As many of you know, Brian and I are proud parents of a beautiful little daughter. Mary Rose was born on Saturday, Aug 7th, weighing 6 lbs 9.5 oz and 18.75 inches in length. I started feeling some cramps in the late morning that day, which became more intense and regular as we ran errands. By noon, I was in bed trying to rest (and feeling nauseous) and we left for the hospital at 5:30. The pain was all in my back and the contractions frequent by that point, as I was pretty dehydrated. After the nurses struggled to get an IV into me, I felt so much better. She still needed help turning her head face-down as I was pushing (that was causing the back pain). She was born at 9:10 pm and we were in such shock that we almost forgot to check her gender (Brian did not count her toes until a week later)! The hospital time was a whirlwind, and it was great to have people giving you fresh clothing and food while there. The emotions overcame us when we brought her home and felt the awesomeness of our new family. Brian was just accepting that he had a daughter (he was convinced we would have a boy). It was hard not to stare at her all the time in that first week! She slept a lot, but was also a slow and poor nurser. She has a high arch to her palate and does not open her mouth wide, so breastfeeding is not optimal. Grandma Dougherty visited for 2 days after Mary Rose's first week, and we loved getting some help with food, chores, and fussy times. She is not gaining weigh at the preferred rate and stayed jaundice for a long time, so we had to do some fancy supplementing of the breastmilk and had a lot of doctor visits the first 3 weeks. She also had not been able to complet the hearing test until the 3rd attempt, as her ears are small. She is having some difficulty with belly; her stomach does not seem coordinated, she has a lot of reflux, and she has pain with her noisy digestion. Hopefully, she will outgrow these things (part of it may be from her poor latch onto me to eat). I have been racking my brain to eliminate things in my diet which may upset her stomach or give her gas.
Brian and I had our families out to visit and help us with Mary Rose's baptism. It was a bit hectic having people around for 2 weeks, but we did not have to cook or clean, and the baby always had hands to hold her (she does not stay asleep on her back). Brian and I met at a gathering at the house of Father Richard Gross, who was able to preside at our wedding, and we were able to have him celebrate the baptism. It was great to have friends and family show their support to her. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others during this time; I have yet to buy her any clothing! My mom's assistance also helped me get to a lovely baby shower at my clinic.
Having help around last weekend, we were able to have the new grandpas complete a lot of house projects - shoe molding in the dining room (there was a crack along the floor), re-staining the front steps, fixing doors and even helping us with our wills. Now we can focus on some fall maintenance, like the endless raking!
While Mary Rose is our primary entertainment, we did sign up for netflix and would appreciate recommendations. I am able to watch some things in snip-its while I nurse. We also got a web-cam for Skype, so we can keep our families up to date on her smiles and skills.
August 17 - 40 weeks
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