Author Archives: Nicola

My mom and I took Alex to the Baby Wellness Clinic yesterday, so I have an update on his weight and length for all those who are curious.

Weight: 10 lbs. 15 oz.
Length: 22 3/4 in.

So Alex is 4 weeks old today. Yup, our son is now a month old. Because of that it’s time to update on how he compares with normal development.

So by the end of this month SHOULD be able to:

*lift head briefly when on stomach on a flat surface – yup
*focus on a face – yup

…will PROBABLY be able to:

*respond to a bell in some way, such as startling, crying, quieting – we haven’t used a bell, but he does startle to loud sounds. In fact that last thunderstorm scared the shit out of him!
*follow an object moved in an arch about 6 inches above the face to the midline (straight ahead) – he doesn’t seem to. Rob and I both try and he’s only followed our fingers once and we both think it might have been a coincidence.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

*on stomach, lift head 45 degrees – yup, he’s probably up to about 90 degrees now(see below), but then he’s been jerking his head up for the last couple weeks. While burping, he’s even head butted Daddy a couple times.
*vocalize in ways other than crying (e.g. cooing) – I’m not sure on this. He does have a new “cry” that isn’t really a cry, but it doesn’t fit my definitition of a coo, especially since he’s doing it when he is upset, just as when he cries. But at least he’s got a new way to express himself. Along the same lines, he seems to be trying to make new sounds. There are times he opens his mouth in response to something Rob or I have said to him and it so looks like he is trying to say something back. But then that could be a parent’s imagination.
*follow an object moved in an arch about 6 inches about the face past the midline(straight ahead) – nope, seeing as he’s not doing the easier one yet! 🙂
*smile in response to your smile – sigh, not yet. Been trying to get him to do this for quite a while. At least he smiles, but it’s random.

…may even be able to:

*on stomach, lift head 90 degrees – yup, see above.
*bring both hands together – yup, Rob’s got a cute picture of him clasping his hands. Eventually, he should get it posted.
*smile spontaneously – yup and already mentioned. 🙂
*laugh out loud – nope and another sigh. I’ve been trying to get him to laugh for a while. Tickling his feet, giving him strawberries, making faces, but no go. Hopefully, he will soon, it’ll be a nice change from the screaming.
*squeal in delight – nope. Still doing nothing but scream it seems.
*follow an object in an arc about 6 inches above the face for 180 degrees (from one side to the other) – covered this one a couple times and it’s still a nope.

So it’s seems Alexander is pretty much just average so far. I’m fine with that, it’s good to see that he seems normal and healthy so far. No one wants their nightmares to come true when it comes to their children.

So next month, I will update his development again. It’ll probably be on the second of the month rather than exactly 8 weeks, it’ll be easier to keep track of when I have to post that way.

So as promised, here is how Alex is doing when comparing him to expected development.

Within a few days of birth will PROBABLY be able to:

*lift head briefly when on the tummy – we haven’t actually placed him on his tummy yet, but he does try to lift his head a look around when he is being burped
*move arms and legs on both sides of the body equally well – yup, he’s quite the squirmy baby, constantly moving and stretching his legs and hands. He even has a tendency to pull off his blankets and get out of his clothes from it.
*focus on objects within 8 to 15 inches – yup, every time I feed him he just stares at me. I really feel like he recognizes me, but that’s probably my imagination seeing as he’s barelyalmost 3 full days old.

That’s all that’s listed in the book. Of course, there are plenty of other things he can do. Like cry, eat, sleep, and poop. 🙂 But the book is more explaining development, so as a parent I can guage how he is doing. And Jen, thanks for the idea, hope you don’t mind I’m stealing it. By the way, her site is screamingweasels.net, in case you want to check hers out.

Well, I am finally no longer pregnant. As you can see from Rob’s previous post Alexander was born September 2nd. I’ve been in the hospital since then and just got home around 11 AM today. Don’t worry, nothing wrong with me, it’s just their standard procedure. In fact, all in all, it was a fairly good (no way I’m going to say easy) delivery.

