Look who's swinging!

I'd been looking forward to trying out Daniel's swing since we brought him home after friends said how their babies enjoyed swinging.  When I first put him in the other day he didn't seem too into it, but yesterday and today he's enjoyed it.  Here he is, swinging away:



I created an account on Youtube to upload videos to.  I'll post some on the blog but they can also be acccessed directly on Youtube by looking for my username, txwilliamsonfamily or by my Gmail address, ellendwilliamson@gmail.com.

Daniel is here!

We have our baby!

Daniel Scott Williamson was born at 11:16am on Wednesday, July 21.  After a 4-day stay in the NICU we got to take him home on Sunday.  More on all that later, but I'm happy to report that he's quite the healthy little boy now. 

We've started to get into a little bit of a routine now at home and I'm starting to see patterns in his sleeping and eating schedule.  I'm home with him during the day but Kevin comes home to see us at lunch and takes a few feedings in a row at night with pumped milk in bottles.  It lets both of us get some sleep and spend some time with Daniel.

Here's a picture of the little guy.  I admit we're slightly biased but I think he's super-cute:

Birth story

So, here's how events played out last week once labor started.  Get comfy, like the labor itself, the story is long!

First contractions

I went to work on Monday the 19th still feeling much as I had the past week or so, crampy but no definite contractions.  That night I felt the first distinct contractions, which started becoming regular around 11:30 or so. I was able to sleep intermittently through the night but not well. The contractions continued on through the morning and I timed them with my handy iPhone contraction timer app...yes, there is an app for that!

Off to the hospital...

As morning turned to afternoon we called our doula, Maria, to come over. She and Kevin rubbed my back during contractions and she suggested some positions that might help speed things along.   I should mention that the contractions were never really that painful, just uncomfortable, mainly in my lower back.  Firm massage and deep breaths really did make them quite manageable.  The main irritation was not getting to sleep.  If I had a pause button so I could get naps in I could have gone on much longer and felt okay.

By around 7 that night I'd been having contractions 1-2 minutes long every 5 minutes for at least 2 hours.  We'd been told to go to the hospital according to the 5/1/2 rule-once contractions were coming at least every 5 minutes, lasting at least 1 minute, for at least 2 hours, so we thought it was time to head in.  I thought after all this time surely active labor was well underway.

However, once we got to the hospital, my midwife, Cecily checked me and found I was only 2cm along. She suggested we walk around the hospital for a few hours to see if we could move things along but alas, I was still 2cm after that. During those few hours though I did manage to eat and then throw up some chicken noodle soup and green jello from the cafeteria, and yes that made a pretty yucky looking mess on the floor.  Green jello might not sound good to me for awhile.

...and back home again

The hospital won't admit a woman until she's at least 4cm, so Cecily recommended that I take an Ambien and go home. She said what I was experiencing was false labor, real contractions that weren't doing anything to dilate the cervix. The Ambien would help me sleep unless the real thing started, but in any event she thought I'd likely be coming back the next morning.  She said we'd know it was the real thing when I couldn't sleep and when I became really bitchy extremely grouchy.  Kevin said I didn't really ever get grouchy, she said, just wait!

We headed home frustrated and tired.  Tired as I was, I couldn't sleep because the contractions kept coming. I was half-asleep so not paying attention to how often they were but it seemed like I'd barely get to lie back down from the hands and knees position that was most comfortable and then they started again. Kevin would hear me moaning and reach over half-asleep to massage my back then fall back asleep again.

After a few hours I noticed an unpleasant side effect, I kept feeling like I had to, um, go #2, but to no avail. That made the contractions more uncomfortable, as if I didn't have enough to worry about with lower back pain now I had this issue to deal with too!

Back to the hospital, Wednesday morning

After a rather sleepless night we called Cecily around 7 and she said to head to the hospital.  After a quick breakfast of a peach, a tortilla with honey, and Gatorade, we were off.  I told Kevin on the way there that as committed as I was to the whole natural birth idea if I was still only 2cm I might have to really consider the epidural, not because the contractions were that bad but because after no sleep in 2 nights I was exhausted!  We had been so optimistic and excited on the way there the day before, but that day I was more tired and frustrated and not really even thinking that we might have our baby within a few hours.  I imagined we still had a long road ahead.

