Slinky is here! Birth Story!

Well well, i did it! I became a mother! Our little girl, M was born on 11/11/09 @ 4:11am, weighing in at 9lbs 6oz and 21 inches long!

She's absolutely perfect and a complete carbon copy of her daddy. i'm so in love and i'm watching her sleep right now in my hospital room. i can't get over it, i'm so deleriously happy. I have so much to be grateful for, my beautiful daughter, my loving and wonderful husband and our wonderful family and friends.

Ok let's get on with this birth story:



Monday 11/9: the due date

I went to the OB's office for an NST and to have a final growth u/s, she barely passed the NST because she doesn't like to move during the day but moved like a maniac during the u/s. everything looked fantastic, fluid levels were great, her HB was nice and strong, all signs pointed to let's wait and see. they would induce me on the 12th if labor didn't start on it's own...



Tuesday 11/10: 40w1d

the morning started off pretty normally, i woke up and could barely make it into the bathroom to pee but i did and headed back to bed to rest with the puppy and watch our shows. the husband had left for work at around 7:30 so i was just watching some tv and dozing off. i didn't feel any different this day than any other day over the last 2 weeks so i wasn't expecting anything spectacular to be happening. but it did, at 8:30am i felt a pop, i was half asleep so i wasn't sure if it was really my water breaking. i'd heard that to make sure, to lay down and after around 30 minutes get up and see if there is fluid. since i was already in bed i kept laying there and started going through the next steps in my head if this was in fact my water breaking. i was skeptical since i know that the majority of people's water doesn't even break until later on in the labor process and it usually done by the dr. so i wait around 30 minutes to get up, and sure enough when i do i'm completely soaked. i very calmly call my OB's office and let them know, they inform the hospital and then i have to call the husband. i let him know that my water broke and he says he's on the way. i also call my mom and she happened to be on her way to work (the route goes by our house) so she says she will stop over. i finish packing up the hospital bag with my laptop, cell phone charger and we talk to my parents quick before heading to the hospital.

at around 10:00am we arrive at Triage and get the paperwork moving. they put me in a room where they get me and M on monitors and do the litmus test to make sure my water broke, it came back that it had so we were going to get admitted!! they also checked my cervix and i was still 3cm from my last OB check, but now i was 90% effaced and the baby was at -3 station. we still had to wait for a room. and at noon, we finally got settled into our L&D room. it was a nice room, the bed was decently comfy (or so i thought) there was a chair for the husband, a computer station for the nurses and the infant warmer where our baby girl would go when she was born.

i don't know if any of you remember but when i first found out i was pregnant my due date and the day after held a special place in my heart. 11/10 is my grandparent's anniversary and i was wondering if it had been a coincidence that i would ever go into labor on that day. especially since she was measuring so big i never thought i'd even make it to my due date.

ok back to the story...

once we got settled in L&D we met with my nurses (who were amazing btw) and because i didn't have any contractions since my water broke almost 4 hours earlier they decided (and i agreed) to start me on Pitocin. now i've heard that Pit contractions are unbearable, and let me tell you, they SUCK. it didn't take long for them to kick in, but with them upping the pit every few minutes they got strong pretty quickly. i didn't get checked again until almost 4pm and by this time i was 6cm and 100%, the baby was at -2. by now the contractions were coming every couple of minutes and they were pretty intense. at 5:00 i asked for the epi. and i'm so glad i did. the only thing that was a drawback was that because of the position i was in my back wasn't very supported and i ended up with horrendous back pain. at one point it got so bad i threw up. but once they got me topped off and into a better position i was able to sleep for awhile.

i was checked again at around 9:00 and i was at 8cm, and the baby had moved to -1. i was making great progress but i was already completely exhausted by this point. the Dr also said i still had a bag of water, when it had broken earlier it broke up high so the entire bag didn't break, it was just leaking. she broke the bag the rest of the way and i was able to go back to sleep to let things move along.

