tumblr.

i've made the switch: http://hollycarotenuto.tumblr.com/

for now..
i might not be cool enough to handle tumblr.
but i figured i give it a try.
catch me there..

maternity love.

i definitely want to give some shout outs to items
that have helped me survive the past week & a half.

first i want to give a HUGE shout out
to tanks that helped me survive 9months of pregnancy.

i started wearing these gap support camis about 8 weeks in.
& i'm still wearing them.
tanks with built in bras are great for nursing pads.

i bought a black & a tan tank.
& literally wore them each 2x a week.
don't judge.
they hold in your curves.
hold up your large maternity pants.
keep you belly  band in place.
etc
etc.

definitely a must have.
i will buy 4 more for the next pregnancy.
(which would be in 3 months if my mom had her way).

sleepless nights.

our first rough night.
mother's day eve,
sonny went on strike.
first it was gas.
totally my fault.
dad was in town.
he bought bagliani's cheese.
dairy = no bueno for breast milk.

sonny cried & cried.
i cried & i cried.

after the gas passed,
all mother's day he refused my left breast.
the lactacian consultant was unavailable.
a doctor called me back from the answering service.
his advice was to pump the left
& feed on the right.
& keep trying.

i did this for all feedings yesterday.
i googled other ways to deal.
one suggestion was see a chiro..
& have them hold the baby upside down by the ankles.
what?

i did a lot of mommy & sonny time between feedings.
we took a nap on the couch together
& relaxed.
finally at 10pm on mother's day he fed on the left.
best mother's day gift ever!

so thankful for so many supportive people around.
my mom has done everything around our house the past week.
& my dad was in town this weekend to meet sonny.
when i felt like giving up yesterday
& switching to fomula
my parents kept me motivated.
& of course j..
who keeps his sense of humor,
while i'm losing my mind.
that's love.

santino's nursery elephant print from Trendy Pea's on Etsy

part4 - hospital stay

THE BRITISH ARE COMING.
due to babies early morning arrival (1:06am)
i ended up being at the hospital for THREE LONG DAYS.
i hate hospitals.
hate visiting people in hospitals.
will do anything to not even go to the doctor.

early on santino's birth day my mom & j's mom were first to arrive.
my mom brought a british flag.
i guess i should first explain that i originally planned on marrying prince william.
at 15 i visited england,
& even stalked out eton (prince will's school).

obviously i met j.
who is actually more like prince harry.
both are the younger brothers..
both have a little bit of a bad rep?

but a big joke in my family is my love of prince will.
& my mom was obsessed with princess di..
so i really should blame her.

i had a sleepover with my bff & mom to watch princess di's funeral.
kind of depressing?

so back to the british flag.
j's mom thought it'd be funny to hang it on my suite door.

so for three days everyone thought i was a brit.
when my family came to visit they didn't even have to ask my room number.
just look for the flag.

she also brought the 'queen' crown.
that i wore for our first family photo.

j came to the hospital early the day after santino's birth.
& he slept through the royal wedding.
after we toasted to our babe with our new champagne glasses.
courtesy of my british loving aunt
(who has lived in england two separate times).

being in the hospital sucked.
frequent interruptions by nurser/doctors/techs drove me crazy.
but celebrating the royal wedding
& the birth of your babe was fab.

one week!

don't worry i'm not a horrible mother.
i picked him two seconds after taking a quick shot.
but he's just so cute when he cries.
he looks just like his daddy.

today he's one week old.
& he met one set of great-grand parents from delaware.
what a lucky kid..
five great-grand parents!

he was born on helen & sonny's
55th wedding anniversary.
how perfect is that?

tomorrow he meets his grandpop from florida!

he's sleeping at three hour intervals at night.
which makes mommy very happy!

everyone keeps bringing us sweets.
but mommy keeps losing weight.
breast feeding = best diet ever!

however next thursday i'm starting the dukan diet.
anyone doing this?
any tips?!

trying to make an outdoors kid.
his bassinet plays ocean sounds
& it puts him right to sleep.
today he was fussy so i bundled him up
& walked up
& down the driveway.
calmed instantly!

part3 - boobs.

after santino joined our world he was taken away.
this is exactly what i did not want to happen.
however his respiration rate was high
& he needed to be evaluated.

it took close to three hours for me to see him.
the nurse brought him
& asked if wanted help with breast feeding.

