Our sweet little angel arrived on 7.18.09- a week early! I couldn't have been happier. I figured she may come early because the doctor said her head was extremely low for the last few weeks up until her delivery. I was 1-2 cm. dilated for a couple weeks & of course that doesn't indicate when you will go into labor (although all of us ladies who have been pregnant wish it did since the anticipation is a killer!) I was really hoping she would come early though so I was stoked when she did.
I had a few false alarms on a couple different occassions where I had regular contractions for hours although they were not too painful & that's how I pretty much knew it was not time yet. I had been watching the show, Deliver Me and I was under the impression that labor equals doubling over in pain. Since I was not experiencing that, I figured it was just Braxton Hicks contractions. I seriously have never wanted to be in pain so bad in my entire life. I would go to bed each night hoping that I would wake up in the worst pain I had ever felt because that would be my indication that it was time!
So on the night where my labor started (Fri, 7/17), I had regular contractions for about 9 hours- from about 9:30pm-7am and we decided it was time to go to the hospital. They were pretty painful but I still was not doubling over in pain like I had imagined. I would say on a scale of one to ten, the average contraction was about a 7-8 but it was bearable since it was temporary & would last about a minute or so each time. Plus, it wasn't nearly as painful as I had imagined so it was all good.
So we got to the hospital at about 7:30am on Sat, 7/18 & I was praying they would admit me. If they sent us home, I was going to be soooo upset & I would not have had any clue how to determine if I was really in labor since I was sure that it was the real deal. To make a long story short, they admitted us & I was about 3 cm dilated. My contractions started getting worse but I would say I only had a few that were about a 10-12 on the pain scale. The nurse said the doctor was going to come break my water soon so I asked if I could have my epidural before that. I got my epidural within about a 1/2 hour, the doctor broke my water about an hour later & they started me on pitocin to speed up labor.
The nurse checked me about 2 hours later & it was already time to start pushing! I was amazed when she said it was time. And after only 45 minutes of pushing, Blakeley was out!
I can honestly say, I had the ideal labor & delivery. It was way easier & way less painful than I expected. My worst pain was the contractions before my epidural & like I mentioned, those were not that bad except for the few that were about a 10-12 on the pain scale. I would even say that the nurse putting in my IV hurt worse than the majority of it all. I didn't feel a thing after I got my epidural-- it was pretty strange to have my lower body so numb but I love epidurals! I highly recommend them to everyone! Whomever created them is a freakin genius!
I totally figured I would cry when they handed Blakeley to me since I have been an emotional basket case thanks to fun hormones for the last 6 months (and still am!) but amazingly, I didn't cry! I think I was in shock because the whole experience was pretty surreal.
She has two dimples and a full head of hair! Just like I had when I was born. Check out this pic of me when I was two days old...
Tyson is a great Daddy & already says that she's "Daddy's Girl!" So much for wanting a boy!!!!
This pregnancy, the labor & delivery, & Blakeley's birth was the best experience of my life & I am so grateful for it. She is a little angel & I'm grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted her to us to take care of & to teach. I can't wait until we can make her smile!
Check out the dimple...
This is how Blakeley sucks her thumb- so cute!
