first week update

Hi everyone
Sorry to be lacking in the postings lately, but Avonlea has been keeping me running! With J back at work, things have been really hard. My mom has been coming over in the mornings to help me, which has been a godsend. Just another set of hands is so appreciated. Plus, she cleaned my whole house! Which is amazing since all I have done is feed the baby and sleep (or not sleep.) haha.

here's a little birthday story for you (gory details not included)...

So, we went in for my induction at 11am on Thursday morning. By 12:30 I was hooked up to the medication (Pitocin) and very slowly contractions started. I was dilated 3cm when I went in, and was already contracting. The MD and RN had high hopes that I would deliver by midnight since I had come into the hospital in pretty good shape.

So, around 1, my mom and sister get there, and then it's all jokes and fun and games. We take some walks around the unit, I eat some popscicles (grape...mmmmm!) And eventually my contractions are closer together and harder to talk through. Everyone keeps asking me if it's time for an epidural yet, which I kept putting off since I didnt think i needed it then, I was managing the contractions very well.

And then I decide that sitting in the rocking chair wasn't working for me anymore. I decide to take another walk around the unit, and head to the bathroom first. And then, POP! My water breaks. yaaay! progress! and suddenly, I understood what "transition labor" is. I went from completely manageable to completely unmanageable. It was pretty terrible. And, the baby didn't like it either. She kept dropping her heart rate to ridiculously low numbers. So, within a half-an-hour, I had a monitor placed on the baby, a monitor on me, an epidural by the head of anesthesiology (because my RN kicked butt and wouldn't settle for a retarded resident), and an ultrasound. At that point I was 6cm dilated.

After the epidural, everything was wonderful again. The contractions got stronger (but I couldnt feel them as well), and the baby had a few harrowing episodes of very low heart rates that we couldnt get back up with respositioning. Suddenly, there were 15 people in the room, they put me on oxygen, and I looked out into a sea of worried faces. My MD decided to check me again before deciding on whether or not I would get a STAT C-section. I was fully dilated. yaay! So, we started the dance. And within a half an hour, at precisely 6 minutes before midnight, Avonlea joined our little family. She came into the world calm, very alert, looking around, and very puffy-faced. Which matched my puffy face very well (the medicine makes you swell like a marshmellow!) :)

This past week has been a blur of naps, feeding difficulties, lack of sleep, and watching her. She is sooo beautiful (i know, i'm biased) My heart melts when she smiles in her sleep! I can't take it!! She is a cuddle bug, thank god, because J and I are both cuddle bugs. I hear these are the "fun times", so I am working hard at not focusing on the lack of sleep and more on the fun part. So far, so good.
I have some more pics on my camera, which I hope to upload tonight. Stay tuned....