Introducing Vivi!

I'm about five weeks late posting this, but I'm sure y'all understand that operating with a newborn means things don't run exactly on schedule.

I won't share my birth story, because quite frankly I don't think most people want to hear a birth story that isn't their own or someone extremely close to them, so I'll just do a list of a few highlights so you get the jist.

-Went to my 40week (my calculations 39week) appointment and my blood pressure was high, as it always is at the doctor's office. So high in fact (160's) that my doctor told me it was baby time. I didn't realize exactly what she meant until she told me she was sending me to the hospital immediately to be induced. Cue me breaking down and crying in her office. I was NOT ready, my hospital bag was not completely packed and I felt like I had a million other things to get done before the baby came. I pleaded for bed rest instead, but she was not having it. So to the hospital I went.

-They broke my water, but labor didn't progress fast enough so then came the Pitocin.

-Umm..worst pain of my life, labor that is. I had no illusions that it wouldn't be, but I don't understand how people do this un-medicated. I went to about a four before they'd give me my epidural and it was torture.

- My epidural didn't really take, so the anesthesiologist came back not once, not twice, but three times to try to make it right so I wasn't pleading for the nurse to call him because "I'm still in pain! No, it's not just pressure..it's pain! I never did lose feeling in my legs and I could still use them, as well as still felt the urge to push. So, yeah, I'd like my refund back on that epidural.

- In all I labored for about 12 hours. Took me about 45 minutes to push and then there she was! Viviana Valentina in all her glory. She was so alert and so observant and so quiet that I actually asked the doctor and nurses if she was ok. She did not scream or really cry at first, which really freaked me out. Thankfully, she was just fine.

- The first things I noticed about her was that she had blonde hair, a dimple and my lips. I guess my predictions about her being my mini-me weren't far off.

- We went home after the first night, because although being fed and not having to do much in the hospital had it's perks, I was sick of the nurses coming in at all hours of the night and waking all of us up.

-The first weeks have been a learning curve. Sleep has been all over the place, because Vivi either sleeps all day and night. Sleeps during the day, but has trouble sleeping at night. Or doesn't sleep during the day and sleeps at night. We had one horrible night where I slept maybe an hour and a half at most because she was screaming and would not sleep. I cried at least three times that night. It's tough. Tougher than I thought it would be. Thankfully she's been napping/sleeping better these last few days.

-I had to cut chocolate out of my diet for now. Apparently it disagrees with her stomach. The bright side? Maybe it will help getting rid of those pesky pounds I put on during pregnancy.

-Speaking of weight, I'm six pounds off of where I was when I got pregnant. The downside? I started off about 30lbs over what I should be and had been when we first got to Italy, so even though I'm really close to my pre-pregnancy weight, I'm not even close to my goal weight. I am steadily losing (don't worry, I'm being smart about it and still eating enough so I won't lose my milk supply)

I'll be popping in from time to time to update when I can. I already have a few blog posts in the works, so hopefully it won't take me another five weeks to share those!

My sweet little girl! This is one of my favorite newborn photos I took of her. Let me just say, newborn photography is not my forte. It was much more difficult than I thought it would. Probably due in part to the fact Miss Vivi would NOT sleep no matter how many tricks or tips I tried during her session.