My baby will be 5 months in less then a week! Along with getting older he is gaining so much in his development. On 3/4 he rolled over from his back to his front. Once he got there however, he was very unhappy and asked to be rolled over again. He can go from his tummy to his back but he finds it hard and would rather if I just did it for him. Some days I will place him on his tummy and let him cry until he figures it out (Please don't call DCYF). He is super active. He will kick his legs into the air and propel himself sideways. He sometimes will do this to get something he wants or just because he feels like moving. Did I mention that my baby loves to move? He is always on the go. I look on at other babies who cuddle quietly with their mothers with envy. My baby cannot sit still. When he is in my arms he wants to stand up, look around, and grab anything that isn't nailed down (and some things that are, especially my hair). He is also really starting to like our story time. He sits quietly, looks at the book, and then tries to stuff it into his mouth. He is starting to reach for things and getting really mad if they are either out of his reach or not for him (like my coffee cup). He is also starting to look for his toys when they fall out of his range of vision and he can be hard to distract. Object permanence here we come. Something I am not looking forward to.
I took a temperament test online that tells you what kind of issues you are likely to have based on your child's temperament. T scored high in almost all categories which means he is reactive, sensitive, active, and slow to adjust. The questionnaire indicated that babies with similar temperaments to his have difficulty in the coming months with sitting still to be changed, dressed, and bathed. They also indicated that he will be a fearless practicer, which means he will stand up over and over again even if he falls every time, that he will constantly test limits, and that he will tease us. This all sounds about right.
When my mother visited us a month ago she told me that she thought T had "locked in baby" syndrome. He really wants his body to move in a specific way but doesn't have enough control to do it yet and it makes him really mad. He constantly looks like he wants to crawl but just doesn't have the muscle coordination to do it. He is starting to be able to sit up with support but would rather be on the floor rolling all over the place. His father, GT, apparently never crawled but rather rolled everywhere he wanted to go. We will see how his son compares.
I think we are starting to have a real baby and not just a bundle of reflexes. Fun baby times ahead.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturdays
So I began to work one day a week at a local agency. It is nice because it is on Saturdays and therefore I can work without having to pay for childcare since GT is home with TT. People keep asking my if I have a hard time leaving T with others and I always say "no", especially when it is with his Dad.
Yesterday was my first long day. I came home yesterday at 2:00 and T was awake, happy and smiling. He looked like he had a pretty good day so far and I was shocked when GT told me that T had been awake for almost 2 hours. He never lasts that long when I'm home. I left again and came back at 5:00. Usually 5:00 to 6:00 in our house is pretty difficult because T is tired from the day and ready to go to bed for the night. I walked into the house and T was sitting in his bouncy seat and smiling! He and Dad were just hanging out. GT and I started to talk about his day. He said T had taken 3 naps that were 1.5 hours each and when he was awake he was smiling and happy.
I love to see my baby happy. It is what I work for all day long but I never get three 1.5 hour naps, a baby who is happy for 2 hours, or a smiling baby after 5:00 (well almost never). It got me thinking about all the things that I am doing wrong as a mother. How can GT get T to be so happy and well rested? I actually know the answer. He lets him cry. When T starts crying during a nap and it hasn't been 1.5 hours GT leaves him alone for 5 minutes or until he finishes whatever he is doing then he goes and gives him the pacifier and baby falls asleep again. He doesn't fall for it when he gets upstairs and T looks at him and grins and tells him he is done with his nap. He doesn't let T get cranky before he puts him down for a nap and T ends up a happy baby at the end of the day.
When I am home with T, I can't handle listening to him cry. Having GT at home with T has been great because it has given me perspective on what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. I think that in the case of baby sleep I need to take a lesson from T's Dad. Ditch the mommy guilt and let the baby cry every once a while because in the end what we all want is a smiling baby.
Yesterday was my first long day. I came home yesterday at 2:00 and T was awake, happy and smiling. He looked like he had a pretty good day so far and I was shocked when GT told me that T had been awake for almost 2 hours. He never lasts that long when I'm home. I left again and came back at 5:00. Usually 5:00 to 6:00 in our house is pretty difficult because T is tired from the day and ready to go to bed for the night. I walked into the house and T was sitting in his bouncy seat and smiling! He and Dad were just hanging out. GT and I started to talk about his day. He said T had taken 3 naps that were 1.5 hours each and when he was awake he was smiling and happy.
