Ooooh Baby

As I said in my first post one of my reason's for this blog was to be open and honest about the trials of mommahood.  I know that some of my loyal readers (smile) are expecting, new mom's,maybe entertaining the idea, grandma's or even dad's so I've decided to share my birthing story.  I feel like there is a major disconnect with what to do with you once you get home from the hospital.  The books,classes, websites all prepare you for every random possible situation that may happen during your 9mos (which is really 10) leading up to the baby, having the baby and then what to do with the baby once you get home.  Well I have found that a lot gets left out so here I am ready to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly.  This post is not intended to scare you, don't worry I won't be graphic or gory but my hope is that my post can bring light to the subject that too often gets over looked.  As always feel free to message me, or leave a comment if you ever have any questions, anything is open for me.

My babies couldn't have been any more different so I feel like I have the perspective of both sides to cover all bases.  Here are a few differences; boy/girl, vaginal/c-section, normal position/breech, bottle fed/breast fed, just to name a few.  I'll split this post into two different posts as to not bore you or scare you off.  Feel free to post your own stories, tips or comments as well!

My BIG Baby Boy
I get really big when I'm pregnant and with Augie I gained 75 lbs, we knew that he was going to be large just because and I fortunately never got gestational diabetes or anything.  I was scheduled to be induced 1 week early but I went into labor 13 days early.  I had a fairly easy labor, I had an amazing nurse who was with us the entire time.  When we first got settled in she asked everyone to leave the room, I had Jason, my mom and my sister Trish with me.  She just wanted to talk.  I had printed out a little "Birthing Plan"  I had found on Baby Center that I told her about.  We had an open dialog about what was most important, she simply stated that things arise and sometimes (most times) things won't go exactly as we planned or wrote down.  We both agreed that our number one priority was the health of the baby and all of the other things would be secondary.  She then explained something that I try to share with everyone, because it was so true and it put me at ease.  She in so many words said " At some point today your little man will have a freak out moment, It will most likely be nothing other than a little ahh, got your attention now, but regardless we will take it seriously, to ensure the safety of both you and the baby, this is why we don't want a ton of people in the room or people hanging out in the hall."  She also said baby boys tend to have their moments right before the pushing begins, she doesn't know why they just do.  How she worded it, how she expressed it as though we were just two friends talking really helped calm some of my nerves.

My labor moved at a steady pace and was pretty much status quo, I received an epidural and after having my water broke and 12 hrs of labor it was finally go time.  So as I did my first push Augie decided to have his freak out moment, in a blink of an eye they were unhooking everything, had my bed rolling and threw scrubs at Jason.  I actually didn't know what was happening until I looked at my sister and she told me they were taking me to the O.R.  My Dr knew that I didn't want a c-section unless it was completely necessary and I had all intentions of birthing my massive baby.  As they were rushing me down the hallway my wonderful nurse explained that Augie was having his freak out moment, that he had been such a good boy and wanted a change of scenery.  That his heart rate had dropped so they were taking me to the O.R. just in case a c-section was needed.  Now for anyone who has been transported in the middle of labor you will know that it is like night and day between the birthing room and the O.R.  I had spent the last 12 hrs watching the Golden Girls in a serene room with only my family, a nurse and the Dr, when BAM!!!! The O.R. is sterile and cold and metal and bright and their are 20 some people in there from the surgery staff, pediatric staff, nurses, Dr's, and lord only knows who else.  So once I was settled on to the table and they got all of the monitors hooked up, Augie's heart rate went back to normal and I began to push.  Well one thing about pushing is that all the cheerleaders around you lie! I swear they told me for 45 mins "One more big one Christy, One more big one!."  I finally asked the nurse " Is it possible, can I do it, can I actually have him" She kindly said "yes, you really are almost there" and after 1 hr of pushing my 9lb 14oz toddler was born.  I only got to hold him for a moment, and then he was taken up to the nursery to have his blood sugar tested.  It is common in large babies to have low blood sugar so they monitor this for the 1st 24 hrs, fortunately Augie's was fine.  Jason went with the baby and I stayed in the O.R. for about an hour and then went to recovery for another hour.  Which the recovery room I swear looked like a linen closet, I actually thought for the longest time until I had Addie that they had left me in the linen closet.

Augie and I were reunited after 2 long hours, he latched on right away, and in hindsight I wish I would have asked more questions with the lactation consultant or even taken a breast feeding class.  I did have to supplement a little because the big boy was hungry and my milk hadn't come in yet.

Once we got home everything was smooth sailing until Augie was about 4 weeks old, and we took him in for his checkup.  Augie was a very noisy sleeper, we would call him chipmunk boy or dolphin boy because he always made these weird breathing nosies.  But we were new parents and we knew nothing else.  At 4 weeks we had to go to Children's for chest x-rays and Augie was diagnosed with Tracheomalacia or a floppy airway. Fortunately it was a mild case, but it has caused all of his breathing issues that he currently has.

As for me, well I had successfully had a 9 lb 14 oz baby, I wasn't prepared for the "crime scene" that happens the few days after having the baby in the hospital.  One thing I was surprised about too and later found out that I could have asked, I didn't get anything for the pain.  After I had him they gave me 2 ibuprofen, that was it!  So once I got home I was pretty sore, but I used the tucks pads, bactrin spray and sits baths were my pals.  I still struggled with breastfeeding, and found that I was always needing to supplement and Augie was always wanting to nurse, like every hour wanting to nurse and still being hungry.  At 5 weeks PP I went to the Dr for my PP checkup. (My Dr had a baby 2 weeks after me, so I was seeing one of her partners.) I explained to the nurse practitioner that I thought I may have started my period because I had never stopped bleeding and I didn't have much of a milk supply.  She said I probably was just pushing myself and to take the weekend to relax and prop my feet up.  If that didn't do the trick to call the following week, well the next week came and nothing had improved, they brought me back in and did an internal ultra sound.  They discovered that over 50 % of my uterus was filled with placental tissue, and when they did my blood work it still showed my pregnancy hormones as high.  So I was schedule for a D & C 3 days later, in which they discovered that I had Placenta Accreta where a whole extra lobe on the placenta had grown into my uterine wall and after delivery it didn't separate.  Everything was normal after my delivery so I showed no signs that I would have this.  It was because of the Accreta that I had no milk supply because my body still thought I was pregnant.  After the D & C I had to go on an antibiotic for 7 days and was unable to breastfeed on it.  I met with a lactation consultant and we tried to increase my supply, I had to rent a hospital grade pump, which looks like a milking machine. And pump every 2 hours, day and night for 2 weeks.  Fortunately the summer Olympics were on so I would watch that.  I also took the herb Fenugreek which helps with milk supply and also makes you smell like Maple Syrup, yes it's lovely.  So after all of my efforts I had gotten my supply up to 6 oz a day, yes 6 whole oz, which at that point Augie was 8 weeks old and about 16 lbs, so that was like a sip for him.  I decided at that point to give up pumping, and put my effort into my boy instead.

So there it is, I hope I didn't bore you too much.  But I think birthing stories are things that should be shared.  When I was pregnant a client said to me "Remember having a baby is the most natural thing your body can do, we live in a world where we are electively doing things to our body, but a woman's body was designed for child birth."  I loved this and still do.