WARNING: This is going to be a fairly long post and parental discretion is advised. Those sensitive to details about giving birth may not want to read the rest. (I’m not going to be super graphic, but you never know what will make some people nauseous)

As everyone should be currently aware, on the 2nd, Rob and I went to the hospital due to bleeding and they sent me home. Once home, I wrote the post about the event. Pretty much as soon as I was done that post I started to feel my first contractions. Having never felt any contractions previously, I wasn’t sure if that was what they were. For me, they felt like menstral cramps. I know, I know, if you are a guy, you won’t know what that feels like, unfortunately, there is no real way to translate the feeling. Because I wasn’t sure if they were real and I had just left the hospital, I decided to wait things out a bit. At this point, they were already fairly close together. I would say at most 10 minutes apart. Now, if you didn’t know, I was supposed to return to the hospital if my contractions were around 5 minutes apart.

I would say I waited about an hour before I felt confident they were contactions, seeing as by that time they were the required 5 minutes apart and the pain was starting to intensify. As well, I was being silly, I didn’t want to go back to the hospital for no reason again. Not that it was no reason, but I really didn’t want to be sent home again. When we had got home from the first visit, Rob had headed to the bedroom to sleep some more, so having decided that I was having contractions I went to wake him up again. I felt bad waking him up a second time, but it was a necessary evil. I think babies plan things so that parents have to get little to no sleep before they are admitted to the hospital.

Rob was reluctant to get up and head back to the hospital and I don’t blame him. I was still questioning if I should go to. I hadn’t been timing the contractions, I had just been guesstimating the time of 5 minutes apart. Before Rob could get up though, my mom called. She wanted to get groceries and since she was going to be in the delivery room with me, she wanted to make sure I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a hold of her for a while. Yes, it’s true, my mom and dad are the only living people in the world who do not have a cell phone.

“Yeah,” I said, “You might want to hold off on the groceries for a while.” And I told her about the contractions.

This time, my mom had my dad drop her off at our house. Once she got here, we headed back to the hospital.

I was admitted quickly again. Of course, I had to give another urine sample, blood pressure was taken again, which all of us laughed about, but I can see why it would be a necessary routine even for such a short time between visits. This time though, the nurse did an internal examination. I was 2 cm dialated.

“So do you live close by?” was the first question she asked once she determined the status of my cervix. My first thought was there is no chance in hell, I am going home again. I don’t know if she could tell I didn’t want to go home, I hadn’t said anything verbally, but she ended up suggesting I walk around for an hour. So, Rob my mom and I walked through the hospital. Now, I wasn’t too amused by this either for a couple reasons. The biggest reason was I was already in a hospital gown. Sure, I was in a hospital and people walking around in gowns are normal, but still, does anyone feel like they are clothed in a hospital gown? Not really. And secondly, I was having contractions!! Every few minutes, shooting pains would go through my abdomen. It was actually difficult to walk and at the same time, after each contraction I felt a sudden urge to pee. I didn’t really have to go, but that made it worse, it was like I was holding it in because there was no bathroom nearby. I was also dripping sweat by this time. I wasn’t hot, it was from the pain. To be honest, by this point, some of my details will get blurry. Pain was really the only thing I could think of.

We walked to Tim Horton’s, as Rob and my mom had not had breakfast yet. I didn’t let them stay long, all I wanted to do was lay back down. In fact, I think I forced Rob and my mom to let me head back before the hour was up. I’m not sure, but I think we were only walking for a half hour.

After the walk and back in the pre-labour room (my term, not the hospital’s), I had another internal. The nurse let us know there had been a change, which meant I needed to stay at the hospital. I think I let out a sigh of relief.

So, the three of us were taken to another room. At this point, things start getting really hazy for me. I remember two or three nurses checking me and asking questions, and there was at least one doctor. I only really remember the doctor because I was in so much pain when she started asking questions that I told her to ask Rob about everything. I don’t think she liked that, but I was in so much pain, I just wasn’t cognitive enough to answer questions anymore.

