8/12 - Poop face! If you think this is funny, you should see the video! LOL

8/16 - Relaxing at the pool

8/22 (two months/almost 9 weeks) - Such a happy baby!

8/22 - She tries so hard to laugh!

8/22 - Showing her support at Michigan's media day

Changes this month:
Emma likes to watch TV.
Lots of goo & gaa’s.
She moves her mouth and “talks”.
She’s all smiles and “talkative” after a good nap, a good meal and bath time.
She hops around in her tub when she’s excited.
Emma tries to sit up when she’s tired of laying down/sitting in her car seat, apparently.
She also tries to laugh.
Her nighttime routine seems pretty, well, routine. Sleep between 10:30 and 11:30, eat around 4 and then again around 7. I’m not sure there’s any set routine during the day. We let her eat and sleep when she wants to.
I still sit in the backseat with her when we’re in the car. She stares at me a lot when we’re back there.
She’s still mostly breastfed. I’ve been having supply issues, but I’ll have that story for another post.
Surprisingly, we don’t deal with a lot of crying.

Emma’s two-month appointment is September 2nd (a little late because her pediatrician is on vacation), so I’ll post another update on her weight and height then She’s filling out, though, that’s for sure!

This is going to be long…

After a bunch of arguments between hubby and his parents about who was riding with who, when they’re leaving and when they heck they’ll have everything confirmed so we knew whether or not we needed to drive (hubby wanted to leave by 10am so we could get to the hotel before everyone else and enjoy some quiet time with Emma in the pool) we actually made it out of the house and on the way at the time hubby set (we don’t usually).  We got less than 10 miles from our hotel and our Explored died.  Literally.  It was over 90-degrees and humid as heck that day, by the way.

After trying over and over to get the SUV started again, hubby dialed 911 and explained that we didn’t have an extreme emergency but that we were broken down on a curve on the busy-as-heck highway – so scary to have those semis flying by! – with a baby and our family hours behind us.  They sent out a state trooper “to see if he can help.”  The guy got there, waddled out to our truck and asked Mark in a snooty way – like we were parked in his front yard or something, “Can I help you?!”  Mark explained the situation and the guy stood at the back of the Explorer while Mark lifted the hood and looked around.  The guy just stood there and asked, “What do you want to do?”

Mark explained to the guy that we were there on vacation and don’t know anyone in the area.  The trooper asked if we wanted him to call a tow truck and Mark said that would depend on how much it costs.  The trooper then told Mark that he shouldn’t put the cost over the safety of his baby!  That wasn’t at all the issues.  It was a matter of whether or not we had the funds to have it towed.  Idiot.  Anyway, he told us that no matter what, the truck would be towed because we were sitting at a curve.  Mark told him to call a tow truck.  So the man waddled back to his nice air-conditioned car.

A few minutes pass and he comes back and says that a highway safety guy (I forget what he was called) will be by within a half-hour and can check the truck and then asked AGAIN, “Do you want me to call a tow truck?  Now?”  YES!  We couldn’t leave Emma in the heat so my husband asked the trooper if he would take the baby and I to the next exit and drop us at a gas station.  He said he could.  I got Emma’s things around and headed toward his back seat.  He said, “You don’t want to sit back there” and told me to put “that” (Emma in her car seat) ON MY LAP in the front seat.  Neither of us were buckled in.  Then he proceeded to drive his cruiser with his ELBOW while he held a cup of ice and messed with his radio.  ARE YOU FRICKIN’ KIDDING ME?!  I only wish I’d gotten his name to report the S.O.B.

We made it to the gas station and waited over an hour for Mark to come get me.  He was out in the sun for almost two hours total waiting on a tow.  It took so long to get to the hotel that my in-laws – who didn’t leave home until 2pm – passed us.  We ended up checking into the hotel with everyone else, defeating the purpose of us driving so we could leave early.

