Two weeks has already passed by and Easton is definitely changing. He really doesn't look like a newborn anymore.
boys
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Weigh In
My sister picked Easton and I up this morning to take him back to the hospital to get weighted. I was really hoping he'd weigh a little more than he did but technically he's back up to his birth weight of 7lbs 3oz which is good. I met with the Lactation consultant and she gave me a little more advice on what to do to try and get him to gain more weight..he's apparently border line on what he's suppose to be. She'd like to see him gain more weight. Nursing is definitely a process but that is what maternity leave is for...focusing on your newborn for them to get the best care and nutrition possible. Monday we go back into the hospital for another weighing. He has to be at 7lbs 5oz by then. Guess we'll see how he does and how I do this weekend. Could be a long and tiring weekend with everything I need to focus on.
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| Our little halloween bundle of joy |
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Mommy and Me
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| Jace (1 week old) and Easton (10 days old) |
Stephs baby Jace did excellent. He's definiltey a growing boy and does excellent on nursing and getting in his amt of milk he needs. He's a quick eater. He conjested 2 oz of milk in 10 minutes. Amazing...He has surpassed his birth weight and is doing great. Easton on the other hand apparently isn't getting the right amount of milk he needs daily to keep up with his nutrition. So far he's gained 9 oz since he left the hospital. Apparently they are suppose to gain back their birth weight with in two weeks of being born. He is 2 ounces from his birth weight. Easton only consumed 1 oz of milk in the whole hour i nursed. It was rather frustrating. The lactation nurse isn't too concerned but she did give me some remidys to try to see if things get better. I go back in on Friday to see if he's gained any more weight. He needs to be 7lbs 3 oz by Saturday and he weighed in today at 7lbs 1oz. Hopefully he'll gain the weight he needs otherwise the lactation nurse said we'll have to develope a plan on how to get him to consume more milk. As of right now I am against giving him formula so I will listen to her advice. Well see what he weighs in on Friday!
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| Easton getting weighed at the Mommy and Me class |
Saturday, October 23, 2010
One Week Old
Wow...I can't believe Easton is actually a week old. This week has really flown by. Its crazy to think that just a week ago I was giving birth to my beautiful son. He truly is our little blessing. I couldn't of asked for a sweeter baby. Last night he actually let me sleep more than a couple of hours. It felt incredible to get more than an hour of sleep at a time. Hopefully we'll I'll be able to get him in a pattern to stay awake more during the day which in return will cause him to sleep more at night. One can only hope.
Friday, October 22, 2010
6 Days Old - First Bath
What a long night it was for Easton and I. His appetite is growing each and every day. Instead of eating every 2 – 3 hours Easton thinks he has to eat every hour on the hour. Keep in mind that it takes around 30-45 minutes to start and finish one nursing. I feel like I’m constantly nursing him every second of the day. Nursing every hour at night has become exhausting. I’m not getting much sleep and its starting to wear on me a little. Even after I nurse him at night you would think he would just fall right a sleep..oh no..he is wide awake. Thankfully after I nurse him my mom is here to sit up with him afterwards and rock him. She has truly been a blessing over the course of the week by constantly helping me out with house work, laundry, making meals and getting up with me at night. I told Jesse today that after my mom leaves I’ll probably need his help more and more during the middle of the night. I know he has to get up and work every day but unfortunately I will not be able to continue like I have been on little to no sleep every day.
This morning my mom showed me how to give Easton a bath. While I was in the hospital the nurse had shown Jesse how to give Easton a bath but I was kind of too drugged up and couldn’t get up out of bed to actually watch her how to do it. To a point I knew kind of what to do but sometimes you just need a refresher every once in a while. It’s been a while since I’ve been around a newborn.
Easton enjoyed another outing today. My mom and I took him to Wal-mart and Target. He’s such a trooper. He did amazingly well with all the shopping we did today.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
5 Days Old
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| Jesse as a baby..you can see the resemblence in Jesse's baby photo. Crazy how much they resemble each other. |
Easton is 5 days old today and doing great. My milk has finally come in and he's finally getting the nutrition he needs. You can definiltey tell he's a couple days old because he's so wide eyed and alert. Still amazed at how much he takes after his daddy. His torso and legs are so long..its amazing. At least he will take after his daddys height.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Easton's first outing and only 4 days old
Mommy and Easton had a really big day yesterday considering it was our first day after leaving the hospital. Thankfully I had my parents there to help me get everything ready. I never realized how much time it actually takes to get a little baby ready...all the stuff you need to take with you. Will definiltey be an adjustment and will have to give myself ample time.
Decided even though I was out on maternity leave to still come into work today for a job interview. The interview went really well. They couldn't believe that i was in interviewing only days after having a c-section..Hopefully I will hear something soon. It was good to see everyone at work as well. I definiltey will enjoy my time home with little Easton but I will also miss the every day to day events that go on at work. Hopefully by the time I come back to work they will have everything figured out and the transition will be more smoothly for me. While i was interviewing, Grandma and Grandpa took Easton to see daddy at work. I"m sure he had a great time showing baby Easton off to everyone. I didn't realize that everything would take so long so I couldn't bring Easton up to show my co-workers. We were on a time schedule since he had a doctors appointment at 1:30 to see how his weight was holding up.
