April 15, 2013- When Bean became Rylen

I realize it's been forever and a day since Rylen was born and I'm a little behind on the updates. But let me tell you, this whole motherhood thing is a bit time consuming.

So let's step back a bit and I will give a quick run down of  labor...

So I was induced 12 days after her due date.  They don't do it any sooner over here but also don't want you going past 12 days. So we went into the hospital at 9 am Sunday April 14th where I was scheduled to have a pessary.  The pessary is a non invasive form of inducing labor, so once that was inserted it was just a waiting game.  I was only 1 cm dilated when the pessary was inserted and it took 12 hours for me to dilate to 5 cm which they consider labor.  So technically those 12 hours weren't labor but let me tell you the first 12 hours of this whole process were a hell of a lot harder than the last 14 hours of labor. I won't go into detail but during those 12 hours I cried, I puked, I bathed, I moaned  but one thing I didn't do was sleep. Bless Giles because I literally don't know what I would have done without him being there.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be and I was a lot weaker than I thought I would be.

And then the heavens opened up and angels sang AKA  I hit 5 cm and was moved to the labor ward and was offered the epidural....HOLLA!.. Before the whole labor process I thought I was going to give it a try to be all el-natural and not have the epidural but NEGATIVE!- The minute it was available for me I said tell me when and where and I will be there. Once I had that bad boy I thought I was on top of the world and was already planning our second baby (probably epidural talking).  I was able to start and finish conversations without moaning and groaning in between.  I talked the ears off of my midwife and anesthesiologist whereas before I wasn't even able to look them in the face because concentrating on anything hurt everything. 

So then 14 hours after having the epidural I got to 10 cm dilated where I was then able to push.  After 2 hours of pushing, Doc came in and said they were going to have to take some other measures to get Bean out.  The plan was they were going to use forceps and if that didn't work they would have to result in a C-section.  I said hey ho what the heck, here we go.  Beforehand I had despised the idea of using forceps but when in the moment of everything I just wanted to get Bean out safe and sound and realized that the doctors knew a hell of a lot more than me and they too only wanted to get Beaners out as safe as possible.  So Giles scrubed up and I epidural topped up and we were off to the "theater" as they call it over here.

During surgery, with my legs up in the stirrups and all my dignity gone, Giles counted 13 other people in the room. It seemed like there was every specialist doctor and junior doctor known to man in there.  Again beforehand I had wanted as few people looking at my va jay-jay as possible but when on the table I didn't give a rats ass who was looking and where they were looking.  Apparently the doctors were saying I was one of the most relaxed and chilled patients they had ever had.  Again I think the epidural had a little something to do here.

So when it came time to for the second round of pushing I had Giles to my right holding my hand and 3 or 4 doctors behind me helping me push.  Apparently I was pushing though I couldn't feel it due to my eppi top up.  With the help of the forceps, a little snipping, 2 big pushes, and her giving me third degree tears Beaner was out safe and sound.   Daddy held her for her first 30-40 minutes of life wile the doc's did their sewing up of the first mess (and def not last) that Ry would put her momma through.









 Rylen Erin Malia Wood. Born on April 15th, 2013 at 11:42 am weighing  8lb.1oz. and 21 inches long. 

Due date + 9 Days aka 41 Weeks + 2 Days

According to the bump.com they say the baby is the size of a jackfruit at 41 weeks- I don't know how big Beaners is but he/she DEFINITELY feels bigger than a jackfruit.

Due Date + 9 Days... Everyone keeps asking, ''Where's Bean''- I keep replying, ''I aint got no clues.'' 
Trying to keep Moody Malia under control, for Giles' sake.
 
Had stretch and sweep on Monday and again yesterday. After the stretch and sweep on Monday I started getting contractions Monday night.  They were few and far between but at about 5 am they were coming about every 5 minutes lasting about 1 minute long.  They were quite painful, I thought, ''THIS IS IT!!!'' After calling the labor ward they suggested taking paracetomol (tylenol) and having a bath.  I took some medicine and Giles headed off to the hotel.  We figured he would do breakfast at the hotel and head back to the apartment where we would then head to the hospital.  I was able to fall asleep between 7-9:30.  When I woke up the contractions had lessoned tremendously.  And since then (it now being Thursday) they have pretty much fizzled off. Like I said before, I had another stretch and sweep yesterday, was kind of expecting to get contractions again but negative...nadda...nothing.  

