Why I Don't Sleep When the Baby Sleeps

Blanket / Dress / Bow

When you are a first time mom so many people will tell you to sleep when the baby sleeps. And it's pretty sound advice for most of us. But then there's me. 

The first problem is that Fallon is not your typical sleepy newborn. Some days she naps for 40 minutes and some days for a few hours. It's completely random and inconsistent and I'm not even bothering to try and force her into a daytime schedule at this point. I've never been great at napping because it doesn't do any good for me. I end up feeling groggy and sluggish afterward and worse than if I had just stayed awake and done something productive.

Outfit / Blanket

When your kid doesn't nap, it can be a challenge to get shit done around the house. Of course Chris helps out but he works 50+ hours a week and it's really nice spending time as a family when he is home, especially because it's usually during the day when Fallon is awake. I also am fully aware that it's not essential to have the laundry done and the dishes put away all the time. I can ignore the layer of dust on the mantel for longer than I usually would and not sweat it. However, I can't just let everything go and have us living in filth. If you've forgotten, we share a home with furry family members and that sort of ups the ante on cleaning. 

I just had my postpartum checkup and received the all clear from my doctor to resume normal exercise. I worked out until the day I went into labor so I've been itching to get back to my old routines and work up a sweat. While there are some workouts I can do with Fallon, most of the time I need a good half an hour to just do my thing. 

Bodysuit

Clearly blogging has taken a back seat at the moment but it is definitely something that has become a part of me, something I enjoy and something I would like to continue doing. But it requires my full concentration and focus. It's also really hard to type with one hand and extremely distracting to have to constantly stick the pacifier back in someone's mouth after she spits it out 75 times. 

Having a baby is a job, arguably the best job ever, but a job none the less. I'm mom all the time and sometimes mom just needs a little break. So for me, it's more important to clean, workout or blog than to sleep. I'm a better mom when I don't feel anxious about dog hair all over the floor, when I feel healthy and strong after a workout or when I do something fun and enjoyable like blogging. I know sleep is important so I do go to bed when I put Fallon to bed and sleep when she sleeps at night. Luckily she usually sleeps in longer chunks so although I'm usually tired from waking up several times to nurse, I am getting a decent amount of sleep. Every mama is different and this is just what works for me. So if your kid naps and you do too, great! Do what is best for you and don't let anybody tell you it's wrong (unless you're me time includes a whole bottle of whisky). 

Onesie / Bow

P.S. Is it Friday yet? No. Okay, happy Wednesday then. 

This Whole Mom Thing

Is HARD. And EXHAUSTING. And absolutely freaking AMAZING. 

Is coffee with breakfast and wine with dinner. 

Is blood, sweat, tears and kisses, cuddles, smiles. 

Is piles of laundry, dirty dishes and a never ending to-do list. 

Is a lot less sleep and a lot more love. 

Is feeling like a complete failure and a total badass in the same day.

Is omg she's hungry AGAIN and omg I forgot to eat AGAIN.

Is counting poopy diapers, checking that she's still breathing and taking faster showers than you ever thought possible.

Is jogging up and down the stairs with her in the carrier, pushing the stroller around the house and rocking 40 thousand times to get her to take a nap.

Is wondering how you ever lived without her.

Is falling in love with your husband all over again. 

Is stress, worry and guilt, happiness, appreciation and contentment. 

Is deciding whether you should laugh, cry or drink a beer.

Is pajamas all day and up all night. 

Is realizing your bladder capacity when there's a sleeping baby on your chest.

Is ridiculous baby talk even though you can't stand your own voice when you play back the video.

Is learning to do everything with one hand.
Is dry shampoo, leggings and topknots on repeat.

Is taking way too many pictures and over sharing them.

Is thinking she is the cutest baby that ever lived, even when she's screaming.

Is both the craziest and best damn thing you've ever done.

Is by far the greatest accomplishment. 

1 Month of Fallon

I can't believe it either, my baby girl is a whole month old. Fallon loves bath time, she is just a little water baby. I can't even wait to get her in a pool next summer. Bring on the baby bikinis (and don't tell dad!). She also likes car rides and even went on her very first road trip last week to see her Aunt Liv become a doctor! We are so proud. Those long legs were meant for kicking and miss Fallon gives them quite a work out when she gets in the mood. She makes all kinds of silly faces and I go a little crazy taking pictures. One day she'll be embarrassed but I'll never regret capturing those sweet moments. 

