Andre

My beautiful son is almost 3 weeks old! He is growing soo quickly! I am so grateful for him and for everything he brings into my life- except maybe the exhaustion! Andre was born June 7, 2010 at 6:35 PM. He was 8 lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches long. I was induced into labor that morning at 5:30. I had gone in the night before and gotten cervidil to soften the cervix. When I went in, I was dilated to a 2. Apparently I had been having some contractions, but I hadn't felt them. All that night, I had contractions, but I didn't feel them. When they started me on the Pitocin, I was still only dilated to a 2. I did start recognizing contractions, but they didn't hurt. They checked me a few hours after they had started me, and I was still only at a 2. I was not progressing at all, and they were concerned. Then at 12:00 noon, the doctor came and talked to me. He talked about sending me home on a therapeutic rest, and then he checked me, and I had dilated to a 3. The nurse asked him if he was going to try to break my water, and he said there was no try about it. He broke my water, and I started feeling the contractions much more. I was dilated to a 5 when I got the epidural. It was a perfect epidural. I didn't feel it go in, and I was still able to feel my legs and my belly, just not the pain! I started pushing at 6:00 PM. Andre's head was sideways and stuck, so he had to be vacuumed out. He screamed the instant he came out. There was no concern about his lungs. I cried when they gave him to me. It was such a miracle. The next thing I knew, I almost passed out, and I was on oxygen. I was very weak that night, and I was not able to hold my baby for very long. They did blood work on me, and the next day I had a blood transfusion. They gave me two units of blood, because my hematocrit level was extremely low. They tested my blood again Wednesday morning, and I was good to go. I was sent home with instructions to eat lots of green leafy veggies and red meat. Now I am doing much better. All is well, except that Andre is having a growth spurt which makes it hard for me to sleep. Still happy to have him here though.