I don’t know exactly when everything happened, but I remember giving blood–no idea what it was for now. I also had an IV hooked up. The nurses had a tough time getting me hooked up. My veins don’t really show up very well, so they are hard to find. In fact, they did end up putting the needle in a spot on my arm that is more of a last resort. I know I had to get a catherder, as well, but I can’t remember if it went in before or after the epidural went in. And finally, I had the previously mentioned epidural. I especially remember having to wait for this. I didn’t get to have the epidural right away. I first had to sign a waiver or some sort of acknowledgement, and then we had to wait for an anathesiolgist to become available. This is why, most everything is blurry. Each contraction was worse than the last. They were about 2 1/2 minutes apart and they were increasing in pain. The epidural was not inserted until I was almost completely dialated anyway. Plus, the epidural wasn’t taking affect as it should. The nurse had to do something else with it to help it take away the pain. I have no idea what it was now.

I also remember that while trying to get the drugs to work, the pain got so bad that I actually threw up. I’m not one to vomit, in fact, I think this may have been only the second or third time in my life that I had ever had to vomit. This was the worst point of the whole experience. I think around this time Rob asked if I hated him and I said yes. I think I was also asked if I was going to every have another baby and I said no. I think around when I vomitted, my water finally broke. I didn’t see it, but it felt disgusting. It was determined then, that I would soon have to be moved to yet another room. Little Alex had already had a bowel movement in the uterus, so his face would have to be suctioned once he was out of the birth canal, and that had to be done in this other room.

Again, probably not in correct order, I was fully dialated, the pain was receeding, I was moved to a new room, and the nurse wanted me to start pushing.

So, I was pushing. Fortunately, by this time, the drugs were working. I no longer felt anything waist down. I really don’t know if I could have gone through the labour, if I hadn’t been numb. The contractions were the most intense pain I have ever felt in my entire life.

Even though I wasn’t in pain anymore, this part is all blurred together as well. I was just so focused on taking a deep breath, holding it and pushing and then repeating, every contraction. (I was still having contractions, I just couldn’t feel them anymore.) I know there was lots of blood. I know Rob was counting for me. I know my mom was holding me. And near the end, I was told I had been pushing for 2 hours. It really didn’t feel that long.

It was around this point, the nurse started calling for the doctor. Yes, you read that right, the entire process was with the nurse only. The only doctor I had seen was there just to ask routine questions. I really think the nurses do way more than the doctor’s do. And I really give that nurse credit (her name was Karen by the way). I really could not have gotten through the whole thing without her. She was by my side the entire time and was absolutely amazing. The doctor was needed because Alex didn’t seen to want to be pushed all the way out. I guess for the last little bit, he had been sort of rocking back and forth. I’d push him out a bit, but once I would take a break, he would move back to his previous position.

The doctor and a resident finally came and I think maybe 15 – 30 minutes later the head was out. Now, I had to stop for a bit because of the suctioning. No big deal, but I was starting to get heartburn from all the breath holding and pushing. After the suctioning was done, Alex’s body had to come out. Typically, the baby could be pulled the rest of the way without much of my help, but Alex’s shoulders were getting stuck. I had to push some more. It wasn’t much, but because of the heartburn, I was getting nauseous, seeing as I was lying on my back and the bile was easily coming up my throat. If I could have sat up, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but I still had a baby to finish delivering. This time, the pushing almost caused me to puke. Fortunately, I didn’t, but it was close.

Isn’t labour fun? I can’t believe how disgusting it all is. Blood, mucus, amniotice fluid. Bleck. At one point while I was pushing, the nurse brought over a mirror for me to see myself. She thought it would help me focus on how to push. Um…no. It was more distracting than anything else. I really did not have any need to see what I looked like down there, especially not in the state it was currently at. That mirror went away fast, as I couldn’t push right with it facing me.

That was pretty much the labour. Alex was cleaned off and weighed. Once the site is updated, the pictures we took start here. I got to hold him, then Rob, then my mom. I think you can tell how happy I am, in the pictures.

I was eventually moved to the hospital room where I would spend the next couple days. We had lots of visitors, as you are all aware. I was shown how to breast feed–it’s funny, once you’ve had 20 people see your most private area splayed out, you have no hesitation when a nurse immediately grabs your breast to show you the technique. Before, the second a woman touching my breast would have been really uncomfortable. I was also shown how to bath the baby. And throughout my stay, the nurses went over a few of the things I would need to know about to help take care of the baby.

