Our newest love!

We welcomed our baby daughter, Lilah Raine Cook, to the world on August 22, 2010!!! 

Since then, I have found that it is very difficult to blog with a newborn.  I sit down to start and then she wakes up hungry or just wants held and I am not good at typing one-handed.  And no offense, but I would much rather hold her all day than blog!  However, I would like to catch up so I can start keeping up.  She is already changing so fast, there is so much to write about!  I think I will go ahead and add her birth story here since I wrote it up and it is, after all, how she got here!  It's long, so skim as you'd like :)

My water broke Friday night, August 20, after eating eggplant, curb-walking, foot massages, etc. We'll never know what did it! We waited and waited for contractions to come and when they never did, we headed to the hospital Sunday morning. I knew that probably meant they would start pitocin to put me into labor, which scared me to death. I really wanted the least interventions possible and I was worried that it would be too much to handle.  Here we are about to head to the hospital... Do we look scared??

The midwife let us walk for a while at the hospital, but they finally started the pitocin about 2pm. I started feeling the contractions right away so we turned down the lights, turned on the music, and got ready! Plus my lovely friend Amber arrived right then, which turned out to be perfect timing. Here I am still feeling pretty optimistic...

Without saying anything, the nurse cranked the pitocin up and I started having heavy contractions right on top of each other. I couldn't even rest or breathe between them and it sucked! James and Amber were awesome encouraging me and rubbing my back, but when the nurse checked and I was only at 4 1/2 cm (I came in at 4 cm), I was so over it!

I told James and Amber I was going to swear, so they told the nurse and she came in and offered me something to take the edge off (Fentanyl). Right away I felt dizzy and drunk and I could still feel the contactions, but I didn't care as much. It was perfect! She also turned the pitocin down and eventually off and after my body took over instead of the stupid pitocin, I was able to focus and deal. James and Amber read me my positive birth affirmations, pushed on my back (til they were sore--sorry!), let me squeeze the life out of their hands, and did whatever I needed. I don't know what I would have done without them!!!

I started feeling urges to push, which was wierd because the last thing I heard I was at 4 1/2cm. But the midwife checked and said it was almost time to push and I was so excited! And scared!!! They set everything up and I got on my left side and she told me to push when I felt like it. Apparently I didn't know what I was doing, though, because the midwife kept telling me to quit whining and pushing with my face and fighting with my legs. It was so frustrating! I told her I didn't know what she was talking about. And it hurt!!! But I was so excited to see little girl, especially after James said she has lots of hair!

So finally her head came out and then the rest of her at 5:40 pm and James asked if we could wait to cut the cord (he's so awesome)! They laid her on me all fresh and new and perfect and I couldn't believe we had out little sweetheart! Actually, I asked if she was a girl cause I wanted to make sure and James confirmed it :) Then he cut the cord and they checked her and let me do skin-to-skin and tried breast-feeding her. She was more interested in looking around (bright eyes!) and it just felt so good to have her close to me and to be able to see her and take her in. It was so emotional and intense and I think James and I were in complete heaven.

They washed her and checked her and weighed her right in the room, which was awesome, cause they never had to take her away from us. The nurses kept saying she didn't look like a 41 1/2 week baby, which confirmed to us that we were right in waiting as long as we could to have her. She is so tiny and tall (like Daddy!) and perfect and sweet and beautiful and we can't stop looking at her. She's mellow and wide-eyed and just cries tiny cries when she's hungry. She's a good eater (all night long!) and pooper and just a sweetheart!

Ethie has been such a cute brother since we got home, bringing her toys and animals and helping me tons. I love that he's so independent and helpful!

James is the best husband and daddy and I am so amazed by him. He knew exactly what to do during labor and waited on me in the hospital and spoils me at home and I feel so blessed to have him! Plus he's just such a cute, loving daddy-o!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We are so thankful to have our Lilah with us and even though labor didn't go exactly as we had planned, we felt guided and accompanied through every decision and experience and so blessed in the end. We love our little Lilah!