My Pretty Girl
by Rebecca on 2009-08-16
One week ago, I was at home waiting patiently for my 10-minutes-apart contractions to either speed up and/or get stronger, and William was at stake priesthood meeting. What an interesting week we have had since then!
We went to bed on Sunday night thinking that we might as well get some rest before going to the hospital on Monday. (Iʼd been scheduled for an induction at 4:30 p.m. on Monday and didnʼt have any reason to believe that plan would change.) About 15 minutes after we lay down, my water broke. After a quick phone call to the doctorʼs emergency line, we headed off to the hospital. I donʼt think that Iʼll be able to tell the specifics of my experience there for a while (too painful), but I can say that Iʼm very grateful that William stayed by my side the whole night and that we had an extremely capable and patient nurse to guide me most of the way.
Emily was born at 7:59 a.m., which means that I was in labor for 22 hours, if you count the time that I spent on Sunday waiting through mild contractions. But I was only in the hospital for 8 of those, so I donʼt think I will be able to lord it over her later, a la “I was in labor for 22 hours with you, and this is the thanks I get??” Hereʼs what she looked like when she was all cleaned up. I was so glad that she wasnʼt a weird looking newborn. Well, she does look a little surprised here, but at least her head isnʼt all smashed or scratched up.
We were at the hospital until Wednesday afternoon, and they took really good care of me. The nurses were all so kind and patient, and my doctor and Emilyʼs doctor came by regularly to check on my progress. I also had free room service, which was pretty sweet, because I could have French toast and ice cream whenever I wanted.
I really like this picture of William and Emily. Can you tell that heʼs excited to be a dad?
Probably the best news that we got in the hospital was that Emily passed the newborn hearing screening test. What a relief that was for me! But look how cute she looks with the head phones on.
Here she is in her first outfit that didnʼt consist of hospital-issued shirts. Of course, itʼs way too big for her, but she still looks cute. And that look on her face is one of my favorites.
Since weʼve been home, our schedule has consisted mainly of eating, sleeping, feeding Emily, and taking showers as time allows. Mom and Carrie stayed with us until last night and were total lifesavers. I think Emily will miss being changed by Grandma and sucking on Aunt Carrieʼs fingers!
Emily is a pretty easy baby. We call her our sleep machine because we have to wake her up to eat, more often than not. So far, weʼve averaged 1-2 feedings in the middle of the night, so we do get good chunks of sleep. I think sheʼs having a little growth spurt this weekend because sheʼs been eating a lot more and for longer periods of time.
William is a rock star dad. I always knew he was going to be good, but I have been totally blown away by him this week. Heʼs done most of the diaper changes, he swaddles her and everything stays tucked in (when I swaddle her, something invariably comes loose and distresses her), he gets up with her in the night to change her and cuddle her before I feed her, and sometimes I catch him lying on the bed with her just hanging out and holding hands. Such a sweet dad.
Iʼm still recovering slowly but steadily. I have so far managed to avoid any trips to the emergency room and hope to be back in business soon. Having a baby is hard work, so itʼs a good thing that Emily is cute enough to compensate for my trouble. I sure do love my pretty girl.