I apologize for the tardiness of this post, but like all new little families, the time since Delaney has arrived has flown by and blurred together. I am officially one of those moms who ponder, "What did I even accomplish today?" Not that I'm complaining; I absolutely love our new life together. But wow, what a change of pace for us!
Ok, so here's the PG version of Delaney's arrival:
I woke up around 1:30 am on Tuesday, March 10th with severe back pain. I remembered that someone in our birthing classes told us that true labor pains begin in the back and radiate towards the front. I didn't think much about it, because Delaney wasn't due for another 2 weeks and I was NOT ready for her to arrive. I had so many things left to accomplish: thank you cards, washing her clothes, organizing her room, you get the picture. So I took a shower to hopefully alleviate the pain, to no avail. Steve was groggy and told me to go back to sleep. I tried, but around 2 am I started having contractions. We were pretty much in denial, but by 3 am we started thinking that perhaps this was really happening. If you know me, you know how uncomfortable I am in hospital settings, so my goal for my labor was to stay home as long as possible. We then moved out to the living room and watched old Office episodes and timed my contractions. Around 5 am we called our parents; my mom hopped on a plane and Steve ran around the house frantically between my contractions washing an outfit for the baby and trying to pack our hospital bag.
We got to Kaiser at 7am and they stuck me in a room without checking me for about half an hour. I was having major contractions at that point, and when they did finally check me the were shocked to find out that I had dilated to 9 cm! They were really surprised that I stayed home that long, but that was the confidence booster that I needed to know that I could push through and deliver this kiddo without an epidural. We started pushing, and she was turned sideways which explained the back labor. They were worried that I would tire myself out pushing because she was turned, so they gave me potossin (sp) to speed up and intensify my contractions (thanks a lot!). They had to turn me this way and that, but at 10:39 am Delaney Marie came punching out into our world. Literally, she came out fist first like Wonder Woman!
My mom missed the delivery by one hour, which was a huge bummer, but I was so glad that she was able to make it to Riverside so quickly. My Dad and brother Jimmy drove down to see her as well, and Steve and I have been blessed by all of our friends and family members' generosity. I will post more pictures of her room and other exciting Delaney adventures when time allows...which is very limited these days!
Daddy and Delaney at the hospital
First car ride--coming home from the hospital
After her first bath
I'm already a multi-tasking Mamma!
Just hanging out in her crib
Delaney's signature Blue Steel look
