The Birth Story: Aiden Jae Ryuu No

Aiden was born on Friday, July 27, 2012 at 6:21am. He weighed 7lbs 3oz and the nurses measured him at 21" long. Although now he is about 19.5" long so I think someone was off somewhere. 

I went in for my 38 week check up on July 26, 2012 and my midwife LTC Kim Garcia said we could have a baby that day. My late Grandma's birthday was this day. It was a special day. She passed a couple weeks before Luci was born. 

We went walking that evening. I was done being on bed rest after 37 weeks. I couldn't stand being on bed rest anymore. 

I started strong contractions around midnight the same night and walked through them in our bedroom. Jason woke up and said we better go to the hospital even though I was waiting for the contractions to be 4-5 minutes apart for an hour. The nurse told me to wait till then. I called her around 2:00am because she checked me at 11:30pm the night before since I had been having light contractions the entire day. I think she said to wait another hour or come in after an hour till the contractions were at 3-4 minutes apart. I told her I was positive for strep b, and I had paged my midwife, but it didn't seem to make a difference. 

We finally got up and ready to go around 3:30am. I couldn't handle the pain and laboring at home anymore. I wanted the narcotic drugs. I still didn't want the epidural even though it hurt, but most of all everything was just really painfully uncomfortable. It was really hard to get into the car. It hurt so much to move and sit. I could barely sit in the seat during the drive. 

Around 4:30am they got us into a room and hooked me to an IV to get the antibiotics going to protect the baby from strep b. The nurse said it was too late for the narcotic drugs. I was insistent about not getting the epidural, even though I was screaming trough the labor towards the end. 

I never thought I would ever be a screamer during labor. I thought wrong. I was screaming during those contractions. Everything was natural. Nothing to cut back the pain, nothing to numb me out at all, nothing to prevent me from feeling everything. Jason stayed by me the entire time, he breathed with me and followed the nurses cues for helping me get through it as well. He was amazing. My nurse was amazing too. I honestly would not have gotten through some of those last centimeters without both of them there. Every few seconds or maybe it was minutes I would lose my focus and start crying and freaking out from the pain. Then the nurse would yell/talk to me and tell me I have to focus and breathe. 

It was truly amazing to feel everything. 

I felt my water break and it poured out as the nurse went into check my dilation. It scared me, it broke like a big thin bag of water would break and sounded like it too. 

I felt Aiden's head pushing through my pelvic bones (felt like it was sticking out already) and feeling as though I couldn't sit down because I didn't want to crush his head under me. Then they made me sit up and rock (felt like I was crushing and rocking on his poor head). Maybe that's why he has one flat area on his very large round head now. That was really hard. 

At one point after my nurse told me I had reached 8 or 9 centimeters, the pain was bad and I asked if it was too late for the epidural. She said I couldn't get it. Later on after Aiden was born she said it really wasn't too late but she knew I could get through it and I was already so close and moving very quickly. 

At 10 centimeters everyone was getting ready and geared up and I was so tired already and delirious from the pain that I didn't really know what was going on. All of a sudden they told me to get ready to push. Then they made me wait for a few seconds and apparently we were waiting for the doctor the whole time to come and deliver the baby. He finally showed up and caught Aiden as he was flying out of me. Something to that effect. 

So during the last stretch of labor, suddenly Jason's cell phone went off. It was his PT wake up alarm and all we heard was a really loud reveille horn going off. This was minutes before Aiden was born. I remember Jason trying to let go of my hand to find his phone in the bag behind him and turn it off, but I held it tighter and told him to leave it. I couldn't let go of him. I was about to fall apart. So if he let go I would've fallen apart on everyone. That was a pretty funny part of labor. 

I felt the burning (ring of fire) as his head came through. The most amazing point was feeling his body slip out of me and so much of the weight I had been carrying just disappeared and left me empty. Yet they put this baby right on top of me all messy and naked still and didn't wrap him in a towel first. They put him on me and then put a towel over us. He was really blue or purple when he came out. I think I took a while to push him out. 

Aiden was healthy. I didn't get all the antibiotics I needed to get before Aiden was born so we had to stay for two nights instead of just one night. He got really really bad baby acne within hours after he was born. The doctor said it was a reaction to the breastmilk. I never understood what that was, but he did grow out of it and heal from it about 2 weeks later. His red spots turned to whitehead like pimples, then to brown scabs and then little dots for scars. They all faded since then though. 

He struggled with his weight for two weeks while I struggled to breastfeed him without supplementing. We finally had to start formula since he lost so much weight he went down to 6lbs. After pumping constantly, taking herbal supplements and syrups, I decided that I had stop trying. Aiden didn't care whether I have him "booby" or a bottle. I stopped trying to nurse first and just started giving him a bottle about a month later. Jason left for South Carolina and I was up North at his parents. I just couldn't handle the stress of him gone, living with other people, Luci being very jealous, and trying to produce more milk for my son. He was happy taking a bottle and I was ready to let go of being able to breastfeed. 

