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15 October, 2019

Dominic's Birth Story

It was a little surreal going to bed on Wednesday night and knowing that I was going to have a baby the next day. I’ve never had a scheduled induction but we chose it for a number of reasons: baby was so low and causing so much pelvic pain, and having a set date made planning for the other kids and Mike’s work a little easier. Once the induction was scheduled I kept trying to go into labor on my own, even going twice to have acupressure on certain pressure points. Nothing put me into labor but everything helped me get closer!

We checked into the hospital at 6am and they brought me to my room. The next 2 hours were spent getting changed, having blood drawn, getting an IV port in, setting up contraction and heart rate monitors, and waiting. The IV port was the worst part and once it was in my hand it continued to hurt—I had to have it adjusted a couple times. The nurse checked me and I was a solid 3cm and pretty thin, so I’d made progress since the last check a week before.

I talked to the nurses about my wishes and asked if we could start with breaking my water instead of Pitocin right away. I knew I chose the induction but given my experience with Pitocin with Summer, I wanted to explore my options. We talked about pain relief options too. Because I had scheduled a medical induction, the doctor said we had to use Pitocin too but we could take it really slowly.

At 8am, we began Pitocin at 1 unit/hour. I had already been having contractions on my own but this made them slightly more intense. At 8:30, they bumped it up to 2 units and the doctor came in. (Side note: I thought I would have Dr. DeWitt but apparently she was out that day so I had Dr. VanHeest.) The doctor checked me, still at a 3, and said he would break my water. It took him a couple tries but then I felt a pop and a little hush of water. Contractions picked up after that.

From that point it was about comfort and working through each contraction. I wanted to be mobile so they switched the monitors to a telemetry system so everything was on my IV pole and I could walk around. I got a pair of mesh undies and a pad so my water wouldn’t drip everywhere while I moved.

Mike and I went for a walk around the labor and delivery floor. It was slow going because of the IV pole, baby being so low, and contractions. When we got back to our room I asked for the exercise ball so I could sit on that. I think I spent a couple hours sitting and bouncing and swaying on the ball. Contractions were coming about 2-3 minutes apart at this point and I had to focus on breathing to get through each one. By this time they had bumped the Pitocin up to 4 units. Mike ate lunch at some point and I had some Jello.

By that point the contractions were pretty intense and I was not getting much of a break between each one.  I had been focusing on breathing through each contraction but it wasn't enough so I decided that I wanted to give Stadol a try to take the edge off.  The nurse checked me while we were waiting for the medication and I was 5cm and 80% effaced.  I felt a little frustrated that I'd been laboring for 5 hours and had only dilated 2 more centimeters.  At 1pm they gave me Stadol.  It made me feel lightheaded and floaty, basically like I'd had a few too many adult beverages.  I can't really say that it really helped with the pain, but it made me extremely tired so I felt like I was dozing off between each contraction.  (In hindsight, I wish I hadn't used Stadol because it made me so tired for the rest of my labor!)

At some point in there I wanted to get up and get in the tub, but when I got off the exercise ball, I was so tired that I decided to just get in bed for a while instead.

My mom had been teaching that morning but was so excited about a new grandchild that she left work early and came to the hospital.  We didn't know she was there until she texted so I let her come in for a little while.  I was drifting in and out of sleep at that point so she didn't stay very long.

The nurses would come in occasionally and ask how I was doing.  They basically let me labor on my own, which I appreciated, and Mike was by my side holding my hand as needed.  The harder the contraction the harder I squeezed his poor hand! He did disappear for about 30 minutes at one point and I found out later he was talking to my mom.  I was very happy when he finally came back!

Around 3pm the nurse checked me again and we were all disappointed that I was only at a 6.  They said that for a third time mom I should be dilating faster.  (We had all hoped to have a baby before lunch time, but obviously that didn't happen!)

I decided to get out of bed and try some movement with the nurse.  She had me stand beside the bed and they raised the bed so I could lean on it when I needed to.  I would sway my hips in a hula hoop motion between contractions and then lean over the bed during each contraction.   The nurse applied counter pressure to the small of my back during the contractions.  After watching for a while, Mike asked if he could do the counter pressure.  I was so proud of him!  That helped a lot, and then the nurse rubbed my back.  After a while I started to feel a lot of pressure and wanted to push.  It was a little before 4pm at this point and I got back into bed to be checked.  Finally, I was at 9cm and we thought it would be soon that I'd be delivering!