I love to see my baby happy. It is what I work for all day long but I never get three 1.5 hour naps, a baby who is happy for 2 hours, or a smiling baby after 5:00 (well almost never). It got me thinking about all the things that I am doing wrong as a mother. How can GT get T to be so happy and well rested? I actually know the answer. He lets him cry. When T starts crying during a nap and it hasn't been 1.5 hours GT leaves him alone for 5 minutes or until he finishes whatever he is doing then he goes and gives him the pacifier and baby falls asleep again. He doesn't fall for it when he gets upstairs and T looks at him and grins and tells him he is done with his nap. He doesn't let T get cranky before he puts him down for a nap and T ends up a happy baby at the end of the day.
When I am home with T, I can't handle listening to him cry. Having GT at home with T has been great because it has given me perspective on what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. I think that in the case of baby sleep I need to take a lesson from T's Dad. Ditch the mommy guilt and let the baby cry every once a while because in the end what we all want is a smiling baby.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Love
Happy Valentines Day T
You are 4 months old today. It has been 4 months since you turned from fetus to human being. We got to celebrate this accomplishment on the day that everyone is reminded to say "I love you" to their closest friends and family. You didn't know the difference but I made sure to eat some chocolate for you today. Your daddy sent flowers and we went out to brunch. Your friends Claire, Ethan, and baby EClaire watched you while we gorged ourselves on smoked salmon and eggs Benedict. You only got to drink milk but when you nurse these days you pull off and grin at me and then get back to business. I love these grins because I know you are enjoying yourself. Keep the love coming. I love you more every day little man.
Love Mama
You are 4 months old today. It has been 4 months since you turned from fetus to human being. We got to celebrate this accomplishment on the day that everyone is reminded to say "I love you" to their closest friends and family. You didn't know the difference but I made sure to eat some chocolate for you today. Your daddy sent flowers and we went out to brunch. Your friends Claire, Ethan, and baby EClaire watched you while we gorged ourselves on smoked salmon and eggs Benedict. You only got to drink milk but when you nurse these days you pull off and grin at me and then get back to business. I love these grins because I know you are enjoying yourself. Keep the love coming. I love you more every day little man.
Love Mama
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Birth Story
I wanted to post this before I forgot the details.
My due date was October 5th and I was frustrated and uncomfortable when it came and went with no baby. I started all the induction methods I could think of to get baby to come, including Accupressure. I saw my midwife 2 days after my due date and she told me that my cervix was soft but not yet effaced or dilated. She recommended that I hold off on the castor oil until the next week because she didn't think it would help. She tried to strip my membranes but couldn't due to the position and the lack of dilation in my cervix. I had some spotting afterwards but still no signs of labor. I went to see Karlo Berger the next day for an induction accupressure massage. He told me that my pressure points didn't react the way he thought they should and so he thought it may not work. Indeed I was still pregnant four days later and a week past my due date. I had been set up for post dates testing due to concerns about my aging placenta. The morning of my appointment for post dates I went out with my mother for coffee and had too much and felt dehydrated. Everyone told me that didn't factor into what happened later.
At the office I went in for my NST first. Tristan's heart rate was consistent for 30-40 minutes but at one point had a major drop, of course I wasn't being monitored at that point but was still hooked up to the machine. He was plenty active and they told me everything looked good. I then went to get an ultrasound. The tech turned on the machine and told me that she had to check my fluid levels first. She began to check and got a funny look on her face and said "Oh honey your fluid is way to low. You are going to have to go to the hospital." I was shocked. I think I said something like "Right now?" She said you are going to have to speak to your midwife but you are going to have to deliver that baby today. I was shocked and upset. I called Graham and said go home and get my bags I am going to the hospital. I met with a midwife who told me that they were going to try to ripen my cervix and then induce labor and that I would be admitted to the hospital overnight. She told me to go home and pack my stuff and the hospital would call and tell me when to come in.
