Baby's Breath

After having experienced and witnessed the effects of holding a sleeping baby, I am convinced that baby's breath contains some sort of gas that puts adults to sleep...



This baby has made us (and anyone who holds him) narcoleptic.

Momminesia

When I was pregnant and while I was in the hospital having Chipmunk, I asked women (read: mothers) a lot of questions about their experiences during pregnancy and childbirth. My first question would be...

"Do you have kids?"

Then I ask if pregnancy was awful for them and how painful their delivery was. I rarely asked a question in "the positive". I always expected them to say that they had horrible pregnancies and that labor was the most painful experience of their lives.

But to my surprise, they would always get thoughtful looks in their eyes and make the followin statements:

Oh... Pregnancy and delivery weren't that bad!
Sure it's painful, but it's not that bad!
I really don't remember, but it wasn't as bad as people say.
I had three babies... All natural! So, it couldn't have been that bad.

Please note that "bad" is a word used in all the answers...

That's because "bad" was the word I used to describe my symptoms and my expectations for my upcoming delivery.

I realized that these women had developed some sort of mommi-nesia. It's a type of amnesia that affects women sometime during the post-partum period.

I was affected by it around the fifth day after delivery... Because those four days following the surgery were BAD!!!

I have run into a couple of pregnant friends who just seem to be totally over their pregnancies, and I realize that they probably sound the way I did during that last month.

When I speak with them (and anyone else for that matter) about pregnancy and labor, I sound just like those women I spoke to before having my baby.

My responses to their questions are positive and upbeat:

"I feel great! It really wasn't that bad and it definitely wasn't as bad as I expected!"

"My pregnancy? Oh! It was really good and easy!"

"I'd do it all again in a heartbeat if I could afford to have another right now!"


Because the truth is... In the grand scheme of things, pregnancy and labor weren't so bad... I mean, I've had cramps that were worse!

Angel Wings

Our little Chipmunk is two weeks old today, and we've enjoyed getting to know his mannerisms and pieces of his personality.

One of his most interesting characteristics is that he smiles and giggles... In his sleep. No matter how much we try to make him laugh when he's awake, we just can't duplicate the responses he gives when he's asleep.

I like to think that, when he's sleeping, he's playing with the angels he left in Heaven, and he's being tickled by their wings.

So Long, Good Friends

I didn't gain much weight or swell much during my pregnancy, but I did find that I couldn't wear many of my shoes or my wedding ring set. As a compromise, I wore only my wedding band and the same three pairs of shoes for the last five months.

The shoes I wore were a pair of black Nine West flats. I bought them nearly ten years ago, and it took forever for me to break them in.... but once they were broken in, they were as comfortable as slippers.

Needless to say, they took a beating these last five months because I wore them with everything and all the time. I remember being at a doctor's appointment and needing to take them off. Once I got them off, I was embarrassed at all the gunk that was stuck to my feet: old crumbling leather, caked up lotion, and other crap. I quickly wiped off my feet and toes hoping that no one would notice.

At that time, I realized that my love affair with my beloved flats was coming to an end. I needed to get rid of them, so I vowed that I would throw them away after I had the baby.

So... this blog post is in honor of my loyal shoes...

"Dear Nine West flats, you served Charlie and me well, and we love you!"

Black and Blue

While in the hospital having Charlie, I was given a total of five IVs... two in my right arm and three in my left. I experienced the pleasure of blowing two veins in my left arm, and as a result, this is what my arm looks like... two weeks later!

Look! No hands!

So... Here I am.

Sitting in my bed.

Hooked up to a breast pump.

That may not seem strange since it is now big business for women to breastfeed. I didn't seem strange to me either especially since my husband went out and purchased one of the nicest pumps out there, the Freestyle Medela.

I was really excited about using it as It allows me to pump with no hands. The pump attachments hook to my nursing bra straps and the pump does the rest.

This is the first time I've hooked it up to use it handsfree. If I wanted, I could fold laundry, cook dinner, or complete a yon of other household chores all while pumping both breasts. As I look down at this contraption, I feel like one of those cows hooked to a milking machine. I feel weird. I feel like cow.

Labor and Delivery

In continuation of the last post...

I labored from right before lunch to 5:00pm, and I didn't dilate past five centimeters. At that time, I had tremendous pressure in my right hip, and turning on my left hip made it worst. It literally felt like someone was jarring off my right hip with a crowbar. All this even with the (useless) epidural.

When my doctor walked into my room and sat on her stool next to my bed, immediately told her I needed a c-section... She agreed.

At that moment, two or three other people came into the room and started prepping me for surgery. I was so tired that it didn't matter what they touched or saw of me. Next thing I knew, I had confirmed that I was numb from the chest down and was being wheeled to the OR.

As I was wheeled down the hallways, turning this way and that, I forced myself to stay awake... With inconsistent luck.

I opened my eyes and noticed the sterile room and all the people. I asked where my husband was.

They confirmed again that I was numb. I was hoisted onto the operating bed by a team.

A blue sheet was raised in front of my face. I heard my doctor's voice.

I willed myself to stay awake. I saw Zack standing at my head.

The doctors were talking about things non-surgery related like vacation, working at other hospitals, and their families. I thought that all these snapshots of my c-section were not at all like what I'd seen on Special Delivery and The Baby Story.

I was told that I'd feel pressure and like I couldn't breathe. I "held my breath".

I doze off for the hundredth time.

I heard them ask, "Daddy, what is it?!"

I woke up knowing that this was a huge moment and that I'd beat myself up forever if I missed it.

I looked over my shoulder at Zack. He smiled and said, "A boy!!!" I smile.

The screen faded to black.

I woke up after some unknown amount of time and realized I hadn't heard my son cry. I asked why he wasn't crying and where he was.

Someone placed a bundled baby in my face and said, "here's your son! You can kiss him." I kissed his forehead; they took him away.

They wheeled me to the recovery room.

I am so glad that I could stay awake to experience those snapshots of my son's birth!