one week ago today

in my sweet and chic hospital gown.  the last picture of my bump.

One week ago today, Clara Jane joined our little family.  I've toyed around with writing a full our "birth story" - but honestly I just don't have time to do so...you can understand why.  So...with the help of a few pictures and a couple captions I'll tell the tale of Clara's journey to join us.

We arrived at the hospital on Tuesday night...after work.  It was a long day.  All I wanted to do was eat...and the hospital menu seemed GIGANTIC...I was happy.

 Tommy and I settled into our room...it was nice...had a warm golden glow to it.  Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous about the birthing process...I was scheduled to get an epidural...I was, however, nervous about what was to come after.

"How do I take care of a baby!?" kept running through my head.
"I haven't read the baby books yet!  I need to read the baby books first!"

But she was coming, whether I had read the books or not.

 At 8am, after an evening of "cervical ripening," I was induced.  A couple hours later I was given my epidural and allllllll was at peace with the world.  I slept all day - best labor experience ever.  It was the most sleep I had consecutively in months.  While I slept, I dilated 7 cm in a few hours!  It went by fast.

The delivery, however, was not so kind.  The epidural got turned off, and let's just say that lots and lots of stitches were placed.  I thought my voluptuous hips were ideal for a birthing experience...I didn't think about my soft tissue structures.  It was really scary for Tommy to see me like that...but we really worked as a team to get through it.  He was my hero that day.

Clara Jane made her official debut!  Her cries were so sweet, we couldn't help but laugh and smile!

We made our skin to skin contact within seconds.

 Isn't she a doll? 

 Tommy went and took pictures of all the fun stuff that Clara did with the nice nurses.

She came back to us all clean and perfect.

Finally - I got to take a shower...this was a big accomplishment as walking was a HUGE challenge.  But then I got to go cuddle with Clara - which has become my favorite thing in the world.

This man adores his little girl to the moon and back.  Since we've been home, he has been taking care of both of us.  We are lucky girls!

It's hard to believe that was 7 days ago!!  Seems like yesterday.

*note:  I've been completely out of commission.  I haven't checked my email in several days, and I haven't even talked to my friends on the phone yet.  I wasn't prepared for how painful the days following delivery are, and I'm hesitant to talk to people about it all.  I wish I could just say everything was fantastic! easy! fun!  But it wasn't for me.   Early this week I even called my doc in tears...my pain was out of control (honestly, it still is).  I can't sit or walk yet...which is not ideal for a taking care of a baby.  And there isn't even any real "resting" as our little one needs to eat every couple hours - and when she's sleeping I'm taking sitz baths, or trying to calm my raw bleeding nipples.  These first few days of motherhood are not glamorous for me. I know it will get better as it goes.  I just wish I could play with Clara like I want - I only have a couple of weeks left to play with her before I go back to work!