What Happened

What happened?  Where did I go?

 

      

Please excuse my absence, I’ve been a bit busy.

 

 

His name is Freddie.  Frederick Roger Cook.  And he’s perfect.

 

 

Eight pounds, eleven ounces, twenty-one inches long, Freddie entered the world at 9:30 am on Monday, July 7.  7/7/14.

 

  

I awoke to a contraction at about 5:50 am.  I had been having contractions off and on for several days, but this one hurt just a little bit.  Like my pelvis was ever so slightly trying to separate from itself.  I stayed in bed and had a few more over the next thirty minutes, so I got up, told Tony, “I think we’re going to have a baby today,” and got in the shower.  We called my brother to come take care of the kids, got the kids out of bed and started on their breakfast, and then went to the hospital.

 

 

 

They got me into triage and checked my progress at about 7:45 am.  I was four centimeters dilated.  At 8:45, when the doctor got there and checked me, I was only about six centimeters dilated.  Contractions were starting to really hurt, but I breathed through them. 

 

I should have known that we were getting close when I started to feel dizzy in between contractions.  I would sit down, but then the contractions got so close together that I would have to stand back up almost immediately.  I moaned and focus through the contractions, clawing my fingers into Tony’s shoulders, my head pushing into his chest.

 

 

Tony said something like, “That was the third contraction like that, I’m calling the nurse!” because, of course, everyone had left the room just before things got interesting.  By the time the nurse came back, I was moaning, “I have to push!”  She rushed to get the doctor and another nurse.

 

 

The team broke the bed down and I scarcely got on it when my water broke and I began pushing.  I also began screaming and shouting and probably cursing.  Having a baby HURTS.

 

 

It felt like forever, but I only pushed for five minutes to birth my baby boy.

 

 

He was immediately placed on my belly and then he immediately showed his relief at being born by pooping all over me.  The nurses wiped us both off and then, not two minutes later, he did it again.  Stinker.

 

 

He’s wonderful.  He looks like his brothers, who love him desperately and shower him with (probably too much) affection.  He smells amazing.  As tired as I am, I am loving every minute of this.  My Freddie.

Cookies and “My Cookie”

Hey!  Guess how many cookies I’ve had today?  Well, not cookies, per se, but raw cookie dough frozen into balls so I can make cookies by just turning on my oven and laying them out on a sheet.  WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN LET’S JUST FACE IT THOSE COOKIES DOUGH BALLS WERE DOOMED FROM THE OUTSET. 

 

Four.  Four cookie dough balls.  This is bad for two reasons: my tummy is a bit mad at me for the low level of nourishment it has received this afternoon, and my six week postpartum doctor appointment was this morning.

 

I’ve been declared healthy, so now the burden of weight loss is on me… no more can I claim that I can’t work out because it’s too soon.  Oh no.  Now, the only things getting in the way are my willpower, the dishes, the laundry, the vacuuming, brushing the dog, cuddling a sweet and squishy newborn, changing his diaper, cooking, playing with Charles, hanging out with Tony, sleeping, grocery shopping…  Hmm.  When does a mom have time to work out?

 

I guess I should start eating better, too, but I suffer from the lack of appetizing one-handed meal availability.  And a sweet tooth.

 

I have 30 lbs to lose.  I guess that’s what happens when you gain 55.

 

I also cleared the air a bit with my doctor (whom I adore).  It seems he thought I might harbor a bit of anger towards him for letting James sit with his head half out of my vag for a nightmarish 15 minutes while I pushed.  When I think about the pain of those 15 minutes, as I cried, told the nurses I couldn’t do it, and very nearly vomited, sure, I shudder a bit.  It was, honestly, the worst pain I have ever felt.  But I’m not angry.  If anything, I am thankful.  Take it from a mother who has had it both ways: you DON’T want an episiotomy if you can help it.  Once Jamie was born, the pain was gone.  That was not the case the first time around, and I lived in mortal fear of pooping until Charles was about 8 weeks old.

 

The doc also told me that the other doctor did “too good” a job of stitching me back up last time, which is why I wasn’t stretching nearly as well as I probably should have.  That’s an old-fashioned man doctor for you; take an extra stitch for the husband’s pleasure.  Sorry, Tony, but Doctor B said he sewed me up a bit looser this time so if we decide to have more kids, it’ll be easier next time.  I love a doctor who is on my side!

James DeWiley Cook*

Born 10:29 am on June 28, 2011.  8 lbs, 3 oz, 21.5 inches long.

 

I woke up on Tuesday with a PAINFUL contraction at 6 am.  At 7 am, I had another.  By 7:15, I called Tony at basketball and made him come home because I’d had three more.  We got to the hospital by 8 am.

 

Things were less chaotic at the hospital this time, compared to Charles’ labor and delivery.  I had time to get checked routinely and get an IV locked in.  Even though the contractions were much more painful than Charles’ ever were, I handled it all just fine through breathing.  I managed to get one bag of Penicillin through the IV before contractions were going so quickly that the doctor suggested that I try to push at 10 am.

 

Last pregnant photo!

 

It was so weird – the contractions really hurt, but I didn’t have the “urge” to push like I had with Charles.  I mean, if someone had told me not to push with Charles, I would have laughed.  When you have that urge, you can’t NOT push.  This time, though, my water hadn’t broken and I didn’t feel like I was having to bear down.  But I got into bed, got my feet up, and tried anyhow. 

 

Then my water burst like a balloon.  Wow.

