Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Happy birthday, Boomph!
Griffin's namesake, his great-grandfather Boompah, is turning 75 today! Happy, happy birthday!!!
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Bluebonnets!
It's not springtime in Texas until the official bluebonnet pictures have been taken. Trampled wildflowers, mom yelling, kids eaten alive by ants...ahh, the sights and sounds of spring. Griffin got his first bluebonnet experience last week on the way home from strawberry picking. Thankfully he was spared by the ants, but Avery wasn't so lucky!
Friday, April 22, 2005
Strawberry picking time!
Yesterday we went to Marble Falls to pick strawberries. It was Griffin's first road trip! He did very well in the car, and we had a really nice time. Avery loved picking the berries, but Rhys preferred to delegate - he'd point out the exact ones he wanted us to pick for him!
Griffin's birth story
I wrote out Griffin's birth story for the scrapbook, but I thought I'd post it here too for posterity....
The weeks leading up to Griffin's birth were anything but uneventful. Starting about a month before my due date, I had constant, regular contractions. At 36 weeks, I was already dilated to 2 centimeters. By 37 weeks, I’d progressed to 3 centimeters. At 38 weeks, I was 4 centimeters dilated. And, yes, I was 5 centimeters dilated at my 39 week check up.
Since my labor with Rhys was so fast, there was some concern that we wouldn’t make it to the hospital on time. Dr. Weihs kept suggesting that we go ahead and break my water to induce labor, and friends and family kept suggesting that we just park our car in the hospital parking lot every night.
Although the induction was tempting, Bill and I were determined to make this birth as natural as possible. To us, that started with going into labor naturally. I had never done that before since both Avery and Rhys were induced, and I was really looking forward to experiencing that “It’s time!” moment. Unfortunately, we discovered that my body just doesn’t work that way.
We didn’t have just one “It’s time!” moment, we had them several times a week! I would have pretty strong contractions every few minutes that would last for several hours then fizzle out. After the first couple of times, I began to just ignore the contractions. This, of course, worried everyone. People were concerned that the baby would be crowning before I believed I was in labor. I have to admit, I was a little worried about that myself!
On the day of my 39 week appointment, I left the doctor’s office having my typical, regular contractions. As the afternoon progressed, they got more and more uncomfortable. I was ignoring them as best as I could, but some of them were pretty hard to ignore. By the evening, not only were my contractions uncomfortable, but I began to feel really out of sorts. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but I felt very antsy and uncomfortable in my own skin. For the first time, I began to let in the idea that I might be in real labor.
Bill and I lay down and tried to watch American Idol, but I was too uncomfortable to watch. After it was over, I decided that it was probably a good time to call Sasha, our doula. She and I talked, and we decided we should head to the hospital. I called Mamar to come stay with Avery and Rhys, and then called the on call nurse to let her know we were coming.
By about 9:30, Bill, Sasha, and I got to the hospital, and of course my contractions had slowed. I was still getting them regularly, but instead of every 5 minutes, they were coming about every 10. They checked me, and I was still solidly at 5 centimeters. Since I was already so dilated, Dr. Weihs suggested that I walk around to see if we could get the contractions going again. She also offered to strip my membranes or break my water, but I really didn’t want to push things if I wasn’t yet in real labor.
After an hour of walking, we went back to the labor room, and I was rechecked. I was having regular contractions still, and they were more uncomfortable again, but I hadn’t dilated any more. After talking it over, we decided to go ahead and let Dr. Weihs strip my membranes. That got the contractions going harder and faster. We walked, I bounced on the birth ball, and rocked in the rocking chair during the contractions. They weren’t terribly painful still, but they were strong enough to make me quiet and focus through them.
At 1:30am, the nurse checked me, and I had finally dilated another centimeter. Bill, Sasha, and I decided at that point that there was no turning back. We didn’t feel comfortable going home at 6 centimeters, so we decided it was time to let Dr. Weihs break my water and get the labor going for real.
Immediately after my water was broken, my contractions started to get much harder. I had to stay in the hospital bed on the fetal monitor for 20 minutes to make sure the baby was doing ok. I breathed and tried to relax while Bill and Sasha massaged me. I was dying to get out of the bed, so as soon as I was allowed to, I got up. My contractions at this point had gotten very hard and I was shaking uncontrollably, so I decided I’d be most comfortable in the shower.
