The first week as a family of four…
What a week it’s been! I’m typing slowly (and one-handedly) as John naps in my arms. We’ve been home about a week now and it’s been an incredible week. Our boy had his first pediatrician’s appointment on Monday where we learned he had already gained back 5 oz of the weight he lost in the hospital. John weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces on Monday, measured 20.5 inches long and came out in the 50th percentile for all of his measurements- we’re so happy he’s a healthy boy!
Nursing has been going great and sleeping has been going as one can expect with a newborn- we sleep in fits and spurts but we’re getting as much rest as we can manage and the fatigue isn’t nearly as overwhelming this time around. Hazel continues to surprise us with her absolute fascination and adoration of “Baby John.” She was overheard asking him “are you hungry, buddy?” when he was fussing tonight- she’s a heart melter that Hazel Madeline!
I’ll continue the written part of this post below, but want to add a few pictures from our first 9 days as a family of 4.
Having two children is so different from having just one. I find myself trying to balance spending time with Hazel and John and switching gears from parenting a toddler to parenting an infant has highlighted just how much these little guys change in just 2 short years. Jered and I are both filled with this strange sense of contentment- it feels like the love in our family has just expanded exponentially. This experience has been very different from our experience with Hazel. With Hazel I was anxious, tentative, exhausted, and overwhelmed. With John, while there are moments of exhaustion, things feel so much more settled. Making the transition from one child to two has been, dare I say it, a lot of fun. I am so excited to get to know little John as his personality emerges and to watch Hazel as she continues to grow and learn alongside her little brother. We are so truly, deeply blessed to have each other.
Filed under Doctor's Office, Hazel, John by esther | Comment (0)He’s Here!
Tuesday night:
Wednesday morning!:
Duo is here! May 26, 2010 John Miles Benoit was born at 11:57 am.
He weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces, is 20.5 inches long and has quite a bit more hair than his sister had when she was born nearly two years ago!
This delivery was so different from the last and we are so thankful for that.
We got to the hospital this morning at 8, started IV fluids right away and tried to calm my nerves. We were scheduled for 10 am, but we got bumped by an emergency C-Section, so I didn’t walk myself into the OR until shortly after 11:30. Once in the OR I was prepped and given a spinal, which was a much much better experience than I could have ever imagined. I numbed up almost immediately which was such a relief to me. One of my biggest worries was that I wouldn’t numb up and would have to be put under general anesthesia again. Once the spinal was in, my legs and feet got nice and warm and heavy and I was helped onto the operating table. This was my most nervous moment as I wasn’t sure just how numb I would get. The anesthesiologist, nurses and doctors were all very reassuring and soon enough I was informed that the doctor had just pinched me really hard and I was none the wiser!
Once everyone as convinced I wouldn’t be feeling anything, Jered was allowed back into the OR. I was so happy to see him that I had a little pre-baby cry right then and there.
Once Jered came in it took about 10 minutes for John to be born. Hearing his cry was the most amazing experience of my life. Being awake to hear my son take his first breaths (and let us all know how he felt about those breaths) was a true gift.
John had a little trouble breathing at first so we weren’t able to see him right away, but after about 5 minutes they brought him over to us and I got to give him a few quick kisses before he and Papa headed over to the nursery.
While they finished me up, Jered and John got to spend a little time getting to know each other in the nursery- and got to share the news that our little boy is not really all that little!
Unlike last time I didn’t have any problems with bleeding during the surgery and everything went very smoothly. After about 40 minutes I was wheeled into a recovery room where I was monitored for about an hour. Jered came in to tell me how John was doing, but I wasn’t able to see John until a few hours later because of some breathing issues he was having at the time. Fortunately his breathing slowed down and he was doing much better by the time our post-partum room was ready.
By that time Omi, Paul, Clayton and big sister Hazel had arrived at the hospital to visit. Hazel did really well, although I think she was a little overwhelmed and confused about why she couldn’t get up on the bed with mama.
Oma came into town from Germany last night as well, so before we headed to bed to get some much needed sleep we were able to introduce Oma to her newest great grandson. Needless to day it was a very eventful day. John has been nursing well, and has spent a bit of time in the nursery to give mama and papa time to rest up. This morning he was whisked away for his circumcision and we are waiting to see him again soon.
What a wonderful, beautiful experience this has been. We have two beautiful children and each other, we could not be more blessed.
