Dylan is one month old today. I can not believe it's been a month since he came into our lives. I know this is so cliche, but it has flown by. It feels like we just brought him home. His looks and personality have changed so much these last 4 weeks. Every week we experience something new and I love it.
The first week was culture shock to everyone...thank goodness my mom and Jenny were here to help us adjust. Dylan was getting used to his new environment and we were getting used to being parents. He had his nights and days mixed up-NOT fun! He would sleep all day and be up for a good part of the night. When he wasn't sleeping he was eating. He has been a good eater from the beginning and eats every 2-3 hours...which can be tiring for momma.
The second week got a little bit easier. My mom and Jenny both left and my mother-in-law came for a few days. I feel like the second week is when Trey and I both got the hang of having a newborn. We started feeling more comfortable in our roles and I stopped being so paranoid about everything. The first week I was admittedly paranoid that something was going to happen to Dylan while he was sleeping. My mom and Jenny were a lifesaver and if Trey or I weren't holding him while he slept, they were...all night long :) Also during this week we went to his first pediatrician appointment. When we left the hospital, Dylan weighed 7 lbs and 14 oz. At his 1-week pediatrician visit (5 days later) he was back up to 8 lbs and 6 oz, which the doctor said was great.
The third week was a really good week. Dylan started staying up more during the day and he was much more observant of people and objects. He also started smiling at us, which is adorable. We have a really cute video of him smiling. It should be at the bottom of this entry. He also started to mimic Trey. Trey would hold him up to his face and stick his tongue out. It takes about a minute, but Dylan will stick his tongue out too. It's so cute and I have tried to get a picture, but have yet to succeed. I have spent many days trying to get Dylan to do it with me and he won't...he looks at me like I am crazy. We also took him on his first walk. Last Sunday was beautiful and we took him to this small park and pushed him in his stroller. We had to take a short 20 minute break to eat, but other than that he did great.
We are in the fourth week right now and he has changed so much. He can hold his head up, scream at an unbelievable volume, scowl with the best of them, chuckle when he smiles, eats at an unbelievable rate and can gag on-command. I really think Dylan likes to gag...he thinks our reaction is funny. Once night this week I was up nursing and he started gagging, so I pulled him off and started patting his back, then he started laughing...he did this three times before I gave up on feeding and put him to bed. Last week, our good friend Mandi took some newborn pictures of Dylan. They turned out great, even though he was being a stinker and not smiling.
We go for Dylan's one month appointment on Monday. I look forward to hearing what our Dr says about his growth. I feel like he is packing on the pounds...my back is hurting from holding him. He has outgrown all of his newborn outfits and is officially wearing 0-3 months and even some 3 month outfits.
I will update soon. We have some family visiting us this upcoming week, so I will update after they leave. Thanks for reading our blog.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Dylan's birth story
My due date (January 18th) came and went with no sign of baby. From the beginning of my pregnancy my doctor had been telling me that she would only let me go 10 days over my due date before they induce. On January 23rd, my doula (Jeannie Casey) emailed me about getting a few treatments of acupuncture to start the labor process. I went on Friday the 23rd and got a treatment and then again on Saturday morning, January 24th. I was told to get two treatments within 18 hours of each other, and then within 48 hours the labor process should begin. Although I went into the treatments a bit of a skeptic, I am now a believer!
I woke up Monday morning (36 hours after my 2nd acupuncture treatment) around 5:30am and went to the bathroom. It was then I realized that I had lost my mucus plug. I went back to bed and woke up again around 6:00am and my water had broken. I called Jeannie to let her know things were getting started and she advised me to eat some breakfast, then get some sleep and call her back when I start having contractions.
I went downstairs and ate breakfast, then tried to get some sleep, but I was too excited things were getting started…sleep was the last thing I was going to do. Trey was able to sleep for another hour and a half, which was great because I was going to need him in tip-top shape for the rest of the day.
After piddling around the house for a couple of hours, I started having mild contractions around 9am. For about two hours the contractions were mild, and when Jeannie called me she told me to take blue and black Cohosh (two droppers worth of both) to help progress the contractions.
Within the hour of taking the Cohosh my contractions kicked into high gear and became regular and a lot stronger than before. Trey and I labored at home for about 3½ hours. We ate lunch, I soaked in the tub, Trey rubbed my back, I bounced on the birth ball, Trey played some soothing music and I went up and down the stairs about a dozen times. Around 1:00pm I started having contractions that were quite painful, within 3 to 4 minutes apart. Trey called Jeannie and she came over and started laboring with us. I was extremely hot during contractions, so we walked out on the porch (it was blowing snow and 25 degrees) and labored there during a few of them. Around that time we called the hospital to let them know I was heading that way.
