1 Week Update

It really is hard to believe Leah is almost 1 week old and that everything with my pregnancy and her birth is complete!  We have been home for a few days now, trying to settle in to our new life as a family of 4.  Wow, family of 4- gotta get used to that!  :)

The first night home was really rough.  Bennett didn't sleep well, but that's nothing new.  I was up every couple of hours with Leah so I was exhausted and we were just trying to figure everything out.  I will say each night seems to get a bit easier.  My mind is getting used to the fact that I have to get up with a newborn every 2-3 hours again.  And my mom has been a huge help!  She stayed over the weekend and helped with cooking and cleaning and taking care of the babies.  I am so thankful for her and don't know how we would have managed without her.  She is a God send!!!

So, Bennett, how is he doing?  I think he's managing as good as he can.  He's 3 and his whole life has just been completely changed.  I haven't really been able to spend a lot of time with him because I'm tied up with nursing Leah around the clock, but Jason has been taking up a lot of time with him and keeping him busy.  I think he's doing well and in a couple of weeks he'll be transitioned to our new family.  He loves his sister, I know, but I'm sure he's having a hard time splitting Mommy and Daddy with her.  He'll go and get one of her toys and lay it in her bed and he even sang rock a bye baby to her yesterday, which completely melted my heart.  :)  He's going to be a great big brother, I just know it!

Leah is doing great!  She's a champion eater and picked up 3 ounces since leaving the hospital.  This is reassuring to Mommy, as I am nursing so it's hard to know if she's getting what she needs.  Breastfeeding has chosen to be yet another challenge this go round again, but it has already been 10 times easier with her than it was with Bennett, not that it was Bennett's fault- he showed us he was a champion eater after about 6 weeks.  :)  She latched on great right after her birth, but Mommy just has to get used to nursing again so we are on our way there!!  I had a hard day yesterday with it and wasn't sure it was going to work out, but with much prayer and constant support from a friend, today has been much better!!

Mommy is doing pretty good.  I've got to work through the guilt I feel for turning Bennett's life upside down right now, but I know that will get better with time.  And I miss my Bennett, I miss the time I had with just him and our routine we had, but I know that will get better with time as well.  I have 2 more weeks before I'm home alone with them both, so that scares me a little.  Hopefully by then I will be ready!  :)  Now we've got to find our little routine with the 3 of us once Daddy goes back to work.  I'm gonna be one busy Momma!  :)

We have certainly had our ups and downs this week, but life is good.  We are blessed with 2 wonderful children who are happy and healthy!  Couldn't ask for anything more than that!

Here are some pictures from her birth!

Getting started!!

We are ready to meet our Leah!!

My 2 wonderful delivery nurses!

Working through a contraction

She's here!!!

My favorite picture of the day- she is beautiful!

Daddy's little girl!

Relieved to have her here and healthy!

Pure love!

Leah Renee is Here!!!

It's still surreal to me that we now have 2 children.  Leah is an absolute blessing and we can't imagine our family without her now.  I can't believe she is finally here- all the doctor's appointments, nights full of indigestion, watching my belly grow and grow and grow more!  She is absolutely beautiful and so sweet.  With that being said, here is her birth story.

My last post was about the possibility of me having a C section with her.  The follow up doctor's appointment that next Monday went so much better and I left there with a sense of relief.  Dr. Skinner had no reason to think I wouldn't be able to have her naturally and that was the best news I could have received.  At that point I was 39 weeks and 5 days so she left it up to me to have an elective induction or to wait it out. We discussed our options and the pros and cons, and decided for the induction only because I didn't want her to get any bigger, she was already measuring 8 pounds 1 ounce.  The bigger she gets the less likely I would be able to have her naturally.  So everything was set up for Tuesday, July 23 at 7:30 am.  I was filled with mixed emotions and scared to death knowing labor was coming.  I went home and just enjoyed Bennett as much as possible, for that was the last night with just him, and I knew his life was changing forever in less than a day.  We also finished up a few last minute things around the house and made sure we were ready to go.

