So Allie is almost two weeks old and continues to baffle me with her extraordinary ability to sleep. Except for when she's eating, which is every 2-3 hours, Allie is probably only awake about 2 hrs/day. Um... is this normal?
Our first child hated to sleep and would still choose to stay up all night if we let her. As a baby Lexi would only sleep during the day if someone held her. She didn't sleep through the night until she was 9 months old, and she's always resisted napping. We knew these were not "normal" sleep habits for a baby. And then we had Allie.
This kid literally sleeps all say and all night, waking up only to eat, with her eyes closed so she doesn't waste any precious time falling back asleep as soon as her tummy is full. We've tried to wake her up, to no avail. So we wait until she wakes up on her own, which is once or twice in a 24 hour period, and then try to stimulate her enough to keep her up for a couple of hours. Last night that plan back fired. After she was up for 1.5 hours, she was apparently too tired to fall asleep and instead spent 6 hrs being completely unhappy, unable to find a satisfactory way to put herself back to sleep. So today I have let her sleep whenever she wants. And she has. All day. Minus feedings and one 1.5 hr stretch that included her pooping all the way up her back, thus necessitating an impromptu bath. Which she hated.
And did I mention she can sleep anywhere? On my bed, on the couch, in the swing, in the bouncy seat, in someone's arms, in her crib, in the car, AND in her bassinet. Um...What? That's 7 more places than Lexi could sleep. And if I need to move her from one of these locations to another, she STILL doesn't wake up.
And Allie can sleep through anything. Through tornado sirens, thunderstorms, TV shows, laundry buzzers, doorbells, Elian's snoring, Lexi crying/shrieking/talking at an incredibly high volume inches from her face, and Lexi hugging/kissing/holding her a thousand times a day.
So, is THIS normal newborn sleep? I'm so thankful Lexi came first and Allie came second so we weren't spoiled to begin with.
7.30.2009
7.23.2009
Allie Grace Levatino: The Birth Story
I am happy to announce that A) I am no longer pregnant, and 2. Allie decided to come early! Here's how it went down.
Thursday, July 16th - I went to the OB that morning for a regular check up. He said I was 3 cm and 60% effaced. He also said, "Let me encourage the membranes", a statement I am still unsure of how to define. I don't know what his magic fingers did, but all day Thursday and Friday I had contractions that felt like bad menstrual cramps. I wasn't in extreme pain, and the contractions weren't timeable, but by Friday morning I was convinced I would have the baby within 36 hours.
Friday, July 17th - After a day full of more frequent cramping, I decided I was pretty uncomfortable. So we put Lexi to bed, called the grandparents to come stay with her, and Elian and I left for the hospital around 9 PM. The triage nurse examined me and said I was 5-6 cms and 80% effaced. The admission process began, and by 10:45 PM I was in a delivery room having my water broken. Within 15 minutes I was 7-8 cms and experiencing THE MOST PAINFUL CONTRACTIONS KNOWN TO WOMAN. I basically thought I was going to die. The contractions were coming one right on top of the other, and I was afraid I might've been too far along to get an epidural... The anesthesiologist was called and FINALLY showed up around 11:30 PM. She introduced me to the student anesthesiologist who would be working with her. I was not thrilled at all to be having a newbie doing a potentially paralyzing procedure on me, but, he had to learn some time, right? Maybe if I wasn't so afraid of confrontation I would have demanded the real anesthesiologist do the job, but that's an entirely different post.
I had an epidural with Lexi, when I was 1 cm and barely contracting, and I never felt a thing. This is important. Because this time around I not only felt the catheter going all the way down my spine, but it HURT! Between the contractions and the epidural administration, I was screaming loud enough for the nurse across the hall, in mid-delivery, to leave her patient to come check on me. I was convinced the whole process was going to end with me paralyzed for life, but apparently, I was a pretty standard case of forcing an epidural to work on a woman who is nearly too far along to get one at all. I'm sure all the screaming made the student anesthesiologist completely question his choice of profession, and I wouldn't be surprised if he dropped out of the medical field all together.
