... doing all the new parent things like spending corny amounts of time staring into his little face, inhaling his sweet breath, putting his feet in our mouths, etc. he is just a little wonder and we are super thankful.
wow.
:-D
4.22.2008
4.20.2008
54 hours into motherhood
54 hours into motherhood, i am most stunned by the intense, almost debilitating physical impact of birth. i had a 2nd degree tear and feel like i am heading toward engorgement. i know it could be a lot worse, and i am grateful to my birth team and to my son for their skill and gentleness, respectively. but the latching is still painful as heck, it's annoying not to be able to go downstairs, it's humbling how long it takes me to sit down, to get up, to roll over, etc., and it's bizarre that the high pleasure point of my day physically is a sitz bath. 
emotionally i'm skating. the baby is great and i just can't stop looking at his chewy little face. DH and i are in pure babymoonland. we had GREAT help immediately after the birth, which was 100% unexpected - DH's brother, SIL, and 1yr old baby had planned a visit and ended up arriving just in time to pick up our keys at the hospital and hang out at our house while we labored! so what did they do? cleaned the house top to bottom - i'm talking that scrub-the-floor-behind-the-toilet, walls&windowsills kind of cleaning to which i only even aspire once a season, and usually only achieve three times a year. (sigh.) they also did all the laundry in the house, cooked pots of food, and assembled and organized all remaining baby clothes & furniture. their being here was a huge blessing, and perfectly filled in the gap until our mothers make it (DH's on monday - she was at a conference one state over and will stop by on her way home - and mine on tuesday to stay for a few weeks. after which i think MIL is coming back)
i am only concerned about work, since we were only like 4 days out from completing our masterplan prep-for-postpartum strategy and now have to reconfigure all our plans with one less person and 80% less sleep
emotionally i'm skating. the baby is great and i just can't stop looking at his chewy little face. DH and i are in pure babymoonland. we had GREAT help immediately after the birth, which was 100% unexpected - DH's brother, SIL, and 1yr old baby had planned a visit and ended up arriving just in time to pick up our keys at the hospital and hang out at our house while we labored! so what did they do? cleaned the house top to bottom - i'm talking that scrub-the-floor-behind-the-toilet, walls&windowsills kind of cleaning to which i only even aspire once a season, and usually only achieve three times a year. (sigh.) they also did all the laundry in the house, cooked pots of food, and assembled and organized all remaining baby clothes & furniture. their being here was a huge blessing, and perfectly filled in the gap until our mothers make it (DH's on monday - she was at a conference one state over and will stop by on her way home - and mine on tuesday to stay for a few weeks. after which i think MIL is coming back)
i am only concerned about work, since we were only like 4 days out from completing our masterplan prep-for-postpartum strategy and now have to reconfigure all our plans with one less person and 80% less sleep
4.18.2008
kaiju is earthside!
vital stats:
born 12:39am on april 18th. just half an ounce shy of 8 pounds, 20 inches long. of course given his sasquatch parents he was born with a full head of hair - as well as sideburns and that baby-hair on his arms and upper back. but get this - he has a fully defined DIMPLE in his CHIN!! (i have one too, get it from my grandfather) the nurses were sweating him big time.
birth story:
midwife's appt wednesday 2pm. got checked and she mentioned it might bring on some light spotting/cramps, i had started thinning, but was only 1cm dilated so 'chances are this baby's not coming tomorrow, ha ha.' so when i started getting spotty/crampy that night at about 10pm-ish, i didn't think much of it. until it got stronger and worked its way up to 5-6 minutes apart. we went to hospital to meet midwives 10am ish. i was 90% effaced and 3cm dilated.
the room was large and comfortable, there was a birth ball, a glider, a transformer bed w/lots of positions, a nice deep tub. DH was amazing. we spent the whole day just us in the room, doing all the stuff we'd learned in childbirth class. he was super responsive, complimentary, supportive, reverential. at about 3pm i wondered how things were going, and asked to be checked to see if i had enough time to take something for the pain - i had this idea i wanted it to wear off in time for me to push - b/c i needed to sleep. (we hadn't slept since tuesday night) dilation was 4cm after all day laboring! talked to the midwife and decided to break my water to help get his head banging down on the cervix and speed up the dilation. after that, things progressed faster - 6cm two hours later - and the ctx were super strong.
entering transition, the ctx were NO JOKE. i started to feel like i didn't think i could do it. after trying the tub, which felt great but didn't really help with the pain of the ctx, i talked to DH about asking for an epidural so that i could relax and hopefully let things move faster. and SLEEP!! (again, no sleep since tuesday)
so we do the epidural around 7pm or so... 20 hrs into labor. the anesthesiologist effed-it up at first, i felt all sorts of needle-sticking and screamed. didn't look at DH b/c i knew he must have been going THROUGH it to see that, but the nurses got to experience him entering a towering rage, and encouraged him to not be the support person holding my hands for this particular thing, but instead to sit out of sight and try to relax. 2nd try was fine though, and a few minutes later i had to feel my belly to know the ctx were coming and breathe deeply into them to help them along. i got lots of catnaps during the next few hours! yum. i'm really glad i got to spend the day laboring naturally and experience all the labor toys, but i was SO grateful i also got to take a break.
