The First Weeks

September 2 - 13

Ok- I'm going to try to get down as much as I can before I forget it all (it's already starting to mix together... what day is it??).

Madison was born at 10:44pm on Wednesday, September 1. We stayed in the delivery room for a couple of hours while the nurses checked the baby and me and we visited with family. Then, around 1am, we moved to the postpartum room. By that time I was STARVING, since the last thing I had eaten was a strawberry lemonade smoothie at 2pm. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed, and all they could offer me was a mini box of cereal and some graham crackers with peanut butter- dinner of champions! We were able to get a LITTLE sleep that night, but the nurse had to come check on me every hour for the first 4 hours to make sure my uterus was contracting and the bleeding was slowing down. Madison was nursing about every 3 hours. We had a lot of trouble getting her to sleep between feedings- she didn't want to be put down.

The next couple of days in the hospital are all kind of a blur. On Thursday Mitchell's mom came to see us in the early afternoon and brought beautiful flowers and balloons. We got lunch from Panera (hospital food just didn't sound very good- although their breakfast wasn't bad...). Tommy and Kim came up to visit us and gave us a TON of presents, as well as a really cool teddy bear made from recycled plastic and a bunch of balloons. Then my parents came later that day and brought eggplant parm from Eddie Spaghetti- my FAVORITE (and garlic knots- yum!!) and more flowers- our room was looking gorgeous. Aubrie, Erin and Jacob (and his daughter) came to visit that afternoon too. There certainly wasn't a lack of visitors :)

On Thursday evening the nurse weighed Madison and her weight had dropped from 6 lbs 13 oz to 5 lbs 15 oz. (To make matters worse, they had incorrectly put the birth weight in the computer as 6 lbs 15 oz.) The nurses were concerned because she had lost more than 10% of her birth weight, so they told us to supplement with formula until my milk came in. We used a curved syringe to squirt the formula into her mouth while she sucked on my finger to avoid using a bottle- I didn't want to risk confusing her and messing up the breastfeeding. Her bilirubin test also came back in the high-normal range (8.9), so they told us to check in with the pediatrician on Saturday to have her weighed and to monitor the jaundice.

On Friday we were discharged from the hospital after getting checked out by my doctor, the pediatrician, and the lactation consultant. Friday night, our first night at home, was definitely eventful. Madison was not thrilled with the idea of sleeping in her own room, and none of us ended up getting much sleep that night (except maybe Michael). Luckily Mitchell's mom stayed with us and was able to hold her between feedings to let me get some sleep (and I put Mitchell on night time diaper duty!).
We went to the doctor on Saturday morning. Madison's weight was up to 6 lbs exactly (about 1/2 oz weight gain per day). Her bilirubin level had increased some, up to 12.6, so the pediatrician told us to keep supplementing with a little formula and to take her outside to get some sun. My milk came in that morning, so we were hoping that would help her to gain more weight, and decided to wean her off the formula to help my milk supply come in right.

We had more visitors on Saturday- Cindy, Dan, Kelly, Sandra and Taylor all came over. Later that afternoon my parents stopped by too. Everyone brought a bunch of food with them, so we had tons of food for the week! Madison watched her first Clemson game (win over North Texas 35-10). We also took Madison on her first walk with the dogs- she wasn't all that fond of the stroller though... I ended up holding her for most of the walk.
I don't really remember much else from the next few days. We took lots of pictures, went back to the doctor on Monday (weight was up to 6 lbs 1 oz, bilirubin dropped to 10.6- no more jaundice), gave her her first bath, Mo came to visit on Tuesday, bought a co-sleeper (made for MUCH better sleeping), went back to the doctor again on Thursday (normal 1 week checkup- weight was up to 6 lbs 2 oz), and went to school to check on my sub on Friday. On Saturday Madison took her first trip to Costco (we got a lot of stares with her in the mei tai, but wearing her definitely made the trip easier!), then we went home to watch her second Clemson game (win over Presbyterian 58-21).
We had more visits from family on Sunday (my parents in the morning, and Mitchell's family in the afternoon). Then Madison and I said goodbye to Mitchell as he headed back to work. We checked in with Skype when he got to his apartment so he could say goodnight :)

My first night alone went pretty well... Madison nursed every 4 hours, so I got about 3 hour stretches of sleep. The only minor issue was at her 5am feeding. She must have had a big gas bubble, because she spit up her entire meal (all over the changing table, herself, her onesie, her blanket, and her swaddling blanket)... then realized she was hungry again. Overall, I got almost 8 hours of sleep (broken up into chunks, but still not bad).