We left for the hospital around 3pm and arrived 20 minutes later. By that time I was not talking through contractions. While walking through the hospital to the room, I had to stop every few minutes in the hallway to wait each contraction out. Every time I had a contraction I would stop and hang on to Trey and sway back and forth, usually just hugging each other.
I finally got in the room and got hooked up to the monitor, which wasn’t ideal, but we made it work. The nurse checked me and I was 7 cm and 85% effaced. This was so exciting, as I hoped it meant I would have a rather fast delivery. Since I was hooked up to the monitor I was limited to what I could do to help labor progress. I swayed back and forth, got on all fours on the bed, bounced on the birth ball (this helped relieve my pain the most) and laid in the fetal position on the bed.
After being at the hospital for an hour, the doctor came in and checked me - I had not progressed at all. I was disappointed, but Jeannie asked the doctor if they would allow me to get in the shower for 20 minutes. The shower helped relieve my frustration and allowed me to relax a bit. After I got out of the shower, I could tell the contractions were different and the pressure was very strong. The pressure was so strong that I started vomiting during contractions, which was good because it helped me progress.
Shortly after, I started having an urge to push. When the nurse checked me again I was 10 cm, but I still had a lip of cervix left. This was the hardest part of my labor. I had an overwhelming urge to push, but they were not letting me because my cervix could swell and make it difficult to deliver. The doctor came in 20 minutes later and had me push while they moved my cervix back.
Once the doctor moved my cervix, things really started to pick up. I got a surge of adrenaline when I saw the nurses bring the tools into the room and when the doctor started getting dressed. I started pushing shortly after; This was such a relief. The pushing part was hard work, but it did not hurt at all. I tried a few different positions, but the one I liked the most was the bed in the squatting position with me sitting up and my feet on the squatting bar. The doctor and nurses were not allowing me to push the way I wanted. They would get on to me if I did not hold my push for a solid 10 seconds; All of them were screaming the numbers, so I gave in and held my push for 10 seconds and it WAS HARD.
I ended up pushing for a solid two hours. Dylan made his arrival at 9:47pm. Trey waited to cut the cord until it stopped pulsing, which was about two minutes. Because I was pushing so hard, he came out really quickly. I ended up having two 3rd degree tears-OUCH! After I was stitched up and the family had all seen him, Jeannie helped me with my first nursing. He was having a hard time latching on and Jeannie suggested the pediatrician look under his tongue to see if his frenulum needed to be clipped. The next day the pediatrician said his frenulum was borderline and ended up clipping it; Nursing has been great ever since.
In the end, I got what I wanted…a natural birth with no intervention. It was difficult, but so rewarding and empowering. I relied on Trey to be my rock when I got tired and he did awesome. Jeannie was a huge help, and Trey and I are so thankful she was with us through the entire process. After this massive process, I realize that I’ve been blessed with an amazing baby boy, and am so thankful for everyone who helped and encouraged me along the way.
(Disclaimer: I will not disclose the doctor that delivered my son, but it was not my doctor who I had seen for the previous 9 months. The doctor that delivered my son never looked at my birth plan and did not take my wishes into consideration. Some examples are as follows: I was hooked up to a monitor throughout, I was not allowed to drink/eat anything, the entire time I was laboring they told me how big my baby was going to be and how difficult it was going to be for me to deliver him vaginally, let alone naturally. The doctor told me that his/her kids needed help with their homework, so they were hoping to get home at a decent hour to do that. I was disappointed this doctor was delivering my baby, but I look back now and realize that their lack of confidence in me is what motivated me to stay strong and deliver my baby the way I wanted to.)
I woke up Monday morning (36 hours after my 2nd acupuncture treatment) around 5:30am and went to the bathroom. It was then I realized that I had lost my mucus plug. I went back to bed and woke up again around 6:00am and my water had broken. I called Jeannie to let her know things were getting started and she advised me to eat some breakfast, then get some sleep and call her back when I start having contractions.
I went downstairs and ate breakfast, then tried to get some sleep, but I was too excited things were getting started…sleep was the last thing I was going to do. Trey was able to sleep for another hour and a half, which was great because I was going to need him in tip-top shape for the rest of the day.
