News from the newborn world

We've been home since Thursday and I finally have a moment to write something more than a few words. Things have been busy, as you can imagine, but I think we're finally managing to find some sort of routine, so I'll probably have more time to write from now on.

The Birth Story
There isn't much to say really. On Tuesday the 18th we woke up, got dressed and took R to school like we always do. Then we went to the hospital were we arrived at around 10.30pm. They gave me a pill and showed me my room so I could get settled in.
At around 12 pm I went into the delivery room to get the epidural catheter placed. At 12.30 they started the epidural because I was having nice contractions and was fairly dilated (no idea how much) and by 1 pm they started the Sytotec (oxitocin drip). They told Zé Maria it would take awhile now and he could go have lunch and my mother would stay with me.
At 1.20 pm my mom started to feel I was getting agitated and called the nurse. She asked me if I was feeling pressure and I said yes. She looked at me as if she didn't believe me but decided to check me anyway and then suddenly she got agitated and started telling my mom to get Zé Maria and she was going to get the OB and the pediatrician.
Zé Maria came running from the restaurant and got there at 1.30 pm and Manel was born at 1.50 pm, after 4 or 5 pushes.

Manel
Manel has been a saint so far. He eats every 3 to 4 hours during the day, which is great since R used to eat every 2 hours or so. At night he sleeps one 5 to 6 hour strech, followed by a second 4 hour strech. So I can say I'm pretty well rested and can't complain...so far. I bet I've just jinxed myself and he'll start giving me horrible nights now.
I believe the greatest diference between R and M is that he poops every time he eats, and she would only poop once a day, when stimulated. So this means he is a much calmer baby and I'm not tempted to feed him all the time as I did with R.

Me
Remeber a post I wrote a few months ago about post partum depression? With R I had a really tough time in the beginning, I kept crying for no reason and I felt miserable. Well, this time, as soon as I started feeling blue in the evenings I called my OB and told her I needed to take something. I thought she would try to convince me not to take anything but she immediately told me there was no reason why I should be unhappy and she prescribed me some pills I chew on 3 times a day. They are really helping me sleep better and I feel much better. I still have "low" moments when I'm alone at home but I can control myself and I know I will be all better in a couple of weeks.

My sister
Marta will have the baby tomorrow, by scheduled c-section. She's nervous as hell because this is her first child and she is counting on me to go to her house and spend plenty of time there during our maternity leave. I guess it will be great for the both of us to spend time together,a nd having company makes me feel better too.

No words

The last pregnant post

Tomorrow is the big day. So that makes today a day of taking care of small details that aren't done yet, such as making the baby's bed and stuff like that.
I will try to post about how it went, and show you some pictures of M, as soon as I have access to a computer again, which will probably be on Thursday night or Friday.

Here is my very last belly picture I took this morning.

Still here

I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday but I'm still here. I did call my OB to tell her what the ultrasound doctor had said and she asked me to go in, hooked me up to the fetal monitor for 30 minutes to check contractions and fetal heartbeat and said she sees no reason why we shouldn't stick to the plan. I am to take it easy this weekend, not have sex (that has got to be a joke) and I'll see her again on Monday. She did take a look at the ultrasound and compared it with R's and said they look almost the same. She will only make the final decision on the c-section on Monday but it sounded like she's pretty much decided on letting me try the vaginal delivery!

R is doing much much better. I finally caved in and started her on antibiotics Thursday night and yesterday she had a good day, no fever and the cough is also getting better. I hate to give her antibiotics but the fact is, it worked. She'll be going back to school on Monday and we'll try to keep her routine through an otherwise caotic week, with Mom in the hospital and a new baby.

As for this weekend, today is my other BIL's birthday and we're throwing him a surprise party tonight at my in-laws. And tomorrow we have a friend's birthday party, at lunch, with the kids. So, J, I'm afraid I can't tell you I have no more parties this weekend. My life is seriously crazy.

Ok, have a great weekend everyone.

Ultrasound update

I had my ultrasound this afternoon. He measured the baby and he's measuring almost exactly what R was measuring at this time, so I think we have a good chance of a repeat vaginal birth . I still have to show it to my OB so she can decide but it's looking good! (for tjose of you who asked, I would much rather have a vaginal delivery)

He said he couldn't see my cervix with the abdominal probe so in the end he had to use the vaginal probe to measure the cervix. He started to ask me if I was having contractions and if they were painful. I said yes and then he asked me when my next OB appointment was. I said Monday but he thinks I should call my OB tomorrow because my cervix is effaced and he doesn't think I'll make it through the weekend. So I'll call my OB tomorrow and see what she says, but I'm kinda hoping it doesn't happen before Tuesday because I had everything planned for that day and R is still sick, and I was hoping she would get all better before M is born. But things seem to be out of my hands so we'll see.

I'll update tomorrow.

Mini vacation gone bad and update on the kidney saga.

I've started my maternity leave yesterday in the hope of taking these last few days before M is born to rest and to get everything ready. What I really wanted was a few days at home all alone, with Zé Maria at work and R at school so I could just watch TV, read my book, play some Sudoku and maybe do alittle shopping. Obvisouly, that's not what I got. R is still sick and is staying home with me so all my great plans have gone down the drain. Don't get me wrong, I love my daugther and I love spending time with her, but I had been dreaming of these days by myself... I feel like God is testing me, and letting me know it will not be easy to have two kids.

