Nothing makes you feel old like walking into your newborn's nursery to check on him and your ankle pops so loudly you wake him up.
I have become a human pacifier.
Nate and I can't complete a conversation or make a decision the first time; usually it takes a couple of tries.
While Zoe wanted me to hold her 24/7 for the first six weeks of her life, Liam has already started pushing away from me when he's ready to go to sleep.
Monday
Friday
Reading List 2010
Watership Down, Richard Adams
The Unlikely Lavender Queen, Jeannie Ralston
Origin in Death, J.D. Robb
Lucky in the Corner, Carol Anshaw
The Unlikely Lavender Queen, Jeannie Ralston
Origin in Death, J.D. Robb
Lucky in the Corner, Carol Anshaw
Thursday
Liam
Liam was born on October 24 at 1:55 a.m. I can't really say when labor "started" because I'd been having daily contractions for four weeks at that point. Sometimes the contractions were painful; sometimes they were regular; two or three times I thought I was definitely in labor, but I wasn't.
By the end of October I was very frustrated. I was tired of having contractions every day, especially when I'd go into my doctor's appointments and find out I hadn't even started dilating yet. It seemed like a cruel joke to have all that pain and no progress.
On Friday the 22nd, I went into a regular doctor's appointment where he told me (yet again) that I wasn't dilated. I was about 90% effaced, though. I was also 39 weeks and he said if I was tired of the contractions, we could induce on Monday. I was ready to have the baby already so I scheduled the induction.
On Saturday I felt a little out of it. I slept in, was exhausted all day, and took a really long nap in the afternoon. My mother-in-law was in town; we'd all been expecting the baby to arrive for days. My brother-in-law and nieces came over for a quick visit and to say hello. They left around 6:30 p.m. The contractions seemed to be increasing in strength, but not frequency. At this point, I was so distrustful of the whole contraction situation that I didn't necessarily think it meant anything.
We had a great dinner--a fish fry, mashed potatoes and cole slaw. As we were clearing the dishes, Zoe was running around the table and ran face first into the corner of our marble-topped bar. I was in the middle of a contraction, but I saw that she was holding her breath in shock and turning blue. So I walked over and told her to start breathing while simultaneously trying to breathe through my contraction. I sat in a chair and had Zoe half on my lap (belly was way too big at that point to have her fully on my lap). She was crying and already starting to bruise, so Nate grabbed an ice pack and I soothed her. A few minutes later around 8:15 I felt a gush. I stood (luckily, none got on the chair!) and Zoe got up too. At some point she had wet her pants. In the moment, it felt very chaotic with bruising, crying, water, pee.
I went to the bathroom to change and Nate called the doctor. His office told us to go ahead and come in. Our bags were already loaded and we said goodbye to Nate's mom and Zoe, who looked worried and confused.
We live in southwest Austin and we delivered in north Austin so it took us about 20-30 minutes to get to St. David's. They checked me in. At this point the contractions were pretty painful but I was able to talk and joke in between them. I had two intake nurses--one who was in training--who told me I needed to be monitored for half an hour before they would take me to labor and delivery.
The nurse in training asked a TON of questions. What happens if this? Where is the supply closet? What does this mean? On and on and on. At first I could tolerate it because the pain was still bearable. After the half an hour they checked and I was about six centimeters dilated. They had asked about pain management and what, if anything, I wanted to do. Before I knew I was 6 centimeters dilated I had said I wanted to make sure the labor was progressing well and if it was then I was ready for an epidural. I'd gotten one at 8 centimeters with Zoe and felt like I didn't need to wait that long again. So I let them know I was ready for an epidural and they took me to the labor and delivery room.
Miss 20 questions continued her inane chatter. At one point Nate asked me if I wanted him to turn off the light. That was his subtle way of encouraging them to take their conversation elsewhere. However, I was entering transition so his subtlety was lost on me. I was like, light? What?
They had told me they needed to analyze some of my lab work before I could get the epidural; meanwhile they started the IV. They said the lab work would probably take about 20 minutes. Forty-five minutes later we asked them if they could call. And at that point I started getting insistent and ruder than I had been before so they hustled and actually left the room with their Q&A session (thank god).
