** I apologize in advance for the length of this post**
Well, she's here! Our little angel has finally arrived and we could
not be happier :)
Scarlett has already completely stolen our hearts
and definitely runs the show around here.
I decided to jot down little notes and thoughts during
my labor so that I could remember little details,
and I'm so glad that I did.
Looking back, I don't even remember half of what I wrote
due to complete exhaustion from being awake
for 50 plus hours.
It all "began" at the beginning of that week.
August 5, 2013 03:10
First painful contraction- woke me up from sleeping with cramping.
I had been contracting for a couple of months and was just waiting
for them to become painful. Looking back, I find
it funny that I counted this episode as painful.
This was absolutely nothing compared to the real deal.
I woke up, took a shower, and the "pain" was gone.
The rest of the week was spent with Chris's sweet family.
This was the only time that they were able to make the trip
and everyone was crossing their fingers that they
would be here to meet baby Scarlett.
Unfortunately, she's a stubborn one and nothing happened...
until the day after they left.
(I'm sorry, Mark and Dee Dee!)
August 10, 2013 05:00
Started having uncomfortable cramping with contractions.
10:00
About to leave for a walk around the lake!
Working in labor/delivery, I've heard lots and lots
of ways (both legitimate and a little goofy) of ways
to get labor moving along, so we tried
nearly all of them that day.
We walked a couple of miles around the lake,
had spicy Korean food for lunch,
and once I heard that pizza will do the trick, so that's what we did next!
17:00
Starting to get back pain with painful contractions.
19:00
Getting more intense! Going out for pizza :)
At the pizza parlor, they were getting to the point where I
would have to stop eating, close my eyes, and breath
through my contractions.
But I've seen countless women come to the hospital
thinking they're in labor and not even be close to it.
Perks of the job, I called a friend at the hospital
and gave a heads up that I might come in
to be examined "just in case".
I was mainly curious if this could really be it.
So we went on home to pack some last minute things.
2100
Headed to the hospital! Chris just came in and changed his shirt
because quote, "Everyone's gonna be looking at this picture for
years to come and I want to look good."
:) I've trained him well :)
2107
.....Car is dead.....
That's right, our newer car, that we had just been driving ten minutes
earlier, and that I had had packed with hospital bags
and the car seat all hooked up and ready to go
for about a month ahead of time, was completely dead.
I swear, the timing could not have been more ironic.
We had to quickly move everything over to Chris's
old junker, cause by now, I was seriously hurting.
And we're off!!
August 11, 2013 00:30
We're officially admitted to the hospital! I can't believe it!
Pain is 6 out of 10.
I am a wimp and am in line for an epidural.
I'm dilated to a 4, 100% effaced, and 0 station.
Contractions are about every 2-3 minutes.
Watching Iron Chef reruns :/ Not much is on at this time of night.
Chris is super tired and feels sick from the gigantic
pizza and dessert dinner we had before coming.
Here we go!!
02:30
I have my epidural, they are wonderful things!
I am now 5 1/2 centimeters dilated and Chris and I
are both laying down to rest.
I'm thinking about how crazy it is that I'm going to be a mom today.
I can't believe that it's finally here and I get to see my
angel's face for the first time.
I am blessed beyond words.
05:50
I am now 6 centimeters, 100% effaced, and still 0 station.
Water was broken, clear fluid!!
My stupid scoliosis is making my epidural one-sided.
I can still feel everything on half of my body.
I got bolused with extra medication three different times.
Thankfully the extra bit is helping.
07:40
I'm dilated to a 9! And Chris is super sick, he's
in the bathroom throwing up :(
I'm not sure if it was the gigantic dinner we ate or some nerves,
maybe some of each.. It makes me so sad.
Hopefully he'll be able to get it all out before
the delivery, cause those sights and smells would not
help the situation.
** Jessica was my night nurse and Jenny is my day nurse.
Jenny trained me on days and Jessica trained me on nights.
