I hope the rest of the TNH ladies-in-waiting will get to go soon, too! Counting the days!
Emma's asleep in the sunlight for the time being, so I thought I'd try to put down her birth story. She's yellower today than yesterday. 
She has her first ped. appointment tomorrow and so far she's nursing pretty well, so I'm trying not to worry about it.
It felt so good to stretch out in bed this morning and NOT be pregnant! I was so thankful. Not meaning to rub it in, guys, your turn is coming very soon. 
I guess it turned out that those contractions on Wednesday were the real thing. They started to be a bit more uncomfortable and were 3 or 4 minutes apart, so I called in my mother and then we set out for the hospital (a good 45 minute drive). The contractions were very regular the whole drive, but because they weren't all that painful I was *still* doubting whether it was the real thing! When I got to the hospital, I wasn't any further dilated than my last dr. visit and was afraid they might send me home, but thankfully my midwife said it was too far away to risk that! So I walked up and down the halls reading for a while & no huge change, maybe a centimeter. My Dr. in the practice said I should stay overnight and then they could break my water to bring on the birth. I was relieved to hear for certain I would be leaving with the baby in arms.
The midwife ended up breaking my water that evening, whereupon the contractions got very painful, of course (no pitocin this birth, thank goodness; I really appreciated their non-interventionist style). I wasn't doing too well with them and asked for the epidural. I managed to have it put in right before having to push, which really helped take the edge off, but with a rather big baby I could still feel it! It only took about a dozen pushes, but it seemed like forever...my other children were delivered much faster. They set up a mirror for me so I could view the birth. It's the first time I ever got to witness the birth of my own child! Pretty cool.
We roomed-in pretty much the whole time, unless they had to take her off to be examined or tested. That was nice, because once you get home you don't get as much one-on-one time with the baby. Didn't get any sleep, though, with nurses coming in at all hours and baby pretty wakeful. But the meals were good! That's my favorite part about going to the hospital...breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed! Otherwise, it gets pretty boring and lonely after a few hours.
I enjoyed having a midwife instead of a doctor. She was very personable and comforting and she and the nurse had a long-standing friendship already, so it was a congenial atmosphere. She managed to keep me from tearing much, just along a previous episiotomy scar requiring two stitches. I hardly feel any discomfort right now! The birthing center was as nice as the one I had previously given birth in. In fact, there were a few things I liked better. They gave me a tube of Lansinoh right off for breastfeeding, for one thing! The other hospital gave vitamin E oil, but pure lanolin is *so* much better. The nurses were very good with breastfeeding support. The other hospital had a great lactation consultant, but it was hard to get to see her sometimes.
Emma shares her birthday with her aunt, my second sister. I never had time to get my sis a birthday present, so Emma will have to count for now, until I can come up with a belated gift. Their beloved auntie came and watched the kids for a whole day, and they were thrilled. John Douglas (almost-two) really missed me though, and I felt so bad about leaving him while he was sick (he'd had the croup the night before). Mom said he was hugging a dress I had hung up to dry and saying, "Mama's dress. Mama's dress." At least he had family to care for him, but still it broke my heart.
He loves to hold the baby (I hold her on his lap, of course) but I've had to be careful because three out of the other four children are now sick. I'm just praying Emma's getting the antibodies to fight this thing off. I managed to fight off a scratchy throat yesterday, so maybe so.
Thank heaven for mothers. Mine has been wonderful. DH has been out of commission with severe headaches. He's helped some, though. He takes over half of bedtime, at least. I can tell that I'm going to have some days where I will be overwhelmed, but we'll manage. I've definitely mentally lowered my standards and have been more relaxed with this baby. Nursing is going well-- she's eating regularly and making diapers--but I am so sore! I've already resorted to a nipple shield, wimp that I am. 
Thank goodness for that lanolin; it really helps.
And now to end the longest blog entry ever! I'll try to come back as time permits and post a picture link or something.
Love to everybody! May everyone's deliveries go as smoothly & I'll be peeking in to catch the news!
Technorati Tags: Infancy
