Sigh Of Relief

Good news first! Anistynn gained 5 ounces within 24 hours! Yay! That makes me happy. After yesterday, I was just so worried and sad. Last night and today I just fed her via all three methods: breastfeeding, bottled breast milk, and supplementation with the formula the doctor gave me. I kept track of how much she was eating and how many wet diapers she was having. We took her in to get weighed around 5 PM and she had gained 5 ounces. They said that was really great. We're going to continue to supplement her through the weekend and then take her back in on Monday to get weighed again and we'll go from there. While it still irks me that she cant get everything from me at this point, I'm so happy she is getting what she needs. As for me, I'm going to continue to do certain things to help production: drink lots of water, pump more, and just continue to feed her on a regular basis.

We also received Anistynn's insurance card today - finally. We applied for Healthy Kids quite a while ago and it took them forever to give us an answer. But now Anistynn is finally approved and she's on OHP (Oregon Health Plan) Family Care under Healthy Kids and she's covered in everything from medical to prescriptions to dental to vision. So yay! :) 

Tony and I also ordered business cards for our respective businesses (mine being pet-sitting and his being photography) so I'm looking forward to getting those. Tomorrow we're heading to Babies R Us to get some photos done at Kiddie Kandids (we'll see how they do - I dont really like studios because they always look so cheesy but I looked at their site and saw some cute photos so I'm hoping ours will turn out like that). If they dont, well we have an appointment set up with this lady photographer on Sunday who is doing it for free to expand her portfolio since she wants to specialize in newborn photography. Her name is Monica and she's a mom of 3. She's giving us a disc too so that will be awesome. Stay tuned for pictures either way! I know Anistynn is already 2 weeks old today (update) so she will be a little bit past the "newborn" phase, but I really want to preserve her at this stage so we're doing it - it's better than nothing!

Well, this mama is tired and we just got baby girl to bed so I'm going to hit the sack myself and try to get a couple hours of sleep before she wakes up asking for more food! I'll leave you with our first official family photo (because those hospital ones were all over the place) courtesy of my dad. It was Anistynn's first visit to church!

Hard Day For Mama

Anistynn had her 2 week check up today with the pediatrician. And the appointment was a tough one for this mama. First of all, her weight is down. Enough so that we have to do a little bit of supplementing. When we first took her in last week, she was almost back up to her birth weight and today she was down several ounces. I had to do a double take when I heard her weight because I've been feeding her like crazy! She's definitely been eating a lot more (and especially more since the hospital, where she was really sleepy and learning to eat and whatnot). It's usually every 2 hours, if not sooner. And she eats for like 45 minutes, sometimes an hour or more! I have used the pump a little bit to test it out and see what that was like and so that we could have some bottles on hand if we were ever out for long periods of time, I wasnt going to be around for whatever reason and Tony was going to feed her, or for when we eventually leave her with grandma and grandpa or something, she would have bottles. I also wanted to introduce her to bottles earlier rather than later so that she could hopefully go back and forth - and that she wouldnt have a problem with bottles when we left her with someone else or when she finally made a full transition to bottles. Anyway, I wasnt getting very much from pumping though. I was a little concerned so I looked it up and it said on countless websites that each woman was different and it was normal to pump anywhere from 1 - 2 ounces at a time to 8 ounces! So quite a range, but that made me feel a little better. Well, until we went in to her appointment today. You have no idea how much I felt like a failure at that moment. I cant even feed my child right?? I mean, I guess I know it's not my fault entirely but I'm her mother and it hit me hard. It's my job to feed her and apparently it's not enough. Dr. Eki told me not to worry at all and that I was a doing a great job and that it definitely didnt make me a bad parent - perhaps I just dont have a good let down or a good milk production. He was slightly worried because at this point, babies should be back up to their birth weight. So he gave us some formula to supplement. We are supposed to give it to her after I feed her normally, keep track of how many wet diapers she has, and take her in again tomorrow to check her weight and see if it's gone up at all. Anistynn also got her heel pricked today and since she was wide awake when they did it, she cried a bit. It killed me to see her crying like that, with her little lips pursed in the saddest pout you've ever seen. Plus, when they were weighing her, she was crying because the nurse's hands were cold. Anistynn also doesnt like being unclothed so she was crying over that too. It was just really hard for me. 

