So the day the hospital told us we would be going home was the day Alex and I realized we have basically no idea what we're doing. One night in the hospital with Ben in our room and basically one full day and the hospital peeps are like "you're good to go!"
What?! All of a sudden we go from being somewhat supervised to alone with a three day old. As we were walking out of the hospital I kept thinking "surely there's got to be something they're not telling us?!" I don't think it really set in until we got home that this was really happening. Even with our parents there, we were ultimately responsible for this little Gus whole world. He was completely helpless and needed us to give him food, and keep him warm, and clean and happy. And it was a little scary.
Things I learned in my first week of being a mom:
- I have a boy, therefore I must change diapers at lightning speed or I will get peed on. Or he will, or there will be pee on the carpet, or the cat.
- My son does not like being changed into or out of clothing or diapers.
- Ben makes the most adorable an yet kinda freaky noises when he sleeps.
- waking up a newborn to make them eat is hard
- Breastfeeding is really really hard. No matter how many classes you take, how many times the lactation consultant came to see you in the hospital, it will still take time, patience, and a few tears from both mom and baby.
- My husband became a Breastfeeding expert. Alex read up on everything he could to help me out, helping us get the right latch and positioning Ben and reminding me that we were both learning and it was going to be ok. He was absolutely amazing and supportive.
- I cannot, nor will I ever become as good at swaddling as that NICU nurse. However it wouldn't matter if I did because Ben is a Houdini with his arms and will always get them out. Even in those little swaddled baby straight jackets with the Velcro.
- I got pooped at (yes at, it came shooting out like a gun) and I didn't flinch. Laughed yes (which hurt like hell on my stitches) but went strait into "mommy mode" cleaning up the poopy butt before cleaning myself and the floor which he'd been on when he unloaded on me.
- It only takes a few days to get used to being a parent. We pretty much picked up on it right away, but it was all pretty surreal for a while. Even a few weeks later I can't believe sometimes this little guy is here.
- Baby snuggles are the best kind. Nothing compares to having your child snuggles up on your chest or in your arms.
- my entire life now revolves around this tiny piece of me and Alex that we brought into the world.
- I love my husband more now than ever after all that we've been thru in the last few weeks and seeing him become a dad. It's the most amazing thing ever.
- Being Ben's Mom and Dad is freaking awesome
That's all for now!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The Longest Walk
So in my last blog I left off with our beautiful boy on his way to the NICU. Shortly after Ben and Alex left, they closed me up and moved me into a recovery room. Our nurse (Kara) who'd been with us the whole time came in and explained to me that they were doing X-rays on Ben to see how much air had gotten outside his lungs and they would probably keep him overnight.
Alex came in to confirm this a little while later, along with bringing pictures for me to look at since I hadn't gotten to see him for very long. It would be nearly eight hours before I would get to hold him for the first time. My mom came in the recovery room to stay with me, while Alex went to explain everything to his parents who were waiting in our other room. Then he went back to the NICU.
I was moved back to my room on the recovery hall about two hours later. Kara explained to me that I would need to get up as soon as I felt able to (no problem there I had a baby to see) and I would need to do it twice before I could go down there. As soon as I felt my legs return to normal I was pushing the call button. By 6pm I was moving around my room, 6:30 I was doing laps back and forth between the bathroom and my bed. At 7:30 we asked the night nurse if we could go down to the NICU. She didn't want me to make that long of a walk without a wheel chair so the first trip down I had help from Alex.
The NICU is located on the complete opposite side of the labor and delivery floor. Thru a few doors and a check in room. Once we got down there we had to wash our hands thoroughly at this hand washing room before we could go in the room. Then Alex led me to where our little boy was. There really is nothing like seeing your child hooked up to a bunch of machines. Luckily for us, Ben was doing really well: they had taken him off the breathing device and were going to let me try and feed him since I was there.
I'll never forget the moment I got to hold my son for the first time. It's one of the best feelings in the world. I can't event begin to describe it. We stayed for about an hour or two but then we had to go back so I could get my medicine and a few other things taken care of. Throughout the night we would go back every couple of hours to attempt to breastfeed Ben and spend some time snuggling. Every time I had to walk away from him broke my heart. I would have just slept in that room if they'd have let me.
Ben was doing really well by early morning, and after walking back and forth down the hallway all night so was I. I was still in pain, but it was manageable, and I was finally allowed to start eating food again! Around 9am on Monday morning the NICU nurse told us there was a really good chance that Ben would be coming back to our room for the rest of our stay! Alex and I were ecstatic! We couldn't wait to have our little man in the same room with us.
