Mommy checking in....

Finally, I have some energy and time to check in with everyone. It has been such a busy time, as we knew it would be. There are so many things to catch you up on, I guess I will start at the beginning and then continue as I have the time and energy. (So, I started this blog yesterday, but didn't get finished......so here we go again. Let me just say I think I have finally turned a corner and I am doing better! YEA!)


I know some are interested and some are not so I will start on Monday morning:
Labor: Monday morning I woke up with a stomach cramp (6:30 ish) and needed to use the rest room, not uncommon for 40 weeks pregnant. I went back to bed and woke Chris up around 7 because I felt kinda like I was going to start my period--cramps. So I decided to take a shower and see what happened (remember I had never had a contraction before now, so I had no idea if this was real or not). I had a few more cramps in the shower and Chris and I decided to take a walk. The contractions intensified and we started keeping track from about 8:00-8:30, by 9:00 I decided we needed to go to the hospital and they could turn me away.
10:00 we check into the hospital, the nurse checks me I am dialated to a 4 and 90% effaced so she says I can stay and that she already put me in line for an epidural!
11:00 Dr. Shirley gives me my epidural! I really can see why women think they can deal with labor without the epidural because between contractions you feel fine! But I knew that I was no trooper.
12:00 Dr. Nanda (my OB) comes by and checks me, I am a 5, fully effaced and she decides to break my water. My epidural is not quite working yet, but a few minutes later it starts to work, I didn't realize how bad my back was hurting until the pain was gone! YEA!
2:00 The nurse checks me and I am a 10 and ready to push! We are shocked....I can't believe that we are going to have a baby SOON! (Ha, ha, ha). So everyone is really excited at this point. Well, I push for 30 minutes and we figure out that the baby is faced side-ways and they tell me you can't deliver a baby side-ways so we will try to turn her or we will have to do a c-section. So the next few hours consist of positioning me in various odd positions trying to get Daisy to turn. At one point the doctor comes in and tries to manually turn her (again thank goodness for epidurals) Well around 5:30 Daisy falls completely down into my pelvis and her head is visible...they decide to let me try to push again----45 minutes later we have a baby! And yes I delivered her side-ways....thus the 4th degree tear. Which the terminology around labor and delivery for this tear is a vaginal c-section--awesome!

I was still pushing when they put Daisy on my belly! I had no idea she had come out! There are so many people yelling it is hard to hear what they are saying thus the picture with a shocked look on my face with her on my belly. I was so happy that we didn't have to go to a c-section and Daisy did awesome her heart rate never fell. She was happy and healthy.

We were at the hospital until Wednesday afternoon. We spent the days trying to figure out breastfeeding, visiting with friends and trying to sleep. The only other eventful moment was my first time out of bed.... I passed out on my way back from the bathroom thank goodness there were two nurses there to catch me! It was a very weird experience I am pretty sure it scared Chris to death. I lost alot of blood during labor(again vaginal c-section) so I was really running on empty....but I have been fine ever since.

Since we have been home things have been great. We are getting little sleep as was expected, trying to figure everything out. Little Daisy has lost almost one pound (6lbs 6 oz) so they want me to feed as often as she will. The last 24 hours have been great. Daisy has been feeding every 2.5-3 hours and sleeping in between.....I think we got around 5 hours of sleep last night! Thus I feel so good today.

Friday was an experience: I found a blood clot in my leg. It is superficial, but we had to go see my doctor, go get lab work done and go get an ultrasound to confirm the blood clot's location. Then we headed to the pediatricians office. So in summary.....I am fine, we just have to continue monitoring my leg...possibly more ultrasounds, Daisy is doing good, she is losing weight but that is normal. Daisy does have a heart murmur. They think it is the most common type in which 98% of the time kids grow out of, but just to make sure we are scheduled for an echocardiogram for Daisy's heart on Tues. She reports back to the pediatrician on Monday for a weight check. Please pray with us that she is gaining weight and that her heart is going to be fine.

A couple things I have been surprised about:
1. I still look very pregnant. I had read that when you leave the hospital you will look 4-5 months pregnant, but I still wasn't expecting it. Immediately after Daisy was born my tummy was very flat!!! My belly button instantly turned in, well within a few hours my belly plumped back up, as well as my face, feet and hands. I think they were putting so much fluid in me that it all caught back up. Luckily as my milk has come in and Daisy is eating more my belly has started to shrink and my belly button is inverting again.....however, it is very weird to still look PG and not be PG.
2. I had not thought about how much care I would require through this recovery process. I was prepared for what having a newborn would be, but no one ever talks about how much help the mom needs. I need help going to the bathroom, getting in/out of the bathtub, making my dinner plate, sitting down in a chair, getting into bed etc. I am not sure if this is due to my condition (VC-section) or if this is just part of having a baby. Chris keeps reminding me that it hasn't even been a week. He is so sweet. He constantly tells me I am doing great! But again, today I feel I am doing much better!
3. What a mess breast milk makes. Chris and I have spent many moments laughing as we are trying to get Daisy to feed and I am spilling milk everywhere out of both sides, down Daisy's face, all over the bed/chair etc. It has been a comical experience. (and my breast really do not hurt that bad from the milk---surprising)
4.I have been very surprised at how laid back I have been, and I am so thankful, because I think that has helped Daisy be so laid back. Chris and my mom think it has something to do with the pain medicine I am on, which might be true, but I think it is due to answered prayers. Thanks to all of you who are keeping us in your thoughts. We really appreciate it and have felt it!

I have so much I could write, and so much to say to new moms for their first week home. But I wont bore everyone, I have included a short list at the bottom of this blog of things that have been lifesavers these last two days. In closing, here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few days! More to come:



Daddy is the king of swaddling. Daisy loves it so much. Chris and I were talking already about how sad it will be when she is too big to swaddle! Chris has been outstanding! Not only taking care of me but our little girl. He always changes her poopy diapers and you can see the love in his eyes while doing it. I am so blessed. I know this has to be a stressful time for dad not only to worry about his wife but also his daughter! I love him so much!

This is Grammy and Grandpa meeting Daisy for the first time. Notice her little dress! And daddy agreed to the headband because she has so much hair!

This is us getting ready for her first bath. This is Daisy's favorite place in the whole world according to her daddy. She loves to be in a ball, I call her my little monkey when she is like this.

One of the few times she had her eyes open. This was day one home from the hospital.

(Side note: to all of those wondering, Daisy sadly does not have my thumbs, she did however inherit the Goffs long second toe (mortons toe for my PT friends). Daddy is very proud of this)

Absolute must haves:

1. a comfortable chair (if I had a wooden rocking chair right now, there is no way I would be able to sit in it, pillow or no pillow)

2. a pack n play beside my bed (ours has a night light on a timer that I can push and I can watch Daisy as I fall asleep, just to make sure the blanket hasn't come loose or that she needs me, you know first time mom things)

3. warm baths

4. a spray bottle (they will give you this at the hospital)

5. lots of pillows

6. straws---this is how daddy helps me stay hydrated while feeding daisy

7. blankets (I thought I had too many but you go through them really fast

8. snacks---to set beside the bed to eat during the middle of the night and so I can take my pain meds.

9. my mom....she has been doing laundry non-stop, making sure we have food to eat and taking shifts with Daisy those first two nights as everyone was adjusting

10. my husband......what would I do without him.

I am sure we will continue to post as we have time. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. We love you all.