wigblog

I have to say that giving birth was an interesting experience. Epidurals are great!!! I recommend that every mom in labor get one… and I wish they would have sent me home with some as well! I wasn’t expecting James to post such detailed info about the labor and delivery on his blog… sorry if it is a bit too personal.

Giving birth was definitely very exciting. I was so happy to see her little face for two reasons: 1) it meant I didn’t have to push anymore, and 2) it meant she was FINALLY here!!! Pushing was definitely harder than I thought. I did have control of my legs and what not even with the epidural. Unfortunately, even though I was complaining constantly about the amount of pressure and pain over the 3 hours of pushing, they didn’t give me more epidural meds until close to the end. It definitely did help, but I think by then it was a bit too late. I am not quite sure if I was ready to push yet when the nurse told me to start. I didn’t really start to feel the urge to push until close to the end. Oh well. I was just happy she came out and I didn’t have to have a C-section… although sometimes I wonder if the recovery would have been easier.

It was quite interesing to see the doctor get all suited up for the actual birth. She had her scrubs on of course, but then she put on this plastic like gown that closed in the back, a face mask that had clear plastic shielding over the eyes, she had on the gloves that went right over the sleeves of the gown, and she had a hat on. It looked like she was all suited up to enter some sort of contaminated area! Should I be offended! But, I do think that Maddie came out with only one suck from the vacuum. She wasn’t fussy at all when she was born. She was completely content just looking at the environment around her.

So about the recovery… yes… I did have several tears… I think there were actually 4!!! That has been the hardest part of this whole thing. Dealing with the pain of sitting and just moving in general. I finally got to hold Maddie in the rocker for the first time today without much pain (today is now 10 days after her birth). This recovery time is not quite what I was expecting it to be. It has been extremely frustrating and overwhelming at times. I am SO glad James has been able to be at home and help me out. I am not sure what I really would have done otherwise. He sleeps close to her crib at night since he is able to leap out of bed a lot faster than I am. He gets her at night when it is time for her feedings, burps her at night, changes her diapers, and puts her back to sleep. Such a great help!!!

It has definitely been an adjustment. She is currently in her little crib crying herself to sleep! She tends to be REALLY fussy at times which can just be completely exausting. I find that by the time we get showered for the day it is about 1pm!!!! Then I feel like I am ready for a nap!

Don’t get me wrong… I love my little munchkin. I call her love bug. James thought that was an odd name, but he calls her Booger or Booger Snot which I don’t think is better! Anyway, that is my update… life is definitely different. I know that in time we will get a routine down, I will get used to things and life will get much better! Oh!!! She JUST stopped crying!!! Yeah!!! Nevermind… crying again! I REALLY want to go in and comfort her, but I know she is just being really fussy right now and all she needs is a nap. I just don’t like to hear her cry, and even worse is seeing her cute little face when she is crying. It just hurts to watch that.

Keep watching for more updates and more pictures. I know her adoring fans keep asking for more pics. They are coming! I promise! James is in charge of posting them, so you can continue to bug him about it.

Oh.. and as I new parent, I have to talk about poop for just one minute here. OH MY GOSH!!! I have never seen so much poop in my life. The nurses at the hospital said that she left a legacy. They normally like to see that a newborn have one bowel movement in the first 24 hours (I think that is how it goes). Well, in the first night (keep in mind that she was born at 6:13pm) I think she had about 5 or 6!!!! That means 5-6 poops in about 12 hours! She was pooping like crazy! And it hasn’t slowed down since. She poops at about every feeding (every 2-3 hours or so) and sometimes in between as well. And they aren’t just cute little poops. These are very audible, noisy poops that you want to clear the room for! And they don’t have a tendency to stay in her diaper too well. We went through SO many burp cloths and receiving blankets in the first night! Even this morning James was changing her diaper which she leaked out of while swaddled, and while changing her, she pooped and peed! So, we had the two dirty blankets she was in, then the blanket on the changing table, and the lap pad as well! And she normally does do some sort of bodily function while James is changing her. We even wait some length of time after she poops to ensure she has it all out. Her bottom is like a continual faucet! That girl definitely takes after her father!!! The funny thing is that she gets this huge smile on her face when she is pooping. Sometimes James will hold her legs up towards her chest and hold her hands as well, and she pulls on his hands really hard when she is squeezing one out. Too funny! I picture her one day sitting on the little training toilet reading a magazine next to daddy on his toilet who of course will be on his laptop! Oh… the things to look forward to! The other night my parents were here, and she was all fed and cleaned and looking as cute as ever. James was holding her and asked “so who wants to hold her?” My parents didn’t even have time to respond before a REALLY loud long poopy sound came out of her… and of course her diaper was filled once again! We all just sat there staring at her and laughing… what timing!!!!