Mina Marmonti Anderson
Jan. 22nd, 2012 04:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancerjodiI'm being lazy and copying Brian's LJ post to share our birth story. Warning, there's some gross, labor related stuff in here.
"BABY!!!
Today was the big day!
Below is my log of what happened, so we don't forget. It won't really be well written, but that's not the point.
At around 3AM on 1/16 the contractions started. Erratic, sometimes close together, sometimes 20+ minutes apart.
I went to work, Jodi stayed home.
By the time I got home from work it had tapered off again. I made us dinner, then we sat in the living room.
Things got really active around 10:30 PM or so. By 11:47 we got to where our little cheat sheet said to call the hospital.
We did, and after chatting with Jodi for a while they decided she should stay home for a while longer.
[My contractions were 5 minutes apart at this point, but I could converse easily between them (not at all during them). The midwife told me that since it was a first baby and I still seemed to be calm/conversational between the contractions, I still had a long way to go. She gave me some different things to try for comfort - different positions, getting in the tub, shower, etc. We tried them, and nothing worked. I was shaking like crazy but not cold. I got violently, violently ill at one point - so much so that the capillaries on my face all burst. In addition to a rash and swollen face and huge bags under my eyes I now had all red marks on my face from the burst capillaries. So awful. :/ ]
At around 3:30AM we called again, and this time headed in. While on the road Jodi called her mom, who was going to be with us in the delivery room.
[Brian made me call back the second time, because things were so out of control. I had been sick. At this point I had bleeding hemorrhoids. No water breaking yet. Contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and nothing I could do could get them relief. He insisted on calling and taking me to the hospital, no matter what the midwife said. She said I was welcome to come in whenever I wanted to, if I felt safer and said she'd see us there, but she seemed disappointed. It took us a bit to get out of the house. We were ready to go, but I could only walk a couple of feet before I had to stop and deal with a contraction].
Arrived at hospital, got checked out, admitted and it was on!
There was a birth plan written out that said she would hold off on drugs if possible. By the time we got there it wasn't possible, so it was straight to the epidural.
[They checked me to see if I was OK to admit, and at that point I was 100% effaced and 5 cm dialated. The midwife was impressed and told me that I did most of the hard work at home, and that when we had first called she thought I was much further behind given how well I was handling the contractions. I was shaking like crazy and couldn't control it, and my butt muscles were super tight. The midwife was an old Waltham person who used to dance at my dance studio, and she joked that all of Miss Peggy's training about keeping my butt muscles tight was not going to help me in this adventure].
Lots of waiting, contractions, waiting. At one point they brought a cot into the room for me, since there wasn't really anything I could do I might as well sleep. I nodded off for about 2 hours, then was back up and trying to be useful.
[Once I was drugged up they wanted me to try and rest - at this point I had not slept at all for 2 days and would need a lot of energy to get through the rest of labor. Oh my god - yay drugs! I am so glad that I accepted them. The nurses and midwife were great, and around 7/8 the shift changed to the folks that would help me through the birth. My water never broke so she couldn't come down enough, so they ended up breaking it for me (didn't feel it at all). Once I was closer to 10 cm dilated, they turned down the epidural a bit so that I could feel things enough to push effectively. This was what scared me. I wanted the pain relief but was nervous about pushing well (particularly given that my butt muscles were so tight earlier in the night). It came time to push, and Brian was up by my head smoothing out my hair and holding my hand. Mom had a foot or knee, a nurse had the other, there was a student nurse there and the midwife. I pushed for an hour (which they told me was super strong and fast for a first baby). The midwife commented on my flexibility and when my Mom laughed and told her I was a dancer, she said that it made a lot of sense. I could feel what was happening but it didn't hurt me at all - amazing. I didn't even get the ring of fire kind of sensation. I didn't know this until much later, but I pushed so hard at one point that I burst a vessel or something in my eye . . . the white of one eye on the left of my pupil filled with blood. I had no clue, but Brian and my Mom saw it happen live and in person. They didn't tell me until a couple of hours late. Just what I needed, more scary on my face.]
