The Birth of Adelaide Rose

Proud new parents

I know this picture is fuzzy but I still love it because you can see how excited Rick is to be a new Dad.

Moments after the baby was born.

Finally our little angel has arrived! Monday night I was lying in bed with Rick and he had already fallen asleep but I was reading a novel when all of the sudden my water broke- I had wondered if my water had broken an earlier day, but this time there was no mistaking it! I ran over to the tub and was sooo excited I could hardly contain myself and I woke up Jess too to let her know. Rick is so organized and practical and began washing our sheets right away so he could get the bed ready again. The water looked pretty green to Jessica and I, and when I called Barbie, our midwife she said that was concerning (perhaps meconium). I was really disappointed because this happens often when the baby is in distress for some reason and would mean I would have to go to the hospital for the birth... so I started having Jess pack some bags for the hospital.

It turned out that my water was a "normal" color and as long as the baby's heart tone's remained good we would stay at home... I was so relieved and so grateful the baby was okay and that we could go on with our original plans to bring her into the world:)

I labored mostly in my bedroom and in Rick's bathroom and just used deep breathing to get me through the contractions. For some reason making these weird high pitched moans while exhaling felt wonderful (Rick told me I sounded like the fog horns you can hear near the Golden Gate bridge in SF), but eventually one of the mdiwives, Joanna, explained to me how my throat would hurt really bad the next day and taught me a better, deeper sound to make. (She was right, my throat does hurt a couple days later still).

I didn't really go into strong active labor until around 3 a.m. and I don't know what time it was when I really got in "the zone" but at some point I totally become focused in my own little world and was completely disconnected to things going on around me. The pain during the contractions was unlike anything I could have ever imagined and I could never put into words really the way they felt, but already I am starting to forget what it felt like. Either Rick and Jess were always with me and they were so supportive and wonderful.

I started pushing around 1 in the afternoon I think and pushing was the hardest stage for me. I started out on the bed, then the toilet, then squatting by the side of the bed and finally on my side on my bedroom floor. That seemed to work best for me. Pushing took all my energy- and as I am prone to blackout/feel faint even when I'm not pregnant, I needed oxygen between contractions to get me through.

Finally the baby came out at 5:39 p.m. and they layed her right on my tummy and she was beautiful. I guess after her head came out it was pretty purple and she had the cord wrapped around her neck twice, so Barbie just unlooped it quickly. Eventually she turned a healthy pink and I pretty much immediately began to breastfeed her- she has been hungry since. She weighed 8 lbs and was 20 1/4 inches long. They gave her an apgar score of 9-10 and in my eyes she is just perfect.

All in all the birth was the most amazing and intense experience of my life and I am so thankful that everything went the way it did. The support of my family and friends has been amazing. During the actual birth I spent A LOT of time praying and then Rick, Jess, my Mom and Nicole were there as well as the midwives Barbie and Joanna. Since then Jamie and Gracie and my Dad and sister in law Megan have come to visit too and it has been really nice.

Finally the sleep deprivation is catching up with me- the whole next day after the birth I was awake and excited and active I guess because of adrenaline from the birth- but now I am trying to nap when Adelaide naps because she is all backwards and at night she wants to eat and play and look around. We have gone on a couple adventures already- yesterday we went to the park in our complex and relaxed in the shade and today we actually took a quick trip into Boulder where Rick and I sat in the shade with Adelaide in the sling while the rest of the family went to the Farmers Market. I always kind of expected to be really tired and bedridden after the birth, and although I am a little tired I still have a lot more energy than I expected and it feels good to get out and be somewhat active. I think for a while though when in public I will keep Adelaide in her little sling so that people don't touch her with their germy hands.

It took us a while to figure out her name- we had always kind of planned on Adelaide Rose, but then at the last minute Rick mentioned the name Melody Rose and I had a really hard time deciding between the two. She looks like an Adelaide though so I think we made the right decision:) My favorite thing about her are her beautiful lips- they are so cute and she does funny things with her mouth. She also smiles a ton and it is the cutest thing ever. We can't really figure out who she looks like, she is not the bald headed, pale and wide eyed baby I was imagining... I was sooo excited when I saw that she had hair- and that it is dark! I think it is so beautiful and I realize that it can fall out and come back blonde or whatever, but for the mean time I am enjoying it.

Rick is such a cute Dad and you can tell he just loves Adelaide so much. He missed Tuesday of orientation, but went back for the rest of the week. On Wednesday Nicole and Meg were going to pick him up during his break to go get lunch at Pearl Street- but I guess as soon as they picked him up he asked if he could just come home instead and hold the baby... so cute.

This is the longest post ever, but I just kind of wanted to write some of this while it is still fresh in my mind. All in all, the birth was amazing, my baby is perfect and beautiful, I am so thankful for my family and friends and my Heavenly Father, and I am SO excited to be a Mom- so far I absolutely LOVE it.