Introducing T!
We have a new addition to our family - a second baby boy :)
T was born Saturday October 15th, 2016 at 8:33pm, weighing 6lbs 6 oz, measuring 19" in length. We were surprised with his hair and the fact that it was dark! Other than that he looks a fair amount like E. Birth Story at the bottom for those who are interested.
T's eyes already seem to be turning a lighter blue and he is doing a great job sleeping in longer and longer increments at night. Holding our breath a bit with that though!
Our transition over the last 8 weeks has been relatively smooth. E is enjoying being a big brother and only mentioned a few times that "it would be okay if T went back inside Mommy" and offers to watch T for us :P which being 3.5 years old is unfortunately not accepted.
E's favourite thing to help with is definitely bath time! They both enjoy it a lot.
Everything hasn't been all roses. E's struggled with minor illnesses and has been getting us up in the middle of the night to clean up vomit or bloody noses more often than I would like. Andrew wasn't feeling well for over a week and that was hard too. T is still struggling with some residual mucous in his lungs and will hack up a bit every once in a while (after not breathing for a few seconds) which is scary, but fine.
Professional photos by Alicia Thurston Photography.
October 14th 3am
Lost part of mucous plug, labour begins. Not too painful and about 12 minutes apart. Feeling excited and not sleeping well.
9am Call Jill (doula) to come over and keep me company while Andrew ties up work details and my mom drives from Whitby. We go for a long walk to try to get things moving more quickly. Contractions are a bit more painful but not much.
2pm Watched That Thing You Do - love it!
Until 7pm Have a pretty calm day. Just have to pause for the contractions which are lasting 45 seconds or so and ranging between 7 and 10 minutes apart. (Jill left before dinner)
8pm Get bored of being in the house, have Andrew take me to buy new couches for the play room. Contractions are now consistently 7 minutes apart and feeling much more noticeable.
Overnight Don't sleep much
10am Jill comes back over and contractions are still around 7 minutes apart when I'm sitting in bed but when I stand up, quickly move to 3 minutes apart. I no longer want to talk while they're happening, though I can.
11am Hop in the shower with a chair. Sit on it backwards in between contractions, stand and rock with my back under the water during contractions. Feeling pain in both my back and lower stomach. Eventually decide to go to hospital as contractions stayed about 3 minutes apart.
12:30pm Go to hospital and after 30 minutes of monitoring in a bed on my back, contractions slow to every five minutes and don't feel nearly as strong. Dilated 2-3 cm. Nurse asks me to walk around and come back in an hour. As soon as I stand up contractions come roaring back in intensity and speed. Walk to waiting room where Jill is waiting and just stand there dealing with contractions, don't want to walk.
1pm Go back to nurse and ask to be admitted or I'll go home and get back in the shower. She checks and I'm 4cm so they admit me. I meet my nurse Anna and she wants to give me an IV lock, as I've had a C-section and it's protocol in case there's an emergency and I need to be rushed into the OR. I decline the IV lock as it's a bad reminder of E's delivery and it's super uncomfortable and I believe I can stay still through contractions to get one if needed.
For the most part laboured on my own with Andrew and Jill supporting me. Anna gave a bit of a vibe that she thought maybe I wasn't making the right choices for my health. (IV lock, not loving the monitor, eating a fruit cup)
Until 5pm Labour off and on lying in the bath tub which was relatively uncomfortable with the portable monitor on and super annoying because it continued to have trouble picking up T's heartrate. Was checked, only dilated to 5cm (though super thin). Decide with OB to wait a couple hours more and then break waters.
7pm Still 5cm OB broke water and I noticed an immediate shift in intensity and frequency. Pain became quite unbearable. This happened during nurse shift change, Emily came on and was really supportive.
I went back in the tub for a bit but found the contractions too strong for my whole body spasms to be contained there. Was able to labour a bit standing up holding on to the bed, but Andrew needed to compress my hips as hard as he could to help with back labour. Was worrying because of back labour that T was sunnyside up and that delivery would not go well - he wasn't.
Note: wasn't able to labour for long in any position other than on back/side (incl tub) as T's heartrate continued to dip every time we tried another position :(
8pm During OB shift change I decided after an hour of this very intense labouring that I could do this for maybe another hour, but that if it was going to be another 3-5 hours that the pain was too much and I wanted an epidural. As no one can guess how long things will take I decided to call the anaesthesiologist to come in. After Emily called him she put in my IV while I kept my arm still through very hard contractions (as I knew I could!). After that I asked Emily if she could check if I'd progressed any further because I thought maybe I was trying not to push (lying on my side in bed at this point with Andrew pushing one side of my hips during contraction, the bed being on the other side). I was 10 cm! And probably had been for a while :P T was still at -1 station. Did a test push and Emily thought it was great and called for the charge nurse to come in. She examined me and thought it was too soon for her to be called, then I did a test push for her and she immediately said she'd call the OB in.
