[ca_dawson]

Here's Lexi's long overdue birth story...warning it is super duper LONG!!!

My sweet little Lexi tried to come into this world in her own way, but she finally made her appearance on April 18th, 2010, after trying to make an earlier appearance. I’m going to backtrack a bit and start with the preterm labor. On March 15th at 33 w 4 d I woke up that morning feeling “off.” I had just had my shower the weekend before and my little sis was around me a lot and she had a stomach bug. My first thought was I was catching her bug, but unlike her I didn’t have any vomiting or diarrhea. I had some pains in my stomach that felt like diarrhea was coming, yet nothing came. I just dismissed it and tried to get some rest. I laid down for a bit and was trying to shake it off, but the pain was persistent. Luckily I already had my 34 week appt that afternoon. So off to the dr I went! At the dr’s office I explained to her what I was feeling. When she was measuring my belly I jumped up in pain and she asked if I was feeling that pain often. I said yes and she said that was a contraction. She decided to go ahead and check me. I wasn’t dilated, but 60% effaced and she was already engaged surprisingly. So off to the hospital I went to get observed. The dr was just hoping it was a stomach bug and I could get some fluids and be better. Once I got to the hospital they got me all hooked up and right away the contractions were showing up on the monitor. The first hour I had 22 contractions…yep this was definitely preterm labor. So after being monitored for 2 hours I got a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions. The contractions persisted. I was supposed to get two more shots of terbutaline, but my heartrate went too high and wouldn’t come down enough to have the subsequent shots. I finally got some Demerol and Phenergan for the pain about an hour after that. I started on the terbutaline pills every 4 hours around the clock. Finally the contractions slowed down. I ended up spending the night in the hospital and got released on bedrest and terbutaline the next day.
For the next two weeks I was on strict bedrest and around the clock terbutaline. I still had contractions even with the meds. But after two weeks I successfully kept her in until 36 weeks. At 36 weeks I was allowed off meds and bedrest. I assumed I’d go into labor right away with all the contractions I’d been having. The next morning I had really painful contractions every 5 minutes for a few hours. I thought this was it so decided to try to get some sleep. I feel asleep and woke up a few hours later and the contractions were still there, but now sporadic. For the next two weeks I suffered through prodromal labor, having painful contractions around the clock, but never actually getting into a real labor pattern. They’d get close, then space back out. All the while I was still effacing and got to a cm dilated. I was getting so frustrated because I wanted to either go into real labor, or get some relief! On Friday, April 16th I was once again contracting all day and night. They got down to 2 mins apart and stayed that way for 2 hours. Last time that happened the dr was upset I didn’t go to the hospital to get checked out. I knew it was probably a waste of time, but off to the hospital we went. Of course as soon as I got hooked up on the monitor the contractions started getting sporadic again. So after 2 hours back to home we went. Of course as soon as I got in the car the contractions picked up again. I was 2 cm dilated now, so I had dilated more since my last check.
Saturday, April 17th I woke up, still feeling contractions but decided to ignore them and go on about my day. Me and DH ran some errands, went for a walk in the park, had a nice late lunch/early dinner at Carrabas. At the restaurant the contractions were still very noticeable. I was actually having trouble getting my dinner down because my stomach kept contraction and it hurt too much to eat. Funny sidenote about Carrabas, DH and I ate dinner there the night we conceived, so it all started and ended there! So after dinner we headed back home. I did some more cleaning up around the house. I was still feeling pretty bad so I decided to get in the good ole bathtub. This usually always made me feel better. So in the bath I go. I was only in the bath about 10 minutes before I decided it was far too uncomfortable. This is when I really knew something was up. The contractions were painful and it felt like they were right on top of each other and I couldn’t get a break. So I got out and went and laid down on the couch with DH and we started watching Saturday Night Live. DH started timing my contractions. We were going to time them for an hour with me laying down, but after about 30 minutes I couldn’t take it anymore and told him we had to get to the hospital. If nothing else once they hook me up to the monitor the contractions will go away and I can get some relief!
So off to the hospital we go! The hook me up and the contractions start showing up right away. But we were convinced that if they left me on the monitor a while that they’d eventually go away. We finished watching Saturday Night Live and the contraction were still there. Finally a little after midnight the nurse returns and tells us we are being admitted! She had checked me when we got there and I was 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced and still at 0 station. This time she checked again and I was at 3.5 cm. Yay! I was finally making progress! So after she assured me that we weren’t leaving the hospital without a baby, I made the phone calls! The contractions hurt, but I was able to breathe through them for a while. I definitely wanted the epidural, but I wanted to dilate as far as possible without it because I didn’t want to stall my labor too much. I made it until a little after 3 am and was a good 4 cm dilated before I got the epidural. I knew I needed to get some sleep so I was hoping the epidural would make me comfortable enough to get some sleep. I had seen a lot of epidurals get done through my L&D rotations so I wasn’t really scared of it. Well, apparently I got the dud anesthesiologist! He had joked this was only his second time doing it when he came in, well at least I thought it was a joke at the time! After that epi, I don’t think he was joking! First off, when he went to numb it he poked me like 7 times! All the ones I’ve seen, they got one, maybe two shots to numb it. Then he didn’t even wait for the numbing agent to kick it and jabbed the crap out of me! And he wasn’t telling me what he was doing or warning me that he was about to start so when he jabbed me I jumped! Then he was like “don’t do that!” Um okay a-hole, why don’t you warn me or explain the procedure as you’re doing it and not surprise people with a big needle in the back! But the relief from the epi was worth the discomfort getting it. After getting the epi I was still contraction on my own and made it to 4.5 cm and was having bloody show, so they didn’t feel the need to start Pitocin right away. They also started the IV and inserted a catheter when I got the epi. I was actually relieved to get the catheter because I had to get up to pee like a million times before that! I tried to get some sleep, but I was just far too excited to sleep! A little after 5:30am and I had only progressed to 5 cm and was having some issues with my blood pressure being high so they started the Pitocin. A bit after 8 am my dr finally came up to the hospital to check on me. I had been having high BP’s since I got there the night before, but none of the nurses had informed my dr so she was a bit upset by that. Every time my blood pressure was taken the machine would start beeping to alert that it was too high. I was still stuck at 5 cm, so my dr went ahead and broke my bag of water. They also started me on the magnesium at this time to try to get the BP under control. I started feeling a bit icky from the mag, which they told me that it would make me feel like crap. About 12:30 pm I was at 6-7 cm dilated, fully effaced and could feel that she had dropped and was right there! My BP still wasn’t under control so I was waiting for my dr to come around again. Finally they gave me some pill to help out and finally my BP got into a more normal range. About this time my epi wore off (the nurse didn’t know how to use the equipment and although she put in a new bag, she didn’t start it correctly!) The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a booster shot and finally felt some relief again. A little after 2 pm, I felt a lot of pressure in my bum, so I had asked the nurse to check me again. She said she wanted to give it another hour and then she would. Well she didn’t come back to check me until after 4 pm and I was fully dilated, baby’s head was right there and ready to push. So she started setting up the room and had to call the dr. Luckily the dr only lives 15 minutes from the hospital. After we were all set up she had me do a couple of practice pushes while we were waiting on the dr. We did about 3 of those and the dr showed up. I wasn’t giving it my all at this point because I didn’t want the nurse delivering my baby! LOL! Once the dr showed up we did 2 more good pushes and I gave it my all and she came right out! The time between the first push with the nurse and the baby being born was 27 minutes! And I wasn’t even pushing the whole time! Since she came out so fast she ended up swallowing a little bit of fluid and was having some trouble breathing. They did put her on my stomach right away and we tried breastfeeding right away, but since she was having trouble breathing she didn’t take to it. They had to take her to the nursery and observe her for a bit. My dr tried to do perineal massage for me, but since she came so fast, she ended up having to do a 2nd degree episiotomy and I had a tear on my left labia. All in all I think I had a great birth experience. I ended up needing more interventions than I had planned, but really I went into it without a set “plan” that way with whatever happened, I wouldn’t be too disappointed. My only concern was having a C-section, I absolutely didn’t want that, so that was my only goal, avoid the c/s at all costs. In the end I got a beautiful healthy baby girl and I couldn’t be happier!
Now a few pics...sorry they are so big, photobucket is giving me a hard time with trying to resize pics. I resize them and save them, yet when I post them they're big again! So I give up and am just posting them big!
This is when they said it was time to push! I was checking to make sure Ben was ok!

