After Casey was born, he made a singing sound when he breathed out, which we thought was cute, but were told was a sign of distress. He was hooked up to an oxygen monitor, which looked great, and he was still nice and pink. They ordered a chest x-ray and had the pediatrician come look at him. The ped nurse and pediatrician came to see him, and decided to cancel the x-ray, and said to just give him more time. He was 3 weeks early, so he just needed a little extra time and all his vitals looked great. His blood sugars looked good, which was a relief due to my gestational diabetes. It didnt affect him!
By 11am, I finally got to eat! I hadnt eaten since our subway lunch at 1pm the day before! I was given some broth and jello some time the night before, but thats not filling at all!! I ordered a turkey sandwhich and fruit. After 9 months of not being able to eat deli meat, and after the gestational diabetes and not getting much fruit....this was the best meal ever!
Casey had some difficulty nursing, again from being only 37 weeks, his jaw wasnt developed enough to open for a good latch. We were visited several times over our stay by the lactation specialist, she was great, so very helpful. She brought me lots of products to help us out, and helped me practice. We supplemented Casey with a thin line of formula to see if he would open his jaw wider. This was very difficult and took many hands! Who knew nursing could be so complicated and be a team sport! I learned you have zero modesty when having a baby!
In the afternoon, my Mom broght Casey a birthday cake, and we celebrated with her, and Ryan's parents. That was good cake!
Sleep was not easy in the hospital. I was so sore and couldnt get comfortable, and Casey was eating every 2 hours, and the nurses come in to do vitals all the time. Someone even came to draw blood from me at 4am! I was so exhausted after no sleep for days and the marathon of labor. Casey made it worth it for sure! The first day, I had the turkey sandwhich and fruit for all 3 meals....I couldnt get enough! I was also worried to upset my stomach after not eating for so long.
Sunday morning we were discharged about noon. It is crazy to think they just let you go home with this tiny baby! Shouldn't I have taken a test or something?! It's gonna be a fun ride!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Back to the hospital!!
My water broke at 2:15, and we were checked into the hospital at 3:06. I went to an exam room and was still only 2cm dilated. The Dr decided to run a test to make sure my water really broke. I was confused, as what else could it possibly have been?! I was sure it broke! It took about a half hour, but Dr. Custodio came back and said "Well Mrs. French, you are staying!" It was definitely my water that had been broken. I was moved to birthing suite 7 (Lucky #7!) at 4:30. I was started on an antibiotic drip. I still wasn't having any contractions, at 6:30 they strted my pitocin drip to move things along! Ryan and I did some walking, he pushed my IV pole for me! At 7, I was able to update my facebook to let my friends know I was in the hospital having a baby!
At 9pm, I was still only at 2cm dilated 70% effaced and baby was at a negative 3 position. Around 10pm the contractions started getting painful. We watched Greys Anatomy as the contractions got really bad.
At 11:30 Dr Custodio decided he wanted internal monitoring, he placed the 2 monitors one at a time, and they were so incredibly painful....I didnt think anything about labor could hurt that bad! When he was done he said I was 4cm and could have an epidural anytime. I requested one immediately! But I needed more fluids and they had to find the anesthesiologist. So it was 12:30 before the epidural was started. Immediate relief! I felt so much better! The catheter on the epidural didnt work, which the Dr said had never happened to him in all his years...so he had to re-do it. He said the good news was the 2nd epidural was complimentary! I told him he could charge me as many times as he'd like, I was just happy to feel better!
The nurse said I should try to sleep, as I didnt the night before, and it was going to be a long night. I slept from about 1-3am. Our labor nurse, Becky, was awesome, and she came in and spent a long time talking to us. At about 5am I was 7 cm, 100%effaced and baby was -1 position. I could feel the contractions at this point, they werent painful, just lots of pressure, but I could feel them for sure. At 6:50, I was 10cm and told I would push soon.
