Miss Stella was born on May 20. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 6 oz and measured 19 inches long. She has a full head of dark hair, big eyes, chubby cheeks, and the most perfect little lips I've ever laid eyes on.
Stella proved to be a drama queen right from the start, with a 24 hour labor followed by an emergency c-section. I attempted to labor without an epidural so I could move around to help the dilation process along. I was fine for the first 12 hours, despite the horrible back labor (yes, back labor is the absolute worst.)
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| Popsicles got me through long, strong contractions. Obviously not in a contraction, here! |
Eventually, the pain started radiating up my back, and down my legs - it honest to God felt like someone broke my back. I eventually started crying and holding my breath from pain, and deiced an epidural was absolutely necessary. About 20 hours after labor began, I was almost completely dilated, with a tiny portion of my anterior cervix left. Stella's head was also not in the correct position for delivery. My contractions really started to slow down, and, unfortunately, I was given a small amount of Pitocin to try and pick the contractions back up and help her turn her body position for delivery. It worked for the first 20 minutes, but again, the contractions started to cease. I guess after 24 hours, my uterus just tuckered out. Hence, the c-section.
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| Right before surgery |
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| Welcome, Stella Rose! |
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| Our first family picture |
Recovery has been a bit of a process, but it is all 110% worth it, no doubt about that. Luckily, my surgeon was exceptional. While in the hospital, Stella lost approximately 10% of her body weight, dropping from 7 lbs, 6 oz, to 6 lbs, 11 oz. Mom and Dad chose to breastfeed from the beginning, and it was a rough road getting started, hence the weight loss. I ended up leaving the hospital having to wear a shield with Bryce holding a syringe with 20 mL of formula for supplementation, attached to a tiny NG tube that was placed inside the shield to provide extra calories for Ms. Stella to gain weight. What.a.mess. Then, after every feeding (which hurt like heck), I had to turn around and pump for at least 15 minutes to help my milk come in. I wish I could say I was joking. The feeding process took approximately one hour, then I had to wash pump parts, and prepare to feed Stella again in a couple hours. It makes me tired just thinking about our time at the hospital. Then there was also the blue incident, where two times in one afternoon, Stella had begun coughing/gagging and turned a little blue/purple. Talk about terrifying, especially for a brand-new, first time momma. She ended up spending a couple hours in the NICU for observation.
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| Drema, Pappy and Nonna sure look bright-eyed for 4:00am |
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| Stella already has Daddy wrapped around her pinky |
Phew! What story. Now we are at home, adjusting to our new life as a family of four (we can't forget about Stella's puppy brother, Ozzie!) And even though it is exhausting and a total time-suck, it is wonderful.
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| Going home! |
I've decided that I will continue to update the blog in order to share Stella's story so her family and friends can watch her grow. I hope you enjoy the next chapter of our story as much as I am excited to share it!
