Our November Miracle

Our beautiful Elaine arrived at 5:32AM Friday, November 2nd!  A healthy 6 lb. 11 oz., 20 in.

LABOR AND DELIVERY

My last prenatal appointment was last Wednesday.  The doctor did an internal exam and said I was 2cm dilated, 70% effaced.  He scheduled me to be induced the following Monday 11/5 at 7:00AM.  Later that night around midnight I noticed some spotting and was told by the doctor on call that it was most likely from the internal exam.  Well, the next morning...

My contractions started sometime Thursday morning, but I wasn't sure if it was pressure, discomfort, braxton hicks, or the real deal.  I had decided to work from home the rest of the week in case I started labor (good thing!).  Sean, Kelly and Mark were over keeping me company and we were expecting my parents for dinner.  As the sensations got stronger and more frequent, I texted Mike at 3:30PM and asked him to come home early.

Shortly after Mike got home around 4:15PM, the progression of labor sped up significantly.  Sean and Kelly were barely out the door and we were timing contractions at an average of 50sec long, 4min apart (we were instructed to go to the hospital when they were 1min long, 5min apart for 1 hour).  We waited an hour from 4:26PM-5:30PM and called the hospital.  The doctor called us back an eternity later (i.e. 15min) and told us to come in.  By this time I was surprised at how strong they were already and a little scared by how fast it was moving.  I wanted to be at the hospital immediately!

******************************* 40 1/2 Weeks *******************************

I look like that b/c this is between contractions

We got to the hospital  around 6:00PM (it was quite strange having to walk through the parking lot and through the lobby, passed people, while having contractions!).  Once we were there, everything seemed to take forever.  We waited probably a full 2min outside the maternity wing to be let in through the doors--there was just no answer.  Then we were shown into the triage room where they hooked me up to some monitors to see if I was really in labor.  The monitors kept falling off my stomach, so I had no idea if they were getting good readings or if we were just delaying the epidural.  After an hour they decided I was in labor and dilated 5cm and they began the process of preparing me for the epidural (started an IV, took some blood for testing).  That took another good hour before I was finally approved to get it.  Two hours after that, I'm finally in the delivery room getting the epidural.  At that point I'm 8cm.

After the epidural, things went much smoother.  I did have a fever but it was kept in check.  We were able to rest and wait for the time to start pushing, which came around 4:30AM.  Since I was well-rested and couldn't feel any pain at all, the pushing was a breeze.  An hour later our daughter pops out!  The doctor said I looked really great and should recovery very well.

THE FIRST DAY

She came out of the womb with eyes wide open, looking around with interest and - we would swear - focusing on our faces.  The doctor commented that she was acting very mature for a newborn.  Seeing her for the first time was amazing, it isn't something that can be explained.  She was perfect.

In her first 24 hours she did extremely well.  She nursed well, wasn't fussy and stayed awake a good portion of the day.  She continued to look around very deliberately and seemed to be able to focus fairly well.  Once, to my extreme surprise, she lifted herself on her arms from her stomach, lifted her head right up and looked around!  The doctor said she has unusual neck strength for her age.  We had a lot of visitors that day, but she did well.  The nurses and doctor were all in agreement that it's very unusual for a newborn to be so awake and alert, usually they have trouble nursing because they're so sleepy.

Our first night was very difficult.  Nursing wasn't going well and we didn't know what to do.  I got maybe an hour of sleep, Mike not much more, and Elaine just didn't seem happy at all.  It was such a helpless feeling not being able to soothe her and give her what she needed.  It was very stressful on all of us.

ONE DAY OLD

Our second night together

The next day went much better.  The lactation consultant stopped by in the morning and spoke with us and Mike and I discussed a new plan of action for nursing.  He went home and had a nice nap, I sent Elaine to the nursery and got my first two hours of sleep since Thursday morning, excluding two hours during labor.  I spent the day talking to all the nurses, asking a lot of questions about nursing and how to keep her happy.  

