Time since birth: 7 weeks
Weight loss this week: 1kg (2.2lbs)
Total weight loss: 11.4kgs (25.13lbs)
Monday I went for our 6 week check up. We had just gone out the door when Hannah did the biggest chuck ever. It was all over my clothes, her clothes, the baby carrier, and herself. By the time I changed both of our clothes, gave Hannah a bit of a sponge bath, and got lost on the way there, we were quite late.
At the check up, they checked my stitches (first time since I got them), which were "healed quite nicely." They checked my blood pressure and felt my tummy to make sure my uterus has gone back down. Everything was fine. They also gave Hannah a check up, and weighed and measured her. Finally, she is over 4kg. Only just, she is 4.1kg. She has also grown 7cm since birth.
After our appointment, Hannah was hungry, so i decided to try out the parents room at the shopping centre. There was a nice couch, TV, microwave, change tables, etc. It was quite nice and i didn't even have to worry about Hannah crying as no shoppers would be able to hear it.
I don't know if any of you have watched wipeout before, but it seems every time i watch it, i laugh so hard that tears come out. Aaron and i watched the other day and there was this large woman who was a bit scared to jump onto the big balls. Lucky for us, the "motivator" was employed. A big squishy block hit her in the bum, knocking her off the platform and onto the big balls. She was already covered in mud. As she hit the big ball, watery mud flew out of her top and hit her in the face (pretty sure her boobs hit her in the face too), she bounced off the big ball and tumbled into the muddy water below. Aaron and i both had tears from laughing so hard.
Hannah held a rattle for the first time this week. Sure, i may have put it in her hand, but she still kept a hold on it, and shook it a bit before dropping it. We've been practising every day since then, it's good for developing her coordination and such.
I walked to my first mothers group on Tuesday. Even though it's in a different town, it only took me 20 minutes. Apart from one other girl, I'm pretty sure I'm about 10 years younger then every one else. i guess people are having them late these days. It was good though, there was a baby nurse there and we got to ask any questions we wanted. Everyone seemed to want to know all the same things, which is reassuring. I just thought that maybe Hannah was a bit strange, but when i asked about her rubbing her face on our shoulders and chest, i found out that is normal (although i still don't know why they do it).
One morning, i had Hannah on her change mat, with a diaper under her, but not on. She likes to lay there and kick her legs and coo. She did a giant vomit and i had to sit her up as she was doing it so she wouldn't choke on it. It was like 3 big vomits in quick succession and got everywhere. Immediately after that, she did a big poo all over, and as soon as i took the nappy away, she peed everywhere. Interesting morning alright.
Grandma went wit me to the boob specialist to mind Hannah while I was in there. I don't think Hannah likes doctors offices, she always screams when she is there. Poor Grandma. If i wasn't breast feeding, they would take my lump out, but since I am, I have to have another biopsy (not fun, but i will get into that next week) on it just to be safe. He said he's quite sure it's harmless, but because of it's size, wants to be sure. If the lump is still there when Hannah is a year old, then they will remove it. Hopefully my boob won't resemble a deflated balloon after that. Since the lump is now filled with liquid, doesn't that men that when they take the biopsy, it could all leak out?? Turns out, that is possible. Ewww. Guess I'll find out on Thursday.
We have private health insurance, but does it cover Hannah's heart appointment, my ultrasound, biopsy, boob specialist, or the gap in doctors fees when they don't bulk bill? Not at all. So what exactly is the point of paying $200 a month for private health insurance?
Hannah has been a fantastic night sleeper recently. She slept for 8 hours straight 2 nights in a row. Unfortunately, i haven't been so lucky. It seems a neighbor has taken to clarinet playing at 10pm. I mean really, who plays the clarinet at 10pm? Everything seems amplified when you are laying in bed trying to sleep, so to me, it sounded like there was a dying moose right outside my window.
Friday I had my first post natal pilates class, where i found out that due to pregnancy, i have 2cms of separation in my ab muscles. Basically that means that there is 2cms in between my abs down the centre of my belly. I'll have to work out to fix it. The class was really good though, i used muscles i forgot i had.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Time since birth: 6 weeks
Weight loss this week: Forgot to weigh myself this morning, can't be bothered to right now
Total weight loss: see above....
I would have thought that by 6 weeks my linea nigera (or whatever it is called, that line that goes down the middle of my stomach) would have disappeared, or at least started fading. It is still there, loud and proud. My lochia has pretty much stopped now (about time!!!), which I'm extremely happy about.
I was brushing my hair the other night, and couldn't get the brush through a bit in the front. On closer examination, I found there was something white that had dried in my hair. Baby vomit.... I have no idea how long it had been there (well, I mean it was that day sometime). I guess you know you're a mom when you find baby vomit in random places.
Speaking of baby vomit, sometimes Hannah vomits (well, spits up) quite a bit. Then I think "is she sick, does she have reflux, is this normal???" Some of the girls (from my antenatal class, we get together every week) were wondering the same thing, so they asked about it at their mothers group. They were told that if the baby isn't upset after spitting up, then it's not a problem, they either drank too much, or it came up with a burp or something. Phew, she doesn't get upset when she does it, so everything is a-ok.
For some reason, Hannah likes to take her morning naps on me (or Aaron on the weekend). I try to put her in her cot a few times but each time she cries, then it gets to the point where if I don't let her sleep on me, she is not going to get enough sleep, and considering she doesn't get a lot of sleep anyway (she sleeps 11-15 hours in a 24 hour period, they say babies should get 16-18), I relent and let her sleep on me just so she gets some sleep. I'll have to ask about that in my mothers group which starts on Tuesday. Hannah likes to keep us on our toes when she sleeps on us. Her favourite position seems to be face first on your shoulder. I have to keep my hand on her back just to make sure she is still breathing and not suffocating herself. I don't know how she breathes when she is face first on me, but somehow she does.
Finally, I don't have roots down to my ears! The Jess came over on the weekend and dyed my hair for me. I am now a brunette (with a reddish tinge), and it only cost me $9.99 (but since there are no pennies in Australia, it was really $10).
I will have a very busy week this week. I have my 6 week check up tomorrow to make sure I'm all healed, etc. after giving birth. Tuesday I have my first mothers group, Wednesday, my boob specialist appointment, and then on Friday, I should be starting a postnatal pilates class. I left the registration a bit late (I'm faxing it tomorrow), so hopefully I will get in. I'm also going to take Hannah to the shopping centre to get some groceries. If she gets hungry, I can just take her to the mothers room which, I'm told, has TVs so you can feed your baby and not be bored.
Weight loss this week: Forgot to weigh myself this morning, can't be bothered to right now
Total weight loss: see above....
I would have thought that by 6 weeks my linea nigera (or whatever it is called, that line that goes down the middle of my stomach) would have disappeared, or at least started fading. It is still there, loud and proud. My lochia has pretty much stopped now (about time!!!), which I'm extremely happy about.
I was brushing my hair the other night, and couldn't get the brush through a bit in the front. On closer examination, I found there was something white that had dried in my hair. Baby vomit.... I have no idea how long it had been there (well, I mean it was that day sometime). I guess you know you're a mom when you find baby vomit in random places.
Speaking of baby vomit, sometimes Hannah vomits (well, spits up) quite a bit. Then I think "is she sick, does she have reflux, is this normal???" Some of the girls (from my antenatal class, we get together every week) were wondering the same thing, so they asked about it at their mothers group. They were told that if the baby isn't upset after spitting up, then it's not a problem, they either drank too much, or it came up with a burp or something. Phew, she doesn't get upset when she does it, so everything is a-ok.
