11 days later

We survived the first week since coming home from the hospital last Saturday. We're tired, but luckily not as tired as we were with our first.  At night he sleeps for about 3 hours at a time, which helps out a lot. I remember it was about every 1-2 hours for the first couple of weeks with our first. I can put him down after he falls asleep, giving me time to eat, clean, and update my blog. LOL...  Overall he's been a lot easier than our first. Thank goodness.

A lot has happened over his first week home. We've been to the doctor's office 3 times, twice to check his jaundice and the 3rd for his circumcision.  Physically looking at him, his jaundice was slight, but his blood test showed that his bilirubin level was pretty high. Not high enough where he needed to be hospitalized or had to have any other treatments done, but high enough to be concerned.  He had 3 blood tests (one a day) to monitor the bilirubin level, and all three was turning out to be on the high side. By the time we saw our primary pediatrician he didn't seem as concerned as the other doctors. He looked good, and the yellowing of his skin seemed to be going away.  Our pediatrician was waiting for one more test result to see if he needed to order another blood test, which luckily we didn't need to have another blood test. He also told us to continue to supplement with the formula to help flush the bilirubin out. He suggested that I nurse for 10 min on each side, and then supplement 30 - 45 ml of formula. He assured us that he won't overeat and only take in what he needs. It's been so long that we couldn't remember what the rule of supplementing was, the nurses and the lactation specialists at the hospital had scared us about newborns stomach being so small that they can only take 10ml or less. blah blah....  That's the same information that made us starve our poor Maddie and made us terribly sleep deprived.

Yesterday was the circumcision day. This is the one reason I hate having a boy, I feel so bad for them. It probably hurts me more than it hurts him, but you can't help but feel so terrible for them. Peter stayed and watch the procedure, and I left to wait in the waiting room. Mason did great, didn't cry during the procedure, but as the numbing gel wore off he started to cry. He slept through most of the day, but in the evening when he was awake, you can tell he was in pain. We just had to comfort him and soothe him as much as possible. I was thinking it was going to be a long night, but to my surprise he slept through the night very well. Waking every 3-4 hours to be fed and changed. And today he's much better. Still looks raw, but he's not crying or fussing and seems to be back to his normal self.

Maddie seems to be adjusting well, but I think he's bored being cooped up in the house all day. If we could afford it, I probably would have left in daycare on a part time basis for some socialization, routine, and fun. He's been a good helper, but definitely doesn't understand how rough he is or how loud he is.

Well that's our first week home.

Welcome Baby Mason

Our new bundle of joy is finally here. Meet our little guy. 

Born May 13th at 8:31am. 7 lbs and 10 ounces and 20 inches in length. Aside from the little jaundice he's perfectly healthy.

The funny thing is both him and his brother were born on the 13th, and had exactly the same weight. 

More pictures can be found on our picasa site.

Now that I have a little time I can tell you how it all went down.

Tuesday early morning right after my husband left for work I started to have really bad cramps, so bad I was thinking I might have to call the ambulance or something.  They were about 10 min apart so I called and left a message at my husband's work to have him come home and take me to the hospital. But soon after I left that message the contractions started to lessen in pain, and soon 10 mins were now 15 mins, and by late afternoon they were gone.  Argh! Another false labor.

That same night after I went to sleep I was awaken by the cramping again at 1am. They were pretty far apart that I was able to sleep between the cramping, but by 2am they started coming closer together and stronger. I wasn't sure if this was another false alarm, or if it was a real deal, but one thing for sure I wasn't going anywhere until I knew that was the real deal. At first the contractions were 15 minutes apart which soon turned into 6-8 minutes apart. After the 3rd contraction I started to think that this was it, but I let it go on for a good hour before waking up my husband.

3am I woke up my husband, had him call the doctor, and started to get ready to go. Woke up my poor son and got him ready as well. It took us about 45 minutes to get ready to go and to receive the OK from the doctor to go to Labor and Delivery.  By the time I got in the car to head to the hospital the contractions were 4-6 min apart, and boy did they hurt. I don't remember my contractions hurting this much when I was in labor with Maddeux. You literally can't walk or breath during the contractions.

