What I learned from having a C-section

Oh the things you learn when you go through a new experience. Before I had Dax I posted a list of comments about things I had learned while pregnant... here is what I learned in giving birth to Dax...

1. Be prepared, even if you have this idea in your head that you WILL get an epidural be ready for the fact that you might not be able to get in for quite awhile. We didn't take a child birth class but watched a DVD series and I felt like it prepared us enough. We didn't do any fancy breathing but for me just breathing deeply and slowly through the contractions really helped.

2. Contractions are much more painful, for me, when I was by myself. It seemed like every time I went to the bathroom or when a contractions started and Dustin was across the room they hurt a lot more. As soon as I could hold onto Dustin or he touched me in anyway I relaxed and could handle the pain a lot easier.

3. Distractions while in labor are key! I had my laptop with me and just cruising facebook or myspace helped the time go by... course when you're in labor for 30 hours nothing really helps.

4. If you don't want people at the hospital tell them you are doing just fine and will let them know when you are ready for company. I always thought I would want my family and close friends at the hospital to help pass the time while I was in labor. When it came down to it all I wanted was Dustin and didn't want any other people there. I told my Mom afterwards that the real reason I didn't want her to come right away was because I knew I would fall apart if she was there and I didn't need to do that at that time.

5. C-sections are not the end of the world. They put a whole new twist onto having a baby and to what you can do right after the baby arrives but as long as you are prepared with a support system you will be just fine. Be prepared to not want to move for about 2 weeks and really you won't be able to do much. DO GET OUT OF BED AND OFF THE COUCH! I put getting out of the hospital bed off an extra 12 hours and I almost wish I hadn't. After the first time getting out of bed, which did hurt A LOT, it got much easier and the first shower was definitely worth the initial painful walk to the bathroom.

6. Let the nurses, your family and your husband/boyfriend do all the work. There really is no reason to push yourself to do much more than relax, sleep and feed the baby. I changed 1 diaper in the hospital before we left the first time and that was only because the nurse had just left and I felt guilty calling her back. When we were re-admitted I took over the diapering and Dustin did all the paperwork--- we had to weigh Dax before feedings, after feedings and all of his diapers. Tag team everything!

7. Cry! If you feel the need to cry do it. Even though you'll probably feel pretty silly it really is important to get those emotions out. For me crying usually meant that I was exhausted. Dustin or my Mom would always send me to bed after a crying spree and I always felt better when I got up, even if it was only 5 minutes of stretching out.

8. Newborn clothes and 0-3 month clothes are NOT the same! haha! I asked my friend Carley if they were the same and she informed me they were not but for some reason i didn't believe her initially, sorry Carley! I should never doubt my pregnancy guru. I actually sent my Mom out to buy Dax a couple sleepers because he just didn't have enough clothes for being so little. I would suggest having 1 or 2 premie size sleepers because if you have a under 7 pound baby you will probably want them to look like they actually fit into their clothes at least occasionally.

9. Take everything that isn't nailed down from the hospital room. I didn't realize that once something is checked out to your room- like glucose water, diapers, wipes, or cups- it can't be taken back. We had 3 bottles of glucose water in our room when Dax was in for his jaundice that weren't opened that would have been thrown away if we didn't take them.

10. Okay I think this is my final one at the point ha ha! It's the most important one too! LET PEOPLE HELP YOU!!! This one was hard for me because the things I needed help with had nothing to do with the baby. I had the dumb idea that I could work and have a newborn. DUMB DUMB DUMB! I did it but needed help from some of my wonderful co-workers and letting them help made me feel guilty but was necessary and they all said they wanted to help. Remember when you want to help those around you?? Well this is your time to be helped, let people help.

Good timing... Dax is just waking up. Later gator!

I have an 8 week old baby!

Holy Cow how is Dax 8 weeks already??? I am having some major anxiety about going back to work. I am NOT ready! I still have like 2 weeks before our December break is over but we are SO not to a point of being able to be out the door by 7:15 am every day, okay not every day but we will have to be out the door 3 days a week. The days I work from home don't panic me 'cause if I don't get a shower in before 8 PM at night it doesn't matter. EEEKK!!! I don't know how parents do it and I SO , SO SO SO wish that I could be a stay at home Mom or that I could at least work from home. Even though I would still be working full time at least I wouldn't feel the added stress to be out the door bright and early.

Okay now I'm done whining. I shouldn't be whining because I am blessed to have a job that allows me to bring my baby to work. Not many people can do that!

As soon as I find the cord for my camera I'll update pictures of the little man! He is so big!

Do these lips and nose look familiar?

