From Daddy to Son

"You're an amazing little boy.  You are going to do great things.  You just gotta stop peeing yourself."

Check Out the Death Grip on My Hand

Thanks to our darling niece, Maja, Dax recovered from his first bath nicely in a warm and cozy hooded towel that she made for us.

A Rough Few Days

Poor little Dax has had a rough go at life...

Monday was his slightly traumatic delivery; Tuesday, he spent all day in the hospital; and Wednesday morning, he was circumcised a few hours before we brought him home.  

He seemed a bit out of it all day Wednesday and threw up (not spit up) a few different times during that day and night, which we think is from the anesthetic they gave him for the circumcision.  Thursday he seemed to be having a hard time breathing, but we assumed it was just some junk in his system from when he aspirated amniotic fluid during his birth.  That night, it just got worse.  He wasn't breathing well at all, and his poor little body was really having to heave hard to get any air it.  We bought a humidifier, kept him in humid air, used a saline solution to try to get gunk out of his nose/sinuses, and sucked what we could out with the blue rubber bulb thing.  Nothing.

We were all starting to get a bit worried because the more time that passed, the more difficult it seemed to be for him.  It was so hard to watch the little guy wheezing and pushing so hard to get any air.  His poor chest was retracting so much, and he was obviously uncomfortable and getting worn out quickly.  

Of course, Instacare was closed.  

Due to possible lawsuits, Logan Regional Hospital wouldn't give us any information or help unless we went in,  so we called the hospital where he was born:  Ogden Regional. 

The nurses there were so nice as they tried to help us, but said if he's really struggling to breathe (which he was), that we should definitely take him straight to the ER.  

So we did.  I was a wreck.  We called Robbie, and he was able to meet us there and we watched as our little guy was hooked up to oxygen, EKGs, a respirometer, and an oximeter.  His oxygen levels were in the low 90's , which was not critical yet, but isn't good for any length of time (they should be at 100%).  He squirmed and squealed and peed/pooped on the nurses as they poked and prodded at him trying to figure out what was wrong.  Luckily, one of the nurses was a friend of Robbie's, and was so sweet to us as we watched helplessly as our tiny baby was checked.  

Nothing visual seemed to be wrong, so they took some chest x-rays to make sure that the problem wasn't in his lungs.  Still nothing.  

We went back into the exam room, and the nurses continued with what we had been doing all day long: trying to soften the gunk in his sinuses and nose and sucking it out with the bulby thing.  After a good while of the saline/bulb experiment, one nurse was able to pull loose what seemed to be a rotten pistachio nut from each side of his nose. We think that in the trauma of the birth, something got sucked up in there and was continuously snorted higher and higher up as he struggled to breathe.  However, he's now doing great, and is even cuter than before.  

This is going to be the most expensive nose-blow in history.  

Oh, and today, he had to get a bilirubin sample taken, so we went to the hospital again. Poor guy hasn't had a day without the hospital in his whole life.  

Labor on Labor DAY!!!

Despite our best efforts, we could not induce labor on our own...so 6:00 A.M on Monday morning rolled around and we arrived at Ogden Regional Hospital for our scheduled induced labor.  After getting set up on the monitors we found out that nothing was going on.  So they started Carly out on an extremely low dose of Pitocin to get the contractions started.  After only 40 minutes our midwife took her off of the Pit and broke her water.  Needless to say, that started the LONG process of giving birth to Daxson Michael Allred.  Many already know, but Carly feels very strongly about how she wanted her birth to be.  We chose to have a Hypnobirthing experience.  In a nut shell, Hypnobirthing teaches the mother to use tried and true techniques of self-relaxation and visualization throughout the birthing process (Natural Child Birth).  For more info, we have a link on the side of out blog for a Hypnobirthing web site.  

I am completely amazed by, and greatful for Carly.  She did so well yesterday.  For the vast majority of the labor (up till 5 cm dilated), Carly would talk and laugh except for when she would have a contraction.  During the contraction we would try to be quite to help her focus.  Carly never felt any pain,  only felt a tightening sensation.  After about a 5-6 dilation things progressed really fast.  At this point she was back on the Pit to keep things going.  The Contractions were increasing in intensity and she was feeling more pressure in her lower back.  Daxson was posterior for most of the labor, and at this point, Carly could really feel that.  

Things really kept progressing through the rest of the labor.  Carly's sister, Talya was invaluable in helping Carly to focus and relax during the later stage of labor.  With the help from Talya and our midwife Carly progressed to a 8 or 9 (she never fully dilated) and completely effaced.  At this point, Carly was getting ready to push.  Dax's head was unusually big, and with being posterior, he was being difficult and he didn't want to  come out.  Carly was experiencing very intense pressure in her lower back.  Our midwife was able to flip him over into a proper position on two separate occasions just before his head went through the cervix.  But after each contraction was over, Dax would turn back to posterior position, and the cervix would close a bit to a 6 or 7.  Dax's heart rate was doing GREAT up till the last contraction or two.  Right before he crowned, his heart rate started to fall.  Our midwife had to perform an Episiotomy  to avoid tearing.  His heart rate was down to about 60 beats per minute and Carly had to get Dax out in one last push.  Before we knew it our son was born.

I was able to wash up, gown up in sterile clothes, and help receive Dax.  It was Absolutely amazing.  I put Dax up on Carly's chest and I was able to cut the cord.  Unfortunately, because of the low heart rate at the end he was taken from Carly shortly after I gave him to her.  He stayed in our room as the nurses checked him out.  The nurses were having an issue getting him to cry, but he was alert, awake, and moving the whole time.  

He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz, and was 19.5 inches long.  He is STRONG, and he is squirmy.  The nurses have fallen in love with him.  The night nurse that bathed him put gel in his hair and spiked it up.  She said he is the strongest baby she has ever bathed.

We have watched a LOT of videos of hypnobirths in our preparation, and I truly think that Dax's birth was textbook.  Carly did an amazing job and I am so proud of her.