Here's an extreme close-up of Josephine's face. As you can see, she is very curious but can also burst into a fit in a matter of seconds. You can't see it in the video but she is looking at the Christmas tree behind me. Also, if you listen close enough, you can hear Seinfeld in the background. ;)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Swing, Swing, Swing
Josie loves her new swing! This gives us a new way to get her to sleep... which is nice.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Josie... Meet Humphrey
In this video, Humphrey felt a little left out and decided to hog some of the camera time. We now have well-documented footage that Josie and her furry brother will get along just fine together.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A Baby Story
Caroline and Josie on Josie's due dateDecember 2, 2009
Caroline and Josie on Josie's birthdayNovember 21, 2009
I thought it would be appropriate for me to do my first post-baby blog on my actual due date (up until now, Ryan has been keeping up with the blog for me). I was originally due today, December 2...but Josie decided to come early on November 21, so she is now 11 DAYS OLD! I can barely believe it!
In honor of today being my due date, I would like to share Josie's birth story with you:
Warning: there are birth details in this story so read at your own risk :)
The evening of Friday November 20 was like any other Friday evening for me and Ryan since we have been expecting. We went to Northfield to go out to dinner and a movie. We ate BBQ for dinner, but I decided I was too tired for the 9pm movie so we decided to call it an early night. Good thing we did!
I woke up at 5:30am on Saturday and was laying in bed when my water broke. I was surprised because I was told that this does not happen to most women until they get to the hospital. It was a small but noticeable amount of water so I told Ryan and we decided to call the midwife. I was not having contractions, so she recommended that I eat, sleep or shower. They would need to see me by 5:30pm if contractions had not yet started.
I decided to make some oatmeal and lay back down in bed. Ryan and I watched tv, and then he decided it was finally (FINALLY) time to install that car seat. I took a shower and then we met up downstairs to watch the UNC-CH and Ohio State football games. By that time, small contractions had started but I was timing them myself so they weren't so bad. I sat on the birthing ball, and Ryan started making note of when they started and how long they lasted. The midwives wanted us to come in when they were 4 minutes apart lasting for 1 minute each for 1 hour. My contractions increased, and I needed to change positions frequently. Humphrey didn't know what to think, so he sat next to me and whimpered...trying to make me feel better.
My contractions were steadily 5 minutes apart, but they were not lasting for a minute yet. The intensity was increasing and I definitely felt pressure on my tail bone. Sitting was no longer comfortable, even on the birth ball, so I stood and swayed while leaning on the sofa back or the kitchen island counter. By this time it was between 11am and noon. I had been having contractions since about 8am. The contractions started causing some burning in my thighs, so I decided to do some contractions in the bathroom so I could "sit on the throne." This was definitely more comfortable, but the contractions hit their highest intensity and I had some other strong signs that it was time to go to the hospital...even though I had not hit the 4-1-1 mark that the midwives told me to look for.
Ryan called the midwife, and she said we could come in but she was pushing with someone else...so she could just check me if I felt I needed it. I did, so off we went.
Once we were out the door, I had a contraction on the patio, 3 in the car during the 10 minute ride to the hospital, 1 in the hospital parking lot, 1 in the lobby, and 1 in the elevator. They were obviously coming very quickly now! I had totally skipped over 4-1-1. A nurse got me checked in to a labor and delivery room, and I had another contraction while I was changing into my gown. Ryan ran downstairs to get our bags from the car and made record time coming back. While he was gone, I asked the nurse for an epidural. She said "oh, I thought you were going natural," and I responded "I was but now I want the epidural." She said of course I could have one. She would start an IV and send the anesthesiologist in. In the meantime, she went to get Ann, the midwife on duty. After about 10 minutes of being in the hospital, Ann came in to check my progress. Low and behold...I was 10 cm dilated! Time to push! No time for an epidural...
When each contraction came, I pushed as hard as I could (sometimes it was harder than others...I got weak very fast). There was a lot of holding legs, heads, chin to chest, mirrors in places no mirror should be... After an hour of pushing, the baby's heart rate began dropping. She was in distress and needed to come out. The midwife told me that we had one more push, and then she would have to make a cut to get the baby out. I pushed SO HARD but the baby didn't quite make it out so I had to have a small episiotomy. I pushed one more time, and the baby came out...head, shoulders and body. She was blue but quickly turned red and cried. Hooray!
