Down, but not out

Back to the pediatrician this morning, and Ryan’s still losing weight. Now we’re thinking that the breastfeeding position Gina’s changed to in the last couple days has resulted in Ryan not feeding as well. It’s more comfortable for Gina, but it’s too cozy for Ryan. He’s spending his time snoozing when he’s supposed to be chowing down. We’re going to go back to the way the lactation specialist at the hospital taught us.

In the meantime, we have to supplement Ryan’s feedings with a syringe full of formula. I hold his little mitts down while Gina tries to hit his mouth. The pressure on the syringe can be a little hard to gauge, and Ryan’s been hit on the cheeks and chin as he provides a moving target, but we’re confident this is only a short-term measure until he’s back up to fighting weight.

Losing ground

Today we took Ryan to the pediatrician for his first checkup. The doctor was happy with everything except for how much weight he’d lost. I was confident it was due to Gina’s milk coming in slowly and our getting his schedule down. We have to take him back in tomorrow to make sure this isn’t a trend.

A bump in the road

Thursday was our first full day at home with the baby. Things started off well. We were doing our feedings, grabbing sleep where we could, and glad to be back home. Then Ryan decided he wanted to feed from 2 p.m. till 4 in the morning. He would finish one round, be put down in his crib, then be back for more minutes later. Gina’s milk was still coming in and she was fighting fatigue, and Ryan’s demands finally exceeded her limited supply. Luckily we had an “instant shake” of formula from the hospital, and after two gulps Ryan konked out and gave his parents a break. Things were back to normal by his first feeding the next morning.

Fudge factory

This afternoon I was changing Ryan in his portable hospital crib. I had his wet diaper to the side and made the mistake of not putting a fresh one under him. First he enjoyed the open air by making his own fountain. I wiped him down and made a mental note to always cover his little guy.

He only had one bowel movement so far, and we were all hoping for another one as that’s a good sign of progress for a baby. I noticed a little bit of a mess around his pooper, and I cleaned it with a wipe. I guess that must have uncorked him or something, because a thick supply of chocolate fudge came oozing out of him. It reminded me of those Play-Doh presses or a soft serve ice cream cone.

I still hadn’t placed a clean diaper, so I frantically tried to keep up with the sludge by scooping it up with the wipes. Gina found this highly amusing. I cleaned up the rest of the fudge fountain and got the baby sealed up again.

At least I can already say our son has a sense of humor.

Local legend

Our OB, whose partner delivered the baby, just stopped by the room.

“I heard about your labor,” she said.

Then she bowed at Gina’s feet.

Quality time

Gina and I were unceremoniously awakened at 7:00 so we could be moved to the recovery room. Gina called her family while I called mine from the waiting room. When I got back, there was baby Ryan being fed by his beautiful mommy. It was the first time Gina could spend time with the baby since she’d been so wiped at the delivery, and the two of them became fast friends. Gina’s a natural.

The epic arrival of Ryan James

Gina was back to her usual three hours’ sleep when she woke up Monday morning. We went to our 9:00 OB appointment packed for the hospital and ready to be induced. What we didn’t realize was that our OB was on call all weekend and wouldn’t be available until Wednesday.

Gina was despondent and wished that we’d followed her instinct to get induced the day before. But then, around 3:00 pm, she started having contractions again. 

Having been through a entire night of false labor on Thursday, Gina wasn’t buying it. But I noticed that the contractions were not only steady and growing closer together, but also that Gina was focusing intensely between them, which wasn’t the case before. By 5:00 they were three minutes apart, which our OB told us was Go Time. But Gina didn’t want to go to the hospital only to suffer more disappointment. 

That was before I got her to her feet and her water broke.

By the time we drove the ten minutes to the hospital, Gina needed a wheelchair. She didn’t appreciate my steering when I banged her footrest into the back of the elevator, but I managed to get her up to the maternity ward in one piece.

By 6:00 pm Gina was in her gown in the delivery suite. The contractions were intensifying and her eyes were in the back of her head. With our regular OB off duty, we were going to have the baby delivered by her partner who was on-call. Gina told the doctor right out of the gate that she wanted an epidural, but was told she should get a narcotic drip first since it wasn’t as extreme a measure.

The delivery nurse got Gina into the whirlpool bath, which succeeded in dilating her from a 3 to a 7. Gina remained fixated on the allure of the epidural and refused to get out of the tub until she had one waiting for her. The ensuing negotiations resulted in her starting a narcotic drip. It helped take the edge off and make her woozy, but Gina was still writhing in bed and not handling the contractions well. She was changing positions constantly and making frequent trips to the bathroom, which meant that her narcotic drip had to be turned off each time she moved. I figure it was only on for about an hour out of the four she was dilating, and by 9:30 Gina was ready to throttle our nurse unless she got her epidural. 