For some reason, Hannah likes to take her morning naps on me (or Aaron on the weekend). I try to put her in her cot a few times but each time she cries, then it gets to the point where if I don't let her sleep on me, she is not going to get enough sleep, and considering she doesn't get a lot of sleep anyway (she sleeps 11-15 hours in a 24 hour period, they say babies should get 16-18), I relent and let her sleep on me just so she gets some sleep. I'll have to ask about that in my mothers group which starts on Tuesday. Hannah likes to keep us on our toes when she sleeps on us. Her favourite position seems to be face first on your shoulder. I have to keep my hand on her back just to make sure she is still breathing and not suffocating herself. I don't know how she breathes when she is face first on me, but somehow she does.
Finally, I don't have roots down to my ears! The Jess came over on the weekend and dyed my hair for me. I am now a brunette (with a reddish tinge), and it only cost me $9.99 (but since there are no pennies in Australia, it was really $10).
I will have a very busy week this week. I have my 6 week check up tomorrow to make sure I'm all healed, etc. after giving birth. Tuesday I have my first mothers group, Wednesday, my boob specialist appointment, and then on Friday, I should be starting a postnatal pilates class. I left the registration a bit late (I'm faxing it tomorrow), so hopefully I will get in. I'm also going to take Hannah to the shopping centre to get some groceries. If she gets hungry, I can just take her to the mothers room which, I'm told, has TVs so you can feed your baby and not be bored.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Time since birth: 5 weeks 1 day
Total weight loss: 10.4kgs (22.9lbs)
Weight loss this week: 500g (1.1lbs)
I woke up in a cold large puddle. It took me a bit to figure out what was going on, then it hit me. My boobs were leaking again. Not just a little bit, I was laying in a puddle. I looked at the clock, 3am. Hannah had been sleeping for 7 hours. Uh oh, is she ok, is she still breathing? I heard her little "I'm waking up" noises on the baby monitor. Phew, she's ok. I wish she slept for 7 hours straight every night (I like getting lots of uninterrupted sleep)! I hoped I had enough milk left in my boobs, as opposed to all over the bed, to feed her (I did). Apparently, if I go to long without feeding, my boobs become self milking.
Hmmm... how do you clean up a giant puddle of milk from your mattress?? I pulled off the sheets and put salt on it. The salt drew out a lot of the milk, and then was vacuumed up. Still wet. I repeated bout 4 times, but it was still wet! I spent the night sleeping at the foot of the bed perpendicular to how one would normally sleep on a bed while trying to let the milk puddle dry. Aaron spent the night on the couch. Still wet the next day, I opened the windows and let it air all day. Finally, a dry bed. Hopefully it won't start smelling (so far so good though).
After said incident, I started wearing a bra to bed, with breast pads inside. The bra tends to creep up during the night and sit halfway up my boob, which can block milk ducts and lead to mastitis. Surely I'm not the only one with this problem. How do other mothers protect their beds and boobs at the same time? I still don't know the answer to that question, but I decided to wear a tank top and stick some breast pads in there. Fingers crossed I won't have another giant leak, as I'm pretty sure it would go through the shirt and pads.
I was getting ready to go on a pram walk and lunch with my antenatal class girls, carrying Hannah around while doing so. We were in the bathroom, about to brush my teeth when she gave me the biggest, sweetest smile I've ever seen. It wasn't the usual "I'm doing a fart" involuntary smile either, it was a genuine "mommy I love you" smile. She has been sparingly dolling out smiles ever since.
At our lunch that day, at the pub, we saw the channel 9 finance reporter and weather girl. Every single one of us had our boobs out, nursing our hungry little babies. I don't know if the weather girl gave us a look of disgust or support, but she definitely gave us a look. Maybe she just thought it odd that we were at the pub (FYI, the meals are good, there is hardly anyone there at lunch time, and there is ample room for pram parking).
Friday, a friend from church came over to take Hannah to the park with her girls and give me a chance to catch up with the house work. It was the first time I've been away from Hannah. I worried about her the whole time (is she hungry, is she crying, does she need a nappy change?), but still got so much done in her absence. It's amazing how much you can do when you have a time constraint.
As for the mammogram, I have to go see a breast specialist next week (there goes another $175). The mammogram report suggests it's nothing to worry about, but also says to see a specialist for follow up. We are beginning to think they just refer you to anyone and everyone to get them all more money. Why do w have to go back to the doctor each time? I mean, the ultrasound report suggested further investigation, but they could have just told me that, I could have mad the appointment to get the mammogram, and so on. Instead, it's doctor, specialist, doctor, different specialist, doctor, and so on. It seems incredibly inefficient if you ask me. If I have to go back to the doctor after my boob specialist appointment just to get the results of the appointment, I think I will scream.
Total weight loss: 10.4kgs (22.9lbs)
Weight loss this week: 500g (1.1lbs)
I woke up in a cold large puddle. It took me a bit to figure out what was going on, then it hit me. My boobs were leaking again. Not just a little bit, I was laying in a puddle. I looked at the clock, 3am. Hannah had been sleeping for 7 hours. Uh oh, is she ok, is she still breathing? I heard her little "I'm waking up" noises on the baby monitor. Phew, she's ok. I wish she slept for 7 hours straight every night (I like getting lots of uninterrupted sleep)! I hoped I had enough milk left in my boobs, as opposed to all over the bed, to feed her (I did). Apparently, if I go to long without feeding, my boobs become self milking.
Hmmm... how do you clean up a giant puddle of milk from your mattress?? I pulled off the sheets and put salt on it. The salt drew out a lot of the milk, and then was vacuumed up. Still wet. I repeated bout 4 times, but it was still wet! I spent the night sleeping at the foot of the bed perpendicular to how one would normally sleep on a bed while trying to let the milk puddle dry. Aaron spent the night on the couch. Still wet the next day, I opened the windows and let it air all day. Finally, a dry bed. Hopefully it won't start smelling (so far so good though).
After said incident, I started wearing a bra to bed, with breast pads inside. The bra tends to creep up during the night and sit halfway up my boob, which can block milk ducts and lead to mastitis. Surely I'm not the only one with this problem. How do other mothers protect their beds and boobs at the same time? I still don't know the answer to that question, but I decided to wear a tank top and stick some breast pads in there. Fingers crossed I won't have another giant leak, as I'm pretty sure it would go through the shirt and pads.
I was getting ready to go on a pram walk and lunch with my antenatal class girls, carrying Hannah around while doing so. We were in the bathroom, about to brush my teeth when she gave me the biggest, sweetest smile I've ever seen. It wasn't the usual "I'm doing a fart" involuntary smile either, it was a genuine "mommy I love you" smile. She has been sparingly dolling out smiles ever since.
At our lunch that day, at the pub, we saw the channel 9 finance reporter and weather girl. Every single one of us had our boobs out, nursing our hungry little babies. I don't know if the weather girl gave us a look of disgust or support, but she definitely gave us a look. Maybe she just thought it odd that we were at the pub (FYI, the meals are good, there is hardly anyone there at lunch time, and there is ample room for pram parking).
Friday, a friend from church came over to take Hannah to the park with her girls and give me a chance to catch up with the house work. It was the first time I've been away from Hannah. I worried about her the whole time (is she hungry, is she crying, does she need a nappy change?), but still got so much done in her absence. It's amazing how much you can do when you have a time constraint.