At 7am, I started pushing! I was able to take a 15 minute break at 7:30, then started again at 7:45. By this point, my labor nurse was Lynne, and Dr. Custodio was called back. Casey Neal was born at 8:23am, weighed 7 pounds, 13.6 ounces and was 21 and 1/4 inch!! The Dr. cleared his airways, cut the cord, and handed him off to the army of nurses who had arrived. I was waiting to hold him, but the Dr had some work to do on me, and said I couldn't hold him quite yet, I was shaking really hard and losing blood. Once he got everything under control, they put Casey on my chest. There is really no way to describe the feelings of seeing your child for the first time and holding him....I won't even try, it was simply amazing! Ryan and my Mom were the best coaches ever, I am so glad I had them with me!
At 9pm, I was still only at 2cm dilated 70% effaced and baby was at a negative 3 position. Around 10pm the contractions started getting painful. We watched Greys Anatomy as the contractions got really bad.
At 11:30 Dr Custodio decided he wanted internal monitoring, he placed the 2 monitors one at a time, and they were so incredibly painful....I didnt think anything about labor could hurt that bad! When he was done he said I was 4cm and could have an epidural anytime. I requested one immediately! But I needed more fluids and they had to find the anesthesiologist. So it was 12:30 before the epidural was started. Immediate relief! I felt so much better! The catheter on the epidural didnt work, which the Dr said had never happened to him in all his years...so he had to re-do it. He said the good news was the 2nd epidural was complimentary! I told him he could charge me as many times as he'd like, I was just happy to feel better!
The nurse said I should try to sleep, as I didnt the night before, and it was going to be a long night. I slept from about 1-3am. Our labor nurse, Becky, was awesome, and she came in and spent a long time talking to us. At about 5am I was 7 cm, 100%effaced and baby was -1 position. I could feel the contractions at this point, they werent painful, just lots of pressure, but I could feel them for sure. At 6:50, I was 10cm and told I would push soon.
At 7am, I started pushing! I was able to take a 15 minute break at 7:30, then started again at 7:45. By this point, my labor nurse was Lynne, and Dr. Custodio was called back. Casey Neal was born at 8:23am, weighed 7 pounds, 13.6 ounces and was 21 and 1/4 inch!! The Dr. cleared his airways, cut the cord, and handed him off to the army of nurses who had arrived. I was waiting to hold him, but the Dr had some work to do on me, and said I couldn't hold him quite yet, I was shaking really hard and losing blood. Once he got everything under control, they put Casey on my chest. There is really no way to describe the feelings of seeing your child for the first time and holding him....I won't even try, it was simply amazing! Ryan and my Mom were the best coaches ever, I am so glad I had them with me!
Contractions
Time to catch this blog up!
After the Dr stripped my membranes Tuesday 11/17...I was pretty crampy and uncomfortable Tuesday and Wednesday at about 3pm I started having some Braxton Hicks contractions and regular contractions. They weren't terribly uncomfortable, but were about 5-10 minutes apart. We met up with my friend Randi for dinner at Applebees. I still was having contractions, but I could talk through them and they weren't too bad. My Mom and I were trying to decide when she should fly over, there werent many flights. She decided to take the morning flight, as she couldnt make the last flight of the night.
After we got home, they got a little more powerful, Ryan called in to work, and we went to bed. I was able to fall asleep for a little while, but was woken up about 12:45 with contractions I could not sleep through. After about an hour and a half of these 4-5 minutes apart, we headed to the hospital. My sisters had warned me well to not wait too long to get to the hospital, as they didn't get their epidurals!
We got to the hospital and checked in. A nurse hooked me up to all the monitors and checked me. I was still 2 cm dilated and about 70% effaced. She had me walk laps around the maternity ward for an hour to see if I make any progress. She checked me again and said I had not made enough progress to be checked in, and to go home and sleep. They gave me an ambien to help me sleep. She said I was in early labor, and it could be hours, days or even another week before I gave birth! So we headed home about 4am, as my Mom was getting on a flight to head over. I was worried she would get here and I wouldnt have Casey for a week!
