and.....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Miss Maia Ellin joined our family at 11:19 PM on Wednesday, February 20, 2008. She is healthy and we are all doing great. We just got home from the hospital yesterday. Here's what went down:

Tuesday night we went to the hospital for the scheduled induction. They were very busy so we just kind of hung out for a while. I had been having some contractions on and off but nothing too regular, and they were barely noticeable to me. Around 11 PM, they administered Cytotec, which is supposed to soften the cervix and can also possibly start contractions. Never mind that the FDA has never approved it for this use, but I digress... Tried to get some sleep.

Wednesday morning they checked me and found that I'd dilated a bit more--to about 3 cm. I was having contractions that I couldn't really feel. They decided to start pitocin. We called our doula, Julie, to come join us at the hospital. The first few hours on pitocin were pretty uneventful. The contractions were getting closer together and were pretty bearable. The biggest problem we were having was with the fetal heart monitor strapped to my belly: the baby's heart sounded great, but she was moving all over the place so we kept losing it and had to readjust the belt frequently. Not cool when you're trying to cope with contractions by using different positions. I rotated between sitting on the birth ball to getting on hands and knees, to standing up and holding onto J.

As the day went on, I lost track of time in terms of how far I progressed, etc. They didn't check me too often, which was nice. All I know is that things got steadily more painful and that I did start having thoughts along the lines of "why was it that I wanted to do this without pain meds?" But I didn't want to give up, and J was such an awesome partner that I just wanted to keep going. My water broke around 2 PM--while I was on my hands and knees on the bed! J was standing next to me and actually heard an audible "pop"! By late afternoon/early evening I think I had gotten to about 7 cm. Somewhere in there they put in an internal fetal monitor so that I could change positions more freely without worrying about losing track of the heartbeat. At that point I felt like it couldn't be much longer, and that's the thought that helped me keep going. Well, things didn't seem to speed up a whole lot, but by about 7 PM I was checked again and was told that I was at 9, almost there! I kept waiting for the urge to push to arrive, knowing that then we would be in the home stretch. But the only time I felt like my body wanted to push was during the contractions. Apparently that's not quite enough. Around 9 PM the other doctor came and checked me, and I was still at 9, but wasn't completely effaced.

Then came the reality check. The doctors told me that they thought the baby was lying transverse, which would explain why we had trouble keeping track of the heartbeat, and would also explain why I still wasn't 100% effaced despite being at 9 cm. They told me that a c-section was looking very likely. They offered to put in an epidural and give me a little time to see if that might help the baby move into the right position. I decided to go ahead and get the epi then--something I had really wanted to avoid but that was looking inevitable if I was likely to have to have surgery anyway.

Getting an epidural when you're having contractions that are 2 minutes apart is no fun, but the anesthesiologist was awesome and once the meds started working I was able to relax. About 40 minutes later I was checked again and nothing had changed, so we decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Before we knew it, our baby was delivered and I have to say I was very surprised and excited when they announced that it was a girl! She looked a little like a Klingon when she came out--her forehead was mashed into a cone shape because she was trying to come out forehead-first. We knew then that having the c-section was definitely the right decision since there would have been no easy way for her to make it out the way she was trying to go!

She was 7 lbs, 10 oz, and 21 inches long, and she is absolutely beautiful. Daddy and I are completely in love already.

Pictures to come soon!!

Got excited last night when I had a few solid hours of regular contractions, but sadly they disappeared while I slept.

Only 24 hours to get moving on my own--induction is scheduled for 7 PM Tuesday...

I see that I am obligated to post daily lest anyone should get the idea that this baby has finally decided to come out!

Today I thought I should treat myself to a relaxing pedicure. The last time I'd been in the salon was 3 weeks ago, when I told the staff that it would probably be my last pedicure for a while. Needless to say, they were a little surprised when I walked in today. Then, there was the joy of being able to respond "6 days ago" to the question "when are you due?".

I think I made the owners a little nervous--about every 15 minutes they looked over at me and said "Are you OK?!" I told them that while nothing would make me happier than to go into labor right then and there in the massaging pedicure chair, I was pretty sure they had nothing to worry about.

Last night we had pepperoni pizza for dinner and have been trying other "natural induction" methods at a rate that puts our honeymoon to shame. I started to get hopeful this morning when I had about 2 hours worth of regular contractions...but then they petered out and here I sit. I'm hoping it's a start though...

Still considering the castor oil method. Will see how I feel in the morning.

stork of the northeast?

I just spent 20 minutes staring at a gorgeous red-tailed hawk perched high in a tree in my backyard. I think he looked right at me once. I know we don't have storks up here, so, um, maybe this is the northern assistant of the stork? Just sayin'...

still cookin'...

So, went to the doctor this morning. Baby is doing fine, BUT...to my dismay they have scheduled me to go in Tuesday night for an induction. They were talking Sunday night, Monday night, but I said I wanted to wait as long as possible so they agreed to Tuesday night as long as I was willing to come in Monday for another non-stress test and amniotic fluid check.

