A Week in Scandinavia
8 hours ago
My Crazy Husband
Today, in 28 degree weather, with slush (not quite rain, not quite snow) coming down outside, my husband decided to wash the car. We don't have a hose (or a spot for one) outside, given that our house is well over a hundred years old, so he used a little bucket to wash the car. At least he was bundled up while doing so.
Thanksgiving
Since Thanksgiving (obviously) isn't a holiday over here, we celebrated our Thanksgiving today. We invited a couple over that Ian works with and that go to our church too. We made a turkey, three different kinds of stuffing (some people don't like the same things!), sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and rolls. It was all very scrumptious.
Connor slept thru most of his first Thanksgiving. My mom had to hold him while we ate, because as soon as we sat down to eat, he got fussy...how do babies always know the perfect time to cry?!?
The couple who came over is from Brazil, so we had a fun time talking about the different types of traditional food for holidays from each of our countries and talking about what the meaning of Thanksgiving is.
In the spirit of giving thanks, here are a few things I am thankful for:
* A wonderful husband
* A perfect baby boy
* My mom coming to visit
* Such wonderful family and friends that have made me feel so loved by showering Connor with love and gifts
I really could go on and on forever as to what I am thankful for, but I will stop there. God has blessed me with a wonderful life, filled with wonderful family and friends and I am so thankful for the life that I have.
The Baby Life
I read books, asked questions and really tried to prepare myself for birth. I went to classes, bought stuff and readied myself for being a mom. What I didn't think about was how drastically my life was going to change. No one explained to me that from the minute my little man came into this world, I would be eating, sleeping and breathing baby. Don't get me wrong, I love it. When Connor is awake, I just want to talk to him and cover him with kisses. When he is asleep, I go back and forth between wanting to sleep myself and checking to make sure he is still breathing. Then there are the endless loads of laundry (he is great at projectile spit up), the feeding, changing, rocking and more. All the sudden, I don't have time for my life...you know, the life I had two weeks ago...
Gone are the days that I email everyone who emailed me (sorry friends!), called people on the phone, updated my facebook and knew everything that was going on in the world (hey, I love the news). But, I realize this time won't last forever. My little man won't stay teeny tiny forever. I won't always lay him in bed beside me and stare in awe at his beauty (come on, you know you think he is adorable too!).
Being a person who likes to be on the go, I never thought I would find myself staring at a baby, talking to a baby and enjoying it more than anything. My little C-Man is beautiful and perfect. And he has come at the perfect time in my life, where I am able to just sit around and enjoy him. And I am thankful for every second of it.
Gone are the days that I email everyone who emailed me (sorry friends!), called people on the phone, updated my facebook and knew everything that was going on in the world (hey, I love the news). But, I realize this time won't last forever. My little man won't stay teeny tiny forever. I won't always lay him in bed beside me and stare in awe at his beauty (come on, you know you think he is adorable too!).
Being a person who likes to be on the go, I never thought I would find myself staring at a baby, talking to a baby and enjoying it more than anything. My little C-Man is beautiful and perfect. And he has come at the perfect time in my life, where I am able to just sit around and enjoy him. And I am thankful for every second of it.
The Delivery Story
The Pushing
When it came time to push, things became intense quite quickly. Because I still had feeling in the top of my belly and could feel really bad contractions in my back, I was able to tell the midwives when I had a contraction coming on and that I was going to push. I know this sounds odd, but out of all the events of the day, the pushing seemed like the best part. Sounds weird, I know. But I think I knew it meant I was about to meet my child and it felt a bit like a challenge for me to get him out. Even though I was progressing quite nicely, the baby decided to not cooperate. His heart rate started falling really low. It was one of those surreal moments when you realize that slow heart rate isn't yours, but that of your baby's and that isn't good. Suddenly two doctors came in and I felt like everything left my control. People stopped talking to me and started talking around me. Things were being set up quickly and I wasn't being told what was going to happen. So, I started asking questions. I was told that the doctors were going to assist with the delivery by using either a vacuum or forceps. I was freaking out about the forceps (no joke) and begging them not to, so they said they would try the vacuum first, but that the baby needed to come quickly. I felt like I had lost control and didn't like it. I had been informed of this earlier, but was once again informed that a pediatrician would be standing by at the birth to look over the baby. They do this outside of the room, but I was told Ian could accompany the baby for this. Back to the pushing...with the vacuum, things happened really fast. In only a couple pushes the head was out. In the middle of this, the doctor invited Ian to come look, which he declined and took my hand for me to touch the head, which I ripped my hand away from the doctor, thinking that was totally not my thing...Ian and I are both weird like that!