I went to bed, and all contractions stoppped. Ryan picked up Mom from the airport. At noon, we decided it would be a great idea to go to my prenatal water aerobics class to see if we could get things started! I went to class and worked hard. Afterwards, Mom and I went to Subway for lunch and headed home. Ryan was sleeping and he woke up and asked if I was having contractions....I told him there was no progress and went to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands...my water broke! I was so suprised! I went out to tell Ryan, who is still laughing at the look on my face! Then we went out to tell my Mom and head to the hospital! They can't send me home now!!!
After the Dr stripped my membranes Tuesday 11/17...I was pretty crampy and uncomfortable Tuesday and Wednesday at about 3pm I started having some Braxton Hicks contractions and regular contractions. They weren't terribly uncomfortable, but were about 5-10 minutes apart. We met up with my friend Randi for dinner at Applebees. I still was having contractions, but I could talk through them and they weren't too bad. My Mom and I were trying to decide when she should fly over, there werent many flights. She decided to take the morning flight, as she couldnt make the last flight of the night.
After we got home, they got a little more powerful, Ryan called in to work, and we went to bed. I was able to fall asleep for a little while, but was woken up about 12:45 with contractions I could not sleep through. After about an hour and a half of these 4-5 minutes apart, we headed to the hospital. My sisters had warned me well to not wait too long to get to the hospital, as they didn't get their epidurals!
We got to the hospital and checked in. A nurse hooked me up to all the monitors and checked me. I was still 2 cm dilated and about 70% effaced. She had me walk laps around the maternity ward for an hour to see if I make any progress. She checked me again and said I had not made enough progress to be checked in, and to go home and sleep. They gave me an ambien to help me sleep. She said I was in early labor, and it could be hours, days or even another week before I gave birth! So we headed home about 4am, as my Mom was getting on a flight to head over. I was worried she would get here and I wouldnt have Casey for a week!
I went to bed, and all contractions stoppped. Ryan picked up Mom from the airport. At noon, we decided it would be a great idea to go to my prenatal water aerobics class to see if we could get things started! I went to class and worked hard. Afterwards, Mom and I went to Subway for lunch and headed home. Ryan was sleeping and he woke up and asked if I was having contractions....I told him there was no progress and went to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands...my water broke! I was so suprised! I went out to tell Ryan, who is still laughing at the look on my face! Then we went out to tell my Mom and head to the hospital! They can't send me home now!!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Making progress....
Back to the Dr today! We had a nonstress test, Casey rocked it and kicked the whole time. He is a busy kid already. Then we did a biophysical profile ultrasound, where the tech watches his movement on the ultrasound. He was napping after the nonstress test and didn't want to move around. After much prodding with the wand (OUCH!) he moved a bit and passed his ultrasound. The Dr checked me and said I have dilated to 2 cm (wasn't at all Thursday) and he stripped my membranes. I had contractions all weekend, so he said this may move labor along in the next few days or week. If not, I am scheduled for an induction on Dec3 at 39 weeks. He said with gestational diabetes, 39 weeks is the farthest they want you to go. Casey should be 9 pounds-ish then, since I am tall I should be able to get him out. Oy. My Mom gave birth to 3 9 pound babies, so I guess I can manage it. I probably deserve it after being 9 pounds 9 ounces, sorry Mom!! And dang it, I was positive for group b strep (1 in 5 are)....and being allergic to so many drugs, the one thing that can treat it, I am told will cause an awful rash and red face...so dont expect any pictures of me right after delivery. I will probably get lots of benadryl with it to help with the rash, so maybe I will sleep through delivery? Hahaha.
Well, we will see what happens! Sometimes stripping membranes does nothing, but it could be anytime between now and Dec 3rd!! 2 weeks!
Well, we will see what happens! Sometimes stripping membranes does nothing, but it could be anytime between now and Dec 3rd!! 2 weeks!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Shopping
Today was a great shopping day!
My Rite Aid trip:
2 herbal essence totally twisted gels (these curls are a pain!)
