The Details

I think that I mentioned previously that I decided to start my maternity leave on Friday even though I hadn't had Sophia yet. I was very excited to just relax and run errands on Friday, and Mom and I headed out pretty early to run around. We stopped at a few stores and then went to Home Depot to pick up some flowers to plant later in the day. While at Home Depot, I started having mild contractions. I thought it was more fake contractions so I didn't worry, but headed home just in case. By noon, our contractions were about 9 minutes apart and still fairly mild. We progressed pretty well at home until we were about 4-5 minutes apart, which was of course, around 5pm. I couldn't believe that we went into labor during the day, that we had to drive to the hospital during rush hour on a Friday, or that this was finally happening after all of the waiting!

We got to the hospital and into a room by 6:30. I was 6-7 cm dilated when we got there, which was exactly the same as I was when I got to the hospital with Hailey. We progressed pretty quickly although it felt like an eternity. The doctors and nurses were very patient and supportive. Everyone kept telling us how great we were doing, which was extremely comforting. By the time I was 9cm, I was ready to push and getting a bit impatient. I let the doctor break my water and within minutes, I was pushing. 12 minutes of pushing later, Sophia was born.

She had a big head full of brown hair and a lot of fluid (because she came out so quick). I got to hold her right away until the respiratory therapist came and cleared out her lungs for a while. She wanted to eat almost immediately. She nursed twice in the first few hours. She was starving!! The good news is that she's a good eater and a good sleeper (so far at least). I've already started giving her a pacifier because I just can't keep up with her. However, she's been known to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time.

Unfortunately, the next morning Luke woke up with a horrible case of food poisoning. It was very sad for him to miss any of Sophia's first day, but he was violently ill and mostly just rested. Hailey and the grandparents came in the morning to spend some time with Sophia and take Luke home. Hailey just giggled and giggled when she met Sophia for the first time. Then, she wanted to sit with Sophia in the Boppy. The Boppy was the most popular "toy," not sure why.

Anyway, Sophia is a little eatin', sleepin' angel. Mommy is feeling really great (much better than with Hailey). Pushing for 12 minutes really did make a huge difference in terms of my overall health. We're home now and each of the grandparents has had a chance to hold her. I'm going to try to rest for the next few days. I have doctor's orders not to lift anything over 10lbs (including Hailey) and not to climb the stairs more than 3-4 times a day for several weeks...several weeks!!!

Here are some pictures of Sophia.