Cianna Lee's Birth Moblogged to hiptop Nation

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Sat 11.29.03 2:05pm EST #7388

Early Morning IQ Test

Sat 11.29.03 8:50am EST #7383

The lactation nurse is one of a steady stream of staff coming by to pre-flight baby and mom for the return home. The nurse brought us a Medela Universal Breast Pump Kit, which she open to explain all of the pieces and procedures. Now I have to figure out how to fit all the pieces back into the plastic tray. Another delight for dad.

The Good and Fair Life

Fri 11.28.03 9:41pm EST #7378

After a run home to walk and feed the dog, I returned to this idyllic scene of mom nursing our happy baby in a comfy hospital techno-bed. Mom is getting a nutritionist-approved menu to produce the nectar that baby is taking almost hourly. Daddy, on the other hand, is eating institutional food in the hospital cafeteria. Then he has a hard vinyl visitor's bench to look forward to sleeping on tonight so that he can help mom with everything else while she does her feedings tonight. These are my minor costs of joy.

- mike lee -

Dad mangles daughter's name on first day

Thu 11.27.03 1:46pm EST #7350

I've been informed by the females that be that it's:

Cianna Catherine Lee

Catherine with a C not K. MikePop will make a tweak to the previous post at some point.

A wee Lee!

Thu 11.27.03 1:30pm EST #7349

Introducing:

Cianna Katherine Lee

Born: 12:54pm Eastern Time Weight: 8lbs. 9.4oz (3595 grams)

GBMC Hospital, Baltimore, MD

- mike lee -

She's hungry already...

Thu 11.27.03 1:20pm EST #7348

...name, birth time, weight in a few mins...

She's Here And Crying...

Thu 11.27.03 12:57pm EST #7347

...so are we...

Doc's here...

Thu 11.27.03 12:45pm EST #7346

...scrubbed and prepping the area...

Deciding to go in manually...

Thu 11.27.03 12:40pm EST #7345

...with foreceps...re-dosing anesthesia...team from Neonatal Intensive Care is on standby just in case...

Final push?

Thu 11.27.03 12:23pm EST #7343

It's been 2 1/2 hrs. of active labor. Approaching three hours is when they want to coax the baby out manually. Since the ward is very quiet today, the senior doc is coming in to observe. Stand by...

Showing off for Kate

Thu 11.27.03 11:23am EST #7340

Amy's sister Kate is here now and we got our best three pushes yet--these literally went to 11!

Breathe to 15!

Thu 11.27.03 10:47am EST #7339

Denise is rubbing lotion on ... Breathe in and hold for 15 seconds ... Exhale ... Graph line on bottom shows contraction first with three pushes, and then without--Amy's pinging to top of the chart!

Pushing Pattern

Thu 11.27.03 10:17am EST #7338

Making progress...pushing every other contraction...baby is still a ways inside...so we could be a while...Nurse Lisa and Doula Denise are a soothing presence...

Lots of pushing...

Thu 11.27.03 9:49am EST #7335

Active Phase

Thu 11.27.03 9:33am EST #7334

It was thought for a moment we would go to C-section, but now dilation is at 8cm. We're moving into big labor...

Refloating the baby

Thu 11.27.03 8:51am EST #7332

We've been watching a data dance between the top graph line of the heartbeat, and the bottom graph line showing the contractions. In the first photo, the heartbeat was dropping too low during contractions, so they turned off the inducing drug and put Amy on oxygen (mom gets more air, so does baby). The team believes that since the baby is still high up in the pelvis, the contractions are causing the umbilical cord to kink in a way that affects the heartbeat. So the nurse has set up another IV to pump amniotic fluid back into the uterus, which has been drying out since the original water broke and drained. This is all such a wet process! As you can see in the last frame, within minutes of pumping the fluid back in, the kid's heart rate stabilized against the contractions. The bathtub's comfy again.

7th Hour

Thu 11.27.03 6:51am EST #7328

The doctor got here at 5:30am and has since switched from external heartbeat and contraction sensors to an internal direct monitor kit. Amy also got another dose of anesthesia. The doctor has been watching the paper graph output to plan a strategy for managing the umbilical cord during delivery. The vital signs are steady, Amy is reading a book, and the doc and nurse have stepped out to do some rounds. There's a staff change of shift coming at 8am. The waiting continues.

Ceiling Study

Thu 11.27.03 3:52am EST #7327

I'm just staring at the ceiling. The doctors administered petocin at around 3:20am to induce labor. So while the contractions are getting stronger and more frequent, Amy's still able to sleep because of the epidural's masking of the pain. I just heard that we can have a T-day turkey with the hospital staff later today in the cafeteria. Maybe our little butterball will be out to meet a real Butterball.

Spinal Tap Brings Relief

Thu 11.27.03 2:54am EST #7326

At around 1:45am, the anesthesiologist came in at Amy's request to administer the epidural, which is essentially a needle embedded partway into the spine to allow an initial drug injection and then a steady saline solution drip. I think they will apply another dose in a couple hours. The contraction pains have gone away, and she's much more comfortable. The last two photos are of the big, bright robo-light that was deployed from the ceiling for catheter insertion, and will be used again for the birth. It's very, very quiet in the room now and Amy's sleeping. Maybe I can snag a nap now too.

Contractions Mark Time

Thu 11.27.03 1:27am EST #7325

We're settled into the birthing room now, and the night shift nurse has finished all the paperwork. The OB wing is virtually deserted. Tonight and tomorrow will be quiet due to the holiday.

Amy and I are just listening to the audio of the baby's heartbeat, and the contractions are gradually getting stronger. Baby's heartbeat (first pic) is normal, and the contractions are arriving at 3-4 minute intervals (third pic). Dilation is only 2cm, so we could be in this early phase for 5-20 hours (!). Then active phase labor for 3-5 hours. Oy.

The baby's still squirming and kicking a little. I imagine baby girl feels like her bathtub has drained. The heat's turned up, and we've dimmed the lights. Time for us to try to take a nap.

- mike lee -

Monitoring

Thu 11.27.03 1:16am EST #7323

Amy's on heartbeat and contraction monitoring now while we wait for the doctor and doula. It'll likely be many more hours before any serious action. Hopefully we'll have some quiet time and me a signal when we are finally assigned a room.

- mike lee -

Her water broke

Wed 11.26.03 11:54pm EST #7321

Well at 10:35pm tonight, Amy's water broke. We contained the flow, grabbed our bags, gave a treat to the dog and drove to the hospital. We're all checked in and Amy's on monitors and doing well. I'm outside again to call the doula service.

- mike lee - ok! baby's on the way!

Two out

Wed 11.26.03 9:03pm EST #7320

After happy hour with a collection of people from work and a train ride home, Amy and I are having what might be our last dinner out as a couple.

- mike lee - watching our baby fillibuster