New Blog

Since the babe has been made, this blog has kind of run it's course. So now on to the next phase of our life:

http://thecatalanos.blogspot.com/

Birth Story Part 2

I know, I stink at updating... sorry!!!

Let me begin with something I should have said in the beginning: I have a very specific religious belief. Part of my belief is that when you pray for something, you need to actually believe it will happen. Not maybe, not hopefully, but definitely will. Even something like a pain free childbirth. Just like the author of this book, that's what I had prayed for. Keep this in mind as I finish the story.

Anyway, I have to rave about the first nurse that was in L & D when we got there. She was wonderful, patient, kind and very supportive of allowing me to have a natural child birth. I absolutely adored her.

And I was heartbroken when I hadn't yet come anywhere near pushing when her shift was over. At that point, I was at 7cm and had been in labor for nearly 24 hours.

My water bag was bulging and the next nurse on staff kept insisting that all I needed was for my water to break and I would go straight to 10cm and could begin pushing. Problem was I specifically did NOT want my membrane to be ruptured artificially. So the entire time she took care of me I was extremely uptight and scared she'd try to talk my OB into doing an AROM, throwing my body into contractions it wasn't ready for.

At 7am, after nearly 31 hours of labor, the nursing staff finally switched again. The next nurse, while not as completely wonderful as my first nurse, was so much better than the previous nurse. Before she had a chance to check my progress (something they did at the beginning of each shift) my doctor arrived. He checked and, thankfully, he did not feel my bag of water. At one point during the numerous trips up and down the L & D hallway, I had made a trip to the bathroom where my doula and I both thought my water had broke due to what we heard, but I didn't feel anything, so we disregarded it. Fortunately, we were correct and it was a membrane rupture.

He was happy to see that my water had broken on it's own, but I was only at 9cm with a small lip still present on the right side. He left and said he'd be back soon to deliver my baby.

Well... it didn't exactly happen that way.

By 2 that afternoon (while under the care of yet another nurse who I could NOT stand) I was still at 9... still had a lip. The doctor said he'd like to give me a little bit of Pitocin to finish out the dilation and effacement. After 38 hours of labor he was concerned about my exhaustion level.

My doula and I decided to kick things into high gear so we did a ton of exercises, faster paced walking and even stair climbing. I also had a mini break down where I sobbed about the labor being nothing like I expected and taking forever to progress.

By 6 or 6:30 I was in transition having intense contractions combined with stomach cramps with barely enough time to breath in between. I was also bleeding heavily which scared me beyond belief.

At this point, my nurse decided to throw a hissy fit because I insisted she let me off the bed to go to the bathroom (I only had intermittent monitoring, but at one point I had an intense stomach cramp and needed to go to the bathroom then, monitoring or no). By some sort of miracle, my wonderful, awesome first nurse was back on rotation, although she wasn't my nurse and was scheduled to be off that day. I told Husband to go get her and I asked her if I could have another nurse. I couldn't stand the other nurse and did not want her present while I was pushing.

Being the wonderful, awesome nurse she was she switched patients with the nasty nurse and came in to help me deliver. She went above and beyond the call of duty, doing everything in her power to help me not tear. I don't think I could have done it without her there with me.

The pushing was the hardest part. I wanted to give up. I was tired and I didn't have the energy to push as much or as hard as I needed to. It felt like it took forever. I was sweating, crying and completely exhausted physically and emotionally. It was 7:30 at night and I had been in labor for 43 hours. I kept asking why I was pushing if the doctor wasn't there and begging my mom to just let the baby stay in me.

After only 34 minutes of pushing, my son was born. It felt a lot longer than that, but in retrospect it was a very short time for a first birth.

After 43 1/2 hours of labor, 34 minutes of pushing and more contractions than I wish to count, my son was born on November 8, 2008 at 8:04pm weighing in at 6lb 3oz. I did tear, but only a tiny bit requiring only 2 stitches.

And yes, my entire 43 1/2 hours of labor was pain free. There were times it was intense, but it was never painful. The recovery was, by far, more painful than the labor.

