O'lena Lynn!!

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get these up! It has been a bit interesting around here lately, but hey- better late than never, right? I made a smile box about the labor and delivery. I think it is kind of fun. If you feel inclined, you should be able to print it.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Now for all the gory details- probably more than you ever want to know, but like they say, all modesty goes out the window after delivering a baby.

I started to have labor contraction on Sunday night around 6:30 ish. Derick and I have been walking around the neighborhood at night and that normal sent me braxton hicks, but they would subside after we got home and I would rest. These contractions kept coming- but were irregular and short so we went to bed. At about 1am I got my bloody show, but the contractions had subsided a bit. Of course I could not go back to sleep after that so I was us doing stuff- watching White Christmas, laundry, cleaning the kitchen. You know the normal stuff that the doctors tell you to do in early labor. (They don't, they tell you to sleep- yeah right!) I was still having contractions, but it was nothing fast or regular so I sent Derick to work. I had also decided to call the midwives because I was paranoid that my water had broken the day before- it hadn't, I was just being paranoid. I had gotten an appointment for 11:10 to see them at their hospital office. Luckily, my mom had stayed home and was able to drive me there. My contractions were coming more regular and harder. Derick being at his own doctor appointment met us at the hospital when we got there.
The midwife checked me out- I was about 2 1/2- 3 cm dilated but the contractions were nothing rigorous yet. She striped my membranes, told me to go walking for a couple of hours and come back. Since Derick and mom needed to eat some food we decided to go walking to Five Guys- which was across the street from the hospital. All I wanted was french fries but they wouldn't let me have any!! (You weren't suppose to eat anything heavy, in hind site I am very glad I didn't!) After our walk, which was fun because he had to stop every 3 minutes for a contraction, we went back to get checked out again. I was a good three cm dilated now and the contractions were more regular and intense. I couldn't talk through them anymore- that is a good sign- The midwife was like "Yep- You're in active labor." We decided to stay and get admitted into the hospital and she was going to come up and break my water in little while to really get things going. We got up into the room and I was contracting pretty hard, well hard for me at the time. I decided to go get into the tub they have. It felt soooo good. It definitely helped with making the contractions bearable, but then my water broke, in the tub. Yeah- that was the coolest feeling in the world. It was just like "pop!" Even in the water. The sucky part was they made me get out. And man did the pain turned on!!! I don't know how people do it with out meds!!
I did opt to get an epidural, but it was going to be awhile before it came and I was in pain and progressing quickly. So I decided to get a shot of Demerol. It was okay, but it put me to sleep and then I would wake up at the peak of a contraction and hated life. The epidural came in at 5cm and was the best thing ever made! My anastegologist rocked! They said I had a good one- epidural- because I could not feel a thing. Towards the end I was somewhat able to feel when I was in a contraction but that was about it. It was cool. I progress really fast after that- I was ready to push at 9:40 ish.
The actual pushing took only 40 minutes. They said I was a good pusher :) Derick and Mom were great coaches! I always forgot to breathe. Well I actually didn't forget, I was just concentrating on something else. Derick was there, mom was there, my step dad Jim and my brother Brannon stayed to watch. It was really funny because Brannon stayed behind my head and wouldn't look until they convinced him in the heat of the moment. They also convinced me to touch her head when she was crowning. It was really cool. They also convinced Derick to help "catch" her. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to cut the cord, or watch, but he ended up holding a leg, seeing EVERYTHING and helping to deliver her. He loved every bit of it! O'lena Lynn arrived at 10:26pm.
She came out all nice and gooey but the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!! Oh it was so awesome!!! She was bright eyed and crying. She did have some gurgling so they had to use the sucky vacuum thing to get some of the amniotic fluid out of her belly. Oh she was wonderful! Goodness!!
So after all the hoopla that fallows the delivery- oh we got to see the placenta and the sack!! That was really cool.- We got up into the room that we were going to be staying to finally get some sleep. The hospital stay was nice, having people to help and ask questions. O'leana was great too. She slept alot but had nice periods of awakenesses. After the a-okay from the pediatrician and midwives we left on Wednesday to head for home. It was sad. I didn't really want to go- that means she will be growing up. But all in all it was the best experience of my life! I would do the whole thing all over again!