We have arranged for another stretch tomorrow and then again on Saturday.  

If no boo bang by Sunday I will be induced.  

xxx

April 2, 2013- Due Date- 40 Weeks

Lovely sunny day today, but no Bean. 

xxx

Beaners

Beaners 34-39 weeks from Malia Wood on Vimeo.

Bean is a night mover so we found this song fitting.... 

Jack and Jill went up the hill...

Meet Jill.
Jill?
Jill who?

We had a visit from our health visitor the other day and her name is Jill Jones. And she was sweet as a button.  Apparently she had come to our house once before but we were off in 'Merica so this was our first time meeting her.  She wanted to meet us before bean is due.  Now if you are British, and have had a child or familiar with the system, I'm sure you know exactly what a health visitor is.  If you are American you might be a little in the dark about who I am referring to. Do not feel ashamed, I too was once in that same boat.   American friends, be prepared to be blown away....

Jill, or health visitors, are certfied midwives who come to your house after the baby is born to help where is needed.  Jill will come as much as I want or as little as I want until Bean is 6 weeks old.  So if I am having problems with breast feeding, bathing, sleeping, changing, or baby being colicky it's JILL TO THE RESCUE!!! She even comes and brings scales to weigh the baby so I don't have to go to the pediatricians to get that done.  And at about 2 or 3 weeks or so she does a hearing test so in case bean has a hearing problem they can detect it early.  I'm sure there are other things that Jill will be responsible for doing but to be honest I just can't remember.  It was just very refreshing to meet her and hear that she will be there if I need her. 

And it didn't hurt that she reminded me of a helpful grandma. No Tu Tu, Jill is not replacing you. Those are some pretty big sparkly shoes to fill.

The more and more I have been in the health system over here the more and more I think how the Brits just might be doing it right.  The most expensive part of my whole pregnancy will be when I go into labor and Giles has to pay the parking meter.  We are looking at a bill of about £20 pounds or so ($30). And guess what... I'm not complaining.

37 Weeks

We had an appointment with our midwife today (37 weeks and 4 days) and she said that since I am full term bean could come any day now and be fine (I still want to keep him/her in there as long as I can though).  She also said that accorrding to growth scan and the growth charts it looks like bean could weigh up in the high 8 pounds.  She said this very nonchalantly. 

Happy 1 Year Anniversary- 35 Weeks

Technically on our 1 Year Anniversary I was 34 weeks and 6 days but who's counting?

The next day I was 35 weeks preggers leaving me with 35 days till due date- April 2nd.
(AHHHH!! It's getting close!)

xxx

Growth Scan at 33 Weeks

We got back from our 'Merican holiday on Wednesday February 13th (after extending our Houston trip from 3 days to 7 HOLLA!) and had an appointment with our midwife, Laura, that Friday.  Everything was fine with Beaners, blood pressure, my weight, urine sample and heart rate were all normal but Laura was a little worried that I might be a little bit smaller on the growth curve.  It was slightly below what she wanted it to be on the curve so she booked us in for an appointment to have a growth scan that following Monday.  Giles and I were not worried as we looked at the curve and Beaners looked almost exactly on it but just thought it was better to be safe than sorry.  I had confirmation from my friends from back home that also helped me not stress through the weekend.

A little side note for expecting mothers: My friend Allie (who is due about a week before me) said that if you (the mother) measure 2 cm above or below what week of development you are in then you are in a good range.

I was in week 33 and measured just under 33 cm.

And my friend Emily also said that she was measuring 10 pounds with her little girl at her last ultrasound and Ava (her daughter) came out at 9.5 lbs. 

So these little things helped us not worry, and sure enough on Monday Beaners seemed just fine.  It was crazy how they could actually tell us his/her weight at that time.  And funny to actually see how much he/she has grown since last looking at the 20 weeks sonogram.  When we saw Bean then you could see the whole baby but at 33 weeks Beaners was SQUASHED in my belly.  No point in getting a photo of it because it was very difficult to even see that it was a baby.

So as of 33 weeks little Bean weighed in at 5 pounds 6 ounces.  Which, funny enough, according to the bump.com Bean at 33 weeks (the size of a Durian- a stinky Indonesian fruit that Giles and I both despised) should weigh anywhere from 4.2-5.8 pounds. Annie, the sonographer, said we should expect Bean to range as a high 7 pound baby.. which is fine by me, have you seen my husband? As long as it's not 10 pounds I'm A-OK.

xx

32 Weeks

Thanks Houston weather.  And thanks Mary and Jimmers for the extended va-cay.