Hopefully this food thing works - I already feel bad enough. Maybe I shouldnt take it so personally but I cant help it; I only want what's best for her and I want to give her everything, the world. So to not be able to give her enough food from me personally is a little hard to hear. 

We are also meeting with our life insurance agent tonight to put Anistynn on our policies. It's something I dont like to think about at all but it's something to take care of. It will be good to have that taken care of and out of the way so there's no worries with that. 

So fingers crossed that she gains a little bit of weight by tomorrow and that she just continues to gain. If she doesnt, there's a chance it could be some other type of problem, like a thyroid problem or something but Dr. Eki just believes she's just not getting enough calories. He said her heart and lungs and everything else sounded great. So at least there's that.

Nursery Is Almost Complete!

The nursery is coming together more and more. I'm excited! I always thought I would have it completely ready and put together long before baby girl even got here, but along with moving, I think I was always hesitant on if the baby was for sure going to be a girl that I just neglected to really put it together. I mean, we purchased and received girl items but I think I just didnt want to put together a sweet little nursery and then end up with a boy. But now that she's here, we went at it and it's almost complete! Well, at least as complete as we're going to do here in this apartment. We had thought about painting but I decided I didnt want to do it while living here and we could just use some other decor. We'll paint her room when we move into a house. Here's what we have left to do:

To purchase:

- Glider / ottoman (getting that on Saturday)

- Changing table (we have a changing pad and a changing pad cover, but we currently have it sitting on the counter lol)

- A couple shelves for fragile decorative special items

- Hamper

- Side table (still undecided on if we want to get this but we're keeping our eyes peeled for a good priced one that we could put next to the chair)

- Lamp

To do:

- Finish hanging up the valence over the curtains and put up the tie backs for the curtains as well

- Hang up clock, calendar, and some other decor

- And then of course put together / set up the other furniture when we get it

So we're almost there! I think it'll be done in the next 2 weeks. It's not major because Anistynn is sleeping in her bassinet in our room currently and we probably wont transfer her to her crib for another few months, but it's nice to have a room already set up waiting for her arrival :) She's got her crib, dresser, and bookshelf already set up; she's got a tree decal on the wall, she's got books and toys and stuffed animals; she's got a very full closet of adorably cute clothes and blankets; and she's got super cute curtains that tie the room together.

I'm excited to see it done (although I'm sure things will be added and taken away as baby girl gets older) - I'll post pics when it's finished!

Never Let A Moment Go By

Yesterday Tony went back to work. It was just baby girl and I and we had a good day. We did a lot of sleeping, eating, and pooping (well, that wasnt all me). During pregnancy, I always worried about being alone with her. I was terrified that I wasnt going to take care of her "right" - that I wouldnt be a good mom. You know how they always say, "Your maternal instincts will kick in as soon as your baby is born."? Well, I think it's safe to say that they really did. As soon as I met her, there was an instant comfort. It felt super natural to be around her, to feed her, to hold her, etc. She's a part of me, mine. I think I've said this before but I'll say it again - I honestly feel like I was meant to be a mom, especially now. It just feels so right. Having her feels like it was what Tony and I were meant to do. She means everything to me. I have never in my life experienced a love like this. I know it almost sounds cliche because I'm sure all moms say this; however, I'm just stating how I feel. I'm already so protective; I cant imagine anything bad ever happening to her - it's way too hard to think about so I just dont. But whenever she cries or makes a sad face, I feel so bad! There's nothing even really wrong (she's just hungry or needs a diaper change) and that takes a quick fix and it's all better. But it's like something way worse happened and her sad expressions cut straight to the core. It's crazy. Frankly, I feel I've been pretty laid back over all (I thought I was going to have a lot of anxiety) and even though I'm protective and I have a fierce love for her, I'm laid back in letting people hold her or have Tony take care of her while I take a shower or something. I seriously thought I wasnt going to be able to take my eyes off of her for fear something was going to happen while I wasnt looking, but it's not that way. She's my everything but I'm thinking about things in a positive light instead of focusing on any negative things that could happen. It's just not the way to live. I know things happen and any moment your life could change forever, but now that I have a child, I just want to live in the moment and enjoy all the special times together, as if nothing bad could ever happen. I noticed that I was worried to take her in the car the first few times because I couldnt stand the thought of something happening to her, even accidentally. But I'm training myself not to think that way because it will take up my thoughts and not allow me to enjoy life with her. So I'm not going to sit all day cooped up in the house because "things could happen." Granted, I'm still going to be aware of my surroundings, be protective of her, and use common sense (I want to be the best mother I can possibly be!!!) but I'm going to really try to not be so high strung. 

