The Story of Helo's Birth

       Since my husband and I struggled for over 3 year with infertility before Helo was born, I feel as though the telling of how Helo came into this world, is worth telling.  I will start with his birth, as this is his blog.

       On Tuesday July 26th at 6:30 in the evening, I was admitted to Wright-Patterson AFB hospital to have labor induced at 39 weeks into my pregnancy.  I chose to be induced because of a few conditions that I have, including a blood clotting factor.  It was deemed "safer" because they had time to prepare for us, and have all the necessary things on hand, "just in case".  I was warned of the higher risk of needing a C-section.  I was ok with it.  After being admitted, and having an IV started, (which scared me more than labor), a foli-bulb was inserted into my cervix to hopefully increase dilation and induce labor into starting.  It took all night and part of the next day for the bulb to fall out naturally.  That night was the most uncomfortable night EVER.  There was an external heart monitor for the baby, and he kept moving around, so the alarm kept going off.  Did I mention that I had to hear 2 other laboring mothers alarms going off in my room as well? Yeah....that is the way the system was set up. No sooner would I get comfy and in a position I could stay in, when someone else's alarm would go off. OH WELL.... We waiting about 6 hours for dilation to increase, which it didn't, so a pitocin drip was started.  It was started slowly and steadily increase over the following 6 hours. At about 6 o'clock the next evening, the OB came in, and decided to break my water.  That went pretty smoothly.  Next came the decision to place a heart rate monitor on Helo's head inside the womb.  He moved so much, that it was hard to find him externally.  That was ok, if you don't mind having someones entire fist on one hand and a few finger of the other, stuck inside your body.  Restart the waiting game.

        After the third increase of pitocin, I decided it was time to get pain medication.  I was initially going to simply start with regular pain meds, like percocet.  A fantastic nurse suggested to me that I get my epidural right away, due to the fact that when starting the epi-line, you need to sit totally still.  If contractions got bad, it would be impossible to do!  I am SOOO glad that she told me and that I took her advice.  The anesthesiologist came in to do my epidural, and at first, I kinda thought she was rude because she was asking me all kids of questions I REALLY did not feel like answering. (Call me crazy but contractions don't make me want to go through my medical history orally).  Only later, would I appreciate how great she really was.  Well, after practically breaking my husbands fingers holding on to him to hold still, the line was placed.  After the fact, the anticipation was far worse than the reality of how it felt to get one!  I was successfully dosed with medication and my lower body went numb in a warm fuzzy glow.  I felt SOOO much better.

       I got settled in, to hopefully get some sleep for this evening.  It was about 2 in the morning, and I was running on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours.  I had just dozed off, when alarms started going off like crazy in my room, and the lights were flipped on.  The room was flooded with nurses, and I was totally confused as to why.  I was told that Helo's heart rate had dropped to a very dangerous level, and that they needed to get it back up right away.  They had me flip on my side, and helped me hold up one of my legs in a permanent leg lift.  I was still pretty groggy, and sort of scared by now, but still relatively calm.  Then I was flipped over and told to sit doggy style (hard to do when you can't feel most of your lower body), a waver was read to me, which I had to approve orally, all the while I hear nurses and doctors being rushed in and called from other areas of the hospital.  I heard that the O.R. was prepped and ready.  I was being rushed in for emergency surgery to deliver my son, who was in respiratory and cardiac distress.

       I was quickly dressed in a cap and gown, and flooded with oxygen, and rushed butt-up and naked into the operating room.  Let me tell you, delivering a child removes all vestiges of modesty.  I was flipped over, stripped almost naked and strapped to a table.  Then guess what? The little booger decided that say "kidding everyone, I am going to breathe normally now".  I lay on the table for 20 minutes, with the surgeon monitoring everything, trying to calm me down.  Then he told me that if at  all possible, they wanted Helo to be delivered naturally.  Since his vitals went back to normal and stayed there for 20 minutes, the doctors all decided that they would take me back to my room and see if I would go into natural labor and deliver vaginally.

       I was wheeled back to my room and transferred back to my bed. It took about 10 minutes, and I was just comfortable when all the alarms went off again!  This time I knew what to expect. Everyone was in the room again, but it went a little smoother this time.  However this also meant I had enough time to panic a little and the guilt started in. I suddenly felt like I had done a disservice to my little one.  I know that delivering vaginally is just better for the overall health and initial development of babies. Then I started to get scared of the pain.  The surgery wasn't planned so I asked if they could just knock me out entirely.  The lovely anesthesiologist told me that they did not want to do that unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary because if I went out, so did the baby and that was not good.  She then told me not to worry, she would make sure that I was good and numb! lol  I was taken back to the O.R. where the surgeon told me that they were going to take him. The team did not know what was causing his distress, and since it had happened before, they did not want to take any chances.