I got home at 5:00 and waited for the call. We ate dinner at 6:00 and the hospital called and told me to come in for admission at 7:30. We got to the hospital and checked in and went to a room to stay overnight. I met with a midwife, Lucie, and she told me they were going to try two things to ripen my cervix. First they would insert a foley catheter into my cervix and then inject water into it to expand my cervix. In addition they would insert cervidel to help ripen my cervix. The procedure actually didn't hurt that much and Lucie told me it was the easiest foley that she had ever inserted. I went back to my room ready to get comfortable and stay the night until my induction the next morning. Fifteen minutes later as I was lying in bed talking to my husband and mother my water broke. The nurse came in and took out the foley catheter. She did it while I was standing in the bathroom and I almost passed out. Immediately after that contractions started. They were close together about 2 minutes apart. I hardly got any break. They were strong and intense. I started to try my breathing but was hooked up to a fetal monitor and had trouble finding a comfortable position and had difficulty breathing through it. I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and my contractions intensified. I was having contractions one on top of the other and they hurt. I began to panic and had a breakdown. I decided I really wanted an epidural. Lucie came in about 1 hr after contractions started and said I was 1 cm dilated. I was upset because I didn't think that I could get an epidural and also that it would take a long time. Lucie told me that I had made a lot of progress in the last hour and that was why labor was so intense. It was happening really fast. She got me a room on the LDR and I was sent down and about 1:30am, about 3 hrs after my water broke. I later received an epidural. They had me hooked up to the monitor and found that Tristan's heart rate was taking a big hit every time I had a contraction and he was really stressed. They said I might have to have a C-section. Lucie told me that if I continued to have problems they were going to try a amnio-infusion to replace my low amniotic fluid levels and protect the baby. This actually worked and saved me from a c-section. I was so happy. I really credit Lucie for this and her helping me avoid a procedure she knew I wanted to avoid.
At about 7:30am Lucie checked my and said I was 8-9 cm dialted. I was shocked labor was progressing so quickly, especially since I had an epidural and was lying down the entire time trying to find a position where Tristan's heart rate stayed steady. His heart rate really stabilized after the amnio-infusion but they were concerned about pushing and told me I wasn't out of the woods for a c-section. I thought delivery was close but after this my contractions really slowed down. At about 11 my contractions were still slow and I wasn't really progressing. They decided to add some pitocin to the mix. At this point I had a catheter in my bladder, a catheter in my uterus, an IV, and an epidural. I didn't think I could get any more tubes inside me. They started to pitocin off low and increased it over time. They told me they were going to have me wait to push until the contractions pushed him into the birth canal to +2 station. Another midwife, Nicole, was on call by this point and checked me around 12 and said that my contractions were indicating it was time to push and that his head was low. I began to push, which was difficult because I couldn't feel anything. His heart rate did drop and started to not recover after each contraction. They were concerned and called in the OB on call, Dr. Cavanaugh. They told me they wanted to have an "assisted delivery" which meant forceps or vaccum. I was anxious about tearing so pushed as hard as I could to try to get him out. Dr. Cavanaugh tried to use the vaccum and it broke and popped off his head. It took them a minute to find another one. In the mean time the Dr. began to use the forceps and he was born with one contraction. I had an 2nd degree episiotomy from the forceps but otherwise everything was great and he was healthy and in my arms within minutes of delivery.
My due date was October 5th and I was frustrated and uncomfortable when it came and went with no baby. I started all the induction methods I could think of to get baby to come, including Accupressure. I saw my midwife 2 days after my due date and she told me that my cervix was soft but not yet effaced or dilated. She recommended that I hold off on the castor oil until the next week because she didn't think it would help. She tried to strip my membranes but couldn't due to the position and the lack of dilation in my cervix. I had some spotting afterwards but still no signs of labor. I went to see Karlo Berger the next day for an induction accupressure massage. He told me that my pressure points didn't react the way he thought they should and so he thought it may not work. Indeed I was still pregnant four days later and a week past my due date. I had been set up for post dates testing due to concerns about my aging placenta. The morning of my appointment for post dates I went out with my mother for coffee and had too much and felt dehydrated. Everyone told me that didn't factor into what happened later.