Saturday, July 18th - They spent about 30 minutes upping the pain medication until I was finally numb on both sides of my body. Meanwhile, I finished dilating to 10 cms and started pushing at 12:30 AM. With Lexi the epidural left me with no sensation at all - I had to be told when I was having a contraction and had no idea if I was pushing effectively or not. This time I could feel some pressure and was able to sense when a contraction was coming. I guess this was helpful, as the doctor thought I was pushing well. I pushed for 1 hour with Lexi, and the second delivery is supposed to go even faster. But not this time. I pushed for 2 hours when all was said and done. The nurse noticed pretty early on that Allie had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. This didn't seem to alarm her, especially since Allie's heart rate was good. But after an hour and 45 minutes of pushing, Allie's heart rate dropped and wasn't recovering between pushes. That's when the doctor calmly said, "Ok, baby is getting tired, we need to get this baby out." The nurse began buzzing around the room, dressing the doctor in surgical garb, handing her instruments, and making phone calls for vacuums. Within 5 minutes I had been given an episiotomy, pushed twice, and, with the help of a suck from the vacuum, Allie's head popped out. The doctor snipped the cord around her neck and pulled her out at 2:27 AM. They placed her on my chest for 30 seconds before whisking her over to the incubator to check her out. It didn't take long for the nurse to realize Allie wasn't pinking up. Although she was crying and taking plenty of air into her lungs, she wasn't maintaining her air on her own - a side effect of having an umbilical cord wrapped around the neck. The nurse slipped an oxygen mask on her and picked up the phone to call NICU. A 3 person team of NICU nurses barged into the room, calm and cheery despite the perceived seriousness of the situation. They looked Allie over and monitored her for 5 minutes as she breathed in the pure oxygen. Thankfully, that's all it took for her to begin breathing properly on her own.
So after a long, roller coaster ride of labor, little Allie was born on July 18th - 8 days early! She is a sweet-tempered, laid back baby who LOVES to sleep. Lexi is enamored with Allie, and loves to kiss and hold her. I'm not sure how I will survive these first few months of having to be up all night nursing Allie and all day chasing Lexi, but I am thankful that God has blessed me with the privilege to be the mother of 2 sweet girls!
Thursday, July 16th - I went to the OB that morning for a regular check up. He said I was 3 cm and 60% effaced. He also said, "Let me encourage the membranes", a statement I am still unsure of how to define. I don't know what his magic fingers did, but all day Thursday and Friday I had contractions that felt like bad menstrual cramps. I wasn't in extreme pain, and the contractions weren't timeable, but by Friday morning I was convinced I would have the baby within 36 hours.
Friday, July 17th - After a day full of more frequent cramping, I decided I was pretty uncomfortable. So we put Lexi to bed, called the grandparents to come stay with her, and Elian and I left for the hospital around 9 PM. The triage nurse examined me and said I was 5-6 cms and 80% effaced. The admission process began, and by 10:45 PM I was in a delivery room having my water broken. Within 15 minutes I was 7-8 cms and experiencing THE MOST PAINFUL CONTRACTIONS KNOWN TO WOMAN. I basically thought I was going to die. The contractions were coming one right on top of the other, and I was afraid I might've been too far along to get an epidural... The anesthesiologist was called and FINALLY showed up around 11:30 PM. She introduced me to the student anesthesiologist who would be working with her. I was not thrilled at all to be having a newbie doing a potentially paralyzing procedure on me, but, he had to learn some time, right? Maybe if I wasn't so afraid of confrontation I would have demanded the real anesthesiologist do the job, but that's an entirely different post.
I had an epidural with Lexi, when I was 1 cm and barely contracting, and I never felt a thing. This is important. Because this time around I not only felt the catheter going all the way down my spine, but it HURT! Between the contractions and the epidural administration, I was screaming loud enough for the nurse across the hall, in mid-delivery, to leave her patient to come check on me. I was convinced the whole process was going to end with me paralyzed for life, but apparently, I was a pretty standard case of forcing an epidural to work on a woman who is nearly too far along to get one at all. I'm sure all the screaming made the student anesthesiologist completely question his choice of profession, and I wouldn't be surprised if he dropped out of the medical field all together.
Saturday, July 18th - They spent about 30 minutes upping the pain medication until I was finally numb on both sides of my body. Meanwhile, I finished dilating to 10 cms and started pushing at 12:30 AM. With Lexi the epidural left me with no sensation at all - I had to be told when I was having a contraction and had no idea if I was pushing effectively or not. This time I could feel some pressure and was able to sense when a contraction was coming. I guess this was helpful, as the doctor thought I was pushing well. I pushed for 1 hour with Lexi, and the second delivery is supposed to go even faster. But not this time. I pushed for 2 hours when all was said and done. The nurse noticed pretty early on that Allie had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. This didn't seem to alarm her, especially since Allie's heart rate was good. But after an hour and 45 minutes of pushing, Allie's heart rate dropped and wasn't recovering between pushes. That's when the doctor calmly said, "Ok, baby is getting tired, we need to get this baby out." The nurse began buzzing around the room, dressing the doctor in surgical garb, handing her instruments, and making phone calls for vacuums. Within 5 minutes I had been given an episiotomy, pushed twice, and, with the help of a suck from the vacuum, Allie's head popped out. The doctor snipped the cord around her neck and pulled her out at 2:27 AM. They placed her on my chest for 30 seconds before whisking her over to the incubator to check her out. It didn't take long for the nurse to realize Allie wasn't pinking up. Although she was crying and taking plenty of air into her lungs, she wasn't maintaining her air on her own - a side effect of having an umbilical cord wrapped around the neck. The nurse slipped an oxygen mask on her and picked up the phone to call NICU. A 3 person team of NICU nurses barged into the room, calm and cheery despite the perceived seriousness of the situation. They looked Allie over and monitored her for 5 minutes as she breathed in the pure oxygen. Thankfully, that's all it took for her to begin breathing properly on her own.