I'm also working on my OCD with neatness and organization..... I have a kid now and I realize there will be messes. I've been doing a lot better than what I used to be like but I still need to work on just letting things go. 

This weekend we will be getting some newborn photos taken. Tony has taken a few but we wanted to include us in a few and it's super hard to set the timer with a newborn. She will be 2 weeks old when we take them, which is pushing it, but I want to preserve her newborn-ness. It's super important to me. I want to make sure that we dont miss important things in her life, whether they are pictures, events, appointments, or firsts, because they will pass us by so quickly and we can never get those times back.

Things are still going good - she's up for longer periods at night now so I'm more tired, but she's so precious that I dont mind. She goes to the bathroom and I think it's adorable. I mean, come on. As for nursing, I was so nervous about it before I had her. The idea of it honestly always kind of freaked me out. I know it's a natural thing, but still. Well it turned out to be great and we're doing just fine with it. However, she sometimes is just a silly girl and takes forever to get started. She makes the faces and then basically just opens and closes her mouth without really going for it. She kind of looks at me out of the corner of her eye with what I believe to be a slight smirk on her face, until she finally gives in. So we have to wait that out before she finally eats haha. And she's super strong too! She lifts her head all the time, especially if I'm holding her head up to my head - she pushes back so she can look at me :)

Members from my church have also started to bring us some meals and so we're grateful for that! 

Tony is working at both jobs today so he wont be home until after 9 PM :( We miss daddy, that's for sure!

She & He, A - Z

I saw this on Kayde's blog:

{ d }

 Age: 23

Bedsize: King

Chores that you hate: Dishes, garbage, & litter box

Dogs: Love them (that's why I'm a pet sitter!)

Essential start to your day: Sleeping in (ha!) or a peppermint mocha

Favorite color: Red

Gold or Silver: Silver (or white gold)

Height: 5' 4"

Instruments you play: I've played the piano and clarinet back in the day

Job title: Stay at home mom and pet sitter

Kids: Anistynn Grace

Lives: Fairview, Oregon

Mother’s Name: Tanna (Cheryl = step mom)

Nicknames: Dennis and Danielley

Overnight hospital stays: Birth of my daughter (4 nights)

Pet peeves: Cocky people, people who stop and stand in the middle of the aisles at stores, people who state their opinions as facts

Quote from a movie or tv show: Anything from Friends, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, or How I Met Your Mother

Right or Lefty: Righty

Siblings: Tera, Erik, Karissa, Travis, Josh, and Lia

Time you wake up: Depends but lately it's every couple of hours - whatever baby girl wants that night!

Underwear: I have an obsession with it

Vegetable you hate: Brussel Sprouts. Cliche? Yes.

What makes you run late: Sleeping. Long showers. Baby. Husband.

X-Rays You’ve Had: Teeth

Yummy food you make: Chicken enchiladas and any desserts (I love to bake!)

Zoo Animal: Giraffes (duh) 

{ t }

Age: 24

Bedsize: King

Chores that you hate: Laundry because I suck at it

Dogs: They're okay sometimes

Essential start to your day: Waking up

Favorite color: Black

Gold or Silver: Gold

Height: 5’ 9"

Instruments you play: None

Job title: Warehouse Manager, photographer, and dad

Kids: Yes - finally have one!

