Monday, March 22, 2010

The One in the Middle

Yesterday was my sweet Lana's third birthday. Since I started this blog at the end of May last year, she is the last birthday of my girls, therefore the last one I get to talk about coming into this world. Now, if you know me or have been reading this blog a while, you know Lana is my more... challenging one. She is a true middle child, from what I've been told. My easy going sister Beth, apparently, was not. This is probably why I was so thrown off by Lana.

I should have known from the beginning that she would be a force to be reckoned with, by how sick I was for the first FIVE months of my pregnancy. When I found out I was pregnant, toward the end of July 2006, I figured the pregnancy would be easy. I'd spend the bigger part during the winter months, which in L. A. means 60 degrees. At least I wouldn't have to deal with a hot summer and being swollen like I was with Sonya. I didn't think about the fact that when you're nauseous, it's even worse to deal with heat. I didn't leave my house for the entire month of August. It was miserable and I didn't think the nagging nausea would ever end. The only things I could eat were pizza and grilled cheese. Nice diet, I know, but I was lucky to be able to eat something. Finally, around the beginning of October, the nausea and vomiting subsided and I felt like myself again. The rest of the pregnancy was uneventful, except for the low fluid toward the end. I ended up on "modified bed rest", which meant I was to be a couch potato as much as possible. That sounds fantastic, right? Sure, except I had a two year old to take care of. Oh, and a house that was having an addition added to it.

I tried my best to rest, but eventually my fluid became to low and they decided to induce me on March 20th. I was more favorable for induction than I had been with Sonya, so I was hoping things would go more smoothly. Most people opt for a scheduled C-section once they've had one, but I did not want to go that route. I really wanted to try for a vaginal birth after C-section, more commonly known as a VBAC. I didn't want to go through the surgery, and mostly the recovery again. I really wanted to have the experience of giving birth the way nature intended. Well with a few man made drugs thrown in. No need to get crazy!

Things did go better than they did with Sonya. They didn't have to turn off my pitocin every ten minutes, and I continued to progress. My doctors and nurses were really on board with my VBAC. They even pushed me when I thought I couldn't take it anymore and ASKED for the C-section. I did. I hit the wall and didn't want to deal with the labor anymore. Not that I could feel much, but what I could was starting to really wear on me. It had been 20 hours at that point, and I was done. I told them as much and the nurse said we would wait a bit more. Then when she came in and checked me and told me I was ready to go. I was immediately energized and had never been more excited. I had made it to ten centimeters!! Lucky for me, the pushing part was easy. From the time I started pushing to the time she came out was about all of 20 minutes.

She was screaming (as most babies are), but she just had a pissed off look on her face. I love my little Lana and she's absolutely adorable now, but well...let's just say she took a while to grow into herself. I didn't care, she was adorable to me cone headed and all. I had just pushed her out, damnit!

Then there was the issue of her name. We were pretty much all set to name her Holly. Despite the fact that Andy had an ex-girlfriend with that name. I've always liked the name and didn't really care about the ex, but when she came out we realized she was NOT a Holly. So for about a day she went without a name. We went back to our list and Lana was on my long list of names at one point, but Andy had never approved. When we went back over the list, he had a change of heart. Looking at her now, Lana is really the most suitable name for her, in both looks and personality.

For the first couple months she was a pretty good baby. Better than Sonya had been and we were thankful, because that addition project I mentioned, well, we were smack in the middle of it when she was born. We had to move out of the house for a month when she was six weeks old. Let me tell you about how much fun THAT was! We had to pack up our bedrooms and half our house to move to a furnished ONE BEDROOM where we all slept for a month. With a two year old. And a six week old. On the plus side, there was a pool.

After we moved back in the house, the quiet easy baby disappeared. At about 4 months, Lana would wake up screaming in the middle of the night arching her back. She was also a chronic spit upper. I thought something was really wrong with her. However, it wasn't as bad as I let the Internet websites lead me to believe, she only had acid reflux. It took us a month and a half to figure it out and help her with a little medication. She finally stopped screaming that is until I started starving her. Then she got cranky again. Turns out not every woman's body can accommodate breast feeding a baby while growing another one. Lana was only seven months old when I became pregnant with Georgia.

The Doctor was concerned when we went to her nine month checkup and she had gained half a pound in three months. Now, for those of you without babies-that's not a lot. Just to give you perspective. I immediately stopped breastfeeding her and put her on formula. She gained half a pound in just ONE week. Poor thing. You should know the only way to get the formula in her was to liquify her food with it, because she plain out REFUSED the bottle. My mom tried for two days to get her to take the bottle but she wouldn't, and if my mom couldn't do it, then it wasn't going to happen. Needless to say, Lana was not happy when the boobs got taken away. Something else she can blame Georgia for later in life.

The lack of weight gain led to blood tests and trips to the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. I knew it was probably my body just not making enough milk, but the doctor wanted to be sure. I am so thankful there was nothing seriously wrong with her to the point where the Children's Hospital became her second home. I feel so sad for those kids and families in there who that is the case for.

There was also the physical therapy we had her do, because she didn't seem to be on par with movement like other kids her age. This, again, wasn't because something was really wrong with her, but she just didn't want to. When she was ready, she did sit up, crawl, and walk. It was always on HER terms though. This was just Lana. She had a few bumps her first year, but nothing major. As it turns out she's just a stubborn little girl with a sassy diva attitude. I try to curb it as best I can, but it is her personality. Being in the middle only gives her more fuel. She's very smart, but not in the same way as Sonya. She knows how to get what she wants and when to give in. She'll decide if she wants to learn her letters or numbers when SHE'S ready and not before. Out of my three girls, she is the one I am worried most about in her teenage years and also the one I know will be most successful as an adult, because she will not take "no" for an answer. She will have all the boys wrapped around her little finger. That might actually be a good thing.

There is just something that draws people to her. I hear it all the time from friends and family. There is that fire that some people have, that makes you want to know them. Lana has that. Perhaps it's because she was born on the first day of spring. There is an old saying about spring coming in like a lion. Lana personifies that saying. She IS that lion. Only I don't think she'll be going out like a lamb anytime soon. I love her and her sisters incredibly, and look forward to watching each of them grow. However, Lana is the one I'm most interested in seeing how she will set the world on fire. I just hope it's not literally.

Happy Birthday Lana Drew, Lana Lu! I love you my sassy girl!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm still so proud of you for not getting a C-Section with Lana, I always knew you could do it! Happy Birthday Lana, you get better with age!