Birth Story of our precious Victor!

Date of Birth: February 7, 2013 at 8:07am

Original Due Date: February 4, 2013

Weeks Pregnant: 40 weeks & 2.5 days

Weight: 6lbs even (my boys like even birth weights I guess haha)

Height: 20 inches long

My weight Gain: I got up to 169.2 lbs (I weighed myself when i was in labor haha)..so a total of 45-46lbs...I weighed myself a couple hours after delivered and I had immediately lost 12lbs and as of 2/13, I've lost 20lbs!...On my way to trying on those bridal gowns and sooner to wearing normal pants again lol :)

 

Birth Story: On Feb 6th, I had called my mom to come over to get out of the house and to go to lunch together. After lunch, we went to walmart, got a couple of things and then we headed towards home. On the way, we decided to take Adrian to the park to play a bit, and I had walked a quarter mile lap around the park just to keep active and see if I could get some contractions started. Around 3:30pm or so we headed home and I laid down with Adrian to get him to take a nap, but also to rest a bit myself.

I started feeling some contractions, but ignored them at first because I had been feeling contractions for weeks and I didn't want to get my hopes up that I would actually go into labor then. Starting around 4:30pm I started timing them and they were anywhere from 6 minutes to 10 minutes apart. They were so mild that I felt normal, just had tightening every so often. Since Adrian was asleep, I decided to walk around the house and up and down the stairs in hopes of keeping the momentum up. By 6pm they were around 7 mins apart, but still nothing that I had to breathe through or anything. I had manny bring dinner home because I just didn't feel up to making anything. I probably could have, but I was SO ready to go into labor that I just wanted to continue walking around the house and focus and prepare my mind for labor so that if this was the real deal, I'd be relaxed and ready. I had texted my mom, sister, Margie and Tina around 7pm that I had been having contractions and this could be it, but that it was still too early for me to be confident it was time. After we had eaten, Manny had the T.V. on, Adrian was running around making a bunch of noise, and I just lost my focus at that point. I was still walking around the house and rocking on my exercise ball, but with all the noise around me, I couldn't feel contractions anymore and eventually conceded that I wasn't in labor yet. I texted everyone back around 9:45pm that the contractions had slowed a lot, that they'd probably stop like before, and to not lose sleep over me.

Once I laid down to sleep and got Adrian sleeping (Manny went to shave just in case this was the real thing haha), I was feeling contractions and they actually started getting stronger. I texted my mom at 10:30pm and said I felt silly for saying they were stopping because they hadn't and asked her if she'd come stay the night over here just in case. At 10:50pm I texted Margie and let her know that contractions hadn't stopped and they were coming about every 9 mins or so. I told her we'd call once things were more serious and she told me to try and get some sleep. I tried laying down, but eventually I felt like I needed to sit on my exercise ball to be more comfortable and possibly try and sleep that way by leaning on the bed. Once my mom got to the house, we tried to get Adrian to sleep with her (he had been sleeping in our bed), but he woke up and didn't want to. Manny took him into his room to sleep in his own bed and manny laid on the floor next to him. :) Manny slept off and on in there the whole night (I think it was his way of spending the last moments with him as an only child).

Things started picking up around 11:40pm or so and contractions were coming around 2-4mins apart so I had my mom call Margie at 12:30am and then Karla, and Tina were called shortly thereafter and notified that things were definitely moving along now and all of them were soon on their way over. Even though the contractions were so close, I was still talking and laughing between them, so I knew we were still pretty early in labor, but being my 2nd time, things could progress much more quickly. Once Margie got there, she checked me and I was only 4.5cm (she said "it's more than 4 but I don't want to call it 5, so we'll call it 4.5") dilated. At that point I was satisfied that today was the day our baby Victor would be born, but we still had a ways to go still. Margie went and laid down in the spare room, Manny went back to Adrian's, and mom, Karla and Tina stayed in the room for a bit and we chatted and joked for a bit (in between contractions of course). Tina even said "you are the only person I know that laughs during labor" hahaha. Eventually we decided we all needed to rest as much as possible because this was looking like it was going to be a long night. I stayed on my exercise ball with my head on my pillow on the bed, mom and Karla slept on our bed and Tina went downstairs. I was able to sleep between contractions which came anywhere from 2.5 to 6 minutes apart. Around 4-4:30, I got tired of sitting and wanted to try and speed things up, so I started walking back and forth in the upstairs hallway in the dark and quiet while everyone else slept. During contractions I remember thinking that they were definitely getting stronger and I felt myself tensing up, so I just reminded myself to stay "open," focus on the end result and not so much on the pain, and to just breathe.

