Home from the hospital & the worst Christmas ever

Our story left off at the hospital - 36 hours of labor, a close call, c section and TV appearance.  Read more (and see pictures) here.

After 4 days in the hospital, we were SO ready to go home.  We packed up our baby and bags (including several bags of free gear the nurses gave us!), and made our way home.  We were greeted by my parents and one excited puppy!

When we got home, we were all excited to hear how Mark's trip to Atlanta went to buy an engagement ring for his now-fiance Megan.  The ring was burning a hole in his pocket - once he had it, there was no waiting to pop the question!  He proposed the next day on one of their walks through Umstead Park.  A baby and proposal in 5 days - the Colbert family had a good week!!!

Didn't Mark do a great job?  (With his lady AND the ring!)

The first few days home were how I'd expect all first days home are - exhausting but amazing.  Owen wasn't such a good sleeper the first few weeks - his nights and days were completely backward, and he hardly slept!  Owen is one alert little baby - that makes for a lot of fun play time, but many sleepless nights.  I spent most of my time in our rocker/recliner due to the c section, as I wasn't able to lay down in the bed.  Mom and dad were an enormous help, and we were so sad to see them leave.  The good news was that Travis' family would be coming up in a few days, and my parents would be back that next week!

Here are a few pictures from the first weeks home!

Burp burp burp

Hangin with his friend, Vivienne

The next week, Travis' family came back up to celebrate Christmas here in Boston.  This was also the first time Sarah and Michael (Travis' sister and her boyfriend) would meet Owen, so we couldn't wait to see them!  

On Christmas Eve, Travis, Terry and Michael went to Park Street for the Christmas Eve service, where Travis was playing trumpet. Sarah and Jenny stayed home with Owen and me (I was in no shape to leave the house, and Owen was barely more than a week old at this point!).  When they got home, we all had dinner together...and that's when things turned sour.  

Terry went to bed shortly after dinner (before opening any presents), which was strange to us.  We brushed it off as leftover exhaustion from the long drive the day before, until I awoke to the sound of someone throwing up.  Things got worse throughout the night, and we finally ended up calling an ambulance Christmas morning to take him to the hospital.  He was admitted with NOROVIRUS, but was thankfully released after a day of fluids.

Travis' mom and dad decided to check into a hotel, since it wouldn't be wise to bring someone with norovirus back into the house with a 1 week old baby.  As they were checking into the hotel, Sarah started to feel bad...and then the throw-ups hit her.  On the way to pick Sarah up (she was to be banished to the hotel, too), Jenny got sick.  We were dropping like flies!  Owen and I sat in my rocker/ germ-free bubble zone in the living room while Michael and Travis tried to clean things up, and then all the NC Alfords went to their hotel.  

Travis and I sat quietly in our house, sad his family was sick...sad we all missed Christmas...and terrified we were next.  

Then, 3 hours later, it happened.  Travis got the bug.  Then Michael threw up.  

Owen and I were the last ones standing, and I freaked out.  Throwing up 1 week after having major abdominal surgery sounded like it would kill me.  And worse would be a 1 week old baby getting norovirus.  I. Freaked. Out.

First I called my parents.  Then I called every doctor I've ever seen.  The advice was "don't use the bathroom everyone threw up in" (we only have one bathroom...we were doomed), "wash your hands" (my hands were bleeding, I'd washed them so many times), and "call us if either of you get sick". 

My parents got in the car to drive up earlier than planned, since I was still barely able to stand up with Owen and was officially on my own.  While they were on their way, the Boston reinforcements came in: my nextdoor neighbor Ali, and the most fantastic cleaning lady ever, Maria.  Thankfully, I'd called Maria the night before, when 3 of the 7 were sick, to see if she could come bleach our entire apartment.  As she was coming in, Ali came back over, realized I was about to lose it, helped me with Owen, washed everything porous in our apartment, and helped me stay sane.   

Ali, the angel

That evening, my parents pulled in and relieved Ali.  The next day, Travis was feeling some better and was released from his prison (bedroom), and we started to put everything back together again.

