My Dad said, "Alton looks bored."
The photographer started making funny noises... Alton started
to enjoy our session a little more.
At this point, Alton was smiling genuinely.
A real smile, and his first laugh. :)
Alton was DONE.
He perked up a little bit more...
Hanging with Daddy
I absolutely LOVE this picture of him in his Snuggle Nest. He is so cute,
alert and happy!
This is long. If you want to see any of the pictures click on them to make them bigger.
Like everyone else on the board, I thought I would have my baby early. My husband was born two weeks early; and never mind that I was born two weeks late; I was convinced Alton would make an early appearance. My due date came, and went. Thursday morning at 5 AM, four days past my due date, I lost my mucous plug and there was bright red blood on the toilet paper. Because I had two previous abruption episodes, I was convinced this meant another one had occurred and I would be having my baby that day.
Travis and I went to the hospital and I was sent for a NST and fluid check. The told me that both the baby and I were fine. I had an
dilated. Because I had convinced myself that today was baby day, I asked her to induce me, even though we took Bradley training and it went against our birth plan. She informed me that I was “not a favorable candidate for induction and that it was not likely that I would be going into labor over the weekend. She scheduled another NST and fluid check for Monday morning. Since I would be 41 weeks and one day on Monday, she also scheduled me for an induction on Monday evening. I cried and went home with Travis.
Monday morning came. We packed up the car, kenneled the dogs, and went to the hospital. We were convinced we had done all of this in vain and that we would be returning home that night.
Alton
They sent me downstairs to get my fluid level checked. We went down and chatted back and forth about what day I thought I would go into labor… they hooked me up to the machine and the tech started making noises as she scanned Alton. They sent me back upstairs and we were fully expecting to go home. Instead, the nurse handed me a hospital bracelet and took me to a room. We told her that we had decided to postpone the induction. Rae Ann (the triage nurse)
told me that my fluid level had only been 3 mm and my doctor had instructed her to begin an induction. Travis and I were both startled, and I said, “But we haven’t even fought about that!” Because even though I’d said I wanted to wait until Thursday, I really wanted to have
my baby sooner.
We called Maggie who had to come up from
Alton
Maggie and I decided to send Travis home. They weren’t going to start Pitocin until 1 AM. Maggie figured that the chair that unfolded into a bed wasn’t long enough for Travis and my real labor wouldn’t start until morning anyway. At about 11,
They started the Pitocin at about 1:15. I had to get up to go to the bathroom about every 30 minutes. I was unable to get the solid sleep I wanted to get before labor hit. The pitocin contractions never got very strong; in fact, I’ve had worse period cramps. Then about 5:30,
I asked her, “What is the razor for?”
“They told me to prep you for your c-section.”
“My what?”
She shaved me and left the room. A new nurse came on at 7. By this time, Maggie was awake and aware of what was going on. We asked the bright eyed nurse, “When will my c-section be?” She said likely around 9. We called Travis and then Maggie left so that she could pick up her daughter Hannah who was staying at our house with Trav’s Aunt Laurel. She had to take her over to my friend Roxanne’s house so that she could watch her during the day.
While both Maggie and Travis were gone, the nurse came back in and gave me some NASTY sour tasting stuff. She said it would neutralize the contents of my tummy. Still no Travis. She unhooked all of the monitors and then left. She came back and said that there had been a cancellation and that my c-section had been moved up to 7:15, which was in 20 minutes. Travis came in just before they wheeled me off to surgery. Dr. Lynch came in and we asked her if Maggie could come into the room with us. She said it was okay with her, but not up to her, we
had to ask the anesthesiologist.
At this point, the reality of my situation set in and I started to cry. Every pregnancy book I read had a chapter on c-sections. I ALWAYS skipped it because I was going to have natural child birth. On the tour of both hospitals we toured, I would get the chills whenever they would show us where c-sections occurred. I always told myself, “it doesn’t matter, I am having natural
childbirth.”
As they wheeled me into the overly lit operating room, I started to shake. I cried even more. The anesthesiologist introduced himself and had me sit up. He missed 4 times!!!!!!! On the fourth miss, he hit a nerve and it sent pain spasms through my entire body. He FINALLY inserted whatever it was he inserted for my spinal block. I heard him tell the nurse, it was MY fault he missed so many times because I was so overweight. I was about to get upset and say
something, but then the spinal started to work. It was the most awful sensation.
