So I survived labor and delivery!! And here two months later (because of a reminder from a dear friend) I am going to fill in the blanks of what has been going on since last I posted.
Labor and Delivery
Okay so being induced was the best thing EVER. Well, maybe not the best thing ever, but if I ever get the option to do it again, I will TOTALLY sign up for it. There was no stress in going to the hospital. When I got there, they had my room ready and waiting and then it was just a matter of hooking me up to the IV and waiting. My water broke at 8:30AM the next morning and Elise was born at 1:01PM amid conversations (led by my awesome Doctor) of how great anything made by Apple is and how the ladies on I Didn't Know I was Pregnant were the stupidest people in the world.
I got the epidural at 11:00 the previous night - not because of pain - but because I wanted the catheter in so I wouldn't have to keep getting up to go to the bathroom (which was like every time I had a contraction). Hoping this would allow me to sleep, I was in for a rude awakening when they told me they would be checking my blood pressure every five minutes and coming in to flip me over from time to time. Having absolutely no feeling in my legs, the flipping was a bit more on the tough side than I would have thought. So no sleep was had....
In recovery, I was slowly getting the feeling back in my legs and was amazed at how difficult it is to stand when don't have complete sensation in the lower half of your body. I was so thankful for those nurses who kept me from falling on my way to the bathroom. In recovery the nurses came in every few hours to check on either me and my vitals or Elise and her vitals....so again, no sleep was to be had.
First Month
At home, that first week was tough. I couldn't relax at night because I was terrified that Elise was going to just stop breathing...so again, no sleep was had. By Friday, I was going on about 5 hours of sleep for the entire week and this did not sit well with Erick. So I finally drugged myself - (2 Benadryl) and passed out leaving Erick in charge.
The first month flew by....Erick was home for two weeks for paternity leave and we spent most of it trying to establish some sort of schedule and sneak in as much sleep as we possibly could - which wasn't much. Those two weeks were probably the most exhaustive of my life - every coo, every sigh, and I was up checking on what was "wrong." I can't speak for Erick...that man can sleep anywhere during anything. Writing this now, it seems so silly, but during that time, I was a nervous wreck. Elise, meanwhile, slept ALL the time and if she could have talked at this point, she probably would have told me to chill out and just sleep already.
Finally getting over my paranoia by the end of the first month, we started putting her in her crib and laying her on her (gasp!) belly. We had tried so many different positions and methods for her to sleep at night...the poor thing slept in her car seat or her Boppy for most of the first month because she would not sleep flat on her back. Again, I resorted to Benadryl to make it through the first couple nights of this new sleeping position, leaving Erick "on the watch". With many assurances from other mothers and seeing how well Elise slept on her stomach and lifted her neck to move her head - I became totally sane again and sleeping has finally become a normal thing again in our household.
Second Month
Visitors!! Elise got her first visitors as we approached her two month birthday. Uncle Denis came for training at ASBC...and then my family came (my two sisters, my nephews, my dad, stepmother, step niece and my grandparents)...now Denis' wife is here and soon Erick's parents will be here. The real highlight of the second month, however, is her smiling face. She smiles and vocalizes A LOT now and her little personality seems to be shining through. And maybe I'm doing some wishful thinking here, but I think she totally knows who her mommy is and misses me when she doesn't get to cuddle with me. Why do I think this? Because after a day of not being with mommy she is a bit fussy...until mommy holds her and then she promptly passes out....with her little hands gripping onto my shirt for dear life.
She got her shots this week and that was really tough. I had to lay her on the table and "distract" her so that the tech could do his work. There she was smiling and giggling at me and then suddenly this look of terror came across her face and the crying commenced. After I got her settled down, she looked at me like I had betrayed her....it just about broke my heart.
We took her to her first baseball game on Wednesday and she did SO well....didn't cry at all, just hung out with mommy, daddy, Uncle Denis and Aunt Lisa. I did have a moment of angst when Erick handed her off to one of his students who ran up to him and asked to hold her...I didn't know this person - why is she holding my baby!?!?! I would worry about these semi-irrational fears, but I figure that kind of insanity comes with motherhood.
Anyway, she is the greatest blessing in our lives and we love her SOOOOO much.
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