Parkers LONG birthstory!

***edit to original post, forgot to leave out that during the c-section we discovered Parker was sunny side up, so that may have been why pushing was getting no where!*****

Parker’s Birth Story
(warning, I don’t leave out much!)

On Saturday November 21, opening day of rifle deer hunting season, I felt really off. Basically from my hips down I felt so weak and achy- sort of that flu like weak muscle feeling- but just my hips down. Chris was 1.5 hours away hunting, and all I could muster was diaper changes, food and the basics for 23 month old Brayden. After my nap (and Brady’s) at about 4pm I felt something odd and wondered if my water had broke. I investigated but couldn’t tell. So I laid back down a bit, then got back up and there was more of a gush of fluid and I knew my water had broke. Brady had just gotten up from his nap and he wanted to snuggle- but I was in freakout mode not sure what to do first. Of course, I called chris and said “I am not fooling, my water just broke”. He said he was on his way. I called a neighbor who came and got Brady right away, then I could think. My stuff was ready, Chris’s wasn’t, and Brady was mostly ready. Shortly my SIL and her husband were over and helping me function, in no time we were on our way to the hospital where Chris would meet us.

Once there around 6pm, they checked me in, hooked me up to monitors, and verified that my membranes had ruptured. While driving to the hospital some contractions had started. Around 7:30 pm my cervix was checked and was less then 1cm. Because I previously had a c-section and was planning to have a v-bac (vaginal birth after cesarean) they wanted me to progress as much as possible on my own without pitocin (which induces contractions). So, thru the night I walked, and walked, and walked. The nurses let me walk for 45 minutes, then hook back up to the moniters for 15-20 minutes, then walk again. Chris walked a couple rounds with me, but mostly slept.

At 4am, my cervix was checked again- just over 1cm. Pitocin was started, and around 8am regular 2-4 minute contractions were finally happening. (at no point did I ever have regular consistant intervals of contractions, there would be a few 2 minutes apart and then a break for 4 minutes, then a few 2 minutes apart).

Somewhere around noon I couldn’t think of anything but the pain. So we tried Nubane (sp). That worked for less then 30minutes. Did nothing for the pain, but I was able to concentrate on thinking about something other then the pain for that little bit of time. Shortly after that wore off I decided it was time to get checked and think about an epidural because I didn’t think I could handle the pain for much longer. Chris was getting frustrated because I would ask him to do something, like press on my hip- then yell for him to stop because it hurt.

1:45pm, epi was in place and I was 5-6cm’s! Yay for progress! Shortly after the epi, we had to stop the pitocin because my blood pressure dropped, and babies heart rate dropped. (this is where things halted with the birth of Brady, his heart rate never completely recovered so we couldn’t start the pitocin- so Chris and I were worried that there would be no chance for a v-bac) Both of us recovered quickly and pitocin was started again. During the entire, lengthy labor/delivery this was the only point that the babies heart rate dropped. Chris and I both napped in comfort for a few hours letting the contractions do their thing.

6pm- checked again- 10cm! fully dilated! Howver baby still needed to drop a bit more, since I was comfy and contractions were moving baby down (and baby doing perfect) we let the contractions drop the baby rather then pushing to drop the baby. Chris and I napped some more.

8pm- started pushing, baby had dropped. With each contraction baby would start dropping into the birth canal but then would go back up between contractions. We tried this bar thing that allowed me to pull myself forward- things looked better, but not great. After 2 hours the Dr. wanted us to call it. She said I was trying hard but she really didn’t think this was going to end in a v-bac. Prior to her coming in, the nurses and I wanted to try one more position. Since the epi had worn off already, so the Dr. agreed to 15 more minutes. So, this was me on my knees pushing- letting gravity help. Dr. was there, and let me push for 45 more minutes because it appeared I was making good progress. It was SO painful, different then the pain for the previous pushing, so I too thought there was progress. Finally there came a point were I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I was giving it 200%, and it just wasn’t happening. (plus there are extra risks involved with a v-bac) Sure, there were some tears because I was really hopeful to not have a c-sections, but I knew we tried hard. By this point the contractions were horrid, and I was angry at them because I didn’t need them anymore! I pushed thru them until the epi man returned (the contractions were manageable when pushing), and in seconds I was numb again.

