2 months

My plan to keep this blog updated has failed, oops.

So Clark is nearly 11 weeks old now and things have finally started to smooth into a rhythm.  He still isn't sleeping through the night, but he sleeps for long enough stretches that I can have an hour or two with Corey and still get 3 hours of sleep which is great.

Typically he goes to bed around 8:30-9:30 and wakes up around 1-2am to feed.  He feeds another one or two times before waking up around 7am.

He's can roll over from belly to back, but he doesn't do it all the time. Honestly, it seems like he is more interested in learning how to crawl then rolling over! I put him down for tummy time and he just scoots all around!


He's smiling more often and we think he's even starting to giggle!  But generally he is a very serious baby, which is strange because he has pretty goofy parents.

Here is his serious face:

Here are some sorta smiley ones

We're on the hunt for a part time nanny for the fall.  We don't have a lot of money to spend and the good nannies all expect $15+ an hour.  But we found a lady we both liked today, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Corey's other kids are in town for a few weeks and they've been really great with their new little brother. They always want to hold him and Jaiden is great at keeping the bear quiet in the car.  Clark HATES his car seat.

I kept thinking that there were a million different things I wanted to update with the blog, but now that I sat down to do it I'm drawing a blank!

Ah well. Perhaps that will motivate me to update more often :)

One month!

So while the first week went by very fast, the subsequent three weeks have really dragged on.  This is probably due to the fact that I haven't slept more than 2 hours in a stretch since birth.
Clark is generally a very content baby.  He doesn't cry for no reason and he is pretty easily calmed down with a quick diaper change or a feeding.  Problem? He doesn't like to go more than 2 hours without eating.  Since I'm breast feeding this means I'm tied to the little bear and it makes running errands (or just getting out of the house very difficult).  Plus, while Corey would be happy to help at night there isn't much he can do.

The common new parent advice is "sleep when they sleep", but thats not as easy as they make it sound.  If Clark decides to take a nap somewhere other than in my arms, the two hour countdown begins.  This is the only time I can take a shower, make phone calls, use the bathroom, eat, pay bills, etc.  Plus, how many people can drop off to sleep in a minute anyways? By the time I actually fell asleep I'd have maybe 45 minutes before the chatterbox starts making noises in his sleep signalling wake up is imminent.  And honestly, when you are sleep deprived 45 minutes is worse than no sleep at all. Its like a tease.

He likes to sleep in his swing during the day, but I don't like to sleep when he's in the swing b/c his posture is off and there isn't a monitor in the living room.

I hear that 6 weeks is the "magic time" for babies.  This is when many start sleeping through the night (which is actually 5 hour stretches).

I'd be happy for one 3 hour stretch at night and one 3 hour stretch during the day.

Only a week has gone by?!

A slideshow of my pregnancy!

Today Clark is 11 days old but it feels like so much more time has passed!

Recovery is going really well.  I'm only in a moderate amount of pain (all stitches/girly parts related) but I haven't had to take any pain medication, which is great.  I am taking iron pills due to the blood loss, but thats it!

It took about a week for the swelling to go down.  Having an IV really makes the swelling extra puffy so basically I hate most pictures from last week!

Clark is doing GREAT!  He left the hospital at 8lbs 11oz and at one week he already passed his birth weight and is over 9lbs!   He is sleeping well, although he is up every 1.5-2 hours to feed (such a chunkster).  Breastfeeding is going really well, he's latching well and my supply is keeping up with his need to feed constantly.   He makes the cutest face when he's hungry so we've started calling him Bear, since that is what it reminds me of.

His favorite place to be (other than on our chests) is in his swing.  He can sit in that thing for hours! So thanks again to Heather, Jon, Eric, Vince, Josh for the lifesaving gift.

Birth story & pictures

Short story: Water broke around 3:30pm on Saturday and he was born at 11:41am on Sunday May 1st. He was born 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long. Black hair and blue eyes 

Long story:

We went to a local fair that morning and walked around for about 2 hours in the sun. I hadn't slept well the night before so I definitely went into labor pretty tired. On the drive home I felt a little gush of warm liquid but it was kinda small but I was wary. As soon as we got out of the car at our house a much bigger gush came out and I said to Corey "Either I peed myself or my water broke".  I went into the bathroom, emptied my bladder and stood up to another big gush...so we grabbed a few things, I took a shower, and headed into L&D.

in triage

I wasn't contracting AT ALL (3cm, 80%, 0 station) so they had to give me pitocin, which I was sad about but at this point it is for the health of the baby to get things moving on a quick timeline, so I didn't think too much about it. My contractions started coming pretty frequently, but they didn't hurt too bad. 


