World View

A view to those out in the world into our life.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Week 2

Here are some pics from this week of life with 2 girls. Things are starting to feel more normal. Olivia surprised us by sleeping through the night on her 1-week birthday, and has continued to do so (for the most part) every night since. Amazing! Words can't express my delight. Oaklee didn't sleep through the night until she was 6 months old, so this is a welcome change of pace.
 

Oaklee has an affinity for ink pens, and Jason being the good doctor and all means that our house has an unlimited supply of them from drug reps & the like. So she found one this week and managed to draw a beard on herself (unintentionally, of course), but I thought it was picture-worthy, at least.
 

O-2 (as Jason affectionately calls the girls) and their matching pj's.
 

Oaklee is warming up to her little sis quite well. She always looks for her as soon as she gets up from her naps, and she's taken to rocking her in her swing, holding her hand, patting her head & giving her kisses. But Olivia doesn't seem too sure in the bottom pic. :-)
 
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Sunday, January 25, 2009

The detailed delivery report (ie- from a female perspective)

So, for any of you who wanted more details (I'm probably just speaking to other moms out there who have been through labor & delivery & know what it's like), here is a run down of my experience last Monday...

I had known from the beginning of this pregnancy that I wanted the birth to be as natural as possible. I wanted Oaklee's to be natural, too, and had tried to do it without an epidural, but wasn't prepared for the pain of the pitocin contractions. So this time around, I really did my research and prepared for a natural birth as much as possible. Some very wise friends shared their advice with me, which helped so much in knowing how to handle the pain of contractions. So I was expecting to go into labor on my own this time, but for whatever reason, things did not work out that way and I had to be induced again. I tried not to be disappointed about it, but in my mind, being induced was equivalent with getting an epidural, b/c I didn't see how anyone could stand those contractions without it. So, I was pretty much preparing to get one that day and had given up my desire for a natural birth.

So we get to the hospital around 8:30a, pitocin got started around 10a (after 4 tries of getting a stinkin IV in my arm! good heavens! they said my veins were 'lovely but deceiving'.) I wasn't feeling many contractions for several hours, so Jason & I walked the halls awhile, my parents came and hung out, I made 3 colorful pot-holders, tried to play some Scrabble with my mom but could only come up with 3-letter words so we quit that after awhile. Then things got rolling around 1:30p when my dr. broke my water. I think I was dilated to a 4 at that point, and my dr. thought I would be 'quick' after my water broke. She was right, thank goodness! Contractions gradually but quickly became faster & stronger, and my main way of staying relaxed through them was breathing & putting hot cloth diapers on my stomach (we had a crockpot of them in the room with us). I just stayed on my side and tried not to move, and I did ok for about an hour or so. Then as they became stronger, it got harder & harder to stay relaxed and I started losing the mental battle, b/c I was thinking, "How long can I do this? This is really hard!" So I asked for some Demerol, and that definitely helped me relax, but I still felt a LOT of pressure and was having a hard time finding a position to stay in. Then the nurse says I'm at an 8, which in my mind meant I still had a little ways to go, and I just couldn't bear the thought of being so uncomfortable for any longer than I had to. I realize now that I was in the classic 'transition' phase of labor, which is when you transition from stage 1 to stage 2...stage 2 being when you deliver. I was closer than I realized to delivery, b/c when I asked for an epidural, my nurse & doctor said I was ready to push, and if I were to get an epidural, then I'd probably have the baby while the epidural was being put in. So with that in perspective, I was glad to know I could push and that it would be over soon! That gave me strength to keep going and endure the pain I was feeling. So they had me start pushing with each contraction...and I think within 30 minutes or so (I really have no clue), I gave one final push that felt like I was pushing out a bowling ball, and then all I felt was huge RELIEF and I saw Olivia right in front of me. It was incredible. There are no words to express what I felt in that moment. It was different from Oaklee's delivery b/c I felt so much more of it this time, and I guess it made me feel more engaged with the whole process and soooooo thankful when it was over & this precious baby was in front of me. I really felt like Superwoman when it was all over, kinda like "if I can do this, then I can do anything!". It was just a good experience overall. I really can't explain how I felt different, but even though I was induced and had one dose of pain meds, I still felt like I had a pretty natural childbirth and my desires were satisfied for wanting to experience that.

