labor

the moment i hit 37 weeks i was more then ready to have this little one pop out - i was getting loopy and cranky and super uncomfortable. so i googled all the things you can do at home to hopefully speed labor up a bit. i tried going on long walks, eating spicy food, castor oil, taking a hot shower then turning it ice old, my doctor even stripped my membranes twice! i had people bringing me food that they swore put women into labor - but NOTHING worked. i continued to work and every day just got harder and harder - i swear i couldn't think straight so when i was talking to customers on the phone i was fumbling my words and forgetting what i was saying. i was just so miserable. i went to the doctor about a week before my due date and i was 90% effaced and dilated to a 3. he told me i bet we will be seeing you sooner then your due date - i was so excited because i just wanted to meet the little thing that had been growing inside me for 9 months and i wanted desperately to not be pregnant anymore. the day before my due date came and i went to work as i normally would - i contacted HR to let them know that i still didn't have a baby and so i could work up until i went into labor. i had been having pretty consistent contractions all day that were ranging from 10-25 minutes apart. i was keeping track of them just because i wanted it be the real contractions so bad. once i got off work, kayla, joanne and i went on a long walk and all of a sudden my contractions were coming about every 3 to 5 minutes the whole walk! and they were starting to hurt like period cramps in my back! we walked 3 miles and once we got home we rested for a little over an hour and the contractions were still staying pretty consistent. my aunt who works at an OBGYN told us to go on another short walk and if they still stayed about 5 minutes apart through the walk then to go to the hospital. sure enough they were about 5 minutes so i took a quick shower and we headed to alta view hospital around 7:30pm on the 8th. as soon as we got there they hooked me up to monitor my contractions and also baby girl's heart beat. the contractions had slowed down a bit but they were still coming and they were getting more and more painful. after a couple hours they checked me and i was still dilated to a 3... so they told me to walk around the hospital for 45 minutes. i did as i was told and once they checked me again i was still at a 3! they said to just wait another hour and if i wasn't any more dilated they would send me home but they would give me a shot of morphine to help with the contraction pain. well i got the shot of morphine and right before they were going to tell me goodbye they checked me once more and i was at a 4! finally!! so i was able to stay to have my little baby :) davis, kayla, my mom and joanne were all there to support me and make fun of me while i was SUPER out of it from the morphine. they gave me my epidural around midnight and that was the part i was most scared for because i'm terrified of needles. well the morphine was a great thing and i was laughing while they were putting the epidural in - it tickled?! once i had that it was amazing - there were only a couple times i could BARELY feel the contractions so i would just push the button for some more juice to make me a little more numb :) all we had to do was wait until i was dilated to a 10 but it was not a speedy process. by 7:30 the next morning i was still only about a 6 and so the doc came in and broke my water. we waited some more and at around 11:30 she checked me and i was at a 10! i started pushing with the nurse for about 4 or 5 contractions and the baby was READY to come out! the nurse was so shocked at how well i was pushing and how fast she was crowning. she called in the doctor and after 2 pushes my little baby was born at 11:52am. it was so emotional in the room, everyone was bawling their eyes out as soon as they saw this beautiful little child. they put her right on me and davis cut the umbilical cord - i just cried and cried and cried. this little girl is perfect in every way and i couldn't believe how lucky i was to have such a miracle. she didn't have a name for a day or so but once davis and i could finally agree on something we knew it fit her perfectly. avarie elle has been so fun to learn how to take care of and spend every minute with. she is still a little backwards on her sleeping schedule but she is getting better at knowing that night time is meant for sleeping. she hardly cries, she takes bottles and binkys and nursing has been great with her. she is healthy and happy and i just love her so much. she sure has a lot of people that have fallen in love with her already. i never want her to get any bigger but i can't wait to spend the next 18 years teaching this little girl about life.