This week has been quite the experience. Everyone was doing well until about Tuesday :). At least as well as we could expect with a new baby. Then the sickness started. Everyone in our family, except for James, has had their day or so to get sulfur burps, feeling nauseous and miserable. It made the kids throw up. After that it seems to go away, but it also kind of lingers. Robert has had a few relapses of throwing up. One of them was right on top of Susan. I think we are past the worst of it though.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
My Tummy Hurts
Please forgive me if you've come in contact with any members of my family since Tuesday. We've contracted some kind of barfing sickness. Buddy started us off on Wednesday, then seemed normal on Thursday, then he and Alice both threw up on Friday (we did get her home from school before her episode, though). I got nauseous last night and both Bobby and I have been out of commission all day today. Bobby even passed out after 2 sips of water this afternoon. Not pretty, folks. I'm sooooooo glad my mom is here to take care of all of us. She seems unaffected so far. Baby James is still behaving within normal limits, too. My earnest prayer is that he will remain healthy. Please oh please oh please.
The kids are pretty much back to normal after a day on the couch. It seems to be a short-lived bug. You won't be seeing any of us at church tomorrow, regardless. We're in quarantine.
And just for fun, here's a short clip of the kids gutting a pumpkin. Alice's class went to a pumpkin farm this week and she couldn't wait to get carving...and bossing Buddy around *sigh*:
Friday, October 12, 2012
The Nitty Gritty
We're just starting to settle in with our new baby James. It's been a week. I'm hurting a little less and growing accustomed to the interrupted sleep a little more and that's a pretty good place to be right now.
His full name is James Thomas Evans. He weighed in at 8lbs 8oz (more than a little shy of the 9lb estimate given by the midwife earlier that day), and the nurse measured him at a lengthy 21 inches, though he seemed to have lost 2 inches by the time we saw the doctor on day 3. Hmmmm.
Now to the nitty gritty. Late Tuesday night, Robert woke up crying in a puddle of his own urine. Bobby got up to take care of him and I rolled over to go back to sleep. Then it happened. The unmistakeable "pop" and "twang" sensation that is strangely audible in the middle of the night: my water breaking. I didn't move. I pretended I was mistaken. There was no gush, so maybe it was just a strange dream. Right? Right?! As much as I wanted this baby born, I was not ready for him right now. Not tonight. One more night of sleep, please? Nope. I looked at the clock: 11:22 PM. Contractions started soon afterwards and I knew the day had come. I let Bobby fall asleep again after dealing with Robert...the contractions weren't painful and they were 10 minutes apart, so why worry the man with the news just yet? I was a trembling heap. Not cold, but shivering uncontrollably. This was SO different from the two times before. Finally, I had three contractions that were 8 minutes apart and I told Bobby. He got to work right away dressing and assembling our hospital gear. We called our neighbor to stay with the kids, called the Labor and Delivery floor to tell them we were on our way, and got on the road.
I felt a little silly going to the hospital so early in the process, but knew it was our best shot at getting the recommended dose of IV antibiotics for the Group B strep. Those irrepressible shakes were a little unnerving, too. We arrived soon after midnight. I had dilated to 3 cm. Not much, but noticeably painful now. There was meconium in the amniotic fluid. That was a first for me, too. It meant the baby was under some stress and there would have to be a team of NICU nurses at the delivery to clear out his airways and look for signs of meconium aspiration syndrome as soon as he was born. I started to worry.
We filled out paperwork, got hooked up to the fetal monitor and such, they took my vitals, and the IV went in about 1:30 AM. The contractions got stronger. The shakes got worse. At the peak of the contractions, I felt like throwing up. This was nothing like before. I was terrified. I could ride through the pain with stoic reserve, but inside my mind I was a wreck of fear and tension. This was not going well. They asked me about pain control measures. I considered my options again. I remembered Robert's birth and wondered if even a botched epidural could feel any worse than the searing pain and traumatic fear in my near future. The nurse said, "Honey, I gave birth to my first two naturally and had an epidural with the third. There's no gold star, and you get to take home a baby no matter what."
No gold star? You got that straight.
Okay. Do it.
