She's here!!

Our little girl finally made it this morning. She was born at 8:39 AM after about 10 hours of labor. Not bad for a first timer, right? Yesterday I was having some cramps on and off and thought they might be the real deal. I picked Andrew up from school around 5:30 and we headed over to Sam's Club to get a membership. Well we walked around for a good 30 minutes or so and I was feeling some minor contractions. When we got home I finished up some laundry and finished packing my hospital bag. We ate dinner and then I laid down and watched some TV. Around 9:30 or so I knew the contractions were legit but I didn't want to tell Andrew quite yet and get his hopes up and just have it be a false alarm. So for about an hour I just kept an eye on the clock and tried to walk around or sit on my little birthing ball. Around 11:00 PM I told Andrew about the contractions so he went to this little website we found that times your contractions for you and keeps track of them. So for the next hour we kept tabs on them and by midnight they were coming about 4 minutes apart and about 50 seconds long. Andrew called the after hours line at the doctor's office and were told to go into the hospital.

We got to triage around 12:20 AM (Friday, October 24th). They checked me and I was about 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced. They wanted to wait just a little bit longer before admitting us to a labor and delivery room so they said they would come back and check me at 3:00 AM. When they came back to check I was 4 cm and about 80% effaced so they admitted us to labor and delivery...yay! I really was in labor all by myself, no induction necessary! So they got me to my room and started me on an IV and did some blood work so I could get my epidural. I'm not gonna lie, my contractions were very painful and it felt like they were coming really close together. My nurse got me set up for the epidural and the anesthesiologist came in and did his job. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I was a little shaky at first and had some shivering, but they put a ton of blankets on me and I was ok. I was able to rest until about 6 or 6:30 when my midwife, Cathy came in to check me again and found that I was at 10 cm and ready to push! It was kind of a surreal moment. Andrew had conked out pretty good on the couch and when we woke him up a little after 7 to have him help hold me legs while I pushed he seemed to be a little dazed and confused. But I'm really proud of him, he did an awesome job. He tends to be a little queezy when it come to hospitals and the like. I figured he would have to step out of the room quite a bit during the delivery but he was there the whole time and helping out however they needed him.

I pushed for a little over an hour and Eleanor Adaline was born at 8:39 AM on Friday, October 24th! Here's the kicker...she was 9 pounds and 4 ounces!! Everyone couldn't believe how big she was and they were all raving about how great it was that I was able to deliver a baby her size being a first time mom. She is so cute and chubby, we just love her! She had a little meconium scare and we didn't hear her cry for a good minute or so. They had to suck a ton of fluid out of her lungs and she is still a little weezy. They worked on her for about an hour before we got to hold her. Meanwhile, I was busy getting stitched up. I had a little tear -- They said not quite a second degree, but a little worse than a first degree.

Everything is just fine now and we are enjoying having our sweet little girl asleep in her little bassinet next to us in our hospital room. She has such a content little personality and is quick to calm her own fussiness...I hope this lasts! We feel so grateful that things went so smoothly and we've been blessed with a beautiful healthy baby!