Spring has sprung
We’ve been fortunate to have some very lovely weather the past couple of weeks and we’ve tried to make the most of it by getting outside as much as possible. In addition to a garden/backyard makeover, we’ve also found some new fun activities for Hazel to do outside. With the warmer weather coming, we started looking for a water table for her to play with in the back yard. On a recent trip to Costco we found one and for quite a steal, too. I posted a few videos of Hazel playing with it in the previous entry, and I’ll post a few pictures below, too. She sure does love that thing! Last weekend it got up to almost 80 degrees and she played with it until her hands were pruney and her clothes were soaked- 3 hours later we had to beg her to come in and get out of the sun for a while! I think we will glad we got the water table when it starts getting really hot around here this summer. With the way our backyard is set up, we’ll be able to take the new baby out and hang out under the big umbrella while Hazel plays. We’ve planted quite an assortment of flowers, fruits and vegetables for the summer too- a raspberry bush, roses, assorted wild flowers, watermelons, tomatos, green beans and more herbs than I can even remember off the top of my head- the garden should be in good shape this year!
As I write this post I’m uploading the latest batch of pictures from the camera and realizing that the pictures I add here will make for an all-over-the-place kind of update, but that’s just fine with me- bear with me! You’ll also find some more pictures of Hazel’s finished room- we took a few more once we got her shelves and pictures up. She loves being in her big girl room, especially since she now has free reign to read as many books as she wants for as long as she wants as long as she eventually falls asleep. She loves books…maybe even more than her mama, which is saying something!
In other news, we got a rocking chair in the mail from Grammy and Grampy last week. Hazel uses it quite enthusiastically, rocking herself and various “babies” in her chair. She likes to say “Roooock, roooock, roooock” as she rocks. It’s also become her favorite tv watching spot- she loves that she can rock while she watches Elmo or Barney or Super Why… and when she pulls that chair up to the coffee table she’s really in heaven- snacks in reach, rocking in her chair, watching her show- talk about a happy kiddo!
I realize I haven’t posted much about duo recently, and that is not for lack of excitement. Thankfully all is going smoothly with this pregnancy, and while I may not post about it much, we are just as thrilled, excited and anxious to meet this little one as we were when we were expecting Hazel. It seems that having a toddler at home just makes little luxuries like sitting down at the computer to type out an update a bit less common! My last appointment was last week (I still have bruises on my arm to show for it!)- I am now in my third trimester with about 9 weeks left. I had my routine blood work, glucose test and rhogam shot done last week and everything went very well- no gestational diabetes, which is wonderful since I’ve been craving sweets with this one (with Hazel I craved salt, so this is new for me!). The baby is measuring right on target, putting our due date around the 30th of May. We learned two appointments ago that I am not a candidate for VBAC (unfortunately), because of the way my incision was done during Hazel’s delivery, and thus we will be scheduling a c-section for this baby. I have to say that I’m a bit bummed that I will be having another c-section as you can only safely have so many c-sections, and that does put a limit on the number of our own children we can have, but, in the end, I will be happy to have a healthy baby, no matter how he or she gets here! I am also looking forward to having a scheduled c-section this time, as I hear they are much easier to recover from, and are generally less traumatic than the craziness we experienced last time!!! I am so excited and curious to meet this new baby. I find myself wondering what the new baby will be like- will it be bald as an onion like Hazel, or will he or she have a head full of hair? Will we have a laid back, easy baby, or an up-all-night rambunctious one like baby’s big sister? Girl or boy? One thing, I do know, is that this baby better be ready for lots of love- Hazel is fascinated with babies right now (thanks in part to the sweet little baby Aunt Joanna and Uncle Matt sent her for Christmas)- and I know that she is going to love being a big sister. The only thing I really know about duo right now is that this baby moves like crazy! I can see my stomach shift around when duo moves- something I wasn’t able to see at all when I was pregnant with Hazel. The kicking is especially feisty after I’ve eaten something sweet (read: chocolate), maybe I’ll be able to capture this baby’s antics on video this week- in class on Tuesday night, the students in the front row saw my belly move. Yeah- it’s that crazy!
Our next appointment is April 5th- more updates on duo as we get them!
And now, for the pictures. We’ll start with Hazel’s room and end with the most recent shots from around the house/yard.
This pictures needs a disclaimer… Hazel gets grumpy when I make her wear hair bows- but she really needs to wear them because her hair gets in her eyes without them, so, here you see a cute, albeit grumpy, Hazel.
