My son was born 3/25/15 at 7pm. I was originally admitted 7am for an induction, but after they broke my waters I still remained at 1cm dilated and 75% effaced. I was told I was having contractions but I couldn't feel them. They offered me a labor ball or medicine that would get things going relatively quickly. I didn't want to wait around for another day so I opted for meds... which started contractions that went from mild cramping to period from hell in a few hours. By 2pm I was shaking like an addict, having mild seizures/tremors (I'm an epileptic and stress triggers my seizures) and my vision started going blurry. I asked for an epidural, which was uncomfortable but not as terrible as what I was currently going through.
Now let me tell you something. I wanted to see if I could do everything au natural, no meds... just to see what it was like. Well, I can't and I'm honestly not disappointed.
Epidurals are magic. I couldn't feel anything else. Not one contraction. It was wonderful for an hour or so. I looked gigantic though and I was retaining water like nothing I had ever seen, also my childhood asthma is apparently just regular asthma. Oops. I had to wear a gas mask/oxygen thing for the entire labor since at any given moment either one of us was struggling. If my son's heart rate started acting up I was turned over certain ways or flipped over on my side. With every breath I took I sounded like a dying seal.
I pushed at around 5:30 or 6 and he was out by 7pm... and my doctor was so shocked she warned me that if I were to have another (which I'm considering) that I get to the hospital ASAP or get induced early, or else I'd end up like one of those people giving birth on the side of the road. It's not all good news, I mean - I got my son out quickly and we both needed relief, but since I pushed so strongly I have three stitches and quite a tear (grade 2 I think?) that makes me pretty awful at taking care of a newborn, so I apologize for the delay in the update. I can't really even sit up in bed or on the couch. I feel awful... like I'm not doing anything. My husband has to clean and he's on diaper duty since I can't really stand for long periods of time either.
Anyway, as far as my son goes. He's super tiny... six pounds. We're breastfeeding but supplementing with formula to get some weight on him. His pediatrician says that I probably was too overdue and I did actually need induced around the time I was super uncomfortable and complaining... 38/39 weeks? My son arrived with chapped dry and bleeding skin, very dehydrated, as well as a failing placenta, which caused more issues with his weight.
All and all, I'm happy he's here and alive... plus we have some information and stuff to watch out for next time. We have an appointment with the hospital's lactation consultant tomorrow to see how else I can help him. Besides his health issues, he's incredibly alert and intelligent. He latched immediately with no coaxing from the nurses and actually holds his own head up as well as rolls over on his side. The charge nurse said that she hadn't seen anything like it. He's a tough little guy.
I don't really have any pictures to show since there's some identifiable info on my account, but I promise you he's adorable. :)
Tips:
Take everything you can from your hospital room, even though sometimes the maternity pads are awful. Have them laying around the house for emergencies - example: one of my stitches fell out. Lots of blood.
Have some kind of support network if things get bad. Babysitters on call. Right now it's just my husband and I, and it's very hard to make/keep appointments.
Eat when you can, food becomes less of a priority (I often forget I'm hungry now that I don't have acid reflux/a baby kicking inside of me.)
I honestly didn't need more than one change of clothes in my pack, the rest of the time at the hospital was spent in those robes or just plain half naked and in my underpants due to the amount of bleeding and breastfeeding I was attempting to do.
My husband and I didn't need snacks. I packed some, but the hospital had a refrigerator with puddings and such on the floor. After the baby was born, he'd leave twice a day to check on the cat and the apartment, and get food on the way. The cafeteria was also open pretty late.
I crave ice water now that I'm breastfeeding. All I want is ice water.
I had toiletries with me, and I didn't need it. The shower came with a pump with 2-in-1 body wash/shampoo in our room.
I had cream for my dry skin, but I couldn't use it on the baby, nor did I have the energy/strength to put it on. I didn't need it.
If you have a friend that's a photographer or a former art kid, have them bring a camera and visit rather than pay $100+ for complementary pictures from the hospital.
Submitted March 29, 2015 at 10:48AM by _eighty2 http://ift.tt/1G45MWE CautiousBB
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