In no time I was wheeled into the OR. An extra nurse was called in to help get baby out as he/she was so low from the pushing. My epi man was fabulous. I vomited once during the c-section and he doped me up, he even gave me something for the shakes. At 11:36 baby was out, and we found out that it is a BOY! Chris took him back to get cleaned up, he weighed 7lbs 2.5 ounces and was 18.25” long. A head full of black hair. I got to see him briefly before they took Chris and him back. We were so excited for another boy!

They went to the recovery room to take care of baby, and I should have returned in about 30 minutes from being stitched up. However, during the pushing I tore my cervix and uterus up to my previous c-section scar (just above the pubic bone). So, it’s a good thing I didn’t keep pushing. So, after the baby was out- the epi man gave me this fabulous drug that relaxed me and helped me sleep! I think it lasted for an hour or more- it was so nice to sleep thru all that stitching (2 hours before I returned to recovery room). Chris was worried about me taking so long, but soon found out the details. While they were stitching I started feeling things again, so they injected the epi w/ more numbing drugs. My Blood pressure started dropping again, but epi man was on top of things.

Finally back to recovery to see my boys! I am numb from my shoulders down! I manage to hold my son, but just a few seconds since I am so numb. Then because baby had been born about 3 hours ago they wanted me to nurse right away. OK…. Arms numb… boobs numb…. LOL. Chris and the nurse helped sit me up, one held baby, one held the boob. About this time I turn white and feel like I am going to pass out. Blood pressure dropped again. 30 minutes later I am no better, still white and feeling off- I don’t really remember much about this time besides trying to decide what to do. I wanted to nurse my baby and not give him formula, but agreed with Chris and nurse that it was taking too long to come out of this and un-numb. So Chris fed baby formula w/ a dropper.

Finally, somewhere around 4am, I was ready to nurse baby and really meet him.

We struggled with his name. If it was a girl, we knew she would be Delaney Lynn. We agreed on Parker quickly, but not a middle name. When he was a couple days old, we agreed on Chase because it means Huntsman.

Parker and I were both monitered closely in the hospital because my water had broke so long before baby had been born. At first ped’s thought he might have a bacterial infections because his white blood cells where high. It took 3 days to get results from his blood tests. In the meantime he was given antibiotics just in case he did have an infection.

As soon as we found out the results of his tests, negative, we went home! Finally Brady got to meet his little brother and see his mommy for the first time in 5 days. We went home the night before Thanksgiving (11/25). Brady had a hard time not seeing mom for so long, and because of H1N1 he couldn’t come to the hospital.

sneak peak at baby!

It was hard to get much for images of baby because things are snug in there- but I am happy with this one! sorry for the poor quality, I took a picture of the picture. It hard to see the lovely full lips in this image too, but you can see the cheeks!

ultra sound update!

(hey my last post was my 444th post! WOW!)

Finally home from our u/s. I have confirmed a few things- yep, that is a butt (big butt in my words, no evidence tho) up in my rib cage right side. And yep, that is a foot firmly planted just below my rib cage on the left side. A very persistant foot.

Baby is not measuring huge. I feel really good about the measurements. + or - 1lb from 7lbs 14oz. And the u/s measurements put an EDD of 11/27 rather then 11/24. Fluid looked good. Otherwise, that baby is squeezed tight in there. I can honestly say my belly is ALL BABY.

We got some good 3d images. Baby was just too big to get any of the regular images to look ok. I am going to try taking a picture of the images so I can post them since I dont have a scanner. I am calling the baby Cheeks till he/she is here. Beautiful chubby checks! Full lips like his/her mommy and brother. Cute nose too.

