1 Month Milestones!

I should really change the title of this blog to infrequent, random thoughts. Because that's all I have time for! In another month or so I'm hoping Lilah will be on more of a schedule, or at least sleeping longer stretches at night. I really have no me time. And by me time I mean time to do the laundry and take a shower.

Okay, it has taken me almost 48 hours just to finish this post. RIDICULOUS! I'm going to get right to the point!

Lilah had her 1 month check up on Wednesday. She is now 21.5 in long (70%- and up 1/2 in from birth) and 9 lb 8 oz (70% and up 2 lb from birth). She is super cute. Starting to stay awake a little more and paying attention to her surroundings. I think I got a real smile out of her the other day too!

Sophie has a lot of little quirks. She is very into turquoise (she just calls it blue, though). She has to be wearing this color- preferably from head to toe, including crocs- every day. She is also pretty OCD about things. She labels things as "Mommy's" and "Daddy's" and freaks out if the wrong person uses the wrong thing. She's a great big sister. She loves talking to Lilah and holding her.

And me? I have some 1 month milestones too. The weight is coming off! More importantly, I think I have a pretty good handle on the 2 kids thing. Breakdowns have been minimal. We leave the house every day. We are able to stick to Sophie's regular schedule. These are no small accomplishments.

I'm way behind on picture sharing, but here are some from last Friday:

Playing with the new(ish) camera- tree in the backyard:


Sophie


Little fingers


Lilah


big sis kissing little sis (notice Sophie's monochromatic look)

Quick Update!

Having twice as many kids as I used to means I need twice as much time. But I actually seem to have a lot less time than I used to. Things like blogging and brushing my teeth have once again become luxuries. Shimmy took Sophie downstairs to "pay wii, Daddy, pay wii!!!!!!!!!!" and Lilah is semi-happy in the swing so I thought I'd pop on to give you the briefest of updates.

1. I am back on Weight Watchers- woohoo! Notice the spiffy new ticker above. I am trying to plan a week-long vacation on the beach in Charleston at the end of the summer and I think that's adequate time to get back to acceptable swim suit weight. It's been 3 days of WW so far and I'm doing great. I am loving the extra 10 points for nursing. And Shimmy is counting points too, so it's nice to have a counting buddy.

2. I cannot wait to get back on the treadmill, but I have to wait until my six week check-up. For now I am taking the girlies for walks around the neighborhood in our awesome new double jogger. I can go on and on about our stroller, and I will, as a contributing writer on Baby Things I Want.

3. We had a great Passover with my family. I really miss all of the extra hands now that I am on my own with both kids most days. Odd tidbit: I love the haroset so much that I continued eating it all week long, and just made a huge batch in my food processor to eat as a snack. To keep it WW freindly I just used apples, walnuts, and splenda. Real sugar and wine would taste even better, though.

That's all I have time for, friends. Bear with me as I get back into a routine that allows me to blog more often!

Porn For New Moms

Porn For New Moms - Has anyone read this? It's awesome. I bought it for myself after Sophie was born. In case you aren't interested in clicking on the link, it's a book of photos of hot guys with cute babies and sayings like, "Let's not have sex tonight. How about I just rub your feet and you tell me about the baby's day." Just like actual porn, pure fantasy stuff. But a good "read" nonetheless.

Speaking of hotness, there is nothing sexier than walking down the street with your two year old and turning around to see your husband walking towards you wearing your newborn in your Maya Wrap. Yum.

So Not A Big Deal (And Way Too Much Information)

So now that some time has passed, I've had some time to remember things about labor, delivery, and recovery. I realized that I initially gave off the impression that everything went PERFECTLY, which it ALMOST did. But just in case you are thinking, "wow, that sounds easy!" or worse, "I hate her!" I will share some of the less pleasant details.

- I had my membranes stripped (this means the doctor separated the amniotic sac from where it attaches to my uterus, which can speed up the process of it breaking on its own). This hurt. A LOT.

