I figured it's about time to write this post, now that Raelyn is almost a month old....
Let's start with work. I was SO ready to get out of there! Not even kidding a little bit. Have I mentioned that work has been super weird lately? Dan, as plant manager (also my boss), was forced to literally lay off (aka fire) 95% of our workforce. So until I went on maternity leave, I was the only one left in the office -- the other four were let go. Once I was gone, Dan had to step up and pretty much do everything in the office, as well as running the rest of the plant. By the way, he only has...four?...workers left there. There is also a lady who is working remotely to do some of my work, but I only had a few hours to train her. :/
Anyway, I'll leave it at that. (Um, I'm kind of using my work laptop to write this....)
I used up my last few days of vacation time just before my due date. Then I 'worked from home' for 2 days, and after that we had Thurs/Fri off for Thanksgiving.
November 22nd -- Thanksgiving morning -- I woke up at about 5 AM and went to the bathroom, then went back to bed. Minutes later, I started having slight contractions. I wasn't positive at first, so I didn't say anything to Dan until I'd felt a few. They were about ten minutes apart.
Finally, I got up and sat in the living room with the heating pad, and that's where I spent much of my Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I didn't have to do any of the cooking. Dan and the others did it all. I did get to enjoy my meal, though, although I was still (somewhat) following the gestational diabetes diet.
For a while that afternoon, the contractions were pretty strong and close together, but then they petered off for a little while. I tried to lie down in bed for a while that evening, but it was way too uncomfortable and I ended up getting back up. From there, it just got worse...I was moving around, so I thought that was why. I figured it would slow down again if I relaxed, but no.
Mom kept telling us to go to the hospital, but I didn't want to go too early. Finally, I agreed that it was time to go. I think we got to the delivery room about 10:30 PM. I was already 6 cm dilated.
Once I was in the hospital bed, I didn't want to get back up so that's where I stayed. The contractions were about 4 minutes apart (some were even closer together) and getting more intense. My doctor told me I didn't have much time to decide about getting an epidural, and I wasn't ready to make a decision just yet. In the end, I decided against it anyway.
I was progressing pretty quickly, but my doctor wanted to break my water. Not sure why, but I agreed because I wanted this to keep going fast. I had been doing pretty well with breathing and forcing myself to relax between contractions, but after breaking my water, it was getting pretty difficult, so I asked for IV meds. Maybe it helped a little. Maybe not. In the grand scheme of things, labor doesn't last that long -- 19-20 hours this time around -- but in the moment, it's unbearable and never-ending.
Black Friday came, and just before 1 AM, baby was suddenly ready to come out. It wasn't easy, but I held on until my doctor got to my room (it probably took just a minute after I called for her, but felt like an eternity) and confirmed I was fully dilated. After 13-14 minutes of pushing, Raelyn Marie (named after her great-grandpa) entered the world at 1:04 AM. She was a chunk at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 inches! We had only been at the hospital for 2.5 hours....nothing compared to 24 hours for Kenna (46 total hours of labor).
And she came out hungry! She was ready to eat, and boy, did this girl have a strong latch. She nursed for an hour and a half straight!
She was still eating when we called our parents at 3 AM. We were super fortunate that we happened to have Raelyn when there was already company at our house. Otherwise, it would have taken hours for anyone to get here (to stay with Kenna).
Kenna did really well those two nights we were gone, by the way. Oh, yeah, it was the first time we had ever left her overnight with anyone else.
Everything had worked out perfectly.
Dan picked up Kenna later that morning and brought her to the hospital to meet her new baby sister and, boy, was she proud. That girl just adores her "new baby 'dister'" (said in a dramatic, high-pitched voice). My parents and Trisha came to visit later that day, and Dan's parents arrived late that night.
Everyone helped a ton, taking care of Kenna and the house, and the grandmas made sure everyone was fed. And the Christmas tree got decorated.
Everyone was gone Monday morning, and Dan went back to work. I had to bring both of the girls to the clinic myself, since Raelyn was jaundiced and needed to get a checkup (thankfully we didn't need to treat hers, we'd had to use a bili-blanket for Kenna).
That first week was ROUGH. While Kenna loves her sister (and has proclaimed on multiple occasions, "I love my baby 'dister' SO. Much."), it was a huge adjustment for her. I was still really sore, and had a hard time keeping up with her. On top of that, it was an awful feeling, sitting here and not accomplishing anything. I knew I needed to get on a schedule that following week, so that's what I did.
Every morning by 9 AM, I start working on my blog or one of my other projects; 11 is lunchtime; then noon was naptime (now it's quiet time since I can't get Kenna to nap anymore); and from 2-4 I work on writing some more. Although, I have to work in LOTS of feedings, diaper changes, and well, other distractions. Now that Raelyn is starting to be awake more, I have to adjust my schedule quite a bit, but I still try to work about 4-5 hours a day.
I'm working on a few things that will hopefully start making some money, but they are going to take some time to complete. I have to work on them in bits and pieces since I have so little time to work each day! One day, when I'm not so sleep deprived, I hope to start getting up super early so I can get all my work done in the mornings.
At this point, though, our future is completely up in the air. Everything is still uncertain with work, meaning the company might not even exist (at least in Mason City) at the beginning of the year. Who knows where we'll be this time next year....
Anyway, that's where we're at right now. Raelyn is growing like crazy; she will be four weeks this Friday and has her first doctors appointment since that one checkup when she was just days old. She's still pretty sleepy, but has been awake more and more. I never really forgot how hard it was to have a brand new baby and not be able to do anything without that baby in one arm, but it's a total refresher course actually having a new baby. As much as I can't wait for it to get easier (in about a year or so?), I know I'm going to be sad when she's not a baby anymore.
I have to say, she's a pretty easy baby, though. She is a little more laid-back than Kenna was (sorry, Peanut)...it helps that she will take a pacifier and has taken a couple bottles...but it also partly helps that we knew what to do differently this time. That said, she's a normal baby who wants to be held and snuggled, gets fussy and gassy, and cries. Poor thing was only 1 week and 2 days old when she woke up with a really stuffy nose that lasted a couple weeks, and to this day, she still sounds a little stuffy. And now I have caught something, which I really hope I don't pass on to her. :( :(
Well, I have tons of things that need to be done, and I still have to find pictures to add to this post. So we'll see when this actually gets published....
But one more thing before I go, Raelyn has a brand-new baby cousin! Justin's baby boy, Easton, was born on December 17th. On a similar note, she has another little cousin on the way...Andrew is going to be a dad in May I believe.
Okay, that's all for now!
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