One Week Already

It’s so hard to believe that Hazel is already a week old. At this time last week we were only just getting to know her and hold her for the first time. I am feeling much better today than I have felt all week and Jered and I are both adjusting to the very irregular sleep schedule! We have worked out a system where I try and rest during the day whenever Hazel goes down for naps while Jered takes care of diapers, chores and pretty much anything else that needs to be done. If it weren’t for Jered I think I would be out of my mind at this point. He has changed almost all of the diapers since Hazel was born, and he has made sure that my every need is taken care of- really, I couldn’t ask for more.

Having a baby is such a surreal event. We waited for nine long months for Hazel to get here and all along the way we had certain ideas about what it might be like, but when she was finally born last week it was far more beautiful, terrifying, exciting and wonderful than we could ever have imagined. I know I risk sounding overly sentimental by saying this, but I have never loved Jered more than I have since Hazel made her grand debut. I feel so completely supported, cared for, nurtured and loved- and on top of that we are embarking on the exciting adventure of parenthood together as a true team. This first week of parenthood has been an incredible bonding experience for the two of us.

Hazel had her first pediatrician’s appointment Tuesday afternoon. She has regained 3 ounces of the weight she lost after birth- which is a great sign that she is getting enough to eat! We were pretty sure that she has been getting enough because her output has certainly been adequate (10 diapers a day is not an overstatement!). The pediatrician said that she is growing well- according to her measurements Hazel is actually 20 inches long instead of the 19.5 that she was measuring at the hospital. Her weight is in the 25th percentile so she is considered a petite, but healthy baby, and her length is exactly in the 50th percentile.
Nursing has been going very well- Hazel is a hungry, hungry little girl and seems to love food as much as her mom and dad. Fortunately for us she seems to be tolerating all of the crazy foods we eat and nothing I’ve eaten so far has given her any tummy troubles, something I’ve been worried might happen!

Please check back often for new pictures of Hazel and our crazy adventures as a little family of three. We plan to upload a few more videos that we’ve made over the past week later this evening.

5 day olds on the Internet

Dear reader,

You have followed us through this journey of pregnancy, and while I am a geek who put this blog together, I am pleased to announce that Hazel is going to follow in her father’s footsteps. No, she is not going to be remarkably handsome and talented in graphic design. She is going to be on the internet. 

When Hazel was two days old, we had a discussion. While waxing on philosophies and the future of the Internet, we decided that she should have a permanent presence on the web. So it is my pleasure to unveil www.hazelbenoit.com. 

Currently there is a nice little announcement page, but eventually, this blog will be transitioned to Hazel’s address. You will not need to do anything different besides continuing to come back to this address, it will redirect and you will be able to read the latest.

Also, if you want to keep up with the latest photos of Hazel, you can visit http://photos.hazelbenoit.com. This is a whole lot easier than trying to type or remember the forty-plus letter and numbers address. We have also added a hand link at the top of the page.

Thanks for reading and Namaste,

Jered + Esther + Hazel = The Benoits

Day 5 of the Hazel Benoit show

Hazel, Esther and I are home now. We got to take our daughter home Sunday, which was exciting. She took the car ride well, I don’t know if she was soothed by the drive or if she was just asleep for the ride to begin with. I’m hoping it is the former.

Sunday night was long. Long really is not a good enough descriptor of the evening. Esther and I got very little sleep between us, which was to be expected. It is something I don’t think you can prepare for. Hazel was fussy, most likely because her food supply hadn’t quite come in yet.

After a few hours of shut eye, Esther and I had a good day with Hazel. She’s an active young lady, with a surprising amount of next and upper body strength. The pediatrician, before leaving the hospital, said she had the next neck strength of a 1 month old. Hopefully that is a portent of things to come, not just physically but also mentally.

Last night was much better. Hazel’s food supply had come in, which meant she was feeding like a fiend. A total of 344 minutes, about 5 hours and 45 minutes. Whoa! So, Esther has been tired and busy. That also means that I’m busy as well, the output equals in the input, or a total of 10 diapers, of both varieties. 

You may think I’m being over analytical with exact numbers, but Esther and I are using an online service that pretty much does all of the calculations for us. We do a couple of clicks and it keeps track of all of the details: which side dinner starts on, whether there is a blow out or not, or what times Hazel is most likely to sleep based on past data. Now of course that last one isn’t working yet, as we don’t have the backlog of information, but in a year or so, it could be invaluable. Those who are curious can check out Trixie Tracker. Once we have a subscription account, we may post the “public” information link for those who are really curious how Hazel is doing.

Hazel is doing well, eating a lot and we should find out any more information from the pediatrician today. Check back for a report on Hazel’s bill of health.

