insomnomaniac

I am a Mommy again

Wow, is it June already? And I haven't posted since April? Egads...That is bad. Sorry....

Well I have a decent excuse anyway. Aside from putting more effort into my discussion and debate site than I probably should have, I've been busy gestating a third little insomnomaniac!

Catherine Elizabeth was born June 3 at 3:21 p.m. weighing in at 9 lbs. 2 oz. and measuring 21 inches in length. Now most of you who don't know me wouldn't know that this data ought to make your eyes pop right out of your head. Picture this: I started this pregnancy at 5'2" and 105 lbs approximately (a size 0-2). I finished it at the same height (duhr) but weighing in at 153 lbs.

YIKES!

Yeah, a whole lotta that was baby and associated goo that supports baby in utero, and wearing it all on the front of my body for that long took its toll. Imagine strapping a medicine ball to your core and carrying it around for several months...Got that picture firmly in your brain? Sound like fun? No? Yeah? WELL I DIDN'T THINK SO EITHER! The only consolation of course was that at some point it wouldn't be there, and in its place would be a beautiful addition to my family. But let me tell you, time can pass v e r y s l o w l y when you're waiting for good stuff to replace really not so very good stuff.

In fact, for the past month I was on bed rest, not because of her really, but because I had this charming condition known as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. I had a "severe" case of it and while not confined to a wheelchair, I was pretty much confined to bed when I didn't absolutely have to be up and about. In the last two weeks, I was a daily visitor to the chiropractor because I couldn't envision even trying for natural childbirth (or vaginal birth period) with this much pain going into labor, and thank GOD for this guy! He was a miracle worker. I would shuffle in, and walk out. OK, maybe it wasn't "walking" like I usually do, but it wasn't crawling or shuffling like a 90 year-old woman either, so that's something!

But I hope that explains the lack of posts as well. It's just really hard to blog when you're laid-out like a beached whale, begging God for mercy and an early labor.

Oh, and that's the other irony of this whole thing! I went into this pregnancy terrified of another early induction due to premature rupture of membranes (I belong to that exclusive club of women who've been through it at all--only happens to 4% of us--much less TWICE IN A ROW). I was bound and determined not to have that happen and to go into labor naturally. So I researched the whole topic and found out that Vitamin C makes for strong sacs, and I took it--religiously--every day. Ate my weight in oranges too.

So what happened? I went LATE. Yup, third baby, and she was overdue by 2 days! Go figure! We were so sure she'd be at least 2 weeks early--even the OB and midwife were sure of it. I was measuring big-for-dates from the beginning, and with my history, it was just assumed I'd never make it to forty weeks. Heck, we planned childcare and budget around it (let that be a lesson to you all! I forgot, there's nothing that makes God laugh louder than telling him your PLANS).

Thankfully, the chiropractor I see is an expert in jump-starting labor using accupuncture, so on my due date, when the ultrasound tech told me my baby was between 9 and 10 lbs, I made a b-line for his office and said "Do what you gotta do Doc! I am NOT going another day and risking c-section because this baby is too big to come out of this dysfunctional pelvis of mine!"

He did, and I did, and she did, and thankfully the rest is just a birth story!

I'd love to tell you it was intervention/chemical-free, but it wasn't. I tried though, I really did! Twelve hours I tried, but only made it to 6 cm on my own. My lovely strong sac was so full of fluid that even as large as she was, she just kept bobbing back up in there like an apple in a tub of water. Breaking the water wasn't an option because she was too far up there and we could have been looking at cord prolapse (which is a life-threatening situation for the baby). The pain was so bad and went on for so long (largely because of the pelvic thing), that I ended up having to get an epidural just to relax the muscles that would be needed to push her out if I got that far. And that slowed my labor because all the fluids they have to give you to keep your blood pressure from dropping dilute your oxytocin levels to the point where contractions get weaker and/or slow down (in my case, both). And that means we needed pitocin to jack them back up where they needed to be.

So I was right back where I started I guess, BUT for a lot less time. Instead of hours and hours of that crap coursing through my veins (and my baby's) I only had it for about 2 hours, and then blam! It was time to push!

Pushing is something I am great at, and this was no exception. I pushed for 45 min and POP, out came my beautiful BIG baby girl in compound presentation (head AND fist first) with nuchal cord (around her neck). How great is that? My baby, born waving a fist at the world?? I love it!

She is beautiful, and healthy and we are very blessed and happy (and tired and sore).

So if I'm not posting for a little while longer, perhaps you will also understand. Because since I haven't endured enough physical discomfort long enough, I'm also breastfeeding and for those of you who've never done that, all I can say is, during those first couple of weeks you have a lot of opportunities to scream out "KELLY CLARKSON" a la Steve Carrell in 40 Year-old Virgin (chest waxing scene). If you aren't already laughing, I suggest you review that film, you'll get it soon enough.

In the meantime, all I can say is, if I had to compare all that I've been through and am going through still to the pain of watching the Presidential Campaign coverage (and trying to blog about it on anything resembling a regular basis), I'd have to say I got the better end of the deal, by a VERY WIDE MARGIN!

Posted by insomnomaniac at June 7, 2008 2:49 PM | TrackBack