Eventually we got to where the pushing started... around 11:30AM. That part of things went along for around an hour, when suddenly there was a baby!
She came out with a thick head of dark hair, and already nice and pink and baby looking... no creepy grey scaly babies here!
[I almost couldn't believe it when it happened, because I felt that we'd never get there. I didn't believe the midwife when she kept saying "you're almost there honey, give it another good one". She pooped all over me when she came out, but they cleaned her enough and put her on my chest. Brian, my Mom and I were all sobbing like crazy at that point; the most emotional moment of my life. They cleaned me up, got out my placenta, and then the midwife commented that I apparently had a tiny tear (she didn't think I had). It was so small that she debated if I needed stitches or not. She decided to put some in - they'd dissolve in 10 or so days.]
They put her on Jodi's chest for about 15 minutes or so before cutting the cord and taking her over to be weighed / cleaned up / etc... We still don't know the length. The pediatrician will measure her tomorrow at her checkup.
[She was 7.4 pounds and 19.5" long. A long, lean baby with long legs, arms, fingers and toes. Looks just like I did but not a fatty like I was].
We waited in the delivery room until Jodi's legs worked again, then moved to the room we'll be staying in until Thursday morning.
[My right leg stayed numb for quite a while, but they were able to get me into a wheelchair to the postpartum room. It was so numb that I had to ask Brian to put my foot up on the bed (I could wiggle toes and move it around but didn't have the strength to put it up on the bed). The epidural can also cause women to have issues getting control of their bladder back. You don't have an 'accident', you just can't pee at all (and they need to insert a cath). After an hour in our postpartum room, all of a sudden I had to pee NOW, but I was terrified of this prospect. The nurse helped me to the bathroom and I was able to go, quite a bit because it was full. Not a lot of pain and the nurse helped me use the squeezy bottle with warm water and pad myself up with an ice pack and the infamous mesh hospital underwear. Oh heaven. They told me they were impressed that I was able to do this so quickly].
Our first dinner experience in the hospital was quite sad. We didn't get what we ordered, it was cold, and not very tasty. Ah well. The cafeteria actually has tasty food, so I might just get us meals from there tomorrow.
[For the most part we got the hospital food. I was ravenous after delivery as I had lost all of the food in my system at home while laboring. My lunch in the labor and delivery room was good (a turkey sandwich), our dinners that night bad. The breakfasts were good, they always messed up some order or another, but overall the food was decent].
Right now Mina is having her dinner, and we are marveling at the fact that we brought a new person into the world. "
[This was just such an amazing experience. I'm tired but I feel great, and can't believe my body birthed a baby less than a week ago. Once my legs weren't numb anymore, I moved around well. My belly was almost normal! I didn't have a lot of pain and the bleeding was less than I expected. Things were moving in and out of my body more easily than I expected. I'm not overdoing it, resting at home and all, but I'm still pretty pumped at how I weathered this experience. I know I'm in good shape, have a lot of strength, flexibility and endurance. I felt like a wimp at first for going for the epidural, but I am so, so glad that I did given my lack of sleep/energy at that point. I really think it is why I felt so great coming out of it.
Taking a shower and putting my own clothes on the day after delivery was just heaven. Seeing family on delivery day, friends the day after and going home the day after (with some help from Mom for the first two days) was a nice transition. We've been alone with her over the weekend and Mom will be back tomorrow for the day. We've seen the Pedi already and will go back at the 2 week mark. I'm getting a visiting nurse tomorrow (insurance covers the visit, why not) and hope to get some nursing advice. She latches great, my milk is coming in well. I have sore/cracked and mildly bleeding nipples, but friends all over are sharing their similar woes, and saying in a week or so I should feel much better.
I am in so much love with my husband. He has been amazing, and it is indescribable to see him with our daughter, and how kind and helpful and loving he has been toward me. I am so glad to have these 2 precious weeks with him at home before he goes back to work. I will miss him so much when he enters 'normal' life again.
And our little Mina. Everyone says it is just amazing and you can't imagine it until it happens to you. Those people are right. I would do anything for our little monkey girl. I'm enjoying slowing experiencing new things with her as the days go by.
