Oink Oink

Today Grey's pediatrician told me I was the breastfeeder of the year. At 2 weeks, 6 days he's up to 9 pounds 7 ounces. That's a pound more than they expected him to weigh at this stage. She says it's no problem, that you can't really overfeed him. And that we can let him sleep as long as he wants to at night. No need to wake this one for a feeding!

I don't notice a big difference in how Grey looks, but obviously he's starting to change. I do notice he's more alert and awake during the day. Sometimes fussing, but sometimes just hanging out. He's really a joy when he's not barfing on my shirt! Not many new pictures, because how many can you take of an adorable sleeping baby? We'll be sure to post tons of pictures and video when he gets more interactive - hopefully after Christmas time. We're planning to go visit my family for a few days before Christmas, then come home and spend some time with Mike's family. My dad is anxious for me to start pumping milk so he can feed the kid. I guess that's what grandparents like to do. So perhaps we'll start storing up the "liquid gold" before Dad comes to visit in December.

Thankful for...

It has been a nice long weekend, and we have lots to be thankful for. I'm thankful most of all for Mike and Greyson, that's an easy one. But the little things count for a lot these days.

I'm thankful for Grey's Thanksgiving bath that led to a nice long nap, which allowed me to eat a full meal at the dining room table for the first time since he was born. I'm thankful for our first walk around the block. I'm thankful for Publix who cooked my thanksgiving dinner, and Mike who re-heated it. I'm thankful for Mom's visit - she's helping around the house, and teaching me to be a better mother. I'm thankful that Mike took the baby this morning at 6am and allowed me a few hours of sleep alone in the bed. I'm thankful for Perkins apple pie. I'm thankful for all of the baby hand-me-downs from Emily - especially the boppy and aquarium swing which have been very helpful lately. I'm thankful for our visitors, Kevin & Heather, Mike & Jenny, the Mulvihill's and Baird's and everyone else who has stopped by to fawn over the wee one. And right now I'm thankful for a quick nap so I can read email and do a little more laundry.

Piglet

Today we went back for another lactation follow-up, just for reassurance and a few more tips. Grey has gained 15 oz. in one week! He's now 8lbs, 5.5 oz. The nurse was surprised since that's well above normal weight gain at this stage (but nothing to be worried about yet). So we know he's getting enough to eat!!

In other news, our tv broke last night and Mike acted fast. He's been waiting patiently for this day, and we've already got a new 46" TV and a high-def cable box waiting to be set up. I'm sending Mike out to pick up our Thanksgiving dinner and pie, and then he can spend the evening with his newest baby.

Labor and Delivery

I just walked past the pack and play where Grey is napping this morning and caught him grinning in his sleep... must be gassy but he's so darned cute!!!

A few people have asked about my labor, so I thought I'd write it down for posterity. Mike and I took notes during labor so that we'd remember it afterwards. Thank goodness, because it's all starting to blur. Feel free to skip this post if it's too much information!

We arrived at the hospital at 7pm after dinner at home and a quick trip to the photo store to pick up our last set of artsy pregnancy photos. We had called at 6 to get the go-ahead and they said to come on it. Well... by the time we arrived at the hospital they were in the middle of several emergencies and didn't have room or time for us yet. So we sat in a waiting room and made a few phone calls and waited for them to come get us.

Nurse Jodie came about 45 minutes later and got us. She settled us into Labor room #5, directly across from the nurses' station, we did some paperwork and she started me on the cervidil - basically a little strip of medicine that they put right up against your cervix. Dr. Lincourt came by and was happy to see me, she's the one that was patient with me and tried to be flexible with scheduling the induction. The cervidil was in place at about 9:45pm and we watched bad tv until midnight and then tried to sleep. Between asking for help to use the bathroom (because of the IV and fetal monitors), the uncomfortable bed, and the excitement, we didn't get much sleep. Poor Mike, all 6'3" of him was in a reclining chair by my bedside, tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable. He said he dreamed about finding a comfortable position, then would wake up sad that it was all a dream. There were a few more emergencies that night, and we heard a women in a room next door wailing and sounding really awful. I wondered if I would sound anything like that.

