A story about a baby.

Zaydi Justene Swensen.

 This post may be long. But will contain lots of cute pictures of a sweet baby girl.

Ok so I am going to put the story of my pregnancy and birth in this post. Don't worry, it wont be too long.

So many of you know that I had miscarried my first pregnancy back in 2012. The hardest thing I ever went through and am still trying to heal from. My body went through so much as well as my emotions. Because of this it took us 8 months to get pregnant again. Felt like an eternity.  The new year came and I told myself I can not obsess over this anymore and just let it happen when it happens. Well January came and went and I found out I was pregnant in February! I was so happy. I was terrified. To tell you the truth I was so scared. Scared of loosing another baby. I really didnt know how to feel. If I feel to happy and I lost it I don't know if I could handle another miscarriage, but at the same time I felt guilty trying to not get my hopes up. Because of this, it took me along time to bond to my baby. And I was nervous that I would go through the whole pregnancy without really bonding to my baby. It wasn't until my 20 week check up where they tell the gender, and do a whole body scan of the baby to make sure there is not anything wrong that I bonded with her. It was this picture that I saw and instantly I felt an overwhelming feeling of love for this person. I couldn't help but cry.

 Just before this picture they told us the gender. From day 1, the second I found out I was pregnant I knew it was a girl. I just knew. EVERYONE else thought it was a boy. And guess what it was a GIRL. Mom knows best. From this point on I was getting so excited. so anxious to meet our baby girl. My pregnancy was super easy I can't really complain. Morning sickness at the beginning with a few phases of it from time to time, and being tired. I was always sooooo tired. Other than that it everything went great.

Now fast forward to 36 weeks. At 36 weeks I started feeling lots and lots of cramping. Pain that would wake me up at night. I finally went in the labor and delivery to get monitored and thankfully everything was ok. They just told me to take it easy for the next few weeks. So I did. I really didn't do much except wait around for her arrival. At 38 weeks I went in for my appointment. He checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 2 and was 80% effaced. My Dr stripped my membranes (not the best feeling in the world) and sent me home. Nothing happened. So my next appointment at 39 weeks we talked about being induced. I jumped on board. I was done and ready for her to be here. We set the induction date for three days later. Saturday October 5th.

The day before we went in, Chase and I just spent the day together. We cleaned the house, packed up our car and just enjoyed each other, the next day our lives were going to change. I remember laying in bed (not sleeping) looking at Chase (fast asleep) and just crying. I was soo excited for her, but for some reason I was so sad that it was not going to be just us two anymore. It had just been us for the past 4 years and now all of a sudden there was going to be another human in our home.  But I knew that this was going to be amazing and I was ok letting someone else take his attention.

The next morning, with very little sleep, I got up showered, did my hair and makeup and we drove to the hospital. Just quiet, we pulled up parked the car and sat there for a min or so. We looked at each other and said, here we go. Got all checked in around 8 am and it all began. They started the Pitocin. I couldn't really feel anything so every half hour they increased the amount. I still didn't feel much pain. The monitor was telling a different story. Within just a few hours of getting the pitocin I was having contractions every 3 min or so. I couldn't really feel them. I was just happy as can be with ice chips.
The nurses kept asking me when I wanted to get an epidural and I told them I don't need one know but Ill let you know. It wasn't until they broke my water that I started to feel something. My Dr came in around 2 to break my water. We had to wait to break my water because I tested positive for a bacteria that they needed to treat with antibiotics before they baby could come. So it was a little boring in the morning waiting around for two treatments of the antibiotic. Anyways, after they broke my water I could start to feel them. Still it was not that bad. Now having contractions every 2 min or so, the nurse kept saying anytime you want the epidural let me know. I still didn't feel the pain bad enough to get one. About 2 hours past by and I was dilated to a 6. Feeling them a little more now, the nurse told that the anesthesiologist was about to head into a c-section delivery so it was either get an epidural now or wait till he is done. Well I was afraid of pushing without pain management so I decided to get one then. I think getting the epidural was the most pain felt during the entire delivery process!!! I hated it. Weirdest feeling else.
Once that was in it was just sitting around waiting for our little girl to decide that she was going to come out. Finally around 8 pm or so I started feeling something. Not sure what it was I kept pushing my button to get more medicine going through. The nurse told me that it was probably not contractions that I was feeling but my baby starting to make her way down the birth canal. They checked my cervix and guess what I was at a 10! hurray! They told me that they were going to make me wait another half hour or so before I could start to push. This way my body will keep pushing her slowly down and hopefully I wouldn't have to push for a long time. At that time I was not happy, I was so uncomfortable, very very hungry, and getting a little irritable.  Finally about 45 later they told me it was time. My family left the room and the fun began. I had to push for about an hour and a half! It was soo hard. I was so tired and I was getting the worst headache. Chase was so amazing during this process. When I felt like I couldn't push one more time, he would help me find the strength to do so. Finally she was out. And crying. I mean screaming! She was not happy to be out. They placed her on my chest and I just fell in love. It was incredible. They then took her and got her stats. Weighing in at 6lbs 13 oz. 19.5 in long. She was perfect. The whole experience was amazing.

It was a hard adjustment at first. But having her is the best thing in the world. Its crazy how much love you can have for someone that is only minutes old. That love continues to grow more every single day. Being a mom is the best thing and the hardest thing I have ever done. I would not trade it for anything. Her dad loves her so much. I just know they will be best of friends. There is nothing better than watching a dad care for his baby.

 She is now over a month old. Its crazy how much they grow and learn so fast.
Here are some facts about Zaydi.

*She LOVES her binky!
*Swaddling is a must at night, but she is a little Houdini and some how manages to get out of the tightest swaddle.
*She loves to cuddle. Which is great but it makes it hard to get things done because sometimes she won't let you put her down.

*She is now sleeping 4-5 hours at a time at night. Unless her tummy hurts, then she wakes up more often.
*She giggles all the time in her sleep.
*She LOVES bath time. But so does our dog Tilly. So it makes it difficult at times.
*She loves watching tv, especially with her dad.
*She is very very loved.