You guessed it!
It is finally time for the story of how this little lady got here. Just to warn you, it is long and I will be rather detailed just for the fact that this is my current journal, but I'll try to bold the important parts so you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't want to.
As most of you know, I was pretty anxious to get this little lady here. I had to remind myself everyday that the longer she was in there, the bigger and healthier she was getting. I didn't really "try" anything except walking however, when I reached my 39 week mark I was officially ready. No real news at my appointment, I was dilated to a 2+ and the doctor said he would be shocked if I didn't have the baby within the week, but we still decided to strip my membranes in hopes that would speed up the process a bit.
Aside from that, I just continued walking. One Sunday a friend invited us over for dinner which we really appreciated (Thanks Annie!!)! The larger I got the less motivated I was to make dinner, so we jumped at the invitation. They made some delicious tacos and one of the options for toppings was jalapeño peppers. Now I am not one for spicy food, and I heard that the spicy food myth was really a myth, but I figured what they heck, I'll give it a whirl. So I ate 3 slices of peppers and let me tell you, they were hot! I was sweating as I ate them! But no sign of them starting up some contractions. So I just kept walking.
Tuesday, my friend and I went on our normal daily walk. Contractions started and kept up/got more intense throughout the walk. I was pretty excited! When we got home, I realized we needed to go to the grocery store so I convinced Jeff to walk with me. All the while my contractions never stopped. As we walked, we talked about how today just might be the day! When we walked into the grocery they got more intense and I told Jeff that I think we should go to the hospital. We finished up our shopping, I felt quite silly at times as I was hunched over the cart in pain from a contraction, but I was determined to get what we needed. Plus, my water hadn't broken so we weren't in any real rush. After we were done and on our walk back home we called our friend and arranged to drop Parker off. We finished up packing our bag and his and headed over to drop him off and then go to the hospital.
Realizing I hadn't eaten in a while and I might not get to eat again until the baby is born we decided to swing by Kneaders, our favorite sandwich place and get some food. I really was not in the mood to eat, but I HATE being hungry, so I got a small sandwich and ate it as we pulled into the hospital parking lot (which is only across the street from Kneaders). We we headed inside, leaving most of our stuff in the car since we weren't sure they were going to let us stay. I was pretty hopeful since my contractions had been consistently 5 mins apart for about 6 hours now, but without my water breaking, we weren't sure what to expect.
They let us in, showed me to a room and started monitoring me and the baby. Sure enough my contractions were still pretty consistent, now ranging from 2-5 mins apart. I was now dilated to 3 cm but after an hour no progress was made. They said we could go out for a walk to help move things along and so we did.
It was a beautiful evening! You couldn't tell by these pictures, but it was after 8pm when we were out walking around. We did a lap around the block and decided to head back over to kneaders for some tasty treats since I wasn't officially admitted yet. I was really craving one of their HUGE chocolate covered strawberries, which was amazing. We also got a cookie and brownie. I told Jeff that I might be willing to have a baby more often if he is willing to spoil me with such tasty treats (they were not cheap but o-so-worth it!).
After we enjoyed some of our treats we headed back to our hospital room. My contractions definitely got more intense, however when they came to check me still no progress was made. The walk did get the little lady pretty excited and as a result they didn't want us to leave. She was all over the place! Moving a ton and her heartbeat was non as steady as they would like, so we stayed and they continued to monitor me for about 4 more hours until she was more steady.
Unfortunately at midnight she finally calmed down. They said since I lived so close I could go home. I was pretty frustrated since my contraction were still consisted and strong about 3 mins apart. They said if I didn't come back in on my own through the night they would induce me in the morning. I then posed the question, "why don't you just induce me tonight?" They asked the doctor, but he said I should just come back in the morning, BOO! It seemed pretty ridiculous for me to leave, get no rest at home because of the contractions, and come back just a few hours but alas, we did as we were told.
Despite the pain meds they gave me, I did not really get any rest. They called me at 7:30 am and said they were ready for me. So we got up, ate and headed back to the hospital. They checked me in and asked if I was dilated at all at my last appointment. I laughed and said well last night when I was here I was dilated to 3 cm. The nurse was like, O, you were here last night? And I explained that I was there for 6 hours and then sent me home at midnight. She then said, "Why didn't they just keep you?" That's what I wanted to know! The doctor that was now on call even agreed that it was silly they sent me home. Why couldn't they have been on duty last night, I probably would have had my baby in my arms by now instead of in my tummy. O-well, so they looked to see if I made any progress over the course of the night. Thank goodness all the pain and lack of sleep wasn't for nothing, I was now to 4 cms. The nurse then though maybe they wouldn't need to induce me, I might just do it on my own. However after an hour passed, I was still stuck at 4. The doctor was going to break my water and see what happened from there but he got tied up doing other deliveries and a C-section so the nurse decided to start me on the pitocine at about 10:00 am.
At this point I was still going strong without the meds, but I was starting to consider it more and more as the contractions got stronger and stronger. Plus the nurse and the doctor said that with them inducing me it really didn't matter if I got the epidural or not. I still wanted to wait a little while longer, so the nurse left and said to just call her when I was ready for it. Sure enough, about 10:30 I called for the shot. Let me just say I am a fan of modern medicine! :)
My parents (who started driving when we told them we were going to the hospital the night before) arrived at about Noon. They were so thrilled to be there, and it was great to see them too. Although I know I could have had the baby sooner if they would have kept me overnight, I was glad they didn't in a way because now my parents could be there for the birth. For those of you who don't know, both me and my sister are adopted. Since having a baby really is such a miracle I wanted my parents to have the opportunity to experience it since they never had. It was really a special day for all of us.
So the waiting game continued until the doctor finished up with the other patients which was about 1:30. At this point I had only progressed to 5 cm, but the nurse kept saying after my water broke it would happen really fast. The doctor came an broke my water and sure enough, she checked me about 10 mins later and I was already to 8 cm. She left and came back a few mins later and I was fully dilated and ready to go! They set everything up, got the doctor and said it was time to push. Her heart rate started to drop, they assumed it was because the cord was around her neck (which it was) and we needed to get her out fast.
Well, 4 pushes and 15 mins later there she was!
The second he held her up I could visibly see she was MUCH smaller then Parker. No wonder she was SO much easier to get out! haha! Only 7 lbs 9 oz (I say only because Parker was 9 lbs 1 oz) and she was 19 1/2 inches long. She has long skinny fingers and toes and almost Blond hair, and Blue-Grey eyes. So from the time he broke my water to the time she was born only about 30 mins passed. It was pretty crazy!
Truly Perfect in EVERY WAY!!!
First shot with Mom and Dad.
This time around was really special, not only because my parents were there, but because we had an entire hour together before they took her to get a bath. This is the normal protocol, but Parker had some fluid still in his lungs so they took him away after only a few minutes. It was so wonderful to be there as a family and cherish this new member of our family. It was perfect!
Grandma P & Emily above and the boys celebrating below
(Don't worry, they are made out of See's Chocolate. :)
Well, that's it for now. I'll do another post about the hospital stay and Parker meeting Emily.
And just a heads up for those interested, this little lady can eat! She pretty much gained an ounce a day last week. She is even starting to get a little double chin. :) What a cutie!
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