Another feeding done and she's down for a nap. I should really be trying to nap right now too, but if I don't type up something soon it's all just going to be old and forgotten.
It all happened so quickly. It was pretty amazing. We were pretty set and prepared for being at the hospital laboring for an entire day. I was pretty happy that when we arrived at the hospital I was dialted to 5cm. I didn't want a repeat of the week before. I wasn't so sure about the doctor since I had not met him before and they seemed to really be pushing breaking my water. I held out on that to the very last minute because I had been told by more than one person to not let them break your water because then the contractions get worse because that water bag is not there to cushion them. When the contractions started to get unbearable I asked for a vaginal exam to see where I was at so I could determine if I wanted meds. I seriously thought I wouldn't be able to do it without meds, until I was doing it without meds. When she checked me I was dilated to 8cm and I knew that the worst contractions were between 7-10cm and I was living through them, so let's so this without meds.
Even when we first got there, the nurse was pretty reassuring that I probably would not need meds and thought if I would let them break my water we would have our baby before noon. She was a really great nurse to have in there. She was very encouraging and so helpful to both of us. When I was at about 9.5cm she asked about breaking the water again, I turned her down until I was fully dilated and by that time those contractions were so intense and they said if they broke my water we can start pushing and get this baby delivered. Ok - break the water NOW! It seemed like the doctor was taking forever to get in there and break it.
I ended up only having to push for 16 minutes which is amazing. I did have to have an episiotomy (I did have a local anestetic for that though) because her heart rate had dropped to low and we needed to get her out quick. I guess there was a whole bunch of people waiting outside the room in case there were problems with the baby. I am glad I didn't know that. All I knew was they said I had to push longer & harder. It took several pushes to figure out what was going on and what I was pushing at. Daddy was couting to 10 (how long I was supposed to push). Once I figured it out I knew I could push for 1-2 seconds longer and would make the last part of the push count. Once her head came out they were able to determine that it was the cord wrapped around her neck that was making her heart rate had dropped. I was surprised how that last push to deliver the rest of her was so easy. But getting head out sure did burn, hurt, sting.
When it came time to deliver the placenta I didn't even have to do anything. It all just sort of happened.
I couldn't help but cry when I saw my beautiful Isabel. It was so great. But I certainly wasn't signing up to have another anytime soon, like you see so often on the birthing shows on tv.
Having the epsiotomy has left my bottom side quite sore and I have taken pain medication for that. The lochia was pretty heavy on Sat. & Sun. and has been decreasing. I'm glad I don't have to wear the big diaper things anymore and can wear regular pads now.
Isabel has made parenting during the day easy. It's at night when she is more active and alert and wants to nurse more. Sunday night was rough because she was frustrated because she was hungry and my milk wasn't in yet and all she had was the little servings of colostrum. She spent most of the night attached to my breast. I originally thought we would have her be in the nursery at night, but I just couldnt bear to have her leave so she roomed in with me, actually she slept on me most of the night. I think that was reassuring to both mom & baby.
I feel like I am getting more rest now that I am home, not that it's much more, but it's some uninterrupted time. It seemed that starting @ 6am both mornings there were people coming in and poking & proding and drawing blood from both of us, ad this continued all day.
So, we've been home for about 24 hours now. She'll sleep in other things (bassinett, playpen, bouncy seat) for a while but not for too long. She starts to get fussy and would rather be in our arms or on our chests or sleeping next to us in bed (which is something we said we wouldn't do, but have changed our minds on that.) We'll keep introducing the other places to sleep.
My milk did come in yesterday and today I experienced leaking and engourgement. That lanisoh lanolin stuff is great. I did find time to get on the computer with Isabel sleeping in my arms and begining to master typing one-handed. She gave me enough time to find a couple of nursing pajamas I wanted & also get another nursing bra tank ordered. I didn't have any nuring sleepwear and after wearing the ugly but functional gowns at the hospital I knew I needed something that was more functional than my current sleepwear.
We are both enjoying parenting Isabel. Daddy has been completly fantastic with everything and he is doing such a great job. He went from never changing a diaper ever to being a master diaper changer (he does the majority of changes) and has been very helpful in making sure that we keep dishes & laundry going. I am so glad he wants to be so active in parenting and running the household. I really don't know how someone would do this alone or with a partner who is not very interested in either the parenting or the household.
Time to go get a few more things done again before it's time to nurse again and then I'm down for a nap with her after that.
1 comment:
Congratulations!!!
Make sure you get a lot of rest while you can.
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