39 week appt update

Late yesterday I saw Dr. W. Of course hoping for something, some sort of progress. Nope, still sealed up tight and high. Ugh. My BP was down just a little bit from last week too. No protien or sugar in my urine either. So that is all good. (TMI alert! I was way hopeful because the previous night I had bloody show and lost a ton of mucus, somthing has to be happening, right?)

I am measuring 41cms, so we scheduled an u/s to see how big the baby is. I really dont know what to think of this. B was always measuring 3 weeks big till the very end. And Dr. L. said 9 lb plus. And born at 41 weeks he was 7lb 8oz. The u/s even said a bigger baby. The thoughts are if we are showing a huge baby to schedule a c-section and not even attempt labor. Part of me says NO C-SEC! other part tells me to just give in, that it is going to happen anyway. What does my incredibly supportive husband say? here is a sample: "it is what it is", "I hope I can go hunting this weekend", "we'll be fine, it will work out". What would I like him to say? "stay strong, I know it has to be hard, but dont give up on the v-bac yet".

39 wks!

I go to the dr. later today. so should have another update then.

Since my night of contractions last wednedsay, I have been almost constantly crampy day in and day out. And "butt pressure" has been almost constant. It has been like one long, extremely bad period. I have been dealing w/ the misery, and enjoying the moments when I am cramp/pressure free. (of course, I have all the other late pregnancy aches and pains on top of this too!)

Chris came home for 2 nights, monday and tuesday- he finished the crib and moved it in the house! Pictures to be posted soon, I promise! It is beautiful! Then went away again hunting wednesday afternoon.

During the evening I started noticing cramping and major pressure that would last for a minute or so and would come in go. When I was relaxing w/ B I paid more attention to them because they were stronger- no clock- but I counted 4 of them and 45 minutes had elapsed. Now I noticed that they hurt. So, I started timing them, not really knowing what I was doing at this point- but they were 10-12 minutes apart. So I called Chris and put him "on call". But he drove the normal 1.25 hr trip in an hour. So this was about 10pm. The pain kepts getting more intense thru the night, and when I did time them they were 8 minutes apart. Then somewhere around 2 or 3am- they stopped being consistant and became very random. And thru the day thursday they were random. Still painful, but very random.

I had a scheduled 38 wk OB appt at 3:30. Went in, he checking things out, I am dilated 0. Seriously?!?!?! All those hours of pain, and 0?????????? I couldnt believe it. And my BP is creeping up. I have started to swell a bit in the last week too. So, they are collecting a urine sample every week.

So, since then, still random contractions- lots of pressure and cramping. Extremely uncomfortable to say the least. Even still a bit exhausted from all the contractions/pain and excitement. Chris keeps asking my thoughts on going hunting, and I say "I dont know". At what point do I call him? this can go on for days, even weeks. We'll check the weather, and decide what he can do today and come up w/ a plan to help me out. Being that it is the weekend it will be easier to ask people for help. I am not officially on maternity leave from work- obvisouly didnt work yesterday- feel I need to rest today rather then going in exhausted.

38 weeks today

Over the weekend my mom, and neice Taylor came to visit/help out. My sister and other neice were supposed to come too- but neice Breanna had a fever. We had a nice weekend and restocked the cupboards! that was the big thing.

We also browsed for a coming home outfit. I was thinking of picking up a pink NB outfit, and also taking one of brady's NB outfits too. Somehow a neutral one got held up- and B got all exctied because it had a "duck duck" on it! And he held it saying Baby. So cute. Sure it wasnt pink- but we just had to get it as the coming home outfit. Considering B wont be able to come to the hospital this "duck duck" outfit will be perfect for B to meet the baby in.

I am not nervous or anxious about the birth of the baby. Very hopeful for a v-bac, quite determined really. And I like to say my due date is between today and the next 28 days (42wks). Makes me think I can hang in there for the long haul. So far there is no reason why I cant, blood pressure is still good. :) I am in a much better place mentally right now then I was when I was pregnant with B. Makes me happy I decided to continue treatment for depression and anxiety thru the pregnancy, I was a basketcase last time!