By lunchtime little Ben was wheeled into our room free from all the monitors and tubes! To say we were all excited was an understatement. Ben would spend
the rest of the afternoon being passed from grandparent to grandparent and having his picture taken what seems like a billion times. It was the best Monday Alex and I had had in ages :-)
Alex came in to confirm this a little while later, along with bringing pictures for me to look at since I hadn't gotten to see him for very long. It would be nearly eight hours before I would get to hold him for the first time. My mom came in the recovery room to stay with me, while Alex went to explain everything to his parents who were waiting in our other room. Then he went back to the NICU.
I was moved back to my room on the recovery hall about two hours later. Kara explained to me that I would need to get up as soon as I felt able to (no problem there I had a baby to see) and I would need to do it twice before I could go down there. As soon as I felt my legs return to normal I was pushing the call button. By 6pm I was moving around my room, 6:30 I was doing laps back and forth between the bathroom and my bed. At 7:30 we asked the night nurse if we could go down to the NICU. She didn't want me to make that long of a walk without a wheel chair so the first trip down I had help from Alex.
The NICU is located on the complete opposite side of the labor and delivery floor. Thru a few doors and a check in room. Once we got down there we had to wash our hands thoroughly at this hand washing room before we could go in the room. Then Alex led me to where our little boy was. There really is nothing like seeing your child hooked up to a bunch of machines. Luckily for us, Ben was doing really well: they had taken him off the breathing device and were going to let me try and feed him since I was there.
I'll never forget the moment I got to hold my son for the first time. It's one of the best feelings in the world. I can't event begin to describe it. We stayed for about an hour or two but then we had to go back so I could get my medicine and a few other things taken care of. Throughout the night we would go back every couple of hours to attempt to breastfeed Ben and spend some time snuggling. Every time I had to walk away from him broke my heart. I would have just slept in that room if they'd have let me.
Ben was doing really well by early morning, and after walking back and forth down the hallway all night so was I. I was still in pain, but it was manageable, and I was finally allowed to start eating food again! Around 9am on Monday morning the NICU nurse told us there was a really good chance that Ben would be coming back to our room for the rest of our stay! Alex and I were ecstatic! We couldn't wait to have our little man in the same room with us.
By lunchtime little Ben was wheeled into our room free from all the monitors and tubes! To say we were all excited was an understatement. Ben would spend
the rest of the afternoon being passed from grandparent to grandparent and having his picture taken what seems like a billion times. It was the best Monday Alex and I had had in ages :-)
Monday, April 15, 2013
Labor Pains
So as many of you know by now, Alex and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy Ben into the world last Sunday! It was a whirlwind of a week for our family leading up to his arrival. As I stated in my last entry, we were scheduled for an induction on April 5th. We were blessed to have my mom and Alex's parents with us when we went to get checked into labor and delivery that night. Little did we know that we would be spending the next four days at Walter Reed but by Sunday morning we would have our little boy!
To make a long complicated labor short, we started with medication that got my contractions started, however there was very little progress as far as dilation. Around midnight they tried inserting a foley bulb, a painful experience that failed the first attempt. A few hours later the doc would come in to try again. I'm not sure if anyone has ever had this procedure before, but it hurts. Especially when you're having contractions. It was awful, so awful I was in tears and squeezing Alex's hand so hard I'm pretty sure he got a hairline fracture. Once they got it in the contractions started becoming stronger and more frequent but not at all regular. That was my breaking point. The best piece if advice I got going into this birthing thing was if you plan on getting the epidural at all get it early. Boy were they right! Props to anyone who goes thru labor without any medication, I on the other hand know where my limits are.
The foley bulb did its job, I was dilated to three centimeters by 9am and as an extra bonus my water broke without any docs! However, with my water broken Ben and I were now on a timeline. 24 hrs to get into active labor (4cm or more) or else we were headed for the O.R table. Saturday was spent increasing the pitocin drip and constantly checking to see if I'd progressed further than the 3cm I'd been at since 9am. No dice. On top of that, my contractions were getting stronger, but still not regularly spaced out and Ben was starting not to handle them well. Every so often his heart rate would drop with the contractions and I would have to go on an oxygen mask and flip on my side. You want to see something funny, it's a nurse and my husband trying to flip me and my epidural legs over from side to side! LOL!
