i am having a hard time believing that I might actually be able to write this all out, so i'm going to go fast. karl finally let me put him down today, dh is out, my father is playing with sam, and i'm actually eating a bowl of hot cereal that i have been dying for...
the funny thing about karl's birth is that there were so many signs it would be that night, and i just missed all of them. on wed the 16th, we had the full moon and over here we were also expecting a big storm. ithink i even posted that the atmosphere was on my side. well, it was! (and evidently lots of l&ds in the city were full that night!)
weds i was also working from home because dh had to get a root canal, and i had a vision of going into labor while dh was all novocained up and stuff. not quite how it worked out, but close.
i got an email from my boss weds am telling me to basically consider myself done, that i could work from home going forward if i wanted to but not to bother coming in. that should have been the biggest sign - once i know i'm off the hook, so to speak, is when i go.
so, dh heads out to take sam to school and to go to the dentist. i'd been having some good ctrx and karl was quiet, so i thought, well, maybe if i have an orgasm i'll make things move along. seriously. so i did, and it served to stop my contrax and wake karl, so i thought, oh well, at least i tried!
i had been constipated for the days prior and that am i was able to go pretty easily, which i also should have taken as a sign, but didn't.
so anyway, that's the set up. the evening progresses. teh mw was supposed to come for a home visit and at around 8 called and asked if she could postpone becuase of the storm. we said of course!
lo and behold, at 8:49pm, sam and i were playing on the bed and my water broke.
we called the mw and had a big laugh about the timing and started getting things ready. called my mom for her to come up in case sam woke up. the mw said to call again as things got moving, because she thought my labor would be very fast.
ctrx started within about 20 minutes and started out long. loooooooong. but not unbearable. i moved from room to room, leaking more fluid everywhere i went, which was funny to me for some reason. we got sam to sleep. my mom arrived a little after 11 and the mw and her asst came near midnight.
things started picking up for me but were still these long ctrx with about the same amount of down time in between them. but soon,they started to get shorter and more intense, which for me is getting into a more active labor. i pretty quickly figured out that i was in a lot of pain, and i was actually kind of scared about it. everyone was great - they kept telling me i was doing well and that it would be soon, and i knew they woulnd't say that if it wasn't true!
i started getting really cold so i got into bed. interestingly, the only position that really worked for me was flat on my back with my legs up on the mw's shoulders. we tried different positions but if i was upright i was just in agony. i don't really remember what time i got into bed. i know we tried the shower and bath and that did not work for me at all. so the next thing i know, it's about 3am and she checks me. i was 7 cm. and i was really in pain. i kept telling them it was really hard. i lost track of time but know that at some point (which was 3:30am) the mw checked again and i had a little cervical lip left and she said that was what was causing the pain, so i beared down against her hand and she was able to get rid of it and then i could push.
in the meantime, i've gone and pooped all over everything, so that helped me feel better! (i haven't gone since...hemorhhoids etc)
well, i thought i was pushing forever. i'd been screaming at the top of my lungs - somehow sam never woke up and we didn't wake him. it was like i forgot how to push from the right place. but they talked me through it, how to bear down in my middle, and karl started crowning. and man, did that hurt! i knew he was going to be bigger than sam, but it was crazy! so next came the shoulders, and then i had a heck of a time pushing his chest out - which ultimately was because his chest was almost as big as his head! but at 4am on the dot on thurs am, out slid karl in all his glory!
we cuddled right away and withing 45 minutes he was nursing, and that is his favorite thing to do.
i was quite surprised to find that he weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. that's over 2 lbs more than sam did, which explains part of why it was so hard. however, the mw and the asst both thought it was surprisingly difficult for a 2nd labor.
i ended up with no tears or skid marks or anything, whcih was awesome!
sam woke up at 5:30 am to a house full of people, including his new baby brother! we had a nice day getting to know one antoher and getting some rest.
i was really happy that karl got off to such a good start nursing, becuase i was scared it was going to be a repeat of sam, who couldn't figure it out for weeks. now we're just waiting for my milk to come in. he is not happy today with what is left of the colostrum. i can see things getting creamier looking but i'm not quite there yet. hopefully soon.
it was really a wonderful experience, and we are all feeling really relaxed. sam is doing pretty well, all things considered, so i'm happy about that. and karl is just a total dear. he is quite a funny looking newborn, but he's starting to look more like a person now. and we're just in love with him and his cuddly little self. well, big self.
i'm having a hard time being more expressive because i keep looking over to see if he'll wake up and also because i keep thinking maybe just maybe i can go poop. my butt is totally a head of cauliflower.
the afterpains were awful and are still hurting a bit, but are lessening. my blood flow is almost done. i'm still very mushy in the middle and it's a bit uncomfortable. no sign of any unhappy feelings yet - i really am elated by the whole experience and am so happy that everything turned out the way it did.
i am trying to write back to more of you and will as i can!
