Born!

Riley Marie Weil was born at 8:16am on January 9th, 2006 at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. 7 lbs 12 oz, 20.5″ long and, most importantly, happy, healthy, and beautiful.

Here are the rest of the Hospital pics!

Some people have asked about how labor and delivery and the hospital went, so here’s the story if you’re interested…

It all started last Saturday evening when Sage noticed I was having frequent contractions… I was in denial for some reason, but Sage started keeping track, and by 2am they were coming 4-6 minutes apart and seemed liked they were sufficiently strong and painful. So we packed up and went to the hospital, only to be told I was only 1 cm dilated (you have to be 3-4cm to stay), and to come back when I was having stronger contractions (which at the time I really could not imagine). Luckily they gave me percocet and ambien (sleeping pill) and by the time we got home i was so loopy and sleepy I actually got a few hours of decent sleep (it was strange, i could still feel the contractions, but i just didn’t care about them…).

Sunday morning they had became less frequent and more spaced out, and we kind of tried to go about our normal business. My mom arrived in the afternoon (I had called her at 1am the night before and she basically went straight to the airport) and we went out to dinner and gave her a tour of the new (and so far from finished) new apartment. By evening things started picking up and I started to discover what real contractions feel like. When they were less then 5 min apart again and i just couldn’t take it anymore, we drove to the hospital, only to be told i was only 2 cm dilated, (but 100% effaced). The nurse told me I’d have to leave, but then she and the docter witnessed me having a series of contractions in which I cried and swore and nearly tore the railing off the bed, and they decided I could stay. A couple hours later I got an epidural, thank god, and we won’t speak of what occured during those hours while I waited, except to say I swore I was never going to do it again.

Everything was very smooth and relatively painless after the epidural. I dozed and listened to music while Sage and Mom slept. The epidural was strange, kind of lopsided, so i could still feel the contractions on one side and one of my legs was totally asleep – couldn’t even lift it up). By morning they said I as ready to start pushing, which was strange because i really couldn’t feel what I was pushing. Sage and my mom each helped by holding my legs, and I progressed pretty quickly. Suddenly the nurse said the baby’s heart rate was dropping and everyone got real hectic and they were all yelling to push push push without break (usually you just push 3 times with each contraction then wait for the next one) and i got so scared, I mean so scared, that i wasn’t going to be able to do it. I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder in my life then I did just then, and amazngly suddenly they were telling me to stop and I heard the strangest little squeaking cry. they had said she probably wouldn’t cry right away because when my water broke it looked like it had meconium (the babies first poop) in it, and they had the peds team on hand to suction the fluid out of the baby’s lungs. But she surprised everyone and started crying right away. It was the most amazing sound, and I just cried and cried and cried while Sage held on to me. The peds people decided she was okay and gave her to me, and I don’t even know how to explain how I felt then. She was so amazing and so foreign and I couldn’t believe I had made her. I loved her immediatly, even though she was screaming, and everything suddenly felt totally worth it – the pregnancy, labor, all of it was nothing compared to the amazing little baby girl in my arms. We hung out in L&D with her for a while, then Sage went with her to the nursery for a bath and newborn exam and shots and whatever, and I went to maternity with my mom. When they wheeled me into the room the nurse said “How was it?” and without thinking i replied “not so bad.” Amazing how quickly one forgets. I then slept hard while my mother sat with me.

In the early evening I got moved to a private room (i think my stanford affilation got me moved to the top of the waiting list) which was a HUGE improvement over the double room, in large part because there was a little bed for Sage to sleep in. We were all so giddy and happy even though we were exausted and when friends came by to visit I was so proud of how beautiful and wonderful my baby girl was. It was amazing to watch other people hold her and gaze at her face and know she was mine and Sage’s.

That fist night was a bit stressful as Riley and I hadn’t gotten the breast feeding thing down yet and I was filled with irrational fear that if I didn’t watch her sleeping she might stop breathing. Sage, wonderful man that he is, helped us figure it out.

Tuesday morning I went to a breast feeding class and the teacher took my baby to use as an example, which was fine, except when i asked for her back she wouldn’t return her… so I ended up taking her and leaving the class. A little dramatic i know, but I’d only had her for 24 hours, and i didn’t want to share her with some stranger. Back in the room my father had arrived, and was so cute with the baby. By evening Eric and Pat arrived, also very excited and sweet with the baby. The night was a bit rough again, but at least by then Riley and I were getting good at the feeding thing, though she seemed to fall asleep almost as soon as she started feeding. Wednesday moning we finally got the go ahead to go home and got riley all dressed up in her going home outfit. Getting wheeled out of the maternity ward with Riley in my arms we passed women who were just arriving in maternity and I realized how far we’d come already. Right after labor you really feel like you’re body has been through a war, but everyday it gets better.