Fit, Fabulous, and Pregnant-November 2011

Hello ladies! Hope all is well with you all. We just got home today from the hospital and I wanted to check in while hubby is holding sweet Charlee and I have a little energy to post my birth story....

Tuesday I woke up and decided to go through and clean absolutely everything that could be cleaned...floors to linens and everything in between (nesting much?! but not the first time I have done this in the past month that's for sure). That day I also went and got acupuncture and adjusted for the 4th time since trying to induce my own labor. Hubby and I gave it one last "go" to try and jump start things too since I was feeling extra desperate with the impending induction on Thursday. That night I ate dinner then took a long warm bath (again, not the first time I've done all this routine). We went to bed at about 930 and my body was so sore and tired from the days activities. I woke up at 11 with contractions but just went pee and went back to sleep. At exactly 1247 I sat up in bed with a pretty strong contraction. I tend to get them at night and they usually are caused by a full bladder so I got up to pee and nothing came out...so I laid back down and had 3 more in less than 10 minutes! So I got up and went to the living room cause I didn't want to wake Al, especially if this was false labor like the past few times. I sat down and started to time the contractions. They were 3-5 minutes apart and lasting 60-90 seconds long....this is where we had talked about that we would go to the hospital. So I went and woke Al up and we got our stuff together and headed to the hospital. They continued to get stronger and stronger. I can only describe them starting off as the worst menstrual cramps with a lot of vaginal pressure. That's how it all started...

We get to the hospital and check in and are brought into a preliminary room for monitoring. By this time is is about 230am. My bp was really high, I was still only 2 1/2cm dilated 90% effaced and her head was still really low. After an hour of monitoring I was given the option of walking the halls for an hour or going home....I knew this was it so I chose to walk. By 45 minutes of walking my contractions were very painful and 1-3 minutes apart and 90+ seconds long. I got checked again and was 3cm at that point. They went ahead and admitted me due to my high bp, my strong contractions, and the fact I was overdue...I guess they want you to be at least a 4 before admitting. Glad they did because almost immediately I went from a 3 to a 7. I used to jacuzzi and did several other positions to get through the most painful thing my body has EVER experienced. I was very vocal, which I would have never guessed but it is something my body just did and I had no control over. Without the support of Al and my nurse I couldn't have done it. I had a lot of back labor which was really hard to handle as well. The tennis ball and lots of back rubs from Al, the nurse, and my mother was what helped a lot. By 1050am I was complete and ready to push (thank goodness!). Within 3 contractions I pushed out the most beautiful angel on earth (in my opinion of course )... She was born at 1103 weighing 7lbs 13oz and 19" long. She has a head full of beautiful dark blonde hair with light blonde highlights (she is already a diva and high maintenance lol).

We are doing really well. I was up and around immediately, which was nice and everyone was already singing my praises of how strong I was to endure natural labor and now I was up and around. They kept calling me "superwoman" which I don't feel like it but it was nice to hear. I didn't do it to prove anything, but it did feel so good to accomplish what I set out to do even though it seemed hopeless and I at times begged for it to stop and for pain meds.

Charlee was born with gas so we are dealing with that obstacle. We are also learning together how to nurse. We have some obstacles to overcome but I am staying calm and patient and know in a few weeks it should all fall into place. She is a good sleeper though...which is a wonderful thing I'm pretty exhausted but definitely in baby bliss. Life is good and I am so blessed

Thank you all for all the words of encouragement and the congratulations. You are all wonderful and I pray you all have as wonderful as an experience as I did....maybe a lot less pain, but definitely a successful outcome