Welcome to the world, Sadie Belle

First- lets address the elephant in the room. Our daughter HAS a name! It is Sadie Belle Miles. Sadie is Hebrew for Princess so technically Sophie did name her baby sister since she has wanted to name her sister Princess Belle from the beginning.

Now for the details. This would be a good place to stop reading if you are squeamish or don't care to know the intimate details of my birth story. I am writing it so I don't forget it.

On Saturday, Dec 17th, is the date I am due with Sadie Girl. This post is written Wednesday- 4 days prior to that. As I have already mentioned, I have (or had now) gestational diabetes with this pregnancy. Because of this, my midwife wanted to induce me at 39 weeks. At my request and because Sadie and myself looked good, she let me go a little past that. On my Friday appt, the day before the start of my 39th week she did warning me that I would have to induce if she didn't come soon on her own.

On Tuesday, Dec 13th, I went in for my appointment. I knew since I hadn't given birth yet Nancy would be stripping my membranes to get things started and probably make me schedule an induction date. My guess is it would have been Thursday. While she was stripping my membranes (a rather uncomfortable and dare I say painful process) my water broke. Looks like I was having a baby on Tuesday. Since I was at my appt by my self, Nancy helped me wrap up, get dressed and load up. I then drove myself to the women's center to get checked in. I called Jeff and my parents on the way.

Of COURSE, Jeff was out on a run and his cell went to voicemail. I ended up calling station 1 and getting another firefighter. When I told him who I was and who I needed to speak to he said "Are you having a baby?" and I said YEP! Luckily, Jeff was just coming back from a run so the firefighter ran out to get Jeff. He told him "Hey your wifes on the phone, your having a baby." Jeff replied "Shut up man, thats not funny". It wasn't til he looked at his phone and saw my missed call that he figured out the guy wasn't just pulling his leg.

He meets me at the hospital and we get started. Hooked up to a bunch of monitors, lots of vital checks, etc. Eventually, they unhook me and let me walk the halls. I am sure I was a sight. After a few laps, my parents got there and we met them back in the room. The nurse re-strapped me to check baby's vitals and mine and let me know Nancy was coming to check on me. When my water broke, there was some meconium  (baby poop) in my water. Means the baby was in stress at some point and they didn't want me up walking around so the baby didn't experience any more stress and didn't poop in the water again.

TV time out: for those who might not know- baby pooping in the water is bad because they can potentially then inhale said poopy water when they take their first breathes, it can go into their lungs and infection can set up.

Back to the story. Being hooked up to these machines and being strapped to the bed wasn't part of my plan. I planned on laboring naturally, walking around and most importantly no pitocion, most because I didn't want an epidural either. Not because I wanted to feel it all natural or anything like that but because I didn't like my experience with Sophie and the epidural. Long story short- I got too much and couldn't feel how hard I was pushing. This resulted in me pushing for 3.5 hours and Sophie still needed to be vacuumed out. I didn't not want a repeat of this.

Luckily I have an excellent midwife, who not only listened to all my concerns, did not make me feel stupid for any of them but because she put the control in my hands. Since my water broke but I wasn't having contractions, the next step would have been to start pit right away. She gave the instructions that it was up to me if I wanted and if I wanted to labor on my own- drug free- I could.

Of course, this change in plan couldn't have been predicted and even the best laid plans need to be changed. Again can I sing the praises of my midwife. She was excellent in explaining to me my options and let ME make the decision. She assured me if I went the pit route with no epi and the pain got too bad she would stop it and see if I continued on my own or stop it until I got my epi. She promised me if I did get an epi she would make sure it was too high and that I would be able to feel what was going on and that I could even turn the epi off once I got the pushing stage if I wanted.

In the end, I decided to got with a light epidural first then the start of pit. I do not have ANY regrets. Overall I labored for about 8 hours. My water broke at around 2pm and I had Sadie Belle at 9:42pm. As promised, the epi only took the edge off. I could feel all the big contraction and my legs (woot woot). At around 9:20, I would guess, I mentioned to Jeff that a lot of my contractions left me with the sensation like I was about to poop. I then got scolded by him because apparently Nancy had left me with directions that if I should get contractions that made me feel like I needed to poop I should tell her. I didn't hear that part. So Jeff calls the nurses station to tell them and Nancy comes in to check me. She quickly (and I mean QUICKLY) ushers everyone out of the room and starts to suit up. I guess its time to push.

I told her I wasn't ready. That if I wasn't having a contraction I didn't feel any need to push. She said that during the next contraction she was going to have me do a practice push and she would see if it was really time. During that practice push, I moved baby Sadie down enough that Nancy could see her head. Crazy. So I guess it really was time. I was still really nervous about pushing prematurely and having to push for a long long time again.