At the office I went in for my NST first. Tristan's heart rate was consistent for 30-40 minutes but at one point had a major drop, of course I wasn't being monitored at that point but was still hooked up to the machine. He was plenty active and they told me everything looked good. I then went to get an ultrasound. The tech turned on the machine and told me that she had to check my fluid levels first. She began to check and got a funny look on her face and said "Oh honey your fluid is way to low. You are going to have to go to the hospital." I was shocked. I think I said something like "Right now?" She said you are going to have to speak to your midwife but you are going to have to deliver that baby today. I was shocked and upset. I called Graham and said go home and get my bags I am going to the hospital. I met with a midwife who told me that they were going to try to ripen my cervix and then induce labor and that I would be admitted to the hospital overnight. She told me to go home and pack my stuff and the hospital would call and tell me when to come in.
I got home at 5:00 and waited for the call. We ate dinner at 6:00 and the hospital called and told me to come in for admission at 7:30. We got to the hospital and checked in and went to a room to stay overnight. I met with a midwife, Lucie, and she told me they were going to try two things to ripen my cervix. First they would insert a foley catheter into my cervix and then inject water into it to expand my cervix. In addition they would insert cervidel to help ripen my cervix. The procedure actually didn't hurt that much and Lucie told me it was the easiest foley that she had ever inserted. I went back to my room ready to get comfortable and stay the night until my induction the next morning. Fifteen minutes later as I was lying in bed talking to my husband and mother my water broke. The nurse came in and took out the foley catheter. She did it while I was standing in the bathroom and I almost passed out. Immediately after that contractions started. They were close together about 2 minutes apart. I hardly got any break. They were strong and intense. I started to try my breathing but was hooked up to a fetal monitor and had trouble finding a comfortable position and had difficulty breathing through it. I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and my contractions intensified. I was having contractions one on top of the other and they hurt. I began to panic and had a breakdown. I decided I really wanted an epidural. Lucie came in about 1 hr after contractions started and said I was 1 cm dilated. I was upset because I didn't think that I could get an epidural and also that it would take a long time. Lucie told me that I had made a lot of progress in the last hour and that was why labor was so intense. It was happening really fast. She got me a room on the LDR and I was sent down and about 1:30am, about 3 hrs after my water broke. I later received an epidural. They had me hooked up to the monitor and found that Tristan's heart rate was taking a big hit every time I had a contraction and he was really stressed. They said I might have to have a C-section. Lucie told me that if I continued to have problems they were going to try a amnio-infusion to replace my low amniotic fluid levels and protect the baby. This actually worked and saved me from a c-section. I was so happy. I really credit Lucie for this and her helping me avoid a procedure she knew I wanted to avoid.
At about 7:30am Lucie checked my and said I was 8-9 cm dialted. I was shocked labor was progressing so quickly, especially since I had an epidural and was lying down the entire time trying to find a position where Tristan's heart rate stayed steady. His heart rate really stabilized after the amnio-infusion but they were concerned about pushing and told me I wasn't out of the woods for a c-section. I thought delivery was close but after this my contractions really slowed down. At about 11 my contractions were still slow and I wasn't really progressing. They decided to add some pitocin to the mix. At this point I had a catheter in my bladder, a catheter in my uterus, an IV, and an epidural. I didn't think I could get any more tubes inside me. They started to pitocin off low and increased it over time. They told me they were going to have me wait to push until the contractions pushed him into the birth canal to +2 station. Another midwife, Nicole, was on call by this point and checked me around 12 and said that my contractions were indicating it was time to push and that his head was low. I began to push, which was difficult because I couldn't feel anything. His heart rate did drop and started to not recover after each contraction. They were concerned and called in the OB on call, Dr. Cavanaugh. They told me they wanted to have an "assisted delivery" which meant forceps or vaccum. I was anxious about tearing so pushed as hard as I could to try to get him out. Dr. Cavanaugh tried to use the vaccum and it broke and popped off his head. It took them a minute to find another one. In the mean time the Dr. began to use the forceps and he was born with one contraction. I had an 2nd degree episiotomy from the forceps but otherwise everything was great and he was healthy and in my arms within minutes of delivery.
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