My maternity leave is almost halfway over. It’s amazing how the time flies when all you’re doing is spending day after day changing diapers, feeding, and staring at this life you’ve created. Kylah has been an incredibly easy baby so far, we’ve been very lucky. She only cries when she’s dirty, ravenously hungry, or farting. We call her “Fartopotomus.” (more…)
Today marks four weeks since Kylah joined us.
So many lessons have been learned by all three of us. I am constantly seeing new traits of her personality and also learning more of what it means to be a dad.
Little things like how to properly put on a onesie or how to quickly console her have been lessons that books, classes or grandmas simply can’t teach you.
The last four weeks have flown by. I hope it slows down a bit. Kylah’s too cute to be older.
On August 21st, 2o1o I developed two new loves:
1) Kylah Makana
2) Epidurals
The story begins on August 20th, when we visited my midwife to “strip my membranes.” As many of you know, there was concern about how big Baby Berto might be considering her estimated fetal weight was 9lbs 2 ounces. My original birth plan specifically stated I did not want to be induced (either naturally or artificially.) I guess things can change quickly when your overdue and impatient to meet your new baby. Of course there was the concern about her weight, too. “Stripping the membranes” is a procedure where the midwife separates the thin membrane between the amniotic sac and the uterus. Usually, if the stripping is successful, labor begins sometime between 2 hours and 3 days. It is incredibly painful, so I was grateful to have Eric hold my hand. Luckily, it only took about 5 minutes, which was no match for the impending labor pains. I was only 1.5cm dilated.
My water broke at 6:25am on Saturday, August 21st, a little over 24 hours later. Eric was about to step out the door for a conference in downtown Seattle that he helped plan called Gnomedex. It was the weirdest feeling I’ve ever had “down there.” I woke up in pain with a strong, menstrual-like cramp and felt a literal “pop.” I knew immediately that my water broke, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I had just peed my pants! Not only that, but I didn’t even puke when I got out of bed, for the first time in nine months.
We called the midwife, and she told me, “Go ahead and take a shower, eat some breakfast, and then make your way in here. No hurry.” At that time, I had only one true contraction right when my water broke. I took a long shower, called my mom, gathered a few extra things to add to my hospital bag, and the contractions began to hit hard, although the pain was still tolerable. It felt like very strong menstrual cramps in my lower abdomen. They started coming about 3 minutes apart and never let up until I held Kylah in my arms about 14 hours later. Eric booked a plane ticket for his mom to get up here from California, and we made our way to the hospital. (more…)
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