A year ago, today, at 1:12 pm, I welcomed my little, beautiful girl into the world. I can hardly say that I really 'welcomed' her. I think the first thing I said to her, or rather at her, was, 'Oh my god!' But, nonetheless, that was when I saw her sweet face for the first time. My heart melted...
It all started about 36 hours before, in the early, early morning hours of February 6, 2010. I woke up from the recliner to make another trip to the restroom. I felt a little odd. It didn't feel like Braxton-Hicks at all. It stung a little. It was a sharp pain...kind of like (forgive me) painful gas; but, this was deep in my pelvis. It was kind of like a menstrual pain or cramp (the triple 'P' for those of you close to me... ;D). I decided to bust out my pregnancy app. on my iPod and time the pains. Yep, about every 9 or 10 minutes I would have them. So, I woke Heath up at around 1:30 am and told him that I thought I just might be having contractions. What did I know, though? I hadn't ever felt a contraction before!
We had learned from our Birthing Classes, 'What to Expect when Expecting,' and BabyCenter.com that first time mothers can be in labor for hours. And, they should go about a pretty usual routine until the contractions are closer. So, I went back to sleep. It surprisingly wasn't that hard to do.
I woke up again at about 7 am. They were getting more prominent - not that they hurt more, I was just able to feel it better. I again woke Heath up and he started to time them. It was about every 7 to 8 minutes. I was just still not convinced that I was having contractions. I waited about an hour and called my mom.
"What do contractions feel like? This is a sharp pain. I don't know what I was expecting; but, they are sharper than what I imagined."
"Yeah, they are. You are probably right; they are contractions," she said calmly.
I decided to prepare then. I got around, ate cereal (Kix to be exact), took a shower, the usual. I even had plenty of pain-free time to fix my hair. The hospital was surprised when I came in with makeup on and my hair done. But anyway, it wasn't too long after noon that my mom and sister came over to hang out with me.
Finally at 9 pm that night, when my contractions were still more than 5 minutes apart, we called and asked if we could come in. The hospital warned me that I may have to come back home; but, that was alright. We knew we wouldn't be able to sleep anyway and I didn't want to have to rush to the hospital. So, we headed out. It even started to snow flurry on us on the way there.
About 10 minutes out from the hospital, my contractions started to move from semi-uncomfortable to painful.
After arriving, checking in, changing, and walking a ton of stairs, I was still only about 2 cm dilated; but, they allowed me to stay. Yay! :) That stair walking had done it though. By midnight I was having very painful contractions.
Overnight was a blur...I mentioned it in another blog post.
After some pain meds, the epidural, my doctor breaking my water, and an ultrasound to make sure Lucy wasn't breach, it was finally time to push. This part was not at all what I expected. I pushed for an hour and a half! It was not like the movies where it is 1, 2, 3, there she is! It was like push....okay lets wait for the next contraction....hmm, so what did you miss doing while you were pregnant? We seriously had lots of conversations in between pushes. My doctor cringed at hearing how excited I was to be able to tan again. :{ But, we bonded over dyeing our hair. :)
Finally, finally, she said, "One more contraction and we will have a baby."
I regret it now; but, when I pushed, I squeezed my eyes closed, real tight. Next thing I knew, Lucy was on my chest. Note to self: keep your eyes open with your next child.
We wiped her off and cried, and cried. It took about 10 minutes before anyone checked to see if she was actually a little girl! haha. I just squeezed her and held her so tight.
Once you have a child, you will never be the same. That is the absolute truth. She has turned my world upside down. And, although parenting is hard; I wouldn't change a thing!
I can't believe how wonderful she is.
I can't believe she is mine.
I can't believe it has been a year.
Happy Birthday Lucy Jean! I love you more than words!
a very happy birthday to Miss Lucy! And Cori, you so would go into the hospital looking fantastic with your hair and make-up done. :)
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