At one point I was in the middle of a contraction and Kevin reached over to rub my stomach.  That did not feel good but rather than explain that in more detail all I could get out was "Don't touch me!"  Kevin later said that was as grouchy as I ever got in labor.

Cecily checked me when we got to the hospital.  I was fully expecting her to say I was still only a few centimeters along so I was surprised and glad when she said I was actually 8cm along!  She predicted Daniel would be born by noon.

We quickly got to a room and Kevin and Maria got to work setting up the birth tub for me to labor and deliver in.  The nurses had me lying on the bed hooked up to a fetal monitor and on an IV for fluids since I was a bit dehydrated.  It was at this point that I experienced one of the hallmarks of the transition phase of labor as I threw up my breakfast.  At least this time it wasn't green jello all over the floor!

Daniel's heartbeat was showing a little low and when my water broke it was stained with meconium, indicating fetal distress, so Cecily called in a NICU team to be ready to care for him as soon as he was born.  Because of that, delivery in the tub was no longer an option but they said I could stay in and push till he crowned then deliver him on the bed.  Before I got in the tub Cecily checked me again to see how far along I was and I was fully dilated and at +2 station so stage 1 labor was over and it was time to push.

Time to push!

We cued up the Push playlist on my iPod and into the tub I went.  I wanted to push as I felt the urge rather than be directed to do it.  I remembered the pushing exercises we had learned in our Bradley classes and once I realized it really was just like trying to have a huge BM I figured out what to do.  The books had made it seem like this was the best part of the labor process because you finally had an active role instead of just withstanding the contractions.  Active maybe, comfortable, no.  Once I really got the hang of the pushing I was making these loud grunting noises with each push, no doubt scaring anyone in the nearby rooms.  Kevin later said I was turning red with the effort too.  I'm sure it was an attractive picture!

At one point Kevin was leaned near the front of the tub and I was in the opposite end and he said "you're doing great, you're really close!"  I thought if he could see something from where he was the baby must be starting to come out so I said "really, I am?"  Later he admitted he didn't really know and I had called his bluff, but then Cecily checked and then showed me I could feel his head.  It felt like a ripe peach, fuzzy and a little soft.  Turns out Kevin was right...lucky guess!

Shortly thereafter it was time to get out of my comfy tub and crawl over onto the bed.  Pushing was a lot harder there than it had been in the tub.  At the end I was sitting up in a modified squat with my back against the raised back of the bed, knees pulled apart and Kevin pushing back on one leg and a nurse on the other. They'd tell me to tuck my chin over my chest to add more power and I asked, how am I supposed to breathe like that?  Answer: apparently, with an oxygen mask strapped to your face.

By now the NICU team was assembled in the back of the room but I don't remember them coming in.  You'd think in such a state of undress that I'd have been very self-conscious every time another stranger came in but I didn't even notice.  You could have led a tour group through the room at that point and I might not have seen them!

After a few minutes Cecily said Daniel's heart rate was dropping and she needed to do an episiotomy to speed things up.  When she said that, I remembered reading that an episiotomy only saves about 5 minutes of time but looking at her face and at the NICU team in the back of the room I knew that was 5 minutes we needed to save.  All these people were there to help Daniel and none of them could do anything for him till I finished my job of getting him out.

Dr. Bradley's book says when the baby's head is crowned the pressure from the head keeps an episiotomy from hurting.  Dr. Bradley is a liar has obviously never been on the receiving end of an episiotomy.  I'm told I had some colorful language at that moment!

And here comes Daniel!

A few minutes later with one last big push Daniel's whole body came out in one big splash- head, shoulders, knees and toes and all parts in between.  Before I could reflect much on the moment Cecily was cutting the cord (which turned out to only be about a foot long) and Daniel was off to the back of the room with the NICU team.  I do remember that U2's Vertigo was playing, and one of the nurses noted that the time was 11:16 am.

