Isla Faye Hoffman
Born June 16, 2014 at 12:28 PM7 lbs 4 oz, 20.25" long
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One Week Old
I haven't been doing much jewelry making, I've been busy with other stuff.
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| Daddy Loves his Daughter |
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| Beaming with LOVE! |
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| One Day Old |
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| Born wide eyed and alert |
Isla Faye was born on Monday, June 16th, one day after Father's Day and one day before my husband's birthday. I don't know what could possibly top this present.
It was about 11:30 PM on Sunday night, June 15th that I was having trouble falling asleep. I was having a flare of heartburn, I was tossing and turning, and I couldn't get comfortable. For the past couple of weeks I had been having a lot of false labor contractions, some of which were coming at regular intervals. I was constantly on edge, thinking that I was starting labor. I even had gone to the hospital a few days previous because I was having regular contractions that were increasingly stronger. So, when the real thing started I thought it was anything but the real thing. I kept feeling like I had to go to the bathroom, but nothing was happening. At about 5:00 AM it finally dawned on me that I could be going into labor. I got up, got online, and that's when I got my first light contraction followed a few minutes later by another, and then a few minutes later by another. I woke up my husband and called the midwife.
At 7:00 AM we got to the hospital where it was confirmed that I was in the throes of labor. The contractions were gaining strength and were coming quickly. We were admitted into a room where I labored for about five hours before I was dilated and ready to push. But, Isla had different plans. She was reluctant to make her entrance. She hadn't descended into the birth canal, and her heart rate was rapidly falling. The midwife and nursing staff had me turn over into different positions to try to arouse a response from her, but nothing seemed to be working. They told me that they were going to call in a doctor for a cesarean if I couldn't move the baby down. The last thing I wanted was to be cut open.
With the first contraction after that the midwife told me to push as hard as I could to try to move her down. And, with the second contraction I pushed again and she crowned, but she also had her first BM inside of me, which is called meconium. It is
very dangerous for a baby to have their first BM this way. The neonatal intensive care nurses were standing by with gloves on, ready to whisk her away. They told me they might have to take her before I could hold her. The doctor was also standing by. With the third contraction I pushed with all of my might, and she made her entrance into the world, pink, wiggly, and crying. The NICU staffed stepped back, and the midwife placed the baby on my chest where she settled down nicely. And, in spite of the meconium and the low heart rate her one minute apgar score was a 9. Incredible.
Isla was wide eyed and alert shortly after being born. She actually stayed awake for quite a while, taking it all in. The nurse said she had never seen such a gorgeous baby. And, I believe her.
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| My Children |
So far Isla has been a really good baby. She's exclusively breastfed and gaining weight. Since her second day home she has slept through the night (I'm writing this as she is three weeks old) and I have to wake her to nurse. She nurses and goes right back to sleep without a problem. She cries a lot during the day right now, but at least she doesn't cry at night.