The water was wonderful. Although my contractions were coming very close and very hard, I felt like I could stay in control while I was in the shower. When I’d have a contraction, Bill would step into the shower and let me lean on him. I found myself reacting very instinctually – I did exactly what my body led me to do, which meant different things, including moaning, squatting, and rocking. I soon started feeling very nauseas and threw up, and I realized that I was in transition.
The transition phase of my labor lasted for about an hour and a half. During this time, I did best when I stayed in the shower. Several times, I had to get out of the shower so the nurse could listen for Griffin's heartbeat, but I found that I just couldn’t handle the contractions nearly as well out of the water. I’d immediately feel like I was losing control. Finally, at about 3:15, I made it out of the shower and onto the bed. I had several more contractions leaning over the back of the bed while Bill massaged me. Soon I started feeling intense pressure and the urge to push. The nurse came in to check me, and said I was almost completely dilated, with just a lip left on my cervix. She said that I needed to wait through a few more contractions before I could push. Those were the hardest contractions by far. I never realized how strong my body’s instincts would be. I tried to breathe, pant, and relax through those contractions, and I fought my body’s attempts to push. During these contractions, I really felt for the first time that I was losing control. I didn’t think I could make it, but Bill and Sasha were so reassuring and helpful that I made it through those last few contractions.
Finally, it was time to push. The nurse wanted to let me try pushing once before she sent for Dr. Weihs. I had a contraction and started to push. After my first push, she made me stop. She was afraid that the baby going to come before Dr. Weihs came in. So I had to make it through two more excruciating contractions without pushing. Finally, Dr. Weihs came in and gowned up and I was free to push. The next contraction came, and I pushed as hard as I could. I tried not to be afraid, but the sensation was something that I wasn’t prepared for. It didn’t exactly hurt, but it was an incredible feeling. I tried my best to stay in control and not panic, and Griffin came out right away during that first contraction.
They put the baby on my chest, and I was overcome with emotions. Bill cut his cord then they weighed him and wrapped him in blankets. I was still too overwhelmed to hold him. I was shaking and afraid that I might drop the baby. Daddy brought Griffin over, and we just stared at him and tried to decide who he looked like. Finally, after about 20 minutes or so, I felt confident enough to hold him for the first time. I instantly fell in love with him. He were so tiny, so perfect. I nursed him for the first time and was amazed at how strongly I felt bonded to him.
Avery's birth story can be found here. And here is Rhys's story.
The weeks leading up to Griffin's birth were anything but uneventful. Starting about a month before my due date, I had constant, regular contractions. At 36 weeks, I was already dilated to 2 centimeters. By 37 weeks, I’d progressed to 3 centimeters. At 38 weeks, I was 4 centimeters dilated. And, yes, I was 5 centimeters dilated at my 39 week check up.
Since my labor with Rhys was so fast, there was some concern that we wouldn’t make it to the hospital on time. Dr. Weihs kept suggesting that we go ahead and break my water to induce labor, and friends and family kept suggesting that we just park our car in the hospital parking lot every night.
Although the induction was tempting, Bill and I were determined to make this birth as natural as possible. To us, that started with going into labor naturally. I had never done that before since both Avery and Rhys were induced, and I was really looking forward to experiencing that “It’s time!” moment. Unfortunately, we discovered that my body just doesn’t work that way.
We didn’t have just one “It’s time!” moment, we had them several times a week! I would have pretty strong contractions every few minutes that would last for several hours then fizzle out. After the first couple of times, I began to just ignore the contractions. This, of course, worried everyone. People were concerned that the baby would be crowning before I believed I was in labor. I have to admit, I was a little worried about that myself!
On the day of my 39 week appointment, I left the doctor’s office having my typical, regular contractions. As the afternoon progressed, they got more and more uncomfortable. I was ignoring them as best as I could, but some of them were pretty hard to ignore. By the evening, not only were my contractions uncomfortable, but I began to feel really out of sorts. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but I felt very antsy and uncomfortable in my own skin. For the first time, I began to let in the idea that I might be in real labor.
Bill and I lay down and tried to watch American Idol, but I was too uncomfortable to watch. After it was over, I decided that it was probably a good time to call Sasha, our doula. She and I talked, and we decided we should head to the hospital. I called Mamar to come stay with Avery and Rhys, and then called the on call nurse to let her know we were coming.