Around 5:40am there was a change in my contractions. They started coming every 6-7 minutes, but they were longer and much stronger. I woke my mom up and told her I needed counter pressure now on my back because I started having back labor. My mom, sister and Manny took turns pressing on my back during contractions and I slept in between (and I know I was sleeping because there were a couple times I wiped drool off my face LOL).

At 6am I requested to be checked again because the contractions were very strong and I felt like I should be close to push time. She said that I was 7cm dilated, and I felt a little discouraged. When I was in labor with Adrian and measured 7cm, it was at least another 5 hours before he was born, so I thought (and my mom, Karla, and Manny thought) that we had many more hours to go until Victor would arrive. Around 6:30am Adrian woke up and he was taken downstairs where Tina entertained him, and I could hear him giggling and having fun. I eventually wanted to get off my exercise ball and onto my side on the bed. I had several contractions that way and Manny helped press on my back through the contractions. My mom switched out with him at one point, and I was told later it was because Adrian started fussing downstairs (I had made a loud noise and he became concerned and wanted mommy) so Manny went to console him. That was probably around 7am. Karla had gone downstairs as well to play a bit with Adrian because she figured it'd be several hours until I'd be pushing. Well, at 7:35ish, I told my mom I was pushing and she said, "no, don't push Vicki." I said, "I can't help it, I'm not doing it." At that point, Margie was in the room again and they told me I needed to get my shorts off...let me tell you that when you feel your body pushing and then you try to move from your side to your back to prepare for actual pushing, it is not only difficult but p.a.i.n.f.u.l! Lol. We got the shorts off, Margie got all the pads under me and ready and she listened to his heartbeat...just perfect! At that moment, I asked with urgency, "where's Manny and Karla?!" They were still downstairs and my mom called them up. Karla said she thought "well that was fast!" Haha. I tried giving a couple simple pushes because Margie said I had just a little lip of cervix left. Then at 7:55am, my body took over and MADE me push.. I wanted to take it easy, but my body said "oh no, we're pushing this baby out!" I definitely felt the "ring of fire" and oh it was not fun! My water finally broke right before he started crowning. Once his head was out, it was a relief...but everyone was like "you need to keep pushing Vicki, you need to push him out!" I said "I can't!" because I didn't want to feel the burning again, and like I said before, I feel like I personally wasn't pushing him out, my body was. So I gathered courage (haha) and started to push, and just that little push initiated my body to take over and push again, and he was out! Just 3 pushes and our sweet baby Victor was born Feb 7th at 8:07am!

He was put on my chest, and we all cried with joy that he was finally here. I wiped him down with the receiving blankets, and he let out little peeps and squeals. He was just too precious and so calm. I counted fingers and toes, 10 & 10, perfect!

Adrian was brought up to meet his brother and he wasn't too impressed at first, but now he wants to hold, hug, and kiss him. He's still adjusting and it'll probably take a bit, but I think they're going to be best friends as they grow.

Although my labor was essentially the same length this time as it was with Adrian, I felt great and had much more energy probably because I was much more relaxed since it wasn't my first time, and I actually slept, in short bursts, throughout labor. I remember being in some pain for at least a week with Adrian, but I've had none. Healing and recovery has been a breeze and I am truly thankful for that :) I am happy that we chose home birth for both our boys because they were wonderful experiences for us. There's nothing like being home in a relaxed atmosphere, giving birth in a calm, peaceful setting, and enjoying every second with your brand new babies without all the lights and sirens and people coming and going in the hospital all night & day. It's a decision that's not made lightly and was done with much reading and research, but in the end, we decided it was the best thing for our family and I couldn't be happier we chose to do it even though many criticized us the first time around.

Both our babies are perfect, healthy, and our family feels complete. I can't imagine life without our boys and I look forward to our future and watching them grow!

 

Thanks for reading! We love you all and have appreciated all the love and support we've received from all our family & friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing our sweet Victor Manuel!!

