So. In. Love.

I am so in love with Lilah that I feel like I'm going to explode. I forgot how tiny newborns are. And how soft. And how good they smell and feel against your bare skin. And the ADORABLE little faces they make and sounds they emit. I am just smitten. Any fears I had about how I was going to handle two kids or how our lives would have to further adjust just flew out the window as soon as I snuggled with her for the first time. It also helps that she is SUCH a good baby. She sleeps well, eats well, has a sweet and quiet little disposition. I'm not saying that Sophie was a bad baby, but everything from labor and delivery on was a whole lot harder. Speaking of labor and delivery- anyone want to hear my birth story? Oh good! Because I love telling it!

As you all know, I had been having contractions since Monday the 16. Sometimes they were
regular and uncomfortable, but they never stayed either long enough to go to the hospital. At my dr's appt on Wednesday I was 3cm dilated. I started losing large pieces of my mucus plug every day. At my next dr's appt the following Monday I was still 3cm dilated. As the week went on I was having more and more contractions, but they were still petering out. I was getting frustrated, uncomfortable, and miserable. Friday morning I woke up with contractions that stayed regular. They weren't unbearable, but they weren't dying down. I knew it would be a
convenient day to have the baby, as far as Sophie's care was concerned. I dropped Sophie off at school and came back home. I packed Sophie a bag, finished getting my things together, cleaned up around the house a little, and Shimmy and I went for a walk. I decided to call the dr and was
told to head in to the hospital. I called my mom and asked her to pick Sophie up from school and take her back to her house. Worst case scenario, they'd send me back home from the hospital, but at least this way Sophie was taken care of if we had to go back to the hospital later that night. We went to the hospital, stopping for brunch on the way because the contractions were pretty manageable and if we were admitted to the hospital, I knew we wouldn't be able to eat for a while. We got to the hospital at 12:30 and got back to triage around 1:30. They hooked me up to the monitors. I was dilated 3-4 cm and was contracting every 7 min. My dr came in and said we could either go home and see what happens or we could stay and she could help things move along. I told her that I didn't want to leave without a baby. She came back an hour later and I was dilated 4-5 and contractions were getting stronger. She said, "I'll strip your membranes, but you're getting there on your own. We're going to have a baby today." Woohoo! So she stripped my membranes, and then we were moved into a room. This was about 2:30. Around 4, the dr came to break my water, but said that the baby was still pretty high up so she wanted to give me some pitocin in hopes that the contractions would get stronger and progress me further, bringing the baby down. I agreed, but asked to get an epidural first, having had a bad experience with pitocin last time. I got the epidural with no problems and pitocin was started. I never needed very much pitocin- at its highest it was 6mL (the most they give you is 34mL I think). The dr broke my water at 6:30. At 7 I said I was feeling the contractions really low with some pressure. They checked me and I was shocked to hear that I was already a 7-8. The nurse got everything ready for the baby. The contractions were starting to get painful, so I asked for a redose in my epidural, which I got within minutes. At 8 I started really feeling a ton of pressure, like I was ready to push, but I didn't think it would happen that quickly. At 8:15 the dr said I was a 9, but that I could do a couple of practice pushes. They got the mirror positioned so that I could watch myself push. I "practice" pushed twice and the baby was right there- it was time. I pushed for 5 min, watching the baby emerge the whole time, and at 8:25pm she was completely out and placed right on my chest! Her apgars were 8 and 9. She weighed 7 lb 9.4 oz and was 21 in long. She latched on right away and has been a champion nurser ever since. She nurses every 3 hours for 15 min- most efficient (and most appreciated). Recovery has been a breeze. I barely tore at all. I'm not sore or swollen. I feel so good that I have to remind myself not to overdo it. Everything has just been soooo different than it was with Sophie (I'll dig up her birth story for comparision and put it in a separate post). It was such an amazing experience all around. I am so glad I asked for the mirror- there is just nothing like watching yourself bring your own child into the world!

Here are some pics from the hospital:

Last belly pic!


She's here! (only pic taken during the first 24 hours of her life since I delivered 1 hour after shabbat began. The nurse was nice to enough to grab our camera and take this one.)


Ready to go home!


2 days old :)




And here are some from my (extremely) amateur photo shoot yesterday. I'm going to try for some better shots today. Still learning the in and outs of my new camera.