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@Beebug: Congrats and well done! Welcome, Colin!
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The shortest version I can type, lol...
Woke to contractions this morning around 4:20, began timing right away, knew they were the real deal! Let DH sleep, I ate some cereal, then around 6 took the dog for a walk! Woke DH around 7:15 to say today was baby day and literally contractions flipped from bearable to hell a few mins after! Texted my Mom to hurrrry and get over to our place to take DD, off to hospital DH and I went! They walked me right into a labour room, contractions were not speakable or walkable at this point, minute + long, every 3 mins. BTW, downloaded an awesome contraction timer app! Got checked, was only a 4, contractions ripping me apart at this point. Got word anesthesiologist would be 2 hours to come to do Epi, and I sobbed, and sobbed! 4.5 hours later (2:30pm or so) he arrives, I'm a 7/8 at this point and what heaven that was! I begin to feel human again for the first time since 6am or so! 30 mins later, I was feeling everything, like even worse! Epi fail! I was back to agony. Oh ladies it was awful! They turned up the levels on it and then boom, I was overdone, they checked me, I was fully dilated and I could feel nothing! So they told me when to push through contractions (that I now couldn't feel on bit) and in 9 minutes of pushing, he was out! That was pretty insane, I seriously felt nothing, only just getting full feeling back now! He wasn't too noisy when he came out, we delayed cutting the cord, DH then cut it, then some skin to skin! I had no issues with delivering my placenta this time (took 2 more hours of pushing after DD was born, hell) and even got the doc to show it to me, pretty cool little info session we got! Got his stats, almost 9lbs, and hair, but not 1/4 of the hair DD was born with!
We named him about an hour later, pretty easy decision, I think there was a reason we sat on that name so long!
Had one stitch for tiny tear, really cramps now, but all part of the fun! Attempting bf'ing, see what happens when milk arrives!
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@Beebug: yayyyyyy! So excited for you! Congrats
love the picture and the story! Can't wait to hear about your DD's reaction to her new little bro -
DD meeting him was soooo adorable! I had her, then was handed him and she was just so in awe!
Some pics!
And home tonight, 7pm or so apparently!
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@Beebug: adorable
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@Beebug: seriously so cute.
So not to be a Debbie Downer but are any of the new may moms dealing with baby blues? I was on such a post-birth high the first few days... driving home from the hospital I actually mentioned how happy I was that I didn't seem to have any hormone crash and how I just love Fiona so much I couldn't imagine being sad.
Famous last words.
Friday night/sat morning I feel like all my hormones just crashed down hard. I'm not sure if it was just hormones or the reality of the situation kicking in when we got home after a week in the hospital and everything here was the same except that now it was all different and life is so hard with a newborn. We love her so much but the feeding schedule is so stressful and she keeps having melt downs and I basically have been crying on and off for the last 24 hours. Like rationally I know everything is great and I love her and this is so very temporary. I KNOW this to be true. But I still can't stop crying for any or no reason at all.
And my husband is so awesome and understanding. And honestly he is going so far above and beyond taking care of me and Fiona and the pets and the house and he's doing his best to make me laugh and remind me this is the hardest part and he's just being generally awesome. But then I start crying bc I feel bad that he has to be so strong for everyone and take of everyone because I can't even get out of a chair while holding our daughter due to my c-section and I'm a hormonal crying mess all the time. Ugh.
So.. yea. Sorry to be the serious debbie downer in the string of happy but I just needed to be a bit real with my May moms.
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@Mae: I'm so sorry about the baby blues. I'm not dealing with it yet, but my mom just left today and I'm so nervous about doing everything without her tomorrow. My MIL is coming but it's not the same. I just want my mom back. It doesn't help that the babies have been super fussy all evening, both cluster feeding like crazy.
I hope you get the feeding issues worked out and start to feel better soon. I was having supply issues and the kids were losing weight really fast so we have been supplementing with formula. It was a relief when we started because they were finally getting enough to eat, but at last week' sped appt we found out they still aren't getting enough and now we have to feed a high calorie recipe. We are dealing with tons of spit up issues now and it's just really maddening and worrying. So I understand the feeding stress. I just hope it gets better for you soon!