The most exciting part of my day so far? Just as I take the last load of laundry out of the washing machine, Madison explodes one up her back, through her onesie and all over the carrier... awesome timing. The silver lining? That was the THIRD blowout in disposables... cloth diapers have got to fit better than this! Ah the joys of mommyhood :)

Birth Story

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
40 weeks, 0 days
5:45am - I was awoken by my water breaking in bed. I immediately called Mitchell to tell him to drive home from Charlotte. I then called Angela, our doula, to let her know that my water had broken. I asked her if I needed to call in a sub for school that day, and she said "Yes, Andrea, that would be a good idea." (DUH!) She told me to go back to sleep, and to take a walk when I woke up. I'm not very good at listening, so instead I packed up my stuff and drove to school.

6:45am - I arrived at school and was greeted in my sweats and t-shirt by the principal. He looked confused (sweats don't exactly meet the dress code), and I told him I had already called a sub and would be giving birth today. He said, "Oh, you're getting induced?" I told him that my water had broken about an hour before. He looked a little shocked and said, "I don't think you should be here... please don't go back and have this baby in your room!" I told him everything would be fine, and proceeded to make copies and write out some notes for the sub. I headed back to the house about an hour later.

8:15am - Mitchell got home from Charlotte. He was a little sick at this point- I think his nerves were shot from the early morning call. Ironically, the date we had been counting down to for 9 months was the only date we were SURE I wouldn't go into labor on.

9:00am - Angela called to check in on me. I told her that Mitchell and I had gone for a walk and I was starting to feel irregular and mild contractions. I made sure to eat some breakfast- an apple and yogurt- to keep up my energy.

11:20am - The contractions were fairly regular now, about 8 minutes apart and lasting for about 15 seconds. They were still very mild- at times it was hard to tell if I was really having a contraction, and I was having a lot of trouble figuring out when they started and stopped.

12:30pm - Mitchell and I took another walk, and the contractions were now about 5 minutes apart, lasting for about 20 seconds. They were still very mild. I had some lunch around this time since I knew they wouldn't let me eat when I got to the hospital.

2:00pm - It was too hot to keep walking outside, so Mitchell suggested going to the mall to walk around in the AC. The change of scenery definitely seemed to help, and the contractions started to get a little stronger. I took Alli's advice and got a frozen strawberry lemonade from Panera (not sure why strawberries would help, but it was delicious!).

3:00pm - We were still at the mall. The contractions were picking up- I told Angela, "There's no mistaking these contractions!" They were now about 3 minutes apart and lasting between 30-60 seconds each. Mitchell continued to time the contractions on his phone as we walked around. They were starting to get to the point where I would have to slow down to get through the contraction- still not very strong, but definitely uncomfortable.

3:40pm - The contractions were now about 2-3 minutes apart. Mitchell wanted to get to the hospital to have me checked to see what kind of progress I was making. The contractions were still not that strong, but were coming much closer together. We called Angela and told her to meet us at the hospital around 4 (which was perfect timing, since her husband was about to get off work and she wouldn't need to wait for someone to come over to watch her kids).

4:06pm - We arrived at the hospital and were taken into a triage room to check in. They said I was 2 centimeters dilated and about 90% effaced. We were a little shocked- with the contractions so close together we were sure I would be further along. At this point we told the triage nurse that I would like to attempt a natural delivery, and she put a note in the computer that I should not be offered any pain medication.