With baby out it was time for stage 3, delivery of the placenta.  First Cecily pushed around on my stomach to check for clots, which was as uncomfortable as she had promised.  Then she pulled gently on the umbilical cord and out came the placenta, which looked huge.  With baby, placenta, and umbilical cord everything must have been squished in there like a clown car.  Next it was time for stitches.  I remember my legs were shaking, not because I was cold but just from the exhaustion of it all as if I had just run an all-out sprint. 

Through all of this I still hadn't gotten to see Daniel but they were suctioning his lungs because he was having trouble breathing.  He was crying well though and had good color.  His Apgar scores were 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes, out of a max of 10, so he was in pretty good shape.

They swaddled him up and brought him over to me for about 2 minutes then he was off to the NICU.  I had really been looking forward to holding him as soon as he was born and even getting to try to nurse right away, but of course with the meconium problem that wasn't an option anymore.  I'm glad I got to hold him though, and within about 30 minutes the NICU team had taken pictures of him and made them into a little book which was brought down to my room.  I was looking at the pictures before Cecily was done stitching me up.  We got to see him in the NICU within about an hour, but I'll write about our NICU experiences in another post.

Post-game analysis

So, now that all is said and done, knowing how it would all play out, would I still go for a natural birth?  Absolutely!  I wish the whole process hadn't been so long (37 hours or so, but who's counting?), but an epidural on its own wouldn't have sped that up and if anything might have slowed it down.  Pitocin would have sped things up, but if natural contractions were causing fetal distress then the stronger ones Pitocin causes certainly would have.  Maria told me afterward that most OBs wouldn't have sent me home Tuesday night, they would have given Pitocin to speed things along.  Knowing now about Daniel's fetal distress that could very well have led us to an emergency C-section.

And as nice as it might have been to have an epidural during the pushing so I didn't have to feel it, could I have pushed as hard as I needed to to get him out quickly if I couldn't feel myself pushing?  Pushing in the tub would have been out as I would have had to be strapped to a continuous fetal monitor on an epidural, so I'd be pushing on the bed, a more difficult surface, and unable to feel my efforts.  My best chance to get him out quickly was to be able to feel and control my pushes.

Also, after I was done on the bed, I got up and was able to walk unassisted right away, though I did ride longer distances in a wheelchair the first 2 days.  I didn't need a painkiller stronger than prescription-strength ibuprofen either.  And when we decide to give Daniel a little brother or sister in a few years, I'll still have all the options available to me and won't bring in an additional risk factor of a prior C-section.  So for all of those reasons I'm very glad I was able to avoid that.

I'm also glad we chose to deliver at Baylor.  Much as I would have loved a birth center birth it turns out this baby needed to be born exactly where he was, with a Level 3 NICU just 7 floors up.  I'm also happy that I chose a midwife whose judgment I trusted so when she proposed a deviation from the plan, I was willing to trust it and not argue or question it.  Maria told me later that in several births she'd assisted with Cecily she'd never seen her do an episiotomy before so it was definitely not done routinely or for the sake of convenience.  It wasn't in my plan, but it was necessary.  Had she instead said we needed to get to the operating room and grab an OB for a C-section, I'd have trusted her on that too.

While things didn't go exactly as planned, I feel satisfied that we were able to follow our birth plan as closely as possible while taking all precautions to ensure Daniel's safety.  I know there's no medal for doing it all naturally, but if I had gotten the epidural I'd always have wondered whether I could have done it without one.  I don't have to wonder now, and from what everyone says, the second baby is usually easier than the first.  So if I could handle it this time I should definitely be able to do it the next time.

So after all that, now comes the hard part, taking care of a newborn...

Daniel's room is ready!

We've had his room mostly ready for awhile-clothes and blankets washed and put away, crib and dresser assembled, etc, but this weekend we finished decorating, at least for now.  So, in case that's what Daniel was holding out for, he no longer has that excuse!

