Mikayla did not go down until midnight last night due to some gassiness or a Spirit-led desire to sanctify her mother. We nursed again at 3:30 and 7:40 and were just about to go down for our traditional morning nap at 8:30 when it started.
Why, Lord, are the neighbors laying carpet in their bedroom at 8:30 in the morning?
The last hour has involved me in my bathrobe trying to stay a room ahead of the carpet-laying endeavors next door as my baby tries to sleep. Right now she is in her swing with white noise blasting in her face, bless her heart. She is darn near sleeping through the ruckus!
Oh my.
Hey, I think it's over! I can hear them packing up to leave. Must be nice, coming into a home for a short hour and a half, throwing an innocent baby off what small semblance of a schedule she has, and waltzing back out to continue your day.
This is where I go spend some time in prayer for that sanctification...after I fetch my crying baby...no seriously, I hope that the Lord uses these challenging moments to grow me in Christlikeness. I have so far to go!
SDG!
Mommyhood Lessons
As much as I learned from the experience of pregnancy in nine months, there have been far more lessons of mommyhood in a short two weeks. I know this list won't do justice to the many things we've learned, but they are the first ten that come to mind on this quiet (ah!) Saturday morning:
1. "Gross" is a relative term, and one that has lost much of its meaning.
2. I am able to sleep in a much wider range of conditions than I previously thought possible, including puddles of fluid that I don't even attempt to identify because I am so tired.
3. Old: Happy wife, happy life! New: Happy baby, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
4. Girls also tinkle when you remove the diaper. The advantage is that it dribbles instead of shooting across the room - but can still ruin a perfectly clean sleeper at 4:00 a.m.
5. I don't know who invented the pacifier, but this individual should have a Nobel Prize in his or her possession. Ditto baby swing.
6. Sometimes babies' eyes appear to be crossed. I'm pretty sure this is because they are trying to imitate mommy, who has not slept through the night for at least three months now.
7. Dressing a baby is, indeed, like trying to put an octopus into a bag.
8. Two of my favorite things about the transition from pregnancy to mommyhood: coffee and wine. Not necessarily in that order.
9. "Sleep when the baby sleeps" is fantastic advice, but difficult to follow when you'd also REALLY love to do things that require two hands, such as have a hot meal/take a shower for the first time in three days/catch up on emails or phone calls/do laundry/wash dishes. Not that I've ever gone three days between showers....hahaha...ha ha...ha....
10. Netflix seasons of Law & Order, Wire in the Blood, etc. make for great company and a great reminder of what grownup life was like sans baby (spur-of-the-moment travel? thrilling adventures? sexy dates at fancy restaurants? check, check, and check!). (Not that my life was like that to start with - some of our favorite dates involve Dunkin' Donuts and the Sonic drive-through.)
In summary, mommyhood is the life-changing experience that everyone promised it would be. And I don't ever want to go back!
SDG
1. "Gross" is a relative term, and one that has lost much of its meaning.
2. I am able to sleep in a much wider range of conditions than I previously thought possible, including puddles of fluid that I don't even attempt to identify because I am so tired.
3. Old: Happy wife, happy life! New: Happy baby, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
4. Girls also tinkle when you remove the diaper. The advantage is that it dribbles instead of shooting across the room - but can still ruin a perfectly clean sleeper at 4:00 a.m.
5. I don't know who invented the pacifier, but this individual should have a Nobel Prize in his or her possession. Ditto baby swing.
6. Sometimes babies' eyes appear to be crossed. I'm pretty sure this is because they are trying to imitate mommy, who has not slept through the night for at least three months now.
7. Dressing a baby is, indeed, like trying to put an octopus into a bag.
8. Two of my favorite things about the transition from pregnancy to mommyhood: coffee and wine. Not necessarily in that order.
9. "Sleep when the baby sleeps" is fantastic advice, but difficult to follow when you'd also REALLY love to do things that require two hands, such as have a hot meal/take a shower for the first time in three days/catch up on emails or phone calls/do laundry/wash dishes. Not that I've ever gone three days between showers....hahaha...ha ha...ha....
