pretty little things

sleeping beauty

in her favorite spot ... on the boppy in my lap

Posted on April 22, 2013 in baby | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

birth story

April 3 2013

2:00 am water breaks

3:30 am arrive at hospital 70% effaced no dilation

7:00 am begin induction because membranes have ruptured

12:30 pm start pitocin

manage contractions with the help of a yoga ball until 2:30 pm

2:30 pm get checked and i am only 1cm

pain becomes unmanageable and i request an epidural

3:00 pm epidural administered

3:30 pm epi only works on left side

still feeling contractions full force on the right side.

4:00 pm epi removed and replaced and i finally have some relief on my right side

continue laboring for the next 6 hours

10pm checked and am 6 cm

epi wears off on left side and contractions are excruciating

learn that baby's head is stuck behind left pelvis

she starts to show signs of distress (not enough activity)

i begin screaming like a banshee as pitocin is increased to try and bring baby down (remember i have no epidural on the left side which is where she is stuck)

Dr discusses possibility of c section and at this point i just want this little girl out of me!

April 4 2013

1:00 am checked again and am still only 6 cm...my cervix is very swollen due to baby's position so the Dr recommends staying on pitocin drip for just 2 more hours to see if i make any progress or if baby repositions herself.

i barely make it one more hour in complete agony. shaking uncontrollably and crying at this point. my poor husband looks terrified!!

i last another half hour until 2:30 am until Dr returns for another check...still only 6cm and so he recommends an emergency c section...since my water broke over 24 hours ago and i have been up for 43 hours without any food. i am completely exhausted!

3:00 am prepped for c-section and wheeled into OR

i remember trying to speak to my husband but they had given me morphine so my mouth wasn't working and i'm pretty sure i was just mumbling a bunch gibberish.

3:26 am my sweet baby girl shows her pretty little face over the curtain and is quickly whisked away to get cleaned off and medically assessed before being handed over to her papa.

8lbs 2.5 oz and 21 inches long...which is a lot of baby for my very small frame

we are wheeled back into a recovery room after being sewn back together and i can't even keep my eyes open because of all the drugs pumped into my body...i really felt terrible and all i wanted to do was hold the baby, but i was so out of it i was afraid i would drop her so she hung with her papa until i got my wits back

baby gets a bath (without any soap as i requested) papa watches and whispers sweet nothings in her ear as she cries.

i cradle baby as i am wheeled up to the postpartum floor to begin recovery.

i spent 3 days in the hospital and was up and moving around on the first day. on the second day my legs and feet swelled to the size of tree trunks and i was given compression stockings to help get things under control.

we had the most amazing nurses around the clock and my husband was allowed to sleep in the empty bed next to me. they had put us in a double room but decided not to give me a roommate since i had a c section. we totally lucked out that the head nurse let us stay together in the same room. it made all the difference to have him there as company and support.

the baby stayed with us the entire time in the room and we were responsible for her care from the moment she was born.

we were discharged a day early because the Dr felt i was doing so well and my incision looked 'beautiful'

we got home around 6 pm on saturday evening and introduced emily to matilda who had spent the past few days with a neighbor.

we have been enjoying our time together as a family ever since and i have been adjusting to having a baby on the boob around the clock and getting as much sleep as i can.

we have had a couple rough nights but overall things have been really smooth. she had already gained weight by our first appointment on monday which means all of my breast feeding was paying off which i was grateful to hear since my nipples are KILLING me.

she has continued gaining weight and we are starting to get into a bit of a routine. i am still a little sore, but have been out of the house a couple of times already...been doing alot of walking and am definitely on the road to recovery.

i can't believe how much my tummy has gone down in just a few days.

papa heads back to work next week and i am a little nervous about doing everything myself...he has ben such a huge help and changes 80% of the diapers. i think it's going to be a challenge to manage baby and matilda all day, but i am confident we will all figure each other out.

well, that's pretty much how the last week and a half have gone for us and i have to say, i am really looking forward to watching this little girl blossom...she is changing so much everyday and i am trying to soak up every bit of it.

Posted on April 14, 2013 in baby | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)