Ladies Due June 28/29/30...

[Gizzyy]

Baby jack arrived yesterday morning x

Congrats Fifie! x

 

[Gizzyy]

I think something might be starting ladies!! I had a bit of bloody show a little while ago and then I started getting contractions with major abdominal cramping and back pain! I've also run to the bathroom three times already with some "clearing out" diarrhea, sorry for the TMI! It's still early I'm sure but I really hope this is the start of real labor!!! Fingers crossed!!

Ooh sounds promising! Good luck x

 

[1babydreamer]

This is it ladies!! I'm in l&d now and finally got my epidural! I will update as I can. Can't wait to hold my little man!

 

[gillybump]

This is it ladies!! I'm in l&d now and finally got my epidural! I will update as I can. Can't wait to hold my little man!

Good luck

 

[StephtheHiker]

Yeay!!

 

[Gizzyy]

Good luck! Can't wait for an update!! x

 

[1babydreamer]

I'm so sorry I disappeared ladies!! It's been tough to update but here goes!

Brayden Riley Sauer arrived Saturday, July 5th at 8:23am, weighing a whopping 8lbs. 11oz. and 21 inches long! He's absolutely perfect!
I went into spontaneous labor (thank GOD!) Friday, July 4th at about 1:30pm. So all in all an 18 hours labor. I was set to be induced Monday, July 7th, so I'm so glad he decided to make his appearance. I labored at home until about 8-8:30 pm as I was in excruciating pain with each new contraction. I thought for sure I had to be at least 5 cm dilated but when I checked in at L&D I was 100% effaced but only 2 cm!!! I was having bad back labor and let me tell you, that is no joke ladies!!! My doctor decided to let me stay and get the epidural as I was so past due. I finally got the epidural about 11:30pm and it was sweet, heavenly relief! Apparently all my body needed to dilate was me to relax more! By 2am I was 9cm and by 3:30 I was 10! My waters just refused to break so we decided to "practice" pushing before my doctor got there and by 4:30 am my waters finally broke! There was some meconium so there was a little concern that the baby may aspirate it. They called to give the NICU a heads up and decided to let me rest until 7 and try pushing again since the baby was still only at +2 station. I started pushing at 7am and he was born at 8:23 . He did swallow a bit of fluid so they scooped him up and worked on his lungs for a bit before I could hold him . His lungs are great now and he even started nursing fairly quickly like a champ! He's still a little jaundiced but getting better every day and he's already gotten back to his birth weight and exceeded it at todays appointment!

Here's my beautiful boy snuggling his daddy and right after labor with mommy

 

[pandi77]

Beautiful story babydreamer and so much like mine with the epidural helping to speed up dilation I was also experiencing back labor and pitocin induced contractions as well and labored for hours to try to make it to 3cm before getting the epi...wished I'd got it earlier in retrospect. We have our beautiful babies tho and very happy your LO is healthy and with his momma and papa

 

[1babydreamer]

Aww thanks Pandi! I totally agree. We have our prizes and I feel so blessed! 😄

 

[Disneyfan88]

Hi ladies. Sorry I've been absent for so long. I finally learned why the baby never dropped and why I wasn't dilating.

Audrey was born on July 5 at a whopping 9 lbs, 5 oz and 21 inches long! DH and I are both small, and it was a complete shock to everyone!

My waters broke around 4:00 am on July 4. I called my doctors office and spoke with the on-call OB. I was told to go to the hospital as I was overdue, and I was also bleeding. After getting checked in at the hospital, I learned that I was only 1 cm dilated. Although I was not feeling painful, regular contractions, and they weren't positive that my waters broke due to the presence of blood (I knew it had, though), I was admitted. The baby's heart rate was fine on the monitor, and regular contractions were being picked up by the monitors. I was allowed to try to progress on my own until 12:30 when a cervical check showed no significant progress. Pitocin was started shortly after. I originally went in not wanting an epidural (or pitocin) - I gave up that idea after I was upped to the third dose / level of the drug (OMG the contractions were so painful, and I was only 1.5 cm dilated by 5:00 pm). I got my epidural shortly after 6:00 pm and felt so much better (I was finally able to rest!).

July 4 eventually became July 5, and I still wasn't progressing. My Pitocin was suspended for a few hours in the middle of the night because L&D got very busy. I must say it's very disheartening to arrive when it's quiet, and have all of the birthing rooms fill up and then empty while you are there. The on-call OB from my doctors office changed on July 5. She prefers to avoid c-sections whenever possible (like me) and advised that we wait a little longer to see what an increased dose of Pitocin would do. They were closely monitoring the baby's heart rate and watching for signs of infection (due to broken wasters for more than 24 hours) and determined that there were no risks to the baby to wait a little longer. I started getting heavy pressure feelings below, and based on that and the big, constant, overlapping contractions seen on the monitor, the nurse thought I might be getting close. I allowed my epidural to wear off a little so that I'd know when to push, and the nurse checked my cervix - 2 cm. The contractions were so intense as I waited for my epidural to catch back up. After a couple more hours, the doctor came in to check on me. I was given the option to keep waiting up to a couple more hours or to go for a c-section. She got paged for another delivery, so we ended up waiting, though I knew where we were headed. When she got back, she checked my cervix one last time, and I was only 3 cm. After 39 hours in L&D, off to surgery we went.

The operation went well overall. Audrey was out in no time and received a loud collective "Wow! BIG baby!" From everyone in the room. Hearing her first cries was simply amazing, and I was in love with her as soon as I saw her. DH went to take photos while they looked her over, and I of course remained on the table. My hands and arms were jittery and shaky throughout the operation and afterwards. I lost a lot of blood but luckily did not require a transfusion.

