Timing Is Everything: Aubrie's Grand entrance

It took me 8 weeks to finally complete her birth story.... but IT'S DONE.

It's been 3 weeks since lil Miss was born, and I can already tell that my blogging is going to be few and far between. I can't get enough of her... I know I should put her down and let her sleep on her own, but I just can't. I could seriously cuddle and snuggle with her ALL day long... just let the whole world just disappear. If you can't tell, I'm completely and totally head over heels for this lil one.

So, I promised I would write about Lil Miss' birthday.... here it is.
My maternity leave officially started Monday, Feb. 18 and I was scheduled to be induced Feb 28... plenty of time to get everything ready for Baby G. My parents were scheduled to come in that following Saturday.
Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal, I spent it doing some laundry and trying to finalize Baby G's room. I noticed that on Tuesday, I was having some back pains while I was mopping the floors, so I took a few breaks to sit down.

Tuesday evening Alston and I were hanging out before bedtime talking about our upcoming weekend plans, which included going to Marksville to have crab legs (I'd craved them off and on my whole pregnancy) on Saturday and Sunday my aunt and uncle were having a crawfish boil to celebrate the end of my pregnancy. I literally looked down at my belly and said
"Listen here butthole.... mom and dad have plans this weekend so you better not come this weekend and just so you know, you can't come on a Wednesday either... Dr. Chapman is off on Wednesdays." Alston kept saying "Don't call them a butthole... that's not very nice" I'm just letting her/him know who's the boss. Alston went on to bed and I stayed up till 1... I just felt kind of crappy. Before I went upstairs I went to the bathroom and noticed that I had what I believe was my "bloody show" (sorry is TMI), so I hurried and googled what that meant. From google it said that some women go into labor anywhere from 24-48 hours after that and yet some it is still a week or two...so after about 30 minutes of "research" I called it a night.

5:40AM I woke up to a very odd sensation...I woke up Alston and said "Ummmmm, my water either just broke or I'm peeing myself". Alston got up and asked what he needed to do...I said I need a towel and then we need to call the Doctor. While he called, I got in the shower... I was not going to have my baby meeting me for the first time with curly hair. After Alston called the doctor he decided he better vacuum since just that night before I had asked him to please vacuum the stairs and the rug downstairs before the baby was born....too funny. After getting out of the shower, I found myself waiting on Alston to pack his things...got to love my hubby!

Lord.... I was SO swollen

We got to the hospital at 7:50 and still no contractions but still leaking... GROSS. After checking in they took us to our labor and delivery room... they rooms at the new hospital are soooo big and nice. My aunt and uncle stayed with Alston and I in the room until my contractions started getting really bad...then my uncle stepped out and waited till after the baby was born.

My room number, nurses name and her pager number

Contractions before the pitocin

The waiting game

Since my contractions never started on their own my nurse Karen (the most amazing women, so thankful God sent us her) started me on a pitocin drip at 8:45....I NEVER EVER want to experience that stuff again...I'll explain in a sec why. They started off feeling just like period cramps, nothing too bad but noticeable. I kept going to the bathroom to pee (that def helps to have an empty bladder) and I fell in love with the yoga ball...best thing EVER! I rocked on thing as much as possible, but in doing so I would move the mobile fetal monitor, so the nurse would come in and make me get back in the bed so they could find the baby's heartbeat. Being in the bed was the worst thing for contractions...I had to keep moving. Since Dr. Chapman doesn't work on Wednesday's, Dr. Edwards was on call and came in to check on me. At 11 Karen said she was going to go to lunch and would be back in 30 minutes. I told the new nurse I needed to pee again and she said good, that should help a little. Alston helped me to the bathroom, but as soon as I sat down I told him I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom... he said "isn't that why we are in here?...go" I told him no...I mean like I need to "GO" (I absolutely REFUSE to discuss bathroom habits) and I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to. He called the nurse in and told her what I just said, she looked at me and said "Really?, we just checked you and you were almost a 3". So they put me back in the bed and I kid you not, as soon as they did I swear it felt like someone started stabbing me with an ice pick in my stomach. The contractions started hitting every 45 secs and were lasting 70-90 secs long, I couldn't catch my breath...which made me start to hyperventilate and then I started throwing up. a very bad combination.... In tears I told Alston I couldn't do it, I had to have the epidural. As soon as I said that the nurse started calling for the drugs and I swear within 5 minutes there was the anesthesiologist telling me he was fixing to give me a very nice cocktail. Hospital policy doesn't allow anyone in the room except the nurse and the anesthesiologist when the epidural is given...so everyone stepped out. Pre-contractions I was scared of how bad the epidural would feel, but when he gave it to me, I didn't feel a thing. And thank you Lord within 5-10 minutes I was without pain and able to thinking..."okay, I can do this now". After they were done Alston and my aunt came back in, my uncle couldn't take anymore...he stayed in the waiting room. Probably 5 minutes later Karen came back in and was a little taken back that I had to have the epidural, she couldn't believe I had changed that quickly in just a few minutes...when they checked me again I was almost 8cm. So they called Dr. Chapman and she said she was on her way....I couldn't believe it, she was coming in on her day off to delivery Baby G. The contractions kept coming at a very angry rate, so much so that it was causing Aubrie's heart rate to drop..(it's normal for that to happen, but my contractions never went to a resting state, so her heart rate wasn't returning to normal) and I started bleeding quite a bit. I didn't know it at the time, but Alston and my aunt later told me it was very startling. Karen called Dr. Chapman and she instructed them to drop my pitocin back down to 4ml and she'd be there in a few. Dr. Chapman got there close to 2 and immediately checked me, I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing! OMG is all I kept thinking...I wasn't ready. I had 9 months to adjust to being prego...I wasn't mentally ready for this! So with Dr. Chapman sitting on the edge of my bed and Alston holding one leg and Karen the other (my aunt had the camera) and I started pushing. It was very surreal feeling, I couldn't tell at all if I was pushing, I just remember thinking "my face is going to explode from holding my breath for so long". After about 5 contractions Dr. Chapman said alright now it's game time. They pulled out the leg holders, she suited up and said "it's go time"!! I do remember at one point Dr. Chapman looking at Alston and saying "The baby has your hair"... he said really?, a little shocked. Dr. Chapman laughed and said..."the baby is BALD Alston!" HAHAHA!!!

I only pushed for about 10 minutes and then at 2:22PM we became mommy and daddy to a GIRL!!! I couldn't believe it, my gut was right the whole time.

I remember just staring down at her and being is shock that she was really here... in my arms...I had a daughter.

Dr. Chapman

Our nurse Karen

VERY PROUD DADDY....love that smile and those dimples.

Lots of visitors!

After two days in the hospital it was finally time to go home....thank you Lord. I was so ready to get lil Miss home and to take shower in my shower and lay down in MY bed.