Rachel

(This is the first of my catch-up posts from the last five weeks or so since Rachel was born and blogging stopped happening.)

Have I told you guys about this new tiny person who officially owns the joint now? She moved right in, took over, and hasn't looked back since. We're all smitten. Even Peter, who follows me around chanting his mantra, "Up, please! Up, please!" clearly adores the little girl who's taken his position in my arms. (Don't worry too much for him. I spend plenty of time snuggling him while Rachel is otherwise engaged.)

photo courtesy of Renee

The quick and simple birth story, for those of you who care, is this:

I went in on the 9th to be induced. The induction was not due to any major health concerns, but simply because of my record of big babies combined with an ultrasound showing this one to be on track for largeness. I was to happy when I discovered that my nurse was to be a woman from our parish who is a dear friend of my mother-in-law, and an all around amazing person. I couldn't have asked for a better assistant and guide for the day.

It all started off slowly. Nathaniel and I spent the morning reading and chatting and eating hospital food for breakfast and then lunch. I was a little disappointed, because I'd been harboring these crazy hopes of a baby by lunchtime, but my doctor wasn't even able to break my water till around 1:00.

After that things took a while longer before my body really kicked into labor mode, but by about 4:00 I was having regular, strong contractions and was ready for pain relief. What can I say? I'm an epidural girl. I love my anesthesiologist. I do not actually love the process of getting the epidural, but I don't think anyone could really care for that. This time I was treated to a double (sort of triple) dose of the "getting". Ugh. He did it once, but made it clear that it didn't seem like the needle had gone in deep enough, but there's no way he'd push it further and risk major consequences, so I had to wait 20 minutes to see if it worked. It did not. At all. Epidural take two! Only as he attempted the second time he grumbled about my having a "really tough back". Thanks, I've been working out. Nathaniel, who could see his face, said he looked really frustrated. Well, at least I wasn't the only one. He moved to a different spot and took another shot (ha!) at it. Right about then is when I started wondering if this was really worth it, or maybe I should have just gone without. But the third time was a charm, and once he had it all hooked up, I could feel relief by the next contraction. Within about two more contractions, I felt nothing but relaxed. So yeah, it was worth it. (For me! This is in no way a judgment on those of you who opt to go without. You're much braver than me!)

With the pain gone, and me only around 5 cm (something like that... 4 maybe), I opted to take a nap. Love that about epidurals. But as seems to be my trend, taking a nap was cut short by having a baby. The nurse came in to check me shortly after 6:30 and declared that I was ready to have baby! The pitocin they pumped into me full force while I rested in medicated bliss probably had something to do with the super quick transition. My doctor was at home on the far end of town, so he uttered a mild curse to the nurse and hopped in his car. Thankfully the urge to push held off just long enough for him to arrive and throw on some scrubs. My nurse should have rolled off duty at 7:00, but she stuck around till Rachel's arrival at 7:26, because she said she was feeling a little territorial at that point and wanted to see things through.

Rachel was a two push kid (maybe three? See how our hormones wipe all these things from our memory almost immediately?! Wild.), similar to my others. My nurses were in awe. Per the doctor, she had broad shoulders and Nathaniel said he (the doctor) had to assist things a bit to get the first shoulder out. But really, this is crossing right over into the too-much-information region, so I'll wrap it up. The final stages of labor went smoothly. After that, I held her in my arms and stared at her miraculous little self and loved her for the rest of the evening. And that's pretty much what I've been doing ever since. Newborns are the most amazing, helpless little things. My heart aches a little as I type this because, while she's still pretty much helpless, she's already so much bigger and so different. They're only new for such a short time. And she was perfect. And she still is.

photo courtesy of Renee

Our sweet Rachel.