My cousin and two friends came by to be my labor support group and the first few hours with them were great. We basically sat around the room laughing and joking and it really made the time fly.

 My mom and sister got in around 11 after flying from Philadelphia so it was great they made it on time too.

I was checked around that time and was still not at 4cm (which is what is considered "active labor" but I had thinned to almost 90% and baby was at +1). I sent my mom and sister home to sleep while I took a little nap too. After a few hours I started to really feel the contractions but they were all in my back. At around 1:30 the contractions were coming fast and hard (every 30s to 1minute) and they were at the top of my pain threshold. I was exhausted because there was no time in between to rest, so I asked to be checked again and was at 6cms. At this point I had been screaming and really felt the urge to push with every contraction. They said it was because he was really low, but my cervix just wasn't cooperating.

I needed an epidural.


My plan was a med free birth but I have to tell you that I would not have been able to have a vaginal birth with out the epi.

As soon as they gave me the epi I knew I made the right decision. The pain was not totally gone (I still could feel the contractions in my back, but they were sooo much better) and I was able to move my legs as well. The best part is I was able to take a nap. I slept for a few hours until the contractions starting hurting again, but I asked them to keep the epi at the current level because I liked being more aware of the experience.

Finally I felt some pressure and called the nurse. She came in and told me that I was 100% effaced, 10cm, and that the baby was one knuckle away from the edge of the birth canal. So we started pushing around 9:30am.

My sister, mom and husband were all in the room, although I planned to only have my husband there I was happy they were there with the way things went.

Turns out he was sunny side up. Everyone was confident that he could come out naturally but they told me it would take a while. After about an hour of pushing he had barely moved so they brought in the doctor who helped stretch me out and worked with my positioning to help with the pushing. After about another half hour of pushing we discussed using a suction cup which I eventually agreed too.

I was taken off the epi and they drove up my pitcoin to give me the extra oomph to push him out. I pushed and pushed with all my might and even with the suction he was barely budging. It was very painful and I was exhausted. Finally they got his head half-way out, but I was so tired I had to take a break. I had one big contraction and pushed and pushed until I couldn't push any more and he still wasn't out. I was crying at this point and really didn't think I could do it, but I gave it one more go and he finally came out....and out..and out. Seriously, 21 inches is a long amount of baby!!

Now it got scary.

He wouldn't scream. All I wanted to hear was that awesome sound of the babies first breath but all I saw was the flopping white limbs of a silent baby. They grabbed him away from us so quick that my husband couldn't cut the cord. Suddenly the room was filled with people, all of them saying "He's fine! He's fine!" with overly cheerful voices while speaking to each other in hushed tones. He was in his bed which was just a few inches from me and I can tell he was in distress. He was breathing, but he wasn't doing it well or with any regularity and he still wasn't screaming. A LONG time passed before we heard anything even remotely healthy sounding and I was in full out panic mode.

During this time, I was hemorrhaging and had developed a high fever. My placenta wasn't detaching and my uterus wasn't contracting and I had no energy to push it out, although I tried. So in between staring at my child wondering if he was going to live, I had a new team of doctors surrounding me talking in hushed tones about bringing in a transfusion and talking about ways to stop the blood loss while my doctor was elbow deep inside me trying to dislodge the placenta.

My doc and I were absolutely covered in blood and I could feel it just pouring out of me while I stared at my quiet newborn a few feet away.

Eventually, Clark gave a loud cry and the doc let me put him on my chest but I couldn't hold him for long due to all the work they were doing on me and my rapidly deteriorating condition.  

Finally breathing (check out that cone head!)

Scared momma

Happy momma

He narrowly avoided needing to go to NICU but he did have to be monitored in the regular nursery for a while. I sent Corey up with him and my sister came in to watch over me while they were still working on the hemorrhaging.