Lives: With 2 beautiful girls

Mother’s Name: Aimee (Irina = step mom)

Nicknames: Toners, Bear, Tonuts, Tone Tone

Overnight hospital stays: 6

Pet peeves: Costco

Quote from a movie or tv show: "It will be legend- wait for it... And I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is dairy!" - Barney Stinson from HIMYM

Right or Lefty: Right

Siblings: 6

Time you wake up: 4:30 AM

Underwear: I need more

Vegetable you hate: Lima Beans

What makes you run late: Danielle (as she gasps loudly at this statement)

X-Rays You’ve Had: Wrist, finger, and teeth

Yummy food you make: Grilling hamburgers, steaks, and hot dogs

Zoo Animal: Tiger 

<3 <3 <3

Church Outing

Anistynn went to church for the first time today at 9 days old :) As was expected, all of Lia's friends were fawning over her, oohing and ahhing at her every move. Of course, she was loved by all. She was great, too. Slept all the way through church and then continued to do so while being passed around. We took some family photos too so I'll post those once my dad puts them up. Oh, and I had my first coffee in 9 months - mmmm peppermint mocha from Starbucks. I LOVE fall / winter! We even went to Costco after church and she still, well, slept like a baby, the whole time. We got to shop and eat and she didnt wake up until we got home. 

We tried to do a newborn photo shoot tonight (Tony was going to take the pictures) but she got really fussy when we took her clothes off (as she usually does) so he could only get a few snapshots in. We'll have to try again soon, sometime in the morning as that's when she sleeps the most and is quite peaceful. You could put her in any position and she'll continue to sleep haha. So stay tuned for those!

Tony goes back to work tomorrow =( I'm sad because I've really enjoyed getting to spend time together as a family unit, but alas, the real world calls and bills need to be paid. Luckily his hours are good: 6 AM - 4 PM, so he can be home for dinner and bed time rituals. Plus, I feel good about being home alone with her because 1) she's awesome and 2) I'm feeling better physically than I thought I would (see my previous post). I was all worried about being alone with her and healing before I had her but since having her and getting to know her, my maternal instincts have seriously kicked in and I'm super comfortable with and around her. So it's no biggie and I relish being able to stay home with my little girl instead of having to put her in a daycare or something. As long as we can afford to have me stay home, that's definitely what we will do!

Here's Anistynn before we took off for church:

And here's her currently, all ready for bed in her cute sleep sack:

<3

Recovery?

I have to say I never thought I would be doing so much right after having a C - Section. I was seriously picturing being in bed or shuffling around my house for weeks, trying to recover and heal. From what I'd see on tv, women were always told to take it super easy and that recovery was longer and more painful. I seem to be doing pretty well, although it's not all roses. I do have pretty bad pain but it's usually controlled by my pain meds - however, after it's been a certain amount of time, I either wake up or suddenly feel a lot of pain where my incision is. It seems to drag my body down and I have to kind of hunch over in a way when I walk. There's also sleeping - it actually hurts more to lay down then stand up or sit and it sucks getting in and out of bed, especially to feed baby girl. It's a slight discomfort when I sit down and when I get up from sitting, but once I'm sitting it's not too bad. I'm not supposed to lift anything more than 10 pounds (and mainly just baby) so I've been sticking to that, although it's hard. I'm not supposed to do housework unless it's minimal. This is hard for me to refrain from too. I definitely cant bend over and pick something up off the ground. To sum up, yes, my lower midsection is sore and will still take some time to heal completely (approximately 6 weeks). But as for my activity level, well, Tony and I have been out and about every day since coming home from the hospital. We have been running errands, going shopping, and last night we went up to my parent's house. We've also been doing a little more on our apartment (working on the nursery and installing some different lights in the kitchen, among other small things). All while taking care of baby girl. My feet have become a little swollen, so I think I need to chill for a bit. I think I'm on my feet a little too much right off the get go. And so far, I havent slept at all during the day - no naps. so I should probably start doing that. I'm sure I will once Tony goes back to work on Monday. I think I was just trying to spend as much time together as a family as we could while he had some time off. 

Anistynn is great. She fusses very rarely and only when she's getting changed or is super hungry. She does great in her car seat and riding around in the car. She is just lovely while walking around the store (we went to IKEA today!!) and at home she is just super cute, all sleeping and eating and pooping. Yes, that's right - my child's poop is cute. What can I say? I'm a proud mother :)

Tomorrow's agenda? Church!

