Labor & Delivery

So the birth of Haleigh turned out to be a 3-day event….
I saw Dr. O’Toole on Wednesday, May 7th, and she made the decision to induce me on the upcoming Friday (the 9th) due to the fact that I was already a couple of days past due and I had a wonderful, itchy case of the PUPPS rash (Google it if you don’t know what it is), which she said would only get worse if I didn’t have the baby soon. She told me the hospital would call me on Thursday night around dinner to come in for Prostin gel, to soften and prepare my cervix for the induction on Friday.
Thursday night came, and around 8:30 still no call. Needless to say Kev and I were pissed and called the hospital, who gave us the excuse that triage was very busy that night and they forgot to call us. They told me to come in right then. We got there, they put me on a fetal monitor for about a half hour, I got the gel, and almost immediately started with regular, every 3 min. contractions. I was monitored for another hour or so as protocol for the gel, and a little extra time due to the contractions. We got sent home around midnight because my contractions weren’t painful.
Now we come to Friday, induction day. My Dr. had also told me that if I didn’t end up going into labor on Thursday from the gel, that the hospital would call me to let me know when to come in for the induction, after 10 AM, but probably more like noonish. Well, it comes to 3:30, and no call. So again, I call them and the labor and delivery nurse said she was just about to call me (yeah right). We grabbed our bags and left for the hospital, which we arrived around 4:30 PM.
Once I got hooked up to all the monitors and machines, Dr. O’Toole came in, checked me, and broke my water in hopes that things would start naturally and I wouldn’t need any Pitocin. TEN HOURS LATER she comes in with a big yawn, (I’m sure after a nice nap) to check on me, but my contractions were still fairly irregular. She ordered Pitocin and an epi (for when and if I wanted it). My contractions started to become regular, but not all that painful, and it was obvious that this was going to take forever…..I was so uncomfortable and tired, I opted for the epi simply so I could sleep, because this obviously was going to take a while!
I spent the next however many hours in and out of sleep, poor Kev watching TBS movie after movie, and I finally started dilating a bit more. I also started throwing up (who knows why), so a batch of anti-nausea meds were added to the concotion in my IV (along with the normal IV fluids, the Penicillin for group B strep, and the epidural). I got stuck at 7 cms for a few hours, and then things picked up. Once I got to 9.5, my Dr. said I could begin pushing…..but she got stuck in another delivery…..so again I had to wait! I reached 10, the baby was in +1 position, and I only pushed for barely and hour and a half, and there she was! After almost 27 hours, Haleigh was born to We Were Soldiers playing on the TV.
All in all, the long hours of feeling uncomfortable, being stuck with needles, puking, boredom, frustration, being hooked off and on machines to go to the bathroom, etc. were more than worth it

Haleigh in her Homecoming Dress

First Family Photo

On the Car Ride Home

5/12/2008 – Not Home Yet!!!

We were scheduled to be discharged from the hospital at 11:00 AM today but things have been pushed back for a few hours. Due to the fact that Allison had a fever during the delivery and Haleigh had one for a brief period following, the pediatrician at the hospital wanted us to stick around until 5:00 PM just to make sure nothing came up. Apparently, after 48 hours, she should be in the clear from any related infection or illness. The doctor assured as that all is well and that she looks great. The extra few hours of observation are only a precaution. Have no fear, we’ll all be home soon and more pictures (including ones of Haleigh in her “homecoming” dress) will be posted soon.

Introductions

Haleigh Anne Giuliano was born on May, 10th 2008 at 7:20 PM. She weighed approximately 7 pounds and 3 ounces. I won’t go into too many details at this time regairding either Allison’s or my experiences during the labor and delivery. In fact, all I’ll say right now is that it was long, I’m glad its over and I’m extrmeley grateful that both Allison and Haleigh are healthy and safe. Here are some pictures so that you may become acquainted.

Haleigh and Allison

Haleigh and Dr. O’Toole

5/10/08 – 9:40 AM

Based on the number of times Allison’s phone has vibrated in my pocket I gather that there are a lot of anxious friends and family members out there. First of all, I want to thank all of you for your support and your interest in what is going on. As of right now, we have not had the baby yet. We arrived at the hospital a little before 5:00 yesterday afternoon. Once we made it to the labor room, the doctor broke Allison’s water and decided to try and let nature take its course. Things progressed very slowly from that point. I am leaving out many details right now, but we can fill those in at a later date. At about 2:00 AM (possibly after that) the doctor decided to begin the induction process. Since that time, things have progressed a little quicker but stilly very slowly. I’ll fill you all in as we learn more.

And…..We’re Back!!!

No, we’re not back with the baby. We’re not even back after hours of false labor. We got to the hospital at around 8:45 last evening to have the prostin gel put in (they forgot to call us earlier in the evening) and were eventually brought up to a labor room because all of the triage rooms were full. After the gel was put in, it looked promising. Contractions were coming regularly, about every 3 minutes, but were not very strong. Finally, at 12:15 AM, they decided to send us home with explicit instructions to return if the contractions got so bad that Allison coldn’t walk, lots of bleeding occurred, the baby stopped acting in its typical manner or Allison’s water broke. Needless to say, none of that happened and we are now awaiting a call to return to the hospital to begin the induction process. I think we are in for another long night but at least this time, we will be prepared. The television in the labor room gets 12 channels, 13 if you count the tv guide channel. Due to this fact, we will be bringing a laptop and a bag full of DVDs into the labor room with us this evening. Below is a brief list of what we may be watching this evening:

1. The Office Season 1
2. The Office season 3
4. Gone in 60 seconds
5. Family Guy Volume 3
6. Family Guy Volume 5
7. Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2

I think those will keep us busy for a while. Anyhow, that’s all I got for now.