As for the mammogram, I have to go see a breast specialist next week (there goes another $175). The mammogram report suggests it's nothing to worry about, but also says to see a specialist for follow up. We are beginning to think they just refer you to anyone and everyone to get them all more money. Why do w have to go back to the doctor each time? I mean, the ultrasound report suggested further investigation, but they could have just told me that, I could have mad the appointment to get the mammogram, and so on. Instead, it's doctor, specialist, doctor, different specialist, doctor, and so on. It seems incredibly inefficient if you ask me. If I have to go back to the doctor after my boob specialist appointment just to get the results of the appointment, I think I will scream.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Time since birth: 4 weeks 1 day
Total weight loss: 9.9kgs (21.8lbs)
Total weight loss this week (well, for the last 2 weeks): 2.9kg (6.4lbs)
Yay, I can finally fit my bum into a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans. It's so not the point that I can barley button them, they give me a muffin top, and they are too uncomfortably tight to actually wear anywhere. I did borrow a pair of size 10 (aussie size 10 that is, don't get too scared my american friends!) pair of jeans so I don't have to always wear the one pair of pants that I own that actually fit me (and they aren't even jeans).
A good thing about being pregnant is that you don't get your period. Unfortunately, what people fail to mention is the bleeding after birth (called lochia). It's like you have to make up for all of those months of not bleeding. Some people are lucky and only bleed for 2 weeks. Me, not so lucky, I'm still bleeding. Of course, it's a lot lighter then right after birth when I got it all over the hospital bed in my sleep (I'm sure they get that a lot), but it's still annoying.
I had my boob ultrasound last week. It took a while as I have so many lumps, and you are laying down, so I pretty much fell asleep. I did actually drift off a few times. She understood that I am a new mom, and we don't get as much sleep as before, so she was very understanding. She told me my big lump is now 4cm long, 4 times bigger than it was last year, and filled with fluid. They don't think it's anything sinister, but recommended further investigation.
Further investigation lead me to my first mammogram. I felt very out of place in the waiting room, amongst all the old ladies, and even more so as I also had a crying baby with me. Hannah couldn't come in with me because of the x-rays, so all the ladies who worked there fought over who got to watch her. Lucky she's cute, or I might have had to leave her screaming in her pram outside the door as no one would have wanted to watch her. I never tire of people telling me how cute she is.
I have been told that a mammogram is so painful you almost pass out, so I was quite nervous about the whole thing. Also, I wasn't too crazy about the thought of having my boobs pancaked.
First, you take your top off and bear all to the mammogram technician (who, lucky for me, was a woman). Next, place boob (with help of woman) on flat plate thing and wait for top plate thing to come down and pancake boob. Then, watch as your milk sprays all over the mammogram machine and narrowly misses the technician. How embarrassing.... Repeat with other boob. Next, the flat boob squisher plate turns sideways. Slot your boob for squishing from the side this time, watch milk go everywhere, including dripping all over self this time, and repeat with other boob. It didn't actually hurt that much, and was over quite quickly. I haven't gone back to the doctor yet to get my results, so tune in next week to find out.
Little Hannah also made a trip to the hospital this week for her appointment with the cardiologist. What an expensive week (cardiologist $400, mammogram $200). She still sports a hole in her heart between two ventricles, and it is unlikely to close. Luckily though, it is not causing her any problems and shouldn't in the future. We do have to keep an eye on it throughout her life and we have to go back in 8 weeks (when her systems are done making the womb to world transition) to make sure all is well.
Saturday we took Hannah for her first long car trip to Penrith. We thought she'd love it as she loves the movement of the car, but she did a poo right after we left and then cried the whole ride. Can't say that I'd like to sit in poo either. On the way home she slept the whole time and then continued to sleep for another 3 hours before waking up for a feed. She doesn't poop at night so we didn't have that problem on the way home.
Total weight loss: 9.9kgs (21.8lbs)
Total weight loss this week (well, for the last 2 weeks): 2.9kg (6.4lbs)
Yay, I can finally fit my bum into a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans. It's so not the point that I can barley button them, they give me a muffin top, and they are too uncomfortably tight to actually wear anywhere. I did borrow a pair of size 10 (aussie size 10 that is, don't get too scared my american friends!) pair of jeans so I don't have to always wear the one pair of pants that I own that actually fit me (and they aren't even jeans).
A good thing about being pregnant is that you don't get your period. Unfortunately, what people fail to mention is the bleeding after birth (called lochia). It's like you have to make up for all of those months of not bleeding. Some people are lucky and only bleed for 2 weeks. Me, not so lucky, I'm still bleeding. Of course, it's a lot lighter then right after birth when I got it all over the hospital bed in my sleep (I'm sure they get that a lot), but it's still annoying.
I had my boob ultrasound last week. It took a while as I have so many lumps, and you are laying down, so I pretty much fell asleep. I did actually drift off a few times. She understood that I am a new mom, and we don't get as much sleep as before, so she was very understanding. She told me my big lump is now 4cm long, 4 times bigger than it was last year, and filled with fluid. They don't think it's anything sinister, but recommended further investigation.
Further investigation lead me to my first mammogram. I felt very out of place in the waiting room, amongst all the old ladies, and even more so as I also had a crying baby with me. Hannah couldn't come in with me because of the x-rays, so all the ladies who worked there fought over who got to watch her. Lucky she's cute, or I might have had to leave her screaming in her pram outside the door as no one would have wanted to watch her. I never tire of people telling me how cute she is.
I have been told that a mammogram is so painful you almost pass out, so I was quite nervous about the whole thing. Also, I wasn't too crazy about the thought of having my boobs pancaked.
First, you take your top off and bear all to the mammogram technician (who, lucky for me, was a woman). Next, place boob (with help of woman) on flat plate thing and wait for top plate thing to come down and pancake boob. Then, watch as your milk sprays all over the mammogram machine and narrowly misses the technician. How embarrassing.... Repeat with other boob. Next, the flat boob squisher plate turns sideways. Slot your boob for squishing from the side this time, watch milk go everywhere, including dripping all over self this time, and repeat with other boob. It didn't actually hurt that much, and was over quite quickly. I haven't gone back to the doctor yet to get my results, so tune in next week to find out.
Little Hannah also made a trip to the hospital this week for her appointment with the cardiologist. What an expensive week (cardiologist $400, mammogram $200). She still sports a hole in her heart between two ventricles, and it is unlikely to close. Luckily though, it is not causing her any problems and shouldn't in the future. We do have to keep an eye on it throughout her life and we have to go back in 8 weeks (when her systems are done making the womb to world transition) to make sure all is well.
Saturday we took Hannah for her first long car trip to Penrith. We thought she'd love it as she loves the movement of the car, but she did a poo right after we left and then cried the whole ride. Can't say that I'd like to sit in poo either. On the way home she slept the whole time and then continued to sleep for another 3 hours before waking up for a feed. She doesn't poop at night so we didn't have that problem on the way home.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Time since birth: 3 weeks 1 day
Total weight loss: don't know, keep forgetting to weigh myself before eating
Weight loss this week: see above
I'm starting to get used to middle of the night feeds, posseting (spit up/baby vomit), crying, etc. You're in the hospital for 2 nights (some people are there for only one, or none!), then you go home, and really have no idea what you're doing. I have to admit, I called the midwives at the hospital at night more then once when I was still "under their care" (which was until Hannah was a week old) to ask questions. The charts all say baby poo is yellow, what if it's green? I call and ask. I think I'm just a paranoid mom. Is it ok that she only sleeps for 12 hours in a 24 hour period (it is for now, call back if it doesn't improve)? Is that going to affect her development (no, the average 16-18 hours sleep per day is an average, some babies sleep for 10 hours, others 20, depends on the baby)? Is it ok that she poops about 10 times a day, a lot of the really small little poops (yes, some babies poop after every feed, some do just a couple of big poops, everybody poops!)? She gets the hiccups a lot, is that normal (yes, and it doesn't bother infants apparently, although Hannah doesn't seem to like them much)? She gets a lot of wind, is it ok to use infacol (wind drops for babies that bind all their wind together so they can easily get it up in one big burp/fart. And yes, it's fine to use it does not harm them one little bit)? How do I know when one boob is empty (still not really 100% sure on that one...)? The lump in my boob has exploded to about 5 times the size that was, is that due to hormones (probably, but I will have an ultrasound on it again just to be sure. Then if it looks dodgy, I will have another biopsy. I had one a year ago, and it was just a fibroadenoma, which is benign. I think my body just likes to make lumps and tumours to scare me)? They probably think I'm a pest calling so often. But you know what? We just want the best for our baby, and want to make sure we are doing everything right.