Turns out, this anesthesiologist knew what she was doing and my spinal cord was cooperative. No botch. Sweet, warm, numbness. The shivers and nausea continued with each contraction, but the pain and fear disappeared. It was a completely different experience. I was more comfortable at that moment than I had been in the last 6 weeks. No joke. It felt criminal. I almost cried tears of joy. There were a couple things I didn't like about the epidural experience, though:
1) the numbness started just below my diaphragm. It was a little odd breathing without feeling my abdominal muscles move. It felt like I might stop breathing any minute.
2) everything from my diaphragm down was warm lead. I couldn't move it. I couldn't feel it. I needed help to sit up, even an hour after the epidural was removed. People moved my legs for me and it was surreal.
But (and this is a BIG but), I was comfortable. Completely comfortable. Would I do it again? Yes.
When James was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and his belly. He cried spontaneously just as the midwife handed him to the NICU nurses for the aspiration treatment. I didn't get to hold James at first, partially because of the meconium thing and partially because of the epidural numbness thing. I just didn't feel confident I could hold him safely when I couldn't even sit up straight on my own. The midwives worked on a few stitches and Bobby held our crying baby. I lay on the bed feeling helpless and displaced until I finally got to hold James. Then I was okay.
So, my water broke at 11:22 PM and James was born at 4:00 AM. That's a 4.5-hour delivery. Only 2.5 hours of antibiotics (they recommend 4), but it was enough to calm my fears and the on-call pediatrician trusted us to complete the "48-hour observation" period at home.
Recovery since then has been slow, but progressive. Pain-free nursing is still a work in progress. I'm forcing myself to rest more this time around. And I finally learned that "rest" includes lying on the couch with my eyes closed, even if I have no hope of actually falling asleep. Even if it's only for ten minutes. It counts, and I'm refreshed, and I'm not stressed out about losing hours of "real" sleep anymore.
James has made it pretty easy on us so far. His internal clock has been set to 2-3 hours from day one. He's been eating aggressively, efficiently, and promptly falling asleep again. My newborn experience with Alice and Robert required hours of soothing and holding between short, irregular periods of feeding and fussiness. I would like to think that this difference in James has something to do with me cutting out dairy foods a month ago, but Alice and Robert were never this regular even on a zero-dairy diet. I think this kid is just plain different. That's okay with me :)
How much more do you want to know? My milk came in after 2 days (successive pregnancies speed up the process) and James regained his birth weight in 5 days (the average is 10 days). We checked in at the breastfeeding clinic when he was 2 days old and 5 days old. He took in 1.5-2 oz of milk at both feedings, which is twice the usual rate for an infant that age. We may have another chunker on our hands, or he may just be taking advantage of the early milk supply.
I did detect a new roll on his thighs this morning. Mwah ha ha haaaaaa. Grow big and fat, dear baby James. You'll need every advantage in the wrestling ring with Robert.
His full name is James Thomas Evans. He weighed in at 8lbs 8oz (more than a little shy of the 9lb estimate given by the midwife earlier that day), and the nurse measured him at a lengthy 21 inches, though he seemed to have lost 2 inches by the time we saw the doctor on day 3. Hmmmm.
Now to the nitty gritty. Late Tuesday night, Robert woke up crying in a puddle of his own urine. Bobby got up to take care of him and I rolled over to go back to sleep. Then it happened. The unmistakeable "pop" and "twang" sensation that is strangely audible in the middle of the night: my water breaking. I didn't move. I pretended I was mistaken. There was no gush, so maybe it was just a strange dream. Right? Right?! As much as I wanted this baby born, I was not ready for him right now. Not tonight. One more night of sleep, please? Nope. I looked at the clock: 11:22 PM. Contractions started soon afterwards and I knew the day had come. I let Bobby fall asleep again after dealing with Robert...the contractions weren't painful and they were 10 minutes apart, so why worry the man with the news just yet? I was a trembling heap. Not cold, but shivering uncontrollably. This was SO different from the two times before. Finally, I had three contractions that were 8 minutes apart and I told Bobby. He got to work right away dressing and assembling our hospital gear. We called our neighbor to stay with the kids, called the Labor and Delivery floor to tell them we were on our way, and got on the road.
