Trey is two, baby girl
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Settled
So we've been in Ohio for a week now. Everything is going really well. My mother-in-law is awesome, and we are happy to finally be done with all the driving. I know the baby is glad to be out of that car seat as well. Not much is going on, other than getting into a good routine with the baby, as far as his sleeping and eating schedules. Moving time zones is hard on a little guy! But he's adjusting, as are we. There really isn't much to blog about at this point, since we've been staying home and just making sure to focus on the baby right now. I started a new little business venture with a coffee company called Organo Gold. If it goes well, I won't have to go back to work at all. So I'm crossing my fingers that the work I put into this pays off. The baby is getting baptized next weekend--on Easter! So that's pretty exciting. Other than that, everything is good and we are enjoying the time we are spending with our son.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Settling In
We just took a road trip from California to Kansas City, and from Kansas City to Ohio. We are tired, but we are all doing well. I'll update soon.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Birth Story, part II
As the baby was being checked and handed over to Steve and my mom, the doctor started working on me. At this point, I didn't realize how serious the situation was. But it was pretty bad. I had gotten a third-degree tear. I won't explain how bad it is, but you can look it up. The reason for the tear was that instead of his head coming out straight and then turning so his shoulders could come through, his head came out sideways.
Anyway, the doctor was ready to start stitching me up. But I had started to hemorrhage. The nurses had to get a surgeon on standby so that he would be ready to work on me if need be. They also had to get some blood ready for a transfusion, since I was bleeding so much. It was a serious situation. My mom told me later that they had a big plastic bag under the table to catch all the blood, and there was a good amount of blood in there. Every single cotton pack the doctor used on me was immediately soaked. He had to limit how much local anesthetic he needed to give me, and he had to inject it directly into the area. I definitely felt those shots! And because he had to limit the amount of anesthetic, I felt every single stitch. He worked on me for about half an hour. I cried the entire time. I wasn't able to hold my baby during this time. I did feel bad for the doctor, since he kept apologizing to me. In the middle of my tears, I would say, "It's okay. I understand." I can honestly say that the sewing up part hurt more than the labor and delivery. Once the doctor was finished, I was finally able to hold my son. As soon as he was in my arms, I started to cry again.
We stayed in the hospital until Sunday morning. During that hospital stay and for about a week afterwards, I needed help walking. As in I had to hold on to someone in order to shuffle to the bathroom and back to bed. I could only feed my son, and that was because he was handed to me. Everything else was left for Steve and my mom to do. Two weeks after that, I went to the doctor and was told everything was healing perfectly. And it was, although I was still sore. Until a week after that when I tore again. It was a small tear, but a tear nonetheless. And today, five weeks and a day after giving birth, this tear still has not healed. I am still in pain, and it hurts to sit or stand for long periods of time (more than about half an hour). I've written about how frustrating it has been, and there's nothing more that can be done. I've already been to the doctor about this new tear, and they said it would heal on its own and to continue taking care of it. But I'm getting better by the day, as far as soreness goes. I'm able to hold and walk with my son. I can change his diaper. And I'm happy about that. I don't have any hard feelings about the experience, since I came out of it with the best prize of all :)
Anyway, the doctor was ready to start stitching me up. But I had started to hemorrhage. The nurses had to get a surgeon on standby so that he would be ready to work on me if need be. They also had to get some blood ready for a transfusion, since I was bleeding so much. It was a serious situation. My mom told me later that they had a big plastic bag under the table to catch all the blood, and there was a good amount of blood in there. Every single cotton pack the doctor used on me was immediately soaked. He had to limit how much local anesthetic he needed to give me, and he had to inject it directly into the area. I definitely felt those shots! And because he had to limit the amount of anesthetic, I felt every single stitch. He worked on me for about half an hour. I cried the entire time. I wasn't able to hold my baby during this time. I did feel bad for the doctor, since he kept apologizing to me. In the middle of my tears, I would say, "It's okay. I understand." I can honestly say that the sewing up part hurt more than the labor and delivery. Once the doctor was finished, I was finally able to hold my son. As soon as he was in my arms, I started to cry again.
