We're Home!!!
Hi Everyone!
Today is our first full day home! We got home yesterday very late in the afternoon from the hospital and we all just passed out from exhaustion. I managed to cry the entire way home, but luckily the hospital is only a few miles from the house :)
I'd like to thank everyone that came to see us in the hospital or sent us their well-wishes. That love and kindness really helped through our hospital stay!
Well, Miss Lily was obviously meant to be a Valentine's Baby. We had originally scheduled the induction to begin on Feb 14th, first thing in the morning. When I woke up the morning of the 13th, I was having pretty regular contractions. The doctor advised us to go on in that night to start the Cervadil, which basically just softens the cervix. We got to the hospital at 7 PM, but we had to wait until 9 PM for the doctor to come insert the Cervadil. My contractions were still really regular and coming on their own. Devin snuck me in some pizza, before the doctor came because I suddenly decided I was starving.
Now, the rest of the night and the next day are mostly a blur, so I will recount them as best as I can. I think I held out on pain meds til around midnight and then the nurse gave me a huge "sleepytime" cocktail, which consisted of Nubain (painkiller), Phenargen (anti-nausea like Benedryl), and Ambien (the sleep medicine). Needless to say, that knocked me out for the most part. I remember waking up once in a while with a particularly heavy contraction and yelling for Devin. He'd jump up out of his resting spot on the couch and start messaging my lower back and then after the contractions, we'd both pass right back out.
Around 4:30 AM, they came to check my dilation and I was already at 4 cm, which was great news since I was ready for my epidural. The epidural was a LOT better than I thought it'd be. I'd heard from other people that receiving it was actually more painful than birth. Gosh, I wish that'd been true for me! I don't even remember getting it, I just went back to sleep. My mom and Devin's mom came that morning (I guess, it's all really foggy at this point) and I remember Heather calling to say she was on her way. I remember being checked at some point and being told I was 6-7 cm dilated and I vaguely remember my water being broken. Apparently, I progressed pretty quickly after that because at my next check, it was time to push.
Now, I didn't realize this at the time, but my epidural had perhaps moved or something, but I was feeling intense pressure on the left side of my body. As each heavy contraction would come, I would scream and Heather or Devin would run to my side and start rubbing my lower back to ease the pain. Pushing was quite an experience, let me just tell you. Heather held onto one of my legs and Devin held the other. My poor mom relegated herself to the shadows of the bathroom because seeing me screaming in agony was so painful for her. Devin's mom managed to get lots of cool (and tasteful) pictures of me pushing during all this chaos.
Thank God for Heather and Devin, because the more I screamed that I can't do it (push, that is), the more comfort and encouragement I got. Heather had a doula with her previous birth and knew exactly what to say and how. She helped me focus and breathe and tried to calm me. Poor Devin, I think I might've hit him a few times during the painful ones, but he was a great sport. Having my best friend and my fiancee help me through that labor was truly a blessing, because I would've given myself a heart attack otherwise. I honestly didn't think I could push her out and I was praying for a c-section, forceps, or even a steak-knife at several moments during the delivery.
Eventually, she made her way out, doing some serious damage to my girl parts in the process. I couldn't even hold her right away. The Anestesioligist came back in and gave me more pain medicine through my epidural line and I remember feeling the right side of my body go cold. Once the medicine made its way to my left side, I was immediately numb from the waist down. It took the doctor quite a while to sew me up and god knows what else down there. Devin was able to watch everything and hold her right away. It was amazing seeing him hold her for the first time.
Eventually, they handed her to me, all swollen and gooey-eyed. It took me a minute to start bonding due to all the medicine and trauma. Each time I've lain eyes on her from that moment on, I love her more and more. I cannot describe to anyone how amazed I am by her.
At birth, Lily Alexandria Thomplson weighted 8 lbs, 14.5 oz, measured 20.5 inches in length and was born at exactly 11:38 AM. She had lots of blonde hair and blue eyes.
I've had some trouble breastfeeding and I've had to break down and supplement with a bottle. I am still getting over my guilt about this, but the most important thing is that she is eating enough now. We're going to the doctor on Monday, so hopefully we can figure out a good plan then.
