The story of Harper's arrival

I've tried to update this blog several times over the past few days and seem to be interrupted each time with mommy duties, mostly my duties as Harper's exclusive barista.  I prefer this term over "dairy cow," but sometimes the latter is a more accurate description of how I feel (especially during cluster feeding sessions).  Everyone is home now, Quinito and Harper are sitting on the couch napping through Rachel Maddow.  Everyone has been fed and changed and this is my attempt at finally finishing the story of our labor and delivery!

On Saturday night, Kyle, Quinito and I took a 5 mile walk around the neighborhood to see if we could get the party started. Except for terribly achy and angry feet there was no sign of progression, so I gave up and went to bed. 

And then it all changed...at about 6am I found myself waking up to painful stomach cramps.  These cramps were lower and more painful than what I had been feeling, but I was still skeptical.  After about 45 minutes of trying to sleep, I woke Quinito up and called the doctor, who told us to come to the hospital.  Having been there two days before and being sent away, I still wasn't convinced that it was the real deal.  However, on the way to the hospital the contractions became more painful and more consistent, where I was actually having to use those breathing techniques they teach you to get through them.  We got to the hospital and they wheeled me up to labor and delivery.  I was so lucky to get the most wonderful labor nurse on staff, Julie, who was upbeat and encouraged me every step of the way.  On Friday, I had Jackie, who shared way too much about her gastric bypass surgery, her father who had no jaw because of chewing tobacco, and her own mother's delivery when she didn't find out she was having twins until an hour after the babies were born.  My labor story would have been much different if I had a Jackie instead of a Julie, thank god for Julie.

Julie finished the check in process quickly and checked me for dilation.  She was shocked to find that I had already dilated to 6 cm!  She asked if I wanted an epidural (yes, please) and called the doctor in to get it started.  The epidural was scary and a bit painful, but I had the most amazing person to stare at and help get me through it.  Quinito was THE BEST delivery coach I could have asked for.  I should rent him out to other mothers to be, he was THAT GOOD (I knew he would be, he is unshakable!)  Once the epidural was in, things started getting better and better.  Soon I could hardly feel contractions, just knew they were happening by my stomach tightening.  I got to rest for about 15 minutes before the doctor came in to check me.  The minute she tried to check me, my water broke and gushed all over her and the nurse.  She said I was ready to start pushing.  I was in a weird shock at how quickly things were moving, but again I relied on my awesome coach to keep me focused.  And then, it went quick.  I pushed through 3 contractions and she came out.  It really happened that quickly and the pushing wasn't at all as bad as I had imagined.  (The soreness after that quick of a delivery, however, is another story!)  Harper came out at 11:35am and cried right away.  She had LOTS of hair (I had lots of heartburn!) and I have never seen anything more beautiful.  She weighed 7 lbs 9 ounces, was 20 inches long, and had all her fingers and toes!

While the doctors finished doing what they had to do with me, Quinito got the camera out and took some great first pictures of our daughter.  He went with her to the nursery to document her first bath while I was cleaned up and moved to our recovery room.  I was pretty hungry when I got there and also excited because I had heard that the meal you eat after delivery is the best tasting meal ever because you're starving.  Maybe I didn't work hard enough because my meal of cold chicken, green beans and potatoes was not delicious.  My awesome husband came back with Harper and then went to grab us cheeseburgers and french fries at P Terry's, which were much more enticing. 

We spent the next few days together in the hospital as a family getting to know our newest member.  So far, we have learned that Harper is fairly easy going.  She is a voracious eater and has taken to breastfeeding like a champ!  The lactation consultant says she has a perfect latch, and I am quite appreciative that she doesn't hurt me. :)  She likes to snuggle, she likes Quinito's finger as a pacifier, she likes to sleep.  She is a very peaceful sleeper.  She doesn't have a very loud cry compared to most babies in the hospital, but she gets her point across.  Her first visitor was her Uncle Kyle, who seemed to be in love from the moment he met her!  We ran into a few health issues while at the hospital, but the staff was wonderful and we got to leave on Wednesday with a healthy baby. 

And now we're home!  Harper and Spyder seem to like each other.  Spyder has been very gentle and just really really wants to kiss the baby, but he seems okay with getting lots of attention and sitting next to the baby.  We're trying to figure out our sleep situation tonight.  I was pretty certain that I didn't want her to sleep in our room, but now that she's here I'm having a hard time thinking of her that far away from me.  Maybe we can figure out a hybrid situation ;)

Thanks for all your well wishes!  I am excited for Harper to get to know every one of you very soon!!