July 2007 Archives

8 year old boy, that is.

With a little surprise, just for you.

And just for fun, this shows (briefly, I swear) some of Liam's vocal range:

It's a mutual thing. I wish you could hear what my father is saying better. He seems to have an endless supply of amusing things to say and do with Liam.

Liam will do a body curl in order to try to sit up. I'll have him grip my hands, he sits up and then pushes his feet against me in order to stand up - all one smooth movement. Of course, you can't really see all of that since I had to set up the camera myself.

And finally, this one. Of course, he started to crank once I finally got the camera and started filming, but before that he just prattled away for awhile talking to himself into my arm.

Okay, it's been 3 and 1/2 months. (and yes, Liam is trying the sleeping thing again - can you tell I'm not used to doing anything without him in arms? I can't even think of anything other to do...)

I originally had no desire to write down my birthing story. My friend Leila, however, just experienced her sister-in-law giving birth and I keep checking for her birth story for some reason, so I thought I'd settle for me describing mine.

The doctors' did an ultrasound and decided that Liam was too small. There was a chance he had IUGR (too small - not getting enough nutrients through the placenta), and that could be bad. They also thought I didn't have enough amniotic fluid.

Both turned out to be false. Which, well, I have to admit I sort of knew. In the future I will not repeat this experience. Because of these decisions, I was induced. That night. So, 3 April, Mark and I went to the first hour of our last Lamaze class and then headed upstairs for me to receive the first phase of my induction: Cervidil (sp?). It's basically a tampon meant to soften the cervix. It did. By the next morning I was 3 cm dilated and they began me on Pitocin and my antibiotics since I also tested positive for Group B Strep.

I labored, rather simply and straightforwardly, for about 9 hours. Mark was a wonderful, helpful partner. Someday I hope to hear his side of the story. My mother joined us, well, frankly, I have no idea when. Around 4 pm maybe? I cried when she arrived. I'd had no idea just how much I wanted her there. She was such a solace. Her simple presence gave me more comfort and confidence than anything else in the world could have possibly.

I think around that same time my doula arrived. For those who know, that's our dear friend Anne Grove - a midwife. Her loving encouragement and knowledgeable skill guided my experience. She directed me so that my labor continued on when it started to falter a bit.

Around 7 p.m. my water broke - all of its own accord, thankfully. Proof positive I had plenty amniotic fluid, thank you very much. When my water broke, I immediately advanced to 5 cm. The contractions immediately accelerated.

Through. The. Roof.

Good ole Pitocin.

My mind went into overdrive. A panicked frenzy. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain, mainly because I knew that 5 centimeters dilated does not a delivery make. A woman can still be in labor for HOURS at that point.

But I wasn't. Basically, every contraction brought me a centimeter closer to delivery.

Literally. My midwife (not Anne) snapped me back into focus and got me centered. I remember her quite clearly getting in my face and practically yelling at me, "Mara, this is going to happen. It can happen. But we need you to focus. Now." Bless her heart. I love that woman. That was exactly what I needed. I would have never thought it, but she got me on my hands and knees and it made everything much easier.

45 minutes later, Liam was born. Yeah. 5 centimeters. 45 minutes. Done.

Thank goodness someone finally told me that if you take it the slower route (sans Pit), it's not quite so painful.

However, I do have a caveat: I did it. I survived. No drugs. So, those 45 minutes were extreme, but they were obviously survivable 'cause I'm still here. And whole.

And I know I'm getting some distance from the whole experience because I suspect I could even convince my body to go through it again.

(and Liam is still asleep this time!)

Liam is trying something new: sleeping in a bed and not on me. That said, I thought I'd try talking about something other than him.

Uhhhh........

My mother has just returned to work after taking 4 weeks off for her recent surgery. Sigh. I miss having her around all day. We did nothing. Together. It was delicious. Especially the raspberry part.

I even went to book club with her - sort of, turned out we had the wrong date. But we still discussed the books. Made me think of starting a book club once we get to Columbus: the Breastfeeders' Book Club. You know, not much else to do when you're breastfeeding but read.

And this is exactly how long Liam stayed asleep in a bed and not on me.

We all froze. You could have heard a pin drop, even on the carpeted floor. We exchanged shocked expressions - did what I think just happened, just happen?

I thought, "holy crap! that's me!"

Then, my mother had the presence of mind to act. As she did, I thought, "of course! this is how we reinforce this behavior."

It was probably the most defining moment of motherhood for me thus far.

"What happened?", you ask?

Liam said "mama".

Twice.

We went to Headlands Beach Park (that's Lake Erie of the Great Lakes) yesterday with my parents and my sister Rachael.

If you can't see this, you can search for my videos on YouTube under 'lafeministe24'.

I've loaded tons of photos from this past weekend on Flickr.

Here's a sample:

I've got little bits in my arms, so just photos at the mo'.

Actually, I did earlier, but that totally didn't work out, so I'm doing it now while Liam talks away to his Papa.

I just couldn't resist this photo. My mother had put the socks on Liam so he didn't get cold ... it was not to be.

How could you possibly resist this face?

Everyone's 'home' for the weekend while Nathan and Ingrida visit from Scotland. Here's Aunt Lucy chatting Lilu up.

Here's Uncle Mendon working his magic. Liam loves his Uncle Mendon!

Liam also loves his Goompa. Here he's flying on Goompa's knees - and oh so happy!

And here's proof I can photograph something other than my son. ;)

Nathan, Gramma, and Ingrida