Friday, March 18, 2011

I realized the other day that I don't really have any pictures of me and Sophie. Here's one that Danny took the other morning before going to my doctor's appointment.


Wednesday was a great day this week! I had a doctor's appointment and found out that I currently weigh 12 pounds less than I did at my first prenatal appointment last July. That means that since giving birth to little Sophie 2 weeks ago, I've lost 20+ pounds. Now, I have a long way to go to meet any weight loss goals, but it was exciting to see the scale dip a bit lower than it had in the past! Before having Sophie, I was looking forward to having the spring off - going on walks with Sophie everyday, maybe joining Weight Watchers - definitely trying to lose some weight. After having a c-section, my body aches. It's difficult to walk upstairs more than once or twice a day. I'm tired a lot. I'm not taking the strong pain killers anymore (I really wanted to be able to drive!), but I'm still on a high dose of ibuprofen just to feel well enough to walk around the house. I was encouraged that the breastfeeding is helping and the small amount of activity I can do is also contributing. We'll see how long this all lasts, but for now, I'm encouraged!

After returning from my doctor's appointment, Sophie's Grandma (Danny's mom) came by for a visit. That evening, several of our friends came over and we decided to cook out. We had a great time! It had been a long time since we'd had a group of people over, so it was really nice to not only see everyone, but to be able to look forward to this summer - nicer weather, cook outs, and great friends! I'm so excited for it! Sophie was a party animal! She was well behaved - when she was with me! She's become quite a mama's girl (which doesn't bother me one bit!) and loves to sleep on my chest. This morning has been difficult - my to-do list is growing so I decided to put her in her swing for her morning nap. She's done great! She's slept for about an hour and half, if not longer! Looks like we need to purchase some more batteries!

Today is pay day! Yay! Hopefully that means that we'll get out of the house for a bit - maybe a run to the grocery store, probably a run to Babies R Us. It doesn't matter to me where we go - I'm just excited to get out for a bit!

Happy St. Patrick's Day



Here is Sophie on her first St. Patrick's Day! She's getting so big already!





Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Sophie Grace

It's hard to believe that Ms. Sophie is a week old today! What a week it has been! Last week, I blogged about getting ready for the baby to arrive and here we are a week later...in our home, with our baby, trying to figure all this out. Things did not go as I had anticipated last Wednesday. We checked in to the hospital around 6:30 a.m. We were taken to our room where the whole induction process was started. Silly me, I really thought that things would move pretty quickly. I was already 4 cm dilated. Everything was "favorable." We were ready. So, we waited. And we waited. And we waited.  I had my water broken a little before noon - that was not a fun experience. Shortly after that, I asked for the epidural. The contractions were painful, but just not strong enough. I was so scared about getting an epidural - you know, having a needle stuck in your back is a little scary. It wasn't as awful as I thought it would be, and after the medicine kicked in, I was able to rest. I didn't feel the contractions anymore. I said several times that it's no wonder people get addicted to pain medicine - if that's what it feels like!

The nurse continued to check my progress every 2 hours. I was not progressing the way we had all hoped. At one point, probably around 6:30 or 7, I was dilated to about 7 cm and my nurse made a comment like, "It's not looking very good for a vaginal delivery." I was devastated. And scared. And worried. The last thing I wanted was to have a c-section. Then, the contractions became more painful and were spreading to my back. I was in tears with every contraction and there was nothing they could do for me. Around 8 p.m., my doctor came in and the decision was made to go ahead with a c-section. The baby hadn't "dropped" at all. I wasn't progressing and I was in pain. Everything happened so quickly after the decision was made. I received some more anesthesia, Danny dressed in his scrubs, and before I knew it, we were being rolled to the operating room. There was a moment when Vannah came in to my room and I could tell she had been crying. I know that everyone was trying to be strong for me, but I was scared. Seeing her sweet little face, reddened from crying was so touching and heartbreaking at the same time. She was so worried about me being taken in to surgery. We hugged and I tried to reassure her that everything would be fine, but at the same time, I was scared to death.