After I got the epidural they told me I was at 8 centimeters. So much for not waiting as long this time! Shortly after that, my labor nurse arrived and she was as awesome as the previous nurses had been annoying. After a little while she asked me to do some practice pushes. I think we pushed five times? Then she told me to stop and she called the doctor. With the doctor I pushed four times and the baby was born.
One really big difference between the two labors: with Zoe and that epidural I felt nothing at all. With Liam, I felt pressure while having contractions and when he was born I actually felt him leaving my body. It was a very interesting sensation, just that feeling of emptiness after so much pressure. I asked to see the placenta this time because I hadn't seen it with Zoe. Also very interesting.
The labor and delivery were uncomplicated. My water broke at 8:15; he was born at 1:55. We stayed in the room for a couple of hours, then they took me to my recovery room. One nurse told me we needed to stay two full days; another said we could leave after 36 hours. Since I knew Zoe was at home and a little freaked out about us being gone, we chose to leave after 36 hours and came home. Plus, our bed is way more comfortable than being at the hospital and I wasn't really having any problems.
Overall I think the second delivery was easier (with the exception of the preceding month of contractions). The one complicating factor was that, as a second-time mom, I got a little overconfident at times. I have pushed things a little too far too quickly and exhausted myself. Also, with breastfeeding I was a little too casual because I felt like I knew what I was doing. However, a newborn does not know how to nurse yet, not the way an infant who has been nursing for months does, so Liam was not always latching on correctly and I let it go on too long. I ended up with cracked and bleeding nipples (!) and had to pump for a couple of days while I healed. Needless to say I have been more careful since then and so far we are doing much better.
Zoe started off very excited about Liam. I think she still is, but the excitement is wearing off a little bit. I think she's finding waiting hard to deal with, and how much of my time he requires. But overall she is very sweet with him and asks to hold him all the time. She's also offered to nurse him, which I thought was hilarious.
Liam seems to be a better sleeper than Zoe. Of course he isn't quite two weeks old so I could be wrong! I also think he's already regained his birth weight and then some. He's gotten pretty heavy. He's still got his days and nights mixed up so he sleeps mostly during the day and is more alert at night. This should start changing over the next few weeks and I'll do what I can to encourage it.
I'm feeling very lucky. I have two healthy, beautiful kiddos and I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy and delivery, all things considered. Nate and I were talking the other night, mentioning how we have had so much change over the past couple of years. Now we can relax. We're in our house; we have our kids. Everyone is here and things are in place! Now all we have to do is enjoy.
Liam
10/24/10
1:55 a.m.
7 pounds, 12 ounces
19 3/4 inches
By the end of October I was very frustrated. I was tired of having contractions every day, especially when I'd go into my doctor's appointments and find out I hadn't even started dilating yet. It seemed like a cruel joke to have all that pain and no progress.
On Friday the 22nd, I went into a regular doctor's appointment where he told me (yet again) that I wasn't dilated. I was about 90% effaced, though. I was also 39 weeks and he said if I was tired of the contractions, we could induce on Monday. I was ready to have the baby already so I scheduled the induction.
On Saturday I felt a little out of it. I slept in, was exhausted all day, and took a really long nap in the afternoon. My mother-in-law was in town; we'd all been expecting the baby to arrive for days. My brother-in-law and nieces came over for a quick visit and to say hello. They left around 6:30 p.m. The contractions seemed to be increasing in strength, but not frequency. At this point, I was so distrustful of the whole contraction situation that I didn't necessarily think it meant anything.
We had a great dinner--a fish fry, mashed potatoes and cole slaw. As we were clearing the dishes, Zoe was running around the table and ran face first into the corner of our marble-topped bar. I was in the middle of a contraction, but I saw that she was holding her breath in shock and turning blue. So I walked over and told her to start breathing while simultaneously trying to breathe through my contraction. I sat in a chair and had Zoe half on my lap (belly was way too big at that point to have her fully on my lap). She was crying and already starting to bruise, so Nate grabbed an ice pack and I soothed her. A few minutes later around 8:15 I felt a gush. I stood (luckily, none got on the chair!) and Zoe got up too. At some point she had wet her pants. In the moment, it felt very chaotic with bruising, crying, water, pee.