Oh! We get to go outside! = instant attitude adjustment
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!!
Filed under Doctor's Office, Pregnancy by esther | Comment (0)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!
Filed under Doctor's Office, Pregnancy by esther | Comment (0)9 months pregnant
Today I had another doctor’s appointment, marking the first of my weekly appointments and the beginning of the ninth month of pregnancy! All is well with me and the baby, and I had my Group Beta Strep test done today (piece of cake). I will find out next week if I am positive or not. We’re hoping that I’m negative- if I’m positive I have to have IV antibiotics during labor and I would have to go to the hospital a little sooner than if I don’t have it. You may be wondering why going to the hospital sooner would be something we want to avoid- well, through the hypnobirthing classes we are taking we hope to labor at home as long as possible. The longer we wait to go to the hospital (within reason, of course) the more likely we are to be able to do the med-free birth we want comfortably and at our own pace. So cross your fingers that I’m GBS negative!
At the appointment today I went over our birth plan/preference sheet with the midwife. She was very open to everything we included on it and said that nothing we are asking for is unreasonable. What is this mysterious birth preference sheet that we’ve mentioned a few times? Well, our midwife and our hypnobirthing instructor have described it as a way to communicate our preferences about labor and delivery to our caregivers at the hospital. Apparently, in the midst of labor there is quite a bit going on, and having preferences written down ahead of time can be useful! I don’t really see this preference sheet as set in stone as I’m aware that anything can happen in labor, however, I’ve been reassured by our midwife and our OB that if my pregnancy is any indication of what my labor will be like I have every reason to believe that our wishes for a natural and med free birth can be met. In case you are curious, here are a few bullet points from our birth plan.
- The birth environment is very important to us. For that reason we ask that the lights be kept dim, noise be avoided and the door closed for privacy. We would like for all entering the room to enter as quietly as possible.
- We are attempting to have a natural birth, which we believe to be birth without medical and/or chemical intervention. We do understand that there are procedures that may be necessary. Except in the case of an extreme emergency, we ask that we be given the opportunity to accept or refuse any procedure. We also request that the least invasive or restricting versions of procedures (i.e. walking epidural, external monitor) be used.
- We plan to handle pain with relaxation, massage, and water.
- We are aware of our pain relief options and ask that you not offer chemical pain relief (IV medications, epidural, spinal)
- We plan to bring our own birthing ball to use during labor.
- If induction becomes necessary, we ask that non-chemical induction methods be tried before chemical methods. If chemical methods do become necessary, we prefer to use the cervical cream before trying pitocin.
- I would like to push at my own pace- breathing the baby down using the hypnobirthing method.
- We prefer to not have an episiotomy.
- Jered would like to announce the sex of the baby and cut the umbilical cord once it has stopped pulsing (after 3-5 minutes)
- After the birth, we wish to nurse our baby immediately.
- If Cesarean becomes necessary, I would like to be conscious, Jered would like to be present at all times and we still prefer that our child be nursed immediately
So that’s our birth “plan” as of now. We have a separate sheet for our preferences in the nursery- it’s much shorter and includes things like who can come in to see the baby while the routine nursery stuff is going on. In addition to crafting our birth plan we’ve also been busy packing our bag for the hospital. It was really an easy job- one change of clothes for me, one for Jered, a coming home outfit for the baby, a few diapers, some chapstick (apparently my lips could get dry during labor), some change for the vending machines, our camera and video camera, and a list of people to call when Uni makes his or her grand debut.
For those of you who believe in Old Wives’ Tales… Uni’s heart rate was just a pumping today- the midwife stayed in the room for about 10 straight minutes while Uni rumbled around. All the moving around had Uni’s heart rate up near 180!!! That’s the high end of normal, so the midwife told me to sit back for 10 minutes and rest to see if we could get the baby to calm down. Even after a 10 minute rest Uni was still busy bouncing around, but the heartrate went down to the high 150′s. Uni’s baseline heartrate has been in the low 150′s- so our appointment must have coincided with Uni’s hour on the inter-uterine treadmill! The wives’ tales say that heart rates above 140 indicate your baby is a girl- I guess we’ll find out soon enough- less than one month to go!
Just for fun- I leave you with a picture of Jered and I blowing out the candles at our baby shower last month.
(that bunny is hanging from my mom’s chandelier, not coming out of my head, fear not!)