"BABY!!!
Today was the big day!
Below is my log of what happened, so we don't forget. It won't really be well written, but that's not the point.
At around 3AM on 1/16 the contractions started. Erratic, sometimes close together, sometimes 20+ minutes apart.
I went to work, Jodi stayed home.
By the time I got home from work it had tapered off again. I made us dinner, then we sat in the living room.
Things got really active around 10:30 PM or so. By 11:47 we got to where our little cheat sheet said to call the hospital.
We did, and after chatting with Jodi for a while they decided she should stay home for a while longer.
[My contractions were 5 minutes apart at this point, but I could converse easily between them (not at all during them). The midwife told me that since it was a first baby and I still seemed to be calm/conversational between the contractions, I still had a long way to go. She gave me some different things to try for comfort - different positions, getting in the tub, shower, etc. We tried them, and nothing worked. I was shaking like crazy but not cold. I got violently, violently ill at one point - so much so that the capillaries on my face all burst. In addition to a rash and swollen face and huge bags under my eyes I now had all red marks on my face from the burst capillaries. So awful. :/ ]
At around 3:30AM we called again, and this time headed in. While on the road Jodi called her mom, who was going to be with us in the delivery room.
[Brian made me call back the second time, because things were so out of control. I had been sick. At this point I had bleeding hemorrhoids. No water breaking yet. Contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and nothing I could do could get them relief. He insisted on calling and taking me to the hospital, no matter what the midwife said. She said I was welcome to come in whenever I wanted to, if I felt safer and said she'd see us there, but she seemed disappointed. It took us a bit to get out of the house. We were ready to go, but I could only walk a couple of feet before I had to stop and deal with a contraction].
Arrived at hospital, got checked out, admitted and it was on!
There was a birth plan written out that said she would hold off on drugs if possible. By the time we got there it wasn't possible, so it was straight to the epidural.
[They checked me to see if I was OK to admit, and at that point I was 100% effaced and 5 cm dialated. The midwife was impressed and told me that I did most of the hard work at home, and that when we had first called she thought I was much further behind given how well I was handling the contractions. I was shaking like crazy and couldn't control it, and my butt muscles were super tight. The midwife was an old Waltham person who used to dance at my dance studio, and she joked that all of Miss Peggy's training about keeping my butt muscles tight was not going to help me in this adventure].
Lots of waiting, contractions, waiting. At one point they brought a cot into the room for me, since there wasn't really anything I could do I might as well sleep. I nodded off for about 2 hours, then was back up and trying to be useful.
[Once I was drugged up they wanted me to try and rest - at this point I had not slept at all for 2 days and would need a lot of energy to get through the rest of labor. Oh my god - yay drugs! I am so glad that I accepted them. The nurses and midwife were great, and around 7/8 the shift changed to the folks that would help me through the birth. My water never broke so she couldn't come down enough, so they ended up breaking it for me (didn't feel it at all). Once I was closer to 10 cm dilated, they turned down the epidural a bit so that I could feel things enough to push effectively. This was what scared me. I wanted the pain relief but was nervous about pushing well (particularly given that my butt muscles were so tight earlier in the night). It came time to push, and Brian was up by my head smoothing out my hair and holding my hand. Mom had a foot or knee, a nurse had the other, there was a student nurse there and the midwife. I pushed for an hour (which they told me was super strong and fast for a first baby). The midwife commented on my flexibility and when my Mom laughed and told her I was a dancer, she said that it made a lot of sense. I could feel what was happening but it didn't hurt me at all - amazing. I didn't even get the ring of fire kind of sensation. I didn't know this until much later, but I pushed so hard at one point that I burst a vessel or something in my eye . . . the white of one eye on the left of my pupil filled with blood. I had no clue, but Brian and my Mom saw it happen live and in person. They didn't tell me until a couple of hours late. Just what I needed, more scary on my face.]
Eventually we got to where the pushing started... around 11:30AM. That part of things went along for around an hour, when suddenly there was a baby!