Happy about baby/scared for momma

Suddenly, I was very tired and delirious. I was talking but no one could understand me and I couldn't really form a real thought. I was terrified as I thought it had to do with the blood loss, but it turns out they gave me a heavy narcotic so they could deal with the massive number of stitches and inside issues. I knocked out hard core and came to a number of times completely high and non responsive (which was scary as I still didn't know what happened). Four hours later they told me I could move upstairs to the recovery room if I had the energy, so I worked so hard to convince them I was ok so I could see my baby again.

All better!

After a long night of being exhausted and recovering from my fevers we both woke up healthy and happy.  Breastfeeding is going well and he even gained some weight!

Excited to be going home together!

New family!

Oma, Momma, and Auntie

Clark is not too sure about Magneto

And Magneto is not too sure about Clark

40 weeks!

Just a picture because we all know what happened a few hours after this picture was taken  :)  I love how it looks like Magneto is looking forlornly into the crib, like he knows his place in the house will be taken down a notch soon.

Picture time!

Here I am last weekend when I was 39weeks and 3days.

Now I am just about at 40 weeks and I can't wait to get this over with!

While I am really uncomfortable, the worst part is the waiting!  I've never had much patience and sitting around waiting for something to happen is so difficult!  I'm uncomfortable and I'm running out of clothes that fit so I don't want to go anywhere.  It is difficult to drive with the large belly and short arms/legs because you sit very close to the steering wheel, so I don't want to go anywhere.  I live in fear of having my water break in public, so I don't want to go anywhere...getting the point?

And now pregnancy fun fact no one ever tells you about #452:  Lightning crotch!  Yep, you read that right.  It feels as though your crotch has been hit by lightning, electrocuted, or stabbed repeatedly with a sharp knife.  It can get so painful that it stops you in your tracks.  Apparently, it is related to dilation/effacement so I'm taking it as a good sign. My 40 week appointment is tomorrow so I'll have another update then...but hopefully I'll be in labor so I won't.

39 week update

I just got back from my 39 week appointment and I'm happy to say I've progressed some.  I'm currently more than 1cm dilated, 50% effaced, and the baby is at -1 station. This puts my bishops score at a 7, which is a good sign I can avoid a c-section.

If you want to know more about what all that means, check out this link http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/pregnancy/effacement.asp  or this one http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/pregnancy-articles/174.html

No picture this week, yet.  I usually take them on the weekends. I've only gained a half a pound, so I don't think I look too much different.  Thank god it wasn't another 3+ pound week, I don't think my poor back could take it!! 

Suddenly huge

So you may be wondering where that extra weight I put on went.

Here it is!

38 week update

I had my 38 week appointment this afternoon and I was surprised to find that I am not yet dilated.  My cervix is soft and the baby has dropped into a great position so my doctor said everything looks great.  Dilation is really not a great sign of impending labor so I'm still in the dark regarding that, but I'm relieved to find out he's head down and dropped into position.  One of my favorite doctors is on call this weekend so I'm kinda hoping I do go into labor :)

I did gain 3 pounds in one week though!! YIKES!  I'm hoping this is body fat or my milk coming in and has no indication of the size Clark will be.  I blame Tovi for sending me home with a fistful of delectables from the baby shower.  And I blame my mom for taking me out to dinner lots.

Yesterday was also my last day at the lab until the Fall semester.  So now it is all about relaxation and getting the house together. Oh and internet shopping (which I'll admit I'm slightly addicted to).

I'm feeling pretty good these days.  Tired and pretty uncomfortable most of the time, but I'm in no rush to get this over with.  The doctors will let me go until 42 weeks before medical intervention and that makes me happy.  I mean, I don't Clark to take THAT long, but at least I don't feel rushed or on some arbitrary deadline.

Here I am last weekend before the baby shower

30th, 4th, and 1st

I just had to show off my 30th birthday / 4th anniversary / 1st mothers day present 

It is a platinum, pearl, and diamond ring that we had custom made at Worthmore Jewelers here in Atlanta. 

We went to the midtown location and I highly recommend them :)

Baby Shower

This weekend some of our fabulous friends hosted a baby shower in our honor.  The food was so delicious (mmm...chocolate balls :), the company was wonderful, and the gifts were generous. 

Here are a few pictures from that wonderful day! 

(Please forgive the blurriness, still figuring out the new camera)

Thanks again Tovi and Dan!