And now… proof that our little bun in the oven is, indeed, nearing its birthday!
Hippobirthing
The third person voice in this post is because Jered and Esther are writing this jointly. Generally the paragraphs that sound better are written by Esther, the ones that appear to be written by someone with a basic grasp of English are written by Jered. You have been warned.
Friday was our 34 week doctor’s appointment- our second appointment at the new practice we’ve switched to. We met with the nurse midwife for the first time and were incredibly impressed with how the appointment went. Part of the reason we switched practices was because we were having a very normal pregnancy and were treated as though we did not exist. Our experience at the new practice has been completely different. First, there are only two practitioners- the OB and the nurse midwife. Both of whom seem very nice and caring. They both have taken time to talk to us about our pregnancy and answered all of the questions we had, another reason for switching practices.
After introducing ourselves to the Nurse Midwife, Darleen, Esther explained our thoughts on a med-free birth if possible. Darleen immediately jumped in and started telling us about hypnobirthing (which Grammy J Benoit later misheard as “hippo-birthing”. Thanks, Grammy J). Jered started to giggle, not at the concept of hypnobirthing, but the fact that Esther had been talking about hypnobirthing from early on in the pregnancy. Darleen has had two couples who have used the techniques, both effectively, and she gave us a website and book to research.
The rest of the appointment was routine, although Esther and baby are measuring about two weeks ahead. It was nice to be comforted by Darleen, who said that doctors, nurses and the like generally over estimate baby’s size and weight in women who are under 5′ 5″ (Esther is 5′ 4″) and women who have a standard or short sized torso (which Esther also has). So all in all, the measurements maybe off a little, but the baby is still on track.
Jered and I decided to do a bit more research into this hippo-birthing process and went over to our local book store to see what materials were out there. We found the book our midwife had recommended and decided to go ahead and buy it after browsing it and finding that this method of natural childbirth is one that is very congruent with our thoughts and feelings about pregnancy and childbirth. We have been reading the book all weekend and decided to try and contact one of the local hypnobirthing instructors. We were not sure we would be able to do the class in hypnobirthing as it usually takes 5 sessions- but we got an e-mail back from the instructor today and she is willing to teach it to us in 2-3 sessions
The Hypnobirthing book, Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method
We are excited about the hypnobirthing classes and the tools they will give us as we try to have an un-medicated birth. We are getting ready for the baby to get here and are surprised at how quickly time has gone and time continues to go by as we get closer and closer to B-Day!
Filed under Dad's View, Doctor's Office, Pregnancy by esther | Comments (3)Dr. Bob
Esther and I went to our first doctor’s appointment with our new doctor. We had decided to change practices and it has been about 4 weeks since our last appointment when we should have been going every two weeks.
We finally got to our appointment and I, for one, was pleasantly surprised.
After Esther was taken away for a the normal questions, blood pressure and weighing, we were lead back to Dr. Bob’s office. I call him Dr. Bob, because he said in his practice people were known on a first name basis. We were in his office for about 10 minutes while he went over all of Esther’s chart and previous records, asking us questions that weren’t completely filled in.
Dr. Bob walked us down to the exam room where he did the standard doppler and belly measure. We learned that the baby’s heart rate was 152, which Dr. Bob then explained the wives tale. Over 150 its a girl, under 150 its a boy. The nice thing was he was very clear to us and to his staff that we did not want to know the sex of the baby, we were both worried that in the transfer someone would accidentally tell us.
Whew.
The real reason why Esther and I are happy with our decision is because Dr. Bob talked with Esther and I about the melanoma that John passed away from. He reminded her to be putting on sun screen or avoiding the sun when ever possible. Because he went above and beyond a standard belly measure, I know Esther and I are very happy with Dr. Bob.
Filed under Doctor's Office by Jered | Comment (0)Glucola, Rhogam and my first trip to the hospital
This morning was my 29 week appointment. I got to the doctor’s office after over 12 hours of fasting and had to drink a 10 oz. orange drink called glucola in under 5 minutes. It tasted like flat, extra sugary orange soda- not exactly my idea of a great breakfast, but it wasn’t as horrible as some people have suggested.
After downing the glucola I was sent back out to the lobby to wait for my doctor’s appointment. The appointment was routine- blood pressure was nice and low, weight gain wasn’t up too much from my last appointment and the baby’s heartbeat was loud, strong and easy to find. Uni also decided to kick while the doctor was measuring my belly, which didn’t surprise me, considering I drank soda for breakfast on an empty stomach!
