Baby Gwen was born February 8 at 2:31 AM. So, it's been just over two weeks with this wee babe and I have to say...
THIS IS AWESOME. I wondered how one baby would feel after twins and IT'S THE GREATEST THING EVER. I can hold her (also nurse her, snuggle her, gummy-munch her little cheeks, kiss her little lips and squeeze her) and not feel the least bit rushed or guilty because there's no other babies crying waiting for their turn to nurse or have a diaper change. So, so, so awesome. I've said for a few years now that I don't like babies. It's not true. Twins were just really hard. One baby is the coolest.
Anywhoo, for the curious, a brief birth story.
Saturday, February 7 marked 38 weeks gestation for this baby. I went in for my prenatal appointment on Thursday the 5th, la-tee-da. This had been a lovely, normal uneventful pregnancy. I ate so healthy! I worked out the entire pregnancy! I was going to be the healthiest pregnant lady ever! So, on Thursday at my appointment, I got checked out and my blood pressure had gone up, waaaaay up. (For the curious, it was 160/98.) But I didn't have any other signs of preeclampsia, so there was no major freak out, just some planning. Baby would have to be evicted right away. We got started on some Cytotec, and made an appointment for the next morning to see how things were going. Friday-- blood pressure still up but no other preeclampsia signs, more Cytotec. We'd be going to the hospital Saturday morning.
On Saturday, we got all checked in at 7AM. More Cytotec. Nothing happening. My doctor came in to check me and I wasn't dilated at all, she couldn't break my water, so she started me on some pitocin. This part gets long and boring. On pitocin, I felt some contractions, but nothing that made me really stop and breath through them. They felt more like bad cramps. This went on All. Day. Dallin and I hung out and ate snacks and binge watched a TV show on Amazon. It was actually kind of fun, like a free date. We hung out and talked and ordered hospital food, then watched more shows, then napped. It was great. At 5:30 PM, my doctor came back, and I was at a 1! (Yay!) She could break my water! But at this point, I could tell how this was going to go, and they were saying this could be a long process. I asked for an epidural before they broke my water. That was a brilliant move, I must say. Water broken, things picked up a bit. My doctor hung out and talked to us for almost two hours (I love her so much). At about 7:30 she checked me and I was at... maybe a 2. She stayed until about 8:30, then went home with instructions to call as soon as things picked up. When she left, I was still... at a 2. The nurse checked me again at 10PM... still a 2. She checked me at 12... still a 2. I'm so glad I had that epidural or else I would have been so mad, I was feeling frustrated enough as it was. So around 12, Dallin and I decided to try and sleep.
I thought this was interesting-- part of me was scared that my blood pressure spike was something I did, maybe I got really anxious and psyched myself out. If I could just chill out, maybe things would be normal and my baby wouldn't have to come early. The nurse told me that even while I was sleeping my blood pressure never went below 150/something-I-forgot. That made me feel better, like this was a legitimate medical need and I wasn't going crazy.
Anywhoo, we were sleeping. A little after 2 AM I woke up to what felt like a huge contraction and tons of pressure. I pushed the nurse button and had two more contractions before she got there. She checked me, and... 8 1/2! She called my doctor, who got there in 15 minutes (during which time I thought the baby was going to fall out with every contraction). It's hard for me to explain how these contractions felt. They didn't hurt, per se, but they still felt awful. Make any sense? Once my lovely doctor arrived, I pushed for 5ish minutes and Gwen was here. She was put right onto my tummy, and I finally got to touch my baby and look at her tiny face. Heaven, I tell you. 7 lbs 5 oz. of adorable perfectness.
*side note- it took a couple days for me to recognize myself in the mirror-- they put so much fluid into my IV while I was in labor that I puffed up to what felt like twice my normal size.
THIS IS AWESOME. I wondered how one baby would feel after twins and IT'S THE GREATEST THING EVER. I can hold her (also nurse her, snuggle her, gummy-munch her little cheeks, kiss her little lips and squeeze her) and not feel the least bit rushed or guilty because there's no other babies crying waiting for their turn to nurse or have a diaper change. So, so, so awesome. I've said for a few years now that I don't like babies. It's not true. Twins were just really hard. One baby is the coolest.
Anywhoo, for the curious, a brief birth story.
Saturday, February 7 marked 38 weeks gestation for this baby. I went in for my prenatal appointment on Thursday the 5th, la-tee-da. This had been a lovely, normal uneventful pregnancy. I ate so healthy! I worked out the entire pregnancy! I was going to be the healthiest pregnant lady ever! So, on Thursday at my appointment, I got checked out and my blood pressure had gone up, waaaaay up. (For the curious, it was 160/98.) But I didn't have any other signs of preeclampsia, so there was no major freak out, just some planning. Baby would have to be evicted right away. We got started on some Cytotec, and made an appointment for the next morning to see how things were going. Friday-- blood pressure still up but no other preeclampsia signs, more Cytotec. We'd be going to the hospital Saturday morning.
On Saturday, we got all checked in at 7AM. More Cytotec. Nothing happening. My doctor came in to check me and I wasn't dilated at all, she couldn't break my water, so she started me on some pitocin. This part gets long and boring. On pitocin, I felt some contractions, but nothing that made me really stop and breath through them. They felt more like bad cramps. This went on All. Day. Dallin and I hung out and ate snacks and binge watched a TV show on Amazon. It was actually kind of fun, like a free date. We hung out and talked and ordered hospital food, then watched more shows, then napped. It was great. At 5:30 PM, my doctor came back, and I was at a 1! (Yay!) She could break my water! But at this point, I could tell how this was going to go, and they were saying this could be a long process. I asked for an epidural before they broke my water. That was a brilliant move, I must say. Water broken, things picked up a bit. My doctor hung out and talked to us for almost two hours (I love her so much). At about 7:30 she checked me and I was at... maybe a 2. She stayed until about 8:30, then went home with instructions to call as soon as things picked up. When she left, I was still... at a 2. The nurse checked me again at 10PM... still a 2. She checked me at 12... still a 2. I'm so glad I had that epidural or else I would have been so mad, I was feeling frustrated enough as it was. So around 12, Dallin and I decided to try and sleep.
I thought this was interesting-- part of me was scared that my blood pressure spike was something I did, maybe I got really anxious and psyched myself out. If I could just chill out, maybe things would be normal and my baby wouldn't have to come early. The nurse told me that even while I was sleeping my blood pressure never went below 150/something-I-forgot. That made me feel better, like this was a legitimate medical need and I wasn't going crazy.
Anywhoo, we were sleeping. A little after 2 AM I woke up to what felt like a huge contraction and tons of pressure. I pushed the nurse button and had two more contractions before she got there. She checked me, and... 8 1/2! She called my doctor, who got there in 15 minutes (during which time I thought the baby was going to fall out with every contraction). It's hard for me to explain how these contractions felt. They didn't hurt, per se, but they still felt awful. Make any sense? Once my lovely doctor arrived, I pushed for 5ish minutes and Gwen was here. She was put right onto my tummy, and I finally got to touch my baby and look at her tiny face. Heaven, I tell you. 7 lbs 5 oz. of adorable perfectness.