The Birth
As soon as the baby was born, they threw him on my stomach with him facing away from me. I immediately noticed he was blue and not breathing. They told everyone not to touch him because they didn't want him stimulated to breathe because of the meconium. Also, even though they asked Ian earlier in the night about cutting the cord, he didn't get to because the baby needed immediate medical attention. Before we even knew if it was a boy or a girl, they had taken him out of the room. The doctor who delivered him didn't even know if it was a boy or girl...it all happened so fast. And, with me freaking out, they said Ian was not allowed to go check on him...of course this only made me freak out even more. I kept saying I couldn't hear the baby cry. It was the scariest few minutes of my life. I felt helpless and didn't know what was going on. Ian was holding me, praying in my ear and trying to calm me down. It was more than a few minutes (and felt like forever) before they brought him back in and thankfully he was okay. Later in the day, I looked at my medical charts and discovered his apgar score was a 2 one minute after birth...that isn't good. But thankfully, because he recovered so quickly, there are no lasting affects.
Meeting My Little Man
I got to enjoy some time with Connor before I started feeling sick again. Then, I had to ask Ian to take him while I spent some time vomiting and getting cleaned up...honestly, most of the stuff after Connor's birth is a blur because I was feeling so unwell. I was with it enough though to ask to see the placenta...if you know me, you know I really would want to see something like that! And it was interesting to see. Since I was incapacitated, Ian took over with the bonding for me. He helped the midwife measure Connor's length and made sure to take pictures of him being weighed. At this point, it had been over 24 hours that Ian and I had been in the hospital, and up for 26 with almost no sleep before that. Connor seemed in no way like he was ready to sleep. Ian was falling asleep in a chair holding Connor and I remember telling him to make sure he didn't fall asleep and drop him.
The Ward
Since I was in a labor and delivery room, I had to be transferred to a ward. And since I was catheterized, they had to put me in another bed to transfer me to the ward. I seriously felt like a baby myself...laying on a "puppy pee pad" in a bed. It wasn't my finest moment! When they transferred me, they put Connor in bed with me. He was screaming and I knew they had to wheel me through the hospital and people were going to be looking at me. So, I stuck my finger in his mouth, which calmed him down, and closed my eyes for the trip, partially out of exhaustion and partially out of not wanting to see people looking at me in this state. In my room, there were 6 beds to a room. I actually thought that was going to be worse than it really was...the midwife had warned everyone in our baby classes that there were 6 beds to a room in the wards.
Even though Ian and I were exhausted, we couldn't get Connor to go to sleep, which meant we didn't get to sleep. In the first 24 hours of his little life, he only slept about 6 hours...it was exhausting! The three of us laid on the bed together and slept for about an hour and a half before Connor woke up. Ian headed home to shower and I hung out with Connor. Later in the afternoon, Ian came back and I was able to get up and shower. Our friends came by to meet Connor and bring him a present. Then before I knew it, it was time for Ian to go home...visitors (including dads) aren't allowed to stay in the ward overnight. I was nervous about being alone with Connor overnight. And it was just me and a screaming little Connor all night long. I am pretty sure all the other women in the room hated me! Part of the problem was that Connor had to be checked every hour for the first 24 hours, so just when I would get him to sleep, someone would come in to check him out and wake him up and the whole process would start all over again. At one point, I asked the midwife to hold him because I had to pee. She told me to leave my screaming baby in the cot while I went to the bathroom. So I did, feeling bad for Connor the whole time and thinking that the other women in the room were judging me.
