My Two Week Old Angel-o

Trenity & Halle meeting their brother for the first time



My sleepy 'lil pumpkin butt



2 weeks old already!


Please scroll down for the 2 week update blog!

Two Weeks Later

Hey guys,

I'm back with my update. I can't believe that it's already been 2 weeks since I've given birth. It is said that a woman quickly forgets the pain of the birthing process shortly after it's over. I didn't think that would be true for me until now. I kind of remember how it felt, but it's slipping away. I don't ever want to forget what it felt like because it's an incredible experience. To be honest, it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as the pregnancy so I guess that's what I should remember.

My sweet 'lil guy is gaining weight and I'm guessing he will reach 10lbs by the time his next pediatrician appointment on August 20th. He's eating like a pig now, drinking 3 ounces of formula ALL the time. It seems like all I do is feed him and change his diapers, lol. This kid is never satisfied.

He's been sleeping almost all day long, only breaking for food, diaper changes and baths. I've never seen a kid want to sleep in his own poop before. I have to constantly check his diaper to make sure he's clean or else I won't hear a peep from him. Baths are a different story, however. He absolutely hates them. He screams as if we're really hurting him. Perhaps it's been that ring they put around his pee pee after the circumcision. That's off now, by the way. It's was just hanging there and the nurses told me that it has to fall off on its own. His little belly button is now fully exposed and it's looking like he's got an "outtie".

So now back to the sleep issue...

We finally got Angelo off of the every hour and strange in between snacking feeding schedule. He's still inconsistent though, but I've heard that's common with newborns this age. Dave and I had figured out a shared schedule for midnight feedings, but it hasn't been working out. We are going to change it up so instead of me taking 12am-4am, I'll be going to 4am-7am. Dave gets real cranky with being awake a few hours before he has to be at work. The way it's been going, I've taken the entire time, leaving me with absolutely no sleep and the inability to nap during the day. Here's hoping that the new midnight schedule will allow us both to function better.

Other than the sleeping crap, being a mother has been absolutely fabulous. Sometimes I catch myself wondering how the hell this life of mine happened, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Seeing Dave with his son is quite touching. The girls finally came home to us last night after being on vacation with their mother for 2 weeks. They met their brother and are quite the little helpers, especially Trenity. I'm going to try and get some good family pictures soon. I have empty photo frames just waiting to be filled with the sunshine of my little guy's presence.

Post Partum Recovery:


With the exception of my night time madness, I'm feeling great physically. I'm still bleeding, but it's not heavy and I'm down to regular size pads, which I'm not fully saturating, thank God! No more diapers for Cristin, lol. The inflammation is pretty much gone at this point. I swear I can still feel the stitches a bit and that's really annoying. It doesn't hurt to pee anymore and I'm good to take nice, long walks around the neighborhood. Pretty soon I'll get the green light to start working out again, which will be nice since I feel like I'm wasting a lot of good energy right now.

Anyway, I'm going to try and take a nap now, though it's very difficult with all 3 kids. 2 of which fight over everything, lol. Wish me luck!

xoxo,
Cristin

10 Days Later

10 Days Post Partum Boddess

So my dear son is now 10 days old. It’s already going by so fast. Dave and I are both back to work. There’s no paid maternity leave for us self-employed folks, so getting back to the old grind is a must for me and I‘m loving it. Dave is back to work as well due to the training for his new position in the company. I’m a little bummed that I can’t have him for 2 weeks straight, but it’s working out for the best. He will be off the week before the girls go back to school and that will save us a ton of money in daycare for Trenity. Speaking of the girls, they’re coming home to us on August 12th. Now I’ll have to balance my life with three children in the house, instead of just one.

Dave and I have worked out a feeding schedule for Angelo during for the night time hours. I get the first 4 hours and he gets the last 4. I have the luxury of taking a nap with the baby during the day and he doesn’t, so we agreed on that system. At first it really sucked because the hospital had Angelo on an hourly feeding schedule that just put us out of our minds. Before I gave birth, the idea of waking up every 2 hours sounded like pure hell. I didn’t know what hell was like until this every hour bit started. Damn that NICU!

Angelo hates the bassinet, the swing and the bouncy seat right now. So much for those so-called “life saver” toys. Last night we put him in his crib and guess what? That boy slept for the first 3 hours and then woke up every 2 after that. THANK GOD. I thought all hope was lost, man! I didn’t think I’d be able to do every 2 hours. Not only can I do it, but I don’t really need much more sleep than what I’m getting. Sweet! That video monitor my God-Mother bought us is absolutely fabulous. It picks up everything without being annoying. Now THAT is a life saver.