Then I started to panic. I COULD NOT BREATHE. At least, I couldn’t feel myself breathing. I told the nurse, “I can’t breathe.” She assured me that I could. So I started saying over
and over again, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” The anesthesiologist’s response was to yell at me and to cram an oxygen mask over my face. This made me even more claustrophobic. I started to try to take the mask off, but my hands weren’t working. So I waved them in the air as much as I could, which wasn’t much because of the drugs. My head was turned to the side, and I saw my doctor’s purse as she walked in.
I heard him tell her, “she is very combative, I had to tie her hands down, we have to get this baby out of her.” I was still trying to move my restrained hands when they finally let Travis in.
At this point, I did not know, but Maggie had gotten back to the hospital just in time to see Travis going to the OR, and he was able to get her into the OR with us so that she could see
When he came in, I told him immediately about my breathing situation. Surely he could do something to overpower the mean anesthesiologist. But my husband just assured me that I could breathe. He informed that if I was talking, I could breathe. But in my head, my voice was getting lower and lower in volume. I was absolutely beside myself, but thankfully, my husband was able to lovingly stroke my head and relax me. I heard Dr. Lynch say that they were getting started….
When they opened me up, they were able to see the head, but he crawled up higher! Dr. Lynch’s assistant
Thankfully, I was unaware of this at the time. It was a good thing they did the c-section. I had absolutely no fluid left at all. On A Baby Story when they do a section, you always hear them tell the mother that she will feel some pressure. I felt no pressure when they cut
At this point, I was still completely out of it. Maggie took some great photos and the mean anesthesiologist somewhat redeemed himself and instructed Maggie where to stand to get the best pictures. I heard Maggie exclaim when they lifted him out, “Oh Jen, he is beautiful and he has dark hair!” Well she was half right, he is beautiful, but he ended up with Daddy’s red hair.
It was really important to us that we were the first ones to hold our baby; and we weren’t because of the section. But as soon as they had him weighed, measured and cleaned up, Travis
brought him over to me and placed him on my chest. They had untied my hands at some point and I was able to use one of them to stroke his tiny head. I just stared at him through my opium-like haze.
They took him away to go to the nursery. Travis went with him and I was wheeled off to recovery. I got the absolute worst itching from the morphine they gave me. I scratched my face and chest like I had fleas. They gave me some Benadryl to make the itching go away, but it too, put me into a catatonic state.
The whole rest of the first day is a big blur. I remember two candy stripers coming in and saying that they had something I knew I wanted;
“My baby is here?”
“No we just brought you some beautiful flowers.”
My disappointment was evident. I ended up waiting three hours before they brought him to me.
When Travis and the nurse finally brought
Then that night, Travis was in a bad mood and I still felt drugged out of my mind. We decided to send him to the nursery after I fed him at midnight. The nurse assured me that they would bring him to me to eat at 3. They never brought him!
I woke up at 8:30 yearning for my little boy and he was still in the nursery. I did not know any better and just assumed it was okay that he slept through the night.
The next night, the same thing happened. I woke up at 7:30 and decided to talk to the nursery and get him myself. They had told me that they would bring him in for a feeding at 5:30. I assumed that he was being cared for and just slept through. When I got there, there were four nurses in the nursery. One was taking care of a new arrival, but the others were chatting. I found
soaked and poopy. He got diaper rash from sitting there in his dirty diaper. The nursery pediatrician was in there so I asked her if he had diaper rash. She looked at him and said he did. I found diapering supplies and changed him right then. While I was changing him, I found a note in his bassinette stating he should be brought back at 5:30 for a feeding.
I was crushed. I slowly wheeled him in his bassinette back to our room and fed him. I called my nurse into the room, but she did not know why he hadn’t been brought back for a feeding at
three and the nurse who had been in charge of us was off at 7.
He went on to continue to feed and sleep well. We came home from the hospital on Saturday with the crew for Bringing Home Baby. But that is an overly long story for another day.
There are good points to this story. My fluid level was non-existent when they got him out, so it is a good thing it happened when it did. He was already not responding well to the induction, so he never would have handled real labor. Both my husband and my best friend were able to be there to see
Alton
I went to my dr. appointment yesterday and I cried. Not only did the castor oil not give me so much as a toot, my cervix was less effaced than last time and still not one centimeter dilated. I cried. Even with Travis there with me, I asked Dr. Lynch to induce me and she said I was "not favorable" for induction. She said she could induce me today, but I would have a 75% chance of ending up with a c-section. This is because the baby is still floating and has not gotten his little head down into the pelvis.