Here's his crib and the La-Z Boy we'll be rocking him in:

Here's a close-up of the crib area.  The two prints on the large wall are from the Lion King, one showing Simba with his dad Mufasa (Kevin really liked that one!) and the other from the end of the movie when Simba and Nala present their little lion cub to the crowd. 

The poster on the right wall has the "Now I lay me down to sleep" poem on it and hung in Kevin's room when he was a little boy.  I had the same poem on my wall when I was little on a needlepoint picture my mom made for me.  That one is more suited to a little girl's room so someday if Daniel gets a little sister we'll hang mine in her room.  In the meantime Daniel gets to enjoy my old sock monkey toy "Monkey Moo" and the thermal receiving blanket that was my favorite, so he gets hand-me-downs from both Kevin and me.

Here's the dresser with changing pad.  We hung a monkey mobile over the head of the changer and put the animal print stickers on the wall hoping that maybe all of that will distract him when it's changing/dressing time so he doesn't squirm around or fuss much.  Apparently the changing pad is pretty comfortable, I caught our cat Tim sleeping on it one night last week and he looked quite content.  I'm sure he was excited to see what he thought was a cat-sized bed with a window view!

Today we went to church, bought groceries for the week and a few things from Babies R' Us, and we're finishing up the laundry.  We're planning to join our friends Richard and Lisa for a movie at Studio Movie Grill this evening assuming Daniel doesn't have other plans for us.  It's always fun hanging out with them, but I'm really hoping we'll have to cancel on them this time!

Meanwhile, we remain on a "Threat Level Orange" state of high alert.  The diaper bag is packed with everything Daniel should need and I have a duffel bag packed for Kevin and me with changes of clothes, video camera, etc.  The carseat, birth tub and accessories are already in the car, I've got several copies of our birth plan printed out along with a list of who to contact when and what last-minute things to pack for the hospital.  And if labor starts slowly enough that we have a few hours to spend at home, I've got cupcake mix at the ready so I can whip up some birthday cupcakes to celebrate with (complete with a "0" candle since that's how old he'll be!), along with the bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge.  Of course if events develop quickly enough that I don't have time or desire to make those before we go to the hospital they'll taste just as good at home a day or so later.

We've both cleared our desks of work pretty well this past week so that there's nothing critical left undone should we not be in this next week (and in my case, for the next 3 months).  At this rate we'll both be at work tomorrow, but hopefully Daniel will have other plans for us.  Daniel if you're listening, this past Friday was the end of a pay period for me, so Monday would be a really convenient time for me to start my maternity leave...hint, hint!

So, room's ready, car and bags packed, work in good shape, and there's even the promise of cupcakes...what else are you waiting for kiddo? ;)

Guess it wasn't in the stars for today

Granted, there is still one hour remaining in the day but it appears that Daniel has decided to be fashionably late.  I don't regularly read them but I took a look at our horoscopes on Yahoo for today and got decidely mixed predictions.  Looks like Kevin's prediction (Gemini) is more on target than mine (Scorpio).

Here's my prediction:

You wake up feeling that something amazing is going to happen today -- and you're totally right. At the least probable moment, someone fun and interesting happens along under suspiciously odd circumstances. Some would say the meeting is mere coincidence, but you, always wise to the ways of the world, see that there's no such thing. That means you pay close attention to the connection you two form instantly.

Sounds a lot like a baby is coming doesn't it?  But look at Kevin's:

Last-minute changes aren't so bad, no matter what others say. They invigorate us and enliven events, and remind us that there's no such thing as certainty. You appreciate that -- more than most, actually. Right now, though, you're set up for such big changes that it's hard to remind yourself that it really does work for you. Keep cool and don't give in to manipulation, and you should do fine.

So I have to say nothing amazing happened to me today but we were reminded that there is no such thing as certainty.  Maybe tomorrow will be the big day though...

Still waiting...

