home again, home again, jiggity jig

We made it home! So much less shocking the second time around than it was the first.

We had to stay a full 48 hours in the hospital because I did not arrive 4 hours before delivery and could not get the penicillin I needed (since I was GBS+). They wanted to monitor William the whole time as a precaution. He's doing great! Kind of high bilirubin levels, so we have to keep an eye out for jaundice, but he seems to be getting better all the time. He had some significant bruising during delivery so that raises the bilirubins or something, but he's nursing and pooping like a pro so everything seems to be clearing out of his system just fine.

We didn't get home until near 12. Weren't sleeping until after 12:30. That's all of us. Sam included! Sam was very tired, of course, when we got home and very sad not to sleep in mom and dad's room. But then he was out like a light and didn't get up until 9 am today.

William is sleeping and eating well. We did 3 hour stretches all night. Both Aaron and I felt like we got sleep. I did the feeding, he did the burping and diaper changes. He said he's happy to be the primary diaper changer so I'll take advantage of that, at least while I'm healing.

My milk is coming in in full force but I'm avoiding the incredibly painful engorgement I had after Sam was born. It seems like the way my milk comes in indicates I'm not nursing frequently enough? They say that will keep me from getting engorged? But I nurse on demand and he's getting a lot and who the heck knows. Partly it's just getting used to having milk-producing breasts again I guess. Anyway, I do know that the nursing is WAY easier this time and I'm feeling very confident in that. William has filled many a diaper already which is an important measurement for how well your newborn is doing, so that's good too.

My recovery seems smoother this time too. At first it seemed lack of epidural was a big help. I didn't have to get over having all of that work its way out of my system/regain feeling/function of legs and all of that. I also think this time I knew recovery was an issue, where I sort of neglected to consider that during my first pregnancy. I did still tear, I do have stitches. I am swollen. It does hurt. But over the counter extra-strength tylenol is all I'm taking and until those stitches start tightening and causing me a bit o' stress in the next 5 days or so, I think I'm doing pretty darn good.

Meg is in town and has taken time off of work to help with Sam. It was so helpful to have her here. I know it was hard on Sam to have his parents gone so much (I had never had a night away from him before!! It was hard on me too!) but it was made SOOO much easier by being able to stay with his beloved Aunt Meg who he is very close and comfortable with. Thanks Meg!! She is coming over this afternoon, too, to help out so Aaron can finish up some school stuff (end of semester -- his LAST semester) and she said she can help this weekend too which is great. I was excited to have fewer visitors during the early days this time, but the truth is, you have a baby -- you need help! I can't even really get up and down the stairs to do the laundry, and that piles up quick. I'm already relearning about spit up and leaking diapers and all of that stuff. Wow. How quickly you forget.

William is sleeping in the play pen/bassinet right now. We have it next to our bed. I was planning to try having him in there last night, but physically it was hard for me to negotiate so he was just in our bed the whole time. I might look into those co-sleepers after all -- either bedside or the kind that goes in the middle.

So those are the things we're doing. Sam and Aaron are playing in the park right now. I'm going to go peek in on the new addition.

Oh, and here are the stats. Corrected.

William Abraham Nemec
8 lbs 6 oz
21 inches long
April 26, 2011
10:37 pm

Pics coming soon.

Welcome to the newest Nemec!

He was born. What a day.

I did wake up in the morning and tell Aaron it might be the day our baby was born. I became more skeptical as the day progressed.

"Regular" painful contractions started around 6 pm or 6:30 maybe. I had dinner. They were still there. I told Aaron to go ahead and go to class but to keep his phone handy. I called him around 7:30 and told him to come home. Things were intense. But irregular. And then quickly gained speed.

I called my midwife. Contractions went from 8 mins apart to 3-5 mins apart really quickly. I took a shower (I had been doing yardwork with Sam and he had dumped dirt down my shirt!!) and we tried to make it to the hospital as fast as we could.

We got into the labor and delivery room around 9:20 or 9:30 pm. The midwife checked my cervix and I was already 8 cm. After a while, she broke my water. There was no time for an epidural. William ? Nemec was born at 10:27 pm on April 26, 2011.