 

First Bath

 

Watch Me Grow: 3 days old

 

2nd Bath

 

 

He's Here!!!

Sorry it's taken so long to post this, but that's what happens I guess when you have a baby and the next week you're packing up to move :/  Anyway, here are the fun and exciting details :)

Date of Birth: September 23, 2010 @ 7:59am
Original Due Date: September 21, 2010 (I was given the due date of Sept 27 by the doctor at the first ultrasound, but I always thought (and hoped) that the Sept 21st date was more accurate...)
Weeks Pregnant: 40 weeks & 2 days
Weight: 7lbs even
Height: 20 inches long

My weight Gain: I got up to 165 lbs...so a total of 46lbs...I weighed myself the day Adrian was born and I had immediately lost 17lbs :)  To date, I've lost 24lbs so far in just the first week.
Stretch marks: Most definately! :(  I really believe what they say that stretch marks are genetic and no amount of lotion will make them not appear at all...I lotioned religiously every day even in the begining when I wasn't even showing, and about the week before Adrian was born they started to appear a lot on my sides...well once he came, I really saw the damage...hopefully with a bunch of sit-ups and running they will fade a little? maybe? lol

Birth Story:  The morning of Sept 22nd, I woke up around 3:50am or so following my normal routine of  getting up every hour to use the bathroom.  Once I laid back down in bed I realized that I was feeling some "period like" cramps, and tried to ignore it at first because I didn't want to get my hopes up.  I kept feeling the cramps, so I decided to time them by using my phone stopwatch.  I would press the lap button at the begining and end of each contraction so I could see the duration of the contraction as well as the spacing of each.  They were about 45-60 secs in duration and about 9 mins apart.  after about an hour of that, I just started writing down on a piece of paper how spaced out they were, and they remained about 9 mins long...I tried to go to sleep thinking that maybe they were false labor pains and would probably go away, but I would wake back up each time I had another one.  Manny had to go to work that day, so the alarm went off at 7:30am and I was so excited to tell him what was going on...He smiled and I could tell that he was excited too, but probably more nervous than I was :)
Since they weren't really strong or anything, it didn't seem right for Manny not to go to work, so he got ready for work and I just told him that if they start getting stronger or anything I would call him, so he better answer his phone lol
The contractions continued to be about 9 mins apart, and nothing unbearable...I decided to text people at that point because of course I was excited and I wanted to let everyone know that a baby would be born soon!  I was on bedrest because my blood pressure had been elevated and I was having problems with a lot of edema in my feet, so I laid in bed just watching TV.  At around 11:30am or so, I eventually fell asleep, and woke up at 12:30pm or so and the contractions I thought had stopped.  I was so disappointed because I thought for sure I'd be having a baby that night...so I texted everyone again and let them know it was a false alarm...of course everyone was really supported and said that he will come soon enough.
Well even though I was on bedrest, we had an appt with the realtor at 6pm to look at a couple houses, and I decided that it was probably okay to go and just make sure that I walked slow and didn't push myself too hard.  I started feeling some contractions again around 5pm or so, but they were probably every 15 mins, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  Well...every time I got out of the truck I would have to stop and take a break before walking because I would have a contractions...then every time I walked up the stairs, the same thing would happen...when we were at the 4th and final house, I had to sit down because the contractions were coming closer together and stronger than they had that morning.  Finally we left the house and were heading home and everyone was hungry and so was I but I told Manny that I really just wanted to get home soon because I needed to just relax because I thought maybe I pushed myself too hard.  We stopped at KFC first and picked up some food and went home (this was around 8:30pm-9pm or so).  At first I kneeled on the floor with my elbows on the couch while I forced myself to eat 2 chicken fingers.  The contractions were still bearable, but getting more uncomfortable and were about 9 mins apart again...so I called Margie again and let her know that my contractions had started again, and also that we had been out looking at houses...she was not happy at all about me not resting, but told me to call her once the contractions were about 5 mins apart.  Manny's parents were with us when we went looking at houses, so they were all sitting at the table eating and I overheard Manny mention to his parents that he was nervous...at that point I think I was still in denial because I had gotten all excited that morning and then the contractions stopped.  I pulled out the exercise ball though and leaned over it on the floor because that seemed to relieve some of the pressure.  Around 9:30 or so Manny's parents left and I decided to go lay down in bed to see if I could just rest and fall asleep...contractions kept coming and now were getting stronger.  Manny's mom had come back because of his earlier comment of being nervous...so I called my mom and told her that she could come over too if she wanted (but I kept saying that I probably just over did it walking around and it probably was just a false alarm again lol).  I think around 10:30pm I couldn't lay down anymore in bed and I brought the exercise ball in the room and sat on it while leaning over the bed...it really helped lessen the pain I started feeling in my lower back with each contraction, and at this point I was having to use breathing techniques to work through the contractions. 
