Well, it's been 2 weeks since our little angel graced us with her presence. It sure seems to have flown by already. Our little M was born. Of course, she didn't make it easy for us and I had to be induced. It was tough to give in to the induction but I figured she'd marinated a week longer than she should so that's the route we went. Marc, mom and Sara were to be present during birthing and it's a good thing Sara brought her iPad as the CD player in the room didn't work. So she brought up Pandora and she had me listening to some really good meditation music. Mom brought brownies dad had made for the nurses and they were so excited to have sweets :).
As labor progressed, the nurse would increase the pitocin so that my contractions would increase. I tried my darndest to use my hypnobirthing techniques and they worked really well for most of the labor induction, however, because the pitocin made my contractions so regular and of the same strength and intensity as my labor progressed, I was getting so worn down it was hard to concentrate. I finally gave in and got the epidural. It wasn't my happiest moment as I wanted to experience my first child's birth in all it's "glory". But Marc, mom and sister were there with me the whole time and they said I handled it like a champ! Marc was amazing. He pushed me because he knew natural birth was something I really wanted in my heart but he also let me know it was ok to do what I thought would be best. Plus, I didn't know that I would have the energy for pushing when the time came if the contractions kept going at the power level they were going! At the time I got the epidural I was 4-5 cm dialated. After the epidural it all went pretty quick. The next time my midwife came to check me she said I was at 9 cm and could start getting ready to push in a few minutes! I was excited and anxious. So was Marc, I could see it in his eyes. Mom and Marc each held a leg and away we went. I had a mirror to help me know how to push since I couldn't feel much with the epidural. It was intense seeing my little girls hair as she got closer to arriving. We would see this mass of dark hair when I pushed and when I stopped it would recede back a bit. When all was said and done, I really only pushed for 1/2 hour and out came our little M! Bright eyed and blinking. My midwife plopped her on my chest and I almost wasn't ready for her! I was still in awe that she was finally here!
Everyone was so excited and happy to see her, and to finally know her name :). She laid on my chest for at least 1/2 hour and Marc just stared at her and kissed her and talked to her. It was amazing.
After her birth, there were a few things our little girl has had to deal with. She was jaundice as her and I have different blood types causing her little liver to work overtime and with the aid of a bili lights bed that she had to be on. We were able to go home the evening of Christmas Eve for our first night at home together.
Since then, we've had so many appointments for her to check her bilirubin levels, weight, lactation consultation, it's been a busy two weeks. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the unending support of Marc and the love and support of my mom and my sister who have taken us to many of the appointments or just been there for me.
Right now, M is on track for her weight gain and she has her two week appointment tomorrow. My main concern right now is breastfeeding. It's been a bit of challenge for both her and I as she learned latching differently due to a short frenelum. The frenelum was snipped last Friday but we still have some learning time to account for and some toughening of my nipples.
I will never forget all of the love I have felt from my family the day of her birth and continuing. Our life has been changed forever and for the better with the addition of our little girl. I can't wait to see the adventures she takes us on.
As for our little Drake, he's getting used to having a little sister that keeps him up at night but he's doing great.
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