We stayed in the hospital until Sunday morning. During that hospital stay and for about a week afterwards, I needed help walking. As in I had to hold on to someone in order to shuffle to the bathroom and back to bed. I could only feed my son, and that was because he was handed to me. Everything else was left for Steve and my mom to do. Two weeks after that, I went to the doctor and was told everything was healing perfectly. And it was, although I was still sore. Until a week after that when I tore again. It was a small tear, but a tear nonetheless. And today, five weeks and a day after giving birth, this tear still has not healed. I am still in pain, and it hurts to sit or stand for long periods of time (more than about half an hour). I've written about how frustrating it has been, and there's nothing more that can be done. I've already been to the doctor about this new tear, and they said it would heal on its own and to continue taking care of it. But I'm getting better by the day, as far as soreness goes. I'm able to hold and walk with my son. I can change his diaper. And I'm happy about that. I don't have any hard feelings about the experience, since I came out of it with the best prize of all :)
 |
| My sneaky little guy. Totally worth it <3 |
Birth Story, Part I
Finally able to write about the events which brought my little sweetie pie into this world, at 40 weeks and three days.
On Thursday morning (Jan 26), I woke up at 9 and thought my water had broken. It wasn't a gush or a lot of liquid. It was just a wet feeling. Steve was going to the gym that morning, and because I wasn't feeling contractions, I thought I would just wait until later to go to the hospital. At around noon, we had carne asada, and I made sure to eat up just in case my water really had broken and I would need to stay at the hospital. From what I had previously read, you're not allowed to eat anything once you're at the hospital. So I wanted to make sure I would have something just in case. After we ate, Steve and I headed over to the hospital. Since I had pre-registered, I just told them I thought my water had broken and I was soon called into the triage room.
A nurse checked me and said she didn't think my water had broken, but she would send a sample of the fluid I did have (which at this point I started to think was just discharge) to be tested. In the meantime, they would hook up the non-stress test to make sure the baby was okay. So Steve and I waited. And waited. And waited. A couple of hours later, a new nurse came in with several tubes for blood and some other supplies. We were like, "What's going on?" She said, "They didn't tell you? You're having a baby today!" Steve and I looked at each other in equal parts confusion, happiness, and nervousness. No one had come back to let us know, so it was a moment of realization that yes, it was time. We would be having our baby. I called my parents and let them know what was happening, and that we would let them know when I was moved into my room.
The nurse drew my blood and hooked me up to an IV. I was a bit disappointed when she did this, because I knew that I wouldn't be having the all-natural birth experience I wanted and prepared for. If we had stayed in Korea, I would have been able to walk around and not be hooked up to any machines. Since I had come back to the States at the last minute, I didn't have time to find a birthing center with the amenities I wanted.
After a long time, I was finally moved to my room.My mom showed up and was able to be there with us. At this point, it was about 4 or 5 pm. We hung out and everyone had dinner--except for me! I was right about not being allowed to eat. I wasn't even allowed to drink anything. All I could have were ice chips. Finally, they checked me again and saw that I still hadn't dilated. At around midnight, they inserted a capsule to help me dilate. Soon after that, I began to have very strong, irregular contractions. At 3 a.m., a nurse came in because she saw that my contractions were too strong and too close together, which was distressing the baby. And I still wasn't dilating. So she gave me demerol to help with the pain. After I got the pain relief, I was able to sleep for a little while. But at around 5 a.m., they realized that I was having contractions but I wasn't feeling them at all. So they gave me pitocin.
At around 8 a.m., I was just about ready to go. I was in so much pain, I asked the nurse for an epidural. This was something I knew I might ask for. She told me that she needed to get everything ready for the baby when he came, as far as warming up his table and getting the tools ready for the doctor. What I didn't know was that I was already fully dilated and she was telling me this so that I would wait a little longer--just long enough for me to start pushing and the doctor to get there, apparently. I tried to wait an appropriate amount of time, but I think I asked her twice more. She told me she was almost ready, but at this point, I was more than ready to push. No epidural for me!