There was a bunch of conflict when Mark took his truck to PepBoys to be looked at on the way to the Children’s Museum the next day too.  He needed to go with the tow truck, so he did, but the four guys in Mark’s family who talked to the tow truck driver failed to mention that it was going to cost him $8 for the mileage.  I had all the cash with me at the Museum and Mark had $4.  BIL got mad that he wouldn’t call their brother-in-law (who set up the tow through his AAA and was boarding a plane home to Florida at that moment) to use his credit card for the additional $4.  He said Mark would “rot in hell for all he cares.” I was already stressed out about all this crap, and I started crying.  Right in the stupid museum surrounded by people.  Fortunately only one of Mark’s aunts noticed.  She gave me a hug, told me she understood and stuck with me until Mark met up with us.

As if that wasn’t enough bad for one weekend, while we were visiting the Children’s Museum, Mark got a call from the manager of the mall in which his store is located.  The kid that was supposed to open that day misunderstood which day Mark needed him and wasn’t there.. they called to ask if he knew it wasn’t open.  He didn’t, and called the kid to figure out what was up.  He called the mall office back to say the kid was on his way and they told him to forget it because they went ahead and changed his locks, that they’d rather not have Mark there anymore.  They weren’t willing to work him at all then or when he could go in on Monday.  (This isn’t the first time this woman has done something while Mark was gone.)

Then we spent hours waiting on BIL so we could leave the Museum.  (We were riding with Mark’s parents back to the hotel but they needed the keys to his vehicle to get Em’s car seat so Mark’s mom went in search of him.  Then again because she forgot we needed the keys.)  Emma was getting pretty fussy so I had to nurse her outside the dining area.  (I would have been lost without my UdderCover!) Mark said several times that the only thing making our vacation tolerable for him was Emma and me.  We were also told several times that we could just walk home.  (Really?  That’s mature.)

Oh, and our hotel room was infested with ants.  We had to change rooms the second night.

We went to the zoo on the third day and that might have been better if I had remembered to wear a shirt that I could easily nurse in.  Or if we could have found a cool place to nurse Emma (We did later, after I nursed in a shady dining area.)  Or if we didn’t spend almost two hours waiting on BIL again (this time it was so we could put luggage in his vehicle that wouldn’t fit in the one we were riding in. Funny thing was that Mark told him mom we’d be waiting an hour & a half for him to catch up with us.  She said there was no way it would take him that long.  It did.)  It was 90-degrees and humid that day as well.

Worst. Vacation. Ever.

When we got home, the hopelessness of Mark’s mall situation was confirmed, and we found out that the original diagnosis of the Explorer – a bad computer, a quick fix for a few hundred dollars – was actually something else that would cost $5,000 to replace.  So, we were home but we had no vehicle and Mark was without a job.

We were home for about a week when a fuse blew in the house in the middle of the night and we headed down to the in-laws’ for the remainder of that night.  BIL came down the next day to check it out and told us that the box was fried (You may remember from past rants that this house is wired with fuse boxes running on fuse boxes and no main breaker box.)  Then we spent another two weeks away from home.  I think about half of Emma’s life so far has been spent at her grandparents’.  I won’t get much into how the electrical work is going, but lets just says that there isn’t much done ever after those two weeks.  We are back home, though.

Things finally seem to be getting better, though.  Mark just signed a lease for a new/better store location and we’re planning to buy a friend’s SUV.

I’m thankful that Emma won’t remember her first vacation.  There were some good moments, though:

Chillin' poolside with grandma

First time in a pool, and she loved it!

Yes, Mark was extremely burnt from waiting outside for those two hours

Completely zonked. (I never noticed how unflattering that shirt it! I look HUGE lol)

Snoozing in her stroller at the zoo

Emma and I have also enjoyed the past three weeks with Mark

From Drinkmamatini.com:
Mamatini is an all-natural, organic herbal infusion that was created by a pediatrician with your specific needs in mind. Mamatini can help you breastfeed better by boosting milk supply, increasing your energy and your ability to absorb and retain critical nutrients your body is using to produce milk for your baby.

Drinking 1-2 bottles of Mamatini each day helps increase milk supply, relieve baby’s colic symptoms, and increase your energy, leaving you free to enjoy that precious first year with your baby.