Doctors appointment went really well. Our pediatrition, Dr Owens at Mercy East, seems to be a really nice guy. He's older and has years of experience which is comforting to me. Easton hasn't lost any weight since coming home from the hospital. He's stayed the same.. 6lbs 9 oz. Hopefully when my milk comes in he'll start gaining the weight he's lost back and not be at risk for dehydration. I'm definitley not wanting to suppliment so hopefully it will come in soon.
My sister was still in the hospital from having baby Jace so we decided to go and see her even though I was completely out of energy and exhausted. Its crazy trying to arrange everything because my parents are here and they definitley want to spend time with both of us and our little blessings.
Overall the first day turned out really well and Easton was a happy baby most of the day. We got home and I completely crashed. Going on one hour of sleep the first night home really has taken a toll on me. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight and not be as exhausted tomorrow. Can't believe it will be a week Friday since going into labor and Easton will be a week old. Time really does fly..will have to cherish every moment I have with him while i'm on maternity leave.
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| Easton all prepared for his first outing out after coming home from the hospital |
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| So precious to watch him sleep. |
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| Easton spending quality time with daddy |
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| Easton visiting daddy at work. |
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Jace Alexander Blanchard - Easton's cousin
My sister Stephanie gave birth to baby Jace at 1:37 pm this afternoon. Both Jace and Mommy are doing great. He's so cute. He weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Easton and Jace are only 3 days apart. They will definiltey enjoy growing up together.
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| Cousins born days apart - Jesse and I stayed a little longer in the hospital so the boys could be in the nursery together |
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| Easton (right) and Jace (left) |
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| Easton (left) and Jace (right) sleeping peacefully in the hospital nursery |
Eastons Visitors
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| Proud Grandma |
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| Jill Dettbarn visiting |
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| Grady was so curious about baby Easton |
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| Baby Eastons Aunt Steph, Uncle Ben and Cousin Grady |
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| Mindy, Jill and Steph visiting |
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| Julie Thomson visiting the day he was born |
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| Curious cousin |
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| Stephanie Brincks holding baby Easton |
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| Heidi Blake and baby Easton |
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| Johan and baby Easton |
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Well today would of offically been my due date with Easton. I'm so excited that he decided to come a little early. My sister on the other hand was due 4 days after me but she went to the doctor yesterday and they told her she was going to be induced today...how exciting...her baby will be born on Eastons actual due date.
Feeling oh so much better today. Walking around..going to and from the nursery. Was able to get plenty of sleep last night. Even woke up every three hours before the nurse would bring me Easton to nurse. Guess my body is getting prepared for the up coming nights of getting up with him.
My sister is doing remarkably well. They induced her and she's progressing like a pro. Baby Blanchard will be here any time now. I"m glad she was blessed with a fairly easy labor.
Well we go home today....crazy how its been already 4 days. I could probably stay another night but am thankful that we get to go home and try and get a routine started. I asked to stay a little longer so Easton and his cousin could be in the nursery together...would be fun to get their pictures taken together in the hospital. We plan on being discharged this afternoon sometime. I had Jesse take a load of gifts, flowers and etc home already.
My parents are on their way down here as I type. So excited for them to get to meet their two newest grand babies...
Spoke to the pediatrician this morning and apparently Easton is not getting enough milk while he nurses. My milk hasn't come in so i'm sure that that is one of the main reasons. They want me to take him to his pediatrician tomorrow to get weighted to make sure he's progressing..Since my milk hasn't come in...after nursing him i have to give him a suppliment so he can get a little nutrition. Once my milk is in there will be no more need to suppliment him. He's down to 6lbs 9oz...he started at 7lbs 3oz...hopefully he'll regain some of his weight back.
Feeling oh so much better today. Walking around..going to and from the nursery. Was able to get plenty of sleep last night. Even woke up every three hours before the nurse would bring me Easton to nurse. Guess my body is getting prepared for the up coming nights of getting up with him.
My sister is doing remarkably well. They induced her and she's progressing like a pro. Baby Blanchard will be here any time now. I"m glad she was blessed with a fairly easy labor.
Well we go home today....crazy how its been already 4 days. I could probably stay another night but am thankful that we get to go home and try and get a routine started. I asked to stay a little longer so Easton and his cousin could be in the nursery together...would be fun to get their pictures taken together in the hospital. We plan on being discharged this afternoon sometime. I had Jesse take a load of gifts, flowers and etc home already.
My parents are on their way down here as I type. So excited for them to get to meet their two newest grand babies...
