Currently | 25 January 2015

Carter Lee Dandurand
Born 19 January 2015 at 1:16pm
9 lbs   21 1/2" long

Yep, it's all about the family today as we complete 6 days of awesome with our new addition Carter Lee Dandurand (is it just me or does that sound like a Civil War-ish name?). The next two paragraphs discuss labor, so if you don't like details skip them. I'm a sharer.

After a full week of being 5cm dilated and expecting to go into labor at any stinking moment, I was induced at 8am Monday morning. Things moved along relatively quickly after that. At 10 I was given epidural - which, just my luck, did not work well. For awhile my legs were numb but not my pelvic region, and for those who don't know, a baby does not come out of your legs so numb legs not really beneficial. Then they elevated my legs to direct the medication to the appropriate location, but it bypassed the area and made my torso numb. Finally, after an hour and a half, we found the right position, and while the pain didn't end, it paled in comparison to before. Unfortunately, when it came time to push, we had to move positions and away went the epidural yet again.

At 12:45 things began in earnest and at 1 my doctor came in to begin the pushing...well, I was doing the pushing, she was there to catch the baby. After one contraction, she thought maybe things weren't quite there yet, so she left. At 1:05, I had, in the words of my nurse, an overly effective push. Then came the torture. Everyone's telling me to not push, and I'm thinking ARE YOU F#&KING NUTS? Seriously, how do you not push at that point? The doctor was back in the room about 6 minutes later, and then at 1:16 out comes Carter. His head was huge - this is not just the opinion of the person out of whom he came; my doctor was rather surprised and had to give me an episiotomy even though she is not a fan. She said "that head was not coming out." I was aware. Very aware. And my pubic bone, which had been slowly separating throughout pregnancy due to Carter's weight and the pressure of his big head, suffered for it.

Okay, no more birthing details, so the squeamish can rejoin the conversation now. Once home, Brian and I quickly realized we had a well-behaved little baby. In stark contrast to Madison, Carter is both a constant sleeper and eater. He eats 2-4 ounces all at once and then can hold off for about 4 hours before his next feeding. Madison was more like a snacker. Carter also, at a mere two days old, was already going 5 hours during the night between feedings. FIVE HOURS PEOPLE. We actually woke him up to feed him the first night because, well, because shouldn't he be eating now?

He requires very little attention during the day, able to be alone in his pack-and-play or bouncy seat for extended periods of time. He cries rarely and is easily appeased. Fingers crossed that he stays this way. After Madison, Brian and I desire a sleepy baby.

Speaking of Madison, she absolutely loves Carter. She's so gentle with him, and she hasn't appeared jealous or annoyed with him at all so far. She has even started teaching him games such as peekaboo and hide-and-seek. On morning #2 at home, Madison and I were already up and about while Carter and Brian were still sleeping. Out of nowhere, Madison said, "Go get Carter so I can show him my videos." I was surprised. I thought she would be all about the alone time with Mommy, but not so much. Thank heavens, and just like with Carter's easy-peasiness, I have my fingers crossed that Madison continues to enjoy her big sisterness.

I am so-so still. I can get around pretty well during the day, but my pubic bone makes getting in and out of bed and laying down rather painful. I'm hoping it goes away this week. If not, I am supposed to call the doctor.

So, that's my story. I apologize for those who aren't in to sharing such personal information, but I'm the mistress of too much information in real life. I can talk about anything from labor and delivery to death and dying to bodily functions and medical horrors. You want to complain about bowel movements? No problem. You need to share your surgical horror story? I'm all ears. New adventures in your sex life, real or fantasy? Let's grab a glass of wine and compare notes. Seriously, I'll talk about anything, no matter how personal. And I've never fully understood why more people aren't also like this. Disgust? Shame? Embarrassment? Pfftt. Let's lay it all out on the table and negate such emotions.

Well then, how's everyone else's Sunday going? :)