Finding a rhythm

We're definitely still adjusting to life at home but things are going well. She's waking every couple of hours throughout the night. Some nights it's only 2 wakings, some nights it's 4. Haven't quite found the key to keeping it to 2 feedings a night every night.

Evie had her first real bath tonight and she loved it. No screaming or crying like we expected :-)

So, that's a short update but Evie's asleep and I'm headed to bed too!

Healthy, home and happy

We came home yesterday and are slowly getting settled into things at home. It's nice to be able to adjust to our own routines without being poked and prodded by nurses and doctors.

Tomorrow we are getting a home visit from a nurse to just check that things are going well with Evie and me. I think it's great that they do a home visit for first time parents. We also have Evie's first doctor's appointment on Friday. Normally they wait 2 weeks before seeing newborns but she lost a bit more weight than they like to see while we were in the hospital. I'm not worried, though. My milk just came in yesterday so she's finally been getting more to eat.

Other than that, things are going great. Thanks to each of you who have visited and offered food or help when you come over. It's been a huge help. I've finally been able to get more than 2 hours of sleep in a day!

Evelyn Margaret, 8lbs 1oz

Evie arrived yesterday morning at 9:22 am weighing in at 8lbs 1oz, 20 inches long, and 14 inch head!

Friday I had been having contractions all day long 6-8 minutes apart (what's new?) but they started to get more and more painful. At around 5:30 pm we headed over to my mom's house to celebrate Amber and Vanessa's birthdays. The contractions kept coming through dinner and by 8 pm I wanted to do nothing but head home and lay down.

Around 10 pm something changed with the contractions and I couldn't get through them on my own anymore. Each one had me bawling and shaking like crazy. Shaun packed up the car, we stopped to pick up my mom, then we headed to the hospital. Contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart at this time.

By 11:30 we were completely checked in and settled into our hospital room. I was shaking uncontrollably and really hoping that I was dilated to at least 5cm. But no, I had made NO progress from my midwife appointment on Wednesday. All the contractions I had been having since Wednesday night had done NOTHING. I knew then that a waterbirth was out the window and I was going for the epidural.

Baby and I were monitored for about an hour before getting checked again. We had only made about half a cm of progress but the doctor on call said we could stay and get the epidural. Yay! Before getting the epidural I needed to get a liter of fluid via an IV. It took 3 different nurses before the IV was successfully placed.

But then the wonderful epidural man arrived! He got it placed between contractions so that I didn't have to sit in an uncomfortable position while in pain. I thought I'd get some sleep once the epidural was placed but I was too excited and nervous. My mom and Shaun got a few hours of sleep each, though, while I listened to my Ipod.

At 7 am the doctor checked me again and I had only made it to 5 cm. He suggested breaking my water, and if that didn't work, start pitocin. I asked him to let me have a minute to think about it since I was feeling nervous about the pitocin. He left the room and my midwife showed up 15 minutes later (just started her shift). I told her we wanted to go ahead and break my water. She checked me and said "Wow! You might be ready to start pushing as soon as we break your water!"

I ended up being about 8 cm. I went from a 5 to an 8 in 15 minutes! Yay! She broke my water and within an hour I started pushing. One hour, 15 minutes after that...Evie was born!

Still contracting

I've still been having contractions all day today. Thankfully, no matter what I do they stick around. This means they're part of the real deal, right? They've also been getting stronger.

Unfortunately, they're sticking to about 6-8 minutes apart without really getting more frequent. They are also now painful enough that I cannot sleep through them and I have to concentrate on not pounding my fist through a wall each time one comes along. If they don't pick up in frequency tonight will be a long night.

I soooooooooo hope she's here by the end of the weekend. If not, I might go insane.

Prodromal Labor

This has got to be the most frustrating thing ever, and today has been the worst of it so far.

