Her Birth Story (a little late)

Giselle's birth was much shorter and easier than Indiana's, but there was a little drama the Sunday before she was born. It was Easter morning and I had gone running and when I got home, I thought my water might has broken, but wasn't sure, as running 9 months pregnant is not so gentle on the bladder and shrugged it off as we were getting ready for church. But during the service, I got more and more worried that my water might have broken. In ordinary circumstances, it would be no cause for worry, but I was strep B positive (a naturally occurring bacteria  that is harmless to the mother, but could cause serious problems for the baby) and needed IV antibiotics within a certain window of time if my water did break. So, I got more nervous and upset and eventually told Casey that we needed to leave. I really, really didn't want to have to go to the hospital for some reason but was scared not to, so I called my doctor's office and the doctor on call told me that I should go in, just in case. So, Casey packed some snacks and such for Indiana, and we went to the hospital. I was an emotional mess on arrival, worried that the baby might be in danger, but the nursing staff were very calm and seemed unconcerned. Two hours later, we checked out. Water not broken. False alarm. Feeling somewhat silly, but relieved, we stopped and got some Vietnamese food for lunch and went home. Indiana was a complete gem the whole time, and even gave the nurse a hug as we left.

That afternoon, I got super-sick, nauseous and throwing up. So, emotionally and physically exhausted, I called the lady who was going to be my long-term sub during my maternity leave, and told her to come in Monday. It was only a day earlier than scheduled, but I just couldn't handle the stress of being sick again or possibly going into labor at work. I felt guilty about it, but glad I did. I also called my doctor's office and asked to schedule an induction, rather than the regular appointment I had scheduled for Friday. Dr. Crochet was out of town for a week, but thankfully, called on Wednesday when she got back to do the induction for the next day. I was SO relieved. Indiana went to stay the night at my parent's house and we packed and prepared to go to the hospital the next day.

Around midnight, real contractions started. Unpleasant, but thankfully, I knew it was just a few hours. A bubble bath helped. :-) Around 4 or 5 am, I texted my mother-in-law, thinking that I might have to go to the hospital before the 8am time, but the contractions slowed down by the time Casey woke up. We went to breakfast at Bubba's, and after nice breakfast, we went to go have a baby.

Since we'd been to the hospital earlier in the week, the hospital felt less strange, and we settled in. Music, gatorade, Martha Stewart magazine, IV antibiotics, epidural, pitocin and lots of waiting. Around noon, Dr. Crochet came and broke my water. It was a little tough, as Giselle was positioned so low already, and when she was born, you could see a little x mark of scratches. :-( Quickly healed, of course. At one point, they had to turn down the pitocin, as my contractions were almost constant, and around 1:30 or 2:00 I felt like pushing

When the nurse checked me, she almost yelped and told me jokingly not to sneeze because the baby was nearly crowning. They got the doctor and all the equipment ready, position set. I got in two real pushes, but that was all I needed because we were all laughing by that point at Casey's hysterical facial expressions. He's normally so stoic, but the nurse, doctor and I were all laughing at him. "She was right there!"-He said. Dr. Crochet said that if I kept laughing, I might laugh her out, and I did, at 2:51 pm, on Thursday April 24, 2014. She weighed 6 lbs, 8 oz, measured 18.75 inches.

 

She was plenty vocal and as the nurse was wiping her off, the doctor said, laughing, that with that cry, she's a 9, maybe a 10 (Apgar score). Very healthy, robust little girl. :-)

Proud parents!

 

Her first nursing session went really well. She had a good latch and a strong suck right from the start, and never slowed down. ;-) I remember struggling to nurse Indiana at the hospital, having a hard time getting a good latch, keeping him awake, and he was a super-slow feeder at start. Not baby sister. I could feed her lying down even, which took several weeks for Indiana and I to get the hang of. Now, she had the benefit of the experience gained when Indiana was a baby, but I think she was just a better eater from the start. The first two weeks, I nursed her every two hours (or even more often) and she well surpassed her birth weight, gaining nearly a pound from her two-day appointment. Indiana, on the other hand, just barely gained enough.

 He obviously caught up, just fine, sneaking some of Mommy's mashed potatoes!

 He was super-sweet with her, and has been really gentle and careful with her. Now, he definitely made a strong bid for Mommy and Daddy's attention when we got home, which was tough on exhausted and hormonal Mommy, but we settled into a rhythm after the first couple of weeks.

Tired, but very happy, we brought our baby girl home.