Oh Baby!

It has taken me a long time to get around to posting on our blog but BABY MARCUS HAS ARRIVED! Marcus George Ybanez was born on May 23rd (his due date) at 831 AM. He weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces. The delivery was rough and I was sore for a while. Plus Marcus is an active little boy and is keeping his mom and dad very busy. He likes to be held- and wants us to be in constant motion. He likes to be bounced on the exercise ball and be carried around in his baby carrier. He loves going outside for walks. But even these things don't stop him from crying some of the time- doesn't matter what we do. So we are trying to figure out if there is something in particular that is bothering him like reflux of if he is just "colicky" like the doctor said. I have the utmost sympathy for anyone who has dealt with a crying, screaming baby. I am pretty frazzled by the end of the day. We did finally figure out a way for him to get sleep without me holding him. So he sleeps in his swing, swaddled, with white noise. And then we just cross our fingers. Lately he has been sleeping about 5 hours straight which is wonderful. We are still exhausted but this is better than before. We are still trying to figure our little guy out. It has been a huge learning curve for me but thank goodness I have had help from many people- especially Ross and my mom. Marcus is healthy and growing well. We just have to survive these early weeks. He is smiling at us and "talking" to us. And is very alert and interested in what is going on around him.

Here is a summary of his birth story: I had cramping and mild contractions for several weeks before he was born. So I wasn't sure what to expect when the real day came. I woke up on May 22nd with more intense cramping than I had had before. And then I started having contractions that felt different than before. We went to my scheduled MD appt and she said that I wasn't dilated at all and didn't seem convinced that I was in labor. She even mentioned me possibly needing to be induced the next week. And she said she thought I was going to have a huge baby and might need a C section. Which was upsetting to me. She had us go to the hospital to have the baby checked out and he looked fine on the monitor. So we went home and I called my doula. She said that I might be in early labor and it can take a couple days and nights to go through that. I was thinking "These contractions are pretty uncomfortable- a couple days and nights!" I really felt like he was going to come the next day. But I tried to sleep like my doula recommended to save up my energy. I woke up at 630 pm because the contractions were strong enough that I couldn't sleep anymore. Then Ross and I watched TV and I bounced on my birth ball and played solitaire. The contractions were manageable. Around 10-11 pm I told Ross to get some sleep. I tried to rest too but laying down was too uncomfortable at this point. So I watched TV to distract myself. The contractions gradually became more intense and I would have to pause the TV to concentrate on getting through the contractions. I still figured I was in early labor though because I was doing fine managing them by myself. Around 230 AM I woke Ross up because I decided I needed more help with the contractions. We timed them for an hour and I was surprised that they were 4-5 minutes apart and lasting almost 2 minutes each. They got intense pretty quickly. I was thinking that it was still going to be hours and was doubting how I would last for hours with these contractions. I called my doula at 4 AM because I was ready for her help. I started throwing up and was really struggling. We planned to have her come to our house but then I decided I was ready to go to the hospital. We arrived at John Muir at about 515 AM. The car ride there was so so so hard. I was curled up in the back seat. I felt like I wasn't getting much of a break between contractions. I wanted something for pain management at that point. The nurse settled us into a room. She was moving too slow from my perspective. It took her forever to get me hooked up to the monitor and she wanted me to lay still in bed which was crazy because there was no way I could stay in bed. I needed to move. I was 4 cm dilated at this point. Finally she got an IV in me and I had a shot of Stadol. Ross said that people were peeking into my room because I was yelling so loudly. I guess vocalizing is how I deal with pain. I know I yelled a lot because my throat was super sore for a couple of days after. The Stadol helped some- it helped me relax more between contractions which were coming fast and furious at that point. My doula had me sit in a rocking chair in the room. Ross said that I was like the Exorcist because I would suddenly jump up and yell when the contractions came. The next couple of hours are pretty foggy for me because of the intense pain. I remember yelling that I wanted an epidural- although I specifically wanted to avoid that. But I just wanted a break. I was thinking that I still had hours of labor left to go. We had a great nurse though and she said that I should be checked again before getting an epidural. I was already 8 cm dilated so I decided I didn't need the epidural at this point. The contractions were right on top of each other and I can't even describe how hard that last part was. The baby's heart rate started to drop at one point so they gave me oxygen. The on call doc came and broke my water and they inserted an internal monitor. My doctor didn't realize that I was so far dilated and she wasn't there yet. I was dilated and ready to push but the on call doc wanted me to just wait and breathe to help increase the baby's heart rate. Finally my doctor got there and I pushed for 2-3 rounds before she decided the baby needed to come out right away. So she used the vacuum to get him out quickly. Poor Marcus had a bruised head and the vacuum bruised me pretty bad. I felt like I had been dropped straight on my butt. I could barely sit and walk for several days. The pediatrician checked Marcus out right away and he was healthy and doing fine. I got to hold him after I was stitched up. He was so tiny- I thought he was going to be a big baby. And he had this head full of dark hair. The blood vessels in my eyes and on my face and shoulders burst from the intense pushing. That is why there aren't pictures of me posted from right after the birth. It was the most challenging thing I have ever been through but I am proud that I made it without an epidural and am so excited that our little angel is here. Despite all the crying and screaming.

Sorry, that was a long paragraph. Ross is going to post some pictures. Marcus is 5 1/2 weeks old now and almost 10 pounds. I am feeling so much better. The days are long but time does seem to fly by. It has been really hard but totally worth it.