I have to say, that despite all the pain of pregnancy, labor, delivery, nursing and sleep deprivation, I would not trade this for the world. Just looking at her blows my mind, she is truly a miracle to me. I think she's just perfect and I'm totally enraptured by her. Having her is enough proof to me that God must exist, how else can you explain something so amazing coming from the meeting of 2 tiny cells from 2 different people?
So far, being home has been emotional. Luckily, my mom came over to help unpack and cook last night, Devin ran to the store twice to stock up on bottle-feeding supplies and other stuff for me, and Devin's mom took our frantic long-distance phone calls about formula and bottle temperature well into the night.
My father came by on his lunch break today to meet Lily. I think it was Love at First Sight. I've never seen him that gooey and mushy over anyone. Lily is good at bringing that out in people!
Okay, well I've written a novel today. Now, it's on to more pictures!
Please feel free to visit my mom's Photobucket site for more pics of that day. Warning: there are some rough ones of me in there and also there are some breastfeeding pics. Enjoy! http://photobucket.com/albums/f194/14lily2006/
Today is our first full day home! We got home yesterday very late in the afternoon from the hospital and we all just passed out from exhaustion. I managed to cry the entire way home, but luckily the hospital is only a few miles from the house :)
I'd like to thank everyone that came to see us in the hospital or sent us their well-wishes. That love and kindness really helped through our hospital stay!
Well, Miss Lily was obviously meant to be a Valentine's Baby. We had originally scheduled the induction to begin on Feb 14th, first thing in the morning. When I woke up the morning of the 13th, I was having pretty regular contractions. The doctor advised us to go on in that night to start the Cervadil, which basically just softens the cervix. We got to the hospital at 7 PM, but we had to wait until 9 PM for the doctor to come insert the Cervadil. My contractions were still really regular and coming on their own. Devin snuck me in some pizza, before the doctor came because I suddenly decided I was starving.
Now, the rest of the night and the next day are mostly a blur, so I will recount them as best as I can. I think I held out on pain meds til around midnight and then the nurse gave me a huge "sleepytime" cocktail, which consisted of Nubain (painkiller), Phenargen (anti-nausea like Benedryl), and Ambien (the sleep medicine). Needless to say, that knocked me out for the most part. I remember waking up once in a while with a particularly heavy contraction and yelling for Devin. He'd jump up out of his resting spot on the couch and start messaging my lower back and then after the contractions, we'd both pass right back out.
Around 4:30 AM, they came to check my dilation and I was already at 4 cm, which was great news since I was ready for my epidural. The epidural was a LOT better than I thought it'd be. I'd heard from other people that receiving it was actually more painful than birth. Gosh, I wish that'd been true for me! I don't even remember getting it, I just went back to sleep. My mom and Devin's mom came that morning (I guess, it's all really foggy at this point) and I remember Heather calling to say she was on her way. I remember being checked at some point and being told I was 6-7 cm dilated and I vaguely remember my water being broken. Apparently, I progressed pretty quickly after that because at my next check, it was time to push.
Now, I didn't realize this at the time, but my epidural had perhaps moved or something, but I was feeling intense pressure on the left side of my body. As each heavy contraction would come, I would scream and Heather or Devin would run to my side and start rubbing my lower back to ease the pain. Pushing was quite an experience, let me just tell you. Heather held onto one of my legs and Devin held the other. My poor mom relegated herself to the shadows of the bathroom because seeing me screaming in agony was so painful for her. Devin's mom managed to get lots of cool (and tasteful) pictures of me pushing during all this chaos.
Thank God for Heather and Devin, because the more I screamed that I can't do it (push, that is), the more comfort and encouragement I got. Heather had a doula with her previous birth and knew exactly what to say and how. She helped me focus and breathe and tried to calm me. Poor Devin, I think I might've hit him a few times during the painful ones, but he was a great sport. Having my best friend and my fiancee help me through that labor was truly a blessing, because I would've given myself a heart attack otherwise. I honestly didn't think I could push her out and I was praying for a c-section, forceps, or even a steak-knife at several moments during the delivery.
