Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Whole Story (for those who would like to know)


So, I am ready to write, and I have a few moments between feeds. Tuesday the 3rd we arrived at the hospital at 4:30pm. They brought us to a room, hooked me up and a Dr came in to apply the cervidil. Within an hour I started having mild contractions, however not long after the baby started having heart decels. At first I was thinking, maybe it's picking up my pulse, but it was definitely the babies. It went down to the 90's and low 100's from the 140's. Quite scary. So they came in and pulled the cervidil. The contractions slowed and his heart rate returned to normal. I slept a little and one of the Dr.s came in to say that they were moving me to labor and delivery at 5 am to start the pitocin, etc. Wednesday morning at 5 they started that and I started having mild contractions immediately. At 8am they broke my water and I spent the next few hours sitting in a constantly filling puddle. The contractions were still manageable, but they kept turning up the pitocin so they were definitely getting harder to deal with. The Dr on call switched at noon, so Dr Glass came in and checked me and said I was 4cm, 90%, and the baby was still up at -2. I asked for the epidural at about 3pm. That was the greatest thing I have ever had in my life. It hurt putting it in, but it was SOOOOO worth it. It was like laboring on a beach, not a care in the world! I stayed sitting up and tried to maintain positions that would not hinder the labor. At 5, Dr Glass was going off so she checked before she left and said I was now at 6-7, so I felt very encouraged. She figured the baby would be born in the next couple of hours. THEN, Dr Goodman came in, very gruff, yelling at nurses at the station, and basically immediately making me fear him. He checked me and said that Dr Glass was cracked. He said I was "maybe a 5" and that the baby was still too high. The contractions were still too far apart for him and I was on the max of pitocin. He said he would give me another hour and then check again, but if I was no different then we would have to think of other options! EEEK! So after that stress I was no different in on hour. He came in, checked and said it was now a c- section. I asked him if I could labor a little longer , and he said and I Quote, " Listen, you can labor till the cows come home, but your not gonna get this baby out." So that was that. I was scared to say anything else and my options were gone. I also was worried about subjecting the baby to many more hours of very strong contractions. We went to the OR, got prepped, and then they got me on the table. They draped, topped off the epidural, and let Jason in. I lay there thinking, "Ok, I hate this, but soon I will have my baby." They started cutting and in a few minutes I heard a good strong cry. They took him over to the table and started drying him. I couldn't see him, but I could hear them working with him. They all laughed because he was peeing everywhere. Then the pediatrician called Jason over quietly. I heard Neonatologist. Then they quickly brought him over and kind of showed him to me. I couldn't really get a good look at him. They said he had an abdominal mass and need to be checked by the neonatologist right away. I sent Jason with him and they left. Then Dr Goodman, while sewing me up started to question me about my ultrasounds and why they hadn't seen the mass. As if I knew! I then became very nauseated and threw up in my hair while laying down. Very tricky. In recovery they brought the baby back so I could see it and they told me he would need to be in the NICU over night for observation and tests. I tried to feed him in recovery and attempted to grasp all that was happening. Jason stayed with me and they took the baby after about 40min. Jason went in to the NICU over night to check on him, and let me know how he was doing. The next morning I was told that he would have an ultrasound at 10am. At 9 am I wanted to get up and see him, but I still had a foley in and IV's. The next Dr on call came in then, a Dr Ashkin. I was crying, which I considered perfectly acceptable considering the circumstances. He questioned me as to why I was crying, if I had a history of depression. I explained that I think it was perfectly natural to be upset when you can't see your baby and there is a medical issue. He says, "Well, okay but if this doesn't clear up in week, call the office and we will start you on something" Like I had a rash or something!!! So irritating. I knew that I would be fine once I was with the baby. And for the most part I have been. More Later.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