She came out with a thick head of dark hair, and already nice and pink and baby looking... no creepy grey scaly babies here!
[I almost couldn't believe it when it happened, because I felt that we'd never get there. I didn't believe the midwife when she kept saying "you're almost there honey, give it another good one". She pooped all over me when she came out, but they cleaned her enough and put her on my chest. Brian, my Mom and I were all sobbing like crazy at that point; the most emotional moment of my life. They cleaned me up, got out my placenta, and then the midwife commented that I apparently had a tiny tear (she didn't think I had). It was so small that she debated if I needed stitches or not. She decided to put some in - they'd dissolve in 10 or so days.]
They put her on Jodi's chest for about 15 minutes or so before cutting the cord and taking her over to be weighed / cleaned up / etc... We still don't know the length. The pediatrician will measure her tomorrow at her checkup.
[She was 7.4 pounds and 19.5" long. A long, lean baby with long legs, arms, fingers and toes. Looks just like I did but not a fatty like I was].
We waited in the delivery room until Jodi's legs worked again, then moved to the room we'll be staying in until Thursday morning.
[My right leg stayed numb for quite a while, but they were able to get me into a wheelchair to the postpartum room. It was so numb that I had to ask Brian to put my foot up on the bed (I could wiggle toes and move it around but didn't have the strength to put it up on the bed). The epidural can also cause women to have issues getting control of their bladder back. You don't have an 'accident', you just can't pee at all (and they need to insert a cath). After an hour in our postpartum room, all of a sudden I had to pee NOW, but I was terrified of this prospect. The nurse helped me to the bathroom and I was able to go, quite a bit because it was full. Not a lot of pain and the nurse helped me use the squeezy bottle with warm water and pad myself up with an ice pack and the infamous mesh hospital underwear. Oh heaven. They told me they were impressed that I was able to do this so quickly].
Our first dinner experience in the hospital was quite sad. We didn't get what we ordered, it was cold, and not very tasty. Ah well. The cafeteria actually has tasty food, so I might just get us meals from there tomorrow.
[For the most part we got the hospital food. I was ravenous after delivery as I had lost all of the food in my system at home while laboring. My lunch in the labor and delivery room was good (a turkey sandwich), our dinners that night bad. The breakfasts were good, they always messed up some order or another, but overall the food was decent].
Right now Mina is having her dinner, and we are marveling at the fact that we brought a new person into the world. "
[This was just such an amazing experience. I'm tired but I feel great, and can't believe my body birthed a baby less than a week ago. Once my legs weren't numb anymore, I moved around well. My belly was almost normal! I didn't have a lot of pain and the bleeding was less than I expected. Things were moving in and out of my body more easily than I expected. I'm not overdoing it, resting at home and all, but I'm still pretty pumped at how I weathered this experience. I know I'm in good shape, have a lot of strength, flexibility and endurance. I felt like a wimp at first for going for the epidural, but I am so, so glad that I did given my lack of sleep/energy at that point. I really think it is why I felt so great coming out of it.
Taking a shower and putting my own clothes on the day after delivery was just heaven. Seeing family on delivery day, friends the day after and going home the day after (with some help from Mom for the first two days) was a nice transition. We've been alone with her over the weekend and Mom will be back tomorrow for the day. We've seen the Pedi already and will go back at the 2 week mark. I'm getting a visiting nurse tomorrow (insurance covers the visit, why not) and hope to get some nursing advice. She latches great, my milk is coming in well. I have sore/cracked and mildly bleeding nipples, but friends all over are sharing their similar woes, and saying in a week or so I should feel much better.
I am in so much love with my husband. He has been amazing, and it is indescribable to see him with our daughter, and how kind and helpful and loving he has been toward me. I am so glad to have these 2 precious weeks with him at home before he goes back to work. I will miss him so much when he enters 'normal' life again.
And our little Mina. Everyone says it is just amazing and you can't imagine it until it happens to you. Those people are right. I would do anything for our little monkey girl. I'm enjoying slowing experiencing new things with her as the days go by.
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Date: 2012-01-24 12:24 am (UTC)Much love!