Airwicks motion sensor spray
Oral B crossaction Toothbrush
After coupons and SCR, paid $1 out of pocket:)
Off to Victoria Secret for yet another free lip gloss
Bath and Body Works, 12 of their awesome foaming hand soaps, averages out after sale and coupon to $1.67 each....I love these and there are lots of Christmas scents. I received another coupon I plan to use on Black Friday, if i am able to shop and not giving birth...
I bought our whale bath tub for Casey at Toys R Us today, with a gift card, so it felt free!
In my mailbox today I found free diapers, and tons of coupons. My mailbox has had free samples almost everyday this week....much better than bills everyday.
My Rite Aid trip:
2 herbal essence totally twisted gels (these curls are a pain!)
Airwicks motion sensor spray
Oral B crossaction Toothbrush
After coupons and SCR, paid $1 out of pocket:)
Off to Victoria Secret for yet another free lip gloss
Bath and Body Works, 12 of their awesome foaming hand soaps, averages out after sale and coupon to $1.67 each....I love these and there are lots of Christmas scents. I received another coupon I plan to use on Black Friday, if i am able to shop and not giving birth...
I bought our whale bath tub for Casey at Toys R Us today, with a gift card, so it felt free!
In my mailbox today I found free diapers, and tons of coupons. My mailbox has had free samples almost everyday this week....much better than bills everyday.
36 weeks
We had our 36 week Dr appointment and ultrasound on Wednesday. That was quite an adventure! The ultraound showed Casey measuring at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 37 weeks 4 days. That's my big boy! We waited for the Dr to come interpret what this meant.....they were running behind, so it was a long wait! Dr. Smith came in and said his growth seems to be affected by the gestational diabetes, whereas before it wasn't. If he is over 9 pounds at the time of delivery, it will be a c-section, as it is safer on him and me. But, he said a bigger problem was that my amniotic fluid was low, and the ultrasound showed Casey's heart rate kept dropping. Fluid should be 12-20, mine was at a 7, and 5 or below means you emergency deliver immediately!! So he talked to the on-call Dr at the hospital and arranged to have me sent over for overnight heart rate monitoring, IV fluids and another ultrasound in the morning. We were told if his heart rate didn't stabilize or my fluids dropped anymore....Casey would be delivered ASAP, as they couldn't guarantee his safety. He estimated he would need to stay in the NICU a week if delivered that day or the next. We headed to the hospital, got checked in, and I called my Mom to let her know the update (effectively launching a large emergency planning committee on the west side of rearranging work schedules, baby-sitters etc, so my family could come over if he was on his way!!)
At the hospital, I was hooked up to the fetal and contraction monitors, and Casey's heart rate was holding steady, so the on-call Dr said he would watch it for 4 hours, and if it was okay, I could go home on bedrest. He stayed perfectly within range the entire time, and we were allowed to go home for the night, with strict bedrest instructions until Thursday at 2, when we would go back to the hospital for more monitoring and another ultrasound to check fluid levels. They really wanted to keep Casey inside for another week, or at least a few more days. The nurse told me not to expect going back to work until he was born.
We made it home about 9:30, made some lists of what we would need if Casey arrived this weekend and headed to bed. I did my bedrest Thursday morning, and thought I would definitely not make it a whole week on bedrest. The nurse had instructed me that bedrest did not mean laundry, or organizing baby's room or moving about the house.....it meant move as little as possible! I am not great at that. Poor Ryan.
Thursday we headed into the hospital earlier than requested, because I had not been feeling him nearly as much as usual. Once I got hooked up to the monitors, it looked like he was doing great and he started kicking more. We went to ultrasound and his fluid levels were 17.6!!! A huge difference! They said there was no way I could have increased that much overnight, so the fluid levels the day before must have just been a fluke. Bad reading. Bad pocket of fluid. We were told he was the best looking kid on the maternity ward, according to his heart rate readings, and I assured the nurse the same thing would be said when he was born....he would again be the best looking kid on the ward! I was sent home and told to resume being a "normal pregnant woman" (Ryan says there is no such thing) and could go back to work, back to prenatal water aerobics and back to life as usual.