The good news is that I have started to lose pieces of my mucous plug, so who knows? Maybe I won't make it to my next NST and biophysical profile on Monday. On Monday, if I am looking more favorable towards induction, she will induce me after all of my tests are done.
So we had to make arrangements for Jack and Lucy. If Alton had come on time like he was supposed to, Uncle Alex was going to stay here with them and walk them and stuff for free. But Al starts his new job on Monday in Santa Monica, so he is unavailable for dog watching. Now on our way to the hospital on Monday, we are dropping them off at a boarding kennel by the other hospital. I know they will be safe there and they give the puppies a bath the day you are going to pick them up that includes an ear cleaning and toe-nail trimming. WHOOT! Having someone else trim their nails is worth every penny, trust me.
I found out that the low lying pain i have frequently isn't a weird contraction. It is Alton's little head trying to descend into the pelvis. Now that I know what it is, it makes it a lot easier to endure.
So it is starting to feel real now, I could have a baby on Monday or Tuesday!
I am really trying to not take it personally. So my son doesn't want to meet me. That's fine. :(
Travis and I went to six stores last night looking for castor oil. I am really to that point. The threee drug stores we tried were closed, and Pavilions and neither Ralphs had any.
The UPS man just delivered The Lorax by. Dr. Seuss. I don't remember it from childhood, but it looks good.
Last night was kind of exciting; I thought I was in labor. I had strong contractions for about 3 hours, 10 minutes apart. Then they just stopped. I am mostly okay with that because it means I was able to sleep a deep, whole night's sleep. I am afraid of going into labor at bed time because it means I will not be well rested for labor. I am sort of disapointed though because it means I am still pregant, and even worse, over due.
Kristina brought John John and Elayna over yesterday and we went to the pool. John John did not want to swim, he just wanted to splash everyone. We had a good time, and they stayed and joined us for tacos that Travis made without complaint. :)
The dogs are currently fracasing and causing a commotion. It is entertaining when they do that. :)
The lanugo has mostly disappeared, but you'll probably find a bit on his shoulders, arms and legs and in those protected little bodily creases. It will vanish completely on its own in time.
His lungs are maturing and surfactant production is increasing and fully prepared to take on the outside world!
Your baby doesn't have much room to move and certainly mom agrees! Did you imagine 8 months ago that this wee one would be able to hook a toe in your ribs while elbowing your bladder? He certainly has grown!
His body continues laying on the fat stores that will help regulate his body temperature after birth. In addition to normal fat, he is accumulating a special "brown" fat in the nape of his neck, between his shoulders and around organs. Brown fat cells are important for thermogenesis (generating heat) during his first weeks.
Your infant's weight is around 7.25 pounds (3288gm) and length is 19.9 inches (50.7cm).
I am so ready for him to be "Done". He isn't making me overly uncomfortable. Thankfully he has not been playing bongos with my ribs. But I do have the gosh awful heartburn.
When I went to the doctor on Thursday, I was not dilated AT ALL. She said I was about 40% effaced, but to be honest, I think she was being charitable because she knew how disappointed I was about not progressing.
I have been having weird uterus twinges and discomfort "down there". My Bradley teacher assures me this is normal and I am taking it as a sign that things are getting warmed up for the big day.
We asked a couple of couples from our home group to come to the hospital to lay hands on me and pray with us when I go into labor. Dave and Roxanne were one of the couples and they will be in Texas until tomorrow. So Travis would like for me to wait until at least Wednesday to go into labor. Dave was so touched that we would ask him, that Travis is convinced that God won't let me go into labor until Dave can be there.
Travis is going to bring his laptop to the hospital and we got a new digital camera to take fabulous pictures of our new little boy when he arrives, so we should be able to post stuff quickly upon his arrival.
Thank you all for your kind comments. :)
Week Thirty-Eight
If he is the "average baby," he weights 6.8 pounds (3083gm)and is 19.6 inches (49.8cm) long.
Have you noticed she hiccups a lot? Because there is no air around her, those breathing exercises cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe. The result? Hiccups!
Your child's intestines are accumulating lots of meconium. Meconium takes on the role of being your baby's first bowel movement -- removing the waste that has accumulated.
He may have a full head of hair now -- an inch or more long! Don't be surprised if it's an unexpected color. Some blond couples have dark haired babies; some dark haired couples have red-haired babies; some couples have babies with only peach fuzz! It may just persuade you to take a closer look at your family tree!