       I  had not had much fluids, so I was placed on a second I.V. in my other hand.  There was a nurse there just squeezing fluids through the I.V.s.  The anesthesiologist started to give me more medicine, I am really not sure what, but it worked. I could not feel anything from my chest down.  That is when I started to go into distress as well. My heart rate was dropping and not coming back up, so they had to give me, I believe epinephrine. I still kept passing out, but my heart rate came up. Every time I started to pass out,  Joe had the job of keeping me awake, which was difficult. He kept having to smack my face, and bend my hand, which hurt enough to keep me awake for a short time. All the while, the nurses were asking me questions, to try and keep my attention as well.  I think it was a combo of the drugs, and being DEAD tired.  I was so tired, I did not even get to enjoy seeing me son after he was delivered.  I remember glancing at him, and looking over after they surrounded him on the little cart.  I was worried about him, but you could not have kept me awake if you had nailed my eyelids open. I cried the whole time.  Helo Alexander Huff was born 3:57 a.m. on July 28th, 2011.

        Once they surgeon had me opened up, it was discovered that Helo had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck a couple of times and also around his torso. My little man was strangling himself.  If I had tried to deliver vaginally, it could have been VERY bad for us.  I would have probably ended up in surgery anyway.  That allowed me to feel a bit less guilty about being induced. All in all the delivery took about 20 minutes and then they had to sew me up which took another 15 or so.  I was then taken to our post-delivery room.  I woke up on the way there long enough to ask if Helo was o.k. and then I passed out!

       I had an excellent delivery team.  They were efficient, fast, and on the ball.  If I had less care, I could have lost my son. I will be forever grateful to God and to them for keeping me and my son safe and bringing him into this world.
 
       Things happened so quickly, I did not get to have any photos of Helo right after he was born, so here are some in our room.

Helo and Daddy

      

      

Helo and I after his delivery.

Helo and Grandma Waltho

      

Helo's Dogs

Chief

Rudy

       Before Helo was born we acquired 3 dogs.  Joe had one before we were married, a Shih Tzu, I had a German Shepherd mix, and together we adopted a Pit Bull from a neighbor.  As anyone with a pet knows,  the introduction of a baby into the family can mean stress for the pet, and for the humans, waiting to see the reaction and interaction.  Each or our dogs has a unique personality. Chief the bully, is our Mr. Friendly. He loves EVERYONE. Rudy our Shih Tzu is our old man who would rather sleep all day.  Those two just watch from afar.

Mirko

        Mirko......ah Mirko.  He is crazy, wrapped in hyper, wrapped in loving, wrapped in a really sheddy fur! His nickname? Mirko Berserko. It was well earned.  If you would have observed Mirks before Helo came along, or had been regaled with his antics, you may have been scared of what he would be like. 

       Of the three dogs, Mirko is the best with Helo.  Mirko our shepherd mix is Helo's best buddy.  He is our guardian in a black and tan fur coat. He patiently sits there, while our now rolly polly little man kicks him in the face, or pulls on his fur, or pokes him in the eye.  Yes, I do stop him from continuously doing these things to Mirko. (We want to teach him to be kind to all animals.) However, Mirko simply gets up and walks away when he has had enough, without stepping on him.  From day one, Mirks has been his, buddy and guardian. When I wake up in the morning, he is sleeping outside his bedroom door.  When Helo is on the floor, Mirko curls up in front of his mat.  Anyone wishing to do harm to our little boy, had better first take into consideration the crazy mutt who watches over him.  (Not including his parents, of course!)  This post is dedicated to all those furry "first" babies that parents had.

        Helo, you have a fantastic buddy in Mirko.  I hope you treat him with love and care.  He will be your first boyhood friend. He will be the first one to greet you at the door, the last one you see before you fall asleep at night.  No bond is quite like a boy and his dog!

I even brave "the bathroom" for you!

Doctors

I had to put in a photo, because he is so cute!