10. Netflix seasons of Law & Order, Wire in the Blood, etc. make for great company and a great reminder of what grownup life was like sans baby (spur-of-the-moment travel? thrilling adventures? sexy dates at fancy restaurants? check, check, and check!). (Not that my life was like that to start with - some of our favorite dates involve Dunkin' Donuts and the Sonic drive-through.)
In summary, mommyhood is the life-changing experience that everyone promised it would be. And I don't ever want to go back!
SDG
Two Weeks and Growing!
At two weeks old, Mikayla earned another clean bill of health from her pediatrician. She is growing like a lovely little weed - already 9 lbs 8 oz, 22 inches long, and her head has grown to 14 3/4 inches around. This puts her in the 82nd percentile for weight, 96th percentile for length, and 79th percentile for head size. I believe the comment was, "She must be a good eater!" She wears 0-3 month clothing with ease, and her newborn outfits are a stretch, literally, because she is so long.
Here's our first of many teddy bear photos: (she was being a little cranky pants at the time, but you can still see the size comparison.)
Mikayla has slept for 6 1/2 hours at night in a single stretch (last Saturday, 1/22), but more often sleeps for 3-4 hours, waking to feed for about half an hour and then going back to sleep. She is a morning person so far, enjoying some wide-eyed happy time early each morning when mommy would rather be sleeping. Though she's also a night owl, preferring to go to bed around 11:30.
For the first week and a half, Mikayla preferred to sleep on mommy's chest. This made nighttime feedings super easy! For the past couple of nights, though, Mikayla has been sleeping like a big girl in her very own bassinet next to mommy's side of the bed. She enjoys a "modified swaddle" with one arm free, and her Nuk (pacifier) helps her fall asleep by herself. She is having more fussy times, letting her mommy know that she might just take after her strong-willed, assertive personality after all. But she also loves her swing, and no matter how fussy she is, she quiets down when mommy turns it on to speed 3 with the sound of rain playing.
The doctor recommended regular tummy time to help her develop her ability to hold her head up at this point. She is already bobbing her head up to look around, keeping it up for several seconds in a row before plunking it back down on mommy or daddy's shoulder. When she lies on her tummy, which is her favorite nap position, she easily turns her head from one side to the other (though sometimes she pauses in the middle with her face in the mattress, silly girl).
She got her first shot today and handled it like a pro - or at least, she turned a paler shade of green than her daddy did. He doesn't like needles. She only cried for a few seconds and got a cool Bugs Bunny band-aid to commemorate the occasion. Daddy didn't get anything but he was a very big boy and didn't have to leave the room at all.
I think that's it for our two-week update. Mikayla is a big girl and an even bigger blessing to her very grateful parents. Glory to God for His gracious gift of life, made real to us in this little person. We look forward to her baptism on February 13, when Mikayla will receive the sign and seal of the covenant to which she belongs, as we place our trust in God for His faithfulness to bring her to Himself through the regeneration of her precious heart. May she never know a day apart from Christ, her great savior and Lord.
SDG!
Here's our first of many teddy bear photos: (she was being a little cranky pants at the time, but you can still see the size comparison.)
Mikayla has slept for 6 1/2 hours at night in a single stretch (last Saturday, 1/22), but more often sleeps for 3-4 hours, waking to feed for about half an hour and then going back to sleep. She is a morning person so far, enjoying some wide-eyed happy time early each morning when mommy would rather be sleeping. Though she's also a night owl, preferring to go to bed around 11:30.
For the first week and a half, Mikayla preferred to sleep on mommy's chest. This made nighttime feedings super easy! For the past couple of nights, though, Mikayla has been sleeping like a big girl in her very own bassinet next to mommy's side of the bed. She enjoys a "modified swaddle" with one arm free, and her Nuk (pacifier) helps her fall asleep by herself. She is having more fussy times, letting her mommy know that she might just take after her strong-willed, assertive personality after all. But she also loves her swing, and no matter how fussy she is, she quiets down when mommy turns it on to speed 3 with the sound of rain playing.
The doctor recommended regular tummy time to help her develop her ability to hold her head up at this point. She is already bobbing her head up to look around, keeping it up for several seconds in a row before plunking it back down on mommy or daddy's shoulder. When she lies on her tummy, which is her favorite nap position, she easily turns her head from one side to the other (though sometimes she pauses in the middle with her face in the mattress, silly girl).