i did not take any classes,
& only read briefly on the subject.
i figured if it works it works..
if not, no big deal.

luckily santino was a natural.
he immediately latched.

we've had some difficulty.
my nipples are sore
& blistered.
he doesn't always latch correctly.

however, his first doctors appointment sold me.
they raved about his weight & poop.

knowing that this is the best thing for my baby
makes all the difference
& puts all the pain in perspective.

i have no advice on breast feeding.
i just think it's natural.
it's meant to happen.
no over thinking it.

we've even stopped using the boppy for feedings.
we do best skin to skin.
his little belly resting between my chest.
& if i lean back it helps with the pain.
the landolin lotion is my bff.

i'm a leaky mess.
but i wouldn't want it any other way.

part2 - and there goes your birthing plan.

i didn't have a birthing plan.

i knew that it would most likely change during labor anyway.
however i did make statements like:

i really don't want an epidural.
i'm going to try and do this as naturally as possible.
there is no way i'm letting them do an episiotomy.
i'm not letting them take the baby away from me after delivery.

well this is me eating all my words.
i've already talked about the contractions.
on the drive i decided..
i needed an epidural.
in the triage room i really started to lose it.
they told me they only needed to draw some blood
& run an IV.
then i'd have my epidural.
we left the triage room.
i lost my dinner on the way to the labor room.
j quipped 'you just made it smell like a deli in there'
great thanks.

they kept telling me to breathe during the contractions.
like that was going to help.

after the longest hour
& half the doctor came with the epidural.
i was so nervous about the needle to the spine.
it was nothing the had IV hurt more.

within a few seconds i was back to me.
i immediately apologized to everyone in the room..
i'm really not the rude/horrible person i was during the contractions.

as soon as the epidural was in place
my doc came to examine me
without even discussing it he broke my water.
'she's 9'
NINE CENTIMETERS.

well that explains the contractions.
an hour and a half .. 5 cm..
no pain meds.
let me just pat myself on the back now.

with an hour i was pushing.
seriously the best part of the birth.
remember the epidural?

our nurse was amazing.
j was so calm
& supportive.

it was going great.
until sonny decided to shake things up.

his heart was dropping.
we were too far along for a cesearian.

the doctor mentioned the vacuum
& i panicked.
but we continued pushing.

baby came quickly.
a few long pushes.
and then a cry.

there was an episiotomy.
but i felt nothing until he started the stitches.
even then it was just pulling
& i'm healing well.
& nothing compares to the healthy baby boy..
who made his appearance at 1:06am.

part1 - contractions.

i'll probably rewrite these posts six thousand times.
i feel like delivering your baby is so private & intimate.
yet it was such an amazing experience i want to share a little.

after two dry runs to the hospital
we set an inducement date for 4/29/11.
which tickled my fancy since i've been a royalist my whole life.
(this will be important when i discuss our hospital stay)

i told j we were NOT going back to the hospital.
for any reason.
unless my water broke..
or i was in so much pain i couldn't walk.

well my water never broke.
my contractions came
& immediately i knew they were different.
at first they were spaced 5 minutes apart
& i ate dinner,
painted my nails
& tried to shower.

after the shower they really intensified.
i was literally crawling around our house.
remember how i said i would go back to the hospital..
when i couldn't walk.
so we packed up & headed out.

how do i describe contractions?
your worst menstural cramps..
x10?
i get cramps from hell.
my contractions were hell.
that was just my experience.
& i'm not apologizing when i say..
damn that $%&*&$ hurt.

an accident on the way to the hospital sent us on a detour.
i was near tears when we checked in.
'i think i'm going to pop'
-my exact words to the triage nurse.

& i was.
4cm!

adorable VT loopy blanket from Ga Ga Galore - thank you Erica!

oh, the past week.

i'm not sure how many posts this will take.
maybe just one.
maybe just one word would suffice.
love.

currently santino is hanging next to me on his boppy lounger.
his olive skin & dark hair still shock me.
not at all what i expected my baby to look like.
yet i feel like i've known him forever.

he'll be FIVE days old at 1:06am tomorrow.
he's gained 11oz since we left the hospital.
along with our family & friends we've been feeding him..
a non stop diet of love.

as my energy returns i plan on giving you some details.
i'll spare you too much.
but forgive me if i brag.
i've got a son.
& he's pretty cool.

amazing mohawk hat from Cherished Times Boutique on etsy!