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@twodoghouse: aw I can't imagine two! I'm feeling so overwhelmed by one. My parents were actually here until today too. They were super helpful but also sort of stress me out bc they kept letting ppl come over and I'm not really comfortable being emotional in front of them. It was actually sort if a relief to have our house to ourself and just be with dh bc I can just cry and be crazy and not have to try to "be okay"
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@whodat: Congrats!!
@caity713: Congrats! Beautiful name and baby!
@Beebug: Congratulations! He's so cute!
@Mae: Sorry about the baby blues. I hope they improve soon. I've definitely been having some sad moments, mostly about DS1. He was so scared/mad when I was at the hospital and now things are just different. DH is spending a lot of time with him which is wonderful but I miss how things were before and it makes me sad. The first couple times he asked for DH to put him to bed I was a crying mess but he won't actually go to sleep for him so it makes me feel better that he does still need me. I'm also petrified of DH returning to work this week. Picking up DS1 makes my bleeding start up and he gets jealous of the baby and tries to climb on him and hit him sometimes. I just don't even know how I can possibly do it if I'm sleep deprived and still need to heal. So yes, I'm right there with you. -
@Beebug: beautiful pics!
My mom left today too! I've been a ball of tears off and on for the last couple days... we had a small family lunch before she went to the airport and in the middle of the meal I watched her and her eyes were welling up and she got up and left the room. I immediately started to cry and had to follow her. Sigh. Today was hard. She helped so much with G but now we're on our own. This evening has been OK so far but I fear the nighttime when the colic hits and he's hard to soothe. She has a real way with him. But yay for supportive husbands! My SIL went through serious PPD and she said it really helps to be communicative with our husbands especially as they try to support us. As difficult as the sleepless nights have been I try to savour the midnight cuddles and feedings because before long, they will be too big (or too busy) to fit snuggly in our arms.
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@Glitter: @skipra: @Mae: Baby blues hit today, but not about the new baby. He's been pretty easy, but my expectations are also more realistic this time. I'm not stressing over breast feeding. We had to supplement because of jaundice and in ok with that. We're working on his latch so I pump and bottle feed too. I'm just going with the flow. I'm sad because of DS1. I miss him. I can't carry him or bathe him or play with him like I did before. I know it's temporary but my heart hurts. On the plus side, he loves his little brother. I just want to be healed-repeat c section recovery is hard! Worse than last time.
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@mae: congratulations! Fiona is a doll! What a crazy birth experience...but obviously perfect in the end. Just wanted to say that you are not crazy or alone in your feelings. This motherhood thing is hard! And life is forever changed. Everything you said resonated with me so clearly. It's basically my same emotional experience thus far. Your husband sounds AMAZING, which makes all the difference. I've cried pretty much every day since juniper's birth 2.5 wks ago. At this point I don't consider it ppd. I honestly feel that my hormones are leveling out and I just feel things REALLY hard. My weepiness is mostly over missing our old life together and feelings of inadequacy over breast feeding struggles. What has really helped me is getting out of the house (obviously not easy with your CS pain). A couple times we've just loaded up the car and have driven around our favorite pretty parts of the city with the windows down. This puts her to sleep and let's us breathe in some fresh air...without having to exert much effort. Then, when I felt up to it we also took some short walks in our neighborhood. This made everything feel so much more normal and not like the crazy huge life change that it is. Thinking of you!
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OMG! The Baby Blues! Yes, mine hit HARD last week for a few days, and I feel like yesterday was my first semi-sober day. I was crying over everything and nothing. At one point I had a breakdown, because I 'accidentally' sipped some diet coke, and then had a freak out that I was passing on caffeine to my baby. It was not pretty. Some of the things I was sad about were legitimate, but some of it was just my hormones. I did get my placenta encapsulated, so I have been taking those pills. The sleep deprivation does not help either.
What I found to help is a. talking about it, with husband, with friends and other moms. b. Taking a shower at least once a day. Clean hair does wonders. c. Getting as much rest as you can.
Question for everyone: anyone have a gassy baby? Our baby is really having a hard time with gas, and it is so tough seeing her uncomfortable. She is also still mixed up with day/night hours. Any suggestions welcome?
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@Coopersmama: G is very, very gassy. Our ped recommended Ovol drops which have been working wonders. I know he's still gassy because he passes some serious wind all night with lots of dirty diapers, but the restlessness has eased up. We give him Ovol from about 6pm, every 4 hours til morning, and during that time I breastfeed him skin to skin. The warmth of my body on his stomach helps, they say.
