D-Day

I was scheduled for induction the morning of Sept. 22nd.  I didn't want an induction, and was praying that little britches would decide to come on her own.  And this is what happened...

I had taken Monday and Tuesday off work to get things done, and get some rest before my induction on Wednesday.  I ran some errands on Monday, and just relaxed on Tuesday.  On Tuesday evening, around 6pm, my water broke.  I went for a walk and ate supper, because I wasn't sure if that was it or not.  I was not having any contractions.  Finally, we decided to go to the hospital.  They checked me and said yes it was amniotic fluid and I was there to stay.  My mom was already there, and my in-laws were on their way down that night, so we called and told them to come by the hospital instead of going to our house. They started me on Pitocin at 10pm, because I still was not having contractions and was not dilating.  I tried to take a nap, but it was hard to sleep with an IV and a blood pressure cuff that checked me every 30 minutes.  So, I watched some TV, and waited.  Once my contractions started, they were very sporadic.  Some were very close together, and some were spaced out, and a lot of times I would have 3-4 with no time in-between. 

At 4am, I was exhausted (I'm not good at staying up late), and finally dilated to 4cm.  Contractions were still very sporadic, so I decided to get the epidural. I told the nurse I just wanted to sleep.  Best decision ever.  The nurse left to let me try to sleep, and said she would be back in a couple hours to check me again.  She came back an hour and a half later, and I was ready to push!  It took hours to get to 4cm before the epidural, and an hour and a half to dilate 5cm more after the epi.  So, I pushed a couple times, and then...shift change!  The new nurse was much more inexperienced and kept wanting to have me lay on my side for a few minutes because she thought the baby was turned a little sideways.  Finally, the doctor came in and checked me, and said the baby was fine to go ahead and start pushing. 

So, at 9:51am on September 22, we had a precious baby girl.  Dinah Clare weighed 8lbs, 2 oz and was almost 22 inches long.  She has my nose and hands, and her daddy's mouth, and dimple chin, and strawberry blonde hair just like her Grandpa.  We couldn't be more happy with her.  And, I couldn't have gotten through without my sweet husband.  He was so much help during both labor and delivery, and has already proven to be an amazing Daddy.  I never had to change a single diaper until she was 3 days old.  Dinah is pretty taken with him too.  She watches him intently when he talks to her.  She doesn't pay that much attention to me or anyone else when we talk to her.  She's been a daddy's girl since the day she was born. 

Hopefully I can post pictures soon.  Our internet is not cooperating right now.