2/25/05
Friday, February 25, 2005
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Paranoia
ACK! Someone should have warned me about this.
It's really not so bad, if you don't mind never sleeping. Nolan sleeps great. I don't sleep much at all.
I just get so paranoid. "They" tell you that you should always lay babies on their backs to sleep; it's supposed to reduce the risk of SIDS. So that's great, one less worry on my mind, right? Not a chance. I lay him on his back, like a good mommie, get in bed (approximately 6 inches from the bassinet) and then I lay there listening. Every noise must be carefully analyzed, to make sure it's not him spitting up and drowning. Because when I lay him on his back, how's he supposed to breathe if he spits up?
I am well armed, with my trusty red flashlight sitting within easy reach. Red so it doesn't glare and wake him up when I shine it on him to make sure he's not choking.
So he finally goes to sleep. Whew. Quiet. Great, I know he's not choking. On the other hand, I can't tell if he's breathing or not. At least when he's making noise, I know he's got to be getting air into his lungs. So I lay there, with my trusty red flashlight, staring at his chest, watching him breathe.
Jerry, of course, is dead to the world the moment his head hits the pillow. How nice would that be? Sleep, I mean. He must have a clear concience, because he and Nolan sleep exactly alike. Like the dead. Nothing, and I mean nothing, short of a nuclear explosion will wake either of them up.
Gosh, I'm jealous. I hope I feel better when Nolan's old enough to roll himself over...but of course, then I'll probably invent something ELSE to worry about.
It's really not so bad, if you don't mind never sleeping. Nolan sleeps great. I don't sleep much at all.
I just get so paranoid. "They" tell you that you should always lay babies on their backs to sleep; it's supposed to reduce the risk of SIDS. So that's great, one less worry on my mind, right? Not a chance. I lay him on his back, like a good mommie, get in bed (approximately 6 inches from the bassinet) and then I lay there listening. Every noise must be carefully analyzed, to make sure it's not him spitting up and drowning. Because when I lay him on his back, how's he supposed to breathe if he spits up?
I am well armed, with my trusty red flashlight sitting within easy reach. Red so it doesn't glare and wake him up when I shine it on him to make sure he's not choking.
So he finally goes to sleep. Whew. Quiet. Great, I know he's not choking. On the other hand, I can't tell if he's breathing or not. At least when he's making noise, I know he's got to be getting air into his lungs. So I lay there, with my trusty red flashlight, staring at his chest, watching him breathe.
Jerry, of course, is dead to the world the moment his head hits the pillow. How nice would that be? Sleep, I mean. He must have a clear concience, because he and Nolan sleep exactly alike. Like the dead. Nothing, and I mean nothing, short of a nuclear explosion will wake either of them up.
Gosh, I'm jealous. I hope I feel better when Nolan's old enough to roll himself over...but of course, then I'll probably invent something ELSE to worry about.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Moo Moo Buckaroo
I am a cow.
No, not a cow in the negative connotation. I mean a milk cow. It seems that 90% of my waking hours are spent either hooked up to a baby or a milking machine.
Of course, I'm not trading it for anything....I mean, just look at him! How adorable can you get? I've decided it's a good thing us mothers think their babies are so cute, or they'd never survive. If they were ugly, all the nursing, changing, and time they take would be awfully hard to justify. (yeah, I'm just kidding!!!)
Seriously, though. The boy child has no problem in the eating department. He's pretty much eating every 2 hours during the day, and every 4 hours at night. And there's an equation, I'm sure you might have heard of it.... It's e=mc2...you know, that Einstein theory of relativity thing. What they don't tell you is that it originally was an equation to determine the amount of poop an infant can produce. Bet you didn't know that the origin of the discovery that energy and mass are related was based on poopy diapers. It goes like this. The amount of poop in a diaper (p) is in direct proportion to the number (n) of feedings times the amount of milk (a) squared. So the equation is actually p=na2.
And now I must go...I am being "summoned". In the meantime, check out his pictures below. They are guaranteed to make you smile because he's just so cute.
No, not a cow in the negative connotation. I mean a milk cow. It seems that 90% of my waking hours are spent either hooked up to a baby or a milking machine.
Of course, I'm not trading it for anything....I mean, just look at him! How adorable can you get? I've decided it's a good thing us mothers think their babies are so cute, or they'd never survive. If they were ugly, all the nursing, changing, and time they take would be awfully hard to justify. (yeah, I'm just kidding!!!)
