Baby Afterglow...

So the next four days were a flurry of excitement, most of the time good... some times really bad. We were in the NICU for a day and night for trouble breathing and under the lights for almost 2 days for jaundice. We had a flurry of friends, family and nurses visiting and making sure we were comfortable. Brigham and Women's was amazing. I can not imagine having my children anywhere else now.

Finally we were all cleared to go home and spend time as a family.

It was the greatest feeling ever.

This is what I was always destined to be.... a Mommy. One time in my life I focused on a career because I thought that that was what was important. Now, I look at my family and swell with pride. This is what I have always wanted, even if I didn't acknowledge it for a while.

I love getting to know my son. I love that the Thomas the Tank engine show makes him smile. I love that he bitches to the lion on his bouncy seat when he gets all angry. I love the look he has when he is full and content right after eating. I love the little sigh he does when we are cuddling. I love watching his daddy and him interact, because they have this amazing unconditional love that blows my freaking mind.

Breastfeeding has gone better than I expected. The pumping can sometimes be a challenge, and I feel like a cow, but I am getting used to it! Monkey has become a little bit of a milk snob though. I have to alternate for feedings during the day for him (my pumping production is low), and he makes a horrible faces when presented with the formula bottles. I have determined that this is because... as a nacho, Mexican food is better than the horribly smelly formula.

Unfortunately, I can't be a stay at home mom... so I am back to work. The 11 weeks I had at home full time with him were amazing and I will never forget what it felt like to be able to be fully devoted to my child 24/7. (Mind you I was also recovering from the surgery so we spent a ton of time in bed playing peek a boo and checking out Thomas.)

This week he is with family while we wait for daycare to open. I miss him terribly, but just thinking about getting home to my boys makes the day easier.

Also, YAY three day weekend!

Labor Part 3: The part where all plans are thrown out the window...

In the morning, after being in labor for about 18 hours or so... I knew what was going to end up happening. Monkey was not responding well to the epidural lowering my blood pressure, so they had to continue to drive it up with medicine.

But epidurals = win. I am not going to pretend to be brave about it. Labor hurt. Like A TON.

So at about 8:30-9ish my doctor (who is amazing) came in and checked me and I could tell by her facial expressions that we were done.

"We need to get him out now!" She said and she was gone to get her scrubs.

There was something completely surreal about the 10 minutes that followed. My doctor left, put on her scrubs and came back in in a manner of a minute. They handed Mr. scrubs and the lovely pain meds people talked to me. I gave my consent for the procedure and off we went.

At the OR, I was separated from Mr., and prepared for surgery. It was nerve wracking and exciting all at once. We made sure the cord blood was going to be donated to Dana Farber. (Our son gave a second chance at life to some one and I am so proud of that!)

Then they laid me down and laid out my hands, they put up the blue sheet and brought Mr. in. After about a minute and a half of the the violent tugging and pressure, my little Monkey was born screaming even before the suction. Mr. got to see him pretty much right away.

And then I was by myself on the table while the doctors were working on me, and it felt like forever.

They forgot to raise his head to show me, so all I saw were his boy parts. I got the doctors laughing by proclaiming that "All I saw were his balls!" I couldn't wait to see his face and meet the little boy that I had gotten to know over the last 9 months.

Then Mr. came around the corner, sat down and said "This is Monkey". My heart melted... it still does thinking about it.

But finally both my boys were in my sight, and it made life feel a little sweeter.

We finally got moved back to our labor room, where Monkey and I got to bond over milk and snuggles, and we got to spend our first moments as a family.

Life is good.

Labor Part 2: We are the 5%...

So we went in for the first part of the induction process... We went armed with Netflix on our phones and yahtzee. We showed up, got checked in and they put me on the monitor. Everything looked excelent so they started the gel treatment.

The doctor said "There is no way you will go into full labor or have your labor progress from this. There is a 5% chance of labor starting or progressing from this. There will be some cramping, but it will get better." Then they monitored us and they sent us home.

After a nice lunch with my mom, the cramping began to really get intense.... Then it never ended....

So Mr. called the Dr.

Dr: Do the pains come in waves or is it constant?

Mr.: They come in waves.

Dr.: How often do you think the waves happen?

Mr. : I don't know... every 2-3 minutes or so.

Dr.: I think you need to bring your wife to the hospital...

Mr.: What do you think is wrong?

Dr.: I think your wife is in labor.


That's right folks... I am the five percent that went into full labor from the gel treatment.

We got in and settled down. It was going to be a long night. But at least I had a late night Sox/Yankees game to keep me company while the epidural kicked in!

Labor Part One: Bedrest....

So on Mother's Day I got home from our running around, and happily went to go take a bath. I was in the Tub reading when the first real pangs hit. It hurt y'all. Then 16 minutes later another one. I started to time them but they got no closer together.

I called the doctor the next morning and she had us come in for a visit. They checked me and I wasn't softened and all that stuff, but my blood pressure was high so they sent me for monitoring. All looked good...

So the next day I went to work.

That's right... I went to work and worked - all the time in pain. A week later though, I couldn't take it and my doctor put me on bedrest. Driving with heavy contractions every 16 Minutes was not the best thing to do in hindsight.

Bedrest sounds nice doesn't it? It is not all fun. Think of having to stay in bed all day and having to entertain yourself. Now think of doing that for 3 weeks. I was going crazy by the end of it. I had read a ton and watched enough cheesy tv on our crappy bedroom tv than I would care to think about. I felt isolated from the world. It completely sucked.

The worst was the Sunday of our niece's first dance recital. Mr. went and I stayed home and watched ESPN all day feeling miserable. When Mr. came home, he had funny stories of her dancing which made me even more upset I missed it!

Monkey's lungs weren't completely developed so we didn't induce when we thought we would. Every week we were on pins and needles... Could this week be it? Every monitoring trip was filled with "Ok so if you have to stay... what do I need to grab?"

Finally, my doctor set the date, June 9th we would start the induction.

Eviction Notice had been given and we were waiting for D-Day!

Welcome Little Monkey!

Mr and I are happy to announce the birth of our son, "Monkey" Michienzi. He arrived by emergency C-Section on June 10th at 10:19 a.m. here in Boston. We have spent the summer getting to know each other and I was instantly smitten with him. To his mommy, he can do no wrong.

The story is coming, but I did want to let those who pay attention to the blog that 1) I am here, and 2) everyone is happy and healthy!