This second month has been all about awareness. You began to
open your eyes up much more around weeks four and five, and now you are bright
eyed and alert whenever you are awake. You can see that you are just beginning
to understand cause and effect. You’ll touch a toy on your activity mat, and
get so excited when the toy makes a noise. You don’t quite have enough control
to create the noise intentionally, nor do you understand that you are the one
causing the noise, but you seem to grasp the concept that something is causing
the noise to happen. You’ve also found your hands (and endlessly try to get
them into your mouth), and love to watch your feet move. I adore that such
simple things cause so much delight and bewilderment.
You’re personality is beginning to shine through more and
more. You are a fairly content and happy baby the majority of the time, and are
becoming quite particular about what you like (eating, country music, bouncing)
and what you do not like (burping, swinging, the cold air hitting your bum
after a bath). I find it humorous that at this young age, you already have
preferences. While you are fairly happy-go-lucky, you are also quite passionate
and determined. Also amusing is the fact that you are already learning to be a
bit dramatic with your reactions. When you are really mad and not getting what
you want, you cry loudly and then look around for our reaction. When the reaction
isn’t what you are expecting, you lock your left leg and stomp your right foot.
We are surely in for it when you are a toddler and a teenager.
Perhaps the best thing that has happened this month is that
you began to smile. It started out as a random grin here and there, but now you
give us tons of smiles every day. There aren’t any words that could possibly
describe the delight I feel when I see you happy. On the flip side, of course,
you also started crying real tears, and have perfected a heart-wrenching lower
lip quiver. I find it slightly ironic that even at two months old you have come
to learn that joy and sadness are intrinsically intertwined. That one cannot
exist without the other. It is a lesson that you will continue to learn
throughout your life, but I hope that you are always able to find joy and
happiness even in the darkest of times.
As for interesting facts:
-You took your first trip to the beach (Sea Isle
City, NJ)
-You took your first trip to the zoo (Cape May
Zoo)
-You experienced your first Olympics (London)
-You met your Aunt Colleen and Uncle Kyle for the
first time on your Mama & Papa’s 4th Wedding Anniversary (July
26th). You’ll get to meet your cousins at Thanksgiving.
-You’ve rolled over from front to back about 8
times, but not with any consistency. I’m sure that will be coming soon though!
-You smiled for the first time on July 16th
-You slept from 9:00 PM – 6:00 AM the first half
of the month, and are now sleeping from 8:00 PM - 6:30 AM (we are so thankful for this!)
Yesterday was one of those days. Fiona was refusing naps from the get-go. She would either lay there wide awake, or would sleep for 10-15 minutes and then refuse to fall asleep again. This equaled an exhausted baby, and just perpetuated the no-nap cycle. There may or may not have been tears on both of our parts, and I may have (not so secretly) been counting down the minutes until my husband was due home.
I was frustrated and tired, but had promised an acquaintance from high school that I would volunteer for a gala that her non-profit workplace holds in April. I really didn't know too much about the organization, nor had I had time to really research it, seeing as how my baby has been keeping me on my toes. I may have gotten lost on the way to the meeting, and contemplated just turning around, and throwing in the towel for the day. But sometimes you get a push from God, and he reminds you of how lucky you really are.
Turns out, the organization that the gala benefits is for a pediatric nursing home. It is a place where babies and children that require 24/7 medical care can stay, so that they can live somewhere that offers a bit more of a "home" environment than a hospital room.
During the volunteer meeting, they showed the gala video from the year before. It highlighted a trip that the children (that were physically able to) took to Disney World, and all of the work that was required to take 8 kids with severe disabilities (many were on ventilators) to Florida. It was absolutely unbelievable what was needed just to get the children to and through the airport. One child had never been outside of the facility complex, and he spent 20 minutes enthralled with a fire hydrant in front of Southwest Airlines, just because he had never seen one before. And to see the children react when they got to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse (did you know Mickey can even do the theme song in sign language?!?)...well, lets just say it had us all in tears.
After the meeting, I was invited to take a tour of the facility. The organization is just fantastic, and what they provide for these children is absolutely amazing. But to walk through those hallways and see the rooms with the tiny little beds and cradles was absolutely heart-wrenching. Each of the rooms even has two closets. One for the child's clothes and another that acts as a nursing station, so that the parents don't have to see some of the scary medical equipment. There are even "emergency" rooms that are set aside for children with disabilities that are taken into state custody, or for children that require end of life care.