She got her first shot today and handled it like a pro - or at least, she turned a paler shade of green than her daddy did. He doesn't like needles. She only cried for a few seconds and got a cool Bugs Bunny band-aid to commemorate the occasion. Daddy didn't get anything but he was a very big boy and didn't have to leave the room at all.
I think that's it for our two-week update. Mikayla is a big girl and an even bigger blessing to her very grateful parents. Glory to God for His gracious gift of life, made real to us in this little person. We look forward to her baptism on February 13, when Mikayla will receive the sign and seal of the covenant to which she belongs, as we place our trust in God for His faithfulness to bring her to Himself through the regeneration of her precious heart. May she never know a day apart from Christ, her great savior and Lord.
SDG!
Mikayla's Birth Story, Part 6
The next few moments are a blur in my memory. Jen suctioned her quickly, and there were no issues from the meconium staining. She told me to take my baby, and then we checked to find out that she was, indeed, a she! I held her close to my chest, and Joel announced through tears, “Her name is Mikayla Grace.” Jen clamped the cord, and offered Joel the scissors to cut it. I could tell he was nervous, but in awe of being able to do this himself. I just looked at my baby, completely smitten at her wide-eyed wonder as she looked back up at me. She was so alert, and so incredibly gorgeous with her dark hair and eyes! All I could say was, “My baby! You're so beautiful!” (etc.)
Jen told me that I had not torn at all, but could possibly use a stitch on one side to speed the recovery and lessen my discomfort, to which I readily agreed. The placenta was delivered within a few minutes, and Jen showed us how healthy and big it was. What an incredible organ, to have sustained and grown our daughter for the past nine and a half months!
They allowed us to just hold and love Mikayla, without doing any of the newborn checks aside from making sure she was breathing well on her own. The nurse, Bev, told us that someone’s sister was there to visit. Brittany, my sister, was there already! Joel went up to get her from the waiting room at the front of the birth center, and she walked in less than twenty minutes after Mikayla’s birth, with tears in her eyes. It was such a vivid reminder of when a similar scene played out at her daughter, Khloe’s, birth. How special to have her there right away! Not long after, Joel’s parents arrived from New Jersey, and we invited them in after Mikayla had nursed for the first time, and still within the first hour of her life. It was a joyous time, and I was so thrilled to be awake and unmedicated, and to enjoy the same qualities in our newborn daughter as she met her family. Brittany’s husband, Kory, arrived a short time later with food from Chick Fil A (what better first post-partum meal?).
We talked to my parents on the phone and shared the joyous news. They were so thrilled to hear about Mikayla’s birth, and how healthy and perfect her delivery had been. They just couldn’t wait to come visit and meet her for themselves! My parents were in Florida visiting my dad’s family, and they were able to share the news with my dad’s sister almost immediately. What a great time of celebration they had, even from a distance!
Things had gone so well during Mikayla’s birth that the midwife and nurse had no qualms about us going home early in the afternoon. We took care of the necessary paperwork and newborn procedures, got me up and out of bed, and generally assessed our readiness to leave. We were packed up and on the road by 2:30 p.m., about four hours after the birth! Granted, I was walking gingerly and eager to get home to my own bed, but we were ready to go. After one last birth center photo of Mikayla in her car seat, the nurse escorted us out, gave me a big hug, and sent us on our way. With plenty of phone calls to make and visits from family and friends to enjoy, this happy new family of three set out for home!
Mikayla's Birth Story, Part 5
So at 9:08, Jen confirmed that my water had broken and told me that I was free to push whenever I felt the urge. That was all I needed to hear! The last several contractions during transition had been the most intense yet, with my body wanting to push if I let up my focus for one instant. So, on the next contraction I curled up, chin to chest, and gave it all I had! Joel tells me that on each contraction I gave 3-4 good pushes; and on a few contractions, I gave it 5! Jen was so encouraging, coaching me to curl into it and focus the push down at the bottom. At first I wanted to vocalize while pushing, but she told me to keep the air inside my lungs to help give stronger pushes. I remember her constantly telling me how perfectly I was pushing, that I was really moving the baby.
