More about delivery

Well, JR has been home for 3 weeks now. What an adjustment it has been! My Princess adores him and is always wanting to snuggle him and shower him with kisses. My Prince, when work hasn't sent him out of town, is so super helpful with JR and other chores around the house.

We had JR's 2 week checkup last week. Our usual doctor was out of town, so we had a different one. We didn't like him at all! He was concerned that JR hasn't gained weight since being home (he eats all the time and is super cheerful!). Since he wasn't our regular doctor he didn't know (or care once it was mentioned) that our princess was slow to gain weight too! And then, since he was a tiny bit jaundice (It had been improved since even the day before) the doctor insisted on putting JR through the torture of a bili-ruben (spelling?) test. Poor baby!

I went for my check-up on Monday. According to their scale, I only have 10 pounds to go to be at my pre-pregnancy weight!

I decided to go to a lactation specialist this week and had JR weighed on the same scale he was weighed on at birth. Turns out he is right on track and it was just the scale at the clinic was off compared to the original scale.

As promised, here's how the week JR was born progressed to birth! :)My prince had been sent out of town the Tuesday before JR arrived... and he was several hours away... and didn't make it home until 5:30am the following day (it wasn't supposed to be that long of a trip!). So, Friday comes along and due to all his overtime, he stayed home from work. However, at noon he got a call from work and he was sent right back out of town... a couple hours away! I had been feeling good this whole time, so wasn't too concerned when he got home about midnight.

About 2:30am I got up to use the bathroom and no sooner sat down when I felt a "pop"... my water broke with my Princess in the middle of the afternoon at home, so I recognized the feeling but was shocked it happened so conveniently on the toilet! My prince had gone to bed on the couch that night to avoid my worsening snoring (due to a cold and pregnancy). He is a deep sleeper and I had to call to him 3 or 4 times before he came to see what I needed. He was at a loss as to what to do to help! He brought me my phone and I started making calls to find somebody to come stay with the Princess. By 3am a friend made it over to stay the night. A blizzard was on its way, so the in-laws weren't able to make it in to town to help.

We got me settled into my room at the birthing center about 3:30am. I was actually starting to feel contractions! I never felt any with Princess when she was born. They were getting worse, so the nurse checked to see how things were coming. I had only dilated to 1 by 6am and JR hadn't dropped yet! They gave me some morphine which helped the pain, but things just weren't progressing. They decided the safest thing for me would be a second c-section. By this time I was all for it! So much for a v-bac... I didn't want any more pain.

I walked to the OR just before 9am, and at 9:11am I was looking at my beautiful, but quiet, baby boy from across the room. The morphine I had been administered made him to tired to want to breathe on his own. I remember being concerned for him but yet not feeling the normal fear I would have otherwise felt. They gave him a shot of something to counteract the morphine and he screamed! What a beautiful noise! My prince went with JR to the NICU for a few minutes observation. They stitched me and glued me shut and wheeled me back to my room. Shortly I was joined by my hubby and our beautiful bundle.

precious

Just 3 days old.

Meet our newest addition!

JR was born on February 9th at 9:11 am via c-section. He was 7 lbs 13.3 oz and 20 inches long. He had a little trouble in the beginning as the morphine I had been given made him so lethargic he didn't want to breathe on his own. The NICU gave him a shot of something to counteract the morphine. As soon as the shot got into his system, he was fine and has been doing good ever since.

The rest of the story later!

No changes - 37 weeks

Well, I had a doctor appointment yesterday. It went well. I had her check if I was dilating yet, and I'm not, which is a relief as my prince is about 4 hours away today. Baby is getting big. I'm scheduled for another ultrasound on Tuesday next week to check baby's size. I'm also seeing a regular OB instead of my midwife to make sure my body can handle a vaginal after having a c-section last time.

Rough weekend

Well, I was feeling pretty good until mid morning on Friday. I started getting really bad cramps in my back and alot of tightening in my stomach. We took of for the in-laws anyway so we could be there for Grandpa's visitation at the funeral home that evening. The whole ride there was agony. We even had to stop halfway there (about 25 minutes into a 45 minute drive) so I could get out and stretch and use the bathroom. We got to Prince's parents and he rubbed my back a while. It helped some... but the cramping came back. On our way to the funeral home, I called the birthing center where I plan on having baby. After telling them my symptoms and and asking a few questions, they almost wanted me to come right in! I told them where I was and why and they decided that I should do my best to relax and go lay down as soon as possible. It was probably stress of the weekend causing my issues. So, we went to the funeral home but didn't stay the entire time. Instead we went to our hotel and got to bed early. One thing that the nurses said that have me stressed is that the midwife I attend should have had me see a regular doctor to get me approved to have a vaginal birth after having had a c-section. I haven't had that yet and didn't know it was necessary! Luckily, I see my midwife on Monday and can ask her about that. The nurses says they usually don't want you to have cramping/contractions with c-sections if possible. I can completely understand as miserable as I was feeling.

Well, Saturday I got up feeling much better and had much fewer cramps. Still some tightening of my stomach, but I survived the day. The funeral was very nice and it was fun visiting with all the relatives. We spent most of the day at the church and headed home instead of back to the in-laws. I got another early nights sleep and have been feeling mostly good today. I few spots on my tummy that pull that hadn't pulled before, but otherwise not to bad.

I'm 37 weeks today, and my Princess was born at 37 weeks... so anytime would be good. HOping to get a new picture posted in the next day or two as my tummy is again changing shapes and sizes.