About the ingredients:
Fenugreek helps you produce a generous supply of milk for your baby
Fennel stimulates the “let down” reflex, prevents bloating and colic
Chamomile, Ginger relieve stomach upset and provide restful sleep
Micronutrients promote absorption of vitamins and minerals, such as Calcium and Iron, often depleted during pregnancy and breastfeeding
Vitamin A forms healthy teeth, bones, skin and nails and is key for breastfeeding
Vitamin Cforms collagen in the body and aids the absorption of Iron
Vitamin D aids the absorption of Calcium, forming strong bones
Folic Acid and B Vitamins provide energy and prevent birth defects

I have to admit that I tried to drink a bottle of Mamatini the day Emma was born but was a little put-off by the ginger-mint flavor. I emailed Erica and asked if she had any suggestions to improve the flavor, and she let me know that it’s basically an unsweetened tea and that I could add a sweetener. (I’m not a huge fan of tea in general, so maybe that’s my issue). I added a couple packets of lemon Splenda to a bottle and loved it! I also tried it with a packet of Arizona Pomegranate Tea (the ones you mix with a bottle of water) and it was even better. I had no problem at all drinking two bottles a day, and could have easily drank it all day.

I haven’t had any milk-production issues as far as I know and have had frequent “let-downs” (when the milk comes down), but I can’t be sure that’s from the ingredients of Mamatini. (We’ll see if it’s different now that I’m out of drinks!) I felt great knowing that I was drinking something good for me and for Emma, though. I have already considered ordering more.

While Mamatini is a little bit pricey, if you’re having milk production issues (or a baby suffering from colic – I would love to hear if it works well in that area!) I would definitely recommend giving it a try! You can order by the case or sign up for a 4-week or 12-week auto shipment. There’s free shipping for the auto-shipments and a 10% savings when you sign up for 12-weeks. In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, Erica has offered everybody an additional 20% savings:  Simply use the coupon code BLOOM20 when you order.

Please remember that Mamatini is for nursing mothers. You should not drink Mamatini while you’re pregnant because Fenugreek – in large doses – is not recommended for pregnant women. While the amount contained in Mamatini is safe, it’s better to wait until the baby is born and you are ready to start breastfeeding.

All bundled up after a bath. See how happy she is? (one month old/4wks, 2 days)

She loves having a bath, being dressed/undressed and having her diaper changed. She grunts a lot, and gurgles and growls. She smiles at Daddy the most, and when she’s eating. She seems to like sleeping with her face against something soft and warm, usually her own hand, my hand or whatever she happens to by sleeping on/in.

She also loves car rides. (12 days old)

She still sleeps most of the day and sleeps well (usually) at night between feedings. Mark likes to give her a bath right before or after her last feeding before bed and then puts her to sleep in his arms. We go to bed around midnight and she wakes up between 4:30 and 5 to eat, then again around 8. She eats for an average of 12 minutes.  She’s pretty good about going back to sleep after eating or putting herself back to sleep, after a few minutes of happily looking around.  She’s pretty content for the most part.  I have had some issues with her getting fussy while eating, pulling/tugging at the nipple and squirming.  We haven’t quite figured out what that’s about (Full? “Empty” breast? Discomfort? Something I ate?), but doesn’t usually last long.

Their favorite time of the day (2wks, 6 days) All three of us love my Leach Co Cuddle-U pillow.

We did have Emma sleeping in her carseat at night because she sleeps better sitting up, rather than flat in her bassinet, but our pediatrician let us know that it increases the risk of SIDS because she can get all scrunched up and close off her airways – YIKES! The doctor told us that putting her in a swing or bouncer is fine, though, so she sleeps in her swing now. She naps well flat on her back during the day, so maybe we’ll just try to switch those around at some point.  My dad wouldn’t be happy if he bought he a crib for nothing

Em's first JCP Portrait session at 11 days old!