In the morning (Thursday, November 8th) we had a new nurse, Gig, and Kristin was helping her. Dr. Dukes came by at 9am to check me out. My cervix had softened but had not dilated anymore. He removed the cervidil and tried to break my water with the long scary knitting needle, but no luck. I was 1cm, 50% effaced. At 9:30 they started the pitocin by IV. They increased the dosage every half hour. I started having contractions and they got to be about 30-60 seconds, and 3-5 minutes apart. This is the point at which normal people would head to the hospital, but here we were 15 hours into our stay. No wonder we were bored in that little room.

Mikey went out to the car to get a snack and while he was gone my water broke and I started leaking. I called for the nurse and Dr. Dukes walked in at that moment. He examined me and said I was 1-2cm, 70% effaced. Progress! Mike missed it all and by the time he came back I was breathing through stronger and longer contractions and considering an epidural. We made a few little video clips along the way to document the experience, those should be fun to look back at someday.

At 3:15pm Gig came back after an absence to deal with another labor, and I told her it was time for the epidural. Amazingly, the anesthesiologist was there within 5-10 minutes, although it took a while to get set up and get me prepped and get the needle in and then get the drugs flowing. After that 20 minutes of activity, the contractions started easing and I got settled in bed again. At 4pm Kristin put in my catheter, such an intimate job to be a labor and delivery nurse!! Gig checked my cervix and said she still felt a membrane, which she ruptured and gush, my water REALLY broke! It made a giant mess and Gig and Kristin had to change my sheets while I lay there numb. I was 3cm, 100% effaced and had a little nap.

At 5pm, the contractions started getting worse and I was having breakthrough pain. At 6pm Dr. Dukes came again and pronounced me 6cm, 100% effaced, and 0 station (head even with the opening of the pelvis). I pushed my little button to get more epidural drugs, but the pains kept getting worse. Gig had me push the button again and again until we determined that the pump was not working! It took a little while to get an anesthesiologist back, and she disappeared for a half hour while I whimpered in pain. Another anesthesiologist came and still didn't fix the problem. At 7pm, nurse Jodie came back for her 2nd shift with us, and she saved the day! She pushed a manual override button on the pump and got me some more drugs, but they took a bit to kick in. Then the second anesthesiologist came back and gave me a different combo of drugs that made my arms and chest a little itchy and numb - but the pain got weaker!

Jodie told us she had a bad day and arranged for someone to cover her shift starting at 11pm, so she might be with us for the birth if the baby came by then. At 7:35 she pronounced me COMPLETE - 10cm, 100%! She said the baby would come soon and let us "labor down" for an hour - during which time we watched some tv and rested. At 8:30 she started me pushing, rotating from side to side and showing me the head in the mirror she set up. Mike was quite the trooper, holding my leg while I pushed and even watching the whole process. We didn't realize he's be so instrumental in helping hold my leg and that he wouldn't have much choice about being really involved. Jodie was amazed at the blond hair she saw on this baby's head as he moved down. There was something on the monitors that Jodie said would bother my doctors, so she had me on an oxygen mask to make sure baby was doing alright.

We pushed until 10:30 and nurse Pam came to replace Jodie. Dr. Dukes arrived and I was in a lot of pain. Jodie got me more drugs and let me rest for a half hour. At this point I was really tired and in pain and was secretly hoping for a c-section - thankfully I didn't say that out loud! I was just so done, I didn't think I could push my baby out.

But after the half hour rest, I was ready to go. Dr. Dukes and Nurse Pam and Mike coached me through the pushing. I swear, they had me convinced that every push was going to be the last one. We were making bets on whether the baby would be born on November 8th or 9th. I knew all of our friends and family were wondering about us by this point, but it sure wasn't a good time to make phone calls!

