11/7/08 9 AM Baby Zahir FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY made his appearance. 
labor started 10:15 PM when I let DD nurse after a walk around the mall. 11:30--friend and I drove in the stinking BLIZZARD to my midwife at the 'birthing house.'
(My state doesn't allow a midwife to come to my house so I drove about 20 minutes to cross the border.)
.
11:30-4:30 AM "Here a contraction, there a contraction" MW, friend (and birth photographer) and I sat up talking while I alternated walking, sitting, raspberry leaf tea drinking....and some contractions. Nothing major, sometimes less, sometimes more.
4:30 MW suggests we all go to bed, says my labor will likely pick up after a little sleep and then I'll be more rested for the 'real work' So we do. I remember about 4 contractions when I laid down.
6 AM get up to pee. Contraction on the toilet. Show.
MW decides to check me and I am EIGHT CM with a swollen cervical lip. (explains why the 'show' was a clot which sort of freaked me out.)
So I decide to get in the bathtub awhile and labor there. EPO for swollen cervical lip. Contractions. Transition--minus barfing, thankfully.
ONE HOUR of me pushing while MW helps that stupid swollen lip over DS's head.
And here's the IRONIC deal----that bag of waters? STILL THERE and bulging above DS's head. It did not fully rupture until a push somewhere in the 30-45minutes before the birth!!!
(does that explain the lip? I've heard trying to birth a baby in caul is harder.)
So FINALLY FINALLY THE STUPID LIP IS GONE and 10 minutes later DS is fully born!
That was HELL to me after two children who took 20 minutes each of pushing.
So he is here! All 8 lbs. 2 oz and 21 1/2 inches of him. (that's a full pound plus a bit heavier than DD, 4 oz shy of 2 lbs bigger than DS and almost 2 inches longer than both of them!)
nursing................we are having issues getting him latched and sucking, but so far he is pooping and peeing enough. I have to go with MW's theory that he is getting more because DD nursed literally until I went into labor. (She has not nursed with DS yet, I am having too hard a time getting him going. actually I've been pretty much in bed and she has not even asked.)
that is frustrating to me and worries me some because DD ate continually on the second day of her life and woke up all the time, ate every time she woke up, constantly was on me sucking.
I'm telling myself he is an individual and he is learning and he just may not have the same sucking need as DD....but I'm also going to start getting him more awake and really working on this to make sure he's OK.
like right now he has not had a GOOD nursing in a few hours, what worked earlier was taking him out to everyone and letting them play pass the baby for a bit, then he was good and ready to stay awake and he nursed.
anyway I am THRILLED not to be PREGNANT anymore!
labor started 10:15 PM when I let DD nurse after a walk around the mall. 11:30--friend and I drove in the stinking BLIZZARD to my midwife at the 'birthing house.'
(My state doesn't allow a midwife to come to my house so I drove about 20 minutes to cross the border.).
11:30-4:30 AM "Here a contraction, there a contraction" MW, friend (and birth photographer) and I sat up talking while I alternated walking, sitting, raspberry leaf tea drinking....and some contractions. Nothing major, sometimes less, sometimes more.
4:30 MW suggests we all go to bed, says my labor will likely pick up after a little sleep and then I'll be more rested for the 'real work' So we do. I remember about 4 contractions when I laid down.
6 AM get up to pee. Contraction on the toilet. Show.
MW decides to check me and I am EIGHT CM with a swollen cervical lip. (explains why the 'show' was a clot which sort of freaked me out.)
So I decide to get in the bathtub awhile and labor there. EPO for swollen cervical lip. Contractions. Transition--minus barfing, thankfully.
ONE HOUR of me pushing while MW helps that stupid swollen lip over DS's head.
And here's the IRONIC deal----that bag of waters? STILL THERE and bulging above DS's head. It did not fully rupture until a push somewhere in the 30-45minutes before the birth!!!
(does that explain the lip? I've heard trying to birth a baby in caul is harder.)
So FINALLY FINALLY THE STUPID LIP IS GONE and 10 minutes later DS is fully born!
That was HELL to me after two children who took 20 minutes each of pushing.
So he is here! All 8 lbs. 2 oz and 21 1/2 inches of him. (that's a full pound plus a bit heavier than DD, 4 oz shy of 2 lbs bigger than DS and almost 2 inches longer than both of them!)
nursing................we are having issues getting him latched and sucking, but so far he is pooping and peeing enough. I have to go with MW's theory that he is getting more because DD nursed literally until I went into labor. (She has not nursed with DS yet, I am having too hard a time getting him going. actually I've been pretty much in bed and she has not even asked.)
that is frustrating to me and worries me some because DD ate continually on the second day of her life and woke up all the time, ate every time she woke up, constantly was on me sucking.
I'm telling myself he is an individual and he is learning and he just may not have the same sucking need as DD....but I'm also going to start getting him more awake and really working on this to make sure he's OK.
like right now he has not had a GOOD nursing in a few hours, what worked earlier was taking him out to everyone and letting them play pass the baby for a bit, then he was good and ready to stay awake and he nursed.
anyway I am THRILLED not to be PREGNANT anymore!
:
Zahir