Circumference of head and abdomen are about the same size for your baby. No wonder it's so hard to get a t-shirt over a newborn's head!
Poor Alton, he has no chance to have a small head. Both mommy and daddy are melon heads. Travis and I can wear the same sized fitted baseball cap.
Travis and I taking advantage of the fact that this might be our last child free weekend. We are going to the movies and we are going shopping. Should be a good time!
I had my OB check-up today. My blood pressure is low, my baby is high, and my cervix is still closed up tight like a drum. Hence, no baby for me this weekend. I will be 38 weeks on Sunday and Travis was two weeks early, so I was hoping this weekend might be the weekend I get to meet my son.
Next Thursday I will have another OB appointment and next Friday is a full moon, so maybe next weekend will be my weekend!!!
Travis hopes he will stay in until at least the 6th. Friends of ours from home group are going to be out of town until the 5th, and we asked the husband to come to the hospital to lay hands on me in prayer to help me cope with labor better. If Dave isn't back yet when I go into labor, I will be disappointed, but there are other people we can call.
Have a good weekend. If you are reading this, drop a comment please. They brighten my day. :)
Andrea Rooks has interviewed me. She was my college roommate, and the only person besides Travis that I lived with for more than a year that I did not end up disliking.
1. How are you most like your parents?
Aren't we all trying to avoid becoming like our parents?
It has always been said that I look exactly like my dad, only with longer, prettier hair. Besides the obvious physical similarities, I notice I have very similar body language to my dad. I catch my self holding my posture a certain way and I am struck with "whoa, Dad does that too!" I think I have his sense of humor too, and though he rarely smiles, I have seen him do it and I have his dimples.
My mother has always lamented the fact that I am nothing like her. "You don't seem to have an ounce of Goodson (her maiden name) blood in you!" I would get this accusation on a fairly regular basis from her when I was growing up. I am a lot more outgoing than my dad though, so I am guessing this comes from my mom.
Even though you did not ask, my sister is practically a carbon copy of my mom down to her personality.
2. What do you think will change the most in your life once Alton is born (besides sleep)?
This thought has been on my mind a lot lately. I really wanted to be a mother. But beyond giving birth and breast feeding him for the first year, I didn't think it through a whole lot. I realize even now, my priorities have shifted. I am trying harder to save money, and I have no interest in buying things for me any more. It has all become about the little guy.
The most petty, but big change was something we realized recently. Travis and I love to travel. We especially love to go places at the drop of a hat for a weekend, or during the "off season" so things aren't as crowded. Now that we are going to have a little boy, Travis pointed out, "we are going to have to go on vacation when everyone else does!!!" Once Alton starts school we won't be able to go anywhere mid-week or during the fall, which is an excellent time to go on vacation.
One last thing, I have always figured I would go back to school at one point. I realized a few months ago, (I actually had a dream about it) that I won't be able to do that for quite a while, at least until Alton and the player to be named later (a younger sibling) start first grade.
3. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Oh this one is hard. I am a VERY judgmental person and I form opinions like nobody's business. I think though it would have to be horrible customer service. I worked for Starbucks for three years and I know how to give GOOD customer service. So it really bothers me when sales associates or servers aren't very helpful and make it obvious that they would rather be anywhere but where they are.
Second and it had to be mentioned because it is that annoying to me, is when you call a customer service line for your credit card company or your cell phone company and the CSR is in India. They mean well, but they are so hard to understand and I NEVER get satisfaction when I call and have to try to have a problem solved be them. I have been yelled at a couple of times, and hung up on more than once. I guess that falls under the bad customer service umbrella
though.
4. What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment in life?
Well I haven't given birth yet, and I haven't finished school. So I think I would have to say becoming Christian and marrying such a Godly man. After my rough upbringing and family drama growing up, I never thought I would want to get married and have a family.
That is one reason I am so thankful for my brief time at Cal Poly. I was able to see people like Andrea who came from a Christian family that wasn't perfect, but were able to get along and have healthy relationships with each other. It made me realize that I wanted my future spouse to be a man who grew up in a Christian home.
It still boggles my mind that God decided that I was worthy of Travis. He is a wonderful husband, he will a tremendous daddy, and he is a Godly man. He has incredible faith in the Lord and I pray that Alton gets that from him.
