After weeks of little to no progress and other factors, my doctor scheduled me for an induction. Tim and I were like little kids before Christmas in the days leading up, nervous but so excited to meet our sweet baby girl. We were also quite busy trying to unpack and make the new apartment feel like home. We sold our house in January and moved into an apartment two weeks before Sofia was born. I even worked the day before she was born. I wanted to save every possible day for my maternity leave.
We left for Germantown Methodist Hospital at 5:15am on February 26th, 2010. It was a cool morning but I didn't really need a coat, you've got to love February in Memphis. Germantown Methodist opened a brand new part of their hospital two weeks earlier so we were among some of the first patients in the brand new wing. We were pre-registered so within a matter of minutes I was in a really nice room being hooked up to monitors and pitocin. I had mixed feelings about inducing and pitocin prior to birth but after hours of discussion and debating Tim and I decided to go with our doctor's recommendation and what we felt was right. I was already having mild contractions before the pit began but things sped up slowly with pitocin. Tim kept telling me to sleep but I was way too excited. Between contractions I spent the morning working on graduate school homework, playing cribbage and Carcassone with Tim, and watching some of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Tim spent a lot of time reviewing for Part I of his optometry board exams. He is also the kind of guy who can sleep anytime/anywhere so he definitely took advantage of the opportunity to get some rest.
I was still progressing very slowly around 1:30pm so my doctor broke my water. It was a strange feeling but it also really increased the intensity of my contractions (along with the pitocin). About an hour after my water was broken I had my epidural put in. I felt much more relaxed after that. Tim sent update emails to some of our friends and family every few hours so we were constantly receiving text messages and emails checking in on us. It was a little sad that we didn't have any family close enough to come to the hospital but God has blessed us with an amazing set of friends in Memphis. Two of those friends (who are practically family to us) are Sam and Lea Winston. I could write an entire blog post on our friendship with them. Sam and Lea were also extremely excited about Baby Ruder throughout the entire pregnancy and joined us around 5pm in the hospital to visit and check in and bring some dinner for Tim. We actually were able to play a few games of euchre before a nurse asked to check me. This was one of several checks throughout the day and things had been moving so slowly that I wasn't expecting much of a change. To our surprise, she said I was ready to go.
My doctor had been called away to another hospital for an emergency c-section so for the first hour we had the attending physician who was awesome. Germantown Methodist was an outstanding hospital to deliver in, all of the nurses, doctors and staff were so friendly and helpful. I started pushing around 7:30pm. After 2 hours of pushing, at exactly 9:38pm, Sofia was born and I heard the most beautiful, sweet, strong cry. She was immediately placed on my chest in what can only be described as the best moment of my life. I would say love at first sight but my love for her began long before the day she was born. I will never forget the first time our eyes met and we just stared at one another. Tim was right next to me sharing in this moment and in absolute awe of our daughter. The rest of the medical staff in the room seemed to disappear as the three of us just stared at each other and whispered sweet "I love yous". After about 5 minutes they took Sofia to weigh her and measure her. She was a very healthy baby weighing in at 8lbs 3oz and 20.75 inches long. I had two tears, one first degree and one second degree that needed to be stitched so Tim was able to hold his daughter for the first time and keep her close to me. Honestly this part was probably the most painful of the whole surgery, especially because I had to wait about 25 minutes to hold her again.
When everything with me was repaired I was able to try nursing Sofia. Nursing definitely was not easy at first but our nurse was so helpful and the next morning I was able to meet with a lactation consultant who really helped Sofia and I figure things out. Tim and I were moved to a recovery room and our friends Sam and Lea brought us dinner, it was now around midnight so the hospital cafeteria was closed as well as most restaurants but I hadn't eaten anything since 7pm the night before so I was starving. We had a really nice and big recovery room so Tim was actually able to sleep on a full bed. We had Sofia room in with us during our hospital stay, the only time she left us was for her bath and nursery evaluation. The first night was exhausting but beautiful. I was so tired after 13 hours of labor but I just couldn't take my eyes off of Sofia. I finally was able to rest for a few hours but I woke up every 2-3 hours to try to nurse Sofia. We spent Saturday trying to squeeze in a few naps while Sofia was napping but it's just so hard to sleep with a beautiful newborn in your arms to stare at. We also welcomed many friends who came to meet our sweet girl.
We took Sofia home Sunday afternoon. I can't even explain the feelings I had taking her home, I was so extremely protective of her, I still am but now but I'm a bit more reasonable :) The day we took her home I felt as if the roads should be cleared just so we could safely drive home with our precious bundle. I think part of the feeling also stems from my experiences with the horrible drivers of Memphis who have no regard for the speed limit and apparently aren't aware that most people use a turn signal when they are about to change lanes. Anyways, we arrived safely at home and settled in. For the next few weeks we welcome many friends and family in to meet Sofia. Many of our friends were amazing enough to make sure we had hot meals every day. Thanks especially to the Winstons! I'm sure this was more than anyone wanted to read but it's nice for me to reflect and remember this amazing day. Below are some pictures from the day.
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| Just a few minutes old. |
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| Our first family photo. |
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| Tim and Sofia with Dr. Carney |
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| Our sweet girl. |
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| Sofia and I spent a lot of time doing this for the first few months of her life. |
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| I am so proud and grateful to be Sofia's mother. |
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