Hello everyone! Thank you for all of your prayers (especially) and kind words of congratulations. Thanks to those of you who have visited us also -- Kate has enjoyed being the center of such a large fan club right away.
So, for those of you who were completely surprised by a simple blog check to discover that Josh and I were now parents -- some information! Late last week my body started giving me a few cues that I was really getting close to giving birth. I started a pattern of having light contractions during the late night early morning time. Friday morning, I actually thought I had gone into labor, so I packed a bag, took a shower, and called the midwife. She thought the contractions sounded way too light to be serious (the fact that I could do all those things while in "labor" gave her a big clue).
Saturday was a big day. I went shopping for hours, got a hair cut (PTL!), and wore myself out. Josh and I had dinner with Matt & Megan and went back to our home to exchange gifts and wait for my parents to arrive from McAllen. Funny thing with the gift exchange -- both couples bought the same gift to give each other: the game "Apples to Apples." That night, Josh started feeling really poorly. One moment he was talking to my dad, the next he ran to our bathroom and barfed! I felt so terrible for him, but we thought it was probably just a one time thing. A few hours later, we both woke up, each for different reasons. Josh was making another visit to the bathroom, and I experienced sudden piercing pain in my lower abdomen -- this was finally a REAL contraction! I couldn't believe the irony! This was about 2 o'clock a.m. I had that previous experience with false labor, so I tried to stay on top of timing the contractions, but it was somewhat difficult to do because the contractions were irregular and I had a VERY stinky timing instrument. It didn't help that I was also trying to be quiet for Josh.
Two hours later, it became apparent that my contractions weren't going away, and they were really, really uncomfortable. No sleep or packing or showering this time. Finally, I told Josh that I thought I was really in labor, but I was going to wait a little bit longer before I called the midwife. Josh and I couldn't believe that he was still feeling sick on, of all nights, the most important night/morning (possibly) of our little family's life!
The midwife finally did send me to the hospital to get checked. Mom drove me while Josh and Dad stayed home, just in case I didn't have to STAY at the hospital. They checked me (I was 2 cm. dilated -- not much) and tracked my contractions. They were only 5-8 minutes apart and had really not increased in regularity or strength. If anything, the ones I had in the middle of the night were stronger, but I was still REALLY uncomfortable. The midwife decided that they would go ahead and do the C-section. I could hardly believe it when she told me. My daughter was finally going to be here! All the anxiety I had been feeling about the C-section didn't even have time to accumulate or build. I called Josh and told him to get his buns to the hospital. He and dad high tailed it from the house; he made it in plenty of time and thankfully had started feeling some better.
The c-section was the STRANGEST thing I have ever experienced in my life. Apparently, I was pretty anxious, so the anesthesiologist really sent me into la-la land. I was completely not in the operating room. They tell you that you'll feel pressure and tugging; I felt no such thing. Instead, I was floating on a conveyor belt through a land not at all dissimilar to Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland. I kept changing size myself. The only consistency I felt was Josh rubbing my hand. I didn't hear him talking me through the entire process, but I could feel him rubbing the center of my palm, even when that palm was the size of a pin or the size of the entire room. Finally at the end, I could hear Kate crying and finally heard the doctor's and Josh's voice. It was over! The Lord was so good to us!
Kate facts:
She likes swaddling.
She sleeps almost ALL DAY LONG.
She likes her Pappasan Swing
She likes a paci.
She had her first bath at home tonight!
Some pictures as a treat for those of you read such a lengthy post!
This Sunday, Kate will be 3 weeks old, and that fact is WAY too hard to believe. I don't feel like I've been sleep deprived for almost 3 weeks. (NOT!) This portion of mothering has had its challenges for me. Knowing that I am the sole source of nutrition and sustenance for such a tiny human being has been a bit stressful for me at times. Both she and I are having to learn a lot about breastfeeding. We seemed to have conquered most of our challenges as I write. I'm sure that many of your prayers have been what has buttressed me during a few LOW middle of the night moments where nothing seemed to be going as it should and I was so sleepy I could have curled up on the carpeted flo
or of the nursery just to be in the prone position. The good signs are that she is growing (as well as churning out her share of dirty/wet diapers in this world!). As she crossed over her 2 week anniversary (her due date, incidentally), she seemed to wake up a bit more. As Jennifer remarked last week, "Kate is the sleepingest baby I've ever seen." Now, she has some more wakeful times where she looks around with her big, beautiful eyes and seems to be taking it all in. But, to chronicle her main activity for this week, you are graced with two sleeping pictures.