While all of these things are great to have, it was a truly humbling experience that reminded me of just how good I have it. Because even though I may have hard days with a cranky baby, I have the privilege of getting to hold my baby. I get to feed my baby. I get to put my baby to sleep at the end of the day. I can kiss and cuddle her when I want to. I can read her books, and tell her tales. I can pick her up in the morning and tell her I love her over and over again. So no matter how hard I think some of the days are, I will always, always remember how blessed I am.
Oh photography. It's one of my most favorite things in the world. I could read photography blogs all day because I love it that much (my 3.5 year stint as a wedding planner certainly didn't help this obsession). Thankfully my husband is as much of a fan as I am. For Fiona's first photo session, we hired Ryan Estes, a Philadelphia based family photographer. He was absolutely wonderful to work with, and I am so thankful to have these memories to look back upon. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves :)
p.s. the daddy/daughter pictures make my heart melt 1000x over
I remember how much I loved to read baby gear recommendations when I was pregnant, so I figured that I should go ahead and write about what has worked best for us the first few weeks. I'll be honest though...babies really do not need much their first two months of life. But these are the items that have made the days just a little bit easier. Also, since our house was built in the mid-1800s, and has close to no storage, a lot of the items we chose to register for or purchase work best in small spaces.
Clothing
Side Snap Infant Shirts with Mitts - We were given 3 of these at the hospital, and I used them everyday for the first month. I couldn't find any mittens that would stay on Fiona's hands, and the good old "sock trick over the hands" didn't work for her either. And goodness gracious do those newborn nails grow fast. I would just put these on underneath her short sleeve onsie outfits. They also helped add a little extra warmth in our air conditioned house.
Long Sleeve bodysuits with Mitts- This link is just an example. They sell tons of affordable options at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby. Just like above, but without the step of having to put an additional onsie over top (however, most of the onsies we were gifted were short sleeved, so we used the above option more).
Baby Gap Socks- Best socks ever. Stay on much, much better than any other baby socks we own (and Fiona is a crazy kicker/foot stomper). I pretty much use these socks exclusively. I can't find them online, but they do sell 0-3 month size in the stores.
Skincare/Cleaning
California Baby Calendula Cream- I love this cream. I've put it on every scratch Fiona has given herself and every rash she has gotten, and it always helps everything disappear quickly. It's a miracle cream in a bottle, and it smells yummy.
California Baby Diaper Area Wash- Ok, technically we haven't had to use this for any diaper rashes yet, but sometimes baby diapers smell much, much worse than you can ever imagine. I like to spray this stuff on during those times...plus it is nice to have on hand incase any rashes pop up.
Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo and Wash- I use a lot of Burt's Bees products on myself, so I felt pretty good about using their products on our baby. Just a little bit goes a long way, so I feel as though it will takes us months just to get through one bottle. Again, I like the scent of this wash too...which is good, because you will smell your baby's head a lot (just trust me on this one).
Gripe Water- Works awesome for hiccups and gas pains.
Itzy Ritzy Wet Bag- I love all of the different designs for these bags, and plan on buying some of their reusable snack bags in the future. These bags are great for dirty clothes, wet swim suits or cloth diapers.
Sleep
Halo SleepSack Swaddles- Our hospital is a part of the Halo SleepSack In-Hospital Program, which is a great marketing scheme where your baby is given a Halo SleepSack to sleep in, instead of a hospital blanket. Essentially, your baby becomes accustomed to sleeping in a $25.00 piece of fabric with a zipper and velcro, leaving you to run out and and spend $75.00 your first day home, because one isn't going to cut it with all the messes newborns make. On the other hand, they are super easy to use...my parents and siblings love them for that reason when they are babysitting. Also, Fiona especially liked them the first couple of weeks because she was breech and loved to have lots of room to kick her feet (she still sleeps with her feet in the air most of the night).
Aden & Anais Muslin Wraps- At four weeks, we started the Moms on Call program, and began using their swaddling technique. I really like using these blankets (especially the extra large 47"x47" ones sold on Amazon). We have 8, and use them all throughout the week. They are just as awesome and adorable as everyone says they are.
Aprica Haven Play-yard- I wanted a pack n play without all of the bells and whistles because:
1) We needed something that could we move up and down our extremely narrow staircase quickly and easily (esp. since I had a c-section).
and
2) We needed something that didn't take up a ton of room and was easy to pack in our mid-sized car.