After piddling around the house for a couple of hours, I started having mild contractions around 9am. For about two hours the contractions were mild, and when Jeannie called me she told me to take blue and black Cohosh (two droppers worth of both) to help progress the contractions.
Within the hour of taking the Cohosh my contractions kicked into high gear and became regular and a lot stronger than before. Trey and I labored at home for about 3½ hours. We ate lunch, I soaked in the tub, Trey rubbed my back, I bounced on the birth ball, Trey played some soothing music and I went up and down the stairs about a dozen times. Around 1:00pm I started having contractions that were quite painful, within 3 to 4 minutes apart. Trey called Jeannie and she came over and started laboring with us. I was extremely hot during contractions, so we walked out on the porch (it was blowing snow and 25 degrees) and labored there during a few of them. Around that time we called the hospital to let them know I was heading that way.
We left for the hospital around 3pm and arrived 20 minutes later. By that time I was not talking through contractions. While walking through the hospital to the room, I had to stop every few minutes in the hallway to wait each contraction out. Every time I had a contraction I would stop and hang on to Trey and sway back and forth, usually just hugging each other.
I finally got in the room and got hooked up to the monitor, which wasn’t ideal, but we made it work. The nurse checked me and I was 7 cm and 85% effaced. This was so exciting, as I hoped it meant I would have a rather fast delivery. Since I was hooked up to the monitor I was limited to what I could do to help labor progress. I swayed back and forth, got on all fours on the bed, bounced on the birth ball (this helped relieve my pain the most) and laid in the fetal position on the bed.
After being at the hospital for an hour, the doctor came in and checked me - I had not progressed at all. I was disappointed, but Jeannie asked the doctor if they would allow me to get in the shower for 20 minutes. The shower helped relieve my frustration and allowed me to relax a bit. After I got out of the shower, I could tell the contractions were different and the pressure was very strong. The pressure was so strong that I started vomiting during contractions, which was good because it helped me progress.
Shortly after, I started having an urge to push. When the nurse checked me again I was 10 cm, but I still had a lip of cervix left. This was the hardest part of my labor. I had an overwhelming urge to push, but they were not letting me because my cervix could swell and make it difficult to deliver. The doctor came in 20 minutes later and had me push while they moved my cervix back.
Once the doctor moved my cervix, things really started to pick up. I got a surge of adrenaline when I saw the nurses bring the tools into the room and when the doctor started getting dressed. I started pushing shortly after; This was such a relief. The pushing part was hard work, but it did not hurt at all. I tried a few different positions, but the one I liked the most was the bed in the squatting position with me sitting up and my feet on the squatting bar. The doctor and nurses were not allowing me to push the way I wanted. They would get on to me if I did not hold my push for a solid 10 seconds; All of them were screaming the numbers, so I gave in and held my push for 10 seconds and it WAS HARD.
I ended up pushing for a solid two hours. Dylan made his arrival at 9:47pm. Trey waited to cut the cord until it stopped pulsing, which was about two minutes. Because I was pushing so hard, he came out really quickly. I ended up having two 3rd degree tears-OUCH! After I was stitched up and the family had all seen him, Jeannie helped me with my first nursing. He was having a hard time latching on and Jeannie suggested the pediatrician look under his tongue to see if his frenulum needed to be clipped. The next day the pediatrician said his frenulum was borderline and ended up clipping it; Nursing has been great ever since.
In the end, I got what I wanted…a natural birth with no intervention. It was difficult, but so rewarding and empowering. I relied on Trey to be my rock when I got tired and he did awesome. Jeannie was a huge help, and Trey and I are so thankful she was with us through the entire process. After this massive process, I realize that I’ve been blessed with an amazing baby boy, and am so thankful for everyone who helped and encouraged me along the way.
(Disclaimer: I will not disclose the doctor that delivered my son, but it was not my doctor who I had seen for the previous 9 months. The doctor that delivered my son never looked at my birth plan and did not take my wishes into consideration. Some examples are as follows: I was hooked up to a monitor throughout, I was not allowed to drink/eat anything, the entire time I was laboring they told me how big my baby was going to be and how difficult it was going to be for me to deliver him vaginally, let alone naturally. The doctor told me that his/her kids needed help with their homework, so they were hoping to get home at a decent hour to do that. I was disappointed this doctor was delivering my baby, but I look back now and realize that their lack of confidence in me is what motivated me to stay strong and deliver my baby the way I wanted to.)
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