*Baby Corner*

[ace13 0]

Today's the day! We're leaving for the hospital in about half an hour. That is, if I can get mom and hubster moving

Yeah! Best wishes for a safe and speedy labor. Can't wait to hear the news

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments. I think he looks just like his dad, too. Everything from the eyes to the mouth to the face shape, hands feet and toes. Where am I in there

Well, here is my story : at about 4:30 on the 13th, my water broke so I knew that it was going to be that day. How long could I actually be in labor???right?

Well, I got to the hospital at 8am and they admitted me to L/D at about 10am. I wasn't really having any serious contractions and I was at a 2/3cm. No change from the day before. So, at about noon, after no change, they put me on pitocin. Hours went by and I dilated to a good 3. Wow...I was excited So the bumped the pitocin every 30 to 45 minutes to get things progressing and they did slightly, where at about 3 or 4 in the morning on the 14th, I was dilated to a 6. Then, the contractions stopped again for 3 hours. At 7 am, they took the pitocin way down and started again to give my uterus a break. I contracted for a couple hours and progressed to an 8. There was an end in sight...or so I thought. I stayed at an 8 for 2 or 3 hours with no change and the baby started getting decels in his heart rate from the stress of being in labor so long. We decided on a c-section. I cryed. I was so tired and upset and scared. It turned out ok, but at the time it was hard to hear.

During all of this, I had an epidural that did not work. So, I was in a lot of pain. I had terrible shakes from the epidural and pitocin and felt like I was siezuring. They kept giving me boosters of the epidural and it would work for about an hour and then all the pain would come back. The longest 36 hours of my life.

On a positive note, after a tough first night at home, Nicholas is doing really well today and I feel better. My milk came in last night and we had some latching on problems, but those are all in the past and he is sleeping comfortably right now. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. I am going to go back and spend some more time with my little one.

[TracyLuis 0]

Wow, ace...that sounds really rough. I'm so sorry. Glad you are home with your baby now. I hope you heal very quickly. And congratulations on your beautiful son!!!

yassmine...we'll be waiting for your news

And thanks for sharing those beautiful photos of your son, Lyuba. He's such a cutie!

[maggieNomar 0]

Gabi called me just now...Yassmine2878

We have a baby!!!!!! 9lbs even. Length unknown at this time. Mom and baby are doing fine. She'll be home Thurs and will try to get pics up or email them to me and I'll get help to get them up.

[Ban Hammer 13,484]

Gabi called me just now...Yassmine2878

We have a baby!!!!!! 9lbs even. Length unknown at this time. Mom and baby are doing fine. She'll be home Thurs and will try to get pics up or email them to me and I'll get help to get them up.

congrats gabi

[Nizzy 1]

Congrats Yassmine!!!! Yayyyy! 9lbs?? She wasn't kidding when she referred to him as "butterball". Too cute! I hope she is okay and I definitely want to see pics!

Don't you guys wish you could go to the hospital to visit the new mommies? I would love to pop in with flowers and a personal congrats.

[TracyLuis 0]

Great news, Maggie! It really is fun to see all our little babies here on this thread. We make a lovely VJ family

Edited February 18, 2008 by TracyLuis

[Lyuba 0]

Thank you, Kristi. I am going back to work when Mason is 3 months old. I plan to pump at work.

Thank you, Tracy! We think he is cute too.

Ace, sorry about your experience. Sometimes things just don't go the way we plan. The most important thing is that the baby is healthy.

[churipu 4]

Congrats Anna, Nicholas is sooooo beautiful!!!!! I am sorry it ended up in a C-section after such a long labour but as others said, what matters is that both of you are good and healthy now. Let me know if you need anything, you know where to find me!!!

Yasmine, congrats to you too, can't wait to see pics!

Please ladies post more pics, these Vj babies sure are lookers

[chri'stina 190]

Gabi-Congrats!

Anna-Sounds like you had quite an experience! I am sorry things didn't go idealy. I know how that goes! I am glad you are all doing well at home. Praying for a good speedy recovery for you! Do you have people helping you out at home?