We haven’t really started using her cloth diapers yet. We tried them after one wash, as instructed on their tag, but she soaked right through them every time. I was told to wash/dry them 5-6 times despite what the tag says, so I did that. I spent the last week and a half trying to remove the rust that a few of the inserts seemed to have absorbed from our washer (No idea why it shot out so much rust during one wash! Stupid washer/water lines.)  I tried rewashing with regular soap, dish soap, soaking in Rockin’ Green Soap, soaking in a “natural” oxy booster, Shout AND an OxyClean paste as suggested by GroVia, with no luck. I’m giving up on that, so we’ll start using them again soon

She loves bath time! (one month/4wks, 2 days)

We had an “America’s Funniest Home Videos” moment on Sunday while Mark was bathing her. It happened AFTER I turned off the camera, of course! Before I turned it off, I thought she’ll probably do something really funny after I shut this thing off.. and she did *sigh*. I was getting a towel and Mark was getting ready to take her out of her baby tub (sitting in the big bathtub) when she pooped, turning the water bright green. He picked her up over the bathtub so I could empty the baby tub and he could give her another bath, and she peed. I emptied her tub and had the water running to refill it when she let one of her explosive poops go.. all over the bathtub! There was so much force behind it that some of it managed to hit my leg (ew!) I almost peed myself laughing!

3wks, 4 days

.. for around $50. I had collected enough points on one survey site to get a $55 Amazon gift card. That combined with a $5 Amazon gift card received for completing a survey on another site (wish I could remember which!) and a $20 gift card I bought from my sister for $10,  gave me $80 to spend on Amazon.

Other things I’ve used points to collect:
A large pink duffel bag (2008. I still love that thing!)
$70 (11/27/08)
Safety First Detach and Go Health kit (7/20/10. Despite the reviews, I like this so far.)
Want to see more?  Check out my “Net Cash” page.

Though my experience won’t be yours, here are a couple things I’ve learned:

1. Don’t wait to ask questions - At my 38wk appointment I had questions for my doctor, like do I need to call ahead when I’m in labor? and How did my Strep test come out? and some other personal things.  He seemed rushed so I figured I’d just ask the following week at my next appointment.  I had the baby the day before my next appointment.  I made it not knowing the answers to these questions (though the Strep thing might have been an issue if I’d had to give birth somewhere else and needed to know) but I learned that if my doctor is extremely busy, I should  ask the nurses instead of assuming I have another week.

2. Your doctor may be the expert but he’s only estimating, too. I was told at my 38wk appointment that I was “closed” (no dilation) and I’d probably go into the first week of July – three weeks away & into my 41st week.  I put a little too much stock into that which is probably why I was sure I’d have another week to ask questions (I also didn’t syke myself out by thinking much about how close I was to my due date.  I was a lot more laid back about it than I expected.)  I had the baby only six days later,

3. Don’t assume it isn’t real labor just because the pain isn’t all over, radiating, intense pain. I was in labor for five hours with irregular, gas-pain-like contractions before we went to the hospital for a sleep aid.  I knew it had to be false labor and that we’d be sent home, but I just needed them to give me something to sleep.  I might have realized it was real if I’d remembered all the signs from our childbirth class.  (Oops!)

4. Take your bags - Even if you’re “sure” it’s false labor like I was (haha), take your hospital bags just in case.  Leave them in your vehicle if you’d be embarrassed to take them in in the event of false labor (maybe I’m the only one like that lol). We had to send my mother-in-law back home (a 40min drive one way) at 2am to get our things.  Don’t wait to get important things packed, like clothes or personal items (I like to use my own shower stuff wherever I go).  I didn’t have our clothes packed yet because I’d need them before that, and I had planned to buy travel-sized shampoos to pack.  Didn’t happen.  (Don’t forget to pack things for your spouse/partner if you expect him to stay at the hospital with you, or you don’t live close-by.)

5. Consider bringing your own gown – I have a long maxi-type nightgown that I love and I knew it would be extremely comfortable, so I packed that to take to the hospital (one of the few clothing items I had in the bag – lol).  My dad also bought me a nice gown at Wal-mart that unbuttoned clear to the belly button – perfect for nursing! ($12, and there was another that unzipped from neck to bottom hem)  It was nice to get out of the hospital gown and into something more comfortable – and less revealing (I noticed later that my boobs were visible through the fabric of the hospital gown.  Thank goodness I had also packed a robe!)

6. Forget about your fears of having a bowel movement during delivery. If it happens you probably won’t know it anyway.  Thinking about it made me hold back instead of pushing as hard as possible.

7. Not everything you read will be true for you. A magazine told me I’d be pushing for hours if I had an epidural.  I had an epi and Emma was born after a half-hour of pushing.  I had an episiotomy, but still.

