39 weeks
Donovan and I had just spent the weekend really focusing on each other - we went for a long hike, didn't turn the TV on all day, talked a ton and just got in a very serene we-are-ready-for-this mindset. I had been having a lot of mixed emotions leading up to that weekend - fear, excitement, worry, you name it. The emotions were building, building…so this weekend was exactly what I needed. Wouldn't you know it, that night my water broke!
Camila's Birth Story
Camila was born at 6:29 pm, with the sun streaming in the window and Bob Marley's "Stir it Up" playing. True story. But let me back up!
Sunday at midnight my water broke. I wasn't 100% sure that it had happened - for a good 20 minutes I battled with the idea that maybe I had just lost all control of my bladder in this last week of pregnancy, how embarrassing! Once I realized that yes, this was indeed my water, I woke up Donovan, we grabbed any last minute things we needed, and headed to the hospital. I wasn't feeling any pain or discomfort, so I was in denial the entire time, until we got there and they confirmed that labor had begun and we wouldn't be going home without a baby in our arms. So exciting!
The nurses hooked me up and started me on pitocin to get my contractions starting. Once your water breaks your baby is prone to infection and other things on the 'outside', so they want active labor to begin quickly. At first, the contractions felt like bad period cramps. I could handle it. Uncomfortable yea, but I was alright. Give it ten minutes…HOLY HELL. Yea, full blown contractions are no joke. In the middle of tear-enducing agony (only about 30 minutes in to the contractions) the nurse informs me that I can receive the epidural any time I want. Really?! Because I watch 16 and Pregnant and they're always sitting there for hours before someone offers them the epidural! Anywho, epidural = magic. I couldn't even feel my legs, let alone contractions. And so began a long day of waiting…
I was technically in labor for about 18 hours, give or take. However I couldn't feel anything, so it was just the 3 of us (my mom had arrived around 7am) in a room waiting…and sitting…and pretending we were trying to sleep but really being too excited to ACTUALLY sleep. Finally, around noon, the nurse said I was almost fully dilated and would start pushing in an hour. GREAT! Time to call my dad and get the rest of the crew on down! 1:00 came and went…so did 2:00, and 3:00…they informed me that even though I was fully dilated, they wanted her to "labor down", or descend into the birth canal more on her own, before I began pushing. They told me that the further she came down on her own, the less pushing I would have to do. Ok, ok, I guess a little more waiting won't kill us…
4:00…5:00…ok seriously?! I can literally FEEL this baby pushing down in places I won't mention, and I am ready to PUSH…turns out my doctor was called into a C-Section that ended up having some complications, so we would have to continue waiting. Those cruel (slash incredibly sweet, but cruel in this moment) nurses even pulled over a mirror and had me do one big push so I could see Camila's little head. It was so exciting I was ready to keep pushing, but then she's like "Ok now we will just wait for the doctor!" Noooooooooo!
FINALLY at 6:00ish the doctor called down and instructed the nurses to get me started pushing. I glanced at the clock before my first big push - 6:15. Ok, here we go! Donovan got Bob Marley kickin on his phone (trying to spread some positive vibes) and I went to work. And I mean went to WORK. I had the mirror there, enabling me to see the progress Camila made with every push, which motivated me to keep going. When they told me to rest, I pushed. The doctor barely had to touch me because 15 minutes later, out popped our beautiful, sticky, smelly, in-mid-poop baby girl. Words can't express how it felt to finally see her as they laid her on my chest. We were both in awe at what we had created.
The next couple of days were spent staring at and admiring our new addition, visiting with awesome friends and family, and Skyping with those that couldn't be there in person. Camila had a mild case of jaundice, which required an extra night and day in the hospital as well as her being strapped to a weird UV light contraption. It was an emotional time for lil' ole hormonal me, but we survived and finally came home on Thursday. We were greeted by flowers and edible arrangements from family as well as delicious homemade Indian food from Arushi and her mom - just what we needed after days of hospital food!
I will wrap up by saying that nothing can prepare you for how you will feel when your new baby is born. I was starting to panic in the last weeks of pregnancy - worrying about being a good mom, about losing my independence, about how my and Donovan's relationship would change, missing out on beach trips, wondering if we'd make it to the pool this summer…you name it, it scared me. But now that she's here…NOTHING matters because she is the single coolest, greatest, most awesome thing in the world. We are so madly in love with this little chick and with each other, and nothing beats that. Yes, things are different, but in the best possible way. Our hearts and our home feel so much richer with her presence. My friend Tali told me, "You will be so obsessed with this little being." She had it right, we are obsessed!
1 1/2 weeks postpartum
So since the purpose of this blog is staying fit, "pregnancy and beyond", its only fitting that I include my postpartum progress.
Below is 7, 8, 9 and 10 days postpartum - you can see how the swelling goes down a little each day. I have also been using a postpartum girdle, which I definitely recommend. I don't know if its really whats causing me to shrink so quickly, but it definitely holds everything in and feels comfortable. Everything is verrrry soft for a while so the girdle makes me feel like its tightening everything up a bit.
I obviously can't work out for 6 weeks, so until then it will be clean eating and light walking. Ill tell you though, something I didn't expect: recovery is harder than both pregnancy AND labor and delivery (in my opinion). Looking back, my pregnancy was easy, and I stayed active the entire time. Labor and delivery weren't bad at all once I had that epidural (how people do it naturally I do not know). But the next day, I felt like I'd been run over by a horse. A horse who got joy out of kicking me in the crotch multiple times, and a swift kick to the gut. And my whole body was more swollen than it was during pregnancy! Seriously, my toes looked like tater tots. My shoes completely stopped fitting. Not fun. Im now almost 2 weeks postpartum and just starting to feel slightly normal again. I've been pretty much couch ridden. My amazing and wonderful husband has been doing all of the cleaning, cooking and diaper changing. He told me, "Your only job is to eat, drink, and focus on Cami." Don't know what I would do without him! Anywho, walking has become almost enjoyable again, I can see my ankle bones and can cross my legs, and all of my cute summer dresses fit perfectly - even over bigger boobs, nursing bras and a girdle. Woohoo! :)