I knew I should have waited, but I called out, "I have to push!" and pushed. The nurse told me to try to wait, but I said it again and again. Each time, I pushed. She came over and realized that I really was ready. So she started to coach me through it. She wanted me to push through to a count of ten, but in the beginning, I could only make it to about four. On the bright side, it felt really good to push. I kept pushing, and increasing my endurance to a count of ten. The nurse, my mom, and Steve were all coaching me through it. Finally, the doctor showed up, just in time to guide the baby out. I remember seeing the cord around his neck, but they removed it and he cried immediately. They put him on my chest, but took him away really fast.
Everything happened so fast, it didn't register that they took him away so quickly for a reason. He was fine, but the problem was with me.
Part II coming soon.
On Thursday morning (Jan 26), I woke up at 9 and thought my water had broken. It wasn't a gush or a lot of liquid. It was just a wet feeling. Steve was going to the gym that morning, and because I wasn't feeling contractions, I thought I would just wait until later to go to the hospital. At around noon, we had carne asada, and I made sure to eat up just in case my water really had broken and I would need to stay at the hospital. From what I had previously read, you're not allowed to eat anything once you're at the hospital. So I wanted to make sure I would have something just in case. After we ate, Steve and I headed over to the hospital. Since I had pre-registered, I just told them I thought my water had broken and I was soon called into the triage room.
A nurse checked me and said she didn't think my water had broken, but she would send a sample of the fluid I did have (which at this point I started to think was just discharge) to be tested. In the meantime, they would hook up the non-stress test to make sure the baby was okay. So Steve and I waited. And waited. And waited. A couple of hours later, a new nurse came in with several tubes for blood and some other supplies. We were like, "What's going on?" She said, "They didn't tell you? You're having a baby today!" Steve and I looked at each other in equal parts confusion, happiness, and nervousness. No one had come back to let us know, so it was a moment of realization that yes, it was time. We would be having our baby. I called my parents and let them know what was happening, and that we would let them know when I was moved into my room.
The nurse drew my blood and hooked me up to an IV. I was a bit disappointed when she did this, because I knew that I wouldn't be having the all-natural birth experience I wanted and prepared for. If we had stayed in Korea, I would have been able to walk around and not be hooked up to any machines. Since I had come back to the States at the last minute, I didn't have time to find a birthing center with the amenities I wanted.
After a long time, I was finally moved to my room.My mom showed up and was able to be there with us. At this point, it was about 4 or 5 pm. We hung out and everyone had dinner--except for me! I was right about not being allowed to eat. I wasn't even allowed to drink anything. All I could have were ice chips. Finally, they checked me again and saw that I still hadn't dilated. At around midnight, they inserted a capsule to help me dilate. Soon after that, I began to have very strong, irregular contractions. At 3 a.m., a nurse came in because she saw that my contractions were too strong and too close together, which was distressing the baby. And I still wasn't dilating. So she gave me demerol to help with the pain. After I got the pain relief, I was able to sleep for a little while. But at around 5 a.m., they realized that I was having contractions but I wasn't feeling them at all. So they gave me pitocin.
At around 8 a.m., I was just about ready to go. I was in so much pain, I asked the nurse for an epidural. This was something I knew I might ask for. She told me that she needed to get everything ready for the baby when he came, as far as warming up his table and getting the tools ready for the doctor. What I didn't know was that I was already fully dilated and she was telling me this so that I would wait a little longer--just long enough for me to start pushing and the doctor to get there, apparently. I tried to wait an appropriate amount of time, but I think I asked her twice more. She told me she was almost ready, but at this point, I was more than ready to push. No epidural for me!
I knew I should have waited, but I called out, "I have to push!" and pushed. The nurse told me to try to wait, but I said it again and again. Each time, I pushed. She came over and realized that I really was ready. So she started to coach me through it. She wanted me to push through to a count of ten, but in the beginning, I could only make it to about four. On the bright side, it felt really good to push. I kept pushing, and increasing my endurance to a count of ten. The nurse, my mom, and Steve were all coaching me through it. Finally, the doctor showed up, just in time to guide the baby out. I remember seeing the cord around his neck, but they removed it and he cried immediately. They put him on my chest, but took him away really fast.
Everything happened so fast, it didn't register that they took him away so quickly for a reason. He was fine, but the problem was with me.
Part II coming soon.
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