Emery Isabel was born on November 15th at 9:41 am, 8 pounds 7 ounces 21 inches long, and just BEAUTIFUL! I am just so delighted to finally have her here with us. She is the most incredible blessing GOD could have ever given us.
So my little girl came 5 days past her due date, leaving me very anxious for her arrival by then! I started going into labor in the very early morning of the 15th. I started feeling contractions around 1:00-1:30 in the morning and they came on strong right away. I always heard about women getting them an hour, 45 min or a half hour apart. NEVER had that. They were starting at 3 min apart within about a half hour they quickly became 1 min apart. We rushed off to the hospital. Thank GOD there is no traffic so early in the morning. We arrived at the hospital around 3 and they immediately admitted me. Within about 20 min my water broke and I was dilated about 3 cm. They rolled me off to my delivery room and I quickly hit 5 cm. The contractions were still coming on strong but by then the dilating progressed a little slower. I ended up getting the epidural, even though I had planned on not getting it. Boy am I so glad that I did though. They came in to do an ultrasound to guesstimate how big she was and it showed she was 8 pounds 13 oz, pretty close! Little did I know what her size would lead to later on. It also showed that she was transverse so they had me lay on my side to get her to turn head down. They ordered me to rest and the nurse came in every now and then to check on my progress. After awhile she came back in and said the baby's heart rate was escalating a bit because she didn't like me being on my side so I flipped on to my back again. Well not so easily, I couldn't feel a thing from the waist down so the nurse had to assist since my legs felt like jelly to me! I went back to sleep and at 9 am they came in to check for dilation and I was at 10 cm, baby had already descended into the birth canal and everything after that happened so fast! I pushed about 3 times and my little angel was born. I ended up with a 4th degree tear due to her size and quick labor which led to a 3 day hospital stay. The staff was so amazing to me and made our stay there great. We came home yesterday and everything has just been great. I'm so blessed and happy to be Emery's mommy.
TODAY IS MY DUE DATE!!
All is very exciting for me as this day has finally come but at the same time I am feeling very discouraged! I don't think my little girl is going to make her debut today but she could very well surprise me! I am so excited for her arrival and can't wait to see her little face.
20% OFF at Bed Bath & Beyond!
One of my favorite places to shop is Bed Bath & Beyond! If you subscribe to their newsletters at the following link, they'll email you a coupon that you can print out and it gives you 20% OFF any one item (there are some exclusions)! After that you may be sent more coupons. This is great because as an expecting mother to be, I can also redeem the coupon at Buy Buy Baby since they are the same company! I've gotten so many great deals from there so I definitely felt the need to share this coupon for those who don't know about it!
(subscribe link here)
8 Ways to Manage Labor Pain
Shared from Parents.com
(View full article here)
They don't call it labor for nothing. Having a baby is hard work, and part of that work is getting through the pain. But don't panic. There are more ways than ever to manage that pain, and you don't have to choose just one. "The trick is to have as many tools in your bag as possible," says Kim Hildebrand Cardoso, a certified nurse-midwife in Berkeley, California, and a mother of two. "You don't know what's going to work until you're in it, and what helps a woman at one point can change five minutes later." That's why it's important to keep an open mind and do your research. So take a deep breath (good practice for later) and prepare to enter the wide world of pain management.
Without Medication
Relaxation
"The most important thing you can relax during labor is your mind," says Stacey Rees, a certified nurse-midwife at Clementine Midwifery, in Brooklyn, New York. The idea is simple -- when you fear pain, you tense up, which makes the pain worse, which makes you tense up more. Cardoso had back labor for 21 hours with her first baby and says her saving grace was enjoying the time between contractions. "I tried to stay in the moment and not spend the precious pain-free minutes stressing about the pain I just had and what was to come. The result was ecstasy -- I felt like I was on really good mind-altering drugs."
Breathing
To stay relaxed, it's crucial to pay attention to your breathing, the same way you do when you're lifting weights. Whether you're hee-ing or haa-ing, panting or deep inhaling, as long as you're focusing on your breath and releasing it, you'll find some relief. "I tell women their breath is the path through the contraction," Rees says, "and to just keep following that path until the sensation starts to fade."
And don't feel inhibited about making strange loud noises. Rees recommends strong low-pitched moans rather than high-pitched horror-movie screams, which tend to make the throat tight and tense, but she admits it isn't always possible. "With my second baby, I was able to make those low guttural sounds, somewhere between a Gregorian chant and a large animal near death," Cardoso remembers. "But with my first baby, I just ended up screaming a lot."
(View full article here)
They don't call it labor for nothing. Having a baby is hard work, and part of that work is getting through the pain. But don't panic. There are more ways than ever to manage that pain, and you don't have to choose just one. "The trick is to have as many tools in your bag as possible," says Kim Hildebrand Cardoso, a certified nurse-midwife in Berkeley, California, and a mother of two. "You don't know what's going to work until you're in it, and what helps a woman at one point can change five minutes later." That's why it's important to keep an open mind and do your research. So take a deep breath (good practice for later) and prepare to enter the wide world of pain management.
Without Medication
Relaxation
"The most important thing you can relax during labor is your mind," says Stacey Rees, a certified nurse-midwife at Clementine Midwifery, in Brooklyn, New York. The idea is simple -- when you fear pain, you tense up, which makes the pain worse, which makes you tense up more. Cardoso had back labor for 21 hours with her first baby and says her saving grace was enjoying the time between contractions. "I tried to stay in the moment and not spend the precious pain-free minutes stressing about the pain I just had and what was to come. The result was ecstasy -- I felt like I was on really good mind-altering drugs."
Breathing
To stay relaxed, it's crucial to pay attention to your breathing, the same way you do when you're lifting weights. Whether you're hee-ing or haa-ing, panting or deep inhaling, as long as you're focusing on your breath and releasing it, you'll find some relief. "I tell women their breath is the path through the contraction," Rees says, "and to just keep following that path until the sensation starts to fade."
And don't feel inhibited about making strange loud noises. Rees recommends strong low-pitched moans rather than high-pitched horror-movie screams, which tend to make the throat tight and tense, but she admits it isn't always possible. "With my second baby, I was able to make those low guttural sounds, somewhere between a Gregorian chant and a large animal near death," Cardoso remembers. "But with my first baby, I just ended up screaming a lot."
My Baby Loves...
I came across these cd sets on Amazon awhile back and think they are just too sweet! I love the classic lullaby with a contemporary twist! I especially can't wait to play my baby the 80's and Christmas themed ones.
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