Sighs of Relief

I think my sweet husband put it best when he said, "It's so good to have YOU back."

After a drama-filled, worrisome, painful, stressful pregnancy, I finally feel like I can breath many, many sighs of relief.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

My beautiful BGV was born healthy and as close to perfect as any parent has the right to dream.  Yes, she's tiny, but she's also mighty!  While she/we did endure a stay in the NICU, medical intervention was minimal ... it was really all about monitoring her ... and giving her the chance to figure out suck-swallow-breath ... and being in awe of this tiny 36 week-er who proved that gestational age is just a number ;)

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

After dreading an induction, I can honestly say it was the best labor experience I can imagine.  I have a great relationship with my OB, and she cleared her entire schedule to be with me at the hospital all day.  She graciously took into account my feelings about natural labor and helped me to manage my pain (and motivate my cervix) without Pitocin or an epidural.  In addition to the best doctor in the world, I also had an amazing nurse who made sure I was comfortable and empowered.  And I fell in love - all over again - with my husband who coached me and kept me focused on the prize :) 

With a dose of "steel-melting" gel on my cervix-o-steel, my uterus stayed true to its grumpy disposition and contracted like a champ. I was able to trust my body to do what it already knows how to do, and I had that all-important "control" over the situation.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

My post-partum recovery has been a piece of cake in comparison to the physical demands of a contraction-filled pregnancy.  Physically, I feel great; I've all but forgotten that I even have a uterus!  Birthing such a tiny baby had the advantage of no tearing in the nether-regions.  And with around-the-clock pumping, engorgement (the worst part when I had NHV) wasn't even that bad.  Don't get me wrong, I am exhausted, and I am definitely feeling the hormone surges and dips.  But overall, I am in a much better place physically! 

Of course, the twice-a-week doctor's appointments continue ... but no more non-stress tests or ultrasounds ... just weigh-ins for CJV!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Today is the day! My sweet Natalie's 1st Birthday! Because I am still awake, I started typing this at 12:36 am - the exact time I gave birth to my baby girl ... and I thought, since it's still very fresh in my mind, perhaps this would be the perfect time to reminisce and share my labor story ... afterall, that's what got me here, to this point of celebrating my baby girl's first birthday!

The short version: My water broke about 8:00 pm. Got to the hosptial at 9:30ish. Natalie was born at 12:36 am. Yes, that's just 4 and a half short hours!

The looong version:

At about 8:00 pm on July 14th, I was in the loft above our garage - checking email - when my water broke - what a surprise! With a bit of panic in my voice, I yelled to Chad - he was in his workshop (the garage, just below where I was) - “Babe, my water just broke!” As I expected, he was shocked but also calm, and he immediately came up with a plan. Call the doctor, take showers, and pack a bag. So that’s just what we did. While I showered, Chad started putting all kinds of things in a suitcase - books, CD’s, clothes, snacks, … none of which we needed, but I’ll get to that. And then while he showered, I called my friends Heather in VA and Liza here in the neighborhood; it was so good to hear the voices of friends who had been through this before. I must admit, I was getting a little nervous at this point.

In the car on the way to Overlake Hospital, I called my mom to tell her the exciting news, and that's when it really hit me ... "I'm having a baby!" I started to cry - tears of both happiness and nervousness. I was about to become a mom and talking to my own mom gave me a dose of reality but also a sense of calm. My mom was very surprised and a little sad; she was disappointed that it was two weeks before my due date and she wasn't here to go to the hospital with us.

I had 5 hard contractions on the way to the hospital; to be honest, they didn't hurt as much as I expected. But I definitely had to stop what I was doing until each one subsided. Also, keep in mind that I had been on bedrest since the end of May and had contractions, controlled with medication, for most of that time.

We didn't really hurry to the hospital because we assumed that many hours would pass before the actual birth, which explains why Chad packed so much stuff! But it ended up that he barely set our suitcase down before "things got interesting" and a very short time later our baby girl was born.

You see, I was already dilated 7 centimeters when we got to the hosptial! I looked at the nurse like she was crazy and suggested that she check again. But she was confident in her original assessment and asked me if I wanted something for the pain - an epidural. I was still trying to comprehend that I only had 3 centimeters to dilate before being ready to push! Feeling really brave and excited, I decided to give birth naturally. The contractions continued right on schedule, and Chad was amazing through each one. By 11:00, before Doctor Maplethorpe had even arrived, I was ready to push, but the nurses kept telling me to breath through it ... an answer that I didn't particularly like to hear, but I did my best to do what they said. Soon after the doctor arrived and the pushing began ... a lot of pushing, like an hour and a half of it! My biggest complaint was the stupid IV line stuck in my hand; it flopped all over the place and got caught and just bugged me!

And at

At 12:36am on July 15, 2007, we got a wonderful surprise, our beautiful baby GIRL was born! Both Chad and I had strong "boy" feelings - we didn't find out the baby's gender via ultrasound, so it really was a surprise! We had lists of names for either scenario, but the other girl names were quickly forgotten when I saw her. Without hesitation, I called her Natalie Helen, a name that suits her perfectly. The next minutes, hours, and days, after Natalie was born are kind of a blur for me. I look back at the pictures, and I am so glad to have them.

When I think back over this past year, I can't help but feel like that one evening was such a teeny tiny slice of a much bigger story. I mean, it was an amazing experience, one I thought about and worried about for a very long time. But it was just a single event that set in motion an amazing new chapter in our lives. It has been a good year. A year of challenges, sleep deprivation, uncertainty, ... and a year of celebration, happiness, and much love.