We’re On Our Way

At Allison’s appointment yesterday the doctor made a decision to induce her on Friday. 5/9/08. Apparently, the induction process is a multi-day event. This evening, we will be heading over to the triage department at the hospital so that Allison can be given prostin gel. Prostin Gel, to be brief and without getting too complicated, is used to get things started (e.g., thinning out or softening the cervix). After she is given the prostin gel, she and the baby will be observed from 1 to 3 hours. If the gel does not put her in labor, we will be able to go home tonight and awate their call tomorrow (of course we could end up there in the middle of the night). Tomorrow, if we make it that long, we will be called sometime during the day to head into the hospital to continue on with the induction. It will be interesting to see how things turn out. Either way, we’re packed and ready to go. We’ve both packed clothes and toiletries. I have a few books, some for me, some for the baby. The digital camera is charged as is the video camera and Allison is using her laptop right now but we will be bringing that along so that we can watch movies, surf the web, play games and of course, blog. Speaking of blogging, I will be blogging the entire delviery in real time. Think of it as a play by play. I have also embedded a streaming video client in the site so that you can watch the delivery live. Due to the ridgidity of the wordpress software, I had to make a video page and put the video dashboard there but it works. At the top of the page, you should see some tabs (e.g., about, video). Click on the video tab to gain access. The rest is pretty self explanatory. That’s about it for now. I’m going to go check on everything one more time to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. Wish us luck!!!

Progress

As of yesterday, I am dilated about 1 cm, and 50% effaced. Dr O’Toole says she’ll check me again next week (if I haven’t already had the baby), see how I’ve progressed, and possibly induce on Friday…I really am not fond of the idea of being induced, but if I have to choose between having the baby or not having the baby, I choose have!
I will literally throw a tantrum if I have to get up and go to work on Monday!!

Interesting Fact!!!

So, I looked up the meaning of the name Kaleb. Apparently it means Dog or tenacious and aggressive. Not very impressive or meaningful if you ask me. Did you know the name Kevin means handsome? Now that’s cool. Dog….not cool.
Tenacious:
adj.
1. Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view.
2. Holding together firmly; cohesive: a tenacious material.
3. Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive: tenacious lint.
4. Tending to retain; retentive: a tenacious memory.
Not so cool…..

Agressive:
adj.
1. Characterized by aggression: aggressive behavior.
2. Inclined to behave in an actively hostile fashion: an aggressive regime.
3. Assertive, bold, and energetic: an aggressive sales campaign.
4. Of or relating to an investment or approach to investing that seeks above-average returns by taking above-average risks.
5. Fast growing; tending to spread quickly and invade: an aggressive tumor.
6. Characterized by or inclined toward vigorous or intensive medical treatment: an aggressive approach to treating the infection.
7. Intense or harsh, as in color.
Again…..not so cool!!!
It really doesn’t matter what the name means but I thought this was intersting enough to point out and was, if nothing else, a fun useless fact.

A Brief Update

I love the idea of writing this blog but it amazes me how much time passes between posts. So…..here’s where we are. Still no baby. Still no boy’s name (although many have been offering suggestions – which I am thankful for). However, we may be breaking some ground in that area. Allison has liked the name Caleb for a while. Although I am not completely sold on the name, I am considering the name but spelled Kaleb. It’s a little different but it would share my initials which would be pretty cool. Nathaniel was another name we were considering for a boy. Thank god the girl’s names have been picked out for years. I couldn’t handle trying to think up those too.
As I am writing this, and studying for a chem test, Allison is packing her bag for the hospital (its probably about time). We made a test run to the hospital yesterday just to make sure that we know the way, when the time comes and my brother brought over the cradle, that was built by our uncle. Unfortunately, we have not heard any news on the status of the crib and dresser for the nursery, but the house is a mess and we’re really not ready for them anyway.
So that’s where things are now. Not a lot has changed. It seems as if not a lot has been accomplished but I guess we’ll get there eventually. I’ll keep you all posted (pardon the pun) as things progress.

Doctor’s visit #8,143,239,294.7

Welp, I’m at weekly appointments now, going every Thursday as it’s been working out with my schedule. Two Thursday’s ago, Dr. did the internal exam, with no good news for me as far as dilation or anything–booooo….. She said I was measuring a little small, and ordered an ultrasound just to check. Though she seemed pretty confident that the baby was “probably just hiding on us.”
Well we had the ultrasound last Monday, and I guess the baby was just “hiding,” cuz the ultrasound tech said the baby was about 6lbs. 7oz.
At last Thursday’s appointment, Dr. O’Toole said that the baby is now officially full term and anytime he or she feels like coming out is good! She said the baby will be a “nice size–not too big,” which I of course love to hear. She refused to wave her magic wand (despite my request) and just take the baby out, though…But she did promise that she wouldn’t let me go past May 16th, and “I just might be talked into inducing you on the 12th” if the baby hasn’t come yet. Gee, thanks.
I was counting on last night’s full moon for some action. I should have known better. However, last night I did have the joy of feeling the absolute worst I have felt this whole pregnancy. That must be a good sign???
About 2 more weeks left!