The day we had all been waiting for....Labor and Delivery

At the wee hours of Monday morning, November 12,  I woke up to go to the restroom for my normal 41 pregnancy pee break and noticed something a little different about my body. I woke Andrew up and told him that I thought I should just call the hospital to be on the safe side. Around 2:30 am we were heading to the hospital to have them look at me and Julia to see what was going on. When we got to the hospital, the nurses did an exam and noticed that I was still 1 cm dilated (as I had been for the past several weeks), but wanted to do a few things to make sure Julia was ok and I was ok (because my blood pressure was a little high). As we were sitting in the exam room I began to notice my stomach tightening up and could see on the monitor that I was actually beginning to have contractions. It was amazing to look on the monitor and officially know that yes these are contractions and no I am not imagining things! The nurse came in a bit later and told us all my blood work came out great and since my contractions were irregular go on home and sleep while I could. So as the sun was coming up Andrew and I drove back to the house and went to back to bed for a few hours.

I had a few different appointments that day to go. Since I was 41 weeks my dr had scheduled me for an induction on the 13 and I had to go to the hospital for a collaborative appt at noon then see my dr for an exam to get a foley catheter at 2:30. Andrew and I went to the appointments and had a nice lunch with one another. While we were at lunch I continued to feel contractions coming more regularly, so by the time we got to my doctors office I was ready to see if my body had made any progression. Sure enough I was dilated 3cm and 90%effaced. This news meant that I would not be getting the foley catheter and would just go into the hospital the following morning to get induced.

However, as it so happened I was not going to need to be induced after all. After my doctors appointment, Andrew and I went to Target to pick up some prescriptions and walk around. As we were walking around and waiting my contractions continued to be more regular and a bit stronger. By the time we got home and mom and dad came over to visit with us I can honestly say I was truly in labor. It is funny because I was always wondering how on earth I would know I was in true labor, but just as everyone told me ...."you just know"! Around 5:30/6:00pm my contractions were every 3 to 4 minutes apart and increasingly stronger. I always thought I would feel better if I would walk around during labor, but it got to the point that all I wanted to do was lay down because it so painful. That was when Andrew said it was time to call the hospital and see if they would want me to come in and see if I had progressed since my doctors appointment. I called and talked with the nurses and sure enough they told us to get our bags in the car and come to the hospital.

The drive down to the hospital was surreal....Andrew and I were in a state of shock....It was one of those moments I'll never forget. In between contractions all I could think of saying was " I can not believe that this is really it." I also remember telling Andrew that he better park close to the door because there was no way I was going to make it walking into the hospital if we had to park far away :). So my husband being the great man he is took up a handicap parking spot to get me in to the hospital doors as soon as possible. And of course then I was worried we would get a parking ticket because technically I wasn't handicapped :). It all worked out though! (Needless to say in the midst of labor my emotions and indecisiveness continued as it had throughout my pregnancy)

The nurses monitored me for about 30 minutes in the "waiting zone" before they determined that I was in active labor and ready to be admitted into the hospital. At that point I was checked out and dilated 4cm and 100% effaced. They wheeled me into my labor and delivery suite, hooked me up to the monitors, put an IV in, and did blood work.....all of which was miserable to me. Seriously, here I am trying to get my mind off these painful contractions that are coming every 3 minutes at least and people are sticking me with needles and asking me questions! I was not a happy camper at that point. A few hours had passed and I was talking to Andrew about how I thought an epidural sounded really good at this point. I felt like I was a completely different person while I was in labor. Everyone was being really nice to me but I just wanted them to be quiet and give me some time .... this is NOT my personality. So, after talking with Andrew and my sweet nurse I opted for an epidural. I'm thinking it was around midnight. I am VERY grateful for the epidural. I was able to rest a little and get comfortable before pushing.

When I was at 10 cm dilated, I was able to start pushing. As they put me on my back to push Julia's heart rate would drop and take a while to get back to a solid level. So when we started pushing it was much harder on Julia. We tried a couple different positions for pushing and with each push Julia's heart rate would drop and take a couple more contractions to come back up. The nurses waited a little bit, put me on oxygen to help Julia out, and finally the doctor came in to see for her self what was going on. Dr. Kough told us that Julia was not getting out fast enough with her heart rate and we would need to think of other options for her to get out if her heart rate wasn't looking better with each push. To monitor myself and Julia more closely, they put internal monitors in me. The options to hurry up the process at that point were using a vacuum to help Julia or a c-section. The nurses and doctor were not wanting to do either of those at this early in the pushing process but said that if I couldn't get her out within a few hours then we would have to make a decision. At that point, I was just praying that we wouldn't have to make that decision and she would come out on her own.

Around 3:00 am the doctor and several nurses stayed with me for my time of pushing. I must say pushing was my favorite part of the labor process. I felt like I could actually do something and it felt wonderful! Plus Andrew, the nurses, the doctor, and my mom were incredibly encouraging with each push. With Julia's heart rate dropping with each push the doctor didn't want me pushing on each contraction. I pushed every 2 to 3 contractions and within 2 hours Julia had FINALLY made her entrance into the world! She was born at 5:47 am on November 13, 2012. She was 7lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches. It was so beautiful to finally see this little girl that had been inside of me the last 41 weeks. The hospital room was being filled with the golden rays of the sun rising and our little girl was being cleaned up and placed into my arms. We were so grateful!

Sunday night...almost 41 weeks...my last pregnancy picture!

Papa getting to meet his new granddaughter

Daddy holding Julia

Sleepy daddy and sleepy baby

She is here!

Our first family photo

The first look I got from Julia

What sweet little lips

Nana and Papa with Julia

*I'm pretty positive that I have left out some details of the whole experience...but for the sake of me finally "completing" this post....I am going to call it good! :)*