Now my pregnancy journey for this baby is over. The path of motherhood, however, is just beginning.

Birth Story Part One

My son is now five days old. Since Husband is holding him and he nursed recently, I am going to attempt to take the opportunity to write out his birth story. I am still kind of processing it, so bear with me.

Friday November 7th I woke up at 12:30am with diarrhea and cramping. By 1:00 am I realized it was labor and was different from my previous contractions. I went back to bed in an attempt to sleep and prepare for what was to come. At 2:30 am I finally decided to alert Husband and asked him to go downstairs to get my watch and time the contractions. They were 4 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds. I gave up the sleeping in bed theory and went downstairs to watch some DVDs and relax. I told Husband to go back to sleep because I needed him as rested as possible... it served no purpose to have both of us exhausted. I had no choice as to whether or not I could sleep, but he did and needed to take advantage of it while he could and I would wake him when I needed him.

Somewhere around 5 or 6 I popped in the tub for a while. I figured if a hot bath stopped the labor, then it was obviously more false labor. After 30 minutes and about 5 contractions, I confirmed to myself it was the real thing. Knowing my mom was up and getting ready for work, I went next door and told her she could go into work if she wanted, but I may be calling her to come home early. She decided to go, but was on high alert.

By this time I had already been in labor for nearly seven hours. Things were progressing, but still nothing that made me feel I needed to go to the hospital, wake Husband or call my doula. I did, however, decide to eat and made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat toast.

I already had an appointment with my OB scheduled for 1:45 pm (the appointment was to discuss induction) so I called to cancel the appointment and told them that I was in active labor and would call when I felt I needed to go to the hospital. They talked me into coming in anyway. In addition to Husband, our doula and my mom accompanied me to my appointment since we were all pretty much assuming I'd be sent straight to the hospital. And I was. He checked me and said I was abot 5 cm dilated and called the hospital to make all the arrangements and let his partner, who was the doctor on call, know I was coming up.

Since 5 cm isn't very much for someone hoping to avoid medical intervention, we all went to a local park and did laps around it for a while then got something to eat before heading to the hospital around 5:00 pm.

To be continued...

41 weeks 1 day

I'm in active labor. I've been contracting since 12:30 am without it stopping. Had some more bleeding. Contractions are 4 - 5 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute.

At some point today, I should have my baby in my arms.

40 weeks 5 days

Again, recording for posterity (and so I can accurately remember how this all went during my next pregnancy). Feel free to disregard anything I'm saying here :-)

Tonight has brought about a lot of pressure, cramping and some of that same sharp pain. It's also included further loss of the mucus plug (no doubt this time) just a little over 4 days since my bloody show.

I've been spending lots of time draped on my birthing ball and squatting to make sure the baby gets in the right position. Tomorrow morning I have another chiropractor appointment (I had one last night and one on Friday... trying to encourage the little guy to move on out) so perhaps a little adjustment from him will be the button that needs pushed.

I don't feel a ton of strong contractions, nothing really momentous from that end, but I am seeing signs of progress, so that's enough for me right now. I'm just trying to relax and get into a place of calmness and peace to let my body do what it needs to do.

Hopefully, I'll be holding my little boy soon and can just avoid any hint of drama that may arise at Friday's appointment.

40 weeks 3 days

I am realizing people say some pretty interesting things to women who are have gone past their due date. Here is a helpful list of things NOT to say to such a woman:

