We’ve achieved a handful of small accomplishments this week, but mostly we’ve just loved on little Maisie.
We had our first family outings: pediatrician appointment, Saturday farmers market, church and a Target run today, and a family walk with the dogs (although I think I overexerted myself and am now couch-bound for the immediate future).
We have been showered with gifts, meals, cards and messages from colleagues, family members, neighbors, church families and countless friends. We feel the love, folks! Thank you.
Won the hearts of her family members.
Slept – she sleeps SO MUCH with the exception between 9 p.m-1 a.m. when she’s alert and wants to cluster feed.
Met her quota of feedings and diaper changes according to hospital recommendations.
Jake has to be close at all times.
Received an A+ rating from Steven on his eager and helpful performance as a big brother.
Jumped into and swam in the deep end of the pool.
Made several notable wise decisions and is adjusting to a baby sibling better than expected.
Waited on me 24/7, but didn’t make me feel like an invalid.
Surprised me with our wedding cake for our 11th anniversary.
Successfully made Maisie sleep or poop while holding her, every time.
Dropped 15 of the 30 lbs gained!
Identified two of Maisie’s cries based on the Dunstan Baby Language (“neh” = hunger; “eh” = gassy).
Survived the beginning pains of breastfeeding – though she and I still have a lot to accomplish before it’s second nature and doesn’t hurt like whoa.
The morning after the first night at home: still alive!
Wesley is still on Cloud 9 about his new sister. He has enjoyed having visitors come to see Maisie because he gets to show her off and then play with friends. The last couple days have been more difficult for him as he realizes that we can’t give him all of our attention anymore. He’s not jealous, but he’s having trouble being independent and finding his own fun without getting himself into trouble.
However, he loves to snuggle in close when I’m nursing, and he talks about his future with Maisie. He is incredibly tender toward her, and he is empathetic about my body’s healing – offering to reach something and asking how I’m feeling.
Wes: Maisie! Maisie! Oh, look, I made her smile!
Me: She is looking for you; she knows your voice.
Wes: Do you think she likes me more than you?
Me: I think she likes us both.
Wes: Yeah, you’re the one feeding her. I just can’t believe she’s actually here!
Me: Me neither, Buddy. She’s pretty great, isn’t she?
Wes: I just love her so much that I could cry!
Me: Oh, me, too, Bud.
Wes: Look, we’re both crying now!
She’s been a surprise all along, and she continues to astonish us. Maisie Gale was born four days early on August 12, 2018. She weighs 8 lbs, 1.3 oz and is 21″ long. She just barely beat her brother’s stats – by an ounce and an inch.
I woke from a dream at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, feeling a trickle fall down my legs. I knew it wasn’t an accident, but I went to the bathroom anyway, and lost more fluid on the bathroom floor. Honestly I was slightly annoyed because I had planned to work in the office most of this week, but I was equally amused that it actually happened like all the text books say. (My water didn’t break with the first pregnancy.) I woke Steven up and told him I would finish packing and call the hospital.
As I went downstairs to call my parents, I noticed that our dog Jake had an accident in the family room. I grabbed some tissue to clean it up, squatted to do so, and the flood gates opened. I nearly clogged the half bath after flushing down so much toilet paper from both accidents. And then I went back upstairs to change clothes for the third time.
Mom and Dad hurried over to house/Wes-sit for the early morning hours while we went to the hospital, registered and checked into triage. Within an hour, we were in our room, where we waited for my contractions to gain in intensity. I was about 4cm dilated when we arrived, and hardly felt the every-2-minute contractions. No one tells you that the amniotic fluid keeps escaping after your water breaks. It was quite annoying and uncomfortable to sit in a constant puddle, but there you have it.
Because of the fast progression of Wesley’s birth, the nurses encouraged me to go ahead and get an epidural after we had waited a few hours. I wasn’t in much pain to begin with, and the anesthesiologist complimented me after receiving it: “In 20 years of doing this, I’ve never had a patient ask me questions while getting their epidural. You just made my morning!” When I’m nervous or anxious, I tend to be chatty, so it was the only thing I could do to take my mind away from the stick and pressure of the needle. Steven beamed with pride (and then teased me later).
We got a little rest before my parents and Wes came over to hang out. Wesley’s expression when he entered our hospital room was priceless. He ran up to the side of my bed and put both of his hands over his wide smile: “Mama, I’m SO EXCITED!” The room was perfect and spacious for them to join us. About every 2 hours I had gained another centimeter, so we played the waiting game. It was nice to have company to distract me from the obvious.
To pass the time, Steven made updates to the white board in the room, which has also entertained the nurses on rotation. The board originally said “Have a baby!” under Today’s Plan, and it has periodically changed to “Had a baby!” and “Keep a baby!” Today it said, “Take a baby!” in anticipation of our discharge for home. He later added under Questions for Care Team: “Why is baby?” / “What is baby?” which prompted nervous giggles from staffers.
