Well, it has been almost 36 hours since Jace came into this world, and already I have gotten into trouble for not posting pictures yet. Now c’mon people…if I had her in the hospital I would not even be home yet. I’m not super woman. Well okay, maybe I am. I feel like it right now anyway. There’s nothing that makes you feel more amazing than giving birth. Especially to something so perfect. Here’s a quick sum up of the birth without too many boring details.
My water broke at 4:40 p.m. on Monday afternoon. I’ve never had my water break before I was in labor, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I called my midwife (Richelle) and she said that if I didn’t go in to labor in the next three hours then we could do some things to get it started. Around 5:30 labor started with the first hard contraction, and contractions followed about ten minutes apart. By 7:00 my contractions were lasting a full minute, and they were 4 minutes apart, so Richelle and her intern Kim headed over. My mom, my sister Debra, and my sister-in-law Jocelyn had all been invited to this birth also, so they headed over as well. My contractions continued at 4 minutes apart for the next 4 hours, getting progressively more painful. I had Richelle check me around 11:30, and I was only dilated to 5-6 cm. I was a little discouraged, but the contractions were SO painful at this point that after a few more I had her check me again, and I had moved to a 9. A few more hard contractions that made me ask for a C-section 🙂 and then I started pushing. I pushed through one, and then my second one everyone said they could see the baby’s head with dark hair. One more push and her head was out, her hand up by her face the way my first 4 came, and the cord around her neck. The cord was too tight for them to get off, so they told me to push through it, and one more contraction later Kim told me I had a baby girl! I was overjoyed to have a girl, and even more overjoyed to be DONE hurting. (Of course I wasn’t thinking about afterpains which are still killing me as I type this….) That’s the birth in a nutshell, everything went great (I can say that now that it’s done and the pain didn’t kill me) and our little girl is beautiful. Pictures don’t do her justice, it’s so hard to get good pictures of a newborn, but here are some of my favorites.
Jace Capri – one day old
She was 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20.5 inches long. The only chubby thing on her is her cheeks, the rest of her is long and skinny. This is within an hour or two of the birth.
One day old. Her face totally changes when she has her eyes open, which has not been very often yet.
Another moment caught with her eyes open this morning.
Perfect little body.
This is right after the birth. I’ve never had a baby come out so covered with gunk. And she didn’t look this fat, it’s the camera. My midwife told me not to bathe her, that the white stuff is really good for her skin. So we washed her hair that night, but she has yet to have her first bath. By morning, all the white had just soaked into her skin, and she was soft and smooth.
Kim on the left, and Richelle on the right, weighing Jace.
Richelle, me, Jace, and Kim – probably an hour or so after the birth.
She has long skinny fingers, her hands are actually really big.
And she also has big feet with long skinny toes.
The kids headed over to my next-door neighbor Jailyn’s house around 8:00 or so and had a sleepover in her living room. (She is the best). So, they found out they had a sister, and got to see her the first time around 7:00 tuesday morning. They love her!
Sienna spent the night at aunt Jayla’s and didn’t see the baby until about 3 p.m. the next day. She loves Jace, and gets her feelings hurt that she can’t pick her up whenever she wants. She is trying really hard to be soft with her, and gives her kisses all the time. I’ve been nervous about this, with her only being 13 months old, but I think after a little time, everything will be okay.
Jace Capri – one day old
She was 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20.5 inches long. The only chubby thing on her is her cheeks, the rest of her is long and skinny. This is within an hour or two of the birth.
One day old. Her face totally changes when she has her eyes open, which has not been very often yet.
Another moment caught with her eyes open this morning.
This is right after the birth. I’ve never had a baby come out so covered with gunk. And she didn’t look this fat, it’s the camera. My midwife told me not to bathe her, that the white stuff is really good for her skin. So we washed her hair that night, but she has yet to have her first bath. By morning, all the white had just soaked into her skin, and she was soft and smooth.
Kim on the left, and Richelle on the right, weighing Jace.
Richelle, me, Jace, and Kim – probably an hour or so after the birth.
She has long skinny fingers, her hands are actually really big.
And she also has big feet with long skinny toes.
Sienna spent the night at aunt Jayla’s and didn’t see the baby until about 3 p.m. the next day. She loves Jace, and gets her feelings hurt that she can’t pick her up whenever she wants. She is trying really hard to be soft with her, and gives her kisses all the time. I’ve been nervous about this, with her only being 13 months old, but I think after a little time, everything will be okay.