labor of love

well, my last post was pretty good timing- it was my last thought on pregnancy, and i went into labor 2 nights later!

this is my account of everything that led up to my little princess being born. i don't want to forget anything about that day- it was peaceful and calm, and by FAR the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!! :)

on wednesday the 22nd, i was hanging out in conway with my parents. my mom and i went to hobby lobby for some material for violet's nursery, and we walked around there for a bit. i'd been having some contractions for the past week or so, but nothing rhythmic at all. well, around 6:30 or so i started having contractions about every 20 minutes, so my mom and i started freaking out thinking that it was "it," so we went on a walk around her neighborhood, and then we went with my dad out to eat at ruby tuesday's (i was craving their salad bar!). the contractions kept coming about every 20 minutes, and it continued through dinner. i called brian and told him about the contractions, but he didn't seem too concerned since they weren't getting closer together, and thought i was just getting my hopes up. my mom was wondering if she should come home with me in case it was really labor, but i was thinking brian was probably right- i mean, what are the odds that i'd go into labor on my birthday? so i went home by myself, and tried to keep the contractions going by sweeping and mopping my floors, pacing around my house, and pacing up and down my driveway 75 times! the dogs, of course, followed right behind me in a single file line- it was hilarious. :) i would've gone on another walk, but it was 11:30 at night and our neighborhood isn't too "night-friendly." :)

brian got home from dan's house a little after that, and the contractions had started trailing off. i was so upset! i went to bed angry, thinking violet was just teasing me... :)

we went to bed around 12:30 or so. at 2:30, i woke up for one of what i figured would be the usual 17 bathroom trips for the night :) and when i got up, i felt "wet." i knew i didn't wet the bed, but i didn't think my water had broken- i didn't know what to think! i went to the bathroom, and it was clear that it wasn't peepee... (excuse my bathroom talk...). i was in shock. i went back to bed, and just sat up, staring at the wall, wondering what to do! a few minutes later, brian happened to wake up, and stared at me like a crazy person for just sitting straight up with a weird look on my face, and i said, "uh, i think my water just broke." he responded, "are you serious?!" with the tone that said, "at 2:30 in the morning??!!" :) i called the hospital to see when we needed to head up there, and the nurse said to try to be there within the hour. i called my mom, we both showered, i updated my facebook status telling the world my water broke :) and we went to the hospital!

we checked in at 3:30am and my mom met us there shortly after. we were talking about how ironic it was that it was my birthday, and they told us that the girl in the room right next door to us had just given birth and it was her birthday too! what are the odds?! when we got settled in my room, the nurse checked me and i was still only at almost 2cm dilated, and about 80% effaced. the nurse who gave me the initial IV (with not your regular "getting-your-blood-drawn" needle mind you...) couldn't get to my vein, and decided to keep digging around in my arm to find it, which ended up being the most painful thing of the entire day! then they started me on pitocin to get my contractions going stronger, and then while my mom and brian slept (brian looked like he was in a coma!), i tried to rest as much as possible, while feeling the contractions getting stronger. they weren't unbearable, but they were enough to not let me sleep a wink.

around 8am, i was 4cm dilated, so i opted to get the epidural then so i could get a little sleep before i started pushing, because i had a clue i also wouldn't get any sleep that night with a newborn! the epidural was nerve-racking, but i made it through. my nerves made me shake a lot, i had to really tell myself to calm down. that was the most nervous i got all day. i was able to pull myself together with the help of brian holding my hands and the nurse that i was eventually assigned, jennifer (not the needle lady, thank goodness!), calming me down. she was great. we didn't know until about 10am that my doctor, dr. hubach, would be delivering violet, because i was told she was out of town. she walked in to say hi and check on me and i was so happy!! she was going out of town after she delivered violet- she planned on leaving right after a scheduled c-section she'd just done, but wanted to stay for me, which i am very thankful for. not long after that, my dad came and was able to be in the room while she was born, and that was special to have my parents and brian with me throughout the day (although dad almost got kicked out during the pushing for his joking!! FYI- women DO NOT appreciate humor during that moment!!!!!)

other than a few moments, the whole day was quite peaceful and calm, and my body responded to everything really well. after my epidural, i was able to get a little bit of good sleep, and by 1pm, i was at 10cm and ready to push! i wanted to push as hard as possible so it would go by quickly. i pushed for an hour and a half, much longer than i thought it was going to be, but it wasn't too bad. i could feel each contraction, so that helped it along. they ended up having to put an oxygen mask on me after a while because i think my eyeballs were about to pop out of my head i was pushing so hard! :) i only skipped 2 contractions for a break from pushing.

when she came out at 2:34pm (side note, my room number was 234!), the moment was so overwhelming all i could do was cry and say "she's beautiful!!!" over and over again. :) she really was the most beautiful thing i've ever laid my eyes on, even covered with all that gunk. :) it was so hard to stay put, delivering the placenta and getting stitched up, watching her cry on the table and get all cleaned up while brian, mom and dad got to stare at her. i wanted her in my arms right then! it was a moment when i thought to myself "so THIS is what they all meant when they said 'you won't really understand love until you see your child for the first time.'"

it's funny, of all the complaining and whining i did about being pregnant, the MOMENT i saw her i thought, "i could do this again!" it's the most rewarding, most empowering, most amazing, most awe-inspiring feeling to know that you and the person you love most in this world actually MADE a whole person. and a healthy person all in one piece? that's even more amazing!! :) i was so relieved to hear she was perfectly healthy. her immediate apgar score was an 8, and then a 9 after 5 minutes. she weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.

we stayed in the hospital until 6:30 the next night, because the pediatricians apparently had a miscommunication and instead of coming by at 7am, she came at 6pm! it was frustrating- we were so ready to go at like 10am! also, we weren't told that we had to wait until she was 24 hours old to have a test done, so we had to wait for that also. overall, the hospital experience was really great, even though they were understaffed and it took forever to get that first IV in! the nurse, jennifer, was wonderful and i am SOOO happy that dr. hubach delivered her. she's a great doctor, and such a nice woman.

it's been 2 weeks now, and i've had the time of my life being at home with her. it's the most entertaining thing ever for brian and i to just spend the night hanging out on the couch, just staring at all her funny faces. my mom has been an absolute ANGEL too, helping out more than she'll ever know. she says she doesn't feel like she helps that much, but it's just because violet is such a perfect little baby. :) her company and her help has been just what i've needed.

nursing is going really, really well. better than i ever imagined it would go. the first night or 2 were rough, but the lactation consultant was so incredibly helpful, and brian has been so extremely encouraging and helpful as well with it. he loves to burp her when i'm done. :)

she's sleeping great. there are a few nights that are worse than others, but for the most part, i consider myself a VERY VERY lucky lady to be able to sleep at least 4 hours a night! :)

i was so anxious to meet "brian the dad," and words cannot express how amazing he is. it's a whole other level of love and respect i have for him when i watch him with her. johnny and valerie should be so incredibly proud of themselves for raising such a great man. it's been an amazing transformation we've both gone through, and i can't wait to see us evolve even more.

here are pictures of violet's debut: