Nap when your baby's napping?

This is the piece of advice that I have heard my whole life, but lately I am beginning to wonder if it is suppose to be, "cry when your baby is crying." Now before my napping baby wakes up and tries to tell me that she's hungry, poopy, cold, or just going to cry for no reason, I thought I'd take a moment and share the first few weeks of Baylie's life with you.

Leaving the hospital was the most excited and scary time of my life. All of the way home Derek and I just kept saying, "This is really happening," "So we are parents," "why isn't she making noise?" "Drive slower." Okay so the drive slower cdomment was obviously me, but in my defense Derek kept turning around to make sure she was still breathing. So I am not the only protective parent:) We truly were flying by the seat of our pants but I will admit, we are doing a fine job!

We came home to a very clean house, curtiousy of my sister! My mom welcomed us with Chinese and kindly sat with me while Derek went to get my prescription filled. Our first night was sleepless but we were so excited I don't think we noticed for the first few nights.

Baylie was having trouble eating in the hospital and still hasn't taken to breast feeding so we had to resort to bottle feeding. This was a very hard decision to make, but after losing 10% of her birth weight, we really didn't have a choice. We are still working on breast feeding but she either just falls asleep or screams and cries until she can't even breath. I have never cried and prayed over something so much in my life. The up side is that I am pumping like a mad women and I am able to give her breast milk at every feeding. It is not the same and I will be sad if she never takes to the breast, but I am so thankful that I can at least give her the benefit of my milk.

Baylie had a hard time getting her days and nights figured out which caused some sleepless nights. Now we are getting between 6 and 8 hours of sleep total a night and we are very thankful for that. There are definately times when the only word to describe her is being a major "pill." There is nothing more frustrating then not being able to console your baby. I told Mindy today that I know my singing voice is terrible, but the fact that it is one of the only things that can quite my crying baby is such a beautiful thing!

All in all the first two weeks have been a tiring, extremely fun, and wonderful experience! Here are some things that Baylie has enjoyed doing so far:

~ At 5 days old she got to watch her daddy play 2 basketball games at the Hoop!

~ She celebrated her first Easter!

~ We took her to watch her first Salem Academy softball game

~ She loves tummy time on her jungle mat and can already scoot herself along

~ Auntie M and I took her on her first shopping trip to Keizer Station

~ She loves spending time with her daddy when he gets home from work

Baylie is awake now and currently sliding herself out of her papasan so I better go pick her up before she topples over!

Cramps, C-Section, and a Beautiful Baby Girl

There is no moment like the present to finally blog about the greatest event in my life. Right now, my beautiful baby girl is laying on her daddy's lap while he flips through his pile of Sports Illustrated magazines that have been piling up.

Thursday March 26 10:15 AM: I had my week 39 Dr.'s appointment and much to my dismay, I had made no progress. I wasn't expecting to dialte early, but I still had my fingers crossed. In the back of my mind I knew that I would probably end up being induced after my due date and that it would be a long few weeks to come.

Friday March 27 2:00 AM: I woke up with the worst cramps. I felt constipated:( The pains came and went randomly and I finally fell back to sleep within the hour and had little pain throughout the rest of the night. Around eight that morning my pains were close together but I thought I really just had to go potty. And I did . . . 12 times that day:) I had heard reaccuring "BM's" was a way your body prepares for labor, but i didn't think much of it. At noon, I went to Olive Garden for lunch with my MIL, SIL, and her mom from Iowa. Some pain throughout but not a big deal. A trip out to Willamette Valley Fruit Co. to see Derek is what did me in. The pain was worse and the "BM's" were gone. I called my mom and she informed me that I had been in labor all day:) Who knew? Definately not me. Call me ignorant but I thought contractions would feel different.

Saturday March 28 1:15AM: The pain is getting unbearable. Contractions are 3-5 minutes apart lasting 45 seconds to 1 minute. Derek calls the hospital, we grab our bags and are pretty sure they'll send us home. We inform our family to be on stand by, but assure them not to get too excited. The nurse asks me my pain level. I tell her a 5. (Not really knowing what to compare it to:) She checks me . . . I'm at 9 cm!! I quickly change my pain level to an 8:) I just didn't want to sound like a wuss at first. We call our family and they are there faster then the speed of light. Little do they know, it will be a long night ahead!

4:40AM: Still at 9 cm! And in ALOT of pain!! I tried to not have an epidural but it was unbearable. Especially when they told me it could be hours until I would push! So I took a shot in the back and spent the next three hours resting up for my eventful morning.

7:30AM: Time to push! The epidural was wearing off and I was very aware of when to push. My nurse was a tad annoying at this point and I think Derek was getting as tired as I was. To me time was flying by but Derek said it was the longest wait ever.

10:00 AM: Not making any progress, I am informed that I am going to need a C-section. I never invisioned this and thus I skipped over these sections in the books I read! Oddly enough, they kept telling me I was the most calm C-section patient they have ever had. Maybe it's because I never read about it before hand:) Derek put on his blue garb and I dawned a hair net. During the surgery Derek watched and just said he saw a lot of blood.

11:08 AM: It's a girl!! Our little Baylie Mykel was pulled from my stomach at 11:08 AM Saturday March 28, 2009! She weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. and is tall like her daddy at 21 inches long! Our lives are changed for ever!

Little Miss just woke up and I must tend to her! More on the first week at home to come!!