Across All Borders is the name. They are a new organization working to provide orphan care and outreach to families living in extreme poverty in Guatemala and eventually countries around the world. They are having a fundraiser by selling cookbooks for $15. I can’t wait to get mine. Terry is a mom in one of the meetup groups that I belong to and I think her passion and drive are admirable. Please visit their website and help them achieve their goal.
Thanks,
susan
We’ve been getting some serious smiles from this little guy and a few belly laughs. I’m looking forward to more of those. Here he is at 3 months.
That's my heart!
2008 was filled with some of the most difficult and fulfilling moments of my life. In January I finished up from recovering from a severe case of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and looked forward to finally bringing home two of our precious embryos. The big day was January 19th. It was an amazing experience and I had high hopes of this procedure working. I went on bedrest for the two week wait and my beta’s came back very high. Three weeks later we miscarried one of the embryos. It was a frightening experience, but I knew in my heart that the remaining embryo would be okay. I developed a subchorionic hematoma and went back on bedrest for five more weeks. As it turned out, all of that bedrest produced a very healthy, 9 pound 7.5 ounce baby boy! Boy was he big! The pregnancy was difficult in the first and third trimesters. As big and as swollen as I got, I missed having Luke in my belly after he came out.
Parenthood has changed us a bit. We’ve forgotten how to clean house and now there are diapers all over the house (clean ones mostly). I haven’t cooked a single meal in three months! That one really disturbs me. I love to cook, but who has time when you can’t seem to put your baby down? I’m taking full advantage of his tiny size. I hold him as much as possible because one day I know that I won’t be able to.
And when my back is hurting from walking the floor around my living room sofa after an hour because he will not stop crying and go to sleep, I remind myself that he is gaining about a pound a month and that I will regret it if I complain about it. I tell myself it will make me stronger and I will be able to hold him longer if I just keep on walking with him.
This was the BEST, most difficult year ever. I would do it all over again and count all my blessings.
Some security problems have come up. If you need a reminder for the password, email me.
I wanted to share this photo and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday. Luke is gaining weight and the pediatrician is happy with the gain. I still feel better seeing what he is eating by pumping and bottle feeding, but it is so much easier and more satisfying to breastfeed. He goes comatose when breastfeeding, the reason why I get some time to write this post. I miss catching up with everyone. I don’t know how you guys do it … raise babies and blog. You’re a bunch of super mommies in many ways.
So, here’s our little bundle of joy with Santa. I thought it came out incredibly cute since Luke was sleeping. Many thanks for a wonderful memory from Welliver photographers.
Luke's first Christmas
BTW, can anyone tell me why my blog looks like this? I didn’t move the side bar to the bottom and I didn’t change the font to this type. I must have gremlins living in my computer. I need help and I don’t have the time to investigate on how to fix these problems.
Click on the sidebar button to go visit the Quiverfull Family Blog.
Yet again, my body has failed me. Drugs to get pregnant, drugs to stay pregnant, now drugs to feed my child. Lots of drugs, at that. Low milk supply is another symptom of PCOS. I started out taking Fenugreek, then added Blessed Thistle, then added Reglan, then added Motilium. I’m still having to supplement with formula and I hate it. Luke doesn’t like it so much either. Good news is that Luke has finally passed up his birth weight. He’s just over ten pounds, I’m not sure how much though.
Our days have been filled with appointments to the Ob/Gyn, the Pediatrician, the Chiropractor and the Lactation Consultant.
I’m hoping that Luke keeps on gaining weight. Who da thought that anyone in our family would have trouble gaining weight. Speaking of which, my weight loss is coming slow, but then again, I’m wanting to get the best nutrition to help with the milk supply. That is hard in itself with a newborn. It’s hard to find time to eat as well as keep up with my blog entry and reading my friends’ blogs. So, it’s not that I don’t care any more, I just don’t have time. I hope you all stick around and drop in every once in a while to say
“Hi”. I promise to get back to blog world as soon as I possibly can. You all have been a super resource and a great support to me in the past year. I sincerely thank you for all you have given.
My new favorite picture:
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On Tuesday, October 14, 2008, DH and I went out to the Cracker Barrell for dinner before heading to the Baptism Seminar we were scheduled to attend. I felt some crampiness when we got there, but chalked it up to Braxton Hicks. I had about three pains within the half hour, then my water broke. This was at 5:30 I later found out that that was just a leak, but this is my first baby, so what did I know. I felt good and the mess was manageable, so we decided to stay and eat and maybe go to the seminar. By the time we finished supper, the contractions were definitely distracting. I decided we should go home and prepare for labor. When we got home I got all of my stuff together then started making brownies for the nurses. While the brownies were cooling I laid down to try to get some rest. It was about 8:00 pm when I hit the bed. I tried for about an hour to relax, but the contractions were getting stronger. I thought about what the ride to Baton Rouge would be like when the hardest contractions hit and didn’t like that thought. I told my husband that I thought we should go ahead to the hospital. I figured we could get a room at the Marriott if the contractions slacked up. We got to the hospital at 10 pm. When I stepped out of the Tahoe, my water REALLY broke. All I could do was stand there outside of the truck and try to keep my slippers clean. It was the only pair I brought, thinking the water-breaking thing had already passed. We headed up to the second floor to check in. The contractions slacked off for a few minutes, but kicked back in by the time I changed into my robe. I discovered that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. I knew that I had to tell the nurses, but I didn’t want to. I knew that my chances for a water birth had just flown out the door. If it wasn’t for the fact that Luke was still somewhat transverse and had not dropped, I would have forgotten to tell the nurses this little tidbit of info, but I was erring on the side of caution. We had gone through so much to get to this point – a live baby in my belly, preparing to enter the world. I couldn’t be anything but conservative in this birth.