Finally, at 12:32am, November 9th, Greyson Patrick was born. It was the strangest sight to look down and see his little head sticking out of me for a minute until the rest of him was born. They put him on my chest and my first comments were about his pretty little lips. They took him to measure him across the room and Mike took pictures while I got stiched up. I asked if I tore, but Dr. Dukes said he gave me an episiotomy - much to my surprise! Mike saw it but realized I had no idea when it happened. In hindsight, it's better than a c-section but I'm still not thrilled.

Baby had to go to the nursery because they were a little worried about his breathing and they had to start testing his blood sugar. He spent a minute on my chest before he left, and Mike went with him. I think there were 3 babies born within 2 hours that night, and Mike said the nursery was FULL of little newborns. He was only gone about a half hour, while I drank my well-deserved glass of ice water and snacked on some yummy graham crackers and made my two mid-night phone calls to my mom and brother. Pam helped me get ready and wheeled me over to room 3115 in the Mother & Babies unit. We got settled in and enjoyed Grey's first sleepy day. He didn't take to the breastfeeing until we were almost ready to go home. New babies like to sleep, not eat. Things changed once we got home. Now he eats constantly and sleeps in strange spurts. I wish he were one of those every-three-hours feeders, but he likes to cluster feed and then sleep hard.

I'm so thankful for all of our doctors and nurses, and bummed that Jodie, Gig, and Kristin never got to meet little Grey. I'm hoping to write them a nice letter and send pictures so they can see what they helped me deliver.

OK, thanks for sticking with me, I'm sure in the future I'll appreciate having this record of Grey's birth. All in all, the labor itself was a pretty average 12-14 hours - we just did all of the work at the hospital.

Feeling Human!

I hate to jinx things, but we're having a great day! Got another 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep this morning (from 5-9am) and Grey has had three naps on his own since then. I am eating better, getting laundry and chores done, and thinking about a nap.

Yesterday we went to the pediatrician and got a clean bill of health. The doctor filled my head with statistics about how much babies cry and when, how to get him sleeping more at night, etc. Grey's already back to his birth weight of 7lbs 13oz according to their scales. I nursed him in the waiting room before we returned home, and that ensured that he would go straight into his pack and play bassinet once we got here to sleep for a while. I'm getting him used to sleeping in his own space, he does it more and more each day.

On Wednesday my pal Kristi drove us to the hospital for a follow-up with the lactation nurses. It was great, we got to weigh him before and after a feeding and see exactly how much he ate (2 oz). The nurse assured me that we're doing great and he was only 5 days old, after all! I confessed to doing all of the things I swore I'd never do (like sleeping with baby in the bed, giving him a pacifier at 4 days old, etc.) and heard confirmation from other moms and nurses that that's just how life is. Dyann was so right!

Knock on wood, we're getting better at this every day. And I'm falling more and more in love by the minute. Today I started crying just thinking about my first kiss with Mikey and how it all led to this. Life is hard as hell right now, but so worth it!

Baby Daze

It's day five of Greyson's life, and we're home alone. Mike went to work today, hoping to finish his brother's bathroom so we can enjoy Thanksgiving week at home as a family. I've got my hand-me-down homemade moby wrap on, Grey's been sleeping in it for over an hour. Enough time for me to enjoy a bowl of cereal, an episode of Brothers & Sisters, and a little internet time. I'm sure he'll be hungry soon but for now I'm enjoying looking down into his sweet face while he sleeps.

