The sickness

We are sick. Which really sucks as I hardly ever get sick. I am achy with a hacking cough. Eleanor is a little achy and stuffy. We both have fevers (99-100). Awesome! Just what I want around my sweet new baby. Hopefully the fact that I'm nursing will help her out. Maybe we should all be drinking it! lol

The birth story of Charlotte James (with some back story)

I'm going to attempt to blog more regularly, even if it is just to vent about my come and go post-partum depression/anxiety. But today I am going to write about the birth of my second sweet girl, and some of the journey that got me there.

On January 19, 2009 I found out I was pregnant....again. Between Eleanor and this pregnancy I had been pregnant 3 times. And had 3 miscarriages. That is a whole other blog post though! This pregnancy came as quite a surprise because of the crazy timing. Jimi and I were working our way back from a pretty rough December. We had done some reconnecting and well, I guess we really connected! Based on my history, I assumed this pregnancy wouldn't stick like the others. But it did.

At our 8 week ultrasound, Eleanor said the baby looked like Eve from Wall-E. She was so happy to see a little baby growing, where others had stopped growing. We were all happy. We decided to find out if it was a boy/girl, and learned we were having a baby girl at our 20 week ultrasound. I thought for sure it was a boy, but Jimi knew it would be a girl. Eleanor wanted to name her Chocolate Marshmallow, which is actually somewhat close to what we chose.

We knew that a job transfer back to Portland from Eugene might come up during the pregnancy, but we figured it would be after the baby came. Ha! At 27 weeks, Jimi was offered a store in Portland. We talked and talked about it, and decided to go for it. I chose OHSU for my OB care since they had water birth as an option there. Once I called they told me they wanted me to see an OB first because of my pre-term labor I had with Eleanor.

Oh, the pre-term labor saga. Eleanor was born at 36 weeks after my going into labor at 32 weeks. I was on bedrest for the 4 weeks before she was born. My dr in Eugene had recommended that I get weekly progesterone shots from 16-36 weeks to reduce the chance of pre-term labor again. I got my weekly shots and hoped for the best. We moved when I was 31 weeks pregnant. At my first visit with my OB at OHSU, she checked me and said I was 3cm and 85% effaced. Awesome! (Not.) So, I was sent up to labor and delivery. I was given lots of meds and stayed for 3 days. No cervical changes so I was sent home on bedrest.

Bedrest was emotionally rough because we had literally just moved, and had lots of unpacking to do. Plus, Eleanor and I couldn't leave the house. We watched a lot of kid's shows that month. Thankfully I have the most amazing friends who came by almost everyday to play with Eleanor and talk to me. Wonderful, wonderful people. I also had my mother blessing at 34 weeks from my couch. This was my first blessing and it was exactly what I needed. I love that all of that positive energy was stirred up in my living room.

At 37 weeks, I was taken off all bedrest. I was at 4cm, and my OB thought I would have the baby right away. Funny lady. Finally at 39 weeks, things were a-changing. I went in for my dr's appt and she found me to be 6cm dilated. I could not believe it. She called up to labor and delivery and they were full. We talked about breaking my water the next morning so I would not have the baby in the car or at home alone. (Eleanor was born in 2 hours.) I couldn't believe I was going to be induced. Ironic, yes? My appt was all set up for the next morning. I called my labor support and family support people. All was ready for the next morning.

That night I was laying on the couch watching Project Runway (10:30pm). I had a contraction and then another. They felt different and they didn't stop. I told Jimi that we were going to end up at the hospital that night. At 11:15pm, I called my support people and told them we were heading up to OHSU to have the baby. Then we called OHSU to let them know we were coming. They were full. No room at the inn for us! I started crying and handed the phone to Jimi. The nurses ended up sending us the another hospital that was closer to us. We called the support peeps and told them of the change in plans. We left at 11:48pm for the hospital. My contractions really increased in intensity as we made the 10 minute drive. I could hear Eleanor in the backseat telling me everything was going to be okay. We got to the hospital at 11:59 pm. I got out and walked into the Birth Center. I had a contraction in the hallway, so I stopped and breathed through it.

At 12:01 am, I got into the bed and the midwife came in and checked me. (I ended up with a midwife!) I was 8cm. At this point, I said shit. Or fuck. It really could have been either word or both. Seriously, walking down the hallway at 8cm? Just breathing?? This baby was coming fast and I was scared. I asked Jimi to take E out in the hallway to wait for Leah. At some point, Savannah got there. Everything was happening really fast. Jimi came back in, and I said I wanted to go in the bathtub. The midwife said I could go in but I would have to get out to push. That didn't sound too appealing. I could hear Eleanor crying in the hallway and had a hard time focusing. She was worried that something was wrong with me or the baby. (A good friend of ours had a stillbirth 2 weeks before, and Eleanor was worried.) Savannah had a nurse go out and tell her we were fine. I sat up, and my water broke.

I kept saying I was scared, and didn't want to do this. It hurt, and I tried to keep my voice in a low pitch but I couldn't. I needed to bite on something, and thankfully Savannah got me a washcloth to chew on. I think she thought I might bite her! I may have, who knows. I felt the urge to push and it felt so good. At one point I just breathed through it and Jimi watched the baby move from my body. They asked if I wanted to touch her head. I said I'll touch her head when she is out of me! LOL I pushed a few times and she was out and on my chest. It was 12:46am. 45 minutes!! They weighed her and she weighed 9 pounds 14 ounces. I said you've got to be shitting me. Eleanor was 6 pounds 4 ounces, just a little peanut. I had a small tear, so they stitched me up.

There is more to follow this story. Like our struggle with breastfeeding, the PKU results, and some depression/anxiety thrown in for good fun. But that will come another day.