At this point the nurse told Gina it was too late for an epidural, because she was going to begin to push shortly and they would have had to turn it off anyway. I tried to console my wife as she collapsed into tears.

WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE

The prospect of getting to the final stage brought Gina back around, and she received instructions in how to push from Nurse Epidural Denier. These turned out to be not very good, as the nurse was letting Gina take as many breaths between pushes as she wanted, which Dr. Stern said was only sucking the baby back in when she checked in on us an hour later. At this point Gina was running on fumes. But we were naive enough to think the baby’s head would be popping out shortly.

Ryan had other ideas. He had managed to turn himself “sunny side up,” meaning his back was to Gina’s, which makes it difficult for the head to clear the birth canal. Our nurses and Dr. Stern had Gina push from every position in order to turn the baby around. Gina was on her back and both her sides. Her hands and knees for an hour. She was pulling her hair. Her gown was soaked. She buried her face in her pillow.

I could never have asked my wife to go through what she did to deliver our son. It was nothing short of heroic, a complete loving sacrifice. I literally do not know where she got the strength, but Gina pushed for four hours straight, straining with every contraction. She told me halfway through it that she couldn’t feel her legs or see straight. But every few minutes, grasping for strength, she’d focus on her goal.

RYAN, AT LAST

By 2:00 in the morning Gina was beyond spent and asked Dr. Stern what her options were. She was told that either she had to push the baby close enough for the doctor to attempt to use suction to pull Ryan out, or Gina would have to have a C section.

“I want a C section,” Gina said. 

My brother Andy told me that the hardest part of labor was having to see your wife suffer. I was with Gina for every contraction, trying to help her push through it. I had seen her endure hours of punishment that were hers to bear alone. It wasn’t easy for me, but I was not going to let her sacrifice go in vain.

I stroked Gina’s hair and told her that I knew she was well beyond tired. I whispered an Our Father in her ear and told her our son was near. But mostly what I told my wife was what I knew about her all along, that she is the strongest person I know. I told her she could do it.

It was another 44 minutes before Ryan entered the world. With Dr. Stern using a plastic tool that cupped around the baby’s crown, Gina willed herself through three more contractions to push the baby’s head out. My first thought when I saw our son was to say to myself, thank God. I was so relieved for Gina and so proud. My next thought was, that’s a pretty big noggin. Then the rest of the baby came out.

WEIGHING IN

Once Ryan finally made his appearance, his body popping out in one push, the reason Gina had such a difficult labor was immediately clear. Our beautiful baby boy, our little Ryan James, proved an overachiever right out of the gate at 10 pounds, 12 ounces. At 22 1/2 inches, he was too tall for the scale he was weighed on. 

Gina and Ryan were immediately attended to. Gina, having weathered so much, was unable to nurse Ryan and barely able to hold him. She was stitched up and monitored overnight. Ryan had swallowed his first bowel movement, but the nurses aspirated him and declared him perfectly healthy. The conical shape of his skull from the suction-assisted delivery was gone by the morning, and I got to spend time with our beautiful boy before he was off to the nursery.

Gina rested as well as she could, having achieved a miracle. I eventually drifted off myself, in awe of my warrior wife.

The waiting

Gina got her best night sleep in days thanks to our new friend Tylenol PM and a reassuring conversation with my sister Mary, a delivery nurse. Feeling refreshed and knowing our OB won’t let us go past Tuesday, Gina decided that we should go in today to get induced. I told her I had her back and her belly.

Then Gina called her mom, who is constitutionally unable to agree with any decision we make. After half an hour of debate with the woman who told us we should have gone in on Friday, Gina decided to give baby Ryan another day to come on his own. We’ll see what our OB has to say at our checkup tomorrow.

Labor goes on strike

Baby Ryan has developed a case of stage fright. Gina’s contractions, which were going strong up until our OB visit, slowed down once we got home. They went from every seven minutes to every 10 or 20. Talk of the baby’s birthday turned to wondering what was the matter. Hopefully things will be back on track once Gina and I get some sleep.

Doesn’t Ryan know I picked today in the baby pool?

Friday morning update

Gina woke up at 2:00 last night with the start of her contractions. After an initial panic about going into labor with only two hours of sleep, she settled into a good routine and is tired but doing well. As of 7:30 her contractions are about seven minutes apart. Our bags are packed and we’re keeping our 8:30 checkup with our OB. Hopefully this is really it and it won’t be a long day, as I’m sure Gina would become exhausted from too much more of this. I’m nervous but calm and sleep deprived myself from being up with her all night, but at the same time it’s been nice spending this time with Gina knowing we’ll hopefully meet our son soon!