Congrats Lourdesong on your baby!

I had my 38 week check yesterday. My cervix is still in the same place it was at 14 weeks when she was worried she was going to have to stitch me, but has started thinning out. I'm still feeling really good for the most part and able to work out, even if just a walk or yoga, 4 - 5 times a week. Weight is sitting at 19-21 depending on how much water I am holding on to. I'm starting to regret saying I would work until 10/28 (5 days over due) if I haven't popped. Mornings are getting cold and its hard to coax myself out of bed!

At my appointment yesterday, Doc stripped my membranes, and went a head and scheduled an induction for next Wednesday, 10/26. I'll be 40+3. She says she does not think that I will need the appointment, but would rather have it scheduled than make me wait until next week. So, it's the final count down!

She's here! 10/19 around 3:30pm I started having fairly regular contractions but I was comfortable enough to finish my shift at work. Got home, we took the dogs for a walk to see if it changed anything. Didn't make them worse, but didn't slow them down either. We went out for dinner at our favorite Mexican place while I could still eat because I was pretty sure it was game on and I wanted to protein/carb up. We got home, I took a shower, and climbed in bed. I got tired of trying to time contractions because they were any where from 5-20 minutes apart and varying length so I decided to try and get some sleep since we weren't going any where any time soon. 5 minutes later - POP.

We were at the hospital by 11pm. Took naps as I could but by 3:30 I had tapped out and asked for the epidural. It took 3 tries to get it in. I think this was because I waited too long and was having issues getting into position for the anesthetist to get the catheter in due to pain and pressure. Once that was in I got some sleep but I wasn't progressing as fast as they would expect for a 3rd baby with ruptured membranes so my doctor started pitocin around 7am, which got the ball rolling. And really ticked baby off.

At 10 am, a nurse checked me. I was fully effaced but still had an "anterior lip" and baby was still at 0 station. DH was in the rest room so he missed all this excitement. The nurse looked at me and told me that baby was showing significant decels during contractions and not recovering from them well like she had been in the beginning. At this point her heart rate was hitting under 50bpm during contractions, and by the time the next one started, had barely climbed back to 100. The nurse asked me if I remembered how to push and I said yes. She told me she really thought I could push past the lip and we weren't going to wait any more for baby to move down, and she needed me to push like baby was going to die if I didn't.

Well if that won't light a fire nothing will.

As Dad was walking out of the restroom, they were slapping oxygen on my face and 10 people were rushing in as my doctor came RUNNING with a medical student trying to help her gown up. I'm a sobbing wreck because of everything. Hubs, having his twins by scheduled c-section, has no idea that its not supposed to go down this way. Which is probably good because he was very anxious to begin with. Any way... after 4 pushes, she was here. Cord around her neck, and both hands clamped tight on it... Little brat!

It was an awful lot of commotion for such a tiny thing. Emelia Sol was 6lbs 10oz and 19.5 inches long and joined us Earthside at 10:22 am on 10/20. Since her delivery we have had no problems. She sleeps in 4-5 hour stretches and then cluster feeds for 2-3 hours. Nursing like a champ. We came home at 12 yesterday, and I think my dog may be more in love with her than anyone else. When she cries he sits and cries with her, and he stays as close as we will let him just staring and her, and kissing her when we permit.