One Week




As you can see Will is sleeping. This is basically all he does. He eats, then burps, then sleeps. In two hours I force him to wake up by undressing him, he latches on for 1 minute, and then falls asleep again. This is why I am having a lot of problems getting good milk production going. He is such a good baby, but seems to be willing to happily starve to death. He was down to 7 pounds 5 oz on Monday, he left the hospital at 7,6. Otherwise, he is doing very well. He woke up last night for about 1 hour and looked around a lot. We decided he looks kimd of like Frank Sinatra with his eyes open. Jason's brother Jeremy came to see William, so that was nice. He had facinating tales of his recent trip. I stupidly went out on tuesday night to dinner, and was so exhausted afterward that I was in tears. I really need to protect myself and realize that I did just have a baby and major surgery. Today I am staying home and resting as much as possible. I have to go out to get my staples removed at 2 but I will force myself to take a nap after. Jason is doing such a great job as a dad. He is holding him all the time, when my Mom isn't. I don't fear Will getting a flat spot on his head, because he is never laying on it! My Mom is having a great time being a grandma. She is singing all the old songs from when I was little, even though some are slightly non-PC nowadays. Songs such as "Mammys Little Baby" seem slightly wrong in today's society, but he may not remember them, so I let her do it. All in all, I have never had such highs and lows in one week. But all the pain, and emotional turmoil is completely worth it when you see him grin in his sleep or he sighs his sweet little sighs after a good burp.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

The first day at home.....



The first day at home has been filled with feeding, sleeping, and changing diapers, as all first days should be. He is a perfect little miracle and we are falling madly in love with him. The cousins came over and Alessandra was thrilled with this new guy. Gabriella was some what interested, but basically more interested in learning to walk. Solon and Andrea brought lunch which was lovely. They were impressed with the newest little Simmons. Jason's brother is coming tomorrow so that will be great to have another visitor. My mom got in last night and I got 2 naps today of about an hour and a half, so that felt great! I am still very sore, but it helps to have something else to focus on. I will write up the story tomorrow hopefully of the birth, though as each day goes, it seems less traumatic.






Jason is adjusting
perfectly to fatherhood.


Saturday, March 8, 2008

William Olen Simmons is in the building!




I can't even begin to explain all the ups and downs of the last 5 days. But, William is here, healthy, and sleeping at the moment. I will post pictures now and the story tomorrow. I ended up with a c-section and Will was born with a small mass (you can see it in the scale picture) so I am very sore and we are both very tired. But enjoy seeing our little yellow tinged bundle of joy.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

"The Time Has Come!" the Walrus said.....


We are headed out right now for the induction. We are both nervous and excited. I had one last lovely lunch out at Red Lobster and now am on clear liquids till the delivery. Wish us luck and we will post pictures as soon as we get back home!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

False Alarm

This morning, very early (1 am ) I had some very sharp pain on the front wall of my belly. I happen to know that is where my placenta is. The baby wasn't really moving much last night, but I didn't really worry too much. The pain went away, then at 5 am I woke up and tried to get the baby to respond to anything, and he wouldn't. He literally felt limp in there. It scared me to death and, of course is even scarier at 5am. I drank some OJ and got 4 little movements in 1/2 an hour. That was not enough for me. I didn't feel like I should call the Dr yet, since technically he did move, so at 9 I called the Dr and she asked that I come in to the hospital to check everything again. I was more than willing to do that. So Jason and I got up, grabbed the bags and went to the hospital. I am so happy that it ended up being a dry run because we had the camera bag, but no camera! And I forgot my pillows and my medications. Next time we will be more prepared. Everything was fine of course, just my paranoia. I know to much about what can go wrong. I wish I could just forget all the awful things I know and go into this blindly. Ignorance is bliss. So now we are back on for Tuesday at 4:30pm. By wednesday night we should have a baby. I can't wait till he is out and I can SEE that he is breathing and FEEL his pulse. I think my insurance company will be much happier too!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Update....

People requested a new picture of the last week of belly. As you can imagine this doesn't feel so hot. I had the OB appt today and we are making progress. Still having some contractions here and there. The actual induction is now scheduled for Tuesday the 4th at 5pm, so I may actually not have the baby till the 5th. I am still hoping that I may go before then but I have no real signs that it is coming any moment. We are meeting up with a friend tonight for dinner, so I don't have to cook! Hurray! I got 6 summer outfits for the baby today for 4.50 at Salvation Army. I love great deals! Thanks for all the support and prayers from everyone. I will let you all know when anything actually happens.