And we have a . . .

Baby GIRL!!!













Finally, she has arrived. I'm going to share her birth story before the details get fuzzy, sorry if it's long . . .

I was wondering if I would go into labor on my own. I knew the odds were in my favor, considering that I was overdue, and I had told Kevin on Friday May 22 that I would probably have the baby that weekend. I told him the same thing again on Saturday. But when Sunday came and still no baby, I started to wonder. However, on Monday morning at 2:30 I woke up with three very distinct, very close contractions. I jumped out of bed and told Kevin I was having contractions before I went into the living room to see how far apart and if they would stay. They were 4-5 minutes apart, and they stayed. So I hung out and watched Lake Placid, wondering when I would start to hurt. After a couple hours I went back to bed, but couldn't really sleep because the contractions, though not painful, kept waking me up. So about 6am I got up and told everyone (my parents were visiting) that we needed to get some breakfast because I was starving. I knew that if this was the day I needed some food, and I didn't know how much time we had.
So we went to breakfast, and came home, but the contractions didn't get stronger. I was getting discouraged and came home to nap again. When I woke up, they were still coming, but still no stronger. So I took a walk, hoping to increase intensity, but still no change. Exasperated, unsure if my parents needed to stay to watch the kids (though pretty sure) we headed to the hospital about noon just to get checked. I fully planned on coming home to labor as much as I could before going in. I was so sure I was coming home that Lex was with us, and I didn't bring my hospital bag. They said I had to be put on a fetal strip for 20 minutes and then I could go home. She hooked me up and checked me, and by this time I was having some stronger contractions. I was very disappointed I was still only at 1cm, almost 2cm, but surprised to see the contractions were coming about every 3-4 minutes now.
Then we waited.
And at the end of my 20 minutes, the nurse was concerned the baby was *sleepy* and gave me some juice to wake the baby up. And restarted my 20 minutes. By this time I wanted to get out of that bed and off the monitors, the contractions were getting stronger, and I REALLY disliked lying on my back.
But shortly into the 2nd 20 minutes the baby's heartbeat pretty much disappeared. It dropped drastically, stayed down, and for a few moments could barely be picked up. The nurse got really scared and called in another nurse who also had trouble getting the heartbeat to come back up. So I was rolled over, given oxygen and the doctor was called. Of course by now, as I listened to this very slow heartbeat I was getting very, very scared and wondered if it was going to lead into an emergency C-section. I was very terrified for the health of the little one.
Thankfully, after a time, the heartbeat came back up, but by this time I knew I probably wasn't going to be getting out of the hospital. They checked me and I was at 3cm now. After the doctor called back the nurse came in and told me they wanted to start an IV to get fluids to the baby, and to monitor the heartbeat for a while. I didn't have to stay, but worried about the baby, I chose to be given an IV (which I didn't want), and be hooked up to the strips (which I didn't want) and be confined to the bed (which I also didn't want).
Thankfully, after a while they told me I could get up and move around, this was good because contractions were picking up. The heartbeat stayed up, and they started setting up the birthing tub in another room. By this time I was only at 3-4 cm. I bounced around on my exercise ball, and generally hung out, having to breathe through the contractions. Some were triple peaked, by this time they were 2-3 minutes apart.
Time crawled after that, all I could think about was getting into the tub for pain management. It was the first time anyone had used it at and there was a learning curve. The nurse didn't really want me to get in because of the early decel in heartrate, but I really wanted to use it. Finally, after finding a thermometer, getting the tub set up and filled, and talking to the doctor, I had to be checked AGAIN. I didn't want that much intervention but they wanted to be sure I was progressing. I was at 5cm - and more than ready to get into the tub. I think I got in around 4:30 - 4:45. It was wonderful, and definitely helped manage the pain. By this time I was concerned the contractions were spacing out, definitely manageable, getting stronger, but I just couldn't get over the break in between them. I wondered if it would be hours until the baby was born.
I had to stand up every 15 minutes so they could check the baby's heartbeat, and usually it came around the time of a contraction (what fun). At about 5:30 I really started to have trouble, no longer feeling good in between contractions, and at 5:45 I felt something happen. The doctor was called in and she thought my water broke, I told her I didn't think so, that it was probably the baby moving down. I had to get out and get checked. With all my shaking I was sure I was moving into transition - and when the doctor checked I was at 7cm. She thought if she broke my water I would be an 8 or 9. I consented, there was meconium, and I immediately went to 9cm. And had what felt to be a very long, continuous contraction. We got ready for delivery, I didn't want the tradition feet in stirrups thing, and the doctor was fine with whatever I wanted.
Now I was having a hard time coping, I was still not quite at 10cm, and starting to lose control. I remember saying once that I couldn't do it, and that I needed to throw up. Then I said I had to push and she checked before telling me that I was complete! I tried to listen to instruction (they wanted to suction the baby before full delivery because of the meconium) but I just wanted to deliver the baby. A couple of contractions later and she was able to suction out the nose / mouth, and then the rest of the baby was delivered. I remember screaming / yelling, and the immense pain from delivering the little one. I knew then that he/she was big.
I turned around to see the baby in the warmer, they told me the baby was fine, and that we had a baby girl!!
She was born at 6:01 pm, was 10lb 7oz, and 21 inches long. Full head of dark hair, chubby cheeks, and a perfect round head. Another very fast delivery.
I lost a lot of blood (again) but not near as much as with Lex. It was the birth experience that I wanted, no pain meds, using the tub as pain management, and once labor started going it didn't stop. The hospital and doctor were able to accommodate what I wanted - and I am grateful for that. It truly wasn't as difficult as Lex's labor, and the hard part was over quickly. I wouldn't have had it any other way :)

Now, having her here, I'm just amazed all over again at how God has blesses us. He knew what we needed, and Callie is it!!