So the rest of Saturday was manic activity trying to get ready for a baby that was coming three weeks early. We went to the grocery store and stocked up on groceries and baby things we didn't have. I cooked a couple of meals and froze them. I shopped online for several of the things we wanted to get but hadn't gotten around to buying yet. We put together more of the nursery. By Saturday night we were exhausted but felt more ready for the baby. Then we commenced waiting. We skipped church on Sunday morning since I was leaking and thinking labor would start any minute. By Sunday afternoon I was totally bored so we went for a 3+ mile power walk to try to start labor. No such luck. We were counting down the time to 8pm when we could call and go in for induction and I started labor at 7:15pm. So when I called at 8pm they said since they were very busy that night I could wait it out until morning and see what progress I had made.
So Sunday night I found out that between 2am and 5am there is nothing good enough on TV to distract from labor pain. They had said to call again at 5am if I was awake, so I was counting the minutes. I had contractions every 6 minutes exactly for the entire night. When I called at 5 they said to come in so we finished packing the hospital bag we never packed and went in. When they checked me they found I was only 1 cm dilated after all that labor, so they wanted to induce to get Arie out as quick as possible since there was an increased risk of infection after 48 hours with ruptured membranes. They recommended an epidural before the induction since the induction causes contractions that are far stronger than they would be in natural labor. They did the epidural and started the induction. Unfortunately the epidural never really worked so it was really painful, but they only induced for 1.5 hours and I had gone from 1 to 5 cm. They turned off the induction at that point and let me progress naturally for the rest of the time.
Arie was born at 5:14pm weighing 6lb 12 oz. Ryan cut the cord and put clothes on him and we were eventually moved to Lady Mary Ward, a transitional ward where people usually go home the next day after having a baby.
I'll cut the rest of the story a bit short -- Arie had jaundice and wouldn't eat for the first 30 some hours of his life so we started having to do pumping and syringe feeding and continually trying to get him to wake up and eat. After 2 nights of absolutely no sleep for me, Arie's bilirubin levels were checked and his blood sodium levels were also checked. His jaundice had reached above treatment levels and his blood sodium was high because he was dehydrated. We were moved to Sara Ward, a ward for premies and other babies needing extra care and I lived there for the following five days. Arie was on and off of several different light treatments to try to decrease his bilirubin levels. His blood was tested several times a day so his poor little feet looked like pin cushions by the end. He had a feeding tube down his nose into his stomach so we could feed him when he wouldn't eat. He got better and better at eating and we weaned him off of tube feeds by the time we went home. He was still jaundiced, but we finally got to go home after 8 days in the hospital.
Arie's feeding has continued to improve since we've been home and we're having fun getting to know him. He still sleeps most of the day, but he has short alert times which are fun. Our health visitor came over Monday (she takes over care from the midwives and has care of kids until they are 5 years old) and checked Arie over. He has surpassed his birth weight already which was great considering he didn't eat for the first 3 days of life. He still has a bit of jaundice but it has faded and he looks much less yellow and muppet-esque. So far he's a real sweetheart and doesn't cry very often at all unless he's hungry but most people say that early babies sometimes "wake up" around their due date so we are under no false expectations that his sweet demeanor will continue.
Here's some pictures of Arie:
Just after birth
Just after birth
New mom!
New Dad!
On the bili bed
Under the bili lights
The feeding tube-that he managed to rip out 3 times
Finally, freedom!
Home sweet home
2 comments:
oh my goodness, my heart just melts at these sweet pictures! i absolutely cannot wait to get to see him in person and give cuddles and kisses! he is beautiful. love you three!!
LOVE the picture of him under the bili lights! He's really handsome! I cannot believe you guys are parents! Holy cow! When'd we get old enough for this stuff? Love you all!
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