The past few days our girl has been going through some nervous system changes and not been too happy about it. Until this point she's been a great sleeper at night but boycotts naps just like her mama. We are really starting to get the hang of breastfeeding and you would think she's at least 10 lbs with her appetite but she remains pretty petite with a bit of a buddha belly. I am loving being her mama and can't wait to see her little personality come out more and more each day. 

Happy one month baby girl!

You Asked, I Answered: Labor & Delivery

Okay y'all I'm going waaayyy out of comfort zone on this one so I hope you appreciate it! I've gotten so many questions regarding my labor and delivery after sharing Fallon's birth story. I was a little surprised at first with how personal some of them were but then again, I know first hand that there are a lot of things about the experience that not many people talk about. While I did have some friends tell me a thing or 2 about what really goes down when you're giving birth, it of course was not the same story for everyone. So, I'm just going to break through the wall and lay it all out there. I compiled the questions most asked and decided to go ahead and give the real, honest answers in all their nitty gritty glory. This one isn't for the faint of heart but I'm doing this because I love you and love that you're still following along.

How did you know you were in labor?

- This is a big one for first time mamas and it can be totally different for everyone. If you read my final pregnancy post or Fallon's birth story you know I was sent home from the hospital twice in the week and a half before I actually gave birth. Prolonged prodromal labor is pretty rare so I'll skip right to that fateful night that shit got real. Really real. I was having the same type of contractions I had been having every day since they started and felt different than Braxton Hicks. But looking back now, things started happening that could have tipped me off that day was going to be the day I just didn't realize it at the time. The nicest way I can put this is that my body cleaned itself out pretty well that day. Then there were the menstrual like cramps that started mid afternoon. I disregarded both as just 3rd trimester pregnancy symptoms. And finally early evening I was walking around and felt like I peed a little. Hey, it happens when a giant baby head is pressing on your bladder. It happened a few more times but I didn't for a second think it was my water breaking. The 2 things I knew to look for were either an obvious big gush of water like in the movies or feeing like I peed but enough that it soaked through my pants instead of a puddle at my feet. Neither of those things happened. I actually didn't even find out that was my water and not pee until AFTER I delivered. So probably an hour after I thought I was peeing my pants I was watching TV and the contractions started to hurt a lot more all of a sudden. I was having pain in my lower back but also in my entire pelvic region. I tried to go to bed but that lasted all of about 20 minutes before I was quickly in agonizing pain and feeling like I could not get any relief, even between the contractions. I was having trouble walking normally and could still hold a conversation but not with my eyes open (closing my eyes helped me deal with the pain). I called my doctor and she told me to go to the hospital and I told Chris it was time. It was terrible to sit down and I felt like someone was twisting a knife deep into my lower back at the same time as something very strong was squeezing my body from my lower belly to my thighs with an iron grip. When I was checked at the hospital I felt a pop and thought that was my water breaking. It was, but the nurse had been confused saying it felt like it had maybe already broken. I found out later I had a very slow leak aka the tiny amounts of "pee" from earlier. When it was really showtime, I knew 100%.

Did you tear?

- Ugh, this one makes me cringe. Of course this happens all the time. You're trying to push a bowling ball through a pin hole and sometimes it just won't quite fit. Something's gotta give. I had a first degree tear, the most common, so it was minimal. This is pretty surprising considering my girl came out shoulders front to back instead of side to side. I had a few stitches but honestly recovery hasn't been bad. I'm a pretty fast healer and have a fairly high pain tolerance so take this with a grain of salt. 

Did it hurt to push without the epidural?

- This one made me a chuckle a bit. I'm sure you're hoping the answer is no, it just stung a little. In short, hell yes it hurt. But my situation made things a little different. I was not expecting to have to deliver sans epidural, it just ended up happening that way so that was an unwelcome surprise and I wasn't prepared. Fallon was sideways and the vacuum was used so that kind of upped the ante in the pain department. I mean to put it bluntly, it felt like my body pelvis was ripping apart. But then you have the fact that at the point I had to push au natural we knew something was wrong with baby and I was terrified and just determined to get her out as fast as my body would let me. I'm sure my adrenaline levels were through the roof. I will tell you that there was no screaming or husband slapping or cussing at the nurses or crying. I just closed my eyes and used everything I had to push. 

Did you have to deliver the placenta?