when it was time to push, about 10:30 or 11 at night, that's when the epidural hurt me - i had to spend some time figuring out how exactly to push b/c all i could feel was the pressure moving down. i pushed with each ctx for almost 2 hours! finally out he came. . . what a moment! i had a 2nd degree tear, i dunno how many stitches, with NO NUMBING. (!!!) and naturally the epidural didn't help numb that area, no no no. so that was yet another in the series of excrutiation. but i was holding kaiju at that time so it was all good.
he was a little distracted when nursing - i think we waited too long while stitching and he had discovered his hands were suckable, lol - but tried his best and worked both sides. DH is with him now as he gets his first bath and tests done, and then it'll be time to try again.
funny thing: DH used to hum 'a love supreme' to my belly all the time when i was PG. now, if he puts kaiju on his chest and hums it, the baby calms right down and will sleep.
another funny thing: we've been calling him kaiju all pregnancy long, as a nickname. it's the japanese word for movie monsters like godzilla, rodan, etc. why was 'king kong' playing this evening while we took our epidural-naps?
born 12:39am on april 18th. just half an ounce shy of 8 pounds, 20 inches long. of course given his sasquatch parents he was born with a full head of hair - as well as sideburns and that baby-hair on his arms and upper back. but get this - he has a fully defined DIMPLE in his CHIN!! (i have one too, get it from my grandfather) the nurses were sweating him big time.
birth story:
midwife's appt wednesday 2pm. got checked and she mentioned it might bring on some light spotting/cramps, i had started thinning, but was only 1cm dilated so 'chances are this baby's not coming tomorrow, ha ha.' so when i started getting spotty/crampy that night at about 10pm-ish, i didn't think much of it. until it got stronger and worked its way up to 5-6 minutes apart. we went to hospital to meet midwives 10am ish. i was 90% effaced and 3cm dilated.
the room was large and comfortable, there was a birth ball, a glider, a transformer bed w/lots of positions, a nice deep tub. DH was amazing. we spent the whole day just us in the room, doing all the stuff we'd learned in childbirth class. he was super responsive, complimentary, supportive, reverential. at about 3pm i wondered how things were going, and asked to be checked to see if i had enough time to take something for the pain - i had this idea i wanted it to wear off in time for me to push - b/c i needed to sleep. (we hadn't slept since tuesday night) dilation was 4cm after all day laboring! talked to the midwife and decided to break my water to help get his head banging down on the cervix and speed up the dilation. after that, things progressed faster - 6cm two hours later - and the ctx were super strong.
entering transition, the ctx were NO JOKE. i started to feel like i didn't think i could do it. after trying the tub, which felt great but didn't really help with the pain of the ctx, i talked to DH about asking for an epidural so that i could relax and hopefully let things move faster. and SLEEP!! (again, no sleep since tuesday)
so we do the epidural around 7pm or so... 20 hrs into labor. the anesthesiologist effed-it up at first, i felt all sorts of needle-sticking and screamed. didn't look at DH b/c i knew he must have been going THROUGH it to see that, but the nurses got to experience him entering a towering rage, and encouraged him to not be the support person holding my hands for this particular thing, but instead to sit out of sight and try to relax. 2nd try was fine though, and a few minutes later i had to feel my belly to know the ctx were coming and breathe deeply into them to help them along. i got lots of catnaps during the next few hours! yum. i'm really glad i got to spend the day laboring naturally and experience all the labor toys, but i was SO grateful i also got to take a break.
when it was time to push, about 10:30 or 11 at night, that's when the epidural hurt me - i had to spend some time figuring out how exactly to push b/c all i could feel was the pressure moving down. i pushed with each ctx for almost 2 hours! finally out he came. . . what a moment! i had a 2nd degree tear, i dunno how many stitches, with NO NUMBING. (!!!) and naturally the epidural didn't help numb that area, no no no. so that was yet another in the series of excrutiation. but i was holding kaiju at that time so it was all good.
he was a little distracted when nursing - i think we waited too long while stitching and he had discovered his hands were suckable, lol - but tried his best and worked both sides. DH is with him now as he gets his first bath and tests done, and then it'll be time to try again.
funny thing: DH used to hum 'a love supreme' to my belly all the time when i was PG. now, if he puts kaiju on his chest and hums it, the baby calms right down and will sleep.
another funny thing: we've been calling him kaiju all pregnancy long, as a nickname. it's the japanese word for movie monsters like godzilla, rodan, etc. why was 'king kong' playing this evening while we took our epidural-naps?
