January 3, 2015
It's so exciting, we FINALLY had our little one! I was waiting forever. And even though it was only 3 days past my due date, it was hard to wait. On Monday morning last week, I was laying in bed, fairly awake at 6am and decided to start timing the pains I was having. They weren't bad by any means, but they felt like the could be contractions. And they were coming 5 to 6 minutes apart. I told Mike, we woke up Mom (who was still here from Christmas, waiting for Little Miss), I took a quick shower and we headed to the hospital.
Though by the time we got me into triage, my contractions more or less had stopped (though I was at about 3 cm), my blood pressure was SUPER high. Though it had been good, and was pretty much okay the last few weeks, they diagnosed me right there with pre-eclampsia, and decided to admit me and induce. I was a little nervous, but not enough to have caused my BP to be that high, so it was a good thing we went in that morning, I would image. They immediately started me on some drugs, stuck a catheter in me (which was very uncomfortable at first, but a Godsend later) and put me in my delivery room. They started me on the Pitocin to get the labor going again, and it worked pretty quickly. However, I was in for quite a few more hours of labor and a LOT stronger contractions.
Dad made it down pretty quickly (thankfully the weather was good!) and I started having some tough pains. Some of them were hard to handle, and I glared very angrily at the wall outlet across the room when they came on. I was pretty proud of myself for muscling through them. Everyone was around helping me keep my mind on other things so that was nice. I finally decided to get the epidural when the nurses suggested I was getting to a good point to do it. That was really scary for me. The anesthesia nurse held me really tight while they put the needle in and that was very helpful. The epidural was great because it pretty much put me to sleep for awhile. They even let me get a nap in after Ron and Charyl made it to the hospital (Mike and Lenore couldn't make it because Mike had a bad cold/flu, I felt so bad!).
I was in labor for 17 hours before it was time to start pushing. The labor nurse was very helpful, and she and Mike helped me with my legs when I pushed. Mom gave me ice chips up by my head while they did that. The contractions weren't very close together, 4 or 5 minutes or so, but I was 10 cm so it was time to go! We pushed for almost 2 hours before she was all the way down. She crowned finally and I am glad no one told me what THAT was going to be like because that was the worse. And I had to wait for the next contraction, which were still really far apart. The doctors and nurses FINALLY came in then and I was begging them to get her out. When they did, I guess I hemorrhaged for a bit but they got me under control. I had a brand new little lady on my chest. So crazy. I still don't have my head wrapped around it. She was doing amazing and pretty much has been since so I was so so happy about that, even if I did get ripped up in the nether regions (ouch!)
We were in the hospital until New Years Day, and it was a little tough at times. Mike was and has been amazing with her. It's so cool to see him with her. Adorable. We've butted heads about a few things so far (and breastfeeding is a challenge but I'm getting it) but mostly it's fairly smooth sailing. She was fussy her first night (it was a little rough!) but otherwise she's been so great. She loves to be held and rocked and cuddled, she eats a lot now and I'm still working on getting better at that. Mom and Grandma (who came down yesterday) think that she's got her days and nights mixed up, based on last night's challenging bedtime (Mike and Grandma worked for a couple hours with her while I was resting, but she just needed her mama :), but I think she's the bestest :)
I call Julianna a few different names of course, my favorite of which is Smooshy or Smoosh, and I also call her Julie Jules, cuz that's cute. Kara has been over most days to hang out and we've had lots of visiting friends! I'm worried about her getting sick but she's been good so far. I'm sure I'll be worried for the rest of my life!
I hope I didn't forget anything too much, but that should do for now! Daddy is currently cuddling baby after her latest meal, and she's chucking her head around like a little pro. So strong already! I'll try to keep up with the blog as much as I can, but for now, my eyes are hardly open anymore! Time to get some more rest!
P.S. Though Pete is still not sure what Jules is, he's being great so far. Phew! I was nervous about his reaction to his new friend.
Photos below, all from my iPhone, but I'll work on some new ones with my good camera soon!
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| ^In our labor and delivery room! |
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| ^My first photo of Smoosh :) |
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| ^Mama holding her little one. |
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| ^Auntie Kara and her baby buddy. |
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| ^She's so adorable! |
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| ^Bonding time with Daddy. |
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| ^Showing off her strong neck with Grandma Patti. |
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| ^Ready to go home on New Year's Day! |
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| ^Trying out her bed! |
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| ^I'm awake, but no one else is! |
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| ^Auntie Ica came back to visit (after being down the day before she was born) to meet Julianna. |
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| ^Making a poop for Mama, her first solo poopy diaper mission. |
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| ^Loving her Grandma and her pjs |
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| ^Mama is still trying to feel all normal ;) |
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| ^What a beaut! |
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| ^Great Grandma Wanda was waiting for a great grandbaby for SOOOO long! |
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| ^Daddy/daughter skin-to-skin time :D |
