If I could recommend one product to all new parents...

It would definitely be a glider. Here's why...Deegan is a fussy little baby! Poor thing is REALLY gassy and cries alot after feedings because he's uncomfortable. What soothes him? THE GLIDER! I swear, I rock him for 5 minutes and he's out! Sometimes, I've tried rocking him on the couch, with the motion of my body...yeah right! He's too smart for that...definitely knows that it's not the glider!! I also think the glider is the reason why he sleeps so well at night time. He wakes up during the night...eats...gets changed...and goes right back to sleep! I know all babies are different...but I would recommend a glider for everyone! They can be on the pricey side...we bought ours for $130 on Walmart.com, which is fairly cheap compared to others. It's well well worth...trust me!!!

xoxo Dez

DEEGAN IS HERE! (Part 2- Postpartum)

Delivering Deegan was the best experience in my life. I instantly fell in love with those chubby cheeks and that blonde hair! After the delivery, they delivered the placenta which wasn't too bad...2 pushes and it was out...my mind was on my new son, so I didn't pay attention at all. But I did overhear the nurses rambling about how big my placenta was...someone joked that it was 8lbs, not sure if they actually weigh it or not? LOL. After that I suffered from discomfort while my main nurse pushed on my stomach to see how much I was bleeding, by the way...I could feel the blood coming out and it was sooooo uncomfortable. But once again, my mind was on Deegan! So every 15 minutes my nurse had to check for bleeding, by pushing on my stomach...REALLY hard. She had told me that she didn't like what she was seeing and that I might need a possible blood transfusion...that was scary! So every 15 minutes she was checking...until 2 hours had passed and we ended up moving to our post-delivery room, where the new nurses still checked on me every 15 minutes...it eventually got better and I stopped bleeding as much!

Before we transferred, Darrell had gotten my yummy mcdonald's for dinner *omg, I was sooooooo hungry!!!!*...luckily, they had a mcdonald's at the hospital because their cafeteria food was gnarly! About 20 minutes after delivering, I began breastfeeding right away with the help of our main nurse, Miss Courtney. Deegan latched on right away and had no problems...it's amazing how naturally it comes!

We got to our new room and I felt relieved to get a little more rest than I had in the delivery room. The nurse had to help me use the restroom which was a pain in the booty omg! I could barely walk and I couldn't just wipe, I had to blot myself dry which was horrible. It took me about 30 minutes just to go to the restroom and clean up. By the way, if you're a very shy person...get over it! Because the nurses will see and have no choice but to help with everything. I even had a male nurse check my bleeding...talk about embarrassing! I'm sure I could've requested a female nurse...but Darrell was there with me so I wasn't too worried.

The Navy Hospital doesn't have a "nursery", so Deegan roomed-in with us the whole time, which I would've preferred anyway. I truly believe that it helps you prepare to be at home with him. The first night...no rest lol. The nurses were in and out checking on us and I was too nervous about watching Deegan to make sure he was breathing and everything. I continued breastfeeding, but it became more painful eachtime. I tried manually expressing my milk, but there was no colostrum coming out! I requested to see a lactation nurse...

The next morning the lactation consultant came in and checked me out. Turns out, I had blisters on my nipples...OUCH!! And she discovered that Deegan was sucking wrong, but latching right. She recommended that we use a nipple shield and since I wasn't getting much colostrum, to feed him formula using a tube and syringe and placing it next to my nipple shield. So in the end, he was getting satisfied while my body was still getting the "signal" to make more milk. Let me tell you...we ended up staying an extra night because my nurse was concerned about his feeding habits, because he did lose some weight. This breastfeeding routine was highly difficult, because I needed Darrell's help with the syringe...so every 2 hours we were both awake and feeding. This worked during our stay, but ended up being a disaster and I'll explain why in a different blog!

The hospital stay was quite annoying...the food was nasty, the bed wasn't that comfy...I needed exercise, and we were dealing with a newborn for the first time. Darrell had to go run errands a few times throughout the day which left me alone with our angel...which was scary at first but helped prepare me for when Darrell goes back to work. Deegan got circumsized on Day #2...POOR GUY :( The nurse was like "did you hear him screaming?"...thank God that I didn't!! Once again...POOR GUY!! So glad it didn't take that long to heal!

Day #3 rolls around and my nipples were still sore, even from using the nipple shield lol. But Deegan seemed more satisfied with the formula, so I was happy. The lactation nurse checked on us again...and then the pediatrician went over some things with me. He had broken blood vessels in his eyes from the stress of his birth (big baby coming out of a small space....hello!! lol glad that was the only thing that happened to the poor little man!), and she assured me it would clear up soon! Also, he had a little bruising on his face, which could've developed into jaundice...so she advised me to see the dr. the next day and to put Deegan in front of the window for a few minutes a day. Other than that, my little guy was in good shape! She also prescribed him his amoxicillin for his kidneys, which is what the nephrologist had wanted before his kidney ultrasound! So after long talks, we were discharged! YAY!

Leaving the hospital was VERY scary. Knowing that we're so far from family and friends...we had eachother and a newborn! Scary, but we did great. Deegan actually slept very good for his first night...and we actually got more rest than expected as well!! :)

xoxo Dez

DEEGAN IS HERE! (Part 1- labor and delivery)

So it finally happened! And here's the story...

