Dalling: August 2012

It was great to have Tessa on Saturday because David was able to be home without taking time off. We were able to leave the hospital Sunday afternoon. My Mom took the kids to church and then cooked dinner for us. It was so comforting to be home and have dinner on the table I almost cried.

As soon as Tessa came home she was heavily handled by her adoring siblings. It was a bit overwhelming at first. We expected Rhett to be all over her, but not the older two. They have been so sweet and loving. "Can I hold her now," was all I heard this week. David and my Mom really helped me keep it together. They knew when I needed a break from the herd during feedings or when I needed to rest. I am so thankful for their support.

It is crazy how big Rhett looks to us now. He is no longer our baby. He struggled a bit at first with me being occupied with Tessa. My Mom tried to help him and he would cry, "No I want my Mom to do it." He sure loves his sister though. He giggles anytime he is around her.

We are so grateful Tessa is healthy and well. She has added so much love to our family already. As parents we feel so blessed to be able to take care of her. She is so beautiful.

First bath, there were a few moments without tears.

Tessa likes Rhett's tricks

Claire gave Tessa the bear she had as a baby.

Rhett is pouting because he wanted to hold her first.

Birth Story

Friday night I started my usual evening bout of contractions. Everyone went to bed, but I stayed up this time. Normally I am the first one to bed. When I did lay down I didn't feel the baby moving around like I normally did at night. I got nervous so I woke up David at about 1:00am. We decided to go to the hospital to be on the safe side. The drive was heplful, the bumps on the road must have woke her up. I started to feel her move again. I also started to have regular contractions. We went back home to wait and see if they got stronger. At 3:00am I decided they were painful enough to go to the hospital. I did not want to get sent home again.

When we got there they put me in a triage room to decide if they were going to admit me. I was dilated to a 5 when we got there. The nurse was not very attentive or friendly, we didn't even get a hello my name is…. After an hour of very painful contractions we called her in wondering why I WAS STILL WAITING THERE. I had told her how bad the contractions were and that I would really like an epidermal. I was even having the feeling that I needed to push. She simply walked out of the room and did not come back for another hour when we called her again. By this point we were really frustrated and we should have asked for a new nurse. She told me they would admit me and got me in a gown. Really it took that long to decide! She finally put an IV in and told me I could not get an epidural until it was drained. I looked at that thing in horror. David tried to convince me it would go fast, but I looked at those tiny drops dripping and cried.When I was wheeled into the delivery room I told the midwife right away that I wanted an epidural. She said they were waiting for lab tests. Then a nurse came in to ask me family history questions and all that jazz during all the crazy pain. Seriously isn't this why we preregistered? She left and we waited some more, alone once again. David went into the hallway looking for the anesthesiologist assistant. David said he was just sitting at the desk. He asked me a bunch of questions too and then left. By the time the anesthesiologist came in I was a 9 and a half. She tried to give the epidural to me but I couldn't not push at this point so they decided I was going without it. I was in complete shock. I would have been one thing if I had planned on it, but the whole ordeal was stressful and scary. I will say that without the epidural the contractions did most of the work for me and she came very fast. The midwife that delivered me and all of the nurses had just come on duty and they just told me to push. With all of those complete strangers looking at me and my shaking body I was a mess. It was such a relief to have my baby there with me. She had a good cry and looked healthy. The bad dream was over.

The next set of nurses were so sweet and kept her in the room with us the whole time. We watched her get a bath and lay in warm light. We took a peaceful nap with her sleeping beside us.

The hospital was very full and I was very thankful to get my own room. David walked by the other rooms and he couldn't believe how loud they were.

In the late afternoon the kids and Grandma came to visit us. We were all very excited. Tessa stayed awake the whole time and didn't fuss while her siblings adored on her.

The night was uneventful other than the nurse came in at midnight and took the baby out for a routine exam. She woke me up and it startled me a bit. She did warn me earlier that evening, but I was in a deep sleep. I was overjoyed the next afternoon when we got to leave the hospital. No more poking at Tessa and waking her up over and over again. David was my hero while we were at the hospital. He refilled my water a hundred times and he woke up in the middle of the night to rock Tessa back to sleep for me. David and I didn't decide on a name until we got home. We had a hard time letting go of one of the two names we had. He thought I should make the final decision, when I finally made one, he said well maybe she should be the other name!

The first few days were tiring, but we had a lot of sweet moments with our baby girl. We were happy just to cuddle with her. She makes us laugh with all of her cute expressions. She is so sweet and we are in love with her.

Meeting our girl for the first time. I was happy to see the brown hair I asked for!

We were up all night for the delivery, I could not have done it without David, he really calmed me down and tried to make me as comfortable as possible.