Teagan is NOT letting me put her down today. She cried for half our short walk, and every time I put her down, even if she was fast asleep, within 2 minutes she's screaming again! When I hold her, she's fine, but I can't do anything carrying a baby around. (I'm typing with one hand as I'm holding her now....)
- posted by Wendy @ 3:36:00 p.m.

 
Happily Teagan is sleeping better at night, which means *I* get to sleep better at night! Last night she slept from around midnight to almost 4am, then for almost 2 hours after I fed her. The night before she slept for almost 6 hours straight at one point! I've been trying to keep the living room (where her crib is) fairly dark at night. I read that helps babies figure out night and day for sleeping, and maybe it is helping! In any case, the sleep feels WONDERFUL!

I nursed Teagan in the park yesterday, she started screaming on the way home from our outing, so I stopped there rather than making her wait until we get home. It's still a little weird nursing in public, but each time it gets more natural and I get more confident.
- posted by Wendy @ 7:03:00 a.m.

 
I've been managing a daily outing with Teagan. So far, shopping every time, but I do get a lot of walking in. I wore my pedometer yesterday and it said over 2 miles, so that's a decent walk. I'm trying to get out of the house for a number of reasons: I think it's good for me mentally to "do" something each day, I'm trying to get a little exercise in the form of walking, and I'm also trying to give my husband some time to himself to work on schoolwork.

When I was at the Bay yesterday, Teagan started crying, so I headed for the washrooms to change her. They have this great little "mother's room" just outside the washrooms, it's got 2 armchairs, a fold-down changetable, sink, and large counter, plus plenty of space for a stroller and a door that shuts for privacy! I was thrilled they have this, I am still a little nervous about changing and feeding her "in public".
- posted by Wendy @ 11:30:00 a.m.

 
Teagan Andra's Birth Story:
We were sent in to the hospital at 8am on February 4th to start induction. At this point I was a full week overdue, and with the extra fluid and high blood pressure, they didn't want to wait any longer. They started with Cervadil, which is a tampon-type thing inserted to ripen the cervix. (I was only maybe 1-2cm dialated and 50% effaced) Normally they send you home after administering this, to await labour at home, but with the extra fluid and baby sitting high, I was a higher risk for a cord prolapse, so they kept me in.

The Cervadil didn't seem to do much, and after about 6 hours I accidentally pulled it out in the bathroom - oops! They waited until that evening to insert another, and we waited for some sign. Not much seemed to be going on, though I did have some mild contractions, and the next day I found the second Cervadil had fallen out after about the same amount of time! I was getting pretty bored of the hospital already, expecially since nothing was happening, and for the most part I had to stay in bed attached to machines to monitor the baby. My mom came in every day to spend time with me, and to let my husband 'escape' for a good meal and a break. They decided to try Oxytocin(pitocen) next, but to wait until morning. The IV was pretty painful, I'm not a good needle person, so that added to the trauma I'm sure, plus they had to try a couple times to get it in.

They started the Oxytocin in the morning, but nothing really happened until the afternoon. They kept upping the dose until I was having some contractions in the afternoon and evening. They weren't bad, though the numbers on the monitor indicated they were reasonably strong. By this time the THIRD pregnant woman from the bed next to me had moved on, to the labour rooms or for a c-section, since I came in, so I was getting pretty antsy for progress! That evening, my doctor came in and checked me and I had not made ANY progress! Plus, the baby's heartrate was rising a bit in response to the contractions/Oxytocin. They called in the OB, who said that it would be best at this point to go for the c-section. The baby hadn't dropped at all, I wasn't dialating, and the rising heartrate indicated potential problems for the baby. Though I was initially opposed to a c-section, by this point I was happy with the decision. We'd tried the induction, and it just wasn't working out. I wanted whatever was best for the baby and I.
They made the c-section decision at around 7:30-8:00pm and set about making arrangements. The anesthetist was busy with another surgery, but the OB said "well, I guess you better call in someone else!" I'm really glad for that, I wouldn't have slept a wink if they'd made me wait until morning! It took a while to prep me for the surgery. I needed a catheter, partial shave and had to drink an icky antacid.

They sent Magnus off to get into scrubs and wait. He thought it would only be a few minutes, but it took a while to get everyone arranged in the OR, so he waited 45 minutes and was getting worried.. There were a lot of people in there: my doctor, the OB, a pediatrician, the anesthetist, and 3 nurses! I was REALLY worried about the spinal anesthetic....that for me was the scariest part of a c-section. I let everyone know how nervous I was and they were great. Despite having to make THREE attempts at it, it wasn't that bad. Finally I was all prepped and they brought Magnus in. I was really chatty through the whole thing, trying to keep my mind off what was going on. The doctor and the OB both had to push really hard on my belly to get her out, I heard them both grunting, she was a very big baby. It was a really surreal experience, I felt my body being tugged around but I was numb from just below the chest. The second I heard her cry, she started wailing before she was pulled all the way out, the tears started to flow. I've never been so happy as I was that moment, and in the time after as I watched them clean her, and hand her to my husband.


- posted by Wendy @ 1:23:00 a.m.

 
I'm not getting much sleep, so it's hard to find time to post here. Often when I'm online I'm nursing - right now I'm typing one-handed!

Teagan is a joy. We love just looking at her, and holding her, she's a great little baby. She nurses well, and doesn't cry a lot. She does seem to want to nurse ALL THE TIME though, which doesn't let me sleep a lot. I've never been good at napping, but I'm trying to learn now out of necessity! Last night she wanted to eat every hour for around 5-10 minutes, so I tried to sleep between times, I didn't do to badly and actually felt half rested in the morning. She will stay calm and sleep or just look around longer for Daddy, but with me it's like she knows the milk is there so she wants it!

I've been pretty emotional too. It's scarey for me, I've suffered from depression before and don't want to go back there. I think it's mostly just sleep deprivation though, I'm feeling a bit better today.
- posted by Wendy @ 5:46:00 p.m.

 
Please welcome Teagan Andra McElroy to the world! Born February 6th at 10:49, 9lbs 14.5oz, 21.6inches long.

PHOTOS

Birth story to follow, when I am not so tired....
- posted by Wendy @ 12:07:00 p.m.

 
Off I go! I'm scheduled to be induced this morning - time to meet our little girl!
- posted by Wendy @ 6:38:00 a.m.

 
Nothing is happening yet. I had an OB consultation at the hospital with the NST yesterday, and we talked about induction. He was okay with me going a few more days if I wanted. We ended up with "if I'm dialating/progressing at my appt today, give it another day or two, if not, go ahead with a Wednesday induction". So it rests on the results of my appt today. Baby has definitely dropped some, so that is good news. It takes away a lot of the danger of a cord prolapse if the baby is farther down, and it is progress in the right direction!


- posted by Wendy @ 7:51:00 a.m.

 
I'm starting to feel like things MIGHT be happening. Yesterday I felt "heavy and achey" in my pelvis. It definitely looks like my belly is a bit lower too, so maybe she's finally dropping. I have another NST and OB consult tomorrow, I'm really hoping for a little progress, some sign baby might beat the induction deadline!

I started knitting another sweater, a small pink one, and I hope to finish it today so I can bring her home in it.
- posted by Wendy @ 12:58:00 p.m.