Olive Oil in the Bathroom

When I was in the hospital it seemed like no matter what question I had, the answer was always "olive oil."  Apparently, olive oil isn't just for cooking.  It's used for a plethora of baby things.

I knew we weren't going to use baby wipes from the beginning.  They are expensive and most contain way too many unnecessary ingredients.  We decided we would use water and a cotton ball, which is just as effective.  At the hospital, the nurses informed us that olive oil is also great to use to clean a baby's bum.  It takes poop off easily and moisturizes at the same time.

Everything I read prior to delivery said newborn babies should only be bathed a few times a week.  I asked a few friends what they used and most indicated they only used water for the first few months.  It's not like babies really get dirty.  During Alessia's first bath at the hospital, I thought the nurse was making soup when she started adding salt and olive oil to the water.  But our girl came out squeaky clean and smelling good enough to eat.  Kevin and I have kept up with this routine here at home and so far, everything is good.

Alessia enjoys a nice olive oil bath.

 And what do you put on baby's when they get out of the bath?  Olive oil, of course.  No lotions are going on our baby girl...at least not right now.  We rub her down with olive oil to moisturize and massage her skin.  Surprisingly, the skin absorbs most of the oil so she isn't a greasy mess.


Looks like Kevin and I will be keeping a bottle of olive oil in our bathroom from here on out. 

Alessia's Birth Story

I promised a birth story so I thought I better deliver.  The past two weeks have been crazy with my parents here and taking care of a newborn so I'm posting this a little later than I had intended.  Besides family and a few friends, not many people know all of the details of Alessia's arrival.  Throughout my entire pregnancy, Alessia proved she was going to do things her way and my labor and delivery were no exception. 

On the morning of March 4, Kevin and I went to the doctor for one last appointment to see if Alessia had turned.  I knew she hadn't and didn't need an ultrasound to confirm it.  But the doctor did it anyway and it just confirmed what I had told him.  Since I was almost 39 weeks and running out of room, he decided to have me schedule a csection.  Kevin and I decided we would go with March 5, the next day.

For the most part, we were all ready.  The only thing I wanted to do was to make Kevin some meals before I went to the hospital because I knew he would be busy between work and visiting us.  After going to the store, we had a big lunch (before I started my fast) and took a nap (because who knew when the next nap we would get would be).  Kevin left for work and I got to cooking.  In the midst of doing all of this, I was also sending out Facebook messages and emails to some family and friends informing them of the scheduled csection.  I had just sent out one, when I had to go to the restroom.  What started out as a regular pee, ended with my water breaking.  It wasn't a slow leak or a little bit either.  It was like some took a gallon of water and poured it into the toilet.  I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that my water just broke 12 hours before my scheduled csection.

Since Kevin was at work, I had to call him to come home, but he wasn't answering.  I called the other two coaches too, but still no one picked up.  Looking at his schedule, I knew all three of them were on the ice so I called the assistant coach's wife.  Guess what?  She wasn't answering either.  Finally, I called the youth coach, praying he would pick up, and he did.  At first he didn't know what I was saying (damn language barrier), but then it hit him and he went into panic mode.  He wanted to take me to the hospital right away, but I told him just to go get Kevin.  From Kevin's account, he made a very dramatic entrance by shouting over the boards that Kevin had to get home right now (ice skates on and everything) because I was in labor.  Kevin called though and I told him to take his time. 

Kevin made it home about 45 minutes after my water broke.  I was having mild contractions at that point and was leaking water like a faucet. In case you didn't know, when your water breaks, it just keeps on coming.  I had finished packing already and had taken the last bit of food out of the oven.  Kevin ate since we knew we were in for a long night and we headed to the hospital. 

We arrived at the hospital at 9:00pm and were greeting by an amazing midwife, Sara.  She immediately got me on a monitor so they could see how far apart my contractions were and she contacted my doctor.  At that point, she wasn't sure whether they would let me labor through the night or take me into surgery right away.  My doctor didn't want to wait and was there within 15 minutes.  Once he arrived, we all got ready.  I put on my hospital gown, Kevin got his scrubs, and Dr. Guiliani got prepped to rip me open and get this baby.

Holy water weight!  Look at that fat face!

The stethoscope was just a prop.  I have no idea where he got it. 

Once we made it to the OR, I met my anesthesiologist and nurse...both very nice and both spoke decent English.  Kevin had to wait outside while they got me prepped.  Everything went smoothly until the epidural.  They stuck that needle in my back and I'm pretty sure I jumped about 15 feet in the air.  Then it caused my blood pressure to drop, which made me vomit.  And it isn't easy to vomit with no feeling in most of your body, while your arms are strapped down, and you are laying on your back.  Thank goodness for a quick nurse with a bed pan.  Because my blood pressure stayed low, Kevin was not allowed in the room for the delivery.

