Since I went so long since my last post to my most recent, I decided maybe it was time for a run down of how it all happened:
To start, I was that small percentage that actually had their water break. For some reason, I always knew it would. Kind of how I knew Trent was a boy the day I peed on the stick. Just a gut instinct. Well, at 11:30 at night just moments after my husband crawled into bed, I jumped up out of a deep sleep and my water broke. I was so shocked that I just stood there for a moment dumbfounded while I felt like I was peeing myself. I most definitely was NOT though.
Thanks to careful preparation, by 12:00 the calls had been made and we were in the car to drop off A at my friend's house. The main gate to the Naval Hospital was closed for construction, so we had to drive to the back gate and loop back around adding an extra 20 minutes to our drive. At 12:30 a.m. my contractions were started. Fortunately no one was there so we got prime parking. My husband dutifully asked if I needed a wheelchair, but I insisted I would hold my dignity and waddle in myself... in between contractions. By the time I stripped down I was a wet mess (sorry for the visual). I had pretty much soaked right through my pad.
The nurse pleasantly asked me my pain management choices. I asked how far I was. She happily said a 2! I was writhing in pain on the bed barely able to remember to breathe (so much for those classes) so I thought no way could I possibly go hours like this. I was no champ. I was a wimp. W. I. M. P. and proud to admit. I said EPIDURAL! They slowly had me walk to my birthing suite (which was massive by the way). I had to wait for the anesthesiologist, but even worse I had to deal with a newbie Corpsman who was having a hell of a time putting an IV in my hand. And I was a model labor patient staying as still as humanly possible. I have no idea what his problem was, but I'm concerned for him. They gave me a shot in my IV and I could immediately relax. It wasn't complete pain relief, but it sure did help.
By 1:30 a.m. they checked me and I was at 6 cm. Holy cow! That explains why it hurts so much! I laugh and my husband keeps me laughing and joking. Now, at this point is where I wish I had made different choices. Before I got the epidural, I should have asked them to check me again since I was dilating so far so fast. Had I done that, I would have found out I was 9 cm before they started the epi. Instead I found out after they finished that I was 9. I went from a 2 to a 9 in 2 hours, 3 if you include the time my water broke, but I didn't feel contractions until about 30 minutes in. I stalled progression and didn't get to 10 until about 5 a.m. They gave me 30 minutes of rest (I still couldn't feel a thing) and then I started pushing.
Now comes another real big error, this one not on my part. I pushed for 4 hours. YES, 4 HOURS. They had a shift change half way through my pushing and somewhere, someone screwed up. The doctor came in (we were familiar with each other since I was gestational diabetic and could only see certain doctors) and said that since T was sunny side up, he was not going to fit through my pelvis. I was horrified. I couldn't believe this was happening. I immediately resolved to tears. She said that his head was showing signs of swelling and she had to highly recommend a c-section. Again, tears and crying. I laid back and as they told me that I would be prepped for surgery, I asked if I could push my epidural button which had laid forgotten during my 4 hours of pushing. They said yes. They should have said no.
I was given an injection in my back to make everything numb. What happens from this point on was a complete nightmare. I started shaking from the strong anesthesia. I was freezing from the inside out, but they had to keep me mostly uncovered for the surgery. As soon as they pulled my son out, I started getting sensation back. I started to panic, but tried to keep it in. My husband followed our son to the nursery and I turned to the anesthesiologist next to me and asked to be put out. The drugs to numb me we wearing off and the new ones weren't fast enough. I was practically hysterical. He told me I might not remember seeing my son for the first time (I do), and I said I would chance it. What he didn't tell me was he gave me a calming drug too. Now I have 2 different anesthesia's and another drug besides. My son was born at 10 a.m. I woke up for the first time at 2 p.m. I could barely talk and form words as my mind was so muddled. I almost threw up on the poor Corpsman (whose name I insisted upon knowing, even though it took me 2 minutes to form the sentence "What is your name?"). I am still grateful to that corpsman for his behavior and attitude. He was very pleasant even though I was a complete mess.