The next morning I couldn't wait for Ian to get to the hospital. He held Connor and let me take a shower and feel human again. I also couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. They asked me of I wanted to stay another night, but I kindly declined. Connor got the seal of approval from the pediatrician, ear specialist and everyone else and we were on our way home. The weird part about leaving the hospital was there were no security checks of any kind. We just took Connor (who yes, was with me the whole time at the hospital, except for the first few minutes), turned in a paper at the reception desk and walked out. And so began the rest of our lives...
When it came time to push, things became intense quite quickly. Because I still had feeling in the top of my belly and could feel really bad contractions in my back, I was able to tell the midwives when I had a contraction coming on and that I was going to push. I know this sounds odd, but out of all the events of the day, the pushing seemed like the best part. Sounds weird, I know. But I think I knew it meant I was about to meet my child and it felt a bit like a challenge for me to get him out. Even though I was progressing quite nicely, the baby decided to not cooperate. His heart rate started falling really low. It was one of those surreal moments when you realize that slow heart rate isn't yours, but that of your baby's and that isn't good. Suddenly two doctors came in and I felt like everything left my control. People stopped talking to me and started talking around me. Things were being set up quickly and I wasn't being told what was going to happen. So, I started asking questions. I was told that the doctors were going to assist with the delivery by using either a vacuum or forceps. I was freaking out about the forceps (no joke) and begging them not to, so they said they would try the vacuum first, but that the baby needed to come quickly. I felt like I had lost control and didn't like it. I had been informed of this earlier, but was once again informed that a pediatrician would be standing by at the birth to look over the baby. They do this outside of the room, but I was told Ian could accompany the baby for this. Back to the pushing...with the vacuum, things happened really fast. In only a couple pushes the head was out. In the middle of this, the doctor invited Ian to come look, which he declined and took my hand for me to touch the head, which I ripped my hand away from the doctor, thinking that was totally not my thing...Ian and I are both weird like that!
The Birth
As soon as the baby was born, they threw him on my stomach with him facing away from me. I immediately noticed he was blue and not breathing. They told everyone not to touch him because they didn't want him stimulated to breathe because of the meconium. Also, even though they asked Ian earlier in the night about cutting the cord, he didn't get to because the baby needed immediate medical attention. Before we even knew if it was a boy or a girl, they had taken him out of the room. The doctor who delivered him didn't even know if it was a boy or girl...it all happened so fast. And, with me freaking out, they said Ian was not allowed to go check on him...of course this only made me freak out even more. I kept saying I couldn't hear the baby cry. It was the scariest few minutes of my life. I felt helpless and didn't know what was going on. Ian was holding me, praying in my ear and trying to calm me down. It was more than a few minutes (and felt like forever) before they brought him back in and thankfully he was okay. Later in the day, I looked at my medical charts and discovered his apgar score was a 2 one minute after birth...that isn't good. But thankfully, because he recovered so quickly, there are no lasting affects.
Meeting My Little Man
I got to enjoy some time with Connor before I started feeling sick again. Then, I had to ask Ian to take him while I spent some time vomiting and getting cleaned up...honestly, most of the stuff after Connor's birth is a blur because I was feeling so unwell. I was with it enough though to ask to see the placenta...if you know me, you know I really would want to see something like that! And it was interesting to see. Since I was incapacitated, Ian took over with the bonding for me. He helped the midwife measure Connor's length and made sure to take pictures of him being weighed. At this point, it had been over 24 hours that Ian and I had been in the hospital, and up for 26 with almost no sleep before that. Connor seemed in no way like he was ready to sleep. Ian was falling asleep in a chair holding Connor and I remember telling him to make sure he didn't fall asleep and drop him.
