Devin's Journal

What? He's a week old already???????

To celebrate turning a week old today, we gave Devin a sponge bath. He did NOT like it. This look of dread on his face before I even brought a washcloth anywhere near him should have foretold the reaction he would have. I'm really hoping he enjoys bath time more when he can be submerged.

He's starting to have a bit more awake time. When that happens we put him in his little cradle swing that Caren got for him or on his play mat or even just on the floor. No matter what I have him doing I have the same thought, "My GOD he's tiny."

I know, I know. Dax had to have been this small at one point, too. Or? Or maybe it is because Devin is part elf as evidenced by his ears.

I'm still a wee bit sore from the c-section but feeling better every day. The worst part is that I can't pick Dax up. The second worst part is that I am still pretty helpless (I had to have Cat put my socks on me today).

Cat and I agree that the second time around with a newborn is soooooo much easier. Dax was a very easy baby and people always say, "You only get one good one." I know it has only been a week and things can change but, so far, Devin has been even easier. That's a good thing. I mean...he owes me after what he put me through to get him here.

Posted by michelle at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

When I went to fetal monitoring on Friday I did not expect to come home with this.

Everything seemed normal during monitoring and I thought it was going to be the first time in awhile that I actually got to go home instead of heading over to labor and delivery for more monitoring. But then Devin's baseline heart rate dropped fairly significantly so the clinic nurse said she was going to talk to the high risk doctor on call to see if I needed to go back over to labor and delivery. When she returned to the room she grinned at me and said, "Congratulations! You're going to be having a baby today."

Huh? But....um.....uhhhhh.......

It took me awhile to really believe it. They kept telling me I needed to call Cat and have him meet me at the hospital but it just didn't seem real. I thought maybe I'd get over there and they'd send me home. "Baby? What baby? Psych!" But within the hour I was tucked into a hospital bed and discussing the different methods for inducing labor. The doctor explained my options and then told me they just needed to do a quick ultrasound to confirm that the baby was head down. I told them that he had been on Tuesday when they last did an ultrasound and then talked about how mad I would have been had I ended up having to have a c-section because the kid wouldn't cooperate.

That's about when I noticed the look on the doctor's face. Sure enough....the little booger had turned back over again and was lying transverse across my uterus with his head on the right side, his feet on the left. You can't induce someone when the baby is transverse. That c-section I'd been dreading was going to be reality.

It all happened so fast. They were concerned about the variables in his heart rate so they needed to get him out quickly. From the time we found out that I'd have to have surgery to the time I was walked into the operating room was only about ten minutes. The OR was freezing cold and I was scared so I was a bit worried they wouldn't be able to place the spinal from all the shaking I was doing. I had a great team of doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists who had me calmed, numbed, and covered in warm blankets pretty quickly. Before I knew it, Cat was there beside me and I heard them announce the first incision had been made. Getting the baby out didn't take long at all. Stitching and stapling me back together again took much longer.

The worst part about having to have the c-section is that I didn't get to see Devin at all for about 30 minutes. When I did get to see him, the nurse just held him up in front of me and then rushed him back out again. It was four hours later when I finally got to hold him and nurse him. Thankfully, he took to nursing like a pro and has been eating like a champ ever since.

The second worst thing about having to have a c-section is how helpless I am. It gets better every day, of course, but it is still difficult. I'm thrilled that I can manage to dress myself by now. I hate that I can't hold Dax. I'm beyond grateful for my husband who has been taking fantastic care of me.

And the baby? He's absolutely wonderful. He's adorable and cuddly and well behaved. I'm completely in love and have even forgiven him for causing me to have major abdominal surgery. Dax is rather fond of him and wants to know at all times where his baby brother is and what he is doing. He hasn't held him yet and is not interested in doing so. He's fine with patting or smooching Devin's head or tickling his tiny feet but when asked if he'd like to hold his baby brother he says, "I'll hold him when I'm older."

Devin's first appointment with a pediatrician is tomorrow. Sadly, his pediatrician is out on maternity leave herself so we'll have to see someone else in the beginning. I'll update more tomorrow and get some more pictures up here, too.

Welcome to the world, Devin! :)

Posted by michelle at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Devin Catalino arrived on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 2:45pm.

Posted by cat at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Baby Center says,

"Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz."

To which I say, "What the heck is Swiss chard?"

I hit 37 weeks on Friday and, to celebrate, I got sent to Labor and Delivery because my pulse and blood pressure were both slightly elevated and I had ketones in my urine. These are all signs of preeclampsia so they needed to check me out. They ran a ton of tests and I'm fine. I even had a follow up there today and my blood pressure and pulse are back to a more normal state.

Guess what can cause this? Illness. And it just so happens that we are ALL laid up with The Plague. Or a cold. Yeah, I guess it could just be a cold. There's not much sleep going on for anyone and I have managed to pull a muscle from all the coughing. Imagine for a moment how awesome that feels when you are 37 weeks pregnant.

Before I bury us all in an avalanche of whining let's just move along, shall we?

You know that old Wive's Tale about how if the mom has heartburn during pregnancy it means the baby will have hair? Turns out it may not be a myth. I had a LOT of heartburn when I was pregnant with Dax and he did have a lot of hair. This time I don't have much at all so I'm curious to see if we've got a little baldy on the way. Yes. I am my own science experiment.

Not expecting much big news between now and the 22nd which is when the ultrasound is scheduled (to see how big the baby is). Please send us some healthy vibes so the baby doesn't have to come home to Germ Central.

Posted by michelle at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I hit 36 weeks on Friday which is relatively unremarkable in terms of "how things have changed" but it brings me ever closer to the time when the baby is considered FULL TERM (37 weeks). Yes, I am hoping the little critter will make an early appearance given all the contractions I've been having but, at the same time, I realize the universe thinks it is hilarious to let me think that and then have the baby be late. Ha-ha! Very funny, universe!

I was supposed to have an ultrasound last week but they moved it to 38 weeks because the whole point of it would be to see if the baby had turned head down and to measure how big he is because both factors will dictate my birth plan and 36 weeks was too early to do that.

There was a small amount of concern about the baby being transverse (lying sideways) but Marion told me some patients had luck getting their babies to turn by doing yoga. I did so and was told on Friday that he was head down. I was also told he might move again (because he was head down a couple weeks ago and then flipped to the other side). In the meantime I keep doing my little yoga poses and thinking positive thoughts.

Of course the biggest worry when you have gestational diabetes is that your kid will be enormous. He feels enormous. But then, so did Dax and he was only 7 pounds, 4 ounces when he was born so I guess you just never can tell. We'll find out on the 22nd.

Posted by michelle at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)