Life has been pretty good since we got home. We had a big day on Sunday with my parents, grandparents, and sister-in-law all visiting for the afternoon. Four generations enjoying a new little life. We've had a few other visitors and we had our first bath at home last night. It definitely made baby sleep for a while. Which means I was up with him from about 1 until 5am. That's our routine. He sleeps a fair bit during the day, but there's a long stretch at night when he wants to feed and not sleep at all. Tomorrow I'm going to a lactation follow-up and I'll find out if there's anything I can do to about that! Last night I wanted Mike to get some sleep since he was going to work today, so I got up every hour or so and nursed Grey in the nursery. That's a lot of up-and-down, in-and-out of bed, but I suppose he's really worth it all :-)

I've gotten lots of sweet emails and comments on Grey's first pictures, thanks to everyone for agreeing with us that's he's just the cutest little pup. I've had lots of questions about how the birth went... and I'll just say for now that it was long and painful and hard, but look what we have to show for it. I'll post more about that later, for those who are interested. Of course births probably rarely go according to plan, so it's no surprise that it wasn't exactly what I expected or hoped for. But it's over, and it was totally worth it.

Greyson

Introducing Greyson Patrick Mulvihill

Born 12:32am Friday, November 9, 2007

7lbs 13oz, 20 1/4 inches

cute as hell

Off we go...

We're off for the hospital. Not the most romantic way to spend our last night as a duo, but I'm sure it will be special. Spent today getting packed, shaving my legs, seeing a movie (Gone Baby Gone, thank Renee for the movie tickets!), taking a nice long walk, and now we're fed, showered, and out the door.

Wish us luck! Thanks to everyone who's called and emailed with happy thoughts, we really appreciate it :-)

24 hour reprieve

Today was my final doctor appointment, and I was really hoping that I had made some progress, after my long walk this morning and little talk with the booger about being brave together and getting this show on the road. But alas, no progress, still 1cm. The doctor was very kind and talked me through my options, let me know that it was still my decision to be induced tomorrow or not. So we tried to push it back until Monday, the 12th. But the hospital wasn't cooperating. So... I'm scheduled to go in tomorrow night, instead of tomorrow morning. I'll get cervadil to get me ready, then be induced Thursday morning, November 8th. Still hoping for a natural labor...

Tonight Mike and I will go out for a nice meal together and we'll enjoy tomorrow off work, one last day. Then we'll spend the night in the hospital and greet our new baby boy. Stay tuned...

The Final Countdown

I guess this is it... my last few days as a pregnant lady. I have very mixed feelings. I'm so excited to meet our little guy, but nervous about labor and life as I know it changing forever. Mike continues to be my rock. He's just so unfazed by it all, he knows we're ready and we'll do a good job. I suppose I know that too, but I get distracted by the details.

Friday was my first day off work. I saw the doctor again, talked a little bit more about the possible induction, got my last minute questions answered. I'll go back on Tuesday afternoon and if I haven't dilated any more by then (I'm 1cm now), they'll give me something to "ripen" me. Sounds fun, huh? But that will make my induction go more smoothly, maybe even make it unnecessary. Sorry, too much information?

I guess I've been "nesting" because I've been off work for a few days, but I've been working just as hard at home. Doing laundry, grocery shopping, making and freezing meals, etc. etc. I want to make sure all of the little things are done so we can relax when the babe comes.

We've made some more progress on names. That has to be the most-asked question amongst our friends. Some think we have a name and aren't sharing, but in reality we have a few ideas and have not settled on anything! Just the other day we came across a new interesting name that's at the top of the list, but you never know...

Last night was our last weekend out with friends for a while. We had a nice dinner out with friends, then the Romano's graciously hosted a whole bunch of our pals - some of whom we haven't seen in months. My belly got lots of attention, we got lots of advice and stories, and made lots of promises to call and send pictures as soon as possible.

Today, Sunday, we enjoyed our extra hour of sleep, and I'm almost ready to start taking it easy. I have one more errand to run (gotta stock up on toilet paper... I'm obsessed!) and then I plan to be pretty lazy around the house. We'll see if I can sit still. Then tomorrow we'll start our home-labor-induction attempts to get this baby out without help from the doctors. I still hope to go into labor on Tuesday all on my own. Think happy thoughts for me!