4:15am I was admitted to the hospital and was 5cm dilated, 70 % effaced, the baby was still at a -2 station, and my water wasn't broken yet. The nurses rushed to get me all set up so I can get my epidural and about 1 1/2 hour later I was finally in epidural heaven. My doctor came to check on me shortly after to do his own assessment. At that time I was about 9cm dilated, my cervix was about 90% effaced (or more), and my water hadn't been broken yet. My doctor felt that he still had some time, so he left to go perform a caesarian section on another one of his patient and once he was done he'd come back to break my water. 

8:00am ish, my doctor was back to break my water, but I think my water broke while he was gone. The funny thing is my doctor's plan was to break my water, then go get an omelette for breakfast, and then come back to deliver my baby. But then he went to check me and found that my water was already broken and the baby was ready to be delivered at that moment. His plan was foiled. LOL.

8:15am ish my legs were put onto the stirrup and was told to start pushing during the contractions. I think I was still in disbelief because it was going by so fast. I didn't feel like I needed to push yet, but I was told to push. After the 3rd push the head was out. 
Have you ever seen the episode of the Kardashian's where Courtney is in labor and she reaches down and pulls out her baby? Well that happened to me. I never thought I would do it but in the heat of the moment and with my doctor telling (almost commanding me to) "reach down and grab him!". I did and I can't lie, it felt gross.

8:31am, Baby Mason was born.

39 Weeks Appointment

Today I had my regular appointment with my doctor. I'm 3cm dilated, and now 70% effaced. Yeah! He stripped my membrane, and have been having some cramping since then. A tiny bit of blood, but no bloody show yet. Hopefully I begin the real labor over the next couple of days. If not, I have an induction date of 5/21.

Til next week (or earlier)....

So Uncomfortable

As of tomorrow (Sunday) I'll be 39 weeks pregnant. I only made it to 37 1/2 with my first child, so I never imagined I'd even make it this far. I always thought after the 1st kid, the next ones are easier and comes out faster. At this point my gut is telling me this kid is going to go beyond 40 weeks and with my luck the labor is going to be longer. *sigh*

I'm so uncomfortable, my butt hurts since I have to lean back when sitting putting a lot of pressure on my tailbone. I can't walk around for too long before I feel like I'm about to pass out, my back is killing me, and I feel like I have to go pee every 10 minutes. The only good thing about it this time around is that I'm not so uncomfortable that I can't sleep. I still wake up every 2-3 hours, but I can still sleep. Oh and I didn't gain as much weight as before. 

To add insult to injury, last Wednesday I thought I was going into labor. I began to have contractions Tuesday night, 1 every hour. Had some cramping throughout the night, and by early morning (5am) I started to have contractions every 15 minutes. They were getting stronger as the hours went by, and started to get closer together as it got into the afternoon. I finally called the doctor's office to see if I should go in, and they had me go in just to check. By the time I got to the hospital the contractions ended up being back to every 15 minutes, and when they checked me I was still only 3 cm dilated, 50-60% effaced, and the cervix and baby were still high at a -2 station. Basically no change since my last appointment, and this was considered "false labor". How disappointing. I should have known better, the contractions weren't anywhere near the same intensity as the first kid, but then again I never had braxton hicks contractions (at least consistent ones) with my first.

I just have to say this pregnancy is totally different than the first one. I wonder with all the trouble I've had with this pregnancy if it's any indication about how the kid is going to be. My little trouble maker.??

Harley + Boss Owlet Giveaway!

Harley + Boss Owlet Giveaway!

38 Weeks

Another week has gone by and no signs of labor. Went to my 38 week appointment and met with the nurse. She did the cervical exam and found that I'm now about 3cm dilated, and about 60% effaced. The cervix was soft, the baby's head was down and low, low enough that she could feel his head during her examination. The heartbeat is strong at 150 bpm.

She went over labor signs and when to call instructions and after learning that I had a rather short 1st labor (8-9 hours), she instructed me to call the office if I started to have contractions when they were 8 minutes apart, not the 5 minutes that they normally tell their patients. Since the 2nd, and subsequent labors tend to be faster than the first they wanted to be sure I made it to the hospital before giving birth. LOL. I guess I should stay close to home for the next couple of weeks. All I know is I better get to the hospital in time where I can still receive the epidural.
Your pregnancy: 38 weeks

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See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)