I went to the bathroom to change and Nate called the doctor. His office told us to go ahead and come in. Our bags were already loaded and we said goodbye to Nate's mom and Zoe, who looked worried and confused.
We live in southwest Austin and we delivered in north Austin so it took us about 20-30 minutes to get to St. David's. They checked me in. At this point the contractions were pretty painful but I was able to talk and joke in between them. I had two intake nurses--one who was in training--who told me I needed to be monitored for half an hour before they would take me to labor and delivery.
The nurse in training asked a TON of questions. What happens if this? Where is the supply closet? What does this mean? On and on and on. At first I could tolerate it because the pain was still bearable. After the half an hour they checked and I was about six centimeters dilated. They had asked about pain management and what, if anything, I wanted to do. Before I knew I was 6 centimeters dilated I had said I wanted to make sure the labor was progressing well and if it was then I was ready for an epidural. I'd gotten one at 8 centimeters with Zoe and felt like I didn't need to wait that long again. So I let them know I was ready for an epidural and they took me to the labor and delivery room.
Miss 20 questions continued her inane chatter. At one point Nate asked me if I wanted him to turn off the light. That was his subtle way of encouraging them to take their conversation elsewhere. However, I was entering transition so his subtlety was lost on me. I was like, light? What?
They had told me they needed to analyze some of my lab work before I could get the epidural; meanwhile they started the IV. They said the lab work would probably take about 20 minutes. Forty-five minutes later we asked them if they could call. And at that point I started getting insistent and ruder than I had been before so they hustled and actually left the room with their Q&A session (thank god).
After I got the epidural they told me I was at 8 centimeters. So much for not waiting as long this time! Shortly after that, my labor nurse arrived and she was as awesome as the previous nurses had been annoying. After a little while she asked me to do some practice pushes. I think we pushed five times? Then she told me to stop and she called the doctor. With the doctor I pushed four times and the baby was born.
One really big difference between the two labors: with Zoe and that epidural I felt nothing at all. With Liam, I felt pressure while having contractions and when he was born I actually felt him leaving my body. It was a very interesting sensation, just that feeling of emptiness after so much pressure. I asked to see the placenta this time because I hadn't seen it with Zoe. Also very interesting.
The labor and delivery were uncomplicated. My water broke at 8:15; he was born at 1:55. We stayed in the room for a couple of hours, then they took me to my recovery room. One nurse told me we needed to stay two full days; another said we could leave after 36 hours. Since I knew Zoe was at home and a little freaked out about us being gone, we chose to leave after 36 hours and came home. Plus, our bed is way more comfortable than being at the hospital and I wasn't really having any problems.
Overall I think the second delivery was easier (with the exception of the preceding month of contractions). The one complicating factor was that, as a second-time mom, I got a little overconfident at times. I have pushed things a little too far too quickly and exhausted myself. Also, with breastfeeding I was a little too casual because I felt like I knew what I was doing. However, a newborn does not know how to nurse yet, not the way an infant who has been nursing for months does, so Liam was not always latching on correctly and I let it go on too long. I ended up with cracked and bleeding nipples (!) and had to pump for a couple of days while I healed. Needless to say I have been more careful since then and so far we are doing much better.
Zoe started off very excited about Liam. I think she still is, but the excitement is wearing off a little bit. I think she's finding waiting hard to deal with, and how much of my time he requires. But overall she is very sweet with him and asks to hold him all the time. She's also offered to nurse him, which I thought was hilarious.
Liam seems to be a better sleeper than Zoe. Of course he isn't quite two weeks old so I could be wrong! I also think he's already regained his birth weight and then some. He's gotten pretty heavy. He's still got his days and nights mixed up so he sleeps mostly during the day and is more alert at night. This should start changing over the next few weeks and I'll do what I can to encourage it.
