Matteo Meets the World

After much waiting, Matteo finally made his arrival on Tuesday, August 3 at 12:33am, weighing 8lbs 5oz and measuring 21.5 inches long. The experience was not exactly what I expected but for those of you have been through it, you're probably not surprised. Since this will be my last and only time, I want to record, to the best of memory, how Matteo made his way into this world.

8:00am - We started the pitocin. I got comfortable and not much happened for a while. I could feel contractions, but they were more like menstrual cramps than anything else.

12/1:00pmish - My water broke. Or I thought it did. Turned out to just be a leak but it sure felt like more than that. After that, the contractions started to get much stronger. Billy was great at helping my breathe and relax through them.

4:00pm - My OB arrived and by that point, my contractions were 2 minutes apart but I had not progressed much - still at 2cm. Contractions were beyond manageable so I agreed to the epidural.

5:00pm - Got epidural and everything was immediately better. They reduced the pitocin so the contractions slowed down a bit but, either way, I couldn't feel it. I took the opportunity to get lots of sleep.

8/9:00pm - The checked my progress and I was 8cm dilated. Finally, some progress!!

10/10:30pm - They checked me again and I was 10cm! OB told me I would start pushing soon but the nurse told me otherwise as soon as she left the room. (I love the nurses vs. doctors thing. Very entertaining to a layperson like me). She told me I would push when I felt like I had to and that I should ignore the doctor. She spent some time trying to keep her out of the room. so as not to interfere with nature. :)

11:00pm - I declared that I felt the need to push. My doctor had sneaked into the room somehow and helped intruct me through my first few pushes. Then she told me average length of time to push out a first baby was 2 hours. I tried really hard not to believe her.

The nurse came in and took over the coaching along with Billy. There was lots of moving positions but, because of the epidural, I could do much more than lie down. I stayed mostly side lying which was much more comfortable for me and seemed to work for the baby, too.

Pushing was hard and not really what I expected. Both people who gave me advice on pushing said that you do it like you're having a #2. I would now agree with them. What I didn't expect was how hard it would be on my abs! It was like every push was the hardest crunch I ever did in my whole life. And I did them for 10 seconds at a time, 3 or 4 times in a row with a 30-60 second break in between "sets." It was a workout like nothing I've ever done and I played 4 years of rugby in college. To help me push, they brought in an extra nurse so I had a nurse on each side for me to push off against and Billy helped me hold me head up to do the crunches.

12:15am - They called the OB in and then I knew that we were truly getting close. They had the mirror set up for me to see what was happening but I couldn't really make out what I was seeing. At some point, I got an episiotomy but couldn't feel it. About 15 more minutes of pushing as hard as I could and Matteo finally made his way out at 12:33am.


I couldn't hold him immediately because he had swallowed something and they had to check him out. The pedis declared him 100% fine, I got stitched up and by 1am, I got to hold him and nurse him for the first time.


All in all, I am so happy that I got to have this experience. And, above all else, so happy to finally meet our littlest boy.

Here...We...Go!

At 5:50 this morning, we called the hospital and finally got the go ahead to come in for our induction. We live just a couple minutes from the hospital so we had plenty of time this morning to get ready for our big day. My parents came over just before we headed out to take over twin duty and Auntie Kim is also on her way.

(Billy and I on our way to the hospital. And my mom's fingertip)

As I write this, I am hooked up to the pitocin. Not the way I wanted this labor to go down but Matteo is just a stubborn little boy. I am still only 1-2cm dilated and about 70% effaced which means I have made no progress since Tuesday! I think he would have waited until Labor Day if we had let him. Contractions really haven't started yet but it's only been about 15 minutes or so since they hooked me up. Wish me luck!!

(21st century momma!)

The Waiting Game

Well, my "scheduled" induction has come and gone. The hospital was too full today and so we will try again first thing tomorrow morning. I have my alarm set to 6am so I can call and see if there is space available for me. In other words, hurry up and wait.

To be honest, I really don't want to be induced. I hear all these pitocin horror stories and I just want Matteo to come the normal way. Go into labor, work through it, push, push, push, have a baby. The hospital and the OB are there just in case something goes awry but otherwise, I view them as unnecessary. Perhaps I should have found a midwife for this pregnancy but its too late for that now. I never thought I would make it this far - its rather odd to be on the other side, waiting for a baby to come instead of praying it stays in. And I know, no matter what, once he comes everyone will be happy, blah, blah, blah. As long as he's healthy, blah, blah, blah. But I think its unfair how people discount the unique experience of giving birth. Of course I want a healthy baby and of course I will be happy as soon as he comes out but that doesn't change the fact that I also have certain feelings about his actual birth. About my labor and my body and my experience.

I have tried some things to help get labor going but to no avail. LOTS of walking (hello, I have two 20 month olds!), eating spicy food, nipple stimulation (via the good old breast pump - and boy, was that weird after all this time). But still, nothing. Though, some progress has been made. As of Tuesday, I was almost 2cm dilated and 70% effaced. Last night, I had my "bloody show" - sorry if that's TMI! I'm hoping that means I am nearly 100% effaced and maybe even more dilated. Ideally, I would just go into labor tonight and not have to worry about any of the induction stuff. Only time will tell...

Here is a pic of me this afternoon, 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Holy belly!


Off to try and get some sleep. Lord knows I will need it if they take me in tomorrow!

We're Ready!

With Matteo's due date officially on the horizon (tomorrow!!!), we have just finally finished preparing for his arrival. Not that all of it was necessary but I'm glad that everything on my "get done before you have this baby" wish list is actually complete. Even a pedicure! (Thanks, Fav Auntie!).

Matteo's room is not 100% tidied up but beyond ready for what he will need. I still have some hand-me-downs to wash but they are mostly 12-month clothes so no rush. Otherwise, we're ready to go. Sheets are clean, dresser is built and full, windows are dressed, etc., etc. As promised, here is a picture of the finished product:

Hopefully you can make out that it is a jungle theme - Fav Auntie even got us some real-life animal photos that are hanging above the dresser.

But before Matteo gets whisked away to this magical jungle, he gets the privilege of sleeping in my closet. Yes, he will be bunking in there, in a bassinet, so I can easily get up to feed him but we have a door to keep his baby noises a little quieter while we try to sleep. Here is the set up so far, complete with glider:


Hopefully, this will work out for us. Most people I mentioned it to were not horrified, as I imagined they might be, but agreed that it was a good idea. We shall see.

In birth plan/VBAC news, my OB is letting me go until Wednesday before trying to induce with pitocin. In the meantime, I have an non-stress test and ultrasound scheduled for Monday and an appointment with her scheduled on Tuesday. I was only 1cm dialated and 50% effaced at my appointment this past Wednesday so there is a chance it could come down to my being induced. I hope that's not the case, though. We are hoping for him to make his way on Sunday. It's a very special day on the Mayan calendar (don't ask...) and my mom has the day off so win-win.

For now, I'm off to bed, thinking contracting thoughts. We're ready Tater Tot - are you??