Unfortunately I would stay like this for a few days. I had a hard time listening to the nurses and doctors because my mind couldn't focus. Breastfeeding was almost immediately a no-go because I could barely hold my son. We chose to bottle feed as I could not get Trent to latch. To this day he will almost never drink a bottle without stopping at some point. I am proud to say that I chose to pump. I pumped for 3 weeks before my supply dropped and I was unable to feed him more than a bottle or two a day.
I have been blessed with a happy, healthy baby boy who loves to try to stand on his own, but not sit. He has slept through the night since 7 weeks. He smiles and is so happy to see us every morning. He is the most popular baby at day care. Everyone in the CDC knows his name and who he is. We had a rough time bringing him into the world, but it has been the best thing to ever happen to me. I would not change a thing that happened, because I would never want to change him.
My advice to expectant mothers is to be informed. In the heat of the moment it is so very hard to remember everything you have learned. I took the Lamaze classes alone since husband had to work. If I had made flashcards or at least a paper with some notes on it, I might have made some different decisions. Instead I let the doctors dictate everything without question.
Also, when it comes to the Postpartum, stand firm and stand your ground. They tried to talk my husband and I out of getting our son circumcised. As far as I'm concerned, it is a personal choice and not one that should be attacked. We had made our choice clear from the start (it's in your admission packet for Naval) and they were still very rude about it.
Be informed and enjoy the ride.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Inchbug.com Orbit Labels Review
As a working mother, I fully believe I have two or more jobs. I have the typical 8-5 (who actually works 9-5?) job. I also am a mother and a wife. It is my job to prepare the bottles, diapers, wipes, etc. for day care every day. It is also under my job description to get A up, dressed, lunch made, and breakfast ate before going to school. That is a job I feel I should be compensated for sometimes. I usually take my payment in the form of warm, quiet baths or sleeping in on the weekend. Bonus is I don’t have to claim it on taxes.
For the CDC on base here we are required (and it makes sense to me, no arguments here) to put your child’s name on every bottle. After a week of masking tape and marker, I immediately set out on a search to look for something easier. I had noticed that one of the girls in T’s class had this band with her name on it. I wanted to find one too!
After putting in a few choice words in the search engine (baby bottle labels), a website called Inchbug popped up. Two parents founded the company in 2004 and developed the product called Orbit Label. There is the Custom Labels and the Pre-printed labels. T doesn’t have an overly common name, so my purchase was the Custom Labels.
Orbit labels are name labels for baby bottles, sippy cups (straw sippy cups are recommended these days, FYI), water bottles, etc. The bands are similar to the “Live Strong” bands that people wear on their wrist… or their ankle like my 8 year old. They can be boiled, microwaved, put through the dishwasher, and sterilized. I have absolutely fallen in love with these.
I put them on our wide neck Dr. Brown bottles and have never had to take them off. They go on fairly easy and the rubber material grips the bottle in a way that it doesn’t move a centimeter. I can move them and take them off too for when we move to sippy cups. I chose to put T’s whole name on the label. These bands literally save me about 5 minutes a day that I would spend labeling masking tape. And for the low price of $12.95 for 4 custom labels, I was jumping for joy. I was expecting something more like $20 or $30. Oddly the pre-printed labels have only 3 labels in a package. I actually made out better ordering custom since I have to have four bottles for T every day.
I can not say enough about these labels. I am thrilled with them. While on their website, I also found their Date Stickers. I ordered the 5-pack since we also label with the date every bottle every day. In a moment of excitement, I misread the colors and ordered Watermelon rather than Green Apple thinking Watermelon was green. Note my surprise when pink labels showed up with my green bands. Duuuuh… Completely my fault, not Inchbug’s. I didn’t send them back since they weren’t all that expensive and T is secure enough to use pink labels. I will note that I donated one sheet to my daycare for anyone who needed it and admitted my blunder. They laughed and were grateful for it. How do the stickers fair? Well…
The stickers are not my favorite. They are still easier to use than masking tape, but they are not perfect. They are made to go on and come off easy. My CDC heats the bottles up using water in a warmed crockpot so the labels can get wet. If they get wet, they don’t always peel off right. They occasionally leave a residue behind. The residue can be rolled away with a little wiping with my finger, but it’s an irritation. I do like that I can write out the dates in advance on Sunday for Monday through Friday. So when I prepare the bottles at night, I can just stick them on as they are ready to go.