They said first of all, it helps that the they remain pretty detached from the babies' cries and stay calm.  Second, it seemed that Elaine was just so alert, she really wanted to be held continually.  Every nurse said she was a snuggler and that all the nurses in the nursery got to know her well.  Apparently she was just very hungry and wanted to nurse a lot, so I tried to feed her whenever she wanted to keep her happy and help my milk come in.

I cheated and fell asleep with her a little

The second night was great - I was able to figure out when she was hungry before she started crying and she seemed so much happier for it.  I tried to stay confident about getting her latched on - oh, and I took the strongest pain killers I could get so that I could nurse through the pain.  It didn't take that long - within twelve hours - before the pain became more manageable. 

TWO DAYS OLD

We discharged on our third day.  That morning we spoke to a lot of different people - an RN about home care and recovery, the lactation consultant about our breast-feeding, the pediatrician, and a doctor from my ob/gyn office.  We signed all our forms, welcomed some visitors back, and were on our way.  She weighed in at 6lb. 4oz. when we left.

My parents also came to visit and helped us get ready to go and carry all our bags to the car.  Also Sean came in to see us again, and Mark was there but he wasn't allowed on the maternity floor.  Unfortunately no one got pictures when my family was there. :(  It was a hectic morning, and I was so overwhelmed by all the staff visiting us and all the information and paperwork they were dumping on us.  Well we have lots of time for photo shoots with you and the baby, Mom and Dad!

FIRST DAY HOME

 Driving with our little baby in the car was definitely a little scary (and we totally got tailgated, even though Mike went 5mph over).  But it was so exciting!!  We were FINALLY home with our daughter after waiting for so long.

Our first moments home

 

Such a proud daddy

First time in the crib

The first feeding or two was tough - not sure if the change in environment affected her and/or me, and the absence of nurses to definitely made me nervous.  But Mike helped us stay calm and get through it and the rest of the night was pretty smooth. 

We were exhausted but kept chugging along - Mike even made it to Mass.  I let Mike get a full night's rest, since I will have full-time night care these first few weeks anyway.  The plan was for me to get the day off except for feedings since Mike is home, but I found I had the energy and was itching to do a few things.

I did sleep on the floor next to her crib - I left her for a few minutes and I came back to find spit up in her crib. I was so scared she might choke so I couldn't leave her.  I asked a nurse about it and she said there have been many studies done on it and babies always always turn their head to the side, it's no big deal it happens all the time.  It's not that I'm not doing something right burping her.

 

We said our first family rosary together, which was beautiful.  It still counts even if we were too exhausted to enunciate all the words.  There were some tears...that's all I will say.  We are so especially blessed!  

Speaking of tears, my hormones were pretty wacky the past few mornings.  It's a bizarre feeling for sure.

THREE DAYS OLD - FIRST MORNING HOME

Waking daddy up

Hanging out

Getting kisses

And more kisses

 

Our insurance covered a home visit so the hospital sent a home care nurse in the morning to see us.  It was really nice - she was full and useful knowledge, and it was great to hear all the recovery and home care information again, because when they dumped it all on us at the hospital, I wasn't confident I would remember everything.  We were able to ask some questions that came up since we had been home and set some concerns to rest (like whether or not the temperature in the apartment was okay).  Elaine was the same weight as she was when discharged and everything else check out wonderfully.

FOUR DAYS OLD

Mike is working from home today (or trying to - I brought her down and put her in the bouncer and he says "How am I supposed to work with those little eyes looking at me?).  I am cuddling her silly!  I am going to try to catch more rest than I have been (I haven't been sleeping between the day feedings).  Elaine has been very sleepy today, averaging around two hours between feedings (way more than at the hospital).

We have her one week appointment with her doctor on Monday.  I don't need to be seen for six more weeks.  I don't want to go back to work!  I'm already thinking about how much I'll miss her.

Overall....motherhood is more beautiful, amazing, and heavenly than I could have ever imagined.  I am SO happy to be a mommy.  Mike is a terrific father and is head-over-heels for his little girl.  It melts my heart to see them together.  He is doing so much for me - even feeding ME while I feed her.  We are definitely a blessed, happy family.