4 Weeks

I can't believe that four weeks have passed already. It is amazing to watch this little girl grow everyday. I'm getting excited because we have to change diaper sizes and all of her newborn clothes are getting a little tight. I realized I've neglected the blog and all of you who haven't had the chance to meet Aria in person - so here's a look back at the past 4 weeks.

Week 1 was dominated by sleeping, feeding, and learning how to care for a newborn. My recovery went really well so I was eager to figure everything out right away. We had both families here and it was sooooo nice. This week was also dominated by trips to the outpatient lab to get Aria's biliruben tested. She was pretty yellow and every day the level seemed to climb. By day 6, the doctor decided she needed to be on a bili-bed as much as possible so the special lights could help her levels go down. She took to the bed like a champ.

Week 2 went by with more testing for the biliruben and luckily it went down! After almost three days on the bili-bed the doctor said it was ok for her to be done. We had her two week check up and the doc said she was doing great. Her weight was up just over a pound from birth at 8lbs 4oz.

Week 3 was much of the same. We started getting into a schedule of feedings every three hours. She started taking 3 oz bottles and was sleeping about 4 hours in between feedings at night. Jeff and I were on our own and although it was a little scary, everything just worked out. We've gotten into a pretty good pattern for our little family.

Today Aria is  4 weeks old. She has been doing great! On Friday, Jeff and I decided it was ok to take her out and we went to Chili's for dinner. It felt soooo nice to be out of the house. Outside time seems to be critical for my sanity these days. Saturday night my mom came to babysit and we went to the movies. It was VERY strange to be out without our little bundle but we enjoyed ourselves. Sunday we felt like it was time to get back to church. Aria got all dressed up and I loved it.

Happy May Day - Happy Birthday!

Tuesday, May 1 - Happy Birthday to Aria Jo Cambruzzi

The Birth Story

On Tuesday morning, I woke up about 3:30 with mild contractions that were about 10 minutes apart. At 6am we got the call from the hospital to come in so we packed up and headed in to be induced. We got checked in, shown to our birth room (which has a beautiful view of the south mountains), and changed into the VERY stylish hospital gowns. The nurse started an IV and we waited for the doctor to come. Dr. Glenn came to visit just before 8 and told the nurse to start the pitocin by 9 - he wanted to make sure that we got enough fluids in me before we started into actual labor.

The pitocin picked up my contractions and an hour later the doctor broke my water. That was pretty much the most painful part because right as he broke the water, he had to place the internal heart monitor on the baby's head. I was in tears by the end. By 11, I was at the full dose of pitocin and the contractions were coming about 90 seconds apart. I was in enough pain that the nurse convinced me to get the epidural early and she called the anesthesiologist. He was AWESOME - he came in with smiley face suspenders and told me to roll over. I was concerned that he would have trouble moving me, but before I could say anything he basically flipped me over and pulled me to the edge of the bed...it kinda scared me. He was quick too - the whole process took about 5 minutes and I was so grateful. Within 15 minutes I was just watching my contractions on the monitor. The nurse was having a hard time measuring the strength of my contractions so she decided to put in the other internal monitor - it slid right up next to the baby's chest.

After the epidural, my contractions slowed considerably. I wasn't dilating very much so it was pretty much a waiting game for the next 5 hours. At 4pm I finally made it to 5 cm. Over the next two hours I dilated completely and the doctor came in and tole me I was ready to push. The baby was face up so he told me it could take a while to get her out. Pushing was pretty much the most intense thing I have ever had to do (pushing without be able to feel what you are pushing). It took so much out of me...on the upside, I pushed a total of 20 times, over 15 minutes and out she came. (How do other women push for over 2 hours?!?!?!?!?) Dr. Glenn was able to turn her head just before she came out - it worked out so well, she didn't have a cone-head at all.

There really are no words to describe the first moment I heard that beautiful cry. They immediately placed her on my chest as they dried her off. Perfect cheeks, perfect lips, perfect nose, and SO MUCH RED hair!

Aria Jo Cambruzzi

7lbs 5oz 21in long

Arrived at 6:25pm - May 1, 2012

Day 1 & 2
We spent the next two days in the hospital. We had a lot of visitors and the nurses spent a lot of time trying to teach Jeff and I how to do everything from changing a diaper to nursing and burping Aria the right way. By Thursday morning, I was definitely ready to go home. We FINALLY got the all clear, packed up our precious little girl and headed home.