- I needed an IV of Penicillin because of the Group B strep. It took the nurse 3 different spots to put the needle in. Not because of her incompetence (she has been doing this for 10 years) or because of my veins (she told me my veins were "great"), it just wasn't working out. Spot #1 hurt badly and is still horribly bruised. The fluid was gathering in a bubble under my skin on spot #2, so that area also hurt pretty badly. For spot #3 a different nurse went to the other hand. I can still see the "puncture wound" more than a week later. This hole in the inside of my arm hurt worse than any other part of labor. I wanted to rip it out so badly, but it apparently needed to stay in until 24 hours after delivery in case they needed to give more meds or take more blood. They actually did need to take blood later that night, but apparently didn't want to use this existing line, so they drew it from yet a fourth spot. Grrr.

-The reason they needed to draw blood later that night was because after having unbearable contractions long after labor and delivery were over, I passed a blood clot that was about half the size of my placenta (or a quarter the size of Lilah). The resident said, "wow that was like having a twin!" Yea, everyone pretty much freaked out after that. But luckily it was the only large clot I passed.

-After delivery my epidural took close to 3 hours to wear off of just my right leg. This dead leg kept me bed-bound, much to my dismay. Shimmy had gone to the nursery to accompany Lilah during her assessment, so I was left by myself. I was trying to will that leg back to life like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. [Side note- Worst movie ever. I am still incredibly disturbed to my very core thinking about certain scenes from that movie. Quentin Tarantino is a sick, sick bastard of a person.] The nurses would not even help me to the bathroom until they were satisfied that my leg would work again, and there was no faking it on my part. They tried to get me to go in a bed pan, which obviously was not going to happen. So they just left me there with my dead leg, in lots of pain and discomfort, sobbing and waiting for Shimmy to return. He eventually did return with Lilah, which was a big deal because she had apparently been discharged from L&D and admitted to the Mother/Baby unit and it was literally a breech of security to bring her back through those double doors (complete BS). I made sure the nurse was gone and plotted my escape. "Get me on the toilet!" I weeped. So Shimmy pretty much picked me up and put me on the toilet. After I was finished, my leg actually started to regain feeling, which was good since everyone was saying how unusual that was and how they needed to get anestigiology back in there.

HOWEVER, these things were so not a big deal. All in all, my experience this time around was wonderful. Just thought I'd share the not so wonderful parts too. Sorry about the too much information!

Sophie's Birth Story (yep- Sophie's)

I wrote this the day after I gave birth to Sophie:

The week leading up to labor I had been frantically trying to "get things done." At this point, though, I really thought I had more like 3 more weeks to go. I started to think about everything I really wanted to do before I had the baby. The night before I went into labor I made my belly cast, because I knew I would be disappointed if I didn't get to make it because I miraculously had the baby early. The day I went into labor I did a ton of laundry, emailed my friend a list
of people who had volunteered to make meals for me when I came home for the hospital, I ordered a big group baby present for my sister-in-law that somehow I had been in charge of, and I had my parents come up (they live 45 min away) to do a "dry run" to the hospital. I felt like it was a productive day. Keep in mind; I still thought I was 2-3 weeks away from labor. My parents stayed for dinner and we ordered take-out.

At the end of dinner, about 6:30 pm I felt a pop. I looked at my husband and asked if he heard it. He said no and everyone could tell something was weird. I said, "I think my water may have broken." My mom said, "You would know- there would be water everywhere." As soon as she said that I felt the gush. I got out of my chair and the water just kept flowing. My socks were filled and I was standing in an ever-growing puddle. I was so excited. I knew if my water broke it was baby time. No counting contractions or getting sent home from the hospital. I called the doctor and the doctor on call that night was the new doctor in the practice that had just joined- the only male, whom I had never met, and under no circumstances wanted to deliver me. But I didn't really care, it was baby time! He said he wanted me at the hospital in 1 hour since my water broke and I tested positive for group B strep. My parents went home to wait until they got the good news. I took a shower and my husband threw a couple of last-minute items into our bag and off we went.

When we got to the hospital the lady behind the registration counter was taking her sweet time. She said, "can I help you?" I said, "I'm here to have a baby." She left and came back 10 minutes later and asked what time I was scheduled for. I said, "no schedule. My water broke, I'm in labor." I guess she thought I was there for an induction. Finally they took me back to triage, confirmed that my water had broke, and monitored contractions for a while, which were about 7 minutes apart and very mild. I was dilated 2-3 and 50% effaced (same as my appointment on Friday).

