Almost 7 Weeks Old

You know when people always say, "I don't know where to start!"?  Well I really don't know where to start.  I feel like I have to talk about the labor because I want it written down for myself.  I want to remember it and already the emotions from that glorious day have changed and are hard to recall.  But I will try to capture the moment as best I can...

On the night of August 12th I went to bed with Jake knowing that I would lay there for a few hours and then grab my pillow and trudge over to the guest bedroom to sleep in there.  I was having a really hard time sleeping in our bed because of my back and our guest bed is so soft that you sink right in to it.  Around one in the morning, while laying in the comfy bed, I started having some mild pains. They were so irregular that I just figured it was false labor so I slept right on through them.

When I woke up I was sort of bored so I called my mom and asked her to stop at Walmart to pick up ingredients to make salsa that afternoon so we could hang out and eat one of my favorite snacks.  Dad tagged along with her and we had a great time salsaing it up.  When we had finished I started to have pains that were a little stronger but I didn't say anything.  

After my parents left I was beginning to think that this possibly was the real deal.  I called Jake and told him not to go work out after work, but he was already at the gym.  I told him to come home because I thought that we might be going to the hospital that night and I wanted him to eat and be ready if we were going to have to go.  When he got home I was sitting in the recliner trying to act as calm as possible like we had all the time in the world.  

I guess I am too good of an actor because he started watering the trees and playing with the dog.  Finally I had to tell him to get inside and shower and eat NOW, because we were going to the hospital and it was sooner rather than later!  He started running around like a mad man.  By the time we left for the hospital my contractions were about 5 minutes apart and were lasting for at least 30 seconds.  The car ride was probably about 10 minutes, which was a great thing because I don't Jake would have been able to drive much farther than that.

We parked in the parking lot, walked in, and were told that we had walked into the wrong entrance.  They called for someone to come wheel me into labor and delivery.  We were put in a room right away, and before I knew it I was in a gown, poked, hooked up to an IV, and asked a million questions.  When they checked to see how far along I was my water broke and I was already 7/8 cm dilated.  At this point the pain was still tolerable for me.  However, I really wanted to enjoy the pregnancy and I knew that it was going to get worse.  I also knew that if I didn't get an epidural THEN that it would end up being too late.  

I decided to go for it and still cannot decide if I am glad that I did or not.  I was given WAY too high of a dose.  I could not move my legs at all.  Actually I had my hands on my legs and I didn't even know that they were on my legs.  It was a VERY odd feeling.  The entire labor I didn't feel a thing, which was nice, but at the same time was frustrating and caused my recovery to be much harder than I think it would have been if my dose had not been so large.  

As we waited to get to 10 centimeters we watched the Rangers game.  At around 11 I was ready to start pushing.  I still can't believe that I pushed over an hour because the time just seemed to fly by.  After 50 minutes of pushing the Dr. stopped and talked to us about using forceps or a vacuum because he didn't think she was going to fit through on her own.  We went with forceps.  I can still see the look on Jakes face as that whole process was going on.  

Then the most amazing thing happened.  Kylie Jo entered the world.  I might add that the Rangers won at right about this time.  :)  I can't even begin to explain what it feels like the first time that you see your child or hear them cry.  They put her on my stomach and Jake cut the cord.  That moment is a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life.  Nothing can compare and nothing will ever live up to the birth of a child.  I wish words could express that moment but even the best author would lack adjectives.  

After she was born we had a little time to hold her and my parents came in the room so that they could fall in love with her too.  Then the nurses took her to the nursery to do her tests and give her a bath.  After some time they put me in a wheel chair because my legs were still unusable and wheeled me to a new room.

Now is where it all gets cloudy.  In the hospital there was a lot of excitement, pain, and exhaustion.  I will spare some of the details that I do remember.  However, I will say that nurses are the most amazing people.  In a time where you are in so much pain and literally cannot do things like change your clothes or shower, they are there in the "trenches" with a smile on their face.  I found a whole new respect for nurses.  The compassion and kindness that a person has to have to do the things that they do fills me with a deep gratitude.

Kylie Jo was doing great and actually had the thumbs up to go home before I did.  We finally were given the okay to go late on Monday afternoon.  By then I was feeling much better and was ready to get out of that place. 

Since our arrival home it would be a lie to say that everything has been wonderful.  In the beginning it is really hard to adjust to a new baby.  You of course love them, but you have to become selfless and that doesn't happen over night.  Plus it is really hard to take care of a baby when you can barely take care of yourself.  My mom actually had to come stay with us for a week because she had to help take care of me and help with the baby too.  

There were a lot of smiles, laughs and tears in the beginning.  Now that we are seven weeks Jake and I are much more confident because we have sort of figured out our daughter.  She really only cries when she is hungry and when she decides that she is hungry boy does she let you know right away.  She is her fathers daughter!  :)  She loves to be held a certain way while she is being rocked.  If she is not held this way she sometimes throws a temper tantrum.  She is not patient at all and we know that when she can talk she will have a lot to say.  She is sleeping a little bit less during the day and is sleeping at least 6 straight hours at night.    She is starting to have a bit of interest in toys, especially things that have different noises.  She also loves when you hold her up so that she can push herself up with her legs and "stand".