Miss Kara Rose is Here!

Friday afternoon, I was 2-3 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  I had my membranes stripped, full well knowing that if my body wasn't ready labor wasn't going to happen.  I was crampy and having mild contractions all evening.  They started getting progressively worse and weren't entirely painful, just coming on stronger while I tried to sleep.  By 2am, I was having hot and cold sweats, shaking, and even more crampy.  I woke Trent up to give him a heads up and since we were a half hour away from the hospital and had no idea what to expect, we decided to head to Chico.  We got to my parents house about 4am and put the girls into their beds and tried to sleep a bit.  We got up at 8am and Trent and I went and got a Jamba Juice and went for a walk for an hour together.  The contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart but nothing painful.  While walking I felt a gush and used the restroom to see if I peed myself or it was something more.  Tons of blood, okay, so there goes my mucus plug.  We kept walking and then I realized I was now leaking fluid.  Welp, this is it, no turning back now!

 

We headed into the hospital and my nurse Lorrie got us checked in and checked to make sure it was in fact amniotic fluid.  I was about 4 cm and 70-80% effaced at this point.  It was about 10:30am and we got a gown on and she showed us to our room and had us walk the halls some more to get stronger contractions.  They were coming consistently but not strong enough to be full active labor.  At about 1:30, Lorrie started a Pitocin drip to speed things up.  And speed up they did, so after 20 minutes of that, she took it off!  Still, contractions were regular just not dilating me past a 5.  We walked more and tried to nap for awhile.  Dr. Brooks came in at 4pm and checked me and said I had a second bag of water that hadn't broken, only the forebag did.  I didn't know you could have 2 bags, but you learn something new each delivery!  So he broke that bag and I gushed and gushed fluid!  He kept his hand inside holding Kara's head up out of the way while the fluid released so that the cord wouldn't prolapse below her head.  After the fluid release he guided her head down further into the canal. 

 

Within 10 minutes the contractions were coming on really strong!  That was exactly what my body needed!  They were coming 1-2 min. apart and lasting for 45 sec.-a minute.  I was definitely breathing through them!  I told Lorrie it was time to call the man with the happy juice, I wanted that epidural before it was too late!  About a half hour later, he walked into the room and I couldn't even open my eyes to look at him as I was concentrating so hard on getting through the current contraction and relaxing my body so I wouldn't tense up and make the pain worse.  He administered a GREAT epidural and I was happy again within 10 minutes.  My parents came in with the girls and I was able to talk to them since I was now pain free!

Megan was very interested in helping Lorrie chart the contractions and watch the baby's heart rate.  Her rate dipped with each contraction and they were concerned she may have the cord around her neck.  After having already gone through that with Kendra, I was nervous on the inside and wanted her out sooner than later!

Right before getting the epidural.  Trying to look happy....haha. 

Well, my dad took the girls to McDonald's to eat and play til it was time and at 7pm, my nurse said she was bummed and was hoping my baby was going to come during her shift.  She got ready to clock out and pass off instructions to the other nurses coming on shift when I said, "I feel pressure down there."  She checked me and sure enough, I was a 9.5 and fully effaced.  "We're having a baby!" she said, "I'll call the Dr.!"  So Dr. Brooks arrived around 7:15 and got gowned up and checked me and they prepped the room for delivery.  I pushed through 2 contractions and then her head was out.  I was in such a position that I could see her being born and it was the neatest experience!  On cue, I gave one more slight push and the rest of her body slid out. 

They immediately placed her on my chest and we all marveled at how big she was!  For being 37 weeks, we knew she was at risk of being quite small, so we were shocked at her size!

I LOVED my nurse!

About a minute after birth

I think ond of the funniest moments was after a few minutes of skin time when a nurse asked if it was a boy or a girl.  We realized that no one had checked and Trent's eyes flew open in shock and disbelief for a few brief moments as we all frantically turned her over to check.  We got a good laugh when we realized she was indeed a girl!

After I got my 3 stitches and all cleaned up, the girls came in to see their new baby sister.

I kept Kara on my skin and they didn't want to weigh and clean off the vernix for an hour so she could get enough skin time, so the girls just marvelled at her at delicately touched her while I held her close.

I am in love with this picture!  I can't believe how big my 3 yr old looks to me after just having had a baby.

About an hour later after nursing well on both sides and getting cleaned up, she was weighed and was 7lb. 9 oz!  Holy guacamole!  That's exactly a pound bigger than Kendra who was born at 38 weeks!  We were so shocked!  She was 20 inches long and born at 7:33pm. Saturday, March 30, 2013.

Baby burrito wrapped up snug ready to head to our room.

Finally, dad gets to hold her!  What an eventful day we had!  We got transferred to our room at about 9:30pm and just sat staring at our new little bundle.  We are so glad she is here safe and sound and perfectly healthy!  Couldn't have asked for a better labor and delivery--it was perfect!  It is much more enjoyable with an epidual!  Though we are done, done, done, I could honestly say I could give birth again if it was like that, simply amazing and wonderful.  All my fears and anxiety from the previous weeks quickly washed away.