This pack n play fit the bill, and I've loved it. I just keep any baby supplies in a cute 3 Sprouts storage caddy I was given by a friend at my baby shower. It folds up so easily, and we (well, the husband) literally brought it downstairs every morning and upstairs every night during the first 4 weeks. Plus it's nice and sturdy, and it looks good.
Summer Infant Rest Assured Sleeper- I registered for this because we originally planned on co-sleeping, and I wanted to do it safely. Turns out our baby girl really, really likes her own quiet space. This thing is awesome though, and we're still using it all of the time. We put this in the pack and play and in her crib, so that the space seems a little bit more confined. I also will bring it over my parents house so that I don't have to bring the pack n play (though they will eventually get one for their house). It folds up really nicely, and it has a night light/sound machine/ vibration attachment. The night light feature alone made it worth the money because one of us could do diaper changes in the middle of the night, without having to wake the other up (Fiona slept in her pack n play in our room up until week 4).
Homedics iSoundSpa Lullaby- I have a lot of friends and family members that love this product as much as we do. It is nice and small, and again, easy to travel with. Heck, it puts me to sleep. We even brought it to the hospital and used it there, since I knew how loud it would be. Plus, it's super affordable. Love, love, love.
Moms on Call- I have no words for how awesome this program is at getting your baby to sleep. I remember other bloggers raving about it before I was pregnant, and was reminded about it when I read Annahita's blog Forever 88. So I bit the bullet and bought the program, and it has been a life-saver. I started it at 4 weeks (although I probably would have started it at 2, had I remembered about it at that point), and within four days, Fiona was sleeping from 9:30 PM - 6:00 AM. Even the last week and a half, when Fiona went through a tough growth spurt, and we had some major napping issues, she continued to sleep through the night. Worth every cent.
Feeding * I was only able to breastfeed for five days before I was hospitalized with what my doctors believe to be a case of breastfeeding anaphylaxis. It was even more terrifying than it sounds. As soon as the shock and fear subside a bit I hope to write a post on this...especially since I strongly believe that it, along with postpartum hives, are not as rare as they are made out to be. Needless to say, Fiona is now a formula-fed, bottle champ. Most of these items reflect these needs.
Tommee Tippee Closer To Nature Bibs- These bibs are amazing for little babes, especially bottle fed ones. They fit really well around their tiny necks and catch all of the dribbles.
Original Cloth Diapers- At this point in a baby's life there is a lot of spit-up and milk dribbles. This is definitely one area where practicality outweighs cuteness. Don't waste your money on cute burp cloths. Just buy a bunch of these.
Boon “Grass” Drying Rack- If I had the counter space, I would totally use the larger "lawn" option. I love using this as our bottle drying station, and hope to add some of the fun accessories to it soon.
Playtex Ventaire Bottles with Dr. Brown’s Preemie Nipples- This is a great solution if you have a baby that is a super fast eater and can down 4 oz in 5 minutes if given the chance (which of course results in all sorts of gas and spit-up issues). It took some playing around, but I found this to be the best combination for slowing her down. I believe that Dr. Brown's is the only brand that makes preemie nipples.
Oster Electric Kettle & and Extra Large Mug (or Large Pyrex Measuring Cup)- I'm a huge tea drinker and became obsessed with electric kettles after being in England and Ireland last year. I purchased this one last summer and love it, because it has a feature that allows you to keep the water hot for hours after it has boiled. Turns out it makes a pretty amazing bottle warmer too. I just use the boiled water to make the bottles, which I then refrigerate, and then use the feature that keeps the water hot. Then I just pour the water into my large VT mug to heat up the bottle when needed. Serves more than one purpose, and doesn't take up any additional space. Awesome.
My Breast Friend Nursing Pillow- I used this when I was breastfeeding, and still use it now that I am bottle feeding. It helps distribute the baby's weight, which helps alleviate some back and neck pain. I like this over the boppy for c-section mommas, because it has an adjustable strap that helps keep everything off your incision.
Avent Soothie Pacifier- Fiona has a crazy suck (as evident by her feeding habits), and loves some good pacifier time. I believe the majority of hospitals provide this pacifier, so just have some as a back up incase your little one takes a liking to it.
Entertainment/Transportation/Other
Moby Wrap- Fiona loves to cuddle and be worn. The moby wrap was all the rage when I was putting together my baby registry. It serves the purpose, but honestly, I find it a pain to put on and wear...especially in the summer...because there is SO MUCH thick fabric. If I could do it over, I probably would have registered for the Baby K'tan, especially since they have a mesh version (although, it would be nice if this version was available in anything other than black (impractical for the summer) and white (impractical for a baby)). I have the ergo too, but haven't used it yet, as I didn't purchase the infant insert since it isn't ideal for summer babies. I can't wait to break it out in the fall though.
Skip Hop Treetop Friends Activity Gym- I'm fairly certain that all activity gyms pretty much provide the same things. I chose this one because it wasn't obnoxious to look at, and I liked the way the rattles sounded (important things when you are using it 3 times a day). But seriously, I'm sure any activity gym will get the job done. p.s. this one wasn't out when I registered, but I think I like it even more.
BABYBJORN BabySitter Balance- Our baby is more of a bouncer fan as opposed to a swing fan (which isn't that surprising since I worked on my feet up until I delivered). I got this on the recommendation of my old roommate Ashley and my blog friend Aliya. It is awesome, and grows really well with your baby. It is super light-weight and travels well, which makes me love it even more.
Tiny Love Take-Along Arch- Once Fiona could focus a bit more, she obviously liked having fun things to look at. Because it is adjustable, I've been able to use it on our bouncer, carseat and sleeper. Plus it costs less than $20.00, which I think makes it extra-amazing.
Britax B-Agile Stroller with Britax B-Safe Car Seat & Diono Buggy Buddy- Lets be honest....I doubt that there is a perfect stroller, unless maybe you have a thousand dollars to spend on one. However, I love the Britax brand, and adore this travel system. I feel like it is the Apple brand of strollers with regards to the ease of use. The stroller is super light-weight, travels well, and has a one-handed fold (amazing!). It fits in our 2' wide (no lie) downstairs closet. The car seat has great ratings and fits right in. I feel like it just all works so well. I attached the diono buggy buddy, since it has better reviews than the britax attachment. Love that it holds my water bottle, along with another drink or bottle, and it has a zippered compartment to store your keys.
DSLR Camera- We saved up before our little one arrived because we knew that having a kid = taking a gazillion pictures of said kid. Worthy investment.
Amazon Prime- During the first few weeks of your baby's life, the free 2-day shipping will be a life-saver. Again, especially useful if you have a c-section. Once you have a baby, the savings definitely outweigh the membership costs.
Phew! The past week was a bit crazy (but so much fun!). In the last seven days, Fiona has met six great-aunts, three great-uncles, one aunt, one uncle, ten first cousins once removed, and three second cousins (yes, it took a lot of googling to figure that all out). She also took her first vacation to the shore and her first trip to the zoo. I feel as though I need a vacation from the vacation. Kudos to all of you who do this with more than one child!
Here's a quick timeline of how it all went down:
7/20- Ryan's aunts and uncle visit on their way from Rhode Island to Virginia Beach. Try to figure out this whole packing for a trip with an infant thing.
7/21- We head out to Sea Isle City, NJ for a short vacation at my parents' beach house. We left after Fiona's 9:00 AM feeding (we're doing the moms on call schedule), and arrived just in time for her 12:00 PM feeding. I adore this schedule because I know what is coming. She slept almost the entire ride. This is in complete contrast to the story my mom and aunt still tell me about my first trip to Sea Isle when I was 6 weeks old (it was apparently that traumatic). Dear God, please let her stay a great traveler! Love, Katie. Because we got there before the renters were out, we hit up the Cape May Zoo (which is absolutely adorable). Fiona slept the whole time. Of course, that didn't stop us from taking pictures of her in front of the animals.
7/22- Some of mom's side of the family does a Christmas in July family reunion. I believe that there were about 30+ people at the house.
7/23- Relaxed inside. I think I made it down to the shore for a few minutes? Im not positive...it's a bit of a blur. Ryan worked from the house during the day and then left to go home that evening. Contemplate just how much protection will be needed for my fair, red-headed child when she can really go on the beach next year. Decide to invest in sunscreen companies.