8:10pm New OB came in. Wanted me on my back in stirrups to push, we compromised with me still partially on my side and the stirrups angled to support that. (These were not typical doctor office stirrups, there was no feet stand to push on, rather they just held your legs up in the air at the right position).
Until 8:30pm Pushed four times a contraction for a few contractions (2-3) and then discussed episiotomy with OB - who seemed to find it strange / amazing that I could talk through my contractions and in between them about this procedue including what type and location of the episiotomy. Agreed to episiotomy. Pushed through may 2-3 more contractions. Had to pause at one point so she could help T's second shoulder come out while minimizing more tearing.
8:33pm T is born and placed directly on my chest :) Waited for cord to finish pulsing (delayed cord clamping) and then I cut it, Andrew really didn't want to and while I didn't care one way or the other thought it was nicer that I do than just have a nurse or OB do it.
After birth OB delivered my placenta, in a bit more of a rush than I would have wanted, but it went well and wasn't painful or intrusive. She then stitched up my tear and episiotomy which required more freezing than she initially gave me, but I strongly advocated for more freezing and that was followed.
That's about it! Was able to snuggle and do chest to chest with T, our first breastfeeding was great. I was able to hand express at subsequent feeds and our sub-in nurse for Emily overnight was Meaghan and she was super wonderful in supporting our delayed bathing (until we were home).
7am Nurse shift switch Julie came on and was more by the book and wanted to see another good feed before discharging us.
10am We went to a breastfeeding class and agreed that if we couldn't get another good feed that the hand expression going well and I'd already successfully breastfed during an extremely hard case previously we could go home.
Until 3pm Met with a family doctor and T checked out healthy though small for his gestational age. Attempted once more to show Julie a feed but because T was so full of mucous and she didn't wait through the whole ordeal of coughing up mucous for 10 minutes before latching and then only eating for a few minutes, she wanted us to wait for another feed or to talk to a lactation consultant (since the one we'd had a class with had gone home and Julie couldn't verify it). This wasn't okay with us. We declined the "second feed" and asked for her to do any paperwork we needed.
3-5pm While waiting for Julie to figure something out, T had his hearing checked which he passed. We also packed up our room.
5pm Had to demand to see the charge nurse. She understood that I needed to leave as hospitals are anxiety-inducing places for me after E's birth and I agreed that if I couldn't get T to feed or spoon-feed that I would give him formula. No problem! Get me out... I've done formula with E and had no problem with that.
6pm Finally leave with appointments for the next day for a Bilirubin Test and Well Baby Check (which T did great at and had gained enough weight!).
T was born Saturday October 15th, 2016 at 8:33pm, weighing 6lbs 6 oz, measuring 19" in length. We were surprised with his hair and the fact that it was dark! Other than that he looks a fair amount like E. Birth Story at the bottom for those who are interested.
T's eyes already seem to be turning a lighter blue and he is doing a great job sleeping in longer and longer increments at night. Holding our breath a bit with that though!
Our transition over the last 8 weeks has been relatively smooth. E is enjoying being a big brother and only mentioned a few times that "it would be okay if T went back inside Mommy" and offers to watch T for us :P which being 3.5 years old is unfortunately not accepted.
E's favourite thing to help with is definitely bath time! They both enjoy it a lot.
Everything hasn't been all roses. E's struggled with minor illnesses and has been getting us up in the middle of the night to clean up vomit or bloody noses more often than I would like. Andrew wasn't feeling well for over a week and that was hard too. T is still struggling with some residual mucous in his lungs and will hack up a bit every once in a while (after not breathing for a few seconds) which is scary, but fine.
Professional photos by Alicia Thurston Photography.
Birth Story:
While I'm not going into massive amounts of detail, I'm also not sugar-coating things. May be TMI for some people...October 14th 3am
Lost part of mucous plug, labour begins. Not too painful and about 12 minutes apart. Feeling excited and not sleeping well.
9am Call Jill (doula) to come over and keep me company while Andrew ties up work details and my mom drives from Whitby. We go for a long walk to try to get things moving more quickly. Contractions are a bit more painful but not much.
2pm Watched That Thing You Do - love it!
Until 7pm Have a pretty calm day. Just have to pause for the contractions which are lasting 45 seconds or so and ranging between 7 and 10 minutes apart. (Jill left before dinner)
8pm Get bored of being in the house, have Andrew take me to buy new couches for the play room. Contractions are now consistently 7 minutes apart and feeling much more noticeable.
Overnight Don't sleep much
10am Jill comes back over and contractions are still around 7 minutes apart when I'm sitting in bed but when I stand up, quickly move to 3 minutes apart. I no longer want to talk while they're happening, though I can.
11am Hop in the shower with a chair. Sit on it backwards in between contractions, stand and rock with my back under the water during contractions. Feeling pain in both my back and lower stomach. Eventually decide to go to hospital as contractions stayed about 3 minutes apart.
12:30pm Go to hospital and after 30 minutes of monitoring in a bed on my back, contractions slow to every five minutes and don't feel nearly as strong. Dilated 2-3 cm. Nurse asks me to walk around and come back in an hour. As soon as I stand up contractions come roaring back in intensity and speed. Walk to waiting room where Jill is waiting and just stand there dealing with contractions, don't want to walk.
