Welcoming Susanna Lani West
As you can see, it's taken me a month to post the details of Susie's arrival. Obviously motherhood has kept me a little busier than I had anticipated. Looking back I remember people saying things like, "being a mom is hard," and "I was up all night with a crying baby," but I don't think it really sunk in...to put it lightly I severely under estimated the adjustment bringing a new baby home would be. Even more so I under estimated how much I would love this little girl.
I will never forget Susanna's birthday. What an amazing day. Well I'll start from the beginning. I was due Sunday, February 20th, but that day came and went and I didn't go into labor. I went in the following week for several stress tests to make sure the baby was doing ok even though she was late. She passed each stress test with flying colors! My doctor decided to schedule my induction for Sunday, February 27th. She told me that because I had made so little progress, the induction would take a long time. (After my due date I was still not effaced and only 1/2 cm dilated).
We called the hospital on Sunday to see when they wanted us to come in and they didn't have room. Finally, at 10:00pm they told us to come on in. It was so surreal walking into the labor and delivery unit knowing that when we came out we would have a baby! We checked in and I changed into one of those gorgeous hospital gowns. I was given a pill to put between my cheek and my gums called a prostaglandis (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong!). Like my doctor had explained earlier, they couldn't induce me right away (or give me petocin that would start my contractions) until my cervix was 100% effaced. This pill was going to thin my cervix. Then in the morning they would check my progress to see when we could start the petocin.
I didn't sleep very well... I started contracting a little. My water broke early Monday morning. Soon after my doctor affirmed that my cervix was effaced and they started the petocin in my IV. Uh...ouch! The contractions became more severe but progress was very slow. Around 9 I was only at one cm. We started talking about an epidural. They usually don't give epidurals until you've made more progress, but I got lucky. Yep they gave me an epidural at only one cm. Some how I think that might make me less of a woman...
Oh boy did I love that epidural. It was weird not being able to move my legs but I didn't mind so much. :) After a little while I was able to move them a little better. Anyways the nurses and my doctor would come in every one to two hours to check my progress. And it was slow. By 4pm I was still only at 5 cm. Paul and I were just hoping to have her before midnight.
Well at about 5pm the nurse came in and checked me again. She didn't say anything to me but started calling people in and setting things up. Paul and I didn't know what was going on but we didn't think it was time! Well it was! Two minutes later my doctor was there and I was pushing! I had really geared myself up for this part because I was told that it could last two hours... twelve minutes later I got to hold my daughter for the first time.
This is a moment I will never forget and that I can't describe. Seeing Susanna for the first time, getting to hold her, touch her hands, and look at her eyes, it was life changing. Love at first sight.
The whole thing happened in a manner of minutes. Paul and I didn't even really realize what was going on before he could see her little head. He got to cut the umbilical cord and watched as they washed her and weighed her.
The part that came next took the longest- the after birth. I tore and had to be stitched up. Thankfully the tear wasn't too bad. Right now I'm thinking-- "how women do this without an epidural is BEYOND me."
Next they wheeled us up to the recovery room. Fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't in a lot of pain but as far as energy level, I've never felt so close to death. I had lost two liters of blood and am low on iron anyway. I was so exhausted.... and STARVING!! I hadn't eaten anything since Sunday.. now it's Monday night. They gave me some apple juice to swallow pain pill. I threw it up immediately. I waited a half hour and tried some water, which I also threw up. Throwing up when you have nothing in your stomach is not fun!
Despite the post birth uncomfort, all I can remember is being on cloud nine. I just wanted to hold her and talk to her and snuggle with her. They had to take her away to do tests, give her a bath, etc. Each time they brought her in I felt this surge of excitement. I can't think of any better way to describe it other than what Christmas morning feels like when you're six. The Christmas morning feeling continued, even when they brought her into our room in the middle of the night so I could feed her. Unfortunately those late night feedings aren't as thrilling any more...
We had a few visitors at the hospital, which was nice. Paul's sister Rebecca came, two teachers I work with Ginni and Sherrill, my brother Mackenzie, a friend from our ward Rachel (who is a nurse there actually), and our good friends Chante and Steven. My mom was there as well and was a lot of help. We were excited to go home though!
On Wednesday morning we dressed Susie in her "take home" outfit (which completely drowned her), met with the pediatrician, packed up, and traveled home! Susanna slept most of the day and so did I. I didn't realize that sleeping all day might mean she wouldn't sleep well that night. I was up with her ALL night long! It was AWFUL!! We all went to bed around midnight, at which point Susanna woke up. She was up and crying all night except for the half hour nap she took from 4:15- 4:45 am. Thirty minutes of sleep. Welcome to motherhood.
The next night was better. Now, at about four weeks old, she usually only wakes up twice in the middle of the night (their are exceptions...). She can be a pretty fussy baby. There are days that she spends an hour or more at a time crying. She wants to be held all of the time and doesn't take a lot of naps. We were pretty worried about the crying at first and took her to the doctor to see if something was wrong. The doctor said she might have colic but that she is very healthy.