At 9:00 pm they admitted me and gave me a room. Because my water had broken they wouldn't let me walk around at all because of the risk of cord prolapse. And because I was GBS+ they started a penicillin drip, thereafter administered every 4 hours until I delivered. It was pretty
painful. It felt like boiling vics vaporub shooting up my arm. My contractions weren't getting much stronger or closer together, so they started a pitocin drip, much to my dismay. But under the circumstances they thought there would be too much of a risk for infection if I took too long to labor on my own. The contractions got stronger and closer together. By midnight I wanted the epidural. At 1:00 am I finally got it. I think I was around 5 cm by this point. I had been in labor for 6.5 hours by this point and I was proud of myself for lasting that long without pain meds. The epidural was awesome for about 2 hours. Then it started to wear off. They had also been upping the pitocin every 20 min. So I was having stronger and strong contractions and less and less pain meds. I asked them what they could do for me and they gave me a redose of the epidural. It provided no relief, as there was a patch that it just didn't cover. This patch was my lower abdomen, reaching around to my right side and lower back. In other words, exactly where I was feeling the contractions. I wasn't making much progress dilation-wise, so they kept increasing the pitocin. I got 2 more redoses of the epidural over the course of labor, but that one area remained unaffected. I could not feel anything below my waist AT ALL, but I could feel every single contraction and was almost delirious from the pain.

At 7:00 am the doctor's shifts changed and I got a different doctor from my practice, thankfully. By 1:00pm on Monday (I had been in labor for 18.5 hours at this point) I was dilated a 9+, totally effaced, but the baby was still at a -2 station. The doctor started talking about a c-section. I completely lost it. A c-section was my worst nightmare, especially for my first delivery. I had been through so much crap throughout this pregnancy (threatened m/c again, bicornuate uterus, possible incompetent cervix, risk for preterm labor) and beaten all of the odds, and I'd be damned if I was going to labor miserably for 19 hours and to have it all end in a c-section. I begged the doctor not to do a c. I asked if the baby was far enough down to use vacuum
extraction (which under other circumstances I am dead-set against). She said no. I was just beside myself. My husband and I were devastated. The doctor said she'd give me 1 more hour to see what happens. Later, I found out, they used that hour to complete my paperwork for me and prep the OR. They gave me my third and last epidural redose only because they were so sure I was going into surgery.

An hour later, about 3:00pm she checked me and I was prepared to hear the worst and be wheeled into surgery. Surprised, the doctor looked at the nurse and said, "She's ready." I started pushing with the contractions, which was weird, because while I could still feel the contractions, I could not feel to push at all. But I pushed with all my might. Pushing was actually the not-so-bad part of labor. My husband was a phenomenal coach (he was totally hiding that skill in his back pocket all this time). He counted for me, encouraged me; he was my everything. I blocked everything out except for whatever he was telling me.

I pushed for an hour and a half, and at 4:35pm, Sophia Grace came into the world! Her cord was wrapped around her neck twice and had a "true knot" in it. Everyone was surprised, as there had been no indication she was in distress at all. They called all available staff into the room, which looked like the swat team and was a little scary. Everyone worked fast and within seconds Sophie was crying and doing just fine. She scored a 9 on her apgar at 5 min. My husband stayed with her the whole time while I delivered the placenta (and saw it afterwards- kind of cool), got stitched back up (I tore on my own about a 2nd degree tear), and cleaned up.

Recovery has been pretty good and Sophie is a very good baby. We are doing pretty well with breastfeeding and are just enjoying being together. I love my daughter so much!!!

[I was being polite and discreet here. Recovery was hard- I was in pain and swollen for a while and remember many a time crying in the bathroom. Nursing was tough- we both took a few days to get the hang of it, and even once we did, Sophie was the kind of baby that wants to eat every 2 hours and take an hour to nurse. We spent all evening nursing non-stop, which is technically called "cluster feeding," but what I thought of as a black hole of isolation and despair. Things did get a lot better, though, and we went on to nurse for 17 months.]

So there ya go, 2 birth stories in one day! I love reading birth stories even more than telling them, so if you have any to tell, post or email them!

So. In. Love.