Contractions kept coming stronger and felt like they were getting closer together...Manny started timing them and they were about 5 mins apart...we timed them for about 30 mins or so and I told my mom that she should probably call Margie to come over at that point...I think that was around 2:45am.  I said that I hoped that when she got there and checked me that I was at least 7cm dilated (I felt that I was in too much pain to only be 3 or 4cm).  Margie got to the house around 3:25am and checked me...I was 7cm!!! Thank goodness!  I told my mom to call Karla to let her know that I was dilated to 7cm and that if she wanted to come over she could.  Margie said that it would probably be another 4 hours or so before we would have a baby. 
At that point the contractions were waaayy stronger than I was ever told they would be ("they'll feel 10x worse than your worst period cramps" <-- haha, that is a flat out LIE!)  The main source of my pain was coming from my back.  With each contraction, my back would feel like it was twisting in knots and the only way to relieve the pain was to put pressure on my lower back...mom, Karla and Manny all took turns doing that for me.  This is the point where I lost all track of time, but I know that I asked if Margie could check me again, and this time I was 8cm...baby's heartrate sounded great!  I didn't feel like getting out of the bed, so I laid on my right side and Karla and Manny switched back and forth putting pressure on my back.  The pain got pretty crazy, but I kept my cool and kept breathing through each contraction.  At one point I said out loud "this is bad" and my mom said, "no, this is good"...it took me back to a conversation I had with Margie that you need to use positive thinking and positive words or else you're only going to hinder your progress...well I didn't care how rediculous I sounded and I kept repeating, "this is good...this is gooood...this is goooooooooooooood" through the contractions lol (I had my eyes closed or else I would have seen the faces of my support people trying not to burst out in laughter)...I had a feeling that I sounded pretty crazy, so I decided to make a joke to show that I still had a sense of humor about things, and it went like this..."this is goooooooooooood, but it hurts really really baaaaaaaaaaad, but this is goooooood."  I wish I could have seen their faces lol
I guess it was around 7:20ish when I told Margie I felt like pushing, and she said go ahead!  So with the first couple contractions, I pushed a little, but this was honestly the first time I felt a little fear about what was happening and that I was actually going to have to push a baby out of a small opening.  Finally Margie said, "Victoria, you need to push really hard with each contraction or else you will be pushing for 45 mins"...that was all the motivation I needed because I just wanted it to be over with already...so I pushed and pushed, and then they told me to open my eyes to look and see the top of his head (I don't think I had really opened my eyes since 3 or 4 am)...it looked so crazy and I thought that couldn't possibly be a baby's head!  I continued pushing and finally his head came out and I let out a scream (it was more a scream of nervousness than from pain).  His shoulders slipped out easily from there and he was immediately place on my chest.  September 23rd at 7:59 in the morning our beautiful baby boy arrived in this world. We cried tears of  joy...our baby boy was finally here.  He was so perfect, and so calm...he didn't cry, just yawned really big and looked around the room.  I continued to dry him off with the recieving blanket and then it was time to cut the cord.  Manny did the honors (even though he kept saying he didn't want to before Adrian was here).  About 20 mins after he was born, I breastfed Adrian and he latched on perfectly like we had done it a hundred times before.

So that's the story, I'm sure there are things missing, but if you made it this far in the blog, thn I'm sure you've read enough lol...I wouldn't change a thing about the whole birthing experience...I felt so safe and comfortable in our home, I was able to get up when I wanted and change positions and not be confined to a bed the whole time or to be pressured into something that I didn't really want to.  I'm not going to lie about the pain because it got pretty intense, but I would do it again no question.  I pushed for only 20mins and didn't tear at all.  He is perfectly healthy and a happy little guy!

We are so in love!!