Hi Everyone. Sorry for the long absence...Thanks, Shannon, for keeping everyone up to date on my situation.
Who'da thunk it, eh?
Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers. They were very much appreciated!!!
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We have named our baby boy Marcus (middle name to be determined).
The meaning of the name is "belonging to Mars - the warrior". This little boy definitely wanted to come in March, and he has been quite the warrior!
Marcus was born on March 8, 2005 at 11:17 am. He weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz, and measured 20.5 inches long.
As most of you know, his entry to this world was not one we had imagined possible. After an uneventful and healthy pregnancy, our little boy was not making any moves to come by his due date, and my body was in no apparent rush either. Druing week 41, we tried every natural method to encourage labour. No response. After careful monitoring since 10 days (or 7 - debatable) past his due date, I was admitted to the hospital. Attempts to coax my body to prepare for his birth (Cervadil) failed, and he began showing serious signs of distress. My cervix wasn't opening, and his head was still high. On Tuesday, March 8, the decision was made to have a caesarean section birth, as the probability of his doing well with Pitocin was very slim, which would have in all probability resulted in an emergency caesarean (general anaesthetic).
One hour later, I was on the operating table. A truly surreal experience. I won't go into those details, - it was quite harrowing at the time, but I was focussed on getting my baby out well. My mw was there with me, and my dh. A paediatrician was also in the OR, and once baby came out, he was swiftly transferred to her care. He was coated in meconium, and had likely been so for some time - even before having shown any signs of distress. Apparently the OB had never seen a uterus like mine. Absolutely coated and stained. Great - glad to make it into the record books...
The next 7 days were quite the journey to wellness for both baby and mom. Marcus was in the NICU for 7 days. I was a patient for 3 days beyond his birth day. With the hospital being under renovation, that ward is several long corridors and 2 floors away from the NICU! I then stayed in a courtesy room in the NICU until baby's discharge from hospital (a short hobble away).
He came very close to having to be intubated (put on a respirator) immediately after his birth, but he rallied, and was able to avoid that procedure. He was on oxygen for his first day, then in an incubator. He was on antibiotics for the meconium aspiration, and his next days were a series of blood draws, IV moves (the last of which was on his poor little head), a feeding tube down his nose to his tummy, and sensors, but finally he was moved to a regular cot and became a wireless baby! That made cuddle and feeding time much less stressful.
On March 14, mommy and daddy brought our little guy home. He was discharged from the hospital a normal, healthy baby, and no long-term effects are expected for either of us. Words cannot express how thrilled we are to have him here, and we are enjoying being a family together again. He has already gained 5 ounces since his discharge weight, and is on the way (although some days I worry!) to learning to breast feed. His energy had been spent fighting the ordeal and healing, plus his first few days he was fed directly to his tummy via a tube to avoid aspiration, so this skill is taking some time...My mw has been working with me, coming by daily, and yesterday we saw a LC. Can't wait till this little guy can just go on the breast easy peasy, and I can stop pumping!! Wildly time consuming.
My mom has been staying at my place and has been a HUGE help. Man - how do you mamas with toddlers do it? It's all I can do to keep myself relatively rested, hydrated and fed...! Once breastfeeding bootcamp is over, I should gain some time...
: :yawning:
It will take some time to process all this. I've had scary dreams, and so has dh. I've always contended that I am grateful to live somewhere where there are antibiotics and excellent surgical care. I don't think I'm someone who invited medical intervention, but I am 100% glad that I used it. I will have to deal with the fact that had I accepted induction the Thursday prior, we might have had a natural birth, and no distress. Maybe not. Who knows how long he was living in his meconium. Poor little guy.
Photos here:
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/heveasoul/my_photos
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to you mama. Your little girl will bring you so much joy to your life that you will look back on your life and realize she was very much meant to be. 
(new photos uploaded, btw!)
