LABOR and DELIVERY
My labor and delivery went very smoothly (although I was in hard labor almost the whole time). The total time was: 6 hours and 18 minutes! I had warned my midwife that there was a possibility that I'd go fast based on my mom's history, but this being my first baby, we figured labor would be a bit longer. James came the absolute earliest hour (two really) he could (I think the full moon's gravitational pull had something to do with it - closest to the earth in 15 years I've heard). Paul had been out of town in Michigan Sunday night through late Tuesday, we got the birthing pool Thursday night, and my mom flew back from Florida (she almost missed her plane) and arrived at our house two hours before he was born! As you can probably guess, we were not expecting him to come so soon!
Coming a bit early (at 37 weeks) James was considered a late preterm baby. I've learned that some preterm babies don't have their sucking reflex fully developed which is the problem James has. Night three, he was screaming with hunger but couldn't nurse. We ended up getting a lactation consultant to help out. For the first week and a half, I had to pump and then feed James with a bottle 1 1/2 ounces every 2-3 hours as James lost a pound those first few days. The Lord really had his hand in the timing of everything as we ended up going in to the ER to get James' bilirubin level checked on day 7. He ended up needing to be under lights for jaundice for just over a full day (2 nights in the hospital). Because he was by then drinking so much milk (an ounce an hour when he was under the lights) and he was regaining his weight, we were able to pass on an IV of fluids. The most likely cause for James' severe jaundice was what is called ABO incompatibility. I am an O+ blood type and James is an A- (Paul's an A+ so we both carry a recessive negative gene).
Our little guy in the incubator under bilirubin lights.
James with his goggles on - Paul called him our little space man. James really did not like them and was glad when I would take him out for a few minutes and take them off while feeding him (although I pumped and mostly fed him through a bottle while he was in the incubator).
The blue tube is connected to another light he is laying on and the thing on his foot is an electrode that the CNA's would plug into their machines to measure his oxygen level, and heart rate. With all the nurses and CNA's coming in to check on him every few hours, I didn't get much sleep, but Paul and James could sleep through anything:)
I love this picture - daddy and his little man:)
Life is not anywhere near back to normal yet, but I'm slowly adding things back in to my day and leaning to adjust to the many new things motherhood brings.
