Pineapple Tidbits : March 2015

The beautiful Grace Elizabeth McKean graced (see how I did that?) us with her presence two weeks ago and our lives were instantly and forever changed. It has been a whirlwind of a fortnight and I still cannot believe that I. BIRTHED. A. HUMAN. That was so crazy. Here are a few details of the miraculous event:

Grace was due March 15, but because my blood pressure had been slightly elevated the last little while my doctor wanted to induce me a week early just to be on the safe side. There was something comforting about knowing exactly when we'd go in to have a baby. I also figured that if Grace came early she might not be a huge baby, and I was right. She came out at a perfectly even 7lbs, 0oz.

I was induced Monday night, March 9. My mom was in town and even though my doctor told me maybe just to rest during the day (because I most certainly wouldn't have a restful night coming up) we spent the day running errands all over the place and then when James got home from work we went on a 3-mile walk. So yeah, totally restful.

James and I got to the hospital at 9 pm and they started me on Cytotec to ripen my cervix. I was only dilated to a 1+ at that point. A few hours later I was dilated to a 2.5. I felt great other than some wicked bad heartburn. I know, I'm such a wimp. We watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and James drifted in and out of sleep while I tried to get comfortable with a blood pressure cuff going off every few minutes, two belts strapped to my stomach monitoring baby's heartbeat/movement and my contractions, nurses coming in to check on things every 5 min, and the thought that soon I would birth our first child. This equals not much sleeping.

I was freshly showered, full of of pb&j, and feeling good at this point.

At 4 am just as I was was finally dozing off to sleep my water broke. And then the contractions came on. I endured them for about two and a half hours before the blessed anesthesiologist came in to paralyze my pain..and my legs. James and I laughed at how the anesthesiologist happily wheeled in his cart of magical needles like he was the "candy man" bringing sugar and cheer. And that's basically...exactly what he did. Yay epidural! The epidural immediately made my legs feel warm and tingly like it was supposed to, but it didn't ease or numb my contractions. So I endured a little longer until he returned to give me a stronger dose. I was dilated to a 3.5 at this point and soon after this I FINALLY fell asleep.

An hour later we were awakened by my OB cheerily greeting us saying she was going to check to see how far I was dilated. ALL THE WAY. I went from a 3.5 to a 10 in less than two hours! I had only been on Pitocin for 35 min. I hadn't even switched sides with the epidural. The nurses hadn't even put a catheter in. I hadn't even met my delivery nurse yet. And my OB said I'd probably have the baby out in 5 pushes! James and I were a little groggy, but being told you're going to have a baby RIGHT NOW kind of wakes you up rul fast.

Well Grace didn't come in 5 pushes, but she came after only 25 min of pushing which wasn't bad. It was 8:50 am on March 10. I got to watch it all in the mirror and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen and fortunately the most amazing thing I've never felt. James cut the cord and soon after a purple, screaming, adorable baby girl was on my chest and I thought she looked exactly like a Grace. And Grace she is. Her middle name Elizabeth is in honor of her aunt Elizabeth, my mother and father-in-laws' firstborn who only lived a few months. She is every bit as beautiful as her name.

Grace aspirated a lot of fluid during delivery and so the respiratory team took her away and she had an oxygen monitor attached to her for the first day. Other than that I have to admit that the rest of the day was actually pretty great. Seeing as I had Grace an hour after my epidural kicked in, I didn't feel anything the rest of the day. No stitches, no post partum contractions or cramping, no pain. Just laid in bed with dead legs and ate Banberry Cross doughnuts and had family come visit and marveled that James and I have a daughter and obsessed over her cuteness.

When we left the hospital Grace was jaundice and her bilirubin levels were high enough that she had her heels pricked several times over the first few days of life and she spent a night on the Bilibed. The phototherapy worked wonders on her bilirubin levels and thankfully she was off the bed the next day. No more jaundice baby. :)

Parenthood thus far has been exhausting and wonderful and James and I are so grateful to be mommy and daddy to baby Grace. Recovery has been the pits but I am feeling much better and was so happy to finally paint my toenails and eat sushi! And my mom, James and friends have been so incredibly helpful with everything. And Grace gets more adorable every day. See for yourself.