Elly
July 8th 03, 07:38 PM
Ericka - thank you for sharing this :-)
Take care,
Elly
entered 3rd trimester today!
27 weeks + 1 day
EDD October 6th
"Ericka Kammerer" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
>
> As I mentioned before, it was rather uneventful, but here
> goes...
>
> When I had the version on 6/21, I started having mild
> contractions that pretty much just kept going. They were more
> than BH contractions, but not all that serious either. I was
> hoping that meant labor wasn't all that far off, though! Turns
> out, I kept having them all that week and through the weekend.
> On Monday morning (6/30) they seemed more serious and kept
> coming every five minutes for hours on end, so I was hopeful
> that maybe this was going to be a June baby after all. I called
> the midwives and birth assistant to give them a heads up and
> we agreed to keep in touch. I mentioned what was going on to
> a few people who were planning to be at the birth as well, and
> two came to stay next door with my parents in the hopes of
> ensuring they wouldn't miss it. As it turned out, the contractions
> kept coming regularly, but didn't get any more serious. That
> night, they went away and I had a good night's sleep. The next
> morning, more contractions, but they were more sporadic for that
> day. Went away again at night, so another good night's sleep.
> Wednesday was a repeat of Monday, but with more intensity ;-)
> I'm getting tired of being played with by now, and two of the
> people who were hoping to be at the birth have had to leave town :-(
> Once again, contractions died down at night, so at least I'm still
> getting sleep. Thursday was a repeat of Tuesday, with a few
> contractions here and a few there throughout the day. I slept
> Thursday night, but sleep started getting more fitful and uncomfortable.
> I wasn't really feeling contractions that night (or maybe I was
> too sleepy to care), but seems something was up.
>
> On Friday morning, I got up around 7am and went downstairs.
> I left Michael sleeping and the boys had spent the night with
> my parents. Contractions got going, and they seemed to hang in
> there around every five minutes (again), but more intensity.
> They were getting to the point that rather than hoping the next
> one would come sooner, I was hoping it would take it's time ;-)
> Around 8:30 I decided that I'd call the midwives and birth
> assistant again to give them a heads up. My favorite midwife
> was on duty (yippee!). Knowing that my last labor went fast,
> and knowing she had a good hour's drive, the midwife said we
> should touch base again in an hour, but she was going to get
> packed and ready. I went and took a shower and puttered around
> a bit and contractions stayed at least as regular and intense,
> so I figured that was a good sign. After an hour, I got back
> in touch with the midwife, who said she was going to head out.
> Then I called the birth assistant, who said she'd finish what
> she was doing and head out as well.
>
> A little bit later, I woke Michael and suggested *he*
> get showered and ready before everyone arrived. He was a
> little surprised, but managed to get going. The first to
> arrive was the student midwife, who started charting around
> 10am. A little bit later the midwife arrived, and then the
> birth assistant. Everyone was in place by around 10:30. They
> got their stuff in order. They checked and figured me at
> about 4cm and 50 percent effaced and suggested a walk. It
> was downright hot outside, so I took my sister and the
> baby-to-be's godmother and we took a little turn around
> the block. It wasn't a lot walk, but it was rather challenging
> as the contractions were almost non-stop.
>
> Got back home around noon and everyone was there (Michael,
> mom, dad, boys, sister, godmother-to-be, family friend, birth team).
> We figured some lunch was in order, so Dad took the boys out
> to lunch and Mom took sandwich orders and ran out to pick them
> up. I was ready to be more quiet, so I went upstairs. I was
> going to lie down a bit, but quickly gave up that idea as the
> contractions were far too uncomfortable that way. So I sat
> on the edge of the bed, which seemed to work okay.
>
> By 12:45 I was starting to feel slightly pushy (generally
> happens early for me). I was still on the edge of the bed and
> the birth team (or some of them, anyway--I wasn't particularly
> paying attention ;-) and Michael were around. Things were getting
> much more intense and I was really in my own little world, rocking
> on the edge of the bed. My feet were dangling, which was a bit
> annoying, but I didn't really want to move. Somewhere before
> 1:30 the crowd moved in, and I recall being relieved that Mom,
> Dad, and the boys had made it back in time. By then I couldn't
> help pushing (and didn't really care to stop anyway ;-) My
> membranes ruptured then, and there was light meconium staining
> so the midwives told me that they wanted to suction as soon as
> the head was out and that I should hold off pushing the rest of
> the baby out.