The Ward
Since I was in a labor and delivery room, I had to be transferred to a ward. And since I was catheterized, they had to put me in another bed to transfer me to the ward. I seriously felt like a baby myself...laying on a "puppy pee pad" in a bed. It wasn't my finest moment! When they transferred me, they put Connor in bed with me. He was screaming and I knew they had to wheel me through the hospital and people were going to be looking at me. So, I stuck my finger in his mouth, which calmed him down, and closed my eyes for the trip, partially out of exhaustion and partially out of not wanting to see people looking at me in this state. In my room, there were 6 beds to a room. I actually thought that was going to be worse than it really was...the midwife had warned everyone in our baby classes that there were 6 beds to a room in the wards.
Even though Ian and I were exhausted, we couldn't get Connor to go to sleep, which meant we didn't get to sleep. In the first 24 hours of his little life, he only slept about 6 hours...it was exhausting! The three of us laid on the bed together and slept for about an hour and a half before Connor woke up. Ian headed home to shower and I hung out with Connor. Later in the afternoon, Ian came back and I was able to get up and shower. Our friends came by to meet Connor and bring him a present. Then before I knew it, it was time for Ian to go home...visitors (including dads) aren't allowed to stay in the ward overnight. I was nervous about being alone with Connor overnight. And it was just me and a screaming little Connor all night long. I am pretty sure all the other women in the room hated me! Part of the problem was that Connor had to be checked every hour for the first 24 hours, so just when I would get him to sleep, someone would come in to check him out and wake him up and the whole process would start all over again. At one point, I asked the midwife to hold him because I had to pee. She told me to leave my screaming baby in the cot while I went to the bathroom. So I did, feeling bad for Connor the whole time and thinking that the other women in the room were judging me.
The next morning I couldn't wait for Ian to get to the hospital. He held Connor and let me take a shower and feel human again. I also couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. They asked me of I wanted to stay another night, but I kindly declined. Connor got the seal of approval from the pediatrician, ear specialist and everyone else and we were on our way home. The weird part about leaving the hospital was there were no security checks of any kind. We just took Connor (who yes, was with me the whole time at the hospital, except for the first few minutes), turned in a paper at the reception desk and walked out. And so began the rest of our lives...
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Just a couple photos to make even the hardest of hearts swoon!
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In other news, Connor, myself and my mom spent a couple hours hanging out in my old Starbucks while Ian was at a work meeting in Edinburgh. It was so fun seeing all my old friends and watching them dote over Connor. He got so many cuddles and so many gifts today. He is feeling pretty good about himself right now!
Connor is Official
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I know most of you are on the edge of your seats waiting to hear about Connor's delivery (NOT), but you will have to wait a little bit longer...I am trying to keep your attention with the suspense!
Today we went and registered Connor's birth and picked up his birth certificate. The certificate in the picture is just a folder that the real birth certificate came in, but it is still very cute and the lady that filled it out obviously had wonderful penmanship...something I always got a bad grade in! While registering Connor's birth, they ask all sorts of questions. When they asked "occupation", I asked if I could say anything I wanted. The lady said she guessed so. So, I responded with, "What if I say I am a rodeo clown?" She did not seem to see the humor in that and kind of just moved on...don't worry though, on the birth certificate, it does not actually say rodeo clown as my occupation. It says something much more exciting...barista!
Yesterday I realized that Connor currently has no citizenship. He is a man without a country. This struck me as odd. He doesn't just qualify for British citizenship by being born here. It's a long story, but we are working to get it for him. And, we have yet to apply for his American citizenship. So technically, my child is without a country...kind of weird. Good thing he has a birth certificate!
The Labor Story
Since the whole birthing story is just so freaking long, I decided to break it up for you. I didn't want you to fall asleep while reading it. It would have then caused you to drool on your keyboard, which would short out your computer and then you would go blaming me...so, because of this, the story is broken into two parts. Without further ado, the labor story.