Eventually, she made her way out, doing some serious damage to my girl parts in the process. I couldn't even hold her right away. The Anestesioligist came back in and gave me more pain medicine through my epidural line and I remember feeling the right side of my body go cold. Once the medicine made its way to my left side, I was immediately numb from the waist down. It took the doctor quite a while to sew me up and god knows what else down there. Devin was able to watch everything and hold her right away. It was amazing seeing him hold her for the first time.
Eventually, they handed her to me, all swollen and gooey-eyed. It took me a minute to start bonding due to all the medicine and trauma. Each time I've lain eyes on her from that moment on, I love her more and more. I cannot describe to anyone how amazed I am by her.
At birth, Lily Alexandria Thomplson weighted 8 lbs, 14.5 oz, measured 20.5 inches in length and was born at exactly 11:38 AM. She had lots of blonde hair and blue eyes.
I've had some trouble breastfeeding and I've had to break down and supplement with a bottle. I am still getting over my guilt about this, but the most important thing is that she is eating enough now. We're going to the doctor on Monday, so hopefully we can figure out a good plan then.
I have to say, that despite all the pain of pregnancy, labor, delivery, nursing and sleep deprivation, I would not trade this for the world. Just looking at her blows my mind, she is truly a miracle to me. I think she's just perfect and I'm totally enraptured by her. Having her is enough proof to me that God must exist, how else can you explain something so amazing coming from the meeting of 2 tiny cells from 2 different people?
So far, being home has been emotional. Luckily, my mom came over to help unpack and cook last night, Devin ran to the store twice to stock up on bottle-feeding supplies and other stuff for me, and Devin's mom took our frantic long-distance phone calls about formula and bottle temperature well into the night.
My father came by on his lunch break today to meet Lily. I think it was Love at First Sight. I've never seen him that gooey and mushy over anyone. Lily is good at bringing that out in people!
Okay, well I've written a novel today. Now, it's on to more pictures!
Please feel free to visit my mom's Photobucket site for more pics of that day. Warning: there are some rough ones of me in there and also there are some breastfeeding pics. Enjoy! http://photobucket.com/albums/f194/14lily2006/
posted by Lora @ 10:29 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
At Fri Feb 17, 02:36:00 PM 2006,
Leslie said…
What a birth story! And what a woman you must be! Lily is so lucky to have a strong and determined mommy like you.
DO NOT feel any guilt at all about breastfeeding/supplementing/formula feeding. Breastfeeding is hard. It takes a lot out of you both mentally and physically. It can be very stressful; you are always wondering if the baby is getting enough, or if your milk is good, or if something you eat disagrees with the baby. The best gift you can give Lily is to be the best mother you can be, free of stress, well-rested, and happy. Remember - it's just milk. It's not love. If supplementing is what you need to do to take care of YOU, then by all means, do it! I had all kinds of guilt for giving Sam formula until I realized he didn't care where he got his milk from - so long as his mom was always right there. You gave Lily such a good start just by giving her colostrum, which is seriously liquid gold. There are so many things to worry about and think about with a newborn. Don't stress yourself out over breastfeeding!
At Fri Feb 17, 07:21:00 PM 2006,
Anonymous said…
I am so proud of you Lora! You are such a strong and amazing woman, I envy your strength. I'm so happy for you and your family. I know things can be hard, especially at the beginning, but I know that you're gonna be just fine and after the first few turbulent months are over with you are going to be so completely happy. Soren just started sleeping through the night every night a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you things have been so much better since then. Things also get a lot better after you get that first little smile, which happens around 2 months. After that all the hard work and sleepless nights you've went through for a formerly unresponsive child become totally worth it. Lily is beautiful & healthy and has a wonderful mommy. I also totally agree with what Sam's Mom said, you shouldn't feel bad about about the breastfeeding thing. I beat myself up for quite awhile over it, but in then end what truely matters is that your daughter gets the nutrition she needs from someone that loves her. How that happens isn't important. :)
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