Birth Wisdom

Last night at 9:39 pm (July 7, 2007) our son Ronan made a forceful entry into this world at 32 weeks.  He simply couldn't wait! He weighs almost 4 pounds and is 17 inches long.  Although he is in the NICU he is doing great.  He is breathing on his own and seems to be quite healthy.  We should be able to bring him home in 4 weeks or so.
 
My labor was real fast and lasted about 3 hours.  It started with slow cramps around 4pm.  By 5 pm the contractions were about 6-8 minutes apart.  By 6:30 pm pm I was already dialated 7 cms.  Between 7-8 it was the most intense and I asked for the epidural.  By 9pm I was 10 cms dialated and started pushing.  And at 9:39pm he was born.

 

Other than our yoga class I had no training in breathing.  But the yoga really helped with staying calm and pushing. Everything went very smoothly and I had a natural delivery.
 
Enclosing a pic of our new family.  Will see you soon.

 

 

I came back home from the hospital on Monday and doing great.  I don't even feel like I went through a delivery.  Here is a pic of Ronan taken today (4 days old) and he is doing great. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronan is going great, putting on weight, feeding (both bottle and latching on to my breasts very well) and the doctors are really pleased to see how healthy he is.  The doctor calls us every morning to give a report and the other day he told Ralph that we should get a cricket bat and ball for him because he looks bored and may be ready to play cricket :-)
We gave Ronan his first bath last evening and he loved it.  This Friday we're taking the infant CPR class and the following Sat the parenting class. It is great to get a lot of hands on training from the nurses at the NICU.  In another 2 weeks or so when we bring him home we both will feel confident about our parenting skills.  St. Vincents is really a great hospital! from the moment of my admittance and stay for 10 days and then Ronan's birth everyone at St. Vincent's have been just awsome.

Oh, they sent my placenta to be cultured and found out that it was very inflamed and I got an infection.  This is what caused the water to break.  The doctor's said this can happen anytime since it is impossible to control any infections.  It was good to know this and not worry and wonder about what caused the water to break and in subsequent pregnancies this will not be a pattern.

Once Ronan is home I'll go back to the post natal yoga class.  I'm doing very well, and recovered in 2 days as a result of a normal delivery. Will let you know once he is home and you can come and see him.
Tell everyone hi for me and keep me posted on the births.