Settling in

It has been a couple of weeks since the arrival of the newest member of our family. Exactly two weeks today; and things are settling in nicely. The little man and I have been at home alone for two days now; and we have been doing pretty well.

On Monday he allowed me to walk on the treadmill for a whole mile! Now, before you laugh, a mile is a considerable distance given the fact that the last few weeks of pregnancy were extremely hard and most of my exercise vanished. I am slowly getting back into things; with slowly being the key word. You see, I still do not have medical clearance to do "Aerobic" workouts (which I consider to be running and biking); not to mention getting in the pool, as my lady bits still have stitches that need healing. And as an added bonus, after childbirth my bladder has been left pretty weak; which has caused a LOT of crying fits and a sense of helplessness that I do not wish upon anybody.

Yesterday morning we headed out for our first mother/son outing. Destination?? The mall. I am still in charge of Christmas shopping for the family, so with Xmas getting closer and closer in the horizon I needed to get my act together and head out to get the shopping done. I am happy to say that we did GREAT. We got the shopping done, and even had lunch (both of us) without any major meltdowns (from either of us). You might consider this not a very big deal, but let me reassure you that after feeling completely wiped last week, the mere fact that I have the energy to go somewhere is an amazing feat. 

Things are slowly starting to fall into place. At this time the mere thought of going back to work in a short 6 weeks has me in a little bit of a panic; but on the other hand, it is still 6 weeks away and I am sure that by the time the day to go back to work comes I will be more than ready (at least I was with Megan). We have already picked the daycare the little man is going to go, which so happens to be the same one that Megan attended; and now it is just a matter of time. 

This morning I was able to sneak in another workout. I walked on the mill for 1.5 miles, I even had the incline at 1%; and then I did some TRX moves. I focused mostly on my biceps and triceps and also did some squats. Managed to do 2 sets of 20 after my walk just in time for Brody's feeding. I know it is not a lot, but for my body it was plenty. It already hurts going up and down stairs; so I will be sore tomorrow for sure! I had forgotten how good the "good hurt" felt. 

Sometimes I find my patience being tested. Ok, not sometimes, all the time. Especially when it comes to body image and feeling good in my own skin. I know it took 9 months for my body to create a life; I know my body went through a lot of changes; I know it will take time for me to get back to where I once was. But a part of me wants it to happen NOW. Granted, I look much better 2 weeks post delivery this time around than I did with Megan, but I still want more. I wish I was one of those people that could immediately bounce back from pregnancy looking fabulous, but I am not. And coping with that reality is sometimes hard; more so, when you know you need to wait to go back to fully exercising at the level you once did. It is like being between a rock and a hard place. For me to get my body back I need to exercise; but if I do too much too soon, I risk injury or a set back on my recovery.

All in all, things are going well. Being a family of four really suits us. Megan loves the little guy; every morning when she wakes up she asks about him, if he is awake by the time she leaves for school, she will kiss him; and is ecstatic when I go pick her up from the after-school program with her brother in tow. Todd and I are incredibly happy.  We are so proud of our two children!

Our little man has arrived!!!

Wow, what a whirlwind week it has been. Luckily for us, even though it was a crazy week, we got to take home the best prize ever! Our little man arrived healthy on his due date!

Everything started when Todd and I went to my 1:45pm doctor's appointment on Tuesday. We left early to grab some lunch at Panera Bread before heading to the office. Little did we know that the lunch would become the last one of our lives as parents of just one child (and the last food I would have until almost 4 am the following day). We enjoyed the food, the conversation and were patiently waiting until it was time to go to the appointment. We were secretly hoping I would be dilated enough that they would send me directly to labor and delivery; but on the other hand we did a bunch of little things so that we would not be fully "prepared" so that we would jinx ourselves and prompt the admittance to the hospital (silly I know, but at that point I was willing to try ANYTHING).

We arrived at the doctor's office in time and were seen almost right away. Nurse D greeted us warmly but with her regular: You are still here????. We followed the routine: scale (too much weight gain for a mere 5 days), urine sample, blood pressure, baby's heartbeat. Everything was looking good. Time to call Dr K.