>
> Shortly after that, I tried side-lying. They checked
> me and I was 8cm/100 percent effaced, but having been warned
> that I was going to push when I was going to push, they didn't
> give me much fuss about not pushing (they suggested it, but
> clearly without a whole lot of hope ;-) The biggest trouble
> I was having throughout this was that the symphisis pubis pain
> I'd had through the last half of pregnancy was wreaking havoc
> on my ability to find any sort of comfortable position. Side
> lying put unequal pressure on my hips and I just couldn't bear
> it for long. I couldn't be on my back (that was worse). I
> didn't want to stand. So I flipped to all fours by 1:45, which
> also wasn't great and my arms were tiring, but it was the best
> I could manage at the time. (I wasn't particularly interested
> in anyone else touching me, so there wasn't a whole lot anyone
> else could do either.) By then I was really pushing hard.
> At 1:50, I could feel that the baby was starting to descend,
> and I remember being glad it was nearly done. At 1:55 the
> head was out and they were asking me to hold off so they
> could suction. I didn't particularly want to, but did my
> best. I knew when I had flipped to all fours, knowing that
> they were going to suction as soon as the head was out, that
> things weren't looking good for Mom catching the baby, as we'd
> intended--and sure enough, that's what happened. I waited as
> long as I could handle for them to suction, and then I just
> had to push the rest out. I didn't really know at the time if
> they were done or not, but no one screeched, so I figured it
> was okay ;-) I managed to wait a whopping whole minute, and
> the rest of her was born at 1:56pm. It was just too fast for
> Mom to get in there, but fortunately she wasn't too disappointed.
>
> So then we called Colin over to check the sex. He
> declared it was a boy and wanted to know who was going to go
> with him to play video games now ;-) I couldn't see (I was
> still on hands and knees and could just see the top half of the
> baby), so I figured it *was* another boy! Someone else, though,
> called Colin back and suggested he take another look. Apparently,
> the umbilical cord confused him somewhat ;-) After a little
> discussion, he allowed as how it might be a girl. She was
> breathing well, but was a tad slow to pink up, so they annoyed
> her a little into crying. I rolled over so I could finally
> hold her and we cuddled. The godmother cut the cord after it
> stopped pulsing, and I pushed the placenta out about 12 minutes
> after she was born. The great news was that the godmother had
> an absolute deadline that she had to be leaving to go back home
> at 2:15, so we just *barely* got the birth in in time for her to
> be there. We had to say goodbye right after she cut the cord,
> but at least she got to do that! They gave her a few minutes
> of blow by oxygen because her color was still a tad weak (Apgars
> 8/9--lost points for color), and she did pink right up then.
>
> Next we cuddled some more while they cleaned me up and
> checked for tears (hate that!). Fortunately, no tearing or
> anything--not even a skid mark. She latched on easily and
> nursed well. Meanwhile folks were boiling water for our
> herbal bath. I got up and got in the bath around 3pm, which
> was nice and soothing. After the water cooled down enough,
> we brought the baby into the bath so she could swim a bit--
> which she loved! Michael and I discussed the name issue
> finally and ultimately decided we'd go with Genevieve Grace.
> Then they took her out of the bath to do
> her newborn exam (Adrian helped with that) while I rinsed
> off and got dressed. Then, back in bed for more nursing and
> cuddles--and the sandwich Mom had picked up for me that I
> hadn't had time to eat earlier ;-)
>
> Official stats: July 4th, 1:56pm, 8 lbs 2 oz,
> 20.5 inches, 13.75 inch head circumference, 13.5 inch chest
> circumference.
>
> Since then, everything's been just great. I feel
> great--better than after the last two births. The afterpains
> were bad the first day and a half, but I hardly notice them
> now. I've had virtually no perineal swelling or pain, and
> very little bleeding either (all things considered). My
> worst pain is actually sore muscles, particularly my arms.