I am doing pretty good. To be honest, it has been a very emotional 2 weeks for me. Disappointments of certain things come into my mind at times but I am getting better with everything and feeling better every day. I just never imagined how hard it could be to recover from the emotional aspects of a c-section after hard labor, and not really being able to breastfeed. Sujeet has been a super hero helping me, still helping at middle of the night feedings even though he is back to work. He has been such an amazing support and I have fallen even more in love with him over the past 2 weeks. He has really been there for me. And he was happy that I was nice to him during my labor, haha, he feared I might turn into one of those "this is all your fault!!" mad women in labor even though that's not my personality usually. But I needed him the most during that time and his support was invaluable.

[ace13 0]

Gabi-Congrats!

Anna-Sounds like you had quite an experience! I am sorry things didn't go idealy. I know how that goes! I am glad you are all doing well at home. Praying for a good speedy recovery for you! Do you have people helping you out at home?

I am doing pretty good. To be honest, it has been a very emotional 2 weeks for me. Disappointments of certain things come into my mind at times but I am getting better with everything and feeling better every day. I just never imagined how hard it could be to recover from the emotional aspects of a c-section after hard labor, and not really being able to breastfeed. Sujeet has been a super hero helping me, still helping at middle of the night feedings even though he is back to work. He has been such an amazing support and I have fallen even more in love with him over the past 2 weeks. He has really been there for me. And he was happy that I was nice to him during my labor, haha, he feared I might turn into one of those "this is all your fault!!" mad women in labor even though that's not my personality usually. But I needed him the most during that time and his support was invaluable.

I know what you are talking about emotionally. One minute I am fine and the next minute I am crying uncontrollably. I know part of it is hormones, part is fear and part is the newness. I have all these thoughts about whether or not I can handle this. Being a new mom is overwhelming. Stefano has been good to me, too. I know this is all new for him and I try and make him know how much I appreciate all the new things he has taken on, too. He works, so I am home alone all day. My mom stopped by today and brought me a sandwich, which was nice and helpful. We are doing ok. I am planning on going back to work, so I just wonder how in the world I am going to manage everything and it is stressing me a bit. I know the first few weeks are the hardest and each day you get into a better routine, but it is still hard. Nicholas will come with me to work, so we will see how all that goes At least my mom will be there with me.

For people that have breastfed: He is feeding every two hours right now. How long does that last?? It seems like I feed him and then it isn't an hour later and he is hungry again. Any advice anyone? Also, I am cradling him to feed him and it seems to work, but it is killing my back to lean forward. If I lean back, he can't breath and pulls off. What am I doing wrong?

[sara535 15]

Stina and Anna,

i totally understand the mixed feelings of the C-section (mine went pretty much exactly like both of yours) and I had a rough couple of weeks. I missed the boat on breastfeeding because by the time I felt like I could physically handle it she was spoiled to the ease of the bottle but its all fine now. I was unpleasantly surprised by how bad I felt.

This was not my first baby but I just want to say, especially to the first time moms, that in my opinion its perfectly normal to have some mixed emotions with that first baby. The highs are indescribably and unimaginabley high but there are some fears and anxieties that are equally strong. I remember thinking one night that no one really understands the concept of responsibility until they become a parent, until that moment in the middle of the night when your baby is crying and it just hits you that YOU and you alone are completely responsible for every aspect of another life. Its overwhelming. Coupled with the fears of making a mistake, or dropping your baby, or making the formula too hot, or feeding him too much or not enough, blah blah blah, and I think at some point (or many points) its unavoidable to sit there and wonder "WHAT HAVE I DONE? maybe I wasnt ready for this..."

So my point is, if you feel these things ever dont feel guilty or like a failure or anything else. Motherhood is tremendously rewarding but its also tremendously hard and its ok to acknowledge that. It doesnt take away from the fact that when you look at your baby sleeping, or nursing, or just looking around, you might also want to cry with joy for the gift and honor you have been given in this life to be someone's mom

take care and hang in there !

PS thanks everyone for the beautfful baby pics. Lyuba, Stina and Anna your little guys are all just gorgeous. Too bad we are not all closer to each other, we would have some super fun playdates, wouldnt we?

[maggieNomar 0]

Great news, Maggie! It really is fun to see all our little babies here on this thread. We make a lovely VJ family

Maybe now we need a conception thread for those of trying but not yet qualified for baby corner.

There sure are a lot of VJ babies coming along. Maybe I should just hang out here and catch the vibe!!

[Marilyn. 340]

Great news, Maggie! It really is fun to see all our little babies here on this thread. We make a lovely VJ family

Maybe now we need a conception thread for those of trying but not yet qualified for baby corner.