Bean at The Bean (in Chicago) - 31 Weeks

Small Tid-Bits of Beaners at 30 Weeks

Beaners at 30 weeks from Malia Wood on Vimeo.

Just a few little glimpses of Bean while I was laying on the couch at my parents house.

xx

30 Weeks

28 Weeks

Beaners Heartbeat

Beans Heartbeat from Malia Wood on Vimeo.

28 Weeks and 3 Days
Bean is in a breached position at the moment but nothing to worry about until 36 weeks.
140 beats per minute.  Laura (midwife) says very happy healthy baby :) 

President Obama Makes Bean Move

From the bump.com...
At 27 weeks your baby's the size of a Rutabaga.
Me: "What the hell is a Rutabaga?"
Giles: " A vegetable."

I knew a rutabaga fell under the category of either a fruit or a vegetable (to be honest it was a process of elimination as all the pregnancy weeks fall under one of the two).  I was just a little thrown as my usual lime, (11 weeks) avocado at 16 and banana at 20 weeks are all, well things I have eaten before.  But a Rutabaga? Negative and no thank you.

Ok, stick to the subject at hand Malia, one thing I often find myself not doing.  Though I have yet to read it anywhere I do believe that is a side effect of pregnancy.

For a while now I have wanted to give a quick little update on how the pregnancy is going.  I know I am coming home in 12 days (holla, holla, HOLLA!!!) and will be able to talk about all these things whilst at home I still feel the obligation to put it in writing.  Well maybe not obligation but a desire for my friends to read and also for record.  Who knows, maybe Beaners will one day find it neat to sit down and read these? With my luck, probably not.

So movement is the subject at hand.  Thus far there have been 3 types of movement from Bean that I recognize.
A. Feeling Bean move
B. Feeling Bean kick 
C. Seeing Bean kick 
And to my knowledge it's these three and three alone. Not really expecting any other movement until
D. Having Bean

So just a quick little tidbit of when and what I was doing when these first occurred..

I first felt Bean move while I was watching the news on the subject matter of President Obama winning the elections (I don't know if this was a sign of Bean being happy or upset)
But I was sitting there ( just about 19 weeks) watching when I felt the funny movement in the belly.  People had been asking me if I had felt it move yet and I didn't think so but when I was sitting there I knew it was Bean.  Many people describe it as butterflies but when I first felt it move I thought it felt like someone lightly brushing the inside of my belly with the tips of their fingertips.  Give it a try on your cheek. Go on.

Bean first started kicking the weekend we were away in Bournemouth for a surprise 60th Birthday party/weekend  for Giles' Aunt Audrey (for those of you that came to the wedding Audrey and her husband Dave were 2 of the 12 Brits). It was the Sunday morning after the big party, I was 22 weeks, or a papaya according to the bump.com, and I thought I felt it in bed but wasn't sure. We put Giles' hand on my belly and he thought he maybe felt it as well.  And then later in the day we were sitting around the house (mansion actually, 23 people stayed in this massive house, cinema and everything...see there I go again with my wandering off) but sitting and relaxing and I then I felt it move some more. And Beaners hasn't stopped moving since.He/She especially likes to move at about 2 am, 3 am.

And finally actually seeing it.  "Alien belly" as my friend Lindsey calls it.  This was just a few weeks ago, maybe a few days before Christmas.  Me being about 25 weeks.  It was the evening and I was laying on the couch watching TV, Giles was sleeping on the other, and I was in my usual evening position.  TV on, heating pad on back, glass of milk in reachable distance, Apple Juice propped behind head as pillow and belly oiled/lotioned up to the max to avoid stretch marks. And then out of the blue I saw a little rise in my belly.  About a minute later another, and then maybe another. Here and there I will see it, still trying to catch it on video or have Giles' hand on my belly to feel it.  It's proving to be pretty impossible, but I will keep at it.

And that's that. My quick little tidbits of movement with Bean which have been longer than expected.  But if you have followed my blogs or been a part of my mass emails in the past you have grown to know that Malia's short little writings are never quite as short as she promises.

Thanks for sticking with it guys :)

xxx

   

27 Weeks- Happy New Year!

Rolling in 2013 1920's Style