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@Beebug: Congrats on your beautiful baby boy!!
@Mae: @twodoghouse: @Glitter: @Mamasig: @MRSHONEYBEAR: @Coopersmama: Thanks for sharing and updating. It's so validating to hear from the other May moms.
I am walking a fine line emotionally right now. I suspect I will be fully in baby blues territory once my mom leaves on Sunday. I am so grateful that she had so much time with me... c-section recovery is no joke, and while it's going really well, I can't do little things like stand up to do diaper changes quickly or hold her while getting pumping gear ready. I can only handle one little thing at a time, and I'm slow. DH had to return to work today. He'll take next week off when she leaves, but she's just so comforting to me, and he's a bit of a wreck himself right now.
I think a big part of my feelings comes from the fact that we just got home from the NICU yesterday. Being home for only a night before having to check back in to NICU took a toll on us emotionally, poor DH is running on fumes. Alicia is doing much better - no longer jaundiced, gained back most of the pound that she lost - but she has congenital hypothyroidism. We'll be headed to Children's this week to confirm with an ultrasound, but we've already begun taking the medication that she will likely need for the rest of her life.
I am beyond thrilled with my beautiful daughter - I had no idea I could love this much or this hard - but it's been a tough week, even with constant support and companionship. I am dreading being alone. I'm so glad for this board...
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On a happier note: here she is yesterday, one week old.
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@skipra: aw, I'm sorry that sounds hard.
I know it is totally different but I've also been having guilt about our pets. They were (are?) so spoiled and I know it was rough on them that we just disappeared for a week then came home and everything is different. The cats are scared of the baby and the dog is jealous. I might have cried about the one cat (my cuddle buddy) being scared to have me pet him. 
@Mamasig: Also ready to be healed. I hate that I can't just move around my house at will. I'm restricted to 1 set of stairs/day they say but our house is 4 levels. sigh. Today I couldn't stand it anymore and sort of said f it. I'm still trying to minimize but I just couldn't stand being stuck in just one part of my house anymore.
@MRSHONEYBEAR: "My weepiness is mostly over missing our old life together and feelings of inadequacy over breast feeding struggles." this, basically. My biggest fear pre-baby (and the reason we put off trying again and again and again until we got our surprise baby) was that we were SO happy and content before. And our life was easy and we knew it. We didn't work a ton and we spent every night and all weekend just hanging out. We tried to get a ton of that in before Fiona came (and we did!) but right now I think we're both just sort of like... holy shit what did we do we can't even watch a show without LO screaming her head off at some point. It's weird to spend 24/7 with my husband and miss him at the same time. We keep saying that we absolutely know this is temporary and it won't be long before we have some routine and things get easier and we like our new life better than our old one. But right now I think we just miss how easy things were and feel overwhelmed by the reality that they'll never be THAT easy again.
@Coopersmama: We think Fiona may have gas issues. But not sure? The last few nights she has flipped out in late afternoon through the evening hours and just been absolutely inconsolable. DH is sure it is gas. I have no idea. We started gas drops yesterday but I don't know that they're doing anything.
@gingerblonde: alicia is so beautiful! So sorry to hear she's had a rough go of it though. And yes, we will be here. I am also so grateful to have HB to research and vent and whatnot. I keep trying to adjust my frame of mind on this. Like, it is REALLY hard but we're in this together and maybe that should make it sort of fun. Like when you have a crazy project at school and pull all nighters for a week with your team to make it happen.... sucks but also sort of fun in being in the trenches together. But it's hard to keep that perspective when LO is screaming.
I think my DH is starting to have a bit of a rough time too. He handles everything really well except the meltdowns. It just drives him crazy when she screams and we can't make her stop. I hate it too but I think I realize it is pretty normal? I mean newborns scream for no reason sometimes right? But it just really really gets to him. She just screamed for like 45 min and everything we tried failed until I put her in my shirt for skin to skin (which we'd tried before and she wailed) and she stopped. DH just excused himself to go upstairs and read alone bc he said he just needed some time away from her. Which is fine. We had talked about how we both are going to hit our limits sometimes and we need to be honest about that and take some time so we can each recharge a little. But I'm a little worried because there is a lot more screaming to come I'm sure and I hope that he learns to tolerate it a little better.
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@Mae: I read this yesterday and only getting here now wth two hands when it won't take eons to type! Hugs Momma. I got in the shower last night at home and felt a wave of emotions, no tears yet, but I know they're not far off. This Mom business is hard and while the baby announcements on here/where us May Moms are at are fun, we'll also all be here for each other to problem solve and talk through the not so hot stuff, gosh knows I will, as I have already not baby related! Hope you had an okay day today, hugs.
Just read your latest post, good your DH got away in the screaming, that was a biggie that helped us, we set a time limit of one of us trying to settle her and would commit to switching for a number of reasons and we found it really helped, gosh knows we will put that to work soon with this one
Life will get back to old normal, this stage thankfully isn't forever, I think that's the one thing about being a second time Mom I am grateful for is everything felt forever/omg what did we do when it was tough with DD and the shit days go just as fast as they come an you will find your groove, but right now it is tough to see the light!
We had company today 9am to 4pm, it was great, but holy eff what a busy day home.
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@mae and @skipra- I have also felt so much guilt about our dog Cooper. He is no longer getting the attention he used to from us, or friends etc. He even got banished from the bed.
@Mae- I could have written that paragraph on the weepiness myself! I love my baby, but I was anxious about missing my old life. The thing I miss the most is sleep. We went out to brunch on Sunday with baby and hubs, and we are going to start outings tomorrow with other moms.
We just tried gripe water this evening. It seems like she is getting some reprieve, she is playing with daddy right now. Cross fingers for tonight.
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@Mae I'm going to make what is probably a wildly unpopular suggestion...don't be afraid to try a pacifier! Our second night home we could not console the baby and my nipples felt like they were going to fall off. I was crying, DH was on the verge, it was 3am and I made the executive decision to buck what all the books and the bfing websites said and give her a pacifier. It was the most glorious decision of our lives. It gave her and us a chance to calm down. She still takes the boob & we don't rely on the pacifier but it has truly been a helpful tool. Maybe I'm the worst mom ever but I don't regret this decision in the least.
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Love reading about all the babies and sorry to hear about the baby blues hitting.
I'm still sitting here pregnant. I had an appt today and maybe a fingertip dialated. Due date is Wednesday but I'm not holding out much hope. Scheduled my next appt for next week if I make it and we will see from there. Are there any other May mamas still waiting?
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@sungirl: I'm still waiting!!! Glad I'm not the only one!
Apologies for not being able to respond to everyone since I'm on my phone but I'm enjoying reading all the baby updates. I'm definitely nervous about postpartum blues...i cried a lot after having DD. No updates on my end...lots of braxton Hicks but that's about it. C-section still on for Wednesday if nothing happens before then.
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@MRSHONEYBEAR: oh yea... TRIED IT. lol I didn't last 48 hrs at home before pulling out a paci but she had no interest.
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@sungirl and @cookie_dough: I'm still waiting too. My due date is 5/31 so I'll likely be waiting for awhile. I have 3 more days of work left so I'm ok waiting for a bit.
I love seeing all the May babies, reading the birth stories, and hearing all about the first few days home. You ladies are definitely making everything more real for me.
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@MRSHONEYBEAR: we did the same thing last night!!! We couldn't figure out how to console her at 2am and were desperate! She took it and we got a few glorious hours of sleep!
I'm currently working on a 3am feeding that I basically had to wake Mags up for! Hopefully she'll give me another decent stretch after this!!!
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@caity713: The waking LO up to feed her makes me nuts but I know we need to do it! We did get the blessing from our ped to do 4 hr stretches at night and stick to 2-3 during the day, but we keep getting into a bad daytime cycle where I feed, then she flips out and it takes an hour to calm her down, and just as she's finally fallen asleep, we have to wake her up in like 30-45 min to feed. Which pisses her off. And then when she's done she starts crying again. I just want to let her sleep and not wake her up! sigh. I know that as she gets a little older and gains some weight we won't have to be so regimented about her schedule so I"m just really looking forward to that! I feel like she'd be a happier baby if we could just go with HER flow instead of trying to force our schedule on her, but I'm scared to disobey the docs bc everyone says 2-3 hours between feeds and she isn't quite up to birth weight yet and we're still dealing with a tiny bit of jaundice... so for now we just wake and deal with the consequences.