So, please keep your fingers crossed that I go into labor on my own before then...I am trying all the tricks that I know of. I am even getting desperate enough that the castor oil may have to come into play over the weekend...

daily update

Yes, baby is still cooking. Last night I pigged out on a Chili's Awesome Blossom hoping it would stir things up in my abdomen enough to trigger labor. Instead I just ended up feeling nauseous from eating too much grease.

I suppose it was for the best, considering the current weather here in New England...we got a lot of snow last night and now we have freezing rain. Poor J shoveled our entire 400-foot driveway by himself last night just in case we might have to make a quick getaway.

Maybe we'll get a Valentine's baby??

to pass the time...

A few days ago, I was tagged by one of the coolest people I know. Since I have nothing better to do while I wait for this kid to pop, here goes:

1) Link to the person that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6) Let the fun begin!


1) In my lifetime, I have lived on 3 different continents (OK, so one was my semester abroad in Europe but I think that counts).

2) In grade school, a friend and I made a "Hindu Dot Collection" by punching holes in cardstock and coloring the punched-out pieces with markers. We kept them all in an envelope. We're still not sure why we did this.

3) The first presidential election in which I was eligible to vote was in 1992. I voted for Bush Senior. I've learned a lot since then.

4) I have a hard time applying mascara without opening my mouth really wide while I'm doing it.

5) I can't eat a raw tomato without gagging. (Exception: salsa).

6) My husband has a subscription to Playboy and I would be disappointed if he canceled it. They really do have good articles.

And now I'm going to be very naughty and not tag anyone. Consider it one of my final acts of "I'm pregnant, and I can do whatever I want!"

still waiting...

Reaching the end of the day here on my due date...and still no baby. I did have a pretty strong feeling that this one would be a little late, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

It's freezing out and snowing, so maybe that means tonight's the night? We'll just have to wait and see...

make room for baby

We have several pets, but our cat Monty is pretty special. He's super affectionate, and due to his love of being held (and the fact that he will cry until you pick him up), we've been referring to him as our "practice baby". Apparently he's taken this moniker to heart, because I've been discovering him "trying out" pretty much every new piece of baby-related gear in the house.

Exhibit A: Monty in the crib


Exhibit B: Monty on the changing table


And, Exhibit C, captured this morning: Monty in the stroller


I hope he doesn't get too upset when baby comes and he finally realizes that we didn't buy all this stuff just to give him more places to curl up and nap!

(excuse the photo quality...took them with my cell phone!)

6 days and counting...

Last night I woke up to roll over (which happens about 6 times a night), and when I grabbed my body pillow to bring it around to the other side, it was soaking wet. I really thought my water had broken until I realized it was just sweat (OK, gross, but such are the joys of being pregnant). Oh well! I'd be pretty upset if my water broke in bed anyway. Our mattress is only a year old and I'm not sure just how waterproof the special mattress protector we got duped into buying really is.

This weekend was spent cleaning the house (as I mentioned previously I have been terrified that I will have to run to the hospital leaving a messy house behind). Some may classify these activities as "nesting." I think J would call it something else. Something along the lines of "the weekend my wife wouldn't crawl out of my ass until I sorted through the pile of mail I've been accumulating since 1998."

Now that the house is clean and things at work are winding down, I am definitely ready to get this show on the road, so to speak. Send some good labor vibes my way!

17 days to go

The time is drawing near, and I am NOT ready! I mean, emotionally I am totally ready. Really can't wait to meet this little person and especially to find out if estrogen or testosterone will hold the majority in my household. (Currently, if you count the pets, which I'm not sure is fair seeing as they're all eunuchs, testosterone is winning). However, I have tendencies toward procrastination/perfectionism, which means that I like my deadlines because they're the only way I get things accomplished (usually well done but just under the wire). So I have a recently-painted guest room/office to put back together so my parents have a comfortable place to stay, not to mention a nursery that needs the finishing touches of organization, and I won't even go there when it comes to telling you about the floors that need cleaning and the surfaces that need dusting.

Will the baby care about any of this stuff? Of course not. And I'm sure the baby won't even really be using the nursery for the first few weeks anyway...but in my OCD brain this house needs to be in tip-top shape before I rush off to labor & delivery. So this weekend will probably be filled with enough organizing and cleaning activity to send me right into labor...as long as everything's done, that will be fine by me!

By the way, here's a sneak peek at our little one (taken on 1/23)...courtesy of the modern magic of 3D ultrasound, which my OB's office recently acquired. I've always thought these images were slightly on the creepy side, but hey, who can resist. I was VERY pleased to discover that the baby seems to have inherited daddy's lips, seeing as I have very little to contribute in that department:

As of yesterday, baby's weight was estimated at 6 lbs 7 oz...so there go my hopes for losing 20 pounds by giving birth!

Love, Mommy

Our childbirth instructor asked us a while back to write a letter to the baby. I'm not the sappiest person--it's not typically easy for me to express serious feelings. So since I sat down and did it, I thought I might as well share this with you, so you can see that I am occasionally able to get beyond the bodily function jokes...


