Go boobs!

Henry had his first pediatrician appointment today, and he is gaining like a champ!  He was born weighing 6 lbs, 15 oz and got down to 6 lbs, 6 oz in the hospital.  He weighed in today at 6 lbs, 11 oz, which apparently is great.  According to the doctor, it normally takes 2 weeks to gain back that much.  So, you go, boobs!  :)

His cord stump also fell off today at the appointment . . .  and stuck to my shirt as I was carrying him to the scale to be weighed.  Yuck!  So, tonight will be his first bath.  I hope he likes it!  

My family centered c-section

I just wanted to share with everyone that I had a wonderful "family centered" c-section with the birth of Henry.  A c-section was so not what I wanted, but given my prior myomectomy, all the physicians I met with felt that I was too great of a risk of uterine rupture to be able to have a natural birth.  So, to be able to get as much of that natural birth experience as I could, I lobbied for a "family centered" aka "natural" c-section.  Here is an article that explains what it is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2613254/

Armed with this article, I first approached my OB with it somewhere in our 2nd trimester.  At first, he refused to read the article, lectured me about how long he has been practicing and how many babies he has delivered, and claimed I couldn't change hospital policies.  In the end, he agreed to read the article, then arranged for me to meet with anesthesia, and helped me find out who the pediatrician would be on call the day of our birth.  I met with the head guy in anesthesia and showed him the article, and he was totally cool with it as long as the OB was fine with it.  I then met with the pediatrician who would be on call, and and he was ok with it, as long as baby was breathing fine.  

When the time came, I got everything I wanted: immediate skin to skin, arms unrestrained, saw the baby coming out of the incision (didn't think I wanted that, so didn't include it in my birth plan, but my Dr. in the middle of the procedure asked the nurse to lower the drape, and they did, and I saw baby being born), able to discover the sex on our own, baby stayed with me for three hours before being taken for his assessments, no grief over us not wanting the hep b vaccine or the eye drops. Anesthesiologist was also fantastic at what he did. I had no nausea, no headache, no arm heaviness. The whole process could not have gone better. I am pretty sure this was their first time doing any of this. It was a lot of work on the front end to get everyone on board, but it all came together in the end. 

And, miracles of all miracles, Henry came out pink and crying, which I think is unusual for c-section babies.  I chalk it up to the St. Gerard relic I had in the pocket of my hospital gown during surgery.  St. Gerard was with us this entire pregnancy and of course, that's where Henry's middle name comes from.  :)

I hope that if any of you have to go through a c-section, you will be able to experience the "natural" c-section.  And, if it helps, I can email anyone a copy of my birth plan if you are interested.

I was also so pleased to hear the doctor tell me that my insides looked fantastic.  No adhesions!  Thank you, Dr. Hilgers!  And, after quite a bit of argument from my OB, I was able to get him to agree to use Sep.rafilm on my uterus.  When I brought up the subject, he said it was not standard of care and did not make a difference.  I countered that in order to get FDA approval, they had to show it was safe and effective.  I also argued that if it could prevent even one adhesion, I wanted it used.  So, he said he would review the literature again and reconsider.  The morning of my procedure, he told me he would use it, and agreed that if even one adhesion was prevented, it was worth it.  

All in all, a wonderful experience, despite being a terrifying medical procedure.  Glory be to God!

Henry's Thanksgiving outfit, and now his game day fight clothes. :)

It's a boy!

Henry Gerard born at 8:37 this morning, weighing 6 lbs, 15 oz, and measuring 20.5 inches long.  He is perfectly healthy and a great nurser.  Already three poopy diapers and one good wet one.  Glory be to God!

Finished, with less than 48 hours to spare!

I finally finished the baby pants I was knitting, with less than 48 hours to spare!

Monday morning at 7:30 central time is the scheduled c-section.  I can't believe it is here already!  This pregnancy has flown by and it's hard to believe that in just a few days a little one will be in this house.  Wow!  

Advice?

We're on countdown here, folks.  8 days left as "just us."  I feel like we need to have a "mardi gras" of sorts and do all the things that we're not going to be able to do again for a long time or that will just be different when baby gets here.  What are some things that you guys did in the last days before your baby arrived?  We're planning on going out for one more fancy dinner.  We'll probably get one more movie in.  I have a microdermabrasion appointment and may go ahead and try to get a haircut in since it will probably be a while before I can go to the salon.  A pedicure is also in order, and I should probably go ahead and get an eyebrow wax even though they aren't that bad yet.  Given them a week after baby is born, though, and I'm sure they'll be unruly.  

What else?  I feel like my husband and I need to live it up.  

I could also use some advice from moms who have had c-sections.  What kinds of things should I make sure I've got at home for when I come home?  I'm thinking I should stock up on snacks.  What else?  

8 days.  I can't believe it!

Progesterone

I ordered another batch of PIO from Kubat's and then found out I could stop all my progesterone.  So, now I have two new vials of 100mg PIO and lots of syringes, and the vials say to use before April 30, 2013.  Any of you ladies currently supplementing and could use this?

12 Days

Only 12 days until we meet this baby!  I have done all I can to try and prevent having to go forward with the c-section, but because the doctor who did my fibroid surgery back in 2007 did a terrible job in her OP note of describing what she did, there is no way to know how far into the uterus she cut.  So, the doctors are all scared of letting me labor.  So, bright and early on the 19th, we will be welcoming the little one into the world.  

I woke up 2 hours early this morning not able to sleep anymore, worrying about what still needs to be done before the baby gets here and hoping that somehow during the night the election results had changed.  Alas, they had not.  So, I spent the next two hours writing a birth plan, googling for new maids because me.rry mai.ds that we have been using just suck and I am tired of them, and designing the invitation for the baptism, and then had a good cry on husband's shoulder when he finally woke up. Needless to say, I feel just a little overwhelmed. 

I have spent the last several months talking with my doctor about my wishes for how the c-section goes (wanting immediate skin to skin contact and delaying newborn procedures for 2 hours) and have put together a birth plan documenting it all.  Let's just hope he abides by it and doesn't pull a switch-a-roo on me at the last minute.  

Baby has continued to do well despite the continued horrible progesterone numbers.  I am still in zone 1.  PPVI had me go in for a biophysical profile last Friday to make sure things are OK given the persistent low progesterone.   Baby scored perfect.  And, I had a follow up appointment today and the OB decided to do a non-stress test to make sure since Omaha had raised the issue.  Baby is doing great, but apparently I am having contractions that I don't feel.  Luckily, though, they are not doing anything.  He did a check on me and there is no progress.   Thank goodness, I started to get afraid he was going to tell me we're doing this c-section tomorrow.  

So, gladly, baby is still in there hanging out and not ready to go anywhere.  Now I just need to try and relax and enjoy these last 12 wonderful days of pregnancy.  The past 8 months have gone by so fast.