A glimpse of the past 11.5 weeks:
First Bath
Monkey Feet
"Tax Deduction"
Her first bottle
First Date with Ben (Gwenjamin) - born 2 days apart :)
First ferry ride visiting Gram and Grandpa on Long Island
First St. Patty's Day
A few of my favorites
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
six past midnight
I'm writing this post as the new mom of an almost 3 month old. Gwyneth Rose was born on 1/9/11 at 12:06am. The reason why I chose six past midnight as the name of my blog is because it was the single most amazing minute of my life.
Because Gwen is my inspiration, what better place to start, than with her birth story (be sure to check out the video at the end):
Saturday 1/8/11
We wake up, excited and anxious that today is my due date and yesterday was my last day of work. woot woot!
1pm
Justin is out running errands and I start to feel a little crampy. The thought enters my mind that "this could be it" but I talk myself out of it because a.) it's my due date and no one actually gives birth on their due date! and b.) the cramps are only 2.5 minutes apart and if they were real contractions that close together, they would be A LOT more painful.
2pm
Justin gets home and we decide to call the Dr. because the "cramps" are getting a little more intense. She tells us it could be pre-labor - wait it out a little bit and call back if they get to the point where I can't talk through them.
around 5pm or so
We decide to take a trip to Target (bags packed) because it's on the way to the hospital and walking is supposed to help progress labor. Walking through the parking lot, we had to stop at least 3 times so I could breathe through a "cramp". Looking back now, it cracks me up that I still though I was having Braxton Hicks contractions.
We attempt to walk around Target for a good 10-15 minutes before I decide that I need to high tail it to the hospital - calling the Dr. on the way. Oh yea, and eating a fruit rollup that we bought along with some other delivery room snacks.
5:45pm
We arrive at the hospital, still not sure if this was "it" and half expecting to be sent home. After being examined and finding out I was only 1.5cm dilated (sigh) they decided to keep me there for now but thought it could be a while. I was frustrated, because all along I really envisioned having a pretty quick labor. At this point, I wish that I would've held out at home a little bit longer because it would've been much more comfortable than pacing up and down the hospital hallways. I can only read the same bulletin boards so many times.
6:30pm
The nurse told me to get in the hot tub because it would relax me (a hot tub? yes please!). There is only one hot tub available to patients so I was lucky that it was a slow day for deliveries. They were actually drawing it up for another girl but she had progressed too quickly, so I got it. I was envious, but happy that it worked out in my favor.
I have to say that my time in the hot tub was AMAZING, and what had felt like pretty intense contractions before, ended up almost vanishing. Something has to be said for being relaxed during labor, because I wasn't in there 15 minutes before my water broke. yaaaay!!! I had read that it feels like a rubber band snapping inside you, and it was so true. I actually heard a pop too! I was totally in shock because like I mentioned before, I was only 1.5cm dilated - the nurse was shocked too, she thought it was just my mucus plug. When I stood up, I realized that there was meconium in my fluid (the fluid wasn't clear like it should be), which means that the baby went #2 inside me which is not supposed to happen. This really scared us because when the baby is born, the Drs need to take special care that she doesn't inhale any of the fluid, or it could lead to serious complications and infections.
I have to say that my time in the hot tub was AMAZING, and what had felt like pretty intense contractions before, ended up almost vanishing. Something has to be said for being relaxed during labor, because I wasn't in there 15 minutes before my water broke. yaaaay!!! I had read that it feels like a rubber band snapping inside you, and it was so true. I actually heard a pop too! I was totally in shock because like I mentioned before, I was only 1.5cm dilated - the nurse was shocked too, she thought it was just my mucus plug. When I stood up, I realized that there was meconium in my fluid (the fluid wasn't clear like it should be), which means that the baby went #2 inside me which is not supposed to happen. This really scared us because when the baby is born, the Drs need to take special care that she doesn't inhale any of the fluid, or it could lead to serious complications and infections.
6:45pm
High tail it back to the delivery room. Still only 2cm, but now these are DEFINITELY what contractions are supposed to feel like. breeeaaaathe....
You know how they show laboring moms screaming at anyone in sight while they're having contractions? Impossible! It was all I could do to breathe through the contractions, I wasn't even physically able to make any other noises. I think Justin was expecting me to be one of those screaming women because he couldn't stop saying (with surprise in his voice) how well I was doing.