I've had several of my friends say that Dax really does look like his ultrasound pictures and he does! I got a picture of his nose and lips up close for your comparison...

Family Pictures!

I am so excited to share with your our first formal family pictures! We got the photo disk from Sears so I can re-print these shots and share them anywhere, such a neat feature since all too often you forget what the pictures even looked like until you finally get them several weeks later. Now I can show off my super cute family to y'all ahead of time. Hope you think they are as cute as I do.

1 month

Happy 1 Month Birthday baby boy!

I can't believe that a month ago Dustin and I welcomed this handsome little guy into the world. In some ways it feels like forever ago but for the most part I can't believe how fast this last month went. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks :0)

Dax is now weighing about 9 pounds- we weighed him while holding him so it's not precise.

He is a big fan of eating and took his first bottle about a week ago. He doesn't really care what you put in his mouth as long as he can suck on it.

He seems to have mastered how to smile and practices it while being talked to the most.

He only sleeps for about 20 minutes all alone but if he's being held or up against a warm body he can sleep for hours.

Dax just moved into his 0-3 month clothes and the size up from the brand new baby diapers.

He's a growing boy for sure!

Mommy, Dax, and Great Grandma Gregerson

4 Generations on the Gregerson side (and one unhappy Dax)

Putting our Christmas deer together with Daddy

other little stories

Okay so ever reread something and then think of all the other little elements you forgot about... here is the rest of the story.... :) in list form 'cause that's how I'll remember it...

1. Those of you who know me will be shocked to hear that the whole time we were in the hospital following Dax's birth I didn't wear one stitch of make up. Not by choice mind you, Dustin held my make up hostage and wouldn't bring it to the hospital.

2. From the time we left the house until we got to the hospital and even until Dr. Shannon said "Yes your water broke" I kept saying, I am going to feel so dumb when I get sent home 'cause my water really didn't break. Course that didn't happen but I was sure it was going to.

3. Dustin made at least 3 trips home on the 24th to get stuff for me... my bag to start with, then the laptop and I can't remember what the other trip was for but he said he felt like we were moving in.

4. We had THE BEST OB nurses and Acute Care nurses (well most of those). Our OB nurses were so sweet and caring and patient. They let us do our "thing." They were never pushy or ever made me feel uncomfortable. Even though it was the very first time I had met these women they treated me like their long lost friend. I am truly grateful for that experience.

5. We had one male nurse in the Acute Care area. I think we intimidated him. He hadn't changed a diaper and I couldn't do it at the time and it was the middle of the night and Dustin was fast asleep. He had to call another nurse in to help him. Totally cracked me up.

6. I have the best man in the entire world. Dustin is amazing! I have said that over and over but I really truly mean it. He is so sweet with Dax and he has done such a great job taking care of us. From helping me out of bed and to the bathroom, taking Dax and making me go take a nap, and the list goes on and on. I know this is the stuff that is supposed to happen but when it does happen it just feels so great. The best part, he didn't even think twice about any of it. I love you Dustin. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

7.I always thought I would want my parents and my closest friends at the hospital when Dax arrived but when it came down to it all I wanted was Dustin. It worked out pretty well that things were dragging along because I kept putting people off coming up because it was taking so long so in the end it ended up being just me and Dustin. It really was perfect.

8. One of the worst parts of Dax's arrival was being re-admitted for his jaundice. Our wonderful nurse was so sweet the day before and gave us a heads up about his levels and what to expect. I was completely emotional. I cried a lot. Not because I was sad but because I wasn't in control and wanted Dax to be totally and completely healthy. Dustin was great, he kept telling me that Dax is tough and that he'll be okay. Thankfully it was only 2 nights but by the time we got home I was completely DONE with hospitals!

I think that's it for now.... or at least what I can remember.... :)

Dax Paul is here!

Dax Paul arrived on October 25 at 7:02 am weighing in at 6 pounds 15 ounces. Wow do I wish his arrival was as easy as that sentence was to type. Dax took 30 hours to get here from the time my water "broke" at 1:30 am on October 24th until he made his appearance but more on that in a moment. :)

Dax is such a sweet baby. He sleeps for several hours at a time, eats like crazy and is doing a great job of filling his diapers. He's a snuggler and would like nothing more than to be in your arms all day long. He makes the cutest little squeaking noises. We couldn't ask for a better little man!

Okay on to his arrival...

At about 1:30am I got up to go the bathroom only I really didn't "stop" going... but it wasn't the big gush I thought came with water breaking. I called the OB nurse at the hospital and asked what she thought was going on. Since I wasn't sure and she wasn't sure my water had broken she said to go back to bed and see if I kept leaking. I fell back to sleep until about 6am... when I felt another little...umm... leak... I got up called the OB nurse again and decided that I would take a shower and we'd go into the hospital just to be checked out. I really didn't think anything was going on and was pretty sure I'd be sent home.