I am nervous about having a new baby. I really didnt like the baby thing last night. Wondering if I will be able to handle all the stresses that come with a new baby. It was so unbearably hard when B was born. The whole next year was the worst year of my life because of my mental state. Hopefully I wont have a repeat of that, I dont think I can bear it again.

where did baby go?

At this time last week, this same thing happened. My belly feels empty, sort of flabby and flat. I also feel few movements. So, last week I rushed to the Dr. for a NST, and I measured small too. (2 days later I measured back on track). I really wonder just where this baby is going, or what position he/she is in. After all this time of feeling so full and the movements in the same spots this is such a weird sensation. Last week, this lasted for 2 days only. Today, I do feel a bit of pressure on my bum, so maybe baby is dropping down a bit. Hmmm. baffled. I'll try not to freak about not feeling so many movements.

picture time

Above, my massively scary huge belly at 33 weeks. Its just so big. That's all I have to say about it. Brady gets it, he rubs my belly and says Ouch.
Below, Brady w/ Curious George. He loves this money so much lately. Yes, George is wearing a Bum Genius. They dont fit my chunky monkey very well still, and getting Brady to get his diaper changed can be a fight. You see, a huge part of parenting is outsmarting your children. Now that George has a diaper too, all I have to do is ask Brady if George needs his diaper checked- and he goes running to his bedroom and lays down on his back. He checks George's diaper, and I change B's diaper w/out getting kicked. Once we start cloth diapering baby #2 we will have to take back the BG and come up with a new plan.

Wondering why he is sleeping upright on a chair? This kid prefers to go, go, go until he crashes. In his baby book there is a section called "I can sleep anywhere but in my crib".

33 weeks

I am 33 weeks and a couple days I think. This pregnancy is so different from the last. for one thing, I knew to the day where I was, I can hardly recall the week!

I think I am carrying this baby lower, for at least a month now I have been having lots of leg pain. Hopefully my legs will still be able to support me by the end of this pregnancy! The pain I dont understand, is the constant inner thiegh aches. Like sore muscles on both legs. No matter what I do, it is there. Otherwise, the normal Sciatic Nerve pain, charlie horses. The ECP is bad (short for Evil Crotch Pain), no idea just WHAT that really is, but it sucks and it is worry some. Last time, my hemi's didnt bother me till the very end (sorry, TMI!) but this time around..... YEOUCH! I wish I could remember the names I had given them 2 years ago... thinking one was Hilga.... Otherwise, still have that tender belly button going on. Dr. said it might be a herneated bellybutton, but there is nothing I can do about it anyway, so who really cares what it is called.

I am doing good on the weight gain, as of last week just 13 lbs! Last baby- I gained 45-50 total. However this time I feel like I have gained 100.

Last time, the nursery was set up and ready by now. this time, LOL, it is a storage room still. The crib isnt built, neither is the changing table. No clothes are out and ready. But I learned last time, all you really need is a boob. The rest will work out and we'll be fine.

It is a fun experience going thru this pregnancy with a toddler. Seeing things thru his eyes and wondering what he thinks and understands. He can be really caring and rub my belly and give it kisses at times. He is understanding what gentle means, finally! such a boy. At the same time, being pregnant with a toddler is incredibly exhausting!

hot prego!

Thru this pregnancy Chris and I have been having issues about what to keep the temp of the house at. Perfect example, last night. We got home around 8:30, I thought the house was wonderfully perfect at 65 degrees. Chris thought it was freezing. Brady is a hot little guy, so he probably fell somewhere between chris and I. Chris wanted the heat at 70! I told him I hate waking up sweaty, lets go for 67 to get the chill out. Luckily we compromised at 68. I embrace these freezing nights and cooler days- and I so ready not to complain daily that I am HOT!

30 week appointment update

gotta make this quick, we are running late this morning! (but that is nothing new!)