7/24- Fiona turns 6 weeks and decides to comprehend the craziness of the last few days. She refuses to nap more than 5 minutes. Thankfully she wasn't cranky or sad, just wide awake...ALL DAY LONG. Because Ryan is home and everyone else is on the beach, I try to MacGyver ways to use the bathroom and eat. Pat myself on the back for not buying the expensive bathing suit to cover my postpartum body, because it obviously is not going to get any use.
7/25- Eat breakfast at Sunset Pier. Take a quick trip to Stone Harbor for some shopping and time with my mom. Drive home alone with Fiona after her 6:00 PM feeding. She starts crying as soon as we pull up in front of our house. Say another prayer of thanks, and then give myself another pat on the back for surviving my first 2 hour trip with her alone.
7/26- Ryan's brother, Kyle, and our sister-in-law, Colleen, come to visit. I adore them both so much and feel beyond blessed to have such a great brother and sister-in-love (she's like the older sister I never got to have!). We wish so much they lived on the east coast so we could see them more often! Oh, in the craziness, we almost forget...it's our 4th anniversary!
7/27- Breakfast with Kyle and Colleen before they leave. Fiona goes on another nap strike. Counting down the minutes till bedtime. Thankfully she's super cute to look at.
And here are some pictures for a visual:
A Papa, A Zebra & A Fiona-phant
My dad likes to ask my daughter if she went to Tony's last night. Tony's, incase you were wondering, is the dive bar he and his friends went to in their 20s. Yup. I decided that making this onsie was an appropriate way to start off vacation. P.S. I love that having a baby makes using puffy paint totally acceptable again.
This was my dad's reaction.
Because, you know, we were at the Jersey Shore.
Second cousins!
Me and my baby at the beach. I hope she learns to love it as much as her Papa and I do.
Beach Kisses.
1st Family Vacation Picture :)
Fiona turns 6 weeks! (weekly block idea from Oh! Apostrophe).
Breakfast at the Pier.
Fiona with her UVA Aunt and Uncle
Ryan and his brother with Fiona. Yes, his brother looks like Ty Burrell.
Ryan- Thanks for four years of awesomeness! Marrying you = best decision ever.
You are one month old today! It doesn’t quite seem possible that you’ve already been with us for that long, but at the same time, we can’t imagine what life was like without you in it. Before you were born, people would often ask us whether we wanted a baby boy or baby girl. My answer was always, “I don’t care if we have a son or a daughter, as long as he or she has their daddy’s disposition.” From all accounts told to me, I was an awful, colic-y infant…often sleeping only 1 or 2 hours at a time. I was terrified of the potential paybacks! Luckily, my wish has come true, and you have been an unbelievable newborn. I’m not sure if your calm, happy personality is here to stay, but if I could guarantee that all our future children were like this, I’d have 10 more.
Perhaps your personality isn’t just a wish fulfilled, but an answer to prayer. Our first week together was a bit hectic, with two ambulance rides and your mama ending up in the hospital for a scary four-day stay. Being ill and being apart from you was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Thankfully, lots of family members were able to step in to watch over and take care of you. As long as you are fed and loved, you are extremely content.
Speaking of food, it is your number one passion. The only time you cry is when you are hungry. And you definitely let us know when that time is by providing perhaps one or two whimpers before going to full-blown, DEFCON 1 screams. The second you see that bottle though, your eyes light up, your game face is on, and all is well with the world. You even eat with extreme gusto. One of your grandmothers, who raised four kids of her own, says she has never seen anything like it. Due to this, we often refer to you as Francesca when it is feeding time. As in, Francesca, your Italian alter ego.
Once, while trying to entertain you while your bottle warmed up, I found out that you had a particular love for country music…specifically, Kenny Chesney. Literally, you will be bawling your little eyes out, but the second you hear Kenny’s voice you just stop and look around. It was cute and funny at first…I mean, we have all of these wonderful toys, baby books and rattles for you, and the only thing that calms you down is country music. Now, the joke is on us. I can often be found at 3 AM two-stepping across the nursery floor trying to get you to fall asleep. When you are really fussy, your Papa and I are left scrambling for our iPhones and computers trying to get the country music station on as quickly as possible. At this rate, due to the amount of times we say, “Kenny’s coming baby!” or “Don’t worry, Kenny will be on the radio soon!” there is a good chance that your first word will be Kenny instead of Mama or Papa. Besides Kenny Chesney, you also like Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker and the Zac Brown Band. One day we will all laugh about how mommy had to change the lyrics of certain songs to “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sporty” and “Red Plastic Bottle, “ or talk about the time we were left singing “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places,” while trying to calm you down enough to have your newborn pictures taken.
