It all started late Saturday night (Oct. 16th) with some twinges here and there. Everytime I woke up with a twinge, I would lay there waiting for something to happen, but nothing did until about 3:30 am. I woke up to a contraction and had several that were 7 min. apart. I woke Kacey up a little after 4am (I was determined that if I started having contractions in the wee hours of the morning I would let him sleep until they were 5 min. apart, but I just couldn't wait!). I did, however, let him know that he could go back to sleep, but that I just wanted to let him know...hahah, well of course he wouldn't think of going back to sleep and began a strict timing regiment. By 5:30am we decided to wake the Moms who were camped out in the living room. I kept having contractions, but they were somewhat sporadic so we weren't entirely sure for a little bit whether it was the real thing. By 8:30 they were consistently 5 min apart, at which point we called the doctor and were directed to come to the hospital. With much anticipation, we grabbed out bags (which had been packed for weeks!!) and headed out. I was sent to triage were it was determined that, yes, i was in labor and was dialated to 4cm. We were moved to a room a little after 10am and prepared for the long day ahead. To help labor progress and to ease the pain of the contractions, Kacey and I walked lap after lap around the floor....the nurses on duty thought we were a bit strange for walking so much, but we wanted to get that baby out! ONe of the worst parts of the whole ordeal was not being able to eat! I don't know which was worse...the contractions or the hunger pains! If it wasn't for the popsicles the hospital had for us, I don't think I would have made it.
Unfortunately, labor progressed very slow and at about 4pm, my doctor recommended breaking my water. I heartily agreed as I was reaching exhaustion and not making much progress. Thankfully, once my water broke, dialation increased rapidly and within an hour, I was fully dialated and begging to push. Contractions were much worse and only about 1min - 30 sec. apart. So, little after 5:00, i started pushing and little Sakora arrived at 6:08pm! What an amazing experience.... Quite painful, but so worth it. Kacey was amazing and even though he was so exhausted from sleep deprivation, hard back rubs (my labor was all in my back), and anticipation, he was incredibly supportive, encouraging, and my loving. I absolutely could not have done it without him.
After her grand entrance, Sakora put on quite the meconium show...she pooped 6 times!! Kacey changed those first diapers and is still much better at it than I am (which generally works to my advantage!). After the first night in the hospital, we were able to be released and gladly headed back home. The first week has been amazing...exhausting and wonderful all at the same time. She is so precious, we just want to gobble her up! She already holds her head up for short periods of time and pushes up with her legs. She is very good at holding fingers and seems to really like the water. Walking outside seems to be the fastest way to calm her if she is fussy, so it looks like she's daddy's girl already. We dipped her legs in today during her sponge bath (which she did NOT like....she hates being naked!) and she relaxed right away...probably bringing back warm memories of the womb :)
So the pictures are a little out of order, but enjoy....
My first meal after birth...Arby's roast beef, curly fries and chocolate frosty.
Grandma Betty snoozes with the little one.
Grandma Marla rocks the little burrito.
Daddy loves his little girl!!
The trees have changed beautifully to welcome Sakora into the world.
First stroller ride!
Our last date night. We went to Red Lobster (where we went for out first date) and ended up meeting a couple that also has infant children and we have been hanging out with them ever since!
In triage waiting for word that we were indeed in labor.
Who exactly delivered this baby??
Proud daddy!!
These 2 ducks are the only two at Adair Park and if you see one, you always see the other one with a few feet. They are inseperable. Hopefully this spring we see some ducklings!
I forgot I had this picture of Kacey covered in white after sanding the walls in the baby room. He looked like the abominable snowman!
Our wonderful neighbor Miss Debbie invites us to swing on her porch swing...This particular day were were all sporting our Tennessee colors for the football game.
Kacey took our pitiful mailbox down (it looked like it had been hit by a few large objects and was suffering from leprosy...) and cut/stained a new post. He also knocked out the large dings and repainted it. The man across the street was very concerned when our box was down for a few days, which is very interesting because the only thing we had previously know about him is that he drives a silver truck and always checks his mail several times a day, as if he has been waiting for something extremely important to arrive. After we put the new one up, he smiled at me for the first time ever! Haha... who knew a mailbox would be of such interest!
Kacey and I sit in our front porch enjoying the view of our "new" mailbox and the beautiful weather...
Although the weather has been just beautiful for the most part, we did have a of cold spell that lasted a few days. We had to load on the fleece blankets and borrow a few space heaters from our friendly neighbors.
A big part of our daily routine has been taking a long walk in the morning. We make our way to the end of our street and then to Adair Park. We have found some beautiful flowers and have been able to watch the trees start to change. I'll have to take and post some pictures of the trees now that the leaves are starting to turn! Marla has been great about taking the camera and has snapped these shots of our walks...
Marla sneaks into someone's garden to take some pictures of their flowers...