Spoke to the pediatrician this morning and apparently Easton is not getting enough milk while he nurses. My milk hasn't come in so i'm sure that that is one of the main reasons. They want me to take him to his pediatrician tomorrow to get weighted to make sure he's progressing..Since my milk hasn't come in...after nursing him i have to give him a suppliment so he can get a little nutrition. Once my milk is in there will be no more need to suppliment him. He's down to 6lbs 9oz...he started at 7lbs 3oz...hopefully he'll regain some of his weight back.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Today was definitely a better day for both Easton and I. Breast feeding has gone some what well. The little guy definitely knows what he is doing and does it well. Something less to worry about when I actually get to go home. Jesse and I had a couple of visitors today. Not too many as I am still exhausted from the whole ordeal.
My mom has decided to come up and help me out for a week or two. I'm definitely thankful for that since being a first time mom I"m not sure on what to do...i'm not exactly sure what all to expect when i go home. I've been taken care of very well by the hospital staff. Everyone has been a huge blessing on filling me with knowledge about what to do and when to do it. They all have been great. Dr Makkapati, the dr who delivered Easton has been great as well. She stops in periodically to check in on us to see how we're both doing. She was actually the Dr that I really wanted to have deliver my baby so that was exciting.
Funny story...when Jesse came to the hospital when i was going in for delivery he wore his Verizon gear since he was headed to work when i came in. Turns out that was probably a mistake on his part because news has traveled fast that there is a Verizon manager in the hospital so periodically through out our day we will have nurses and Drs stop in....not to see me or the baby but to actually see Jesse and ask him questions about how to use their phones or ask them questions about whats wrong with their phones or plans..its pretty comical and I think Jesse actually likes the attention from it...
Some of our good friends stopped up to see little Easton today..Katie, Mindy, Kasey and Jill and Jason...It was great to see everyone!!!
Well the doctors and nurses told us to rest up today since we'll be going home tomorrow. So nervous but yet so very excited for Jesse and I to get our little one home and in a routine.
My mom has decided to come up and help me out for a week or two. I'm definitely thankful for that since being a first time mom I"m not sure on what to do...i'm not exactly sure what all to expect when i go home. I've been taken care of very well by the hospital staff. Everyone has been a huge blessing on filling me with knowledge about what to do and when to do it. They all have been great. Dr Makkapati, the dr who delivered Easton has been great as well. She stops in periodically to check in on us to see how we're both doing. She was actually the Dr that I really wanted to have deliver my baby so that was exciting.
Funny story...when Jesse came to the hospital when i was going in for delivery he wore his Verizon gear since he was headed to work when i came in. Turns out that was probably a mistake on his part because news has traveled fast that there is a Verizon manager in the hospital so periodically through out our day we will have nurses and Drs stop in....not to see me or the baby but to actually see Jesse and ask him questions about how to use their phones or ask them questions about whats wrong with their phones or plans..its pretty comical and I think Jesse actually likes the attention from it...
Some of our good friends stopped up to see little Easton today..Katie, Mindy, Kasey and Jill and Jason...It was great to see everyone!!!
Well the doctors and nurses told us to rest up today since we'll be going home tomorrow. So nervous but yet so very excited for Jesse and I to get our little one home and in a routine.
Come to find out...my sister is being induced tomorrow...October 19th...Eastons actual due date!!! Crazy!!! Both babies will be in the nursery together...at least for a little while until we get discharged.
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| 2 days old |
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Easton is officially a day old today. Crazy how only a day ago i had given birth to him. I for the most part am doing considerably well. Pretty sore still but nothing that I can't bare. Definitely more comfortable than labor pains.
The doctor came in and seen us both today. She told me that if i was up to it we were able to go home tomorrow. I told her we'd probably stay another day since insurance does pay for 3 nights with a c-section. Might as well take advantage of being waited on hand and foot by the nurses and Jesse..lol...
Had some more visitors and been up walking around more. I think the tiredness is definiltey starting to kick in. I'm beginning to loose my spunk by noon and need a nap in the afternoons now since i'm constantly awake during the night. Jesse and I chose to keep Easton in the nursery during the night and for the nurses to only bring him in when he was wanting to nurse..that way we could get some sleep instead of being up the entire night worrying about him and making sure he was ok..
We had family night up in my room at the hospital tonight. My sister and her family brought us Pizza hut pizza...something i've been craving for a while since i wasn't able to eat at all from Friday morning till last night. The pizza tasted so good but then afterwards my tummy was thinking different.
Looking forward to tomorrow and even feeling better...Ready to be back to my normal self but i'm sure that will take some time.
The doctor came in and seen us both today. She told me that if i was up to it we were able to go home tomorrow. I told her we'd probably stay another day since insurance does pay for 3 nights with a c-section. Might as well take advantage of being waited on hand and foot by the nurses and Jesse..lol...
Had some more visitors and been up walking around more. I think the tiredness is definiltey starting to kick in. I'm beginning to loose my spunk by noon and need a nap in the afternoons now since i'm constantly awake during the night. Jesse and I chose to keep Easton in the nursery during the night and for the nurses to only bring him in when he was wanting to nurse..that way we could get some sleep instead of being up the entire night worrying about him and making sure he was ok..
