Gwyn

It was 3:30 a.m. on Monday, May 20th when it started...I woke up in pain, I thought it was just because I had to pee really bad. I peed, felt better and went back to bed. Well, the pain came back.. I thought uh oh are these contractions?!?! I waited a little bit to see if they continued and they did. So I woke Bill up and told him what was going on, we were excited! Finally at 40 weeks 6 days I was in labor!!!!! We started timing the contractions, they were about 2 minutes apart and hurt pretty bad...I thought, yeah this means business, we'll get to the hospital they'll check my cervix and say you're almost ready to push!! Ha ha little did I know!

We got to the hospital around 5:30 a.m. and they checked my cervix, I was only dilated 1 cm. WHAT?!?! Seriously?! (I didn't know what to expect) So they debated sending me home, luckily my dr was actually on call that day and I was going to be induced the next day so they just kept me! I was relieved! I was moved to the labor and delivery room (which was sooo nice!! It was HUGE, lots of space for me to move around and get comfy, well as comfy as I could I guess) The contractions were intense but manageable. I thought, I can totally do this! I labored for a few hours and then they checked me again, 2 and a half cm. Then they put a pill next to my cervix to help move things along...boy did they move along. OUCH!!! Contractions got more intense, like way intense...I cried like a baby!!! Bill was so amazing through the whole thing, he held me, rubbed my back, did whatever I asked! After about an hour of that I decided to take some narcotics to take the edge off. That helped a lot!! I was able to sleep some in between contractions.


After some sleeping I got in the tub and soaked for a bit, that was probably my favorite part. I don't know why but the tub eased some of the pain and definitely relaxed me. So now I am about 14 hours in and they check me again, 4 cm and ready to break my water. That was very weird...felt like I peed myself! The contractions took off from there and I decided to get an epidural. If the contractions up to that point hurt that bad, then I didn't want to know what transition was like or pushing. I was a champ getting the epidural placed, I didn't move a muscle even while I was having a contraction (ouchy!!!) After that it was a breeze...I slept until my epidural started to wear off... things started to hurt really bad (this was about 3 hours later)  They checked me again and I was 10 cm!!!! Time to push. I thought oh yeah, this is almost over. HAHAHAHAHA..... no way mister, it was far from over.

So, I started pushing...push push push...breathe..push push push...breathe for about an hour and a half. The nurse kept telling me that the baby's getting closer, almost there... I thought to myself uh, where the heck is she, cause I don't see her!! OH MY GOSH, pushing hurt sooo bad I cried and cried and cried, I threw up some jello, then cried some more. I wanted to quit, I wanted to just rip the kid out of me, I was saying things like I can't do this, please make the pain stop!!! But I kept pushing through the pain. Bill kept telling me you can do it, you are so strong, you're doing great...I wanted to scream at him SHUT UP you fool, you have no idea how this feels. but I kept my thoughts to myself. Finally the dr came in and was ready for delivery, I finally saw a glimmer of hope (this is almost over!!!). It took me another 45 minutes to finally get Gwyn out. I could feel her moving out, so with each push I felt a little more confident. Then Whoosh!!! It was like a huge release (I almost kicked my dr in the face) when Gwyn came out. Her hand was next to her head so I tore. They placed her on my chest and I wrapped my arms around her. She was beautiful and perfect! I couldn't believe that I had this child now. She proceeded to pee and poop on me! Oh well, I was already covered in other bodily fluids, pee and poop couldn't hurt! Gwynevere was born at 11:39 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and 21.5 inches long.

The next couple of hours were a daze. After they took Gwyn to weigh and measure I just stared at the ceiling thinking to myself, what just happened?!?! That was the most traumatic thing I've been through thus far in my life and I was just trying to process each moment. Bill held Gwyn until they took me to my recovery room. I honestly had absolutely no energy to do anything. When I stood up I felt like my insides were dragging the ground...very weird. I could never get satisfied no matter how much I ate.

Anyway, this is my birth story. I was not prepared for birth. I didn't realize how hard child birth really is. It sucks majorly! Now, I'm home with a newborn which is hard too. No sleep, screaming baby, breastfeeding...these are just hard! However, I feel so blessed to have been given this sweet spirit. I believe it was a miracle that I got pregnant so I would not trade any of this. Each time I'm frustrated, soon thereafter I look at Gwyn and see how amazing she is and am reminded that I am her mother! She is beautiful and cute and sweet! She squeaks/honks when she cries, I can't help but laugh when she cries (my little squeaker). She can out fart anyone I know...this is one gassy kid; and she has the best facial expressions..I love just staring at her and wondering what's going through that mind of hers! I look forward to learning more and bonding more with my baby girl!

Here are some pictures
     
                       Right before pushing...I was focused!!

 Brand new!!!

I am so happy it is over...

Proud Daddy!

Going home shot, man I look like a mess!!

Gwyn asleep in her cradle

First bath at home. She actually really enjoys bath time, she'll just sit and relax while we scrub her down!

We tried to put her hand prints in her baby book...don't try this at home!!!! It was such an ordeal, Gwyn hated every second of it and the prints didn't turn out very well. We tried :)

February Already?

I cannot believe how fast time is flying. I have been so busy these days and I'm ready for some relaxing time before the baby comes. Let's rewind a bit, the day after Christmas we found out our little miracle is a girl! Then just a couple of days after that we bought a house. CRAZY thing to do when you're pregnant, but we did it anyway. The house is a fixer upper, built in 1901 and has a lot of character and needs a lot of work. We feel so blessed to have found it though, it was definitely God's will for us now. Bill has been working so hard to get the house in order.

Here is a picture of our house. It has an awesome backyard, which is currently covered in snow. I cannot wait until our little girl plays in it with our dog!! :)

 The pillars were one of the things we loved about the house, the woodwork is all original and just lovely. Also, the day after we closed on the house that nasty carpet came out. Original maple hardwood floors were hidden under that hideous carpet!!!!! (Can you tell I hated the carpet? ;))

 My pregnancy is going well, and I'll be 27 weeks on Tuesday. Almost in the the 3rd trimester!!! Woohoo!! Right now I'm feeling ok, I'm kind of emotional (ok I'm emotional a lot). I have a lot of back pain, a result of my job...picking up those heavy kids can do a number to your back. I'm really worried about the last few months and how much pain I'm going to be in. I really need to see a chiropractor. Anyway, here's a picture of me at 20 weeks and then at 26 weeks, baby girl is definitely growing!

 Here's a nice little photo of our baby! She's just precious :) I cannot wait to meet her in May!!!!!

Maybe I'll blog again before she's born...we'll see.