On Wednesday the 6th, I took Angelo to his first pediatrician appointment. He left the hospital at 8lbs, 8 oz and is now at an even 9lbs. Everything is perfectly normal and he’s doing extremely well. I have to take him back on the 20th to start his cycle of shots. Ugh, I hate the thought of my son getting poked so I just won’t look.

So now on to my post partum updates…

I weighed myself this morning and I’ve lost 24 pounds, wow! I was absolutely HUGE the last 2 weeks of the pregnancy and I’m not just talking about my tummy. My ankles are now back to normal and my feet aren’t in any pain. Dave is happy about that because I’m not asking him to rub them anymore, lol. I’m under the 200 mark, which makes me feel really good. My uterus still hasn’t gone back to it’s normal size yet and apparently I’ve got a few more weeks before that can happen. I’m not physically able to start working out yet, but when I am, watch out America! I vow to not only get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but lose 20 more since I was a bit over weight to begin with.

I have to make my follow up appointment with my midwife for about 3 weeks from now. Hopefully I’ll be all healed up and done with the maxi pads. I’m really not bleeding that badly, but it’s still uncomfortable down there. I’ve gotten passed the whole burning pee pee issue and the inflammation has gone down quite a bit. Now my big problem is Dave. I find this man so attractive and I can’t do a damn thing about it! You can’t stimulate the nipples or else the milk won’t dry up and if anything else is stimulated, the only sensation I experience is pain and believe me, it’s not fun. The poor guy just can’t touch me right now. Not even a nice and long kiss. What a bummer!

The Baby Is Here, Finally!

Week 40

Hey everyone!

I haven't had much time to be on the internet since I went into labor last Tuesday. Well, hard labor, that is. Now that my little man is sleeping and I'm not dragging ass, I figured now would be a good time to post my birth story so here it goes...

I went to the doctor Monday the 28th for my 40 week appointment. I was dialated to 4 and the doctor decided to give me a membrane sweep to help jump start labor. An hour later I was cramping big time, but I didn't think much of it since that's what usually happens after the sweep. A few hours go by and now I'm starting to feel like I'm getting contractions, although they felt fairly mild to me. The doctor had told me that by 10:30pm I should be feeling hard contractions and to go to the hospital. He said that they would probably give me Pitocin, my Epidural and I'd have my baby.

At midnight I decided to go into the hospital because I was in a lot of pain. They checked me and I was still only at 4 cm so they told me to take an hour long walk. I did and it made the pain and contractions worse. They checked me again and because I didn't progress, I was sent home. Keep in mind that the contractions registered 5-8 mins apart and I was still at 4 cm. The doctor on call told them to give me Ambien, which really pissed me off. Who give a pregnant woman a drug that has been known to be addictive? So Dave and I got home at 4am that morning and he decided to start his vacation a day early.

That same day, now the 29th (2 days after my due date), Dave and I decided to walk around the mall all day hoping to get things rolling. That was really painful as the contractions hadn't subsided one little bit. We were gone until about 4:30pm. By 5:30 I was timing the contractions at 3-5 minutes apart. The pain was still fairly tolerable so I chose to wait until 8pm to leave for the hospital again. My water still hadn't broken so I figured that if I was admitted that night, they'd have to break it for me.

We get to the hospital at 8:30 pm and now I've progressed to 5 centimeters. This whole pregnancy I was hoping to get my faveorite midwife to deliver the baby and I got my wish. Tiffany was on call that night and chose to admit me. They hooked me up to my IV (ugh, I hated that shit) and got me in my room. I decided to get the Epidural because my water hadn't broken and the pain from the contractions were really bad. I figured it would only get worse. About 15 mins later I got my drugs and all was well with the world. After the Epidural kicked in, they sent in a resident to break my water. My skin itched bad due to the Epidural so they gave me a bit of Benedryl as well. At that time they checked my cervix (around 9pm) and I was at 6/7.

The nurses checked me every hour. At 10pm I was at 8. At 11 I was at 8/9. It took until about 1am to get me at a solid 9. Then we waited. An hour and a half later I didn't progress so I was given the Pitocin. It took until 5am to get me to 10. Finally it was time to push. Of course, when I needed it the most, the Epidural ran out and I felt every contraction and everything else that went along with delivering this baby.

