It's official... I am half way through my 20's! I couldn't have imagined the 1st half being any different... I got married to a wonderful guy that Ive been with for just under a decade, have two amazing children that make my everyday worthwhile, and have made some great friends along the way! So, today, I am saying Happy Birthday to me and remembering all of the things in life that I am so thankful for!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tradd's Birth Story
I wanted to post my birth story while it's still fresh in my mind. All in all, it was a very easy delivery and I was up and walking around hours after he was born!
My last day of work was Wednesday, June 24th. I had decided that was going to be my last day for a few reasons. A.) If I didn't have Tradd by the next Tuesday I was going to be induced, so I thought a few days off would be nice to get the house in order, and B.) I was just done with work! So, I only worked a half of a day, and when I got off I decided to go to Walgreen's where I saw a breast pump on sale for $15! It was a Playtex manual pump, and even though I am undecided on how long I plan to breastfeed for, I decided for that price I would buy it and give it a try! So, I got home and decided to try out the pump to make sure it worked. Although my milk was not in, I wanted to check the suction on the pump to make sure I didn't buy a dud. After trying out the pump, I actually felt some pretty strong contractions... which I knew would probably happen since the pumping released oxytocin into my body which is a natural labor inducer. ANYWAY, since my mother in law is in town, we decided to go out to the mall so she could get a haircut, and then we went to pick up Vangie from daycare. The whole time, I was having mild contractions but nothing really consistent or strong. When we got home from picking Evangeline up from daycare, Drew was already home which almost never happens. He has been on anesthesia rotation for 3 weeks and he very rarely was home before I was. I would soon realize that this was a sign that Tradd was supposed to be born that night! So, I told Drew about how I bought a pump and how after I tested out the pump, I started having contractions. He told me to go try it again and maybe it would kick start some stronger contractions. I went upstairs and tried out the pump for about 15 min, and had 2 strong contractions while pumping. I came downstairs and sat down on the sofa, and about 5 min later, felt a strong contraction, a painful one. About 4 minutes later I felt another contraction, this time a bit more painful, and felt Tradd jump and heard a "popping" sound. I thought it was weird, so I told Drew I was going to go up to the bathroom to make sure everything was OK. Well, it turns out that strange popping noise was my water breaking!!! I was officially in labor! Doctors typically give you 24 hours to deliver after you water breaks, so we knew withing 24 hours our little man would be here!
SO... off we drove to the hospital!
We got to the hospital around 5pm... since my water had broke, the forced me to ride in a wheelchair ALL the way up to the Labor and Delivery floor! UGHH... I hate feeling helpless. When I was in labor with Evangeline, I walked myself right up to the Labor and Delivery floor myself... stopping every 3 minutes or so for a contraction. I was in labor, not dying! Sorry to go off topic... ANYWAY... we got to L&D and as soon as I was checked in I was told to put on a hospital gown and get into bed s
o they could monitor my contractions. About 6:30 or so they tested the fluid to make sure it was my water that had broken, and sure enough it was... I was in labor! Because my water had broke, my contractions were intense and VERY strong. They were actually so strong and painful, that I ended up breaking some blood vessels in my eyes because I was squeezing my eyes shut during each contraction (see picture). Throughout the entire labor they were always about4 minutes apart lasting around 50seconds each. I asked for the epidural right away (I'm a second time mom, I know how this works) and got it around 8:00. I couldn't feel a thing after the epidural.. it was wonderful! My contractions started to double up... I would have a strong one and as it was coming down, a smaller one would start right back up... and they continued like this for a little while. But thanks to the epidural, I could only tell I was having a contraction from looking at the monitor. Around 8:30 the nurse checked me and I was only 3cm dilated and around 80% effaced. When she checked me again at 10:30 I was 8.5cm dilated and 100% effaced... my body was moving quickly! She said that within the next 30 minutes I should be able to s
tart pushing. Around 11:00 she checked my cervix and her estimate was right... no cervix in sight! Tradd was ready to come! So, I started pushing around 11:00pm every 4 min with each contraction and he was delivered at 11:40pm... 40 min of pushing! Although the epidural was mostly worn off by the time I started pushing, it wasn't as painful as my labor with Evangeline (probably because her head was in the 97th percentile)! We welcomed Tradd into this world weighing 7 pounds 10.5 ounces and he was 20 inches long. Although his head was on the larger side, 75th percentile, his big sister has him beat by a landslide!
I am SO happy to have such a great family. My beautiful daughter has been nothing but wonderful to her little brother; always wanting to hold him and hug and kiss him. And Tradd has been nothing but a great baby thus far! He is sleeping in 4 hour stretches at night, so I only have to wake up once. Let's hope this trend continues!
SO... off we drove to the hospital!
We got to the hospital around 5pm... since my water had broke, the forced me to ride in a wheelchair ALL the way up to the Labor and Delivery floor! UGHH... I hate feeling helpless. When I was in labor with Evangeline, I walked myself right up to the Labor and Delivery floor myself... stopping every 3 minutes or so for a contraction. I was in labor, not dying! Sorry to go off topic... ANYWAY... we got to L&D and as soon as I was checked in I was told to put on a hospital gown and get into bed s
o they could monitor my contractions. About 6:30 or so they tested the fluid to make sure it was my water that had broken, and sure enough it was... I was in labor! Because my water had broke, my contractions were intense and VERY strong. They were actually so strong and painful, that I ended up breaking some blood vessels in my eyes because I was squeezing my eyes shut during each contraction (see picture). Throughout the entire labor they were always about4 minutes apart lasting around 50seconds each. I asked for the epidural right away (I'm a second time mom, I know how this works) and got it around 8:00. I couldn't feel a thing after the epidural.. it was wonderful! My contractions started to double up... I would have a strong one and as it was coming down, a smaller one would start right back up... and they continued like this for a little while. But thanks to the epidural, I could only tell I was having a contraction from looking at the monitor. Around 8:30 the nurse checked me and I was only 3cm dilated and around 80% effaced. When she checked me again at 10:30 I was 8.5cm dilated and 100% effaced... my body was moving quickly! She said that within the next 30 minutes I should be able to s
tart pushing. Around 11:00 she checked my cervix and her estimate was right... no cervix in sight! Tradd was ready to come! So, I started pushing around 11:00pm every 4 min with each contraction and he was delivered at 11:40pm... 40 min of pushing! Although the epidural was mostly worn off by the time I started pushing, it wasn't as painful as my labor with Evangeline (probably because her head was in the 97th percentile)! We welcomed Tradd into this world weighing 7 pounds 10.5 ounces and he was 20 inches long. Although his head was on the larger side, 75th percentile, his big sister has him beat by a landslide!I am SO happy to have such a great family. My beautiful daughter has been nothing but wonderful to her little brother; always wanting to hold him and hug and kiss him. And Tradd has been nothing but a great baby thus far! He is sleeping in 4 hour stretches at night, so I only have to wake up once. Let's hope this trend continues!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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