Weddingbee boards

Sorry it took a while to get this written up but life has definitely gotten away from me the past few days.

My last prenatal appointment was Wednesday April 20th at 39wks 5 days. I was 2cm dialated and about 80% effaced. The Dr said we would induce at exactly 41wks if she wasn't here by then. I left that appointment very discouraged and feeling like she was never going to come on her own. On Friday the 22nd, my EDD, my mom came into town and took me shopping for about 3-4 hours just to get me out and walking around hoping to form at least some kind of progress. I had a few contractions that night but nothing consistant or different than things I had felt in the past. The following day my dad, who I hadn't seen in almost 5 years, came over and spent the morning with us. Once he left at about 2, DH and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few last minute things and get in a little bit more walking around. We got home about 4pm and I started having contractions around 4:30. I had already been to the hospital 2 previous times with contractions that they concluded were from lack of fluids and/or a irritated uterus so I started chugging fluids, determined that this probably wasn't the real thing but that if I had to go in I didn't want them to have any grounds to say I was dehydrated. My contractions were about 8 minutes apart for a couple hours then started getting closer to five minutes by about 8 or 830. By 930 they were varying between 2-5 minutes apart and we called our parents and got our stuff together saying that if they stayed that way til 10-1030 we'd head to the hospital. We checked into the hospital at 10:55 and when the nurse checked me she said I was still at a 2 and about 80% effaced, same as my last appointment. My Dr was not oncall that weekend so they called the MidWife and she told them to go ahead and admit me. She said I could walk if I wanted but they recommended rest and that if the contractions stayed constant they would talk induction in the morning, assuming nothing happened. I was told to expect to be in labor atleast 10 hours and most likely to expect to push for about 2 hours since it was my first. Talk about scary and discouraging words... Once they officially admitted me and gave me my own room I got a new nurse. She was great, much more uplifting and encouraging. I tried to get some sleep but the pain was pretty bad so she told me to go sit under running water in the shower (with my husband's help) and that she would call the midwife and get permission to give me iv pain meds since I wasn't far enough along for an epidural yet. I did that for about half an hour but the relief faded and I was ready for meds. The nurse checked me again and said I was at a 4 (this was about 2 hours after the first check), that I could have an epidural, and to prepare myself for quick progress and the definite possibility of the baby coming that night. I had been terrified about the epidural process but honestly I barely felt it and the relief that came from it was amazing. I was able to finally get some sleep until about 4 when I started feeling the contractions again. I pushed the button to up the epidural meds but got no relief. At about 445 the nurse checked me and said I was a 6 or 7 and that she would work on getting the guy back to add more meds to my epidural. By 525 I was at a 9, my husband called our parents, and they were calling the Dr in. There was no more time to get the epidural fixed and I realized I was going to have to do this natural. I freaked out! It was definitely not something I was prepared for and the pain was beyond intense. Within 5 minutes I was a 10 and ready to push but had to wait for the midwife to get there. The hardest part of the entire labor process was forcing myself and fighting my body to not push and to wait it out. The nurse kept telling me to be still as possible because they were afraid if my water broke the baby may not wait for the midwife to get there. Sure enough my water broke a few minutes later and the baby was determined to come. Luckily the midwife walked in about 5 minutes later and I was able to start pushing. It took 4 pushes and she was out. Luckily it happened quickly as her heartbeat dropped drastically while I was pushing and she had inhaled some malconium. I had a 2nd degree tear that required 2 stitches but none of that mattered because I still hadn't heard her cry. It took about 2 minutes (that seemed like an eternity) of them suctioning her nose and mouth to get her to cry but when she did it was the best noise ever. I got to hold her for about a minute and a half before they took her to the nursery to monitor her breathing and her temperature for about 2 hours. Our families got there about this time and everyone got to see her through the nursery windows. That was probably one of the hardest things for me- everyone else could come and go as they please to see her and I was stuck in the bed without being able to see her. After two hours they brought her into my room and she's been with me ever since. 7 hours and 4 minutes after we checked into the hospital we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Libby-Jane, into the world and life as we know it has forever changed. And now a few more pics since you've made it this far :)

Her 1st Dr's appointment at 4 days old

Congrats! She's beautiful!

She's beautiful!  Congratulations!