Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Adjusting to "Family Life"
We were so thrilled to bring our baby home from the hospital. She slept for a few minutes after we arrived, but was quickly waking and rooting around. It was time to feed her.
We had done this several times by ourselves at the hospital. For some reason though, it seemed to be much more stressful now that we were home and really on our own. We couldn't have our nurse call the lactation consultant at any point. I had been pumping since day one so we had a great stash in the freezer, but I was determined to breastfeed my baby and wanted to avoid bottles now that she would be with me at all times. This proved to be very difficult however, and Amelia did have a bottle here and there.
Using a feeding tube threaded inside a nipple shield, I was able to breastfeed Amelia. We would give her a taste of pumped milk through the tube (it just dripped into the shield) and got her sucking. Eventually we wouldn't need the tube anymore, and after a couple more weeks I wouldn't have to use the shield anymore either.
After her first meal at home, she took her first nap in her Great-Granddaddy's cradle, where her father has also napped.
Nathan and I were really looking forward to spending a full two weeks at home together with Amelia, but this was cut short due to her time in the NICU. Luckily we did get one full week before he had to return to work. This was especially helpful since we had constant phone calls and paperwork regarding insurance, oxygen tanks, monitors, and the home health nurse. I was struggling with breastfeeding (the oxygen tubes did not help) and my hormones were adjusting. Honestly, I was scared that I would not be able to do it all by myself once Nathan went back to work.
Somehow I was able to handle it. Sure, I got overwhelmed plenty of times and often called Nathan for an opinion or support, but overall it worked out great. Once Amelia was no longer on oxygen, it was even better. We were able to leave the house more easily, which worked wonders for my sanity. Nursing was getting easier too, and that definitely calmed my nerves. Nathan was great about taking Amelia when he got home from work every evening, and I got a much-needed break. We were all so much happier now that the hospital and NICU were in the past.
Meeting Uncle Kevin:
and Auntie Beth:
Her cousin Dylan:
(Amelia also met her Uncle Andrew that day, but somehow we did not get a picture.)
Hangin' out with the Grandparents Peterson:
After her first sponge bath at home:
Sweet little sleeper:
We had done this several times by ourselves at the hospital. For some reason though, it seemed to be much more stressful now that we were home and really on our own. We couldn't have our nurse call the lactation consultant at any point. I had been pumping since day one so we had a great stash in the freezer, but I was determined to breastfeed my baby and wanted to avoid bottles now that she would be with me at all times. This proved to be very difficult however, and Amelia did have a bottle here and there.
Using a feeding tube threaded inside a nipple shield, I was able to breastfeed Amelia. We would give her a taste of pumped milk through the tube (it just dripped into the shield) and got her sucking. Eventually we wouldn't need the tube anymore, and after a couple more weeks I wouldn't have to use the shield anymore either.
After her first meal at home, she took her first nap in her Great-Granddaddy's cradle, where her father has also napped.
Nathan and I were really looking forward to spending a full two weeks at home together with Amelia, but this was cut short due to her time in the NICU. Luckily we did get one full week before he had to return to work. This was especially helpful since we had constant phone calls and paperwork regarding insurance, oxygen tanks, monitors, and the home health nurse. I was struggling with breastfeeding (the oxygen tubes did not help) and my hormones were adjusting. Honestly, I was scared that I would not be able to do it all by myself once Nathan went back to work.
Somehow I was able to handle it. Sure, I got overwhelmed plenty of times and often called Nathan for an opinion or support, but overall it worked out great. Once Amelia was no longer on oxygen, it was even better. We were able to leave the house more easily, which worked wonders for my sanity. Nursing was getting easier too, and that definitely calmed my nerves. Nathan was great about taking Amelia when he got home from work every evening, and I got a much-needed break. We were all so much happier now that the hospital and NICU were in the past.
Meeting Uncle Kevin:
and Auntie Beth:
Her cousin Dylan:
(Amelia also met her Uncle Andrew that day, but somehow we did not get a picture.)
Hangin' out with the Grandparents Peterson:
After her first sponge bath at home:
Sweet little sleeper:
Friday, September 19, 2008
Bringing Home Baby
I stayed in the hospital for two nights. Leaving the hospital the night I was discharged was probably the most difficult experience Nathan and I have ever been through. We did not want to leave our newborn at the opposite end of the city. We didn't really have any other options though. We said goodnight to our sweet baby and headed down to the car, tears running down both our faces.
Sleeping in our bed was amazing though. It did wonders for our tired bodies, even though I had to get up twice to pump (Nathan had to get up too, to help me). We developed a routine the next 8 nights: 8:30ish- come home, eat some cereal, look at the pictures we took that day, pump, go to bed. Sleep 5 hours, pump again. Sleep two or three hours, pump, get ready, go to hospital (with pumped milk).
4/5/08
4/6/08
4/7/08
4/9/08- The car seat test
4/10/08
4/11/08
We learned a lot from the NICU nurses, and liked almost all of them. But when it came down to it, we just wanted to take Amelia home. I had dreamed of having my baby and then having two weeks at home with my little family, adjusting and getting to know each other. Instead, we spent most of those two weeks at the hospital or sleeping at home. I'm sure it helped me heal quickly, but I would have loved to have had some time to relax (physically), even if I didn't get any sleep. Finally, 10 days after her birth, we were able to leave the hospital with our daughter.
During her stay, Amelia was on oxygen, had IV fluids for the first couple days (and had the IV in all four limbs at different times), went through two lumbar punctures (that weren't even successful), and racked up a bill for over $32,000. I was scared to get an epidural (so I didn't), yet my little girl was poked and prodded in so many places during her first few days of life. My baby became my hero.
April 12th rolled around, and we were finally able to get Amelia out of the hospital! We brought the going-home outfit we had originally packed in our hospital bag, hoping it would still fit (it did). The NICU pediatrician had to check her over to make sure she could still be discharged, and paperwork had to be filled out. Amelia also had to get her 10 day PKU test. This was the first time Nathan and I were with her when she got poked with a needle, and she actually slept right through it. Poor thing, she had gotten used to being poked. Finally, we had the all-clear and our nurse was ready to walk us out. We got Amelia switched over to our travel oxygen tank, put her in her car seat (NICU requirement) and we were on our way!
Nathan's parents drove us home. This way, both Nathan and I could ride in the back with Amelia, and they could help us ensure we were using the oxygen correctly. Amelia slept the whole way.
Sleeping in our bed was amazing though. It did wonders for our tired bodies, even though I had to get up twice to pump (Nathan had to get up too, to help me). We developed a routine the next 8 nights: 8:30ish- come home, eat some cereal, look at the pictures we took that day, pump, go to bed. Sleep 5 hours, pump again. Sleep two or three hours, pump, get ready, go to hospital (with pumped milk).
4/5/08
4/6/08
4/7/08
4/9/08- The car seat test
4/10/08
4/11/08
We learned a lot from the NICU nurses, and liked almost all of them. But when it came down to it, we just wanted to take Amelia home. I had dreamed of having my baby and then having two weeks at home with my little family, adjusting and getting to know each other. Instead, we spent most of those two weeks at the hospital or sleeping at home. I'm sure it helped me heal quickly, but I would have loved to have had some time to relax (physically), even if I didn't get any sleep. Finally, 10 days after her birth, we were able to leave the hospital with our daughter.
During her stay, Amelia was on oxygen, had IV fluids for the first couple days (and had the IV in all four limbs at different times), went through two lumbar punctures (that weren't even successful), and racked up a bill for over $32,000. I was scared to get an epidural (so I didn't), yet my little girl was poked and prodded in so many places during her first few days of life. My baby became my hero.
April 12th rolled around, and we were finally able to get Amelia out of the hospital! We brought the going-home outfit we had originally packed in our hospital bag, hoping it would still fit (it did). The NICU pediatrician had to check her over to make sure she could still be discharged, and paperwork had to be filled out. Amelia also had to get her 10 day PKU test. This was the first time Nathan and I were with her when she got poked with a needle, and she actually slept right through it. Poor thing, she had gotten used to being poked. Finally, we had the all-clear and our nurse was ready to walk us out. We got Amelia switched over to our travel oxygen tank, put her in her car seat (NICU requirement) and we were on our way!
Nathan's parents drove us home. This way, both Nathan and I could ride in the back with Amelia, and they could help us ensure we were using the oxygen correctly. Amelia slept the whole way.
Amelia's Birthday
Amelia was born at 3:16 am and I realized at about 5 AM that we hadn't told our parents yet. They were all sitting in the waiting room, wondering if we'd had the baby yet, while Nathan and I were in the birthing room in a daze. I told Nathan, "you should probably tell the parents what's going on." It was weird to have him leave the room as I'd been with him every minute for over 24 hours.
I wish I could have seen him tell everyone. I'm sure he was a bit upset, due to the oxygen issues. He came back to the room and helped me to the restroom so I could attempt to nurse our sweet baby. Around 6 AM, the nurse asked if the grandmothers could come in as they were getting anxious. I realized I hadn't been thinking clearly at all. They could have come in very soon after Amelia's birth, but I just hadn't thought about it. So they came in, watching as I tried to nurse while I was also crying because the NICU was busy preparing a space for Amelia.
I could not believe she would be going to the NICU and not to the recovery room with me. I had planned to keep her with me so I could nurse her often and bond with her. Instead, Nathan and his mom went with the NICU nurse and Amelia and my parents and Nathan's dad went with me to my room. I wanted to be with my baby, but shift change was quickly approaching and I wouldn't be allowed in the NICU for that hour anyway.
I got to my room, which I was sharing with another new mom and her baby (kill me now). The nurse showed me how to use the bed and all the other buttons around the bed. Nathan came in a few minutes later (couldn't stay in NICU due to the shift change) and we both just kind of lost it for a bit. This part of bringing a baby into the world hadn't even crossed our minds. I had the best labor and delivery I could have imagined, but that all went to the way-side when the nurses had to take Amelia away and start giving her oxygen and trying to suck all the goo out of her lungs. Between the support of our families and each other, we made it through. We waited for the shift change hour to be over and then headed down to the NICU.
This is Amelia's first space in the NICU.
It was so wonderful to see how it all worked. (I was not very happy to see a pacifier in her bed though, as I explicitly said in our birth plan no pacifiers or bottles.) I don't know what I expected to find there, but I was so glad to meet Amelia's nurse, Patty. She was so nice and I could immediately tell that she loved babies. She helped me give Amelia her first bath (well, I actually watched for most of it, I was very intimidated by all the wires) and was just very reassuring overall.
Amelia didn't really enjoy her first bath so much.
She was much happier when it was all done.
I was also surprised to see privacy screens were available for nursing. Thank goodness! I was so clumsy with breastfeeding, I didn't have a clue. All the research I did prior to Amelia's birth seemed to be gone from my brain. I was so glad there were lactation consultants available to help me during the day. Amelia had to stay in the NICU for ten days though, so bottles were unavoidable. Such is life!
I wish I could have seen him tell everyone. I'm sure he was a bit upset, due to the oxygen issues. He came back to the room and helped me to the restroom so I could attempt to nurse our sweet baby. Around 6 AM, the nurse asked if the grandmothers could come in as they were getting anxious. I realized I hadn't been thinking clearly at all. They could have come in very soon after Amelia's birth, but I just hadn't thought about it. So they came in, watching as I tried to nurse while I was also crying because the NICU was busy preparing a space for Amelia.
I could not believe she would be going to the NICU and not to the recovery room with me. I had planned to keep her with me so I could nurse her often and bond with her. Instead, Nathan and his mom went with the NICU nurse and Amelia and my parents and Nathan's dad went with me to my room. I wanted to be with my baby, but shift change was quickly approaching and I wouldn't be allowed in the NICU for that hour anyway.
I got to my room, which I was sharing with another new mom and her baby (kill me now). The nurse showed me how to use the bed and all the other buttons around the bed. Nathan came in a few minutes later (couldn't stay in NICU due to the shift change) and we both just kind of lost it for a bit. This part of bringing a baby into the world hadn't even crossed our minds. I had the best labor and delivery I could have imagined, but that all went to the way-side when the nurses had to take Amelia away and start giving her oxygen and trying to suck all the goo out of her lungs. Between the support of our families and each other, we made it through. We waited for the shift change hour to be over and then headed down to the NICU.
This is Amelia's first space in the NICU.
It was so wonderful to see how it all worked. (I was not very happy to see a pacifier in her bed though, as I explicitly said in our birth plan no pacifiers or bottles.) I don't know what I expected to find there, but I was so glad to meet Amelia's nurse, Patty. She was so nice and I could immediately tell that she loved babies. She helped me give Amelia her first bath (well, I actually watched for most of it, I was very intimidated by all the wires) and was just very reassuring overall.
Amelia didn't really enjoy her first bath so much.
She was much happier when it was all done.
I was also surprised to see privacy screens were available for nursing. Thank goodness! I was so clumsy with breastfeeding, I didn't have a clue. All the research I did prior to Amelia's birth seemed to be gone from my brain. I was so glad there were lactation consultants available to help me during the day. Amelia had to stay in the NICU for ten days though, so bottles were unavoidable. Such is life!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Now that a year has passed...
