I posted this message to my online gal pals the day we brought Charlotte home.
I called my Ob Sunday afternoon I was having contraxtions ever 3-4 min and he said that if it kept up, I should come in in the next 45 min or so. So I walked around the house, putting a few extra things in the bag. Jesse grabbed a few things, and we were off. We came into triage, and the nurse checked me. She said I was nearly 3 cm but thinning out from my last check. I thought they would send me home. But she came back a few moments later with a midwife, who measured the baby on U/S and approximated the weight at 8 lbs and then gave me a gown and a personal item bag. She said, you are staying, lets go break you water. I got a little nervous, cause they said once they break my water I can't get out of bed! I was PISSED. But ready to be done, so I said whatever...when we got there and the triage nurse left, I asked the nurse who was checking me in if I would be allowed to move around, use a birthing ball all that, and she said OF COURSES. PHEW! Everything went really fast, and fun after that. I was still having good labor, contrax every 3-4 min. They broke my water, HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER, and then we all sat around a chatted for a while, me and my nurse (jill, so nice!) and the 3rd year resident, also really sweet, and the nurse who was going off shift, she stuck around to set up the telemetry monitors so I could get up, use the birthing ball and use the bathroom on my own. After they left the first time, I got up to go to the bathroom, and dripped the whole way...I seriously couldn't walk anywhere without making puddles. The nurse came in and helped me clean up, and set the birthing ball up for me. Jesse and I chatted with Jill, laughed at each other a lot. Jesse kept saying he felt like it could still be next weekend somehow. He was playing funny songs like, Geogre W, because I got high, and we watched Simpsons and the family guy. A couple hours after they broke my water, I could feel the back labor coming on. My contraxtions were lasting a min, and then I would get 10-15 secs, and go into another one before a 2 min break. I decided that would be a good time for an epidural, but only if I was 5 cm or more. So the doc checked and sure enough, in 2 hours I went from not quite 3 to 5 and totally thin! The Epidural man was there really fast, and he was a crack up. We were bouncing jokes off each other and laughing really hard, I set off extra contractions I was laughing so hard. He got the meds in and I was feel much better. I still felt every contraction, but they were less painful by enough of a degree that I was able to nearly talk through them. I thought it would be a fun time to call my girlfriend Kerry and waste some time. I had only had the epidural for about 30 min. I called Kerry, and told her I was 5 cm. And I was saying that the epidural was helping me a lot, and that I was starting one, but that I felt I could still talk through it, and then everything got very pressured and full and burny down stairs. So I told Kerry, something was happening down there and I had to go. We maybe talked 3 min...it was funny really! My OB came in and said, lets wait for the next one and see what happens. I started getting one and BOY did my pooper hurt! I felt like I needed to poop out a watermelon. So I told her that, and we all laughed again. She checked me, and I was ready to go! We got to the hospital at 5, admited at 5:45, and pushing at 10:15!! I started pushing, I felt it all down there. That was a first for me. I was totally numb down there with the other girls! YOUCH! So after a lot of noisiness, And 3 pushes Charlotte came popping out! Jesse called out, "it's a girl!" And I laughed some more! It was such a fun birth. Probably the funnest part of the whole stay at the hospital. Charlie is SO cute. She has a LOUD cry, but she rarely uses it. She didn't open her eyes much yesterday, cause they are all swollen from the quick trip. She looked really asian the first day, Jesse was asking me if there was something I needed to share with him...
That night sucked. Charlotte and I just wanted to sleep, but they came in every five freaking seconds let me look at your ass, let me look at your vag, let me look at how much pee you can make. I HATE hospitals. She latched really well right away. But I feel like I could tell right away that things just still aren't right with my boobs. We started advocating right away to go home. So they picked up the pace (they usually make you wait at least 42 hours) My OB gave me the clear, cause I had no stitches and no big tears this time (my vag feels like I gave birth a couple weeks ago, not 2 days ago!) and my Pedi gave the same to Charlotte. Then the lactation consultant came in. We had a long talk. She thought our latch looked professional. And I told her about my troubles in the past, and my concern about glandular tissue. So she felt my breasts. She felt the "big" one first. She felt the very top, then the middle then the bottom. She said she only felt any glandular tissue in the middle. She felt the other side and said there was much less on the left. I said, I have often felt like I have like 50% less than what I should, and she agreed, even said that was probably an overstatement. We talked about it, and I am not going to do the whole routine trying to get my boobs to do something they simply aren't capable of doing. So no extra pumping, no fenugreek, no SNS, none of that. And they can't even give me a script for the domperidone...She says it wouldn't help anyway, my functioning glandular tissue will make what it can, I just have to feed her as often as possible. I am really sad. I cried a lot. But I am trying to be positive about it. At least this time, my poor baby won't have to starve for a couple weeks while I try to do something that can't be done.
Shortly after that, at 5:45 (exactly 24 hours after we were admitted to give birth) They let us go! We took our new baby girl to whole foods and picked up some formula. Came home, had white castle, and I BF then gave charlotte her first taste of formula. It was hard to do, but it feels more and more ok.
She will breast feed first, then we wait, change diapers, hold her off a bit to see if she needs it, and give her milk if she wants it. She takes about an ounce at a time. Sometimes an ounce and a half, and she has no trouble going between the two so far. Last night she fell asleep at 11:45, so I went to bed then too. I woke up at 3:30 with HORRIBLE cramps, totally forgot to take motrin before bed...DON'T DO THAT! I got up and got some meds, then went up and got back in bed. Charlie didn't wake up till 4:45!!! So I had a chance for the meds to kick in before we went down and had some bf and bonding time. I changed her diaper, and fed her some bottle. Then she pooped AGAIN! Wow...it was back to back, and a new thing for her. Clearly, she was hungry
We went back to bed at like 6:30, and we stayed in bed till 9:30! I am hoping that is the routine, cause that totally works for me! My girls both started doing that at 6 weeks ad 4 weeks, now I think about it, and that is when we started supplementing. Poor things, were probably awake before that cause they were hungry...
Anyway. We are home and happy. I have to make an appointment for her today. But other than that, we are gonna rest.
The girls LOVE her. And we are all fitting in well together. She is so mellow and easy to please. Her hair is so cute! She is finally able to open her eyes for more than a second and her face is cuter by the min cause she is getting less swollen. I will post some new pics soon.
As for me, the cramps are pretty hard, but I just have to stick to taking something every 4 hours! I feel so good otherwise. I told Jesse I feel like I went from look 24 months pregnant, to 4 months pregnant. It is a pretty big difference, and still somehow funny to look down and see a belly with nothing in it!
*Update- Charlotte remains a great baby! She is very easy. Such a happy easy to please little thing. We are still breastfeeding and supplementing. She is up to 2 oz after every feeding, and she is gaining weight well. She's now 9lb 15oz and in the 90th% for height. She sleeps pretty well, we all go to bed together around 10, she wakes up at 2 to breastfeed and we go back to sleep. She usually wakes up at 5 or 6 and I can usually get her to nurse herself back to sleep for an hour or so. She has a very strong neck, and a HUGE open mouth smile. I have yet to catch it on camera though.
She has a little case of the sniffles so the last 2 nights have been less fun. But I have only had a handful of bad nights with Char, so, I feel pretty blessed.
All in all it is moving way too fast. I put away her Newborn clothes (stuff I couldn't even use with JOE!) this week. That was hard. She fits in with the rest of my kids, makes me want to be that Dugar lady, all these kids are so nice, I wish I could have more! But this uterus is DONE. RETIRED. OUT!
