Meeting Papaw
Meeting Aunt Becca
Meeting Mamaw
"Say Wha-?!?!"
This is how we usually spend our days...
She got her mommie's feet... poor thing.
A Wildcat born and bred
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Meeting Papaw and Mamaw (and Aunt Becca too!!)
When Remie was 2 weeks old, her Mamaw, Papaw, and Aunt Becca came to visit. Aunt Becca brought her camera and took some amazing pictures. Enjoy!!
How it all started...
Okay, so maybe not how ALL of it started, but I figured I should document how Remie entered the world, if for no other reason than to use it against her some day. (I KID! I KID!)
Remie was due September 7th, a Friday. I really enjoyed the whooshing sound as that day came and went with no baby, not even a stupid contraction. Josh spent most of the day (and the next week) texting me from work asking if I was feeling anything. I died a little every time I sent him back a negative message knowing how much it disappointed him.
Our midwife scheduled our induction for 7:30am on September 14th, a week over the due date. I had wanted to avoid as many interventions as possible, but we had been stalled at 1cm and 70% effaced for a month. My body was not making any move to let go of this baby. So induction it was. We got to the hospital, checked in, they placed my IV line and got me settled into my labor room by 8:30am.
The midwife (who was not my normal midwife since they rotate shifts) came in and asked what kind of induction I wanted. My midwife had told me they would just do the pitocin, so having options was exciting. I opted for the cytotec since it was the least dramatic of the options before me, and I would be able to get up and walk and deal with contraction pain after 30 minutes.
The cytotec did its job wonderfully. Four hours later, I was dilated to 3cm, and was having strong, consistent contractions. We decided to let my body continue to do its thing from here and the midwife came back 4 hours later. No advance, still 3cm. The midwife swept my membranes (without asking. OW.) and said she would be back later to check on me.
Four more hours, no progress. The new midwife suggested we start the pitocin. She suggested I eat before we start, so I did. I had already puked once from the pain, so I was running on empty and food sounded AMAZING. Bad decision. They plugged me into the pit drip at the lowest setting, but still no progress. They upped the drip a bit, and the pain got ridiculous, and I puked again (with some choking this time to top things off) but no progress. They tried backing off the pit, but the pain remained unbearable. The contractions were excruciating and never ending. I threw in the proverbial towel and asked for pain relief 17 hours after we had started this whole process.
Once the drugs were on board, I was finally able to sleep. I had pretty bad tremors from the drugs, but sleep was so good. I could still feel the contractions, but not in a painful way. I was so out of it, I kept asking Josh to get up and push the button for more drugs which was right by my head.
The next midwife stopped by to check me and I had progressed to 9cm! We were moving forward! I vaguely remember my water breaking at some point, but it's fuzzy. They let me go a while longer, then at 11am Saturday morning, the midwife came back to check me. She lifted the blanket and said "I see the head! Want to have a baby?"
I pushed for an hour and a half (my pushing/breathing technique impressed the nurses. Thanks swimmer lungs!), then I produced the most perfect ball of goopy joy I've ever seen. I held her and nursed her while the midwife worked on removing the placenta, which came out without event. Since Remie came out with her hand up by her face (still her favorite position) I had a 2nd degree tear, which the midwife stitched while I watched the nurses and Josh wash and examine our baby girl. She initially had some minor breathing issue, but it is common in babies born at altitude and resolved itself quickly.
They brought her back to me, we tried nursing some more, and I was cleaned up and prepped for my move to the family room upstairs. There was some delay in the room prep, so we weren't in the room until 3:30pm or so. Once we got there, we were given a stack of papers to fill out, and we called friends to bring us food.
The family room at the hospital was a joke. The idea is that it's a calm and relaxing place for you to bond with your child and enjoy your new family. I don't know how they expect you to do that when you're being interrupted every 5 minutes for something. We didn't sleep that night, and neither did Remie. The next morning I was a crying, sobbing mess. The nurse came in to introduce herself after the shift change and she asked how we were doing. Commence uncontrollable sobbing. She was amazing and posted a note on the door that no one was to enter without checking with her first.
Guess how many people listened. None. The vital records lady stopped by. The lactation consultant stopped by (while the baby was out for testing, so that was useful). More nurses stopped in. The pediatrician stopped in. The hearing test had to be redone. It was absolute chaos. Commence MORE crying, both for me and Remie.
We eventually asked to be discharged that day. Remie and I were both given clean bills of health, so we wanted to go home where we weren't going to be pestered every time we were thisclose to falling asleep. So home we went.
So that's about it for now. It's not the happiest of stories, and it certainly isn't what I had planned, but the end result, this perfect, beautiful, fussy, sleep-refusing baby, is what matters. She's here and we're finally a family :)
Remie was due September 7th, a Friday. I really enjoyed the whooshing sound as that day came and went with no baby, not even a stupid contraction. Josh spent most of the day (and the next week) texting me from work asking if I was feeling anything. I died a little every time I sent him back a negative message knowing how much it disappointed him.
Our midwife scheduled our induction for 7:30am on September 14th, a week over the due date. I had wanted to avoid as many interventions as possible, but we had been stalled at 1cm and 70% effaced for a month. My body was not making any move to let go of this baby. So induction it was. We got to the hospital, checked in, they placed my IV line and got me settled into my labor room by 8:30am.
The midwife (who was not my normal midwife since they rotate shifts) came in and asked what kind of induction I wanted. My midwife had told me they would just do the pitocin, so having options was exciting. I opted for the cytotec since it was the least dramatic of the options before me, and I would be able to get up and walk and deal with contraction pain after 30 minutes.
