Phoebe's First Two Weeks

Here is Phoebe, just a few minutes after birth and not too happy about it--although she barely cried at all! She was born with a surprising amount of hair--and dark hair at that (we were expecting a baldy, maybe with a few wisps of platinum blond hair). She did have light eyelashes and eyebrows. During the delivery I didn't cry or scream or threaten or swear at Shawn--I was very proud of myself, and VERY grateful for the epidural. Phoebe was face up, which provided for incredibly painful contractions, and the epidural took the pain but not the pressure away.

After two and a half hours of pushing (and about forty-four hours of labor), the doctor comes in, assesses the situation and gives me three options--I could either continue pushing for a few more painful hours, get a C-section, or he could use forceps to put her head in the correct position and then yank her out. I decided on the last choice, and about ten minutes later and a little more pushing she was born! Just Shawn was with me... and like six other people--the doctor, nurses, and a paramedic student. Yeesh. Anyway, out she came with a mighty push, and I may have started BAWLING when I saw her. My baby! :-) Oh my euphoria! AND I got my cute little cheeks and double chin I wanted!

Her umbilical cord was around her neck--but thankfully not tightly. After that the epidural faded VERY quickly, and by the time Dr. Young worked to push out my placenta I was in a lot of pain. It didn't help that periodically after that the doctor and nurses would come back and push down hard on my stomach to squeeze out any residuals. That hurt worse than the delivery! Thankfully, they did bring over some painkillers for me to take which helped take the edge off.

She is a very cuddly baby--she hated being put down in the nursery, and on the first or second night a nurse came in with her because she wouldn't settle down. I just had to hold her and she settled right down and we just looked at each other. And I may have started crying again (I still get choked up when I think about that quiet moment!). What a huge wave of crazy emotions! I was already mourning her growing up and getting old and dying. I couldn't help but marvel at how short our time on earth is, and how fleeting moments like these are.

Here she is, all dressed up and ready to go home! She had a fit when we put her into the car seat the night we left the hospital, but fell quickly asleep on the way home.


My poor feet stayed swollen for over half a week!


Phoebe loves her stretchies!


Here's just a random picture of my little squeaky piggy! When it's time to feed, she throws her head and body back, turns to face me (or whoever happens to be holding her), and then does this expectant sideways glance, waiting to be provided sustenance instantly, and FLIPS if it's not there. Kills me every time! She sucks on arms and clothes and anything that's there until she figures out milk isn't coming out of it. Phoebe sometimes puts her index finger over her thumb, and sucks on that index first knuckle, or on a bunch of her fingers and thumb at the same time. I guess her thumb isn't big enough to suck on alone!
She also shakes her hands and arms angrily, and has the little trembling chin that Cohen (and I guess all babies) had as a tiny baby. Phoebe also CLAWS at her face and eyes, which freaks me out! She grunts and squeaks and sighs, especially at feeding--and gained nearly a pound in two weeks (I thought babies were supposed to lose weight! She gained her first three ounces in just a few days!).

She hit two weeks yesterday, and in spite of the long nights we've had with her, it's gone by very fast (I don't think I will mourn those sleep-deprived nights once they're gone, however!). Most nights one of us ends up sleeping with her on the couch in the front room, but we're starting to crack down on her, trying to get her used to sleeping in the crib.
At Phoebe's two week appointment yesterday she peed for the nurse when we measured her height (she's 21 inches now!) and her weight (8 pounds 11.5 ounces!) , and pooed for the doctor--luckily the latter made it IN the diaper. Dweebie Phoebe! She did check out as healthy--so so far so good!