- I actually did not even know about this until recently. Seriously, I had no idea that when you have a baby, that baby is not all that has to come out. I've heard some women have to push again to get it out, others it just comes out with the baby and some are like me. I was barely paying attention after delivering Fallon because a team of people was working on her across the room and I was just holding my breath and waiting to hear her cry or at least that she was okay. But I was slightly aware that my doctor just sort of tugged on the cord and pulled it out. I don't recommend looking, unless you find that kind of thing cool or fascinating. 

Did you poop?

- This is my favorite one. Yup, I'm going there. So apparently this does happen to the overwhelming majority of women during childbirth. You push with all the muscles down there and well, everything just all comes out whether you want it to or not. The nurses and the doctors don't care, they literally see that shit all the time and it's a totally normal part of the job. It's cleared away maybe even before you ever know it happened. But lots of women are terrified about it happening anyway. And after saying all that, nope I did not. And I am not just saying that because I'm embarrassed and fibbing. Guys, this post is so left field for me it would be pointless to be untruthful. I'm positive it didn't happen because nothing was taken out from  under me and thrown away while I was pushing. The nurses only ever touched my legs to help me push. Oh and my husband confirmed that i did not and he's honest to a fault. I just got lucky. Go ahead and hate me, I think I deserved to be spared this one considering everything else that happened before and after. Remember how I said my body cleaned itself out? I guess there was nothing left. There, now you know. 

Hopefully putting myself out there like this has been helpful and informative to some of you. And for those of you just curious, there you have it. Anyone who was appalled, offended or disgusted after reading this post, I'm sorry but most of the people had spoken and they wanted to know the dirty details. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to stick my kid on the boob. Might as well tell it like it is now, right?

Life as We Know It

Will never be the same. If it's your first baby EVERYONE will tell you this, because it's true. Bringing a baby into your life is something you can never fully prepare for. You could read all the books and all the articles and all the blogs and take all the advice, make lists, buy all the things, organize and nest until you drop. And you will still feel totally and utterly blindsided. But at the same time, a little tiny person just showed up and joined your family and somehow you forget what life was like before he or she arrived. 

In our experience so far, our new normal seems pretty much, normal. Although it's been a huge adjustment the past few weeks and we continue on the learning curve that is parenthood, having Fallon hasn't been all sleepless nights, dirty diapers and endless feedings. Of course every baby is different but Fallon sleeps well at night, waking every 3-4 hours to eat. She's nursing but will switch between boob and bottle no problem. She will even take milk cold, right out of the fridge! But before any of you with a different story want to throat punch me, we have our challenges. 

Fallon was born weighing 7 lbs 7 oz. It's normal for babies to lose up to 10% of their birth weight right away and Fallon was no exception. We saw her pediatrician 5 days after she was born and she had lost about 9% of her birth weight. Thus began the weight check saga. It's been a bit of a roller coaster with gaining and losing but finally she is back up to birth weight and we don't have to see the pediatrician again until her 2 month check up. 

Nursing, just like they say, also hasn't been the smoothest ride. We are both new to the game and learning as we go so I'm not surprised. While little miss piggy loves to eat and has a great latch and suck, she's a bit lazy sometimes! It was also a struggle to wean her off the shield I was told to use at the hospital and pumping after feedings is an annoyance but we take it day by day. We can't decide if she's a piglet or a bird because she eats like she's never been fed but usually in smaller quantities than what is average for her age. Sometimes I feel like I'm tied to baby or pump but I have a great support system and I'm stubborn enough to power through. I hear 5/6 weeks is the sweet spot when things really start falling into place for first time nursing mamas so soon enough we should find a good rhythm. 

While Fallon has no day/night confusion that is common with newborns, she definitely isn't a baby that sleeps all the time. She likes to boycott naps and is very awake and alert for the better part of the day. We are working on some sort of schedule but I have a bad feeling she may take after mama and never be a great napper. I have no one to blame but myself!

I honestly did not have a feeling that baby Pfeff was a boy or a girl before delivery. My nurses were still asking me while I was pushing! We would have been just as happy either way but having a little girl is beyond amazing. I think my favorite part of being a girl mom so far is watching Chris with Fallon. He's such a guys' guy but he has jumped head first into this whole girl dad thing and is so in love with her. The funny thing is, while I'm sure if we had or ever have a boy he will be a fantastic boy dad, right now I can only picture him with girls! Case in point: he ordered her a bunch of baby gear for football season and was distraught over the fact that he couldn't find many pink things. It's amazing how much more you can fall for a person after you have a child together. I look forward to each new day as a family of 3 (humans) and can't wait for all the adventures we will have!

Life as we know it will never be the same. Bring it on because it just keeps getting better!