Sometimes it is hard to hold her while she is crying and not be able to do anything but as I've gotten over some of the postpartum hormones, it has gotten easier to handle. Paul and I are getting better at soothing her. Despite the difficulty we both feel immensely blessed to have this beautiful little girl as the first additional to our family. We love her more than anything.
Motherhood is a blessing.
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!
I will never forget Susanna's birthday. What an amazing day. Well I'll start from the beginning. I was due Sunday, February 20th, but that day came and went and I didn't go into labor. I went in the following week for several stress tests to make sure the baby was doing ok even though she was late. She passed each stress test with flying colors! My doctor decided to schedule my induction for Sunday, February 27th. She told me that because I had made so little progress, the induction would take a long time. (After my due date I was still not effaced and only 1/2 cm dilated).
We called the hospital on Sunday to see when they wanted us to come in and they didn't have room. Finally, at 10:00pm they told us to come on in. It was so surreal walking into the labor and delivery unit knowing that when we came out we would have a baby! We checked in and I changed into one of those gorgeous hospital gowns. I was given a pill to put between my cheek and my gums called a prostaglandis (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong!). Like my doctor had explained earlier, they couldn't induce me right away (or give me petocin that would start my contractions) until my cervix was 100% effaced. This pill was going to thin my cervix. Then in the morning they would check my progress to see when we could start the petocin.
I didn't sleep very well... I started contracting a little. My water broke early Monday morning. Soon after my doctor affirmed that my cervix was effaced and they started the petocin in my IV. Uh...ouch! The contractions became more severe but progress was very slow. Around 9 I was only at one cm. We started talking about an epidural. They usually don't give epidurals until you've made more progress, but I got lucky. Yep they gave me an epidural at only one cm. Some how I think that might make me less of a woman...
Oh boy did I love that epidural. It was weird not being able to move my legs but I didn't mind so much. :) After a little while I was able to move them a little better. Anyways the nurses and my doctor would come in every one to two hours to check my progress. And it was slow. By 4pm I was still only at 5 cm. Paul and I were just hoping to have her before midnight.
Well at about 5pm the nurse came in and checked me again. She didn't say anything to me but started calling people in and setting things up. Paul and I didn't know what was going on but we didn't think it was time! Well it was! Two minutes later my doctor was there and I was pushing! I had really geared myself up for this part because I was told that it could last two hours... twelve minutes later I got to hold my daughter for the first time.
This is a moment I will never forget and that I can't describe. Seeing Susanna for the first time, getting to hold her, touch her hands, and look at her eyes, it was life changing. Love at first sight.The whole thing happened in a manner of minutes. Paul and I didn't even really realize what was going on before he could see her little head. He got to cut the umbilical cord and watched as they washed her and weighed her.
The part that came next took the longest- the after birth. I tore and had to be stitched up. Thankfully the tear wasn't too bad. Right now I'm thinking-- "how women do this without an epidural is BEYOND me."
Next they wheeled us up to the recovery room. Fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't in a lot of pain but as far as energy level, I've never felt so close to death. I had lost two liters of blood and am low on iron anyway. I was so exhausted.... and STARVING!! I hadn't eaten anything since Sunday.. now it's Monday night. They gave me some apple juice to swallow pain pill. I threw it up immediately. I waited a half hour and tried some water, which I also threw up. Throwing up when you have nothing in your stomach is not fun!
Despite the post birth uncomfort, all I can remember is being on cloud nine. I just wanted to hold her and talk to her and snuggle with her. They had to take her away to do tests, give her a bath, etc. Each time they brought her in I felt this surge of excitement. I can't think of any better way to describe it other than what Christmas morning feels like when you're six. The Christmas morning feeling continued, even when they brought her into our room in the middle of the night so I could feed her. Unfortunately those late night feedings aren't as thrilling any more...
We had a few visitors at the hospital, which was nice. Paul's sister Rebecca came, two teachers I work with Ginni and Sherrill, my brother Mackenzie, a friend from our ward Rachel (who is a nurse there actually), and our good friends Chante and Steven. My mom was there as well and was a lot of help. We were excited to go home though!
On Wednesday morning we dressed Susie in her "take home" outfit (which completely drowned her), met with the pediatrician, packed up, and traveled home! Susanna slept most of the day and so did I. I didn't realize that sleeping all day might mean she wouldn't sleep well that night. I was up with her ALL night long! It was AWFUL!! We all went to bed around midnight, at which point Susanna woke up. She was up and crying all night except for the half hour nap she took from 4:15- 4:45 am. Thirty minutes of sleep. Welcome to motherhood.
The next night was better. Now, at about four weeks old, she usually only wakes up twice in the middle of the night (their are exceptions...). She can be a pretty fussy baby. There are days that she spends an hour or more at a time crying. She wants to be held all of the time and doesn't take a lot of naps. We were pretty worried about the crying at first and took her to the doctor to see if something was wrong. The doctor said she might have colic but that she is very healthy.
Sometimes it is hard to hold her while she is crying and not be able to do anything but as I've gotten over some of the postpartum hormones, it has gotten easier to handle. Paul and I are getting better at soothing her. Despite the difficulty we both feel immensely blessed to have this beautiful little girl as the first additional to our family. We love her more than anything.
Motherhood is a blessing.
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!