In the last 1.5 weeks or so I have become quite uncomfortable and just full feeling. Also very stretched out feeling too. At each appointment the nurse takes a measurement from the top of my pelvic bone to the top of my uterus. That number is usually the same or very close to the number of weeks you are. So at 26 weeks, I was 26cm. At 30 weeks I was 32. That probably explains why I feel like I got big fast, because I did- ouch!

My belly button hurts too. Just in the last couple days. Can hardly touch it. I might have a hernia. fabulous. Nurse asked if I needed a Doctors note for work to dake it easy, I told her I need a husband note instead. My boss is fabulous, and would probably yell at my husband if he knew what Chris had me doing sunday night.

Anxiety and Allergies

As you may remember, I chose to remain on my depression/anxiety medication thru this pregnancy. I had such severe PPD w/ Brady, and between the doctors (pshych, OB and pedi) we all agreed the benefits of the medications outweigh the risks.

Up until the last couple weeks I have been doing fabulous! When I see my Pshych dr I fill out this form and it gets scored. For 3 months I scored perfectly (which is rare and awesome! but I decided the planned course was still the way to go), last month I did just a little worse, but felt I could manage my symptoms, and today I scored even worse. Not horrible bad, but very bad on the anxiety side of things. Today my dr (Dr. Shah at Marshfield Clinic, who I highly reccommend to women!!!) wasnt available, I have always seen her, she has to be the best Dr. I have ever seen in terms of taking the time to tell me the pros and cons of things, giving me her honest opinion when I ask, just all around great. So I saw her PA, she basically took down my information, and was going to have Dr. Shah contact me later today. No problem, I'll work with it.

The PA pulled up my records and noticed that between Sept. 5 and Sept 15 for the past 3 years I have been complaining of increased anxiety. also, that is the time frame I have started Zertec for allergies. I have been on zertec for years for fall allergies and the thought has never crossed my mind that there could be a relation between the two.

Starting last thursday I have been way short of breath (read post below). At this point I was already feeling some anxiety too. Tuesday I started the allergy meds and started breathing better, but my anxiety has been way high. So, the plan is to go off the allergy meds, not increase the meds for anxiety just yet, and find a way to breath better. First Im trying benedryl, hoping that wont make me too tired. If that doesnt help, then we'll try something new.

In the meantime, it will feel like I live at the clinic. Every 2 weeks for OB, every 2 weeks for phsych. In the meantime I have a derm appointment too. More then likely, at the end of this pregnancy I will be going every week for both departments.

3 hour gd test

The 3 hour gestational diabetes test today was horrible!!!!!! After 10pm last night I ate nothing. B was up from 2:30-5:30 being a monster. I was up with him, because his father was tired (that is a while 'nother post!). I was hungry at 2:30 already. Went to the lab at 8, got my first blood draw- sucked down the sugary drink- and went out to the waiting room to chill for 3 hours total. (every hour they were going to call me in to draw blood).

Just 10 minutes before my 1hr draw I started to feel funny and thought I was gonna puke. I knew I did not want to puke because I would have had to redo this whole thing again. So I got up and started making my way to the nurse in the lab, and she came running to me. Just then I started feeling faint and my legs gave out. We were just 5 feet from a bench so she helped me lay down. I dont think I completely passed out, just laid down in the nick of time! She said I was white and sweaty and she thought I was going down right then.

They drew my blood on time, and lined up an empty room for me in the obgyn dept. They wanted to haul me there right away, but I really didnt want to puke and redo this stupid test (even though I wanted to puke and feel better!!). So I laid in the lab for a bit more, then I was ready for them to wheel me to the room. In there I spent the next 2 hours focusing on not throwing up. I hardly moved because I thought I would lose it! Torture...... After my 2 hour draw I felt a smidge better and was able to take a little nap. then after my 3hr draw the nurse brought me crackers and said she had to make sure I felt fine before I could leave. So I munched on crackers and water for quite awhile- in no time I was feel better. :) She looked up my results while I was there, and I passed this GD screening.

