After a false alarm at 38 weeks, followed by day after day and hour after hour of Braxton-Hicks contractions, I was just about to surrender to thinking this baby might wait until her due date or (gasp) even later. I guess this is what justified me indulging in a Sonic footlong chili cheese dog *blush* on Friday night. I had a little indigestion and what I thought was gas pain for the rest of the evening. However, at 3am, I woke up per the usual to use the bathroom and BAM! real contractions began! They were already about 5 minutes apart but somewhat tolerable. Not wanting to be the 'boy that cried "wolf"', Aaron and I decided to wait a bit before sounding the alarm. But by 7am, our friend Kelly was on her way over to watch Will, while my Mom and Kate were en route from Greensboro. At 7:30am we arrived at the hospital. (I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled I was to have this picture taken.)
At this point I was a measly 3cm, but boy, was I in pain. Even though my contractions were still 4-5 minutes apart, they were getting majorly intense. The doctor was in no rush to get to the hospital, however, and decided to give me an hour before coming in to check on me and declare me in a state of active labor. So, I kept huffing and puffing... and at this point I pretty much lost track of time, except for the minutes between pain and momentary relief. I kept telling myself, "just hang in there long enough and you'll get the epidural, then all will be okay."
The second time the doctor came in he decided I was far enough along to start the process for the epidural. The nurse started to give me the IV, which they told me would take an hour, after which the anesthesiologist would arrive to give me the shot. They had also been waiting to start the IV before giving me any pain meds. The first IV attempt blew out! At this point I was getting pretty overwhelmed and desperate feeling from the pain. I was also a little freaked that I was starting to feel pressure to begin pushing. Thankfully, the second attempt at the IV succeeded and the Stadol took the edge off to keep me calmer. Next thing I know (like 30 minutes later), Aaron's looking at me telling me it's time to push and there's not time for an epidural! I had progressed much faster than anticipated, meanwhile the anethesiologist was tied up in a critical situation on another floor. I panicked for a moment and even said "I can't do this!," but then we just got down to the business of pushing. Four contractions later, amid blistering, searing, mind-numbing pain, Meredith Avery was born! Praise the Lord!!!
And it was love at first sight!
She weighed exactly one pound heavier than her brother did and was one inch longer, with even more blonde hair!
After getting all cleaned up, she finally got to meet her whole family.
Big brother Will was very excited to meet the baby... and a little confused as to why Mommy couldn't get out of bed. He enjoyed pressing the up/down buttons, though.
He said, "Shhh! Baby sleeping," when he first saw her...
and couldn't wait to hold her.
Feeling so happy and grateful for our family of four!
Yep, she was definitely worth it!
The wonderful Mimi was with us to help out for the first two weeks of her life. We love her so much and it reminded me that a girl never stops needing her mother. ;)
And of course, it was a month full of firsts.... like first hairbow and first Hotwheel, courtesy of big brother sharing his toys.
I see lots of cars in this little girl's future, actually!
She also met Nana and Papa, who took a break from their vacation at the beach to come say hello.
She was not such a fan of her first bath...
but she didn't seem to mind the drying off part, which meant cuddles with Mommy.
GrandBrad returned from his business trip and came directly from the airport to meet his first grandaughter.
Aunt Kate joined the fun, too.
We cheered on the Panthers... here's hoping their season improves.
And Will could not be prouder of his lil' sis.
He's always checking on her, giving kisses, and supplying entertainment!
And, she actually loves tummy time!
And last but not least, Maddie made a new friend. I was in the next room for a moment and returned to find this. She got as close as she could without touching... such a sweet pup!
