May 11, 2012
It's a GIRL! Can you believe I actually went into labor on my own? I haven't done that since I had Dallin! Today was one of the ONLY days I didn't want to have the baby, because it's Mia's birthday. Unfortunately, this little girl was determined to share her sister's birthday. Mia seems OK with it for now. We'll see how she feels in years to come...
I woke up at 4:00 to some pretty strong contractions. I was having to breathe through them, but they were about 8 minutes apart, and I have had several nights where I would have them for an hour or two and then they would quit. I thought this was the same deal. At 4:30, the contractions were intense enough to get me out of bed. I started cleaning my bathroom and doing some laundry to try and get my mind off of them. They were still 6-7 minutes apart and only lasting about 30 seconds. I decided that in case this was really it, I better get a bag packed. (Nothing like procrastination!) Kirt was up with me and he could hardly contain his excitement. I kept telling him it was probably false labor, so he shouldn't get his hopes up. I wasn't even sure we were going to go in to the hospital because I did NOT want to be sent home. By 5:30, things were progressing FAST. My contractions got super intense, longer, and were only 5 minutes apart. I was still hesitant to go in though, because I DID NOT want to be sent home! At 6:00, I told Kirt to call him mom. NOW. The contractions moved from 5 minutes apart, to 2-3 minutes apart and I could hardly stand the pain. I was convinced this was it. I couldn't believe it was moving so fast! We left for the hospital before she even got there. I was in the "moaning through contractions" phase at this point and kept telling Kirt to drive faster, but not get pulled over! (haha)
When we walked into the hospital, Dr. Lunt was sitting at the desk, charting. How lucky! He could tell we were there for the real deal and was great about getting us into a room fast so he could check me. He did, and I was dilated to a SEVEN! WHAT?? No way. I was NOT going back to "au natural". I wanted an epidural! He told me we had to get an IV in, get a bag of fluids into me and THEN I could have the epidural. I almost cried. I couldn't wait! It hurt so much. (I kept thinking "HOW in the world did I do this natural three times???) They moved me to a labor and delivery room, put an IV in (I hate that part!), and started the fluids. The anesthesiologist showed up and I told him I was NOT happy about having to wait for all that fluid to get in before I could have the epidural. He said, "WHAT? Nah. We don't have to wait. Let's get started!" I told him I loved him. More than my husband. (OK, looking back I probably shouldn't have said that, but at that very moment, it was completely true.) Dr. Lunt stood there, squeezing the bag of fluids to get it into me faster and the anesthesiologist got started too. Before I knew it, my pain was on it's way down. HOORAY! At 8:45, Dr. Lunt checked me again and said I was an 8+. He said he needed to leave to do an emergency procedure at the other hospital for a few minutes, so he was not going to break my water. I was OK with that since I was comfortable. Hurry up and wait! My mom left to go to work for awhile and we said we would call her when it was time for her to come back.
My little sis' Callie showed up and we chatted for a few minutes. I told her I wished I looked better for the birth and asked if she would do my makeup. She agreed, so I got a facial while I was IN labor! Loved it. :) I felt much better after she was done too. At 9:50 Dr. Lunt was back and broke my water. Kirt called my mom to tell her to get there quick since it wouldn't be long! I started pushing at 10:00. After pushing through 4 good contractions, little Ella slipped into her daddy's hands at 10:10am! She weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21 inches long. She was a chunky little thing!