He walks in the office with a look in his eyes that Todd describes as "the kid who took the last cookie" look. We briefly talk and I am asked how ready I am to have the baby. I tell them I am ready. A discussion ensues between Dr K and Nurse D; in which he keeps telling ME it will not hurt and Nurse D interjects and says "it will hurt like crazy, don't lie to her, you are a guy, never had it done to you". And then without warning, he goes and strips my membranes. If you remember he did this at my last appointment as well, but it didn't work. This time, it felt a LOT worse, hurt like hell, and as soon as I stood up I could feel my belly tightening up. I was instructed to be on my feet and walking as much as possible; after which Dr K very cheerfully said: I'll see you tonight and we will have that baby. I did not want to get my hopes up, but secretly I wished he was right.

Todd and I decided to head out and do some grocery shopping, about 20 minutes into our drive back to the grocery store, I felt it, the first painful contraction. I actually had to breathe through it. And I thought we might be on to something then. We still went to the store and got the few essentials we needed. I got some more contractions while we shopped, painful as well, but nothing too bad that would force me to stop walking or talking. Once on the way home the contractions kept coming while we were in the car. We unloaded the groceries, put them away; and by that time the contractions had gotten into some kind of a pattern... They were coming every 5 minutes on average (with some coming as close as 3 minutes apart, or as long as 10 minutes apart; just like they did with my first child).

After an hour of pacing around my kitchen table and timing the contractions I told Todd we should probably call and head in. They were coming a lot stronger and they were consistent enough. Dr K had said, I just needed to have them coming at some sort of pattern and then they would admit me to the hospital, break my water and get the baby delivered. So when we went back to the doc's office (right at the hospital) I knew this time was it. Upon arrival they checked me and sure enough; I had progressed almost a centimeter. Down they sent me to labor and delivery. The wheels were in motion!

After arranging for Megan to be picked up from school; we got settled into our room. Immediately, they checked my blood pressure; hooked me up to the monitors; asked a few questions and got my information in the system. A few minutes later I was already getting my IV installed; as I had told them from pretty early on I would totally take the epidural.

I labored pain meds free for about 3 hours; with the last hour being the longest hour of my life. The contractions were coming on top of each other, giving me little to no rest in between and they hurt quite a bit. I remember crying, moaning and even saying to Todd and the nurse: I can't do this anymore. They kept reassuring me that I was doing great. I could see the pain in Todd's eye and I can't even begin to understand how that must feel, you know? Seeing the one person you love go through so much pain and not being able to do anything about it.

At about 8 pm the anesthesiologist came in (whom, by the way, I did NOT like at all) and I got my epidural placed. This caused my blood pressure to slightly drop, so they gave me this other drug via IV to bring it up a little bit. Once the pain meds kicked in, it was smooth sailing for a few hours. Somewhere along the way; I stalled at 6 cm for a couple of hours (same as I did with Megan); Doctor K decided to put me on Pitocin to speed up my contractions. I could not feel a thing, and that was good. I dilated a little more to a 7 and then got stuck again. Just as the nurse was getting ready to call Doctor K to see about breaking my water (he was the on call doctor); my water broke on its own. That was the weirdest feeling!

Once my water was broken I dilated pretty quickly. Within an hour I was feeling the pressure to "push", it was around 2:50 am. The nurse asked me to do a "practice" push; upon which she realized she needed to get the doctor to come quickly. At about 3:10 Doctor K came in, asked me to do another "practice" push and had the delivery team called right away. The team was in place by 3:20; and after 12 minutes of pushing (the equivalent of 7 contractions) our little man Brody Richard was born.

He weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 10 oz; and was 19.5 in long. BIG baby!

About 30 minutes after being born

We are SO in love with this little guy! I can't believe that 5 days ago he was swimming in my belly.

At 5 days old

And the clock keeps ticking

And we continue to wait.

