She's Here!

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." 
Psalm 126:3 

I would love to write a detailed account of the birth of my baby girl, but I think that most people would start to read and quickly lose interest. So I will write a summary of what was one of the most amazing, exhilarating, intense and physically difficult experiences of my life!

September 9th, I woke up at 1am with contractions. I was up the rest of the night with contractions about 10 minutes apart. Not very intense and not seeming to progress much. I went between laying in bed relaxing through them to getting ready for the hospital, taking a shower, etc. not really knowing when things would progress and we would need to leave.

By morning the contractions were a little bit closer together. But the hospital told us to wait until they were 5 minutes apart for an hour. We were waiting for this, but while we waited it seemed like they got more intense and longer, but still just as far apart. I started to think that it was really time to get going around 10:30am when my mom came in and told me I had gotten a package in the mail, I yelled at her and said I didn't care! At that point she came in and started massaging me and helping me relax while Curtis got the car packed.

I practiced relaxation techniques a lot throughout my pregnancy and they really paid off. My mom couldn't believe how relaxed my body was when I would have a contraction and even though it was very painful, I believe that made it so much more bearable.

We left the house at 11:30am and took a quick photo. Once I got into the car I started to feel the urge to push and my contractions started coming really fast, 2-3 minutes apart! I was able to relax by closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the ocean on my iPhone as I had been doing most of the morning. It was pretty amazing because the drive to hospital is 30 minutes long!

Once we got to the hospital, I really thought that I had a lot longer to go and I kept telling Curtis that I needed to get an epidural. It was too painful. What I didn't realize was how far along I really was! They checked me and told me that I was already 7 &1/2 centimeters dilated! I don't think I mentioned the epidural again after that, but it's hard to remember.

At that point we were still in triage and they quickly moved us up to labor and delivery. It took about 20 minutes and when they checked me again I was 9&1/2 centimeters and felt ready to push. They called the doctor in and at that point I knew that I could do it without the medication!

I pushed for about 6-8 contractions. A total of 45 minutes. I wish I knew how many pushes. I'm pretty sure it took about 3 contractions for them to see her head and they kept telling me how much hair she had. I was excited, but I just wanted to get this done and have her in my arms. Curtis and my mom were amazing, they gave me ice chips and wiped my forehead with a wet cloth while I did some of the most intense physical labor of my life.

When she came out it was the biggest relief I have ever felt in my life and the biggest joy! I couldn't really take it all in at the moment. It was too much! I was just so excited and filled with joy at seeing my beautiful baby girl kicking and crying as she took her first breaths in this world. Her daddy quickly cut the chord and she was in my arms.

We arrived at the hospital at 12:00pm on September 9th and She was born at 2:14pm! Only two hours and 14 minutes later! 

The whole experience was so amazing. Every little detail seemed to be taken care of by Papa. He carried me through the whole process. Helped me to relax and to push and he took care of my precious baby girl. He gave us amazing nurses and doctors. Each and every piece of the story was handcrafted by Him. I am so so grateful for the good things that he has done.