The rest of the day was a waste. I felt weak and just icky. Anxious too for some reason. I was supposed to work the rest of the day, but couldnt. I napped a bit at home, and slowly ate food and drank water.

27 weeks!

Whoa, I almost missed it! Life has been busy and I sort of forgot that today I would be rolling into 3rd tri. Time is going by so fast. I am feeling pretty good considering. Getting some aches here and there, but I know that is only going to get worse. Baby is very strong already, doesnt kick me often, but really kicks hard!

Tomorrow is my 3 hour GD test, I will post when I know something.

failed my GD test

crappy, I failed my 1 hour gestational diabetes test. That means, next week I get to go in and do a really fun 3 hour test which I hopefully pass. Nurse said she thinks I will pass as my numbers werent that high. But the test is going to suck!

update

I'm team green, and Chris is team yellow..... so at this point we dont know if it is a boy or a girl. Chris couldnt come with today. But I think I saw a schmeckle!

My OB called. Assured that everything looked good in terms of no reason for bleeding. However they see a bright spot on the heart. He said that is a very mild marker for Downs. So, I am going to keep the Marshfield Clinic in business and go in tomorrow for Quad Screening (which is a blood draw). I am not worried as the tech had a really hard time getting good imiages of the heart because I am just 16 weeks.....

He also suggested I really cut back on lifting as that could really cause more problems with fissures and hemroids. (sarah r., no I havent had any treatment for the fissures besides fiber and stool softners, they really havent helped me either! I had big problems after B was born, and anticipate that again).

TMI!

TMI alert!!!!

So yesterday after a BM, I had lots of blood on the toilet paper. I have problems with fissures, so this is common- however when I cleaned all up I was still getting lots of blood and I wasnt sure where it was come from exactly. Couple hours later and I was still getting blood, but I was assuming it was the fissures acting up. Anyway, things seeemed weird, so I called my OB. Of course they wanted to see me. They swabbed everything under the sun and found no microscopic traces of blood (now this was about 10 hours later). But to be saf they wanted me to get an u/s. I had that this morning. B2 is beautiful! Lots of stretching, and flexing- very cute.

The placenta is not over the cervix, and there appears to be no blood behind the placenta either.

Still no answer about the blood (I am thinking fissures even though my OB disagrees). But all looks good and healthy baby wise. I have some cute pictures to boot. Just need to find some time to scan them in....

just sit down, and dont do it!

So, I told the bossman today about the 40/wk work weeks. His responce was comical. He asked why I just dont sit down in the garden center and check people out and let my staff do all the physical work. Logical question, right? Extremely not practical though! We are so short staffed, and we are all running around like chickens! Not just me!

Here is the perfect example! Just a couple hours after this meeting, someone came in needing to be loaded with Mulch. I was the only person on the entire property capible of driving the loader. The other person of staff at the GC isnt loader trained, nor will she be, she is just here for the summer. Our transportation is broke down..... so that is usually what I do. What options did I have? No sir, there is no one here to load you- come back again later. Or, me just hiking the 150 yards to the loader and doing it? You guessed it, I picked option 2.

Another great example. Last week 2 full trucks of flowers came in. We had just 2 people on staff, and we went from truck to customers, back and forth for 3 hours! What other option did I have? I asked for help 3 times- no one was available!

So to me.... cutting back to 5, 8 hour days is the best solution. If I am here for 5, 10-12 hour days I wont just be sitting on a stool checking people out. I admit, part of it is me, I am a "get er done" sort of girl. I think having me here refreshed and happy for those 8 hours capible of moving around instead of me being here exhausted for 10-12 hour days is the best option for all of us.

was that it, ms?

I am guessing I am 10.5 wks. for the past 3 days I have felt well- but the week prior I had been quite icky feeling and having some food problems. Seriously, if that was morning sickness that was nothing! I still have mild evening nausea- but that has been managable. this is way easier then it was the first time!