peace and love,
erica
the funny thing about karl's birth is that there were so many signs it would be that night, and i just missed all of them. on wed the 16th, we had the full moon and over here we were also expecting a big storm. ithink i even posted that the atmosphere was on my side. well, it was! (and evidently lots of l&ds in the city were full that night!)
weds i was also working from home because dh had to get a root canal, and i had a vision of going into labor while dh was all novocained up and stuff. not quite how it worked out, but close.
i got an email from my boss weds am telling me to basically consider myself done, that i could work from home going forward if i wanted to but not to bother coming in. that should have been the biggest sign - once i know i'm off the hook, so to speak, is when i go.
so, dh heads out to take sam to school and to go to the dentist. i'd been having some good ctrx and karl was quiet, so i thought, well, maybe if i have an orgasm i'll make things move along. seriously. so i did, and it served to stop my contrax and wake karl, so i thought, oh well, at least i tried!
i had been constipated for the days prior and that am i was able to go pretty easily, which i also should have taken as a sign, but didn't.
so anyway, that's the set up. the evening progresses. teh mw was supposed to come for a home visit and at around 8 called and asked if she could postpone becuase of the storm. we said of course!
lo and behold, at 8:49pm, sam and i were playing on the bed and my water broke.
we called the mw and had a big laugh about the timing and started getting things ready. called my mom for her to come up in case sam woke up. the mw said to call again as things got moving, because she thought my labor would be very fast.
ctrx started within about 20 minutes and started out long. loooooooong. but not unbearable. i moved from room to room, leaking more fluid everywhere i went, which was funny to me for some reason. we got sam to sleep. my mom arrived a little after 11 and the mw and her asst came near midnight.
things started picking up for me but were still these long ctrx with about the same amount of down time in between them. but soon,they started to get shorter and more intense, which for me is getting into a more active labor. i pretty quickly figured out that i was in a lot of pain, and i was actually kind of scared about it. everyone was great - they kept telling me i was doing well and that it would be soon, and i knew they woulnd't say that if it wasn't true!
i started getting really cold so i got into bed. interestingly, the only position that really worked for me was flat on my back with my legs up on the mw's shoulders. we tried different positions but if i was upright i was just in agony. i don't really remember what time i got into bed. i know we tried the shower and bath and that did not work for me at all. so the next thing i know, it's about 3am and she checks me. i was 7 cm. and i was really in pain. i kept telling them it was really hard. i lost track of time but know that at some point (which was 3:30am) the mw checked again and i had a little cervical lip left and she said that was what was causing the pain, so i beared down against her hand and she was able to get rid of it and then i could push.
in the meantime, i've gone and pooped all over everything, so that helped me feel better! (i haven't gone since...hemorhhoids etc)
well, i thought i was pushing forever. i'd been screaming at the top of my lungs - somehow sam never woke up and we didn't wake him. it was like i forgot how to push from the right place. but they talked me through it, how to bear down in my middle, and karl started crowning. and man, did that hurt! i knew he was going to be bigger than sam, but it was crazy! so next came the shoulders, and then i had a heck of a time pushing his chest out - which ultimately was because his chest was almost as big as his head! but at 4am on the dot on thurs am, out slid karl in all his glory!
we cuddled right away and withing 45 minutes he was nursing, and that is his favorite thing to do.
i was quite surprised to find that he weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. that's over 2 lbs more than sam did, which explains part of why it was so hard. however, the mw and the asst both thought it was surprisingly difficult for a 2nd labor.
i ended up with no tears or skid marks or anything, whcih was awesome!
sam woke up at 5:30 am to a house full of people, including his new baby brother! we had a nice day getting to know one antoher and getting some rest.
i was really happy that karl got off to such a good start nursing, becuase i was scared it was going to be a repeat of sam, who couldn't figure it out for weeks. now we're just waiting for my milk to come in. he is not happy today with what is left of the colostrum. i can see things getting creamier looking but i'm not quite there yet. hopefully soon.
it was really a wonderful experience, and we are all feeling really relaxed. sam is doing pretty well, all things considered, so i'm happy about that. and karl is just a total dear. he is quite a funny looking newborn, but he's starting to look more like a person now. and we're just in love with him and his cuddly little self. well, big self.
i'm having a hard time being more expressive because i keep looking over to see if he'll wake up and also because i keep thinking maybe just maybe i can go poop. my butt is totally a head of cauliflower.
the afterpains were awful and are still hurting a bit, but are lessening. my blood flow is almost done. i'm still very mushy in the middle and it's a bit uncomfortable. no sign of any unhappy feelings yet - i really am elated by the whole experience and am so happy that everything turned out the way it did.
i am trying to write back to more of you and will as i can!
peace and love,
erica
: to you and hoping you're butt is feeling better soon, you poor thing!!! 
Dh says that he totally relates and is so sorry for you 
(he had the hems when I was in labor with willem and a little this time to... it's his way of taking on some of my labor I guess).
I'm glad everything went so well for you- fascinating how the body figures out what position it wants you in and tells you how to get there, isn't it?
