postpartum bleeding and lactation

My milk is really coming in today. I think I might try to pump what A doesn't eat for himself. I don't want to lose my abundant supply because of his youth and inexperience. ;-)

I passed a clot yesterday the size of a walnut. And there was one I found the day before the size of a pistachio nut. I wonder if there was retained tissue from the placenta. In 5 prior kids, I have never passed tissue like that before. The good news is that after that happened, the bleeding finally slowed down and the cramping is about 1/4 of what it was. The bad news is that I think I might have lost a lot of blood. We are going to get a CBC run on me today to make sure I have enough red blood cells and to make sure the white count is not too high. I also have night sweats, but that could be from the changing hormones, not necessarily a uterine infection. I have been a little dizzy the past 2 days upon standing up. Good thing I am not driving a car this week. My neighbors, MIL and everybody is pitching in to help get the kids to and from their classes so I don't have to drive. And MIL is driving all the way from Los Angeles, a 1-hour drive to take me to the well baby visit and the lab.

The well-baby visit will figure out what is going on with A's weight and bilirubin. They do a scan of his skin color with some sort of device. Not as exact as a heel stick, but it gives a ballpark figure, they told me. And with that information, I can call the rabbi to get a firm time on the circumcision Sunday afternoon. The rabbi got a little spooked when I told him that A was born at 37 weeks gestation. I am glad that he is cautious with the baby's health. Only it makes a problem calling the caterer and making invitations. Oh well. We do what we can do, right?

New BABY!

Here are some pics of A's birth. I guess those crampy contractions I felt on Saturday night into Sunday were the real thing after all. I went to the hospital to get checked. I was worried because I had a little bloody show and I realized I had not felt kicking for a number of hours. I drove myself to the hospital to get monitored. At that time the contrax were frequent but mildly crampy. That was around 9am.

Got there and when they checked me, I was 2.5 to 3cm dilated with some thickness left in the cervix. That was a big change for me from long, closed and 3cm thick just 3 days prior. The nurse suggested I walk the hallways for a bit and see if things changed. They did. Next check I was 3+cm dilated and fully thinned out. I did more walking, and the contrax came closer and harder. I called DH to get the kids with grandma and get over and meet me in the hospital.

I also decided to get medication. I think I was really not in the mood to be in labor. It was a complete surprise. I didn't want to be there, at that time, going through all that pain. So I got an injection of Nubain when I was about 4cm and that really helped. The lingering pain between contractions completely went away. I continued to make progress quickly and as the Nubain wore off 2 hours later I was 7cm and asked for an epidural. It went in easy and the contrax totally went away, except I got the shakes. That was annoying, but a lot easier to deal with than unrelenting, painful contractions one on top of another. I decided that I had done all natural birthing in the past and I didn't have anything to prove. ;-) The nurse said to call her when I felt the contractions in my bottom. I thought I felt something on one contraction, then called her on the next one. They checked me and yelled for the doctor, the head was *right there*. I pushed exactly 1/2 push and the head was out, followed by a gush of water that soaked the doctor's clothing and the body came out with the gush. The baby came out so smoothly that when they put him on my he was a light gray color, not the deep purple many babies are. He had a full knot in his cord. He must have swam through it at one point in the pg. I was glad that I declined to have my water broken. I think it broke accidentally on my last cervical check at 9 to 10cm. But there was plenty of water up there until the end, giving him a nice cushion. He cried right away and pinked up quickly. He weighed 6 pounds 4 oz., at 3:05pm, at 36w6d gestation. He nursed there on the delivery table and I'm already in love with him. He is so small and sweet. He is quiet and good, too. He barely even squeaks or cries when his diaper is changed.

Lots of amniotic fluid

I had my OB appointment today. The uterus measured 39cm today, and so the doc and I looked at each other, and he seemed worried. I asked if he thought there might be too much amniotic fluid, and he decided to send me down the corridor for an ultrasound. The ultrasound was fun. Baby measured right on for the due date of November 26, 2007. He appeared to be 6.5 pounds. My cervix measured a full 3cm thick (cast iron, remember?). His head circumference was right at the 50th percentile. The amniotic fluid measured 18.8cm, which is a high-normal measurement. Over 20 would be polyhydramnios. {Edit: a quick read around the internet states that over 25 is polyhydramnios. Normal measurements are between 5 and 25} I asked the doc what that meant, where it came from and what it would change with regard to the treatment of the baby and delivery. He said polyhydramnios could indicate diabetes, and the baby's blood sugar would need to be watched carefully after delivery. My blood sugar 2 mornings ago was 78, so I told him that. He said maybe I should take a few readings 2-hours post-meal, which I said was fine.

Otherwise, my blood pressure was 105/67, the baby's heartbeat was 153bpm, and the urine was negative for protein and sugar. I had read up on the meantime about the urine dip tests, and took the sample differently this time. They said that the urine should not be overly concentrated, so make sure to take a drink 1 hour before the test. I think my prior samples were concentrated because I usually have my doc appts first thing in the morning, only after eating cereal but having nothing extra to drink. Also, they said to make sure it is a mid-stream catch, so that the "protein" found isn't from any leftover pregnancy discharge in the area. It worked better, apparently.

I got one picture from the ultrasound. I will have to see if it will scan in. It is really hard to see what it is. There is a large circle on the right, the back of baby's skull, and a little of the spine from the neck. She could not get a face shot because he is locked into the pelvis right where I said he was, with his face to the back/right.

I was a little bummed to see my cervix was still 3cm thick and closed. I have SO many contractions. I guess this will be a typical pregnancy for me with little to no cervical changes until after 39 weeks. Except with my uterus measuring ahead, I'm lumbering around like I am ALREADY 39 weeks. Oh well. Just a few more weeks to go. I'll try not to complain too much. :-)