8. When they tell you your bottom will be sore, they aren’t kidding! After the epidural wore off and I started moving around, I felt like I’d just pushed that baby out of my butt!  I was so uncomfortable later that night that I spent most of my first shower on my knees against the shower bench crying.  Take advantage of the Tucks hemorrhoid relief pads, if available, and ice pads.  (After the first day, I was more uncomfortable sitting on that ice cube of a pad that I was without it so I switched to the regular ones, but still alternating between Tucks and pain relief spray as instructed)  They want you to take all of that stuff home with you, so do it.  Don’t be afraid to ask for more.

9. Classes are helpful. Even though I didn’t remember everything and I didn’t need/use the breathing techniques because I had an epidural, the things I did remember were helpful.  I did use the basic breathing during contractions to keep myself calm.  The breastfeeding class, however, was a life saver (or a boob saver).  I learned that breastfeeding will probably be uncomfortable – even painful – at first, but a good latch shouldn’t hurt.  I saw ways to hold the baby, how to tell that she’s eating, how to break suction, and a lot more.  Taking the breastfeeding class also introduced me to the lactation consultant.  While some people say they didn’t use anything they learned in the classes, I have and still do.

10. Speak up. I had a birth plan that included my request to not have interns/students in the room.  The nurse who knew about my birth plan was off before I had a chance to give it to her, and I didn’t mention it to the next nurse.   I didn’t say anything when my doctor brought in the intern/student.  Or when he told her to sew up the episiotomy, which took a heck of a lot longer and had a lot more instruction than it would have if he’d been doing it.

11. If you plan to breastfeed, let the nurses and lactation consultant help. They’re there to help, so don’t be afraid to ask.  Breastfeeding is more than just popping your nipple in the baby’s mouth.  It can seem impossible, painful and overwhelming at first, so let the ladies help.  They may ask if it’s okay that they touch you so that they can help you get the nipple aimed in the right direction when the baby opens her mouth.  If you’re not comfortable with that, say something.  I wasn’t sure I’d be okay with that, or breastfeeding in front of the nurses, but it didn’t bother me at all.  They work in the maternity ward, they see and do this stuff every day.

12. Stool softeners are great.  If you aren’t sure you want to use a stool softener after you leave the hospital, at least find out what you should use if you decide to.  I bought a bottle of Dulcolax after realizing why it’s offered.

13. Buy a [jumbo] pack of pads on the way home. (TMI) You could bleed for six weeks after delivery, you know?  That doesn’t mean you will, but be prepared for that.  I bought a 48-pack of pads and went through it just in the two weeks we were at my in-laws’, so I bought an even bigger pack the next time – lol.

Oh, and something else I learned:

Write AND mail your baby shower “thank you cards” either before the baby is born OR after.  I had most of mine written right after the shower but kept forgetting to mail them.  I finally got them around to mail after Emma was born, and realized that some said things like, “We can’t wait until she arrives..” I had to go back and change them.  I guess that’s what I get for procrastinating!

The first day was full of visitors. (Remember my post-delivery preferences? Well, they went out the window when I realized that I just wanted to show her off! I was ready for everybody to come see our beautiful daughter.) I finally slept later that afternoon/evening.

We did not manage to get the hang of a good latch when nursing before we left, but we did get a lot of help.  Sometimes more than I would have liked. We were afraid to sleep and leave Em unattended so we had the nurses take her to the nursery while we slept.  The first or second night, the nurses brought her in two hours after her last feeding, because, you know, you have to feed the baby every two hours.  Yeah right!  She was having no part of that at all.  She ate an hour later, when she was ready.

Our second night in the hospital was full of excitement: The whole NE Indiana/NW Ohio area had tornado warnings. The storms were predicted to be so bad that we were issued a warning before the storms were anywhere near us (We later heard that the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chaser people were in the area, if that tells you anything.) During a warning, patients are supposed to get – and stay – on the other side of the bed (away from the huge window) and… that’s all. Hubby was not happy that we couldn’t be moved into the hall, but we made do. I distracted myself with filling out Em’s baby book. When the window started shaking, Em and I moved into the large bathroom and sat on the table/seat in the shower. At least we’d be protected by a heavy door if it got really bad.. fortunately, it didn’t.

