After the longest 9 months of my life (because I couldn't wait for her to be here), Avery Shae made her arrival on September 7 at 9:43am. She was very tiny - 5lbs 8oz, 18.5 inches.
On September 6, I went in for my appointments like always. They did the ultrasound and they lady seemed to think everything was normal. Then while I was doing the NST, the doctor came in and told me they needed to induce that day since my fluid kept dropping. I did not want to be induced because I feel like she knows and God knows when the right time for her to come out is. I don't agree with people getting induced because they're "tired of being pregnant." But I was pretty far along - 38 1/2 weeks - and since the doctor said it was best, I, of course, went along with it.
The doctor told me I needed to go straight to the hospital. I can't really describe how I felt. It was so unexpected. I sat in the parking lot for a little while to calm down before I started driving.
I won't tell much about labor and delivery because I don't want it to be TMI, so I'll just tell a little... I had planned to get an epidural. I had no intentions of doing it natural! Well during the night, I started having really bad contractions. I was clenching the side of the bed and writhing in pain. I called the nurses and they said they couldn't give me one because last time they checked, I was only dilated to a 2. I was thinking that I must be a total wuss if I was in that much pain at only a 2. I decided I would try to suck it up since it apparently wasn't good to get an epidural that early. I went for a little longer and had to call them in there again and explain that I was crying I was in so much pain. They finally agreed to give me the epidural, then they checked me and I was dilated to a 10! So I like to think that I went through most of my labor naturally (even though I hadn't planned on it).
After that things went REALLY fast! All of a sudden they were having me push. The doctor told me the cord was wrapped around her neck and I would need to push hard to avoid having an emergency c-section. I definitely didn't want one of those, so I guess that motivated me. In what seemed like no time, the doctor told me to push one more time to deliver her. I was thinking "what? already?"
It was such an amazing moment to get to hold her for the first time.
I feel like tons of my friends who have posted pictures of themselves at the hospital look all cute - that was not me. I have never been so exhausted in my life. I also don't react to medicine well, so I was shaking uncontrollably and felt like I had narcolepsy. All that to say, I stopped caring about how I looked really fast. But I still wanted pictures to remember that day. So here are some.
She looks like her daddy...
And then she met her grandparents...
And her "aunts" (she doesn't have any real ones)...
After a few days we went to Wichita Falls and she got to meet her great grandparents.
And we can't forget about Uncle Casey...
Her mommy and daddy love her SO much! My mom always told me it's a love you'ver never known and she was right. I had no idea I could fall totally in love with someone I'd just met! We are so thankful God has blessed us with such an amazing gift!
As I talked about in my last post, I went to the hospital for my ultrasound today, and it was a... MESS!!
During this pregnancy I have been trying really hard not to complain although I have wanted to several times about the heat or how I live at the doctor's office. But I have friends who can't get pregnant or have been on bed rest for several months or who have had miscarriages so who am I to complain when I'm pregnant with a healthy baby girl? BUT there just might be a hint of complaining in this post...
I go to the hospital and they have absolutely no record of me. Apparently my doctor's office didn't send over anything. (I guess they forgot?) The receptionist makes phone calls to several depts. to check, but nothing. If it was something for just me, I would have said forget it and just left, but since it was for the baby, I wasn't leaving without an ultrasound. I had been listening to a sermon from Matt Chandler (our pastor) from a few weeks ago. He was talking about how you aren't the point, and how when things don't go your way, it's a lot easier to deal with if you realize it's not all about you. I kept thinking of this and it kept me positive... for a little while.
Since it's Sat. I had to page the on-call doctor. I tried to do that but they told me I had to have the nursing staff call for the doctor to be paged (apparently I didn't have the power). When we finally got doctor's orders, they didn't know if they should send me to radiology or labor and delivery. They chose the latter. (I am summarizing about an hour of back and forth in this paragraph.)
I finally get to labor and delivery. The first lady said she didn't know why they didn't send me up there in the first place since I'm pregnant. Also she had no idea why I was there and I had to explain. Then the lady doing my ultrasound came down and didn't understand why I wasn't in radiology (and also had no idea why I was having an ultrasound). Because I was in labor and delivery, I was "admitted" to the hospital. I got a bracelet and they even brought me lunch. I was confused by that, but she told me I might as well eat it because it will be part of my bill.
So... after 3.5 hours and a bill I can only imagine, I left. The good news is they said the baby looks great. My fluid is the same. They said she was very reactive and weighs 5 lbs 9 oz. My first reaction was frustration because I feel like I have been getting these tests done twice a week for several weeks now (which involves me driving 30 mins each way to McKinney), and then the circus today, for nothing. Everything has always been fine. The cynical side of me wonders if it's just the doctors trying to get more money.
But then I ask myself - what I would rather have? Did I want them to tell me something was wrong with her? Absolutely not! So why am I upset that it was good news?
Today was definitely a test of my patience and attitude. For the most part, I would say I failed the test, but after calming down (and therapy blogging :) I am very grateful my little girl is ok and I will finally be able to meet her in a couple of weeks!