On a final note, these are the only two products I have purchased. Shipping was fast by USPS in a flat rate envelope. I adore my Orbit Labels and recommend them to every one, even stay at home moms. The date stickers could be improved, but I don’t know that they ever intended for them to get wet so I don’t know that I can blame Inchbug for that. I have not yet purchased any other products from them, but they do have other useful and cute items I have considered. Say a big fat Yay! for the Orbit Labels. I highly recommend them!
For the CDC on base here we are required (and it makes sense to me, no arguments here) to put your child’s name on every bottle. After a week of masking tape and marker, I immediately set out on a search to look for something easier. I had noticed that one of the girls in T’s class had this band with her name on it. I wanted to find one too!
After putting in a few choice words in the search engine (baby bottle labels), a website called Inchbug popped up. Two parents founded the company in 2004 and developed the product called Orbit Label. There is the Custom Labels and the Pre-printed labels. T doesn’t have an overly common name, so my purchase was the Custom Labels.
Orbit labels are name labels for baby bottles, sippy cups (straw sippy cups are recommended these days, FYI), water bottles, etc. The bands are similar to the “Live Strong” bands that people wear on their wrist… or their ankle like my 8 year old. They can be boiled, microwaved, put through the dishwasher, and sterilized. I have absolutely fallen in love with these.
I put them on our wide neck Dr. Brown bottles and have never had to take them off. They go on fairly easy and the rubber material grips the bottle in a way that it doesn’t move a centimeter. I can move them and take them off too for when we move to sippy cups. I chose to put T’s whole name on the label. These bands literally save me about 5 minutes a day that I would spend labeling masking tape. And for the low price of $12.95 for 4 custom labels, I was jumping for joy. I was expecting something more like $20 or $30. Oddly the pre-printed labels have only 3 labels in a package. I actually made out better ordering custom since I have to have four bottles for T every day.
I can not say enough about these labels. I am thrilled with them. While on their website, I also found their Date Stickers. I ordered the 5-pack since we also label with the date every bottle every day. In a moment of excitement, I misread the colors and ordered Watermelon rather than Green Apple thinking Watermelon was green. Note my surprise when pink labels showed up with my green bands. Duuuuh… Completely my fault, not Inchbug’s. I didn’t send them back since they weren’t all that expensive and T is secure enough to use pink labels. I will note that I donated one sheet to my daycare for anyone who needed it and admitted my blunder. They laughed and were grateful for it. How do the stickers fair? Well…
The stickers are not my favorite. They are still easier to use than masking tape, but they are not perfect. They are made to go on and come off easy. My CDC heats the bottles up using water in a warmed crockpot so the labels can get wet. If they get wet, they don’t always peel off right. They occasionally leave a residue behind. The residue can be rolled away with a little wiping with my finger, but it’s an irritation. I do like that I can write out the dates in advance on Sunday for Monday through Friday. So when I prepare the bottles at night, I can just stick them on as they are ready to go.
On a final note, these are the only two products I have purchased. Shipping was fast by USPS in a flat rate envelope. I adore my Orbit Labels and recommend them to every one, even stay at home moms. The date stickers could be improved, but I don’t know that they ever intended for them to get wet so I don’t know that I can blame Inchbug for that. I have not yet purchased any other products from them, but they do have other useful and cute items I have considered. Say a big fat Yay! for the Orbit Labels. I highly recommend them!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Baby Product Reviews
So for my next post I thought I would share some reviews on some of my favorite baby products. I LOVE anything that makes my day easier and simpler so that way I can spend time with my family. Or spend time with Grey’s Anatomy (I’m officially 4 episodes behind). Mind you as a mom and not an official product tester, I don’t have much to compare to. There are some products I did a lot of research on first, which I will share too. This will probably be a multi-series.
Sleep Sheep: This is number one because this is by far one of the biggest surprise of great things we own. I bought this myself. I read great reviews on Babies R Us and decided to take a leap. We got the travel version after the reviews said the bigger one basically just cost more. But the bigger one does have the heartbeat sound. T prefers ocean noises, which is little surprise since I spent mid to late pregnancy at the beach. The travel Sleep Sheep has a very adjustable velcro strap. Ours is attached to the infant carseat. It has 2 different time settings, 15 or 45 minutes. My only complaint is this thing seems to get dirty fast. Ours looks so dingy already. But T doesn’t play with it, just listen to it.
