Saturday, February 27, 2010

Welcome Baby Lyla!

So Monday, February 22nd, came and went without any baby coming. Because Cole had arrived 2 1/2 weeks early, I was now getting anxious for little Lyla to be here too. I had random contractions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but nothing steady or timeable. That is what was getting annoying. My Aunt had been given some caster oil by a friend of hers that swears by it after having 10 kids. I was feeling so exhausted Thursday that I thought for sure the contractions would start. When they hadn't by about two in the afternoon, I told my aunt to go ahead and make me a Caster Oil Smoothie. Believe it or not it was really quite tasty (good job Auntie B!) and then I sat and waited. It took a few hours before I realized I was quite bloated but nothing else.

At 7:30pm Cole and I left their house to go home and put him to bed. (Side note, we are switching him to one nap because he has been fighting the second nap so much, so he was having a bad evening as this was the first day doing so.) Well, I started a contraction right as we were leaving and then had 2 more on the way home which is only a few minutes. I thought they would slow down but they didn't and each one was strong. I had 2 or 3 more putting Cole to bed and then realized that they were about 3 to 5 minutes apart, strong, going on for about 30 minutes and not slowing down. Oops! Better call dad, auntie to come stay with Cole, and mom and dad to go ahead and start driving here from Austin. By the time Rick got home from work about 15 minutes after I called the contractions were definitely 3 minutes apart and about 1 minute long. I just kept walking around the house as it was the only way I could get through them they were so strong.

So long story short, Lyla was born at 10:37pm, 3 hours after my first contraction and only one contraction of pushing!!! She was 7lbs 3oz and 20 inches long. The nurse said I probably could have just pushed about the time I got the epidural. I wish she had just said that - I didn't care how the contractions stopped, I just didn't want to feel any more. Still, I love epidurals. The relief after having such intense pain is almost better than when you see your little baby. I will say that it was MUCH more bearable standing up through contractions. Laying down or sitting about kills me and I can barely make it through one. I had tried standing when I had Cole but my legs kept giving out on me. Not sure why that didn't happen this time. Rick was such a trooper - he supported me standing even though that meant he was hunched over. Poor man had such an achy back that evening. I love him for it though!

Lyla looks very similar to her big brother. She is a strong one who moves her head around a lot and she loves to be spoken to. She is a really good eater which means she goes a longer time in between feedings. I love that because that means more sleep for mommy! Lets hope this keeps up! We are leaving the hospital this morning but going to see the doctor tomorrow at some point so they can test her biliruben count again. We are doing all we can to avoid jaundice this go around. She is already showing some in her face but her levels are low enough that any action besides feedings and sunlight isn't needed.

Cole came to the hospital yesterday and did really well with Lyla. He knows the sign for baby and just kept pointing at her and signing baby. He tried to poke her eye out (that's a good sign - he loves the eyes and always tries to touch them on people or animals he is interested in). He even gave her a kiss and held her for a minute. He'll be a good big brother. Well, he did get jealous when he saw me cuddling her to calm her down. That may take a few days (or weeks) to get over.

So that's the update for now! I'll post pictures and more when we get home later!

5 comments:

  1. Hooray and congratulations!!! Finn tried to poke Maya's eyes for months after she was born. Good thing he's given that up :) Can't wait to see pics! I was thinking about you and Lyla today, so I was excited to see her arrival post! Hope you get some rest. Order The Miracle Blanket. It's amazing!

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  2. Aww so glad Cole loves his baby!! I am glad it was a quick labor for you too!! YAY!! Can't wait to see more pics, and to come see you in person when things calm down a bit!! love you!

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  3. Congrats.....so, was she early or late? I used castor oil on my 3rd that evening before bed and woke up a few hours in labor.

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  4. Congrats!! So fun to hear that Baby Lyla is here. Get rest while you can - can't wait to see some pictures!

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  5. awwww.... so sweet! You have two!! You are going to be very busy but Cole won't know life without her and when they get older, they will play together and be best friends. She is such a cutie-pie! :)

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