As I hinted at in the last blog, Moose is now a big brother. Nugget arrived a week before Christmas. He was actually due on Christmas, but since neither I nor my doctor wanted to spend the holiday in a hospital room, we decided to induce a week early.
Nugget’s Birth Day
Since Moose was induced after his due date, we knew what to expect. The nurse’s laughed at how laid back we were. I delayed my epidural a little while longer this time because even after the oxytocin, the contractions weren’t bothering me. Ben and I sat around the room, chatted, watched TV, napped. My parents had come down the night before and were watching Moose. They brought him in before lunch so we could have our last moments as a family of 3.
Prior to Nugget’s birth day, I had been walking around 4 cm dilated and about 60% effaced for more than a week. But for some reason, I was dilating veeerrryyyy slowly at the hospital. Around 1 PM, the doctor pumped up the oxytocin to get things moving. By 2 PM I was still only 5 cm, so I told Nugget he needed to get moving so he could beat his brother’s birth time (2:58 PM). I took a little nap, watched some HGTV. At 2:30, the nurse came in to check me again. The look on her face was total shock – she said, “I’m not even going to have you push, I’m getting the doctor right now. This baby is trying to get out on his own!” Within minutes the room was transformed into a delivery room. I started pushing at 2:50 PM. Nugget had his little feet pressing against my ribs. He really was trying to push himself out! 13 minutes later, at 3:03 PM, our little man made his appearance 🙂
You may recall earlier recounts of my breastfeeding fiasco with Moose. Let me reassure any mother’s who shared my experience, it is infinitely easier with the second! Nugget was nursing within minutes after birth and he hasn’t stopped since. I haven’t had to supplement with formula, use an SNS, or pump after every feeding. Nugget is gaining weight faster. The only real issue he has is a little acid reflux, but we’ve managed it with smaller feedings and keeping him elevated most of the time.
For now, life is good. I can’t say I haven’t been stressed – on Nugget’s birth day, we had been in our new house for only 2 weeks. And we had a house full of guests and the holidays around the corner. My beautiful new house is an unorganized mess, given Ben’s work schedule and the fact that my hands are constantly on either the baby or Moose. But most days, I see past the piles in the corner, the unopened boxes and just stare at my two little guys.
Moose's Lodge 