My baby girl

So here's the story:

I arrived at the hospital having contractions- oops, I thought they were Braxton-Hicks.

Dose of Pitocin and water break: 8:30am
Contractions intensify: 9:00am-11:00am
Popsicle snack: 11:15am
Epidural turned down: 11:30am
Contraction from H-E-L-L: 11:40
Begging 'Superman' to stick me with epidural: 11:45
Epidural in effect, blood pressure drops, baby heart rate drops: Noon
Worry, fear, fear, worry: 12:30-1:30
Stabilized and passed out from exhaustion: 1:30-2:30
Woken up to check dilation: 2:30 (8cm)
Complete: 3:00
'Practice' pushes: 3-3:30
Nurses yell: STOP PUSHING, THE DOCTOR'S NOT HERE!: 3:35
Doctor comes in, sees the head, rushes into his gear, I push once: 3:40pm
Madly in love with my daughter: The rest of my life

The end

Now the fun part!









Name: Andromeda Nyte Barber 'Andie Bar'
Weight: 8lbs, 8oz.
Length: 20.5in

The first week home was an emotional roller coaster. There is no other way to put it. When my baby latched on to nurse, it felt like I was being bitten. It hurt so bad! I see why people don't nurse. I almost gave it up until I discovered the beautiful breast-pump. My breast-pump, Gloria, has saved my life. She is my new best friend. The pain subsided very early on and now nursing is a no-brainer. I feel fortunate that it only took about a week to get the hang of it.

At night, the wake-ups were only HALF of the discomfort, it was the constant worry that added to the exhaustion. I had the bassinet as close to the bed as humanly possible and kept checking to see if she was breathing. If she so much as coughed I would cry- I was terrified of something happening to her. I also cried every time I looked at her or Weldon. I cried for no reason at all and I cried for many different reasons. I cried, cried, and cried.

The sleeplessnes is physically painful and crippling. There have been many nights where I have gotten pooped, peed and barfed on at the same time. My only thought is: get the baby clean and get back to sleep. Yes, I have slept in baby poop with a smile on my face. My husband and I have beautiful, 800 thread-count sheets, that are now stained with baby poop. It's the best design in the world. That's what babies do to you.

My mother-in-law came and spent the four snow days with us. That literally saved my life. She cooked us meals and took Andie in the night. I would be dead if it weren't for her help. Literally. I actually had to go to the hospital and get checked out because I felt horrible. It turns out I was dehydrated because I actually forgot to eat or drink anything for 24 hours. Coupled with the nursing I was in bad shape. Luckily I was able to turn it around before my health got really bad. The snow days were a wonderful time of bonding with my mother-in-law and I'm grateful for them.

During the day we sleep, eat, and poop. She hardly ever cries- she has a 'hungry' chant and that's all the hint I need to feed her. After that, she has a poopie grunt and I instantly get it off of her; she hates being dirty. She cries really hard if she barfs out of her nose and mouth at the same time. I imagine that it burns just like it does adults. That whole thing about letting them cry to exercise their lungs: we don't do it. When Andie cries we know something is wrong or she is uncomfortable, not being bratty about a feeding. It's reassuring and has helped my nerves a lot.


One night, Andie woke up whining and I tried to feed her. Nothing. She wouldn't nurse. Something told me to check her diaper and sure enough she was poopie. As soon as I finished changing her, she whined for milk, and latched right on. My little diva will not nurse unless her diaper is clean. She's hilarious.

Her navel fell off and she has an inny. She can now have wet baths, which are absolutely adorable and fun. She seems to enjoy being bathed, so I take my time so she can feel soothed by the warm water. That's another thing: I can't rush anymore. It takes me forever to change her diaper. Something has slowed me down, which I needed anyway. I was too ungraceful and fast for no reason before. The only drawback is that I get pooped or peed on more than I would if I were a little quicker. Maybe once I get more sleep I will speed up again. We'll see.

One more thing: my cat, Alex, is doing amazing. He never had to be redirected from Andie's things. He totally gets what's going on and respects the boundaries. The mammal in him is helping the situation.

Motherhood is a beautiful experience. The love and concern I have for her breaks my heart because she is so helpless yet so precious. The joy I have feels like too much. I imagine that all mommies feel this way so it is just a rite of passage when bringing another life into the world. Overall, I am having the best time of my life and Andie is the best thing that has ever happened to our little family of three.

Enjoy the pics of our 3-week old daughter.

Until next time...