To my little Peanut,

It's hard to believe that half a year has gone by since I found out you were on the way to us. At first, it seemed hard to believe that something so amazing was happening inside my body. But sure enough, you made your presence known little by little. Over the past few months, your little fluttery movements have turned into kicks and somersaults. Just yesterday you had your first case of hiccups. I love that you are with me wherever I go, and I still get excited over every movement you make, even if I can't yet tell if it's an arm or a leg poking me in the side.

I suppose this is just a small preview of what's to come. I anticipate that once you're here, I will still be fascinated by your every move, not to mention every sound and every facial expression, and probably every smell, too. I've also begun to realize that the constant worrying is too, here to stay, that I will forever be concerned for your health and happiness. I know that the worry I have felt while carrying you inside me will pale in comparison to the worry I will feel once you are here. I also know that the joys you will bring to your daddy's and my life will be overwhelming compared to the already great joy I have known these past few months.

I suppose there are practical reasons to bring a child into this world: to have a helper for the chores; to have someone small enough around the house who can find out where that strange little door in the back of the upstairs closet actually goes; to make sure there will be someone around to change our Depends when we're old; for the tax credits; to get our parents off our backs and give them some grandkids already. But we didn't think it through like this. We didn't need to.

I can still remember very clearly a night before your daddy and I were engaged. We were standing in his kitchen, arms around each other, and he asked me if I could see myself having children with him. I didn't even have to think about it--the answer was an emphatic yes. Before I met him, I wasn't even sure I'd ever really have a desire to have children. But with him I just knew it would be right. I could picture his arms cradling my babies, could see him running through the yard laughing with them as they grew older. Soon you will be here and I will see all this come to life, and it's going to be amazing.

I am looking forward to seeing the world through your eyes as you grow. Life gets so routine as you get older, and you barely have time for anything but paying the bills and taking care of the house. I can't wait to help you explore all the things that make life wonderful; you will make them all fresh and new again for me. I want to take you to the zoo and to the beach and to the woods. I want to show you flowers bursting up from the ground in the springtime, help you catch fireflies in the summer, and watch you catch snowflakes on your tongue in the winter. I want to hear you laugh and I want to be the one who can dry your tears when you are sad. I am so excited to get to know you, to discover your talents and your quirks. I feel very blessed already to be the one you will call "Mom". I can't wait to meet you.

Love,
Mommy

I have an efficient baby

This week, I ate an entire double-decker box of chocolates in addition to a lot of other junk. I even had 2 pieces of cake on Sunday at my baby shower.

Amazingly, I LOST 2 pounds this week. Thanks, kiddo, for processing all that junk for me. I promise to start eating better after you are born.

a confession

OK, I'll admit it: I'm afraid of toddlers. I have no idea how to relate to children who are barely out of diapers, tend to have snotty noses, and are prone to temper tantrums. They're too old for baby talk yet too young for rational explanations. I feel cold and awkward when I try to engage them.

There is a toddler coming to my house this weekend. Thank god his mother is a very laid-back old friend of mine. She thought my suggestion of tethering him to a tree out back should he become unruly was right on track.

Eating for two

Breakfast: oatmeal

Mid-morning snack: many pieces of holiday chocolate

Acid reflux begins.

Lunch: Healthy vegetable soup

2 hours later, hunger returns. Contemplate what to eat to relieve hunger yet not aggravate the acid reflux.

Obvious solution: consume half a box (movie theater-sized) of Dots candy.

Half hour later: Search for Tums

I've obviously got this healthy pregnancy eating thing nailed.

Happy Holidays!

I will never, ever, get tired of this video.

ROTFLMAO.

Cash Advance Loans

a holiday riddle

What is over 10 feet tall, produces a cheerful glow, and wakes you up at 3:20 AM by making this noise: "WHOOSH! BOOM! pop! tinkle tinkle rattle tinkle..."??

That's right, it's my Christmas tree *falling over* mere hours after being fully decorated.

Luckily, we only lost one non-generic ornament, and the glass table the tree fell on escaped unharmed. The tree is now safely tethered to the wall. It's a little crooked, but we're not messing with it again.

It did not help that there was an ice storm last night. When you're lying awake in bed after an incident like that, the sound of ice pellets hitting the windows is eerily reminiscent of pine needles and glass shards falling upon wood floors and glass tables...

Monday yum yum time

Posting this just because...



Thanks to perezhilton.com

baby blabber

This past month has seen a massive expansion of the belly, which I know is on course to continue plumping up at full steam. I thought it was bad a few months ago when I knocked somebody's drink over with my boob, but I have now begun to inadvertently knock things over with my belly. I was emptying the dishwasher the other day and knocked several things over, including a full glass of water, as a reached up to put dishes into the cabinet.

In other news, the baby had its first case of hiccups yesterday, which was strange in that I'd been thinking about in utero hiccups and wondering if the baby would ever get them and if so, how I would know. It started out feeling like kicks, but when they repeated continuously at regular intervals for 10-15 minutes in the same spot, I figured it either had to be hiccups or else the baby had snuck one of these into the womb: