Two Months!

AHH How are we back here already?  I'm guessing the shock of how many days/weeks have passed is going to be a regular thing.  I'm really, finally, starting to enjoy maternity leave.  It took me about 6 weeks to recover/get used to Abby/get into a groove.  We're just past 8 weeks and I'm finally feeling comfortable with things and really starting to enjoy each day.  Going back to work is inevitable so I'm just trying to make each day count until then!

This month, Abby met almost all of the family members on my side at my Grandmother's funeral and the surrounding events.  It was so wonderful that my Grandmother got to meet Abby and I will always remember and will share the photos and memories with Abby as she grows up. The three of us packed up and headed to PA- and Abby and I actually stayed for a few days extra while Joey flew to GA for work.   It was this trip for the funeral and all of the family events that really kicked my rear into gear.  It was the first time that I had to follow a schedule that wasn't Abby's and Joey wasn't there to help and there wasn't time to feel sorry for myself because I had clogged milk ducts (this was right when I started antibiotics for mastitis and I was terrified of getting it again).  I fed her in the church, I pumped in the car, and she slept through the church service and everyone held her and said what a good baby she was.  We survived.  And after that, I realized I can do this! And it was really empowering.

Getting a bottle from Aunt Corinne at the church.  This was the only picture I got of her complete outfit that day (-1 sock).

One of my favorite pictures so far.  Abby and my Mom.

Also this month, we took Abby to her first restaurant(s).  She was very well behaved, of course, because the moment we strap her into her carseat and put her in the car, she's out like a light.  ALSO, I finally worked up the nerve to take the stroller out with me.  I don't know why, but that was a huge deal.  I got her into Dick's Sporting Goods (to buy Joey a kayak...) and to Kohls to try on dresses.  I was terrified the whole time that she would cry, but of course, she didn't.  And nobody even looked twice at the stroller.

Our 4 year wedding anniversary was this past weekend.  We celebrated by leaving Abby with Grandma and going out to a really expensive French restaurant for dinner.  The fourth year is "flowers and fruit", so Joey got me 2 dozen humongous roses and a bottle of wine (<- counts as fruit, right??).  I deviated a bit and bought him the kayak he's been talking about since I was 39 weeks pregnant and he didn't understand why I wouldn't let him go get a kayak and play on the river in it. He had a blast paddling up and down the Potomac near our house this weekend.

Snapchat FTW

How many months? TWO Months! (Currently, 8 weeks and 5 days)

Recent Stats:  I gave you her stats in my "Just Popping In" post, and that's from 2 weeks ago.  Luckily I ordered an infant scale from Amazon. It arrived today but I don't have the right battery so I'll have to check back when I get it.  I ordered the scale because her next appointment isn't for a couple months and I want to make sure she's gaining weight.  I'm also curious to see how many ounces of milk she's taking in when I breast feed her vs. bottle.  I want to make sure we're giving her enough in her bottles.

Clothes size:  Well we're in an interesting conundrum.  Abby is long and thin, so she can still fit in (some) newborn size onesies.  The problem is the pants and footies... her legs are too long!  The 0-3 size fits the best but we don't have a lot of that.  The 3 month stuff fits her length-wise but is huge and baggy everywhere else.  I feel like we're probably not the only family in America with this issue... The onesie in the pics below is a newborn size and you can see it's a liiittle too small.

Diaper Size: 1

Breastfeeding: I gave a lengthy update a couple posts back so I'll just tell you it's more of the same.  The only issue I've been dealing with lately is a ton of blocked milk ducts, which is scary because if they don't resolve they can get infected and cause mastitis.  I know diet is a huge factor, so I'm going to focus on that and see if it helps at all.  Since Abby is no longer in my body, I've become a bit lackadaisical about eating well...

Sleeping: I'm afraid to write about it because I know as soon as I do, she'll stop sleeping through the night.  Actually last night she did wake up for a dream feed around 2:30, but for the most part she's sleeping ~7 hours at night, give or take.  I detailed our schedule in my previous post so I won't bore you with that again.