We got to the hospital, got all set up on the fetal monitors and Dr. Shannon confirmed that my water had in deed broke. We were in for a long road as the nurse said and Dr. Shannon explained that he figured it would be anywhere from 10-20 hours before our little guy arrived because I was only dilated to 2cm. Boy was he off!

So got started on Pitocin a couple hours later as my contractions weren't very strong and were pretty spread out. I would like to also note that I had no pain medication at this point and didn't get any until 11:30 that night. Can you believe that??? I still can't!

Dustin was AWESOME through all of this. He was bossy when I needed him to be, comforting when I needed him to be, and made me laugh frequently. I didn't really want to walk but he got me up and moving, even if it was only for a few laps around the floor. When the nurse suggested using the jacuzzi tub it just didn't sound like a great idea at the moment but Dustin said I should try it. I was in there for about 45 minutes (this was still before I got any pain meds).

After the jacuzzi I think I stood through a few contractions and then laid back down in bed. This was when they started to get more intense and I was getting really tired. The nurse checked me again and I was only dilated to 3 cm. Still too early for an epidural. Damn! So she suggested that I take a narcotic (I can't remember the actual name of this one). After I took it I felt even more sleepy and was able to sleep between contractions but it did NOTHING to help with the pain! NOTHING! After about an hour or two of no real relief I asked for either something else or more to try to help. I then got another drug called Stadol (sp?) still didn't help at all. Apparently narcotics do nothing but make me loopy. Not the best feeling in the world.

At about 5 am I think Dr. Shannon came by to check on me and after realizing I hadn't made any change suggested we try a epidural and see if by getting me to relax things would progress. Okay before I say anything about the epidural I will say after it was completed it was worth it BUT getting the epidural was probably one of the scariest parts of Dax's whole birth. It hurt and I had strong contractions so it was very hard to sit still but after I was all numb I felt great... actualy I felt completely foreign 'cause I couldn't feel my legs! I was finally able to fall asleep. Poor Dustin was sitting by my bed, his head on the side of the bed trying to fall asleep too. The only problem was when I would fall asleep I would start breathing so shallow that my oxygen levels would drop and would set off an alarm. So poor Dustin spent the next about 30 minutes?? saying BREATH every time the alarm went off. We didn't get any sleep.

Dr. Shannon checked me again and decided that since I hadn't progressed and we were past the 24 hour mark we needed to get Dax out. He was still doing great inside, heart rate was great but it had just been too long. I lost it at this point. A combination of being exhausted and pretty sure that I wasn't going to have a C-section caught up with me. Dustin was so sweet, he held my hand and just kept telling me that everything was going to be okay and that he would be right there with me.

We were taken down to the operating room, holy cow it's cold in there! When Dustin came in he got to sit by my head and my anesthesiologist, Scott started talking to me about what I'd be feeling and such. He told us a story about a baby that was "supposed" to be a boy but ended up being a girl. I then asked when they were going to get started and he said "well they are almost to the baby" I don't really remember this happening but Dustin said I had this look on my face like "what the???" I was so surprised. Dustin said he knew they had started and knew that Scott was talking to be so intently to see what my reactions were as they started. The only thing I remember really about Dax coming out was the amount of pressure they put on my ribs to get him out. Wow!

The rest is kind of fuzzy. I remember asking Dustin what he looked like, what color his hair was and if he was still a boy. (to which Dr. Shannon kind of giggled and said Yes it's a boy). I remember getting to see him finally and kiss him and I remember Dustin going to be with him while they finished up with me. I fell asleep though so everything is kind of... blurry... I had to ask Dustin several times to clarify when certain things happened. I do remember being in recovery and watching Dustin watch Dax being cleaned up and assessed but I couldn't actually see Dax. I don't remember though how we got from recovery to the room. So strange to have gaps but that's probably a good thing too.

Well that's the story of Dax's arrival. I can't believe I just wrote a book but I'm going to print off all of my entries about my pregnancy for Dax's baby book....

We spent from Saturday- Wednesday in the hospital for his birth and then when we were leaving our WONDERFUL nurse, we really do love her, told us that because his bili levels were high we would probably be re-admitted the next day after our Dr's appointment. Which is exactly what happened. So we got 1 night at home and then 2 more nights in the hospital for a total of a week! Oh we were so happy to be home once his jaundice got better.

Thank you to everyone who has sent notes, texts, and visited. We love you all and are so happy you could be part of our little man's life!