OH. MY. GOD. If I were to do this again, I'd be pretty tempted for that epidural. I screamed like I have NEVER screamed before. It was INSANE. I was embarrassed. I expelled every bodily fluid I could, I'm sure, except I guess I didn't puke.

William was born 8 lbs 5 oz. I don't know if I know how long he is. He is doing well, but his face is bruised from delivery. Both of my sons came into the world with their hands up by their faces. Not sure what that's about. I was GBS positive and didn't arrive in time for the penicillin. They are monitoring him closely to see if he has problems related to that (tests have been unreliable/inconsistent). He has a prominent xiphoid process (guess not a big deal). So, in some ways, this one has been harder. But he's a champion nurser. He seems calm already. I think he looks like a Nemec. He feels so peaceful when placed on my chest. I already don't know how to do this newborn stuff, but at the same time it comes much easier.

Wow. What a day.

Still Focused

So last night, or this morning, or something, my contractions felt more intense and cramp like. This morning, I passed some mucus plug. Yeah. Gross to write but whatever, I realized I liked the log I had with my previous pregnancy so some details will now ensue. It had more blood this time. Contractions have remained PAINFUL today but are short, and far apart. Very far apart sometimes.

Recently, I have had a series of potentially timeable very painful contractions. I have been somewhat active after a long afternoon nap though (doing yardwork). I have tried to remain hydrated but now I'm sitting on the couch drinking water so we'll see if they just fizzle out.

False alarms and false labor seem to be a lot of what's going on with me right now, but I can say that I really think he has dropped. The pressure is low. The contractions have changed because now I really must stop what I'm doing to deal with them. I didn't have contractions like this with Sam's pregnancy until it was the real thing. But the contractions are still very far apart and sometimes just 30 seconds.

Well, I'll keep an eye out and of course keep the blog updated. We may still have weeks to go. Or. You know. It could happen any minute.

I'm watching every contraction. They are stronger. They last 30 - 45 seconds. They sometimes make me feel flush, or winded, or a little light in the head. They are crampy but not painful. Last night I had a series of them about 10 - 20 minutes apart. I thought it might mean something, so I hurried to bed to try to get some rest in case the real thing was about to happen (it was about 12:30 am). I did get to sleep after foolishly focusing on every muscle in my abdomen and keeping one eye on the clock. I woke to Sam freaking out about a stuffy nose. I ended up sitting with him on the couch for a while until he relaxed and could get back to sleep. I was grumpy and impatient with him. We eventually all got back to sleep in the same bed. I slept until 9 am. I guess it wasn't labor. But it was a reminder of newborn sleep. I need to work on my patience.

So I just re-read my old blog entries for the couple of weeks prior to Sam's birth. I keep thinking this pregnancy feels so different. And now that these contractions are gaining more ooomph I keep feeling that must mean that this baby will arrive sooner than Sam did. I couldn't be more wrong. So many of the sensations I'm feeling seem nearly identical to the first time, yet they feel brand new again. During my pregnancy with Sam, I talk for weeks about the contractions gaining in intensity: stronger, crampier, timeable. It didn't mean labor was about to happen or not. Just one day, it was time, I guess. So I still could be looking at two weeks, or more, or whatever. Or maybe it really will happen tonight. I don't want to obsess about it. But I don't know how not to. I'm pretty sure I've got at least something close to a week now, after reading about my previous pregnancy, but I also know that doesn't mean anything either.

Bah. It's time for more distractions. Maybe I shouldn't have taken time off of work before the baby arrived.

Well, here is Sam doing cute things like an Easter egg hunt and dressing up as a super hero.

Getting closer

Our big guy! (He often calls himself "big guy" -- "watch out! big guy coming through!" or explains things he's doing with "that's what big guys do")

Going to the park in his little car with Aunt Meg. A chilly spring morning.

Wax crayon for Easter eggs!

Sam's first time dying Easter eggs. He loves hard boiled eggs so he thought it was pretty neat. We just did a few since he gets bored easily these days. Here I am 38 weeks pregnant. You cannot see the belly in all it's giant glory.

Easter eggs.