After the appointment with the doctor I was sent back out to the waiting room to wait around for my blood draw. Once you finish drinking the glucola you have to wait for exactly one hour and then you have your blood drawn. While I was waiting the doctor came out and wrote me a prescription for a Rhogam shot. Way back about 20 weeks ago at our first appointment I found out that I’m Rh negative- which means that my blood type is negative. This is not a big deal, but since Jered is Rh positive it means that our baby could very well be Rh positive and my body could build up antibodies against the baby’s blood if I come into contact with it. Routine procedure now has doctor’s giving Rhogam shots (which inhibit the antibodies from forming) at 28 weeks and then again at birth if the baby’s blood tests Rh positive.
I thought I would be getting the shot at the doctor’s office, but instead the doc sends me over to the hospital. I had to register, get a little outpatient bracelet and head to the lab where they took two more vials of blood (I’m running a little low today!) to double check that my blood is indeed Rh negative. In two hours I go back to the hospital to get my shot- I’ve been told it’s one of the shots that they give you in your bum, lucky me!
I should find out by Wednesday whether or not I passed the glucose screen. I’m hoping that I did because the alternative is not much fun at all. If you fail the screen you go back for a 3 hour glucose test where you have blood drawn 4 times over the course of three hours (pre- glucose drink, after one hour, two hours, three hours). Wish me luck!
Filed under Doctor's Office by esther | Comment (0)Nine years
It’s hard to believe that Jered and I have been together 9 years now. Thinking back on the time we’ve spent together it seems like it was just yesterday that we rode the tandem from my house in Sandhausen to his house in Neulussheim- and at the same time it seems like it was ages ago! Nine years later we’re married with a little Jester on the way. It really is amazing that we’ve known each other so long- we’ve had 9 years to get to know each other and enjoy being a couple, and now we’re entering a whole new phase of our lives together. Who knows what fun the next 9 years will bring!
Speaking of that new phase of our life, this next week will be an interesting one. Monday I’m scheduled for my 29 week doctor’s appointment. I’ll be having my glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes. This will be our last appointment with our current doctor. After thinking long and hard about the practice we have been going to and the doctor’s I’ve been seeing, Jered and I have decided to switch practices. The office I’ve been going to has three doctors and a nurse. At the very beginning of our experience at this office Jered and I both were a little off-put by the practice. The office staff is not friendly and I can honestly say that none of the doctors or nurses would know me if I showed up 10 minutes after an appointment with them. In the beginning of my pregnancy test results from a fairly important test weren’t given to us until I called about another unrelated issue- it was one of those “oh by the way, you had some abnormal cells…” Then two weeks later when I went in for a follow-up procedure the doctor was confused as to why I was having the procedure at all. We both wanted to be realistic about the level of care we expect to receive- understanding that it’s not realistic to expect a close one-on-one relationship with our doctor, and so we decided to wait it out and give the practice a chance.
At my last appointment I mentioned to my doctor (one I’ve seen three times in a row, who didn’t know how far along I was or who I was without checking my chart twice) that I wanted to entertain the idea of a natural child birth. Jered and I have been going to our babies classes and I was starting to feel more empowered about the whole unmedicated labor process. When I brought this up with my doctor she raised her eyebrows and asked me why I was thinking about going unmedicated. I explained to her my thoughts on it, and also emphasized that I am flexible and open to whatever might happen in the labor process- knowing that I won’t know what it’s like until I’m in labor and that I might change my mind about pain relief once I’m in the midst of it! Even after this disclaimer, she looked at me with raised eyebrows and proceeded to tell me that partners are often more comfortable when mom’s are medicated… I thought this was an interesting response, seeing as no one informed me that my goal in labor is to make my partner and my doctor more comfortable!!
After this appointment Jered and I looked around to see what our options were in terms of other practices in the area that take our insurance and have privileges at the hospital close to our house. We were able to find a practice with just one doctor and a midwife (our previous practice did not have a midwife). Our first appointment with the new doctor is April 17th and from that appointment on I will be going to the doctor every two weeks for a month and then every week until the baby gets here. I am nervous and excited to make this move- and feel like we made a good decision, even if it means that we will only have about two months with this new doctor. I’m hoping in that time that the doctor will at least learn my name!
Filed under Doctor's Office, Pregnancy by esther | Comment (0)