One Week!

Anistynn is one week old today. I cant believe a week has already gone by! It's definitely true when people say that time goes so fast once your baby is here. Wow. It's also my original due date. If she hadnt been born via C - Section, we'd be anticipating her arrival any day now. Crazy. But that whole situation has come and passed us. I cant believe I already went through everything; the pregnancy, the build up those last couple of weeks, the surgery, the baby, the hospital stay... and now we have a one week old and I'm in the recovery process. Again, wow. 

I've now switched over from my weekly pregnancy updates from Babycenter to weekly baby updates, so here is my update for this week.

Today we had a couple visitors: my mom came over and so did my friend, Abby, who I havent seen in forever (well, I ran into her at Target randomly a few weeks ago, but before that it had been years). Abby is due in October and she's having a little girl too. Abby and I used to be best friends in elementary school and it's so great that our kids will be so close in age. Yay for play dates! Tony and I also went and had dinner at my parent's house tonight. It was Anistynn's first trip up to grandma and grandpa's house! We watched a movie after dinner and Anistynn and I ended up falling asleep together on the couch. Here are a couple pictures from tonight:

<3

Yet Another Reason Why My Husband Is Amazing

Today we took Anistynn to her pediatrician. 

Fun Fact: Dr. Norman Eki was also my pediatrician when I was a baby all the way until I was about 12!

It was mostly just intake so we filled out paperwork and got her registered into the system. Dr. Eki checked her all out and said she looks great and really healthy. It makes me feel so good to hear that. Anistynn did fairly well although she started crying near the end when she didnt have anything on and they were checking everything out. As I mentioned before, she seems to be modest and when she's getting her diapers changed or her clothes changed, she fusses a bit. I just wanted to reach out, grab her, and hold her when she started crying, even though nothing was wrong and the doctor was just doing his job. No shots or anything, but goodness, I wanted to just take her back in my arms! I can already tell I'm going to be the mom who winces when her baby gets shots or anything else. But anyway, Dr. Eki said she looked really alert and her weight was good, so nursing has been doing it's job apparently. Oh, when they placed Anistynn on her tummy, she started to push so hard with her legs and arms and it looked like she was about ready to crawl away right then and there! Yet another reason why I think that she will accomplish things early and be motivated to do things and get places. Just like how she figured out that she has to place her hand over her pacifier to keep it in her mouth if it starts to fall out while she's sucking on it :)

After her appointment, Tony and I actually went to The Children's Place (a cute little store) and got a Christmas outfit for baby girl. It's soooo adorable and I cant wait to put it on her and take Christmas photos! Plus, I just love the feeling of fall and winter and all the holidays that come with it. I am so excited to celebrate this year with our sweet girl. What a wonderful gift to have! 

So we went to the doctor, the store, Safeway, and Subway (I had my first sandwich in 9 months - I didnt eat any deli meats or have any coffee during my whole pregnancy - so that was on my to do list) and Anistynn was amazing. She was so quiet; no fussing whatsoever. She was awake part of the time, asleep the other, and just sucked contentedly on her pacifier. She was adorable. We got to test out the stroller too and it was awesome. We have one of those travel systems, so the car seat attaches to the stroller and then when she outgrows her car seat, she can just sit in the stroller normally. I think I might have been out for too long though because I started to really hurt and we had to go back home so that I could take some more pain meds. My stomach started to kill so we had to get back before I completely put too much strain on my incision, lower back, and legs / feet. But we had a good day.

Now on to the amazing husband part :) Tony sold his motorcycle today to help with baby girl's needs (among other other things). I had no idea he was going to do that. I love the motorcycle so I'm a little sad, but honestly, we havent used it much and now that we're going into winter, we probably wont use it until at least Spring, maybe Summer. But I know it meant a lot to him and he put a lot of work into it. But he said he wanted to make sure we could do some things with Anistynn that we might not have been able to do for a while. Basically he wanted extra money for bills, our family, and Anistynn's savings account that we have set up for her. As much as I loved the motorcycle and was sad to see it go, I have such respect for Tony for doing that. He told me that it used to be his baby but now he has his own baby and that's more important and will always come first. He said we can always get another one sometime in the future but for now, he wants to focus on Anistynn and be there for her. 

