we arrived at the hospital at about 8:40pm. I was so nervous that I would be sent home... but honestly i don't think i would have gone home even if they sent me. these contractions were getting serious, man. the nurse checked me and i was dilated to 5cm--enough to be admitted!
i clambered into a hospital gown and i clambered into a wheelchair and was wheeled down to labor and delivery right away. i think i asked about how soon i could get the epidural at least five times before we got to my hospital room. luckily, the anesthesiologist came not long afterward. once i got the epidural i could relax and make jokes, it was amazing how much more enjoyable labor was! i was able to enjoy our sweet family that traveled to be with us for the birth and skype with my family in arizona. and i was able to relax much more through the contractions, which helped things to progress much faster.
By 11:30pm i was already dilated to 10cm and 100% effaced. It was time to push! I pushed for about 2 1/2 hours and once again i just want to say: travis is the biggest help to me during labor. the biggest support and the biggest comfort. i LOVE that man.
At about 2am the doctor came in and noticed that i was starting to get very tired. he thought that i could get the baby out myself if i kept pushing for maybe an hour or more, or he could help move things along a little bit. i knew by an hour i would be completely exhausted, and that any pushing i would do probably wouldn't be very beneficial. Plus, we were so excited to meet our girl! Travis & i decided to have the doctor help us to move things along. So with the help of a vacuum, at 2:21am our Millie Mae was born! All 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 18 inches of her!
{About her weight. Remember me going on and on about how she might be a ten pound baby? Well, that's what the doc and the ultrasound said. But they also said that we could keep her at a better size if i kept a good diet and i'm so glad it all worked out for the best!}
They laid her on my chest immediately afterwards... and she was beautiful. it's amazing how much of a blur the moment was, but at the same time how vividly i can remember it all. i remember her looking straight at me, squinting a bit because of the bright lights in her eyes, and feeling that overwhelming feeling of love. here she was! finally, completely, she was mine. mine & trav's. forever. i think i said the would "forever" at least a dozen times in the first few minutes of her life. i must have sounded like a lunatic, but i was feeling so incredibly grateful and blessed. oh how we love our silly Millie Mae!
in the aftermath of her birth: travis cut the cord, our first try at breastfeeding went extremely well {i was so scared that it would go horribly wrong, but she's a good little eater!}, i ended up needing an episiotomy so that was super fun, and the bleeding was insane. not as insane as i was anticipating, but still insane. also, breastfeeding helps you loose most of that postpartum flab insanely fast--who knew!? not even two weeks after she was born i was already down 20 pounds. almost half of that twenty was millie... but still. ROCK. ON.
trav & i are still getting the hang of being parents around here. we love every bit of it and love watching this little lady grow. overall, i think my first experience with giving birth was a very positive one and was just the one that i needed. and you know what? i don't think i'd mind doing it again! {smile}
xo lauren
2 comments:
I just loved reading your birth story! I'm at 16 weeks with our first baby right now, and I can't get enough of reading these.
Your story makes it all seem manageable, and soo worth it! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!
yay! what a cute story...sounds like it went so really well for you. and hooray for breastfeeding making the weight fall off, i'm glad it went so easy for you! i hear some breastfeeding horror stories and it makes me scared for when i have kids!
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