Graco B is for Bear Snugride 30: This was a gift that we registered for. I wish we would have been smarter shoppers. The canopy on this thing is such a pain! It is so close to the handle that you can’t have the canopy open and carry the carseat on your arm. I am a petite 5’2 so carrying with my hand is awkward at best. There are way better carseats out there. Graco is not the best, just the most well known. On a positive note, we loved using it with our Snap N Go.
Graco Snap N Go Stroller: This was a win. We registered for it and used it all the time until we stopped using our infant seat regularly (switched to convertible after I returned to work). It folds up small. It’s light enough to use even though I had a c-section. It is pricey at it’s full price, but BRU usually has sales and coupons to help reduce the price. It’s not great for parks or bumpy sidewalks, but awesome for malls, grocery stores, etc.
Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Gym: As far as playmats go, I don’t see it getting better. It folds up nicely to travel, the lights entertain T even at his age of 5 months. The toys all detach and clean easily. The mat detaches from the bars for easy washing. I put this thing through the washer and dryer several times and it looks as new as the day I bought it. It has easily gone through spit-up, vomit, poop, and puppy drool. We have now hooked teethers on to the cloth rings and they make T so happy. This was a gift, but not one I registered for. I am thrilled to have gotten it though.
Excersaucer 3 in 1 Triple Fun: I registered and received this gift. We didn’t use the Stage 1 because the mat was paper thing and the toy bar didn’t attach to the mat. Plus we already had a nice gym mat. When T turned 4 months, we put him in this with a blanket wrapped around his middle since the seat is so large. He enjoyed looking at everything, but it wasn’t until more recently that he became interested in touching everything. There were some complaints that tots weren’t able to spin the seat, but T has no problem turning himself around. MY complaint is that we had to take apart the bird on the right with the horn because T kept getting his arm caught under it. We unscrewed the base and pulled it apart and took the horn out. Easy and perfect fix for it since the horn served no purpose anyways. T loves to be in this as he loves to stand up, even though he can’t on his own yet. The light up lizard is cute and funny. He loves the pieces on the alligators back. He spends most of his time trying to flip them off, and since they are attached by ribbons I can easily put them back (when he’s not looking).
More reviews to come!
Sleep Sheep: This is number one because this is by far one of the biggest surprise of great things we own. I bought this myself. I read great reviews on Babies R Us and decided to take a leap. We got the travel version after the reviews said the bigger one basically just cost more. But the bigger one does have the heartbeat sound. T prefers ocean noises, which is little surprise since I spent mid to late pregnancy at the beach. The travel Sleep Sheep has a very adjustable velcro strap. Ours is attached to the infant carseat. It has 2 different time settings, 15 or 45 minutes. My only complaint is this thing seems to get dirty fast. Ours looks so dingy already. But T doesn’t play with it, just listen to it.
Graco B is for Bear Snugride 30: This was a gift that we registered for. I wish we would have been smarter shoppers. The canopy on this thing is such a pain! It is so close to the handle that you can’t have the canopy open and carry the carseat on your arm. I am a petite 5’2 so carrying with my hand is awkward at best. There are way better carseats out there. Graco is not the best, just the most well known. On a positive note, we loved using it with our Snap N Go.
Graco Snap N Go Stroller: This was a win. We registered for it and used it all the time until we stopped using our infant seat regularly (switched to convertible after I returned to work). It folds up small. It’s light enough to use even though I had a c-section. It is pricey at it’s full price, but BRU usually has sales and coupons to help reduce the price. It’s not great for parks or bumpy sidewalks, but awesome for malls, grocery stores, etc.
Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Gym: As far as playmats go, I don’t see it getting better. It folds up nicely to travel, the lights entertain T even at his age of 5 months. The toys all detach and clean easily. The mat detaches from the bars for easy washing. I put this thing through the washer and dryer several times and it looks as new as the day I bought it. It has easily gone through spit-up, vomit, poop, and puppy drool. We have now hooked teethers on to the cloth rings and they make T so happy. This was a gift, but not one I registered for. I am thrilled to have gotten it though.