We were in the recovery area of the maternity ward for 4 nights. Between a painful recovery and struggles with breastfeeding (and Audrey losing weight), it's been a tough journey. We've been home since Thursday night. I am so in love with Audrey that I'd go through it all again in a heartbeat.

 

[StephtheHiker]

Disney that sounds SOO tough!! I'm sorry you had to go through all that and then still end up with a section but you have a healthy baby now and that's what matters! All the best on your recovery. Funny, you had a similar start to labor as I did.

Water broke just before 2 am on the 25th so we headed off to l&d around 4...confirmed water but still only 1.5 cm. They let me labor for 12 hours before I had to give in to pitocin (had only progressed to 2)..,then they slowly upped the dosage. After 23 hours of intense regular contractions and only 4 cm dilated, I gave in to have my hind waters broken and some morphine to help me sleep ... But in just a few contractions after that, I was ready to push! They had me wait and finally at 240 am on the 26th I was pushing and 324 am Emma was born. No birth goes how you expect it to but I'd have to say, it went well for not going as planned. I was in labor for 3 midwives' shifts and they all were so nice. I was also really grateful for the ability to just relax through contractions (though even though pushing sucked, it was nice to be able to DO something!)

So interesting to hear how different our stories are but all resulted in healthy babies

 

[Disneyfan88]

Disney that sounds SOO tough!! I'm sorry you had to go through all that and then still end up with a section but you have a healthy baby now and that's what matters! All the best on your recovery. Funny, you had a similar start to labor as I did.

Water broke just before 2 am on the 25th so we headed off to l&d around 4...confirmed water but still only 1.5 cm. They let me labor for 12 hours before I had to give in to pitocin (had only progressed to 2)..,then they slowly upped the dosage. After 23 hours of intense regular contractions and only 4 cm dilated, I gave in to have my hind waters broken and some morphine to help me sleep ... But in just a few contractions after that, I was ready to push! They had me wait and finally at 240 am on the 26th I was pushing and 324 am Emma was born. No birth goes how you expect it to but I'd have to say, it went well for not going as planned. I was in labor for 3 midwives' shifts and they all were so nice. I was also really grateful for the ability to just relax through contractions (though even though pushing sucked, it was nice to be able to DO something!)

So interesting to hear how different our stories are but all resulted in healthy babies

Thanks! We went through multiple shifts at the hospital, too. We were there long enough to know most of them by name and to know which ones we did and did not care for.

We are having to watch Audrey's feeding intake and are currently having to supplement my milk with formula until my milk supply increases. She's also oftentimes uninterested in feeding, and we are constantly having to wake her in order to meet the feeding schedule requirements that the hospital's lactation consultant gave us to follow. I'm hoping this is short term. Aside from that, she's a very healthy, and happy baby, and we are so blessed to have her.

 

[StephtheHiker]

Yes I hope that is temporary!! Maybe our babies should switch appetites for a few days...my girl eats on average every 90 minutes ... And that's not including cluster feeds ack

 

[1babydreamer]

Oh Disney, I'm so sorry you had such a rough time! I can't believe we went into labor and both had our babies the same day! And both our babies were unexpectedly large. My doctor was shocked and wondered how I was hiding such a big boy! Even though our labors and births didn't go as planned, we have our precious babies home now. I hope the breastfeeding gets easier for you and Audrey. Stick with it hun and I promise it will get easier. The more she tries to feed, the quicker your milk will come in. My boy eats like a champ and my poor nipples are so sore! But it won't last forever. The first few weeks are the hardest.

 

[Disneyfan88]

Thanks, Steph & 1babydreamer!

Audrey is wanting to suckle less since we were advised to introduce a bottle for the supplemental feelings. I'm still pumping after every feed and hope that I'm getting enough stimulation for my milk supple to increase.

Oh Disney, I'm so sorry you had such a rough time! I can't believe we went into labor and both had our babies the same day! And both our babies were unexpectedly large. My doctor was shocked and wondered how I was hiding such a big boy! Even though our labors and births didn't go as planned, we have our precious babies home now. I hope the breastfeeding gets easier for you and Audrey. Stick with it hun and I promise it will get easier. The more she tries to feed, the quicker your milk will come in. My boy eats like a champ and my poor nipples are so sore! But it won't last forever. The first few weeks are the hardest.

Get these if you haven't already. I used them for the first time yesterday, and OMG, they are a godsend!

https://www.lansinoh.com/products/soothies-by-lansinoh-gel-pads

 

[1babydreamer]

I will try those!! Thanks Hun!

 

[mrsmummy2]

Hi all, just a quick message to say hope you're all doing well & enjoying your lovely babies.
I sure am loving my boy

thought I'd post a little update pic in case anyones interested

 

[1babydreamer]

Hi all, just a quick message to say hope you're all doing well & enjoying your lovely babies.
I sure am loving my boy

thought I'd post a little update pic in case anyones interested

Oh my goodness, he's lovely! So much cuteness!! Looks like a happy, healthy little guy .

We're doing well and my little man will be 6 weeks on Saturday! Time flies!! Breastfeeding is going well but we did hit a snag as we both have thrush at the moment. SO not fun!! But he's eating well and gaining weight and is super healthy otherwise. Here's a few recent pics of Brayden.

Hope the rest of you ladies are doing well and enjoying your little ones!

 

[mrsmummy2]

Aw bless you both!
He's looking wonderful! Love the little hat.. too cute!!

 

[Gizzyy]

Hey ladies!!! Long time no talk! How's everyo doing! x