Our first look at her!

She did not like those bright lights in her eyes!

Daddy and Lexi's first pic together!

Daddy with her in the nursery. He's also on the phone sharing the news!

Our precious angel!

[ca_dawson]

~Week 1~

Week one has been great! She is such a good baby. She only fusses when she's dirty or hungry. She latched on right away and has been nursing like a champ. The only struggles we had with her was that it took the full 5 days for my milk to come in, so days 3 and 4 she was extra fussy just because she was so hungry. She had her followup dr's appt and lost a whole lb! She was down to 6 lb 2 oz and 19 1/2 inches at 4 days old. We took her back 2 days later for a followup weight check (and my milk finally came in so she's been eating better) and now she's back up to 7 lb 7 oz! Crazy what a couple of days of good milk will do! The worst part for me is my healing! OMG I did not realize how painful recovery would be! As soon as the epidural wore off I felt like I was on fire down there! And the first post baby bowel movement was worse that having the baby! I was constipated for several days (even with taking like 4 stool softeners a day!) so that first time was sooooo painful! I now officially think constipation is worse than childbirth! I even drank prune juice, everything to relieve it but it was awful! I had to use to boppy for myself to sit down this week!

Now for some pics...

Getting ready to leave the hospital


Her first time in her carseat


Sleeping angel


Daddy and Lexi


Peek-a-boo baby!