       Let me start out by saying that we have GREAT healthcare coverage through the military, and I am 100% grateful for it.  Still, I get very annoyed by the referral system they have in place.  We live very close to the base hospital, which we use for all our healthcare needs, for Helo and ourselves.  He has a fantastic pediatrician who we fell in love with, when he introduced himself while I was waiting to deliver Helo.  (He makes me feel old though, considering he is 3 years younger than me) Anyway, Helo was born with a minor medical condition that, at the time, may or may not have required surgery.  We were referred to and off-base provider at Dayton Children's.  It took 3 months to get in to see this physician. Helo's condition, which I would rather not mention, in case he reads this one day.  This specific situation required a "if it hasn't taken care of itself by the 12 month mark, we will schedule surgery".  Well, it has not taken care of itself, so I called our pediatric clinic so that they would put in the referral.  All visits to Dr.s not in your clinic require a referral, whether on base or not.  Well, I get a phone call 3 days after the request stating that I needed to speak to the referral office. The kind lady proceeded to tell me that I would be seen on base. I nicely explained to her that we needed to be seen with our original provider because even though they had a physician who cared for adults in this situation, they did not have one that took care of infants and children.  I was placed on hold for about 2 minutes, after which she came back on the line and said that, "no, you will be seen on base because you were only referred to Children's because they did not have an appointment available on base."  I then told her that, no we were seen off base because they did not have a pediatric Dr. for this area of care.  She said, that they would refer me to Children's if they could not care for Helo.  So I clarified my question by asking if they NOW had a Dr that was a pediatric specialist. She replied yes, they have always had one.  I then told her, no that was incorrect because our pediatrician, specifically sent us to Children's because they did not have a pediatric specialist.  At this point, I am getting really annoyed, cuz I remember everything, when it comes to my child's health care, not to mention I write everything down.  She continued with her explanation that I would be seen on base, at which point I said " continuity of health care huh? I am sorry, I know it is not your fault, but I get sick of seeing someone different all the time, and having to re-explain myself and what is going on every time!"  This seems to be a recurring problem.  You get referred from one place to the next, for specific things to be taken care of, only to have each person wanting to tell you something different or have a different solution, meanwhile, nothing is getting done.  We'll see how this goes. I have to tell you all though, I am going to blow a gasket (internally, hopefully) of they tell me that I indeed need to go to Children's for Helo.  Time wasting is one of my pet peeves. Plus it seems to take MONTHS to get in to see the Dr. at Children's. Pray for me ya'll. Imma lose it if I get told what I already know.  On a side note, I will humbly apologize if I am wrong!

Helo's Landing Pad (A journal of my son's flight path through life.): SLEEP!!!

Helo's Landing Pad (A journal of my son's flight path through life.): SLEEP!!!: I have the most wonderful little man in the whole world, but when it comes to sleep, he is a fickle boy. It must be virtually dark,...

SLEEP!!!

       I have the most wonderful little man in the whole world,  but when it comes to sleep, he is a fickle boy.  It must be virtually dark, and he can not have the use of his hands!  Helo is 7 months old, and we still swaddle him for sleep! The problem we are running into now, is that he is growing out of the swaddlers FAST!!!  If he has access to his hands, he scratches his face, and knocks his paci out of his mouth and will not sleep.  Ok moms, don't freak when I say this, but I put my baby in the closet and close the door for naps.  We have a monitor, so we hear everything he does.  The darkness allows him to nap.  What am I going to do when he outgrows all these little tricks we have?  I rue the day!
      

       Well, I have some hope! As I was writing my blog post yesterday, Helo was in front of me playing on the floor, suddenly what do I see? My bubbin totally passed out on his own. Being the photo freak that I am,  I had to get photos. Isn't he the cutest?

Reading to my son

     Helo and I have many things that we like to do together on a daily basis.  Reading is one of them. Even though they are only basic books, like colors and bugs, I believe it is a necessary thing to encourage his development. Plus, I can't get enough of the look on his face when I turn the page!  I know that reading is one of my favorite things to do, when I get free time. I hope to instill that love in him as well.  Am I wrong for not wanting my son to sit in front of the TV when he gets older? My parents strictly limited my TV watching and we didn't have money for the latest gaming system when I was young, so that was out as well. They encouraged me to read.  I LOVED my trips to the library, and I would come home with STACKS of books, that would be finished in a week! I think I was the only kid getting in trouble for being up till 3am reading. (Not watching TV or playing Nintendo) 
       I want Helo to be outside running around, or riding his bike or doing something active, if he is not reading.  Not that he will NEVER be allowed to sit in front of the boob tube, or play video games (I have a husband really into them).  I believe that reading encourages the expansion and development of vocabulary, imagination and learning in general.  Now, I am going to step off my soap box for a bit, and say that TV can be useful tool in learning, and keeping a mothers sanity.  Helo right now, is in love with Yo Gabba Gabba, and I let him watch endless amounts of it, because it lets me get stuff done around the house.  So, I can't claim total TV silence. In the meantime, my favorite time of the day will be reading after breakfast, and Goodnight Moon before bed. 