I'm feeling very lucky. I have two healthy, beautiful kiddos and I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy and delivery, all things considered. Nate and I were talking the other night, mentioning how we have had so much change over the past couple of years. Now we can relax. We're in our house; we have our kids. Everyone is here and things are in place! Now all we have to do is enjoy.
Liam
10/24/10
1:55 a.m.
7 pounds, 12 ounces
19 3/4 inches
Monday
Baby Talk
My due date is Oct. 28. I don’t think I’m going to be pregnant for that long, though. A few things are happening that make me think no. 2 is going to arrive a little earlier. First of all, for reference, I’m 35 weeks and 37 weeks is considered full term. Zoe was born at 38.5 weeks or so.
Last week I experienced contractions Sunday–Wednesday. They were real contractions, not Braxton Hicks. With BH the surface of your stomach tightens. It’s slightly uncomfortable but not painful. With these contractions I could actually see my stomach changing shape. It felt like a muscle flexing and I could feel downward pressure on my (just stop reading now if you don’t want to get into bodily things) cervix.
Sunday wasn’t so bad. They were very erratic. Monday night was steady and starting to get somewhat painful. At one point they were coming every five minutes or so. But I figured, if it’s really labor, I better get some rest. I’ll wake up if things are really happening. So I went to bed and Nate timed contractions for a couple of hours until I fell asleep. Tuesday I dropped Zoe off at school and almost immediately they started again (they get stronger when I am sitting straight, like when I’m driving, or standing for too long). They were fairly erratic but at that point I was on my third day and Nate wanted me to call the doctor.
The nurse said that unless I had six or more contractions every hour, or my water broke, that I didn’t need to call or come in. I kept getting five every hour and eventually I left work because I thought things were happening. Turned out they stopped. I followed the nurse’s advice and drank lots of water and rested on my left side. They gradually slowed to four an hour, then three an hour, and around 11 p.m. they were gone.
Wednesday they were all over the place but by then I’d figured out that when sitting at my desk at work I need to sit at an angle with my feet up and I need to stay off my feet as much as possible. Since then I get random contractions when I don’t adhere to those guidelines, but not more than one or two at a time.
I had an appointment with my OB/GYN later in the week and he believes it’s all prep. He said my body is getting ready; this is very common with second or subsequent babies. If it’s really bothering me, there’s some medication he can give me that is normally used to treat asthma but will make the contractions stop. So far I’ve been able to deal by resting a lot.
This past weekend I entered full nesting mode. I did loads and loads of laundry, including some baby clothes I may have previously washed but wasn’t sure about, so why the heck not? And I organized closets. The baby room is ready. All we need is a little munchkin to go in there. It got to the point that on Saturday night I made homemade laundry detergent (you know you are in irrational nesting mode when you find yourself doing things like that, but so what?). With Zoe the nesting phase preceded her arrival by about 10-14 days.
The other things that make me think he might be early: people keep telling me that I look like I’m about to have the baby any second now. He has dropped a bit; I commonly feel his head in my pelvis (so comfortable!). My hips pop when I do things like shift or get out of bed. And my stomach just feels huge and heavy. I don’t remember this sensation with Zoe. I do remember getting really big at the end, but right now it just feels like a heavy weight. The skin on my stomach hurts. I think he may be bigger than his sister. I’ve also started feeling his feet in my ribcage, so I think he’s running out of room.
No. 2 is a lot gentler than Zoe. He’s always done more body rolls and turnovers. In contrast, Zoe was a strong jabber and kicker. I wonder if this is any indication of personality? Even when I feel his feet in my ribs it isn’t too bad. I hope that remains the case.
If I had to guess, I would say he’ll be here the weekend of Oct. 8-10ish. I could be completely wrong, but if this turns out to be this case, this will be the third year in a row we’ve had access to free tickets to ACL but have been unable to use them. (First two years due to moving and this year potentially due to baby arrival.) By the time we’re finally able to go I probably won’t be able to get free tickets!