It took a while for that last centimeter. I had to bear down like I was pushing but not really push.  After a few contractions the nurse would check me again.  The next while was a flurry of activity.  I was in awe of how flawlessly the nurses and doctors seemed to work together.  They had called the doctor over from the office building so he was hanging out in the delivery room for a while.  He left to do some other work and then would come back to check in.  The nurses quickly got everything ready for delivery.  It was a good distraction to watch them work.  I continued working through the contractions the same was as I had most of the day, focusing on breathing, squeezing Mike's hand as needed, and moaning (weird that that helped...apparently it's called a labor song?)   It felt like it took forever, but I think it was about an hour before she finally announced at 4:35pm, "you're complete, time to push!"  They quickly put my legs up in the stirrups and said let's do this.

I pushed and yelled a little (maybe a lot).  At one point the nurse told me that in a minute the doctor would say to stop pushing and that I should stop, when that happened, I couldn't stop pushing, my body was doing its own thing.  Then I heard "we have a head and shoulders, slow down".  I couldn't.  I pushed again and let out a loud yell.  Next I heard "look down!"  I looked down and the doctor was handing me my baby.  It was a baby boy!  I snuggled him up on my chest and the nurses covered us with blankets. Mike and I couldn't believe it, we had a baby boy!

Dominic John was born at 4:41 after just 6 minutes of pushing. He was absolutely perfect!  He snuggled on my chest and nursed within 20 minutes of being born.  The nurses gave us an hour to just snuggle him and do skin to skin.  Then Mike (finally) got to hold his son.  During this time Mike got to cut the umbilical cord and I delivered the placenta (which the doctors and nurses said was quite large!) and got stitched up (I tore quite a bit because he came out so fast.)  After a while Dominic was weighed and measured: 8 pounds even and 21.5" long.

The nurses took great care of us.  One informed me that I was experiencing quite a bit of blood loss and they were monitoring that.  I was almost to the point of hemorrhaging so they were squishing down my uterus every 15 minutes or so.  After a couple of hours the bleeding slowed down and they were able to stop constantly checking on me.

Mike went out to tell Mom that she had a grandson!  This was still during the first hour, so she went back to our house to get Dad and the kids.  They brought Summer and Jayden up to meet Dominic.  Both kids were immediately in love with their little brother.  Mike's parents also came up to the hospital that evening.  After a while everyone left and I was left to snuggle my newest baby and reflect on the day.  I was so happy with the way everything went!




Our night nurse was also a doula and she was incredible!  She even told me that we didn't have to do a bath in the hospital and I was thrilled with that.  Dominic did a good job sleeping and eating his first night too.

We had a few visitors throughout the day on Friday: Alecia and the kids, Teresa, Jen and Tyler, and of course Mike and the kids came up.  We were discharged on Saturday afternoon.

Dominic was a good nurser and did great eating. He did have a slight tongue tie, but we took him to the pediatrician on Monday and she checked it.  When she touched his frenulum, it snapped on its own so she didn't have to do a full frenotomy.  We worked hard on his latch and eating and it took a while but eventually he was able to eat without causing me pain!

Once we got home we quickly settled into a routine.  It helped that we came home over the weekend so Mike was home and he was off work for a couple days the next week.  My recovery was slow and so it definitely helped to have the extra hands around the house.  We are now into a good routine and I think we are adjusting well to our new routine and life as a family of 5!

05 October, 2019

02 October, 2019

39 Weeks

How far along: 39 weeks (10/2/19)  
Baby size: about 20" and 7+ pounds
Total weight gain: 37 lbs according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! Even some of them are getting small though!
Stretch marks: no new ones, but they are becoming more red and pronounced :(
Sleep: I've been getting enough sleep at night.
Feeling: Good!  Overall, I feel good, but the pressure of baby between my legs is getting old :) 
Best moment this week: Finalizing everything and realizing that baby will be here soon!<3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Moving like I used to
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week (this seems to be a trend!)
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: They're starting!  At my appointment last Thursday (9/26/19) I was 3cm dilated, cervix was still "thick" and baby was so low my doctor couldn't even get the speculum all the way in when she was checking to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid!  I've had lot of random contractions but nothing consistent yet. 
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Having a baby tomorrow--we are being induced!  It's still a little surreal that Baby K3 will be here in a matter of hours!