We were discharged on the third day, Thursday, so we took Em home. Well, not to our home, but to my in-laws’ because the house was still having carpet installed and it was still so hot and humid! The first two nights were rough. Actually, the first night we were still having problems sleeping when she slept, so my mother-in-law kept her for a good chunk of the night.. when I wasn’t feeding her or hubby wasn’t holding her. The second night she woke up so many times to eat! We decided that she just wanted to suck, so we tried a pacifier (yeah, another thing that went out the window lol. Hubby went and bought a pack the next day) and she finally slept for a few hours.

The third night was perfect. She woke up twice to eat before morning and then slept late after her morning (typically between 6 & 8am) feeding. We’ve had both kinds of night over the past 18 days. One night I had to set an alarm and wake her up to eat because she wanted to sleep. She does seem to like to either sleep late after her morning feeding or lay in her bed and look around. It’s hard to go back to sleep knowing she’s awake though.

My husband has been amazing, by the way! Some nights he’s up longer than I am because Em doesn’t want to sleep (but isn’t typically fussy), so he’ll hold her until she’s sleeping. Some nights he slept on the couch so I could sleep between feedings. He’s been pretty unselfish and I.. well, haven’t. I had a couple nights where I felt so bad about him having to stay up and then work all the next day that I cried about it. Some of the nighttime feeding have been hard, too, because I’m tired and I don’t want to get up. It’s during those times that I wish I had pumped so hubby could get up and feed her instead. I always feel better in the morning though, and realize that it’s all worth it.

We’re getting the hang of it, though. I get a little grumpy when my husband wakes me up to nurse Em (he usually hears her first) but I’m okay when I get myself to wake up. We have yet to perfect the latch, but I figure as long as everything is working properly and she’s eating well, I can live with a little discomfort or sore nipps. I did have what might have been a clogged duct for a day or two, which was pretty uncomfortable (hello, rock hard engorged boob!) and frustrating. I couldn’t get more than a couple drops out with hand expression or pumping (even after a warm shower) and Em wouldn’t nurse on that side. I called the lactation consultant, who was out for the day, but then Em fed on that side for a good ten minutes and I had two working boobs again.

Emma’s one-week checkup went well.  We actually met with the lactation consultant the previous day so Em could be weighed, and she’d gained 8ounces!  She had already passed her birth weight (she was 5lbs 4oz the day we were discharged).  At her appointment the next day, she’d gained another ounce, making her 5lbs 13oz , and up an inch & a quarter to 19-1/4″  Her pediatrician said she looked very good, “not yellow at all!”  She guessed that she was a couple weeks early rather because of her size, but she was only six days early.

We’re 18 days in and kind of counting down to her one-month appointment, my 6-week checkup aaaannndd our first family vacation!

Other things to mention, because they’re important to me
* Em’s pediatrician said she scored 9’s on her APGAR tests
* Hubby asked a nurse to show him how to swaddle Em.
* I asked a nurse about getting a pulse oximeter test done for Em and the lady looked at me like I was nuts when I said we didn’t have a history of heart problems, we just wanted the test done (Why? Read Cora’s story). She came out perfect. (A pulse ox. cannot detect all types of heart defects.)
* Em cried while the nurse was showing hubby how to bathe her, so he picked her up to calm her. The nurse told him he’d have to put her down to finish the bath (Another thing captured on video!  That’ll be great someday when she’s a bratty teenager that thinks we don’t love her – lol)
* My mother-in-law took us to get Emma’s first pictures at JCP last Saturday (11 days old), but it doesn’t go great. She didn’t want to eat very long before we left, so she was hungry when we got there. Hubby had to keep picking her up to calm her down, and we used her pacifier.. he’s just take it out of her mouth right before the lady snapped a picture. It was definitely interesting lol

Hubby started texting people right away, including my sister who texted back that she was getting the kids around to take to a sitter and she was heading up (close to an hour drive from her house to the hospital). That surprised me because it would probably be a while and she’d be in the waiting room bored. I didn’t realize that she planned to stay in the room while I delivered.. something I didn’t think I would be comfortable with, but ended up not minding.