Personality: OH my goodness! Every day she is just budding.  She and I will carry on little "conversations" with her coos.  Her smiles are to die for! She is just starting to learn how to use her voice.  I've heard her laugh but I don't think it's been in response to anything- I think that's next.  I know every Mom says this but damn, my kid is cute!

One of these days she is going to wear this and like it!!!

Milestones: [*Last time I talked about 'babbling' but I really meant 'cooing'.  Babies don't really babble for a couple more months.] Tons of cooing, following us around the room with her head and eyes, lift her head up off the ground/turn it to the side, holds head up when sitting for longer periods of time, reaches out for things (such as her mobiles/hanging toys), etc.

I'm sure I forgot stuff so I'll just come back and edit the post when I remember... ;)

~SG

Our Schedule

I've never been one for routine.  I think this stems from my rebellion after spending my entire young life in a ballet studio doing the same exercises, in the same order, day after day.  I remember once in college I realized I had a shower routine (facewash, shampoo, etc) and I immediately switched it up because I didn't like it.

Here's the thing, though.  Babies need routine.  So... I bit the bullet and started working on a schedule with Abby.  I was really disappointed in how it was going until I realized that it's not going to be cut and dry. *Duh, Sarah.  I was thinking about it yesterday and while we don't stick to specific times, we do have a pretty good schedule down.  It will get even more solid once I go back to work, (and will probably get messed up a few times with each growth spurt), but here is what we're doing each day so far.

Disclaimers: Abby eats every 2.5-3 hours, so the times below will obviously change on a daily basis depending on when she ate last.  Also, I'm pumping every 3 hours but I'm not going to put that on here because that's pretty predictable. ALSO so you people don't think I'm a bad Mom I do change her diaper more than I wrote down below.  Obviously that's something you do as needed...

I realize you probably don't care about any of this but it's fun for me to write it down (hello, I make itineraries for fun) so... either read it or don't ;)

3:30AM: My day starts.  Yep.  I wake up every day, on my own, around this time because I need to pump!! Abby might be sleeping through a feeding or two, but my udders don't get that memo.  I sneak out of the bedroom and back in and hope that the creature doesn't stir.

5AM (If we are lucky. Sometimes it's more like 4/4:30): Joey's alarm goes off for work, and Abby is usually sucking on her fists, kicking her legs furiously, and making various noises.  I've been getting a bottle ready after I pump so I have one ready to give the starving animal right away!  She eats, gets a new diaper, and after some brief awake time, she'll usually go back to sleep.

Morning Nap #1: This is the early morning nap.  Takes place either upstairs in the pack n play or downstairs in the swing while Mommy has coffee and watches Jummy and Autria on ABC7...

I always put her down horizontally and I always find her like this in the morning.  She rotates 90 degrees every night.

8AMish: Abby wakes up, gets a new diaper and a bottle.  I usually get her dressed and then we have some play time since she's awake for a little while.  She's not a huge fan of tummy time but it's necessary :( We also listen to Baby Einstein music or just plain classical (we're going through the Tchaikovsky ballets...) and sometimes I even put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because I feel guilty when I see her looking at the TV...

9AM: 'Live with Kelly and Michael' comes on.  Joey makes fun of me but I think they are hilarious and I watch it every day.

Morning Nap #2 (10/11am): 2nd morning nap.  Sometimes stretches into the noon hour depending on feeding times.

12PMish: Mom tries to find something to eat for lunch.  Thinks she really needs to get out to the grocery store.  Wonders about taking the jogger in the grocery store.  (I'm still a little gun shy about taking the stroller places... is that weird?)

1/2PMish: Abby wakes up, diaper, bottle.  More awake time, tummy time, etc.

Afternoon Activity: This is usually a walk/jog in the stroller around the neighborhood, but can also be errands or a nap for both Mommy and baby ;)

Afternoon Nap: She skips this one sometimes.  Then there are days where she just refuses to sleep at all, or days where the dogs bark too much and she wakes up.  Anyway, this one doesn't really have a time range.  After noon, our schedule gets a little wonky.

4:30PMish: Joey gets home from work, turns on Castle, and starts planning dinner (yep... he's still cooking.  I am a horrible housewife and I can't lie to you guys.)

5PMish: Abby wakes up/diaper/bottle.  Awake time with Daddy :)

Evening Nap: This one may or may not happen as well.  It can stretch into the 7 o'clock hour which always scares me because then I'm afraid she won't sleep at night.

[Wednesdays and Saturdays (or Sundays) are bath nights.  Abby isn't very stinky, so we only bathe her twice per week.  She LOVES the bath.  I use a space heater to warm up the room, get the water to the perfect temperature, and she will just chill in her little tub.  After bath, I put on that magical lavender lotion and she's usually out like a light shortly thereafter.]

8/9PMish: We get changed for bed, diaper, and one last bottle.  If she ate earlier in the evening, I will nurse her around 9 to get her to calm down/get some more food in her tummy.  All babies have fussy time and Abby's is at 8pm.  Walking around with her or nursing her usually does the trick.

She's a pretty smart baby (or at least smarter than I expected!) and sometimes we have to turn off the TV and I have to actually put my phone down and roll over before she goes to sleep.  And forget it if I'm not laying down in bed next to her PnP.  Moving her to her bedroom should be fun........ I said I would do it in October but I'm not ready yet.

Abby is usually asleep by 10 and then she will sleep through the night.  I know.  I'm an asshole.  I'm just enjoying it while it lasts.  I'm not stupid enough to think that it will.

I pump for the last time after she's asleep, get the dishwasher going and finish up whatever else I'm doing and then I'm in bed too.

It doesn't seem like much but it's actually exhausting.  I'm able to keep the house clean and laundry/dishes done, but that's about it.  On days where we have doctor's appointments or other outings, our schedule gets thrown off but Abby is pretty good at getting back on.

She's what we call a "Trap Baby".  Special thanks to my bro and SIL for the term.  Basically means that she's so good that we assume that we are either a) awesome parents or b) that all babies are like this.  So inevitably we'll decide to have more babies assuming they will all be like her.  Except they won't.

OK I gotta go because the creature is stirring.  Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary, Abby is turning 2 months old in 3 days, and I go back to work in 4 weeks :( .  Hold me!!!

~SG

Bonus pic of the baben... in case you read all of that.

Breastfeeding Update and Professional Newborn Photos

---More about nipples than you probably care to read.  But, my blog, my rules.---

---I wrote this post about 2 weeks ago.  Since then, things have gotten much better.  But I'm going to leave it the way it was written because I want to remember the good AND the bad.  And maybe I'll help someone else while I'm at it.  I'll pop in again at the end. ---

I knew I was going to have trouble with SOMETHING.  You don't just get an easy pregnancy and delivery.  That's not how it works.  After my smooth pregnancy, I was so focused on my labor/delivery (that was SURE to be the trouble spot) that I did not really think about what our new life was going to be like. Thankfully, Abby is a very good baby.  She is easy to care for.  What I did not realize, even though I researched it to death, was that breastfeeding would be a challenge for us.

While meeting with the lactation consultants at the hospital, they told me Abby had a tongue tie making it difficult for her to suck correctly.  This was initially not a problem, because my milk supply was (still is) so good that she was getting plenty to eat, regardless of the fact that she wasn't doing it properly.  However, after 2 weeks of breastfeeding, my nipples were so raw I was dreading every feeding and ready to quit.  We got the go ahead from our pediatrician to start with pumping and bottles which was a huge relief.  I also knew I needed to work on her latch, because the improper latch (caused by her tongue tie) is what causes the pain.  I started working on her latch at each feeding and it was getting a little better, very slowly.  I had good days and bad days.  Some very bad days.  I tried every product on the market. Lanolin (I have been through so many tubes of this), gel pads, air exposure, other random Lansinoh products, etc.

As I mentioned previously, we traveled to PA on short notice so that my Grandmother could meet Abby. I ended up breastfeeding at rest stops sitting in the car and other unusual places.  Therefore, I wasn't paying attention to Abby's latch or my positioning.  When we got back from that trip, I was in excruciating pain.  That night, my pain was so bad that I wondered why I was doing this to myself. So I decided to take a 24 hour break and pump exclusively.  I also wondered if I didn't have a yeast infection (Thrush) and made an appointment to visit my doctor the next day.  [Note: He basically took one look at me, rolled his eyes, and told me that sore nipples were normal and to use lanolin and breast shields.  Thanks.]

Pumping exclusively was really difficult at first-  It is hard to figure out where to fit the pumping in between feeding the baby, and what to do with the baby because she's crying while I'm pumping. It was stressful and the stress was causing my milk supply to go down!  Cue more stress!  That night, Joey encouraged me to contact another lactation consultant.  One that would come to the house and help us.  I know I've said it a million times but his support is what has really kept me from just quitting everything and giving her formula (not that there is anything wrong with that!!!!!!!).

After giving myself a day off, I was SO PLEASED to see that Abby picked breastfeeding back up.  Thank goodness for an easy going and versatile baby.  I also felt much better.  I made sure to focus on the latch each time and I felt like it was getting better.

By the time of the appointment with the lactation consultant, I was starting to get sore again.  She came to the house and examined me and Abby.  She said I have perfect nipples for breastfeeding (yay?) but what I wasn't prepared for was that she showed me Abby's tongue tie and explained that if we don't fix it, I'm not going to be able to continue because of pain.  Originally we didn't want to clip it.  Why would we do something that would hurt her?

I was still trying to come to terms with the idea of clipping the tongue tie when I woke up after a horrible night feeling achy all over with a 101 degree fever. What was the matter? You guessed it: mastitis.  Kick me while I'm down, why doncha?! So, now I had an infection in my breast that was painful and had me paranoid about emptying it and clogged ducts and everything else, along with making sure my daughter was getting enough to eat.  My stress was through the roof but I decided to tackle it one feeding at a time.  I continued pumping and bottle feeding and that's where we are today.

--- Fast forward a couple of weeks and I no longer feel guilty about pumping and giving her bottles. I realize now that was a big issue for me and that was what was upsetting me.  Everything you read says "BREAST IS BEST" but that doesn't matter.  What matters is what works for you and your baby.  That is something I was missing, but I am so glad that I understand now.  If we have to give her bottles, or formula, or milk from a cow named Bessie, we're doing what's best for us and she's healthy and I'm not psycho and therefore we are in a good place.  

We are doing great with bottles and SOME breastfeeding.  Usually 1-2 times per day, other than that- bottles.  She's still getting exclusive breast milk.  My supply is off the charts and I'm getting a ton into the freezer which is great for when I go back to work!  I am putting off calling the ENT doctor about the tongue tie but it is something I have to do.  I want to make sure it isn't going to cause her other issues (like with speech, for example). 

I'll be sure to check back in on this subject in another month or so.  Thanks for following along on my journey :) ---

OH and since you read that whole thing, here are some favorites from Abby's 2 week photo shoot with the photographer:

She already looks huge to me compared to this :-/

Those eyes :-D

We're going to have to redo the Mickey hat pics.... it was too big!

This wasn't a posed photo.  Poor thing was a little overwhelmed. (Confession: so was I.)

Future Masonette in her tutu from my Coaches

Obligatory (but oh so cute) ring pic

Sweet Daddy kisses

Our family

<3

Just popping in...

...because I needed somewhere to put this photo so I can use it for my Fantasy Football team logo.

Yep.  I'm using you.

But since you are hanging around, I'll tell you that our big girl had her 2 month appointment yesterday (2 weeks early, she's 6 weeks. calm down.)  Shes 9 pounds 4 oz, 1 of those pounds she gained in the last two weeks.  Shes in the 99.4 percentile for length at 23.5 inches.  How did Joey and I have a tall baby?! So weird.  Her eyes are still blue.  She's smiling, cooing, and awake for longer periods of time during the day.

We just got back from a trip up north to be with family, so when we get ourselves together I'll do a write up about that trip :)

I'm officially in the 2nd half of maternity leave.  BIG sad face there.

See you soon!

~SG

One Month!

Baby Abby is one month old!  Time has flown by, but during the day it feels like it's creeping.  How is that possible?  My little newborn has officially graduated to "infant".  I'm slightly sad.  Is this how I'm going to feel when she goes to kindergarten? Juuust kidding.

I'm going to fill out a little survey much like I did with my pregnancy posts. It'll help us all keep tabs on how our little munchkin is growing and changing.

How many months? 1 month!

Recent Stats? Her latest Doctor's visit was at 4 weeks.  She now weighs 8 pounds 5 ounces and is 22 inches long.  She's gained almost a pound and a half and grown 2 inches since birth.  She's a growing machine!  She's in the 26th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height, which means she's long and skinny.  Not that she's too thin, though.  The doc commended us again on her great weight gain!

Clothes size: Still wearing newborn size.  0-3 months is still a little big.  I'm ok with it because everyone told me she'd grow out of her newborn clothes too quickly and she'd never be able to wear them all.  Thank goodness she's proved them wrong!

Diaper size: Still fitting comfortably in newborns, but we've started transitioning her to size 1 because that's what we have more of in the house.

Breastfeeding: It's going better.  We hit a real hiccup earlier this week after a sudden trip to Pennsylvania screwed up our routine and left me really sore.  I ended up pumping/bottle feeding for an entire day to give myself a chance to heal and it was exhausting.  Next up, a meeting with a lactation consultant to see if we can work on her latch a bit.  I have to say that I would have definitely quit already if it hadn't been for my extremely supportive husband. We can do this!

Sleeping: Abby is still a good sleeper.  She's sleeping for longer periods during the night (4-5 hours or more), and 2-3 hours during her daytime naps.  We're still not on a schedule and I blame myself for that because it's so hard to get up in the morning if we didn't get a lot of sleep the night before.  My goal for her 2nd month is to get her on a good/somewhat predictable schedule.  She is sleeping mostly in the pack n play in our room. Never in our bed.  She has slept in her crib a few times as well.  This girl is totally versatile and easy going.

Personality:  Newborns are pretty much little blobs.  But over the past ~2 weeks I have noticed a huge difference.  Abby has been a very alert and active baby since the beginning.  Recently she has started to babble a little bit, and she started smiling in the past week or so.  She is really easy going and doesn't fuss unless she's hungry or bored.  My kinda girl.

Milestones: Smiling, babbling, following objects with her eyes, focusing on our faces, holding her head up (for a short amount of time), reaching for objects (maybe)

This one was kind of short but I have a feeling these updates will get longer as our girl gets bigger and starts accomplishing more things.  It won't be long before she's writing us to tell us how her first semester on full scholarship at Harvard is going... ;)

Here are a few more pics before we go.  These are some things Abby 'likes' to do:

Tummy Time... er... falling asleep during Tummy Time

Going for walks in the stroller with Mom

Getting a bottle from Dad

Babbling to Duffy/Steamboat Willie

3 Weeks In

I said I'd be back from time to time, so here I am!  We are 3 weeks into this grand adventure and I wanted to stop into the blog to give everyone an update on how we are doing.  In summary, we are doing really well.  I thought I'd address some FAQs to begin.  Here are some things you may or may not be wondering about:

1. My Recovery
At 3 weeks, I'm pretty much recovered.  I was in a good amount of pain from my episiotomy for about a week.  The 2nd and 3rd weeks have been much better.  I'm now sitting comfortably without use of a medical donut or pillow pet (judge me if you want to).  I never took pain meds other than motrin.  My body was not sore at all from pushing because I only pushed a handful of times.  My arms, however, were sore initially from lifting my 7 lb baby (guess I should have worked out more...).  I have about 3 more weeks before my uterus is back to normal size and before my body has officially recovered, medically speaking.  In terms of weight loss, I didn't gain much and most of it came out with the baby.  While the scale might read the same thing it did when I got pregnant, I don't look "uniform ready".  I can't WAIT to get back out there and start running.  I'm already looking forward to my first post-baby half marathon come March.  If you told me I'd ever "look forward" to running 10 months ago, I would have laughed so hard my beer would have come out of my nose.

2. Sleep
While elusive, it has been better than I imagined.  I don't know if I imagined a worst case scenario, have a good baby, or maybe a combination of both.  Sure, we wake up every 2-3 hours to change diapers and eat, but she has really gotten the point that nighttime means we go back to sleep when we are done. (At least for now... until we hit a growth spurt or sleep regression or whatever.)

3.  Breast Feeding
This deserves a post of its own but I'll never have the time to write it.  Breast feeding is HARD.  It is hard for many different reasons.  Just because you have a good milk supply (read: me) doesn't mean it's going to be easy.  For us, it has been difficult because Abby has a tongue-tie that I refuse to clip (google it) and therefore her latch is less than stellar.  Which means a lot of nipple pain for me.  We are working through it slowly, getting better each time and using a TON of lanolin.  I wanted to cry with happiness when her pediatrician commended us on her weight gain.  I was so happy that my efforts had been working!! We did get the go ahead from the ped to try to pump/feed from a bottle, and she took it with no issues.  I wanted to cry with happiness again.  Like I said.  One day- no- one feeding at a time.

4. Postpartum
I was shocked that I didn't get the baby blues.  This is not to say there have been no tears.  Breastfeeding is frustrating, can be painful and add on lack of sleep and there will be plenty of tears! I have a GREAT support network of mom-friends who were checking in with me for the first couple of weeks just in case. I appreciate each of them so much <3

5. Help
My Mom was here for the first two weeks and it was awesome.  She kept hot meals on the table, did the dishes, laundry, took care of the dogs, and generally ran the household so that Joey could go back to work and I could focus on my baby.  We were really lucky to have her here.  We love you, Grandmom!

And of course Joey has been an amazing father since day 1.  He is so sweet with our little girl it just melts my heart.  He holds her, talks to her, sings to her (ridiculous songs but whatever) and has been so helpful and supportive with getting me through every day, good or bad.  We are both super lucky to have him.  Even though he's working, he's taking great care of us both when he gets home.  He is going to take his "paternity leave" once my maternity leave is over so that we can prolong her starting at daycare. We love you, Daddy! :)

6. The Dogs
They have been interested in Abby from day one.  Doc immediately accepted her as part of the pack.  It took Chloe a little longer, but now she thinks Abby is her baby.  They both are uneasy when someone other than Joey or I are holding her.  They sniff her every time she comes back into the house.  I am really pleased with how well they are doing with her.  Although as a victim of a childhood dog bite myself, I'll continue to be really careful about their interactions with her (and vice versa) as she gets older.

7. Abigail
She is a good baby! Her temperament is sweet. She is easy going and relatively easy to soothe.  She takes a pacifier and is trying oh so hard to catch her elusive thumb.  She can hold her head up already! She loves her baby swing. She likes to grab at her face and ears. Her umbilical cord stump finally fell out today and she has an innie! (We think?) She has a freckle/birthmark on her right arm. Her hair is light brown and her eyes are blue/slate colored.  We hope they stay that way.... there is a 25% chance they will! Go little 'b's! She is very alert and active.  We have seen a few smiles but no way of knowing if they were "real" or not.  But they are really cute :)  We do call her Abby.  I have this thing about nicknames though, so I make sure to call her Abigail as well.  We also call her lots of other things.  My current go-to is Beastie (like as in "Hello, Beastie") when she's hungry.  Except she's much cuter than the Kraken ;)

8. Other
Since Joey is back to work, our basic days consist of lots of feeding, diapers, and thank GOD for the Simpsons marathon... I have found it helpful to set goals for myself each day (today I will: shower, bathe the baby, go to the Starbucks drive thru).  Even if they are silly, small goals, it's important to me to feel like I accomplished something each day. I also try to nap in the afternoons if I can.  This helps with crankiness/fatigue at night time.  Maternity leave is flying by but I'm glad I chose to do the full 3 months.  I can't believe it's September already!! Almost time to break out the Fall decorations!!

Since we haven't really been leaving the house, Joey has become more stir crazy and decided it was time to re-do the screened porch.  He worked so hard over the weekend on phase 1 (woodwork, painting) and phase 2 (electrical work/tile floor) are next.  Phase 3 is decorating and that's my job.  To say I'm excited to decorate another room is an understatement.  Hopefully I can find time to update you guys on this project.  Finding time to do anything is difficult because the windows between feedings are short.  It's easy to forget that I was planning to do something.

Whew!  Well, there was a little snapshot into our lives for the past 3 weeks!! I will be back hopefully to do her 1 month update in about a week or so.

And now, please enjoy some pictures of our little babe:

Not a fan of being naked at the Dr's office...

Dad with his best boy and girl (sorry, Chlo)

Holding onto "Doc" and "Chloe" during a walk around the neighborhood

It's true what they say. Having a baby sleep on your chest is the best thing ever.

I wasn't kidding about Chloe thinking it's her baby.

She was really fussy before this pic was taken.  Dad fixed it.

3 weeks old.  #Batbaby

Trying to find her thumb... getting better at it!

Everyone wants to sit with Dad...

With her Grandmom

She loves Grandmom!

Behind the scenes at her ~2 week professional shoot!

Sneak peek.  I cannot WAIT to get my hands on these pictures!!

Abigail's Birth Story

If you are anything like me, you avoid birth stories like the plague.  I get it.  Gross, painful, and terrifying if you ever want to have children.  Well, I want to write it down so that I always remember it, and if it makes you feel any better, I don't have a horror story to share.  In fact, it was rather.... magical.

(ok that might be pushing it.)

I'm too tired to add hyperlinks so if you don't know what something is, just google it ;)

As you may recall, at our 39 week appointment, our doctor said we could induce at any time.  We really wanted to wait for the baby to come on her own, or at least get to 40 weeks before we started talking induction.

We went home from that appointment kind of let down because we had gotten excited about possibly having the baby that day.  Later that week I got a call from the Dr's office to "schedule my induction".  I guess the Doc put us down on his list!  We asked for the first day available after I turned 40 weeks (the 13th) and then got to walking, tea drinking, and every other home labor induction technique you can think of to see if the baby would come on her own.  I didn't tell anyone about the induction because I felt a little ashamed.  I don't feel that way anymore, but I did at the time.

So, now that my secret is out, I can tell you how it all came to be.

I spent a lot of time going back and forth about our decision.  I researched induction a TON on the internet.  I knew that being 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced would work in my favor.  But I knew that induction carries an extended risk of interventions.  BUT I also knew that post term pregnancies can also be dangerous.  I had a lot on my mind, a lot to worry about, and the full moon, miles of walking, and everything else weren't working.

Tuesday evening I was still convinced that she would come on her own but we finished cleaning the house, got our bags ready, ate a really good dinner, hydrated, and went to bed really early.  There is something weird about knowing you are about to become parents. TOMORROW. 

Wednesday morning I woke up and there was clearly still no baby.  It was go time.  I was still a little uneasy but I was also excited and ready to meet my baby.  We woke up at 5am, I ate a bagel and a banana for breakfast like I was about to run a marathon, and continued to drink water until we reached the hospital. A major plus to an induction is knowing ahead of time so you can fuel properly and get a good night's sleep.  You also walk into the hospital smiling and your check in process is very calm.

Our check in time was 6:30.  We arrived at Labor and Delivery and started to get checked in.  That takes a while, but they gave me a gown to change into and started to get things ready. After the paperwork part was finished, the nurses got me started on an IV for fluid and antibiotic to protect the baby against Group B Strep. The doctor came in, checked me (still 3 cm) and said he had a surgery at 8 and would break my water after that.  The nurses were all really excited to tell each other that I was already a 3.  I guess a lot of women show up to be induced at 0.  As our main nurse was taking my blood pressure, I felt my first contraction.  I asked her when she started the pitocin.  She said "Honey, I haven't started the pitocin yet."  I was doing it all on my own!!! This baby was playing cruel tricks.  It made me fell MUCH better about the induction though, knowing that she would have come on her own that day or soon thereafter.

