Its a Hero

Ari Davis

Ari’s Birth Story // Part 1.

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It’s taken me over four weeks to sit down and write this out for a few reasons. One of which would be because I’m just plain busy + overwhelmed with a new baby. The other is because I’ve had to really process it all; which has taken a bit of time.

In full disclosure, there is nothing pretty about his birth story. It’s raw. It’s real. And it’s uncensored. Oh — and there’s a lot of talk about poop.

Let’s start at the beginning…

The weekend before baby boy made his grand entrance I started to get restless — really restless — so I took some advice from my sister-in-law and scheduled an acupuncture appointment for Monday morning. The acupuncturist worked his magic, I went home, and went about my business [like scheduling this 41 week blog post]. I went back for a second session of acupuncture in the afternoon and then came home.

When I got home I noticed something that I thought may be my mucous plug when I went to the bathroom. But who could be sure? Ha!

I told Chad that I wanted to go to the gym so we could walk the track.

I thought I started feeling some contractions while we were were walking, but I wasn’t counting on it [nor was I counting them]. I just didn’t want to get my hopes up only to be let down.

When we got home, Chad was busy making dinner while I was busy making cookies [cause what else do you do when you’re 41 weeks pregnant? Ha!]. At this point it was about 7:30 PM. I started counting my contractions and they were 6 minutes apart. I knew that I was supposed to go about my daily routine to ensure that it wasn’t false labor, so I took a shower and vacuumed the whole house. The contractions didn’t go away.

And now they were about 4 minutes apart.

And if you’re not familiar with the early stages of labor, here’s something you may not know [but someone should tell you the ugly stuff, so I’ll be that person — you’re welcome]:

An early sign of labor is pooping. Like, the baby drops and you have to go NOW type of pooping. Generally, a few times.

So when that happened I knew it was game on.

We decided to try and get some sleep around midnight. But as soon as I got into bed, I had to get back out because my contractions were too uncomfortable for sleeping. And I felt like I had to poop again. So I labored in the bathroom. And then on the stairs [just trying to find a position that was comfortable, and the one position that worked was laying up the stairs]. And went back and forth between the bathroom + the stairs for a couple of hours.

By 2:00 AM we decided it was time to go to the hospital. My contractions had been at 2.5 minutes apart since midnight. Plus the feeling that I had to poop just wasn’t going away.

We arrived at the hospital around 2:30 AM and went to triage before we could be admitted. In triage, they checked my cervix for dilation. Which was incredibly painful. The resident who checked my cervix said that she had difficulties because my cervix was ‘opening towards the back.’ Super.

I was only 3 cm dilated. Bummer. But I knew that dilation could change quickly.

I was admitted to my room. Then I met my night nurse and told her that I still felt like I was going to poop. Turns out, when you tell nurses and doctors that you feel like you have to poop and you’re only 3 cm dilated, they freak out a little bit. That feeling of having to poop usually happens when you feel like you are going to start pushing. And you aren’t allowed to push until you are 10 cm dilated — and I was nowhere near 10 cm.

To be continued in Part 2.

Ari Davis // 3 weeks

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Age // 22 days old!

Weight // Just over 7 lbs still. It’s possible that you’re closer to 8 these days. We haven’t been back to the doctor, so I really have no way of knowing. But you’re chunkin’ up! 😉

About you // You are a bit fussy these days. And it’s exhausting. But the great thing is that your daddy & I make a fabulous team. He’s the level-headed one and I’m the [overly] emotional one. Especially postpartum.

You are so awesome at tummy time! You’re getting so good at holding your head up. Perhaps soon you’ll have a little bit more control over it though. 😉 Cause it kind of terrifies me when you flail around like a crazy baby.

You’ve also developed some other motor skills, like squeezing my fingers and pulling my hair [now I know why so many moms have short hair!]. And you’ve started to build strength in your legs. You push off of everyone and everything any chance you get.