Two of my favorite girls!!
My private doctor happens to be the attending physician
tonight and my favorite anesthesiologist was on as well.
It seriously couldn't have worked out better, it
is my perfect idea of the dream team!
08:00
Completely dilated, ready to start pushing!
Scarlett's heart rate went down for several minutes
and I was mentally preparing myself for a crash C-Section.
My doctor was so calm.
I prayed that Scarlett would be safe and that her
heart rate would come back up and eventually it did
after I got a medication to slow down my contractions.
We were able to proceed with pushing and although I couldn't
feel my lower half of my body, I pushed
for just 24 minutes and gave birth to the most beautiful
angel I'd ever seen.
It was such a tender and spiritual moment.
Scarlett was born at 08:32, weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces,
and was 20 inches long.
This is when Scarlett's heart rate dropped.
As I switched positions and got oxygen on,
at first I panicked at the thought of needing a c/section.
I thought to myself "well, this is what I get. I had
such a perfect and uncomplicated labor so far that I
was bound to have something go wrong eventually."
But my team of nurses and doctors were so amazing
and calm that amazingly, all concerns left me
and I felt so at ease that no matter what happened, this group
would take care of me and my baby and I was
able to focus on just slowly breathing.
It was a little miracle.
Getting ready to push!
Gosh I love my husband, he is too cute for words :)
Here she is!
It was so surreal that this was our baby,
but at the same time it felt like I'd known her forever.
Getting all cleaned up!
The two loves of my life.
There's nothing more precious than seeing Chris
with our daughter.
She is going to be a daddy's girl with how
much he adores her!
I couldn't have done it without these two-
thank you so much, Jessica and Jenny!!
You girls are amazing!
Unfortunately we only got the grams
documented, but she's 8 pounds, 9 ounces.
Such a chunk!
(Yet still less than what both me and Chris weighed)
I did it!
I was so relieved it was over :)
Poor baby girl's pinkie toes on both of her feet
are overlapping, haha.
They're pretty cute, though!
Made for some interesting foot prints :)
What an amazing daddy already.
He took such good care of Scarlett those first couple of nights
while I was delirious.
Seriously, though, I was so out of it from exhaustion.
I've never been so unbelievably tired in my life.
I couldn't focus on what people were saying to me,
I felt like the room was spinning,
I'd start weeping randomly for no reason.
I kept saying over and over "I feel like I'm in a dream,
is all of this really happening?"
So weird.
Chris's smeagol picture.
One happy, tired family :)
August 12 05:00
I'm overwhelmed with emotion right now as I hold you
in the dark and listen to your sweet little noises while
you dream. This is the closest to heaven
I've ever felt, I'm literally holding an angel in my arms.
How am I so blessed? What did I do for the Lord
to entrust me with one of his beloved daughters?
I just pray I won't let Him down, that I can be the mother
that He needs me to be.
She is a miracle sent straight from heaven.
I've always heard that you can't understand a parent's love
until you experience it and I'm catching a glimpse of that now.
I didn't know I could love someone so much in such a short period
of time and I know that love is only going to grow.
05:30
Did I mention how much I love Christopher?
There's nothing sweeter than seeing the way he looks at his daughter.
They are the two loves of my life.
He is completely smitten with her already.
He is going to be the most amazing dad.
I knew that he would be helpful and sweet like he always is but he is just
amazing me.
He is always thinking of his girls first.
He's changed every diaper, helped me breastfeed,
keeps Scarlett wrapped up snug, and spent most
of our first night pacing the room with her so that I could
try to sleep. I'm the luckiest girl in the world :)
Getting ready to finally go home!!
Scarlett wasn't as excited about her cute outfit as I was..
My sweet baby :)
Though these past couple of weeks have been an adjustment,
we've loved every minute of having this little girl in our lives.
She is such a blessing and we couldn't be more grateful.
