::12:53am--I started having moderate contractions that felt better with walking. So for an hour I lumbered in and out of bed every 15 minutes until I took pity on Robb and moved to the couch.
::2:00am-6:00am--My contractions slowly moved from 1 every 15 minutes to every 6...and then to every 30. I was bummed. You'd like to think if you're awake all night with contractions, it would amount to something, but by the time Robb left at 7:00 they were 45 minutes apart.
::6:00am-12:00pm--Colby and I go through a normal morning, albeit with a few pauses every 30-45 minutes or so to walk out another contraction.
::1:00pm-2:45pm-Colby went down for an early nap just as the true contractions started. Pacing no longer worked, so I quickly looked up how to ease back labor on the internet (technology is amazing). Counter pressure and heat helped for awhile (although the next day I noticed bruising on my back from my attempts at counter pressure), but became less effective around 2:00pm.
::2:45pm--I wimped out and called Robb. He had a doctor's appointment at 3:30 and I thought I could hold on until it ended, but at that point I needed moral support and someone to help with Colby when he woke up. The contractions were coming every 5-6 minutes and my OBGYN told me to wait for an hour after that point before going to the hospital...I made it 20 minutes (mainly due to the fact the contractions jumped almost immediately to every 3-4 minutes).
::3:15pm--Robb packed up our things and our friend, Rhianna, came over and took charge of Colby. We got in the car and as we drove I prayed for three things: that I was far enough along that they wouldn't send us home**, that I wouldn't give birth in the car, and that if possible, I'd like to arrive in time to get an epidural.
::4:00pm-5:00pm--My prayers were answered. My contractions slowed to every 8-10 minutes while in the car, my water didn't break, and the nurse who admitted us measured me at 8 cm dilated. We spent a very long time in triage and then walked over to the delivery room.
::5:00pm-5:45pm--I'd taken an at home hypnobirthing course before with Colby and using those skills of deep relaxation was the only thing that kept me together. Eventually in the class you learn to remain in that state of hypnosis while moving around...but I never got to that part and so managed by closing my eyes and blocking everything else out. Our Romanian nurse hooked me up to a bag of D5NS and told me the whole thing needed to empty before I could get the epidural and then kept pestering me with admission questions, which made my feeble attempts at hypnosis difficult (fortunately, she had to leave to care for another patient and a nicer nurse replaced her).
::5:45pm--My friend, the anesthesiologist, came by, sat me in an upright position, and inserted the needle. Meanwhile, I felt an incredibly strong urge to push...and I did. My pain-ridden mind thought I was peeing all over the bed (my water broke) and I kept apologizing over and over for it. The epidural went in and I was checked again for progress--10 cm.
::6:20pm-6:41pm--we waited for the doctor to arrive before pushing and after 20 minutes our beautiful baby girl was born weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.
Alice is beautiful. She has dark eyes that I'm hoping will be hazel, a fair amount of dark hair, and long fingers and toes. When she cries, she looks exactly like Colby and has the small divot in her ears that marks her as a Hays child.
She voluntarily stayed awake for an hour and attempted to sleep the rest of our hospital stay. The nurses had to keep checking her blood sugar because we couldn't get her to stay awake long enough to eat (even when she got her Hepatitis B vaccine, which the nurse told me was painful, she only cried for a minute before zonking off again).
Colby met her the next afternoon. I guess we did a decent job explaining that the bulge in Mama's stomach was a baby because the first thing he did (after giving me a hug) was to point at the bassinet and say, "Alice." Then he smiled.
Our pediatrician gave us permission to leave after the minimum 24 hours, so once we filled out the paperwork and completed some last minute tests, we went home.
Just the four of us.
**I was induced with Colby after my water broke, so the whole going into labor experience was new to me
:: My mom came on the 13th to help out and by the next weekend my whole family was here for Christmas.
