Here is a link to our new photo page that I promise to update as we take pictures of our little guy growing up.
And here are a few pictures from that page!
First Trip to the Doctor's Office
Another dirty diaper just for Mom!
Resting with Dad
I want to be a turtle for Halloween!
Watching the Browns; I can't watch anymore!
Me and my new friends
I finally have a minute to post the whole story of Calvin’s entrance to the world (WARNING- this is slightly graphic):
Calvin Lee’s birth story
August 11, 2008
6 lbs, 14 oz.
19 inches long
Around 7:30 Sunday evening, I started making dinner and began having contractions that were stronger than the Braxton Hicks contractions I had while walking the dog earlier that day (and every day for the last week!). So we started timing them, they were all 1-3 minutes apart and just about 45 seconds long. Fred told me that I probably shouldn’t be worrying about making dinner, because I shouldn’t eat if I was really going into labor; he kept looking things up in the childbirth workbook we had from the class we took at the hospital. I was pretty hungry and wasn’t about to skip a meal, because at this point I didn’t think I was really in labor or at least far enough along to matter yet.
After dinner, when I stood up to help Fred clean up the dishes, I thought my water broke, so I called my midwife and she said to go ahead and go to the hospital to get checked out. Still, I was thinking they would probably send me home, but I got my things together and we left for the hospital at about 9:30 Sunday night.
After we got to the hospital and were checked in, a nurse examined me and found that although my water hadn’t broken, it was leaking and I was 6 centimeters dilated, so I was admitted. Akron City Hospital has 2 types of birthing rooms; those with birthing tubs and those without. At our childbirth class, we were told that the rooms with the tubs were given on a first-come, first-serve basis. I opted for a room with a birthing tub, because my goal was to try and give birth without medication/pain killers and was lucky enough to get one.
As we settled into the birthing room, a nurse came in and asked us about Manchester Schools; she had seen that our insurance was through the district and wanted to know which of us worked for the school system, because she had worked as a deaf interpreter for a student at the high school for a year. After discussing district gossip with Fred, who was trying to be polite to this nurse and be there for me through the contractions I was having at the same time, she finally left. Then the nurse who was actually going to take care of me came in, started the water in the tub and fixed my hand with the iv starter.
Once the tub was ready, I got in, gown and all, and pretty much hung out in there for 4 hours. The midwife came in after I was in the tub and intermittently attached the fetal monitor to my belly to make sure Cal was doing alright. Both she and the nurse didn’t really leave the room throughout my labor, which was nice, I had no real interruptions or distractions. Fred sat outside the tub and held my hand and made jokes with me and the nurse and midwife about how he was just there for giving “high fives.” As always, he lightened the mood and made me feel at ease.
Being in warm water made the contractions bearable; I had some back labor, but the warm water was soothing and kept my belly buoyant, so as not to add pressure. I just took each contraction one at a time, breathing slowly and deeply through each one and then forgetting about the pain after it passed.
At 2 a.m. I started feeling pressure on my pelvis and the need to push, so my midwife had me get out of the tub and into bed. They strapped the fetal monitor on me and did another exam; I was 9 centimeters dilated. The midwife broke my water, or what was left of it (a fore-bag) and pushed what was left of my cervix out of the way. Then she told me I could start pushing!
When my midwife told me I’d feel some burning, she wasn’t kidding! That was the worst part and after a while, I was ready to give up. Fred was a huge help, he was really encouraging and I couldn’t have gone through with it if he hadn’t been there. At one point, I half-jokingly said, “It’s too late for drugs, right?” and everyone laughed. I honestly felt like I was going to split in half, but I kept pushing and around 3 a.m. his head emerged. At this point, I thought that I was done, I thought I had pushed enough and my baby was out, but I was wrong. I pushed once more and then I was done. It felt so great to finally get him out, it relieved all the pressure I’d felt in my pelvis for months! At 3:16, Calvin Lee entered the world, after only 5 hours of labor.
Then the nurse laid him on my chest, I couldn’t believe that he’d come out of me! They gave me time to hold him before they took him to check him out; that was amazing. I was shocked I didn’t burst into tears. Fred cut the cord and then took pictures and made phone calls while the nurses examined and cleaned up our baby and I began “recovery” as well. At 5:30 they moved me to a postpartum room and my husband, my baby and I finally got to start really getting to know each other.
My recovery has been fairly easy, other than being really tired, I’ve felt pretty good; I did have a slight tear, which needed stitches, but I haven’t needed any pain medication, other than the occasional Tylenol to deal with any soreness. I contribute this to all the walking I did during my pregnancy and being able to give birth without any interventions.
Here is a link to the hospital pictures. The little outfit he had on was so big on him, but it fits well now, two weeks later!
I know everyone wants to see more pictures, I am working on it, hopefully this afternoon I’ll get a chance to post them (assuming Calvin gives me a few minutes to work!)
Sorry we have not posted recently, but free time and sleep have been not as plentiful as it was a week ago.
Calvin covering his eyes from the light. He still has his days and nights mixed up.
All at the house are doing well. Calvin is home, eating, sleeping, and trying to set a world record on dirty diapers used in a day. Sara is doing great, especially for someone who is not a morning person and gets grumpy on little sleep, she is handling the feeding times like a champ. I have to say that I am one lucky guy and Calvin is one lucky kid because Sara rocks at this whole “Mommy” thing. I on the other hand am changing diapers and holding Cal as often as possible so that Sara can sleep while waiting for him to grow enough to play some Nintendo with me.
Once Sara catches up on her sleep and Calvin gets on a more regular of a sleeping pattern, meaning he gets his days and nights straight, Sara will post up images and stories about our little guy. I will be working on a couple other websites, including redesigning my site for my classroom, and getting ready for the new school year.
Thanks everyone for checking in and leave some comments, or come over and see Calvin and give us your comments in person.
Calvin Lee born 8/11/08 at 3:16am.
6 pounds 14 oz.
19 inches long.
Since I can update Twitter with a text message from my phone and it is almost time for the baby to arrive I present to you: “The Calvin Update.”
Check this post whenever you want because it will be updated live with short messages from now until we get home from the hospital.
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Use the arrows in the bottom right corner to scroll through previous posts.
note: this is my twitter account associated with my comic book website, so anything posted on it after we are home from the hospital will probably be “nerdlike” and comic book related.