• "Still pregnant?!?!?!" Said with varying levels of incredulity. I think the entire lack of a child in my arms is a pretty good indicator.
• "My aunt/cousin/niece/sister/random stranger did X and had her baby within 24 hours." If I wanted a sure fire way to have my child, I'd take the pitocin evil on-call OB would so willingly offer me. And if/when I want a natural induction, I'll ask for help or consult on-call midwife.
• Please do not correct me, especially about something trivial. I am tired, cranky, worried and all other sorts of emotions, I just need to rant sometimes without being corrected.
• "If you drop any further, he will be between your knees!" I am carrying him, I know exactly how low he is. Trust me.
• "I went three weeks past my due date with my first." Not helpful. Really not helpful.
• Any comment on my size. Any. I know I don't have a very large belly. I know I haven't gained a lot of weight with this baby, but both the doctors and I are confident based on his size and heart rate that he is healthy and the other numbers really don't count.
• "He'll come when he is ready." No, really? DUH!
• "He's waiting for the Steeler game/the election/some other specific day." Really? Have you been consulting with my still-in-utero child without my knowledge? Nice to know he talks more to random people than he does to the woman who has carried him for the past nine months and contributed half of his DNA.
• "Maybe your due date is wrong." I have been using NFP for many years now, I know how to chart. Beyond that, I know I ovulated on February 7th. In case you need it taken one step further, coitus: 2/7 at 1:30 pm, ovulation: 2/7 at 4:30 pm. I know my due date.

There are more, but these are the only ones I've encountered recently. Stay tuned for more rants from the preggo chick ;-)

40 weeks 2 days

Still here. Slightly more happy.

Let me explain the "worst birth ever" comment because it sounds terrible rereading that. I have raved before about my fantastic OBs and I will continue to stand firm in my adoration of them... but I've found a dent in their shining armor. Apparently something happened unexpectedly and this weekend they are both going to be out of town. So another practice is covering for them. You can already see where this is going right?

The other practice contains 5 doctors. Out of the five, I've heard good things (although their reputation isn't as natural birth friendly as my current practice, they are better than most). One of them I've heard horrible things about. He and my doula specifically had an issue (the issue being he threw her certification paperwork back in her face). And out of all five doctors guess which one is on call this weekend? Yep, you got it. The doula-hating, cesarean promoting, anti-natural birth doctor. This guy really is the epitome of all things wrong with obstetrics.

So I had a melt-down. A melt-down I was proud to have controlled as well as I actually did, but still a melt-down that ended in a frantic call to my doula explaining the situation.

Which brings me to the section of this post titled "Why Every Woman Needs A Doula". If my labor starts this weekend and I truly do not feel like I can call my OBs answering service, I will have a midwife as back-up to deliver my baby at home. This midwife began practicing after I was already under prenatal care with my OB and, due mostly to Husband's slight apprehension at homebirth, I decided to just stay with my practice. But with the current situation, after being informed of the particular doctor's personality, she agreed to be my back-up care. So the situation I thought could lead to the worst birth ever may actually give me the birth I've desired (although I am completely unprepared for!).

Oh and since I mentioned Husband's homebirth apprehension, I should add a tidbit about him. I've been gently informing him of the benefits of natural childbirth, homebirth, minimal medical intervention, non-circumcision, exclusive breastfeeding, etc for years now. I've converted him on many things, but homebirth concerned him and he still felt that a hospital and a doctor's care was the best place to be for birth. The other day he looks at me and says, "Our doctors aren't big on inducing, right?" After assuring him that one big reason I chose them is because they are NOT fans of induction, he said, "Oh good because inducing labor raises the chance of a c-section and the only reason doctors like to do c-sections are because they make a lot more money." Now, this is NOT new information to me, but it is new that Husband is listening to me and not being as blindingly trusting of medical staff.

After telling Husband about the possibility of a homebirth, he expressed some concerns, but I informed him that the doctor on call was exactly the kind of doctor who would induce and would wind up performing a c-section on me because he cares more about the bottom line financially and being in total control of a situation than he is about me or the baby. So he is now not opposed to a homebirth... if this weekend requires it.

And our second baby will be born at home. :-)

40 weeks 1 day

I am overdue. I am not happy.

I've been having these stupid meaningless contractions for a week now that aren't doing a whole lot other than getting my hopes up.

And I can't give birth this weekend (long story) so either I stay pregnant for another three days or I have the worst birth ever.

Please, God, let this baby come today!

39 weeks 3 days

In case I forget any details later, I need to write this down. Really more for my benefit than anything else!

I think I am in active labor. I am very nauseous, sick in multiple ways, having a lot of cramps and they have been lasting a lot longer than they were a couple of days ago.

I've been having contractions on and off for days now, but this is the first time it's really lasting and becoming meaningful.

