First overnight trip

DS went on his first overnight trip last weekend. We left on Thursday, were on the road about 4 hours (driving about 3) and stayed with relatives Thursday night. DS met more relatives Friday morning before we hit the road, then we were off again from about 8 more hours. DS travelled pretty well. He only got fussy a couple of times, about 10 minutes before when we were planning to stop anyway.

Once at the hotel, DS did fine, and he actually slept in the Pack 'n Play's bassinet most of the time that we put him in it. We did have one little incident when I accidently cut his lip with my name badge. I felt so bad about it! I had forgotten that I was wearing a name badge in a plastic holder near my shoulder. I held DS up on my shoulder (sort of in the burping position) and he let out a LOUD YELL and started crying like I have never heard him cry before. It definitely was a "hurt" cry instead of a "give me attention" or "feed me" cry. His lip even bled a little. I opened up my shirt and let him BF both for comfort and to get a little milk on his lip. (I've heard that breastmilk has slight anti-biotic qualities.) Fortunately the cut was minor and DS appeared to be quick to forgive when offered warm milk direct from mommy.

On Friday we noticed that DS hadn't had a BM (bowel movement, aka poopy diaper) all day in the car. At first we thought that was a nice treat, then we started to get concerned and kept expecting a big blow-out. It was 20 hours before he had a BM and it wasn't all that big. Then on Saturday he also just had one, and it was a little bigger, but still "normal". We were a bit worried, but not too much because DS didn't seem bothered or uncomfortable. We were happy to see the big blow-out and then discover that it was just a warm up for the REALLY big blow-out about 20 minutes later on Sunday afternoon when we had been home about 12 hours. He seems almost back to his regular pattern now.

6 Weeks Old

DS is 6 weeks old today. Right now he is sleeping in the sling that is around my shoulder. I had my 6 week post-partum check on Monday and everything is fine with me.

We had our first babysitting adventure yesterday. I watched my 19 month old niece while her parents went to a funeral. We went to her house, because my sister recommended that it would be easier to travel with DS to her house than to bring a toddler into my house. It worked out fine. Sesame Street was on TV for an hour, and we sort of watched that part of the time. We read books and played with toys, too. DS slept about 1/2 of the time. I changed 3 diapers, 2 on DS & 1 on niece. I fed DS twice & niece once (didn't breastfeed her, but I wondered what she was thinking when I did BF DS).

DH & I finally had some intimate time last night after DS went to sleep. Fatigue has been the bigger factor (not Dr.'s orders) that has kept us from doing more than sharing a good-night kiss and cuddling a little, but it's good to get the "okay" from the Dr., too. He said it's all up to me now. ;-) ;-)

I usually try to do my surfing and check my email when DS is sleeping, but he often wakes up and needs attention. I'm getting pretty good at typing one-handed.

5 weeks old (plus a day)

DS has now been home longer than he was in the hospital. We are starting to have a pattern in the morning: DH wakes up and gets ready for work; if he washed a load of diapers the night before, then he puts the covers on the drying rack and puts the rest in the dryer; DS keeps sleeping (I hope), then when he wakes up and wants to eat I get his medicine ready, give him that, then feed him in the recliner; then we both nap a couple of hours. That covers most of the morning. It's amazing how much time feeding & changing a baby takes!

He's one month old

DS is one month old today! This morning I saw him sucking his thumb. I think it was an accident, because he roots and sucks on his fist when he wants to eat or is trying to calm himself, but he definitely had just his right thumb in his mouth.

Last night DH took care of DS for about 3 hours when I needed to be gone to a meeting. Dh now has a greater appreciation for why I seldom "get anything else done" during the day, and I appreciate how much he misses DS when being at work. I was gone just under 3 hours, but didn't want to take an extra 5 minutes to stop at the grocery store because I wanted to get back to them both.

Mothering Magazine -- It Won't Hurt Forever: Guiding Your Child Through Trauma is an article of interest because of my son's emergency c-section birth and subsequent resuscitation and medical treatment in NICU.

DS's umbilical cord stump fell off yesterday. He is sleeping almost 4 hours at a time at night, and he seemed to like the bouncy seat this morning. I bought an Over the Shoulder Baby Holder sling yesterday and love it already! I'm still getting used to getting DS into it, though.

I think we're alone now

Totday is my first day to have DS all too myself. MIL & FIL have gone home, and DH is back to work today. We're doing okay so far... I'm using DS's sleep time to eat, make phone calls and read email. He should wake up in less than an hour wanting to eat and needing a diaper change. Then he probably sleep again, and I think I may nap with his next nap time.

Home a week

DS has been home a week now, and his first "regular" doctor's appointment went fine yesterday. He has gained almost a pound from his birth weight (which was 8 lb 9.3 oz). I have lost 33 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight (I only gained 5 lbs, being quite overweight to start with).

