Motherhood

Let's begin with a sad story...I had to take my wedding rings off around week 30 because my feet began to swell to max capacity and I was worried my fingers might swell also. I've been pining to put them back on since I had the baby . I've tried 4 or 5 times with no luck. On Saturday I decided I would lotion up my hands and slip them on, no big deal! THEY GOT STUCK! I got them on with no problem but once they were on my finger started to swell. I have three wedding bands (as seen in the photo above) and I guess they were a little much for my post pregnancy ring finger. I started freaking out and Steve suggested I relax and let my finger adjust. So we went out for a few hours and came home with my finger just as swollen as when we'd left. We tried everything!!! It hurt really bad so we eventually had to go to a local jeweler and get them cut off! I felt so stupid! I just wanted to wear my wedding rings again and because I did they're now desecrated! Sad day! We'll get them repaired in a few weeks time and this will just be a story for the ages, but for now we're kind of upset about it!

I've had a few thoughts about being a Mom recently that I thought I would share. I've been reflecting on what I was prepared for and what I've had to adjust to. I was fully prepared for the recovery. I knew it would be rough and I knew it wouldn't be too much fun. I was not prepared for the panic of wanting to take care of my baby, but instead having to take care of myself! I was fully prepared for the overwhelming love that comes with having your own child. I was not prepared for the overwhelming worry! I've always felt worrying doesn't help a person get anywhere so I've tried to make better use of my time. Now that I'm a mom I'll suddenly have a thought pop into my head that my baby might not be breathing! I worry about her future and everything else under the sun. When she was born I was fully prepared to loose sleep! I was not prepared to have the best baby in the world! She sleeps a solid 6-8 hours every night. I love watching my sweet husband love and adore her. We are absolutely smitten and are loving each minute we have with our baby. Claire is a piece of heaven!

Claire Alise Bonney

Well, here we go! The long post trying to explain the events and feelings surrounding the most incredible day of my life. We went to our doctor's appointment for week 39 on Monday and I was still dialated to 1.5 cm and almost 100% effaced. The doctor scheduled us for our induction date (one week after the due date) and assured us the baby would most likely be here within the week. We left a little skeptical and depressed, knowing Steven was back to school on her due date and wishing we could get time with her before that happened. I refused to be upset or disappointed any longer so I decided to pack my week with plans! A special shout-out to my Mom and my friend Jill for keeping me busy!
Tuesday night I went to bed feeling normal and woke up Wednesday morning around 2:30 a.m. with some heavy contractions. They started off slow but progressively got closer together. I woke Steven up around 3:30 a.m. and we began keeping track of the time apart. Around 5:30 the contractions were 5 minutes apart so we decided to get up and get ready to go to the hospital. We took our time, hoping I'd keep progressing enough that we wouldn't be sent home. We checked into the hospital around 8:00 and was sent to Triage where my AMAZING nurse Traci said I was dialated to a 4+!!! I was so happy!
We got sent to our delivery room and met with the doctor who sent in the anesthesiologist. I got my epidural minutes later and my mom showed up to wait with us. I was about a 7 around 10:00 and the doctor broke my water around 11:30. There was some merconium in the fluid so we were prepared with extra nurses at delivery time. I was given a little bit of pitocin to keep things moving and it made me shakey. We waited around a little longer and began pushing at 2:00. I pushed for about an hour and forty-five minutes then the doctor came in. He watched me push once and decided an episiotomy was a good idea. With my next set of pushes I had brought a baby girl into the world.
She was swept onto my stomach and I got to see her sweet face. I was so overcome with emotion I cried and cried. She was then handed to the nurses and they intibated her trying to get all the fluid she swallowed out of her lungs. They got two viles of yucky fluid from her after trying for a good 30-45 minutes.
I was really pleased with my epidural experience. The doctor was great, and I was still able to maintain some control. I was more numb on my right side than my left so I could tell when I was having a contraction because of a small tugging/pinching on my left side. As I was pushing I could feel the pressure which helped me feel more in control. The only downside was the epidural was wearing off as I was getting stitched up. It was incredibly painful and an experience I honestly wasn't expecting.
Steven was an amazing partner through the whole thing. He was by my side and watched his baby come into the world. She was born at 3: 50 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. and measuring 21.25 inches. It was an incredible experience, one I'm not ready to repeat for a while!
I'm so thankful for a healthy baby and a great delivery experience. Thanks for your love and support. Enjoy the pictures of our beautiful baby girl! Since she is so cute we've decided to go private with the blog so send me your emails if you would like to keep reading..