Anna is now 11 days old and just as sweet as can be. She is such a good baby -- just so happy and content, she's nursing well (about every 3 hours), and sleeping soundly for us. I thought I would finally pop in here to post about the day she arrived.
Wednesday, September 28th
Spent the day doing some big cleaning. I was planning on thursday being an errand day (one last Costco trip) before my friday morning induction. My mom was on the road traveling to our house and due to arrive about 7pm. I asked her to come up one day early so I could have her help on my last prep day. It was a beautiful sunny day so we met friends for one last play date at the park. All day long I had been having frequent contractions -- about every 30 minutes. Nothing painful, but they were definitely noticeable and slowed me down when they came. That afternoon I kept thinking that I should probably put all the last minute items into my hospital bag and toss it into the van for our Thursday errands . . . . just in case. Later, Scott came home from work early (about 4pm) and took Conner outside to mow the lawn. Payton and I took a little 2 1/2 block walk down the hill to a friend's to pick something up. As we came back up the hill I began thinking this is probably some pretty good labor-inducing exercise. Although I was scheduled for the induction, all along I've really wanted to go into labor on my own. Both of the boys were planned inductions, so I had never experienced the "excitement" of rushing to the hospital and all that.
Back at the house I began straightening things up and getting things out for our crockpot dinner. Scott came in from mowing the lawn. I was standing in the kitchen and felt a sudden gush. I turned from Scott and rushed to the bathroom mumbling, "um, I think . . . wow . . . . ya, something's happening." Scott came to check on me -- "I think my water just broke." "Really?! Can I take a shower?" Yes, please.
5:05 pm -- I couldn't believe it was really happening! I got on the phone to my doctor, my mom (who was an hour and a half away), and to a friend to take the boys until she arrived. We gathered our things together,
5:20 pm -- Dropped the boys off at a friend's house and got on the road -- the hospital is 45 minutes away. During the drive I had contractions every 6-8 minutes but they weren't painful. Scott and I were talking and laughing the whole way about what a different experience this was going to be for us.
6:00 pm -- Because we had missed dinner we thought it would be a good idea to grab something before arrived at the hospital. We pulled into the Dairy Queen drive through. After making the order Scott said, "No pressure, but my wife's water broke a half hour ago."
6:15 pm -- We parked at the hospital and made our way up to the maternity floor. When we checked in at the desk they took us right back to a triage room to get all set up.
7:00 pm -- They administered the first dose of antibiotics for the Group B Strep. The second dose would be given 4 hours later at 11pm. They want to make sure that I get two doses before the baby is born, so they told me that they wouldn't do anything to help my labor progress until that happens.
9:00 pm -- By now we were in the birthing suite and they check me for the first time . . . 3 1/2 cm dilated, 90% effaced.
10:00 pm -- Still not in any kind of labor, Scott and I have just been chillin for the past couple hours, watching tv. Lost just ended and I went to stand up to use the bathroom and had a gigantic gush of fluid. After it stopped I made my way to the bathroom. During the couple minutes I was in there I had 2 big contractions -- they were definitely feeling different than everything I had experienced so far. I knew I needed to get back to the bed quick.
10:10 pm -- I had the nurse check me . . . 5 cm, almost thinned out. The contractions were getting stronger and stronger, feeling lots of pressure.
10:30 pm -- I made my request for an epidural
10:40 pm -- The drugs are in place. I got a combination spinal & epidural which meant just 3 minutes to relief.
Thursday, September 30th
12:00 am -- The epidural is starting to wear off so I asked the nurse if we could see about getting a second dose.
12:05 am -- She checks me out, for what seems an awfully long time -- asking me to push a little during the contraction. She then informs me that we are ready to push!
12:17 am -- With just one contraction (3-4 pushes) our baby was here! Scott and I both looked closely to see if it really was a girl and sure enough! They laid her on my chest and she looked just perfect. She didn't really cry at all -- just really calm and quiet. It was a wonderful moment as we just snuggled together.
Statistics: weight - 8lbs. 7oz.; length - 19.75 inches; head - 14.25 inches
