A Few Goodmans: July 2013

Welcome to the world Tessa Rose Goodman! Today is your official due date, but we feel so lucky that we got to meet you almost 2 weeks ago!

The Story:

It was 4^th of July weekend and we were getting excited to meet our baby girl, but also wanted very much to celebrate and play all weekend with Jonah. We will share all the fun we had that weekend in our next post; this one is about Miss. Tessa. Saturday night, we had a special Mommy Daddy date night, walking around the Short North for Gallery Hop and dining at Till, while Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lauren watched Jonah. Over dinner, we both agreed that we had reached a point where Tessa would be more than welcome to make her appearance. Things were in order, the holiday done, family in town, and many of our desired to-dos were complete.

Not long after we had drifted off, Lindsay awoke with mild but steady contractions about every 2 minutes. We called Bill and he headed over after a long and late drive home from Put-in-Bay, to sleep at our house to be there with Jonah. We arrived at Mount Carmel East around 2:30 am and got checked out in triage. They weren’t sure if this was the real deal, so they sent us out in the halls on an hour-long walk. When Lindsay got re-checked, they saw some progress and decided to admit us. By 9 am, Lindsay’s obstetrician, who was there on call on her birthday, came in to examine the progress and break the water. It was then that Lindsay also got an epidural- a scary and painful experience, but totally worth it! Pain never got any worse than about 6/10 all day, and the epidural sure did its job! By noon, Lindsay was looking ready, but was able to lie around comfortably while baby got herself poised and ready to go. Julian did an expert job of keeping Lindsay happy and Mimi gave some added support and comfort in that final hour.

At 12:30, it was time to go. We couldn’t believe it was really time to meet our daughter! We shared such a sense of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. Lindsay pushed through 2 contractions, and out came a beautiful baby girl! Tessa Rose made her appearance that sunny Sunday at 12:33 pm, weighing 7 lbs, 20 ¼ inches, crying a beautiful cry, and healthy as can be! Julian cut the umbilical cord, and unlike with Jonah, we got to hold her right away. What an amazing feeling, and one that we will always treasure. We got to snuggle her a while, she had her first checkup, and then she was returned to Mama to nurse. She is a natural! It seems like that should go without saying, but she really amazed us by knowing exactly what to do right from the start.

Here she is! With Dr. Friday.

First bath

After we got a bit settled, all 4 grandparents and Alana came in to meet Tessa. Lauren did us such a favor staying with Jonah and waited until a bit later to meet her. Everyone was so helpful in making our hospital stay possible and keeping Jonah happy and involved, and we are so grateful for the teamwork and love. Jonah, who has been talking about baby sister for months, came into the hospital room with a gift for Tessa and gazed up at her with a look I will never forget. It was one of wonder, love, amazement, and fascination as his expectations and reality met. He loved her at once, and was so excited to hold her, first with Mommy, then “Jonah hold her next to___ ,” requesting we each share the experience with him.

The moment

Cheerios :)

The first night went well, with sleepy Tessa and her Mama both needing to be woken to nurse every 3 hours. We were very pleased with everyone at the hospital who helped us during our stay. It was surprising how much we learned and also how quickly we felt ready to go home. By the next evening at dinner time, as Dr. Friday had mentioned, she came to visit, gave a few reminders, and said we could go home if we felt ready. We were excited to get home, and also to leave the hospital, which had lost air conditioning after a batch of cookies set off the smoke alarm at the Subway downstairs. We were missing our Jonah bug soooo badly, but knew that Mimi and Poppy would be putting him to bed shortly and we could use the extra sleep in the morning. The first night with our good little sleeper was great. When she did wake to nurse, she was efficient and went right back to her slumber.

Our first few weeks at home together have been very nice. Tessa is a great snuggly, sleepy, sweet little girl. She doesn’t get upset about much. We are feeling a bit sleepy, but not too bad so far. Recovery has been easy and quick for Lindsay. Nursing is going well, with Tessa clustering her feedings in the afternoons and evenings and going longer stretches at night. Sleep has been interrupted some by Tessa’s middle of the night attempts to poop. Sorry to embarrass you Tessa, but you’ve never heard such a to-do! We have been hosting visitors very gradually, and balancing relaxing with entertaining ourselves and Jonah. We have made a few trips out for ice cream, shopping, and even to the zoo. Tessa sleeps peacefully through it all. We are so excited for everyone to meet our little sweetie and we hope to see you soon!