Around 11:15 I had called the nurse about increased pressure and fluid. She at first didn’t believe me – “maybe in about 50 minutes we’ll be ready to have this baby!” – but after a quick check she changed her mind. She alerted the OB on call (we heard her run down the hallway), Mom and Wes were whisked out the room (Dad went to church earlier that morning while they stayed with us), and all the troops and supplies were wheeled in. By the time they had everything ready, Dad had returned, so he and Mom traded places watching Wes. Mom came in the room just in time to witness the birth.
There’s debate about how many pushes (10?) over how much time in total (20 minutes?), but I was told by a nurse that it was a “perfect birth.” Maisie Gale was born at 11:52 a.m. on a beautiful, sunny day. Steven and I spent the next hour alone with Maisie – our daughter who cried minimally and was extremely alert during those precious first moments.
And she certainly is well-liked! Wesley, who she resembles (it’s unreal by how much!), is becoming a pro at holding her, “teaches” others how to keep her warm and safe, and has told everyone who will listen about his new baby sister.
It’s sweet to see Steven with his little girl. He snuggles her close and teases her in his endearing way. Our quiet evenings are my favorite time to watch them.
We’re smitten. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Ms. Maisie. Welcome to the family.
Suddenly we’re bright and breezy?
More photos of Maisie’s first days!
Steven pokes fun of my excuses to do something fun – mainly get an ice cream cone somewhere. I grew up accustomed to celebrating small victories (the end of a recital or play, last/first days of ___, Dad on a business trip(!), etc.) and what Steven calls “made-up holidays,” and I guess it stuck with me.
Hey, let’s celebrate that colonoscopy you just got!
Your third cousin’s nephew graduated from high school!
It’s the 60th anniversary of that couple that you met in Kroger once!
Great job getting a new pair of shorts for school!
I told him that you have to keep life fun and interesting, and why NOT celebrate the last day of summer?! We ended up going to Chick-fil-a because Wes found an unopened kids’ meal toy (which you can turn in for free ice cream), I was hungry for a milkshake, and Steven decided to get fries. “So we ALL get a treat!” said Wes. Yes, see? He gets it.
We celebrated(!) Wesley’s birthday with the Shattucks over the weekend, and as usual, it was an adventure. Every single one of my in-laws is an amazing bowler – including my nieces! On a good game, I can bowl maaaaaybe 140. That’s like chump change for them. They have their own balls (some smell like fruit, no joke!) and shoes and either play on leagues, coach teams or have done so at some point in their lives. We thought it would be fun to bring them to Fountain Square to try their hand at duckpin bowling – and guess what?! I WAS THE HIGHEST SCORE.
Steven, Wes and I stopped at Heidelberg Haus for a cake on the way to the alley, thinking we could share it there. But the building has a strict NO OUTSIDE FOOD policy that we now know about, so everyone took their turn holding the cake box and walking around Fountain Square. When we returned to our house for cake and presents, the combination of the day’s heat and shuffling between people made the cake layers slide all over the place. Debra is still convinced it’s Bill’s fault. Seriously the best moment of the day!
Weight Gain: No change from last week.
Movement: Today’s non-stress test (NST) was long for a couple reasons: my OB was on vacation, so the doc I visited with wanted to get ample data. The last couple NSTs have been 10-15 minutes, and this one was likely the standard 30 minutes, but it felt ages longer. Also, Maisie had to be zapped again because she just gets too comfortable and doesn’t move as much as they’d like to see on a graph. (Maybe they should schedule these tests for 10 p.m.) At any rate, she passed the test and everything looks great.
Dilation: 2.5 cm. I didn’t have too many Braxton-Hicks contractions this week that I know of, but apparently they’re happening because they showed up on the NST graphs.
Cravings: Orange juice, salt, ice cream. I still haven’t gotten that Egg McMuffin.
Moods: It’s been a good mental week. I’m beginning to see real progress and closure on my projects at work, and it makes me feel less and less stressed that I’ll leave without a big, gaping hole for coworkers to fill.
Biggest Gripe(s): Finally had to throw in the towel and start sleeping in the guest room with a plethora of pillows. I don’t like not being with Steven, but he hates my excessive snoring and frequent bathroom breaks and constant tossing and turning.
Biggest Like: It sounds mushy, but I’m so blessed by Steven and Wesley. They go out of their way to make me laugh, feel special and beautiful. Both of them complimented me on separate occasions this morning. Wes begged me to take video of Maisie’s heartbeat so he could hear it. Here you go, Buddy.
August has a lot of firsts (and therefore ice cream celebrations!) ahead. Here we go into Week 38!