First sponge bath
First ride in the baby carrier
4 days old
4 days old in her boppy (which I love)
In the hospital with Daddy
I will start with labor and delivery for my catch up, even though many of you know what happened because you read Marie's blog. Matt and I got into the hospital at 6am on the March 30th. They started me on the pitocin around 7:30am. I started to really feel the contractions around 12:30pm, at which time I got my epidural. I thought about waiting to get the epidural, but Matt convinced me that there was no point in prolonging my pain, so I got the epidural. Which was surprisingly not very painful. I thought that it would be much more painful because they put a needle in your back, but it really wasn't that bad compared to the contractions. After the epidural, I was feeling very good, though my legs were very numb and I had no control over them. I'm sure it was very comical watching me try to switch from my left side to my right side with numb legs.
At 1pm, my doctor came to break my water, which was painless cuz I was all numb. But, alas I was still only dialated to a 3 at that time. That was very disheartening. I thought that since I had been having contractions all morning, I should be at least a little more dialated, but alas that such was not the case. But, after she broke my water, things went fairly quickly and I was fully dialated by 6pm. But, they didn't want me to push yet, so I sat until 7:30pm when they finally decided I was reading to start pushing. Pushing is hard! Pushing has to be the most exhausting workout that I have ever done. I was exhausted after only the first few times that I pushed. After an hour of pushing, I was convinced that I was doing it wrong because the baby was just not coming. But, the nurses assured me that I was pushing well, she just was coming very slowly. Matt was wonderful in the delivery room. He was reassuring and supportive and just amazing. But, I was discouraged after 2 hours of pushing with no baby, so I called my Mom into the room. She was waiting outside. I just got to the point where I really wanted my mom.
Finally, I was given the option of calling the doctor and having her help me get the baby out with a vacuum. I took it because I wanted that baby out! Plus, I was exhausted and didn't know how much longer I could push for. The doctor came, she vacuumed her and Nicole finally came! The doctor said that if I didn't get her out with my last set of pushes, they were going to take me into surgery, so I had determination that my baby was coming out!
There was immediate relief after the baby came out. Then, the doctor gave my little girl to me and I immediately loved her. I worried for much of my pregnancy if I would love my little girl enough because the pregnancy had so many unpleasantries, but I loved her right away. I have never felt so much love for a little baby as I do for my little girl.
The stay in the hospital seemed very brief because I slept through most of it. So did Nicole, which was very nice. I am very much the new mother. I worry about her all the time and I don't like to be seperated from her. It is difficult to be in a different room than she is. I just lover her so much and I want to protect her and make her happy.
Nursing was difficult at first because my Nicole couldn't stay awake long enough to eat, but once we got home she caught on quick and eats very well. Nursing definitely hurts a lot more than I thought it would, but it is worth it because it is for my baby.
Mom has been with me the last week and it is certainly a blessing. Mom has helped with stuff around the house so that I can have time to take care of Nicole and sleep excessively. I know that I will get my energy back eventually, but I am so tired right now. Nicole is sometimes a good little sleeper and sometimes not. Sometimes she will sleep in 3-4 hour blocks at night and sometimes she wakes up every hour and wants to eat. But, she is a lazy eater and takes forever! It often takes her30-40 minutes to eat because she is so lazy. So, my sleep patterns are all off right now. I feel bad for Matt who has to get up and go to work every day regardless of how much sleep he gets. I try to take care of the baby on my own so he can sleep as much as possible. But, sometimes the finess of mothering is beyond me and my wonderful husband jumps in to help at 2am.
Thus far, I love being a mother. It was so much more rewarding than I could ever imagine. I love Nicole so much and I am so happy. Hopefully, I will be able to keep things more updated.
8 comments:
Congratulations!! She's beautiful and sounds like she's a pretty good baby all in all. I'm feeling for you-those first few weeks of breastfeeding can be so awfully sore, but it really is worth it in the end. I'm glad she's at least letting you get some sleep, even if not always at the most convenient times:) Good luck!
I do not envy the amount of time you had to push. I agree--it is the most exhausting and intensive workout I have ever done; and I only had to do it for an hour and a half. I totally understand your feelings of frustration.
Nursing will get less painful in the next couple of weeks. Are you using lanolin cream? It helps a TON!
Don't worry, you'll find your groove. Nicole's still adjusting to life outside the womb, and so are you, so you just have to help her find her schedule. It'll take a few weeks, but you'll get there, and maybe then your energy level will come back up.
She is so beautiful, Becky. Congratulations again and again and again!
Oh, and I also wanted to say take it easy. Don't feel like you have to rush yourself back to doing everything yourself. I made that mistake (because I'm incredibly stubborn and couldn't stand just sitting there while my mom and Joel did everything), and I paid for it with a very painful night or two. It's good that you're sleeping when Nicole's sleeping because that will help you recover faster (and I've heard it will also help you drop the weight, too).
One more: the Boppy is pretty much the BEST invention EVER!!! I have the same one, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
...that is all.
Nicoley Oley is lazy already! Maybe she just realizes that she's got nothin' better to do so she takes her time.
Too bad mom has to go back to work. You're on your own now. Just spank Nikko if she is bad.
I'm so glad to hear that Matt found a new job! That would still be very hard to wake up and go to work every day when you are interrupted all night long.
I'm glad that you are liking being a mom and that it was all worth it. You give me hope.
Thanks Jasmine. I would have to say that not getting things done is one of the hardest parts. I feel like I'm sleeping the day away and not getting things accomplished. But, my Mom did mostly everything that there is to do around my house, so there isn't much left for me to fret about.
Yay! Little Nicoly oley! She's the cutest. You're doing great Bec. You're a Mommy...oh how strange.
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