I had my baby on December 30, 2008. Sophia Isabelle Vuong Angsuco came into this world 6 days late and let us all know that she was in charge from the start. I was in labor for 22 hours, starting with an induction at 6pm on 12/29. After starting and stopping my contractions for 22 hours, I was 10 cm. dilated at 2:30pm on 12/30 and I pushed exactly 5 times and she arrived at 2:59pm. Epidural was administered at 10:30am. I don't know why I waited that long (and the only reason why I remember this exact time is because The Price is Right was on!) but after I got it, I was in heaven. I'm actually glad that I was able to feel contractions because now I can truly tell you that IT HURTS! Oh, man...never in my life have I felt that kind of pain/pressure. Moral of the story: get the epidural.
It wasn't an easy labor experience. Every time I had a strong contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop. I had contracted on my own after the induction medication, but we had to stop the contractions completely out of concern for the baby. Then they'd put me on pitocin, first at a higher dose, but then the contractions came too quickly and too strong. So they stopped the pitocin. They started again with a lower dose, but the baby's heart rate kept dropping, so they stopped the pitocin. Talk about yo-yo! I wasn't ready to push yet because by 12:30pm, I was only 3 cm. dilated. My doc came in and talked about a possible cesarean. Right when he uttered those words, I started to cry uncontrollably! I didn't want a cesarean and I begged my doc to do everything possible to get her out without any surgical measures. So he said they'd try the pitocin again, this time slowly. (I was fine with stopping/starting the contractions b/c I didn't feel a thing! Epidural = my bestest friend) After the started the pitocin once more, the doc came in right before 2:30 and checked my cervix...I had fully dilated in two hours. After that, it was a whirlwind of people coming in my room and the nurse getting me ready. The bed collapsed/pulled apart, spot lights came one, my doc was dressed in scrubs within a matter of minutes. I pushed when they told me to push (oh, and by this time my epidural was wearing out, so I was able to feel something. Still didn't hurt as much, but I still felt it all!) and in 20 minutes, she was out. It was at this point that I noticed how many people were in my room--about 15!! 8 with me, 7 with my baby. Apparently, my doc almost called a crash cesarean because baby's heart rate went waaaay low, but with forceps and an episiotomy, they got her out. She was perfect--Apgar scores were 8, 9 respectively. We were in love from the start!!
And it's all true. You forget about all the pain and everything else once you lay eyes on your baby. She is amazing. We were able to leave the hospital the next night because I didn't want to spend New Years Eve at the hospital. With my doc's ok, and the Pediatrician's ok, we were discharged from the hospital at 7pm on 12/31/09.
The first few days were difficult, but manageable. I think the hardest part was sleeping, not because the baby was crying so much, but because I would constantly wake up to make sure she was ok. Yes, it was hard and we had sleeping issues....especially when Sophia had her days and nights mixed up for about a week. But my mom was with us and so were my in laws, so we had tremendous help. Jerome and I took care of her at night and they all helped during the day. :)
Sophia is 6 months in a few days. She is truly amazing. At six months, she can:
- sit up on her own (starting at 5 months)
- roll over both ways (tummy to back at 3 months, back to tummy at 3.5 months)
- hold her own bottle (starting at 4.5 months)
- laugh, laugh, laugh
- recognize her name
- recognize mom & dad (can even recognize dad on Skype!)
- play with Bella
- eat solids (only rice, sweet potatoes, bananas and carrots so far--starting at 5 months)
She isn't sleeping through the night. She sleeps well, but wakes up 1-2 times a night to feed. She falls right asleep after she finishes though. She is a reletively easy baby and so, so happy. She only cries/fusses when she is tired or hungry. When she wakes up from naps or sleep, she plays until someone comes to get her. Sometimes she will yell if no one is around, but is all smiles when you get to her. She lets anyone hold her and loves to look at faces. She hasn't had any indication of seperation anxiety yet. We are really blessed to have such a great baby. Oh! And I may be biased, but she is DARN CUTE!
As for Jerome and me--we are doing well. Life with baby is definitely different, but we love it. I am currently on summer vacation and in California. Family and friends met Sophia for the first time and everyone loves her. I am getting spoiled as well--my parents are watching her so I can run errands and get things (like going to spa and getting mani/pedis) done. My family is trying to convince me to leave Sophia her so that my life can be "easier" and to pick her up in December. hahaha--no way! It's super nice to see that she is so loved though. I will definitely be taking full advantage of what I have now! It's all back to the real world when I go back to Hawaii!!
I love how everything I talk & write about just goes back to Sophia. *sigh*
Here are some pictures of the bugger. (most are recent b/c the older pictures are on the external harddrive at home)
finally holding her head up
Happy Baby!!
4 months old
5 months old
Mommy & me
Daddy & meAlrighty--that's all for now. Hopefully, I can keep up this blogging!! TTFN!
