A Baby Story 2, the arrival of
Collin JosephNovember 9, 2000: Of course this story would not be complete unless I start with the last office visit :-) We went to the office, and there had been a drastic change in dilation and softening. So, Daryth didn't need Cervidil afterall. Now, the plan was to arrive at the hospital the next morning for induction. So, we spent the day shopping, talking, packing, etc. We were all so anxious. I was scared to pieces that I would not hear the clock ring, so it took me a while to settle down and get to sleep that night *grin*
November 10, 2000: I jumped sky high when the clock rang at 3:00 a.m., woke Daryth (who mumbled, "but, mom, I set my clock at 3:15"), and proceeded to get ready to go. Then we sat there for about 30 minutes staring at each other *lol* We really didn't have a whole lot to do since we packed the evening before. We took off around 4:30 and arrived at the ER entrance of the hospital about 20 minutes later and proceeded to go up to Labor and Delivery. I had to go back down and admit her, and by the time I came back up, they had already started her IV! I was only gone 10 minutes! WOW! The nurses were wonderful and so sweet. Daryth said the IV didn't hurt at all. I was in shock :-)
Not long after, Daryth had to get up, and imagine our shock that she passed "the plug" :-) It seems she had been in latent labor, and we didn't even know it :-)
"Uncle Bill" came by to visit before he went to work, and we always love seeing him -- he always makes us smile :-)
Dr. M came by around 8:30 to do a check, but there was no change. The RNP at the office said she was a tight 3, but the L&D nurses and the OB said a good 2. He broke her water, which Daryth said was really weird but didn't hurt at all!!! He asked how big we thought the baby was and told him, then he turned towards me and told me that her pelvic bone was really tiny and insinuated that he didn't think she would be able to have the baby, *but* he said we'd give the labor a try and see what happens.
My mom and stepdad came in around 9:30 or so, and we all just sat and waited.
The nurses kept uping the Pitocin every hour or so, but despite having steady contractions, Daryth was fine and not feeling any pain. There was no progression of dilation, either. The nurse kept saying you can't dilate without pain, so she knew there was no progression when she would check. The Pitocin was increased in increments, and it seemed like forever and a day before Daryth finally felt pain. The contractions were every 1.5 minutes apart, and all she felt was "just a tightening". I sat in complete awe over it all. I was just in shock how well she did!!!! I remember both of my labors, and really, neither one hurt to the point where I cried (they were both different), and then, again, I was never allowed to go past the 4 and 3 cm that I had dilated to.
Anyway, when the Pitocin was uped to around 162 ml per hour, the painful labor started -- well, what we thought was painful labor anyway. On afterthought, we all think it was Collin moving down into the pelvis and not really the labor pains that caused the burning Daryth was feeling. The look on her face went from laughing to snarling and then crying in severe pain -- but the pain she described was not from the contractions. It was a burning pain in her groin. They gave her Demerol twice (in a watered down dosage each time) and that seemed to help some.
I really have no idea what time it was, but it was late in the day, when Daryth finally went from a 2 to a 4. YAY :-) Bill had come back up after work, so it was after 4:00 p.m., I think. By this time, I was literally worn out and had lost all concept of time. Besides, five or six patients had come in during the day and had all delivered, and here we were still waiting. There was one other patient left in L&D, and she ended up delivering right after 5.
The CRNA came in and talked to her about the "epidoodle", and they got that inserted. I remember Daryth saying "NO WAY" to the idea of getting an epidural when we had talked on many occasions prior to admittance into the hospital, but she changed her mind real quick due to the pain *grin* The CRNA was a godsend, and he did a great job inserting the epidural. Daryth said she didn't feel a thing :-) I still cringe when I think of my bad experience. Imagine my shock when I see this old man coming to her room and I realized who he was. He was the monster who treated me like an animal when I had Amity and the one who botched my epidural. I came apart. Thank God, he didn't touch her. Being he's the anesthesiologist and the CRNA's boss, he was just watching and helping in the correct dosing and etc. I was besides myself! I felt helpless cause we couldn't go in the room, but the minute they were done, the first thing I asked her was if he had touched her. She cringed when I told her who he was!!!!
Anyway, Daryth was back to smiling again after she was dosed up :-) The nurse checked her again sometime around there, and she was up to between 5 and 6, and the nurse felt a definite "coning". She told us the baby had a lot of hair, too :-) She, too, insinuated that she didn't think Daryth was going to have the baby in the natural way. So....we were kinda of prepared for the surgery.
