Mommy notes

While Darrell has been wonderful at updating you on all of Connor's milestones, I thought I'd add some notes of what motherhood has been like. (More like a reminder for me so I don't forget all of this stuff) The labor and delivery of Connor was actually a pretty great experience. I went into labor around 11pm of Nov 27, of course I didn't know for sure I was in labor yet (not wanting to go to the hospital and get told to go home) , Darrell was fast asleep and I was lying in bed timing my contractions. Finally around 1am I decided to wake Darrell, my contractions were about 5 min apart and were getting uncomfortable. We packed up the last of our stuff and headed down to Good Sam, stopping at Jack in a Box first (of course they're taking forever to fill our order) - they tell you that once you're admitted you're not given anything to eat. We arrive at Good Sam around 2am and getting wheelchaired from the ER to the labor and delivery unit. There we get settled into our room, I get hooked up to all the monitors and we're there waiting for something to happen (more like just watching the monitor everytime a contraction rolls along). The nurses come in every 1/2 hour or so to check up on me. I was 2 cm dilated when I arrived (I was already about 2 cm at the ob's office 2 days prior), and to my disappointment 3 hours later was only 3 cm dilated. At this point, I was getting pretty tired of anticipating a contraction every 5 min, so I asked the nurse if I could get hooked up with some pain medication. She came back with some of the best stuff I've ever had - Fentanyl (instant buzz without having to wolf down an insane amount of liquor). I was feeling wonderful... then about 30 min later it started wearing off, bummer, and even worse you can only get hooked up every 60 min. The next 30 min sober was not very fun. So after consulting with the nurse, she hooked me up with the Fentanyl at the hour (let me tell you that I was staring at that clock), and then she went to go get the anesthesiologist so I get put out of my misery. Now, let me stop right here and tell you that before this day, Darrell and I talked about when and if I should get the epidural. We both thought that I had a pretty good pain tolerance level and that women all over the world give birth naturally without it, so how bad could it really be, yada yada yada. Let me tell you my thoughts, the contractions really weren't that bad, I mean don't get me wrong they are painful, but its tolerable. But I think what wore on me was the fact that the contractions I had weren't very productive, I was dilating like 1 cm every couple of hours (and knowing I needed to get to 10 cm - who knows when that was going to happen), and the anticipation of a contraction every 5 min. So I was mentally tired (I guess physically as well, since I hadn't slept), I threw in the towel and got saved, I got the epidural around 6am. After that it was smooth sailing (not really, just no more pain). Since my contractions weren't really helping me to dilate at a quick enough rate, the doctor/nurse decided to give me ptosin to help move things along. Thank goodness I had gotten the epidural, because after getting the ptosin and watching the monitor, I wouldn't have been wanting to feel those contractions. (On the side note, the question was when did my water bag break, when I arrived at the hospital, a couple different nurses were debating whether it was still intact or not.) Back to the contractions - so the nurses kept playing with the dosage of ptosin they were giving me so to keep my contractions at a regular intensity. But did I care, nope, since I was taking naps here and there and not feeling a thing (waist down). So now 15 hours later, its about 3pm and my temperature started to rise, causing Connor's temperature to rise. My OB said that since no one was sure when my water bag broke, it was possible I was getting an infection which was causing Connor's temperature to rise. Not a great situation... so instead of being able to give birth naturally, my OB made the call for a C-section. So here I was 7 cm dilated and getting wheeled into the OR so I could get the spinal. (Let's give proper shout outs to Yumi, who showed up just as they were going to wheel me off, got gowned up, thrown a camera and made to sit in wheelchair while I was being prepped and cut open) No gory details unfortunately, since they place a nice big drape over me while they're doing the surgery. Dr. Reimnitz (my OB) was really wonderful, and she said that it was good that we ended up having the C-section anyways, since although Connor was head down, he was face up. The whole thing happened so quickly, and Connor was whisked off to have his Apgar scores and to be cleaned off. Darrell didn't even get to cut the cord, I was fighting to stay awake, and there Yumi was clicking away (really, if she wasn't there, we wouldn't have any pictures of this miracle). So after getting sutured up and getting some medications to stop my body from shaking (I guess that happens some women after giving birth/anesthesia), the best of the best part... getting to hold Connor. Just simply amazing...
I won't bore you with too many more hospital memories, just wanting make note that I loved having the foley (so I didn't have to get up to use the bathroom when my abs were so sore), that the nurses were so nice to help a girl change her underwear, and seeing how much food we could get stacked on to a meal order. Poor Darrell having to squeeze his 6'5" body onto that fold out chair, and all of the nice people who came to visit us. The effort it took to get up and walk down the hallway then checking out a day early (yeah!). I was a little worried leaving the hospital, going home to fend for ourselves and little Connor without the help of nurses...
The adventure of learning a newborn and all of their nuances is really well an adventure. Getting through the first two weeks was the key, there were the emotions (not sure if I would say I had postpartum depression) just wanting to cry when I felt overwhelmed for good or bad reasons, getting Connor to latch on (my left nipple being a little flat didn't help- thank goodness for the nipple shield), and dealing with lack of sleep (actually, not that bad). My mom was awesome, we don't know what we would've done without her, she helped to feed us, clean, and best of all the moral support she provided. Darrell was a champ, got right in there and helped out with whatever he could, changing diapers (you've read all about that-hee hee), burping, and just being loving (what more could a girl ask for). And all of our wonderful friends and family who came by to drop food off, we can't tell you how much we appreciate it. (never realized how much a good meal is worth, and how nice it is to have people come by just for a couple hours to help or hang out) Especially for a girl who never spent so much time at home, it was a little tough being at home by myself all day, wondering when I could have an exciting outing like going to Target or Safeway. So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped to save my sanity (just kidding it really wasn't that bad), but really for just making the transition into motherhood a little easier and more enjoyable.
Having a baby is really just interesting... we really knew very little about babies. Now, after reading books, hearing stories, asking advice, and just experiencing it all, its amazing how much there is to know about diapers, feeding, etc... And all the baby stuff you need, sheesh, we keep asking ourselves, what did our parents do back in the day?
This whole thing, giving birth and becoming parents is just a miracle, Darrell and I still can't believe he's ours and that we made him (haha). Having Connor has been a life altering experience, in an awesome way, we're just trying to soak it all in. He's growing so quickly and don't want to miss any of it. Thanks for bearing with me on a stroll through memory lane... (I can't believe its only been 3 months)