We had family night up in my room at the hospital tonight. My sister and her family brought us Pizza hut pizza...something i've been craving for a while since i wasn't able to eat at all from Friday morning till last night. The pizza tasted so good but then afterwards my tummy was thinking different.
Looking forward to tomorrow and even feeling better...Ready to be back to my normal self but i'm sure that will take some time.
Pictures
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| Before the pain of contractions started |
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| Jesse and I getting prepared for Eastons arrival |
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| Lots of babies born the same weekend as Easton |
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| First time I visited the nursery. Jesse always brought him to me since I was to weak to walk. |
Our Little Miracle
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| After painful labor and a c-section our little miracle was born on October 16, 2010 at 5:57 am |
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| Easton James Kuehnhold 7lbs 3 oz and 21 1/2 inches long |
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| Proud daddy!!!! |
Easton James Kuehnhold born on October 16, 2010 at 5:57am
Since not being busy at work i kept up my reading by reading posts off of babycenter.com. This being my first child, I really didn't know what to expect as if i'm going into labor or what the signs were if my water to break. Its nerve wrecking when you don't know what to expect or when to expect it.
Friday morning, October 15, 2010:
Got up as usual..showered and proceeded to get ready...people tell you that if you're water breaks you will either feel a trickle of water down your leg or a gush..well this morning i felt a trickle. Didn't really think anything of it until I got to work. Walking into work I all of a sudden felt a gush and basically figured my water had broke. Called the doctor who was on call and she told me to proceed to the hospital just to make sure that that was really what happened. Really didn't want my water breaking at work but it wasn't all that bad. I was so nervous walking to my car headed to the hospital. I tried to get my desk all cleaned up and my things gathered. I should of been more prepared but everyone kept telling me i had time since you're always late with the first child. Once in the hospital..they tested me and the tests came back questionable so they then proceeded to give me an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that the baby was still in water and plenty of it so that also kind of concluded to the nurses that my water didn't break. When the doctor finally looked at the pictures..she made the decision that the top of my water broke but the bottom of the sack did not. She told me that she was going to break the rest of my water and see how my body would respond. If my body didn't go into labor they were going to proceed with giving me patocin to get my body going into contractions and making me dilate. Definiltey should of ate something before coming to the hospital..I didn't really eat a good dinner last night and well no breakfast. They told me that i woudln't be eating till after the birth...didn't realize that would be over 24 hours..i was famished by the time i got to eat.
Hospital:
I was so nervous going into the actual room that I was going to deliver in. Jesse showed up a while after I told him that this baby was coming today. I told him to not worry about waiting in the hospital with me until I found out forsure if my water broke. Didn't want him to have to miss work if it was a false alarm. I knew anyways it wasn't going to be right away so him rushing to get here wasn't a neccessity. They got me all hooked up with monitors and put the IV in which hurt like hell...apparently I wasn't blessed with good veins to work with. Luckily the Dr didn't have to actually break my water..it proceeded to break on its own while laying in bed...Can't believe how much water it actually was..it was amazing. Since my body wasn't responding at all after my water broke...they proceeded to start the pitocin to see if it would speed things up. I was still only dilated to a 2 so I had a ways to go before delivering him. I also had to be on antibiotics because of me testing positive for Strep B. The nurses had me walk around for a while to see if it would speed things up...unfortunately it didn't do anything. Once the pitocin started to kick in i could feel the contractions getting stronger. They were coming every 3-5 minutes but didn't hurt all that bad. I proceeded to walk...sit on the birthing ball....anything i could do to try and get things rolling...nothing worked. They kept uping my pitocin...contractions started to get harder and stronger....almost to the point where i couldn't take it anymore. I asked the nurse for the epidural and luckily the Dr was on the floor making his rounds so he added me as one of his stops. Steph Brincks, one of my best friends took the afternoon off to come and sit with us. Steph was right there holding my hands trying to focus my thoughts elsewhere since the epidural I heard hurt like crazy. Jesse didn't want to watch at first but then got nausus because he wasnt watching. He was fine after he actually saw what was happening and what they were doing to me....i can only imagine what it looked like. Once the epidural kicked in..i started feeling a little better. I couldn't really feel from my stomach down..it was a weird feeling but i didn't feel any of the contractions that were supposedly getting stronger and harder. Since i couldn't feel the contractions anymore we could watch on the monitor when one was coming and how strong and hard it was. Its pretty cool as to what you can all see on those little machines they hook you up to. The waiting game was very frustrating..i was so ready to have him but the pitocin and drugs were not working as fast as I thought they were. As I was receiving more pitocin i could feel the contractions getting stronger. I figured the epidural was working but as I could feel them more...we realized the epidural had moved or came loose. I can't even describe to you what the feeling was. It was the most painful feeling I've ever experience as in pain. They were coming every 2 minutes and lasting 60-90 seconds. Jesse was right there by my side trying to coach me and telling me i was doing a great job...He really did a great job trying to keep me calm and telling me to remember to breath because when they became so difficult I would sometimes just hold my breathe instead of trying to breath through them. I'm surprised that i didn't squeeze his hand right off because everytime i had one it was so unbearable. The Epidural