Thursday, August 14, 2014

Rowan Eleanor

First few days with Lenny.


Well, let's see.
The first night with Rowan was a tough one.
I had been very short on sleep that I can say I've had no more than 3 hours of sleep.
She cried a lot the first night home.
Always hungry.
It wasn't until the second night that she actually got some sleep and we managed to get some sleep in too.
For a moment I thought she'd be one to cry all night long, but she's proven me wrong.
She'll wake up at night to eat but isn't much of a crier.
She loves opening her eyes and looking around the room.
Levia on the other hand, well she loved to sleep.
She wasn't much to look around.
Since the first night, everything has fallen into place.
There's one thing I am proud of.
Rowan is EBF!
Yes, we have not bought one can of formula.
I wish I was this determined with Levia.
But, I'm glad I still managed to breastfeed her until she was 6 months old.
Only this time, I plan to make it to one year.
I pray that I have the strength and energy to keep up breastfeeding.
Though I can admit it is hard, I have my stash of frozen breast milk piling up.
I'm proud of that, Rowan deserves the best.
 
















 

Welcoming Rowan Eleanor Luna

Well, I finally have a bit of time to update on what and how birthing my daughter went.
 
It didn't start off like  I thought it would.
In the end I am glad I did not have a C-section.
 
 
It all started the morning after I hit week 40 of my pregnancy.
We were all still laying in bed when I got this weird feeling in my stomach.
It almost felt like the baby had hiccupped, only I knew well that wasn't the baby.
I kept thinking what that was.
It wasn't until I decided to get up and go to the bathroom that I felt 2 watery gushes.
I knew well what that was, my water had broken.
Seeing a tint of pink from some blood gave me confirmation that I indeed had not peed in my underwear.
I propped open the door and told my husband "my water broke", his response was "you're kidding".
He actually thought I was messing around, until I told him that I was not planning on walking out of the bathroom in fear that I would get the amniotic fluid on our carpet.
It was then that we made the call to labor & delivery, they gave me the clear to grab my things and head straight over to the hospital.
Once there I had to wait to be checked and see if my water had broken, when the Dr. was able to confirm it they admitted me and sent me to my room.
There I stayed for a few hours where the Dr. came in every few hours to see how much I have dilated.
When we were admitted to our room it was around noon.
Few hours later I was two centimeters dilated.
Seeing that I was slowly progressing they administered Pitocin to speed up the processes.
By 6-7 o'clock I was around 4 centimeters.
They then prepped me to get my epidural, in which I felt so much better.
The contractions by then were getting very painful.
I know there would be no way on earth I could manage without meds.
Once 11 came around I was 9 centimeters dilated.
The nurses said they'd be back in about an hour to see how much I've progressed.
At this point the epidural was wearing out and I was feeling every single contraction.
They were so painful, like nothing I've ever experienced before.
Though, I couldn't feel anything below my waist these contractions were getting the best of me.
They didn't cause me to scream, but I can understand why some women lean towards doing that.
It was around 11:50 when the nurses came in and confirmed that I was at a 10 already.
Seeing that I had been in so much pain one of the nurses had called in the anesthesiologist to come in and administer more pain meds.
Only problem was he was busy, which was understandable.
At the same time, a group of nurses rushed in along with the Dr. and said "let's get you ready for labor, we're all here to cheer you on".  
I was scared, I had no idea if I could do this.
I was doubting myself so much.
When time came for me to start pushing I could not feel how hard I was pushing.
I thought that because I felt every single contraction at the end I would feel how hard I was pushing.
I pushed when I was told, again I wanted to give up.
I didn't know how hard I was pushing.
During the first two pushes I threw up.
Pushing and throwing up at the same time made things harder.
I felt like I was getting weaker and weaker.
Having a very supportive nurse along with another group of them on the side helping me and guiding me with encouragement kept me going.
Hearing my husband say "you can do it babe" gave me more strength to try harder.
When he said "I can see the head", I pushed even harder.
I wanted her out as fast as possible.
Finally, Baby Luna was born at 12:15am on the 10th.
They laid her on my stomach where I looked at her and touched her.
She was so beautiful!
It was then in which I realized once again that motherhood was really meant for me.
As baby was being cleaned up and I was being stitched up I was the happiest Mother in the world.
I had my two girls and nothing else in the world mattered.
They brought me my baby, where I held her for a bit and handed her off to her Father.
He held her and loved her just like he did with Levia when he became a Father for the first time.
At this time, I was still in so much pain from the pushing.
My stomach was sore, my shoulders were hurting, and I couldn't move since the Dr. was still stitching me up.
Once she was done, I finally was able to hold my daughter comfortably.
We just loved on her for the longest time.
When we finally decided to give nursing a try, baby latched on with no problem.
She and I both were loving it, she was finally eating and I was finally able to bond with my little one.
After, the nurses came in every 30 minutes to check on baby's vitals along with mine.
The worst thing I had to endure after was when they would press down on my stomach to see how much my uterus was contracting.
It was so painful.
Through out the night and the day all I did was nurse and try to walk as much as I could to ease the pain from sitting down too long.
Yes, it hurt but the more I walked the less I was hurting.
Once morning came and Levia was able to visit, it was the happiest moment of my life.
Seeing both my girls finally completed me.
I also forgot to mention, while I was having my contractions my husband came across Levia's stuffed animal. I almost broke down, Levia had never spent one night away from us.
That animal stayed by my side until the time came to push.
It felt like she was there in some way.
Well, back to where I was.
I finally got to see my little girl.
And she finally got to meet her little sister.
It was love at first sight for Levia.
From the start it was all about hugs and kisses.
And here we are one week later and she's still doing the same.
I could not have been blessed any more.
I'm one lucky mother!
When visiting hours was over and Levia had to go back home with my parents, a part of me felt sad.
I told my husband to accompany her, give her a bath, and get her clothes ready for the next day.
He said he'd only be gone 2 hours.
Well, he was gone all night.
I called, I texted, yet I got no reply.
I knew very well where he was at.
He was at home asleep.
That night, having to do everything on my own was hard.
I was still in pain, getting out of bed unassisted was even harder.
But I did it.
He showed up around 7 that morning, of course he apologized.
At this moment I was over it.
We had also been bugged about what and if we had named our daughter.
Both of us had agreed on Rowan, but her middle name was up in the air.
He knew very well that I have been wanting it to be Eleanor.
The fact that he left me alone all night made this decision easy.
He agreed and I agreed.
We would name our daughter Rowan Eleanor Luna.
I am loving her name so much.
Our daughters have very beautiful unique names.
It was the morning of the 11th and we were moved from our room that way they could accommodate another expecting mother.
Lets just say, we were not pleased.
We were moved to the noisiest room ever!
Construction was going on close by that we can hear everything and feel everything perfectly.
Levia finally showed up with my parents and it only got worse.
We had a baby who was getting startled and a little girl who'd cry from how frightened she was when construction was being done.
It was horrible.
At the same time, since we had been waiting to see if we'd be cleared to go home too my parents were making plans to go back home.
I wish that morning could have gone differently but I'm thankful that my parents were there to help us.
They took care of our daughter and were there to support me once again during labor.
When the nurses came in and cleared us we left the room and hospital as fast as we could.
We were ready to go home.
We were ready to bond.
We were ready to just relax.
 