Grandma gave me a book a number of months ago called "What to Expect When The First Year." I just started reading it, and found that I'm normal. I'm not the only one that goes into baby's bedroom to look at baby while she is sleeping just to make sure she is breathing. I'm not the only one who worries that I'm not making enough milk, or that she is not getting enough milk. Apparently pretty much every mother on the face of the earth does these things, which probably means that a lot of mothers call the midwives at the hospital to annoy them with questions like I did. The book answers a lot of questions, and has a month by month what to expect. I highly recommend it.
The other night, I woke up to the sound of crying on the baby monitor. I wasn't feeling particularly hot, but I thought I must have been, as I was sweating between my boobs. It took me a bit to realise that it wasn't sweat at all, my let down (when the milk starts flowing) has decided to not wait until Hannah starts sucking, but instead starts when she cries. I had milk all over my chest. Lucky I bought a few boxes of breast pads before Hannah was born.
I have a special chair in Hannah's room that I feed her in (except sometimes during the day I feed her on the couch now that I'm skilled enough to do so). It's a gliding rocking chair, with a boomerang pillow that I put on my lap to lay Hannah on so I don't have to actually hold all of her weight. I lay her on her side on the pillow, across me, with her mouth on the chosen boob. One day, after feeding her, I noticed she had a wet patch on the front of her onesie, off to one side. How in the world did she wet herself there?? I could understand it a bit if she were a boy, maybe it was pointing there when laying on his side or something, but a girl? At the next night feed, it happened again. How in the world are you doing this, little one? That is when I realised that when feeding on one side, the other side leaks. She didn't wet herself at all, I wet her! I don't particularly like wearing a bra to bed, so now I just put a breast pad between me and Hannah during the night feeds. Problem solved, no more wet Hannah Banana.
Friday I met with some of the girls from my antenatal class (and a couple of the husbands were there too as they had not yet gone back to work). We (girls) decided that we want to meet up regularly and go for pram walks (a walk while pushing babies in prams) and lunch. I decided (ok, Hannah's tummy decided) that would be the perfect time to try feeding in public. I don't really want to be one of those "hi, here's my boob" people, so how do you do it discreetly? We all went to the local cafe, but they seemed none to happy to accommodate us and didn't even try to help us move tables so we could all sit together and have room for our prams (even though they didn't have any customers at the time, and would have gotten a nice chunk of change since there were quite a few of us), so instead we went to the pub. Hannah decided before we arrived that it was meal time, so I had to do it. It was quite awkward at first. I got one of the girls to hold up a cloth while I attached Hannah, but when you have to do it a few times (she likes to be burped a few times during each feed), that is just not practical. On the other hand, I didn't really want everyone to see my boob and nipple, so what do you do? I tried to do the cloth thing myself (throw it over your shoulder, try to attach baby), but how do you see what you are doing? That didn't work. I finally decided the best way is to bring baby to boob, then when baby's head is blocking view of boob, that is when you pull up your shirt. Before you bring baby's head to boob, unhook feeding bra so all you need to do when baby is blocking view of boob is pull up shirt, and bam, baby is on nipple, and unless someone was really trying to see and at the right angle (like sitting right next to you), no one will see your goodies. At least I don't think they will. I feel a lot more comfortable with the whole thing now. The build up was nerve wracking, you just have to do it.
We still haven't taken Hannah to very populated places (like shopping centres) (she has only been for walkies around where we live, to the pub for lunch, bible study, and church). Maybe we are being over protective, but we are afraid of taking her where lots of people are because we don't want her to get their germs. Swine flu is on the prowl, we don't want our little Hannah Banana to get swine flu! We decided that when she is 6 weeks old, then we will start taking her out. Her little immune system is just not ready for the world yet (or our silly brains, one or the other).
The linea nigra (line going down the centre of my belly) is supposed to go away after birth, but I wonder how long it takes. Mine is still there, loud and proud. It does look rather odd, with no big pregnant belly to accompany it. It hasn't even remotely faded. I still can't fit my butt into my pre pregnancy jeans (which fit me with the belly belt until the last couple of months of pregnancy when my butt seemed to expand), yet I am quite small, so I must have been really small before. And I always thought I had a big bum. I suppose I've just gotten bigger all over, so you don't really notice that I'm bigger then before I was pregnant (it's in proportion is what I'm trying to get at. I don't make a lot of sense, must be lack of continuous sleep).
One night, I awoke to something touching me. As I woke up more, I realised I was being patted. Aaron was patting me like you pat a baby. Rhythmically, gently, patting my hip (I was on my side). He must have been dreaming about holding Hannah because he was fast asleep. I grabbed his hand and held it against my hip. I got some nonsense, not actual words asleep garbledy goop in response.
Everyone tells us how cute little Hannah is. People even say she looks like a doll. I may be biased, but she certainly is cute! I may be weird, but I often just look at her while she is feeding, or sleeping on my shoulder, and marvel at how absolutely cute she is. Her little face is just perfect. When she gets an upset tummy (wind), I wish I could just take away her pain so she never has to feel it. I want to protect her from everything. I guess that's just being a Mom.
Total weight loss: don't know, keep forgetting to weigh myself before eating
Weight loss this week: see above
I'm starting to get used to middle of the night feeds, posseting (spit up/baby vomit), crying, etc. You're in the hospital for 2 nights (some people are there for only one, or none!), then you go home, and really have no idea what you're doing. I have to admit, I called the midwives at the hospital at night more then once when I was still "under their care" (which was until Hannah was a week old) to ask questions. The charts all say baby poo is yellow, what if it's green? I call and ask. I think I'm just a paranoid mom. Is it ok that she only sleeps for 12 hours in a 24 hour period (it is for now, call back if it doesn't improve)? Is that going to affect her development (no, the average 16-18 hours sleep per day is an average, some babies sleep for 10 hours, others 20, depends on the baby)? Is it ok that she poops about 10 times a day, a lot of the really small little poops (yes, some babies poop after every feed, some do just a couple of big poops, everybody poops!)? She gets the hiccups a lot, is that normal (yes, and it doesn't bother infants apparently, although Hannah doesn't seem to like them much)? She gets a lot of wind, is it ok to use infacol (wind drops for babies that bind all their wind together so they can easily get it up in one big burp/fart. And yes, it's fine to use it does not harm them one little bit)? How do I know when one boob is empty (still not really 100% sure on that one...)? The lump in my boob has exploded to about 5 times the size that was, is that due to hormones (probably, but I will have an ultrasound on it again just to be sure. Then if it looks dodgy, I will have another biopsy. I had one a year ago, and it was just a fibroadenoma, which is benign. I think my body just likes to make lumps and tumours to scare me)? They probably think I'm a pest calling so often. But you know what? We just want the best for our baby, and want to make sure we are doing everything right.