I've had a good recovery, for the most part. I tore just a little bit, but not nearly as bad as with Oaklee. The afterbirth pains while I nurse have been pretty terrible at times, but I think I'm over the worst of those. The most sleep I'm getting in one stretch is 2 hrs, so that's definitely catching up with me. Olivia's not doing well at night as far as sleeping goes, but hopefully we'll get in a rhythm pretty soon. Anyway, there is your detailed report of the delivery of Miss Olivia! It was awesome. I definitely don't want to do it again anytime soon, but I am really thankful for how it worked out. I wanted to type it out before I forgot. Can't believe it'll be a week ago tomorrow!

Friday, January 23, 2009

D-day plus 3 & 4

Hey friends- here are some recent pics since we've been home. Olivia's doing great other than having her days & nights mixed up. I (Cindy) am doing great other than some painful afterbirth contractions when she nurses and Olivia having her days & nights mixed up. Jason's doing great other than having had to go back to work immediately, but at least it's the weekend now and he can be home with us. And my mom is doing great other than being a little tired keeping up with Oaklee (as evidenced by the pic below). I'm going to post a detailed story of the delivery when I get a chance to sit down and write it out, for those of you who are wanting more details than my sweet husband gave. Stay tuned!
 

 

 

 
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

We Are Home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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We are home now. Tired but doing well. Thanks for all of your prayers and comments. Cindy is feeding Olivia right now and so far she is doing well. Oaklee is wired at the moment but hopefully will go to sleep soon. Cindy's mom Kay is here until Cindy gives her permission to go home, which is a BIG help. We are so thankful for having family who is able and willing to help.
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The 4 of us

 

 


We are going home at 4 today. Oaklee has not figured out yet what all is going on but she is being cordial towards her new sister. We will post a lot more photos tonight.
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More Olivia photos

 

 

 


Here are more Olivia photos. We left our usb cord for the D70 so you will have to settle for iPhone photos for now.
Mom and baby are doing well. More to come later.
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Monday, January 19, 2009

Meet Olivia

 

 

 

 


Cindy did awesome. She never got an epidural, had only a slight tear.
Olivia weighs 7lbs 4 oz, 20 in long, has lots of hair and blue eyes.
She looks a lot like Oaklee did when she was a baby.
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Getting Closer

She is now at 8cm. She took some Demerol about an hour or two ago which has helped. She is still doing well, contractions of course are stronger and she isn't in the mood for pictures right now. Stay tuned...

Lady in waiting

 


So, we are in the hospital, pitocin has been started, a few contractions have started but Cindy is pretty comfortable still. She is supposed to have her water broken at noon. Cindy's parents Kay and Chuck Marlin are here and my parents are on their way with Oaklee. I am hungry, so the Kay and Chuck are going to get me some McAllister's. Cindy has to suffer until Olivia is born. She does get some delicious looking Popsicles, though.

Thanks for all of you who are praying and have sent encouraging emails. I am reading them to Cindy.

More to come as we have details.
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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Still no Olivia....yet

So, Olivia is enjoying the warmth of the womb and is apparently going to have to be induced out. We are still holding out hope she will come tonight, but she is following in the ways of her big sister Oaklee and it is looking like Cindy will be induced in the morning. I will be blogging when I can to give you photos and updates. Please pray that all goes well. Specifically that Cindy's labor would be as pain free as possible and that Olivia enter into the world healthy.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Christmas recap & update

Here are some long awaited pics from the holidays. We have been neglecting our blog, as you have probably noticed. Nothing personal to the blog or our blogging friends, but...there have just been other things going on! Had a good holiday other than all 3 of us being sick. Oaklee's favorite toys are shown below- her pink car that she calls her "beep beep", and her rocking chair from Cracker Barrel that she calls her "rock rock". She's saying all her words in pairs right now, kinda like the 'double-double chex-chex' commercial. But she sure is learning words fast! Her vocab includes: 'peaches!, eat!eat!, wa-wa (for water/ agua), poopy, night-night, no no (she mocks us every time we tell her no)...and several others i can't think of. Her latest tricks are when we ask her, "What's your name?", she puts her hand on her chest and says, "Me!". Then last night, she figured out how to open Jason's iphone! We couldn't believe it. She did it again this morning, several times. What a smart little girl! (except he couldn't get his screen to come back on for like 15 minutes, ha)

Anyway, so there's a quick update. We are still eagerly anticipating the arrival of Olivia. I haven't had many contractions. I see my dr. again tomorrow and we'll plan a day to induce next week if I don't go into labor on my own. I do NOT want to be induced if I can help it. So we're just waiting, praying & hoping for the best. We can't wait to meet her! We'll let everyone know when it all goes down.
 

Jason's side of the fam. Awesome people!
 

 

 
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