Aiden is healthy and happy. He gained his birthweight back quickly and now he is so big he is in the 75th percentile for his weight. 

He will be 6 months old in a few days and he weighs over 18 pounds. He prefers 3 solid meals a day plus formula. He is very strong and heavy. He doesn't feel weak or skinny. Luci can lay on top of him and he's fine. He can flip over from him tummy to back several times in a row and if you fall asleep next to him watch out because he likes to swing his arms around and he might sock you I'm the face. He's got an arm. 

I've got to go to sleep. It's 3:40am EST. we are having a strong wind advisory in Michigan tonight. It's so strong the house is vibrating on and off. I wish I could fix this house a little. 

La 

Shrine Cirus in Flint, Michigan

Took the kids to the Shrine Circus. Aiden stayed awake from when we got there till we left, about 2 hours, he fell asleep for about ten minutes before intermission. Luci got to do a pony ride after watching it for a little while. She rode the pony, then after she got off she pulled Jason to the next pony and wanted to ride the next one and started crying very big sad tears when she couldn't ride all of them. We left during intermission. Luci and Aiden both fell asleep in the car on the way home. They both really enjoyed the show, music, and acrobatics. Although I think I took the longest nap later on. 

La

My babies are growing!

Aiden is 5 months and 2 weeks old, weighs 18.4 lbs and is 25" long. He is in the 50th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight. 

He has eczema all over his face ever since the roseola rash went through his system. He loves his solid foods and won't let us forget them. He grabs the spoon from our hands and puts it in his mouth to eat. He also mouths like he's eating when he is sitting on one of our laps staring at the food as we eat. 

Aiden is 5 months and 2 weeks old, weighs 18.4 lbs and is 25" long. He is in the 50th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight. He now has eczema all over his face ever since the roseola rash went through his system. He loves his solid foods and won't let us forget them. He grabs the spoon from our hands and puts it in his mouth to eat. He also mouths like he's eating when he is sitting on one of our laps staring at the food as we eat. 

Luciela is 2 years and 4 months old and weighs 28 lbs. She is 2 ft 11 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. She is really scared of doctors and nurses ever since her recent hospital and pneumonia experience. She starts bawling out tears when they start checking her. She hasn't worn a diaper during the day, even when we go out or had any accidents in over a week now. Her nighttime diapers are getting less and less if we remember to take it off her soon after she wakes up. She has to stay on the Flovent inhaler for at least another two months for Asthma flare up prevention. 

Funny Baby Moments + pics

�� During the first week after Aiden was born 7-27-12, I was dealing with breastfeeding nipple pain and the mental torture of trying to be strong through it all. Luci hadn't tried to imitate nursing a baby doll or animal friends at all, but she knew from reading books that baby drinks Mama's milk. One time she came into our bedroom and I was nursing Aiden and giving skin to skin, Jason said look at Luci, she's giving pink bear "booby". Luci walks in, puts pink bear under her shirt and says, "OW OW OW...!" Jason and I look at each other and start laughing. I'm in tears from painful nipples and laughing, yet it made me sad that she related mamas milk with so much pain. I didn't continue breastfeeding Aiden for very long since I was unable to produce more than a few drops of milk, but at least he got a little and we have some funny memories from it. 

9-26-12 1:08am

Luci put her head up in her sleep and said "noo! I no wanna!"

Luci sleep talking. "Ow ow ow ow."

Nov 28-30 2012 - Potty Training

�� Luci explored our new house in Grand Blanc, MI, she took her potty chair into the closet and closed the door. I found her in there and she had gone poop in her potty in the closet. At least she used the potty. Too funny. 

�� Jason fell asleep at the house watching Luci while I went grocery shopping with Aiden. He woke up and took Luci to go potty and told her to go poopoo on the big potty with her potty seat on it. She said "already went poopoo daddy". She pointed to her potty chair across from her in the bathroom. He looked and there was poop on the floor under her seat, but he forgot to put the bowl back in the potty from the last pee/rinse so she used it without the bowl while he was napping. 

We can't get mad at her because she used her potty and she was only a few months into 2 years old. 

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I just wanted to log a few stories before I forget the memories or the ones I did write in my phone get lost somehow. 

I wish I had time to blog and do things, but these kids sure do keep me busy here. 

-la

Luci has been doing well and getting better about getting back onto a schedule for naps and bedtime. She has been going to bed around 8 pm. Aiden is still off schedule and teething so he is still staying up till about 10 pm or later. He has been napping in the early evening so he doesn't want to go to bed till late. 

Moo goes to bed around 8-9 pm still. ;p