At 5:59am Angelo Kristian was born, thank God!! He came out at 8lbs, 11 oz and 22 inches long. No wonder I had such a hell of a time sleeping, damn! I didn't feel that instant reflief people say you get when the baby comes out. That happened when I passed the placenta. I got to see Angelo for a few seconds on my belly and then they cleaned him up. The midwife didn't have to cut me and I didn't rip much so I only got 4 small stitches. As I'm getting stitched up, I heard the nurses whispering and finally they told me that Angelo had swallowed some fluid and they couldn't suck it all out of his lungs. They took him to the NICU for oxygen, antibiotics and X-Rays. Dave ran after them and I was flipping out.

Everything turned out ok with the baby, but they kept him in the NICU due to the antibiotics. They wanted him on for 48 hours and also wanted to get him eating well. We brought him home on Saturday, August 2nd. I left the hospital on Thursday because I couldn't take it anymore. My mom and sister were coming into town that night as well. I felt really good and the NICU wouldn't let me spend more than an hour with Angelo, with 5 hours in between. He was the biggest baby in that whole unit.

Since I'm a smoker, I figured this child would be on the smaller side. Nope! I also figured that my placenta would've matured faster, since that's what I was told. Nope! Tiffany told me that there were no traces of me being a smoker in the baby's size, lungs and organ development or the placenta. How weird is that? Yes I cut down my intake immesely during the pregnancy, but since I didn't quit, I always felt extremely guilty. That and of course there were people judging me and trying to make me feel like shit about it. The NICU bit had nothing to do with me being a smoker. It had everything to do with the fact that my son couldn't keep his mouth shut, lol. One last gulp before entering the real world...

Baby Watch 2008

Week 39

So here I am, week 39 and still pregnant. Why am I not surprised? I had an OB appointment Tuesday and got one of my favorite doctors. Unfortunately she didn’t have anything real exciting to tell me. I walked in with hope, but the minute she came into the room I just knew that I shouldn’t have had such high expectations.

Apparently my cervix is still thick and hard, which is the opposite of what I was told last week by the asshole doctor. I’m only 1cm dilated and the baby’s head is at a -2 station. The good news is that he’s definitely dropped a bit, but not enough for me to think that I’ll be in labor in the next 24 hours. Damnit! If I’m early, it would only be by a day or two. She had me schedule my 40 week appointment, which falls 2 days after my due date. Let’s hope I don’t have to show up for that one.

The baby and I have been a bit sluggish lately. I’m really tired and he’s not moving much, but at night or after I eat. The doctor told me that since he’s dropped I should be able to breathe and function better. Um, nope! I haven’t had trouble breathing throughout the pregnancy and I’m even more uncomfortable now. The only thing that’s better for me these days is sex. It’s very well deserved and about damn time! At least that’s something, right?

I believe that getting my cervix checked helped dislodge more of my plug. I took a nap yesterday then went to the bathroom to find more of it coupled with a bloody show and hay colored leakage. Sweet! Isn’t it amazing how excited a woman can get when disgusting stuff comes out of her vagina at the end of pregnancy? Believe me, this will be the only time I will be happy about bizarre discharge.

On the labor symptoms front, I’ve been getting a ton of painless contractions, severe gas and pains, psychotically frequent urination, slight menstrual cramps and pressure south of the border, front and back. When I go to the bathroom, all I want to do is push out something, but there‘s nothing there. These symptoms fall under the pre-labor category, so great. At least I know there’s action, even if it’s going at a snail’s pace.

Dave is getting sick of waiting too. He’s wanting to have a full two weeks off of work to be with us, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. He is changing positions at work and has to go in for a week of training starting August 4th, right after the baby is supposed to come. It’s looking like he’s going to have to split his vacation. Off one week, work the next and off again for another week. What a bummer. The girls are going away with their mother for two weeks starting July 28th and he’s hoping that the baby will come before they go so that they can see their new brother.

My lovely boyfriend went through the “Baby Watch 2008” protocol with his parents the other day, lol. Yes, BW 2008 is what he’s calling our emotional rollercoaster. Anyway, we have our plans set and his parents have permission to pick up the girls at daycare and camp in case my labor begins during the day. I’m honestly hoping for labor to occur during the day vs. the middle of night, but I shouldn’t count on that one. I’m also hoping that my original prediction for baby hyphenate’s birthday will be July 24th, but again, I shouldn’t really believe that’s going to happen either. No need to set myself up for another disappointment.

