Our sweet baby girl arrived February 10, 2012 at 2:29 am (actual due date was February 16)
I had a doctor appointment at 12 on Thursday, February 9 and I asked the doctor to strip my membranes. He did (and it was uncomfortable), but he said he felt confident that I would have a baby in the next 24 hours. I was surprised to hear him say that..."confident that I would." I was hopeful that I would have her, but I pushed the thought aside because I didn't want to get my hopes up.
This pregnancy was the hardest one...emotionally and physically. Physically, I was more achy from the beginning and felt so much bigger than I did with any of the others. This time I was taking care of 3 busy boys! Also, as soon as we found out we were having a girl I got busy (and kept Jared busy) with getting her room all ready. Painting furniture, walls, the crib, baskets, and picture frames. I also made (and remade several times) curtains and her bed skirt. I made decorative balls and lots and lots of headbands...all of this before the holidays even started! I knew she would be at least 8 pounds or bigger because of how big I was! The doctor said I had a moderate amount of fluid, maybe a little more than most...so why was I so huge?! This was the first time I was big and pregnant during the holidays too. It was kind of tiring (let's face it, the holidays are tiring pregnant or not).
Emotionally I was a bit of a wreck. Because I had everything ready early it was difficult being patient. I was hoping to have her early and on my own, but the closer it got the more impatient I was. I started having contractions (mostly at night) and they would get strong enough to wake me up, but then they would go away as soon as I got out of bed and started my day. I was so frustrated! I couldn't wait to meet our little girl and I was so tired of being pregnant...I know this sounds so negative..and it's true, I was being very negative and was a little depressed toward the end. I couldn't get comfortable, I was popping Tums all the time, and I could barely breathe. Poor Jared had to listen to my complaints each night and had to tolerate my tears that followed. He was very supportive and kind.
So back to the doctor appointment. I met Jared for lunch at Costa Vida and once I came home I started having contractions (I think I was dilated to a 2 at my appointment) and they continued all day. Once Jared got home I started timing them and they were 3-5 minutes apart, but I wasn't alarmed because they didn't hurt really bad. I didn't understand why the doctor told me to come to the hospital once they were 5 min apart, because I wasn't in pain! Jared started getting a little anxious after we were cleaning dinner up and wondered if we should go in. I didn't think so because I was still not thinking we were going to have a baby. Once we got the kids in bed and I was still having contractions we realized they weren't going to stop and that I would be having a baby later that evening or the next day. All during this time Jared's parents were calling to check on us. We decided to have them come over and sleep in our bed because we would probably be going to the hospital in the middle of the night. Ola Mae was surprised when she saw me because according to the contractions (being 3-5 min apart) I still looked fine...I wasn't doubled over or in real pain, so she didn't think I was close. Around 10:30-11 they went to bed and we hung out on the couch. I was starting to feel painful contractions (like bad menstrual cramps) and was worried I wouldn't be able to sleep...and after talking to Karla (she told me to go in so I could get the epidural, etc) I told Jared I wanted to go to the hospital. All the way to the hospital I was second guessing myself, wondering if I was really ready to have this baby...I really didn't know what to expect since I had always had an epidural at this point in my labor. My biggest fear was that they would send me home, and I did not want that to happen. While we were getting checked in (I was still having contractions, but not very painful) the lady informed us that since we were self pay, if they did send me home we would get charged an extra $1000+ They sent a nurse out to talk to me. The nurse basically said that if I was in "active labor" most likely I would be in pain, doubled over, unable to carry on a conversation, etc. They didn't want to send me home, but they left it up to us. I decided to go home and wait a little longer. On the way home I was pretty frustrated because I didn't want to get to "active labor" without the epidural. My biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to get the epidural. I was confused! Well, we couldn't go home because we didn't have a bed, so we decided to go to Jim and Ola Mae's house to sleep. After setting the alarm off, and waking Jim up to get the code, we finally settled into the guest bed to try to sleep. I said a prayer and asked that I would know for sure when to go into the hospital. I was worried about having to pay and extra $1000! After my prayer I went into the bathroom to get a towel, laid it down, and got into bed. I then felt a contraction come on and, "Pop!" It was almost audible! It actually scared me. "Jared, my water just broke!", I shouted! I ran into the bathroom and stood in the tub, thinking a rush of water would come. A little stream came out, and then my next contraction came...and it was a good one. It actually took my breath away and I held onto the bathroom counter for support. NOW I was in active labor! So to the hospital we went. It was just like the movies...every time a contraction came I grabbed onto the car and started huffing and puffing...man, they hurt! Jared was running lights, I was crying and a little mad because this is precisely what I didn't want to happen! (I wanted to go into labor myself and have my water break, but I didn't want to be in pain!) It was a little after midnight when we got to the hospital (the staff was surprised to see us because we had just left!). Obviously they could see I was in labor, so they rushed me in and got me in a bed ready to check me. I was at a 3 and 80 percent effaced....and my contractions were coming on hard and strong. It was a little frustrating having them ask me questions because I couldn't talk once I was having a contraction. They brought me to the delivery room and called the anesthesiologist, who wasn't there, so they got a nurse to give me the epidural (I wasn't aware of any of this at the time, but I did notice that it was taking for-ever for her to give me the epidural). My contractions were really bad and I started shaking uncontrollably. I was nervous to get the epidural (like I am every time) until I got another contraction and my body started pushing involuntarily. I told the nurse that I was pushing and that I had some serious pressure in my bum. She said we were going to have a baby! They asked if I wanted the epidural still and I said, "YES!" Finally I got the epidural...I was at a 10 and ready to go! About this time I realized we left our camera in the car. Jared asked the nurse if he had enough time to get it. She told him he better "run!" The doctor was called, Jared ran in with the camera, the doctor walked into the room, and I started to panic! I didn't just pay $900 for the epidural to not have it work! My pain from the contractions had gone away, but I still felt tremendous pressure and was worried I would feel the delivery. Miraculously my next contraction didn't come immediately and we all sat for a minute and waited. I was grateful for the extra time for the epidural to really work. So, once the next contraction came I pushed (and felt burning and pain)...I think I yelled, "I don't want to feel this!" I don't recall how many pushes, but she arrived at 2:30...so everything went really fast...and I was completely exhausted! First words out of the doctor's mouth, "Yup, she's a girl!" She had dark hair, lots of hair! She looked like Luke to us. Our "Pretty Penny" had arrived. She was quiet at first and didn't want to cry, but she finally let out a cry and immediately started sticking her tongue out like she was hungry!
The next night (Jared was sleeping with the boys at home) Penny had a real rough time. I've never had a baby that didn't do well and sleep a lot while in the hospital. She cried all night long and would fall asleep for 30-45 min at a time. We were both completely exhausted! I didn't know what the problem was...gas? Was I not producing enough milk? The nurses came in all throughout the night feeling really bad for me...I asked them what they thought might be wrong, but there wasn't anything that they could do. Finally, in the morning one nurse took her and put a warm towel around her belly...that seemed to help for a little bit. Poor thing. It was awful. The next day she did a little better. I was excited and ready to get out of the hospital and get home. I've never left the hospital feeling
that tired before. Thankfully, whatever was bothering her seemed to pass and she did so much better at home.