Everything went really fast after the epidural.  There was a little pressure, which I was told was the nurses pushing the baby down and then the midwife said "you have a girl."  Before I got to see her, they took her out to Kevin.  He brought her in to me and got me my glasses so I could actually see her.  I think we were both in shock that she was a girl.  

Immediately, they put her on my chest and we started "bonding."  After I was stitched up, all three of us went to the recovery room where we started nursing.  We stayed there for about 2 hours and then were moved to what would be our home for the duration of our stay.  The nurses got me fixed up, which means I got the BIG pad and the ugly underwear.  Kevin went with Alessia to get weighed and measured.  When he brought her back I was shocked to see that she still had blood and vernix on her.  Apparently, it is good for the skin so they do not wipe it off.  The skin will absorb it.  Who knew?

That first night all three of us slept together.  Kevin's bed was pushed up against mine and we were told to keep her on one of our chests throughout the night.  And we did as told.  I'm pretty sure there wasn't a lot of sleeping though.

The next morning, I felt like I had been hit by a truck.  My abdomen hurt so bad and despite the fact that I hate taking medicine, I was begging for them to give me more after the first round did nothing.  A midwife came in and told me I had to get up and move and I thought someone was playing a sick joke on me...she wasn't joking though.  Luckily, she also told me she was going to remove my catheter and that made a HUGE difference because those things suck. Kevin was amazing and took diaper duty all day.  He made sure I was comfortable and took care of Alessia as much as he could.

One hurting mommy...

one proud poppy...

and one sweet baby. 

Overall, everything was great.  Alessia's entrance into the world was quick and definitely unexpected.  I have a feeling this little girl is going to keep us on our toes in the years to come and Kevin and I can't wait.  

Introducing Alessia Jane

Alessia Jane was born on March 4, 2013 at 10:19pm.  She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 18.75 inches long.  The story of her arrival will be posted in the coming days.  For now, you can just stare at her sweet face. 

One of Alessia's first pictures.

Please Note

Just to clarify, my last post was not geared towards one particular person or meant to leave you questioning whether or not you might have said one of these things to me.  It was simply a post about phrases I found annoying during my pregnancy and why I found them annoying.  When writing the post, I was being half humorous/sarcastic and half serious.

It doesn't state that these things were said by individuals intending to be mean-spirited.  And, in reality, I'm not going to punch anyone in the face.  I wouldn't even know how to throw a punch without breaking my own hand.

But since we are on the subject of phrases that I hate and find terribly annoying, here are a few more to not say to me.

1.  "Everything happens for a reason."  It actually pains me to even type this phrase.  That is how much I absolutely hate it!  My hatred for this phrase is as strong as my hatred for Ann Coulter (and that is saying a lot). 
2.  "If it's meant to be, it will be."  I would just like to know who exactly is going to decide if it is meant to be.  
3.  "Good things come to those who wait."  Actually, good things come to those who work their asses off to make good things happen.  Not the ones who are laying on the couch waiting. 

How Rude!

Throughout my pregnancy, people have said some annoying and sometimes inappropriate things to me.  Most of the time, I brush them off.  There are a few phrases that I cannot stand though.  I know that I am easily annoyed while pregnant, but I'm not sure if I can blame my hormones for wanting to punch people in the face when they say these things.  But please make a note to never say these to me in my next pregnancy.

1. "You have to do what is best for the baby."  I know I talked about this in a previous post, but I've heard this at least a hundred times this pregnancy and I hate it.  It usually was in regards to Baby Reiter's breech position and what we were going to do about it.  People didn't understand why we would consider anything other than a csection because "I should do what is best for the baby."  Don't assume that you know what is best for our baby just because that is the way it is done in the US....thank you very much.

But regardless of what the doctors, Internet, books, or others say, why would you even use this phrase.  Do you think I'm going to carry a baby for 9 months and then make a decision that I don't think is best for the baby? 

2. "I really hope you have a boy" or "I really hope you have a girl."  Just so you know, we don't give a shit what you want us to have.  We didn't ask you and believe us, we wouldn't ask you.  The whole phrase is rude.   The fact that this is our first child and we are having the gender be a surprise makes the phrase ten times worse.

source

3. "I know the baby is a girl" or "I know the baby is a boy."  Umm...I'm pretty sure you don't know what I am carrying.  I don't care how I am carrying, what symptoms I have, or what the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar says, whatever you say is a guess.  We don't care when people say what they think I'm having.  Having people guess is half the fun in not finding out the gender.  When they change the word from "think" to "know" is when I have a problem. 

Looking back, maybe I should have done this post a long time ago.  But now people have it for future reference for not only me, but other pregnant women they come across.