After the Dr. appt, we went by a lingerie shop and got me another nursing bra (with a smaller chest size!). Then we went out to eat at a restaurant. It was only about 4:30pm, so it was not crowded at all. We expected DS to need to eat while there, but he slept through dinner and the car ride, so I fed him when we got home.

Baby Is Home Now

I got to bring my baby home from the hospital today! DS is doing fine now. We "roomed in" the past 2 nights & 1 day, like a well mom & baby, and he gained enough weight that the doctors decided that we could bring him home. What a wonderful Mother's Day it will be tomorrow to have wake up with my baby at home!

Honey I'm Home

I had my baby on Wednesday, April 24, 2002 at 4:19 am. He was 8 lb 9.3 oz, and 21 3/4 inches long. After an induction attempt on Monday, a rest Monday night, and restarting the induction on Tuesday, I labored for about 20 hours naturally (except for the pitocin) and was in my 3rd hour of pushing when fetal distress was detected. We had an emergency C-section and DS is still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). He has made great strides since Wednesday and is continuing to improve, but much more slowly now. I had an illius (sp?), which is problems with gas in the intestines, which caused my stay to be longer than usual. Check the links on the left in a few days for more details of the past week, including the birth story.

Here are some links that I found having information about amniotic fluid levels.
Amniotic Fluid: Oligohydramnios & Polyhydramnios
Oligohydramnios: Low Amniotic Fluid
Pregnancy Today - Oligohydramnios: When Amniotic Fluid is Too Low
High-Risk Pregnancy - Amniotic Fluid Problems / Hydramnios / Oligohydramnios

40w3d

Baby is still waiting... and the grown-ups are getting nervous and somewhat impatient.

Yesterday's biophysical profile (BPP) test caused quite a stir. The baby scored fine (8/8), but my amniotic fluid was deemed "low". (We later found out the measurement was "4" which was considered "the low end of normal" by my PCP's on call partner, but also "below the 5th percentile, which is when they get concerned" by a nurse that DH spoke with at the hospital where he works.) The OB to which I was referred for the BPP recommended that "I be delivered" (his word choice wasn't my favorite). He called my PCP and they talked, then he told me to go to the hospital. I was starting to freak out a bit as we left, and my DH said something to the effect of "let's go talk to our Dr." first. So instead of driving to the hospital, we drove to our Dr. and asked to see him (without an appointment). Within 15 minutes we were talking with him and discussing the test results, the possible induction, the risks, and our options. I was much calmer by the time we saw him than when I was at the OB's office. From what I remember, the main concern with low fluid is that cord compression problems are more likely, with the worst-case scenerio being stillbirth. After discussing things quite a bit, we scheduled me for an induction Monday morning, unless I go into labor or change my mind before then.

Apparently having chronic hypertension is related to low amniotic fluid when "past term". Since no one had mentioned that my controlled chronic hypertension was a problem, I don't know much about the relationship between it and low amniotic fluid. (That's the annoying part... why didn't anyone tell me that having hypertension would cause concerns if the baby went past the due date??) The OB mentioned the placenta deteriorating as being related to the hypertension also, but the placenta is over 40 weeks old, so one would expect it to show signs of being "old". At least he did say that the calcium deposits seen on it are not indicative of a problem, just of it's age.

We are keeping me well hydrated by our doula's recommendation (see "Reviewer's Conclusion" in this abstract also, and are still considering going in before Monday. We have also used some of the home techniques for stimulating and/or inducing labor. Nipple stimulation works. :-)

I'm actually feeling quite optimistic right now. The baby is still moving around and I am having contractions every 10-20 minutes without constant stimulation. So maybe... maybe... labor is starting this evening.

40w2d

Baby is still waiting. I slept very poorly last night. I couldn't get comfortable in bed so I tried the recliner for a few hours. I slept a little there, then went back to bed about an hour before DH went to work.

Official Due Date

My OB appointment went fine this morning. My cervix is thinning quite a bit more than last week, and is dilated a little (about to 2); fundal height is measuring right at 40, and I even gained a pound this week. We are scheduled for a biophysical profile (special sonogram) tomorrow. My Dr. said he expects it to be fine but since I'm 38 and have chronic hypertension he wants the test done today or tomorrow instead of waiting until next week. I also have an OB appt for next Thursday "if I'm still pregnant".

I'm feeling contractions more frequently than before, but they're still irregular and not very intense. Last night the baby was moving around a lot between them, so I wasn't sure if I was feeling baby or uterus, but after talking with my doula, I think I was feeling both. She said that babies move around as much or more during labor as they do earlier in the pregnancy.

I wouldn't mind at all if the baby decided to wait until Sunday. My singing group is competing on Saturday and I would really like to watch them.