I’m not sure how long we were there when I decided on nubain to take the edge off so I could sleep. I kept thinking that if it was easing the pain a little, the contractions must be stronger because they felt the same as they had before the nubain. My sister arrived around 5:30am and we were prepping for an epidural after the nurse told me I was 7-8cm dilated. I was doing okay with the contractions but didn’t want to wait until it was too late to get an epi. I was shaking like crazy, which the nurse told me was from the hormones, so having a needle put into my spine was a little nerve-racking. I slouched against my husband to keep still as the needle was inserted, and I continued to breathe through contractions. My sister helped keep me calm by assuring me it was almost done.

I was sure I would get some sleep after that, but it was a lost cause. (I didn’t sleep until the next evening.) The on-call doctor came in at some point (she shares an office with my doctor, so I knew of her but hadn’t met her) and told me the bad news: I was only dilated 5cm, not 7-8cm. That means I probably wasn’t quite 5cm when I came in. Because I’d already had the epidural, we decided on pitocin to speed things up. I was worried the epi would run out before Em was born and I’d be feeling a lot more than I wanted to feel! That really got things moving.. according to the contraction monitor anyway, I didn’t feel a thing!

My doctor came by during his “morning rounds” (way to make it a priority – haha) and checked everything out, and broke my water. (Hubby slept after I had my epi, woke up when my doctor came in to break my water then went back to sleep. Later, he asked if my water had broken.. he was so tired that he didn’t even remember that the doctor did it!) The next time he came in to check me he said that the baby had had a bowel movement, which meant they’d have to suction and clean her right away after she was delivered.. and I wouldn’t get to hold her until they were done That was disappointing, but we wanted her to be healthy so I’d deal with it. It must have been almost 10am when the nurse had me start pushing when I felt the pressure of a contraction. (My sister has a half-hour video of me pushing.. and then a second video of Em being born!)

Having social anxiety makes me aware of and embarrassed about things I shouldn’t care about. I was worried that I’d go to the bathroom as I was pushing. I worried about it until a couple pushes in, when I realized that I could either be afraid I’m going to poop and hold back or I can forget about it and push with everything I have. I wasn’t sure how hard I could push with “those” muscles (I’ve never had to push that hard with them lol) but it’s something you figure out pretty quick I guess.

My doctor and his student (*sigh* I had a birth plan but most of it was forgotten by this point) came in and took over and after a few more contractions/pushes, Em was born! (before that, I heard my doctor telling the student, “She’s pretty numb”, so I assumed they were going to do an episiotomy but didn’t know they had until I was being sewed up.) I may have been totally numb, but I could feel the pressure of contractions as we got closer and I could feel when she was really close because the pressure was intense and didn’t go away between contractions. It’s hard not to push then. I also felt the sensation of her coming out.. what a weird feeling! I cried a little as she was pulled out, and then she was swept away for cleaning. She didn’t cry or move around a lot so I worried a little.. and nobody said anything (I was being sewed up at this point.. by the student, which I wasn’t happy about considering nobody asked me if it was okay, and my doctor had to keep correcting her, and it took her forever!), which worried me a little more. My sister and my husband got to go over to see her, though, so I felt better. I asked if she was still a girl (lol). Hubby came back to the bed and told me he started to cry a little. (aww, I knew he would! <3 My sister said she got it on video )

After a half hour(! I was watching that clock, let me tell ya!), she was clean, suctioned, APGAR tested and ready for me to hold her. We tried nursing right away but I don’t really remember how that went. I would guess not well – lol. In my opinion, the breastfeeding class was extremely helpful. There’s more to breastfeeding that just putting your boob in the baby’s face. I would have been clueless about how to hold her, how to get her to *try* to latch, why it hurts and how to make it not hurt, etc., without that class.

continued in part three

The beginning of the day Monday, June 21, isn’t extremely important but I’d like to mention that my sister and I went out to buy some things for her housewarming/Pure Romance/my niece’s 3rd birthday party that weekend and then had lunch at the Olive Garden (where I had a shrimp pasta and we shared calamari, fried zucchini and stuffed mushrooms. <– see, details. lol). With the hubby working all day everyday except Sundays, it was nice to get out of the house to go somewhere other than his store or to Sunday supper. I had a couple gassy cramps throughout the day, but I didn’t think much of it.