1pm Go back to nurse and ask to be admitted or I'll go home and get back in the shower. She checks and I'm 4cm so they admit me. I meet my nurse Anna and she wants to give me an IV lock, as I've had a C-section and it's protocol in case there's an emergency and I need to be rushed into the OR. I decline the IV lock as it's a bad reminder of E's delivery and it's super uncomfortable and I believe I can stay still through contractions to get one if needed.
For the most part laboured on my own with Andrew and Jill supporting me. Anna gave a bit of a vibe that she thought maybe I wasn't making the right choices for my health. (IV lock, not loving the monitor, eating a fruit cup)
Until 5pm Labour off and on lying in the bath tub which was relatively uncomfortable with the portable monitor on and super annoying because it continued to have trouble picking up T's heartrate. Was checked, only dilated to 5cm (though super thin). Decide with OB to wait a couple hours more and then break waters.
7pm Still 5cm OB broke water and I noticed an immediate shift in intensity and frequency. Pain became quite unbearable. This happened during nurse shift change, Emily came on and was really supportive.
I went back in the tub for a bit but found the contractions too strong for my whole body spasms to be contained there. Was able to labour a bit standing up holding on to the bed, but Andrew needed to compress my hips as hard as he could to help with back labour. Was worrying because of back labour that T was sunnyside up and that delivery would not go well - he wasn't.
Note: wasn't able to labour for long in any position other than on back/side (incl tub) as T's heartrate continued to dip every time we tried another position :(
8pm During OB shift change I decided after an hour of this very intense labouring that I could do this for maybe another hour, but that if it was going to be another 3-5 hours that the pain was too much and I wanted an epidural. As no one can guess how long things will take I decided to call the anaesthesiologist to come in. After Emily called him she put in my IV while I kept my arm still through very hard contractions (as I knew I could!). After that I asked Emily if she could check if I'd progressed any further because I thought maybe I was trying not to push (lying on my side in bed at this point with Andrew pushing one side of my hips during contraction, the bed being on the other side). I was 10 cm! And probably had been for a while :P T was still at -1 station. Did a test push and Emily thought it was great and called for the charge nurse to come in. She examined me and thought it was too soon for her to be called, then I did a test push for her and she immediately said she'd call the OB in.
8:10pm New OB came in. Wanted me on my back in stirrups to push, we compromised with me still partially on my side and the stirrups angled to support that. (These were not typical doctor office stirrups, there was no feet stand to push on, rather they just held your legs up in the air at the right position).
Until 8:30pm Pushed four times a contraction for a few contractions (2-3) and then discussed episiotomy with OB - who seemed to find it strange / amazing that I could talk through my contractions and in between them about this procedue including what type and location of the episiotomy. Agreed to episiotomy. Pushed through may 2-3 more contractions. Had to pause at one point so she could help T's second shoulder come out while minimizing more tearing.
8:33pm T is born and placed directly on my chest :) Waited for cord to finish pulsing (delayed cord clamping) and then I cut it, Andrew really didn't want to and while I didn't care one way or the other thought it was nicer that I do than just have a nurse or OB do it.
After birth OB delivered my placenta, in a bit more of a rush than I would have wanted, but it went well and wasn't painful or intrusive. She then stitched up my tear and episiotomy which required more freezing than she initially gave me, but I strongly advocated for more freezing and that was followed.
That's about it! Was able to snuggle and do chest to chest with T, our first breastfeeding was great. I was able to hand express at subsequent feeds and our sub-in nurse for Emily overnight was Meaghan and she was super wonderful in supporting our delayed bathing (until we were home).
7am Nurse shift switch Julie came on and was more by the book and wanted to see another good feed before discharging us.
10am We went to a breastfeeding class and agreed that if we couldn't get another good feed that the hand expression going well and I'd already successfully breastfed during an extremely hard case previously we could go home.
Until 3pm Met with a family doctor and T checked out healthy though small for his gestational age. Attempted once more to show Julie a feed but because T was so full of mucous and she didn't wait through the whole ordeal of coughing up mucous for 10 minutes before latching and then only eating for a few minutes, she wanted us to wait for another feed or to talk to a lactation consultant (since the one we'd had a class with had gone home and Julie couldn't verify it). This wasn't okay with us. We declined the "second feed" and asked for her to do any paperwork we needed.
3-5pm While waiting for Julie to figure something out, T had his hearing checked which he passed. We also packed up our room.
5pm Had to demand to see the charge nurse. She understood that I needed to leave as hospitals are anxiety-inducing places for me after E's birth and I agreed that if I couldn't get T to feed or spoon-feed that I would give him formula. No problem! Get me out... I've done formula with E and had no problem with that.
6pm Finally leave with appointments for the next day for a Bilirubin Test and Well Baby Check (which T did great at and had gained enough weight!).
Comments
Post a Comment