Aren't I a vision in this pic at 2am? This was THE ONLY night I didn't do my hair for pictures in case I went into labor. Figures that this was the night.
After a rough 9th month of pregnancy, I tried anything and everything to have my baby early(ate spicy food, got a pedicure, ate a whole pineapple, etc...) Things got really uncomfortable for me when a week before my due date, I broke a rib from a combination of the pressure the baby was putting on me and a terrible cough. The pain from the break was indescribable. I thought the doctor would take pity on me and induce me since I was in so much pain. Instead, she told me there was nothing she could do about my rib and she did not want to induce. I was pretty much helpless for the last week of pregnancy because my rib hurt so badly. My mom and Brian had to help me stand up, sit down, get dressed, etc... I was BEYOND ready to have the baby at that point. At my doctors check-up, I wasn't making any progress towards labor and my doctor told me she'd let me go a week over my due date. I was not happy to hear that!!! She did say she wanted to do an ultrasound on the 18th(my due date) to make sure my rib was okay and it wasn't going to puncture my lung or anything.
Well, the night of the 17th, I was feeling a little funny. I had Braxton Hicks contractions for the whole 9th month of my pregnancy but this particular night I was just having some lower back pain. I told Brian I thought that labor was coming soon because this discomfort was different than the other discomfort I had felt. I woke Brian up at 12:30am because I was having mild but consistent contractions. We timed them and they were about five minutes apart exactly. I was THRILLED!!! We got our bags together, snapped a quick photo, and we were finally off to the hospital for what I thought was the final trip. Well, they monitored me for an hour and I made no progress so they gave me a shot of morphine to sleep and sent me home. I was still feeling like this was real labor but I went home and tried to sleep off the contractions. Brian said I was whining all night in my sleep and by 6:30am, I could not bare the pain anymore. I called my doctor and told her I was not going in for my ultrasound but going straight to the hospital. When I got there, they confirmed that I was indeed in true labor and I was admitted at about 9am. The contractions were pretty intense and close together and I was only dialated to a 2. I asked if I could have an epidural as soon as possible and it was THE BEST!!!!! The shot didn't even hurt and it completely took away any pain I was having.
The rest of the day was spent sleeping and watching the clock as I dialated. At about 5pm I was dialated to a 10 and ready to push. The doctor showed up at 5:30pm and told me she wanted to wait and let some of my contractions push out the baby because i'd most likely be pushing for one to three hours (since it was my first baby). She changed her mind when the babies heart rate went down due to my fever. She wanted to do a trial push just to see how effective my pushing would be. After one push, Brian told me he saw that the baby had blonde hair! The doctor told me we were going to keep pushing because the baby was coming fast. I gave six more pushes and she was born. I only pushed for 14 minutes total. What a dream! Love at first sight! NOTHING can compare to that first moment you see and hold your baby. I loved it!! It was short lived though as they took her to weigh and measure her. She looked a little "floppy" when she came out so they put her on a C-pap in the NICU for a night to strengthen her lungs but she is breathing beautifully now. That wax hard for Brian and I because we barely got to see her the first night. The next morning we went to see her in the NICU and they told us they had already moved her downstairs to our floor. We got to go down and give her her first bath. She is SO perfect and beautiful and we love her so much!!! I really enjoyed child birth and would do it again in a heartbeat. It's so worth it...if you get an epidural ;) Hahaha
Whoa baby! Check out those big kissable lips of hers. <3
Yay, congratulations you guys! She is sooo beautiful, and yes, there is nothing like having your first baby!! Enjoy every single second-I know you are! It's funny b/c your birth story is so much like my first--i got sent home with morphine, had the baby late the next day...aw, it's all worth it in the end. Beautiful Evelyn is here!!
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Autumn McAlpin and gang