Excersaucer 3 in 1 Triple Fun: I registered and received this gift. We didn’t use the Stage 1 because the mat was paper thing and the toy bar didn’t attach to the mat. Plus we already had a nice gym mat. When T turned 4 months, we put him in this with a blanket wrapped around his middle since the seat is so large. He enjoyed looking at everything, but it wasn’t until more recently that he became interested in touching everything. There were some complaints that tots weren’t able to spin the seat, but T has no problem turning himself around. MY complaint is that we had to take apart the bird on the right with the horn because T kept getting his arm caught under it. We unscrewed the base and pulled it apart and took the horn out. Easy and perfect fix for it since the horn served no purpose anyways. T loves to be in this as he loves to stand up, even though he can’t on his own yet. The light up lizard is cute and funny. He loves the pieces on the alligators back. He spends most of his time trying to flip them off, and since they are attached by ribbons I can easily put them back (when he’s not looking).
More reviews to come!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Step 1 - Set the Foundation
Actually this is more like Step 100 than Step 1. I just called it step 1 since it’s my first post after all. No point in making a no bones honest blog if I start by being dishonest. Which brings me to why I said set the foundation…
My son is now 5 months old and my daughter is 8. Yeah, biiiig age difference. My children love each other, and I love that about them! The way they smile at each other just lets me know how much trouble I’m in when they can actually conspire together.
So why set the foundation now? Because we pretty much tried every other approach to the chaos that is our children. So we decided it’s time to go back to basics. Today I made two lists. The first is a “Daily Duties” list. It outlines everything that is expected of A every day, from getting up to going to bed. I gave times in the morning since we have a time management problem then and gave a generic list for evenings since I can’t guarantee what time dinner makes it to the table. The second list is “House Rules” for whole family. When T is old enough, this will apply to him too. It is very general in order to encompass everyone.
At the bottom of the rules I wrote our consequences for 1st, 2nd, and then 3rd offense. It starts with losing TV and/or computer for one day. Then grounded for one day. Then grounded and loss of TV and/or computer. I also have rewards. I purchased four different items. They are a magazine, a shirt, high heel shoes (I hate them, she loves them), and a craft kit. After a week of good behavior she can choose her reward from those four. So we have a mix of positive and negative reinforcement, as well as an outline of exactly what is expected of her and everyone else. I’m hoping this will stop the tantrums and crying that seem to be escalating.
Oh, and I’m also implementing family game night where we order in a pizza and play the Wii or a board game. That way we spend some time doing something all together. I don’t have a specific day since the husband is military and we can never predict his schedule. And you can’t predict an infant’s schedule either.
So here’s the start of yet another new beginning. I have high hopes for this one. I mean, if Super Nanny suggests it, it has to be good right?
My son is now 5 months old and my daughter is 8. Yeah, biiiig age difference. My children love each other, and I love that about them! The way they smile at each other just lets me know how much trouble I’m in when they can actually conspire together.
So why set the foundation now? Because we pretty much tried every other approach to the chaos that is our children. So we decided it’s time to go back to basics. Today I made two lists. The first is a “Daily Duties” list. It outlines everything that is expected of A every day, from getting up to going to bed. I gave times in the morning since we have a time management problem then and gave a generic list for evenings since I can’t guarantee what time dinner makes it to the table. The second list is “House Rules” for whole family. When T is old enough, this will apply to him too. It is very general in order to encompass everyone.
At the bottom of the rules I wrote our consequences for 1st, 2nd, and then 3rd offense. It starts with losing TV and/or computer for one day. Then grounded for one day. Then grounded and loss of TV and/or computer. I also have rewards. I purchased four different items. They are a magazine, a shirt, high heel shoes (I hate them, she loves them), and a craft kit. After a week of good behavior she can choose her reward from those four. So we have a mix of positive and negative reinforcement, as well as an outline of exactly what is expected of her and everyone else. I’m hoping this will stop the tantrums and crying that seem to be escalating.
Oh, and I’m also implementing family game night where we order in a pizza and play the Wii or a board game. That way we spend some time doing something all together. I don’t have a specific day since the husband is military and we can never predict his schedule. And you can’t predict an infant’s schedule either.
So here’s the start of yet another new beginning. I have high hopes for this one. I mean, if Super Nanny suggests it, it has to be good right?
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