because everybody loves a good birth story...

my goodness, is it almost November already?! sweet! at this moment, I am not at all upset that time has gone so quickly. I love fall here, and as far as I'm concerned, the faster time goes, the closer I get to the part when the baby will sleep for more than 3 hrs at a time, well, really 2 since it takes him an hour to eat. it took me a couple of weeks to catch up at work from my 5 weeks off, so now I'm back to a bit slower pace and thought I'd keep myself awake by blogging. be warned, I'm incredibly tired so there will be some serious rambling. but all three or four of my readers are well acquainted with the feeling, so I don't feel judged. :)

this handsome fella sure took his time to get here. I had hoped to be induced on Wednesday the 3rd after my final appointment with the diabetes dr, but alas, since you pretty much see a different person at every appointment - the dr who had told me the week before that it was likely was not the same one I saw that day. Charles was dealing with his allergies at the time, so we stopped off at a pharmacy after our appointment and he wisely bought me a candy bar to sooth my sorrows at being pushed off for another 2 days. but it was for the best, as my actual OB was able to deliver him on that Friday as opposed to another dr who works Wednesdays and is the man who once told me I was fat. no thanks, dr. owens. bite me. (told you there would be rambling) so anyway, I had decided to start my maternity leave that Wednesday regardless of whether or not they induced me, and my parents were already up and ready to greet their new grandson. so mom and I spent Thursday making cinnamon rolls for the nurses. consequently, we discovered about halfway through the process that my beloved sweet bread recipe is already doubled. so 4 large and 2 small pans of rolls later, that was done. Friday the 5th we arrived at the hospital at about 7:30, I was antsy to get the show on the road but nervous too - pretty much about everything. but once we got the show on the road I calmed down and just let it happen. they tested my blood sugar (never mind the huge cinnamon roll I had eaten that morning... to say that I was DONE with gestational diabetes is an understatement) and it was obviously high. so they were in the midst of a debate about whether or not to put me on insulin when they tested it again and it was back down to 90. diabetic coma: narrowly avoided. they started me on Pitocin at around 9 and the clock began to tick. I was dialted to 4 when I got there, so they were encouraged by my progress already. they upped the Pitocin every 30 minutes and around 11 or so the dr came in and estimated that I could be done by 1 or so. yea, sounded nice. :) so my parents and Charles' mom and the two of us sat. and sat. and sat. thankfully, my birth ninja skillz were not depleted after Cameron and I was totally fine until about 2 or so. when things began to get interesting (translation: I started to actually feel something), they brought in "The Peanut". The Peanut is similar to an exercise ball, but shaped like a peanut, and about 3 feet long and 2 feet around. I was asked to lay on my side, flipping every 30 minutes or so, with The Peanut between my legs to help open my hips and get him into position. this process was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and about 3 or so I requested that the parental units vacate the room so that I could focus on my breathing. it was at this point htat I became the harnesser of the chi. if I were able to focus that well at any other time, I'm pretty sure I could solve the problem of world hunger in about 15 minutes. it was pretty cool. yoga breaths ensued and by the time the contractions were back to back, I was in the zone. I really wish I could have had my temperature taken! I do not remember putting off that much heat with Cameron and I'd like to know how high it got. it did occur to me to ask but then another contraction came and I forgot about it. Charles was amazing and held my hand and smoothed my sweaty hair and kept a cool washcloth on me. I was SO eager to get the pushing started because I knew that it would make the pain go away, so kept saying "ok I think it's time!" only to have them check me (probably roll their eyes) and tell me to keep going. 'one more time', 'ok, just one more'... I'm pretty sure I said that to myself for a good hour at least. but finally, it was actually time. I gave about 3 good heaves and before I knew it, dr. suleman was telling me to open my eyes so I could see my slimy boy held up between my knees! as much as I'd like to say that something beautiful came out of my mouth this time, honestly it was "THANK GOD!", with the silent "that's over with!" at the end. 4:18pm
I tore pretty extensively, thankfully it didn't go through the muscle this time, just skin. so while I was being put back together and shaking like crazy, they handed me my boy. magic. I didn't realize that I had missed out on this time with Cameron until I had it with luke. all of a sudden, all those people who come out of the woodwork just before baby time had dissolved back into thin air and it was just the doctor and attending nurse who were stitching and one other person who was cleaning up. but they were quiet, I had a warm baby in warm blankets on my warm chest and we just were. other than the obligatory tests, he was not away from me for maybe 2 hrs. even Charles insisted that I take my time and bond with him. it was heavenly. the only minor setback was that his blood sugar was low. they gave me the option to try and nurse or supplement him with formula. since I knew nothing would be coming out of me yet and it was important that he get something in to avoid the NICU, we went with formula. within 12 hrs, his blood sugar was normal. but since they held us in the delivery room for a bit longer to watch him, we ended up eating dinner there too. my hospital has some bomb diggity food, so we had steak and grilled shrimp and veggies and a massive piece of chocolate cake. my parents had to leave to go get Cameron before the daycare closed, so they did not get to meet Lucas right away, but charles' mom stayed. we called her in to the room about 7 and my dad returned to the hospital about that time too. how sweet is it that he didn't want to wait till the next day to see the baby?! :) mom, who had put in so much time and effort to take care of me in the previous few months, stayed home with Cameron. talk about a selfless wonder woman! dad and ronda stayed for a little while in the postpartum room and then went home so that we could try to rest.

the next couple of days were pretty uneventful. milk production was very minimal and latching was again unsuccessful. the lactation consultants and nurses were great; but in the end, I decided to just pump like I did with Cameron. over the last 2 years I have become very well acquainted with my limitations. I don't fear them, I embrace the fact htat if I push myself beyond certain limits, I will not be a successfully contributing member of my family in any capacity. so if there is something that needs to happen or change in order for me to function as I feel that I should, then I will make any necessary sacrifices.
we went home sunday the 7th and all was well. they had asked us to check in with the pediatrician the next day to monitor billiruben levels. Cameron was a bit uncomfortable when his brother would cry, but it was more of a look of apprehension because he didn't know how to help than anything. that only lasted a few days. he is now absolutely 100% on board with the big brother gig and it makes my heart sing! I will expand on that some other time.
a couple of days after coming home, after getting bilirubin checks every day, I received a frantic call from the nurse practitioner. back to the hospital we went, for what we were told would be a few hours in the NICU. I was a hot mess, in many ways. Charles was still not feeling well and someone had to take care of Cameron, so my incredibly swollen feet and legs and i spent 2 days there by myself. luckily they were able to find a room for me on the same floor, so I could pump and then go in and see him and feed him every 3 hrs. after the first 36 hrs or so under the light, he was improved enough to room in with me. as stressful as the whole situation was, I definitely feel that it was beneficial for me to get so much uninterrupted time with him. but I was sure glad to get to go home.
more on the post-birth week stuff later...