UPDATE: As Great Grampy Benoit pointed out in the comments, the “next” strength that Jered wrote about was actually “neck” strength.

Welcome to the World, Hazel Madeline Benoit

On Thursday, June 12th, 2008 Hazel Madeline Benoit made her grand entrance into the world. Labor was long, hard and not at all as we had planned, but in the end we have the most beautiful little girl and we couldn’t be happier.

On Wednesday, June 11th I had just come home from a serious bout of mall walking with my mom and sat down to watch Oprah (because that’s what 9 months pregnant ladies do at 4 pm on Wednesday afternoons). As I sat down I had my very first contraction. Throughout this pregnancy people have told me that “you’ll know” when you’re in labor. I thought I would be blissfully unaware, but, people were right- I knew, right away that I had had a contraction, and that if I had any more I’d be in labor. From there things went lightening fast. I started having contractions every 5-7 minutes for about a minute at a time. Jered and I had planned to stay at home as long as possible, but pretty much as soon as we got upstairs to try and labor in bed the contractions started coming on very very quickly. We called the hospital around 5:45. By 7 pm we were at the hospital and checked in- I was at 2.5 centimeters and 90% effaced, baby was at -2 station. We were excited and could hardly believe that this was it!

I labored using the hypnobirthing methods we learned from 4 pm until midnight. I managed to keep ahead of the contractions and was doing really well. By midnight when I was ready for some relief, I had dilated to 5 centimeters and was almost completely effaced. Although we had planned to have a medication free birth, after 8 hours of med free labor I was getting tired, and I knew that we still had 5 more centimeters to go and that it could be a long time. I asked for relief- a bit disappointed, but as soon as the epidural took effect I knew that I had made the right decision!

For the next almost 3 hours I had pain relief and was able to doze on and off and relax as I visualized working the baby down. Around 3 am I started to feel the catheter that had been inserted- I thought this was the pressure the had described to me, so I had our wonderful nurse Judy check me. I was 7, almost 8 centimeters!!! The pressure, however, was not from the baby moving down- it was my epidural wearing off. 

Over the next hour my pain went from bearable pressure to unbearable, earth shattering, thought I was going to die of pain. I had back labor and was moving through “transition” with no pain relief. For nearly 4 hours I labored without pain relief from 7-9 centimeters. That’s where things got stuck.

Around 6:30 am our nurses finally were able to call the anesthesiologist back to figure out what was going on with me. It turns out my epidural went into the wrong space, or so we thought. A second epi was put in, and slowly I started to get relief again. An hour and a half later, I was still in pain, although it wasn’t as excruciating as the pain I had had earlier. It was shift change time and we went from two wonderful nurses to two nurses who couldn’t have cared less about what was going on. By 7:30 am we were on a pitocin drip to try and speed things up (something we did not want). By 8 am, the doctor was telling us that if the baby’s heartrate continued to fluctuate we would be having our baby “up top” (which I’ve since learned is doc speak for C-section). The baby was still at -2 station despite me having progressed to 9 centimeters. I was stuck and so was she. 

Hazel held up like a champ until nearly 9 am when her heart rate started to go crazy, into the 200’s and then down into the 80’s. We were headed for an “up top” deliver. After coming to terms with this (it was a very teary, anxiety producing moment)- Jered got a set of scrubs and I was wheeled to the OR for prep. I was placed on a table and they started to load my epidural with a stronger dose for the C-Section. To make a long story short, 30 minutes later there were very large parts of my stomach that were not numb at all. I was headed for a true “emergency” c-section under general anesthesia. I have never been under general anesthesia in my life, I was absolutely terrified, and I knew that Jered couldn’t be in the room with me. I counted down from 10-8 and woke up groggy, shaking and disoriented a few hours later. 

Hazel Madeline Benoit was born at 9:28 am on Thursday, June 12th. She is absolutely perfect and worth every contraction, every medical intervention and every bit of fear and anxiety we experienced in getting her here. My mom and Jered got to meet her shortly after she was taken out, and 3 hours later, around 12:30 I finally got to meet our little girl. 

Was delivery what we hoped it would be? No. Did hypnobirthing work for us? Yes. Without the relaxation techniques and the calming support of Jered, the night nurses and my mom, I don’t know if I would have made it. In the end, does the delivery matter? Yes and No. I tried my best to have Hazel naturally, it didn’t work out, but at the end of the day (actually, at the beginning of the day) we have a beautiful daughter, and that is worth whatever it takes. We are so in love.

If you are subscribed via email, the above video will most likely not show up. Please visit the Web site http://baby.b3noit.com to view. 

