Thursday 12 February 2009

Birth story

We are getting on well and getting a bit more sleep which is good! Caleb is 8lb9oz this week which im so pleased about as im breastfeeding and it was stressing me out about whether he was getting enough - he always seemed hungry and always wanted fed. Its hard going. However, this week we have discovered the joy of dummies (soothers) because so often he just wants to suck!! He just has one for a little while and it totally settles him. Now that he's not always on me im regaining my sanity. I was so ready to quit and go to bottles on Monday but...im determined and i have perseverance and we're definitely getting there!

I havent had a chance to blog about the birth yet but lets just say...it was awful!! I went into hospital on Friday 16th for induction. The induction process started Friday afternoon with prostin. Then another dose again on Saturday morning. After a membrane sweep Saturday lunchtime contractions started at 2pm. I was taken to the labour suite at 4pm to have my waters broken but due to emergencies there was no doctor available to break my waters until midnight! So i had 3minute apart contractions from 2pm - midnight. It was torture. By 4am, after much gas and air and diamorphine , i was only 4cm and had an epidural. Which was AMAZING, relief at last! By 11am Sunday however, i was still only 4cm and the decision was made to Csection because Caleb's heartbeat was dropping everytime the drip was increased. Lets just say...it was just as well....turns out the cord had a true knot which was blocking Caleb's descent and a normal birth would not have been possible without a real emergency situation occuring. Thank God for the way things turned out. He was born at 12.01pm and it was great to hear him cry straight away - an emotional moment we will never forget!

30 comments:

DaisyGirl said...

I'm so sorry labor was horrible for you, I'm glad that Caleb came thru without any distress! Good luck with nursing, I nursed Jason for only 3 weeks then I got an infection in my breasts. I was so glad to go to bottles!
You look wonderful in your picture!
What a sweet baby!
Donna

staci said...

Congratulations on your very sweet little bundle of joy!!! He's precious :)

Karen said...

wow sounds like it was traumatic for you both , I love the photo

Anna van Schurman said...

And it's a testament to the human spirit that people continue to have children! Congratulations! He's a cutie. And I mean it. I don't say that to just everyone.

(Dummies are called pacifiers in American English. You know, translation, just another service I provide.)

Anonymous said...

He's gorgeous!

I'm sorry you had such a difficult time during the birth but glad that Caleb is doing OK :)

valerie said...

Wow, congratulations! I'm glad things turned out ok and Caleb is a cutie. Beautiful picture.

Jeanne said...

What a great photo of you and Caleb. Mom and son are both beautiful.

Andie said...

Oh I am so glad both you and wee Caleb were ok! Breast feeding can be so hard! Especially the first time! Good luck with it and I hope it continues to go well. Caleb is adorable and you look like your absolutly glowing!

Twana said...

Both of you look great!

Anonymous said...

He is such a beautiful baby. I'm sorry your labor was so bad; I had a bad one too but it was 17 yrs ago and you do forget some of the pain (not much but some, LOL)
I'm glad both of you are doing well and he is so sweet.
robin
klpich at aol dot com

Margaret said...

Hello, pleased to hear things are settling down for you. Caleb looks amazing. Well done you! I am sure he will bring you both much joy in the years ahead.

Sharon said...

You both look awesome! I glad that you both safely made it through.

Stitchingranny said...

He is a real little beauty Cheryl

Christine S said...

He's gorgeous, Cheryl, and you look great!

Kathy A. said...

Congratulations hon. He is sooo very sweet and you look so happy. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

You two look beautiful together! Glad everything turned out for the best.

Rowyn said...

Lovely photo of you both.

Sorry to hear it was a traumatic birth, but glad to hear things are going well.

tintocktap said...

What an experience! Glad everything turned out well, tho'. Hope you're recovering well. Gorgeous photo of you and Caleb.

Wendy said...

All my kiddies loved their soothers! We learned after the first baby, to keep at least 3 on hand to spare us the dramatic searches that used to go on.

Your labour sounds horrendous, poor girl! But look how beautiful little Caleb is, he just melts my heart.

Terry said...

I'm sorry to hear how bad the labor was for you. He's quite he little cutie pie and you look great too. You have that new Mom glow. Good luck with nursing; I had a hard time with all four of mine and had to go to the bottles pretty quickly. I wish you all the luck in continuing with it. Congrats again on your beautiful little boy!

Karoline said...

Glad to hear Caleb is growing well. If you have a Baby Cafe or another breastfeeding support group near you I really recommend going, I found it really useful to be able to talk to the other Mums when I had any issues.

Rosie and I are just coming to the end of bf'ing now, my two essentials for successful feeding are a wireless laptop for the daytime feeds (that was when I got a lot of my blog reading done LOL) and an Ipod for the nighttime ones.

Hazel said...

Sounds very similar to what happened to me. Thank goodness for modern medicine. Don't beat yourself up about it either - you have a healthy, beautiful baby boy and you're alive to tell the tale and that's what's important. Breastfeeding didn't last too long with me but I have two gorgeous children to show for my efforts! You look wonderful hun. You both do. xx

barbara said...

Oh my gosh, I was right on the edge of my seat reading this! I am so glad the both of you are okay!!!! Many, many hugs to you both!

(And OMG, you look FABULOUS!)

Nancy said...

I'm so happy that everything turned out well in the end and you have such a handsome, healthy baby. Once the baby is eating somewhat regularly, there will come a time when he will seem to nurse all the time for a few days. This is when he is increasing his milk supply. The extra nursing increases your milk production and then he will settle down again to a more regular nursing pattern but your milk production will have increased. Glad that the pacifier is helping you to get some rest. Motherhood is amazing and babies are so wonderful but it is also very tiring. Be sure to get as much rest as you can. Don't mind taking naps; it helps. Again, congratulations on such a wonderful gift for you and your husband.
Nancy

Juls said...

You look wonderful and baby Caleb is so precious! Glad things worked out as I knew they would!!!!! Sending hugs your way!!!!

stitcherw said...

Wonderful picture, he's such a cutie. Sorry it was so hard, but I'm glad that it sounds like things are settling down more now. Being able to get some sleep helps soooo much.
Sue

Dani - tkdchick said...

Cheryl I haven't stopped by in awhile, let me congratulate you on the birth of your beautiufl son!

Stephanie said...

Delighted to see that you and Caleb are doing really well - I was on holiday for lots of January so think I missed his birth, but really glad to hear you are both well, despite a less than perfect birth - but the important thing is that you're both well and happy :)

Karan said...

Such a lovely pic. Lots of (((((((((hugs))))))))) & hope the joy in your new son helps those bad memories to fade quickly. :0)

Lori said...

Yeah, come to the breastfeeding groups! :D