Dr. M was extremely busy (in and out of deliveries and surgeries), so we only heard communication via the nurses. Around 5:30 or so, the nurse came in to catheterize her (what is called an in and out cath), but the nurse who had previously checked Daryth said she better ask Dr. M if he wanted a Foley cath instead with the report of her last exam. We were all standing in the hallway when I heard her call the room and report that Dr. M said to insert a Foley. I knew right there what that meant :-( So, they inserted the Foley cath, and when they finished, I asked the one nurse who had gone into delivery and asked Dr. M, and she said they didn't think Daryth was going to progress further, the baby was still high and seemed stuck, and she more than likely needed a section.
Honestly, I fell apart when it hit me, cause there was just no sense in making her suffer so much when he already knew her pelvis was too small 10 hours prior. I was downright mad and just hurt for my daughter. I went downstairs, cried, and composed myself :-) I really thought Daryth would be petrified, but she didn't cry or anything. She was just worried that she would feel them cut her open :-(
So, we sat there with her and anxiously waited. Dr. M finished the delivery, went to do a surgery upstairs, and then came and talked to us, and during that time, the CRNA and his "boss" came in to up the epi meds. I just sat there and didn't say a word to that old jerk, but I could feel my eyes burn while glaring at him. Quite honestly, he was really sweet and very caring. He even joked around some. I could not believe this was the same monster who had treated me so badly and hurt me so badly almost nine years ago. One thing a doctor never should do is treat a patient like he did me, because that will always be how they think of him/her, no matter what. Even though he was really nice and all with my child, I still think of him as that evil monster and always will.
Anyway, the epidural dosing didn't seem to take full effect -- they wanted her numb up to her chest. So, she was nervous about that. They kept working on her, though.
Dr. D came in and introduced herself, although I knew her from my work in transcription and from when Radona was pregnant. She is one of the sweetest people :-) She told us that she was going to assist Dr. M in the delivery/surgery.
Dr. M came in later on, and he apologized to me for making her go through all of that when he suspected she wouldn't pass the baby, but he explained that he is one OB who really doesn't like to do a section unless he really has to and wants to let nature take it's course first. I can understand that, but.....I just think when you know it's not going to work, why suffer needlessly?! I just thank God little Collin tolerated the whole ordeal real well :-) He never showed any sign of distress whatsoever, so that was great :-) Anyway, Dr. M had to do another quick surgery before we went off to delivery, so in the meantime, the nurses got me "dressed" and got Daryth ready to go. As we got into the holding area, I saw "Grandma Theresa" and "Aunt Christy" arrive, so I asked the nurses if Daryth could wave at them -- we opened the double doors and she did. I waited outside of the D.R. while they got Daryth on the table and all, and then I put my face mask on. Then I went in and took my place by Daryth and behind Dr. D and the scrub nurse. The room was the same room Taylor and Holli were born in. This time, however, it was extremely crowded, and I had no room to take pics like before :-( Dr. M has a completely different set up than his partner, Dr. D, so....there were instruments located at the end of the table, which cut down on room, and Dr. M was on the other side of the table, whereas Dr. D was on the same side I was on with Taylor. Plus the nursery nurses were in the room this time, so that was two extra people. Anyway, the floating nurse told me I could go and stand by her at the end of the table, so I could take pics, but I was scared I would touch the instrument table. I didn't want to take any chance of "dirtying the sterile field", so.....I just stayed behind the drape and tiptoed so I could see. If the nurse had told me that BEFORE she moved the instrument table there, I would have gone, but.....
Daryth got sick not long after we got in the room -- nothing but bile :-( She was so empty, and it made her sick :-(
Anyway, right before Dr. M came in the room, the nursery nurses turned on a stereo with rock music :-) I had heard that Dr. M did surgeries and deliveries to music, but I didn't believe it until I heard it myself. That was really neat. The first song playing was "We Will Rock You" by Queen :-) Dr. M came in and did a pinprick test to determine the level of anesthesia on Daryth, and it was perfect. When she got on the table initially, she was not completely numb to her chest yet, and she felt the cold table on her back side *grin* She was scared, but when he tested her and she didn't feel anything, I think that helped her calm down.
