Baby pics

Here are a few baby pics of Logan Joseph. They were taken at the hospital, as evidenced by the gown and my rat's-nest hair. (I still haven't faced taking a brush to it.) He's a real cutie, if I do say so myself.

I'll chronicle the whole saga when I get a chance, but here's a rundown. Logan was born late Tuesday night. He weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. I am very proud that I kept his weight down by following my diet. He had no complications due to the diabetes.

TMI warning, read at your own risk.

We went in at 5 p.m. Monday for cervadel, which is a gel that thins the cervix. I spent an uncomfortable night on a hard mattress, and they induced labor (again) Tuesday morning. I had contractions, but they were mild. My doctor broke my water, and that was excruciating and unexpected (sneaky devil). Once the contractions got a little painful, I got my epidural. Apparently if you're fat, the doctor can't find your vertebrae and can't tell where to put the needle. After three holes, she got it. She gave me a local, but getting the epidural was uncomfortable and painful in a strange way. It's very weird to feel things rooting around in your spine.

I made slow progress with dilation, but I slept through most of the contractions after the epidural. The doctor made the comment that if I didn't make progress each hour, I'd need a c-section. Apparently my body got the message, and I started progressing faster after I hit the 4 centimeter mark. It was time to push, and I did, though with the epidural it's hard to tell if you're really doing anything.

I started to tear, and the doctor said I'd need an episiotomy and they'd have to use a vacuum to get the baby out. I wasn't happy about that, but the alternative was a c-section. So they brought the whole crew in, and it was time to get the baby out. I pushed while they did whatever they had to do. It hurt (screaming!) even with the local and extra epidural medicine, but fortunately it didn't take many pushes before he was out. I had a nurse update me, which helped...head, shoulders, one more push. They gave me the baby, and that blessedly distracted me from the sewing up they were doing.

Logan is the cutest baby. He has a slight conehead and a few marks from the monitor, but his little face is so sweet. He's got Matt's and my apple cheeks. He has at least one dimple, from Matt. His hair is dark like mine, and he's got these pouty lips, no telling who from. Oh, and monkey toes. He isn't scrawny like some babies, or pudgy. He's very strong and can already hold his head up a little. He wasn't fussy at all, just made little whimpers. I'm absolutely in love. Matt and I are fascinated by him.

My back was killing me but is getting much better. They didn't have a postpartum room available, so I had to spend another night on the board bed, which was agony even with medication. My incision hurts, though less than a c-section would. I passed huge blood clots and got lightheaded a few times. I've been very pale for a while, and Matt said I had large yellow circles around my eyes, which are getting better. My body is starting to get back in shape. My back doesn't hurt as much, my feet aren't as swollen, and I can eat like a normal person again (no diabetes!). I have this jelly belly, but it's getting better.

The bad news is that Logan is having gas pains and was up screaming all night last night, our first night at home, of course. I was so exhausted and in pain that Matt had to take care of him most of the time. We let my mom sleep so she could have day duty. He wouldn't feed last night, so now he's ravenous but fussy, even though he still has some gas pains. Our doctor said we could give him Mylicon drops, which we're trying. I feel bad for him, but I'm so exhausted that I'm also frustrated. I am not looking forward to Sunday when my mom has to leave for home. Matt and my mom have been so good to me. It was a good team effort.

So we're managing. I'm loopy at the moment from the pain medicine and everything else. But we're so happy we got our little man home and he's safe, if not completely happy. He's a joy when he's not in pain, and we're hoping this doesn't last too long. Poor baby comes from a long line of gassy people! :-)

Thank you for all the well wishes. It means a lot to me. Big hugs!