Last thursday I had my 39 week doctor's appointment. This was one of the few appointments I had Todd come with me. I was secretly hoping that they would tell me I was 4 cm dilated and they would send me straight to the hospital to deliver this child of mine. But I think Baby K has other plans.

We arrived there and this time I was not so lucky to get the first morning appointment; that made the wait a little longer than I would like. We sat on the waiting room for about 15 minutes; not terrible, but not ideal either. When my name was called the first thing my nurse tells me is: Wow, I'm surprised you are still here, I thought you would have already gone by now... In my head the phrase: You and me sister, you and me, pops up. I put on my best smile on and say something along the lines of: I guess Baby is comfortable in the belly! (trying not to punch anyone).

Next up, the friendly scale (and yes, this is sarcasm). I look at the number and I almost faint. I can't believe how heavy I have become; I do NOT like what I see, not a single bit; but I have accepted the fact that at this point there is nothing else for me to do. The lbs are there, and until this kid decides to make an entrance they will remain in my body whether I like it or not. After that big disappointment it's time to leave the urine sample. Now, mind you, with the increasing size of the belly it has become more and more difficult to position that cup on the proper place to collect the "sample". Let's just say, a contortionist I am not, and this "Collection" has become increasingly painful.

I get to the room and we go through the routine: blood pressure, Q&A. The nurse leaves and tells me to undress from the waist down. I do as requested and proceed to sit on the examination table covered by the most flattering paper sheet.  A few moments pass and in comes the doctor with the nurse. Immediately I tell my doc that he is NOT allowed to make any more predictions on WHEN I will go into labor; he has for the past 2 weeks and I am convinced that it is because of his predictions that Baby K has decided to stay snugly inside. The nurse tells me AGAIN, how surprised she is since DR K is NEVER wrong. Well, I guess I am the exception that confirms the rule... right?

We listen to the heartbeat next. Nurse D puts the doppler on my belly and while the thing counts and displays on the screen how fast Baby K's heart is beating, Dr K guesses the correct number 144. Nurse D gets all flustered and says: He always gets it! To which I reply: Well, we better let him be right about SOMETHING, as he seems to be wrong about when I will go into labor each time he guesses. Laughter from all parties in the room erupts and my husband now understands why I like my doctor so much. 

We do the cervix check next. This is not, by any stretch, comfortable, but it is something we must endure as a part of pregnancy/labor. The good news, I have progressed; though barely. One more cm and 15% more effaced for a whopping total of 3cm and 65%. What do these numbers mean? Well, not much; but at least I know that the few painful contractions I have been having, have been doing their job. 

In the hopes that we could get this baby out and get me home in time for Thanksgiving day; Dr K offers to "Strip my membranes" (I'll let you google that one). I agree. What follows is something even more uncomfortable. It plain ol' hurts. I try to relax, as I know that if you do not tense your body it will hurt less; but I am not able to. Within a minute he is done; and he helps me sit up.

(A little background, and forgive me if I have already said this, one of the reasons why I picked Dr K as my doctor is because he is also a triathlete/runner, so he understands the passion, and we can talk about stuff other than my girly parts)

After seeing me wince and hear me say "this hurts" while he is doing the procedure; as he is helping me sit up he blurts out: Well, no pain no gain; right? After which I promptly burst out in laughter. He leaves the room to let me get dressed while he goes and researches what options I have in the case that Baby K decides to be stubborn and NOT come out on time.

Todd and I wait for maybe a minute or two and when he comes back he offers me 2 dates to be induced. Wanting to seriously avoid a c-section at all costs; I decide to pick the one that is a week after my due date rather than the one that is one day before my due date; with the hopes that my body will decide to start the process by itself without having to be pumped full of drugs other than painkillers (yes I am ALL for the epidural).

We also find out that if the "stripping of membranes" is to work; it will usually do so within 24-48 hrs. I am sad to report that it has been 48 hrs already I am still here; baby is still cooking, thanksgiving is 5 days away, and it looks like I will still have my very own personal turkey within my body. 

At least Baby K, held off on making his appearance until I went to see the Harry Potter movie; like I had asked him a long time ago. That's got to count for something, right?