Birth Story

I never did get to share my birth story, since so much happened in the few weeks after Stevie was born. Luckily mine is short and sweet...

On December 20th, in the middle of the night, I started having labor pains. They lasted about 4 hours and then at 6am, they would suddenly just stop. That happened the next 2 nights also. I kept thinking "Oh here we go!" as my contractions were a steady 10 minutes apart. But 6am on the dot, I would realize it wasn't happening and crawl back into bed.

December 23rd went a little differently. The usual labor pains woke me up at about 1:15am, but it was also accompanied by my water breaking! I was not expecting that! I had a feeling it wouldn't be like the movies and they'd have to break my water in the hospital. But luckily it happened at home and not out in public. Right off the bat, I wasn't feeling any contractions or anything, so I knew I had a little time. I decided to take a quick shower and get something to eat to prepare for the long road ahead. I woke up my husband shortly after and had him finish packing the hospital bag. By the time we were packed and heading out the door it was about 1:45am - and my contractions were like 3 minutes apart!

Holy crap. This was definitely happening.

Soon.

Luckily, the hospital is close by, and by the time I checked in and got to my room, around 2:15am, the contractions were 2 minutes apart and shortly after were a minute apart. Sometimes they were right on top of each other and I wouldn't get a break in between.

Now I should tell you, I had every intention of giving birth naturally. Some would say its crazy and others would say its amazing to go without the drugs. But honestly, once the process started, I was really overwhelmed. I got scared of the pain and not knowing how much more it would hurt. I totally chickened out. They gave me the epidural at like 5am. It never took full effect because of how fast my labor was progressing, but it took the edge off.

At 6am I started pushing and little Stevie arrived at 6:44.

What! My whole labor from start to finish was only 5 and 1/2 hours?! Yeah I know. Kind of awesome. Like I said, short and sweet. The nurses and everyone, including me, were just shocked.

Hey, that's how we roll.

YAY!

Just wanted to update real quick that we got some awesome news today. Stephen does not need the second procedure done to re-wire his sternum!

Not for now anyway.

We took him in for his pre-op appointment and before they got all his blood drawn and consent forms signed, I mentioned that I hadn't heard that same popping sound coming from his chest in about a week. The nurse practitioner double checked and also didn't hear anything. So she had me wait around for the surgeon and when he checked, he didn't hear or feel anything abnormal either.

We have to keep an eye on it, but somehow the problem seems to have corrected itself. Don't know why or how, but don't really care either. Just glad they don't have to cut Stevie open again so soon!

Now we have about 6-8 months to prepare for his next big surgery. This is the one where they will actually go in and repair the two problems with his heart - the hole between the left & right side and the new pulmonary valve. Once that is done, he'll be good as new (until he's around 8-10 years old when he will need replacement parts to go along with his growing body). For now, we'll just keep him healthy and growing - up to 8 lbs, 11 oz now!

OK, I need a nap!

B-day Post

This was never meant to be JUST a baby blog. I know its starting to look that way, as I don't have much else going on in my life other than baby worries. But I did recently have a birthday. Yup, I'm 32. I remember when my Dad turned 32. That's weird because I thought he was so old! And now here I am... But he had a good trick - he used to tell everyone he was "Almost 30." Then he would snicker because they didn't know he was counting backwards. Might try that one.

On Saturday night, I got to celebrate with my pals. We had pizza and cake and ice cream. We just tried to catch up on things, since it has been awhile. The baby always turns into the center of attention, which I don't mind, but I'm sure gets annoying to others once in awhile. For me, it was just nice to get out and spend some time with everyone.

On Sunday, my awesome husband took care of the baby ALL DAY so that I could sleep in, get my nails done, and do some shopping. It was nice to have a break, although I regret not sleeping more! And I will say after being away from home for almost 4 hours, I was anxious to get back. Nothing has ever pulled me away from a GAP sale before, but knowing the bitty and the huz were at home, I really wanted to hang out with them!

So far, 32 is just fine. It kind of sneaked up on me since January was such a whirlwind, but I'm OK with it.

Heart Doctor

Today the baby had his first appointment with the Cardiologist. She is someone who will be in his life for a long time, as he will always need someone checking on his heart. Luckily we love the doctors in that office and we have only good news to report!

They first weighed and measured him and he has gained a whopping 14 ounces and grown almost 2 inches since he was born! I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but he's bulking up! You can really see it in his face, as his little cheeks and double chin are filling out. He's quite the eater, so I'm not surprised. After the basics, they moved on to the heart stuff. An EKG showed that everything looked normal. Then an ultrasound again confirmed that everything was working great. His oxygen levels were good and his blood pressure was on target. So the Cardiologist was very pleased and said he was right where they want him to be for now. That's all we can ask for.

I'm a happy mommy today. Even on 4 hours of sleep.

Oh, bugger...

Well, things have been going pretty good. But we have one little setback to report. Stephen will be going back under the knife again next week. :(

The last couple days, I have noticed a clicking sound coming from his insides. I imagined the worst thinking "Oh no, his sternum is probably coming unwired or something!" then talked myself down, trying not to be dramatic.

But his sternum is, in fact, coming unwired.

Damn.

I took him to the pediatrician this morning and when I mentioned the clicking sound, the doc wanted me to go back to CHLA to have it checked out. I don't question anything this pediatrician says. I credit her with saving Stephen's life, honestly. So we went, and he got x-rays and was checked out by one of the surgeons who did the original surgery. The x-ray didn't look abnormal, but as she felt his ribcage, she said something was off. So they want us back in next week.

We thought of a bunch of questions for the doctors after the fact, but that will have to wait until Monday. It's not an emergency procedure or anything, so he should be out of the hospital relatively quickly - one full day(ish?). I'm just so bummed they have to open up his scarred little chest again so soon. It was healing up so nicely. For now, we are going to try and enjoy the weekend and not worry too much about what is to come.

Boo.

*UPDATE*: His checkup won't be until next Thursday with the procedure on Friday, Feb 4th. We will update again once we know more.