Welcome Seth Jacob

Hi all,

Here he is! (Sorry the picuture quality is so bad. I'm working on getting better stuff posted.)

ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH! Blogger won't post the photo! Okay, how about this. Here's the link to the hospital's online nursery:

https://www.cherished-memories.com/nursery_viewimage.cfm?CFID=5794398&CFTOKEN=60557896

UPDATE: Here's the photo that the above link goes to:



Born in June 2006 by c-section at 1:14 PM.
6 lbs. 10.7 oz.
19 1/4 in.

Sorry about the long wait for information. If I'd had internet access while in the hospital, I could've kept everyone updated. (I was there for four days with lots of time on my hands.) After being released on Monday, I unexpectedly found myself in a lot of post-operative pain, which has kept me from coming online to post pictures. (In fact, I started this post yesterday but had to stop to go to the doctor.) Bob and I are living with his parents right now, who are taking good care of Seth and me.

Okay, details.

From my last post, you know I visited my OB on Wednesday morning. She told me I was 2 cm. dilated and 70% (75%?) effaced. She pulled me off of work, and I admit I was actually pretty relieved to have a week to prepare.

But then I went into labor at 1 AM the very next morning. And there was no slow, gradual lead-up to the real deal. From the very beginning, my contractions were a minute and a half apart. I couldn't believe it! My original plan had been to putter around during early labor -- you know, pack my bag, pack a diaper bag, make cookies for the labor nurses. Basically just killing time. Nope, no time killing for me.

At 3 AM, I called the midwife on call to ask, "Hey, what's going on here? I'm a first timer. Why are these contractions so close together. A minute and a half apart for the last two hours. Is this false labor? If so, it really sucks." She convinced me to labor at home a bit longer, which I did in the shower until the hot water ran out.

By 5 AM, Bob was trucking me down to the hospital, asking me how fast he should be driving. (Between contractions I told him that normal speed was fine, but I think I mentioned something about getting a move on during one of the contractions.)

So to make a short story long, we arrived at 5:30 AM. (Thank you, Amy and Kristi, for convincing me not to go to TC to deliver. You were both right. A two-hour drive to TC would've been the longest car ride in my life.)

At the check-in station in the Emergency Room, I asked the woman if she had the epidural paperwork. She laughed and said, no, they would have tha paperwork upstairs. Then a nurse from OB came down to walk with me up to the OB floor. I asked her if she had the epidural paperwork. She smiled. No, I needed to be evaluated first. Plus, I had to get to 5 cm. before they would give me an epidural. I remember whining something about "Can't I get it at 4 centimeters?"

Bob says my face lit up during the initial exam when the nurse told me, "Well, you're dilated to five. Do you want me order the epidural?" I couldn't believe it! I was already dilated to five centimeters! Hot damn and hallelujah! Yes! Give me the paperwork!

Unfortunately, it took the on-call anesthesiologist an hour and half to arrive, so I continued to labor, and not like a trouper, either. I said many bad words under my breath. I found myself wishing I'd paid more attention during the breathing parts of the childbirth education classes.

Well, that's it for now. More to come. I have lots more to tell, and lots of pictures to post

Thirty-nine week visit

Dilated 2cm.
70% effaced

K.B. has dropped a bit, but I'm still carrying pretty high. And K.B. is unfortunately still in a posterior position.

Dr. Rider made the following pronouncement: "A week from Saturday, you will no longer be pregnant." So come hell or high water, I will be a mommy by July 1st (or should I say, "come induction or c-section"...).

The good news is that if she induces me, I can have an epidural at 3 cm.! That really lifted my spirits.

In other news, she's really concerned about the swelling in my hands and wants me to take off the wedding band. You may recall how I feel about that. I explained how I bought the ring specifically so it could be a nice cheap ring that I didn't care if it was cut off. Oh, yeah. I gained five pounds last week! Better be water weight.

