Happy Birthday, baby doll!

So much has changed in the last year.  It's true what they say: having a baby really does change everything!  My baby turned one today.  I can't believe it.  I look back over the past year, and a mixture of emotions come flowing back.  There's pain, joy, sorrow, frustration, anger, worry, happiness, fear...you get the picture.  I thought in honor of Juliet Sophia's first birthday, I'd share her birth story with you all.  As I wasn't blogging then, most of you haven't heard this story.  If you don't like birth stories, stop reading now!!!

Mom and me in Downtown Lee's Summit

I was due on April 16, 2010.  Juliet was born on April 30, 2010.  Yes, I was two full weeks overdue.  Juliet would have been content to be born in May if she hadn't been forced out of me.  As my birthday is May 5, my mom joked with me that she wanted to be born on her mommy's birthday.  Not only was I two weeks overdue, but I worked until April 27 (ten days past my due date).  My mom flew into Kansas City on the 27th, so I made that my last day.  The day after she arrived was a Wednesday.  The weather was gorgeous!  My mom asked me if there was anything I wanted to do before the baby was born.  I couldn't think of anything, so we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Whole Foods, and then we walked around Town Center Plaza.  We also ate lunch...but I can't remember where! :)  The weather was so beautiful that day too.  I think it was in the 80's.  My mom made me walk as much as she could that day!  She was hoping it would kick me into labor.

The next day, of course, was Thursday.  I was supposed to go into the hospital at 8:15pm that evening to be induced.  Mom and I went to downtown Lee's Summit and had a nice lunch.  We walked around the city center, and looked in the cute, little shops.  All that day, I was having contractions, but they were never closer than seven minutes apart, and they were not painful at all.  When James got home from work, we went to Panera for dinner.  After dinner, we went across the street to St. Luke's East Hospital, and went to the maternity ward to get checked in.

Once I got into my room, they hooked me up to a contraction monitor and an I.V.  They administered a drug to get my contractions a bit closer together.  They were hoping that since I was already having contractions, this drug might get the process started.  I did not sleep well that night.  The nurse had to keep coming in during the night to check me to see if I was making any progress.  She also had to take my blood pressure several times.  It was the one night I REALLY needed to sleep, and sadly, I didn't much.

All checked in and ready to have a baby!

The next morning, around 8 am, my doctor popped in!  My mom and my honorary doula were already there.  The doctor broke my water, and then they started giving me pitocin.  By twelve noon, I was in a lot of pain!  I had a goal to wait on my epi until I was 5-6 cm dialated, but by noon, my contractions were coming so fast, and they were so painful, I knew I wouldn't make it that far.  At 12:30, I asked for the drugs, and boy were they nice!  I went from about 3cm to 7cm in just 2 hours!  I was finally able to relax and rest a bit.  Unfortunately, I couldn't nap because my blood pressure got really low, about 110/45, so the alarm kept going off, and people kept coming in and moving me.

By 4 pm, I was in a lot of pain again.  The baby was starting to move downward, and I could feel my hip and pelvic bones being pushed out of the way.  At this point, I was in so much pain, I probably would have consented to a C-section, just to get it over with.  Fortunately, at 5 pm, a new nurse came on who was super helpful.  The nurse I'd had during the day was not friendly or empathetic at all.  So it was a refreshing change of pace to have a nurse who seemed to care that I was in pain.  She brought me a big exercise ball, had me lean over it in bed, and then she massaged my back with a tennis ball while my hubby did the same thing on the other side, and the student nurse massaged my fingertips.  This nurse also helped me through each contraction, telling me when it was coming and how to breathe.  

By 7 pm, I was starting to think I wasn't going to make it much longer.  My doctor had left at 5 pm, so I knew she wasn't going to be the one to deliver my baby, and that was disappointing.  The nurse checked me one last time and announced I was ready to go.  Between 7-7:15, I started to push.  I just remember the nurse kept saying, "PUSH!!  One more time!  Push one more time!  The baby's almost here!  One more big push!"  This was really annoying to me because the doctor wasn't even in the room!  I knew I shouldn't get excited until they called for the doctor.  They also kept telling me they could see Juliet's head and that she had a lot of dark hair.  At one point, I asked my husband, "Can you really see her head, or are they lying to me?"

Finally the doctor was called in.  It's hard to remember, but I think I pushed for another 15 minutes or so after the doctor came in.  It wasn't long.  Juliet Sophia was born at 7:47pm.  As they were cleaning her up, I heard them say something about 9 point something...I wasn't sure, but I thought they were saying she was 9 lbs!  Turns out, that was her APGAR score.  She actually only weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz.  She was 19 1/4 inches long.  They didn't hand her to me right away because there was meconium in the womb, and she had to be suctioned.  Also, she had a fever at birth.  She was running a 103 degree temperature, so they were checking her over to make sure she was okay.  Fortunately, her temperature went back down to normal after an hour of skin-to-skin time with me.

I might be biased, but look at how perfect she was!!   So alert!

I was able to hold her and try nursing her for the first time.  It was so amazing.  My memory is a bit blurry here, but I'm pretty sure I cried.  Juliet was the most beautiful newborn baby I'd ever seen.  She was so tiny, and her head was small so it didn't get all squished during delivery.  It was perfectly rounded.  Also, since she weighed so little, she was not chubby at all.  She had these little bitty stick arms and legs.  Like I said, perfect! But I'm sure every mom thinks that about her baby.

Finally around 9 pm, they took her to the nursery.  While the nurses made me take a bath, and helped me get cleaned up, James went across the street to Panera for dinner, as I hadn't eaten in 26 hours.  I slept so well that night!  The nurses only woke me up once for a feeding.  By 7 am, I was awake and ready to see Juliet!  I finally called the nurses and asked them to bring her to me.  They were trying to let me get some sleep, but I'm an early riser anyway!

Juliet and her Grammy

Juliet was born on Friday evening.  I was able to leave the hospital on Sunday, May 2.  After we got home, a new adventure began!  If you've been reading my blog for long, you've probably read of some of the struggles we encountered in Juliet's early months.  Even with all of those problems, I'm so thankful for her.  She is so much fun right now; walking everywhere, exploring her world, playing with her toys, laughing...our house is filled with her!  I can't believe she turned one today.  And while I'm sad that this past year has already lapsed, I'm also excited for her next year.  I'm excited to see what she'll master in the upcoming months, and I can't wait to hear her first word.  Yes, having a baby really does change everything...but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Angel face

Mommy's in love