4.13.2008
bla, blabla
sciatic pain flared up something FIERCE on thursday; ever since i've been limping around like fred g. sanford. and the g stands for 'good lord, am i STILL pregnant??' this only happened once before and after a few days he must've moved off the nerve b/c it just went away. i'm feeling bulging in different places now and think he might be flipping. let's hope he hits the magic 'ease mommy's pain' spot soon and settles in there.
BHing like crazy, particularly in the mornings. together with the sharp pain in one buttock i am quite the chipper cheery one to wake up next to! DH is a champ though, walking around like my human crutch and doing all my lifting.
on a much brighter note, spring has sprung. it's been super warm and beautiful. i had a prenatal massage on friday. yum! it was lovely. also walked around a little, window shopping, and cherry blossoms fell into my hair.
this only happened once before and after a few days he must've moved off the nerve b/c it just went away. i'm feeling bulging in different places now and think he might be flipping. let's hope he hits the magic 'ease mommy's pain' spot soon and settles in there.BHing like crazy, particularly in the mornings. together with the sharp pain in one buttock i am quite the chipper cheery one to wake up next to! DH is a champ though, walking around like my human crutch and doing all my lifting.
on a much brighter note, spring has sprung. it's been super warm and beautiful. i had a prenatal massage on friday. yum! it was lovely. also walked around a little, window shopping, and cherry blossoms fell into my hair.
4.03.2008
home stretch: part deux
.
.
.
20 days to EDD
i feel simultaneously ready and totally totally not. i can't wait to meet this kid, and i will be so tickled to get some very basic body functions back. like, running. or, bending over, say, like to tie a shoe. LOL! but there's also like SO much that we are trying to get ready - mainly, trying to complete a major move to the warehouse before he gets here. (oh snap - did i mention we got a warehouse for the biz?) so in addition to regular nestish things like washing a bunch of baby clothes and signing up for a diaper service and assembling a glider chair and such, we're also trying to find a good deal on a commercial sink and talking with a contractor and visiting the architectural salvage places trying to find cheap linoleum and carpeting and such. HA! so yeah. i hope kaiju stays put until his EDD. not much longer! we've spoken. i've given him about a one-week window of possibility and i THINK we understand each other. LOL!
i still feel pretty good, although i'm definitely beginning to slow down. there was a bellydancing circle @ the shower, which devolved into a general dance circle with me and dh uprocking in the middle of it. that's how spry and mobile i felt up until that moment... but all that action must've shaken kaiju down a little, b/c since then i've felt him lower than ever and am starting to display that preggo-lady sexy waddle, LOL! we'll be walking and i have to remind pete to slow down a little b/c the baby is bouncing on my bladder!
i'm not complaining too much though, b/c this pregnancy has been so smooth. sleeping through the night, no health issues or extreme morning sickness or anything-- i have been totally blessed and i am going to try to deal graciously with a little end-of-the-road discomfort. i do hope he comes more or less on time, though. i can totally see how being pregnant for up to 42 weeks as they baby just keeps on growing and growing, would be no fun at all! maybe that's how our bodies get us ready for labor. make the end of pregnancy near-excruciating, so that labor is almost a reprieve!
.
.
20 days to EDD
i feel simultaneously ready and totally totally not. i can't wait to meet this kid, and i will be so tickled to get some very basic body functions back. like, running. or, bending over, say, like to tie a shoe. LOL! but there's also like SO much that we are trying to get ready - mainly, trying to complete a major move to the warehouse before he gets here. (oh snap - did i mention we got a warehouse for the biz?) so in addition to regular nestish things like washing a bunch of baby clothes and signing up for a diaper service and assembling a glider chair and such, we're also trying to find a good deal on a commercial sink and talking with a contractor and visiting the architectural salvage places trying to find cheap linoleum and carpeting and such. HA! so yeah. i hope kaiju stays put until his EDD. not much longer! we've spoken. i've given him about a one-week window of possibility and i THINK we understand each other. LOL!
i still feel pretty good, although i'm definitely beginning to slow down. there was a bellydancing circle @ the shower, which devolved into a general dance circle with me and dh uprocking in the middle of it. that's how spry and mobile i felt up until that moment... but all that action must've shaken kaiju down a little, b/c since then i've felt him lower than ever and am starting to display that preggo-lady sexy waddle, LOL! we'll be walking and i have to remind pete to slow down a little b/c the baby is bouncing on my bladder!
i'm not complaining too much though, b/c this pregnancy has been so smooth. sleeping through the night, no health issues or extreme morning sickness or anything-- i have been totally blessed and i am going to try to deal graciously with a little end-of-the-road discomfort. i do hope he comes more or less on time, though. i can totally see how being pregnant for up to 42 weeks as they baby just keeps on growing and growing, would be no fun at all! maybe that's how our bodies get us ready for labor. make the end of pregnancy near-excruciating, so that labor is almost a reprieve!
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