Virtual Delivery

TIME TO HEAD OUT

The following illustrations from renowned medical illustrator Peg Gerrity show how a baby moves through the birth canal during a typical vaginal delivery.

READY

The baby is at term and the cervix is beginning to dilate.

SET

The mother's membranes rupture as the cervix continues to dilate.

GO

The baby's head is crowning, usually after a couple of hours of pushing.

WELCOME

The head has been delivered and the rest of the baby will soon follow.

WARNING!!! Pics posted are pretty gruesome. So if you can handle it, they’re at the bottom. These were taken after he came home today.

Well.... after 3 days spent at the Animal Hospital in Millersburg, Roscoe got to come home today!! He is in such bad shape, but he is doing great. He had to have surgery to flush out all of his wounds & lots of stitches. He still has the drain tubes in his wounds & will go back Monday to take them out.

He's on antibiotics, a pain pill & some other kind of pill.

He's been laying in his bed & sleeping for about 90% of the time he's been home. He's been going to the potty like normal, but not eating as much as normal & he's drinking ok. He's had several treats though, so that's probably why. He took his meds pretty well tonight. His wounds are oozing a little bit so he's not allowed on the couch. He jumps up there anyway & we have to tell him to get down.

So for the legal part: I have a form that my lawyer typed up for me for her to sign & she's agreed to sign it tomorrow after she gets off work. So, we'll see if she pays up or not. But the final bill was only $326 & the invoice said there was a discount in the amount of a little more than $2800!!! So OMG that's a big discount!! That vet is getting a "Thank you!" gift basket!!

Now for the NASTY PICS...........

The 1st one is on the top of his head.

#2 is his right side, back/ribs/chest area.

#3 is his throat & you can see a stitch on the tip of his left ear where it was split a little.

#4 is on the left side of his neck, behind his ear.

These could've put me into LABOR!!

EXCITEMENT #1
So I went to Wal-Mart for just a bit & left my dog, Roscoe, out on his chain because it was so warm out & I was only going to be gone for 30 minutes or so. When I got back I see my Roscoe's chain is empty & his collar is still attached lying out in the middle of the yard. So I'm like, "Great! He got loose & is running around the neighborhood & I have to go hunt him down." But when I turn the corner to my back door, there he is sitting there all chewed up & bleeding. So me, Roscoe & Bo go in the house & I'm immediately on the phone trying to get in touch with a vet. It's past 5pm so every vet in Paris isl closed but one who refuses to take him because they already were working on another emergency case. After much begging & pleading they still refuse my dog any care. (What the crap kind of vet refuses to help an injured animal?!?!?!?!?!) So I'm pissed at this point. I call the vet in Millersburg, who is closing in about 10 minutes, but will take him in & wait on me to get there. What angels!!!

So while I'm on the phone with the Millersburg vet my neighbors (we'll call them Neighbor A) come & tell me what happened. Another neighbor's (Neighbor B) set of 2 big dogs got out of their pen, came into my yard & attacked him. One is a boxer & the other is unknown breed, but the same size as the boxer. (BTW: My dog is a beagle/dachshund mix & weighs only about 15 lbs. He's small & very non-aggressive.) So Neighbor A tells me all about what happened & that their 11 yrs old son got them off of my little dog. (What a hero! He could've gotten really hurt!! Yes, he's getting a reward!) Then Neighbor B comes over & tells me it was her dogs & that she wants to take care of the vet bill. She also took both of her dogs to the pound. She was very upset about the whole incident & didn't want to take another chance with her dogs getting a hold of a child. Neighbor A husband gets Roscoe wrapped in a towel & into the truck for me while I'm getting Bo in the car. Such nice people!!

So I take him to the vet & on the way there he's getting kinda droopy-eyed, so I thought he was going to pass out from blood loss, which wasn't very much, but like I said, he's little. He has a big chunk of meat off the top of his head, his throat is gashed open, has a puncture wound on his rib cage & numerous cuts & gashes on his ears, body, face & legs. They checked his breathing to see if his lung was punctured & it was fine. They checked his color from the blood loss & that was fine. They are going to keep him over night, sedate him, stitch him up, & start him on antibiotics & IV. We'll see tomorrow how he is ok & if he can come home. The vet said he should be ok & not to worry about him dying or anything. So that’s good news.

EXCITEMENT #2
After I got home from taking Roscoe to the vet & giving the neighbors an update, I gave Bo some supper. He’s eating a piece of bread & sticks half the slice in his mouth & gets choked on it. I mean turning blue choked! So I save his life by knocking it out of his throat & he pukes all over the place. He’s ok, catches his breath & I hug & kiss all over him. I clean up the mess & now everything has settled down.

Is there anything else going to happen to throw me into labor today?????!!!!!!

Baby update (3/9/09 - 33 wks)

Here's an update on the pregnancy. I went to the doctor today & got an ultrasound to measure his growth. I haven't had an ultrasound since 19 wks, so it's been a while.

Well, he looks great & is perfectly healthy. He is measuring the size of a 36 wk old baby. He's estimated to be about 6 lbs, 1 oz & is in the 84.4 percentile. That's a BIG BABY!!! Bo was born 6 lbs, 10 oz. So that kinda gives you an idea how big James is.

And I still have 7 wks left. The doc said it's quite possible that he might make it to 9 lbs for birth. YIKES!! I'll keep you posted........ :)

Also, you could really see his face pretty well & I think he looks just like Bo! Another mini-Robbie, maybe??