Post Pregnancy: One Week (the good, the bad, and the ugly!)

I am used to posting belly pics and increasing belly measurements and weights.... hopefully, this will be the reverse of that!

I think that I have done fairly well post pregnancy, I am down to 9 pounds over my pre-pregnancy  weight, which means that I have lost 16 pounds. I know that I lost about 10 in the hospital with baby, water, and placenta.... but then after a few days I was swollen like nothing I have ever seen before! I woke up from an hour and a half sleep stretch and felt funny. My wrist felt like I slept on it funny, and knees and ankles felt like they were asleep or something. I look at my wrist and my whole hand and arm are swollen, same with my feet, ankles, calves, and knees. I had to call the doctor because I felt for sure something must be wrong! She said it was totally normal and that your body has so much fluid running through it while pregnant that it gets reabsorbed into the body, which results in puffiness. By day 7 I was feeling much more normal, but still some residual swelling.


I can't wait to see what happens to the baby weight after I start taking walks and jogs! I still look about 4-5 months pregnant, and I am ready for that be done with. I don't mind looking pregnant if I actually AM pregnant, but now that I am not, I want to feel like my old self again. I truly miss being pregnant, I have even cried about it, but if there is no baby bouncing around in there, then I want to be skinny and fit again! Gosh, it was just a couple of months ago that I was looking at my old pictures missing that body, but I would not be sad if I woke up with a pregnant baby belly!


My milk came in at about day 4, and boy is there sure a difference! I have never had to buy Large sized bras before, but now all of my sleep nursing bras have to be large or they cut into my boobs. I wake up and they are rock hard, and I either need to pump or nurse in order to be comfortable. I think I messed myself up because of the trouble that we had in the hospital. Hunter was a little bit jaundiced, and I only wanted to breast feed. Not having milk resulted in not many wet diapers, which resulted in the bilirubin levels remaining elevated. We finally broke down and gave him some formula to help flush out his system, but when we got home I started pumping just to see what exactly he was getting while breast feeding. This created a higher demand, and my body is certainly making up for it!


Also, I did NOT get away unscathed. I have found 2 stretch marks. The one that I thought was a mark attached to my appendix scar, and then another one all by itself on the other side of my belly. I have heard that they fade, and I am hoping this is true! I know that I got off easy, so I am not complaining! I am also wondering how long it will take my linea negra to go away, or at least start to fade. It looks even darker now that the skin is not all stretched out. I knew that they usually go away, but was surprised when I researched it that it may take up to a year!


The couple of days after giving birth resulted in some major swelling, ahem, down there. I had no idea things could get so swollen! Saying that, I was surprised that things were pretty much back to normal after about day 6. I am ready for the bleeding to stop, though! After 10 months of being scared of seeing blood, my body is making up for it big time!


I think that's everything as far as momma goes, Hunter's updates will be separate, but his is already posted!

Hunter: Week One (lots of pictures!!)

A picture heavy post all about Hunter's first week!

During his first week we actually managed to get out of the house some! We went to a 'Mommy Matinee" at the movie theater. It is where they play a recently released movie (we saw What to Expect When You're Expecting... so it was perfect!). We went with my mom and Isabella, and Hunter nursed a little, then fell asleep for the rest of the movie. A 'Mommy Matinee'' is a movie once a week where you can take your kids (mostly infants) and it is totally ok! They don't turn the lights down all the way so you can see as you make many trips for diaper changes, and its ok if your baby cries or squeals. I am addicted, and I think I may make it a Wednesday tradition!

We also make a trip or two up to Target for some mommy necessities like nursing pads and bras, cereal, and some other things. He did great on all of the little mini excursions!

As far as Hunter himself, he is pretty much a model newborn! He sleeps almost all day, and wakes up for feedings. He actually does not mind his diaper being dirty, and probably keeps his mouth shut about it so that we don't change it.... he hates getting his diaper changed! We went to the doctor on Tuesday (4 days old) because his bilirubin levels were almost too high to let us go home from the hospital. It was more than sad to watch him get his blood drawn out of his precious little heel than anything I have ever seen. Why do they need so much?! The doctor's office called that day to say that his levels were good! He still weighed 6 pounds and 3 ounces, which is what he weighed when he was discharged from the hospital. It is our goal to get back up the 6 pounds 8 ounces by his two week appointment. 

He loves to be swaddled and sleeps the best that way. Some days you can get him to sleep in his swing in a pajama onesie, but he definitely has to be warm in order to sleep well. 

Tex has been great with him! He goes over and sniffs him and then leaves him alone. I am still wondering how things will go when Hunter gets more active and playful, but that will be a few more months!

He is strictly on breast milk, sometimes pre-pumped, but usually straight from me. I love that my body is doing what it needs to do! It makes me proud in a weird way... proud of myself, haha! He is supposed to be eating every 2-3 hours, but eats more consistently every 3 hours, and started out the week at about 2 ounces per feeding, and is now eating 3 ounces at almost every feeding. He is a great eater, and really lets you know if he is hungry! I know I am biased, and I'm sure that most babies probably do this, but if he is being held when he gets hungry he will turn his head and start sucking at their arm or shoulder! Little man just wants his mommy :)

In case you can't tell, I am so in love, and I have the new love for his daddy. After all, he made Hunter with me, and I am so proud to see Hunter's tiny body in Tim's big 'ole hands. We worked hard for this little guy, but the journey made us appreciate him that much more. 