I want to give credit to these nurses as well. I had two, one during the day and one at night. Leslie, the night nurse, and Ally, the day nurse, were incredible as well. They both seem to love their job and were a great help. They really made me feel comfortable my entire stay.

So not much else happened. More visitors, lots of congratulations. I fed Alex and talked to him and all that stuff. Rob was there the entire time. My mom is absolutely exstatic that she finally got to experience the birthing process (for those reading this that don’t know, I’m adopted and my mom was not able to have children of her own). Rob’s mom is excited as well. For both our parents, Alex is the first grandbaby. And now I am home.

I plan on updating stats about Alex soon. If you know our friend Jen, I plan on updating our site like she does, with what the baby should be able to do, what he might do etc. and if he is actually doing them or not. I wanted to get this post out of the way first. I will try to get this done tomorrow. We will see, I’m really disorganized right now and I want to make sure, I’ve got things going well around the house first. Of course if I need a break, I will probably end up posting. I have so much to talk about now, if you couldn’t tell from this post.

Finally, thank-you to everyone who helped, said congrats, gave gifts, visited, was a friend. I got through this all because of you. And, I will be able to keep going because of all of you. I expect to get stressed out a bit and I know you will all help.

Well, we’ve been to the hospital, but as you can figure out from the title of the post, still no baby yet.

I woke up last night at 4 AM to go to the bathroom. That’s when I noticed a bloody discharge (sorry to the guys who read this post for the gross-out). Seeing as I have been instructed to go to the hospital if there are any signs of vaginal bleeding, I woke up Rob and called my mom so we could head over.

We were admitted pretty much right away–not many people are at the hosptial this early in the morning. I gave a urine sample, they tested my blood pressure and they hooked me up to a fetal heartbeat monitor to check out the baby. That’s pretty much it, other than asking me a few questions, like is the baby moving, what did the blood look like, any contractions?

So, laying on a bed, hooked up to a machine for approximately 2 hours, is all I did. At least I got to lay down, my mom and Rob only had crappy hospital chairs to sit on. Finally, after checking in on me a few times, the nurse told me I could go. She said that the blood was just my mucus plug–dislodged when the docter did an internal at my appointment earlier–and everything was okay. They also reminded me that I should still come in if my water breaks, or my contractions are about 5 minutes apart. Not that I have had any contractions yet.

That was the hospital visit, not really exciting and no baby. Although, we have had more happen today. I’m posting this only now, and as you can see, it’s way more than just 2 hours at the hospital.

We had to drop my mom off back at her place and after we did, Rob’s car died. Just like that, it kinda just shut itself off. It behaved as if the battery was dead–not good seeing as the battery is brand new, we replaced it maybe a month ago. Rob figures the alternator is gone and not charging the battery. Since we were at my parents place, we tried a boost, but the battery only lasted a couple minutes before dying again. So we needed a tow truck….sigh.

The car is being towed to Firestone, where my brother works. Travis knows what’s going on so he will help us fix it up. It just sucks to be happening right now. I really could have the baby any minute. Fortunately, we have two cars and mine is working properly.

So, had another doctor’s appointment today. As most of you were aware, if I hadn’t gone into labour by this appointment, the doctor was going to set up an induction.

Well, I hadn’t gone into labour, so the induction appointment has been made. Before I go into the details of that, a quick update on my progress.

The doctor did an internal today and he informed me that my cervix is open. Woohoo!! So at least the baby has started to think about coming into the world. After his prodding, he informed me that he actually figures that I will probabably go into labour tonight or tomorrow. He seems like a good doctor, but I don’t know if I will go into labour, I still haven’t felt any contractions yet.

Anyway, to be on the safe side, he informed me that he would still schedule an induction. So, I finally have a D-day. If I don’t give birth as he predicts, I will be going to the hospital for induction this coming Sunday. Sorry Tracy, I didn’t have a choice about Saturday, but on Tuesday or Wednesday, you can come over to the house and see the baby (and everyone else too of course).

Well, everyone wish us luck. I’m more nervous now, especially because there is a specific deadline.

