| 12.31.2005 |
| Doctor's Visit |
| Lexi visited the pediatrician for the first time yesterday and was proclaimed a picture of newborn health. She's gaining weight really well! She was 6 lbs. 12.5 oz. at birth, 6 lbs. 4 oz. last Friday afternoon and 7 lbs. 1 oz. yesterday morning, a little less than a week later! |
posted by kristen @ 10:52 AM  |
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| 12.28.2005 |
| Above Average |
Lexi's cord stump fell off yesterday at five days old. People seem impressed by this. I expected nothing less: like in Lake Woebegone, all our children are above average ;o)
Seriously, the midwife said it would fall off quicker without the triple dye they do at the hospital, and it seems to be true anecdotally. |
| posted by kristen @ 4:32 PM |
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| 12.27.2005 |
| Tiny Hands |
I love Lexi's tiny hands, the tiny fingers and little sharp nails. I love the way they grab my finger and hold on tight. She loves her hands, too. A newborn houdini, she always manages to get them out of her miracle blanket swaddle and likes to keep them up near her face.
It's amazing to me to imagine what those hands will be used for in the future: picking up dry cereal in a pincer grasp, clapping, playing notes on a violin, penning poetry, painting pictures, kneading bread dough... For today, they are just the tiny hands of a newly born babe. |
| posted by kristen @ 10:21 AM |
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| 12.22.2005 |
| Birth Story |
[crossposted from Mom and Dad's blog]
Early Wednesday morning, I lost my mucuous plug and started having a few weak contractions intermittently. As the morning progressed, I had several more contractions, a few close enough together for Mike to start tracking them. Being (a) bored and (b) very skilled with Excel led Mike to make a killer contraction-tracking spreadsheet. I just puttered around the house for all of early labor and noticed quickly that Lexi had centered herself more in my pelvis and my SPD pain was gone!
At four my contractions were about seven minutes apart and we called Audrey, our midwife, to let her know that I was in labor. I called Meadow, talked and paced for well over an hour, which sped up my contractions and heightened their intensity, but I was still very much in early labor. Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo was on the menu for dinner, but being a woman of weak stomach, I vetoed that in favor of a plain Chick-Fil-A Char-Grilled Sandwich.
Audrey had said to check in at seven, and right at seven my contractions had reached five minutes apart and about a minute long, so she got her stuff together and left (from the far opposite corner of the Raleigh metro area where she was doing a post-partum visit.) Meanwhile, my dad and grandma had arrived, having driven from upstate New York that day (my grandma is staying for almost a month and wanted her car.)
Audrey arrived just before 8:30 and unloaded all her gear. She declared she thought the baby would be born by midnight. She checked me (for the first and only time) at 9:10 and I was 5-6 cm, 90% effaced and Lexi was at 0 station, so I was in the clear to get in the tub for an hour. Laboring in the warm water was really relaxing, and it was great to be able to turn on the jets during contractions. After my hour was up, I could tell that my labor was progressing, but not especially quickly, so though I hated to give up the cozy water, I got out and labored a while standing and side-lying in bed. I started having a slight urge to push about an hour later, though my water had still not broken. I tried pushing gently with a few contractions to pop it, to no avail, and decided to get back in the tub to labor there. I pushed for a dozen contractions or more and just could not break my water, even trying to poke it with my finger. Sometime in the middle of this, Mike threw on his swim trunks and a t-shirt and sat behind me in the tub, holding me and helping me brace myself to push.
Right around midnight, I asked Audrey to break my water. The next contraction, she did and the calm I had felt the whole labor process went out the window and I pushed and pushed and two contractions later, Alexine Antoinette was born, at 12:12 a.m. on Thursday, 12.22.2005 in the big tub in her grandparent's bathroom. I had a very small, superficial tear, which was amazing to me considering how fast I pushed her out. Lexi was born screaming, pinked up immediately, and was so irritated the midwife wanted to get her dried off and wrapped up quickly, so we cut the cord and got her out of the tub. Delivering the placenta took 30 minutes as Lexi would not nurse immediately and massaging my uterus was the only way to get strong enough contractions to push it out. I delivered it on the gorgeous hand-carved birthing stool one of Audrey's clients made for her – it was very comfortable.
It's 15 hours later now, and I am sitting in a recliner, Lexi sleeping in a ring sling on my chest. As I think back to my labor, I was very relaxed for all but a few minutes of it, and feel great today. I am amazed at the difference in how I feel having given birth naturally and at "home" versus the hospital. |
| posted by kristen @ 3:54 PM |
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| Happy Birthday, Lexi! |
[crosspost from mom and dad's blog]
Alexine Antoinette was born at 12:12 this morning, weighing in at 6 pounds, 12.5 ounces and measuring 18 1/4 inches long. Lexi is off dancing with Dad and I am resting in bed, we're all doing great. |
| posted by kristen @ 2:00 AM |
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| 12.16.2005 |
| Gifts |
| She's not even born yet and Lexi has gotten a number of really cute outfits this week! They are waiting for your arrival, sweet girl, and I'll even write the thank you notes for you. When you make your debut, you'll have a fashionable wardrobe. |
| posted by kristen @ 8:48 PM |
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| 12.13.2005 |
| Getting ready |
Dear Lexi,
All the newborn diapers are washed and waiting. I have a miracle blanket to swaddle you in, and a teeny tiny preemie outfit for you to wear in case you are as petite as your sister. I'd prefer you hang out for a little bit longer, but I'm getting ready for you, just in case!
Love,
Mom |
| posted by kristen @ 12:21 AM |
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| 12.04.2005 |
| Site feed |
| The site feed for this blog is http://chroniclinglexi.blogspot.com/atom.xml -- just in case you wanted to know! |
| posted by kristen @ 7:27 AM |
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