Hello Again!
I am finally writing Sophie's birth story. Her delivery was not an easy one, but of course it was all worth it in the end :)
I was scheduled to be induced on Wednesday, Janurary 29th. We were to check into the hospital the night before to begin the process. We relaxed at our home that night before we left for our check in time, 8pm. Aron bought a ton of food from Panera (no eating was allowed after the process began), and I watched the series finale of Breaking Bad to calm my nerves. I'm not sure how much good that actually did!
My stomach was all butterflies when boarded the car for the trip to the hospital. I was terrified, more than I have ever been in my life. I was terrified of the delivery, of the thought of something going wrong, of the pain! But I was excited to finally meet my little girl.
We checked into the hospital, I was hooked up to the monitors, and they began the procedure. I was to relax as much as possible through the night, and hopefully be induced in the morning. Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night. Poor Aron managed to get a few snores in on the couch, and I mainly watched TV at a very low volume. I remember the movie Away We Go was on, about a pregnant couple traveling across the country to find the perfect place to raise their child. From what I remember, it was pretty amazing, and felt very relevant to what I was experiencing.
The next morning, they started the Pictocin drip and waited. I was slowly dilating. My OB came in and broke my water. It brought on those lovely labor pains, and after toughing it out for a while, I asked for the epidural. I've had two spinal taps in my life, and was not looking forward to the epidural process. It did hurt a bit, and didn't instantly work.One side of my body was numb, and the other was still feeling the contractions. They adjusted the dose, and it still wasn't working. The head anesthesiologist lady was a bit grumpy, and said that the weight of my body should make it work, so I turned here and there and the pain began to settle down a bit.
Things were still moving along slowly, and had a feeling that a C Section was in my future. The doctors attached an internal monitor to check on Sophie's safety. Things seemed to be OK for a while, then the nurses came in to check on me. Before I knew it, there were several people in the room. They told me I was having a C section, now, and told Aron to grab his camera.
They wheeled me down the hall, and I noticed the troubled look on everyone's face. I was scared to death for Sophie. My OB met me at the operating room door, and through her surgical mask said, "I'm right here, Adrienne." Her reassurance still means the world to me.
Before I knew it, I was on the operating table. I was scared and started to cry and tremble. The grumpy anesthesiologist said "Keep it together." For whatever reason, that was exactly what I needed to hear, and I stopped with the tears. She pinched my hips and asked if I could feel that, and I said yes. She asked if she could feel me pinching very hard, I said no, just her touching me. She said we were good to go.
The next couple of minutes were a blur, and I felt the intense pressure of Sophie being pulled from me. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard her pretty little cry. She was born on January 29th at 2:59 pm, weighing 6 pounds and 8 ounces, and was 19 inches long.
Aron had not been in the operating room with me, they did not allow him in until the knew everything was OK. He came in after her birth to meet his beautiful daughter. It turns out, the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around Sophie's head, causing her heart rate to drop dramatically. From the time we left my hospital room, to the time she was delivered, was less than 5 minutes. After she was cleaned up a bit, I finally got to meet my baby girl.
Sophie's body temperature was a little low, so they kept her under a heat lamp for a while. Aron and I returned to the recovery room.
Shortly afterwards, they brought sweet little Sophie to us. I was in awe of this beautiful little girl, and for the first time, felt the amazing responsibility of motherhood.
We had several visitors over the next few days, here is a pic of when Becca and John came to visit.
She slept in the nursery the first night, and was with us the remainder of the time until we were released 4 days later. She has, and still has, a love of her hands. We nicknamed them her "milk hands" since she seemed to think that is where her milk came from :)
All swaddled up
Aron's first diaper change
Almost 2 days old, napping on Mommy
Sophie's personality was apparent rather quickly. She is sweet, yet independent, and is a major wiggle worm. These days, she is easily the most active baby I've ever seen!
Aron's parents came down the day after Sophie's birth. It was so wonderful to see them, and for them to meet Sophie.
We were released from the hospital 4 days later, and took our little girl home. We were so nervous!
Sophie meeting Sebastian.
First night in her bassinet
Aron's Parents and Sophie in her Florida Gators Onesie.
After Aron's parents left, my Mom came up to meet little Sophie.
My Mom, me, and tiny Sophie
Sophie and her Aunts, Shawna and Misti
The first two months after Sophie's birth were magical, and challenging. We had sleeping issues (swaddling was our saving grace), and I wasn't able to breastfeed for very long. But, there were mostly wonderful moments: her first bath, meeting her grandparents and aunts, the sound of her sleeping next to us in her bassinet. We could hardly believe this beautiful little girl was ours! But she is, and she brings us more joy with every day.
Well, that is my little Sophie's birth story. I am going to write another babycentric post with Sophie's "firsts". Then I might settle back into some fashion blogging. Maybe :)
Adrienne
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