I love him so much! He is just a sweet guy. Plain and simple. And he's a wonderful daddy.

Anistynn's Arrival

It's the blog you've all been waiting for...

Anistynn Grace Hermesman: A Birth Story 

Waking up the morning of September 16, 2011, I was a mix of emotions. I was so excited to finally meet my child, the being that had been growing inside of me for the last 9 months. Having children was always my main goal in life, my dream. In order to fulfill that dream, I needed to meet my Mr. Perfect. He couldnt be just anybody - he had to be perfect for me. Once that happened, having children with the man that I loved would just be the obvious next step. Needless to say, I found him, became best friends with him, dated him, married him, lived with him....and then we found out the amazing news: I was pregnant! This whole journey has been a roller coaster of emotions, feelings, and experiences. It started out rough for me, with almost 14 weeks of straight sickness. We're talking staying-in-bed-except-to-hunch-over-the-toilet-heaving-all-day-long type of sickness. I could hardly move, eat, or sleep. I couldnt even focus on watching tv or reading for too long. I just had to basically lay there and try to focus on not throwing up. Becoming pregnant also marked the first time I would start going to the doctor on a monthly (and in the final trimester, weekly) basis. I have never been a person who has spent much time at the doctor's office or the hospital. Not to mention, I have anxiety over it, so it took a bit of strength from me to overcome those feelings and go to my appointments. My body changing was another big thing. Granted, I didnt officially gain any weight until my 18th week (probably in part because I was so sick for so long), but once I started to change shape and things really started happening, it was a crazy thing to get used to. I havent ever really fluctuated in weight (maybe go between gaining and losing about 5 pounds here and there through my adult life but nothing crazy). I had to get used to so many things, but after hearing my baby's heartbeat and seeing her on the ultrasounds, it made it more real, and therefore what was happening to me came far after what was going on with her. I went to my appointments despite my fears to make sure everything was going as was supposed to with her. I accepted my changing body (although, I am still human and would occasionally make comments) because I was carrying something precious. My looks were not nearly as important as the human life I was creating. And the sickness, well I kind of just had to deal with that and I dealt with it as best as I could. I had a pretty healthy pregnancy all around so I am one of the lucky ones and I am thankful for that. The only real complication was baby girl being in the breech position. So when I woke up last Friday morning, I was anxious, nervous, scared, and excited. 

* Anxious = cant wait to meet her. 

* Nervous = hoping everything would be fine with baby girl and with me through the whole process. 

* Scared = first surgery and recovery process ever in my life. 

* Excited = finally becoming a mother!