Last night at around 11 pm, or so, I started timing contractions at 6-8 mins apart. They were steadily increasing in intensity so I was hoping this was the real thing. By 2 am I decided to try to sleep through them, since they weren't too painful, and I was semi-successful. I would only wake up every 30 mins or so when a contraction was particularly strong.

At 6 am Shaun woke up and asked if he should go to work or not. I told him the contractions were still regular but manageable so it was up to him. He decided to stay home so we timed contractions and watched a movie (Major League, since he was appalled to find out last night that I had never seen it). Contractions were now coming every 4.5 mins and were slightly stronger than last night.

Around 8 am we decided to see if we could get things moving along by going for a walk. During the walk my contractions definitely picked up in intensity but were still very manageable. We got home and I sat for a while. This is when the contractions started to space out again. I was still having them, and they were still at the same level of intensity, but they were no longer as frequent.

Back to walking.

We decided that it would be a great idea to walk to Shaun's grandpa's house; a mere 2.5 miles. HA! Not something I'll do again anytime soon while hugely pregnant. Anyways, the contractions really picked up on this walk to every 2-3 minutes and got so intense that I couldn't walk or talk through them. I just hung off of Shaun's shoulder and employed breathing techniques. Awesome, right?

No. As soon as the walk was completed (fully swollen ankles and tender knees included) the contractions spaced out again.

Talking with the midwife confirmed what I feared: PRODROMAL LABOR. Previously known as false labor, yet again. This is just plain frustrating.

I'm still getting contractions now, just not as frequently nor as intense. Looks like this little one will not be making an appearance today. Perhaps tomorrow.

No sleep in sight

Contractions, heart burn, kidney shots, more contractions...

A recipe resulting in I have not yet been able to fall asleep tonight.

Reprieve in the form of full blown labor would be nice.

We made the news

Jane, Sammi and I made the news tonight! We were out for a walk around Lake Phalen trying to get this little one to come out and a news crew asked to interview us. The camera completely freaked out Sam and she kept barking at it (which made it onto tv; Sam even had a close up). Jane did most of the talking so I really thought they would focus on her instead of me, but no. Apparently spinning the story to be "REALLY pregnant lady feels comfortable walking in the park even after brutal beatings" is a good angle to take. If they put the video online I'll post a link. Just a warning on the unflattering angle where I'm walking away from the camera!

Removed the link...they changed the video out for an updated one so it's not us anymore!

38/39 weeks and still going

Argh. So I changed the title of one of the last posts and this one since I have two due dates I'm going off of. The ultrasound dated me at being due Aug. 14th (which puts me at 38w6d today) but, and I know technically this is more accurate, ovulation dates me at being due Aug. 20th (38w0d today).

Either way, I'm in that "'OMG! You must be ready to pop any day!' comments from strangers" phase. That phase where I'm thinking "Oh, geez, baby I love you, and I love the fact that I got pregnant, but GET OUT!"

My belly button no longer exists, the stretch marks are out in all their glory, I officially don't sleep more than 1.5 hours at a time, my feet have left my field of vision, contractions are a constant, any movement on my part takes tremendous effort, and I've gained more weight than I thought possible. Therefore, I do think it is time to have this baby. She just doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

So, this morning was my 38 week appointment according to the midwife's dating (based on ovulation) and she now considers me full term. Therefore, she feels comfortable doing things to naturally induce labor. This includes a nifty little trick called membrane sweeping. Ick. Ouch. Not fun. However, if it kick starts labor, I'm all for it! I'm now 2 cm dilated and the baby's head is definitely engaged. I keep forgetting to ask about effacement and station so I don't know those numbers.

Overall, there's more progress being made! Keep fingers crossed that this little one doesn't want to be overdue!

Timeable contractions

If only they meant anything.

All day today I've been having contractions and mid-evening they started being regular. Every 8 minutes in fact! Woohoo! Maybe something was getting started, right?

No! After about 3 hours they spaced out and just about completely went away.

*sigh*

back to waiting...