Adjustments

Casey has been here 2 weeks now. It's hard to believe that 2 weeks ago I had just given birth, sitting in the hospital room with Casey, after everyone had left, waiting for the nurses to come in and check me so I could go to bed. What a difference 2 weeks makes.

Mom came and helped for the 1st week, so this week I was on my own and I must say we did ok....we're here aren't we? Nature has this amazing thing called memory loss. I forgot how tiring a newborn is, how often you wake up at night, how 3 hours in a row is now considered a decent stretch of sleep. I imagine if nature didn't have that natural memory loss built into us, most people would stop at 1 child.

The boys are doing ok with our newest addition. Shane LOVES his little brother. He has nicknamed him Favy, not sure where he pulled that one from, but I imagine it will end up sticking, just as Cody is called Bubby and Shane is called Lal-ly, Casey wil be known in our family as Favy. Shane would hold him all day if I would let him. Cody on the other hand is not as head over heel about Casey. I know he REALLY wanted a sister, so maybe had Casey been a girl, things would have been reversed, but it is what it is. Cody is still more interested in his own life, but will kiss Csey every night before bed...it's something, I guess.

This is where I will leave it for now. I am too tired to think much more and I have been informed a little person is hungry, and since I am currently a milking cow, I msut go hook my utter up!

Queen of my Castle

Looks like I am the queen on my castle!!!!!

I went in Thurs, May 12 for my last NST. The doctor had already scheduled my induction the week before for Thurs night into Fri morning as the week before I was only a fingertip and 'long.' He checked me at my appointment Thurs and I was still the same, which meant my induction started 8pm Thurs night with Cytotec rather than Fri morning with just the Pitocin.



I did some running around Thursday, went to TRU to get bike helmets for my big boys, picked up Shane from K, then went home and rested as I was having contractions from being checked earlier in the day. Went back to the school later and got my other son and went home to straighten up a bit. DH had an appointment with a new doctor that night at 5 so my stepmom was coming over to watch the boys and deal with getting them to school the next day. After hubby's appointment we went and picked up dinner at a local Italian place, we are friends with the owner and she was so happy that my 'last meal as a preggo' was hers!!! The doctor said to eat 'lite' but to heck with that, who knew how long I was going to be in labor for the next day!!! We took dinner home and ate as a family of 4 for the last time. Loaded up the car, took some last min 'preggo' picts and off we went to the hospital. When we arrived we went up to the mother baby floor and saw Larry, the male nurse who helped deliver both of our boys. He was the nurse we happened to get with our 1st, but he was SO GREAT that we requested him for our 2nd! We jokingly said maybe we'll see you tomorrow!



I thought they would put me right into a labor room...nope; I got the 'bigger' room in triage!!! Of course there was just a recliner for hubby, which, with 2 herniated discs, would not have been a place for him to sleep so I told him to stay with me until I got settled then he could go home. They had me hooked up to a monitor for a bit, and then the resident came in and put in the Cytotec. About 15 mins later she came in to say that MY doctor ordered cytotec but the attending on that night (another in the practice) wanted cervedil, so she had to take out the Cytotec!!!!!!!! She also didn’t have the cervedil on the floor as it had to come from the pharmacy, so she would be back to put it in. By that time it was around 10 so DH went home to sleep. The resident came in a bit later and quickly put in the cervedil (which is a long string/ribbon) before she had to go in to the OR for a C-section. I had to wait about an hour before getting up to go pee, so about an hour later the nurse came to help me get up and of course I felt the string falling out...thankfully it was only partially. So after the section the resident came back to put it back in and the nurse gave me some Ambien to sleep and started and IV. I then realized that it was Thurs night and I missed Greys and Private Practice...hopefully it will be on the DVR when I get home!!!

Thanks to the Ambien, I slept for about 5 hours or so!!! The nurse came in around 7:30-8 and said MY doctor was there and she was going to ask him if I could eat something since I really wasn't in 'active labor.' My doctor came in then and seemed REALLY annoyed that his partner changed what he ordered, but didn't take it out on me; he just mentioned that he wasn't sure why his associate did that. A few mins later my nurse came in to tell me she was getting me b'fast and once I ate she would move me over to a labor room. Around this time Hubby and my friend, Amanda, came in. I ate my breakfast, if you can call toast breakfast, and we all walked down the hall to my labor room.


A different resident came in to check me to see if it was time for the Pitocin and I was 2cm and 60% effaced!!! YAY the cervedil worked! My doctor came in and said to start the Pitocin. The nurse got everything all ready, hooked it into my IV, only to find out, my iv site was no good...it had blown! I am not the best 'stick' so she was really limited on where she could go, so my hand it was. Hand IVs hurt the worst, as least to me, but I knew she wouldn't have gotten me anywhere else. The Pitocin was then started at 11am. My mom, stepfather and brother arrived shortly after, with a Starbucks Chai tea, which was a no-no as it wasn’t a ‘clear liquid’ so we put it into a cup marked water! I was telling my nurse, Dawn, that I did NOT want a resident breaking my water....only my dr. I also told her that with my other two, once I hit 6cm things went REALLY FAST. (With Cody I went from 6 to 10 fast and only pushed for 18 mins, with Shane I went from 6 to 10 in an hour and pushed 3 times). Within a few minutes my OB came in and asked if I wanted my water broken, his timing was perfect! He broke my water but nothing really came out (no big gush like with the boys). He said the baby's head was down and acting like a cork so he thought it would be a 'slow' trickle. Which was fine by me since that gush always felt gross to me!