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I'm in the never wake to feed camp, maybe bad but I just can't wake babe to then fight them to stay awake to nurse!
Omg night from hellllll last night, our first night home was unreal, last night was the opposite, thank goodness every day is a new day, lol!
First doc appt for him today at 4pm! See if we got his weight back up! He was 8lbs5oz leaving the hospital and ideally hope he is back at birthweight today.
Milk is in, sore boobies, the pain is awful.
Anyone else with an older LO feel like their older one is a giant now? It's so funny picking her up, so huge compared to DS! So boy diaper changes are WAY different than girls we are experiencing! From pee spraying everywhere, a projectile poop last night (not kidding, like from change pad to wall at least 4ft away) diaper changes are adventures that I do not enjoy!
Nursing now, DH stayed home with sleeping DS while I took DD to daycare, returned library books and went to Tim hortons to get DH a coffee, timbit for dog, and me a (decaf!) tea! It was nice to get out, gorgeous weather today, I hope that outing helps my mood through the rest of the day, I definitely need to nap next time he is down.
We are struggling to figure out if he wants to cluster feed or if we have fed him too much (?) and he is uncomfortable? Wish he could just tell us!
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@Beebug: aw, sorry last night was so rough! I'm so grateful LO is being kind to us at night so far. Makes the days of screaming a bit easier to know she will (hopefully) sleep at night. Although we of course live in constant terror of her changing her mind about sleeping at night
Also I never know when she is hungry. DH and I have sort of an ongoing disagreement. When she cries I'm inclined to think we should try to feed her again. DH is convinced she's gassy and feeding makes it worse.
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@Mae: yes exactly, are they hungry and we're starving them, or gassy because of too much? I hate it, it's like torturous trial and error and hope it's not inflicting any pain on them! I have no idea how you know!
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My current leg warmer! Line the peach hat and pink (inside out, lol) receiving blanket? Downside of being born after a spoiled girl that got nothing gender neutral!
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@Beebug: Yes - DS seems HUGE to me now! The baby seems so itty bitty. He's 3 1/2 pounds smaller than his brother was at birth. I had to send DH to buy newborn size clothes. We didn't have any.
BF is coming along. If I'm being honest, I don't love it. I'm just taking it one day at a time.
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Haha I should really stop reading this thread until LO is actually here (tomorrow!!!) It's making me soooo nervous about what's to come
I think I've blocked out memories of sleepless nights, feeding issues, etc....but reading this bringing it all back!!! Ahhh!!! I was awake by 4 am this morning already in tears about flipping DD 's world upside down. I anticipate many more tears before checking in to the hospital tomorrow ...but I'm.also really excited to final meet this little guy!! I just had my last Prenatal massage, and she did.everything she could to get this la our .going, but I doubt we are going to avoid tomorrow's c-section at this point.
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@MRSHONEYBEAR: Yeah, we survived 2 nights in the hospital with them rooming in with us before busting out the pacifiers. Our hospital is very anti-pacifier (they have posters up in the rooms about it!) but we were desperate. OMG it was amazing the first time we stuck that pacifier in Alice's mouth and she settled right down. The next morning our nurse came in and I practically shouted that I was giving them pacifiers and I didn't care what she had to say about it. She just laughed and said good for you!
@Mae: Waking them up to eat just kills me! They were going 4 hour stretches at night but our ped said 3 is the max we can go because of their weight gain issues. Unfortunately the whole process of waking one, changing diaper, BFing, formula supplementing, burping, keeping upright for 15 min to eliminate all the spitting up we're getting now, then getting Miss Fussypants back to sleep, and THEN starting over with Blake usually takes about 1.5 hours, so I hardly get any substantial stretches of sleep. Ugh! I can't wait until we can just let them sleep! My husband is home from work this morning, so at least he was an extra set of hands last night. I also gave pumped milk instead of breastfeeding last night and that made the process so much faster. Of course, then I had to pump in the middle of the night so I didn't get too engorged, but at least I can do that mostly asleep.
@Beebug: Sorry about the night from hell last night! I had to laugh about the boy diaper changes. We have been experiencing some real treats from our daughter. She doesn't poop as often as our son so when she does, it tends to be explosive. As soon as she's done I tend to run to change her (can't stand the thought of her sitting in a dirty diaper) but about a third of the time we find that she's surprise! still pooping! She also pees on me way more than her brother does, although he gets a lot more height when he starts peeing mid-change. This morning he did start pooping halfway through a diaper change and it was that special kind of projectile poop that ends up all over the floor and bedroom door, etc. So lovely! Your outing sounds so nice! I haven't been anywhere by myself in over two weeks and I have to admit it sounds like heaven to get out of the house for a bit.
@cookie_dough: So exciting that you know you'll be meeting your little guy soon! What time do you go in for the c-section?
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@cookie_dough: sorry that I started the complaining on the thread! I think I knew having a newborn was hard, but living it is just a whole other thing. I know it will get better and at some point we'll like our new life better than our old life. But right now the days just seem endless! It's weird to love someone so much and also just want them to sleeeeeeeeeep haha.
@twodoghouse: Fingers crossed that we both get the okay to just feed on demand sooner rather than later!! Also I agree about being alone. Although my husband took LO this morning after her last feed so I could pump and decided to just keep her for a bit so I could shower and make myself breakfast (first time I've gotten my own food in over a week! lol) and now I've been sitting down on my laptop watching DVR'd stuff from the last week for like an hour while he is upstairs rocking her. Life feels normal again for a hot minute!
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We haven't busted out the paci yet, last night was tempting! We didn't until 2-3w in with DD, this time thinking that if we are goin to introduce it eventually, why not soon? So we'll see when the time comes!
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@Beebug: I guess my concern with the paci is if she wants to suck-- doesn't that mean she is hungry?? I just honestly don't know! Although like I said, we did try it during one melt down bc she had JUST eaten and nothing else was working, but she just wouldn't latch onto it. I don't think she likes plastic--- she also hated the nipple shield I tried in the hospital.
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@Mae: I think that's my hesitation so far, I want to learn a bit more about him and his cues to not miss hungry vs needs to suck!
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@twodoghouse: it was originally scheduled for 9h00, but now it's been changed to 1h00 p.m. I'm wondering if that means I can't eat anything at all until then! I'm going to be soooo hungry!
@Mae: hahaha don't apologize! I will be joining you in the "complaining" in just over 24 hours. Plus I don't see it as complaining, we are commiserating
I had put it out of my head how tough everything is in those early days, but I'm about to get a huge dose of reality!! Doesn't help that DD was a really easy baby, and chances are that we won't get that lucky twice. That and the fact that DD is still in her difficult stage...having lots of tantrums, has to be carried around by mommy at all times. I already feel guilty about how I'm not going to be able to carry her/play with her, and she won't understand at all.@Beebug: awwww, what a cute picture! Hopefully the cuteness makes up for your horrible night
I'm sure my DD is going to seem huge too (although I have a feeling this little guy is going to come out weighing like 15 pounds hahaha). My parents aren't going to bring her to visit until Friday...Two nights will be the longest I've ever been away from her. But I"m already dreading the moment where they leave the hospital...I envision her being upset because I'm not going with them and I already want to cry just thinking about it! Oh man...damn hormones!!!
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@Mae: Oh, and your post totally reminded me of my first few days in the hospital...you love this little person so much, yet you keep thinking "what was I thinking, how does anyone EVER have a second kid after going through this once?" But it does get much much better
And it seems like you will have to wait forever for things to go back to normal, but eventually they do, and it goes by much more quickly than you expected!
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@cookie_dough: lol yes exactly. Before LO was born we were sort of talking about how we should prob have #2 in the not too distant future to have our 2 and have DH get the snip and be done with this whole childbearing time of our lives. But last night we were like OMG ONE AND DONE.
love the picture and the story! Can't wait to hear about your DD's reaction to her new little bro 
I hope you get the feeding issues worked out and start to feel better soon. I was having supply issues and the kids were losing weight really fast so we have been supplementing with formula. It was a relief when we started because they were finally getting enough to eat, but at last week' sped appt we found out they still aren't getting enough and now we have to feed a high calorie recipe. We are dealing with tons of spit up issues now and it's just really maddening and worrying. So I understand the feeding stress. I just hope it gets better for you soon!
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