1st family pictureSo today my precious little girl is already a week old! I cannot believe it! I remember last week I didn't think she would ever come and now I can't believe she is here safe and sound! I have been wanting to post about her birth and now I have the opportunity while she is napping....
J and I went to the hospital last saturday night and were greeted by a friend of mine, Jillian, who was my antepartum nurse. After placing the fetal and contraction monitor we were surprised to see that I was having contractions...I was just not feeling them! So, unfortunately I was not eligible to receive the cervical ripening pill/gel, so the midwife wanted to move forward with the foley bulb. It is exactly what it sounds like....a foley catheter they place up past your cervix into your uterus and they filled the balloon with 60 ml of water! Ouchie! It was VERY uncomfortable at first....and what it does is mechanically dilates your cervix to about 3-4cm they tape the end of the foley to your leg, creating traction, and they come in and pull on it every hour! argh! and once they are able to pull it totally out, you should be dilated to about a 3 or 4! Well as soon as they placed it, it released a ton of prostaglandins and I started having the painful contractions!
So, the next morning, they started me on pitocin at around 0500, and by 0740 the foley bulb came out! But, I was more uncomfortable having contractions every 4ish minutes and they were super strong! I told myself I wanted to hold off until I was at least 4cm and in active labor before I got my epidural....so I paced and paced and by 1030, I called my nurse in and asked if I could have a cervical check....and I was already at 6 cm! They were totally shocked that I was handling the contraction that well for being so far along in the process! So I got a dose of fentanyl and we moved to our labor suite! My nurse had talked me into trying a warm bath before getting the epidural, so I did that and by the time it was 1130 I was ready for the anesthesiologist to come! Unfortunately the resident tried 3 times for the epidural for a total of an hour, and was unsuccessful. By this point I was not dealing so well! It is so hard to be hunched over, unable to move while they attempt for the epidural, while on pitocin & having super super strong contractions! The tears started to come! Finally, the resident decided I would benefit from getting a spinal, to get me comfortable, and while the spinal was in they could attempt for the epidural again, well he was unable to get the spinal and he finally called his attending, who was able to get it in, and provide me the relief I needed! I was able to relax and rest, though it lasted for only an hour and a half. While the spinal was on board the OB attending came and did a cervical check and I was still only 6 cm and 90% effaced, so she broke my bag of water. Also, while the spinal was on board another anesthesia resident came and attempted another 3 times to get the epidural, but luckily I couldn't feel a thing! About 2 hours later the spinal wore off and they checked and I was 10 cm and 100% effaced and she was at +2 station and everyone was so excited for me that it was time to push! I was so exhausted to be so enthused like everyone else! And, since I was able to feel the pressure needed to know when to push, my labor team didn't want to turn on the epidural! My contractions were coming every minute, so they finally turned off the pitocin! Whew! My body was finally able to do it on its own! I pushed for a little over an hour and was absolutely amazed that it actually felt GOOD to push against all the pressure you are feeling! She did start having some late decels so I had to give her a break during one of the contractions and I think that moment was one of the hardest moments of my life! It is so HARD NOT to push when you NEED to PUSH! I did end up needing an episiotomy because her heart rate was down in the 80s and she just needed to be out...and the rest is history from there! My L&D nurse was my godsend....Claire...someone I will never forget in my life! She never left my side throughout my whole labor and delivery! J was a calm presence, he gets a little squemish, so he mostly just told me to breathe, with his head facing back towards the wall!
She was 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long with lots of brown hair!
he was instantly wrapped around her tiny fingers
daddy and mayaWhen Maya was born they just took her over to the warmer right away to stimulate her...she was totally fine, just had a little acrocyanosis with apgars of 9 and 9. What an absolute miracle it is to have a baby! They always say that you won't remember the pain you went through when you see their face and hold them in your arms and it is TRUE! The nurses and doctors told me that even though I might not think so, I had a fabulous labor and delivery for a first time mom! They were all shocked I had my baby in less than 24 hours of being induced and that typically an induction for a first time mom takes 48-72 hours. So, they promised me that with my next baby, he/she will just FALL out! :) we will see!
mommy and maya
only an hour oldMaya was born at 4:45 pm and looked absolutely beautiful for a newborn! She latched right away and has been nursing like a champ ever since! She was so awake and alert, and never really went into that deep newborn sleep. We transitioned to our postpartum room after change of shift, and had Jillian again, this time as my postpartum nurse! She was SHOCKED I had Maya before she came back for her night shift! Our first visitors were J's brother Kyle and his girlfriend Brandy, Maya was only hours old!
uncle kyle and maya
mandy and luke came on the second day to visit!Luke was totally smitten with Maya, it was so cute!
We stayed over night 2 nights in the hospital and got blessed with an early discharge on Tuesday morning (J's mom's birthday...she was hoping we would hold out and have Maya on her birthday). We literally walked home at 11:30 am, and as soon as we were home J left to the SFO airport to pick up my mom!
ready to go home, her polar bear outfit was too big, but she will get to grow into it!
my handmade sling I bought off of etsy, maya is in there! so tiny!
grandma luneburg meeting maya for the first time
kitties meeting maya for first time...they were scared of her and she was sleeping!
as soon as we were home I had to try out the flower!The original plan was that she would come about a week after Maya was born to give us a chance to settle in, but this worked out perfectly! Those first few days before your milk comes in is kind of rough! Maya felt like she needed to nurse every 1-2 hours! My milk finally came in on the 3rd day and we have been doing fabulous ever since! She only lost 5 oz and by her 4th day of life we went in for a check-up with her pediatrician and she had already gained an ounce back! And....she inevitably became hungry during her appt, so we got to get a pre and post weight and she took a full ounce from just one side! YAY for my milk! I do have to say that I can totally understand why some women choose not to nurse their babies...you do get so SORE and it HURTS initially, until she gets latched on, and then the pain is tolerable.....but it is not EASY by any means. I know it is going to get better and the pediatrician gave me these Ameda soothing gel pads that are AMAZING, so things are better for me! I am feeling great! the crazy thing is that the intial 4 days postpartum it was my BACK that was super sore compared to the episiotomy. And, my back totally looked like a pin cushion.
off to maya's first doctor's appt
my two loves
my little jaundiced baby, she had to get a heel stick to check her biliMy inital plan of getting out for a walk everyday didn't actually start until I was 5 days out...and J and I and little Maya made it out for our first family outing to Golden Gate Park last night! So, that is about all I should bore you all with for now...our first week as a family!
happy as a clam
she is such a good baby
P.S. If I would have had a second chance, I probably would have waited till 42 weeks to induce! It was definitely totally worth it, but I think it may be better/easier on your body if you can wait till they come on their own! :)