Grandma gave me a book a number of months ago called "What to Expect When The First Year." I just started reading it, and found that I'm normal. I'm not the only one that goes into baby's bedroom to look at baby while she is sleeping just to make sure she is breathing. I'm not the only one who worries that I'm not making enough milk, or that she is not getting enough milk. Apparently pretty much every mother on the face of the earth does these things, which probably means that a lot of mothers call the midwives at the hospital to annoy them with questions like I did. The book answers a lot of questions, and has a month by month what to expect. I highly recommend it.
The other night, I woke up to the sound of crying on the baby monitor. I wasn't feeling particularly hot, but I thought I must have been, as I was sweating between my boobs. It took me a bit to realise that it wasn't sweat at all, my let down (when the milk starts flowing) has decided to not wait until Hannah starts sucking, but instead starts when she cries. I had milk all over my chest. Lucky I bought a few boxes of breast pads before Hannah was born.
I have a special chair in Hannah's room that I feed her in (except sometimes during the day I feed her on the couch now that I'm skilled enough to do so). It's a gliding rocking chair, with a boomerang pillow that I put on my lap to lay Hannah on so I don't have to actually hold all of her weight. I lay her on her side on the pillow, across me, with her mouth on the chosen boob. One day, after feeding her, I noticed she had a wet patch on the front of her onesie, off to one side. How in the world did she wet herself there?? I could understand it a bit if she were a boy, maybe it was pointing there when laying on his side or something, but a girl? At the next night feed, it happened again. How in the world are you doing this, little one? That is when I realised that when feeding on one side, the other side leaks. She didn't wet herself at all, I wet her! I don't particularly like wearing a bra to bed, so now I just put a breast pad between me and Hannah during the night feeds. Problem solved, no more wet Hannah Banana.
Friday I met with some of the girls from my antenatal class (and a couple of the husbands were there too as they had not yet gone back to work). We (girls) decided that we want to meet up regularly and go for pram walks (a walk while pushing babies in prams) and lunch. I decided (ok, Hannah's tummy decided) that would be the perfect time to try feeding in public. I don't really want to be one of those "hi, here's my boob" people, so how do you do it discreetly? We all went to the local cafe, but they seemed none to happy to accommodate us and didn't even try to help us move tables so we could all sit together and have room for our prams (even though they didn't have any customers at the time, and would have gotten a nice chunk of change since there were quite a few of us), so instead we went to the pub. Hannah decided before we arrived that it was meal time, so I had to do it. It was quite awkward at first. I got one of the girls to hold up a cloth while I attached Hannah, but when you have to do it a few times (she likes to be burped a few times during each feed), that is just not practical. On the other hand, I didn't really want everyone to see my boob and nipple, so what do you do? I tried to do the cloth thing myself (throw it over your shoulder, try to attach baby), but how do you see what you are doing? That didn't work. I finally decided the best way is to bring baby to boob, then when baby's head is blocking view of boob, that is when you pull up your shirt. Before you bring baby's head to boob, unhook feeding bra so all you need to do when baby is blocking view of boob is pull up shirt, and bam, baby is on nipple, and unless someone was really trying to see and at the right angle (like sitting right next to you), no one will see your goodies. At least I don't think they will. I feel a lot more comfortable with the whole thing now. The build up was nerve wracking, you just have to do it.
We still haven't taken Hannah to very populated places (like shopping centres) (she has only been for walkies around where we live, to the pub for lunch, bible study, and church). Maybe we are being over protective, but we are afraid of taking her where lots of people are because we don't want her to get their germs. Swine flu is on the prowl, we don't want our little Hannah Banana to get swine flu! We decided that when she is 6 weeks old, then we will start taking her out. Her little immune system is just not ready for the world yet (or our silly brains, one or the other).
The linea nigra (line going down the centre of my belly) is supposed to go away after birth, but I wonder how long it takes. Mine is still there, loud and proud. It does look rather odd, with no big pregnant belly to accompany it. It hasn't even remotely faded. I still can't fit my butt into my pre pregnancy jeans (which fit me with the belly belt until the last couple of months of pregnancy when my butt seemed to expand), yet I am quite small, so I must have been really small before. And I always thought I had a big bum. I suppose I've just gotten bigger all over, so you don't really notice that I'm bigger then before I was pregnant (it's in proportion is what I'm trying to get at. I don't make a lot of sense, must be lack of continuous sleep).
One night, I awoke to something touching me. As I woke up more, I realised I was being patted. Aaron was patting me like you pat a baby. Rhythmically, gently, patting my hip (I was on my side). He must have been dreaming about holding Hannah because he was fast asleep. I grabbed his hand and held it against my hip. I got some nonsense, not actual words asleep garbledy goop in response.
Everyone tells us how cute little Hannah is. People even say she looks like a doll. I may be biased, but she certainly is cute! I may be weird, but I often just look at her while she is feeding, or sleeping on my shoulder, and marvel at how absolutely cute she is. Her little face is just perfect. When she gets an upset tummy (wind), I wish I could just take away her pain so she never has to feel it. I want to protect her from everything. I guess that's just being a Mom.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Time since birth: 2 weeks 1 day
Total weight loss: 7kg (15.4lbs)
Weight loss this week: 100g (.22lbs but I weighed myself after eating and fully clothed so this is not too accurate)
Last Monday (a week ago today) a nurse from the early childhood centre came to do a home visit. She checked Hannah's jaundice (which is now gone), weighed her (she had gained over 200g since that Thursday, which is really good), pushed on my tummy to see how my uterus is going, and asked any questions that I have. She said we were doing really well and that I seemed really calm for a new mom. I find it very odd that after getting stitches when Hannah was born, not one person has checked the stitches since then. I had a total of 4 home visits (3 from midwives, 1 from the nurse), and some checks in hospital, but no stitch check. This seems very odd to me. What if they are infected or not healing right or something. I wouldn't know, I don't know what vajayjay stitches are supposed to look like (nor can I see down there anyway...). I'm sure they are fine, but I still find it odd. I would think that would be something that needs checking.
I can't remember if I mentioned it last week, but after you have a baby, your appetite goes out the window. I had to force myself to eat 3 meals per day for a week and a half. I could only get through small portions. The nurse said that is normal, and is due to hormones, etc. I'm happy to report that I now have my appetite back. Unfortunately I have not been drinking any milk as Hannah had lots of gas and I read online that sometimes this can be due to mom's ingesting milk products. So, I'm giving up milk for a week to see if there is a change. It's torture though, I LOVE milk!! I don't think she has been as gassy though. Poor little Hannah gets quite distressed when she has too much wind. her poor little tummy hurts. Hopefully I can reintroduce milk slowly to my diet. I will have to ask the nurse about such things.
It's funny how things change as soon as you have a baby. I never used to go out without at least a light dusting of my mineral makeup, but now, who cares, I just had a baby, I don't have time for that! I've been living in sweats since I got home, and only shower every other day (except for washing my stitches which I do every day). I walk to the shops in my sweats and take Hannah for walks in my sweats. That is just what happens after you become a mom. I don't want to be daggy for the rest of my life, but for now, while little Hannah is so young and in need of attention all the time, I just don't have time to make myself look nice.
