Happy Birthday

Monday I decided that I needed to go grocery shopping done to make a bunch of freezer meals to preparer for when the baby comes. J and I spent around $25o to preparer 14 meals and then some. I was able to get some small things together and planned on making the bigger stuff the next day. Well that night I lost my mucous plug and my first thoughts were excitement. I told J and he just thought it was gross. On my side it meant labor was getting closer.

Tuesday Morning I woke up with sharp contractions. They were to the point I wanted to curl up on all fours. I ended up timing them around 4am. They were ten to eleven minutes apart lasting no more than a minute each. There was a part of me that wanted them to be Labor contractions, but they felt like Braxton Hicks. I timed each one I had with the app I had on my phone. Within a hour in a half, they got closer together. At eight minutes I woke up J and told him I was getting really strong contractions. He stayed awake with me asking me questions. I could hardly answer him though with the pain I was getting from each contraction. When I wasn’t having one, I would look online on when to go to the hospital. I read that you have to be at 4 cm dilated for them admit you and labor contractions should be 5 minutes apart and around 30-60 seconds each. I swear I read that over and over again every day when I started to get contractions, but each time I needed to remind myself for the “It Is Time” moment.
At 6am, J and I decided that we need to get dressed, wake up Bri and head to the hospital.
Could I just tell you how excited she was when I told her it was time. It was like it was Christmas Morning for her and Santa just came.
We got to the hospital around 7am. I was in so much pain at this time. Getting out of the car was a chore, walking into the hospital was a chore, going into the elevator was a chore, well you got the point. They had me go into a room to monitor me and to see how dilated I was. Last week at my checkup I was at a 4, when I got checked this time, I was still at a 4. What? Really? No progress? The nurse monitored my contractions along with our baby’s heartbeat. We quickly found that she did not like my contractions and her heart rate would drop with each one. She wanted to admit me right away and assured she would admit me no matter what because I was in active labor.

They got me all check in to Labor and Delivery where they hooked me back up to monitors again and got me prepped for an epidural.
My Mom came to the hospital to get Bri to keep her busy while I was in labor. It was nice she came when she did because they started to get me prepped for my epidural after they left.
The prepping for the Epidural was the fun part because I was in so much pain and they had to ask so many questions as well. I had three contractions while he was prepping me and it was hell because I had to sit and breath a certain way to not screw things up. I did ask him maybe a dozen times how long does it take for it to take effect. After the anesthesiologist left, my Dr’s partners come in to check my dilation as well with breaking my water to speed things up. When they broke my water, I was at a 6. Finally! Progression! Once it was all ready and the drugs were flowing, it felt like I was on cloud nine.  I was finally able to relax. The epidural was beyond relaxing. So relaxing I didn’t realize they broke my water or checked to see how dilated I become.
Since I was at a six I was able to relax and enjoy being drugged up till I waited to finish dilating. It was weird not being able to feel my feet or legs, but I did not care. I was glad I was able to take a nap. I was able to text my family and friends to let them know I was in labor too.
My nurse came back in after a few hours to check to see how I have been progressing. When she checked I was at 9+ cm and she said that she would come back in a half hour to see where I was. Once I was at a 10, she would have me start pushing. Little did I know I was in for a treat. She came back in a half hour later and sure enough I was fully dilated and one hundred percent effaced.
I swear I asked her the same questions over and over again to prepare myself mentally. How long will I push for? When will my Doctor come in? Whats the longest labour? What is the shortest? I just had a lot of questions. She told me I can be pushing from anywhere to 1-4 hours and that is considered normal. After she starts to crown is when she will call my Doctor and have him head over. Good thing his office is right next door to the hospital.
Off I went to pushing for TWO long hours. My contractions were anywhere from two minutes apart to five minutes apart, so pushing during the contractions was hard. Her heartbeat was keep on dropping with contractions here and there, but was not anything to worry about. Half way through they put me on oxygen to help and had me break every once in awhile to catch my breath. After two hours, she was almost under the pelvic bone. The nurse called my Doctor and he was over before you knew it. The nurse caught him up to date with how things were going. He checked her position and quickly learned she was sunny side up. He was able to turn her face down and hold her there. He told me if he was not able to do that, he would of had to do an emergency cesarean. No one wants to hear that after pushing for two hours. She was getting stuck on my pelvic bone and wasn’t able to slide out, but a few more contractions went by with a few big long pushes and a episiotomy and our little girl was born.

  
I cried and cried while I watched them clean her off and while J cut the umbilical cord. It was such a beautiful experience. It was scary knowing that her heart rate was dropping and then with her getting stuck from being face up. I was keep on praying that we get her here safely. That is all I wanted, and my prayers were answered. We have a beautiful daughter.
She has a bruise on her forehead and a crooked nose from being face up hitting my pelvic bone. Things that will go away. Her bruise is already lighted up and her nose is slowly moving into place.
I am beyond thankful that we have our IVF miracle.
Bri is in love with her. All she wants to do is hold her and sing to her. She is already such a great big sister.
I was able to fall in love with my husband all over again watching him bond with his daughter. She already has him wrapped around her fingers. He changed her first diaper and stayed up with her in between feedings so I could get some rest. He is a good daddy.

Recovery has been a lot harder than I would expect. During delivery, my doctor had to do the episiotomy what lead to loosing a lot of blood. My heart rate dropped along with my body temperature. I felt like I was going to throw up all the sudden. They had to put me on extra fluids to keep everything balanced. When they were ready to move me into my room, I felt like I was going to faint. Thankfully, the nurses took good care of me and by the next morning I was doing much better. My heart rate went back to normal, and so did my body temperature. I am really sore down there and have to tend to my stiches. There is no such thing as wiping anymore, I have to use warm water from a water bottle and squirt clean the area. Its is a long process to just have to go potty now.

We were able to get discharged from the hospital on my due date. I believe this would call for a celebration. Happy two day birthday!
She had a great first day back at home. It is not like being in the hospital and having someone waiting on me hand and foot, but at least I have J and Bri to help around the house and to help me with things that I need. We are truly thankful that we had a safe delivery and a healthy daughter. I feel in love all over again in many ways. I am blessed beyond words for this miracle. Going through two rounds of IVF and over 12 hours of labor was beyond worth it to finally hold our answer to our families prayer.