Weekending + Birth Story

The first weekend of November was filled with perfect weather, grilling with friends, and some extra sleep since baby girl is *thankfully* starting to sleep in longer stretches at night.

Coasters and Book - Kate Spade | Stemless Champagne Glasses - Crate and Barrel | Champagne Bears - Sugarfina

As I mentioned on Friday, there was an extra 30% off sale items at Kate Spade with offer code CHEERS + free shipping. The adorable bathing suit I was eyeing for baby girl was sold out *womp womp*, but I couldn't resist this tee and scooped it up for only $14 and it'll be wrapped up waiting for her under the Christmas tree next month.

Friday brought the return of bubbles and patio happy hours, and on Saturday some friends came over to meet lil' miss. We grilled out, played some corn hole, and had some more bubbles.

Sunday was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed some spiced cold brews (which were DELISH! - I subbed out the sweet cream in mine and replaced it with skim) and some shopping.

Serena's Birth Story

As many of you know, lil' miss was fashionably late and there ended up being a reason why I never went into labor on my own. I had a scheduled induction at 41 weeks, and arrived at the hospital in the early morning to be admitted and start the process. By late that afternoon, nothing was happening still so they decided to move me off the labor and delivery floor and give me something that would help speed up the process overnight and to help me sleep.

Well, about a half hour after I got into my new room I was in excruciating pain and counting down the minutes until I could call the nurse back in for more pain meds never even fathoming that I could actually be in labor. I was in agony pacing around the room, in and out of the bathroom thinking I would be sick from the pain (thankfully I never was), and thrashing around trying to find some relief. I finally hit the nurse call button, and said "I need pain medicine now!" The nurse rushed in, but with a team of others since she must have known I was in labor (which I didn't at the time), and they did a check and sure enough I was in full blown labor *finally*. So they quickly moved me back to labor and delivery where the anesthesiologist came in, and asked if I wanted an epidural. I originally thought I may be able to go without it, but I was in such excruciating pain that I immediately said YES please! I was nervous about the "big needle", but I never even saw it and they numbed the area beforehand and I immediately felt relief and began to look, sound, and feel human again. I was able to carry on conversation with H, my mom, and the nurses and doctors and even enjoy some tv before it was time to start pushing.

They had to break my water which never broke on it's own, and then they had me start pushing which was off and on for a few hours. I was totally oblivious to the fact that no progress was being made, and that the doctors and nurses kept leaving the room to have discussions because the baby's heart rate kept dropping every time I tried to push because she was in distress. Eventually, the doctor sat down with me and said we needed to explore other options. I never imagined having a c-section, and was trying my best to avoid having one. But the doctor highly suggested it as the safest route because even if the baby started to make her way out, she would most likely get stuck because of how my pelvis was shaped. This was why I never went into labor on my own, and she wasn't moving on out after all the pushing. I made the tough decision to have a c-section because it was the safest option for both me and baby girl. As soon as I agreed to the c-section, I burst into tears because it was the opposite of my "birth plan" and a team rushed in to prep me and to dress H up in scrubs so he could accompany me.

The procedure itself was painless, and I just felt a little pressure. H held my hand through it, and neither of us will ever forget hearing the words "She's out!" and waiting for what seemed like forever (it was only a few seconds) to hear her crying for the first time. They held her up so we could see her, and then took H with them to go get her cleaned up, weighed, measured, etc... They brought her back over to me so I could hold her on my chest, and we had our first family picture.

The whole situation was surreal, and I was so loopy afterwards and slept a bit before we were all reunited in what would be our room for the next few days. I cannot rave enough about the nursing staff at the hospital who were a step above any other caregiver I've ever encountered. I'm assuming they have a very rigorous/strict hiring process and only hire the best. I struggled with pain and some other recovery issues while there, and the nursing staff was nothing short of amazing as was H who stepped up and had to take care of baby girl the majority of the time the first few days when I couldn't get out of bed. I already know we're going to be a great team!

Truths ~ Recovery from a c-section is no joke and neither is the sleep deprivation that comes with having a newborn. But I will shout from the rooftops that it's all more than worth it, and it's amazing how quickly all is forgotten while looking into her beautiful eyes.

We've had lots of visitors so far including my parents who were down for the birth, my aunt and uncle who happened to be driving through from the Keys, Emily and K, our fav neighbors, and good friends over the weekend. She can't wait to go to her first BBQ at Emily and K's this weekend and meet more friends.