I am so thankful to our church and it's members. They have been bringing us meals since we came home from hospital. I don't know what we'd do without it. There just isn't time (or energy) for cooking dinner at the moment. Hannah doesn't really like to sleep during the day (she is sleeping now, but it's the first time she has slept today, and it's 4:40 in the afternoon), so that doesn't really give me time to tend to any house duties or cooking. We are very grateful!
My coccyx is still sore, but getting better. I can now sit on the couch and breastfeeding chair (cushioned gliding rocking chair in Hannah's room. Hannah and I love that chair) without a folded towel under each cheek. I still can't drive as the seats in the car are quite hard and I have to sit really awkwardly in the car. If it was an automatic I might be able to drive it, but as it's a manual, I'd have to sit properly to have both feet doing what they are supposed to, and that is painful still.
Hannah loves it when Mommy or Daddy holds her in a sitting position so she can stare at our faces. Sometimes she even smiles. She may not like to sleep during the day, but at night, Hannah is wonderful. She usually sleeps at about 10pm after a feed, and then sleeps for 5 hours. Another feed, diaper change, and settling (45min - 1 hour total), and she sleeps for another 2-4 hours. Another feed, etc, and she sleeps for another 2-4 hours. I get lots of sleep luckily (most nights, but we have had the odd bad night). She is just so cute.
Hannah was really unsettled yesterday. She didn't sleep all day. We went to church last night, but she cried so much that Aaron had to take her out to the car and just sit with her the whole time while she bawled her eyes out. I wish I knew how to make her feel better when she is so unsettled. We check her nappy, feed her, make sure she is not too hot or cold, give her cuddles, etc, but still, she cries. I guess it's just because she is a baby. She looks tired (yawning, and other tired signs), wakes up about 5 min after putting her to bed. I suppose she will grow out of it though. Better to be like that during the day then all night though! She does sleep when I take her for a walk in her pram. She will be bawling her eyes out all the way to the top of the driveway, then, as soon as we hit the sidewalk, she is out. She will be out the whole walk time, until we get right outside our driveway, then she is up and screaming again. I don't know how she knows we're home, but somehow, she always does. She is too smart for her own good I think.
I find getting out for a walk does wonders for me too. I like to get some fresh air, and it really puts me in a good mood. I might be really stressed or upset from trying to settle Hannah all day, but as soon as we go for a walk, I'm refreshed. Good old vitamin D (the happy vitamin) I suppose. I guess that is why all the baby books tell you to get out everyday no matter what, even if it's just to the mailbox and back. Good advice, I second that. I like going for pram walks so much that I emailed all the girls from my antenatal class (we all keep in touch and meet up sometimes) and suggested we all meet up fairly regularly after everyone has their babies (one popped yesterday, and another today, a couple more to go) and go for pram walks. I've gotten favourable responses so far.
Anyway, Hannah might wake up soon, so I'm going to go now. ToOdLeS!
Total weight loss: 7kg (15.4lbs)
Weight loss this week: 100g (.22lbs but I weighed myself after eating and fully clothed so this is not too accurate)
Last Monday (a week ago today) a nurse from the early childhood centre came to do a home visit. She checked Hannah's jaundice (which is now gone), weighed her (she had gained over 200g since that Thursday, which is really good), pushed on my tummy to see how my uterus is going, and asked any questions that I have. She said we were doing really well and that I seemed really calm for a new mom. I find it very odd that after getting stitches when Hannah was born, not one person has checked the stitches since then. I had a total of 4 home visits (3 from midwives, 1 from the nurse), and some checks in hospital, but no stitch check. This seems very odd to me. What if they are infected or not healing right or something. I wouldn't know, I don't know what vajayjay stitches are supposed to look like (nor can I see down there anyway...). I'm sure they are fine, but I still find it odd. I would think that would be something that needs checking.
I can't remember if I mentioned it last week, but after you have a baby, your appetite goes out the window. I had to force myself to eat 3 meals per day for a week and a half. I could only get through small portions. The nurse said that is normal, and is due to hormones, etc. I'm happy to report that I now have my appetite back. Unfortunately I have not been drinking any milk as Hannah had lots of gas and I read online that sometimes this can be due to mom's ingesting milk products. So, I'm giving up milk for a week to see if there is a change. It's torture though, I LOVE milk!! I don't think she has been as gassy though. Poor little Hannah gets quite distressed when she has too much wind. her poor little tummy hurts. Hopefully I can reintroduce milk slowly to my diet. I will have to ask the nurse about such things.
It's funny how things change as soon as you have a baby. I never used to go out without at least a light dusting of my mineral makeup, but now, who cares, I just had a baby, I don't have time for that! I've been living in sweats since I got home, and only shower every other day (except for washing my stitches which I do every day). I walk to the shops in my sweats and take Hannah for walks in my sweats. That is just what happens after you become a mom. I don't want to be daggy for the rest of my life, but for now, while little Hannah is so young and in need of attention all the time, I just don't have time to make myself look nice.
I am so thankful to our church and it's members. They have been bringing us meals since we came home from hospital. I don't know what we'd do without it. There just isn't time (or energy) for cooking dinner at the moment. Hannah doesn't really like to sleep during the day (she is sleeping now, but it's the first time she has slept today, and it's 4:40 in the afternoon), so that doesn't really give me time to tend to any house duties or cooking. We are very grateful!
My coccyx is still sore, but getting better. I can now sit on the couch and breastfeeding chair (cushioned gliding rocking chair in Hannah's room. Hannah and I love that chair) without a folded towel under each cheek. I still can't drive as the seats in the car are quite hard and I have to sit really awkwardly in the car. If it was an automatic I might be able to drive it, but as it's a manual, I'd have to sit properly to have both feet doing what they are supposed to, and that is painful still.
Hannah loves it when Mommy or Daddy holds her in a sitting position so she can stare at our faces. Sometimes she even smiles. She may not like to sleep during the day, but at night, Hannah is wonderful. She usually sleeps at about 10pm after a feed, and then sleeps for 5 hours. Another feed, diaper change, and settling (45min - 1 hour total), and she sleeps for another 2-4 hours. Another feed, etc, and she sleeps for another 2-4 hours. I get lots of sleep luckily (most nights, but we have had the odd bad night). She is just so cute.
Hannah was really unsettled yesterday. She didn't sleep all day. We went to church last night, but she cried so much that Aaron had to take her out to the car and just sit with her the whole time while she bawled her eyes out. I wish I knew how to make her feel better when she is so unsettled. We check her nappy, feed her, make sure she is not too hot or cold, give her cuddles, etc, but still, she cries. I guess it's just because she is a baby. She looks tired (yawning, and other tired signs), wakes up about 5 min after putting her to bed. I suppose she will grow out of it though. Better to be like that during the day then all night though! She does sleep when I take her for a walk in her pram. She will be bawling her eyes out all the way to the top of the driveway, then, as soon as we hit the sidewalk, she is out. She will be out the whole walk time, until we get right outside our driveway, then she is up and screaming again. I don't know how she knows we're home, but somehow, she always does. She is too smart for her own good I think.
I find getting out for a walk does wonders for me too. I like to get some fresh air, and it really puts me in a good mood. I might be really stressed or upset from trying to settle Hannah all day, but as soon as we go for a walk, I'm refreshed. Good old vitamin D (the happy vitamin) I suppose. I guess that is why all the baby books tell you to get out everyday no matter what, even if it's just to the mailbox and back. Good advice, I second that. I like going for pram walks so much that I emailed all the girls from my antenatal class (we all keep in touch and meet up sometimes) and suggested we all meet up fairly regularly after everyone has their babies (one popped yesterday, and another today, a couple more to go) and go for pram walks. I've gotten favourable responses so far.
