Three Weeks Old

Hi all! I am finally coming out of my delivery stupor a bit and wanted to share some of our story with you. It has been a rough few weeks just adjusting and getting used to this new little one, but things seem to be improving each day.

The Delivery Story...

After waiting for what seemed to be an endless amount of time (and an endless number of "You are still pregnant?!" questions), my doctor scheduled me to be induced 1 week after my due date. On June 30, Kevin and I drove to Overland Park Regional Medical Center to meet our baby. What a strange sensation to drive to a hospital feeling A-OK and ask them to admit me and put me through a day of pain! When we arrived at the hospital, we rode the elevator to the maternity section with a woman who was actually ready to be delivering her baby (you know, the whole heavy breathing and groaning in pain). Next to her I looked like I was pretending to be pregnant!

We were immediately shown to our room and I was told to change into the stylish hospital attire that I would be wearing for the next several days. Around 8:15 the nurses had me all hooked up to the monitors and IV's and my doctor arrived to check on me. Before he left he broke my water and told me he would be back in 4-5 hours. I should mention that when I arrived at the hospital I was already dilated to a 4 and by all accounts, we were expecting a relatively quick day.

Throughout the morning the nurses checked on me and upped my pitocin to increase the contractions. Until about 12:00, I was not having too hard of a time. My parents and grandparents were in the room just chatting and watching the monitors to tell me when I was contracting ( I was not feeling all of them). About this time, Kevin and I started playing cards. I won the first 2 hands and lost the last 3. Just that quickly, the pains became much more uncomfortable.

By 2:00, I was only dilated to a 6 and was in a lot of discomfort. At that point I asked for the epidural. Before we could catch our breath and realize what was going on, the anesthesiologist was there pumping me full of medicine. I did not respond to it very well and I gave the nurses a moment of a scare with my blood pressure dropping and heart rate increasing. It was a scary moment for Kevin and I too. Once things evened out and the medicine took effect, they left me to labor more.

After 3 hours of laboring under the epidural, my doctor checked on me again and found I was still only dilated to a 6. At this point he recommended a cesarean. I had walked into the hospital that morning really hoping not to end up that route, but after the day I had been through, I was ready to be done.

Around 5:10 the doctor recommended the C-Section and again things happened very fast. They suited Kevin up for the operating room and wheeled me away. Once there, they did their job quickly and our baby girl was born at 5:39 pm. Before entering the hospital, we had already decided on 3 names for the baby, we really thought we had a favorite too. But when Kevin saw the baby, he knew that she would be Avery Ann (which was one of the choices). He tried to ask me what I thought, but I was so drugged that I didn't have much response. I remember him asking, and I am very pleased with his choice, but I don't think I had much ability to disagree at that point.

Because of the cesarean, we were in the hospital for 4 days and I am glad for each day we were there. Recovering from major surgery is hard work! Kevin did an amazing job taking care of me and the baby all while sleeping on a tiny fold out chair.

On July 3, we were released and returned home to all the craziness that comes with figuring out a newborn.

So, here we are today. Avery is 3 weeks old and we are adjusting to being new parents. We have struggled with my crazy hormones, feeding Avery, and getting enough sleep, but even with all that she is a fantastic baby. She is so easy (so far), which we are terribly grateful for. I am starting to get out of the house and am crying less. Kevin has gone back to work and my mom still cooks us dinner and does our laundry. So, things are settling down a little bit and we are in a holding pattern until my parents leave at the end of the month and I get to figure out how to do this on my own while Kevin is at work each day.

I am so grateful to Kevin, my parents, and my grandparents who have made surviving this craziness possible. Thank you also to all of you who have sent up prayers on our behalf. Keep them coming! We are not seasoned veterans yet!

And just a warning, I am terribly slow about responding to e-mails at this point, but I would love to hear from you all.

Love, Tonya, Kevin and Avery :)