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Dr. Karp uses the phrase to explain that a newborn isn't totally aware that he/she isn't still in the womb, and anything un-womb-like is a shock to the little one's system. Dr. Karp uses the phrase to explain that a newborn isn't totally aware that he/she isn't still in the womb, and anything un-womb-like is a shock to the little one's system. Despite giving birth in a state of the art hospital surrounded by kind doctors, nurses, and my family, I had a rough time just dealing with the fact that the experience I'd envisioned - feathering my nest and then giving birth like some kind of woman warrior - had slipped away. Nights with the baby could be rough - latching to breastfeed was a struggle for Connor and there were tears from all three family members sometimes when it didn't seem like peaceful sleep would ever come.

The doctors and nurses in the room identified themselves to me and I heard my doctor, who was on the other side of a blue drape across my body, give a quick narrative including my name, age, and medical history, explaining the procedure, and stating how much blood I was expected to lose (that was scary to hear). The baby's umbilical cord had already been clamped and cut, but Josh got to cut it to the length it needed to be to fall off properly. A young nurse named Emily took me to a big recovery room where I was the only patient, where Josh and the baby were waiting, and Josh placed him on my chest for our first skin-to-skin contact. The recovery room was also where Josh told me the detail I'd missed in the operating room because I was so out of it: the doctor had announced that the baby's umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck twice.

The doula who taught our Prepared Childbirth class had recommended requesting a nurse who liked supporting natural birth, but we didn't have to - the nurse assigned to us asked about my pain management preferences, and when I told her I wanted to avoid medication as much as possible, she went to get a yoga ball and peanut ball. My sister and her fianc ée alternated sitting in front of the monitors, watching the baby's heart rate and letting me know when I was having a contraction - which was really strange since I couldn't actually feel the pain, just a sensation that something was happening in my body. The doctor was starting to get worried because the baby's heart rate kept dropping and I wasn't progressing past 8 centimeters of dilation. Josh still wanted to be able to cut the baby's umbilical cord, and if there was anything wrong with the baby I wanted Josh to stay with him instead of me.

Baby is the size of Pretty standard, except the nurse got a little worried because my left foot is more swollen than my right, so she went to test my sample for high levels of protein (a sign of preeclampsia) right away. I had a great time on Saturday shopping with April (despite my increasingly swollen feet) and just hanging out - we realized we've never had a girls' day with just us. How I'm preparing for birth this week: Not really a birth preparation, but I'm finally getting around to writing thank We took this one through our local perinatal education center rather than through the hospital, and I'm glad we did - the woman who runs the center was so real and honest, and told us we can call her any time we need help or bring our babies there if we're worried about how things are going.