Katelyn's First 2 Months

 

I know it has been a LONG time since I've posted. Lawrence has convinced me to continue posting about Katelyn as I did Samantha so that we always have a record of their time as babies (assuming I can figure out how to save/archive this stuff forever). So here goes!

Katelyn has been a great baby so far. She is always happy, crying only when she needs something. This time around Lawrence and I feel pretty comfortable with what her cries mean, too, which helps. She is already sleeping long stretches from time to time - Saturday night was 10 and a half hours and last night was 8 and a half, but usually it's closer to 4-5 hours at a stretch. She smiles a lot and is cooing now. She also has great motor skills - she can grab the rings on her bouncer (and not just by accident), and she can turn and lift her head well.

Today was her 2 month checkup, and here are her stats:
Weight - 12lb 7oz, 72% for age
Height - 23.25in, 80% for age
Head - 15.5in, 79% for age
She did well with her vaccines (3 shots and a drink), only crying for a minute. The doctor said she looks great!

I'm off work until after the New Year, so we have lots of time left together. It has been great so far!

For record's sake, I'll include the birth story here - feel free to skip if you got the gist from Facebook :) Katelyn was due on August 10th, a Saturday, and I was sure she would be on time since Samantha was a day early. Our neighborhood association was closing the only road into our neighborhood on the following Monday, so when she didn't arrive by my 40-week appointment (Friday the 9th), we scheduled the induction. The first available appointment was Tuesday, but I called Sunday and was able to get a spot for Monday at 5:30am.

My Mom, who moved to Folsom in May, took Samantha Sunday night, and we headed to the hospital bright and early the next morning. We got there closer to 6, and it was 7am before we were checked in and I was hooked up to the IV and monitors. The OB on duty did a pelvic exam and determined I was about 4cm dilated already. I'd been having a few somewhat painful contractions, but nothing consistent, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear I was already progressing. The nurses thought it might go quickly, especially given my prior experience with Samantha. Boy did it!

They started the Pitocin drip at 7am with 2 drops every hour. Since I was going to try to make it through without pain meds again, we asked for a midwife, and the one on duty came and introduced herself around 9am. By then I was having painful contractions every 5 minutes and I was about 6cm dilated. At around 10:30 I was asking Lawrence if it was too late for an epidural because I was in horrible pain with contractions less than 3 minutes apart. He told me I was doing great and could tough it out and the midwife said I was about 8cm dilated. The next 2cm went really fast - I was ready to push by 10:50. The midwife did a great job of guiding me when to push and when to relax, and Katelyn was born at 11:07! It all happened so fast and drama free.

I was able to do skin-to-skin time right away before the umbilical cord was cut, and I nursed her right after they cleaned her up. Breast feeding has been going well ever since, and I'm sure it's because we got that opportunity. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better birthing experience!