The Birthday!

Okay, so I was saying yesterday, I went to sleep and slept 5 hours the night before we went to the hospital.  Well, my water never broke, so Brad and I were up at 4:30 a.m. or so to get ready to go.  We arrived at the hospital 5:30 a.m. to have me admitted and get the induction going.  Everything was really calm for a few hours.  It was actually really nice to know that I probably would have had RJ either that day or the next because when they checked me at 6 a.m. before everything got going I was already 3 cm and very thin.  They didn't even have to do the cervix thinning stuff at all.  Dr. Kot came in again around 8 a.m. to check on me.  She said I was progressing nicely, and then all of a sudden Brad's eyes got really big, we heard a pop, and then my bed was really wet.  She broke my water using this long hook thing (that's why Brad's eyes got really big!) so that all would accelerate.  I went from that point on until about noon, when I was delirious from pain.  Dr. Kot even waited a few extra minutes on her lunch  break at the nurses' station to see if I was going to get the epidural.  I finally caved at about 12:45 or so.  When she came in to give me the medicine, she told me she had waited because she had never seen anyone have contractions like I was having with that pitocin and be able to do it naturally.  I'm glad she waited :)  I think I would have died otherwise!  Anyway!

After only getting the epidural to work on one side and then receiving another dose almost immediately, my blood pressure bottomed out to a whopping 62/27.  I woke up a couple hours later to everyone staring at monitors looking panicked, and having this awful oxygen mask on.  By the time I did finally wake up, my epidural had started to wear off, and Ryleigh Jane was getting ready to come out.  I started pushing at about 4:40/4:45 p.m., and out came the most beautiful baby girl at 5:13 p.m.   The first thing I thought was, "Wow, she definitely has my long neck!"  She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/4 in long.  Everyone kept saying, "She looks just like Janice". 

I will never forget this day as long as I live.  There is so much more I could write about the memories of that day- Things people said to me, crazy things I said while under the influence of medication, watching P90X.  But the one thing I will remember most was the overwhelming feeling of love I felt when I held her for the first time.  It was like I was looking at my best friend in the face for the first time, and I knew we were going to be friends for life.  She and Brad have really made my life complete.  Happy Birthday Ryleigh Jane!  You have my heart for life!