Birth Story: After Birth

Yes, I do have pictures of the placenta.  No, I won't show them to you - because I like you and because I understand that I'm probably the only one who is fascinated by my innards.  So how about a baby picture instead?

The day after she was born - could you just melt?

As soon as she came out, I felt immediate relief.  The placenta came out about five minutes after and I felt so much lighter!  All the pressure was gone and it felt so good!

I was very interested in the placenta.

Drew?  Not so much.

Overall, it looked good but my doctor showed me where there were calcifications - signs of aging and deterioration, even though I was only 39 weeks.  I wondered if the clotting disorders had anything to do with that - if even then they were trying to shut things down.  It made me feel that much better that Sofia was in my arms, safe and sound and wide awake.

We got skin to skin contact for over an hour immediately after birth - I was hoping for a few minutes at most and I was prepared to fight anyone who would try to take her away from me, but no one did.  They even waited a good five minutes before putting the hat on her so I got to fill up with her baby-head-smell.  They even left her on my chest while the doctor stitched me up - I had a small vaginal tear but my perineum was intact!  Tearing was my second biggest fear and to come out intact?  I was ecstatic!

Because she was so alert, she started rooting right away.  She found my breast with minimal help and chomped down like nobody's business!  It hurt so bad but I was just glad that she appeared to know what she was doing.  I'm so proud to say that she is a breastfeeding champion and she's back to her birth weight at only 11 days!  Gah, I'm already the bragging mom - sorry about that.

We stayed in the delivery room for over an hour until they finally moved us to the post-partum room.  The nurses there had already heard about us - "We heard you were a trooper!  No epidural?!"  I was shocked - gossip travels fast I guess.

So - a word about that.  I wasn't trying to be a hero or a natural birth vigilante.  Even though I was ready to fight stand up for myself, it was purely for psychological reasons, not because I had something to prove.  I knew I wouldn't be able to mentally get past a needle in my spine and have any body part of mine being numb, Hypnobabies or not.  I have a thing about being able to feel my feet and I knew that if I couldn't I would fixate on that, my labor probably would have stalled and it probably would have gone south because I wouldn't have been able to get in the right headspace.  I know myself - I had to feel it all, that was the only way I was going to get through it. 

They took her for the tests and things while we got settled.  I was surprised at how sore I was. I genuinely thought that a vaginal delivery with no major tears would enable me to dance and sing right after birth.  Not so!  I was ridiculously swollen and unbelievably sore.  And guess what else?  I got a hemorrhoid from pushing!  You haven't lived until you're bent over in the mirror, ass up, trying to apply hemorrhoid cream.  Thankfully, it went away on its own but that definitely caught me by surprise.

We stayed in the hospital until Wednesday and I'm so glad we did.  I bombarded the nursery nurses with questions and I had two visits with the hospital lactation consultants.  I'd watched a ton of breastfeeding videos but every baby is different so you can't know how it will turn out until the baby is actually there.  Sofia has an amazingly strong suck reflex and vice-like jaws so those first couple of days were agony.  I also had a couple of home visits and I think we've worked out most of the kinks.  Nearly everyone remarked at how well she was doing and how alert she was - like they weren't used to seeing an epidural-free baby, which maybe they hadn't in a while, who knows?  I'm just glad she was healthy and here.

The day after she was born, the hospital photographer came in to take pictures.

Sofia, one day old

She came out with nails and got herself a couple of times, poor baby.

The proud uncle

I am forever indebted to my brother.  He caught everything on film and video - everything.  He was the only family member in the delivery room from start to finish.  We definitely didn't plan on it - after all, he is my baby brother and it was super intense, but once he was there, he just didn't leave.  He took all of these pictures and videos and I am so incredibly grateful to him.

He told me later that taking those pictures and witnessing his niece's birth was the most important thing he's ever done.  I'm so grateful to him and I'm so thankful he hung in there.  For not being prepared to witness his first birth, he did amazing.  He did have to leave the room a few times, but he always came back.  I'm so very very thankful to him.

Aaaaand, back to the baby

Sofia, two days old

Soon enough, it was time to go home.  I was thankful to have had the two days in the hospital but I was ready to leave.  Laying in bed for two days straight was almost as painful as trying to get up and around and if I was going to be in pain, I'd just as soon be in my own house.

First carseat ride - she wanted no part of it.

Thankfully, once the car started moving she calmed down pretty quickly.  Then I started crying.  

I'd just had a baby. 

And I was getting to take her home.  

She was mine - I did it and now I get to take her home.  I didn't stop crying the whole way home and walking up the steps with her was the most happily emotional moment of my life.

Coming home from Desiree on Vimeo.

Welcome home, Sofia.