The Water Braking
First, being the smart person that I am, I stayed up until 2:30am on Thursday night reading a book I was really into. At 4am, I woke up with my water gushing everywhere. I seriously was shocked. Everyone said that when your water broke, it wasn't that much. Mine was like an unstoppable geyser! I threw the covers off myself, trying to keep the mess to a minimum. I screamed for Ian, who responded by throwing the covers back over me. He then realized what was going on and got me a towel. Problem was, the stuff was still coming. So, I made a run for the bathroom, getting it all over the carpet in the mean time. Finally it stopped and I showered myself off. Ian, being the wonderful guy that he is, scrubbed it out of the carpeting and changed the bed. I noticed that my waters were green, but didn't think much of it. Knowing that labor was coming, I decided we should get some sleep. As soon as I laid down, I decided I needed to call the hospital and ask about the color of the waters being that they were green and not clear. They told me I needed to come in and get checked out. So, Ian and I scrambled out of bed and headed for the hospital. We brought my hospital bag, but both of us thought I was just going to get checked out and sent back home.
The Hospital
At the hospital, I was sent to a ward to be checked out because labor and delivery was full. While being checked out, I found out I was 2 cm dilated and wouldn't be leaving the hospital until the baby was born because of the meconium in my water (which made it green). Since the ward was quiet, I was admitted into a room of my own, which was nice. We were told as soon as a room opened up in labor and delivery, I would be transferred over there...that ended up taking 12 hours! In the mean time, I got to eat some wonderful hospital meals, get hooked up to a tens machine (which basically sends electric shocks into your back which supposedly releases endorphins in your brain and help you cope) and went for a walk around the hospital grounds. In the 12 hours since I had been in the hospital (and 14 since my water broke), my contractions were only up to once every 5 minutes, but lasting over a minute long. Just as I was eating my dinner, a midwife came to take me to labor and delivery. She told me she would give me a couple minutes to eat my food, as I wouldn't be allowed any once I got to labor and delivery.
Labor and Delivery Ward
When Ian and I arrived into the labor and delivery room, I got a little emotional. It was a weird (good weird) feeling knowing my baby was going to be born in that room and that the wait was finally over. Once in the room, things started happening fast. I got check over again, and discovered that even after 12 hours, was still only 2 cm dilated. I found out that since there was meconium in the water, there were going to be some unpleasantries about the labor that I didn't necessarily want. I had to strip down and put on a hospital gown, in case I needed an emergency c-section, due to how long it had been since my water broke (oh, wait a minute...wasn't it YOU who made me wait for a room?!?) and there being meconium in the water. Also, because of this, I had to be constantly monitored (which I didn't want) and get the dreaded pitocin. They hooked me up to the pitocin and doubled the dose every 15 minutes...this really got my labor going! Since it was really important that the baby be monitored, I was bed-bound. And since every time I leaned forward, the machine lost the heart beat, I had to be lying back a bit. It was quite uncomfortable for me to try to endure labor this way without meds! After feeling like I was totally loosing control, and not wanting to, I decided WHAT IS MY FREAKING PROBLEM?!? GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL! I got the epidural when I was about 9 cm dilated, which I am told they wouldn't even do in the states. But, I had just had a constant contraction for almost 5 minutes, and I think they were feeling sorry for me at this point...oh and also at this point, the midwife noted my contractions were "too hard" and they needed to lessen the pitocin...you think?!? Trying to stay still to get the epidural was definitely hard, but everyone around me (2 midwives and Ian) helped me through it. After the epidural, things turned to bliss for me. I quickly hit 10 cm, but then waited 2 hours to push, to have the baby do some of the hard work for me, by dropping down on its own. Right when it came time for me to push, the midwife handed me a cup of water to drink. As soon as I drank it, I felt sick and asked for a bowl. But, as soon as I asked for the bowl, I threw up all over myself and the bed...it was pretty! They had to cut my gown off me, as I was hooked up to so much stuff, and change the sheets on the bed. Oh, and wipe me down, because the stuff (my dinner from earlier) was everywhere!
And with that beautiful picture in your head, I will leave you to ponder before the posting of the delivery...