I'm finally posting an update!
On April 2nd (my due date), I started having contractions. I told Nathan he should probably not go to work (although I was unsure if what I was experiencing was indeed contractions). We spent the day taking walks through our neighborhood, hanging baby clothes, timing contractions, eating well (I wanted to have lots of energy for labor), taking final pictures of my big belly, and double-checking the suitcase.
The bookcase Nathan and his dad built:
Our first cloth diapers (Frank was helping):
A few hours after these pictures were taken, we headed to the hospital. My contractions had picked up to less than 5 minutes apart and I had a bit of nausea. When we arrived at the hospital, most of our family members were already there (crazy people!). I wouldn't be giving birth for another 8 hours or so. Before being admitted, I was checked in triage (only had to wait an hour or so for this, and of course I had to lie on a table the whole time) and was at 5 cm. I was checked into a room and met my nurse, Mary Lou. She was great, and honored my requests without question (no IV, minimal monitoring, not hanging out in the bed the whole time).
I spent all my time either in the tub or walking the corridor. Nathan spent his time rubbing my back, talking to me, walking with me, and cheering me on. I started to feel really hungry, so Nathan's parents tracked down some pretzels for me which turned out to be a bad idea. I got back to my room and was immediately nauseous. Everything was happening pretty fast at this point. The nurse monitored me and had me lay on my side in the bed (this is when I wanted to die). She called in the midwife who checked me. I was 10 cm, so she broke my water and I got out of the bed. I wanted to deliver vertically so gravity would work with me. I pushed for an hour (but it went really fast, despite the pain), and Nathan helped catch our baby. He handed her to me so he could cut the cord, then I got into the bed with her and was just in shock. I wanted to try to breastfeed right then, but her color was off and the nurses wanted to check her out. She was given oxygen, and Nathan and i just watched on. Eventually a NICU nurse was brought in and she tried to wean our baby off the oxygen so I could hold her again. This proved to not be successful. About 30 minutes after our baby was born, Nathan realized he hadn't taken any pictures yet.
Amelia Jane was born at 3:16 AM on April 3rd, 2008. She was 7 lbs, 12.2 oz, and 20.5 inches long.
On April 2nd (my due date), I started having contractions. I told Nathan he should probably not go to work (although I was unsure if what I was experiencing was indeed contractions). We spent the day taking walks through our neighborhood, hanging baby clothes, timing contractions, eating well (I wanted to have lots of energy for labor), taking final pictures of my big belly, and double-checking the suitcase.
The bookcase Nathan and his dad built:
Our first cloth diapers (Frank was helping):
A few hours after these pictures were taken, we headed to the hospital. My contractions had picked up to less than 5 minutes apart and I had a bit of nausea. When we arrived at the hospital, most of our family members were already there (crazy people!). I wouldn't be giving birth for another 8 hours or so. Before being admitted, I was checked in triage (only had to wait an hour or so for this, and of course I had to lie on a table the whole time) and was at 5 cm. I was checked into a room and met my nurse, Mary Lou. She was great, and honored my requests without question (no IV, minimal monitoring, not hanging out in the bed the whole time).
I spent all my time either in the tub or walking the corridor. Nathan spent his time rubbing my back, talking to me, walking with me, and cheering me on. I started to feel really hungry, so Nathan's parents tracked down some pretzels for me which turned out to be a bad idea. I got back to my room and was immediately nauseous. Everything was happening pretty fast at this point. The nurse monitored me and had me lay on my side in the bed (this is when I wanted to die). She called in the midwife who checked me. I was 10 cm, so she broke my water and I got out of the bed. I wanted to deliver vertically so gravity would work with me. I pushed for an hour (but it went really fast, despite the pain), and Nathan helped catch our baby. He handed her to me so he could cut the cord, then I got into the bed with her and was just in shock. I wanted to try to breastfeed right then, but her color was off and the nurses wanted to check her out. She was given oxygen, and Nathan and i just watched on. Eventually a NICU nurse was brought in and she tried to wean our baby off the oxygen so I could hold her again. This proved to not be successful. About 30 minutes after our baby was born, Nathan realized he hadn't taken any pictures yet.
Amelia Jane was born at 3:16 AM on April 3rd, 2008. She was 7 lbs, 12.2 oz, and 20.5 inches long.
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