The let us take a baby home from the hospital

Shhhhh, I have finally had enough time to sneak away and write a blog about being a new mom! It only took 7 1/2 weeks. So, where do I start?

I know that every woman deserves praise for labor, and I am no exception. I'm pretty sure I should get more than just a participation trophy for mine. On Friday October 14 (34weeks 5 days pregnant) I got up from a nap and my water broke. I stood there for a second before calling Spencer upstairs. I was sure I had just peed myself. Yes, I was so pregnant I didn't know the difference. It took a solid 20 min and a call to the doctor to convince me that I needed to go into the hospital. Even still, I told Spencer there was no need to grab the overnight bags, because I was sure we'd be sent home (he was smart and brought the bags and the baby's car seat).

Once at the hospital the confirmed my water had broken and that I'd be admitted. Spencer and I let it sink in that we were having a baby. It didn't seem real though, because she wasn't exactly coming on her own. I spent that evening playing phase ten and watching TV with Spencer. The best part? I was hooked up to monitors and IVs, so every time I had to get up to go to the bathroom overnight (any woman who has had a baby knows you go a LOT at the end of pregnancy) Spencer had to unplug me and help me. At least one night he got to see how the last month of my life had been.

By Saturday, I had dilated to a whopping 1cm. My doctor decided it was time to induce labor around 10am.  I don't know what regular labor feels like, but I'm told being induced makes things much more painful, which I hope is true because I can't imagine a worse pain. At one point I just layed there and cried because by Saturday evening I had only dilated to about 2.5cm. Shortly after that I asked for the epidural. When it was first administered, I was numb from the neck down (which is not right), then after an adjustment, only my legs were numb (also not right), so a second adjustment later everything was numb, and I was much happier.

Sunday morning arrived and I was 4cm. I was convinced Eva was never coming. I also had a horrible pain between my shoulder blades and into my neck. I assumed I was just tense and sore from sleeping in a hospital bed for two nights. Spencer snuck out to grab breakfast (because I was going on 24 hrs of no food and there was no way the man was going to eat in front of a hangry woman), and all of the sudden I was 9.5cm. I called him back to the room and it was "time to push".

I'll spare the details here but I pushed for 90 minutes. By then my head was pounding, the pain in my shoulders/neck was so bad Spencer had to hold my head up for me because I couldn't do it myself anymore. The doctor came in and realized I wasn't really making progress, so he intervened and got Eva out with the help of a vacuum.

We later realized the pain in my shoulders/neck/head was a headache from the epidural. Essentially spinal fluid was leaking from the site and caused a spinal headache. I truly couldn't sit up. It was tough because Eva was in the level 2 special care nursery for much of the first day/night because her lungs needed to be monitored. I couldn't even hold my head up long enough to go see her. By Monday, I was given a blood patch (where they take blood from my arm, then put it in the epidural site in my back to create a blood clot) and felt like a new person.

Between my super uncomfortable pregnancy and my labor, I expected Eva to be a bit of a monster to be honest. I knew she wasn't going to make life easy on me.

Spencer stayed home full time for the first 2 1/2 weeks, and then worked half days for the next 2 weeks after that. Since then I've been hanging out at home with Eva. Spencer recently finished up his first semester of school for his Principal program, so that was interesting to navigate as new parents.

We've had a lot of ups and downs since coming home. I've had to adjust a lot to Eva. I quickly learned that being a stay at home mom is not an option for me. I miss work. I miss having something to talk about besides my baby's bowl movements. I miss the quiet of my own office. I miss the feeling of being part of something. Being a mom is great, and Eva and I have a bond for sure, but I just can't spend every day like this. I'm losing it. I have so much respect for the women who can do this every day.....especially with toddlers (at least Eva sleeps a lot!)....or multiples (I shudder at the thought).

Eva is changing daily before my eyes. It's a fun process to watch (most of the time). I look back on pictures from the week we brought her home and she looks like an entirely different baby already. I love watching her look at the Christmas tree in pure wonder. She makes the funniest noises ever, and the girl passes gas like a drunken old man. She's awesome. Some days she is definitely that monster I feared she'd be, but even then she's still awesome.

One thing I can say that has helped me through all this is the amazing support system I have. Aside from my family living close, I have the best friends in the world. My local friends set up a meal train for us when we first got home so everyone could meet Eva, and Spencer and I could eat. Not to mention, they listen to me on the days Eva's not so much of an angel.....or Spencer isn't. My friends from Indiana continue to check in on me and Eva. One friend had a baby a few weeks before me and we are constantly texting sharing notes and stories and cheering each other on when we've reached breaking points. I am so very lucky.

Finally, seeing Spencer as a dad is so much fun. He loves to read to Eva (though she seems to scream in his face a lot when he does it). He wakes up for night feedings (hey, if you have to resort to formula like we did, at least you get to trade off and get some sleep!), and tries his best to treat my maternity leave as work, and not a break for me. Which, it is not a break, it is very very hard work. He hugs me when I need it, he has given me days to myself, and makes sure I am taking care of myself first. Happy wife happy life, I suppose.

Moving forward, Spencer and I aim to start a blog for our families to keep up with Eva. We will share funny stories, pictures, and milestones on it. Right now, we are just trying to get through the first three months alive, so give us some time. We have a lot of stories ranging from our reactions to the election, Eva's first holiday season, to bath time and projectile vomit. There hasn't been a dull moment since my water broke almost 8 weeks ago.