Dr came back to try and give me a second Epidural...he proceeded to do so but for some reason that one also did not stick since 15 minutes went by and i was still in horrible pain every time a contraction came on. I went through 2 hours of what felt like natural labor..going through the contractions. There is no way I could do a natural child birth. The pain was unbearable and I knew there was no way i could proceed that way. The Dr came back again and proceeded to give me my 3rd epidural. Apparently i was his first patient to ever receive 3 epidurals. He couldn't believe they weren't working. He told me that if this one didn't work that I was going to have to just have a natural child birth...not the answer i was wanting to hear. I asked for a c-section but since the epidural wasn't sticking..i'd have to be put completely under and there were more risks involved with that procedure. That was something they didn't want to do unless it came down to that. They wanted to see if my body would continue to progress with the pitocin. Luckily the 3rd epidural actually worked. He had given me so much that i couldn't feel a thing from the waist down..it was the weirdest feeling ever. At this time it was around midnight and i had been at the hospital since 8 that morning. I couldn't believe that my body wasn't responding to the pitocin. Every time they checked me i progressed only a little. Apparently my body wasn't responding...everytime they upped my pitocin baby Kuehnhold didn't like it so his heart beat would start to spike up..then they would take me off and he would return to normal. This happened several times through out the course of the night. I tried to sleep and actually did get some sleep. They came in every hour to turn me to my other side so i would keep moving and therefore he would also change positions hopefully therefore changing the progress. After hours passed through out the early morning and i wasn't progressing and baby wasn't happy with what was going on..Dr Makkapati made the call to do a C-section. After all that hard work going through labor..the 3 epidurals and all the time...i couldn't believe that they decided to do a c-section. They really didn't have a choice though i guess since the baby was getting stressed and needed to come out. I agreed with their decision and around 5 they started to get me prepped for the C-section. I wasn't very happy about it because I personally wanted to deliver him naturally but since nothing was working..i really didn't have a choice and i didn't want to cause harm to my baby in any way. The nurse i had over the course of the night was a great nurse (Jessica). She was by my side every step of the way making sure i knew what was happening..She was there to ask answer questions if I had questions. It ended up being a very rough day/night and Jesse and I didn't sleep much at all through all of it.
C-Section:
I couldn't believe that i was actually having a C-section. I asked a ton of questions and got myself prepared. I was so nervous because you hear stories about complications. Luckily Jesse was there to try and help calm my nerves. I wasn't looking forward to the recovery time after the C-section...but i guess being on 8 weeks of maternity leave was inticing... Jesse got all suited up and ready to go as well. They told me that it would only take around 5 minutes to get him out and then an additional 30 minutes to get me all stiched up. I was so nervous. I wanted everything to be ok with me and the baby. Well they were exactly right...the c-section only took around 5 minutes. Jesse was free to watch if he wanted...they wouldn' t let me see anything. I was shielded by a sheet. I didn't feel a thing either. All i could feel was the pressure in my stomach. It was a weird feeling. The baby finally was out..they quickly showed me him before they took him away to go and get cleaned. Jesse watched them clean him up..cut his ambilical cord and took tons of pictures. After he was cleaned up they proceeded to let me hold him for a little bit and take some pictures. He was the sweetest thing and I knew right away that he was a spitting image of Jesse...crazy! I didn't see any features of me on him. He is so precious. I"m glad it was finally all over and i could recover and relax and be with him. He was born on October 16, 2010 at 5:57. He weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He's doing great!!!
Recovery:
Well i figured the recovery wouldn't be easy but I didn't know it was going to be so painful. Before I went to recovery they gave me a bunch of morphine. Well the morphine decided not to work. Apparently my body doesn't take well to pain medication. I must be immune to it. The pain i was in was almost or more painful then the contractions I went through. It was unbearable. They ordered me some more pain medication but it took forever. Being in so much pain..Jesse had to leave the room because he couldn't watch me suffer and not be able to help me out. Luckily he could go and be with our baby while I was trying to recover. Finally i was starting to feel a little more comfortable and could actually possibly sleep. I fell asleep for a little while. They woke me up to see if i wanted to see the baby or feed the baby but i was way to drugged to do either. Jesse was able to go to the nursery and watch them get him all cleaned up..take his weight and see his length...he was even blessed with being able to feed him first as well. Something i had wanted to do but was unable to. After I came out of recovery I was able to see our baby nurse him for the first time and hold him. It was the greatest feeling ever. Finally he was here and everything I went through was well worth the pain and discomfort. The recovery process was still not over but i was feeling a ton better. I didn't allow visitors till later in the day because of how much pain i had been in. The nurses kept asking us if we had a name picked out.. we told them that we hadn't decided. We had a couple names that we liked but wasn't sure which one we were going to go with. We wanted to see what he looked like. Jesse and I also really couldn't agree on one together...it had been a process all through my pregnancy on trying to come up with a name for the little guy. At the end of my labor and during recovery Jesse decided to let me choose his name since I had gone through such a painful and long labor. I was actually shocked he wanted me to make the choice since some of the names I liked most he didn't like.. Early on in my pregnancy we both liked the name Easton and we kept coming back to that name all the way through my pregnancy. So therefore I decided to name him Easton and then his middle name James after Jesse's middle name. After seeing him and holding him..he definitely looks like a little Easton.
