Susanna, Day 12

Oh, so where should I begin. Let's start with Susanna's birth. I was convinced she was never coming out and desperately did not want to be induced (I wanted a completely drug free birth!) but at midnight on March 9 I finally started having contractions that didn't stop after 45 minutes. I called the midwife on call after a few hours and she said I could come into the hospital when I wasn't comfortable. I was convinced I wasn't really in labor and asked her what to do if the contractions stopped (I had been having contractions for an hour or so at a time for three weeks!) She seemed to think this was the real thing. We headed to the hospital and got there a little after 4am.

We had Susanna at The Birthing Inn, which is a part of Loudoun hospital in Landsdowne, VA. It's 35 minutes from our house (and yes, there is a hospital 5 minutes from us!) but totally worth the drive. The midwives who did my prenatal care and delivery were fabulous, and the Birthing Inn staff was amazing. I was able to labor in a deep soaking tub, move around, sit on a birthing ball, eat lots of popsicles :) -- I actually enjoyed most of the labor! After about 16 hours, though, it became apparent that Susanna didn't want to come out -- her head was in the wrong position, and I had been stalled at 9cm for 3 hours. My midwife suggested I have some pitocin to augment the labor, but I refused for another hour. Susanna wasn't budging and I still hadn't made any progress. So, after 17 hours of labor I agreed to the pitocin, but also asked for an epidural -- I was already in a lot of pain and had heard that pitocin contractions are much worse than natural ones. As it turned out, the epi allowed me to sleep for 2 hours before I had to push... and I needed a good rest. Pushing is an athletic feat, really!

Anyhow, Susanna came out alert and wide eyed and ate right away. She's been a pretty calm baby so far (fingers crossed, we're only at 12 days!) although she has been kind of nocturnal. Last night was the first night she actually slept at all between the hours of midnight and 5am. It was so nice for me to be able to get a little sleep (yes, she woke up for a feeding every 3 hours, but I've accepted the fact that 3 hour sleeping blocks are all I'm getting for the time being.

We had my family here for the first weekend we were home, which was great. I just wish they could have stayed a little longer! Aunt Addie is only 45 minutes away for the next 3 months so I'm sure we'll see more of her before she moves to San Francisco :(

My recovery has been a bit slower than I would have liked. The most I've been able to do is go for a short walk. We had a great day today -- Jamie and I parked at the Vienna Community Center and took Susanna on a walk to Whole Foods and Cold Stone. Susanna slept through most of it, but she got some good sunlight. I wish the weather would stay warm, but it looks like another cold front is on its way.

Well more later -- we have a video camera too so once I figure out how to upload the clips I can get some of those on too!