They did start the pitocin on a slow drip after that, and I felt some contractions but they were irregular and completely manageable.  I was laying on my left side and I was very relaxed.  Joey's Mom stopped by quickly to say Hi and Joey started a text play by play with my family which is how I know exactly what time everything happened.

At 9:15 the Doctor came in and said it was time to break my water.  It was officially time to go.  No turning back after that! I'll spare the details but there was a LOT and Joey thought it was really cool.  We were in business. Contractions started picking up a bit but I was just breathing through them.  Around 10:45/11 they started to become more uncomfortable.  The nurse offered an epidural and after assuring me TWICE that it would not slow down my progression, I accepted.  Turns out I did it at the right time.  As I was waiting for the anesthesiologist to get set up, contractions started getting stronger and much more painful.  They were coming infrequently but anywhere from 1-2 minutes apart.  We got the epi in with no trouble at all (for the record, it doesn't really hurt.  The numbing agent is probably the worst part and it's just like getting a shot.) and I laid down on my side to get gravity to help it take effect. Joey sent the text that the epidural was in place around 11:30am.  It only took 20 mins or so after that before I was comfortable again.  The best part was that I could still move and feel my legs.  I enjoyed a cherry popsicle and the nurse came in to insert the catheter (they don't let you get up when you have an epidural).  

She checked my progress and her eyes got wide.  "You're 7 cm.  The baby's head is right there!" Well, no wonder it had started to hurt!!!!!!! She told me to look for pressure in my rear like I had to go #2, and to call her when that happened.  We relaxed, took some home videos (NOT getting shared, so sorry) and waited.

I told Joey I could "sort of feel" some pressure and he wanted me to call the nurse but I wanted to make sure.  I didn't want to cry wolf... Finally I gave in and pushed the button and... it was a good thing I did!  Joey sent a text to my family at 12:46 that said "Here we go!".  I didn't even have time to register what was happening.  All I knew is I was being instructed to push.  So I gave it my best shot.  I pushed ~4 or 5 times with the nurses before the Doctor came in.  ~2 more pushes, a small episiotomy, and Baby Abigail was born 10 minutes later at 12:56pm!!!

In case you are wondering, I still can't believe I did that.  It still seems surreal.  They put her on my chest and I just sobbed.  I don't really know why.  But I did.  Joey cut the umbilical cord and the doctor stitched me up.  If you are afraid of an episiotomy let me again reassure you that it's no big deal.  Sure, I'm well versed in crotch-pain-relief products but I have been managing just fine.

They took the baby to weigh her and towel her off a bit.  She came in at 6 lbs 15.6 oz...so we rounded up to 7 even.  20 inches long.  Delightfully average ;)

After most of the hustle and bustle was gone, Joey looked at me and asked me the question I had been dying to know the answer to for the past 9 months.

"So, which was harder? Running a marathon or giving birth?"  And you guys?  I looked him dead in the eye and said "Marathon. Hands down."

I don't know what this says about my ability as a runner, but it took me longer to run 26.2 miles than it did to birth a baby... so..... that's embarassing.

I was also able to successfully breastfeed her right after she was born.  That is still an ongoing learning experience that is better some days than others.  But overall we are doing great.

Hmmm what else...... OH I enjoyed a Wawa turkey hoagie immediately after giving birth  (we'd picked one up that morning... judge if you want) and proceeded to eat about 5 turkey sandwiches in the 2 days we were at the hospital.

We're getting used to each other and learning together.  I'm sure there is more that I am forgetting but I wanted to get some part of it written down.

We've been having fun at home this past week.  We're tired and busy and at the end of the day I'm not sure what exactly I did all day, but being a mom is pretty awesome so far.

I'll be back to check in from time to time.  

~SG