Almost 2 Weeks!

Well, Lila is almost 2 weeks old. Time sure flies fast (when you're running on minimal sleep). HA HA! Overall Lila is a truly laid-back baby although I think she's quickly learning the skill of manipulating her parents :) She's had a few "fits" over the last few days and I think we need to practice putting her down a bit more than we are...but it's SO hard. She really has been a good sleeper only waking up for feedings at night and then goes right back to sleep. Lucas is already an amazing dad and it's fun to see them interact. Lila loves her daddy already. She loves mom too, but just because I'm THE food source :)

We've had Lucas's mom, Judy, in town for the last week from South Carolina. I'm so glad she got to spend time with Lila in her first few weeks. Next will be visits from Lila's Grandpa, GG, Aunt Lori, and Aunt Wendy.

Enjoy some new pictures of our Little Angel!

Lila Claire Tesh

Born January 4, 2010 at 1:36 pm

7 pounds, 4 ounces

18 inches

(Click on pics to see a larger image)

She's here!

After much anticipation our beautiful Lila has finally arrived!!

We decided to go ahead and induce when I hadn't gone into labor by the due date. I really hadn't been wanting to induce but we waited long enough for the natural process and with Lucas having time off work and relatives coming in from South Carolina we wanted to get the show on the road.

Here's the Cliff Notes version of how things went:

Sunday, January 3rd

• Went to hospital around 8:30pm to start a few rounds of antibiotics the night before

• I had a break down after I got the IV's started and blood taken because the reality of it all hit me at once

Monday, January 4th

• Started pitocin for induction at around 5am and although I was having contractions I wasn't really feeling them

• Don't remember when they initially checked me but I wasn't making much progress and was still dilated to 3cm, which I had been for a few weeks

• Water was broken around 9am and then came the PAIN!

• Experienced real labor contractions for over and hour with much help from Lucas and my mom and lots of BREATHING!

• Then I caved and asked for an epidural. Immediately after getting the epidural I told the nurse that I was starting to feel pressure down below. She said that was a good sign and checked me again - I was 9 cm and quickly went to 10!!!!! (She really should have checked me BEFORE the epidural...it's likely that I had already progressed well before then.)

• Pretty quickly after I began pushing. My mom and Lucas were on leg duty and I pushed for about 45 minutes. My mom thought I was sleeping through each push because I had my eyes closed just focusing :)

• After crowning we all expected the shoulders to come next but Lila shot out like a rocket, landing on the bed at 1:36pm!!!! She had been face up which kind of made her stuck down there otherwise we probably would have delivered a few weeks earlier as anticipated by the dr. (sorry for the "details").

Lila is absolutely beautiful but as you know Lucas and I are a bit biased :) She is really even-tempered and I love her coo's and sweet cries. If only she didn't think 4am was play time! We feel so blessed to have her and she was definitely the best 30th birthday gift ever!

I'm so lucky to have the best husband who helped me through labor, compliments me, loves his baby with all his heart, and CHANGES DIAPERS! My mom has been a Godsend and I'm so glad she got to experience the adventure of labor with us. We thank her for allowing us to get some R&R on our first night home last night.

Bottom line: Lucas, Lila, and I are so thankful to the friends and family who have shared in this truly special and amazing time in our lives. We love you all and look forward to sharing much more through the years to come!

Still counting....

So I think the midwife got us a little excited at our Wednesday, Dec. 23rd appointment letting us know that I was 3 cm dilated, 70% effaced and that labor would most likely start within 48 - 72 hours after the natural induction process. Apparently this birthing process can't be predicted or relied upon because we're still waiting! ARGH!

I did make a typical first-time parent mistake yesterday and jumped the gun making Lucas take me to the hospital....against his wishes. Since Wednesday I have lost my mucus plug (I know gross...I'm sorry) and thought I was started to leak amniotic fluid which can be really dangerous for the baby since it can lead to infection. I called the Labor & Delivery nurse and the midwife who recommended I come in just to check it out and see if I was indeed leaking. After about an hour it was determined that I wasn't leaking and the machines detected NO contractions at all. The nurse measured my progress and she said 3 cm still and only 50% effaced....which is a step back from what the midwife said last Wednesday. So we were sent home. I don't feel stupid or regret going to the hospital. It's better to be safe than sorry and now we'll know the routine next time, the real time! Gotta love a first-time mother!

So I guess some of the good things about this waiting period have been: getting to spend a lot of time with my parents and getting a lot finalized/prepared at the house including setting up a tv stand in the new gameroom area and setting up the pack 'n play in our room.

We missed Christmas morning at my Grandmother's because we were snowed in! We got about 2 inches here in the Denton area and the roads just weren't safe that morning....iced over. We did go over there Christmas night for dinner and really enjoyed the time with family. Overall though, I think next Christmas will be a little more fun with a 1 year old baby girl to enjoy the holidays!

Will keep everyone posted. Looks like we'll have a new baby a lot closer to the actual due date, closer to our birthdays, and to the New Year!

72 hours and counting!

We went to the dr. yesterday at 38 weeks and 2 days. I was dilated to 3 cm and was 70% effaced. The dr. "swept my membranes" which is supposed to release a hormone that naturally induces labor - within 48 to 72 hours. So far it's been a little less than 24 hours and there's nothing happening - no contractions and water's still in tact. I was hoping to have Lila before or on Christmas because I just think that would be more fun for someone than having a birthday after (I'm pretty familiar with the after Christmas birthday). It's hard to let go and remember that this isn't under my control - God and Baby Lila are in CONTROL!

On a positive note my cold is going away. I felt pretty miserable yesterday so I'm glad to breathe again :)

We're still hoping for a Christmas baby but we'll take a healthy baby and a quick labor/delivery (pretty please) any day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

37 Weeks...and counting!

Here's a pic of me at 37 weeks! It's apparent that all fashion has gone out the window. Now it's about comfort :)

Also, some updated nursery pictures.

Already Dilated!

So we went to the doctor yesterday and also got a sonogram. The baby is in head down position and I'm already dilated to 1 cm. This doesn't mean the baby's gonna come tomorrow but it does mean it may be sooner than January 4th and that things are already progressing naturally on their own!

The sonographer estimated the baby to be around 6 lbs and here's the bad news: apparently Lila has her daddy's hair already....which means not much! The sonographer said she has "peach fuzz" so no luck on the head of black hair like I had when I was born :(

I'm finally EXCITED rather than anxious, scared, and nervous. It's so close now!