After getting a good reading on the fetal monitor, I was given the freedom to leave and come back every hour for a check. DH and I walked down to the atrium. We walked around for about 30 minutes and the contractions seemed to get worse during that time. I went back to my room to get another reading on the EFM. Contractions were around 4 minutes apart on my clock. I let the nurse to a pelvic check and I was maybe at 1 cm and they couldn’t quite feel Luke because he was so far up. We decided to do an hour of walking and an hour of nipple stimulation then repeat that until labor progressed. Well, some time during that second hour, I zoned out. I don’t remember anything from between 11:30 pm and 2:30 am. I know that I tried some techniques I learned in my Bradley class for relaxation and pain management, but it seemed that each thing I did made the pain worse. Contractions got much stronger and I asked for another pelvic check. There was no progress! Still at 1 cm! All of wind came out of my sails and I couldn’t imagine the pain I was in (plus more – i knew it was going to get worse) for only God knew how long it was going to take. Since I had the meconium in the amnio fluid, I knew that I wasn’t going to be allowed to progress on my own and at some point I was going to have to undergo some sort of intervention. I decided to get the epidural and pitocin. Yes, I felt great getting that relief. I fell fast asleep until about 9 am. I refused pelvic exams until 12 noon, at which point I was at 8 cm and +3 station. I couldn’t feel my legs and couldn’t move. This is what the anesthesiologist said would NOT happen. I’m known to have a sensitivity to medications, maybe this is the reason for that. I asked for him to come in and turn down the epidural so that I could feel something and move my legs. I wanted to be present for the pushing stage.
Again, I don’t remember anything from 12 pm to 4 pm except that the EFM wasn’t registering my contractions, so the nurse put in an internal fetal monitor — another thing I hated having to do. At 4 pm I got another pelvic check and I was completely dialated and at +1. I started pushing. I tried several positions starting with being semi-reclined, then on my right side, then on my left side. The epidural was clearly a memory at this point. I wanted to get in squating position, but the nurses were reluctant to let me try since I was hooked up to the epidural. My advocates, Jackie and Robert, thought I could do it, and I did. I had no problem moving around except for the fact that I was in bed for so long and a little stiff. They raised the head of the bed and I turned around and squated and started pushing again. I was in that position for an hour and a half, pushing. At one point the pain was incredible and seemed too much to bear. I still felt that Luke was too high up and I was scared that I was not going to be able to push him out. No, I was terrified that he was not going to come out and that I was going to have to have an emergency c-section. I knew they would not let me push forever, even if I did have the energy. I broke down and cried like I’ve never cried before. I just wanted Luke safe in my arms. I settled down after a few minutes and started pushing like my life depended on it. I didn’t care anymore about tearing. I was willing to blow my ass out if I had to. Pardon the expression, but that’s exactly what I was thinking. After about another hour to hour and a half of pushing I saw (felt) the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt the ring of fire and welcomed it. It was the best pain I’d ever felt. I finally delivered his head and then the nurses and my midwife started telling me that after the next contraction I had to turn over as fast as possible to deliver Luke. Tangled up in IV tubes as soon as the urge to push subsided, I flipped over as fast as I could. At the same time they dropped the foot of the bed and slid me down. My midwife dislodged Luke’s shoulder from my pelvic bone and yanked him out. Ok, now that was the most painful thing I’d ever felt, but then it was over. They clamped, cut and handed Luke off to the other crew there waiting for him. Robert didn’t get to catch Luke. I wasn’t able to let the umbilical cord finish pulsing before they clamped it like I wanted, and Robert didn’t get the chance to cut the cord. It then dawned on me that Luke was in some sort of trouble, so I prayed. After just a minute (not actually, but it seemed like forever) I heard Luke cry. I still couldn’t see him, but I heard him and it was the most wonderful sound that I’d ever heard. There were so many people in the room. I’m sure they all had a purpose, but it was just another frightening thing for me. Luke’s right shoulder was bruised and the brachial plexus was irritated or inflamed. His right arm was floppy, but it is just about back to normal now.
It seemed like forever, but they finally handed Luke to me and he went to the breast right away. His apgar scores were 6 and 9.
Luke Aaron entered this world at 6:58 pm on October 15th. He was 21 1/4 inches long and weighed 9 pounds and 7.5 ounces. My labor was 26 hours long and I pushed for 3 hours.
I escaped birth with a second degree mid-line tear and some very sore hips from squatting for so long.
Postpartum:
Luke is 4 weeks old now. I was weepy and afraid to put Luke down for a couple of weeks. I never want to leave him alone. I hate to put him in his co-sleeper, but afraid to have him in our bed. I love sleeping with him next to me, but a few times I’ve awoke to be surprised to see him next to me. That scares me that I can forget that he is sleeping next to me. The first week postpartum, I was having a lot of pain from where my stitches are, so I made an appt. with the doctor to take a look at them. She said some of the stitches came loose and that they won’t do anything about it until after the 6 week postpartum exam due to the chance of infection. So, basically I have a big open wound in the perineum. Next time I will insist on lots of knots instead of a straight running stitch.
Luke was still losing weight by his 2 week appt. He was down to 8 pounds and 3 ounces. We started supplementing him with 8 oz. of formula and I started supplementing with Fenugreek. I think we are both doing much better. Our next weight check is this week. Luke’s first week with the formula, he gained 9 ounces. Hopefully my milk supply will increase naturally and I will be able to ween him off of the formula. We’ve had some problems with nipple confusion and the breast feeding has become very challenging. The good news is that his right shoulder is much better. He can throw a punch with his right just as well as he can with his left now.