The midwife and nurse assured me everything was fine, but they had to check the baby's vitals quickly. Ryan cut the umbilical cord (although he wasn't sure if he wanted to) and I told him to go watch the baby while she was being checked. I began shivering and shaking uncontrollably...and sneezing to make matters worse! The nurses brought me warm blankets, which helped...but I continued to shake on and off for the next few hours. In the meantime, I had to work on another delivery...the placenta. After another 10 minutes of pushing, that was done. The baby was brought to me and finally we could bond. I could not believe I had only been in the hospital for 1 hour and now had my baby in my arms. What a surreal day!
I cannot describe the experience. It felt completely out of body. But today, on Josie's due date, I know it was all worth it for the little peanut that Ryan and I got to bring home! :)
In honor of today being my due date, I would like to share Josie's birth story with you:
Warning: there are birth details in this story so read at your own risk :)
The evening of Friday November 20 was like any other Friday evening for me and Ryan since we have been expecting. We went to Northfield to go out to dinner and a movie. We ate BBQ for dinner, but I decided I was too tired for the 9pm movie so we decided to call it an early night. Good thing we did!
I woke up at 5:30am on Saturday and was laying in bed when my water broke. I was surprised because I was told that this does not happen to most women until they get to the hospital. It was a small but noticeable amount of water so I told Ryan and we decided to call the midwife. I was not having contractions, so she recommended that I eat, sleep or shower. They would need to see me by 5:30pm if contractions had not yet started.
I decided to make some oatmeal and lay back down in bed. Ryan and I watched tv, and then he decided it was finally (FINALLY) time to install that car seat. I took a shower and then we met up downstairs to watch the UNC-CH and Ohio State football games. By that time, small contractions had started but I was timing them myself so they weren't so bad. I sat on the birthing ball, and Ryan started making note of when they started and how long they lasted. The midwives wanted us to come in when they were 4 minutes apart lasting for 1 minute each for 1 hour. My contractions increased, and I needed to change positions frequently. Humphrey didn't know what to think, so he sat next to me and whimpered...trying to make me feel better.
My contractions were steadily 5 minutes apart, but they were not lasting for a minute yet. The intensity was increasing and I definitely felt pressure on my tail bone. Sitting was no longer comfortable, even on the birth ball, so I stood and swayed while leaning on the sofa back or the kitchen island counter. By this time it was between 11am and noon. I had been having contractions since about 8am. The contractions started causing some burning in my thighs, so I decided to do some contractions in the bathroom so I could "sit on the throne." This was definitely more comfortable, but the contractions hit their highest intensity and I had some other strong signs that it was time to go to the hospital...even though I had not hit the 4-1-1 mark that the midwives told me to look for.
Ryan called the midwife, and she said we could come in but she was pushing with someone else...so she could just check me if I felt I needed it. I did, so off we went.
Once we were out the door, I had a contraction on the patio, 3 in the car during the 10 minute ride to the hospital, 1 in the hospital parking lot, 1 in the lobby, and 1 in the elevator. They were obviously coming very quickly now! I had totally skipped over 4-1-1. A nurse got me checked in to a labor and delivery room, and I had another contraction while I was changing into my gown. Ryan ran downstairs to get our bags from the car and made record time coming back. While he was gone, I asked the nurse for an epidural. She said "oh, I thought you were going natural," and I responded "I was but now I want the epidural." She said of course I could have one. She would start an IV and send the anesthesiologist in. In the meantime, she went to get Ann, the midwife on duty. After about 10 minutes of being in the hospital, Ann came in to check my progress. Low and behold...I was 10 cm dilated! Time to push! No time for an epidural...
When each contraction came, I pushed as hard as I could (sometimes it was harder than others...I got weak very fast). There was a lot of holding legs, heads, chin to chest, mirrors in places no mirror should be... After an hour of pushing, the baby's heart rate began dropping. She was in distress and needed to come out. The midwife told me that we had one more push, and then she would have to make a cut to get the baby out. I pushed SO HARD but the baby didn't quite make it out so I had to have a small episiotomy. I pushed one more time, and the baby came out...head, shoulders and body. She was blue but quickly turned red and cried. Hooray!
The midwife and nurse assured me everything was fine, but they had to check the baby's vitals quickly. Ryan cut the umbilical cord (although he wasn't sure if he wanted to) and I told him to go watch the baby while she was being checked. I began shivering and shaking uncontrollably...and sneezing to make matters worse! The nurses brought me warm blankets, which helped...but I continued to shake on and off for the next few hours. In the meantime, I had to work on another delivery...the placenta. After another 10 minutes of pushing, that was done. The baby was brought to me and finally we could bond. I could not believe I had only been in the hospital for 1 hour and now had my baby in my arms. What a surreal day!
I cannot describe the experience. It felt completely out of body. But today, on Josie's due date, I know it was all worth it for the little peanut that Ryan and I got to bring home! :)
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