We’re all ready for munchkin to arrive. Zoe’s been talking to her teachers about the baby coming, Nate is ready to have a wife who isn’t huffing and puffing between cleaning out closets and making laundry detergent, and I’m ready to not feel like I’m carrying a watermelon in front of me all the time. I’m also just ready to meet this guy! I feel like I’ve been waiting for him for a very long time.
Last week I experienced contractions Sunday–Wednesday. They were real contractions, not Braxton Hicks. With BH the surface of your stomach tightens. It’s slightly uncomfortable but not painful. With these contractions I could actually see my stomach changing shape. It felt like a muscle flexing and I could feel downward pressure on my (just stop reading now if you don’t want to get into bodily things) cervix.
Sunday wasn’t so bad. They were very erratic. Monday night was steady and starting to get somewhat painful. At one point they were coming every five minutes or so. But I figured, if it’s really labor, I better get some rest. I’ll wake up if things are really happening. So I went to bed and Nate timed contractions for a couple of hours until I fell asleep. Tuesday I dropped Zoe off at school and almost immediately they started again (they get stronger when I am sitting straight, like when I’m driving, or standing for too long). They were fairly erratic but at that point I was on my third day and Nate wanted me to call the doctor.
The nurse said that unless I had six or more contractions every hour, or my water broke, that I didn’t need to call or come in. I kept getting five every hour and eventually I left work because I thought things were happening. Turned out they stopped. I followed the nurse’s advice and drank lots of water and rested on my left side. They gradually slowed to four an hour, then three an hour, and around 11 p.m. they were gone.
Wednesday they were all over the place but by then I’d figured out that when sitting at my desk at work I need to sit at an angle with my feet up and I need to stay off my feet as much as possible. Since then I get random contractions when I don’t adhere to those guidelines, but not more than one or two at a time.
I had an appointment with my OB/GYN later in the week and he believes it’s all prep. He said my body is getting ready; this is very common with second or subsequent babies. If it’s really bothering me, there’s some medication he can give me that is normally used to treat asthma but will make the contractions stop. So far I’ve been able to deal by resting a lot.
This past weekend I entered full nesting mode. I did loads and loads of laundry, including some baby clothes I may have previously washed but wasn’t sure about, so why the heck not? And I organized closets. The baby room is ready. All we need is a little munchkin to go in there. It got to the point that on Saturday night I made homemade laundry detergent (you know you are in irrational nesting mode when you find yourself doing things like that, but so what?). With Zoe the nesting phase preceded her arrival by about 10-14 days.
The other things that make me think he might be early: people keep telling me that I look like I’m about to have the baby any second now. He has dropped a bit; I commonly feel his head in my pelvis (so comfortable!). My hips pop when I do things like shift or get out of bed. And my stomach just feels huge and heavy. I don’t remember this sensation with Zoe. I do remember getting really big at the end, but right now it just feels like a heavy weight. The skin on my stomach hurts. I think he may be bigger than his sister. I’ve also started feeling his feet in my ribcage, so I think he’s running out of room.
No. 2 is a lot gentler than Zoe. He’s always done more body rolls and turnovers. In contrast, Zoe was a strong jabber and kicker. I wonder if this is any indication of personality? Even when I feel his feet in my ribs it isn’t too bad. I hope that remains the case.
If I had to guess, I would say he’ll be here the weekend of Oct. 8-10ish. I could be completely wrong, but if this turns out to be this case, this will be the third year in a row we’ve had access to free tickets to ACL but have been unable to use them. (First two years due to moving and this year potentially due to baby arrival.) By the time we’re finally able to go I probably won’t be able to get free tickets!
We’re all ready for munchkin to arrive. Zoe’s been talking to her teachers about the baby coming, Nate is ready to have a wife who isn’t huffing and puffing between cleaning out closets and making laundry detergent, and I’m ready to not feel like I’m carrying a watermelon in front of me all the time. I’m also just ready to meet this guy! I feel like I’ve been waiting for him for a very long time.