Justin now goes down to the car to get my hospital bag that I had packed. We didn't bring it in initially because we were still in denial that we were there to stay (lol). Turns out I didn't use anything in that bag until after the baby was born. No music, no magazines, no games, no cell phone. It was all going by so fast.
Justin now goes down to the car to get my hospital bag that I had packed. We didn't bring it in initially because we were still in denial that we were there to stay (lol). Turns out I didn't use anything in that bag until after the baby was born. No music, no magazines, no games, no cell phone. It was all going by so fast.
8pm
Epidural please...thank you :)
By this point my contractions were SO intense and SO close together. Of course the anesthesiologist chose to stick the massive needle into my spine while I was mid-contraction. I secretly have been terrified of this needle during my entire pregnancy (and pre-pregnancy). Not because of the pain, simply because I didn't want to be...paralyzed. It's funny, thinking back on it now, I don't even remember the pain.
By this point my contractions were SO intense and SO close together. Of course the anesthesiologist chose to stick the massive needle into my spine while I was mid-contraction. I secretly have been terrified of this needle during my entire pregnancy (and pre-pregnancy). Not because of the pain, simply because I didn't want to be...paralyzed. It's funny, thinking back on it now, I don't even remember the pain.
The epi makes me shaky, and the tingly legs feeling wasn't my favorite but let me tell you, after that, the rest was a piece of cake. Now at 4cm.
After I'm settled, Justin goes downstairs to grab dinner. I'm not allowed to eat and they tell me to rest (yea right), so he takes his sweet old time. By the time he comes back...
9:45pm
8cm...Woooooo!!! Still feeling good.
10:30pm
10cm and letting the baby labor down. Translation: We just have to hang out a bit longer, and let the baby do the work so I don't end up going through hours of pushing.
This gave us a little bit of time to relax and talk. It was a slow night at the hospital, the lights were low and everything was so quiet. All I can remember thinking is just how surreal it all is. I've been walking around with this human being inside me for 40 weeks (exactly), and we were finally going to meet her tonight. This whole experience is nothing like what I thought it would be so far. It wasn't hectic, there weren't a lot of people, it was just Justin, the nurse and me. It was so quiet.
11:30pm
Ready to push - the Dr only just now comes in (for longer than just to check me). Seriously, all they do is baby catch at this point. Most of the coaching was done by the nurse.
It's so weird. Pushing just like you're going to the bathroom.while you're lying on a table.with Justin holding one leg and the nurse holding the other. It's so barbaric and the weirdest feeling ever. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it, but luckily I only had to do it for just over 30 min. The whole time I was wondering if my babe would be born on her due date or the next day.
Here's where I started to get nervous because the special care team had to come in the room and the Dr told me that at a certain point she would tell me to stop pushing. The reason for this is because as soon as she sees the baby's face, she needs to immediately suction her so she doesn't have the chance to breathe in the meconium. I literally had about 6 Drs in the room at the point and it scared the crap out of me. She told me that I wouldn't hear the baby cry, her cord had to be cut and immediately brought to the bassinet where she would be checked over by the special care Drs to make sure there were no signs of breathing distress.
It's so weird. Pushing just like you're going to the bathroom.while you're lying on a table.with Justin holding one leg and the nurse holding the other. It's so barbaric and the weirdest feeling ever. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it, but luckily I only had to do it for just over 30 min. The whole time I was wondering if my babe would be born on her due date or the next day.
Here's where I started to get nervous because the special care team had to come in the room and the Dr told me that at a certain point she would tell me to stop pushing. The reason for this is because as soon as she sees the baby's face, she needs to immediately suction her so she doesn't have the chance to breathe in the meconium. I literally had about 6 Drs in the room at the point and it scared the crap out of me. She told me that I wouldn't hear the baby cry, her cord had to be cut and immediately brought to the bassinet where she would be checked over by the special care Drs to make sure there were no signs of breathing distress.
Sunday 1/9 12:06am
It's a baby girl! After they checked her over, they gave her a clean bill of health and finally placed her on my chest. my heart melted. No words can ever describe the feeling of making a baby who starts out as a tiny cell and grows into an actual person that you feel moving around inside of you and then you actually get to bring her into the world and finally touch her and hold her and see and kiss her face. Later that day she looked into my eyes and I felt in my heart what it feels like to love someone more than anything in the world.
I wanted a special way to remember Gwen's birth so I put together a short slideshow that I'd like to share, Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4UjZEAOGt8
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