4:30pm - Angela arrived at the hospital and joined us in the triage room while we waited to be moved to our L&D room. The baby and I were being monitored, and I had to stay in the bed while they got a good first strip. The contractions were MUCH more uncomfortable while I was lying in the bed. The contractions were still about 2-3 minutes apart, and still fairly mild, though gaining in intensity. I could still talk through them easily, however I was eager to get off the monitor and be able to walk around again. Once they were done monitoring I was able to get up and walk laps around the halls of the hospital. I walked for the next hour and a half, only stopping every 20-30 minutes so the nurse could monitor me and the baby. I was pleasantly surprised how accommodating the staff was of my birth plan. I was able to get a hep lock instead of getting hooked up for IV fluids, and only needed to be monitored for about 5 minutes every half hour. I have to admit, I was VERY glad that our first nurse was almost done with her shift when we got there. She messed up when trying to place the IV the first time (a week later I still have a huge bruise on my arm), and had some unnecessary comments about other mothers who had attempted natural births and failed (way to be encouraging!).

7:00pm - I was no longer able to speak easily during contractions and needed to stop and focus inward to manage them. I would stand up and sway during each contraction to try to ease the pain. Contractions were now about 2 minutes apart and lasted 60-90 seconds.

7:15pm - There was a shift change, and I knew it was good omen that our new nurse's name was Allie. She checked my progress and said I was at about 3.5 centimeters and 90% effaced. Contractions were about 1-2 minutes apart and lasted for 90 seconds. To manage the pain I would stand up and lean over a birth ball on top of the bed while Mitchell and Angela massaged my back. It also helped to hold on to Mitchell's neck and sway my hips or squat. I also used focused breathing to make sure I stayed relaxed.

8:00pm - I started to feel a little nauseous. Contractions were growing stronger and were about 1 minute apart. I was able to get on my hands and knees on the bed and lean over the birth ball. Through contractions Mitchell and Angela would push on my hips and massage my back to provide counter-pressure and help alleviate some of the pain. Angela would also hold a towel with lavender essential oil under my nose to help calm me. The contractions were getting harder, but I was still able to relax between contractions to conserve my energy.

8:20pm - I started to feel the urge to push, but when the nurse checked me I was only at 7 centimeters.

9:00pm - I was increasingly feeling the urge to push through contractions. The nurse checked me again, and I was between 8-9 centimeters dilated. I had to breath through contractions to avoid pushing in order to prevent the incomplete cervix from swelling. I got on my knees and leaned over the back of the bed.

9:30pm - The contractions were virtually on top of each other at this point, and were so strong I was having a lot of trouble getting through each one. Mitchell was extremely supportive and he and Angela kept reminding me to take it one contraction at a time. A second nurse came in to check me, and thought she could remove the remaining lip of cervix manually to allow me to push. She allowed me to gently bear down while she pushed the remainder of the cervix past the baby's head. It took 3 contractions, but the nurse was successful.

10:00pm - I was completely dilated to 10 centimeters and began pushing. I was so happy to be able to do something to alleviate some of the pain. It took a few contractions to get the pushing right, but pretty soon I was making good progress. Mitchell said he could see the dark hair on the top of her head.

10:44pm - Baby Madison's head and body were born in one swift final push. (The nurses told me to slow down and let her help with the stretching- I thought they were insane.) I had just a small amount of tearing, so the doctor gave me a few stitches, waited for the cord to stop pulsating, and then clamped it for Mitchell to cut. The nurses dried the baby off and weighed her- 6 lbs 13 ounces and 19.5 inches long! When they handed her back to me I was able to nurse immediately- she had very little trouble latching on, and nursed for about 15 minutes. Shortly after Mitchell went out to the lobby to invite our family to come in and meet Madison. They of course agreed that she is the most beautiful baby ever :)

39 Weeks

August 26 - September 1

How far along: 39 weeks

Total weight gain: Tapped out at 35 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Yep- wearing the same couple pairs of pants over and over and over...

Sleep: Lots of middle of the night bathroom visits...

Best moment this week: Knowing that I will be done with school for 3 months. I'm so excited to get to spend all that time with my little girl!

Gender: Girl

Labor signs: Baby definitely dropped, lots of BH contractions on Saturday, but then they slowed back down

Belly button: Out

Cravings: Not really

What I miss: My energy. I am back to being super tired (my Freshman Success class isn't helping with that)

Stretch marks: Boo- last week of pregnancy and I got a bunch of stretch marks around my belly button. I guess when she dropped she stretched it just a little too much :(

What I am looking forward to this week: Meeting Madison- duh