Breastfeeding:
Nursing was a challenge. Since they had to re-run my IV they had to do it in the bend of my arm so it made nursing rather difficult since i couldn't use the one arm. The nursing experience was rather weird but amazing. He figured out how to latch on right away and was a good sucker. The nurse had to help me every step of the way since i only had one arm that i could use otherwise if i went to bend my arm with the IV in it..the machine would go off...how annoying...I didn't know if breast feeding was my thing but turns out I love it and it bonds me and Easton together. He is absolutely so adorable and cuddly. What an experience it is to hold him and be able to give him the nutrition he needs. Babys are truly amazing.
Visitors:
We had several visitors..my sister Steph and her family were our first visitors. Grady was so cute. He would just look at Easton in a dead stare...I don't think he quite knew what was going on. Jesse's family finally arrived later Saturday night. His mom had to work so they couldn't come sooner. His mom fell in love with baby Easton. Who wouldn't she though..he's so adorable. Mindy, Jill, Julie, Steph Brincks and Jake all stopped up as well to see Easton. It was great getting to talk to everyone and show off our little miracle. I was exhausted though and being still on pain medication I was kind of out of it. While they were all there visiting, the nurses wanted to get me up and moving. That was a process...it hurt like crazy and I again said i couldn't do it.I think i said that during labor probably a million times and wanted to keep giving up but Jesse wouldn't let me. Getting up for the first time after surgery was unbearable. I really didn't think it would be that painful but it was more painful then u could imagine. After they got me all cleaned up my friends were then able to enter the room again. My sister and Ben came up once again and stayed for a little while. I was beginning to doze off and on so they decided to take off around 8. I think i passed out shortly after.
Sleeping:
Jesse and I actually got some good sleep. Every two to three hours they would bring Easton in to nurse and feed. He did a really good job..he's starting to be a pro at it. At least Jesse and I were able to get a little sleep. Unfortunately for Jesse i was hot all though out the night and kept having him turn the heat down. He on the other hand was freezing and couldn't keep warm. I felt bad but then again...i wanted to be comfortable and being hot is never comfortable.
Morning after:
I feel 50% better than yesterday. They again made me get up to get cleaned off . It wasn't as hard as it was yesterday. I"m actually moving around today and walking to and from the nursery. I'm definitely in not as much pain as I was yesterday which has been a blessing. I still am amazed though at how painful this whole experience has been and everything you go through when going through labor. Definitely had to expect the unexpected.
I will be at home with Easton for the next 12 weeks. I can be reached through email: Jennifer.J.Kuehnhold@gmail or by my cell.
Friday morning, October 15, 2010:
Got up as usual..showered and proceeded to get ready...people tell you that if you're water breaks you will either feel a trickle of water down your leg or a gush..well this morning i felt a trickle. Didn't really think anything of it until I got to work. Walking into work I all of a sudden felt a gush and basically figured my water had broke. Called the doctor who was on call and she told me to proceed to the hospital just to make sure that that was really what happened. Really didn't want my water breaking at work but it wasn't all that bad. I was so nervous walking to my car headed to the hospital. I tried to get my desk all cleaned up and my things gathered. I should of been more prepared but everyone kept telling me i had time since you're always late with the first child. Once in the hospital..they tested me and the tests came back questionable so they then proceeded to give me an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that the baby was still in water and plenty of it so that also kind of concluded to the nurses that my water didn't break. When the doctor finally looked at the pictures..she made the decision that the top of my water broke but the bottom of the sack did not. She told me that she was going to break the rest of my water and see how my body would respond. If my body didn't go into labor they were going to proceed with giving me patocin to get my body going into contractions and making me dilate. Definiltey should of ate something before coming to the hospital..I didn't really eat a good dinner last night and well no breakfast. They told me that i woudln't be eating till after the birth...didn't realize that would be over 24 hours..i was famished by the time i got to eat.