Once in the operating room, things moved right along. It was quite an experience - so strange and uncomfortable. I laid there for some time as they "prepared" me for the operation. Once Danny came into the room, I was so excited to see him, but also quite loopy and out of it from the pain medications. The procedure itself was uncomfortable, but thankfully I didn't experience a great deal of pain. As they pulled the baby out, I remember hearing my doctor say "This baby has A LOT of hair!" Then, the moment we had waited all that time for - they told us that we had a baby girl! It was a very sweet, tender moment between Danny and me as we relished in the moment. His excitement was evident from the very second we heard that it was a girl. As they started to clean her off, they called him over and he was able to hold her and be with her - as I laid on the table and was put back together. I remember that he came and showed her to me and I immediately fell in love. This sweet little bundle is all ours - forever.



After the c-section, I was taken to the recovery area and had a few minutes by myself with Sophie. Danny had left to tell our families about our baby girl and I just sat in the recovery area, holding her and loving on her. I was completely overcome with emotions in the moment and just sat there and cried. It was just unreal to me that this little girl belonged to me. That Danny and I created her. What an amazing gift! Several times over the past week, we've looked at each other and said "We must've done something right." She's such a sweet blessing and is just perfect. It was so fun to see our families come into the recovery area and meet Sophie for the first time. As our parents and siblings all came back to meet Sophie, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness, knowing how very excited my dad would have been to meet her. I am sad that she will not ever be able to meet her Gramps, but know that she has a guardian angel watching over her. He would have loved her so very much.

Once we were taken to our room, Sophie was given her first bath and her footprints were taken for the hospital birth certificate. We were all exhausted. In the midst of everything, I started trying to nurse Sophie. We've had some bumps along the way with the nursing, but are now doing pretty well. We stayed in the hospital until Saturday afternoon. We had lots of visitors while we were there. Things went so much more smoothly than I had anticipated in the hospital. For that, I really am grateful!

Now that we are home, we are just trying to figure it all out. We've had lots of visitors since coming home. Friends and family have brought us meals (which has truly been a lifesaver - it's been hard enough to find time to shower, let alone cook a meal!). Sophie is a good eater and a good sleeper! We are really lucky. She slept last night for 5 hours straight! I could hardly believe it! We went to the pediatrician yesterday for her check up. When she was born, she weighed 7 lbs 7 oz. When we left the hospital, she was down to 6 lbs 11.5 oz. Yesterday, at the doctor's office, she was back up to 7 lbs! He was very impressed with her weight! He said that she is just doing great! We couldn't be happier!

I'm healing well from the c-section. I still wish that I didn't have to go through it, but here we are. We have Sophie at home with us and we are both healthy. We couldn't ask for much more! I know the recovery will be difficult. I'm trying to take it easy, but at the same time, I want to be active so that I can heal. Life is all about finding balance, so I'm trying to piece it together - doing just enough, but not too much.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The time has come...

I took the day off work today to prepare for tomorrow. At our doctor's appointment yesterday, we decided to go ahead and be induced tommorrow (March 2). Throughout my pregnancy, my blood pressure has been on the higher end. It hasn't been so high that I've been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, but high enough that my doctor does watch it pretty closely. I've been thankful that it hasn't turned into pre-eclampsia and basically, my doctor feels like it's best to induce now while all conditions are "favorable" instead of waiting too long and taking the chance that I could develop pre-eclampsia. I was 4 cm dilated yesterday (I was checked twice - once by my doctor and once by a student, who once she was "settled," said "what am I feeling for?" Um....don't you think you should have asked that about 30 seconds ago!?!?). I've progressed some each week, so my doctor is going to take advantage of the progress we've made and we are set to induce tomorrow.

We are both so excited! It was awfully difficult for me to focus at work yesterday. I struggled to get much accomplished, but was able to contact the families of the kids I work with and say farewell to my girls. I've tried really hard to prepare them that this would be my last week, so it wasn't very dramatic. Last night, Danny and I just spent a quiet night at home. We ordered a pizza and quite frankly, we didn't even talk much with each other. I think we both just needed to sit and let things really sink in. Today, there are a few things on my to-do list, but mostly, I want to savor the quiet time in our pre-baby home. I need to finish packing my hospital bag, put some laundry away, do the dishes, and finish writing thank you notes. Danny is going to install the car seat. We may have dinner with my mom and sisters. Then, we'll try to head to bed early tonight. We'll call the hospital a little before 5 a.m. to see when they want us to come in. I'm trying to prepare myself that tomorrow will be a long day, but all I can think about is kissing the sweet little face of our baby. It will be weird not to have people asking me every day if it's a boy or a girl. Our little "Baby Minton" will finally have a name!