The other thing would be that I finally learned how to manage money and I am no longer in debt. :)
5. If you could pick up one hobby and were guaranteed success, what would you do?
I have always said that if I could change one thing about myself, it wouldn't be to lose 100 pounds (although that would be nice too) it would be to have a nice singing voice. Not a make my living from my singing voice, voice. But one that was pleasant and people liked hearing. Travis always teases me that he married his dad. Lowell would often sing very loudly and very off key. I have to remind my husband (who has forbidden me to sing to anyone except our child, and that is only until he knows better) that God said to make a joyful noise, not make an in
tune and on key noise.
When I was at Cal Poly, I always went to Worship practice for large group, but I never got to be one of the singers up front. I always wanted to be one of the singers up front!!!
Now that you’ve read my interview, you call play along. Here’s what you do:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (If I don’t have your email address already, either leave it in the comment or email me at Jen2678 @ msn.com
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Week Thirty-Seven
This week, the average size is about 6.3 pounds (2859gm) now and 19.1 inches (48.6cm) length.
She is official full term now but can still benefit from extra days in the womb.
Your baby continues to practice breathing movements. Isn't it amazing how she can breathe "under water?"
Grasp is firm now. It won't be long until you'll feel that strong little fist confidently grasping your finger (or tightly clenching your hair)!
A few weeks ago, your baby would move her eyes toward light. Now she turns towards light outside the uterus.
" As the uterine wall stretches and thins allowing more light to permeate, he develops definite daily activity cycles. You will want to be sure to establish good patterns yourself at this time, thus encouraging them in your child. Ever heard of a baby getting his days/nights mixed up? Now's the time to try to avoid that!
Now if they would just tell me how to do that I would be all set!
Travis is sick this morning. He woke up yesterday with a funny thoat, and he woke up this morning about two AM crashing and banging around the bathroom looking for cold medicine and Afrin to clear his nose. I feel so badly for him, he rarely gets sick, but when he does it lays him out!
Yesterday Lynn fron our home group and I went to Burke Williams and got fabulous pregnancy massages. She is due 10 weeks after I am and is having a little girl. Lynn suggested that we should just plan their arranged marriage now. We then tried to go get pedicures, but my nail place closed at 6 and we got there at 7:15. :( We did call our husbands and had them meet us at Lucille's for dinner. YUM! I broke down and had the fried chicken. It was sooooo good! Jason and Lynn are a fun couple and we had a good time at what might have been our last un-childed hurrah.
I need to clean the office today and pack my suitcase for the hospital. There is a full moon on June 1st and next weekend we are going to try to do things to induce labor. I will be 38 weeks next Sunday, so I think that will have been adequate time to Alton to incubate. I will keep you all posted.
Week Thirty-Six
Your baby is almost ready and most likely, so are you! The only organ still to mature is the lungs. While certainly you are both growing anxious to meet, remember that each day (up to 42 weeks), that your little one stays within your womb will multiply his chances to breathe on his own.
If he hasn't already, this week your baby may drop into the birth canal. While breathing for mom becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite! If he's not your first baby, this "lightening" may not occur until right before labor.
Fat is dimpling your baby's elbows and knees, and forming creases in the neck and wrists.
His skin is growing smooth and, shall we say it, "baby" soft.
His gums are very rigid. It won't be many months before you'll see his teeth.
She has a fully developed pair of kidneys and her liver has begun processing some waste products.
Your child's average size is now 18.66 inches (47.4cm) and 5.78 pounds (2622 g). Between now and birth she will gain about an ounce a day!
We changed the hospital we are going to deliver at. We found out that Little Company of Mary has a spa tub for laboring mommies! They also have multiple full time lactation consultants, and they are much more natural delivery friendly than Torrance Memorial is. I went and pre-registered there today, so we are good to go for baby launch!
Small problem though, I tested positive for Strep B cultures, so I have to go to the hospital as soon as I am in labor, which means no lengthy laboring time at home like we'd planned. :( Strep B is a bacteria we all have on our skin, and mine just happens to have gotten into the birth canal which can cause Alton to become VERY sick when he is born if I do not receive IV anti-biotics while I am in labor. If you know me well, you know I am not a fan of IVs or needles. :( At least our little boy will be safe.
One of the other neat things about LCOM is that they keep the baby in the room with you pretty much at all times. They even do the newborn tests and his first bath right there in your delivery room, so I can witness his first bath. The only time he will have to go to the nursery is when Dr. Lynch circumcises him. Or as Travis is affectionately calling the procedure, the weiner wacking.
I am starting to feel like poop. I am tired and feel plain icky. :( It will all be over soon and then my sleep deprivation can start!