Hospital:
I was so nervous going into the actual room that I was going to deliver in. Jesse showed up a while after I told him that this baby was coming today. I told him to not worry about waiting in the hospital with me until I found out forsure if my water broke. Didn't want him to have to miss work if it was a false alarm. I knew anyways it wasn't going to be right away so him rushing to get here wasn't a neccessity. They got me all hooked up with monitors and put the IV in which hurt like hell...apparently I wasn't blessed with good veins to work with. Luckily the Dr didn't have to actually break my water..it proceeded to break on its own while laying in bed...Can't believe how much water it actually was..it was amazing. Since my body wasn't responding at all after my water broke...they proceeded to start the pitocin to see if it would speed things up. I was still only dilated to a 2 so I had a ways to go before delivering him. I also had to be on antibiotics because of me testing positive for Strep B. The nurses had me walk around for a while to see if it would speed things up...unfortunately it didn't do anything. Once the pitocin started to kick in i could feel the contractions getting stronger. They were coming every 3-5 minutes but didn't hurt all that bad. I proceeded to walk...sit on the birthing ball....anything i could do to try and get things rolling...nothing worked. They kept uping my pitocin...contractions started to get harder and stronger....almost to the point where i couldn't take it anymore. I asked the nurse for the epidural and luckily the Dr was on the floor making his rounds so he added me as one of his stops. Steph Brincks, one of my best friends took the afternoon off to come and sit with us. Steph was right there holding my hands trying to focus my thoughts elsewhere since the epidural I heard hurt like crazy. Jesse didn't want to watch at first but then got nausus because he wasnt watching. He was fine after he actually saw what was happening and what they were doing to me....i can only imagine what it looked like. Once the epidural kicked in..i started feeling a little better. I couldn't really feel from my stomach down..it was a weird feeling but i didn't feel any of the contractions that were supposedly getting stronger and harder. Since i couldn't feel the contractions anymore we could watch on the monitor when one was coming and how strong and hard it was. Its pretty cool as to what you can all see on those little machines they hook you up to. The waiting game was very frustrating..i was so ready to have him but the pitocin and drugs were not working as fast as I thought they were. As I was receiving more pitocin i could feel the contractions getting stronger. I figured the epidural was working but as I could feel them more...we realized the epidural had moved or came loose. I can't even describe to you what the feeling was. It was the most painful feeling I've ever experience as in pain. They were coming every 2 minutes and lasting 60-90 seconds. Jesse was right there by my side trying to coach me and telling me i was doing a great job...He really did a great job trying to keep me calm and telling me to remember to breath because when they became so difficult I would sometimes just hold my breathe instead of trying to breath through them. I'm surprised that i didn't squeeze his hand right off because everytime i had one it was so unbearable. The Epidural Dr came back to try and give me a second Epidural...he proceeded to do so but for some reason that one also did not stick since 15 minutes went by and i was still in horrible pain every time a contraction came on. I went through 2 hours of what felt like natural labor..going through the contractions. There is no way I could do a natural child birth. The pain was unbearable and I knew there was no way i could proceed that way. The Dr came back again and proceeded to give me my 3rd epidural. Apparently i was his first patient to ever receive 3 epidurals. He couldn't believe they weren't working. He told me that if this one didn't work that I was going to have to just have a natural child birth...not the answer i was wanting to hear. I asked for a c-section but since the epidural wasn't sticking..i'd have to be put completely under and there were more risks involved with that procedure. That was something they didn't want to do unless it came down to that. They wanted to see if my body would continue to progress with the pitocin. Luckily the 3rd epidural actually worked. He had given me so much that i couldn't feel a thing from the waist down..it was the weirdest feeling ever. At this time it was around midnight and i had been at the hospital since 8 that morning. I couldn't believe that my body wasn't responding to the pitocin. Every time they checked me i progressed only a little. Apparently my body wasn't responding...everytime they upped my pitocin baby Kuehnhold didn't like it so his heart beat would start to spike up..then they would take me off and he would return to normal. This happened several times through out the course of the night. I tried to sleep and actually did get some sleep. They came in every hour to turn me to my other side so i would keep moving and therefore he would also change positions hopefully therefore changing the progress. After hours passed through out the early morning and i wasn't progressing and baby wasn't happy with what was going on..Dr Makkapati made the call to do a C-section. After all that hard work going through labor..the 3 epidurals and all the time...i couldn't believe that they decided to do a c-section. They really didn't have a choice though i guess since the baby was getting stressed and needed to come out. I agreed with their decision and around 5 they started to get me prepped for the C-section. I wasn't very happy about it because I personally wanted to deliver him naturally but since nothing was working..i really didn't have a choice and i didn't want to cause harm to my baby in any way. The nurse i had over the course of the night was a great nurse (Jessica). She was by my side every step of the way making sure i knew what was happening..She was there to ask answer questions if I had questions. It ended up being a very rough day/night and Jesse and I didn't sleep much at all through all of it.
C-Section:
I couldn't believe that i was actually having a C-section. I asked a ton of questions and got myself prepared. I was so nervous because you hear stories about complications. Luckily Jesse was there to try and help calm my nerves. I wasn't looking forward to the recovery time after the C-section...but i guess being on 8 weeks of maternity leave was inticing... Jesse got all suited up and ready to go as well. They told me that it would only take around 5 minutes to get him out and then an additional 30 minutes to get me all stiched up. I was so nervous. I wanted everything to be ok with me and the baby. Well they were exactly right...the c-section only took around 5 minutes. Jesse was free to watch if he wanted...they wouldn' t let me see anything. I was shielded by a sheet. I didn't feel a thing either. All i could feel was the pressure in my stomach. It was a weird feeling. The baby finally was out..they quickly showed me him before they took him away to go and get cleaned. Jesse watched them clean him up..cut his ambilical cord and took tons of pictures. After he was cleaned up they proceeded to let me hold him for a little bit and take some pictures. He was the sweetest thing and I knew right away that he was a spitting image of Jesse...crazy! I didn't see any features of me on him. He is so precious. I"m glad it was finally all over and i could recover and relax and be with him. He was born on October 16, 2010 at 5:57. He weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He's doing great!!!