Anyway, Hannah might wake up soon, so I'm going to go now. ToOdLeS!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Time since birth: 8 days
Total weight loss: 6.9kgs (although it looks like a lot more!)
Hannah's birth weight: 3.3kg (7.27lbs)
Hannah's birth size: 48cm (18.89in)
Hannah's birth date: 5 July 2009
It all started on the 4th of July. In the morning I started getting very irregular contractions that didn't feel like the usual braxton hicks. We decided we should get to the shops and get a microwave asap as after the baby is born, we would be getting meals delivered for 2 weeks by members of our church (that we would need to heat up). We've had some issues in the microwave department for quite some time now. We had to leave the our old one at our last place as it had a cockroach living it in. Not too long ago, my friend May gave us an old one they had. It worked for a day, then made a loud noise and started sparking. So, we went to buy a new one. We were going to go grocery shopping too, but I wasn't really feeling the best at the time. As soon as we got to the shops, I heard a little girl say to her mom "that girl is so fat!" referring of course to me. I thought it was hilarious though.
Aaron set up our brand new microwave as soon as we got home. I think microwaves have conspired against us because this one didn't work either. So much for that idea. There was no way I was going back to the shops now!
In the afternoon, my contractions started to get closer together and a little more intense, so we decided to put on my TENS unit. After all, it says it's most effective if you start using it as soon as you are in proper pre labour, which I knew I was. I had also lost my mucous plug that morning. By evening, the contractions were even closer together and more painful. I found it most comfortable to sit on the floor on my yoga mat, and then drape myself over my exercise ball and start rocking when a contraction came. We tried to put funny movies and things on to distract me as well, but it didn't work very well. I called the delivery suite when my contractions were about 5 mins apart, but they were still a bit erratic, with some at 4 something, then others at 7 something, so they told me it wasn't time to go in yet. Aaron would also give me a hard back massage when I got a contraction which helped a lot.
I wanted to get some sleep as I knew I would need energy for the next day, so still wearing the TENS unit, we went to bed. I did manage to sleep between contractions, but woke up again with each one. I still felt rested though which was good. The contractions were getting more intense over night, and by morning, they were just under 5 minutes apart, and about a minute long, so we called the delivery suite again. They told us to come in so they could check my progress, and bring a bag just in case. Contractions in the car were the worst. You can't get into a comfortable position, you have to just keep sitting there. Aaron suggested I start making noises to help get through them. I'm sure we looked very interesting driving down the road, me with my eyes closed, a look of agony on my face, and making loud low gutteral grunting noises. I had to lean against the car and put my face on my arms when we arrived as I got another contraction.
They took me to the check up room straight away when I arrived, and monitored me and the baby for a while. Baby's heart rate was really good, and I was having some big contractions, but being in the hospital scared them away somewhat. They did an internal and said I was 3cm dilated. We were sent home for the time being, but told if the pain got too intense, if my water broke, etc. to call and come back. I had a bag of waters in front of the baby's head which was pushing on everything and making me feel like my insides were going to explode. When we got home, Aaron ran me a warm bath to see if that would help. I got in, but only for a couple of minutes. The contractions were being far too painful. We called the hospital again, and went back.
We got there at 10:30 and this time they took me to a delivery room. They were really quiet that day (I turned out to be the only one to have a normal delivery (non c-section) that day, so they gave me one of the group practice rooms. Group practice rooms are bigger, and have bigger baths as well. They did an internal and found I was 5cm dilated, so they said I should be ready in about 5 hours. We tried the bath again, and it was quite soothing. That is until a contraction came along. I couldn't just lay there during a contraction. I felt I needed to walk around or something. Plus I couldn't have my TENS unit in the bath (unless I wanted to electrocute myself). Sorry, but I wasted a whole lot of water in the bath I didn't really use.
I kept trying different positions during contractions to try and find something more bearable. I tried laying on a mat on the floor. It worked for a while, but then I needed to get up again. I don't know how I didn't feel it, but when I got up, there was a big puddle. My water had broken. Oh yeah, we also put on the classical music as soon as we got there to make it more relaxing and homey (worked nicely by the way).
I finally found that walking around while clutching the bottom of my stomach was the way to go. As I walked around, Aaron would walk with me and coach my deep breathing and rub my back. The contractions kept getting stronger and closer together, so sometimes I would also deep breathe the gas. I'm not sure if it was the gas itself, or concentrating on the rattley noise it made when you sucked on it, but it seemed to help.
I felt like i really had to pee but every time i tried i couldn't. The midwife put a catheter in to drain the urine. not pleasant let me tell you! It seems there was a little head pinching the urine escape route.
After a while i started getting the strong urge to push. the midwife kept telling me not to, but sometimes i couldn't help it, my body just did it. Aaron would then coach my breathing and I'd pull out of it. But then i felt something. As they were telling me not to push i yelled out "it's coming!" They took one look at my face and knew it was time to check. About 5 mins earlier they told me they only do the internal every 4 hours so at 2:30 when there was a shift change, the new midwife would check me. I was promptly checked and told i was ready. They were amazed that i dilated so fast as it was my first baby. They asked me what position i wanted to be in then it was push time. i dragged myself over to the mat on the floor and draped myself over a beanbag.
finally, i was allowed to push. it's so much easier when you can actually do something. i pushed with all my might. i could feel something fly out. all at once i felt extremely scared (it flew out what if they didn't catch it?), and relief (wow that was easy). but then something wet splatted all over me and i knew it wasn't over yet. they said it was like a water balloon, shot out of me like a cannonball. when it landed it burst all over everyone. it was my forewaters. i kept pushing with each contraction, the head getting closer each time. finally i could feel it. i gave n all mighty push and it started to come out. but then my contraction finished and it went back in. nobody told me I'd have to birth the head multiple times until it got past the point of no return. i think i almost got it out three times before i felt the agonizing burning sensation of me tearing and the head reaching it;s widest point before finally coming out. i was in a world of pain now, between contractions but torn and still stretched over baby's neck. i pushed with the next contraction and easily birthed the rest of the baby. i didn't even notice the doctor giving me a shot (to help detach the placenta).
They passed the baby to me between my legs from behind. i didn't even think to check, i was just going to hold it, but the midwife said "what is it?" "it's a girl!" i exclaimed, and put her on my chest. my placenta wasn't detaching so the midwife was pulling on it and pressing on my uterus. it was quite painful. after a while they told me to give a push. i didn't think anything would happen but when i pushed, the placenta practically flew out. i guess i like projectiles....
I was covered in blood and there was blood everywhere. I was sitting in a giant puddle of blood. I was worried i'd lost too much but they said it was about 400ml which is normal.
She fed straight away until they got me on the bed for my stitches. Aaron got to hold her while i was being tortured. i inhaled a large amount of gas and felt floaty as they gave me local anesthetic (my first actual pain relief of the ordeal). i could feel pulling and it seemed to take ages as they stitched me in layers. i'm not sure exactly how many stitches i had except that it was more then 10. ewwww.
before i got to go to my room, i was told i had to pee,shower, and carb load myself so as not to pass out. you really do feel lightheaded after giving birth. it's like every ounce of energy has been zapped from you and you have nothing left. luckily they take you to your room in a wheelchair.
i managed to get through labour with only the TENS and gas, but only because of Aaron's encouragement, coaching and praise. he is the bestest!
After sifting through all the conflicting info given by different midwives, we seem to be getting caring for Hannah down. She is a beautiful little girl, and a little treasure.