Hopefully this kid isn't just messing with my emotions here!

39 weeks

So after a crazy week (which included those silly on and off contractions that make me think something is really going down just to stop on their own), I saw the doctor today. After reporting the contractions and the discharge (I think I'm one of those women who lose their mucous plug slowly instead of all at once), he decided to do an internal check. At my practice, they rarely do internals because A) it is uncomfortable and B) you can be 1 cm for a while and it really not mean anything, so why get your hopes up, but my symptoms warranted a check.

Speaking of 1 cm, I am just a little over 1 cm, he said being liberal he'd say 2, but still nothing major. I am thrilled that there is something going on down there though. If I was completely closed, I'd be a little disappointed. I am also slightly effaced. Again, nothing huge, but proof that something is gonna happen.

Tomorrow is Husband's last day of work until January! He decided all on his own to take 2 months off when the baby is born (he is taking the last week of October off as his vacation). He said he wants to get adjusted to having a baby and help me get in the groove of breastfeeding and being a SAH/WAH mom. Yeah, big "awwww" moment for me there :-D Now, if I can convince him to use some of this time off to finish a few projects around the house, we will be in really good shape ;-)

Today I plan to put all the freshly laundered bedding on the crib, put away all his nicely cleaned clothes and get all his stuffed animals set up in their cradle. I also want to get the diapers washed and put away in the stacker. If I have enough time before our childbirth class, I'd like to get the pack and play put up in the living room as well, but we shall see what this evening brings!

Speaking of childbirth class, this will be our second one and my skeptical Husband was very happy to know we have a doula after going through the first class. And when speaking to his one friend who asked about our lamaze class, he said, "We aren't doing lamaze, we are doing HUSBAND involved childbirth." He loves being such an important part of it and actually paid attention the entire time! I was so impressed!

Now, off to complete a few errands before tackling the rest of these projects.

38 weeks 3 days

I need to be more consistent with the picture taking thing, I may not have many more opportunities.

38 weeks 2 days

This morning I realized that one way or another this pregnancy isn't going to last much longer.

It's exciting to know my son will be here soon, but it's kind of sad in a way too. Right now, he is all mine. Every movement, every stretch, every wiggle, every hiccup is something only he and I can feel. I don't have to share him with anyone. It's like we live in our own little world where it's just me and my boy.

Once he arrives, that won't be the case. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled I have a very involved husband who wants to spend tons of time with the baby and who is able to take so much time off work to be with us, but I know that Husband is going to want to be with him a lot and hold him constantly. There won't be that consistent "alone time" for he and I.

So this morning I decided that, instead of getting out of bed and doing one of the ten million things on my to-do list, I would lay there and just enjoy feeling him roll and wiggle. I wanted to just cherish a few quiet moments alone with him.

And now, I am even more anxious to hold him finally.

37 weeks 2 days

I am term. At any point now, this little guy could be born and his lungs and brain would be well developed and, in all likelihood, have no problems. That is a comfort for someone who has spent her entire 9 months petrified of losing another baby.

I've become one of those frivolous moms. I bought him a Thanksgiving outfit. I can't help it! I went to BRU with the express interest of buying his Christmas present which happened to be on sale this weekend. And I was sucked into the cuteness of the Thanksgiving clothes and I wasn't strong enough to resist.

Tonight is going to consist of finishing the faux finish on the wall in the baby's room. Tomorrow Husband is going to put up the chair rail and my mom and I will hang the gossamer and lights. Hopefully I can even get the floor at least vacuumed so it is ready for the shampooing. Then I can put Husband to work this week assembling the crib and moving the dresser into his room. If all goes well, by next weekend his room should be all done!

Pictures are sure to follow.

36 weeks, 6 days

Of note:

• I hate heartburn
• My child loves Brian Setzer Orchestra
• We got the blue Bumbo!!
• I am GBS negative
• I have eaten poorly this week
• I have to get weighed tomorrow
• I think I may have had a couple of contractions

That is all :-)

36 weeks 3 days

Remember that 17 lbs above pre pregnancy weight thing? Umm, yeah, not so much. As of last visit I was 13 lbs above pre preg weight.