As for other interesting facts:
- - Your first month of life was met with two long heat waves…the second of which was the fourth longest this area has ever seen.
- - You celebrated your first holiday on July 4th! We hope you come to love that day as much as your Momma and Papa do. After all, what can be better than fireworks, family and hot dogs!
- - You are probably a little over 8 pounds now. You still fit into your newborn clothes that don’t have feet (as you are a bit too long for those now). We’ll definitely have to move you over to your 0-3 outfits in a week or two.
- - Your Papa speaks to you exclusively in Spanish. I’m picking up a word or two here and there, so hopefully I'll be able to join in on conversations with you two at some point!
- - Besides Francesca, we can be found calling your Strawberry Shortcake (after your strawberry blonde hair), or Fiona-phant, which came about because of the elephant hat your Uncle Joey bought you.
We love you so much Fiona, and we can’t wait to see what month two has in store for us!
Some of this is going to be a repetition from previous posts, but I want to write Fiona's birth story for my own recollection.
Since Fiona was a breech baby, we had a c-section scheduled for June 14th at 9:30 AM. Obviously, like her mother, she decided to make plans of her own. I always felt that she (although we didn't know she was a she at the time), would come early as that was kind of par for the course in my family. And my intuition was definitely right!
I remember people telling me that they just felt different before they went into labor, and I can definitely say that was true in my case. Up until the day before she was born, I was running around, taking long walks, cleaning the house and trying to stay busy. However, on that Monday, I didn't have the energy to even get off the couch. I literally just laid there all day and read a book. I wasn't my normal happy self, and instead felt really worn down and cranky. I'm fairly certain when Ryan came home from work and walked through the door I just cried. I don't even know why.
On Tuesday morning, June 12th, I woke up and still felt pretty exhausted (which wasn't a total surprise seeing as how I hadn't slept for more than 2 hours at a time since December). I decided to continue reading in bed. Ryan had allowed our dog, Bo, to come upstairs that morning, and instead of running around in circles begging to go out or for a walk like he usually does, he just laid calmly by my side. He definitely knew something was happening! Around 8:45 AM, I turned over and felt a bit of a pop. I vividly remember thinking, "hmm that felt really weird...I wonder if my water is going to break...I remember Aliya talking about this happening before her daughter came." Sure enough, I got up to go to the bathroom, and my water started to break. Because it wasn't the huge gush that everyone talks about (it broke gradually throughout the day), I called my doctor for confirmation. She told me, of course, that it was time to get to the hospital. I hung up the phone, called Ryan, and told him to come home because this baby was coming today. Then, because it was obviously the completely logical thing to do, I decided that it was absolutely imperative that I shave my legs. So, instead of running around getting all the bags together, I sat on the edge of the tub and did just that. I may not have been completely rational, but I am still surprised at how calm I was about the whole situation.
When Ryan came home we loaded everything into the car and made our way to the hospital. It was supposed to be an absolutely gorgeous day on the day Fiona was originally due to make her appearance, but on this day we had pouring rain, flooding and thunderstorms. I don't think we turned the radio on in the car at all. We just kept turning to each other saying, "I can't believe we're going to have a baby today." It all seemed so surreal.
We arrived at the hospital, and I remember this guy taking one look at us while we were walking in and saying, "Good Luck!" It made me smile. We checked in and we were taken to a room so I could be examined, and so that they could do another ultrasound and make sure the baby was still breech (she was). After about an hour, we were taken to another room on the floor where they perform the c-sections, and were told that the surgery would take place in about 25 minutes. I was in a bit of shock that it would happen that fast! We quickly met with the anesthesiologist and a bunch of the other doctors that would be in the room during the surgery. Then we were told we would meet the doctor performing the surgery shortly. Since Fiona decided to come early, we ended up with a completely different doctor than the one we had been seeing. So we waited, and waited....and well, waited. A couple of times a nurse would come in and tell us that the surgery would be taking place shortly, but it never happened. I hadn't had anything to drink or eat since the night before, and since I wasn't allowed to have any water (and was almost in tears over this), Ryan would hold up wet paper towels to my lips. I can't even begin to describe how thirsty I was. I also wasn't allowed to leave the bed, since there is a risk of a prolapsed cord with breech babies once the mother's water breaks. This went on for the longest time. It turns out that at the exact moment I was to go into surgery, another one of the doctor's patients was about to have her baby. The doctor was with her while she pushed....for over three full hours (bless that girl's heart!).