NICU Baby

Regardless of whether you have a birth plan or not, you probably don't picture your baby landing in the NICU. It's one of those things you know happens, unfortunately all the time, but you don't think it will happen to you. Well, our family is now part of that statistic. It did happen to us. And I'm going to tell you about our experience today. 

When I was 32 weeks pregnant we had an ultrasound that showed baby head down and frog legged, a perfect position for birth. Each time I was checked at prenatal appointments through 39 weeks, baby was still definitely head down. But sometime between 32 and 38 weeks, my little girl rolled over onto her left side, and she stayed that way until she made her grand entrance into the world. This is extremely uncommon and definitely not a good way to be born. Add in the umbilical cord being wrapped around Fallon's neck and the fact that she aspirated meconium when she came out and you've got yourself a bad combination for a birthday. 

When we learned that Fallon may need a treatment that our birth hospital could not provide and would have to be transported to another hospital, my heart sank. Typically birthing hospitals keep mom for at least 12 hours, if not 24, to be monitored for any postpartum complications. The hospital Fallon was taken to was nearby our birthing hospital and Chris and my sister arrived shortly after she did. I was so glad when my sister called to let me know her initial exam showed she was doing really well. But I was so dejected that I wasn't there with my baby. My new nurse called my doctor to see if there was any way I could be discharged early as I was already beginning to recover well from the birth. I was thinking in my head that I was going to walk my ass out of the hospital, officially discharged or not, because I wasn't going to sit there and wait around. Thankfully my doctor did give the green light to discharge me early, about 6 hours after birth, and my mom drove me over to see my baby. 

In order to get up to the NICU we needed badges so we stopped at the desk to ask how to go about getting those. I will never ever forget that moment because it was the very first time I said my daughter. It was bittersweet rolling off my tongue because holy crap, I have a daughter, but I was trying to go see her in the NICU. Although I had already seen Fallon looking pretty terrible, hooked up to tubes and wires at the birth hospital earlier in the day, it was still very difficult to walk in and see her with an IV and entire monitoring system. But I was so happy to be with her I couldn't help but smile anyway. We were told she would be receiving antibiotic treatments through her IV and they would be running tests overnight to assess her progress. The NICU nurses work 12 shifts so our night nurse came on shortly after I arrived and got a sleep room for Chris and I to stay the night. He left to run home and take care of all the furbabies and I began learning how to pump breast milk because Fallon was only allowed to have fluids until the next day. 

We slept a little bit in the sleep room but I was waking up every 3 hours to pump and walking down the hall to check on Fallon. I wanted to just hold her all night but after the traumatic day she had, I knew she needed to rest peacefully without me accidentally pulling on her cords. Thursday morning a team of doctors came to do rounds and it was like an of body experience to hear them talking about my little girl in such a clinical and detached kind of way. Cried at 17 minutes of life, Low APGAR scores, resuscitation and breathing assistance. I felt like I was watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy instead of living my reality. They said she would have to stay through Friday morning at least to finish the antibiotic treatments and begin breastfeeding so that they could check her bowel output. 

The lactation consultant came in to help me try to start breastfeeding Fallon. To say that it didn't go well is an understatement. It was an epic failure. I realize that everyone at the hospital was trying to help but even Chris and I could see that Fallon was too stressed out in that type of environment and I was horribly uncomfortable. They put up screens to block me from the rest of the room but it was far from private and I finally pulled the plug and said I would pump and try again later. Attempts the rest of the day pretty much followed the same pattern. Fallon would just scream when we tried to get her into position to nurse. I kept pumping but my milk had not come in yet so I wasn't getting anything to give her. Her team of doctors was putting a lot of pressure on us to get a nursing session to go well and kept checking in on us. By this point Fallon's blood work was looking like a normal full term baby's would and I was getting worried that feeding alone was going to keep us in the hospital. Of course I wanted what was best for my baby but I had very strong feelings that a specialized NICU was no place for a healthy baby to stay simply to learn how to breastfeed. I finally voiced my thoughts and, as nicely as I could, said that I was her mother and she needed to eat so we needed some formula and a bottle. 

Friday morning Chris started feeding her so that she would not associate me with a bottle since I was planning to still attempt breastfeeding. She was eating well and her bowels seemed to be in perfect working order so her fluids and antibiotics were turned off. After rounds we were told Fallon would be discharged that afternoon and she did finally latch to breastfeed. We only spent 2 days in the NICU but it felt like at least a week. I only left once for about an hour and a half to take a shower at my parents' house and Chris left only to go care for the furbabies. We just couldn't leave our little girl there alone. It did not matter a single bit that I was recovering from giving birth. That's just not what you worry about when your baby is in the NICU.

