Nancy Jane

Well, Baby Jane has been doing great. She eats great, sleeps great, seems very healthy. At her two week check up she was 6 lbs 14 oz which means she is still gaining about an oz a day which is great! It really is nice to know your baby is getting enough food. Jane is a little fussy after she eats. I think there is something I'm eating that she doesn't like. I'm working on it.

I mainly wanted to blog to tell about her birth. I really like reading other people's birth stories and thought I'd share mine too.

I went to my doctor appt. on wed. Jan 13th. I was 3 cm dilated 70+ effaced and my doctor stripped my membranes....it hurt :( With Zoey it didn't, but Jane was SO low that her head made it harder for the doctor to do all that kind of stuff (stripping membranes, checking my progress etc.) So, anytime she did any of that it HURT! Afterwards my doctor asked me if I wanted to be induced. I hadn't really thought about it, but I knew she was leaving to Hawaii in just a couple days and I really wanted her to deliver my baby. I just felt like she should deliver Jane. So, I told her that I did want to be induced if stripping my membranes didn't work. Well....it didn't. I had the induction scheduled for the next day and I really did want to go into labor on my own only because I didn't know what to expect from an induction. That night I only had a few contractions that didn't hurt very bad. Andrew's parents drove up to be there with Zoey when I went to the hospital. I hardly got any sleep that night because I was so uncomfortable, my legs were restless, my ribs hurt, plus I was so anxious about the induction. I didn't like KNOWING I would be having my baby the next day. It's much different than wondering when. It just really made me anxious. So, I slept about two hours that night and had to wake up at 5 to call the hospital so they could make sure there was room for me to come in. So, I woke up and called and they said to come on in. I showered and we left and got there a little before 6. After checking in we went up to labor and delivery and they set me up in a very nice room. By this point I had actually had a few real contractions that hurt, so the pitocin actually worked really well. They started me on the lowest amount of pitocin about 7:30 and it immediately got my contractions going. I was afraid they would come on too strong but they didn't. It felt totally normal like it did with Zoey. My doctor came in sometime after and broke my water. I was already planning on an epidural so I got it when I was about a 5 I think. I wasn't in too much pain but figured if I was getting it anyways, why not get it as soon as possible. The epidural worked great. It went mainly to one side of my body just like it did with Zoey, but then they gave me another dose and it fixed it. I felt great. :) I could have fallen asleep but I didn't want to sleep through the time when I was supposed to start pushing. With Zoey I couldn't tell when I was supposed to push so I knew if I fell asleep I probably wouldn't wake up. So, my contractions continued until I was about an 8. The nurse asked if I felt any pressure and I didn't so she said she would check on me in a half hour. That was at 10:45. As soon as she left, I felt the pressure. So, the nurse came back and checked and said I was about ready. I started pushing, my doctor came and once the baby crowned she was out in like two pushes. She was born at 11:12 which means I pushed for less than 20 minutes....this was GREAT. With Zoey I think I pushed for almost two hours. Right when Jane was born, my doctor handed her to me before anything else. This was really neat because I was able to see her and hold her before she even took her first breath. While I was holding her Andrew cut the umbilical chord and then they took her to clean her, etc. She was 6 lbs 7 oz. and 19 inches long. Right after they weighed her and suctioned out the mucus they gave her right back to me. I kept her and nursed her right away for a good 30 minutes. She did so well! That made me feel good. They told us to take our time and when we wanted Andrew to take her for a bath we could let them know...huge difference from Zoey's birth. With Zoey I didn't get to hold her until after they weighed her and cleaned her. Then I held her for only a few minutes before they took her to get a bath. While she was gone they transferred me to a different room and I didn't get to nurse her until after her bath. Anyways, with Jane things were SO nice. I kept her for awhile and then Andrew took her to get a bath. He got to give her a real bath and got to do it all on his own. They said since the umbilical chord was still moist immersing it was fine, so it was fun that Andrew got to do the bath. They let me take my time recovering in that same room. There was a jacuzzi bath in the room and the nurse told me when I could feel my legs again I could take a bath. That was so nice! I just relaxed in a bath for awhile and it really felt good to get clean right away. I remember not being able to take a shower for hours with Zoey. After I cleaned up, they took me to another room. This whole time Jane was with us. I feel blessed that my delivery went so well and that I had such a good experience with my nurse, doctor, and the hospital and other staff. I am grateful that I was able to have time much time with Jane from the very start. It really made the whole process so much more spiritual. I've already written so much, I won't go on and on. I wish I had written all the details down with Zoey's birth so I wanted to make sure I did it with Janes. Giving birth is a great responsibility entrusted to us women. I am thankful that I have been able to have two little girls. They make me so happy and we love them.