The cytotec did its job wonderfully. Four hours later, I was dilated to 3cm, and was having strong, consistent contractions. We decided to let my body continue to do its thing from here and the midwife came back 4 hours later. No advance, still 3cm. The midwife swept my membranes (without asking. OW.) and said she would be back later to check on me.
Four more hours, no progress. The new midwife suggested we start the pitocin. She suggested I eat before we start, so I did. I had already puked once from the pain, so I was running on empty and food sounded AMAZING. Bad decision. They plugged me into the pit drip at the lowest setting, but still no progress. They upped the drip a bit, and the pain got ridiculous, and I puked again (with some choking this time to top things off) but no progress. They tried backing off the pit, but the pain remained unbearable. The contractions were excruciating and never ending. I threw in the proverbial towel and asked for pain relief 17 hours after we had started this whole process.
Once the drugs were on board, I was finally able to sleep. I had pretty bad tremors from the drugs, but sleep was so good. I could still feel the contractions, but not in a painful way. I was so out of it, I kept asking Josh to get up and push the button for more drugs which was right by my head.
The next midwife stopped by to check me and I had progressed to 9cm! We were moving forward! I vaguely remember my water breaking at some point, but it's fuzzy. They let me go a while longer, then at 11am Saturday morning, the midwife came back to check me. She lifted the blanket and said "I see the head! Want to have a baby?"
I pushed for an hour and a half (my pushing/breathing technique impressed the nurses. Thanks swimmer lungs!), then I produced the most perfect ball of goopy joy I've ever seen. I held her and nursed her while the midwife worked on removing the placenta, which came out without event. Since Remie came out with her hand up by her face (still her favorite position) I had a 2nd degree tear, which the midwife stitched while I watched the nurses and Josh wash and examine our baby girl. She initially had some minor breathing issue, but it is common in babies born at altitude and resolved itself quickly.
They brought her back to me, we tried nursing some more, and I was cleaned up and prepped for my move to the family room upstairs. There was some delay in the room prep, so we weren't in the room until 3:30pm or so. Once we got there, we were given a stack of papers to fill out, and we called friends to bring us food.
The family room at the hospital was a joke. The idea is that it's a calm and relaxing place for you to bond with your child and enjoy your new family. I don't know how they expect you to do that when you're being interrupted every 5 minutes for something. We didn't sleep that night, and neither did Remie. The next morning I was a crying, sobbing mess. The nurse came in to introduce herself after the shift change and she asked how we were doing. Commence uncontrollable sobbing. She was amazing and posted a note on the door that no one was to enter without checking with her first.
Guess how many people listened. None. The vital records lady stopped by. The lactation consultant stopped by (while the baby was out for testing, so that was useful). More nurses stopped in. The pediatrician stopped in. The hearing test had to be redone. It was absolute chaos. Commence MORE crying, both for me and Remie.
We eventually asked to be discharged that day. Remie and I were both given clean bills of health, so we wanted to go home where we weren't going to be pestered every time we were thisclose to falling asleep. So home we went.
So that's about it for now. It's not the happiest of stories, and it certainly isn't what I had planned, but the end result, this perfect, beautiful, fussy, sleep-refusing baby, is what matters. She's here and we're finally a family :)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Remie Rose Staples
After 41+ weeks of waiting, we finally got to meet the most important person in our lives, Remie Rose Staples. I'll go into details about the birth and the mess of a hospital and whatnot some other time, but I think some pictures are in order right now!
Go Wildcats!! She made it just in time for our game!
Going home :)
Meeting Vader.
This is about as interested in her as Hoth has been.
The girl's feet are huge! They are as long as Josh's middle finger!
Naptime...
... for everyone.
Mom + Dad = me
"What ARE you?!"
So that's what we have for now. She's the most incredible little thing and we fall more madly in love every day. As we're beginning to find out, this certainly won't be easy, but nothing in life worth doing ever is.
Monday, August 27, 2012
In the Zone
It's been a busy six weeks since I last updated this blog. My parents had a baby shower for us, Josh completed a couple of runs including a half-marathon, I started my maternity leave, and people at Josh's work had a baby shower for us. First things first.
We treked out to northern CA for a family shower with my side of the family. It was a wonderful day with family and friends and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather.
We treked out to northern CA for a family shower with my side of the family. It was a wonderful day with family and friends and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather.
Josh has been busy training for his half marathon, which paid off when he took nearly 7 minutes off his last half marathon time! I couldn't be prouder of his dedication and it certainly paid off!
This picture is misleading. The clock shows the time of day. He started at 6:30am, so his time was around 2h 14m. :)
Josh has been able to share the running love with a bunch of friends, which has been awesome!
Remie's anticipated arrival has coincided well with a pause in my research, so I was able to start my maternity leave. I have a list of things I'd like to get done while I'm sitting around waiting for something exciting to happen. So far I've gotten next to nothing accomplished, but I've had good reasons!
To begin with, we were registered for the first annual Color Run ABQ. No, I didn't run the 3.1 miles, but I did walk it with a group of friends. It was a blast to say the least. When we were at packet pickup, we stopped by the merchandise desk to see what they had, and the girl working the desk gave us a baby tee for Remie! Super sweet!
It was a mess, but it was fun! If it comes to your city, I can't recommend it enough!
Our friends Jen and Melissa were awesome enough to make a video of the day:
Today, the wonderful people at Josh's work threw us a surprise baby shower. Well, it was a surprise to me at least. It was such a great way to start my maternity leave!!
I think that's all the big items. We're about as ready as we're ever going to be for Remie to get here. Her room is set, we've got all the essentials covered, no we just wait.
My hope is that I will find a couple minutes here and there to update this with pictures and notes about all of our adventures into family-dom. We'll see how well that works out.. :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)