Welcome to Nine Months. I will be blogging here for
the next nine months about what it is like to be pregnant and take care of a young child!
I have one daughter who was born in January of 2002. Now I am expecting our
second (and final!) child the first week in December 2003.
Everything has been going great so far! I'm really surprised that it seems so much easier the second time around. I guess it's different when you know what to expect! I had a chance to write down the list of events for the day Carson was born. Since my nine months is over, I will probably not blog here often. When I do blog, it will be at my other site, Sharon's Random Thoughts.
Here's how the day unfolded:
November 21, 2003
6:00 AM – I wake up after a terrible night’s sleep. The day before, I was checked at the doctor’s and was told that I was 4 centimeters dilated. I wasn’t having any signs of labor until I tried to go to sleep that night. I was having contractions when I tried to go to sleep, but my husband convinced me to try to get some rest. I managed to sleep off and on until 6:00.
6:30 AM – I decide to call my mom before she heads off to work. I still wasn’t sure if I was in labor so I didn’t want her to waste a vacation day and come out. After talking to her for a bit, the contractions started coming every 5 minutes apart. She insists on coming out and getting my husband's parents on her way. My mom is thrilled because she has predicted since the day we announced the pregnancy that the baby would be born on her mother’s birthday, November 21.
7:45 AM – The grandparents arrive and I am still having regular contractions, so we wake our daughter up and give her breakfast. Everyone gets to witness me have many painful contractions.
8:45 AM – The contractions are coming 3 minutes apart so we start loading the car and call the doctors. They tell me it’s okay to go to the hospital.
9:19 AM – We arrive at the hospital and I am wheeled to the maternity ward. The contractions are almost unbearable at this point. Luckily, I remembered the Lamaze breathing technique. It doesn’t take the pain away but it helps distract me from the pain. I get checked and I am 5 centimeters and about 90% effaced. Everyone heads for the waiting room.
10:10 AM - They start the IV, after poking at my rolling veins many times. I have to wait an hour before I can get the epidural. I am in terrible pain for this hour.
11:00 AM – I am now 6 centimeters and the anesthesiologist arrives to give me my epidural!
12:10 PM – I am still at 6 centimeters. My contractions slowed down and weakened from the epidural, so they broke my water and started a small dose of Pitosin.
12:26 PM – Made it to 8 centimeters!
12:31 PM – I feel this intense urge to push! The nurse called for the doctor, who was on her was to take care of another patient. I didn’t expect her to stay and get ready to deliver since it took an hour and 18 minutes of pushing to deliver my daughter. My husband calls the waiting room to have my mom come in for the birth. Even though I had the epidural, I can still feel intense pain. I screamed through the entire pushing process. I was almost wishing for an episotomiy, but luckily she didn’t give me one. At one point, I gained enough composure to take a peek and see if I could see the baby’s head. To my amazement, there it was! I just needed a few good pushes and this would be all over! So, I push with all of my might and out comes the head! I cannot explain the relief that I felt at that moment!
12:42 PM – It’s a beautiful baby boy!!! We have Carson! (A name that my husband came up with before we were pregnant with our first. He came up with it by using 3 letters of his name and three letters of my name) What an exciting moment! We now have a little boy and a little girl! And now we have someone to carry on our last name!
After that, my husband cuts the cord and they clean Carson and measure him. After spending a few moments with him, my husband and my mom head for the waiting room to tell everyone that we had a boy. Carson's cousin was also able to make it to the hospital to be one of the first to see him.
I went to the doctor's today only to find out that I am 4 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced! I could hardly believe it. The doctor seemed surprised that I haven't had any cramps or anything. Just the regular old braxton-hicks. I'm not complaining though! Only 6 more to go and I push the baby out! OMG!! I can't believe this is going to happen soon... :)
Monday, November 17, 2003 Duplicating History (36 Weeks 6 Days)
The photo that you see as part of my logo was taken 6 days before my daughter was born. We decided to dress me up in the same dress and take another picture of my pregnant belly. I had some issues with my new camera, so I didn't get it exactly the same. I also didn't think about the fact that I was facing the other way! But for the most part, I think I look similar.
I had my daughter 18 days before my expected due date. If that history were to repeat itself, I have about 3 hours left to have this baby! I don't think it's going to happen! I get examined at my doctor's appointment this Thursday, so I am very curious to see if there is any indication of labor soon!
My prenatal exercise class was cancelled due to lack of enrollment. Luckily, I hit if off with one of the girls in the class and we are still meeting to exercise together. It's so much more fun to exercise with someone , especially when they are going through exactly what you are.
I'm starting to feel like a human time bomb, not knowing when exactly when this baby is going to come. With my last pregnancy, I just expected to go to my due date. From that experience, I have learned that due dates pretty much mean nothing. I have actually been feeling pretty good the past few days. I only have minor complaints, like a sore back and not being able to sleep comfortably. We are trying to cover all of our grounds and make sure we have a plan for when I do go into labor. The last time was fairly simple, but this time we have a little one who needs to be watched. I think we have it all worked out as long as a scenario that we didn't think of arises.
So, is it going to be one more week or four more? Tick, tock.....
Wednesday, November 05, 2003 Epidural Class (35 Weeks 1 Day)
The hospital that I am delivering at requires that you attend an epidural class. That's what I did today. What you do is watch a 20 minute video all about your drug choices for pain relief, then an anesthesiologist answers questions and then you sign a waiver saying that they aren't responsible for anything horrible that happens to you. Including death! Yikes! I had to attend this same class when I was pregnant with my daughter, but I didn't feel the anxiety then that I did today. The video shows a mom in labor getting her epidural. It also explained how they will first inject something between your spine to numb the area then a catheter is inserted into the spine in a place called the epidural space. It's located right in front of the area where the spinal fluid is located. If the anesthesiologist is just a little bit off and hits the area where the spinal fluid is, it will cause a severe headache that could last a week. Ouch! But he says not to worry, it only happens to 1 in 100 to 200 women or so. Then in the video, we get to witness a birth. To see that mom pushing with all of her might to get that baby out just freaked me out for a minute. It's all coming back to me now. What am I doing?! I have to go through all of this all over again! Oh my goodness, I must be crazy! My palms where so sweaty being in that hospital knowing that in a few short weeks, I will be there in labor!
Ok, time to calm down... The epidural isn't really what I am stressing about. Really, you cannot even feel much of what they are doing because the contractions hurt so much more. But just the thought of what they are doing back there kind of freaks me out. But, the relief is wonderful. It doesn't take all of the pain away, it just takes a lot of the edge off. So, I more than likely will have one again. I'm just not looking forward to the whole labor and delivery process. And being in the hospital. I have to stop dwelling on it right now...
Anyway, I know everything will be fine and that I will survive and all. And the best part of all is, I AM NEVER GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN! :)
