Welcome, Lucy!

I promised a post once Lucy was born and here we are, 6 weeks after her birthday and I am finally getting around to it. Oh well, such is the life of a mom.

We were blessed to welcome Lucy Jean Griffith to our family on Tuesday September 11, 2012. We had to be induced as she was very warm and cozy and decided that she wanted to hang out in my belly for a few extra days. The 11th was 4 days after my due date and I feel like my body would have gone into labor on its own that day or the next anyway. I was having contractions a lot and was already dilated to 4 cm when we went in for the induction. The nice thing about being induced was that we had a plan for Michaela. I was nervous about going into labor and having to scramble to get Miki somewhere before going to the hospital. So, we dropped her off at my friend Jessie Williams' house early that morning. I didn't sleep much the night before so I got up and did my makeup and curled my hair. Why not look my best if I had to be in the hospital to deliver my baby?

Matt and I got checked in to the hospital. I got changed etc. The Doctor came in to break my water at about 8:05 am and they started my pitocin shortly after that. My contractions started shortly after that and came quickly. I already knew I wanted the epidural after my experience with it when I had Miki. I ended up laboring for about an hour and a half before the anesthesiologist came in. She was very nice and very good but my epidural was awful! It usually takes about 5 minutes. Mine took over 45 minutes. I was in painful labor the entire time which made it hard to sit still. My back was really tight and a tendon was blocking the catheter used for the epidural. It kept veering off to one side so she would redo it and it would veer off to the other side. It was brutal. Hurt really badly in addition to the contractions I was trying to breath through. Matt and my wonderful nurse were each holding my hands and helping me breath. It was tough but we made it through. The epidural took another 20 minutes before it wasn't painful anymore. I could still feel and slightly move my legs which was good. It took no time at all after that. By 12:00 I was fully dilated and I did a quick "practice push" when I started feeling pressure. The nurse called everyone in and I pushed one round and boom! there was a baby in the doctors arms! So crazy! It all happened so fast and then she was on my chest staring up at my with big, dark blue eyes. The most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Right away, we just couldn't believe how pretty she was. She was round and rosy and just was looking around and taking in all of the lights and sounds. They cleaned her off and brought her back to me for skin on skin. We just sat there and held her for a few hours before they took her to the nursery.

For those of you who know how hard it was for me to nurse Micheala, know that I had good reason to be nervous about nursing Lucy. I had prayed and prayed that she would latch well and my body would get into the groove quickly and easily. Right away, Lucy was licking and clicking and all of the signs were there that she was ready so I tried to latch her on and she started sucking right away! I cried I was so relieved. She took to nursing like a champ and it only took about 3 days for my body to stop hurting every time we nursed. The medela gel pads helped me tremendously. They are cool and soothing and helped the soreness. I would recommend them to anybody. The 2 days in the hospital were fine. Matt went home the second night with Miki so I was by myself with Lucy in the hospital. It was good. It's hard to sleep in the hospital of course but we did ok. I was already a lot more sore than I was the first time.

The next two weeks were hard for my body. I know it's very normal to be sore but I was expecting it to be a little better than it was because it was the second time. Not the case. I was way more sore than the last time. It was pretty bad but we got through it.

Miki has adjusted pretty well to having a little sister. She loves baby Lucy so much and helps mommy get diapers and kid e col and blankies. She gives her sister loves every day too. She is very sweet, mothering her baby dolls like mommy does with Lucy. She will change their diaper, "feed" them like mommy feeds Lucy and pat their backs to burp them. She also puts them down for naps and puts them in the swing. So cute. She has had some attitude issues and her potty training has reverted a little bit once in awhile. All of which we expected from her. It's all normal, we know. That doesn't mean it is easy for mom and dad to deal with.

Lucy is doing well. She sleeps great. Already 5-6 hours each night. She loves to snuggle and has the  cutest little coos and smiles. She does get fussy every night for about an hour and does fuss a little bit once in a while. She is a baby, so we aren't too worried about that. :) She is so gorgeous! We can see the resemblance to her sister Miki but I feel like she is her own unique self and they are quite different. Lucy is darker complected and has darker hair and her eyes are very dark blue. All opposite of Michaela which I love. I am blessed with beautiful girls and a loving husband. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the blessings in my life!