Day one

It’s surprisingly easy so far. This baby seems content in the hospital bassinet and will stay there for hours, sleeping or resting. She may not be feeding quite enough, due to all that sleeping, but when she does feed, she seems to have plenty of suction power.

I got out of labor with one second degree tear and some minor lacerations. It’s still painful to move around, but as long as I’m in bed, I feel fine except for a slight headache and fatigue. Despite a sleeping pill, I didn’t get much sleep last night, partially due to racing thoughts, partially the annoying sound of the IV, and partially the frequent disruptions.

Overall though, I’m in much, much better shape than last time around. I’m not puffy, I’m in good spirits, I came in a good ten pounds lighter than when I delivered last, I avoided an episiotomy, it was shorter, it didn’t hurt as much, I had 11 ounces less baby to push out and the doctor seemed truly committed to doing what he could to minimize pain. I am grateful for all the above. Also, we had kind friends who came over and spent the night with River and Mark’s parents will be there soon. Mark has now gone back to greet them and to help River choose flowers and a gift for his new sister. This evening I’ll have the pleasure of seeing my two children meet for the very first time.

I called her an it the whole time she was inside me, but as soon as she emerged she became my daughter. Mark, on the other hand, keeps accidentally calling her a he. I am very grateful for her and feel very lucky. I never finished my statistics exam (I have the last few questions to look forward to in the coming days or weeks) and I never got around to my nesting projects. She came on a weekend, which is not ideal in terms of getting the best hospital care. But she came on the day the doctor I trusted most was on call, she gave me some helpful warning signs of her arrival, allowing me to get things in order, she probably saved me some pain by coming out before surpassing 8 or more pounds and so far, she’s easy enough to care for. I don’t recall making much use of reading material and Facebook last time I was in the hospital. This time I feel like I have hours of precious quiet time to myself. We are blessed with a wonderful holiday gift.