I woke up around 9 AM. I had been up throughout the night though, tossing and turning. But I wanted to try to take it easy and just remain as calm as I could the morning of her birth. Tony called in to the hospital to make sure everything was still good to go for noon. It was. I logged on to my computer and wrote Anistynn a letter on my blog (you can read that here). It calmed me down and reminded me of why I was about to have surgery. I took a shower and made sure my hospital bag had everything I needed (and then some). The house was clean and organized. I had the diaper bag with baby stuff ready to go. The car seat was installed in the car. We were ready to leave to go to the hospital where our lives would be changed forever in just a few short hours. We arrived at the hospital at 11:30 AM. My cousin, Rosey, was waiting for us and soon my mom, dad, and sisters, Karissa and Lia, met up with us. I signed a few papers and they led me to a "waiting room." I changed into a hospital gown, gave the typical urine sample, and got into bed. The nurse came in and strapped the monitors to my tummy to listen to baby's heartbeat. It was still going strong. We then discussed donating my cord blood, which I ended up doing. It required taking 6 extra tubes of blood from me along with another sample that I had to give before surgery anyway. Then they would take the blood from the placenta after they delivered it. (Quick note: when we got home there was a message on our machine saying that my donation was really strong and they had already banked it! So I feel good that I did it). So the nurse took my blood samples and inserted my IV. During this time, we turned on the tv because we were just waiting around. Friends happened to be on (back to back episodes, no less) and I knew it was a sign. I had always said that I wanted to watch Friends while in labor but since plans changed and I couldnt watch it while having the surgery, it was pretty ironic that it happened to be on right before going in :) The labor and delivery unit happened to have a lot going on that day and they were pretty busy so I didnt go in to surgery until about 3 PM. Up until then, the doctor who would be performing it, the nurses who would be in there, my doctor who had done all my prenatal care, and the anesthesiologist all came in and told me exactly what was going to happen. They were all really nice and made me feel pretty comfortable. They all had great senses of humor too. After all that, I was finally led down the hall to get the process going. Everything went fairly fast after that. They dropped Tony off in a room to get scrubbed up and they led me to the operating room. I put on the little hat and sat on the table. I had to drink this nasty stuff (which, by the way, was the only thing I'd had all day - no food or drink, even water, since midnight) to coat my insides for the medicine. Then the anesthesiologist prepared my back and gave me a spinal block (not an epidural). I felt a little pinch and a quick burning sensation for about 15 seconds and it was over. It took all of 30 seconds before I started to feel a tingling in my legs. The nurse helped me put up my legs on the table and I laid down. Before I knew it, everything from chest down went numb. It was completely surreal - it was such an intense weird feeling to not be able to move anything! They put the oxygen tube in my nose and then did some tests to see if I could feel anything. He sprayed a cold spray up and down my sides and asked when I could feel it. I couldnt feel it until my armpits. They raised the curtain so it was just me laying out there on the able for the world to see (about 7 - 8 people were in the room) with only my head and arms above the curtain (and they were the only things that I could move and feel). Sadly, I started to feel really nauseous and I threw up. I kind of always thought I would; no matter what kind of labor or delivery I went through, I assumed I would just be one of those people who did. It was the suckiest feeling ever because I was numb and couldnt feel crap. I couldnt control anything so I had to basically lay there and hope I didnt choke. But they had me turn my head to the side and they were all really good about putting medicine in my IV and it subsided within a minute or two. Right after that, Tony was escorted in and I heard, "Here's your hand to hold," before they just went to town. I couldnt feel anything but I could feel them moving me around, like my body shaking. It took about 5 minutes and then there was some pressure and we heard a cry. It was the most beautiful sound! The first thing out of my doctor's mouth was, "What a cute baby - oh my goodness!" and then somebody else said, "Happy birthday!" The very next thing was my doctor telling the nurses to take him over to the table. Him?! I asked if it was a girl or a boy and she said, "Oh my gosh! I dont know why I said that - it's a girl! I'm sorry!" Hahahaha. I thought it was a pretty ironic slip up considering all I had been wondering about. But alas, she was indeed a girl and a beauty at that! Tony went over to see her and they swaddled her up in no time flat and he brought her over to me to see. I was blown away. I couldnt believe that she had just come out of me. It was love at first sight. Boom, just like that. I had never experienced something so strong before in all my life. The medicine wouldnt let me cry though so I was this weird teary eyed oddball just putting my face close to my daughter. My daughter! Crazy. Tony just looked absolutely smitten. We were both so entranced that I wasnt really paying attention to them sewing me back up and everything. Sooner than I thought, they were done and said I had done a great job. They told me everything looked absolutely great. 

They got me all ready to go and transferred me to a bed. They placed baby in my arms and we went down to a recovery room. I was completely out of it. All of a sudden, I got super drowsy and my eyes were opening and closing, but I couldnt stop staring at my precious baby girl. It was just me, Tony, and the 2 nurses in the private room and we just spent about an hour being together. Tony was calling everyone in his family and some in mine while I just held Anistynn. I was on such a high and yet so tired at the same time. We tried nursing but she was too tired so we just spent time skin to skin. 

At 6 PM I was wheeled to my room in the Mother Baby Unit, where my family was waiting. They all came out in the hall before I could even be wheeled in and my mom started crying. It was crazy that I had a baby in my arms! Tony picked Anistynn up and they stayed out in the hall while they got me all set up in my room. They transferred me to another bed and got me all situated. My dad had his camera out (of course) and was snapping all kinds of pics. I basically just took it easy the rest of the night (although I had another throwing up episode and man, did that kill. It hurt my incision so bad!) and the family just fawned all over her. I was on a liquid only diet for the rest of the day so ice chips was my only source of intake the whole day. The night was good and I was out for most of it, except when nursing - which she was still so tired so there wasnt much of it. But that's completely normal. 