So after a long, roller coaster ride of labor, little Allie was born on July 18th - 8 days early! She is a sweet-tempered, laid back baby who LOVES to sleep. Lexi is enamored with Allie, and loves to kiss and hold her. I'm not sure how I will survive these first few months of having to be up all night nursing Allie and all day chasing Lexi, but I am thankful that God has blessed me with the privilege to be the mother of 2 sweet girls!
7.14.2009
38 Weeks
If you count today, I have 12 days until Allie is due. I think Lexi really understands there is a live baby in there, and that baby is going to come out (which shows she has more of a grip on reality than I do, at times). For Lexi's first birthday, my friend, Heather, made a photo book of Lexi's first year. Lexi LOVES looking at this book, and it has really helped her understand that she used to be in my belly, and then she came out to play and grow.
For the past couple of weeks, Lexi and I have been discussing my belly (and the baby within). I ask her everyday, "Do you think Allie is going to come out today?" My little eternal optimist always says yes. The other day our conversation went like this:
For the past couple of weeks, Lexi and I have been discussing my belly (and the baby within). I ask her everyday, "Do you think Allie is going to come out today?" My little eternal optimist always says yes. The other day our conversation went like this:
Me: Do you think Allie is going to come out today?
Lexi: Yes - I get her out for you.
Me: How are you going to do that?
Lexi: Like this! (She begins pulling on my protruding belly button and grunting as if she were rearranging furniture)
Me: I don't think that's going to work.
Lexi: Oh...You get Allie out.
Me: I can't - God decides when the baby is going to come out.
Lexi: (Wheels turning)
Me: We can ask God to make Allie come out.
Lexi: Where Dod?
Me: He's in Heaven, but we can talk to him - that's what we do when we pray.
Lexi: (Looks straight up at the ceiling, cups hands around her mouth) DOD! DOD! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
Me: What do you want to say to God?
Lexi: Make baby Allie come out!
7.10.2009
Lexi's Favorite Phrases
As her speech continues to develop, so does the list of phrases Lexi is putting into practice. She collects them mostly from various family members and TV shows. Here are some of her favorites right now:
-No way, Jose!
-Oh, boy!
-How' bout that?
-Hmm...that is twicky (tricky).
-Try it - you'll like it.
-LOVE it!
-I'm not (insert adjective), I'm Lexi!
-Lexi Amrie (Marie) Tino (Levatino)
-How funny!
-That's so tute (cute)!
-It's really, really hard, but I can try!
-I want some delicious tookies (cookies).
-I don't like trucks - I like tars (cars).
-Well, what waiting for, let's keep going!
-Oh, ok, I forgot.
-That be fine.
-I so escited (excited)!
-Me three (instead of me too).
-Is that so?
-Little, tiny, little (insert noun).
-It's ok, just a assident (accident).
-No way, Jose!
-Oh, boy!
-How' bout that?
-Hmm...that is twicky (tricky).
-Try it - you'll like it.
-LOVE it!
-I'm not (insert adjective), I'm Lexi!
-Lexi Amrie (Marie) Tino (Levatino)
-How funny!
-That's so tute (cute)!
-It's really, really hard, but I can try!
-I want some delicious tookies (cookies).
-I don't like trucks - I like tars (cars).
-Well, what waiting for, let's keep going!
-Oh, ok, I forgot.
-That be fine.
-I so escited (excited)!
-Me three (instead of me too).
-Is that so?
-Little, tiny, little (insert noun).
-It's ok, just a assident (accident).
7.05.2009
It's Called a Rolling Stop
On the way to church this morning, there weren't many people on the road. I wasn't surprised, given the late night of fireworks many people had enjoyed the night before AND the rainy, groggy morning inviting people to stay in bed. My family, however, was up and at 'em because, despite staying up past 10 PM the night before, a full 2 HOURS past her bedtime, Lexi only slept until 7:06 AM, a mere 6 minutes past the usual time we allow her to get out of bed in the mornings. The cloudy weather helped me "fool" her into going back to sleep, but she was up for good by 7:30.
Anyway, as we were driving to church, I hit 3 green lights in a row. I commented to Elian, "I haven't been caught by any red lights yet..."
About five minutes passed as we wound around some back roads to get to our church. As I turned right at the 5th stop sign on our route, Elian piped up, "You haven't been caught by any stop signs yet either."
Anyway, as we were driving to church, I hit 3 green lights in a row. I commented to Elian, "I haven't been caught by any red lights yet..."
About five minutes passed as we wound around some back roads to get to our church. As I turned right at the 5th stop sign on our route, Elian piped up, "You haven't been caught by any stop signs yet either."
7.02.2009
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