on sunday our little newborn turned 2 weeks old!
we have been cherishing her so much.
and i still can't think about her birth without tearing up.
i had a really great experience with her labor & delivery,
and i thought i'd share it here.
starting on thursday 11/10, i had contractions for a few hours in the evening.
they were irregular but they were quite uncomfortable.
the same thing happened on friday night,
but in the morning they would be gone.
saturday night it was even worse so we suspected the baby might come the next day.
we went to bed and i woke up around 9:30am with contractions 5 minutes apart!
that morning i took my time showering and packing some last minute things.
we didn't want to be at the hospital for longer than we needed to be.
i tried to eat a big meal but the contractions were so painful i didn't have an appetite.
we got to the hospital around 12:30pm.
we were stuck in an assessment room for awhile.
i was dilated to a 3, and the contractions were getting stronger.
yes, they were the worst pain i have ever felt.
will was such a good husband and did everything he could to help.
the nurse had us walk around for an hour to see if i would progress.
at this point i could hardly walk - i had bad pelvic pain for the last 2 weeks,
and adding contractions into the mix, i was quite disabled.
but we did what we could. i knew i was NOT going home without a baby.
the pain was just too bad!
when she checked me again, i was a 5!
they finally admitted me and we were moved into a nice LDR suite with a view.
around 4:30, i was given my epidural, and i was at a 7.
the epidural was much quicker and less awful than i expected.
immediately i felt relief. loved it!
the nurses got the room all set for delivery.
around 8pm i was dilated to a 9, then a 10, and i got to push a little.
we stopped and waited for the on-call doctor.
i actually enjoyed pushing.
it was exhilarating, knowing our baby was just a few minutes away.
i had such a great team cheering me on,
the epidural was amazing, and i was full of energy and anticipation.
i even used the mirror so i could see my progress. it really helped.
after about 45 minutes of pushing,
violet joined our family at 9:37pm on 11-13-11.
i thought i would totally lose it and start crying.
but instead, when they handed me my little girl,
i was shocked, amazed, in disbelief.
i couldn't believe she was here. i couldn't believe we were done.
i was just stuck in a state of astonishment. she was here!!!
will got to cut her umbilical cord.
the first thing i did was give her my finger,
and i'll never forget how it felt when she held on to it.
i'll never forget her big white swollen face,
and her big dark eyes and lovely dark hair.
she was a little eskimo.
i will never ever forget how she stared up at me,
her brand new mommy. i melted.
and here is proud daddy holding his daughter for the first time!
other sweet hospital moments...
her first visitors...
nana
grandpa
uncle ben
aunt kelly
nana
violet gets dressed to go home!!!
putting her in our car and saying a little prayer before we drove off
was the most special moment we have had as a family so far!
we pretty much cried the whole way home.
we are madly in love with this sweet little angel!