You must be saying, "But wait, in your last trimester, especially your last month, you are supposed to just gain." Ahh, but I am not your average bear! In one week I lost a pound and the following week I lost 3 more. Upshot of it all? Doctor doesn't care one bit. I'm very thankful I chose a small practice with laid back personnel. And since I feed them most times I come, they love me :-) I'm glad he doesn't care because I was a little concerned even though I'm a firm believer in not holding women to unrealistic guidelines.

I've loved being pregnant. I've loved every minute of it. But I am beginning to understand why women say they are ready. I feel ready for him to come. Not ready in the sense my house is ready. Not ready in the sense that his clothes are ready. Not ready in the sense that I feel like "mom", but ready in the sense that I am physically ready to not be pregnant. I'm ready to hold him, cuddle him, nurse him and love him.

This week has brought about some undesirable pregnancy side effects. I've had more swelling. Only in my feet and only yesterday after being on them all day walking around a festival. I've had heartburn. I've never had heartburn in my life so I actually had to ask someone what heartburn felt like to be sure it is what I was experiencing. This is the first time my doula has asked me how I am and I've replied in the negative.

Yes, I'm very ready.

36 weeks

If my husband survives this pregnancy, I suggest someone nominate him for sainthood. Our house currently contains 144 rolls of toilet paper, 36 rolls of paper towels, 5 bottles of body wash for myself, 5 bottles of dh's body wash, 25 bars of soap, 10 bottles of hand soap, 21 boxes of tissues, 5 bottles of shampoo for me, 5 bottles of shampoo for dh, 3 cans of shaving creams for me, 3 for dh, dozens of razors and innumerable boxes of easy to prepare food and cans upon cans of tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes. No, I am not kidding. Yes, pregnancy is making me neurotic. My mother walked in the house today and surveyed the massive amount of bags scattered around my kitchen floor as I was putting all these items away (the same scene she had just witnessed a couple of weeks ago when I bought a bunch of other "necessities") and just shook her head. She also asked if I was preparing for Armageddon or just going crazy. :-)

The swing we attempted to purchase last weekend finally came in so I was able to pick that up as well as a few choice items from the clearance racks at Babies R Us. The Bumbo, however, has still not arrived. Grrrr. Blasted pink Bumbos are in abundance, not the blue ones!

The baby book obsession is a little out of control. Every time I enter BRU, I have to avoid the left side of the store because I will easily try to buy a hundred dollars worth of books. And this is despite the fact that I already own a million children's books.

Okay, the hospital bags are packed for dh and myself, the car seat and stroller are assembled and in the car. The cradle is all set up in our bedroom. Several of his toys have been assembled and are waiting for him to arrive to play with them. And Grammy even has a bassinet set up at her house for when he is visiting and needs a nap. Daddy took the old pack n' play downstairs for when they are spending "cave time" together.

A few more finished touches in the nursery and we will be ready for our little boy.

Oh and his name is set in stone. Not sure if I ever mentioned that before, but the great name debate of 2008 has been settled and we have a few personalized items to prove it. :-)

35 weeks 2 days

I should title this one "oh my word, my baby is coming."

I have one month left. One. A singular month until my son is in my arms. Okay, so the technical month time line is still 2 days away, but you get the jist... it's close!

In medical news: At our appointment I got a major commendation from the NP. She said my weight is fantastic (17 lbs above pre preg weight), B/P perfect (100/60) and I look great. She also said she expects me to leave the hospital weighing less than before I got pregnant based on where I am now. I was told Baby A is head down and is dropping. We are now down to weekly OB visits! Yikes!

We spent the day spending a bunch of our gift cards at Babies R' Us. Much to my chagrin, the two main things we wanted were on backorder. We got a rain check for one and the other *should* be in in about two weeks. Ya know, right before my kid is due. I know I don't need it immediately after he's born, but still, I am a "be prepared" kind of chick.

