Saturday, October 04, 2008

Baby, oh baby!




I actually have a free minute, and two free hands to type this - a miracle!

Bambino (who needs a good internet nickname) was born Friday, September 19th, at 10:20 pm. She was 9 lbs, 1 oz and 21.5 inches long. 

Quick birth story - on Tuesday the 16th, I was sent for a sono by my doctor. Sono showed baby weighed around 9 lbs. I was a bit nervous, since they had earlier said that she'd be 7.5 lbs. Big difference.
Dr. visit on Wednesday - doctor walked into the exam room and said "How about tonight?" Yikes. So not prepared for that. We opted to wait until Friday morning (when I said "How much bigger could she get in two days? Haha" doctor didn't reply. Gulp). 
Spent most of (OK, all of) Wednesday night and Thursday freaking out. Put hubby in charge of telling/talking to everyone so I could freak out. 
Friday, 3 am - called hospital to see if a bed was free. No room in the inn. Back to bed.
Friday, 6:30 am - called again. C'mon down! 
Friday 7:30 am - arrive hospital. Sign forms, get IV.
Friday 9 am - Pitocin started. 1 cm dilated, 75% effaced. Can see contractions on the monitor, but wouldn't know I was having them if I wasn't watching the screen. They just feel like baby trying to force her way out butt first through my belly button.
Friday 2 pm - Dr. comes in  - still at 1 cm - and breaks water (bizarre feeling!) to "get things moving." Now I can feel contractions and they don't feel nice
Friday 4:30ish - ask for pain relief (to my dismay). We decide to do epidural as dr is going into a c-section and won't be able to do it later soon. Hurts like heck. Epidural does not stop pain. Dr. returns to up dosage. About 30 minutes later pain relief kicks in. I'm at 2 cm.
Friday 5:30ish - my doctor leaves, I meet on-call doctor. I'm at nearly 3 cm. I get told to take a nap. Haha.
Friday 8 ish - They put in an internal monitor to see if the pitocin is making me contract "effectively." Still at 3cm.
Friday 9:30 - I'm contracting "right", but my body does not want baby coming out the "right" way. Doctor says I can stay on the pitocin and keep waiting, but I've been on the drugs for 12 hours, and I've only advanced 2 cm. We discuss  c-section and decide that it is what is best for baby, to reduce the chance of an emergency c-section later. I cry a lot. I'm scared and upset that this hasn't gone the way I planned. 
Friday 10 pm - I'm whisked off to the OR. It is VERY cold in the OR. Hubby arrives about 10:15. 
Friday 10:20 - She's out! 10 fingers and toes. Beautiful.

In the end, we had a healthy baby, regardless of how I wanted things to go. The doctors and nurses were great, very sweet and patient with me. When the doctor opened me up she said "She is a big one!" We're pretty sure she was the biggest baby in the nursery. Everyone who came into our room said "So you're the one who had the 9 pounder!" It was a bit like being a celebrity, in a bizarre way. 

We stayed in the hospital until Sunday night. I was very sore and very frustrated that I needed so much help when we got home. Nursing was tough for several days, but we seem to have it down now. She's not sleeping unless she's being held, hence the lack of blog post. But we took her to bed with us, and we all slept last night, even if it wasn't through the night. Praise the lord. 

More pictures will trickle in, I'm sure, and I still have several unblogged FOs, and more projects started. No knitting for now though, until she'll let me put her down. 

Oh, and my momma won the contest, so mom, you need to think about what you want your prize to be. Thanks to all who entered. Must go relieve dad of holding duty and get ready for bed. Thank you for all your good wishes and thoughts. I'll try not to be a stranger around here!

29 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:32 PM

    I am so happy for you!!! I can't wait for our little girl. Only 7 more weeks. She has been such a pill tonight pushing and stretching and causing her mom much pain. :) I've been in tears all night. I can't wait to get her out.

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  2. Anonymous1:59 AM

    Congrats! All that matters is that she is healthy!

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  3. Congratulations, Jenn! She's just beautiful.

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  4. Anonymous5:17 AM

    Congratulations to you and your new family, Jenn! It looks like she's already smiling!!

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  5. Congratulations!! She's beautiful, Jenn. I'm so happy for you!

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  6. Anonymous5:53 AM

    Congratulations! God's blessings on your new family.

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  7. Congratulations! What a happy happy day, week, month, year!

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  8. Congratulations! She is gorgeous! Glad all are well and happy.

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  9. Congratulations!

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  10. Congratulations!! Welcome to the world Bambino.

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  11. Congratulations Jenn, she is a beauty! All the best to you and your husband. When I saw the first photo of her it reminded me of my son and thought she must be a 9 or 10 pounder. We had a 101b 10oz boy and we also had the "celebrity status" at the hospital. Funny in a way isn't it? Again she is beautiful, take care.

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  12. Congratulations! No matter how it happened you ended up with a healthy baby girl. I hope you are taking some time to heal yourself.

    Looking forward to more pictures when you have the time! (As for the not sleeping on her own, have you tried swaddling her? Kaya LOVED the Miracle Blanket.)

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  13. She's beautiful! Congratulations

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  14. Anonymous12:05 AM

    such a beautiful baby!!!!!!!! congrats on doing such a good job. :)

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  15. Congratulations on your beautiful little baby!

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  16. Ooooohhh, congratulations!!!! I'm sure the scary parts of the birth are more than worth it now. She's adorable!!!! I'm so happy for you!

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  17. Oh Jenn! Thank goodness you posted...I was getting worried! Doesn't that c-section recovery just suck?!?

    Congratulations on your amazingly beautiful little girl. She is wonderful and I am just so happy for you! And wowza, 9 pounds! My little guy is a month old and just made it to 7 lbs, 5 oz as of yesterday.

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  18. Congratulations on your beautiful girl!

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  19. She is beautiful! Great job, momma! congratulations!

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  20. Congratulations on such a beautiful baby girl. It is never the weight of the baby that counts, it is actually the size of the head. I had a 9'2 baby girl and she was the easiest labour I ever had. My son was 7'9 and the absolute hardest labour which went very painfully along. His head was a lot rounder and he didnt want to come out but eventually did. I think as long as everyone is healthy at the end it doesnt matter how the birth goes. I am sure that you will be able to move around after a while and not feel so sore too. She is a gorgeous little girl.

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  21. Jenn,

    Congrats!! She is just so cute :) Things will get easier over time...glad to hear you got some sleep!!

    Miss ya

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  22. Yaay! Welcome, baby!

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  23. Anonymous6:19 AM

    She's gorgeous! Congratulations. :)

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  24. this made me all teary! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

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  25. Congratulations! She's beautiful. Take care!

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  26. Anonymous5:23 AM

    She is so beautiful!! Nine pounds--you are superwoman! Enjoy holding her and snuggling her. Best wishes to the whole family.

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  27. Anonymous9:52 AM

    Congrats! My daughter's second child also wants to be held in order to sleep. She has found a Moby Wrap (a google search will turn up the info) to be helpful - at least she has some "hands free" time. Not a cure all, and she did need to experiment with different ways to wrap the babe, but is pleased with the results.
    Cindy in Canada

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  28. Hurray for babies!
    Congratulations.. I am glad to hear that everyone is healthy and doin well!

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  29. So cute! Congrats.

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