We had the same daytime nurse both Thursday and Friday and we loved her so much. She was wonderful at her job but also a genuinely good person who took all of our concerns and questions and made sure they were addressed and timely. She even helped Chris give her the first sponge bath to get her ready to go home. And in her honor I want to thank all the nurses who put so much time and effort and love into caring for our loved ones, especially you NICU nurses. 

Nobody ever wants to have a NICU story. It's scary and it's hard and it's nothing you ever want to even think about happening. But it does happen. And to all of you who had much longer NICU stays, stories without happy endings, and are in the NICU right now, just trying to hold it all together for your families, we are thinking about and praying for you.

Fallon is almost 3 weeks old, breastfeeding and growing every day. She's a tough kid and I would like to think Chris and I can take some credit for it, but really it was all her. As my mom put it, Textbook pregnancy, One for the books delivery, Storybook ending. 

It's a GIRL: Fallon's Birth Story

Hello friends, it's been awhile! I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to post again but life has just been crazier than I imagined the past few weeks. When I last posted I was 38 weeks pregnant and experiencing prolonged prodromal labor. Today I have a beautiful baby

girl who is already over a week old. This post is as real and raw as they come and I decided to share the pictures that help tell the story. They were taken with iPhone cameras in the moment with no concern for the perfect shot. Most of them are completely unedited with no makeup and bad lighting. But they capture the joy, the heartbreak and the overwhelming love we felt that day. I'm warning you now, this kid had quite a dramatic entrance into the world so you're in for a long post.

Let's take it back to June 25th, the day I was matron of honor in Kristina's wedding. I started having contractions that felt different than Braxton Hicks about halfway into the day. We started timing them but they stopped once I sat down inside and cooled off. And then they came back with the start of the wedding and hung around through the reception. I was determined to give my speech and see the first dance before leaving, thinking we would be going to the hospital to have a baby. We went home and timed my contractions and called my doctor when we were sure they were 5 minutes apart, lasting for at least 1 minute for over 1 hour. But at the hospital I was told I was still just 2 centimeters dilated and to come back when the contractions were closer together. Sunday night we headed back to the hospital with contractions consistently 2-3 minutes apart. Yet again, I was told I was only 2 centimeters dilated and could not be admitted. The nurse said she thought I had some scar tissue, a minor complication that would prolong the first part of labor as it would take a lot more contractions to break it down before I could progress to active labor. I was given Ambien to help me sleep and give my body a break but the contractions just returned the following day. This continued to happen every single day. My contractions would start over again and progress to less than 5 minutes apart, hold steady for several hours and then taper off only to start over again the next day. 

The morning of 39 weeks I called my doctor because I was scheduled for a prenatal appointment that afternoon and still not in active labor. She advised I could be induced or come in for my visit and see if she could manually break up the scar tissue. Part of me wanted to go for the induction and finally get to meet my baby. But the other part of me wanted to avoid induction and hope I could still go into active labor on my own. So I went in for my appointment only to find out I did not have scar tissue and there didn't seem to be an obvious reason why I hadn't progressed to 3 centimeters. It was starting to look like just one of those things that sometimes happen and nobody knows why. We scheduled induction for the following Wednesday, July 6th but my doctor went ahead and stripped my membranes in hopes of helping things along.

Fast forward to Tuesday, July 5th. It started out just like every day since June 25th. I was having contractions throughout the day and by early evening they had progressed right to the point that they had been. But then as the night went on things started to feel different. I ignored it at first, thinking maybe it was all in my head and I was just nervous about my induction the following morning. Chris and I watched TV, I folded laundry and double checked the hospital bags. Then I tried to go to sleep but the contractions all of sudden seemed to be coming back to back and were getting very painful. I called my doctor and we headed back to the hospital. The pain in my lower back was becoming excruciating with each contraction and the drive seemed to take forever. We finally arrived a little after midnight and I was officially admitted and given my epidural shortly after 1AM. I told the anestesiologist that he was superman coming to save the day. And he totally was because I then slept on and off, only feeling the pressure of each contraction until my doctor arrived around 7:30 AM. She declared me "complete" but I didn't start pushing until about 9AM.