> She nurses voraciously, and my milk came in Sunday afternoon.
> Engorgement isn't *too* bad, but I'm certainly tender. I
> have a feeling she'll get my supply evened out quickly, though.
> She's an absolute delight--very calm and alert. She sleeps
> well wherever she happens to be, and doesn't seem to have her
> days and nights mixed up at all (knock on wood). She's obviously
> already attuned to the ambient noise level associated with
> having two older brothers, as she doesn't even bother to
> startle when they come tearing through (though she startles
> for other sudden noises ;-) She hardly ever cries.
>
> I have a feeling she's going to be a tad jaundiced
> (like her brothers were), so I'm hoping that we don't get too
> much grief from the pediatrician. She's barely starting to
> get a tad yellow. Bet the bloodwork shows her blood type is
> A+ just like her brothers. My only slight area of concern
> is that it doesn't seem like she's peeing as much as she
> ought, but maybe it's just that it's too hard to tell with
> those darned disposable diapers. She peed all over me as
> soon as she was born, and she's soaked the changing pad
> at least once, so we know the plumbing works. She also
> doesn't seem in any way dehydrated and she's nursing well
> and regularly. She just doesn't seem to put much in her
> diapers. But perhaps now that my milk is in, we'll see
> some more obvious evidence.
>
> The boys are quite smitten with her. Adrian has to
> be pried away from her with a crowbar and has obviously
> appointed himself her protector and my assistant. He's
> decided he's going to learn all there is about babies and
> hangs on every word the midwife says. Colin coos over her
> and holds her and such, but is equally clearly a bit nonplussed
> about being displaced as the baby of the family. I think
> we're going to struggle with that for a little while. At
> the moment, he's a bit out of sorts and trying to monopolize
> all of Daddy's time. As we get back closer to our normal
> routine, though, I think things will get much better with
> him. With everything going on, he's been too cooped up in
> the house, which is never a good thing with him! Plus, he
> stayed up to see fireworks that night, and it's also never
> good when he misses his bedtime.
>
> Well, this tome has gone on far too long--congratulations
> if you made it this far!
>
> Best wishes,
> Ericka
>
Take care,
Elly
entered 3rd trimester today!
27 weeks + 1 day
EDD October 6th
"Ericka Kammerer" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
>
> As I mentioned before, it was rather uneventful, but here
> goes...
>
> When I had the version on 6/21, I started having mild
> contractions that pretty much just kept going. They were more
> than BH contractions, but not all that serious either. I was
> hoping that meant labor wasn't all that far off, though! Turns
> out, I kept having them all that week and through the weekend.
> On Monday morning (6/30) they seemed more serious and kept
> coming every five minutes for hours on end, so I was hopeful
> that maybe this was going to be a June baby after all. I called
> the midwives and birth assistant to give them a heads up and
> we agreed to keep in touch. I mentioned what was going on to
> a few people who were planning to be at the birth as well, and
> two came to stay next door with my parents in the hopes of
> ensuring they wouldn't miss it. As it turned out, the contractions
> kept coming regularly, but didn't get any more serious. That
> night, they went away and I had a good night's sleep. The next
> morning, more contractions, but they were more sporadic for that
> day. Went away again at night, so another good night's sleep.
> Wednesday was a repeat of Monday, but with more intensity ;-)
> I'm getting tired of being played with by now, and two of the
> people who were hoping to be at the birth have had to leave town :-(
> Once again, contractions died down at night, so at least I'm still
> getting sleep. Thursday was a repeat of Tuesday, with a few
> contractions here and a few there throughout the day. I slept
> Thursday night, but sleep started getting more fitful and uncomfortable.
> I wasn't really feeling contractions that night (or maybe I was
> too sleepy to care), but seems something was up.
>
> On Friday morning, I got up around 7am and went downstairs.
> I left Michael sleeping and the boys had spent the night with
> my parents. Contractions got going, and they seemed to hang in
> there around every five minutes (again), but more intensity.
