Introducing Zoe Mae!
I know it has been forever since I updated this blog....pretty sad that the last post was announcing "It's a girl!" & now I am announcing "Zoe is here!" Sorry about that :)
Anyway, we are very excited to announce the arrival of Zoe Mae Quigley. She made an early appearance on 10/23/09, one day shy of 38 weeks. She weighed in at 5lb 9oz & was 18.25" long. Labor was fast & easy. I woke up the morning of her birth with some slightly painful contractions, but didn't pay too much attention since I had a regular OB checkup that morning. The doctor came in & checked my progress since they were more painful than my normal braxton hicks. She looked up & said "You are 5cm!" She didn't say anything else for a minute, so I am thinking she is just going to send us home & we just wait for my water to break. She had other plans though. The next thing out of her mouth was "OK, I'm going to go get your paperwork ready." I responded with "What paperwork?" "Ummm, you are going to the hospital to have your baby!" Then came the tears. I just was not expecting it I guess. Luckily, we were allowed to go home & pack up & leave Riley with my dad before we headed out. She told me not to waste time though since Zoe was so low in the birth canal already. We got home, packed, showered (again) & headed out. Last time leaving the house as a family of 3!
We got checked in to the hospital sometime around 1pm & got settled into the room a little after. When they checked me about 2pm I was already 7cm & still wasn't feeling much pain. They decided to get my epidural going by about 3 just so I didn't miss my window of opportunity. When the nurse came back at 3:30 to finish up her questions, she told me she would be back to check my progress around 4pm. I told her I was feeling some pressure, so she decided to check me before she left. Good thing, since I was already fully dilated! She went to get the doctor & a few nurses came in to help get things ready. Once the doctor arrived, I started pushing. On the first push she was already crowning! 2 pushes later, Zoe Mae Quigley came into this world screaming. I was sitting propped up enough that I could see her coming out. It was amazing. It all happened so fast, it was surreal. She was perfectly pink & healthy. The doctor & nurses were amazed at how fast & easy the delivery was. Before I even left the delivery room, I was announcing we were definitely having another :) Michelle Duggar better watch out!
After a sleepless stay in the hospital the first night due to our proximity to the nurses station, we were released 24 hours after her birth. I was ready to go home & be with Riley & just be in my own bed. Riley was WAYYYYYYY excited to see her new baby sister. If she didn't get to hold her, a meltdown followed. We all survived the first night home & woke up the next day a family of 4!
Life, while chaotic, is going pretty good. I feel completely normal & had a breeze of a recovery. I even took Riley to Target 2 days after delivering Zoe. Zoe pretty much does nothing but sleep & eat & sleep some more. She is only waking once a night to eat & sometimes I am the one waking her to make sure she is getting enough! How lucky right? Riley is adjusting as good as can be expected. She has her moments, sometimes a lot of them, but she loves her baby sister. Actually, the main things causing her fits are when she can't hold the baby that very second. She just loves kissing her & holding her. I am doing everything I can to make sure she knows I love her & I really try to make sure I find enough one on one time with Riley. Luckily, Zoe doesn't mind nursing while I play dollhouse with Riley! Eddie is doing surprisingly well for someone living in a house full of estrogen. I don't know what I would do without him.
So here we go, moving forward as a family of 4. I feel like the luckiest wife/mom in the world! I will be posting more pictures soon, so stay tuned. I promise it won't be another 6 months before I update again! Naptime is over...off to get my girls :)