So here we are, July 17, the day I've been eagerly awaiting since early November. From this point forward until Daniel makes his debut, every day has the potential to be one of the most exciting or most frustrating of my life. 

Every day he doesn't come will feel much longer than 24 hours.  Our normally busy schedule is completely empty for a change now, because we can't really make any plans.  Dinner tomorrow night with friends?  Maybe, if no baby yet.  HOA meeting next week?  Very unlikely, but if baby hasn't come I can.  Work on Monday?  We'll see.  If I do go to work Monday, I think I'll make up a shirt to wear that says "Yes, I'm still here.  No, I haven't had the baby yet!"

The cramps have persisted throughout the week along with backache, which are apparently signs of early labor, but I still have not felt any distinct contractions.  We could move into active labor in a matter of hours or I could still be feeling like this in a few days or even a week (please no!).

I've read that as the big day approaches it's common for women to either have that nesting instinct surge of energy or go the opposite direction and be really tired. Apparently, with the house already clean and Daniel's room pretty much done, I'm going for the sleepy route.  I've taken evening naps the past few nights and last night despite an hour and a half nap and falling asleep for part of a movie we were watching I still slept 9 hours.  I mostly slept well though I woke up at one point with really intense back pain, but once I turned over to the other side it got better.

So, assuming no baby, I foresee a lazy weekend of resting and not too much else...on the other hand, if Daniel has a calendar in there and knows what day it is, I suspect I won't be resting much at all this weekend!

Question of the week: you're still here?

Here we are 2 days from the due date, still no baby but a few promising developments (more on that in a minute).  As was my plan, I'm continuing to work either till contractions start or until I don't feel up to it.  The way I see it, I'd rather save up my leave time to use once Daniel arrives, plus staying busy makes the waiting time go by more quickly than it would if I were sitting at home watching the clock.  It's funny though how many people are surprised that I'm still there, I must get asked about it half a dozen times a day.  Not that anyone seems to think it's a bad idea to be working through, but I guess people are surprised to see that I'm still feeling so well so far along.

And all things considered, I am probably feeling as well as one could hope to feel so close to time.  I am rather uncomfortable and sore and still waking up several times a night but it could be much worse.  For the past few days I've had cramps, which is apparently an early labor sign.  A friend from our Bradley class had her son a few weeks ago and says she experienced cramps shortly before her labor started too.  So while it may be uncomfortable, it seems the pain is serving a purpose to move things along, which makes it easier to handle.

I had my last checkup this morning and everything is looking good.  More importantly, I'm apparently now 1cm dilated.  Given that I haven't yet felt anything that I could tell was a contraction it's rather nice to hear that I'm 10% of the way to the finish line without realizing I had even started running. 

Hopefully that was my last prenatal checkup but if Daniel hasn't popped out by next Friday I'll go back for another checkup and a sonogram to make sure he's still doing well.  We won't induce unless we get to 42 weeks, in which case he will get served with an eviction notice.  I'm very much hoping he'll see his way out much sooner than that though.  Given that this whole pregnancy has gone pretty smoothly it would seem a fitting conclusion for him to arrive on his due date, precisely on time.  But I guess since I was 6 days late and Kevin 4, we have to spot him at least 6 days before we complain too much.

Will this be my last pre-baby post?  We'll find out!

39 weeks and counting...

Just a quick update before I call it a night.  Still no indications that Daniel's arrival is imminent but he seems to have dropped lower which I would assume is a promising development.  We're meeting with our likely pediatrician tomorrow to make sure she's definitely our choice, and I've got my next checkup on Thursday.  So we'll see what the week brings...

Off to bed now.  I've been sleeping in the guest room for the last few nights because it turns out to be more comfortable for me at this stage of the game than our bed.  It's a good thing Kevin's such a sound sleeper, if he wasn't then one of us would have had to move to the guest room months ago so my frequent bathroom visits didn't wake him up!

Hanging up my laundry today it occurred to me I might only have another week or so of wearing maternity clothes.  My maternity wardrobe has served me quite well but it'll be nice to get back to real clothes soon!