Jen called the nurse in as I began to push. They took turns listening to the baby’s heartbeat between each contraction; a few times the heart rate dropped a little, but always stayed above 100, which they said was what they wanted. Also, the baby was helping me all the way – even though she turned and gave me some back labor, she also kept wiggling and turning throughout pushing in order to find the best way to come out. We could see her kicking and wiggling from the outside – it was so cool to think of her in there working with me to birth her!
Jen encouraged me to turn onto my side in the tub, that it might make the pushing a little easier. Joel gently held my head above the water as I leaned to the side. For me, starting to push at the beginning of a contraction was painful as I tensed and curled up rather than relaxing, but the pushing itself felt fantastic! I think that’s why I gave it so many pushes each time, and didn’t rest during any contractions from there on out. I was almost reluctant to stop pushing as each contraction subsided. I literally felt no pain as I pushed; instead it felt like a huge relief!
Unfortunately, Jen noticed a little meconium when my water broke so she told me I would have to get out of the tub for the actual delivery. She said this gently but with some humor, and asked me not to kill her for making me get up and walk in the middle of pushing. If I thought getting out was tough during labor, it was just awful during pushing! I had pushed the baby down far enough to be able to easily feel her head when I reached down, so to get up, climb out, and waddle the two steps to the bed was really not ideal. Wow.
My terrific attendants took care of quickly drying me and helping me onto the bed. I got onto my side again to continue pushing. Again, I had no sense of time, it felt like I had only been pushing for a few minutes when Jen and Bev, the nurse, told me that I was getting really close to meeting my baby! They took turns holding a small mirror so that I could see her head. We all touched it and enjoyed the full head of hair that our baby was apparently to be born with. Jen called for oil, and applied it as the baby started to crown, helping me to accommodate her head. She coached me wisely through this part, telling me when to relax and allow the baby’s head to stay where it was for a few moments. It was a very controlled process that allowed my body to adjust and stretch; it was intense, and I felt very full, but it didn’t burn until the baby’s head was actually in the middle of crowning and I was pushing her out. So the “ring of fire” for me was very brief, and a great motivator to get the job done!
Checking the heart rate again just after a contraction that helped the baby to crown, Jen told me that the heart rate had dropped to about 80 or 90. She said it wasn’t an immediate problem, but that the baby needed to come quickly now. She said she would prefer for me to deliver the baby on the next contraction or else she would like to do an episiotomy to help speed it along.
Again, that was all I needed to hear! On the next contraction I gave four of the strongest pushes I could possibly muster. I let out a yell on one, then held the energy inside for two more pushes as I brought my daughter into the world. I watched in the mirror as much as I could, but had to close my eyes to focus. Joel said it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, to watch his daughter be born before his very eyes. She was a sturdy baby with broad shoulders, and Jen helped as I delivered the rest of her body on the next push.
Mikayla's Birth Story, Part 4
At one point, Jen asked me how I was feeling, and my response was, “I’m in the zone!” And she said, “I can tell you are!” Only twice did I verbalize complaints about the pain. Once I told Joel that I couldn’t do it anymore, and he was quick to remind me that that feeling meant I was almost finished! And once when Joel went to call off work for the day, I sneaked a request to the midwife for pain meds. She told me I could have a series of injections that would “burn like crazy” but reduce some of the pain, or the medication that would not take away pain but would make me not care. Even in my condition, I knew that not caring was not an option, and that something that would “burn like crazy” and merely reduce the pain was also not worth it. Onward and upward, medication free! Joel was surprised when I told him later that I had asked. But I’m glad I asked, and decided against it. I feel stronger for it.
While transition was the most intense, it was also one of my favorite parts of labor. I was in my zone, feeling totally in control of my mind and body, and Joel was behind me with his arms around me, kissing my neck and continuously telling me how much he loved me, how amazing I was, and what a great job I was doing. I was certain that he would have broken hands from my squeezing (that’s how I sent all the pain to my hands – I squeezed the life out of his, and occasionally squeezed his shoulders instead. After all that, I can’t believe he was able to hold our baby after she was born!)
