Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Two Weeks Old!

Remy will be two weeks old tomorrow! How has he changed?
  • His umbilical cord stump has finally, mercifully, fallen off!
  • His dark, wispy hair looks longer, especially in the back. It's so soft and kissable.
  • According to his last wellness check, he's already taller.
  • His little thighs are filling out deliciously.
  • His feet never turn purple anymore.
  • He spends more time in the day awake and alert. He likes to hang out with me in the kitchen and watch the action. Or the edge of the laundry room door, whichever is closer. :P
  • He rarely cries, but he loves to grunt. When he's really frustrated he'll grunt as loud as he can and scowl. If that doesn't resolve the issue, he'll let out an ear piercing squeal!

Tomorrow is his 2 week appointment. I'm anxious about it and praying that the circumcision and the blood test will go smoothly and with as little pain as possible!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Notes from the Early Days

  • Pushing was amazing. Even though the anesthesiologist had overdone it and I couldn't feel a thing below my waist, I was still able to push and help bring my little guy into the world. It was the most intense hour of my life.
  • He has dark hair! Ross and I both have dark hair, but Ross was born blond and I was afraid Remy would be too. No offense to blonds, but I have a hard time imagining him that way.
  • He likes to ask me with his eyebrows if I'm sure I know what I'm doing. "Of course I do, I'm your mother" - and then I accidentally scratch him, let his head flop over, or get his umbilical stump caught on his diaper.
  • We went 24 hours without supplementing with any formula yesterday! I'm still in awe that this breastfeeding thing is actually working (knock on wood!)
  • You know that extremely annoying Aerosmith song? The "I don't want to close my eyes" one? That's exactly how I feel. I wish there was some kind of sleep exemption for new moms.
  • I am feeling quite svelte, so it's a shock every time I pass a mirror! I've started using a belly binder and it's helping my shape a little, and the water weight is slow-ly coming off, but the rest is going to take some time. Which means I get to go clothes shopping ;P
  • The circumcision is scheduled for next week. I'm so dreading it. I've tried to suggest to Ross that Remy's little guy looks just fine the way it is, but he is standing his ground. God, I pray it goes well!
  • Maybe it was the adrenaline, but the moment they put a hot, slimy little Remy on my belly I decided that I definitely want to have more kids.

Friday, May 14, 2010

He's Here!

Tuesday night labor really kicked into gear and at about 7:56pm on Wednesday evening Remy was delivered weighing 7lbs, 15oz and measuring 19.5 inches. He's wonderful and we are in love with him!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

40 Week Appointment

I've continued to have irregular contractions since our visit to L&D over the weekend and it has left me exhausted and sore. It hasn't helped my mood, either. I have made some minor progress though, and I'm trying to feel encouraged by it. Last night I began experiencing bloody show and today the OB informed me that I've gone from last week's "1-2cm" to "2-2.5cm". He said he thinks I'll give birth in the next two days, but if not we'll induce early next week, probably Tuesday. Somehow, despite the space crunch, Remy has continue to be an active little guy and his heart rate has been great.

Saturday, May 08, 2010

My Non-Birth Story

It's been an exciting and frustrating couple of days here. Thursday night as I was waiting for Ross to get home from work I began to feel an uncomfortable feeling of pressure. So much so that when we went out to Ihop for dinner (yay!) I couldn't even finish my country omelette (boo!) I thought maybe it was indigestion but it got worse throughout the night and I was constantly getting up to pace to try to work out the tension in my back and pelvis from all the pressure.

The next day I knew I had to distract myself or I'd go nuts so I went to Kohl's to buy myself a mother's day present (new purse!) It felt good to get out of the house and stretch my legs, but the pain in my back got worse and worse. I was still feeling a lot of pressure in my abdomen and couldn't finish my lunch. I went home, planning to rest my back, but found that it was even more uncomfortable to sit, so I did another round of cleaning around the apartment and by the end of that I noticed that I was definitely having menstrual type cramps. Around 8 o'clock I started to time them and they were about 10 minutes apart. By 10 they were about 7 minutes apart and getting stronger. By 11 they were 5 minutes apart, with a few breaks, and by midnight they had me doubled up in pain. I called the nurse on call with my practice and she said to go straight to the hospital.