Three days after Christmas, we opened presents.

Travis was allowed out of the bedroom if (and only if) he wore gloves, a mask, and sat on a blanket.  NO GERMS!!!

Here is our attempt to look like we'd had a normal Christmas.  Still a happy family, even through the giant mess of Christmas 2014.  Thankfully, Owen was none the wiser.  

New Years Eve

Owen's Birth Story

Owen's birth story

Owen William Alford was born on December 13, 2014 at 4:50 in the morning.  His birth story, however, began more than a week before he made his arrival!

My first REAL contraction (none of that braxton hicks mess) hit me like a ton of bricks while we were at Margarita's in Waltham with our friend Emily.  One second I'm ordering a chicken chimichanga, the next I'm having excruciating pain in my back!  After hobbling to the bathroom a few times (to avoid a scene) and suffering through 45 minutes at the table, we apologized to Emily for being such terrible dinner partners and headed home to call my OB.  That's when I learned back labor can come in waves, or can just be constant.

After 4 hours of contractions that started in my back and wrapped around to my belly, I got the most wonderful text from my brother. He had just made plans to go to Atlanta to buy an engagement ring for his AMAZING girlfriend, Megan!  This was literally the only thing I would have wanted to talk about (mostly listen to) while having contractions.  30 minutes after getting off the phone with my brother, the contractions completely stopped.

These 4-6 hour contraction sessions happened 3 more times throughout the next week, getting stronger each time, until Thursday December 11, when they finally "stuck".

I was working from home that week (since the last place I would want to go into labor was at work) and had just finished up a meeting, when the back labor hit me again.

**Side note - my office-mates were all hoping I would go into labor at work.  There was a "Lauren Extraction Plan", and every time I'd stand up to go to the bathroom (every 45 minutes), someone would ask "OMG...are you having the baby?"  I was (not) sorry to disappoint.  This story would have been a lot more exciting had the "Lauren Extraction Plan" actually happened.**

I didn't want to get my hopes up again, since I'd been here 4 times before, so we settled in to breathe through it and see if it would go somewhere!  By 5pm, things were getting stronger, so my OB requested we come in.  They hooked me up to a monitor and said "yep...you're having contractions", but sent me home to rest.  The nurse said "you'll be back here soon!  Go to a restaurant and enjoy a nice last meal".  How in the world was I supposed to sit in a restaurant while I'm having contractions??  Crazy lady.  Instead we went through the drive thru at Wendy's and headed home to snuggle with the puppy.

Toby cuddled with Owen even before he was born

By 11pm, we were finally at 5-1-1, so we loaded the car and headed to the hospital!  We got checked in and hooked up to a monitor in antenatal, and were told we'd likely be there for good.  After walking the halls for an hour I was finally at 4cm and could be admitted, so we called our families and gave them the green light to head to Boston!

We were rolled down the hall to Labor & Delivery and met our new nurse.  Since walking helped me progress before, we decided to do another dozen laps around the floor, stopping each time at the nursery windows to see the babies.  It helped to remind myself of the "prize" at the end of all that pain!

A few more hours passed and I'd only gotten to 4.5cm, so they decided it was time to break my water.  I was thankful the physician on call happen to be MY doctor - she knew me...I knew her...I felt certain she'd be delivering Owen!  When they broke my water, we found out Owen had passed meconium, so a special care team would need to be present to work on him as soon as he was born.  This meant no skin to skin immediately.

My doctor gave me 3 more hours to see what kind of progress could be made.  When she came back, we were to 6cm!  Fantastic!  She came back in another 3 hours.  Still 6cm.  CRAP.  It was at this point we had the "pitocin and epidural" talk.  She gave us another hour to think about it and I eventually agreed it was best.  I don't know what came over me this whole time (my birth plan was "get an epidural, do what has to be done, please please please don't have to have a c section"), but I did NOT want the epidural when the time came.  I think it was a mixture of "please don't make anything else hurt" and a worry that if I was stuck in the bed the contractions would stop again.  In the end, I'm so glad I did it.