During all of this I would get myself mentally prepared for what was going to happen (I had a huge fear of being awake while, you know, they pulled a baby out of me...especially while I was strapped down to a table). The second I would be ok with it, we would find out that the surgery was getting pushed back again. After the doctor finally delivered the other baby, there was an emergency c-section that needed to be preformed. At this point I was starving, thirsty and all sorts of anxious. I guess Ryan felt really bad for me, because he decided it was ok to play the VT football entrance song, "Enter Sandman" on his iPhone. As soon as he started playing it, our baby's heartbeat started matching up with the tune. It was hysterical, and helped us get through the rest of the wait.
You can't really hear the heartbeat, but yup, we tried to take a video!
Finally, around 4:00 PM, we were told that they would definitely be coming to get us for the surgery shortly. Around 4:15 PM, I was taken into the operating room. Ryan had to wait outside while I had the spinal injection done. I was even more nervous at this point, since I had hours to dwell on everything, and I remember being so hot....which was odd since I am normally freezing, and I was in an ice cold operating room. I asked the anesthetist if I could have an ice pack for my forehead. While she went off in search for that, I was prepped for the spinal injection. I was terrified about this part because I knew that one of the side effects can be feeling like you can't breath. For someone who can feel extremely claustrophobic at times, having my arms strapped down while feeling like I can't breath is probably my worst nightmare coming to life. I am beyond thankful that God provided me with an amazing team of doctors at this point. My anesthesiologist kept making jokes about how this wasn't the time to be a yoga student while trying to get me to roll my back enough, and my surgeon held my hands while the injection was done (it wasn't bad at all...and I felt like I could breath!). After that I was quickly placed onto the table for surgery, Ryan was brought back in, and the blue screen went up. The surgeon did a quick time out and went over all of our requests for the birth with the rest of the doctors and nurses in the room.
I remember the anesthetist standing at my head holding the icepack to my forehead, and telling me she would give me a play by play of what was happening. I, of course, was fairly adamant that I did not want a play by play. She explained that she would just tell me what I would be feeling as it was happening. At this point, I just started to cry. There wasn't an exact reason other than it was an emotionally draining morning, and I was just done. I remember the nurse asking me what was wrong, and I just said, "I spent all day trying not to be super anxious about the surgery, and now I'm here and, well, now I feel like I can cry about it (hello, hormones)." So I cried, and the doctors tugged and pulled (which I vividly remember...I did not like this part one bit). I felt like they were performing the surgery for about a half hour, when in reality, it was more like 15 minutes. Finally, someone said, "Ok, dad, get ready...we're going to lower the screen in a second so you can see if you have a son or a daughter." Then, at 4:33 PM, there was a wailing baby. The screen was lowered, and I waited for Ryan to tell me if we had a little boy or little girl. It was probably about 10 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime (apparently the umbilical cord was in the way, and Ryan couldn't tell right away). Finally, he said, "It's a girl...we have a daughter!" I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. Of course, I started crying even more (out of happiness this time!). The doctors kept saying, "Oh, she is just beautiful!" and, "Oh my goodness, she has red hair!"
So there I was, crying my eyes out on the operating table wondering how in the heck we ended up with a red-haired child. We joked the entire pregnancy that we were going to have a baby with a huge mop of dark hair. And then we ended up with a fair redhead. I think I'll forever be amused by that.
Our daughter was then taken to the other side of the room to be cleaned up, weighed and measured while the doctors finished up the surgery on me (I have no recollection of this part of the surgery). Ryan went with her, and apparently they even left the cord long enough so he could do the official "cut" at this point. Since I was a crying, blubbering mess, I had no idea that he had even done this until he told me two weeks later. Our little baby came in at 6.8 pounds and 19 inches, and scored a 9 both times on her Apgar test.
Fiona's 1st official picture
Finally, finally, finally, Ryan brought her over to me. I just remember staring into her eyes and feeling so overwhelmed, happy, thankful and blessed. My arms were unstrapped and I was able to touch and hold our baby girl. They asked us what her name was, and we said, "Fiona." So there we were...Ryan, me and our little Fiona...officially a family of three.