The next morning

The second night, he cried all night

Leaving the hospital

Cutting off his security band

Car ride home

Waiting for daddy while he gets mommy a subway sandwich 

Home!

Tex sniffing him out

He LOVES his swing

He's home!

Hunter and daddy

He used to sleep like this in his ultrasounds

Getting ready for first sponge bath

He looks like a grumpy old man sometimes

I love his long skinny body

Tex doesn't seem to care a whole lot!

He just has to have his hands by his face :)

Hanging out with mommy before bed

Post Pregnancy Emotions

I feel like I have been fighting back tears all day. I am not sad at all, I am just so happy all the time that the tears are constantly ready to flow. Here are some things that have made me tear up:

• Looking at Hunter's dark hair. Starting at our 28 week ultrasound, we knew that Hunter would have hair. At each ultrasound after that, I would ask if they could see if he has hair or not. They would look, say, "yes", and I would be so excited that it seemed to continue to be confirmed. When I was in labor, the nurse told me that she could see his head and she asked if my mom wanted to look. (I had planned on her being in there, but staying at my head because I am a quite modest person.... yeah, you're pretty much just laid out there for everyone to see, so it didn't matter anymore, haha!) I told her that she could go look, and she was so amazed. She told me that she could see his hair, and that it looked like he had a lot and it was dark. THIS. This is something I cried over. I had been dreaming of looking at his little head for 9 months, and you could finally see it... with your eyes! Now, when I look at his little head, all of those moments of dreaming and wondering, I can now rub his little head and comb his dark brown hair. After all of the dreaming of what color it would be, it's exactly what I secretly hoped for. 
• Looking at Hunter's umbilical cord. I am not gonna lie, the thing grosses me out. I am ready for it to fall off, but this is the lifeline that held him to me for 10 months. He played with it in the womb, it nourished him and made sure that he was taken care of. And now, the only remainder of that link is getting ready to fall off. 

• Seeing Hunter's tiny toes and hands. These things used to kick and punch me until I would almost tap my belly and scold him. And here they are. The cutest little feet and toes and fingers and hands that I have ever seen.

• My belly.... or lack thereof. This morning, Tim saw me curled up on the couch and looked at me funny. He said, "I haven't seen you do that in a while". Then it occurred to me that it is because I don't have a hard beach ball belly anymore. I hadn't been able to bend very much at all because of the hard, huge belly that I had grown. This makes me sad.... and I don't know why. I just miss having my belly. Maybe its because I heard, "Look how cute of a pregnant lady you are!" on a daily basis from coworkers (and some strangers!). Maybe I liked keeping Hunter close to me at all times. I had him to myself. I could feel his hiccups and kicks. He wasn't getting germy hands all over him. I was protecting him, and now it is so much harder to do that!
• Knowing that he is one week old. I am still trying to remember and savor every moment of my pregnancy. How hard we tried, and for so long. Being sick, heartburn shooting up my throat and waking me up, swollen feet. Seeing ultrasounds, putting together his nursery. The way the hospital room smelled, the amazing nurse we had, the fear and excitement rolled into one.The first night where he was so well, and the next one where he cried all night. I want to remember it all, because now time is flying by faster than I ever thought possible. The days blur together from sleepless nights, and I can tell he is already a little chubbier than before. Can you imagine how fast it's going to go when I start work again?

Basically, I am just one big sappy lady these past few days, and I need to pull myself out of it!

Birth Story

I was induced Thursday morning at 7:30 in the morning of May 17th. Here is a breakdown of what all happened that day, Hunter's birthday.

4:45- Wake up, shower, do my make-up and gather last minute things to get packed.

5:15- Leave for the hospital, we are scheduled to get there at 5:30, but of course, I run us late!

5:45- Arrive at hospital and get wheeled to the birthing center. It is kind of weird to be wheeled where there is nothing technically wrong with you, while your husband walks behind. It gives you time for the nerves to build, because you know that this is actually happening.

6:00- We are given a room, number 7, my lucky number. I get changed into a gown and settled into bed, while Tim starts slowly freaking out! (I guess this is when HE realized this is actually happening!)

6:30- Nurse comes in and asks Tim and I some questions to get things started. Since they are on night shift, and that ends at 7, they are going to have the new shift start the IV. This is fine by me, since I am scare to death of IV's. I have had a few, and they always do a small numbing shot before they start and I hardly feel a thing. When I asked about this, they said, "We never do the numbing shot, if you want it, then the anesthesiologist do it." Great..... now I am the girl that needs the anesthesiologist to come in just to set up an IV. 

7:30- Tim is getting restless because we have been waiting an hour and I am still being a baby about the IV. Finally, a nurse comes in and says that both my doctor and the anesthesiologist are around the corner and one of them will start the IV with pitocin to start labor. 