> They were getting to the point that rather than hoping the next
> one would come sooner, I was hoping it would take it's time ;-)
> Around 8:30 I decided that I'd call the midwives and birth
> assistant again to give them a heads up. My favorite midwife
> was on duty (yippee!). Knowing that my last labor went fast,
> and knowing she had a good hour's drive, the midwife said we
> should touch base again in an hour, but she was going to get
> packed and ready. I went and took a shower and puttered around
> a bit and contractions stayed at least as regular and intense,
> so I figured that was a good sign. After an hour, I got back
> in touch with the midwife, who said she was going to head out.
> Then I called the birth assistant, who said she'd finish what
> she was doing and head out as well.
>
> A little bit later, I woke Michael and suggested *he*
> get showered and ready before everyone arrived. He was a
> little surprised, but managed to get going. The first to
> arrive was the student midwife, who started charting around
> 10am. A little bit later the midwife arrived, and then the
> birth assistant. Everyone was in place by around 10:30. They
> got their stuff in order. They checked and figured me at
> about 4cm and 50 percent effaced and suggested a walk. It
> was downright hot outside, so I took my sister and the
> baby-to-be's godmother and we took a little turn around
> the block. It wasn't a lot walk, but it was rather challenging
> as the contractions were almost non-stop.
>
> Got back home around noon and everyone was there (Michael,
> mom, dad, boys, sister, godmother-to-be, family friend, birth team).
> We figured some lunch was in order, so Dad took the boys out
> to lunch and Mom took sandwich orders and ran out to pick them
> up. I was ready to be more quiet, so I went upstairs. I was
> going to lie down a bit, but quickly gave up that idea as the
> contractions were far too uncomfortable that way. So I sat
> on the edge of the bed, which seemed to work okay.
>
> By 12:45 I was starting to feel slightly pushy (generally
> happens early for me). I was still on the edge of the bed and
> the birth team (or some of them, anyway--I wasn't particularly
> paying attention ;-) and Michael were around. Things were getting
> much more intense and I was really in my own little world, rocking
> on the edge of the bed. My feet were dangling, which was a bit
> annoying, but I didn't really want to move. Somewhere before
> 1:30 the crowd moved in, and I recall being relieved that Mom,
> Dad, and the boys had made it back in time. By then I couldn't
> help pushing (and didn't really care to stop anyway ;-) My
> membranes ruptured then, and there was light meconium staining
> so the midwives told me that they wanted to suction as soon as
> the head was out and that I should hold off pushing the rest of
> the baby out.
>
> Shortly after that, I tried side-lying. They checked
> me and I was 8cm/100 percent effaced, but having been warned
> that I was going to push when I was going to push, they didn't
> give me much fuss about not pushing (they suggested it, but
> clearly without a whole lot of hope ;-) The biggest trouble
> I was having throughout this was that the symphisis pubis pain
> I'd had through the last half of pregnancy was wreaking havoc
> on my ability to find any sort of comfortable position. Side
> lying put unequal pressure on my hips and I just couldn't bear
> it for long. I couldn't be on my back (that was worse). I
> didn't want to stand. So I flipped to all fours by 1:45, which
> also wasn't great and my arms were tiring, but it was the best
> I could manage at the time. (I wasn't particularly interested
> in anyone else touching me, so there wasn't a whole lot anyone
> else could do either.) By then I was really pushing hard.
> At 1:50, I could feel that the baby was starting to descend,
> and I remember being glad it was nearly done. At 1:55 the
> head was out and they were asking me to hold off so they
> could suction. I didn't particularly want to, but did my
> best. I knew when I had flipped to all fours, knowing that
> they were going to suction as soon as the head was out, that
> things weren't looking good for Mom catching the baby, as we'd
> intended--and sure enough, that's what happened. I waited as
> long as I could handle for them to suction, and then I just
> had to push the rest out. I didn't really know at the time if
> they were done or not, but no one screeched, so I figured it
> was okay ;-) I managed to wait a whopping whole minute, and
> the rest of her was born at 1:56pm. It was just too fast for
> Mom to get in there, but fortunately she wasn't too disappointed.