Throughout the night it would be the same routine: flip on one side, put on the mask, up pitocin, lower pitocin, check my cervix, no change. At 6am the docs started prepping us for what was most likely going to happen on Sunday morning. If at 9am there was still no change we would have to have a c-section. Many people go into labor prepared for only one outcome, a normal delivery. I however am one of those people who like to mentally prepare for the unlikely and then be pleasantly surprised when it goes one way or another. By the time 9am rolled around I was ready for the c-section Alex and I knew was coming.
Sure enough, 9am came, there was no change and our nurse (who by the way was freaking awesome) started prepping me for surgery. By 10:30 I was being rolled into the OR and in a few minutes Alex was there with me. The rest of it all seems like a blur to me now. There was a lot of pressure, and movement on the other side of the panel. You can't feel pain during a c-section but you can still feel some stuff, it's a weird feeling.
At 10:55am I heard the first little whimpers of my son, and then we heard him crying. Well screaming is more like it. The doc said he was one of the loudest babies he'd ever heard. Alex went over to cut the cord and then got to hold him, that was when the nurse noticed that Ben was making a grunting noise. They put him back on the table and the pediatrician checked his lungs. Then the nurse came around the corner to tell me that they were taking Ben to the NICU to check him out and Alex was going with him.
Apparently when he came out, Ben screamed so loud that he got air outside his lungs and it was making it hard for him to expand one of them all the way. I would get to see him for about thirty seconds before he was rushed off to the NICU. . But Alex was with him and that's all that mattered.
To be continued...
To make a long complicated labor short, we started with medication that got my contractions started, however there was very little progress as far as dilation. Around midnight they tried inserting a foley bulb, a painful experience that failed the first attempt. A few hours later the doc would come in to try again. I'm not sure if anyone has ever had this procedure before, but it hurts. Especially when you're having contractions. It was awful, so awful I was in tears and squeezing Alex's hand so hard I'm pretty sure he got a hairline fracture. Once they got it in the contractions started becoming stronger and more frequent but not at all regular. That was my breaking point. The best piece if advice I got going into this birthing thing was if you plan on getting the epidural at all get it early. Boy were they right! Props to anyone who goes thru labor without any medication, I on the other hand know where my limits are.
The foley bulb did its job, I was dilated to three centimeters by 9am and as an extra bonus my water broke without any docs! However, with my water broken Ben and I were now on a timeline. 24 hrs to get into active labor (4cm or more) or else we were headed for the O.R table. Saturday was spent increasing the pitocin drip and constantly checking to see if I'd progressed further than the 3cm I'd been at since 9am. No dice. On top of that, my contractions were getting stronger, but still not regularly spaced out and Ben was starting not to handle them well. Every so often his heart rate would drop with the contractions and I would have to go on an oxygen mask and flip on my side. You want to see something funny, it's a nurse and my husband trying to flip me and my epidural legs over from side to side! LOL!
Throughout the night it would be the same routine: flip on one side, put on the mask, up pitocin, lower pitocin, check my cervix, no change. At 6am the docs started prepping us for what was most likely going to happen on Sunday morning. If at 9am there was still no change we would have to have a c-section. Many people go into labor prepared for only one outcome, a normal delivery. I however am one of those people who like to mentally prepare for the unlikely and then be pleasantly surprised when it goes one way or another. By the time 9am rolled around I was ready for the c-section Alex and I knew was coming.
Sure enough, 9am came, there was no change and our nurse (who by the way was freaking awesome) started prepping me for surgery. By 10:30 I was being rolled into the OR and in a few minutes Alex was there with me. The rest of it all seems like a blur to me now. There was a lot of pressure, and movement on the other side of the panel. You can't feel pain during a c-section but you can still feel some stuff, it's a weird feeling.
At 10:55am I heard the first little whimpers of my son, and then we heard him crying. Well screaming is more like it. The doc said he was one of the loudest babies he'd ever heard. Alex went over to cut the cord and then got to hold him, that was when the nurse noticed that Ben was making a grunting noise. They put him back on the table and the pediatrician checked his lungs. Then the nurse came around the corner to tell me that they were taking Ben to the NICU to check him out and Alex was going with him.
Apparently when he came out, Ben screamed so loud that he got air outside his lungs and it was making it hard for him to expand one of them all the way. I would get to see him for about thirty seconds before he was rushed off to the NICU. . But Alex was with him and that's all that mattered.
To be continued...
Friday, March 29, 2013
Eviction Day is Coming!