This time, I also requested a mirror to see what was going on. I didn't do this with Sophie and now wish I would have. It was by far the coolest thing I have ever seen and it gave me added motivation to push. To be able to see the entire birth is something I hope to never forget.

I started pushing and no joke, 3 contractions in about 15 minutes total and Sadie was born. I really couldn't believe how, dare I say it, easy it was! It was over. I didn't tear. I didn't need any stitches and what few hemorrhoids that did pop out have already gone away. It still amazes me.

Sadie came into this world at 9:42pm on Dec 13th 2011 weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and measuring 21 inches. A full pound more than her big sister and 3/4 of a inch longer! She is absolutely perfect. I was also perfect. I felt so good, even immediately after birth. I was able to sit all the way up, stand up on my own, go to the bathroom on my own. I swear, if it weren't for the swelling down there I wouldn't even know I had a baby last night.

This morning Sophie got to meet her baby sister and it brought tears to my eyes how amazing she is with her. She already loves her so much. All she wanted to do as be next to who ever has her, she wants to hold her, kiss her, hug her. It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen.

So in the end, my "birth plan" didn't go as planned but I wouldn't change a thing. My family feel so right, right now. I love it.

I am sure I will add more to this post as I remember it but for now I sign off.

Being An Invalid/ Things I haven't done yet

 I started the post below earlier today. Then I went to the doctors. Now the post seems mute. I am cautioning you all now- if you are squeamish and/or don't want TMI about my personal areas vacate the page NOW!



Ok if you are still reading you have been warned.

I have hemorrhoids. I've had them since I had Sophie. After her birth, they healed and really hadn't given me problems until I got pregnant again. I have dealt with them on and off this whole pregnancy but they haven't been horrible.

Until this weekend. Not sure what exactly happened but ever since Sunday I have been in so so so much pain. Pain walking, pain sitting, pain laying. I couldn't sleep and felt like I could vomit because of the pain. I finally call the OB's office to tell them. They call me in some foam stuff- burns like a mother and doesn't help in the least. I call again the next morning and they call me in lidociane jelly. Guess what? Still doesn't help.

I see my midwife Tuesday afternoon and fill her in on the specific problems. Luckily Jeff was there too and could help fill in some of the more unsavory details (oh the things husbands have to do!). She refers me to a colon doctor. Apparently, these suckers can burst during delivery- I am sure you all wanted that visual- just as I did.

Off to yet another dr's visit I go. (Can I just say, going to the dr so much isn't fun in the least- I have another appt friday). I am thinking I will visit with him, he will give me some pointers and basically tell me there was nothing he could do until after delivery. Boy was I wrong. That butt doc took one look at me and said "Yep, you have clots and I am going to remove them" Right then and there. Wowzers. 2 shots to numb me (words can't describe how that felt) and then he literally cut the clots right out. I was feeling great (mostly bc of the number).

So in addition to him taking care of my little problem, he also wrote me a script for percocets for the pain AND took me off work until I deliver. Which should be nice. I can still work from home but I get to do it in pj's and from my couch.

Only draw back? I feel good for the first time in days and I am stuck on the couch.

Can I take Bailey's to the hospital?

Seriously, can I?

The 3 Wise Men

Really? That's what you want to call them? I am pretty sure the term "wise men" is an oxymoron all by itself but to say there are 3 of them- I call bullshit.

Now lets examine the story of baby Jesus's birth and these so called "wise men". The wise men part of the story has always bothered me but none so much as after I had Sophie.

So Mary gives birth, in a manager because there is no room at the inn (really, inn keeper- you see a hugely pregnant woman who rode into town on a DONKEY and you turned her away? You couldn't even make her a make shift bed in the lobby?). Baby Jesus is born and all is wonderful.

Now, these 3 wise men decide to come visit baby Jesus. They get together and actually have the thought of "We should bring something for the baby"- I'll give them SOME props for even thinking of a gift in the first place. But what do they pick? Practical things like blankets? Diapers? Nah- lets get him gold, frankincense and myrh. Gold- eh ok I will give that guy a pass because its gold and therefore like money. But what the heck is frankincense and myrh even? And what is an infant going to do with it? Nothing- that's what.

Even in the classic Christmas song "Do you hear what I hear" it spells it out:

Do you know what I know
A child, a child
Shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold

Sorry- those are not the gifts of "wise men". The baby is fucking cold- BRING HIM A BLANKET!!




In conclusion, I can only assume these so called "wise men" were not married. Because if they were, their wives would not have let them out of the house with such stupid gifts for a baby. I can only imagine Mary's reaction to her visitors and their gifts. I am envisioning lots of eye rolling and sighing.