In the funniest part of the visit, she suggested that perhaps I have a high pain tolerance. Ha! Her reasoning? I'd already progressed to 2 cm. and 70% effacement without reporting any contractions. Just so we're clear, I do not have a high pain tolerance. I still remember the gallons of Johnson and Johnson's No More Tears Tangle Remover that my parents used to comb my hair when I was little. "Ow, ow, whine, ouch, etc." -- the whole time they tried to brush my hair!

The reason I'm not reporting any contractions is that I'm not having any. The last two nonstress tests showed no contractions. I haven't felt anything that I would call a contraction (based on the way contractions have been described to me). Just some discomfort while standing, walking, or rolling over in bed.

UPDATE: Okay, I decided to look it up, and maybe I am having contractions. Weird ones. What do I know? I'm a newbie.

Baby clothes

I washed some baby clothes today for the first time (otherwise K.B. will be naked when we bring him/her home from the hospital).

It was a weird a feeling to toss those tiny little t-shirts, hats and sleepers into the washer. Less than two weeks to go, and it still feels so unreal.

Not ready for prime time

This is a recurring theme: I am so not ready for motherhood. Case in point...

Last night while having dinner with friends, I decided to help out with the ten month old, who was sucking on an empty sippy cup. (Heart of gold. Get the baby more juice. Where's the line for the halos?) As I took the cup, a never-ending line of drool formed from the kid's lip to the sippy cup. The farther away I pulled the cup, the longer became the line of drool.

Ewwwww.

What kind of mother gets grossed out by drool?? It's not even snot, for crying out loud, which is really gross. How am I supposed to wipe snotty noses with my bare hands (a prerequisite for motherhood, is it not?) if I can't even stand the sight of drool?

Worst fears

Some of my worst fears could come true. But before I start whining, perhaps I should share the positive news. Although still slightly elevated, my blood pressure is holding steady. Therefore, I've dodged the induction bullet for now.

The bad news? She's not confident that I'll go into labor on my own, so induction at full term is still on the table. What's worse, Kidney Bean is posterior. Translation? Back labor. If K.B. doesn't turn around, I'm facing an induced back labor. Have I mentioned that I already have no faith in my ability to cope with normal labor?

The worse news? Although by no means certain, her gut feeling is that if K.B. remains posterior, we'll have real problems with a vaginal birth due to the blood pressure issue. C-section City for me.

I'm trying not to be discouraged, but pessimism is in my nature. The doc tells me to lie on my left side and stand leaning forward to hopefully get K.B. to rotate into the proper position.

Dilated 1 cm.
60% effaced

Totally bizarre

This one is listed in eBay's "Totally Bizarre" category.

Yup, eBay has a category called "Totally Bizarre."

Generally, people pay doulas/labor coaches to be present at a birth. This future mom is actually trying to get someone to pay her $1,000 for the privilege of attending the birth.

Bad photos

Be prepared to see just how unphotogenic I really am. These photos are soley to demonstrate belly size.


Notice how I look nothing like my profile picture...

Third trimester

Where are the Tums?
I didn't know that you could get stretch marks on your stretch marks.
Do I really want to pick that up off the floor?
I mean, would it really hurt to just leave it where I dropped it?
Where's the bathroom?
Are you going to eat that?
How many Tums am I allowed to take in one day?
I can't believe I have to go to the bathroom again.
Is that a foot behind my ribs?
Seriously, what is that behind my ribs?
Huff, puff -- did they add more stairs since I was here last?
Why didn't I take the elevator?
I forgot to bring the Tums with me.

Prebirth appointment

Last Friday I went to the hospital for what's called a prebirth appointment. There, I preregistered so I won't have to register when D-day arrives, and then I had an appointment with a nurse to go over my medical history, learn infant CPR, share my birth plan, install the car seat, etc.

The nurse wasn't ready when for me when I arrived, so they sent me to the waiting room. You'll never believe it. There with her family was a woman in labor that very moment. She was awfully young. She and her baby-faced hubby were probably twenty or twenty-one. I think her belly was even smaller than mine! And her legs were so tanned and shaved. I thought there was some kind of rule that by the time you went into labor, you were supposed to be too fat to bend over to shave your legs.