There sure are a lot of VJ babies coming along. Maybe I should just hang out here and catch the vibe!!

jayjay started one awhile back...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...8&hl=jayjay

[churipu 4]

Gabi-Congrats!

Anna-Sounds like you had quite an experience! I am sorry things didn't go idealy. I know how that goes! I am glad you are all doing well at home. Praying for a good speedy recovery for you! Do you have people helping you out at home?

I am doing pretty good. To be honest, it has been a very emotional 2 weeks for me. Disappointments of certain things come into my mind at times but I am getting better with everything and feeling better every day. I just never imagined how hard it could be to recover from the emotional aspects of a c-section after hard labor, and not really being able to breastfeed. Sujeet has been a super hero helping me, still helping at middle of the night feedings even though he is back to work. He has been such an amazing support and I have fallen even more in love with him over the past 2 weeks. He has really been there for me. And he was happy that I was nice to him during my labor, haha, he feared I might turn into one of those "this is all your fault!!" mad women in labor even though that's not my personality usually. But I needed him the most during that time and his support was invaluable.

I know what you are talking about emotionally. One minute I am fine and the next minute I am crying uncontrollably. I know part of it is hormones, part is fear and part is the newness. I have all these thoughts about whether or not I can handle this. Being a new mom is overwhelming. Stefano has been good to me, too. I know this is all new for him and I try and make him know how much I appreciate all the new things he has taken on, too. He works, so I am home alone all day. My mom stopped by today and brought me a sandwich, which was nice and helpful. We are doing ok. I am planning on going back to work, so I just wonder how in the world I am going to manage everything and it is stressing me a bit. I know the first few weeks are the hardest and each day you get into a better routine, but it is still hard. Nicholas will come with me to work, so we will see how all that goes At least my mom will be there with me.

For people that have breastfed: He is feeding every two hours right now. How long does that last?? It seems like I feed him and then it isn't an hour later and he is hungry again. Any advice anyone? Also, I am cradling him to feed him and it seems to work, but it is killing my back to lean forward. If I lean back, he can't breath and pulls off. What am I doing wrong?

You're not doing anything wrong...breastfeeding is really really hard and tiring in the beginning, especially after a very traumatic delivery when your body is recovering (I can relate although I didn't have a C-section, my baby was taken out after over 30 hours labour with forceps which completely tore me all the way, the tear took months to heal and it was the most painful thing I ever felt, almost worse than labour itself) you are actually lucky he is on some sort of every-two-hour schedule right now...I remember my son had no schedule whatsoever in the first month, he actually had days when it was almost litterally non-stop...also no position other than the football was working for us, it was a size issue for a couple of months (big breasts vs tiny baby pretty much) and yes, my back was litterally broken because I was leaning forward for all those hours every day! It might sound lame and not very comforting at this time when all you wish you could do would be to sleep and rest, but it does get better with time, it takes a lot of patience. The older they get the stronger they are, therefore can suck more and faster with each feeding, feeding sessions become shorter and the schedule is not so brutal and becomes pretty much regular because their tummies are fuller. Also they get bigger and it becomes easier to find a good position while breastfeeding. You have no idea how many times I cried and felt completely overwhelmed by everything, I wanted to give up breastfeeding almost everyday the first couple of weeks...You have to keep in mind that everything you're feeling is normal, that IT IS indeed hard and it's not you not being able to handle it. Your life as you knew it no longer exists and it takes awhile to adjust, those raging hormones aren't helping either. Take one day at a time and you'll be amazed at how things get better. Also it is great you have your family to help out if you need them, I still today suffer the lack of support around me since we have no family nearby...

Hang in there, I'll repeat myself again...it does so it is going to get better!

Edited February 19, 2008 by churipu

[Autumnchik 6]

Woohoo Ace!!! Good luck ... can't wait to read all about it

Marry American - I have just started having some numbness, tingling too. I've read that it can be normal in pregnancy to have symptoms like that. I am going to check it out next week with my doctor just for my peace of mind (and I also get to drink that lovely drink for my diabetes test so hopefully that worry will be put to rest).

New Orleans - Welcome and good luck. How far along are you?

Thank you for responding. We are almost the same amount of weeks pregnant too. I'll let you know how my results turn out.

When do you see the doctor again? I am going Wednesday, first to the lab for the diabetes test, then down the hall to the doc.