For me, transition lasted from 6 a.m. until around 9, when my water finally broke. Just before that, Jen started talking to me about an amniotomy, which would make things more intense but then probably allow me to get to pushing more quickly. She had also presented the idea of having a shot of pitocin just after delivery, to help reduce the odds of hemorrhaging. She explained that since I had had prodromal labor for about a week, my uterus might be fatigued by the time of delivery, which could cause a lot of bleeding. Unfortunately for Jen, but fortunately for us, transition was not the time to be explaining anything more complex than “focus, blow it away”. We were unable to provide a response at the time, and delivery passed with no pitocin shot and no hemorrhaging.
Back to the issue of the amniotomy – I heard Jen talking to the nurse about breaking my water. They knew we had hoped to avoid this, but as transition was taking awhile (though again I had no sense of time, and didn’t actually feel like it was taking a long time), she did make the suggestion. Just as with the pitocin idea, I wasn’t really able to render consent as contractions kept sweeping over me. Then, just after 9 a.m., my water broke spontaneously! We’re so thankful that we put the decision long enough to make it a moot point. For us, it was a clear testimony that waiting and allowing my labor to progress naturally was the best thing for both mama and baby.
Mikayla's Birth Story, Part 3
At this point I need to consult Joel for the sequence of events. I remember distinct positions, feelings, and thoughts from the labor process, but really had no sense of time whatsoever. According to Joel, I got onto my hands and knees for awhile to open some space, and encourage the baby to turn. For some reason it was comfortable for me to lean my forehead against the edge of the tub, but I learned quickly to just do what came naturally to my body! When my arms (and head) grew tired, I sat and leaned back against the side of the tub, with Joel behind me. The back pain continued, but our midwife was super brilliant and knew how to push straight back on my knees, toward my back, to help open my pelvis. That relieved some of the back pain, and we went on like that for a while. The deep, abdominal breathing and relaxation we had learned in our Bradley class continued to serve me well.
Eventually I ended up back on hands and knees, probably because the back labor was continuing and becoming too much in the seated position. It sounds scary, but in between contractions I was able to rest, and Jen’s pushing on my knees did bring quite a bit of relief. But it just wasn’t working to help things change or progress. So back onto hands and knees, and this time Joel and Jen took positions on either side of the birth tub in order to push on my hips. Jackpot! The contractions were getting stronger and stronger, and I found that I had to vocalize in order to manage the pain. I also became very focused on what my body needed, barking at my attendants to push on my hips – now harder! Now stop!
Around 6:00 a.m., Jen checked me again. I honestly don’t remember where this fits into the sequence of events in the labor tub (and neither does Joel), but I do remember how difficult it was to get out of the tub with the baby moving ever further down in my pelvis. I waddled the two steps to the bed, up onto the little stool and onto the bed. Jen checked me – 7 cm dilated – and I promptly threw up ALL over the place. Repeatedly. How humiliating! Jen continuously encouraged me, told me it was normal and perfectly fine, and grabbed something for me to be sick into. At this point I also lost the mucous plug with a little blood. I remember feeling completely at the mercy of my body as I threw up, and a contraction hit – my sensation was of being out of control, watching from a distance as my body just freaked out and convulsed. But, it only lasted a VERY short time, and then I stopped being sick and things came back under control, mentally and physically. I think it must have just been my body’s reaction to the internal check, and contact with my cervix, as well as the beginning of transition.
Back into the tub! Again, the sequence of events is a little fuzzy but as I went into transition things really clicked. I was leaning back in the tub, with Joel behind me outside of the tub with his arms around me. The contractions became incredibly intense. Jen tried to push on my knees again but this time, it was NOT what I needed. I locked into a mental place wherein each time a contraction came, I focused visually on the rubber duck thermometer – some intense eye contact with its one beady little eye! – and mentally clicked into a mantra: Send all the pain to my hands, and blow it away. The deep breathing wasn’t working at that point, since a deep inhale sent my lower body into a frantic attempt to push/convulse. So it became five short, intense exhales and then a nice sharp inhale, repeated throughout the contraction. Mentally sending the pain to my hands enabled me to keep my lower body as relaxed as it needed to be. On a few contractions, I lost focus and felt my body tense up, which made it sort of try to push, and this increased the pain. My advise for transition is this: find what works for you! For me it was the focal point, and having a repetitive breathing and thought pattern, continuously telling myself what to do and focusing intensely on the present moment only. Doing those things really made it bearable, and decreased the pain!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)