In the Land of Harmondom: Little Miss Lily!

I'm finally taking a few moments to post our latest & greatest news - the birth of Lily Joan! It's quite a story, so hang onto your seats -

Colby flew in on Monday the 11th, and we headed in Tuesday morning to be induced. (Rather, I headed in at 6 am. to get started on the antibiotics for the Group B Strep virus that I always test positive for - Colby came a little later.) The doctor broke my water at 10:30, with the hopes that that alone would get things moving along; but by 12:40 I'd only had mild, semi-regular contractions going, and the nurse felt we should try just a little "whiff" of Pitocin to help get things going a little better.

Well, a whiff was all it took! She started 2mg/minute, and within 30 seconds I started into hard contractions that stacked one on top of the other for a total of 8 minutes! So, she decreased the Pitocin to 1mg/min. :) About 10 minutes later she decreased it by half again, but there was no turning back by then - I was deep into fast, hard labor.

We called for the epidural man and he began to prep me (which included 10 minutes of telling me all about the risks of this procedure that I'd had twice already), but just as I was curled up on my side getting ready for relief, I felt the need to inform the nurse that I was feeling MAJOR pressure down under - and upon checking me, she found that I had progressed from 6cm to 10cm in about 20 minutes & was ready for delivery immediately. Which for me simply translated to, "You're not getting an epidural." **sob!!**

No turning back now, however - just a few minutes of waiting for the doctor to arrive, one giant push of all the energy I had left in me, and Miss Lily Joan was born! She measured at 6 lbs. 14 oz., and 18 1/2" long - perfect in every way! I barely had the energy to hold her as they handed her to me, but her sweet little face was everything I'd imagined.

Struggling to keep my eyes open to see my new baby girl

2 days old, getting ready to go home

Fast forward to the following Sunday: I'd been feeling horrid all weekend, and even went to the ER on Friday night with no real definitive answer other then being very dehydrated. I continued feeling generally crappy, and by Sunday I was laid out with severe chills & other flu-like symptoms, sharp uterine pains, and a temp of 101.5 & climbing - so back to the ER we went! They confirmed what I was already suspecting: I had developed a postpartum uterine infection. (Which was a little strange since I didn't fit any of the risk factors for it. But, whatever.)

My 103-degree fever and shooting abdominal pains earned me a dose of morphine (AHHHH) and a bed back in the Women's Pavillion for the next 4 days! During that time, I would also develop a case of thrush in my mouth from the heavy antibiotics used to fight the infection, and some major shortness of breath that a CT scan revealed to be a pleural effusion. (I'd never even heard of that before.) Not to mention, a severe case of I'm-sick-of-the-hospital-blues. :( Plus, I spent that whole time pumping & dumping my milk, since the antibiotics in my system would likely upset Lily's tummy. Whoever said "Don't cry over spilled milk" did NOT have this scenario in mind; every dump down the drain made me wanna weep.

I've now been out a week, and I can happily report that I'm feeling basically normal again! Well, other than the postpartum depression that I always get to deal with after childbirth. Seriously - what a terrible idea to give already overwhelmed & under-rested mothers a bout of depression to remove the happiness from this happiest of situations, and leave them feeling sullen & gray in world full of color and light. When I get the chance, that's one of the big "Why's?" I'm presenting to God.

But I digress - after all of that, I'm left with my prize for my troubles & suffering... this most beautiful and precious little bundle who is only getting sweeter by the day! She is dearly beloved by her mother and father, sister and brother, and so many family members who filled in for Mommy while I was otherwise occupied. :) We only wish our little family could be more complete right now, but we will be again before long.