Anyway, yesterday I decided I wouldn't change my plans again and I went to meet the beautiful Lioness. R behaved appallingly so I'm sure she will never want to meet me again. I hope I'm wrong though, because I really liked her, and I was surprised that I wasn't surprised by her. She was just like I expected her to be. (J, I'm so sorry we were rushed by the little brat)

Today I have my last ultrasound, to finally decide on the c-section vs vaginal delivery. And then I have my BIL's birthday party. Which reminds me, by the way, that the surgeon called and said everything is ready for the transplant and we could choose anyt date after November 3rd. My BIL and Zé Maria talke it over and decided he will start imuno-supression right after Christmas and the surgery will be in the second week of January. I guess it's the best for everyone.

Ok, ok, here's the update! Geez!

So she checked my cervix, which as I expected was truly uncomfortable, to say the least. By checking my cervix, I mean she inserts several fingers up you know where to see if I’m dilated and/or effaced and to try and feel the baby’s head. I’m not significantly dilated or effaced yet (I was really disappointed, I thought this birth was imminent) but she did feel the baby’s head and she did agree to keep the scheduled date.

The plan now goes as follows: I have an ultrasound on Thursday to measure the baby and estimate his weight. Then on Monday I am to bring to my appointment both this ultrasound and the one I had with R at 38 weeks to compare them. If the baby is bigger than R we will go for the c-section, if not, we will try another vaginal delivery. She’ll then call the hospital to let them know which type of birth we chose and on Tuesday I’ll be there at around 10 am to get this show on the road.

I know it’s not as romantic as not knowing when you’ll go into labor and then having your water break somewhere really embarrassing and breaking every speed limit to get to the hospital, leaving your husband in a panic mode and probably ending up having the baby in the elevator, with no epidural or any drugs whatsoever. But for some strange reason, I prefer it this way.

On Tuesday we will wake up at our usual time, we’ll have breakfast as usual, we’ll both take R to school and the we’ll go to the hospital where the staff will be waiting for us and hopefully everything will happen as it did last time… no stress, a nice epidural and 3 hours later the baby will be here. Now that sounds romantic to me. What do you say?

You asked for it

You told me to whine away so here it goes…

I have found a whole new level of unconfortableness (not sure if this word even exists but you get the idea). This baby is so low I can literally feel him inside my vagina. And let me tell you it is not pleasant. The minute I zip my pants after going to the bathroom I need to go again, so I’ve started timing my bathrooms trips and I will not go more than once every 15 minutes (this, people, is day and night). It’s rather pathetic, now that I think about it. It would actually be funny if it wasn’t tragic.

R is sick, she has a fever and a cough, which means I had virtually no sleep last night, between going to the bathroom and tending to my sick child. So I’ve decided tomorrow will be my last day at work, because I do not want to get to the 18th feeling like crap, which is exactly how I’m feeling now. I definitely need to rest, and I need it before this baby comes.

Today I have my weekly OB appointment. She warned me she would want to check my cervix today. I absolutely hate having my cervix checked and it makes my blood pressure rise. Thankfully she now knows not to check my bp until after she’s checked my cervix, because last time she went nuts thinking I might be having pre-eclampsia or something.
Update on the appointment tomorrow.

TGIF

I had written a really whiny post this morning and was going to publish it after lunch. But then I re-read it and decided not to. No one really wants to hear anymore about how tired, bloated and cranky I am right? It’s Friday, so I’ll just go home and try to rest during the weekend. 11 more days to go…

4 years ago

4 years ago I married the man of my dreams. I was 21 and completely in love. I had found my soul mate, the person who completed me. We had been together for 3 years and I had known from the first month that this would be the man I would marry.
It was, I dare say at the risk of sounding extremely corny, the happiest day of my life. I felt beautiful, everything went exactly as planned and I lived my fairy tale. It was perfect.
But the best was yet to come. And the best has been every single day of these 4 years. We got to know each other better, we fell in love all over again, over and over again, we went through great moments and through really bad ones and we grew stronger, as individuals and particularly as a couple. We created a family and made it grow. It’s been wonderful!

We have a date.

Manuel will be born on the 18th of October, precisely 2 weeks from today.

I will have one last ultrasound on the 13th and we will make the final decision on the c-section vs vaginal delivery dilema. I am pretty confident that she'll let me try the vaginal delivery again, unless the baby has had some weird growth spurt in the past few weeks. I am to stop taking the meds to stop the contractions and just let them come. Let the fun begin.

Things are still complicated at work and I told my boss I would work until the 14th. He asked me why I couldn't come on the 17th, that asshole! Anyway, it's only one more week of work and then I'm done. Finally.

PS: Lilian, to answer your question - the c-section rate here in Portugal is about 20%, which is still way too high if you ask me, but significantly lower than in Brazil. But if you take only the private clinics, then the rate is much higher, around 30% or something.

Belly Pictures

I have another appointment today and will update later. Meanwhile, here are a couple of belly pictures at 36 weeks.