Another doctor’s appointment

This morning Jered and I went to what I hope is our very last doctor’s appointment. We have made a bit of progress- this morning’s statistics are as follows: fingertip dilated, 70% effaced and the baby is at -2 station. This means that things are progressing, but they are not as far as I along as I had hoped. Of course, I was hoping for “the baby is crowning, off to labor and delivery you go!” which isn’t exactly realistic either!

The plan of action is to wait it out this week and see if things get moving on their own. If not, we are scheduled for another appointment next Monday (when I will be 41 weeks) to see if I’ve made any more progress. Depending on that appointment we would then move forward with cervidil (which is a cervical ripening agent) which they would administer in the evening and send me home. The next morning I would get checked again, and hopefully labor will have started up on its own through the cervidil. If not, I would then be admitted next Tuesday or Wednesday for an induction with pitocin. We are really hoping that it won’t come to that. I want to give this hypnobirthing thing a good honest try, and I know that labor induced with pitocin is far more difficult than a labor that starts on its own. Of course, we are only just due this week, so I am still quite hopeful that things will get moving in the next few days, all on their own!

We will keep you all updated, but at this point it looks like we have a tentative “end” date to the pregnancy on or before June 18th or 19th… let’s hope for sooner- we are ready to meet the baby and I am ready to not be pregnant anymore!!

Frustration sets in.

I think I can speak for both of us when I say, frustration is starting to creep in. This probably isn’t a good fit with our hypnobirthing. We are about 10 hours from the due date and at 9:15 tomorrow we will be at the doctor’s office. We should find out how Esther has been progressing. Hopefully there has been significant progress and as soon as the doctor does his exam, he says we should go check ourselves into labor and delivery.

The weather has been really hot recently, which is making life difficult. It is hard to keep cool and that only adds to the frustration. It is hard to go “walk the baby down” when it feels like you could keel over dead from the temperature outside. The humidity hasn’t been very high, in contrast to the temperatures, I guess it is good that this is near the end of the pregnancy.

We will write about our appointment tomorrow, or not depending on the outcome… we may be a little busy.

Less than a week to go! (we hope!)

It’s hard to believe that we are in the home stretch. Our due date is sometime next week- according to the various ways you can calculate it we are due anywhere between Monday and Wednesday of next week. The past few days have been interesting, I have been cramping and feeling a little achy and my sleep schedule has been really bizarre. I sleep a couple of hours at a time but I’m not all that tired at night, it seems the baby is training me to be up sporadically throughout the day and night.

Jered and I have been walking almost every day for at least 30-45 minutes. We have been lucky with the weather, as it has been a very mild start to the summer season. Of course, that all changed today- the next week we are expecting highs in the mid 90’s!!! I plan to continue to walk every day until Uni gets here to help move things along, but it looks like now I’ll have to drive myself to the mall to do it. It’s nice having a flexible schedule right now and being able to do things like drive to the mall in the middle of the day to try and walk the baby out!

Since we are in the final stretch it’s impossible to know if this will be the last post before Uni’s birthday post. So, just for fun I thought I’d post another belly shot- taken this morning at 39 weeks and 2 days. As you all can see, I have not yet had the baby (thanks for asking). Send labor dust my way!!!

June is here

We made it to the first of June which means our little Uni will indeed be born in June! We had our 38 week doctor’s appointment last week and had our first check of how things are progressing. Things are softening up and getting ready for labor and the baby has moved down to negative 3 station. Basically this means that labor is going to happen in the next two weeks, which, of course, we already knew!

At the appointment on Friday we were glad to hear that things are moving along and that the baby has moved down. At previous appointments the baby was still really high up, so we have a bit of progress. Jered and I have been walking about two and a half miles every evening at a good pace to try and use gravity to move the baby out. We are excited to finally meet this baby that has been hanging out in my belly for the past nine months!!! I’ve also been using our exercise ball to help with back achy-ness and pelvic pressure. I try and sit on the exercise ball at night when we are just lounging around watching tv, and it also helps to kind of kneel over it to take pressure off my back. I don’t know how I could get comfortable without it!

As we near the end of this pregnancy and get closer and closer to the beginning of our lives as a family of three I can’t help but be thankful that this pregnancy has been relatively easy. I am grateful that I haven’t had too many uncomfortable physical symptoms and that I’ve had enough energy to get through a tough semester of school. Timing has also been perfect for us and I am so happy that this baby is coming in June- no classes, no work for nearly three months. This also works out perfectly since the summers are less busy for Jered at work which allows him a bit more flexibility when it comes to taking time off and possibly working a modified schedule once he goes back to work. I am also thankful for the support of all of our family and friends throughout this process- talk about lucky, I have my own personal masseuse (thanks Mom!) We have been really lucky during this pregnancy and can only hope that labor, delivery and the transition to family life go half as smoothly as the past nine months have!