I felt a little silly going to the hospital so early in the process, but knew it was our best shot at getting the recommended dose of IV antibiotics for the Group B strep. Those irrepressible shakes were a little unnerving, too. We arrived soon after midnight. I had dilated to 3 cm. Not much, but noticeably painful now. There was meconium in the amniotic fluid. That was a first for me, too. It meant the baby was under some stress and there would have to be a team of NICU nurses at the delivery to clear out his airways and look for signs of meconium aspiration syndrome as soon as he was born. I started to worry.
We filled out paperwork, got hooked up to the fetal monitor and such, they took my vitals, and the IV went in about 1:30 AM. The contractions got stronger. The shakes got worse. At the peak of the contractions, I felt like throwing up. This was nothing like before. I was terrified. I could ride through the pain with stoic reserve, but inside my mind I was a wreck of fear and tension. This was not going well. They asked me about pain control measures. I considered my options again. I remembered Robert's birth and wondered if even a botched epidural could feel any worse than the searing pain and traumatic fear in my near future. The nurse said, "Honey, I gave birth to my first two naturally and had an epidural with the third. There's no gold star, and you get to take home a baby no matter what."
No gold star? You got that straight.
Okay. Do it.
Turns out, this anesthesiologist knew what she was doing and my spinal cord was cooperative. No botch. Sweet, warm, numbness. The shivers and nausea continued with each contraction, but the pain and fear disappeared. It was a completely different experience. I was more comfortable at that moment than I had been in the last 6 weeks. No joke. It felt criminal. I almost cried tears of joy. There were a couple things I didn't like about the epidural experience, though:
1) the numbness started just below my diaphragm. It was a little odd breathing without feeling my abdominal muscles move. It felt like I might stop breathing any minute.
2) everything from my diaphragm down was warm lead. I couldn't move it. I couldn't feel it. I needed help to sit up, even an hour after the epidural was removed. People moved my legs for me and it was surreal.
But (and this is a BIG but), I was comfortable. Completely comfortable. Would I do it again? Yes.
When James was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and his belly. He cried spontaneously just as the midwife handed him to the NICU nurses for the aspiration treatment. I didn't get to hold James at first, partially because of the meconium thing and partially because of the epidural numbness thing. I just didn't feel confident I could hold him safely when I couldn't even sit up straight on my own. The midwives worked on a few stitches and Bobby held our crying baby. I lay on the bed feeling helpless and displaced until I finally got to hold James. Then I was okay.
So, my water broke at 11:22 PM and James was born at 4:00 AM. That's a 4.5-hour delivery. Only 2.5 hours of antibiotics (they recommend 4), but it was enough to calm my fears and the on-call pediatrician trusted us to complete the "48-hour observation" period at home.
Recovery since then has been slow, but progressive. Pain-free nursing is still a work in progress. I'm forcing myself to rest more this time around. And I finally learned that "rest" includes lying on the couch with my eyes closed, even if I have no hope of actually falling asleep. Even if it's only for ten minutes. It counts, and I'm refreshed, and I'm not stressed out about losing hours of "real" sleep anymore.
James has made it pretty easy on us so far. His internal clock has been set to 2-3 hours from day one. He's been eating aggressively, efficiently, and promptly falling asleep again. My newborn experience with Alice and Robert required hours of soothing and holding between short, irregular periods of feeding and fussiness. I would like to think that this difference in James has something to do with me cutting out dairy foods a month ago, but Alice and Robert were never this regular even on a zero-dairy diet. I think this kid is just plain different. That's okay with me :)
 |
| Furrowed brow. One of James' favorite looks. |
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| My mom and Buddy picking strawberries. A bumper fall crop! |
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| Asleep James, looking a little yellow/orange from the residual jaundice |
I did detect a new roll on his thighs this morning. Mwah ha ha haaaaaa. Grow big and fat, dear baby James. You'll need every advantage in the wrestling ring with Robert.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Bobby's Sunday Summary
This week has been a bit crazy. As you all know we now have a new member of our family. Susan's mom is in town so life is getting better, but we are all still very tired. More pictures and moview should be coming soon.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
More of James
James and I came home this afternoon, much to everyone's relief and joy (especially Alice). He's a champion nurser, but hasn't managed to poop into a diaper yet (plenty of meconium in the amniotic fluid, though). I'll share the nitty-gritty birth story details later :) For now, I'll just share pictures and movies of this sweet little man who is content to eat, sleep, and hang out in a state of quiet alertness. The kids still call him Bogah.
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