The next day I was able to take my IV out and become unhooked from everything. I had pain meds which really helped control my discomfort. And I could eat regular food! I ordered a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and pears for my first meal. Over the course of 3 days, I basically just recovered - I got up and walked around, i took a shower, I ate regular food, etc. It hurt to get in and out of bed with my incision and I could feel my uterus contracting back down, but other than that, it wasnt horrible. Besides recovering, I just spent time with Tony and our new baby. Anistynn is so amazing. She is such a good baby, you wouldnt believe. I could sit and stare at her all day. I really could. I was told I could go home on Monday because I was healing so nicely and both I and Anistynn were looking great, but Tony had to run some errands on Monday so we decided to stay one more night just so I wouldnt be home alone. Anistynn was the talk of the floor. The nurses couldnt believe how calm and chill she was. She hardly fussed except when getting her diaper or clothes changed. She likes to be covered, swaddled, or held and doesnt really like to be exposed. Just like in her ultrasound with her closed little legs - she is so modest :) She didnt fuss or cry when she got her shots, when she had her footprints done, or when she had her bath. Nurses actually brought in other nurses to show them our baby. They were commenting on how beautiful she was and how they hadnt seen a baby so laid back in such a long time, if ever. I was one proud mama. How could I not be?? Nursing was slow to pick up but eventually she caught on and it's going just fine now. The nurses were all great and took care of us very well. Everyone that came by was really informative and efficient. I was very pleased - OHSU was a great place to have a baby. Even though nurses were in and out, Tony and I were really just taking care of Anistynn ourselves and it was great. She seems to be awake slightly more at night, which resembles her during pregnancy when she would be doing acrobatics all through the night ;) But she's really good and hardly fusses. Anistynn also passed everything - she has perfect hearing and got all 9's on her APGAR test. She doesnt have any diseases, has great weight, no jaundice, and is just pretty dang healthy in general. We are so blessed.

We had lots of visitors and my whole family actually came up at one time so there was quite a full room. The nurse said she'd never seen so many visitors for one baby before! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to see her, Tony, and I and for anyone that brought us beautiful flowers and gifts. It was much appreciated!

We went home on Tuesday. Anistynn did great in her car seat on the way home. She's doing fine at home as well and last night (our first night all together alone) was great. 

I also need to give a shout out to Tony who has been absolutely amazing. He was with me the whole time during surgery and he has immediately fallen into dad mode. I'm so proud to see him with her and she has yet to know how lucky she is to have him as a dad. He has been great. He's basically taking care of me and her. He helps me in and out of bed (because man, that really sucks), he brings her to me so I can feed her, he checks on her whenever she makes a sound through the night (she is in a bassinet at the end of our bed), he changes her diapers, he burps her, he just holds her and loves on her all the time. He's really proud and excited. We cant stop talking about how sweet she is and how it almost feels like this was our purpose in life: to have her. She is amazing and she really brings us together. I'm sure there will be hard times in the future, like everyone encounters, but so far, I feel this has brought us so much closer together and has proven us a good team, instead of something that is stressing us out and making us tense, like I've seen with some couples. I'm so glad for that. It has always been my dream to be a mom and Tony made that possible for me so I'm eternally grateful for that. Anistynn is a blessing for sure. 

So I think I've rambled on long enough, but there is one simple point from all of this:

We are so in love and could not be more thankful for our precious baby girl. We are very proud parents!

Pitcha Pitcha

We got to go home today!

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Happy Birthday, Uncle Erik!

Today was my brother's birthday and he came by to visit his new niece! Happy birthday, Erik! A bunch of other family members came out too since they were going to a birthday dinner later :)

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Pictures Are Always Nice While One Is Recovering...

Since I have to be in the hospital for a few days, I thought I'd just share some pics for my posts on the days that I'm here and then hopefully I'll be able to do a better update once I get home! But for now....

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