11/11: Birth Day! at around 12:45 i was awakened by feeling the contractions again along with pressure. they checked me at 1am and yes, halleluia i was 10cm, however the baby still hadn't moved down far enough so i decided to forego pushing for a while to allow her to come down on her own. i didn't want to use up any unnecessary energy trying to move her down. so i went back to sleep. at 3:45 i woke up again to the contractions and pressure, only this time, the pressure was in my butt, i pretty much knew it was time to push and asked the nurse to get the dr so we could get the show on the road. little did i know that i'd be a "pro" at pushing and by the time the dr made it into the room, little M was crowning already. after less than 3o minutes of pushing, i delivered our baby girl. everyone in the room, my H and me included were shocked with how fast and easy she came out! when they ever told me she weighed 9.6 i couldn't believe it! and the best part is i only had a couple of first degree tears which they fixed right up, i was expecting to be torn allover the place with a baby that big but nope, apparently i have a flexi vag. and i was also shocked that the baby didn't have a cone head.at.all!

she's beautiful and perfect and i couldn't ask for a better experience. i'm so in love. what they say is true, having your own child is like watching your heart walk around outside your body.

39 weeks

yep i'm still pregnant. apparently my OB is no longer worried about slinky being too big for a vag birth and we're just waiting for me to go into labor. which would be fine with me if i could fucking sleep at night. i have raging awful heartburn that the second i lay down gets intensified. i'm so sick of Tums it isn't even funny. i've always hated them and now i seriously hope after this kid is out i don't need another one for a LONG time.

i wasn't updating here in hopes that my next post would be my birth story but no such luck. so i'm sitting here at the computer at 4:39 am after i've just polished off some oreos and milk, completely exhausted but just too damn tired/annoyed to try and go back to sleep. so here i am writing completely incoherently about my 3rd tri woes.

i swore i'd never be this girl that bitched about being pregnant, but i'm just so over it. i want my little girl here. at least my nights would be occupied with taking care of her instead of getting up to pee every 45 minutes. and i'm so glad everyone else around me is tired of me being pregnant. yes because you're the one walking around with an almost (or probably over by now) 8lb baby pressing on your bladder. i forgot how uncomfortable that is for YOU.

i seriously want to hide in a box until i give birth. everyone is annoying me, i'm crying over everything (which i didn't do at all this entire time) i just want my body back, i want to be able to sleep on my fucking stomach! i want to burn the bottle of tums i just had to buy and most of all i just want my daughter. i want my outisde baby.

so with that i may try to go to sleep, or knit another hat that my kid will never wear.

oh and just for you, my ginormous 39wk belly

Updates!

the appointment on friday went really well. everything is great, my BP was awesome @ 114/72, weight holding steady at -12lbs, Slinky's HR was right on in the 150s, fundal height measuring right on track!

i didn't avoid the internal and i also had the oh so wonderful butt swab, aka the GBS test.
the internal yeilded some progress! 1cm dialated and 50% effaced! and i had a teeeeeny bit of spotting this morning, i know that could mean nothing but i'm hoping it means we'll be having a baby within the next week or two. i'll be finding out the results of the GBS next week as well as having my 37wk appt with the growth u/s. i wonder if i'm progressing enough on my own if my OB will just let the Slinkster come on her own time. hopefully she's not too big!

and in other news.....

two of my best girls got some amazing news this week and i am sooooooo happy for them. it has been such a long hard road and they deserve all of the happiness in the world. congrats Mamas!!!!!!


36w6d

36 weeks and other stuff

i'm 36 weeks!!! well now 36w4d, so only 3 days left until full term! holy shit, i really can't believe it. i have an OB appt today so we're going to continue to talk about how big this kid is and what the eviction plan will be, but won't be deciding anything until after my growth u/s next wed.
i'm also hoping to avoid an internal so we shall see. i tried to ladyscape yesterday and since i can't see what i'm doing i'm imagining that i did a horrible job, oh well!
i've been lucky to have a relatively easy pregnancy but i absolutely cannot wait for Slinky to be here. we've moved the bassinet into our room and opened and washed everything, just waiting for her to get here.
the husband and i had our 2nd wedding anniversary the other day! (go us!) but today is the day that marks 2 years since my Papa has been gone. as i've mentioned before being pregnant has only made me miss him more. i'm just so incredibly sad that she'll never know him like i did. i try not to dwell on the bad, but on a day like today it's hard not to. the greif is sometimes still so fresh, and yet it's hard to believe that 2 years have passed by.
don't ever let a day go by without telling your family how much you love them.

