Monday, September 21, 2009

Baby Bridgette is Here!





(Well, she's been here for about a month now...)
I had my 40 week Dr's appointment on August 25th. Both the Dr. and I were very surprised that baby girl hadn't made her appearance yet. I hadn't gotten a full night's rest in weeks & felt like I was never going to actually have the baby. The Dr. walked in and started explaining the pro's & con's of labor induction-- I was sitting there like, where are we going with this? He then asked, "would you like to go ahead and be induced?" I thought that sounded like a peachy idea. He left the room for a minute, then walked back in & said, " you can go over to the hospital right now & they'll get you going. I'll be over around lunchtime to break your water." WHAT! I was so freaking nervous. I called Dan & told him to meet me at the hospital...
Labor was uneventful, except they had to issue the epidural twice (my epidural space is really tiny, apparently.) After being in "labor" for about 8 hours (totally numb, it was awesome)I pushed for an hour and 'ta da! She was 6 lbs 7 oz & 18 1/2 inches long (she was down to a tiny 5 lbs 14 oz by the time we went home.) The only problem was she had a really short umbilical cord. The nurse didn't realize this, and went to place the baby on my chest...SNAP! The cord split right down the middle- it scared all of us! My Dr. was a pro & clamped the cord almost as soon as it snapped. Bridgette was having trouble getting a good breath & had to be on oxygen for about 3 hours. She also lost some fluid in the umbilical cord snap & had to have an IV. I started crying when I saw her little body in the bassinet hooked up to a breathing machine with all the tubes.
The past month has really been a blur. My mom was here helping out as soon as we got home from the hospital. I had a few breakdowns (Dan is probably ready to leave me.) The next week Dan's mom was here to help. I would've gone crazy had it not been for these ladies! They're awesome!!!
Bridgette finally seems to be on a sort of schedule, even though I think she eats too much (but she's chunking out, which I love!!!)
She's soooo freaking cute & patient with her inexperienced mommy. She probably gets tired of me holding & kissing her, I just can't help it!
Dan's so great with her, I'm so lucky to have a baby daddy who likes being a baby daddy! He's also been so great to me, seriously, he's probably been on the brink of committing me a few times. I never fathomed the effect childbirth/ post pregnancy hormones, could have on my emotions. Crying for no reason (Lifetime network movies are NOT that moving & neither is Sesame Street.)

Anyways, let's be honest here- you don't care about all this crap. You just really want to see pictures... Here are a few.
Going on a walk - it was chilly outside!
Taking a nap with Daddy
Ticked off at her first bath
What she does half the time when she's with Daddy.
And after Daddy consoles her...


My favorite type of naps.


Her first few hours in the hospital... so sad : (

7 comments:

Maxwells said...

She is so tiny and cute! Congrats Janelle. Enjoy her!

Bonnie said...

Wahoo! you finally posted! She's so precious :) Chlo's got some competition!!!

Anonymous said...

We have been wondering about your little one. We have been out of town and just got back Saturday. I just decided to check your blog today and was glad to see she came and everything is fine. By the way, Brenda and Aaron are expecting. I didn't know if anybody had told you. We sure missed seeing you at the reunion, but understand that camping and pregancy don't go well together. Anyway Brenda is having another boy in December. Congrats!

Love,
Aunt Monica and Punkle

Jim and Sue said...

What a doll! Congratulations!

Sammie said...

Congrats! Thanks for sharing about your post-pregnancy emotions. That part is so hard. Thank goodness for supportive moms that come out to help!

LW said...

We love Bridgette!!! What a sweet girl she is!! It was so good to see all of you on Saturday. I'm glad you were able to make it!
Yeah most babies don't really love the first baths...Kaia is crazy, she loved it, she'd almost fall asleep while we were bathing her - silly girl!!
Hopefully we'll see you this week!

Joan said...

it's about time!!!!
so cute cute cute!