Seriously, though. The boy child has no problem in the eating department. He's pretty much eating every 2 hours during the day, and every 4 hours at night. And there's an equation, I'm sure you might have heard of it.... It's e=mc2...you know, that Einstein theory of relativity thing. What they don't tell you is that it originally was an equation to determine the amount of poop an infant can produce. Bet you didn't know that the origin of the discovery that energy and mass are related was based on poopy diapers. It goes like this. The amount of poop in a diaper (p) is in direct proportion to the number (n) of feedings times the amount of milk (a) squared. So the equation is actually p=na2.
And now I must go...I am being "summoned". In the meantime, check out his pictures below. They are guaranteed to make you smile because he's just so cute.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
1st Doctor's Appointment
8 lb 10 oz, pronounced as healthy as can be.
He was 8 lb 6 oz when we left the hospital.
He was 8 lb 6 oz when we left the hospital.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Welcome Nolan!
He's here!
The official stats are:
February 4, 2005
10:35am
8 lb 15 oz
21 inches long
35cm head
Pictures below!
We were not expecting quite the experience that we had, but everything turned out beautifully. I had my normal weekly checkup appointment on Thursday afternoon, and discovered that I was 100% effaced and my water was ready to break any second. The doctor, however, couldn't feel a head in the correct position, and thought he felt a little on the large side, so we went over to the hospital for an ultrasound.
The ultrasound showed that Nolan was Frank breech, (that means he was in the fetal position, head up) so we were scheduled for a c-section at 8am Friday morning, unless I went into labor sooner. We arrived at the hospital at around 7:30, and I did go into active labor while I was there, but fortunately I only had to go through about 10 hard contractions before I got into surgery.
*That* was an experince and a half. Jerry and I were escorted to the surgery suite, where he was asked to wait in the hall until I was prepped. Fortunately, the surgical nurse happened to be an extremely good client at the clinic where I worked, so she really helped me through getting the spinal block. Really, it was not that bad...a little pinchy, then wonderful, blessed numbness. It was a little odd, though...I would have sworn I could tell where my feet were, until I looked up into the reflective light fixture and discovered one leg out at nearly a right angle to my body.
Anyway, Jerry was allowed in and sat beside my head. He asked the anesthesiologist how long the procedure would take, and the doctor answered "Oh, about 3 more minutes." And then we had a baby! I remember looking at him and not really believing that he was my baby. He was HUGE! He looked like a baby a couple of months old. The Doctor made the comment that he had the apperance of a baby that was a bit overdue, so apparently our due dates were still not quite right!
I was probably in the surgery suite a total of about 20 minutes, including prep, surgery, closing, etc. I never dreamed it would be that fast. Honestly, I couldn't have had a better experience, for as nervous as I was. Easy as pie. I did get nauseated from the spinal block, but other than that, no problem! I was pretty sore for a couple of days, but they do a great job of keeping your pain under control. I had a self-medication button that gave me demerol every 30 minutes, then after that, the oral medication kept everything quite bearable.
The c-section was a blessing in disguise...Dr. said he was large enough that I would not have been able to have him naturally, even if he had been vertex. So I'm very glad that I didn't have to go through hours and hours of completely useless labor.
At any rate, Nolan's here, healthy, and we're slowly figuring each other out. He's a great baby, not really "fussy", he only really wails when he has a gas bubble that just won't come out. We're enjoying him an awful lot!
The official stats are:
February 4, 2005
10:35am
8 lb 15 oz
21 inches long
35cm head
Pictures below!
We were not expecting quite the experience that we had, but everything turned out beautifully. I had my normal weekly checkup appointment on Thursday afternoon, and discovered that I was 100% effaced and my water was ready to break any second. The doctor, however, couldn't feel a head in the correct position, and thought he felt a little on the large side, so we went over to the hospital for an ultrasound.
The ultrasound showed that Nolan was Frank breech, (that means he was in the fetal position, head up) so we were scheduled for a c-section at 8am Friday morning, unless I went into labor sooner. We arrived at the hospital at around 7:30, and I did go into active labor while I was there, but fortunately I only had to go through about 10 hard contractions before I got into surgery.
*That* was an experince and a half. Jerry and I were escorted to the surgery suite, where he was asked to wait in the hall until I was prepped. Fortunately, the surgical nurse happened to be an extremely good client at the clinic where I worked, so she really helped me through getting the spinal block. Really, it was not that bad...a little pinchy, then wonderful, blessed numbness. It was a little odd, though...I would have sworn I could tell where my feet were, until I looked up into the reflective light fixture and discovered one leg out at nearly a right angle to my body.