25 September, 2019

38 Weeks

How far along: 38 weeks (9/25/19)  
Baby size: about 19.5" and 7 pounds
Total weight gain: 36 lbs (I think?) according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones, but they are becoming more red and pronounced :(
Sleep: I've been getting enough sleep at night but still feeling tired mid-day.  
Feeling: Good!  My energy levels are still pretty good. 
Best moment this week: Finishing the nursery and packing my hospital bag--we are ready now!<3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Moving like I used to
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week (this seems to be a trend!)
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: They're starting!  At my appointment last Thursday (9/19/19) I was 2cm dilated, cervix was still "thick" and baby was at -2 station, "a low baby" according to my doctor!  I started losing my mucus plug on Friday and it's continued all week. And I've been nauseous the past couple days. 
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: My appointment tomorrow morning and seeing if baby has made any more progress.  I'm ready to have a baby ;) 

18 September, 2019

37 Weeks

How far along: 37 weeks (9/18/19)  
Baby size: about 19" and 6-1/3 pounds
Total weight gain: 34 lbs according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones, but they are becoming more red and pronounced :(
Sleep: I've been going to bed earlier so I'm feeling rested enough, but also more tired in general. 
Feeling: Good!  My energy levels are still pretty good. 
Best moment this week: Getting lots of things done in the nursery and installing the car seat.  I'm feeling like we are ready for baby to come now! Hearing the heartbeat at my appointment last Thursday was a highlight too, 127bpm (a little lower than usual but still healthy!) <3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Moving like I used to
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week (this seems to be a trend!)
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: None yet, I had some pelvic pain and contractions while on a longer walk yesterday so my body is getting ready!
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: My appointment tomorrow morning and finding out if any of the pressure from baby is causing any progress yet! 

11 September, 2019

36 Weeks

How far along: 36 weeks (9/11/19)  
Baby size: about 19" and 6 pounds
Total weight gain: 32 lbs according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones, but they are becoming more red and pronounced :(
Sleep: I'm sleeping good at night but starting to feel more tired.
Feeling: Big!  Other than that I'm feeling good. 
Best moment this week: We had our maternity pictures last night.  It was fun to capture our currently family of 4 plus the excitement of the new addition.<3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Moving like I used to
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: None yet but baby is definitely low and likes to push its head down into my pelvis!
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: My doctor appointment tomorrow and camping this weekend!

04 September, 2019

35 Weeks

How far along: 35 weeks (9/4/19)  
Baby size: about 19" and 5.5 pounds
Total weight gain: 30 lbs according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones, but they are becoming more red and pronounced :(
Sleep: I'm getting a good amount of sleep at night but starting to feel more tired throughout the day.
Feeling: I'm feeling pretty good!  My energy levels are lower and I'm walking a little more slowly, but still feeling good. 
Best moment this week: Bringing up a bunch of baby things to the nursery--the kids helped me with it and they had so much fun playing with the baby toys.  Also, Summer is getting more interested in talking to the baby in my belly and feeling it move, the look of wonder on her face is priceless. <3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Moving like I used to
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: My doctor appointment tomorrow

28 August, 2019

34 Weeks

How far along: 34 weeks (8/28/19)  
Baby size: about 18" and 5 pounds
Total weight gain: 30 lbs according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones
Sleep: I'm getting a good amount of sleep but starting to feel more tired throughout the day.
Feeling: I'm feeling pretty good!  My tailbone is sore but that's my biggest complaint ;) 
Best moment this week: Having my "baby belly" painted by a friend this week.  It was a fun and special time for the kids and me!<3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Moving like I used to
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Continuing to get things ready for Baby K3's arrival! 

21 August, 2019

33 Weeks

How far along: 33 weeks (8/21/19)  
Baby size: about 17" and 5 pounds
Total weight gain: 30 lbs according to the scale at the doctor yesterday
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones
Sleep: I'm getting a good amount of sleep and enjoying it! 
Feeling: I'm feeling pretty good!  
Best moment this week: Bringing up some newborn clothes--I can't believe how small they are!<3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Sleeping on my belly
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Getting the nursery set up.  I've started but still have a way to go!

14 August, 2019

32 Weeks

How far along: 32 weeks (8/15/19)  
Baby size: about 16" and 4-1/2 pounds
Total weight gain: 27 lbs according to the scale at the doctor last week
Maternity clothes: Yes! 
Stretch marks: no new ones
Sleep: I'm getting a good amount of sleep but waking up more to go to the bathroom. 
Feeling: I'm feeling pretty good!  Still some SPD pain and now my tailbone hurts when I get up from sitting, but it could be worse! ;) 
Best moment this week: Watching the kids get excited when they tell people that Mommy is having a new baby. Oh,and feeling all the hiccups!<3 nbsp="" p="">
Miss anything? Getting up quickly.
Movement: Yes! K3 is an active little baby! 
Food cravings:  Nothing significant this week
Have you started to show yet? Yes, for sure!
Gender: It's a surprise! 
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out? In but almost flat now
Wedding rings on or off? Off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Doing more things to prepare for Baby K3's arrival.  8 weeks to go! 
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