Getting into the car to drive to the hospital I had my last really intense contraction of the night. I was still experiencing pain but not scary pain. When we arrived at Labor & Delivery I was already starting to feel a little more relaxed. They hooked me up to the monitor and right away could see that I was having contractions every 1.5 minutes, however I couldn't even feel most of these contractions, and I knew that was a bad sign. The nurse checked my cervix and found that I was exactly the same as I was on Tuesday - 1-2 cm dilated and 70-80% effaced. I knew at this point they were going to send me home and I felt so frustrated.

As we waited for the final word from the doctor I had some time to come to terms with the fact that we weren't going to be having the baby that night. I was sad about it, but I have to admit I was also glad at the prospect of going home, because even with the lighter contractions, I was super uncomfortable in the hospital bed. When the nurse came back she explained that I was experiencing Prodromal Labor, which is labor that does not progress. She said the doctor had ordered that I go home and get some rest, and come back when the contractions were more painful. With the release orders she gave me a shot of demerol, to ease the pain and help me get some sleep.

I was worried that the Demerol would stop the contractions and further reduce any chances I had of going into active labor, but I noticed, when the drug kicked in, that I could still feel the contractions, just without so much discomfort. By the time we got home from the hospital I was slurring my words a little and feeling rather chipper :P Ross and I ate a quick breakfast and around 4 o'clock finally went to bed for the night.

I was awoken three or four times by strong contractions but they never seemed to get closer together. By mid-morning the pain was getting less and less. I felt sad that I wasn't going into active labor, but thankful that the prodromal labor was ending, because I know for some people it goes on for days.

Now it's evening here and it looks like it will be a much calmer and more relaxed night than last night. I'm sipping red tea and Ross is loading up the newest episode of Doctor Who. Maybe we'll run out and get some frozen yogurt later. Not as good as having a baby, but not too shabby either.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

I'm too busy waging psychological war on my body to compose a coherent post so here's another listy sort of one made of random observations and mundane details of my life. Lucky you!

  • Temps have gotten up to 90 this week and it's amazing how different 90 feels here. I can actually sit out on the balcony comfortably. The humidity is something ridiculously low like 7%.
  • Lost was epic last night. Maybe a little too epic? Thought Matthew Fox was on his a-game but not sure if the directing lived up to the content...
  • Doctor Who, on the other hand, knocked it out of the friggin ball park. Why, oh why, are their season's so short? I just can't get enough of that show.
  • Ross and I have begun seeing lizards sunning themselves around the apartment complex. I still can't believe I live somewhere with palm trees, tumbleweeds, and lizards!
  • Remy is getting big and heavy and I'm getting very tired!
  • My 39 week appointment went great. I'm progressing and the young doctor I was a little worried about is no longer with the practice. Oh, and my weight is holding steady, which seems sort of miraculous.
  • There is a restaurant chain here called Cafe Rio and they have the most amazing pork barbecoa and I'm hoping Ross will take me there tonight to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Love this Blog!

A fb friend posted a link to this blog last week and I am totally in love with it. Soooo funny. If you need a good laugh, check out Rants from Mommyland.

Saturday

Time for a random list.

  • Feeling icky for the second straight day. Could mean I'm gonna have a baby, but probably means indigestion.
  • Piper is SO in love with me that it's getting quite annoying. I'm constantly clawing static-y cat hair off my face and out of my mouth.
  • Ross and I are both wondering how he is going to handle sleep deprivation. If you know Ross, you know what I'm talking about. Should be interesting.
  • Feels like half the women in my May Expecting Club have already had their babies and it's only May 1st. It's not fair.
  • My doctor is out of town this week, which means I may not have to deliver with the youngest OB ever. Yay!
  • Gonna try to do some walking today because when I did it yesterday it kinda hurt, but it also kinda felt right, ya know?