Alice's birthday

We would officially like to welcome our daughter, Alice Marie, to the family! Born Thursday, June 30, 2011 at at 10:42pm. She was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long (length may be incorrect). She is absolutely beautiful! That is the short version. Continue on if you are ready for all the fun details of THE Birth Story.

Wednesday night I was timing my Braxton Hicks contractions once again, hoping that they would turn into actual labor. I finally gave up and went to bed, but found myself waking up several times in the middle of the night having felt an unusual sensation. I knew I was uncomfortable but I couldn't put my finger on what exactly was causing my discomfort. Finally, at 6:00am (when Scott woke us up), I realized I was still having contractions...but these were different, these were like the ones described in all the books! We spent the first couple of hours timing contractions. We weren't sure if this was actual labor or not. Keep in mind I was induced with Scott and my labor progressed very slow, so I wasn't really familiar with how things were supposed to feel. We decided Matt could go to work and that I would stay home and time contractions and then call him if I needed him. I think it is safe to say that I was hopeful, but in slight denial.

My body quickly convinced me that I was actually in labor, so I decided to get ready! I showered, pulled my hair back into a braid, donned some very comfortable clothes--black leggings, and a black top (Matt later commented that I looked like a beatnik in labor), and yes, I even put on makeup. I was up and about doing way too much when I should have been resting and just timing my contractions, not to mention the fact that Scott was running around pulling and climbing on me. I decided it would be best to call Matt back home (after only about an hour of him being gone), I figured I was going to need some help!

While we were at home I tried sitting and lying in different positions to stay comfortable. I asked Matt to bring me the large exercise ball for me to lean up against or sit on (as seen on many baby birthing shows on TLC). Scott was having so much fun that when I was kneeling over the ball having a contraction he came running up to me and jumped on my back! Matt tried to keep Scott busy while loading up our hospital bags into the car. I periodically had to yell for Matt to come support me if I was standing while having a contraction. It was an interesting morning!

Around 1pm we decided to leave for the hospital. We finished loading up the van, dropped Scott off with his Grandma Jill, and drove up to St. Jude. We got settled in our room around 2:00pm. The plan for this delivery was to do a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean). I had intended to hold off on receiving the epidural, at least initially, but not completely opposed to it. However, when I was taken to my room the nurse informed me that I would be receiving the epidural and an IV just in case of an emergency C-section due to my previous C-section. We decided that we could place the epidural line, but not activate it. I wanted to make sure that I was progressing. The nurse checked me and I was only dilated to 2cm!!! I was a bit disappointed. My biggest fear about coming to the hospital was the possibility of being sent home for not being far enough along in my labor. But the nurses insisted that the doctor wasn't sending me home. Thank goodness! Also, the doctor did not want to put me on pitocin. Apparently this would have also put me at a greater risk of ending up with a C-section. I am so pleased that my doctor was on board with my plan to let my body do what it needed to do naturally so I could have a VBAC.

I got set up with my soft and peaceful music, and we waited. Around 5:00pm I sent Matt out to go get some dinner. I figured things would be taking a while and I wanted Matt to go sooner rather than later, so he could hurry back before anything serious happened! In the meantime I was getting to the point where I felt like I needed the epidural! I called for the anesthesiologist but I had to wait for him to come out of a C-section. Matt returned, and helped me through the intense contractions until the epidural got started. Right as the anesthesiologist finished, the doctor came in to check me. I was dilated to 5cm and he broke my water (Niagra falls!). I was so relieved to know that things were progressing, in fact things moved along so well that in the next hour I was dilated to 8cm!

For the rest of my labor I was quite comfortable. At one point they put me on oxygen due to the baby's heart rate dropping, which came back up. Matt busied himself by taking pictures of objects around the room that he found humorous, and we watched a bit of TV. Around 10:00pm I was 9.5cm dilated, the nurse came back 20 minutes later and had me try pushing. I managed to get things moving! The doctor came in and after only pushing for about 20 minutes all together our little Alice was born!

She was placed on my chest as they cleaned her off. Her color was purple and she had a lot of mucous. They held my oxygen mask over her face while they tried to clear out her mouth and nose. They finally had to take her to the warming bed to finish cleaning her. She finally started really crying and pinked up. Nothing to me sounds better than a baby crying for the first time!

We spent our private time together. I held her, Matt held her, I held her again...then Matt came back to take the baby so I could try standing up and he noticed her color was purple! I thought she looked fine but we asked the nurse to check her color. Sure enough, the nurse agreed with Matt and took her to wake her/stimulate her. Alice managed to cough and cry and she pinked up again. Then I thought to myself, how on Earth am I going to sleep tonight? After all, I was HOLDING her and didn't notice her turning purple. Thank goodness Matt was there! Luckily we didn't have any more incidences.
Brother and sister meet the next day.

Mama and her babies

Matt brought Scott to the hospital to meet his baby sister. He wasn't really interested at the moment, he was more excited to see me and climb on my hospital bed. Since then, he has become very interested in her. He has started hugging (to the point of smothering) her, and has recently started trying to pick her up! I have to keep a close watch on the two of them! But I love my life as a mom of two beautiful children. Alice is such a lovely little lady and we love her dearly!