I'm hoping my stitches and bruised coccyx will feel better soon, but other then that, we are doing well.
Total weight loss: 6.9kgs (although it looks like a lot more!)
Hannah's birth weight: 3.3kg (7.27lbs)
Hannah's birth size: 48cm (18.89in)
Hannah's birth date: 5 July 2009
It all started on the 4th of July. In the morning I started getting very irregular contractions that didn't feel like the usual braxton hicks. We decided we should get to the shops and get a microwave asap as after the baby is born, we would be getting meals delivered for 2 weeks by members of our church (that we would need to heat up). We've had some issues in the microwave department for quite some time now. We had to leave the our old one at our last place as it had a cockroach living it in. Not too long ago, my friend May gave us an old one they had. It worked for a day, then made a loud noise and started sparking. So, we went to buy a new one. We were going to go grocery shopping too, but I wasn't really feeling the best at the time. As soon as we got to the shops, I heard a little girl say to her mom "that girl is so fat!" referring of course to me. I thought it was hilarious though.
Aaron set up our brand new microwave as soon as we got home. I think microwaves have conspired against us because this one didn't work either. So much for that idea. There was no way I was going back to the shops now!
In the afternoon, my contractions started to get closer together and a little more intense, so we decided to put on my TENS unit. After all, it says it's most effective if you start using it as soon as you are in proper pre labour, which I knew I was. I had also lost my mucous plug that morning. By evening, the contractions were even closer together and more painful. I found it most comfortable to sit on the floor on my yoga mat, and then drape myself over my exercise ball and start rocking when a contraction came. We tried to put funny movies and things on to distract me as well, but it didn't work very well. I called the delivery suite when my contractions were about 5 mins apart, but they were still a bit erratic, with some at 4 something, then others at 7 something, so they told me it wasn't time to go in yet. Aaron would also give me a hard back massage when I got a contraction which helped a lot.
I wanted to get some sleep as I knew I would need energy for the next day, so still wearing the TENS unit, we went to bed. I did manage to sleep between contractions, but woke up again with each one. I still felt rested though which was good. The contractions were getting more intense over night, and by morning, they were just under 5 minutes apart, and about a minute long, so we called the delivery suite again. They told us to come in so they could check my progress, and bring a bag just in case. Contractions in the car were the worst. You can't get into a comfortable position, you have to just keep sitting there. Aaron suggested I start making noises to help get through them. I'm sure we looked very interesting driving down the road, me with my eyes closed, a look of agony on my face, and making loud low gutteral grunting noises. I had to lean against the car and put my face on my arms when we arrived as I got another contraction.
They took me to the check up room straight away when I arrived, and monitored me and the baby for a while. Baby's heart rate was really good, and I was having some big contractions, but being in the hospital scared them away somewhat. They did an internal and said I was 3cm dilated. We were sent home for the time being, but told if the pain got too intense, if my water broke, etc. to call and come back. I had a bag of waters in front of the baby's head which was pushing on everything and making me feel like my insides were going to explode. When we got home, Aaron ran me a warm bath to see if that would help. I got in, but only for a couple of minutes. The contractions were being far too painful. We called the hospital again, and went back.
We got there at 10:30 and this time they took me to a delivery room. They were really quiet that day (I turned out to be the only one to have a normal delivery (non c-section) that day, so they gave me one of the group practice rooms. Group practice rooms are bigger, and have bigger baths as well. They did an internal and found I was 5cm dilated, so they said I should be ready in about 5 hours. We tried the bath again, and it was quite soothing. That is until a contraction came along. I couldn't just lay there during a contraction. I felt I needed to walk around or something. Plus I couldn't have my TENS unit in the bath (unless I wanted to electrocute myself). Sorry, but I wasted a whole lot of water in the bath I didn't really use.
I kept trying different positions during contractions to try and find something more bearable. I tried laying on a mat on the floor. It worked for a while, but then I needed to get up again. I don't know how I didn't feel it, but when I got up, there was a big puddle. My water had broken. Oh yeah, we also put on the classical music as soon as we got there to make it more relaxing and homey (worked nicely by the way).
I finally found that walking around while clutching the bottom of my stomach was the way to go. As I walked around, Aaron would walk with me and coach my deep breathing and rub my back. The contractions kept getting stronger and closer together, so sometimes I would also deep breathe the gas. I'm not sure if it was the gas itself, or concentrating on the rattley noise it made when you sucked on it, but it seemed to help.
I felt like i really had to pee but every time i tried i couldn't. The midwife put a catheter in to drain the urine. not pleasant let me tell you! It seems there was a little head pinching the urine escape route.
After a while i started getting the strong urge to push. the midwife kept telling me not to, but sometimes i couldn't help it, my body just did it. Aaron would then coach my breathing and I'd pull out of it. But then i felt something. As they were telling me not to push i yelled out "it's coming!" They took one look at my face and knew it was time to check. About 5 mins earlier they told me they only do the internal every 4 hours so at 2:30 when there was a shift change, the new midwife would check me. I was promptly checked and told i was ready. They were amazed that i dilated so fast as it was my first baby. They asked me what position i wanted to be in then it was push time. i dragged myself over to the mat on the floor and draped myself over a beanbag.
finally, i was allowed to push. it's so much easier when you can actually do something. i pushed with all my might. i could feel something fly out. all at once i felt extremely scared (it flew out what if they didn't catch it?), and relief (wow that was easy). but then something wet splatted all over me and i knew it wasn't over yet. they said it was like a water balloon, shot out of me like a cannonball. when it landed it burst all over everyone. it was my forewaters. i kept pushing with each contraction, the head getting closer each time. finally i could feel it. i gave n all mighty push and it started to come out. but then my contraction finished and it went back in. nobody told me I'd have to birth the head multiple times until it got past the point of no return. i think i almost got it out three times before i felt the agonizing burning sensation of me tearing and the head reaching it;s widest point before finally coming out. i was in a world of pain now, between contractions but torn and still stretched over baby's neck. i pushed with the next contraction and easily birthed the rest of the baby. i didn't even notice the doctor giving me a shot (to help detach the placenta).
They passed the baby to me between my legs from behind. i didn't even think to check, i was just going to hold it, but the midwife said "what is it?" "it's a girl!" i exclaimed, and put her on my chest. my placenta wasn't detaching so the midwife was pulling on it and pressing on my uterus. it was quite painful. after a while they told me to give a push. i didn't think anything would happen but when i pushed, the placenta practically flew out. i guess i like projectiles....
I was covered in blood and there was blood everywhere. I was sitting in a giant puddle of blood. I was worried i'd lost too much but they said it was about 400ml which is normal.
She fed straight away until they got me on the bed for my stitches. Aaron got to hold her while i was being tortured. i inhaled a large amount of gas and felt floaty as they gave me local anesthetic (my first actual pain relief of the ordeal). i could feel pulling and it seemed to take ages as they stitched me in layers. i'm not sure exactly how many stitches i had except that it was more then 10. ewwww.
before i got to go to my room, i was told i had to pee,shower, and carb load myself so as not to pass out. you really do feel lightheaded after giving birth. it's like every ounce of energy has been zapped from you and you have nothing left. luckily they take you to your room in a wheelchair.
i managed to get through labour with only the TENS and gas, but only because of Aaron's encouragement, coaching and praise. he is the bestest!
After sifting through all the conflicting info given by different midwives, we seem to be getting caring for Hannah down. She is a beautiful little girl, and a little treasure.
I'm hoping my stitches and bruised coccyx will feel better soon, but other then that, we are doing well.
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