I woke up around 5:15, showered (because I knew it might be a while before I got another one) and tried to stay as calm as possible.  Bennett woke up early (around 6:00) but I was happy because I got to see him and spend some time with him before we left.  It was very hard leaving him that morning- excited to meet my new baby but sad to leave my other baby behind.  We met my mom, dad and brother at the hospital at 7:00 and walked up to Labor and Delivery.  At this point I was still scared and nervous about what was to come.  The 2 nurses, Maggie and Meghan, took us to room 22, a big and very nice room.  I changed into the hospital gown and they immediately got started on everything.  Started my IV and drew some blood.  At first they just gave me fluids and then around 8:00 they started the pitocin.  The contractions weren't too bad and everyone enjoyed watching them on the monitor.  At this point I could handle them and enjoyed the company and distraction by their conversations.  At 10:30, Dr. Gallery came in to check on me and to check my cervix.  I was 5 cm, half way there!!!!  He then decided to break my water.  That's when the contractions picked up and started to become more painful.  Right after he broke my water, the nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural.  I asked her if it was too soon to get one and she said no, so I decided to go ahead and get one.  Boy am I glad I decided then!  The anesthesiologist was pretty quick to respond and was there in probably 15 minutes.  I was very glad to have such sweet nurses and Meghan helped me through the epidural process- if you've never experienced that, it's tough to be getting a needle put in your back, going through contractions, and trying to stay still.  But we did it and about 15 minutes later I felt relief from the contractions but told the nurse I was having a lot of pressure, I could still feel the pressure.  So she decided to check me and all I heard was you're ready to have a baby!!  I was shocked and wasn't sure if I was completely ready for this- I wanted a nap and some rest.  :)  She had to call the doctor twice and tell him to come but I was already pushing with the nurses.  I felt like I wasn't pushing hard enough but did the best I could.  I had a lot of reassurance from Jason and Meghan that I was doing great, which helped me along.  The doctor arrived just in time for her birth and at 12:33 pm, Miss Leah Renee Hamm was born!  It was the most amazing thing and all I could think of was how much I loved my 2 children.  I got to hold her and Jason and I were just in awe.  She was so beautiful and we instantly loved her!  She weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long- she was perfect!!!

Our hospital stay was wonderful- all the nurses and doctors were so nice and helpful.  I was less emotional than Bennett's stay only because Leah wasn't in the NICU like he was.  I had a lot less stress to deal with this time around, and I'm thankful for that.  We stayed 2 nights and are now home adjusting to our new life.  It's still emotional, as I hope Bennett is ok and I'm able to spend time with him.  Most of my time is taken up with Leah and nursing, so guilt is starting to settle in.  Hopefully each day will get easier.  We are so blessed to have 2 healthy, beautiful children!!

My sweet Bennett

I am sitting in bed, the night before Leah enters out family, with mixed emotions. So excited to meet our new baby girl but also a little sad that you won't be the baby any longer. You will now be her big  brother that she looks up to- Someone that will protect her, teach her, love her and be her lifelong friend. You will be an awesome big brother and words can't express how much I love you. It seems like last week we just brought you into this world, and now you are three years old and about to meet your new baby sister. Your life will be changing tomorrow, just as ours will, and I can only hope you are as excited as we are for this new adventure. 

With tears in my eyes and all the love I have, you are my sweet precious Bennett. I will always love you and you will always be my baby!!

Mommy

39 weeks and waiting.....

Just a quick update on Miss Leah. Apparently she's not ready to enter the world, but her Mommy sure is. I've been having a lot of pelvic pain the last few weeks and the last week and a half have been the worst. But I'm trying to stay patient for her perfect arrival!!

We went to the doctor last Thursday, July 18, 39 weeks and 1 day. It was a little more of a complicated appointment. She measured me at 40 weeks, which isn't unusual since I've measured ahead the whole time, I was 3 to 4 centimeters dilated and she said Leah was still pretty high. We talked a bit about my blood pressure being up a little and then she mentioned that she thought Leah might be too big for me to deliver naturally (since I was dilated but she hadn't dropped) and thought the best option was a C-section. My heart sank.  I was a little shocked and didn't want to even hear that word. So she ordered an ultrasound to get an estimate of her weight. While I was ecstatic to see Leah again (and to confirm she is still a girl), I was just a little nervous. But, she measured 8 pounds 1 ounce, which to me isn't big at all. I mean, I was 8 pounds 5 ounces and Jason was 10 pounds 2 ounces. After the ultrasound we met back with the doctor and she left it in my court. I chose to wait and get checked again on Monday. Praying she has dropped and is ready!!!!