By about 9:30, Bill, Sasha, and I got to the hospital, and of course my contractions had slowed. I was still getting them regularly, but instead of every 5 minutes, they were coming about every 10. They checked me, and I was still solidly at 5 centimeters. Since I was already so dilated, Dr. Weihs suggested that I walk around to see if we could get the contractions going again. She also offered to strip my membranes or break my water, but I really didn’t want to push things if I wasn’t yet in real labor.
After an hour of walking, we went back to the labor room, and I was rechecked. I was having regular contractions still, and they were more uncomfortable again, but I hadn’t dilated any more. After talking it over, we decided to go ahead and let Dr. Weihs strip my membranes. That got the contractions going harder and faster. We walked, I bounced on the birth ball, and rocked in the rocking chair during the contractions. They weren’t terribly painful still, but they were strong enough to make me quiet and focus through them.
At 1:30am, the nurse checked me, and I had finally dilated another centimeter. Bill, Sasha, and I decided at that point that there was no turning back. We didn’t feel comfortable going home at 6 centimeters, so we decided it was time to let Dr. Weihs break my water and get the labor going for real.
Immediately after my water was broken, my contractions started to get much harder. I had to stay in the hospital bed on the fetal monitor for 20 minutes to make sure the baby was doing ok. I breathed and tried to relax while Bill and Sasha massaged me. I was dying to get out of the bed, so as soon as I was allowed to, I got up. My contractions at this point had gotten very hard and I was shaking uncontrollably, so I decided I’d be most comfortable in the shower.
The water was wonderful. Although my contractions were coming very close and very hard, I felt like I could stay in control while I was in the shower. When I’d have a contraction, Bill would step into the shower and let me lean on him. I found myself reacting very instinctually – I did exactly what my body led me to do, which meant different things, including moaning, squatting, and rocking. I soon started feeling very nauseas and threw up, and I realized that I was in transition.
The transition phase of my labor lasted for about an hour and a half. During this time, I did best when I stayed in the shower. Several times, I had to get out of the shower so the nurse could listen for Griffin's heartbeat, but I found that I just couldn’t handle the contractions nearly as well out of the water. I’d immediately feel like I was losing control. Finally, at about 3:15, I made it out of the shower and onto the bed. I had several more contractions leaning over the back of the bed while Bill massaged me. Soon I started feeling intense pressure and the urge to push. The nurse came in to check me, and said I was almost completely dilated, with just a lip left on my cervix. She said that I needed to wait through a few more contractions before I could push. Those were the hardest contractions by far. I never realized how strong my body’s instincts would be. I tried to breathe, pant, and relax through those contractions, and I fought my body’s attempts to push. During these contractions, I really felt for the first time that I was losing control. I didn’t think I could make it, but Bill and Sasha were so reassuring and helpful that I made it through those last few contractions.
Finally, it was time to push. The nurse wanted to let me try pushing once before she sent for Dr. Weihs. I had a contraction and started to push. After my first push, she made me stop. She was afraid that the baby going to come before Dr. Weihs came in. So I had to make it through two more excruciating contractions without pushing. Finally, Dr. Weihs came in and gowned up and I was free to push. The next contraction came, and I pushed as hard as I could. I tried not to be afraid, but the sensation was something that I wasn’t prepared for. It didn’t exactly hurt, but it was an incredible feeling. I tried my best to stay in control and not panic, and Griffin came out right away during that first contraction.
They put the baby on my chest, and I was overcome with emotions. Bill cut his cord then they weighed him and wrapped him in blankets. I was still too overwhelmed to hold him. I was shaking and afraid that I might drop the baby. Daddy brought Griffin over, and we just stared at him and tried to decide who he looked like. Finally, after about 20 minutes or so, I felt confident enough to hold him for the first time. I instantly fell in love with him. He were so tiny, so perfect. I nursed him for the first time and was amazed at how strongly I felt bonded to him.
Avery's birth story can be found here. And here is Rhys's story.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Two weeks already!
I can't believe that it has already been two weeks since Griffin was born. He is such a sweet baby and by some miracle, seems to be incredibly mellow! He doesn't really cry; the most we ever hear from him is a little grunt here and there. He mostly is just quietly awake, he seems to really be soaking everything in. And get this - he'll even nap in his crib and sit in the swing from time to time! This is astounding for one of our babies! Avery and Rhys just adore him and want to constantly hold him. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this lasts!
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