin.  It took a couple of hours and the maximum amount of pitocin before the contractions were painful. I watched the Blind Side, and played a little Sudoku on my Kindle. Craig played angry birds when I couldn't concentrate on anything but contractions. They came and checked me at about 2:00pm and I was dilated to a 6 and still 80%.  This is when I asked for the epidural.  They checked me at 4:00pm and I hadn't made as much progress as they thought.  They determined that when my water broke some of it was still in tacked and was in the way of the baby's head coming down.  The nurse moved things around and released whatever was blocking the way.  I started to feel some pressure so they checked me again about 6:00pm and I was ready. 

They called the Dr. and started to prep the room. Because it was the weekend, my doctor wasn't there, and the on-call doctor was going to deliver the baby.  He was a really nice guy named Monty with a good sense of humor.  The doctor asked me how long I had to push with Kendra and I told him 20 min. He said 20 minutes would be hard to beat but we'd try.  18 min later at 6:31pm... Carter was born.  The second I saw him I couldn't help but smile wide, I was so happy to finally meet him.  His face was all scrunched and his hair was nice and thick.  The relief and joy I felt was indescribable.

I didn't have to get stitches!  Which is what I was praying for, not like it was a necessity, I just didn't want the maintenance and hassle that comes after.

Carter weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. As soon as they cleaned him up I got to try and feed him.  When he was born he had his tongue out and was tasting the air. He latched on the first try and was eating like he'd been doing it forever.  It was a good thing too because I wasn't sure I wanted to nurse and I told myself if it wasn't easy I wasn't going to do it this time. He makes nursing enjoyable, only 15-20 min with very little pain. He loves to eat and I think he has the Divis gene. He's thicker than Kendra and eats a lot more.  My milk is creamer this time too.

Carter had Jaundice and had to be under the lights for two days and one night.  He was poked the day after we got home from the hospital and he weighed 7lbs 10 oz.  So he didn't loose a whole lot of weight since birth, my milk came in while I was still in the hospital.  The next day we went in for another poke, and he was 7 lbs 13oz.  Almost his birth weight.  They don't expect that until closer to the two week mark.  I'm curious to see what he weighs then.

 The things I've learned about Carter: He loves to snuggle, and is always curled up.  He hardly opens his tiny eyes.  He knows his days from nights fairly well. He hardly ever cries.  He's really patient.  He's not fooled by the binki.  He loves to eat and is always hungry.  When he's not eating, he's sleeping.  If he is awake for a few hours he has to eat about every hour.  When he sleeps he eats every 3 hours. He has cute fluffy dark hair and really light eyebrows (I think that means he'll be blond).  When I catch a smile (even though it's probably just gas) it melts my heart.

*** They say every labor and deliver story is different, mine were so much the same I had to make a chart to compare, most of the differences were improvements:

        KENDRA                                                           CARTER

• 13 days early                                                   11 days early
• water broke at 11:30pm                                  water broke 12:45am
• labor didn't start                                              labor didn't start
• 20 min pushing                                               18 min pushing
• born 8:02pm                                                   born 6:31pm

38 Weeks- any day now

I went to the Dr. today.  I'm 3cm dilated and 80 % effaced. My doctor looked at my due date and because I'm progressing so well said we could induce on the 13th, a week early, if I wanted.  Of course I want to!  She stripped my membranes today so I might actually go before then.  Kendra came at 38 weeks and one day.  We hope he comes this weekend, cause it's the most convenient, but, it's nice to know in less than a week I will be able to meet this little boy.  I'm excited!  Which means this is my last post of me pregnant.  My next post will be my labor and delivery story.

I actually lost 5 lbs from 2 weeks ago.  Kinda weird.  But I did get sick Saturday night.  I puked so bad that night or maybe it was more Sunday morning.  Anyway, I had a few days of not eating much, but it makes me back on track to where I thought I would be at this point.

I get Braxton Hicks contractions a lot these days, and some are painful. Walking is awkward and I waddle so bad it's not even funny.  Sleeping is a joke, so I figure, why not have a baby if I'm not even sleeping well.  I will try to get as much sleep as I can in the next week though.  I hope I'm ready.  Wish me luck!

37 Weeks - 3 weeks left

This week had its ups and downs. Some days I'd feel fine, but others I was moody, I had painful contractions, and I felt drained.  Yesterday I broke down and just cried, probably cause of the build up of the hormones or something. Today I feel good. 

Like the other day we were driving home from somewhere and I started a really painful contraction, I was so close to home I didn't want to pull over and I thought, "If I could just get home, it'll be okay".  Well I got safely home and then the contraction was over.  I haven't had one that painful yet or since.

I've decided my body can't take much more of this.  I'm so big I feel like I really will pop.  So I am going to have my Dr strip my membranes in a week.  Let's see if we can get this baby out a little early!

36 weeks- 4 weeks left

So I went to the Dr yesterday and she said I was 2 cm dialated and 50% effaced.  This is more progress than I ever made on my own with Kendra. She was not worried about premature labor but did say that I should relax for the next two weeks and lay down if I ever started feeling bad.  She's fairly confident I will go early but didn't mind not seeing me for two weeks.  My next apt. is on the two week early mark.  She said she could strip my membranes then if I wanted her to.  I'm not sure how I feel about that, I think I'll wait one more week before we strip membranes. I think just the apt might be enough to set me off, it was last time.

35 Weeks- 5 Weeks left

It's crazy how I can count down the weeks on one hand now.  Craig keeps reminding me how much time I have left if this boy comes as early as Kendra, that would mean 3 WEEKS! We are going to be ready by the end of the month so we are prepared no matter what.  I'm putting up the Christmas tree Thanksgiving weekend and I'll start wrapping all the Christmas gifts. We will also set up the Crib Thanksgiving weekend and paint his room.  I know, it's a lot to do, but it's a long weekend.

34 Weeks- 6 weeks left

I kept saying that I thought this belly was bigger than last time, and I was right!  I just got 2 inch extensions on the stretch marks on the top of my belly. And who knows, I've got more than a month left to stretch even farther.  I went to my doctor, and I gained too much weight, she didn't say that, I just know I shouldn't be this big. But maybe that's just that it's a boy and I'm going to be big. But, I'm healthy and so is the baby, and that's what really counts.  I'll worry about extra weight when I can do something about it... after he's born.

Week 33 - 7 weeks left

I'm not sure if it's because I haven't been able to swim or be super active the last half of my pregnancy or because I'm just bigger this time, but it pains me to move much.  Getting up and down from the couch or bed must be done with great care not to cause a cramp or stab of pain in either my legs, hips, or back.  I can't walk fast anywhere.  For a ringing cell phone, or for Kendra's needs, I just walk and think, it's okay to be slow.  When we took Kendra T-O-T we walked up and down three streets.  My doctor told me not to walk up hill, but I did and I've suffered for it.  I even got a cramp in my foot yesterday.  This boy must be resting on a bunch of my nerves.

Also, Craig laughs at me when my shirts don't fit.  I have a large PJ t-shirt that doesn't cover my belly any more, and the other day I was wearing an undershirt that was a preg shirt but was still too short and then the over shirt, this shirt hovered a little and from Craig's angle (laying on the couch) he could see my bare belly.  I hoped he was the only one cause I'd been wearing it all day!

I might have to break down and buy more preg clothes at the end of my preg!  To only wear something for less than two months sounds stupid, but I do have to wear clothes so.... I hope I can find a few cheap cute things.