So a quick update after my doctor’s visit today.

Because Rob was curious about how big the baby is, I asked that question of the doctor today. He said it would be an estimate, which is fine, as that is what I was expecting, seeing as all he is doing is measuring my stomach and feeling around. Anyway, he figures the baby is proably 7 1/2 lbs. Which is about the average size for newborns. That’s a good thing for a healthy, average baby, but it sucks too as I’ve got to pass that baby through a tiny hole. Oh well, I am still looking forward to it.

On a side note, before I left work for my “extended vacation”, pretty much everyone, at least those with pregnancy experience, marvelled at how small I looked. That I barely looked 9 months pregnant. Well, it seems there is a reason for that. When the doctor was poking my stomach to guess the size, he mention that my baby is hiding mostly in my pelvis. It made it more difficult for him to estimate, but it’s also why I’m not bulging as much as I could be. 🙂

I figured I would give everyone a baby update. Not that there is too much new, but because Rob seems to have made all the posts lately.

I think almost everyone can agree, Rob and I have been pretty reclusive lately. We haven’t seen a few of our friends in a while (Jason we need to get together for some Magic or Starcraft soon and Battlestar Galactica is back on, but I think you work the night it’s on). It’s partly to do with we are finalizing the baby preparations–finishing the room, new crib etc, but also because I’ve been extremely tired lately. I’m not sure if everyone remembers how tired I was in the first trimester, but I’m even more tired than that now.

I’m exhausted throughout the day at work and I typically have a nap every night after getting home. And that’s not really the most of it. I had Friday off for a Doctor’s appointment. After getting home from it, I went to sleep for a couple hours. It was around dinner time when I got up, so Rob and I worked on that and started watching TV. While watching TV, I fell asleep again and slept for probably another hour. When I got up, it was still early (830pm-ish), so we watched a movie. Fortunately, I stayed awake for it, but when it was over, I headed straight to bed and was pretty much asleep instantaneously. That’s how I feel all day. I just want to stay in bed and sleep.

Well, in case everyone hadn’t heard the baby is kicking a lot. That is if Rob isn’t around. Almost every hour I feel movement. Mostly, it’s like he is streching or just shifting position. But everyonce in a while he kicks what seems as hard as he can and usually it’s right near or into my ribs. I’ve even been startled a couple times from the kicks. Partly taken by surprise and partly because it kinda hurts. It’s not an “ow” painful but more of a grunt painful.

As for not kicking when Rob is around, it’s been quite amusing. Rob has felt him move when he first started kicking, so it’s more of a joke we have together than anything else. Over the last couple of weeks, Rob has been trying to feel him move again, so when he starts moving, I call Rob over. Funny thing, the baby immediately stops kicking then and Rob doesn’t get to feel a thing. As well, the baby has a daily pattern. There are some times during the day he always kicks (between 8 and 9 am is one and between 3 and 4 pm is another, not for the whole hour, but at some point in those times), so during those times, Rob has been prepared to feel the kicking. Nope, the kid won’t kick then. Stubborn child. I can definitely tell he’s related to the both of us. Yeah, so lately no matter what we’ve tried, he won’t kick when Rob is around.

And finally, for those who haven’t seen me in person lately, I am visibly pregnant. There is no way to hide the belly anymore. It was just a month ago that if my clothes were baggy enough, you couldn’t be sure if I was pregnant. Now, it’s obvious, no matter what I wear. And it’s really only started expanding significantly the last week or so. It’s seems like over night, that I really didn’t look 7 months pregnant to, I’m definitely 8 months pregnant.

So, had a Doctor’s appointment today. It went really well. The tests I had done last time came back and say I am very healthy, no diabetes and the like. Which is good.

And finally, the best part about today’s visit was Rob and I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat! It was absolutely incredible. The heart was going a mile a minute and was definitely not mine, seeing as it came from my stomach. I’ve been smiling since. The doctor says it’s a strong heartbeat, which is good. I think this is the first time I really feel pregnant. Even more so than when I had morning sickness, then I just felt sick, but now, I know there is a baby growing inside me. It’s feels quite weird to think about, but I am so excited now.