The pain was getting worse so I asked for something, they offered stadol or the epi...I opted for the stadol. Which helped...for maybe half hour or so. They checked me again around 1:15 and I was 4 to 5 and 100% effaced and I knew it was time for my epi since 6cm seems to be my 'magic number. By 2pm I had my epi and was 7cm, feeling much better. The baby nurse came in to get everything ready for the baby and when she heard how fast I went with the other 2, she decided to stay in the room and hang out! Smart woman! I asked Randy if we could have one more. I was starting to get sad that this was the last time we would have this magical moment, the last time I would feel a baby kick inside me. The nurses joked that it had to be the 1st time they have EVER had a patient, in active labor ask that!

Things started to get a little scary here...baby's heart rate started dropping below 90, so I became a rotisserie chicken...flopping from one side to the other. I told them I felt pressure so the nurse checked me...I was 10 with just a little bit of a 'lip' so they called the resident, who checked me again and said the same thing, who called my doctor who came in and checked me and said the same thing, but it was time to push and have a baby!!!!! He suited up, put my legs in the stirrups and we started. Thinking back no one ever 'counted' they just told me to push and there was no break of pushing in between, I pushed with the 1st contractions and once it was over the doctor said to keep pushing. My mom later told me the cord came out with the baby's head, she wasn't sure if it was around his neck or not and I didn't ask!

Two pushes later, the baby was out..........a boy!!!!!!!!!!!! Randy announced, “Another Penis!!!” They put his grey body on my chest and started rubbing him to stimulate him; this lil stinker continues to sleep, letting out only a little whimper here and there. They let him on me while the doctor did what he had to do to get out the placenta and everything else. He had a HUGE mess to clean up....my water gushed after the baby came out and I started bleeding a lot. I overheard the doctor say, “Up with the Pitocin” and someone else ask, “Does she have a history of postpartum hemorrage? I really wasn’t paying much attention after that, I was staring at the new little person who, like his brothers before him, would forever hold a piece of my heart.

Casey Joseph Yardumian was born May 13, 2011, at 2:55pm, weighing 7lbs, 7oz and was 20inches long with a perfect amount of hair.

I had told Randy we were not going to tell anyone the sex of the baby until his big brothers got here and could know, so I had Randy call my step-mom, who was picking them up at 3:10 from school, to tell her to bring them up to the hospital. Cody REALLY wanted a sister, Shane really wanted a brother. I was a little concerned at how Cody would take the news. They came up and I was holding Casey. I announced to them, this is your new little brother. If Cody was really disappointed he hid it pretty well. I was expecting tears or a hissy fit, all I got was, “Mom, can the next one be a girl?” Don’t I wish there would be one more! They each took turns holding him, as did everyone else.

The next few hours/days were spent getting to know this new little person in our lives. Randy took the big boys back and forth to the hospital and we had a few visitors here and there. My postpartum course has been far from easy as I developed a cyst on my upper inner thigh that lead to an infection and a few really bad days. The baby was at the doctor Friday and had some jaundice (had to get his level checked, thankfully it came back better) and he has pink eye! My mom came to help out with the 3 boys, which really meant taking and picking up the big boys at school. We did some cleaning and shopping and organizing which has been a huge help with all the visitors coming over to meet the little man. Cody and Shane are wonderful with their baby brother…they love to hug and kiss and hold him. He breastfeeds like a pro, and is coming around on sleeping (the 1st few nights were pretty rough!)

After a difficult pregnancy, both physically and emotionally I am so happy he is here and is safe and sound and healthy. I really worried that with all the issues I had during the pregnancy I wouldn’t be attached to this baby, but I am happy to report that is not the case. I am over the moon in love... with all of my boys…all 4 of them.

Almost there....yet so sad

In the final stretch of this long journey....well at least with the journey of prengancy (let's face it, in motherhood there is never a final stretch!). It's hard to believe in a bit less than 2 weeks, I will be a mom to 3 earth angels!

Lately, as my belly has been more obvious to my patients I have been getting the standard questions...

When are you Due? May 25th, but I'll be having the baby before then due to issues I have.............Really!! WOW, good luck!
Do you have any other children? Yes, 2 boys, they are 6 and 7
Are they excited? Yes, they both can't wait to love on this baby
Do you know what you are having? A cheeseburger.... No we like the good old fashioned surprise.........Good for you, back when I had my kids we didn't have such things, so every one was a surprise.
Well maybe this one will be a girl! And if it's not, it's not like I can send it back!!!! (this one gets me a little upset...everyone assumes I WANT a girl and would be dissapointed if it is not)

No matter what, I love this baby. Having a girl means trips to American Girl in NYC, passing on my dolls (the 4 orginal ones!) and getting adorable dresses. It also means hormones, teenage years, periods, BOYS and a father that will want to lock her away like repunzel to protect her from all of the above. Having a boy means I know what is to come, I have the toys and clothes and the experience for a boy. I already have 2 Mama's boys, but always have room for 1 more in my heart!

As for my sadness...regaurdless of what gender this baby is, it will be my last. The drs, nurses and my own body have said this is it. Then again so has hubby!!! LOL! Which is why I am so sad.....this means an end to the excitement of a new life growing inside of me, the last kicks I will feel, the last time we can call everyone with the news of the arrival. Makes me sad. Either that or my hormones have already started to go out of whack!


I'm sure my next post will be the arrival of my little Apple!!!!!!