Birth

I know this is a few months late, but I figured that I would catch up on my blogging.

I started having contractions on Feb 16th, they were just false labor. I had them every night for a few days, but every time I went to sleep, they went away. I had been feeling really uncomfortable, so I was so ready to get the baby out! Then Tuesday the 19th I had contractions again, I wasn't sure if it was false labor again, but I went to sleep and they kept getting more intense. I woke up Wednesday morning and they were still there, I worked out (of course) and paused when I had contractions. I had a doctors appointment at 11am and so Brett and I went to that. By the time we got to the Doctors office, my contractions were 6 minutes apart. They weren't very intense yet, but they were pretty regular. My Dr. checked me and I was 1-2 cm. She said within the next 24 hours I would have the baby. Brett and I went for lunch. It was weird to have contractions every 6 minutes. I would be in the middle of talking and have to pause. By about 4pm, they were 5 minutes apart and had been that way for a few hours. We went to the hospital around 5:30. The contractions were getting stronger. By 8:30, they had monitored baby and contractions and checked me. They said that the contractions weren't strong enough yet and I wasn't dilated enough. So, we went home. I had a bath, laid in bed, walked around, and had another bath. By this time the contractions were pretty intense and I could barely stand it. We got back at around 11:oo. They checked me again and I was already 5cm. Holy cow, were contractions intense. I went up to the birthing room. At 8 cm they broke my water (which felt so weird). By 1am (February 21) I was 10cm. They called my Doctor and she drove in (she lives out of town). I was able to go without an epidural. I really wanted to avoid having one, so I was glad that I got to that point without it. My Doctor got there around 2:00 and I started to push. The weird thing is, is that I couldn't feel contractions. The nurse had to feel my stomach and tell me when I was having one, then I could push. This was exhausting. Wow! I pushed for a little over an hour. I was so tired by this point, in between pushing I would actually close my eyes and fall asleep. It was such a relief once the baby came out. Up till this point I hadn't thought at all about the sex of the baby, but then they said that it was a girl. What a surprise that was. Brett and I were so convinced it was a boy. I was SOOOO excited that it was a girl and so surprised. I wanted a little girl so badly. She was born at 3:18am. They put her up on my chest and I cried. She was so adorable. I just couldn't believe that I had a girl and that my baby was finally here. Brett cut the cord. They let me spend a little time with her, then they took her across the room and weighed her and cleaned her up. I was also surprised that she was only 6lbs 1 oz. I had had an ultrasound 3 weeks prior and they had said that the baby was 6lbs 12oz at that point. So I was sure, it was going to be a big baby. But she was just little. They cleaned her up and wrapped her and brought her back. I couldn't stop staring at her adorable face. I was happy that my baby was here and that I was able to go without any complications in my labor. I went without an epidural and I didn't require any stitches. But I don't think that I will be signing up to have another baby too soon!!