This week has been crazy busy for the Early's! We've been getting ready to have our families in town this weekend for the Easter weekend and somewhat patiently awaiting the arrival of lil Ben! We had our first "false alarm" on Wednesday night too! I was having contractions that started getting closer and closer together. So close that they fit the criteria for me to call Labor and Delivery. They had me come in just to get checked out but ended up releasing us since I wasn't dilating anymore than at my last check up. So home we went, and after a good nights rest my contractions went back to being irregular !
We had our 39 week checkup this morning and since I'm on a bunch of meds they decided to schedule me for an induction on the 5th! So unless this little guy decides to make an earlier appearance, we'll be having a baby next weekend!
We had our 39 week checkup this morning and since I'm on a bunch of meds they decided to schedule me for an induction on the 5th! So unless this little guy decides to make an earlier appearance, we'll be having a baby next weekend!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Wiggles, Due Dates, and SNOW
So I'm a little past 38wks preggers and I'm already tired of it. Who am I kidding I was tired of it weeks ago and I've still (at a min) got at least one more week til my due date. I had a check up this past Friday ad good news is I was showing SOME progression in the dialate/effacing (for all you non-mommies that's a good thing) which as my sister lovingly told me "we'll that's further than I ever was!" My giant baby has found that his favorite place to hang out is bouncing his ginormous noggin off my cervix which causes this mommy to keel over wherever she might be standing or sitting.
Right now munchkin is in the midst of what I like to refer as his mid morning freak out. He has run out of space and thus must stretch and jab and kick and wiggle just to make sure there is no possible inch that hasn't been taken up by baby. It's usually not bad until he throws an elbow or knee (I don't really know its just pointy) in my side, which much like the head bumps to the cervix also cause me to stop what I'm doing and talk to me stomach in a stern voice "what are you doing in there?!"
Oh! And icing on the cake- the other pregnant lady in my shop who is due two days before me went into labor yesterday. So needless to say, Baby Daddy and I had Chipotle for lunch, a big bunch of pineapple for dessert, and I'm downing raspberry leaf tea like its going out of style!
Oh! AND it SNOWED yesterday ?! WTF March?!
Right now munchkin is in the midst of what I like to refer as his mid morning freak out. He has run out of space and thus must stretch and jab and kick and wiggle just to make sure there is no possible inch that hasn't been taken up by baby. It's usually not bad until he throws an elbow or knee (I don't really know its just pointy) in my side, which much like the head bumps to the cervix also cause me to stop what I'm doing and talk to me stomach in a stern voice "what are you doing in there?!"
Oh! And icing on the cake- the other pregnant lady in my shop who is due two days before me went into labor yesterday. So needless to say, Baby Daddy and I had Chipotle for lunch, a big bunch of pineapple for dessert, and I'm downing raspberry leaf tea like its going out of style!
Oh! AND it SNOWED yesterday ?! WTF March?!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Baby Watch!
We're a little more than two weeks out from D Day and now we're on baby watch! I have appointments weekly until I hit 40 weeks and then I think if I haven't delivered this kid by then Ill have check ups every couple of days. I'm feeling pretty good, I've been having more and more practice contractions. They don't hurt, most of the time they don't even really feel like anything other than my stomach's bunching up. When they start hurting is probably when I'll pay more attention to them :-) however the women in my family (my mom and sister) are notorious for not realizing they're in labor soooo we'll be paying close attention in the coming weeks!
Here's an updated belly picture! Me and the bump from this past Sunday. Not a huge change, just expanding as munchkin slowly runs out of space! I think he's starting to notice!
Here's an updated belly picture! Me and the bump from this past Sunday. Not a huge change, just expanding as munchkin slowly runs out of space! I think he's starting to notice!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
36 Weeks- Battle for Belly Room!
Today we hit one of our last markers- the start of month number NINE! I have officially been switched from the Lovenox shots twice a day to Heparin shots three times a day (yuck!). I have a pic of my beautiful stretch marked and polka dot belly but I'll spare you the details! The doc told me and Alex at our last appointment that basically from here out if I got into labor they're not going to do anything to stop it! Eeek! We're cramming to get the last of our baby prepping done, but I've caught myself a cold so I'm basically out for the count today. My awesome husband however is rocking at Daddy prepping, cleaning around the house and taking care of his really round and stuffy nosed wife :-) Baby Ben is running out of room and is not afraid to let his mom know it! The contortions that my stomach makes are freaky and yet very cool at the same time. Sometimes however, it goes from being cute to being flat out painful! He got me so good the other day I almost keeled over! Can't wait til I watch his little ninja moves in person!
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