Sunday, January 07, 2007
Look what I have!

A beautiful baby boy!

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Alexander Li Wen Hernandez was born at 8:49 pm on 2nd January 2007. Since then, he's been keeping us very busy. The past week has been little more than a blur to me.I spent the first 4 nights after the birth in the hospital and we brought Alex home yesterday. Alex doesn't seem to mind being home, in fact I don't think it makes a difference to him whether we are at home or in the hospital!

The whole experience of childbirth was a series of firsts for me, and although I approached it with a lot of fear and anxiety, it all went well and I could not have asked for it to be any better.

On new year's day, we were at home watching tv when I felt what I thought were contractions. We started timing them and they were about 30 minutes apart. By the evening they had progressed to 15 minutes apart. I still wasn't sure they were 'real' contractions as I have been told contractions hurt. These didn't. They felt as if the muscles in my lower belly were tightening into a large tight mass. They were uncomfortable, but not painful. We timed them anyway - just in case.

That night we went to bed thinking nothing was going to hapen till the morning. As I could not sleep I continued to time the contractions and by about 1am, they were about 6 minutes apart. I was excited! Something's happening! I woke Chris up and told him I was going to call the delivery suite to see whether they wanted us tyo come in to get it checked out. After answering a whole lot of questions from the midwife, she decided that in the light of my rising blood pressure over the past weeks, I should go in and get checked up. So off we went to the hospital.

When we got there, my contractions had all but stopped. I was horrified! They kept me there for observation anyway, and at about 7 o'clock in the morning, my obstetrician came in and broke my waters in the hope that my contractions would start up again. Nothing much happened and they continued to come and go. At about lunch time, my obstetrician advised that we should get the drip set up to induce labour and speed things along - and speed things along they did! The drip was set up at 2pm and by 2:30pm I was experiencing hard and painful contractions. They were regular and took my breath away.

We focused on getting past each contraction, which became harder and closer together as the dosage went up. By the evening, they were a minute or two apart and very painful. The strange thing is that in all that pain, I forgot to ask for pain relief. It wasn't till 7pm that the midwife asked whether I'd like some pain relief and what I'd like (as if she had a menu or something). I thought I'd try some gas first. I never made it past the gas, though. Gas, my friends, is the world's best invention, in my books! In fact I was so 'hooked' on it that I was negotiating with the midwife for more gas when they took it away from me when it came time to push. According to Chris (and I don't remember most of this), she said to me, "You can have another puff of gas if you give us one more big push". I feel so embarassed now, that I was that desperate for gas. apparently I was also quite loud. That's evenmore embarassing. I sure hope those rooms are sound-proof, though I very much doubt it. I was so out of it, I don't remember screaming, though I do remember asking for more gas, and still feeling the pain even after being given more gas. I am glad thatI had the doctor and midwife around. they coached me through all the pushing and I relied on their instructions. I am convinced that if not for them, I would have done a lot more damage to myself. I managed to get away with only a small tear and a few grazes. No stitches were required. I could not have asked for a better result, I think.

It is true what they say about forgetting the pain of childbirth once it's all over. I know it hurt, but I no longer remember how badly. It's bad enough that I won't be doing it again in a hurry, but it's not like the memories of the pain still haunt me.

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Now that I have my lovely little man with me, all the furstrations and difficulties of pregnancy and pain of childbirth feel like it was nothing compared to the joy that he gives me. How can a creature, bvarely 5 days old and so tiny, bring me so much happiness? I don't understand it, but it's real. He's sound asleep at the moment, and he's the quietest little sleeper ever. Sometimes we have to give him a little nudge just to check that he's still breathing. Aside from a little jaundice, he's been pronounced healthy by the paediatrician. We've been feeding him regularly and placing him near the window for some sunlight in the hope that we'll be able to flush the jaundice out of his system quickly.

The milk has just started coming in and I am so sore it's not funny. I tried using an ice pack today, which was great temporary relief. I was told it will settle down in a week or so and cease to be so painful. I sure hope so! I doubt I can carry on breastfeeding if this pain does not go away in the next week or two. The lactation consultant was happy with the way Alex is latching on. I have managed so far to get away with only a few small blisters which are now healing nicely.