It took 3 tries for the anesthesiologist to get the epidural placed correctly, and by the time he was finished I couldn't move my left leg.  I was good and numb.  Once the epidural was in, they turned on the pitocin and Travis and I got a few hours of sleep.  Things continued for the next twelve hours or so the way they'd gone before.  A little progress, then nothing.  A little progress, then nothing.  Then nothing...nothing...nothing.

It was at that time they started talking c section.  It had been about 30 hours at this point, and I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of surgery.  Since Owen was just as happy as can be, they agreed to let us wait a little longer.  By now, the epidural wasn't as effective, which wasn't as much fun.  After finally making it to 9cm, it was time for my OB to rotate off call.  I was so bummed.

More time passed, and the nurse finally said I was fully dilated, so it was time to push!  HOORAY!  We called the parents and told them Owen would likely be here in the next few hours, so they should be ready for a call!   We had been pushing for about 30 minutes, when my new doctor, Dr Ngo (pronounced Dr. No...Travis was pretty excited about her name) came in to check on me.  When she saw us pushing, she wanted to confirm the nurse's assumption that I was fully dilated.  Thank God she happened into my room, because I actually WASN'T fully dilated, and apparently pushing before you're ready can cause you to hemorrhage.  Woah...

It had now been about 35 hours, and I was done.  The last scare convinced me the c section was necessary - we'd tried everything else - so they started prepping for surgery.

While I was being rolled down the hall, we passed one of our favorite nurses, Nora, who was back on her next shift.  She couldn't believe we hadn't had Owen yet, so she decided to crash my c section.  This turned out to be the biggest blessing.  I was freaked out...Travis was freaked out...we were both exhausted beyond measure.  Nora waited with Travis in the hallway while I was prepped for surgery, then came in with him.  She grabbed our camera and said she'd hang out with us and take pictures so Travis could just "enjoy" himself.

The c section was really fast (10 minutes to get Owen out, 45 to close me up).  I was numb up to my neck and covered in hot blankets because I couldn't stop shaking (brrrrr...).  I couldn't really hear what the operating physicians were saying, but was calmly kept in the loop by the most amazing anesthesiologist and our friend, nurse Nora.

Owen was born at 4:50am and rushed to the other side of the room by the special care team, who suctioned the meconium from his lungs and belly.  Travis went over to see Owen while they worked on stitching me up, and after about 5 minutes we heard the sweetest cry ever!  Then they wrapped Owen up and brought him over for me to see.  It was love at first sight!

After spending some time in recovery (where Travis' parents got to meet Owen!) we were taken to our "home" for the next 4 days.  A nurse came in and asked if we would be ok with CBS coming to talk to us about Owen being born on 12-13-14.  In my "just had a baby stupor" I said "uh, yeah, sure", and an hour later we were being interviewed by a cameraman for the evening news!  They made several different spots with our interview - one can be found on their website here!

Jenny (Trav's mom) meeting Owen

Travis, Terry, Jenny and I with Owen

Breaking my leg this summer got me this nifty fall risk sign on my door.  

Shortly after the cameraman left, my family came to meet the newest Alford!

Mark and Owen

Megan, Dad and Owen

Mom and Dad entertaining the baby

Sorry this was so long...it was a crazy long 3 days.  If you made it this far, you get a gold star!

Next up, coming home, enjoying our sweet baby, and the worst Christmas day ever!

Introducing Owen - our sweet baby!

Well...last blog I wrote was December 11, 2014.  A few hours after clicking "publish", I went into labor and we headed to the hospital to deliver our baby boy!

After 36 hours of labor that ended in a c section, we welcomed Owen William Alford to the world on December 13, 2014 at 4:50am at 9lbs 5 oz and 22" long!  Coolest birthday (12-13-14) for the sweetest baby!  

I'll post more later about that day (2 days...) soon, which included a physician coming in at just the right time, CBS news crashing my hospital room a few hours after birth, and family members excited to meet the newest member!

It's now been just over 11 weeks and we've fallen even more in love with our little one.

Click here to read Owen's birth story!