Recovery:
Well i figured the recovery wouldn't be easy but I didn't know it was going to be so painful. Before I went to recovery they gave me a bunch of morphine. Well the morphine decided not to work. Apparently my body doesn't take well to pain medication. I must be immune to it. The pain i was in was almost or more painful then the contractions I went through. It was unbearable. They ordered me some more pain medication but it took forever. Being in so much pain..Jesse had to leave the room because he couldn't watch me suffer and not be able to help me out. Luckily he could go and be with our baby while I was trying to recover. Finally i was starting to feel a little more comfortable and could actually possibly sleep. I fell asleep for a little while. They woke me up to see if i wanted to see the baby or feed the baby but i was way to drugged to do either. Jesse was able to go to the nursery and watch them get him all cleaned up..take his weight and see his length...he was even blessed with being able to feed him first as well. Something i had wanted to do but was unable to. After I came out of recovery I was able to see our baby nurse him for the first time and hold him. It was the greatest feeling ever. Finally he was here and everything I went through was well worth the pain and discomfort. The recovery process was still not over but i was feeling a ton better. I didn't allow visitors till later in the day because of how much pain i had been in. The nurses kept asking us if we had a name picked out.. we told them that we hadn't decided. We had a couple names that we liked but wasn't sure which one we were going to go with. We wanted to see what he looked like. Jesse and I also really couldn't agree on one together...it had been a process all through my pregnancy on trying to come up with a name for the little guy. At the end of my labor and during recovery Jesse decided to let me choose his name since I had gone through such a painful and long labor. I was actually shocked he wanted me to make the choice since some of the names I liked most he didn't like.. Early on in my pregnancy we both liked the name Easton and we kept coming back to that name all the way through my pregnancy. So therefore I decided to name him Easton and then his middle name James after Jesse's middle name. After seeing him and holding him..he definitely looks like a little Easton.
Breastfeeding:
Nursing was a challenge. Since they had to re-run my IV they had to do it in the bend of my arm so it made nursing rather difficult since i couldn't use the one arm. The nursing experience was rather weird but amazing. He figured out how to latch on right away and was a good sucker. The nurse had to help me every step of the way since i only had one arm that i could use otherwise if i went to bend my arm with the IV in it..the machine would go off...how annoying...I didn't know if breast feeding was my thing but turns out I love it and it bonds me and Easton together. He is absolutely so adorable and cuddly. What an experience it is to hold him and be able to give him the nutrition he needs. Babys are truly amazing.
Visitors:
We had several visitors..my sister Steph and her family were our first visitors. Grady was so cute. He would just look at Easton in a dead stare...I don't think he quite knew what was going on. Jesse's family finally arrived later Saturday night. His mom had to work so they couldn't come sooner. His mom fell in love with baby Easton. Who wouldn't she though..he's so adorable. Mindy, Jill, Julie, Steph Brincks and Jake all stopped up as well to see Easton. It was great getting to talk to everyone and show off our little miracle. I was exhausted though and being still on pain medication I was kind of out of it. While they were all there visiting, the nurses wanted to get me up and moving. That was a process...it hurt like crazy and I again said i couldn't do it.I think i said that during labor probably a million times and wanted to keep giving up but Jesse wouldn't let me. Getting up for the first time after surgery was unbearable. I really didn't think it would be that painful but it was more painful then u could imagine. After they got me all cleaned up my friends were then able to enter the room again. My sister and Ben came up once again and stayed for a little while. I was beginning to doze off and on so they decided to take off around 8. I think i passed out shortly after.
Sleeping:
Jesse and I actually got some good sleep. Every two to three hours they would bring Easton in to nurse and feed. He did a really good job..he's starting to be a pro at it. At least Jesse and I were able to get a little sleep. Unfortunately for Jesse i was hot all though out the night and kept having him turn the heat down. He on the other hand was freezing and couldn't keep warm. I felt bad but then again...i wanted to be comfortable and being hot is never comfortable.
Morning after:
I feel 50% better than yesterday. They again made me get up to get cleaned off . It wasn't as hard as it was yesterday. I"m actually moving around today and walking to and from the nursery. I'm definitely in not as much pain as I was yesterday which has been a blessing. I still am amazed though at how painful this whole experience has been and everything you go through when going through labor. Definitely had to expect the unexpected.
I will be at home with Easton for the next 12 weeks. I can be reached through email: Jennifer.J.Kuehnhold@gmail or by my cell.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
How I've Grown In Mommies Tummy
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| 13 Weeks |
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| 17 Weeks |
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| 21 Weeks |
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| 25 weeks |
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| 29 weeks |
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| 33 weeks |
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| 37 weeks |
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