Sunday, November 21, 2010

First Date :)

Chris and I went to dinner Friday night with Kate!  It was the first time we went out to dinner as a family.  We went to Mykonos, my favorite, and Kate was an angel.  She was awake the whole time, happy in her stroller looking around and smiling at everyone!  We are so amazed at how perfectly happy and awesome our baby is :):)  We're so lucky!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Kate's Birth Story

Those last couple weeks of pregnancy are a killer!!  By 38 weeks I was ready for Kate to make her entrance into this world!  We had finally gotten settled into our new place, the nursery was done, and I was really big and really HOT and really uncomfortable!  Kate had other plans though, she was comfy and cozy in my belly and not quite ready to make her entrance.  I look back at that time and though I was uncomfortable I loved being pregnant, I loved our time together- just the two of us.  At my 38 week OB appt, Dr. Snow gave us the option of inducing on 08/24 or 08/31.  We were surprised and excited, but decided to wait until our 39 week appt to make a decision about a possible induction on the 31st.  At 39 weeks, we decided to induce on August 31, 2010, if Kate didn't come on her own prior to that date.  Well, she didn't come before that date, so at 40 weeks and 1 day we induced!  Chris and I went to the hospital on that Tuesday morning at 5am (of course we were a little late!).  My Dad beat us to the hospital, if you can believe that, he was there with his camera ready to document the day.  It was great having him there with us all day, he took pictures and kept the rest of the family and friends updated as things progressed.  When we got to the hospital we checked in and went up to the second floor; labor and delivery.  We got into our room a little after 6am and I put my gown on and got into bed- It was a nice room and I was so ready to get this show on the road!!  Our first nurse was named Heather and I am so thankful that her shift was about to be over.  She tried to get my IV's going and poked me so many times I was in tears- not a great way to start the day- but soon Natalie Nesbit came in the room and took over.  My friend from FLEEC, Stacey Rauch had told me to ask for her to be my L&D nurse and I'm so happy I did, Natalie was my angel for the day!  She made the whole experience so much easier.  She got the IV going with ease and everything from that point on was great.  She got the pitocin dripping and told us about her upcoming wedding- all was great!  Dr. Snow came in around 8:30am to break my water, up until that point I hadn't had any discomfort or pain.  The contractions started immediately- wow, those things are painful.  I made it through 8 or 9 contractions and decided I better go ahead and get the epidural before it was too late!  Bernadette came in and administered the epidural, it was a little scary, but she was great and talked me through each step.  My left side went completely numb...so numb I couldn't move my leg...my right side followed shortly.  This was amazing...within minutes I was watching my contractions on the monitor, but couldn't feel a thing!  The epidural was a success and I am so thankful for it, I can't imagine going through labor/delivery without one.  The rest of the day was nice and almost relaxing...the rest of the morning and afternoon were filled with visitors.  Of course my Dad was there,  Jennifer came in and brought Chris and my Dad lunch, my Mom also came, Donna, Diane, Phil, Sean, Christy, Kenny, Uncle Jack, and Gigi all came to see me and root me on!  I progressed throughout the afternoon and by about 4:30pm Natalie checked me again and I was at 10cm- ready to start pushing!!  Unfortunatly, Dr. Snow was just about to head in for a C-Section, so we had to wait about an hour.  Natalie walked in at about 5:30 and exclaimed that we were ready to start pushing!!  Natalie, Chris, and I were in the room alone for the first hour and twenty minutes or so.  Chris was great, he held my left leg and Natalie held my right while I pushed and pushed!  It was really intimate for the first hour, with just the 3 of us in the room.  I could still feel the pressure from the contractions, so I knew when they were coming and when to get ready to push.  I was so excited to meet Kate, but still a little afraid of the unknown- not being sure what to expect from the whole birthing experience and simply praying that my precious baby girl would be completely healthy.  After about an hour and twenty minutes, Natalie said we were ready...she called Dr. Snow in and a bunch of other nurses came in from the neonatal unit, since there was maconium in the womb.  Wow, I would be holding my little Kate so soon.  At this point, I was really scared actually because I could feel so much pressure and just didn't know what to expect!  Dr. Snow said I was doing great, but I just couldn't push past a certain point, so he decided he needed to get the vaccuum, which he called the "kiwi"...before we knew it Kate was born at 6:59pm!  The Dr. cut the cord very quickly because it was wrapped loosely around her neck and he didn't want to take any chances by waiting for Chris to get over to her to cut it.  The nurses quickly whisked Kate to a nearby table to clear the amniotic fluid from Kates mouth and to check to make sure she was perfect- she was.  My parents had been waiting outside the room the whole time and they were able to come in right away to see baby Kate.  Thankfully my Dad got so many great pictures of the first minutes of Kate's life.  These pictures are so special to me.  Dr. Snow was finishing up with me and it seemed to me like forever before they brought her back to me.  I just kept looking over at where she was and waiting to hear that she was healthy, I just remember wanting to hold her at this time.  Chris and Donna and Phil and my parents were all over at the little table looking after her.  I will never forget the moment the nurse put Kate into my arms, I fell completely in love with her in an instant.  She was the most beautiful and healthy baby I had ever seen.  I stared at her and memorized every detail of her beautiful little face.  What a perfect baby! 
After a couple of hours with Kate in the L&D room, breastfeeding, bonding, and visiting with family (only 2 at a time), the staff wheeled us up to our room on the 6th floor (room 6208).  It was about 10pm at this time and everyone was tired, we said our goodbyes to the family and Chris, Kate and I settled in for our first night together.  Chris and I ordered dinner and fell asleep by the time it came, but we woke up and ate (I hadn't eaten all day so the grilled cheese and soup was delicious!).  I had Kate in the bed with me that night, she slept on my chest, I just couldn't put her down.