My thoughts on labor & birth orig 10/06/11

so I had done a similar post on my previous blog. It was long, thought provoking and really cool.
no seriously. ingeniously, insanely awesomely cool. 
It was deleted by my sweet adorable Niece as my blog is linked to my smart phone. DO not get me on smart phones. or why I would link my blog to my phone knowing she plays on it. I know my niece can navigate my phone. APPARENTLY she is now better than I realized. my bad.

so these are my thoughts recapped. really. I don't have time to do another super cool post.
and it isnt graphic. sorry. or really detailed. at all.
so back to my thoughts on MY pregnancy & birth, some super coolness added.

1. I am on a medication that is not great. short version: any woman on this medication should be on RELIABLE birth control as it causes death,  birth defects & heart defects in babies.. No known learning issues but as most babies DIED before birth. oh and my neurologist thinks I am perfectly A-OK to do whatever. righty-o. thinking birth defects & death aren't a good thing but OK. 

1st ultrasound 9wks 1 day

 2.  I did the initial OMG I AM PREGNANT. WHAT TO DO. and bought and tested positive on 20 tests total in a 10 day period. of the 10 First Response Early Result Pregnancy Tests all tested positive. and let me tell you, they are expensive tests. but work. of the 10 Dollar Tree Pregnancy Tests. Only 5 were positive. 5 were negative. and considering I was indeed pregnant, I would much rather go with one that had 100% accuracy.

3. the phrase Morning Sickness is a complete joke. it should be called ALL-DAY-EVERY-DAY-24-7- CAN'T-GO-ANYWHERE-PULL-OVER-ON-SIDE-OF-ROAD-4TIMES-IN-ONE-CAR-TRIP-WHEN-YOU-LEAST-WANT-OR-EXPECT-IT-TOILET-HUGGING-SMELL-RESISTING-GAG-REFLUX-TESTING-3-MONTHS-OF-PURE-TORTURE-I-MUST-BE-IN-HELL-NEVER-ENDING-I-WANT-TO-DIE-PLEASE-STOP-THE-MADNESS-NOW-SICKNESS seriously.

4. suppositories.one of the many treatments that kinda work for morning sickness, is that approximately 15 minutes after you take them, a side effect that often & does occur is diarrhea. so it's stop what is coming out one end, to start stuff coming out another. 

20 wks 11/22/10

5.  the majority of my Pregnancy is a blur. 
I ended up with High blood pressure.
Gestational Diabetes.
mild swelling.
I lost my job when I was 6 weeks along so thankfully, when my Doctor reduced the amount of  hours I was allowed to be active at 14 weeks, It wasn't hard. at all.
My days were spent tidying, looking up baby stuff, spending time with my sister and niece, and trying not to gag/vomit when things I liked, like my shampoo, just hit me wrong.

6. Around 34 weeks we found out that our unborn baby was #1. a girl and #2. had a possible tumor under her left lung. I was told not to freak out/stress and to expect her to be taken away at birth for testing and possibly air lifted to a nearby hospital for surgery following birth.  yeah. I stressed alot. cried alot. thankfully I have an amazing family & support system so at that point, I just had to let it be. what was done was done.  AT this point, weekly visits were done to make sure both she and I were well.

my view of the world approx 38 weeks along  03/23/11

7. Labor & Birth Thoughts.

• I had wanted a natural birth. My mom did it 5X. woman do it all the time. I figured, why not. my idea of a natural birth was i.v. for fluids.  that would be all. I would be a trooper. the only one in my family to do this besides my mom.
  
  
• I was induced for my medical reasons. (see #6, #5 and #1)
• never ever be induced if you do not have to. I had to. It isn't natural for the mom or the baby. 
• consequently, my birth "plan" as it may went out the window as the contractions increased in intensity, duration and started getting CLOSER together. this is because of the pitocin. 
• the 1st tech who did the epidural spent what seemed like hours poking and prodding & retrying while I was hunched over, in pain, breathing through some of the worst contractions ever. only to have the epidural not work. his words "sometimes it is harder to do on bigger girls" won't leave me. ass. 
• the 2nd tech who did the epidural actually did it in 15 minutes.
• I was panicked when I was told forceps needed to be used cuz my baby wasn't doing as well
• not eating at all before was a bad thing. I mean at all. I drank some Gatorade and had chicken broth 2X during. I had tried to eat but that didnt work. 
• what a work out: the 3 hrs of pushing. using the birthing bar (for pushing), the contractions stopping the 1st night. 
• I was amazed by the TONS of specialists who were on hand in case.
• there is pain. lots of it. the epidural helps but they stop it. or did with me about 1 hr before she was born. so I felt that part. and it did not feel good. but it was still wearing off.  
• so much love. I was surrounded by people who loved me. my mom, 2 of my sisters, my brothers girlfriend who was soon to deliver my nephew, and Anna's dad.  and many in the waiting area whom I never saw as they didnt visit. 

first contact 04/08/11

8.  the statistics of the birth. 
Induced at 7am on April 7th of 2011.
Anna was born on April 8th 2011 at 5:47 pm.
LENGTH:    21.5 inches   WEIGHT: 8lbs 4 oz
CHEST &  HEAD: were both  13.5 inches.
LABOR from start to finish: 1 day 10 hrs 47 minutes ( 34 hrs & 47 minutes)

9. after (the) birth: 
I was able to hold her approximately 15 minutes after birth for 15 minutes. . enough time to check fingers, toes, stroke her cheek, cuddle a bit, talk to her and get her calmed down.
tests & xrays were being ordered for her so she had to be whisked away.
I was able to see her at 3 a.m. the next morning.
she was never airlifted away for surgery.
intitial testing showed the tumor was either REALLY small or actually a weak spot in her diaphram.
She stayed in the hospital for 1 week due to a course of antibiotics for a POSSIBLE infection. a better safe then sorry thing.
her pediatricians office checked on her several times a day during that week. I love them for this.
I have been told I am a trooper due to the long labor & birth as well as the fact that most people don't have to go through that. I wouldn't know. It is what I went through. :)

3 am 04/09/11

Anna is happy, healthy & thriving. She is, as of this writing, almost 6 months old and taking a nap.
and let me tell you, being her mom has been interesting. I am learning a lot and have tons more to share.