Welcome Jake! and a Month Later

 

OK, I seriously want to cry right now because I spent 3 hours on this post and then blogger didn't save it when it said it was going to and then I had to re-do the whole thing :( So I guess I am going to post a couple times so I don't lose all the info again... We will start with Jake...

Welcome Jacob Nicholas! Wow, how terrible that it has been a month already since he was born and I haven't posted ANYTHING! So far behind :( I guess it is to be expected, but I don't like going to long between posts because I know I forget things :(

So there is my little THING 2 (above) on his one month birthday (7/17/2013). I can't believe how quickly a month flew by. It has been an interesting, exhausting month, but I suppose I should start at the beginning...

I really had my hopes up when I went in to my 38 week appointment on Monday (6/17/2013). My doctor had told me if I was far enough along (aka fully effaced) then they would induce me on Wednesday. Well it turns out that they won’t induce until you are at least 39 weeks. So I was seriously bummed to find out that the induction date was still scheduled for Sunday the 23^rd. Not that that is a bad day – Jake would have shared a birthday with his Grandpa Bill – super special. I just really didn’t want to wait that long.  

I started having regular contractions around 36 weeks. Since Aurora came at 36.5 weeks I was all set to go. The problem was that having done labor already, I knew that the intensity level was not high enough. They were 3-5minutes apart, but nowhere near as strong as I knew they were going to be. And the intensity level was not increasing and the weird thing was that when I walked around they stopped. So I discovered that this was not real labor. Having not had to go through this with Aurora it was a very new experience. My water broke with her before ever having contractions and then the contractions only started once they gave me the pitocin. This was a whole new world. This went on for about a week and a half. I never went to the hospital, but I got very close a few times. It would seem like the contractions were getting stronger only to stop when I started walking. There were several nights that I couldn’t sleep for hours because of the contractions. Not to mention Jake was getting lower and lower. It was hard to walk because he felt like he was falling out and my back was killing me. I was seriously waddling and I didn’t care who saw.

So when the doctor said I had another week I was not happy. She checked and said that I was 3cm dialated and 80% effaced. (At 35 weeks I was 1cm, 70% and at 36 weeks I was 2cm, 80%). So my cervix hadn’t changed in the past week, but I was continuing to dilate. So that was good. My doctor said that if I started having regular contractions to go to the hospital. At 3cm they would admit me and help them along. This made me less reluctant to go to the hospital. I really didn’t want to get sent home. 

Well, regular contractions started almost immediately after the doctor appointment. I kind of blew them off since they didn’t seem any different than all the other ones that I had been having, but they continued when Aurora and I went to JoAnns (to buy paper for Jake’s birth announcements and yes, Brittany, I broke my new year’s resolution) and they continued through our trip to McDonalds. When we got home and I put Aurora down for a nap I started walking around and cleaning the house. I was tracking the contractions and they were consistent and some of them were starting to feel pretty uncomfortable. I was hesitant, but I called Nick at work and told him I thought maybe this was it. I told him I would give it another hour to see what happened. Well, after an hour they hadn’t really progressed, but they hadn’t stopped. So I decided the doctor said to go if they were regular and they were. So Nick got home and we left the house at 4PM. My mom and grandparents met us at the hospital and they kept Aurora entertained while Nick and I began the labor journey.

They checked me at triage and I was 4cm and still only 80% effaced. My doctor told me 4cm is active labor and they would admit me. But they didn’t. They told me to go walk around for an hour. By the end of an hour I was hurting pretty good, so I figured they couldn’t send me home, but I was disappointed to find out I was only 5-6cm and still only 80% effaced. That was at 7PM. But it was active labor so they went to find me a room. Meanwhile I thought my water broke only to find out it was much yuckier than that, and that FINALLY made them get a move on. Within minutes they actually got me a room and a nurse (around 8PM) and from there on things moved quickly, but it felt like an eternity. My water hadn’t actually broken so they had to break it, but were waiting before they could get my IV except that my veins were not cooperating. Once the IV was in the doctor came to break my water and then I dilated to 9cm very quickly, but my cervix was not all the way thinned out. So although I felt ready to push, my cervix was still in the way. Those last 5 contractions before I was able to push felt like the longest minutes of my life. I was not getting breaks between the contractions (maybe 30 seconds) and when I was getting the “breaks” I was getting checked (not fun) to see if I was ready or not. I completely understand why people get the epidural :) Even though I knew how bad it was going to be I was still in shock that I could experience that kind of pain and still be alive.