>
> So then we called Colin over to check the sex. He
> declared it was a boy and wanted to know who was going to go
> with him to play video games now ;-) I couldn't see (I was
> still on hands and knees and could just see the top half of the
> baby), so I figured it *was* another boy! Someone else, though,
> called Colin back and suggested he take another look. Apparently,
> the umbilical cord confused him somewhat ;-) After a little
> discussion, he allowed as how it might be a girl. She was
> breathing well, but was a tad slow to pink up, so they annoyed
> her a little into crying. I rolled over so I could finally
> hold her and we cuddled. The godmother cut the cord after it
> stopped pulsing, and I pushed the placenta out about 12 minutes
> after she was born. The great news was that the godmother had
> an absolute deadline that she had to be leaving to go back home
> at 2:15, so we just *barely* got the birth in in time for her to
> be there. We had to say goodbye right after she cut the cord,
> but at least she got to do that! They gave her a few minutes
> of blow by oxygen because her color was still a tad weak (Apgars
> 8/9--lost points for color), and she did pink right up then.
>
> Next we cuddled some more while they cleaned me up and
> checked for tears (hate that!). Fortunately, no tearing or
> anything--not even a skid mark. She latched on easily and
> nursed well. Meanwhile folks were boiling water for our
> herbal bath. I got up and got in the bath around 3pm, which
> was nice and soothing. After the water cooled down enough,
> we brought the baby into the bath so she could swim a bit--
> which she loved! Michael and I discussed the name issue
> finally and ultimately decided we'd go with Genevieve Grace.
> Then they took her out of the bath to do
> her newborn exam (Adrian helped with that) while I rinsed
> off and got dressed. Then, back in bed for more nursing and
> cuddles--and the sandwich Mom had picked up for me that I
> hadn't had time to eat earlier ;-)
>
> Official stats: July 4th, 1:56pm, 8 lbs 2 oz,
> 20.5 inches, 13.75 inch head circumference, 13.5 inch chest
> circumference.
>
> Since then, everything's been just great. I feel
> great--better than after the last two births. The afterpains
> were bad the first day and a half, but I hardly notice them
> now. I've had virtually no perineal swelling or pain, and
> very little bleeding either (all things considered). My
> worst pain is actually sore muscles, particularly my arms.
> She nurses voraciously, and my milk came in Sunday afternoon.
> Engorgement isn't *too* bad, but I'm certainly tender. I
> have a feeling she'll get my supply evened out quickly, though.
> She's an absolute delight--very calm and alert. She sleeps
> well wherever she happens to be, and doesn't seem to have her
> days and nights mixed up at all (knock on wood). She's obviously
> already attuned to the ambient noise level associated with
> having two older brothers, as she doesn't even bother to
> startle when they come tearing through (though she startles
> for other sudden noises ;-) She hardly ever cries.
>
> I have a feeling she's going to be a tad jaundiced
> (like her brothers were), so I'm hoping that we don't get too
> much grief from the pediatrician. She's barely starting to
> get a tad yellow. Bet the bloodwork shows her blood type is
> A+ just like her brothers. My only slight area of concern
> is that it doesn't seem like she's peeing as much as she
> ought, but maybe it's just that it's too hard to tell with
> those darned disposable diapers. She peed all over me as
> soon as she was born, and she's soaked the changing pad
> at least once, so we know the plumbing works. She also
> doesn't seem in any way dehydrated and she's nursing well
> and regularly. She just doesn't seem to put much in her
> diapers. But perhaps now that my milk is in, we'll see
> some more obvious evidence.
>
> The boys are quite smitten with her. Adrian has to
> be pried away from her with a crowbar and has obviously
> appointed himself her protector and my assistant. He's
> decided he's going to learn all there is about babies and
> hangs on every word the midwife says. Colin coos over her
> and holds her and such, but is equally clearly a bit nonplussed
> about being displaced as the baby of the family. I think
> we're going to struggle with that for a little while. At
> the moment, he's a bit out of sorts and trying to monopolize
> all of Daddy's time. As we get back closer to our normal
> routine, though, I think things will get much better with
> him. With everything going on, he's been too cooped up in
> the house, which is never a good thing with him! Plus, he
> stayed up to see fireworks that night, and it's also never
> good when he misses his bedtime.
>
> Well, this tome has gone on far too long--congratulations
> if you made it this far!
>
> Best wishes,
> Ericka
>