On Sunday, Sept 26th, Darrell and I took a trip to the mall and had a pretty chill day. I felt great...did not think I would be going into labor that night! Sure enough, I woke up around midnight to do my routine bathroom trip and felt funny. I was getting sharp cramps...so I went back to sleep thinking they would go away. Went to the bathroom twice more, and each trip I had more cramping. The last time was around 3:30am and I timed the contractions...4-5 minutes apart! I jumped in the shower real quick to freshen up because I knew what was happening. My contractions got much stronger and faster within minutes! At about 4:30am, I woke Darrell up and called the hospital. They told me to come right in, of course. My contractions were 3 minutes apart at that point and they were highly uncomfortable. The pain was tolerable...just uncomfy!! We get to the hospital at 5:30am and get seen by a midwife who checked me to make sure I was in true labor...I was 5cm!! So she goes "well, we're having a baby today!!". HOW EXCITING!! I was excited...yet READY for it to be over because of the contractions.

They put me in a labor and delivery room and put monitors on my tummy to monitor Deeg's heart rate. Then they ran an IV through my hand (the nurse poked me twice...grrrr!!) because I was GBS+, so I needed penicillin before my labor. The nurse drew some blood for tests and told us I could get the epidural after my test results were done. It seemed like FOREVER. She was taking her sweet time, my contractions were getting worse...it was just awful! Well guess what...SHIFT CHANGE! About an hour later...still waiting for results and pain meds...I get a new nurse who came in my room with phetenol! YES!!!! It made me feel like I had a few glasses of wine lol. Then about an hour later, I was dilated to 6cm and finally ready for my epidural! I was sooooooooooo nervous...but I didn't even care because the pain was horrible. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a shot of lidocaine in my back to numb the area. Felt like a small pinch...and then a few minutes later, in went the epidural. Let me say...it didn't hurt AT ALL!! All I felt was pressure...and my back was hurting in the position they had me in because honestly, the guy took his time and it took a while...but it was worth it for the most part! I started getting numb in about 15minutes. PROBLEM: My right side was completely numb, but I could feel everything from my left thigh and above. Nice! It took away the pain of the contractions for the most part though. It wasn't too bad...and they gave me a dosage control that you can press every 15 minutes if the pain is too intense. Well...I pressed it a few times but wanted to save most of it for last...MISTAKE! I should've just kept pressing it because the epidural ended up wearing off towards the end. The pain was SO HORRIBLE..plus I hadn't eaten anything since 7pm Sunday night...by this time it was 3pm Monday! I was so hungry!! After the epidural, the nurses came in and put in my urine catheter...felt pressure but that was it! It was just uncomfy for the most part because I could feel it move a little when I moved my legs or when Deegan moved around. My midwife came in and checked me, I was dilated at 7cm and she broke my water. Unfortunately, there was a little bit of meconium (baby's first poop inside), which meant they would need to haul baby away fast to clear his respiratory tract to prevent him from breathing it in and getting an infection! That was scary! As for the pain, I only felt it on my left side...and it was a constant pain! It was a horrible stomach ache, like I had to take a big poop or something. It was unbearable. I was screaming, crying...poor Darrell had to see me like that lol! The anesthesiologosts came in and changed out my epidural...made it more "dense", which sadly worked for about 20minutes and then I felt the pain again. I kept telling my nurse that I had to poop...and she was like "no, that's just labor...you're ready!!". After going through a few nurses, and being put on the back burner because I wasn't fully ready (there was a small part of my cervix still in the way)...my nurse finally comes in to check at 4pm and she goes "you're ready!! and you're going to start pushing!!". I was like "omg...I will start pushing but I hope I don't poop" LOL (luckily, I didn't...)

So I started pushing with every contraction...she had me hold my own legs back and put my chin to my chest each time which killed me. My neck was on fire and I couldn't feel my legs so it was really hard to pull my legs back lol. At about 4:20pm, she brought in the midwife and the team because I was so close. The pain was awful...I can't even describe. I pushed extra hard because I just wanted him out and to be done! I remember after each pushing session, snibbling and saying "I can't do this" and "it hurts so bad" with whimpers in my voice...but the team of coaches pushed me! It was great having them there and Darrell was great too...helping me lift my neck each push! I literally felt Deegan down low...and he was on my left side which is why it was hurting so bad. The pressure was crazy...I felt like a balloon about to POP! At 4:31pm...my midwife says, "ok Destinee, if he doesn't come out this next time, I have no choice but to give you an episiotomy because he's so close". Episiotomy?? NOT ME!!! I pushed so HARD like I never have before....and out he popped at 4:33pm, weighing 10lbs 5oz and 21" long! He was beautiful...he came out screaming! They hauled him away quickly and couldn't stop talking about how big he was and that I was "super woman" for pushing him out in 30 minutes! My midwife stitched me up because I ripped a little, I had felt it a little bit but the pain was forgettable because all I could think about was my beautiful baby in tears. After they got his measurements and footprints, they brought him to me swaddled in a blanket. I remember looking at him directly in the eyes...it's the best feeling in the world. A feeling that can't even be described, you just have to experience it for yourself some day! I just couldn't help but to think "wow, I'm going to be looking into these beautiful eyes everyday for the rest of my life".