I am FINALLY getting around to updating the blog and still trying to get adjusted to my new life as a Mom, sorry it has taken so long to update but here it goes:
Tuesday, September 14
With our scheduled induction for Wednesday night, this was my last day at work. I was an emotional wreck all day as I nervously anticipated the induction that was approaching. My nerves were shot and I cried most of the day. I was considering calling the hospital to cancel our induction because I wasn't sure if it was really the right thing to do. Yes, I was already 6 days past our due date. But what if they had the due date wrong and she just wasn't ready to be born yet. I prayed and prayed that God would help us to make the right choice and that we wouldn't have to go thru with the induction.
Jinx and I made plans to go to dinner at Carraba's that night. I had a salad with eggplant on it, since I'd heard that eggplant can send you into labor. When we got home, Jinx went to shoot his bow with some friends(stress-reliever) and my Mom came over to walk the neighborhood with me. I was determined to walk this baby out if it took all night long. We walked for over an hour - no contractions. When I got home I made my list of things to do the next the day and then spent an hour or so bouncing on my exercise ball in front of the tv. All the while praying that Adalynn would come on her own. After a long, exhausting day it was off to bed.
Wednesday, September 15
At 3:18AM, I got up half-asleep to go to the bathroom and was suddenly soaked when I stood up out of bed. I ran to the toilet and then realized - I didn't have an accident, MY WATER JUST BROKE!!!! :) I've never been so excited about wetting my pants in my whole life! I yelled for Jinx and he was out of bed in a heartbeat. When he came in the bathroom I proudly announced that my water had broke! :) We both remained calm, but were super EXCITED. I told Jinx that there was no need to rush, I needed to take a shower, blow dry my hair, and do my make-up before we could leave for the hospital. While I got ready, he gathered all our things and packed the bag. We called our doctor, parents and siblings to let them know that Adalynn was on her way. My sister lives in West TN, so it was about 2:30AM when she got the phone call but she wasn't going to miss this for the world. She and her husband loaded up the car and their one year old son and hit the road. They drove all night to get here and made it by lunchtime.
I started having some contractions around 3:30AM, but they weren't too bad yet. We were in the car and on our way to the hospital by 4:15AM. Once we were in the car the contractions really seemed to pick up. I had been too distracted getting ready to time them before, but by then they were coming every 4 minutes. We stopped at Pilot for Jinx to grab some coffee and a Red Bull, where he happily announced to the cashier that we were on our way to have a baby! :)
Once we arrived at the hospital everything started moving pretty quickly. They got us in a room and hooked me up to the IV and monitors. It felt surreal at this point, we were going to be having a baby that day! After my first dose of IV antibiotics, we set off to walk the halls to help things progress. Contractions at this point were 3 minutes apart and pretty painful. I gave up on my hopes of a natural childbirth once I got to 5 centimeters and had been contracting for over 6 hours. The pain was INTENSE!! I have a whole new respect for the women who have given birth without drugs. There is no way to accurately describe the pain, because the miracle of birth and holding your baby for the first time makes you somehow magically forget just how bad it really hurt.
Once the epidural was in place, everything was suddenly happy and the worst pain of my life turned into the BEST DAY EVER! :) It was amazing! The afternoon carried on and by 4:00 PM I was fully dilated and ready to start the hard part - pushing! At this time the epidural meds had just run out. And instead of letting the kind nurse give me more, I requested that it be left alone so that I could regain some feeling while pushing - not sure this was the best decision in hindsight. I had excellent coaching from both Jinx and my Mom while my sister filmed from the head of the bed. After an hour and a half of pushing, Adalynn was born! For as long as I live, I will never forget this moment. After 9 long months of waiting, she was finally here! And much to my surprise, Jinx cut the cord! The smile on his face when he saw his daughter was priceless, he was beaming with pride!
I will never forget the feeling of holding her in my arms for the first time. It was a very special, emotional moment for both me and Jinx! My heart was overflowing with love for her. After having some quiet time alone with our sweet baby we welcomed in the grandparents, who were dying to get their hands on her! :) We had a whole waiting room full of family ready to meet our baby girl and welcome her to the family! It was great to be surrounded with love and excitement from both our families and friends. What a blessing! Life will never be the same, and we are enjoying every single day with our precious little angel! Adalynn is a great baby and I can't wait to have more!
Coming Very Soon: "Adalynn~the first 6 weeks"