Nosey that I am, I had to see, so I stuck my face as high as I could over the drape and watched. Dr. M first did a scalpel incision and then Dr. D did one -- Dr. M had told Daryth that he was going to do that first then the cautery so her scar would be "perfect". Stupid me, I should have kept my nose closed when I watched the cautery :-( I got a horrible whiff of "burning skin", and I backed down real fast. UGH!!!! The CRNA thought I was going to pass out, but that was not the case *lol* He laughed at me when I told him it was the smell *lol* Anyway, I went back to watching, but Dr. M was doing things real slowly in order to "teach" Dr. D (a second year resident in Family Practice -- the four OB's in this practice are affiliated with LSU School of Medicine and help teach the FP residents with their training in OB-GYN care) step by step, so unlike Taylor's delivery, Collin's took much longer.
Finally, Collin's head and face were born, and I squealed with delight. That poor little head was a terrible "cone". I couldn't snap a picture, as I was too short and I couldn't move over, as Dr. D and the scrub nurse were obstructing the view :-( Darn! Anyway, take my word for it, it was priceless :-) Then they warned Daryth there would be a lot of pressure, and they both pressed on her upper abdomen real hard, and woosh, out flew the rest of our little man :-) I cried and kept saying how beautiful he was and that I thought he looked like Daryth. I had him pictured as very fair skinned with blonde hair -- God only knows why, but.... So, I was surprised to see dark brown hair and dark skin like his mama :-)
Then Dr. M said "Take a pic of him", but I told him I couldn't as I was too short and too unsteady on my tip-toes, so he said "Let him take the picture and you cut this". "Him" being the CRNA and "this" being the cord :-) I was shocked and soooo excited :-) When he handed me the scissors, my hands really started shaking. Just like I've been told by those who have cut cords before and seeing this on tv, it was extremely rubbery and didn't want to cut at first, but I did it :-) I would not trade that experience for all the money in the world :-) I can't even describe the feeling!!!! The pics didn't turn out too great, but there are two -- one of me trying to cut and one as soon as I finished cutting. My camera was set on zoom, and the CRNA was way too close for that, but...I will scan them and post them anyway :-)
I got a pic of Collin as the nurse was taking him over to check him out, but it didn't turn out all that good, either :-(
I watched the nurses check him out and all. He did need quite a bit if suctioning, and that nearly killed me :-( His Apgar was 9/9, though, and that is EXCELLENT :-) I kept snapping pictures -- mostly of his head until the one nurse left and I asked if I could go on over :-) Then she weighed him -- 8 pounds 3 ounces :-) We found out later on that he is 21 3/4 inches long :-) Remember in my diary when I said he had really skinny arms? *grin* He still does. He's long and skinny except for his face...he has the fattest rosy red cheeks and is just such a very handsome little guy :-)
Poor Daryth got sick again with bile, and I remember seeing both doctors stop suturing while she vomited -- needless to say, they had to stop else there could have been major damage due to the abdominal muscles pushing up and all!
I was able to see more this time than I did with Radona, and it was really amazing to see this in person :-) I could not do that for a living, but I'm nosey, and it's interesting to see, of sorts. Honestly, having a baby is such an exciting time, so surgically or vaginally, it's a wonderful sight to see :-)
When the nurse presented Collin to his mom, the look on her face was priceless :-)
Then it was time for me to leave with Collin...I couldn't wait to hold him :-) When the double doors opened, everyone (Bill, mom, Alvin, Theresa, and Christy) came rushing up, snapping pics like mad :-) Then the nurses took him to the nursery, and we all rushed to the nursery window.
Daryth came back to the L&D room around 9:30, and the first thing out of her mouth was "Mom, he put staples on me", and I said "Oh great, those are so much better." She seemed to be upset about it until I said that, and now she seems pretty proud :-) IMO, they are MUCH better than the traditional stitches! The nurses said we were going to stay in there about two hours, so we settled down to sleep after they gave Daryth some Demerol. We weren't asleep very long when I heard the old familiar sound of a nursery cart coming down the hall, and then in comes a nurse with our little man :-) I was shocked and could not believe it. I fed him his first bottle (glucose), and he drank nearly all of it :-) Around 12, we were taken to the room in postpartum, and we settled in with Collin. It was great getting to hold him, feed him, and yes, even change those yucky diapers *grin* Collin stayed with us until around 6 a.m. when he had to go to the nursery for "shift change" and for the doctors to make rounds. He slept so much and was really good!
