~The Birth of Our Beautiful Daughter~

Well...as I said in the previous post...we weren't expecting to be in the hospital 3 1/2 weeks before our due date...but our sweet girl was coming...ready or not! I decided that I wanted to try and deliver her naturally, which meant time and patience. I had to be hooked up to the IV and was monitored due to my high blood pressure very closely. I knew it was a long shot, since I was still so early, but I wanted to at least say I tried. I was given something to soften my cervix on Tuesday night around 6:00 p.m., and the plan was to start the Pitocin around 6:00 am the next morning. By noon the next day (Wednesday, July 23rd), I hadn't had any contractions and hadn't dialated any. When Dr. Tucker came by around 12:00 pm, Warren just happened to be at McDonald's getting some lunch. I consulted with Dr. Tucker, and he advised me what he would do in my situation. Once Warren returned around 12:30 p.m., we talked it over and decided the best decision was to go ahead and have a C-section. Since I was so early, natural labor probably wasn't going to happen and with my blood pressure still being high, it was best to go ahead and get the baby out. Here is our last pictures as a family of 2.

So as I was saying, we decided at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23rd to go ahead with the C-section. We were so nervous to say the least. They really don't waste any time prepping for surgery. Before I knew it I was on the way to the OR and Warren was dressing in his scrubbs. It was so surreal. I remember walking into the Operating Room and feeling how cold it was and thinking that I would walk out of this room a mommy. I prayed so for God to give us a healthy baby. There were so many emotions flowing through me that I find them hard to describe right now. I just remember being so worried that she wouldn't be healthy since she was 3 1/2 weeks early. Before I knew it, I was numb and the sheets were up and they brought Warren in. Tears just started flowing down my face, and Warren held my hand and stroked my hair the entire time. It seemed like the longest 10-15 minutes of my life. I just kept waiting and waiting to hear my daughter cry, with Warren reassuring me along the way that everything was going to be just fine. At 1:20 p.m., I heard the most beautiful sound in the world and that cry rang out in that cold OR and in just that moment we became a family. I remember them holding her above the sheet and crying and kissing Warren. I remember closing my eyes and thanking God for this moment and guiding us through it and giving us the most beautiful and healthy 8 pound 1 ounce, 19 1/2 inch long baby girl.

Warren went with the nurses to take pictures and to try to get her breathing under control. She was breathing really fast, so they had to take a little extra time with her to get it under control. This was all while they were finishing up with me, so it definitely seemed like a lifetime. I found out that her blood sugar was a little high, and they wanted to take her to special care nursery to try and get it normal. Panic waved through me. Just hearing the words "special care nursery" was horrifying to this new mom. Warren assured me everything was fine and was trying to explain everything to me. After I calmed down a bit, they FINALLY brought her over to me for the first time. I will never as long as I live forget that moment.

 
She was certainly a beautiful baby girl and I knew right then at that moment a love I never thought possible. I think the proud dad was definitely on Cloud 9 as well!

Here are a few more pictures after she was born.

After they took her to the special care nursery and finishing sewing me up, I headed to recovery. I was on some medication, so I don't remember much about the next couple of hours, except that I wanted to see and hold my daughter more than anything. I remember sitting there with the nurse who was hooking me up to recovery monitors and her assuring me that everything was fine and this was totally normal. Finally, Warren came down to be with me and to update me on Bowdre. She was doing great and should be with us in the next few hours. I just remember Warren sitting and talking with me and trying to cheer me up. Warren told me he had something for me and that he was planning on waiting to give it to me, but that he thought that then was a good time. He gave me the most gorgeous tennis bracelet. I couldn't believe it...he did good!!! My wrists were so swollen that I couldn't even get it on!

After getting the bracelet and throwing up a couple of times from the medicine, we headed out of recovery to our room that we would be staying it. On the way, we definitely had to ring the bell announcing the birth of our daughter to the hospital.

After we made it to our room and visited with family for a little while AND after making several calls to the special care nursery, our daughter was delivered to our room at around 7:30 p.m., and I got to hold her for the first time. It was seriously one of the most emotional and happy moments in my life.

I think her daddy was pretty proud of her too!

We were finally a family and there is no greater feeling! We are certainly blessed!