7:40- My doctor, who I love, comes in and joyfully starts the IV WITH the numbing shot. Luckily, I was already having contractions on my own, and I was 1 cm dilated and 90 % effaced. She also breaks my water, which was totally different than I thought. I always thought I would want it to break at home, so that I would KNOW that I was in labor. Now that I am aware of how much water is in there.... I don't ever want it to break unless I am in the hospital already, haha! It wasn't just one big gush either. Every once in a while, I would get another big rush coming out. A few times, I said, "I think I just peed a bunch".... but then would realize that it was a rush of water from either Hunter or myself moving around!

8:30- The nurse comes in a checks me, my contractions are definitely there, but not to painful. I am 100% effaced and a good 2 cm. 

9:00- My parents show up, and Tim leaves to quickly go home and take care of the dogs. My mom was a great nurse, she brushed my hair which felt so good, and also rubbed my feet!

10:00- It has been an hour of bad contractions, Tim definitely missed the show! Not that I put on a 'show', but I would be talking to my parents and about every 1-2 minutes have a strong contraction. Pretty soon, they got to where I had to concentrate on them, stop talking, and my parents had to remind me to breathe....

10:05 Anesthesiologist is near my room, so my nurse comes in and asks if I want an epidural while the gettin' is good. I have had an hour of pretty bad contractions, and figure I should get it. I was planning on it anyways, I have felt contractions, and I am now so over toughing it out! The doctor comes in and, set me up. It really didn't hurt too badly, but it was hard having contractions through the whole process!

10: 15- The nurse comes in to set up my catheter, another thing that I am scared to death of! I am a total baby and it hurts too badly to let her do it. She decides to make a round to her patients and come back.

10:30- Tim is back now, and so is the nurse! This time, I don't even feel the catheter, and am surprised when she is done in about 5 seconds! Before it took 5 minutes, and it was so painful.... I am so glad I waited!

She also checked me and I was a 4! Nice to know the pain wasn't for nothing! Then she helped lower Hunter by helping some more water drain out. This made it so there was no longer a cushion between him and myself, and this helped me progress even faster.

10:30 to 12:45- Visitors are slowly arriving, and I am totally numb! It would have been nice to sleep a little! The only thing that I could feel about my contractions was my tummy tightening. It was so nice to not have pain! 

1:00- I am checked and am now a 7! Aghhhh... this is going by so quickly!! Moments of awkwardness... having your family and in laws behind a little curtain in your room while you get checked. It is such a quick thing that you don't want to make them all leave, but you definitely don't want them watching!

1:00 to 1:50- we are all sitting around talking and joking, Tim is thinking there will be a big build up when I hit 10 cm. Boy was he wrong!

2:00- I get checked and am a 10! This is it! Everyone leaves the room... pretty slowly I might add... My dad and brother quickly left, but I figured when the nurse asked if I was ready to push they would jet outta there! 

Tim is getting super nervous, and isn't quite sure what to do... I am nervous because I am wondering what pushing will feel like. (I have also heard that pretty much everyone poo's when they push and I did NOT want that to happen!) I wanted my mom to stay in the room, and she was super excited about this. She has never seen a live birth, and I wanted a little more support, in case Tim freaked out, or fainted, or whatever! She was also designated photographer!

2:00 to 2:30 Pushing with contractions, after a few, I am even able to say when I am going to have one. It was funny because it didn't hurt at all, and I was always waiting for pain. I just went with the flow until I felt pain. It never came, so I never got too nervous and anxious! It was also funny because on either side of me, I could hear my mom and Tim also hold their breath with me. By the end of a contraction, we were all three out of breath! On thing funny that happened as a result of the epidural and my legs being numb, was that one of my legs (that hubby was supposed to be holding...) dropped off the table when they lowered the bottom portion. I felt something happen, but couldn't tell what it was since I was so numb!

2:30- The nurse says that he is in position to call the doctor. Luckily, I have the most amazing doctor, and as soon as the nurse takes off her gloves to call her, her phone rings and it is my doctor! She had a 'feeling' that it was time for the big finale!

2:40- Doctor arrives, and gets all suited up. It's different seeing her in these clothes rather than just regular scrubs! We push for a couple of contractions, and then decides that his head is stuck at my bone. She grabs the forceps, luckily, I can't feel a thing! Somehow the light fixture right above me doubled as a mirror (they said that just happened, and wasn't planned) so I could see what was going on. I made sure to ask if they were going to hurt him, and she said no... then I asked if they would hurt me! Really thanking my epidural right now!

2:54- Hunter makes his big arrival!

They brought him over to the warmer to get weight, measurements, APGAR scores, and all that good stuff. Then.... I finally got to hold him. 

Trying to see him, wondering why he's not crying

Major conehead!

Proud Daddy!

When do I get to hold him?

Already sad that it's gone

One of the best moments of my life

Grand-pa!

Our new family!

Trying to keep everyone updated is pretty hard!

Super proud grandparents!

Both of the red headed Nana's

Daddy did not like him having to get shots!

I don't know if I said how much I loved my nurse, but she was so sweet to come by the next day and check in on us. I made sure to get a picture before I missed my chance! Please ignore the puffiness.... they pump you with fluids and pitocin well after the baby is born!