The delivery nurses were awesome and coached me on how to push, chatting with me between each contraction and helping to keep a positive vibe. Chris stood right by my side the whole time because neither of us wanted him to catch the action at the other end of the bed! As a first time mom it wasn't surprising that my pushing time was creeping over the hour mark, but after switching positions and ensuring me I was pushing correctly, we all started to wonder why baby wasn't moving much further down. When my doctor came there was still no indication anything was amiss as far as the monitors were showing. But when I finally started to make some actual progress I also started to feel my epidural wearing off. Anesthesia was called to come give me a small dose to finish pushing but before anyone came the shit hit the fan. 

Everything happened so quickly, it was a bit of a blur, but I remember most of what went down. All of a sudden baby's heart rate took a dive. My doctor had the nurses help me flip onto my back from my side and asked me if I thought I could push without a contraction. I saw the look on her face and even though I could feel EVERYTHING at that point, it didn't matter. I started pushing and I could feel the baby coming. When your doctor looks at you and says, "Mom, we gotta get the baby out now," you just give it all you have and worry about the pain later. The vacuum was used to speed things up and I could hear the nurses making calls for people to come to our room. I had no idea what was going on and when I saw my baby for the first time, I knew something was very wrong. Instead of being elated when my doctor held her up and said It's a GIRL, I was terrified. She was ghostly pale and when she was momentarily plopped onto my chest she wasn't crying. Before I could even ask why, there was a parade of people in our room and she was whisked away from me. Chris and I were frozen in fear, waiting to hear our baby girl make any kind of noise. The team was yelling out to us her weight and height and saying her heartbeat was fine but they were helping her breath. They had Chris take pictures of her, which I was too afraid to look at until today. As I lay there, helpless and doing my best not to break down in tears, my little girl was put into my arms for a quick picture and then taken away to the NICU with Chris in tow. 

The next hour and a half I don't even know what went through my mind. I was stuck in the delivery room to be stitched and cleaned up then monitored for hemorrhage. Thank God for cell phones because Chris was updating me from the NICU about the tests they were running. They were asking what her name was since we had no had time to give her one. I told Chris to pick between the 2 girl names we had decided on and Fallon Lynn it was. When I finally was able to go see my baby I was in a state of shock. Her face was covered with the breathing mask and she had tubes and wires everywhere. My heart was breaking in my chest. I was trying to understand what the pediatrician was saying but not much of it made sense. My little girl had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, came out sideways (shoulder up) AND swallowed meconium when she made her grand entrance. All this added up to an extremely difficult start to life and my baby was fighting to breath on her own. We were then hit with the news that she needed to be transported to the NICU at Children's Hospital as she would possibly need a treatment that our birth hospital was not equipped for. 

Our family members were able to come see Fallon and I was able to hold her until the transport team arrived. But here's when things start to turn around. The 3 person team was awesome and explained everything they were doing and why they were doing it. Her pre-transport exam showed that she already no longer needed any help breathing and her levels for other concerns were miraculously in normal range. Chris and my sister left to be at the hospital when she arrived and I was taken to a postpartum room for monitoring. My sister called me shortly after they got to the hospital to share the good news that Fallon's arrival exam was great, she would not need the treatment previously discussed and she was just going to be admitted as a precaution. Even though that allowed me a sign of relief, I couldn't stand not being with my baby. Typically I would have been kept for at least 12 hours post delivery at the birth hospital to make sure I was recovering well. But my amazing doctor made an exception and formally discharged me just 6 hours after Fallon was born. I had no complications from the birth and she understood I needed to be with my baby. I was running on adrenaline and barely feeling any pain so I got up and got dressed and got the hell out of there. We ended up staying in the NICU for 2 days but that experience is a separate post for another day.

 Wednesday, July 6th 2016 I was scheduled for induction at 39 weeks of pregnancy, 1 day before my due date, at 11AM. Instead, I ended up given birth to my beautiful baby girl Fallon Lynn at 10:50AM. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz, was 21 inches long and laying on her left side. (This is very uncommon and was the culprit for my prolonged prodromal labor, My body spent a week and a half trying to flip her but she was out of room and stuck). It was one of the happiest and hardest days of my life. I don't want to remember the horror I felt on my baby's first day of life but one day I will be glad I wrote it down to share with her. I don't know why this happened or how my tiny little girl managed to bounce back so quickly. What I do know is that Chris and I are so thrilled to be her parents and are eternally grateful that today she is a perfectly healthy, normal baby. And if her birth story is any indication of her future, we are going to have a drama queen on our hands.