I’m sure I probably took a nap at some point after I got home, but I don’t remember much between then and when the contractions started. Hubby typically leaves his store around 8pm (instead of 9, when the mall closes) but it was Monday and he was heading over to play cards with friends. I actually had my first “contraction” when he called me at 8:35pm. I told him I had just had a little gas-type pain/cramp that may have been a false labor contraction*. He asked if I wanted him to come home and I told him not to because it was “just false labor.” He told me to call him if I had another. I had more but I didn’t call him because I didn’t want to ruin his night over something that was just going to go away.

* I should mention that I was positive that it was false labor because everything I read and everybody said that real contractions are very painful and radiate throughout your whole uterus. Well, this was nothing like that. These crampy pains were more like the discomfort I’ve gotten in the past when I have to go to the bathroom. It was pain I’d experienced before, so it wasn’t possible that it was a real contraction.

I texted my sister to ask her about false labor and she told me to lay on my side. I tried but it was hard to sit/lay still. (That should have been a sign. I’ve forgotten about how the instructor of the childbirth class said that if laying down/activity eases the pain, it’s false.. if not, it’s real.) It was hot that evening so I grabbed my notebook (I wrote down the first contraction and kept track from there) and went down to my in-laws’ house to cool off. I told them I was having false labor contractions and my mother-in-law kept asking if I was sure. I looked over the time between these contractions, saw how irregular they were and said I was sure. They were all over the place! 13 minutes, 6, 8, 8, 5.. there was no pattern and the “pain” didn’t seem to get more intense.

I did let my husband know that I’d been having contractions since he called but I wasn’t worried (I was the only one NOT worried!) I left his parents’ house to come home and try to relax, and hubby headed home. I took to rolling around/bouncing/rocking on the big exercise ball K talked me into buying (All it took was her telling me how cheap they were because I’d wanted one since our childbirth class. During our class Hubby actually said, “Maybe we should go buy one today.” <3) Nothing was easing the pain, but I still didn’t think anything of it because the pain was still low and contractions were still very irregular. (I stopped keeping track after 17 of them, between 8:35 & 10:38)

There were some storms coming that night, so we went back down to my in-laws’ (with my exercise ball lol) to sleep in case they got bad (we don’t have a basement). This was probably close to 11:30pm. The contractions kept up and I tried to at least look at the time to see how far apart they were, out of curiosity more than anything.  They still weren’t regular.  I was beginning to wonder if false labor pains were supposed to be so uncomfortable, though. They weren’t extremely painful, and not any worse than pain I’d had before.. they were just more frequent which made it more uncomfortable.

At some point, I started feeling like I was going to throw up during contractions. That would have been another sign of real labor if I’d remembered that from our childbirth class. Feeling like I’m going to puke always causes me to panic.. so I kept going into the bathroom to hide the panic from hubby – who hadn’t seen me have a panic attack up until that point – and throw up in private. I tried pushing him out of the bathroom before I got sick, but he wouldn’t budge. He just rubbed my back and told me it was okay and I threw up. Fortunately it was only once.. but it was enough to make me worry.

After a couple more contractions (and Mark’s poor mom up and down with us), I decided that I wanted to go to the hospital (hubby was asking all night if I was sure I didn’t want to go) so they could give me something to sleep. I was embarrassed at the thought of being one of those women that shows up during false labor and gets sent home (it’s a 40minute drive to the hospital we chose), but I had to be able to sleep. Again, I was so sure that it was false labor and we’d be sent home that the only things we took with us were our phones. I didn’t even take my purse because I’d pre-registered a couple weeks earlier and they would already have my info.

My mother-in-law was nice enough to drive us to the hospital (at 1am!) so Hubby could sit in the back with me. Got to the hospital and they had me give a urine sample and change into a gown (I got sick again before I even got out of my clothes) so they could check if for dilation. I felt silly because there wasn’t going to be any progress.. right? Wrong. The nurse told me I was “a good 5cm” dilated and that I would be staying, so we sent my MIL home to get our stuff, and we were moved into our room.

Continued in part two