 

Once my cervix was out of the way it was less than 2 pushes and he was out. The doctor didn't make it in time - she was doing a C-section. So the nurse delivered. I have to say that I loved my nurse. She was amazing and stayed with me the whole time and was so positive and encouraging. I was so lucky. I was so lucky too because I survived labor without stitches!!!!!   

 

Labor was terrible horrible and I never want to do it again. It was worse than Aurora's labor by far - much longer. I will say that I preferred the Pitocin. I'm a sprinter, not a distance runner :) I prefer quick intense pain to drawn out pain.

 

Jake was born at 9:16. 6lbs and 18.5inches long. Although based on the doctor's visit we had 2 days later I think his length was off because he was 19.5" then.

 

Aurora had a very late night that night. By the time she met Jake it was after 10PM. Nick had been telling her for weeks that once Jake was born AND he gets a little bigger that we are going to Disney World. So the first thing she said when she saw him was "I'm going to Disney World!!!!" Adorable. Now she tells me every day that she wants to go and "it's hard to wait." I agree. 

 

 

My friend Karina took amazing newborn pictures for us. She spent 2.5 hours getting some great shots. She is so patient! She's awesome!

 

 

 

And so that's my labor story. I am glad it is over and I'm glad he is here. He is adorable and he is a great snuggler. He is a reasonably good sleeper but that is probably because he wears himself out being such a good screamer. He is a fussy baby :( The doctor said that it could be due to an intolerance of cow's milk that is getting into my breast milk. So I cut out dairy for a few weeks. At first we thought it was making a huge difference, but I think he just had a few good days and now he is back to being fussy. Nick said I shouldn't bother with the dairy restrictions, so I'm not going to cut it out completely, but I guess I won't eat as much as I used to... I will limit some, but not completely eliminate. I am hoping that he out grows the fussiness. It is hard on all of us, but especially Aurora. She can get pretty upset when he cries. Sometimes she gets mad, sometimes sad, and then other times she will try to comfort him and tell him it is OK. So cute when she does that. I feel bad for both of them when he cries, but I can't seem to do much about it :( He is definitely a comfort sucker and he LOVES his binky. I wasn't sure I was going to use one, but he always seems to want something in his mouth. And I figure it is better than him screaming all the time. He is very high maintenance. It seems that when he is awake I need to actively be trying to keep him from screaming. He is not content to be anywhere but someone's arms. And he wants to be bounced or swayed constantly. It is hard with 2 of them. I feel that I am always neglecting one. If I am feeding Jake it is hard to do what Aurora wants and if I'm taking Aurora to the potty or making her food I have to put Jake down a lot and he screams. I feel like I am failing both of them :( I'm hoping things will get easier, but right now I feel constantly torn in 2 directions. I guess I just have to get used to the juggling act.

The one thing that is good/bad is that they are on similar schedules. Which is nice when it's naptime because that means I get an hour to get a few things done, but it's hard when it is time to eat and I am supposed to be nursing/making dinner at the same time. It is a lot better on the weekends and when Nick is home from work, but he has started travelling again :( He was gone all last week and has another trip coming up soon. It is rough when he is gone. I don't envy military wives at all. It is so much easier when I have back-up. Fortunately my family is awesome and always willing to help :) It's nice too just to have the company and another adult to talk to :)

Well, that's my updates for now. I am still hating blogger for losing the rest of my original post so I will have to get to my other updates later. But this will have to do for now since the kiddos are waking up.

And sorry for any typos - I was trying to do this super fast. I didn't proof read.