Sylvia-Rose (we think, although we haven't filled out the birth certificate yet) arrived at 1:38 am on November 13th. She was 8 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches long at birth. She has a ton of dark hair, which makes her look nothing like her big brother, who is blond and fair and was completely bald at birth. She's a very sweet baby; cluster feeding through the night is our biggest difficulty at the moment, but I think that will subside with time.
My contractions started while I was getting ready for work on Thursday. They were about 13 minutes apart, but they were unmistakable. I decided to go into work because I knew it wouldn't help things move faster to stay around the house. I charted my ctx. all day and they were steadily moving closer together. I was testing a couple of middle school kids, and I thought how uncomfortable it would have been to them to know I was in labor! lol! At the time, though, I was able to re-focus and breathe through them fairly easily, so I don't think they were any the wiser. By the end of the day, though, I called another colleague over to finish my testing, because I needed to get home to get things together and the ctx. were getting more intense. I called dh home early from work.
Around 5, we started driving toward the hospital because I didn't want to get caught in traffic, and my ctx. had been between 2 and 4 minutes for an hour. When i called the mw, though, she said if I was able to talk through them at all, the contractions were probably not strong enough to be really doing anything. So dh and I went to dinner and then roamed around a store in the area for a while. They were getting stronger, but they were about 5-6 minutes apart, so we decided to go home instead since they weren't as close together anymore. Got home and the mw called a bit later, around 9:30. I explained that they had been moving closer together again and were very intense. She advised me to take a bath or try to rest in bed.
I couldn't relax at home, so we headed over about a 1/2 hour later. The mw said I could get checked and then they'd call her. When they checked me at the hospital, I was 8 cm! The nurses must have been completely surprised because the pace picked up immediately.
I needed to make a spur of the moment decision about an epidural, and I was feeling weak and asked for it. In the end, I am SOOO glad that I did because baby was still on her side, rather than anterior, and the mw worked and worked to flip her. Between a 2 hour transition and the mw reaching in to turn her and baby refusing the right position, I think the pain would have been unbearable for me. Sylvia-Rose was born on her side at 1:38 am. Because of her positioning, she ended up with a broken clavicle, but fortunately there is no nerve damage so all should heal well within a couple of weeks. She's beautiful and very sweet and her latch has improved a ton in just a couple of days!
My contractions started while I was getting ready for work on Thursday. They were about 13 minutes apart, but they were unmistakable. I decided to go into work because I knew it wouldn't help things move faster to stay around the house. I charted my ctx. all day and they were steadily moving closer together. I was testing a couple of middle school kids, and I thought how uncomfortable it would have been to them to know I was in labor! lol! At the time, though, I was able to re-focus and breathe through them fairly easily, so I don't think they were any the wiser. By the end of the day, though, I called another colleague over to finish my testing, because I needed to get home to get things together and the ctx. were getting more intense. I called dh home early from work.
Around 5, we started driving toward the hospital because I didn't want to get caught in traffic, and my ctx. had been between 2 and 4 minutes for an hour. When i called the mw, though, she said if I was able to talk through them at all, the contractions were probably not strong enough to be really doing anything. So dh and I went to dinner and then roamed around a store in the area for a while. They were getting stronger, but they were about 5-6 minutes apart, so we decided to go home instead since they weren't as close together anymore. Got home and the mw called a bit later, around 9:30. I explained that they had been moving closer together again and were very intense. She advised me to take a bath or try to rest in bed.
I couldn't relax at home, so we headed over about a 1/2 hour later. The mw said I could get checked and then they'd call her. When they checked me at the hospital, I was 8 cm! The nurses must have been completely surprised because the pace picked up immediately.
I needed to make a spur of the moment decision about an epidural, and I was feeling weak and asked for it. In the end, I am SOOO glad that I did because baby was still on her side, rather than anterior, and the mw worked and worked to flip her. Between a 2 hour transition and the mw reaching in to turn her and baby refusing the right position, I think the pain would have been unbearable for me. Sylvia-Rose was born on her side at 1:38 am. Because of her positioning, she ended up with a broken clavicle, but fortunately there is no nerve damage so all should heal well within a couple of weeks. She's beautiful and very sweet and her latch has improved a ton in just a couple of days!
Neat they have the same birthdays. 
Healing dust your way!
Congratulations!