Belly shot from a couple of weeks ago.

Sometimes candid belly shots are most revealing. Here Sam and I are "dancing" (usually ends up meaning running) to the Footloose soundtrack.

I just wanted to share some pictures FINALLY. So there you have it.

This has been a nice weekend. Aaron totally spoiled me yesterday -- let me sleep in late, made me waffles. I had to work in the afternoon, but after that we went out to dinner (just the two of us! I gorged on Indian food) and we watched a movie. It was rejuvenating. I'm still sick but it was just what I needed. Today was lazy for me (though I have plenty I should be doing) and included a big breakfast, Easter egg dying, playing at the park, and a barbecue. Tonight I've had some fantastic contractions that are nice and strong, a little crampy, and even made me feel a little weak/light headed. But they are few and far between. I could still have weeks waiting for the little one to arrive.

I am 38 weeks today. Sam was born at just over 41 weeks. No matter how you look at it, we are close.

ugh.

Yeah. So I caught it. I'm sick AGAIN. I'm super tired. I'm congested. I never finished being congested from the first bug. I don't know if it's allergies. Hard to ever know. I never used to have them but allergies can come whenever they want so it could have been/could be allergies for all I know.

Sam is starting to finally kick his second cold. It's been a week. Unfortunately, his cold made his appetite very low, and about all he would eat was fruit. And we were trying to push fluids so he drank too much juice. So now he has terrible diarrhea. So that's been FUN. for everyone. At least Aaron and I are thrown back into the mix of cleaning messes from bodily fluids and running constant loads of laundry. We'll be doing that in a month anyway so I guess this is a crash course.

We're sort of ready for the new guy. Sort of not. Still probably have a few weeks to go and I think we'll be ready for him when he arrives. I already am ready in many ways, and can't be ready in many other ways.

Ok. I'm totally tired. Gonna throw on a comfort movie and try to sleep propped up on the couch.

By the way -- I got some breathe right strips (store knock off) and they are awful. Am I just not using them right? Does anyone use these? I have been sleeping with a cough drop in my mouth for like three weeks now and I know that is not a wise move. Sigh.

sick. again.

Sam is sick again! How does this happen?? We were very fortunate to avoid illness nearly completely during his first two years of life so I guess we are just getting our share now. Parenting a sick kid? Hard stuff. This time he has a lot of mucus that has resulted in a nasty cough and stuffy/runny nose. He refuses to try to blow his nose or cough up/spit the mucus out, so he's miserable. He's running a low fever. He's tired. Days are spent on the couch watching movies. We opted not to go to the doc today so I sure hope it doesn't get worse and land us in urgent care or ER or whatever since it's the weekend.

Just a couple of days and I can say I'm to term. 37 weeks. Officially an ok go time. I told myself I was not going to count down the weeks and days, but whatever, I am anyway. I plan to work two more weeks and then start my maternity leave. I'm looking forward to that. I feel like I've fumbled my way through work all semester. Total insecurities about my performance at work. Feel like I haven't met goals, things are all over the place. I am really anxious to reorganize and get in control. In reality, I don't think anything is nearly as far gone as I thought and that I'm just consistently faced with the fact that the job requires more than the allotted hours. Because of the pregnancy and it being Aaron's last semester, I think that I'm operating a bit slower and I'm not able to put in the extra effort and time that I have the previous two semesters. And it shows. I don't know if it shows to everyone. I'm sure it shows to some. Anyway it just doesn't feel good. Oh well, I can't be a superwoman I guess.

I'm excited for the baby to come. I want to meet him. I want to hold him. I want to even go through the birth. I know it will be hard and healing will be hard and there may be unexpected negative aspects to the whole thing, but the truth is, I look back at giving birth to Sam and it is a positive, warm, happy memory. Not a grueling, painful, struggle. This is the magic that kids have, I guess. And we toured the new hospital this week. It's very nice and new and comfortable.

Sam has been dozing on the couch. Woke up coughing a few minutes ago. He just turned down ice cream. I guess things are in sad shape. (And the bowl of ice cream is sitting on my belly. I officially have a pregnant belly that operates like a table or shelf. awesome.)