 

I got to use the squat bar, or whatever they call it.  My arms, shoulders, and back are still sore from that workout.

 

I pushed.  And I pushed.  Then, the baby’s head got lodged in my vagina, about a third of the way out.  That’s when I started crying and invoking God.  I’m pretty sure I told the nurses that I wanted to stop, that I just couldn’t do this.  I had never experienced pain like that, ever.  I wanted to vomit, it hurt so badly.  I pushed for 15 minutes with the baby’s head lodged there before he finally slipped out, after a bit less than a half hour of total pushing and, if you’re keeping track (I certainly was), four and a half hours since the first contraction.

 

The nurse said that in her 20+ years of being an OB nurse, she had never seen a head lodged like that for so long. 

 

But!  Recovery this time has been soooo much better.  The afterpains have been worse, but overall, I don’t feel like I have been hacked with a chainsaw in my nether-regions (isn’t the miracle of life lovely?).

 

Jamie looks so much like Charles did at birth. 

 

Baby James on the left, Baby Charles on the right.

James eats all the time, nursing like a champ, cluster feeding for hours until he passes out for a few hours (sleep time for meee!).  He is content to be placed on his back in a bassinet, sometimes for hours.  Hours!  Charles couldn’t stand to be on his back and didn’t sleep alone until he could roll over on his stomach.  Also, Charles didn’t really sleep.  Jamie sleeps.  He’s mellow.  Of course, I feel like I paid my dues with a tough pregnancy and oh, also, a first child who was so hard on us, but really, this is just so awesome, I can’t even describe it.  With Charles, we were already sleep deprived upon leaving the hospital.  Right now, two-and-a-half days after birth, I feel great (you know, for an immediately post-partum woman).  I didn’t know it could be like this.

 

I am so in love with Jamie.  He’s so beautiful, so sweet.  And Charles is such a great big brother, it’s made me fall in love with him all over again.

 

 

*DeWiley was my paternal grandfather’s name.

The story.

Hi everyone,

Kids these days. You bring them home from the hospital and all they want to do is meet new friends on the internet:).

Mom and baby are doing well. All the grandparents made it up Friday and have been a tremendous help. My parents are staying in the room next to the baby. I imagine Charlie kept them up most of the night (at least Mom...Dad was snoring:), I feel kind of bad. However, this morning Grandma calmed down Charlie enough to let Amelia get some sleep. She is sleeping right now. He sure is a hungry little boy.

I am amazed at how quickly he is starting to look like his own person, even at only three days old. I feel a bit useless as I don't possess the tools to really calm him down, but I am learning.

So the story of his birthday:

Amelia went to work on Thursday and had experienced contractions most of the day. However, they were very brief, not regular and for the most part not painful. She called me at about 4pm and said I should probably wrap up any loose ends I had at work as she felt like labor might start that night. I got home about 6pm and starting recording each contraction. They were anywhere from 6-22 minutes apart and still not regular. About an hour later, we went for a mile and a half walk in the rain because Amelia was determined to keep the contractions going. After our walk and a small dinner, the contractions began to get more painful, but were still about 10 minutes apart.

At 8:45pm, her water broke. She wasn't sure if that's what it was. She went into the bathroom to check and all I heard was," Oh, that's disgusting." I couldn't help but laugh.

We called the doctor's answering service and a few minutes later were told to go to the hospital. We live about a mile away, so we walked in the birth center about 15 minutes after her water broke. In the triage room, the nurses tried to put in an IV, which is standard, but were having difficulty so we were moved down to a regular room after about 15 minutes. The contractions were becoming increasingly painful, but not unbearable. Once in our room, Amelia's contractions started coming so quickly she couldn't hardly take a breath in between. Unfortunately, the hospital had misplaced our registration paperwork, which we had dropped off weeks earlier. So while I am trying to keep Amelia focused on breathing and working through the contractions, the nurse is asking us things like,"Does anyone in your family smoke, etc?" This was a little distracting, to say the least.

Things seemed to be progressing, so finally, they decided to scrap the questions and check Amelia's cervix. She was at 6-7 cm. This was all of 5 minutes after we were in our room. About three contractions later, she was standing holding on to me and said (scream may be more like it, but now I have an excuse for not hearing out of that ear) "I need to push!!" The nurses by this time were a little frazzled and the doctor had still not yet entered the room. They, of course, said not to push until they could check her cervix again. When that contraction ended she was at 10cm!

Being a first child, we were certainly prepared for a long night of walking the halls, trying to relax, doing all the breathing we had learned in our classes. We had both brought books and figured we would likely be up all night trying to keep labor going.

Once they determined the baby was ready to come, Amelia pushed through about 4 contractions and Charlie entered the world. Amelia and I were both crying, but probably for slightly different reasons:). I would say we cried like a baby, but the resident baby was doing no such thing. This has since changed:). Amelia was able to have a completely natural childbirth, just like she wanted. Even though I don't think she ever thought it would happen like it did. It happened so quickly that much of it was a blur.

Apparently, we were the third baby that night at the hospital born within an hour and a half of arriving. Something must have been in the air.

Thanks to everyone who was able to stop by the hospital while we were there and to everyone who has sent their congratulations otherwise. We will continue to post pictures of him (because, who cares about the rest of us:). Amelia will be home for a couple of months before heading back to work and the grandparents will be here on an off for that time as well. If you are in the area, feel free to stop by and meet our newest addition. I'm sure he would love to meet you.