36w4d

34 weeks

I had my 34wk appt yesterday and everything is great
BP was 110/72, weight- down another lb so that's -13 Slinky's HR 150s, fundal height 34, so right on track
I have 1 more growth u/s in 3 weeks and according to my dr that'll determine if I end up having a cs at 38wks or if they'll let me try for a vaginal birth. I'm not crazy about the possibility of having a c but as long as she gets here safe that's all I care about. I guess between me being a hemophilia carrier (I have a higher risk for bleeding if they had to use a vacuum or forceps) and my small bone structure they're afraid she won't fit and don't want to end up with an emergency c. The other day at my u/s she weighed in at 6lbs 6oz, and while i know they can be wrong i don't want to take a chance that we'll end up in an emergency situation. Natural birth plan be dammed, all i want is my daughter here safe and sound.
i will definitely be updating here as soon as i know what's going on.

weekly survey time
Weekly Survey:How far along? 34w4d
Total weight gain/loss: down 13lbs
How much does Baby weigh?: last growth u/s she was 6.6 lbs
Maternity clothes? oh yes
Sleep: what's that?
Best moment this week: putting more things in the nursery and getting it ready
Movement: starting to slow down a tad but boy is she powerful!
Food cravings: clam cakes & chowder and dough boys
Gender: it's a GIRL!
Belly Button in or out? getting shallower!
What I am looking forward to: getting the rest of the things off the registry, packing the hospital bag, finding out when we'll be meeting our daughter.


34w4d

32 and 33 weeks!

i'm in my 8th month!! wow,time really is going by so fast. i know that she'll be here in no time, but it's still hard to process that in less than 2 months i'll be holding my daughter in my arms. i'm so excited to meet her!

my shower was amazing! i'm so overwhelmed by the generosity of my family and friends, it was a beautiful day. my mom made the centerpieces which were all diaper cakes. they were seriously gorgeous and i'm trying to talk her into going into business with me so we can sell them. my actual cake was also gorgeous and it was so nice to see all of my family and friends all together. i just finished washing all of the clothes and recieving blankets, hopefully we'll be set on clothes for a little while!


here's the weekly survey/growth info:

Weekly Survey:
How far along? 33w0d
Total weight gain/loss: down 12lbs
How much does Baby weigh?: last growth u/s she was 4.3 lbs
Maternity clothes? oh yes
Sleep: what's that?
Best moment this week: putting more things in the nursery and getting it ready
Movement: starting to slow down a tad but boy is she powerful!
Food cravings: i got my lobser, now i want nuggets again!
Gender: it's a GIRL!
Belly Button in or out? getting shallower!
What I am looking forward to: watching our l&d dvd's and finishing the nursery

and from TheBump:

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

(i just realized there's only one more of these to post, holy shit!!)

33w0d

31 weeks and *gasp* a belly shot!

31 weeks! 9 left to go. boy how time flies. i seriously can't believe that in less than 60+ days i'll have my outside baby!

i'm so excited, my shower is this weekend and i'm really looking forward to seeing everyone. it's much larger than i expected (almost 60 people!) but i'm glad. i haven't seen all of my family together in a while so i'm excited!

hopefully after that i can finish the nursery and of course i'll share the pics.

Speaking of, here's my 31week belly shot:

here's the weekly survey:

How far along? 31w2d
Total weight gain/loss: down 12lbs
How much does Baby weigh?: at growth u/s @ 30w4d she was 4lbs 3oz!!!
Maternity clothes? oh yes
Sleep: very uncomfortable
Best moment this week: knowing the babe's head down!
Movement: she's discovered that headbutting my cervix can be a fun activity (for her not me!)
Food cravings: i want lobster...bad
Gender: it's a GIRL!
Belly Button in or out? Still in
What I am looking forward to: the shower and my b-day!

31w2d

29 and 30 Weeks!

Here i am, in the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy. In some ways i never thought i'd get here. even as each milestone passed, i still felt like something could go very wrong. especially after learning of two traumatic 20week losses on the boards. i just can't imagine if Slinky was taken from me. i don't know if i'd have the strength to get through it.