Today I rearranged the bedroom and set up his cradle, put the sheet on and the spiffy blankey made by his Grammy (my mom) so he has at least one place to sleep and it's right next to his Momma. And I was able to arrange it so that our first baby (ya know, the furry one on four legs) won't have to give up the window she so loves to stare out.

I also packed my bag and a bag for dh and I plan to keep both of those in my vehicle as well. The only thing I want to get is some snacks for dh. I don't mind him having snacks there (I know some women do mind) and I would rather pack stuff for him than have him leave to track down food in the cafeteria when I really need him.

Tomorrow the plan is to clean out my vehicle and get the car seat all hooked up. Because, you know, he is coming. In a month.

Dude, I'm gonna be a mom!

35 weeks

I wanted to update sooner, but things have been NUTS here! Thus my computer time has been severely limited.

In news: I had my shower! It was fantastic! There were a ton of people there and we got so much awesome stuff! I feel so blessed that so many people love Baby A this much already. I also had numerous people BEG for the privilege of babysitting A when he is born. I love being surrounded by such a fantastic, loving, compassionate group of friends and family.

I will be updating my myspace page soon with pics of all our gifts, but the reality is, it will take a while to take pictures of them all because we have some very generous people in our lives.

In making-everyone-want-to-gag-news: I LOVE being pregnant! I love, love, love being pregnant. I have been so fortunate to have a very easy pregnancy and even now, with only a handful of weeks to go, I feel fantastic! At this point, I would happily have 10 kids. I can only hope and pray that my labor, delivery and parenting my son will be as good as my pregnancy has been. I was concerned my lack of "symptomatology" was a bad sign that I would lose this baby as well, but now I believe I am just extremely fortunate to be a woman who is able to handle the hormone influx well, gain the baby weight slowly, carry the baby more on the inside so I have a smaller belly and is just plain happy pregnant! Not only has the conception of this child been an answer to my prayers, this pregnancy has been a miracle that I don't take lightly.

31 weeks, 3 days

A week of confessions:

• I ate tuna fish. I have strictly avoided tuna fish since my pregnancy began and only had been eating it VERY sparingly while we were TTC. I know logically that you're allowed a certain amount of tuna fish, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and just avoid it all. However temptation overtook me this week and I had a 6 inch tuna sub on toasted wheat bread with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and ground black pepper. It was the best sandwich I've had in a long, long time. Oh, and based on the level of activity after I ate said sandwich, Baby A loves tuna too.
  
• I ate soft cheese. Again, I've avoided it completely (even forsaking my beloved Fuji Apple Chicken Salad at Panera's) during my pregnancy. I've done absolutely everything I could to ensure I have a healthy pregnancy and have shunned all those "naughty" foods. But this week was a bad week and I couldn't resist the sound of the Third Street Salad when we ate at Max & Erma's Friday night. And let me tell you, it tastes even better than it sounds.
  
• My nursery is still undone. Well, we have cleaned it out, we have purchased the paint, the crib, the mattress, the dresser, the bookcase, the gossamer and the chair rail, but it is still unassembled. I keep getting antsy about it and have to calm myself and remember that while eight weeks seems like such a short time, Husband and BIL can get the painting, chair rail and crib assembly done in a day. Probably also hanging the gossamer, cutting and hanging the wood valances in another day. And it will take me all of five minutes to put his bedding on and hang the curtains. So in one weekend we could probably have the nursery done. I just really wish this weekend had been the weekend.

30 weeks 3 days

Am I nesting? You be the judge.

Husband rented a large dumpster to get rid of the mattress and boxsprings in our future nursery and some other various items. In one day, I have halfway filled said dumpster with various things from our linen closet, laundry room and bedroom. And I don't mean big items, I mean normal stuff, just tons of junk.

I've scrubbed out my refrigerator. From top to bottom, pulled it out and scrubbed behind it as well.

I have my third load of laundry going since 1:00pm.

I had Husband move out the washing machine and dryer so I could vacuum and scrub behind them.

I threw away three bags of clothes.

And it's currently 3:30pm.

Yeah, I think I am firmly entrenched in the nesting phase :-) My OCD Husband loves it!