Just a few pics, most of the others we have are to "graphic" for our squeamish family...
http://picasaweb.google.com/dprowse1...thApril112008/
The longer story:
Much to DH's and my surprise, my water broke Thursday night just as I was settling into a cup of "Mother-to-be" tea. Ha! Since contractions hadn't started yet, our midwife told us to go to bed and get some rest. Friday morning brought only light, short contractions, even after a long walk. I had convinced myself that sitting down made them go away, so I started pacing around the house. Midwife told me to stop (duh) and lay down for a while. That's what actually did the trick. Around 12:45 in the afternoon they got really regular, longer, and stronger. Midwife came by mid-afternoon to check me and at 3 cm and rush hour approaching, we decided to head to the birth center.
From there it's quite a blur, contractions really picked up by the time we got there at 4. My good friend got there soon after to help with moral support and some very nice massage during contractions. Midwife decided to check me around...7:15 or so I think it was, hoping I was at least 5 cm so I could get to the pool. Turns out I was 9! "Do you want to try the pool then?" "YES."
We pushed in the pool for just over a half-hour or so when they got some concerning heart tones with the doppler. So back onto the bed and by 8:01 Leo came out with the cord around the neck twice and a nuchal hand. But he started screaming right away, so he was totally fine and I couldn't believe it was over so quickly! Little Leo was 7 lbs. 2 oz., 22 inches long. Only a couple of skid marks and a 1st degree tear that didn't require any stitches. My platelet issue reared it's head a bit with me passing out on the bathroom floor for a second as they were trying to get me to pee, but the midwife and her assistant did a bang up job getting me up and around again. I'm not feeling any ill effects now from losing a little more blood than usual. The funny thing is we pretty much named him while I was on the floor recovering. "Hey, is Leo on our name list?" I yelled out to DH. "Yeah it was. I like it." Cool. (He was diapering and dressing the little guy up at the time. I have pictures to prove it.)
Unfortunately he's not a terribly good nurser at all, it's hard to even keep him awake and interested. We're feeding him just a bit of formula to get his hydration back up again hoping it will make him more alert so we can work on nursing at the breast (while I pump to get my milk in).
We got some chiro care this morning (he makes house calls!) and I don't know if that's what did it, but he no longer seems to favor my left side and we just had the longest session yet on both sides. So everyone keep your fingers crossed, hopefully we won't have to supplement much longer and he'll be back on the breast full time soon!
But, we'll get over the hump, and we're just in love with him. DH, who was concerned about being a wuss when it came to labor, was a champ and is a great help to me. I am so grateful to my midwife that we got the birth we wanted, I don't know if I can ever thank her enough.
*sigh* OK, now I'm crying...
http://picasaweb.google.com/dprowse1...thApril112008/
The longer story:
Much to DH's and my surprise, my water broke Thursday night just as I was settling into a cup of "Mother-to-be" tea. Ha! Since contractions hadn't started yet, our midwife told us to go to bed and get some rest. Friday morning brought only light, short contractions, even after a long walk. I had convinced myself that sitting down made them go away, so I started pacing around the house. Midwife told me to stop (duh) and lay down for a while. That's what actually did the trick. Around 12:45 in the afternoon they got really regular, longer, and stronger. Midwife came by mid-afternoon to check me and at 3 cm and rush hour approaching, we decided to head to the birth center.
From there it's quite a blur, contractions really picked up by the time we got there at 4. My good friend got there soon after to help with moral support and some very nice massage during contractions. Midwife decided to check me around...7:15 or so I think it was, hoping I was at least 5 cm so I could get to the pool. Turns out I was 9! "Do you want to try the pool then?" "YES."
We pushed in the pool for just over a half-hour or so when they got some concerning heart tones with the doppler. So back onto the bed and by 8:01 Leo came out with the cord around the neck twice and a nuchal hand. But he started screaming right away, so he was totally fine and I couldn't believe it was over so quickly! Little Leo was 7 lbs. 2 oz., 22 inches long. Only a couple of skid marks and a 1st degree tear that didn't require any stitches. My platelet issue reared it's head a bit with me passing out on the bathroom floor for a second as they were trying to get me to pee, but the midwife and her assistant did a bang up job getting me up and around again. I'm not feeling any ill effects now from losing a little more blood than usual. The funny thing is we pretty much named him while I was on the floor recovering. "Hey, is Leo on our name list?" I yelled out to DH. "Yeah it was. I like it." Cool. (He was diapering and dressing the little guy up at the time. I have pictures to prove it.)
Unfortunately he's not a terribly good nurser at all, it's hard to even keep him awake and interested. We're feeding him just a bit of formula to get his hydration back up again hoping it will make him more alert so we can work on nursing at the breast (while I pump to get my milk in).
We got some chiro care this morning (he makes house calls!) and I don't know if that's what did it, but he no longer seems to favor my left side and we just had the longest session yet on both sides. So everyone keep your fingers crossed, hopefully we won't have to supplement much longer and he'll be back on the breast full time soon!But, we'll get over the hump, and we're just in love with him. DH, who was concerned about being a wuss when it came to labor, was a champ and is a great help to me. I am so grateful to my midwife that we got the birth we wanted, I don't know if I can ever thank her enough.
*sigh* OK, now I'm crying...
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