Here are a few photos of our newest bundle
Rowan Eleanor Luna
12:15am
August 10
7.13pounds
 
To you Rowan, I promise to do my best when it comes to raising you.
To love you and be there whenever you need me.
I'll always do the best that I can and be the best Mother ever.
The type of Mother that you and Levia both deserve.
You both deserve the best.
Love you forever my princess,
Mama

 

















Thursday, August 7, 2014

40 Weeks

Well tomorrow officially marks week 40 of my pregnancy.
Though, I usually never update a day before hand, I am lucky enough to have the house to myself.
I have some family over anxiously waiting for baby to come, for now they're out by Destin enjoying the fireworks.
My husband, who took our daughter out to watch the Ninja Turtles movie has also given me time to just be here and relax.
It's so lonely here, but I'm glad everyone is enjoying themselves.
 
This past week has gone by too fast.
I can not believe my due date will here tomorrow.
And no baby to show for it, yet.
Fingers crossed she arrives soon.
I'm getting quite desperate here.
My C-section has been pushed to next Thursday, so that gives my body and baby time to arrive.
Though she's a bit comfy in my belly, I hope things start moving along soon.
 
This past week is still filled with heartburn, luckily it hasn't been as bad.
It comes here and there when I least expect it, but I've actually managed to get some rest.
I'm still working out and eating healthy foods, so far I have gained about 35 pounds.
To some that sounds like a lot, but I'm pretty petite and small that keeping some of that weight would be great.
I'd love to keep 10 pounds, maybe 15 if that's even possible.
Baby still has no name and it seems like the husband is in no hurry to find one.
I'm totally fine with that since I have a decent list to pick from.
For now, let's hope baby arrives within the next few days.
 
I'm looking forward to posting my birth story
and introduce Baby Luna to the world.
 
Here's to 40 weeks!
 








Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Fairy Princess

So last night we finally pulled out Levia's butterfly wings.
To my surprise she actually wanted me to put them on her.
She wore them and looked beautiful.
It was probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen her wear.
 
She's such a princess.
Today she allowed me to dress her up again.
 
Look at my little beauty.
 


 

Monday, August 4, 2014

39 Weeks

 Well, I'm finally able to write an update.
I'm currently 39 weeks and 4 days.
(Photos 39w3d)

I have been so busy with making sure we have everything ready for baby.
A lot of organizing, donating, cleaning, and buying last minute things for baby.
We are pretty much ready.
All we need is for baby to arrive.

Today, I had another appointment and it was a little disappointing.
Nothing is moving along.
Baby is still resting high and I have yet to dilate any.
I also had a C-section scheduled for this Friday if baby didn't arrive by then, but
I had a talk with the Dr. and had it pushed to next Thursday on the 14th.
I will be one day shy of 41 weeks if I even get that far.
I'm praying very hard for a healthy delivery.
A natural birth is what I'm anxiously looking forward to so lets hope this baby decides to make her appearance before the 14th.

This past week has been great. We've had amazing days at the beach, where we have managed to swim and soak up the sun.
Levia has really been loving the ocean water.
If baby doesn't come any time soon, I hope to have another amazing weekend with Levia.
She deserves to have to best time.

I am still working out.
I keep hoping that my workouts will help with labor and also to see if things start moving along.
Though things aren't going like I planned, I am staying on track.
I'm still watching what I eat, making sure I stay away from fatty foods.
It's hard but I'm proud of how well I've managed to stay fit during this whole pregnancy.
Let's hope I keep it up one more week and that baby comes by the time I write my next update.

Here's to week 39!