SHE'S here! Finally, SHE'S here! One week ago today our precious daughter, Amelia Ruth, was born.
Amelia Ruth
5:49am
Monday, August 24th, 2009
7 lbs 10 oz
21.25 inches
Here's how it all happened....
I started having contractions Thursday, Aug 20th. I didn't go to work. I was was over due by 4 or 5 days and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable! I had a doctor appointment that morning and for the first time I was registering a high blood pressure reading. The dr told me to go home and rest and she said that we'd induce the following Wednesday if the baby didn't come over the weekend. Thursday came and went. No baby.
Again, on Friday, even more contractions. My doctor asked me to come back in for another blood pressure check. I went in before work and it was still high. The office was really backed up and there were only 2 doctors in. They had me go upstairs to Labor and Delivery for a Non Stress Test. I went up and
they were full as well. Finally, they found a room for me and monitored my contractions and baby's heartbeat. The contractions were there and consistent but just too far apart so they sent me home. I was just 1 cm and 100% effaced. I was told to go home and get horizontal. No walking. No salty food. No fun!
Before I went home I had to stop at Barnes and Noble to get a baby book. It had been on my "To Do" list for weeks but never got checked off. On my way out of the parking lot I reversed into another car that was backing up. That's really great for an almost 41 week pregnant woman with high blood pressure. We both got out and inspected our bumpers and all was well. I thought at this point it might be a good idea to follow dr's orders and go home and lie down. By the end of the day, Friday came and went. Still no baby.
Saturday I rested all day. I still felt contractions but I couldn't get them closer than 7 minutes apart and you have to have them 5 minutes apart consistently for an hour. I started to feel like this baby would never come. I worked from home a little and took a couple of naps. Nathan and I had to miss Adelyn's (
Rachel's little girl) 1st birthday party. We heard it was a lot of fun, though!
I went to bed. Saturday, still no baby.
Sunday I woke up at 5am with stronger contractions and they were finally 5 minutes apart. I timed them until about 6:30 and called the dr. He said that I could either stay at home where it would be more comfortable or I could go in to the hospital. I thought to myself," hmmmmm....stay at home where there are no pain killers and no drugs is more comfortable than going to the hospital? Well, we did stay at home for a while. We took a short walk around the block to see if the contractions would stop or slow down and bring us to the realization that it was just another false alarm but this time it wasn't! I truly was in real labor! Yay!
Our bags were by the door and had been packed for weeks. We loaded up the car and went to the hospital around 11am. We were checked in quickly and I was checked out. They said I was now 2cm. Big freakin' whoop! I was hoping that I was going to discover that my threshold for pain was miraculously way better than what I thought. Nope! I'm a wuss. The contractions I was having were very uncomfortable and I thought to myself, "HOW CAN I ONLY BE AT 2 CM???!!!" So many friends walk around for weeks and weeks at 2 and 3 cm. I was experiencing real discomfort and I'd be so bold to say PAIN for those 2 little centimeters. Oh geeez, what would this day bring?
Thankfully, the staff was accommodating and gave me my epidural a little early. They normally wait until you're at a 4 or 5 but I think they could tell that I was a big baby so they granted me my wish. All I can say is an epidural is your friend. I know its not for everyone but its definitely for me!
So, the day is going along nicely. Family starts to arrive at the hospital around mid afternoon. I'm feeling pretty good. I get to about 5 cm and then I start to feel some discomfort. Ouch! It's starting to hurt again! The anesthesiologist, (love, love, love this doctor! He was so wonderful and comforting and let Nathan watch every move and even added a little more commentating since Nathan was so intrigued) came back and topped me off with more of the good stuff.
Ok, ok, I'm feeling good again! Whew! It got a little scary. By this time I was so thankful to have loved ones around but I also was getting very tired. It had now been 12 or 13 hours since labor began. Nathan asked everyone to wait outside for a while so we could rest. The put me on pitocin and magnesium sulfate. The mag/sulf was for my high blood pressure. It actually is a muscle relaxer that helps high blood pressure patients avoid seizures. I didn't feel any different with high blood pressure but I guess it's something you don't mess around with. The side effects of the mag/sulf are flu like symptoms. I felt HOT and achy. Not too bad, though. Since its a muscle relaxer and the uterus is a big muscle that needs to contract to get baby out they had to counteract with the pitocin. Once that was in full motion my contractions were much more productive. By midnight I was at 8 cm then it just stopped. We predicted the baby would come around 2am but by 2am I was still 8cm. At 4am the dr came in to talk with us about considering cesarean. He said the baby was ready...just waiting for those last 2 cm. He was worried about size of baby's head and shoulders and considering how long I'd already been in labor he recommended c-section to avoid any additional stress to the baby. I was all for it! Cut me open. I'm ready.
From time time they start the surgery it takes about 5 minutes for them to get the baby out. I was very groggy from no sleep and hours upon hours of labor. I remember telling Nathan that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to grasp what was going on b/c of how out of it I felt. Then, I heard them say, "Here it comes.....it's.....a..... GIRL!" I have waited so long to hear those words, "It's a _______". I still get teary when I relive that moment in my head. What a precious moment I'll never forget! Even though Sunday and Monday felt like one gigantic day, Monday will go down on record as one of, if not the most, wonderful day of my life! It's right up there with the day I married Nathan. I'm so thankful for this little girl that God has entrusted to us to raise. We are up for the task. She's a week old today and this past week has been filled with tears of joy, very little sleep, moments of pure happiness just starring at her endlessly, time with family and friends and of course, lots of poop and pee!
It's a fact. Babies love to be swaddled. Amelia sleeps so well when she'd bundled up like a burrito. She loves being in the swaddle but the act of the swaddle....not so much! Nathan is a master swaddler. He's got skill. She knows it's coming. That baby straight jacket is a sure bet for a good 4-5 hours of night sleep and she fights it! Her little legs are so strong and she tries to hyper extend her legs so that she can bust out of the swaddle after the big struggle. Sometimes we luck out and swaddle her when she's already asleep and when you pick her up her legs are folded tightly underneath her, like she's still in the womb. Here's she is swaddled up on the couch. She looks so little!
