Labor and Delivery

I'm a little behind in my posting, but I will try to catch you up, but use different headings so you know what I am talking about :)

SO, the biggest news is the new addition to our family: Miss Ellie Louise.

The appointments leading up to her arrival were, hmm, what's the best way to describe it, not really saying anything. I was 0 dilated and pretty much a 0 effaced at each appointment, even on December 31st (which was the last appointment before my due date, which was January 7, 2010). I decided to try all the old wives' tales theories on how to naturally induce labor, Mexican food, walking a ton, the "other type" of exercise, etc. Lol. I wasn't too worried though. I knew she would come when she was ready. Even though I was a 0, from what I could tell, that meant absolutely nothing. There are women who have been dilated to 2 or even a 4 for weeks before they actually go into labor. Some women have the water broken then go into labor. Others go into labor, then have their water broken. God created every pregnancy unique and different, just like He created every child unique and different.

My pregnancy was pretty textbook I would say. I had the morning sickness right at the 6 week mark. Then I was absolutely sick for 8 weeks until the 14 week mark. Those 8 weeks seemed long. I was sad I couldn't really hold down any of my husband's fabulous cooking :( And for those who don't know. I was blessed with marrying someone who is an excellent cook, and actually does most of the cooking. LOTS of grilling, and LOTS of meat, which was great until my morning sickness, which unfortunately left me getting sick with red meats. Even now....

We decided to not find out what we were having, which I am very thankful for! I wouldn't change it for anything! We very much enjoyed being surprised, and we will be surprised with the next one as well. It was super hard for me during all the ultrasounds, because I am normally a planner. So going against my character was fun.

So anyway, back to her arrival. So nothing nothing nothing. I wasn't experiencing any contractions or pain or anything. But, on Wednesday morning after midnight, my water broke, and off to the hospital we went. I had Group B strep, so we had to get to the hospital pretty soon after my water broke to get me on antibiotics so I wouldn't transfer anything to the baby.

They got me hooked up to the IV and monitors and stuff, and then the waiting began. My parents arrived shortly close to 3 in the morning. At that time, I was just super tired. The contractions were getting harder and closer together, but I was managing. By 5 in the morning, I was dilated to a 3, and the pain was getting harder. I decided to take a little bit of pain medication to take the edge off. Taylor hated that because I became unresponsive completely. With the next pregnancy, I don't intend to take the pain medication because of that reason. The drug also made the baby super sleepy, and the doctors were concerned about her heart rate. Another reason I probably won't do that. By 6 in the morning, I was a 4. Even though I was progressing, the doctor said I wasn't progressing fast enough, so they said they were going to start me on pitocin. They didn't really give me a chance to respond. I was hoping not to have it, but because of Group B and my water breaking 6 hours prior, I think there was concern though.

Then, it got tough. I had decided not to do the epidural. But towards the end, the pain was getting really hard to breathe through. For those who are expecting, it so important to breathe. When you are breathing through the contractions, it works a lot better than screaming through them. So I started to ask questions about the epidural. My doctor had told me that she would be back at about 11:30 to check on me; she worked at the other hospital. By the time I was ready for an epidural, about 9:30, they checked me and I was at an 8. So then things got super hectic, and they made the call to the doctor.

In the room with me, I had Taylor, my mother, my sister, and my best friend, Angie Moughon. Both my sister and Angie made it into the room in the nick of time. Angie came as they were getting me ready, and Ginny came in minutes before I actually delivered. I was so thankful that they were all there. Taylor obviously being a huge encouragement and telling me to breathe. My mom was able to just comfort me. Angie was the huge support in saying "you can do it!" By the way, she had her little one in the Baby Bjorn throughout the delivery. Super crazy and awesome. And I am glad my sister was able to experience it with me. My doctor even said afterward about how awesome my support system was. She said that often times, people that are there do not do a good job of supporting the mom, and she said she thinks that part of the reason the delivery went so well was because of my great support system.

I will leave the rest of the details out, but Miss Ellie came into the world at 9:52 AM on January 6, 2010, weighing at 6 lb 13 oz and 21 1/2 inches long! When she came out, my doctor said, "Okay Dad, what is it?" Taylor peeked over and said "A Boy." And the doctor said, "Nope, try again." Taylor looked and said "Oh, its a girl!" So, we have our girl!