The Water Braking
First, being the smart person that I am, I stayed up until 2:30am on Thursday night reading a book I was really into. At 4am, I woke up with my water gushing everywhere. I seriously was shocked. Everyone said that when your water broke, it wasn't that much. Mine was like an unstoppable geyser! I threw the covers off myself, trying to keep the mess to a minimum. I screamed for Ian, who responded by throwing the covers back over me. He then realized what was going on and got me a towel. Problem was, the stuff was still coming. So, I made a run for the bathroom, getting it all over the carpet in the mean time. Finally it stopped and I showered myself off. Ian, being the wonderful guy that he is, scrubbed it out of the carpeting and changed the bed. I noticed that my waters were green, but didn't think much of it. Knowing that labor was coming, I decided we should get some sleep. As soon as I laid down, I decided I needed to call the hospital and ask about the color of the waters being that they were green and not clear. They told me I needed to come in and get checked out. So, Ian and I scrambled out of bed and headed for the hospital. We brought my hospital bag, but both of us thought I was just going to get checked out and sent back home.
The Hospital
At the hospital, I was sent to a ward to be checked out because labor and delivery was full. While being checked out, I found out I was 2 cm dilated and wouldn't be leaving the hospital until the baby was born because of the meconium in my water (which made it green). Since the ward was quiet, I was admitted into a room of my own, which was nice. We were told as soon as a room opened up in labor and delivery, I would be transferred over there...that ended up taking 12 hours! In the mean time, I got to eat some wonderful hospital meals, get hooked up to a tens machine (which basically sends electric shocks into your back which supposedly releases endorphins in your brain and help you cope) and went for a walk around the hospital grounds. In the 12 hours since I had been in the hospital (and 14 since my water broke), my contractions were only up to once every 5 minutes, but lasting over a minute long. Just as I was eating my dinner, a midwife came to take me to labor and delivery. She told me she would give me a couple minutes to eat my food, as I wouldn't be allowed any once I got to labor and delivery.
Labor and Delivery Ward
When Ian and I arrived into the labor and delivery room, I got a little emotional. It was a weird (good weird) feeling knowing my baby was going to be born in that room and that the wait was finally over. Once in the room, things started happening fast. I got check over again, and discovered that even after 12 hours, was still only 2 cm dilated. I found out that since there was meconium in the water, there were going to be some unpleasantries about the labor that I didn't necessarily want. I had to strip down and put on a hospital gown, in case I needed an emergency c-section, due to how long it had been since my water broke (oh, wait a minute...wasn't it YOU who made me wait for a room?!?) and there being meconium in the water. Also, because of this, I had to be constantly monitored (which I didn't want) and get the dreaded pitocin. They hooked me up to the pitocin and doubled the dose every 15 minutes...this really got my labor going! Since it was really important that the baby be monitored, I was bed-bound. And since every time I leaned forward, the machine lost the heart beat, I had to be lying back a bit. It was quite uncomfortable for me to try to endure labor this way without meds! After feeling like I was totally loosing control, and not wanting to, I decided WHAT IS MY FREAKING PROBLEM?!? GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL! I got the epidural when I was about 9 cm dilated, which I am told they wouldn't even do in the states. But, I had just had a constant contraction for almost 5 minutes, and I think they were feeling sorry for me at this point...oh and also at this point, the midwife noted my contractions were "too hard" and they needed to lessen the pitocin...you think?!? Trying to stay still to get the epidural was definitely hard, but everyone around me (2 midwives and Ian) helped me through it. After the epidural, things turned to bliss for me. I quickly hit 10 cm, but then waited 2 hours to push, to have the baby do some of the hard work for me, by dropping down on its own. Right when it came time for me to push, the midwife handed me a cup of water to drink. As soon as I drank it, I felt sick and asked for a bowl. But, as soon as I asked for the bowl, I threw up all over myself and the bed...it was pretty! They had to cut my gown off me, as I was hooked up to so much stuff, and change the sheets on the bed. Oh, and wipe me down, because the stuff (my dinner from earlier) was everywhere!
And with that beautiful picture in your head, I will leave you to ponder before the posting of the delivery...
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