As of right now I’ve got my shit together for when the baby comes. I’ve washed everything and disinfected the binkies and nipples. Dave and the girls have done an excellent job of keeping the house pretty clean, which really helps me a lot. I still feel like I want to clean and I probably will, but I plan to work as much as I can until this baby comes.

July 24th

Ok, so we’re at the 24th and of course, nothing as of right now. I’m giving up hope and totally letting go of the possibility that this kid will come. Maybe that will induce labor since walking, running up and down the stairs and sex isn’t doing jack shit.

Return of the PMS

Week 38

I had my OB appointment on Tuesday and was really disappointed. I saw a new doctor and he was just strange. I know that sounds funny coming from me, but normal is necessary when you have a stranger getting ready to go up your crotch. Maybe it’s just me, but whatever. First of all, I had to wait 30 minutes for just him and let me say that it wasn’t worth it. He didn’t measure me, check the baby’s position or check my cervix. He did, however, swipe 2 fingers to check for the baby’s head, which was the equivalent of inserting a junior size tampon. How low does he expect the head to be exactly? I was so pissed, especially after he confirmed that I am losing my plug. The only good thing that came out of that appointment was hearing the baby’s heartbeat, which of course came from the nurse, not the kooky doctor. He ended our session by saying, “Just go home and act as if you aren’t pregnant.” Nice, just what a 38 week preggo needs to hear. Screw you!

I think Dave was more pissed than I was to be honest. He’s at the end of his rope as well and is quite impatient. He calls me about 3 times a day asking about baby action. There’s also the fact that we’re supposed to go see The Dark Knight tomorrow and the last thing he wants is me going into labor during the move, lol. That would be our luck though, but the full moon isn’t until tomorrow night so we may just be safe for our 11:30am showtime. The car is packed and ready to go, so if it does happen, we’re prepared.

Speaking of the car, I spent 2 hours cleaning it out yesterday afternoon. Since we’ve been using my vehicle for practically everything, including carting the kids around, it’s gotten quite disgusting in my opinion. My motivation rubbed off on Dave. When he saw me going to town on my car, that prompted him to clean his as well. His was way worse than mine. All that bending over caused me to have some sharp abdominal cramps, but that was only temporary…damn! I’m trying everything to induce labor, short of sky diving. Sex, walking, dancing, running up and down the stairs and cleaning are just a few examples, but nothing. This child is giving me the middle finger for sure.

I know I have to be patient, but I’m so uncomfortable! Dave has been doing laundry and forgetting to remove my maternity stuff before putting clothes in the dryer. Now most of my shirts have shrunk. Not only that, but I swear I am having major PMS symptoms. The littlest things are starting to annoy me. Dave just shakes his head in disbelief. I’m in that “unless you want to give me food, rub my feet or have sex, keep your hands off of me” mode. I even had an emotional break-down the other day over nothing. I think that’s 3 times this entire pregnancy, but it still sucks.

Ok, now that I’m done with the rant, please say a prayer that this kid will try to make his appearance this weekend. I’m starting to go out of my mind, lol.

Still Week 37

I didn’t have time to upload those pics yesterday because I ended up in the hospital due to some major vaginal bleeding. I just had to have a little fun with Dave and that’s what I got. We were supposed to have our tour of the Labor & Delivery floor yesterday and ended up going through all the motions before our scheduled time. They did an ultrasound to make sure my placenta wasn’t too low and it’s not. Then they checked my cervix and no action there. They also did a baby stress test and he’s just fine. He’s head down and they’re not expecting him to turn again.

Today I went to my normal OB appointment. The baby is still measuring on target so he’s expected to weigh about 6.5 pounds by the beginning of next week. I get my cervix checked again on Tuesday and the doctor told me that the baby can come any time now and be perfectly fine outside the womb, nice! I’m still expected to go about a week early, which makes me happy. I’m getting to the end of my rope here, folks!

I received the results of my Strep B and blood tests. Both came out great and I’m thrilled about that for sure. No extra antibiotics for me! My doctor told me that I can resume having sex at the end of week 38 and to expect more blood, but not to worry. He said that they highly recommend that I be as active as I can, including sex, to help get this process rolling. I just have to stay out of the heat since I’ve blown up like the Goodyear Blimp!

So now all Dave and I can do at this point is wait. I really don’t like that so I’m trying to fill up my schedule as much as I can. I want to get my mind off of my impending labor and everything that comes with it. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, especially since I’m going to meet my son in a couple of weeks. I’m really excited now.