We went shopping afterwards and bought lots of last minute necessities and are planning to pack our hospital bags, install the car seat and all that, so we are ready!! The Dr still thinks i will deliver at 37-38 weeks, due to his large size and the gestational diabetes...so that is really soon! We can't wait to meet Casey and be parents!
At the hospital, I was hooked up to the fetal and contraction monitors, and Casey's heart rate was holding steady, so the on-call Dr said he would watch it for 4 hours, and if it was okay, I could go home on bedrest. He stayed perfectly within range the entire time, and we were allowed to go home for the night, with strict bedrest instructions until Thursday at 2, when we would go back to the hospital for more monitoring and another ultrasound to check fluid levels. They really wanted to keep Casey inside for another week, or at least a few more days. The nurse told me not to expect going back to work until he was born.
We made it home about 9:30, made some lists of what we would need if Casey arrived this weekend and headed to bed. I did my bedrest Thursday morning, and thought I would definitely not make it a whole week on bedrest. The nurse had instructed me that bedrest did not mean laundry, or organizing baby's room or moving about the house.....it meant move as little as possible! I am not great at that. Poor Ryan.
Thursday we headed into the hospital earlier than requested, because I had not been feeling him nearly as much as usual. Once I got hooked up to the monitors, it looked like he was doing great and he started kicking more. We went to ultrasound and his fluid levels were 17.6!!! A huge difference! They said there was no way I could have increased that much overnight, so the fluid levels the day before must have just been a fluke. Bad reading. Bad pocket of fluid. We were told he was the best looking kid on the maternity ward, according to his heart rate readings, and I assured the nurse the same thing would be said when he was born....he would again be the best looking kid on the ward! I was sent home and told to resume being a "normal pregnant woman" (Ryan says there is no such thing) and could go back to work, back to prenatal water aerobics and back to life as usual.
We went shopping afterwards and bought lots of last minute necessities and are planning to pack our hospital bags, install the car seat and all that, so we are ready!! The Dr still thinks i will deliver at 37-38 weeks, due to his large size and the gestational diabetes...so that is really soon! We can't wait to meet Casey and be parents!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Another baby shower!
My sisters, Shauna and Kelly hosted the cutest, farm animal baby shower for me on Saturday! Here is a picture of me with my cake, which matched the invitations, napkins and everything else......so cute!!! The shower was at my Mom's house, and I got to see so many friends and family, and Casey was showered with so many wonderful gifts....this kid is already spoiled! Even with gestational diabetes, I managed to have a piece of that cake....YUM!!!! Shauna and Kelly did a great job, I had so much fun!
At Shauna and Kelly's baby showers this summer, we were all 3 pregnant... now I am the last one! But, just a few more weeks to go. I can't wait for Casey to meet with cousins!Before heading to the west side last weekend, we did a hospital tour, and asked a million questions. We are really happy with Kadlec so far. Then we headed to a meet and greet with Dr. Matta, who will be Casey's pediatrician, and her nursing staff. We were very reassured that we can call anyone for help, any time day or night. The Kadlec labor and delivery nurses, our pediatrician, or the lactation specialists at the hospital. Dr. Matta gave us a huge book by the American Association of Pediatrics, on every topic in the world, as a reference book.
Friday night we headed to my parents house and had a big family dinner with all the siblings. Dad made carne asada (I doubt I spelled that right!), he is the best chef EVER! Saturday was the shower!!! We also visited with Ryan's parents and Aunt, Uncle and cousins! We had homemade chili and played cards. Sunday, we had breakfast with Liz and Roxie and headed back home. We had left Josh and McKenzie home, with our neighbor feeding them, which worked out great. Tobie got to come with us, because he is old and spoiled.
This week, I have another appointment with the diabetes nurse, and an ultrasound! I can't wait to see how big Casey has gotten, and maybe get a better idea of what our birth plan is going to look like. I am racking up even more questions for our OB. He is great, he lets me ask everything in the world, and answers very thoroughly. I am new at this, I need lots of answers, lol!
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