On the 11th, the RNP on call made rounds, then the Pediatrician on call came in and talked to us about the pending circumcision. She was wonderful and made us both feel at ease about the pending procedure. Things have become much more civil since my son had the procedure done -- this doctor uses a local numbing agent first -- thank God!!!! Dr. H had four circs to do that morning, so she was going to be busy! Lots of boys born the day before!!!! Collin came back to us afterwards and was doing really well. The only real problem we were having with him was that he didn't seem to want to take his formula. He would make horrible faces and push the nipple out. We're not sure, but we think he was queasy/nauseated, cause he sure made up for it as time passed :-) Mom and Alvin came up and spent the majority of the day with us, as did Bill. Daryth's IV and Foley came out that morning, and she did very well when she had to get up the first time. She took a shower, walked the entire hall three times, sat in a chair, etc. She did GREAT :-)
I went home and picked up the rest of the family and brought them over to see Daryth and meet Collin. I stopped by K-Mart to pick up another set of pjs for Daryth -- she didn't need them, I just felt like getting her some :-) Taylor was sooooo precious seeing her brand new cousin -- she gave him a big old "Tater Tot hug" as only Tater Tot can -- she put her head on him :-) Unfortunately, I experienced a flat on the way back to the hospital and didn't know the tire was dying until we got there. Thankfully, my stepdad changed it for me, but now I have to buy a new tire to replace the spare.
Dr. M and Dr. R came to make rounds, and Dr. M joked about Collin's head weighing 8 pounds (It's 14.5 inches!!!!!), and he said that he could say that cause he had a big head when he was born, too :-) That was cute :-)
I brought the kids back home around 4 while Bill stayed with Daryth and Collin, and once home, I wrote one e-mail, got some coffee in my thermos, and went back to the hospital. Collin was fairly fussy that night, so he didn't sleep quite as well. Daryth had a low grade temperature, too, but that was her only experience.
During one of our many conversations that day, Daryth admitted to me that the pain from the contractions or whathave you the day prior "weren't really that bad at all". I couldn't believe my ears!!!!!! *lol*
Sunday, the 12th, was very quiet. Collin was doing much better with eating, but he wasn't wetting his diapers. I finally had a nurse come in and check him, she said the gauze bandage was really stiff, so it needed to come off, and he was a little distended. She explained that it's pretty routine for a newly circ'd baby to have this problem (My son didn't, so I had no idea). He still didn't wet for several hours later, but when he did, it was a huge relief for me. We had two visitors that day -- Nancy and Tabitha (Aaron's grandma and his sister).
The whole day was fairly uneventful, *except* for the only major incident that happened the entire time -- a nurse on day shift from the nursery DROPPED Collin in the isolette :-( I screamed "OH MY GOD!", Daryth gasped loudly, and Tabitha jumped and gasped. The stupid nurse was ticked off at me for placing him on his belly -- which some claim is taboo! She burst into the room to check on Collin and then screamed at me, and in the process, she tried to pick Collin up with one hand, and he flipped off, hit the side of the "basket", and landed on his side. Needless to say, we were furious! I didn't say anything to her about dropping him -- I was saving my anger to report her!!!!! I did tell her that I have only placed him on his belly twice and that we were all right there and wide awake to watch him. Later on when I reported her to every nurse that came in the room, they gasped, were shocked, and were really upset that this had happened. One of the nursery nurses told me that even she puts the babies on their bellies when they are fussy and that is the only way to calm them down. I know what the stats say about babies on bellies, but when you hold a baby up against you, most times, they are on their bellies. Besides that, I have had five kids and know how to take care of a baby. The woman's actions were wrong to begin with. Her tone was uncalled for, and her actions were a million times worse. I ended up reporting her to her supervisor, so she will take it from there. She was very upset and apologetic that this woman dropped our little man. We are just thankful he wasn't hurt.
Dr. M and Dr. R made rounds again, and Dr. M said we could go home that evening or in the morning. Daryth chose to stay. I think she was scared to come home -- I had taken care of Collin the whole time and told her that when we went home, she was going to take over the night shift :-) She voiced her opinions way too much for my liking, and I told her that I had never known a mom to think so badly of their baby. She said things like he looked like an alien, he was funny-looking, and she thought she would have a prettier baby :-( It really upset me, and she just laughed it off. I really don't think she "bonded" with him at all while in the hospital, either. Here we all think he's so adorable and so precious, and she's making these horrible comments :-(
Collin didn't want to sleep that night, so I stayed up all night long and only slept for an hour in the early morning.