Last week we ‘celebrated’ your first Halloween! And by celebrated, I mean we dressed up and took you to Starbucks. Cause it was freakin’ cold and rainy! And we survived daddy’s first week back to work — which was rough considering he had 26 hours of mandatory overtime [thanks, hurricane Sandy].

Here’s to more surviving and more learning for all of us, sweet pea.

calm before the storm

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While all of my friends on the east coast have been recovering from Hurricane Sandy, around these parts we’ve been in the midst of Hurricane Ari.

Y’all, this mom to a newborn thing is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Compared to this? Pregnancy was a breeze. This is exhausting.

I didn’t expect this parenting thing to be easy by any means. But Ari has been wide awake all night long for the past 5 nights. And screaming. At the top of his tiny little lungs, for no reason. He will be fed, changed, clothed, warm, and held; and he’ll still scream and scream and scream.

I’ve taken to my twitter family for advice, and I’ve been told that this is just what some babies do.

Do you know what completely sane adults do when their baby cries for hours for no reason whatsoever? They also cry for hours. True story.

Not everything is this depressing around our house. The days are fantastic. He’s a beautiful and happy little guy. We go for walks, trips to Starbucks for some tea [and just to get out of the house], and pick up random things from Target on the daily. We are, otherwise, living life. Just without any sleep and with our patience worn thin.

So hopefully this week in between the screaming and crying, I’ll be able to put together Ari’s birth story. But that may suck any remnants of life from my body [hint: it wasn’t pretty].

Ari Davis // 2 Weeks

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Age // 14 fabulous days old!

Weight // Just over 7 pounds.

About you //

Sweet pea, these past two weeks have flown by!

And you’re [noticeably] changing every single day. You have a ton of hair — which is getting more auburn red by the day, and I seriously cannot tell what color your eyes are anymore. Hazel? Green? Sometimes they still look blue. Hmm.

You eat a lot. Which is awesome! But you haven’t been sleeping that awesome. Let’s hope that changes.

This past week you got your tongue-tie clipped, so I think that’s why you’ve been eating better. But I couldn’t watch them do it… I had to leave the room because I cried when the doctor was talking about it. All he said was “you’ll cry more than he will,” and that’s when I lost it. But your daddy says you did awesome! Although you did not like them pulling at your tongue with their hands! That apparently pissed you off!

And this past week I struggled with analyzing everything. Like, the cough + wheeze I thought you’d developed. The doctor confirmed it was not a cough; you were just breathing. Oops. Good to know. 😉

I can’t wait to watch you grow even more over this next week! XO

I’m still alive.

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At least I think I’m still alive.

I’m definitely sleep deprived. And quite emotional. I’ve been trying to piece together Ari’s birth story & other happenings, but lately laundry, dishes, feelings and exhaustion have taken priority.

Luckily it feels like everyday we figure things out just a little more.

Fingers crossed I get this baby and life thing figured out soon.

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Ari Davis // 1 Week

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Baby boy, one week ago today you made your appearance! It’s been a crazy and exciting week.

 

Age // 1 week

Weight // 6 lbs 10 oz as of your first doctor appointment last week.

About you // Your daddy + I can’t stop staring at you. You look exactly like him, but with my nose + my big cheeks! Your eyes are dark blue and you have the biggest hands and feet. Your toes + fingers are super long [and so are your fingernails, thanks to your late arrival!].

You get the hiccups now just as much as you did in my belly!

And you’re a fantastic little eater, though it took a few days to get us there.

And you love to be snuggled. Which is good, because we hold you and cuddle you nonstop!

This past week we went to your first doctors appointment, a breastfeeding support group, and to run a couple errands with daddy [even though we stayed in the car!].

We went on our first walk as a family on a beautiful fall day;

We learned to set you down for a few minutes in your swing, which you love, to make sure we’re able to do things like brush our teeth or make something to eat [which we forgot to do quite often!].

Your daddy and I have made a really great team [never doubted this for a second!]. We are finding our way and trying to be the best parents we can for you!

We love you so much!