Thankfully, she is healthy, thriving, and kicking the crap out of my ribs, but i'll take it. i'll take every day of complete exhaustion, dizzy spells and heart palpitations as long as it means that our little girl is still cooking and she gets to come out when she's good and ready. many women wish away the last few weeks of their pregancies, and it doesn't help when every person you see tells you to "just wait..." because, i don't know, they hate you and can't wait to see you in pain? i've learned to just say "i'm feeling fine" even if i feel like i'm going to fall asleep at my desk because i just plain don't want to hear anyone's opinion anymore.

my advice is this: don't wish for your pregnancy to speed by, enjoy every moment you have with the little nudger in your belly. while shifting positions to get a foot unlodged from your ribcage isn't fun. it just makes me smile knowing she's in there and hopefully more comfy than i am. with my due date rapidly approaching i'm finally learning to take in every day and take a pause to rub my stretchmarked belly with love. pregnancy is not easy, but man have i loved it.

as i get closer and closer to meeting this little soccer player there is just one thing that weighs on my mind. well, many, but one that i can't do anything about. my grandfather. i am so crushed that my daughter will never know him. i am so sad that she'll never get a hug from him. theres a big part of me that still hasn't come to terms with his death and i'm not sure how to. i've tried therapy, i've tried writing him a letter, the only thing i haven't done is go to the cemetary. i'm not sure i can. i want to, i've actually driven there, but i wasn't able to get myself out of the car. i just sat and sobbed in the road. i'm bringing this up only because it's just a constant reminder to me on how precious life is. not to take any of it for granted and to tell the people you love how you feel every day, even if you're mad at them. i would do anything to have one more day with him.

now that i've completely depressed myself let's move on to the survey/growth info:

Weekly Survey:How far along? 30w3d

Total weight gain/loss: down 11lbs

How much does Baby weigh?: everything says close to 3 but i'm guessing she's over 3 by now, next growth u/s on 9/4

Maternity clothes? oh yes

Sleep: what's that?

Best moment this week: hitting the under 10 weeks to go mark!

Movement: i'm growing a soccer player, i know it

Food cravings: i want lobster

Gender: it's a GIRL!

Belly Button in or out? Still in

What I am looking forward to: the shower

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

30w3d

AW alert!

As promised: nursery and 3d u/s pics!

Click to make them bigger!

And the nursery:

Before:

And After!

That's it for now i'll be back to post wk 29 (eek!) stats!

i'm a bad blogger, oh and 28 weeks!

i really need to step it up! i'm totally blaming Slinky on this one. she's completely drained me of all my energy (and brain power i might add) i feel like i can barely complete a sentence these days!


i'm 28 weeks along, in my thrid and final trimester (YAY!) and i'm starting to get uncomfortable. it's getting harder and harder to sit without having what feels like a foot in my ribs. so i've taken to doing the newly dubbed "pregnancy lean" in any and all chairs i sit in. and have i mentioned my heartburn has gotten much worse?? i think i may need to buy stock in Tums.







and of course yesterday i was oh so nicely reminded that depending on what i'm wearing i'm still "that" girl that no one wants to ask if she's pregnant because i could just be that big. yeah that was fun. i was getting my nails done and i had to keep shifting and leaning back and finally i said "don't mind me, i have to lean back she's up in my ribs today" the guy looks at me and goes "who?" annoyed and highly embarassed i pointed to my belly and he goes "oooh there's a baby in there???" yeah nice. i'm 6 months, not 2. and i was lucky enough to be accompanied by my one upper cousin (who's moving back to her home state :-D ) and she heard the whole thing, and said not a word to me about it. oh well. so after that i went home and ate some Pringles.


now that i'm under 100 days (83 to be exact) i find myself having minor freakouts on almost a daily basis that she'll be here soon. like, really soon. i have plenty to keep me busy in the mean time, finishing up plans for the shower, which somehow i seem to have been put in charge of, thanks mom. and i got an extension for MT school so i'll also be working on that, oh and there's preparing my house and my own head for this baby's arrival. it's very surreal.

so here's the survey i know you're waiting for

Survey/Growth info:
Weekly Survey:How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: down 11lbs- gained back 4lbs in 1 month...not too bad though
How much does Baby weigh?: at the 3D u/s (i'll put up a pic don't worry) she weighed 2lbs 9oz
Maternity clothes? oh yes
Sleep: i miss sleeping on my belly!
Best moment this week: getting the furniture and getting the nursery moving (i'll post pics of this too)
Movement: becoming much stronger!
Food cravings: cheese Pringles
Gender: it's a GIRL!
Belly Button in or out? Still in
What I am looking forward to: finishing up details for the shower