A Baby Story

So, I think I owe a baby story. Here it is...

I was due January 10th. Two weeks before January 6th, my doctor had told me that he thought I'd go before Christmas. He was almost positive. That day I went to the store, for the last time, and packed and was all ready to go. A blizzard came that was supposed to push me into labor because of the low pressure system. Nothing.

January 6th I had a doctor's appointment at 11am to check my status. My doctor was out of town so a nurse practitioner checked me out. I was at 3 cm (had been for two weeks) and 50% (had been for two weeks). My belly had also been measuring a little small, but I had been small with Jane too so my doctor wasn't worried. The nurse practitioner was worried, so she did an ultrasound to check the fluid level, which she said was borderline low, and then hooked me up to monitors to check out our heartbeats and any contractions. Based on all of this, they decided I needed to be induced right away. So, at 39 weeks and 3 days, I was sent upstairs to deliver.

Scott followed me with Jane up to Labor and Delivery while I wrote out a list of everything I hadn't packed yet. Then he went home to pack for me and Jane while I was set up in the room.

I was dressed (or rather undressed) and in the bed by 12 pm. They checked me and since being down at the doctor's, I had progressed to 4 cm. At 12:30 pm the doctor on call broke my water. Scott showed back up around 1 pm after labor had begun. I'm pretty sure they also gave me a dose of pitocin at some point...

By 1:30pm my labor was regular, about every 3 minutes and I was at 5 cm. I then got an epidural. That was the worst part. It was a relief, but quite painful getting it in. It took a few pokes or numbing relief before they could get the epidural in. Then, I could still feel pain with every contraction in one spot for a while until they readjusted the catheter.

By 3:30 pm I was at 10 cm and ready to push. This epidural was different than the one I had with Jane because I could feel pressure and the urge to push. It was really helpful and made delivery much easier.

I pushed for 20 minutes and then we had a baby! She came at 4:08 pm. Her eyes were wide open as soon as her head popped out. She got 9's on her Apgar and was healthy kiddo.

I tore just a tiny bit, needing only 1 stitch (thank goodness for tiny babies!). Lucy was 5 lbs 14 ounces and 19 1/4" long (same length as Jane, but 1 lb lighter). Scott was 10 lbs 2 ounces, so I am sooooo glad that hasn't happen here! Lucy dropped to 5 lbs 6.5 ounces when we left the hospital and today she was back up to 5 lbs 14 ounces! She is gaining so well, we are very proud!

We are so grateful for how well the pregnancy, labor and delivery went and to be blessed with another beautiful and healthy little girl.

Jane is adjusting okay. She loves her sister and is always looking for her and making sure she has her binky at all times. My sister Sarah is here helping out and has been taking good care of us. It's a good thing she has a good sense of humor because Jane has thrown fits like crazy while being taken care of by Sarah ("go way, Sarah!", etc.). We are trying to make sure Jane gets enough attention, but it is sure hard when the other kid has to be

attached to you (literally) a LOT.

Anyway, we are all doing well and sleeping when possible. We are grateful for all the love and support our friends have given us since we are so far from family.