Pretty girl

[ca_dawson]

~Week 2~

I'm still in pain, but getting better, slowly but surely. My back is killing me now. Every step I take sends a sharp shooting pain through my lower back and down my left leg. I think its from where the anesthesiologist stabbed the crap out of me. Aside from me still being in pain we are having a good week. Lexi is still nursing like a champ and growing like a weed. She's a pretty decent sleeper too. We get good 2-3 hour stretches of sleep at a time. She wakes up to eat and then she's back down to sleep again. She is just such a joy! She pretty much sleeps all day except when its time to change and feed her. She loves her bouncy seat and is content in it. I pumped for the first time this week and was pretty excited to get 4 oz my first time, 2 oz from each breast! I know I'll probably have to go back to work around 6 weeks for her so I want to start building my stash asap! She also went to the dr this week, up to 7 lb 11 oz and 21 inches long! Now for some week 2 pics...

In her bouncy seat


Why all the pictures mom?!


Hmm...


Snuggles with daddy!




So cute...holding the paci in!

[ca_dawson]

~Week 3~

Mommy is finally all healed up! Yay! I feel like a human being again! This week we had our first issue with gas so we've been giving her gas drops. She hates the taste of them, but she seems less fussy afterwards. She's still eating like a champ! I'm so glad breastfeeding has been going so well! Pumping, well that's another story! I was so excited the first time I pumped I got 4 oz. Now I'm getting between 2-4 oz, with getting 3 1/2 most of the time. It takes 2 times pumping for just one bottle! I know I shouldn't get frustrated because all I'm getting is "extra" but I need to have a good stash by the time I go back to work. I really don't want to have to supplement. I've been drinking tons of water and power pumping so hopefully I'll be able to get more out of each pumping session. She smiles now, but its mostly random and not directed at us. She's also giving some decent eye contact for her age. Now onto more pics!

Her and daddy pics...I love these two so much!!!








Her sleeping...she always sleeps with her hands above her head or around her face! Its so funny her little sleeping "poses"






Her first time in her swing...that hat is so big but she gets so cold so we have to have it on her!

[ca_dawson]

~Week 4~

Holy growth spurt batman! Lexi's been eating non stop! This girl is hungry! She's seriously been eating like every hour, sometimes more often. Except overnight. She's still going 2-3 hours overnight. Definitely don't have to worry about engorement here! My poor boobs aren't even getting firm, like they don't even have a chance to fill up before she's sucking them dry again! I haven't been able to pump much because she's always eating. But as long as she's growing big and healthy and strong I'm happy. I can't believe she is already turning a month old! She had her one month checkup this week and is up to 9 lb 11 oz! Guess that was a growth spurt! And now she's 21 inches! She's getting so big so fast! Eek! Where does the time go?! The pedi says she looks perfect and is so happy with her growth. Especially since she lost so much weight in the beginning. But I think its just because my milk took so long to come in. Once it came in she's been thriving perfectly! Mommy and daddy actually got a chance to go out on a date too for our anniversary (a bit late though) We saw Iron Man 2 and my little sis watched her. She did great and was an angel the whole time! Now onto more pics of my growing angel...

A rare sleeping pic with her hands down!


Getting so big!


Froggy baby!




Mommy and daddy heading out for date night!

[JessMitch]

OMG carla she is beautiful!!!! And her birth seemed easy (lol) enough... although that bit about 7 jabs in the back is making me rethink an epi when my time comes!! keep those pics coming!!!

[fromustobaby]

i have been waiting to read this
she is so beautifulk carla...and you can really see the difference between the tiny little peanut she was when she was born and now - good job

pumping, oh how i hate it, though i love nursing...cant get over the stash you and casey have built up...do you pump after feeding her? i got nothing in me once i feed him...

keep up the updates, its so amazing how they change so quickly...
and can i just say,i in allb those pics, you and dh are just glowing

[ca_dawson]

Haha Jess! Trust me once those contractions hit, you won't be worried about getting the epi, you just want relief!

Thanks Tonya! With the pumping, it has been alot of hard work! I was hating it last week! I bought this hands free pumping bustier and its the best thing ever! I get so much more milk when I'm not sitting there watching the clock and watching the milk. I usually hook it up and forget about it for a while until I look down and have plenty of milk. I don't even time my sessions anymore. I usually pump about an hour after she eats, give the boobs time to fill back up! And she usually only eats on one side when she does eat so I usually get alot from one boob and not so much from the other. This week I've forced myself to get up and pump after her 3 am feeding a couple of times and I think that upped my supply a ton. I also try to power pump (pump 10 mins, rest 10 mins, repeat 2X) at least once a day. Pumping doesn't suck so bad when you actually get a good amount. I'm usually getting about 8 oz/pump now which is enough for 2 feedings! Way better than the 2 oz I was getting. I enjoy BFing way more than pumping, but with work its a necessary evil. I bet over summer you could build up quite the stash for when you go back to work in the fall.

It's crazy how fast they grow and change! I still can't believe it!

[Im.Nayomi]

Congrats on your beautiful daughter.