       This is for you my littlest love, the gift of the love of books and literature.  I hope you love them as much or more than I do. They will serve you well in this life, as only a reader knows.  

Attack of the vampire baby!

       Hello all! I think I should have named my son "Lestat", as in Lestat from the Anne Rice vampire novels! Ever since growing in those 2 teeth, he thinks it enables him to bite anything within reaching distance of those cute little teeth. My first experience came while snuggling him this morning after a bottle. He apparently thinks that meat and milk go together. I picked him up snuggled him, during which he proceeded to make an animalistic sound, grab my neck and bite it. I guess snuggling was not on the agenda. After yelling "ouch"! He looked at me as if to say, "You watch the Vampire Diaries, don't you? I thought you liked that sort of thing?" How could he know that neck biting is for lovers, or fantasy roleplay only? Well, he still doesn't get it. Geez! I can't understand why? He is, after all, 7 months old now. KIDDING PEOPLE!!! Oh well, I guess I will have to continue to keep him out of sunlight, lest he burst into flame. (or sparkle if you enjoy THAT version of cute vampire)

Belated Introduction

       For anyone who may be reading this, and doesn't know me. I should have perhaps, begun this blog with an introduction, instead of a graphic tale of poop.  My name is Angela, and I am 33 year old first time mother.  Currently, our family lives in the Dayton, Ohio area. This specific blog is meant to be a record of things that happen while my son Helo, is growing up. 

       Helo popped into this world via C-section in July of 2011, after more than 3 years of trying to conceive. He was my angel boy from the moment he was born. His father and I could not be prouder. 

I should have started earlier, and I meant to, but things got put off, and so here I am starting 7 months into the game! I hope you enjoy reading my posts, and glancing at my photos.  Thanks for taking time to "land" here. 

Teething and Poop

So, here I am, almost 7 months into my son's life, and I have started to be one of "those" people. You know the ones that regale the know web-based world with tales from their daily life and the antics of their child. Well, if you don't like it...don't read it! (Insert smiley face here)

Teething season has come upon us with a VENGEANCE! When I say we, I do mean we. All of us mothers/fathers (who are we kidding....mothers), know that when a child teethes, it causes all of us pain. Just in different ways.  I call teething as season, because in Helo's case, it seems as though it is going to be an ongoing thing. Not just getting teeth here and there with a break in between tooth cutting. Anyway, back the the joys of teething.

My poor little bubbin can not seem to escape the things that come with popping teeth. You know, all the things Dr.'s say "are not related to teething". Things like, runny poop, fever, rashes etc. While rashes have not happened in and of themselves, his BM as become like nuclear waste! Super stinky, and very irritating to his skin. All in all, he is dealing well. Mommy on the other hand is not. I am ready for this to be over already. My days have been divided up into two sections....poopy and not-poopy.

This oh so special day started off o.k.  Helo woke up with a smile on his face (he should, he was the one sleeping all night). Mommy gets up rather exhausted, but happy because that is what baby smiles do to you, if you are human at all. Mommy throws some Yo Gabba Gabba on the telly so she can prepare a bottle. Said bottle is sucked down vigorously and followed up with a grateful smile, fart, and belch.  All is well in Huffington. For those of you wondering, that is what I call the realm of our home. Still tired, I sit down to check out some FB....(sniff, sniff).....I smell a foul odor in the air.  I look over and what do I see? POOH-SPLOSION........POOH-ACALYPSE!! My son bouncing happily in his own feces. The stuff is EVERYWHERE! On his bouncy seat,  the towels under his feet, his leg, his toes, his belly...He doesn't care...it's warm and gooshy! Sigh, time to get back to the real world of being a mom. One sink bath, and clean diaper later, it is off to the floor play gym for some tummy time. So here I am 10 smelly diapers, and 2 teeth later, writing about the poopy section of my day. Oh well, at least I know he takes after his father in one way!!

After all is said and done, I wouldn't trade my son  for anything in this life!  The smelly, the funny, and the painful are all part of this wonderful thing called GROWTH!! No photos of this experience....too stinky!!