Yesterday morning, Dr. M (in Pedi) came by and said Collin was doing great and was ready to go home. The RNP on call came by as did Dr. B (the newest OB in the office) and discharged Daryth. Collin had his professional picture taken in his "going home outfit" and got his first immunization (Hepatitis B). We left there around 11:30. We stopped by Wal-Mart to drop off her prescriptions and then came home. It felt good to be home :-) I was too tired for words :-( Collin was not bothered one bit by the transition and did well. We later picked up the kids at school and went back to W-M to pick up the prescriptions and the film I had dropped off and then came back home. According to my sources (Radona), Daryth stayed up all night long with baby Collin and did just great feeding and changing him :-) The only problem was that he kept getting soaked, which I discovered later on was due to him being a little boy and them not putting his diaper on correctly *lol* It has been 13 years since we had a boy to take care of, so these two girls (the new mom and Aunt Radona) really didn't know how to change his diapers *lol* When I showed them how to do it, Collin quit "leaking" through *lol*
Today, the 14th, was fairly quiet, and Collin did super well. He stayed up a lot this morning and ate real well throughout the day. I had him in here for a few hours earlier while Daryth slept, but now she has him for the night. Radona isn't here tonight, so I hope Daryth does okay.
Here are some pics from Collin's birth and beyond :-)
November 25, 2000: Not much has changed in the past two weeks, except that Collin got sick from the antibiotics Daryth was taking. So, now he's taking some medicine to get well. Daryth is supplementing formula with her milk, and despite my warning about the antibiotic and what I did to Holli, she listened to the nurses who all told her it would not hurt the baby. Well, lo and behold, Collin got trush :-( Luckily, it has not affected him as badly as it affected Holli when I gave it to her. Poor little guy!!!!! He's a sweetie and a night owl :-) He sleeps so soundly most of the day and fusses like mad all night long, not wanting to sleep. I laugh about it and told Daryth he is just like his mama!! She kept me up all night long, too :-) He's just so precious, though :-) He's such a cuddle bug :-) You'd have to see this to understand this, but when you hold him up against you, he holds his legs like "frog legs". I told Daryth she loves frogs so much that even her child is one :-) He has really long arms and legs, and they just flop like a frog's *grin* More later......
December 8, 2000: Our little man is growing like a bad weed. He's four weeks old tonight, and it seems like yesterday that he was born. He's such a sweet and loving little man :-) He loves being cuddled, and of course, I love that. He always smells so sweet and is so warm :-) I love holding him close :-) He's getting stronger and can pick his head up now, bobbing it up and down like the car toy doggie :-) The whole while, he's looking around with wide eyes :-) He's just too precious! We had his and Taylor's "first Christmas" pictures taken today. All things considered, they were really good pictures! It's such a special time this year with my grandbabies :-) Collin is definitely my sweet little guy :-)
January 4, 2001: I guess it's time I update this page...things have been busy. I can't believe Collin is almost two months old now. Time has just flown. He has grown in leaps and bounds. At last weigh, he was 9# 8 oz. and was 23 1/2 inches long. He is going on the 12th for a checkup, so we'll get newer stats. For a while there, the baby was so sick...always crying and just never seemed happy. They finally figured it out....he's allergic to "milk", so they switched him to a lactose-free formula, and what a change that was. He doesn't cry all the time anymore and is actually smiling and cooing now. He's not the same baby at all, and I feel so bad that he had to go through all of that for all this time. Poor baby!!!! That "milk" really gave him hell. Apparently, it was cramping his stomach. He drank it just fine and kept it down the majority of the time, but he was in so much pain all the time. His eyes are definitely blue and soooo pretty :-) Can you tell I love blue eyes?! :-) He is such a long baby and most of his newborn clothes are too small due to that *lol* He's as precious as the day is long :-)
January 12, 2001: Collin went in for his two month checkup today. He weighs 10 pounds 10 ounces and is 23 3/4 inches tall :-) Everything seems fine with him, too :-) He got three immunizations today, and that did not sit too well with him or me :-( I cried as much as he did :-( He has done fine all day, though :-)
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