So, it's been almost 2 weeks now. 2 weeks of dirty diapers, around the clock feedings (done solo, I might add), sore nipples, pretty pink clothes, and a lot of healing. I'm sure you're asking your self how she made her debut. Well, it started on Tuesday, December 16, at about 6pm. I went to use the bathroom before dinner. As I walked out of the bathroom, I got roughly 10 steps away and felt as though I had just peed on myself. I really had to wonder if this was in fact my water breaking or was it just a little urine I hadn't quite gotten all the way out on my last visit. All I can say is, "Thank God for panty liners." I returned to the bathroom to change the liner, and went to eat dinner. After dinner, I was refilling my glass and once again, felt as though I may have peed on myself. I tried to make it stop, but the harder I squeezed, the harder it came out. I then seriously suspected my water had indeed broke. The only reason I ever questioned it was because I never felt the "gush" that you read/hear about. I then called the on-call nurse, told her what happened, and she said to go to the hospital to at least have it checked, but it sounded to her as though my water had just broken. I had to call Carl. He and my grandfather had gone on a beer hunt (another story for another time). I explained to Carl what happened, and what the nurse said so he hurried home. By now it was roughly 7/7:30pm. We got to the hospital around 8pm. I had 3 contractions in that time, one at the house, and 2 on the way to the hospital. They took me to a labor and delivery room and checked me out. Initially they couldn't tell if my water had broken. The test kept coming back negative. I told them that I could feel leakage every time I had a contraction, which by that point were every 4-5 minutes. They tested me again. VOILA! Finally a positive test. So they checked me in, and started the pitocin because I was only .5cm dilated.

Now begins the wait. It took a while before I finally gave in for the epidural. Not that I was trying to go all natural. I think it was around 1 or 2am when I finally got it. AHHHHHH, relief! Up to this point I could see the pain in Carl's face that I was in such pain. He was just as relieved as I was once that epidural was inserted. I remember catching cat naps here and there. I woke up every time the nurse came to check on me and the baby. It was around 5am when the doc came to give me another check. He told me I had only progressed to 4.5/5cm. NICE, huh? All that time and I'm barely half way there. Well, while he was explaining to me that he thought I may need a C-Section since my dilation wasn't keeping up with my contractions that were now much stronger (although I still couldn't feel them), and much closer to each other. As he was explaining this to me, the next thing I see are about 8 nurses come flying in my room. One is giving me a shot to slow down my contractions. Another is telling me to drink something. It was like mass chaos. All the while the nurses are taking their time saying, "I know this is probably scary, but we need you to stay calm." Stay calm for what? I have no idea what's going on to begin with. Finally, the doc tells me the baby's heart rate has fallen, and we have roughly 5 minutes to get me into the operating room. Everything happened so quickly that I really didn't have time to freak out. They gave me so much medicine in those 5 minutes that I had the shivers so badly. I remember them saying "Time in to O.R., 5:17am." Within a couple minutes, Carl was next to me, talking to me, and calming me." He was so great!! I don't know what I would have done without him. By 5:33am we heard her first cry. I thought I was going to cry. I looked up at Carl and he had tears in his eyes. They got her cleaned up, and gave her to Daddy, who then put her on my shoulder next to my face so that I could see her before they took her to the nursery.
I got all stitched up and was in recovery by 6:15am. I got to my room by 7:30am, and that's where we were for the next few days. Our little beauty was born on Wednesday, December 17, 5:33am, and weighed a whopping 6lbs 12oz. HOLY COW! What a teeny baby! By the end of that day we were so tired, neither of us could go to sleep. Believe me, we tried too! Once again, I am so thankful to have Carl there with me, every minute we were in the hospital. I love him so much!

Now, here we are, almost 2 weeks later and we're doing alright. She's still alive, we haven't gone insane yet, and she even had her fist picture with Santa taken. We are dealing with a minor case of colic, or maybe a bad case of gas. Either way, she's fussy for about 3-4 hours a night with the worst cry she has. We've both determined that the cry isn't what bothers us. It's the fact that we don't know what's wrong, and can't fix it. That's so heart breaking. We'll figure it out though. It's all part of the parenting process.

As for the cat, he's still not sure about her. He might go up to her every once in a while to try to get a sniff, but as soon as she moves, he's gone! However, Daddy is another story. He has emerged into "THAT GUY." He takes pictures and video every day. He can't get enough. I love to watch him with her too. He has gone from the guy that proclaimed he didn't change diapers, to the most hands on dad you've ever known. I knew that guy was in there, but he's still amazed by him.





I'll give another update soon!!