My days and nights have been occupied with feeding him and watching over him. At the moment he wakes for a feed every 2-4 hours and the longest sleep he's had is 5 or so hours, which was pretty good in my books. Chris is a gem and has been helping out by bathing him and changing him. Right now, I look after Alex's needs on the top end and Chris looks after the bottom end. Fair exchange, don't you think? Chris has also been doing the cooking. Dinner tonight was a delicious stir-fry with rice. He's also got a pot of beef soup cooking in the slow cooker. Mmm.. yum.. maybe I should consider handing over the cooking duties permanently!

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Comments:
Congratulations Celia, he's absolutely beautiful! I'm so happy to hear that things went fairly well and you guys are home and happy. My youngest was a bit jaundiced when he was born as well and it cleared up very nicely with breastfeeding a few ten minutes stints out in the sun. If the pain is from being overfull that should clear up in a week or two and cabbage leaves are purported to help with that. I just pumped a bit extra and popped that into the freezer to relieve some of that excess pressure. Best of luck!
 
Congratulations! He's gorgeous :)
 
Oh Celia, he's just gorgeous!! Congratulations!!! I'm so glad that all went well for you. As for your milk coming in and the pain, the more you feed, the better off you'll be - or like the other poster mentioned, if you need to just pump a bit, that helps too. Hang in there, though - it does get better!

Julie
 
Congratulations! Glad things went so well for everyone!
 
Congratulations Celia! He is absolutely beautiful. I am thrilled that things seemed to go so well...who cares if you scream, you are having a baby after all. I have a friend who used to say the miracle of childbirth wasn't having the kid, it was the fact that your *agina went back to normal after the fact! Enjoy your time with him and revel in all the joys of your babe...congrats again (and Chris too!).
 
Celia - he's absolutely beautiful! I love that picture of the two of you - so very sweet. Congrats on your baby boy! That's awesome that our boys are just a few days apart! Not that you'll need it - but BEST of luck with everything! I hope your son likes mommy's hand knit items!
 
Wow what a hansome little guy! Congratulations!
Denise
knitchat.com
 
Congratulations to the both of you on your adorable son! Enjoy!
 
He's beautiful Celia, congratulations! Lydia
 
Congratulations on your beautiful, healthy baby!

No, those rooms aren't sound-proof. ;-> When I had my first child, I was screaming so loudly, the nurse came and shut my door b/c I was freaking out the other patients. She told me not to think about the pain, but to "breathe through it". If I could have talked at that moment, I would have told her what should could do with her "breathe through it". ;->
 
What a gorgeous and most precious baby! He so beautiful Celia. Congrats to you and Chris on the birth of your son. Nobody cares if you were loud or not, seriously you were giving birth.
 
Congratulations! What a beautiful boy!
 
What a little sweetheart, congratulations!
 
Congratulations and thank you for sharing him with us!! He is beautiful and such a blessing!!
 
Oh what a beauty he is!!! I've got tears in my eyes... he seems to be very photogenic too :)

How are all the grandparents doing LOL?

Huggies and a kiss for the baby :)

Cheers Eva - ps blogger won't let me sign in with my information
 
Honey, there is nothing wrong with negotiating for more painkillers when you're in pain. In fact, I think it was a marvelous idea.
 
Oh my goodness, he's beautiful.

I had a hard time with the breast feeding the first time around. I didn't think there was any way I could keep doing it after the first week but by week three I couldn't imagine how sad it would be for people who didn't breast feed. It took a while but I fell in love with breast feeding. All that being said, I don't like when people make you feel guilty for not choosing what they chose. He'll turn out to be a great kid either way.
 
Congratulations, Celia! He is so gorgeous! I'm so excited for you! I've been checking back to see if there was any news. What a wonderful little boy! My oldest son's middle name is Alexander. The breast feeding will get less painful. Enjoy every minute of this, babyhood passes by so quickly and then they're suddenly big kids!
 
He's just precious! I want to hold him. :) Congratulations!
 
Congratulations, Celia, he is so gorgeous and you sound so happy! I must echo all the comments re breastfeeding, the pain is because your milk is just coming in and you haven't got used to it, keep feeding him and in a week it will be fine. Enjoy these first days, babies change so quickly!
 
Congrats to you and Chris! Alex aka Bubba is so cute and I love your division of work :)
 
He is a beautiful Baby! Welcome little Alexander.
 
He's absolutely adorable. Contractions when they induce are much worse than otherwise and making it through the way you did is super. The nursing pain will, as they said, go away and nursing is the best thing you can do for him and you! Do try to sleep whenever he does so you'll recover faster. Put off everything else (great that Chris is doing so much). I hope you both have time off from work for a good while longer. Enjoy the little sweetie!
 
Congratulations Celia! am so excited for you. He's soooo cute and do post pictures of him in all the lovely items you've knitted.
 
Congrats to the new addition to your family dearie! Little Alex looks so adorable, such a little dear! It's worth every moment huh. :) Once again, congrats. I'm so happy for the 3 of you.
 
He is beautiful! congratulations, Mom!
 
Congats to all of you!! :)
Boy, what a handsome baby !!!!
 
Congratulations on your little man!
 
Oh what a beautiful little baby! Congratulations, Celia and DH on your new son!

On the whole, I bet Baby is glad to be home where it has to be quieter and much more pleasant. You are right about not remembering the pain all that well, just that you wouldn't want to go through it again any time soon. I remember feeling that way, too.
 
Congratulations Celia! He's a very cute baby ... as babies go :) You both look very happy.
 
Oh my goodness. He is so cute!! Lucky you!
 
Congratulations on the arrival of your little baby boy!! He's really beautiful and gorgeous!!!!
 
Greetings from London
(across the pond)

Congratulations on your new son!!

Belinda Walker and I would like to pass on our congratulations! We hope that you have an amazing time getting to know your new son and watching him grow into a little man.

We are so proud of you and Chris and know that you are going to make amazing parents.

Love

Alissa Martine (nee Booker)
 
Congratulations! He's gorgeous!

I was loud too. The nurse came in and told me that I was scaring the other women in the delivery ward and I yelled that if a man can grunt and shout while lifting stupid weights over his head, I could certainly shout while pushing a child through a stretched and torn vagina, dammit. A couple of other women heard me yell that too. Real dignified-like. True though, so don't feel bad.
 
Celia,

Congratulations to you and Chris on the arrival of your beautiful son! Look at all that hair - he's going to need a haircut before you know it! Hope you're feeling better and are getting some sleep. Keep us posted with picks and stories!

Love, Mary your secret pal
 
Congratulations. He is beautiful.
 
Congratulations on the safe arrival of your baby boy! hehehehehe, you've done the swatching, now is the start of your biggest work in progress :-)
 
Oh Celia you have a beautiful boy!
Congrats,

Zia
X
 
Congratulations, Celia, on such a gorgeous little bundle.
 
Hey there Celia!

Thanks for stopping by, and most important, congratulations for bringing a most beautiful baby into the world! He is lovely! And I know he's going to be the most well dressed little boy in the world!
 
Congratulations Celia and Chris on your precious little bundle, Alexander!
Make sure you get lots of sleep too!
Take care,
Gina
 
Hi to bubby Alexander!
and to the new Mommy and Daddy!
I'm back on the 20th. Apologies for the wait - I have goodies right here...
:)
 
congratulations Celia, it truly is a beautiful time. Enjoy.
 
congratulations on your little bundle. he is just so yummy and cute! enjoy it all and keep us posted! he's just lovely and what a lovely husband you have there
Corrie:)
 
Congratulations, Celia! Alexander is a handsome boy! Take care, and show us some photos now and then.
 
Congratulations from another former Ak lister! He is so beautiful and these pictures are gorgeous!
 
OH what a beatiful baby celia! Cold cabbage leaves work wonders on sore breasts. Sounds bizzare but it does work
 
He's beautiful Celia! Congratulations on being so brave, and don't feel bad about the gas - that is why they invented drugs ;)
 
Hi Celia

Congratulations to you on a beautiful baby boy!

Debbie
Lake Charles
 
I am so thrilled for you and Alex is beautiful. Congrats! The nursing will definitely get better. Stick with it! It is a beautifully rewarding experience that only a mom and child can share!
 
Belated congratulations, Celia & Chris!
 
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