Anyway, Jerry was allowed in and sat beside my head. He asked the anesthesiologist how long the procedure would take, and the doctor answered "Oh, about 3 more minutes." And then we had a baby! I remember looking at him and not really believing that he was my baby. He was HUGE! He looked like a baby a couple of months old. The Doctor made the comment that he had the apperance of a baby that was a bit overdue, so apparently our due dates were still not quite right!
I was probably in the surgery suite a total of about 20 minutes, including prep, surgery, closing, etc. I never dreamed it would be that fast. Honestly, I couldn't have had a better experience, for as nervous as I was. Easy as pie. I did get nauseated from the spinal block, but other than that, no problem! I was pretty sore for a couple of days, but they do a great job of keeping your pain under control. I had a self-medication button that gave me demerol every 30 minutes, then after that, the oral medication kept everything quite bearable.
The c-section was a blessing in disguise...Dr. said he was large enough that I would not have been able to have him naturally, even if he had been vertex. So I'm very glad that I didn't have to go through hours and hours of completely useless labor.
At any rate, Nolan's here, healthy, and we're slowly figuring each other out. He's a great baby, not really "fussy", he only really wails when he has a gas bubble that just won't come out. We're enjoying him an awful lot!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
No baby yet!
Nope, nothing.
I am getting very impatient, and the waiting, of course, has me thinking of all sorts of things.
The doctor says if I have not gone into labor by 41 weeks (that's 2 weeks from today) that they will induce labor. While at that point, I may be ready for *anything* to get this kid out, it still worries me a bit.
You see, my ex-sister-in-law had a *terrible* experience with induction. Also, when I first got pregnant, my due date was March 5. After seeing the doctor the first time, she said I was "too big" to be 10 weeks along, and suggested we do an ultrasound to make sure there weren't twins in there. The ultrasound showed only one baby, but one that was an entire 4 weeks farther along than we thought I was.
Thus my worry. If I hit 41 weeks, what's to say that the ultrasound was not accurate (happens more often than you would think) and the doctor wants to induce, then I could actually be at 37 weeks, which puts the baby 3 weeks early. I would hope they'd do more tests and maybe another ultrasound to see for sure if he's ready to be born, at that point!
Also, I'm a little sad. Sort of like the sad some people are at weddings. My life is about to change in a vastly drastic manner. For the past nine and a half years, it's just been me and Jerry. Just the two of us. That will never be the case again, and it's a big change.
I suppose I'm not complaining. I wanted this little guy from the start, and honestly, the pregnancy has been great. Even now, I'm not miserable, as much as I moan about wanting the kid OUT, it's not a factor of uncomfortableness, it's simply me being impatient to meet him. Not that I'm really all that comfortable. It's just not so uncomfortable that I'm completely unhappy all the time.
The really hard thing is sleep. I have to get up about once an hour to "use the facilities" and people keep telling me that I should sleep now, because after Nolan's here, I won't be sleeping! I figure it can't be that much worse than getting up every hour. We'll see. I may change my tune!
I am getting very impatient, and the waiting, of course, has me thinking of all sorts of things.
The doctor says if I have not gone into labor by 41 weeks (that's 2 weeks from today) that they will induce labor. While at that point, I may be ready for *anything* to get this kid out, it still worries me a bit.
You see, my ex-sister-in-law had a *terrible* experience with induction. Also, when I first got pregnant, my due date was March 5. After seeing the doctor the first time, she said I was "too big" to be 10 weeks along, and suggested we do an ultrasound to make sure there weren't twins in there. The ultrasound showed only one baby, but one that was an entire 4 weeks farther along than we thought I was.
Thus my worry. If I hit 41 weeks, what's to say that the ultrasound was not accurate (happens more often than you would think) and the doctor wants to induce, then I could actually be at 37 weeks, which puts the baby 3 weeks early. I would hope they'd do more tests and maybe another ultrasound to see for sure if he's ready to be born, at that point!
Also, I'm a little sad. Sort of like the sad some people are at weddings. My life is about to change in a vastly drastic manner. For the past nine and a half years, it's just been me and Jerry. Just the two of us. That will never be the case again, and it's a big change.
I suppose I'm not complaining. I wanted this little guy from the start, and honestly, the pregnancy has been great. Even now, I'm not miserable, as much as I moan about wanting the kid OUT, it's not a factor of uncomfortableness, it's simply me being impatient to meet him. Not that I'm really all that comfortable. It's just not so uncomfortable that I'm completely unhappy all the time.
The really hard thing is sleep. I have to get up about once an hour to "use the facilities" and people keep telling me that I should sleep now, because after Nolan's here, I won't be sleeping! I figure it can't be that much worse than getting up every hour. We'll see. I may change my tune!
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