The Berg Family Est. 2010: Rilynn Leigh Berg's Birth Story

She's here! Rilynn Leigh Berg was born at 2:41 PM on Monday, January 27, 2014. She weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 19 and 3/4 inches long. Here is her story...

I hardly slept Sunday night, I was too excited to meet her. Finally it was time to wake up and get ready for her arrival. One of the perks of having a cesarean was getting our house clean and the laundry done before going to the hospital so we came home to a clean house with fresh sheets and everything. We dropped Josie off at my parent's house on our way to the hospital and arrived 5 minutes early at 9:55 AM. Our c-section was scheduled for noon so we went to a triage room to monitor the baby, put in my IV, sign paper work, and prep for surgery. Well, noon came and went, and we were bumped further and further back. There was an emergency c-section and another complication with a patient that put us on the back burner for a couple of hours. My Nanny came to visit us, which was a great way to pass the time while we waited. Finally, it was our turn! Travis changed into scrubs, I met with the doctors and anesthesiologist to go over the procedure, and I was given antibiotics and a stomach neutralizer. I was taken to the operating room where Travis had to wait outside for 30 minutes while I got my spinal block put in. Those 30 minutes were the only 30 minutes either of us felt a little nervous. The nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologist prepped me for surgery. While I was getting my spinal block, they realized I was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and I had started breaking out into hives. Luckily, it was a mild reaction and we could continue moving forward. Once my spinal block had been put in, they tested my abdomen and verified I was ready to begin. They put up the screen and brought Travis in. Once he was there, I felt so much more at ease. They began immediately and she came out bottom first within 10 minutes. Because of her funky position inside, she came out with her feet by her ears. The nurses put their arms out like goal posts. I could barely hear her cries, but I knew she was out and the tears of joy started rolling. Travis took some great pictures and went to greet her for the first time. Once she had cleared the liquid from her lungs, they brought her to me to hold while they finished my surgery. The three of us went to recovery for a couple of hours. In recovery, Travis and I picked her name. We had 2 names we were deciding between, but we especially loved Rilynn Leigh because my middle name (before changing it to Siltanen after getting married) was Lynn and Travis's middle name is Lee so it had a special meaning to it. For the first 2 or 3 hours of life she screamed... a lot! The nurses said she was one of the loudest they'd met. She hated any time they touched her so her first bath, foot prints, shots, and tests were especially unpleasant. But whenever it was just the 3 of us cuddling, she was happy and calm. We were able to head to our postpartum room later that evening. When we were settled, my parents and sister were the first to come visit, next Travis's parents, then Taylor and Daniel, and her last visitor on day one was her Uncle David. Travis slept next to my bed in a recliner with Rilynn on the other side of him in the basinet. He got up to change her and give her to me to nurse through out the night. We didn't sleep much, but we didn't mind. The nurses came in to check on both of us every couple of hours. In the morning, I was able to eat solid food starting with Jell-o and stand at the edge of the bed. Later that day, they removed my catheter and I was able to walk across my room to the bathroom. I was feeling pretty good on my pain medication and started taking walks with Travis around the hall on our second night. The second night we slept much better; the nurses didn't come in as much and we had started a routine of feeding and changing. On Wednesday, I was feeling so much better so we decided to go home Wednesday night around 7:30. We dressed Rilynn in her first outfit, which she hated. Travis packed up the car and came and got Rilynn and me. I sat in the backseat with Rilynn screaming her head off the whole way home. Adjusting to clothes and leaving her first home was a lot for her to handle. Our first night at home was a blur. I still couldn't get out of bed easily on my own, so Travis had to continue to get her for me to nurse her and he changed her. She didn't enjoy sleeping in pajamas and wanted to be held all night long. We ended up taking shifts on the couch holding her while the other one slept in bed. We each got about 7 hours of sleep total so it wasn't that bad. Night 2 worked much better as we developed our routine. It has been the best week ever. Travis and I are enjoying being home together as a family. He has all of next week off as well. It is going to be so hard having him go back to work, but I'm trying not to think that far ahead. I never thought I could love my husband more than I did when I married him, but watching him with her and having him care for me all week has made me fall even more in love with him. Sorry, had to throw in so mushy emotions. We are getting plenty of rest now. Rilynn is a great sleeper (knock on wood) and only gets up to nurse. We take a nap each day too. I've gone off my pain medication and only need ibuprofen a couple of times a day. We took our first walk down the street and back yesterday. Recovery has been surprisingly comfortable for me after the first couple of days, but I couldn't have done it with out Travis. I will continue posting pictures and updates of Rilynn. We look forward to watching our little girl grow... but I'm hoping time starts slowing down soon because it seems to be flying by.

Our family ready to go home. We had AMAZING care from our doctors and nurses, but we were ready to start life at home.

Rilynn's awesome hair!

Snuggled up at home.

First day of life.

On the first night, we had her suck on our fingers to soothe her.

Our first family photo. This is one of my favorites.

She's out!

Having trouble keeping her legs down.

Mommy with her baby in the operating room.

First bath... no need to explain what she thought about that.

Chilling in room 362.

Nap time.

Travis is the king of swaddling! She LOVES when her daddy swaddles her. He can usually keep her hands down, which she likes to wiggle out and keep next to her face.