Update long overdue! Kiran Doyne Hervé Corlosquet

Our little Kiran finally came out - with much difficulty and a lot of help!  I ran to 42 weeks and 1 day delivering him on the 7th of January following an induction two days earlier.  One note to the wary - don't use castor oil in conjunction with anything else as an inducer!  Not only does it give you the runs but it also leaves you majorly dehydrated!

Kiran was a difficult case.  He turned out to be bigger than we all expected for one.  For two, I was considered GBS postitive.  For three, reached 42 weeks and meant he had to be on constant fetal monitoring (not fun).  For four, there was meconium in the water when it finally did break.  I was set up on a penicillin drip right from the start (GBS), every 4 hours.  Then because of the major dehydration was on a saline drip.  Didn't eat for the entire 34 hours (the one jello cup I tried to down came right back up!).  At the 28th hour, my entire birth team (consisting by this point of multiple doulahs, midwives, nurses, my mother, and my husband) all had to coax me to accept the epidural and pitocin.  The little one just didn't want to budge although I'd been laboring away for hours!  I did get some rest before the pushing stage - and once there... sheer determination of will (plus a doulah, my husband, and mother all holding me up in some way shape or form) got him out in about 2 hours.  Then spent two further nights in the hospital recooperating. 

The first day I was so wired - didn't sleep a wink!  I think it was the day after we brought him home that I finally got any real sleep and at that point I woke up wondering who I was, where I was, and where the baby had come from!  Another strange thing I experienced was 'fantom pregnancy' soon after the birth where my body was convinced there was still a huge belly attached! 

To my relief though I had swelled up like a balloon following the birth, all of the swelling and most of the residual belly decreased quite steadily following my return to home.  Now 2 weeks later, I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy size.  I was happy that all the weight gained during pregnancy was for Kiran... and boy, is he heavy as a bowling ball!

He's a lovely baby with his father's charm.  Breast feeding was a challenge the first night back from the hospital but otherwise has progress 'ok'.  I discovered the hard way that Thai Basil Chicken curry of the spicey variety WILL turn your baby into a projectile milk dispenser.  Luckily that has finally worked its way out of the system. 

So the adventure continues for me and my little Kiran.  I'm happy to be a mother, though sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to live up to it!