I am so in love with Lilah that I feel like I'm going to explode. I forgot how tiny newborns are. And how soft. And how good they smell and feel against your bare skin. And the ADORABLE little faces they make and sounds they emit. I am just smitten. Any fears I had about how I was going to handle two kids or how our lives would have to further adjust just flew out the window as soon as I snuggled with her for the first time. It also helps that she is SUCH a good baby. She sleeps well, eats well, has a sweet and quiet little disposition. I'm not saying that Sophie was a bad baby, but everything from labor and delivery on was a whole lot harder. Speaking of labor and delivery- anyone want to hear my birth story? Oh good! Because I love telling it!

As you all know, I had been having contractions since Monday the 16. Sometimes they were
regular and uncomfortable, but they never stayed either long enough to go to the hospital. At my dr's appt on Wednesday I was 3cm dilated. I started losing large pieces of my mucus plug every day. At my next dr's appt the following Monday I was still 3cm dilated. As the week went on I was having more and more contractions, but they were still petering out. I was getting frustrated, uncomfortable, and miserable. Friday morning I woke up with contractions that stayed regular. They weren't unbearable, but they weren't dying down. I knew it would be a
convenient day to have the baby, as far as Sophie's care was concerned. I dropped Sophie off at school and came back home. I packed Sophie a bag, finished getting my things together, cleaned up around the house a little, and Shimmy and I went for a walk. I decided to call the dr and was
told to head in to the hospital. I called my mom and asked her to pick Sophie up from school and take her back to her house. Worst case scenario, they'd send me back home from the hospital, but at least this way Sophie was taken care of if we had to go back to the hospital later that night. We went to the hospital, stopping for brunch on the way because the contractions were pretty manageable and if we were admitted to the hospital, I knew we wouldn't be able to eat for a while. We got to the hospital at 12:30 and got back to triage around 1:30. They hooked me up to the monitors. I was dilated 3-4 cm and was contracting every 7 min. My dr came in and said we could either go home and see what happens or we could stay and she could help things move along. I told her that I didn't want to leave without a baby. She came back an hour later and I was dilated 4-5 and contractions were getting stronger. She said, "I'll strip your membranes, but you're getting there on your own. We're going to have a baby today." Woohoo! So she stripped my membranes, and then we were moved into a room. This was about 2:30. Around 4, the dr came to break my water, but said that the baby was still pretty high up so she wanted to give me some pitocin in hopes that the contractions would get stronger and progress me further, bringing the baby down. I agreed, but asked to get an epidural first, having had a bad experience with pitocin last time. I got the epidural with no problems and pitocin was started. I never needed very much pitocin- at its highest it was 6mL (the most they give you is 34mL I think). The dr broke my water at 6:30. At 7 I said I was feeling the contractions really low with some pressure. They checked me and I was shocked to hear that I was already a 7-8. The nurse got everything ready for the baby. The contractions were starting to get painful, so I asked for a redose in my epidural, which I got within minutes. At 8 I started really feeling a ton of pressure, like I was ready to push, but I didn't think it would happen that quickly. At 8:15 the dr said I was a 9, but that I could do a couple of practice pushes. They got the mirror positioned so that I could watch myself push. I "practice" pushed twice and the baby was right there- it was time. I pushed for 5 min, watching the baby emerge the whole time, and at 8:25pm she was completely out and placed right on my chest! Her apgars were 8 and 9. She weighed 7 lb 9.4 oz and was 21 in long. She latched on right away and has been a champion nurser ever since. She nurses every 3 hours for 15 min- most efficient (and most appreciated). Recovery has been a breeze. I barely tore at all. I'm not sore or swollen. I feel so good that I have to remind myself not to overdo it. Everything has just been soooo different than it was with Sophie (I'll dig up her birth story for comparision and put it in a separate post). It was such an amazing experience all around. I am so glad I asked for the mirror- there is just nothing like watching yourself bring your own child into the world!

Here are some pics from the hospital:

Last belly pic!


She's here! (only pic taken during the first 24 hours of her life since I delivered 1 hour after shabbat began. The nurse was nice to enough to grab our camera and take this one.)


Ready to go home!


2 days old :)




And here are some from my (extremely) amateur photo shoot yesterday. I'm going to try for some better shots today. Still learning the in and outs of my new camera.