She's here!!

Reese Elizabeth was born December 31st at 3:09am. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and is 20.5in long!

Sunday, December 30th I woke up at 12:30am with uncomfortable contractions. I figured they were just my regular BH and I would be able to fall back asleep. They continued to get a little stronger but no closer together. Around 2:30 I started bleeding, so I knew it was going to be soon! By 6am I was having strong and painful contractions 3 minutes apart with HORRIBLE back pain, so my doctor sent us to the hospital. When we got there I was only 2.5cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was kept for about four hours and I did a lot of walking, ball bouncing, and squatting to try and get some progress. After four hours I was checked again and still no progress, so I was sent home. At home the pain got even worse and the contractions were about a minute apart. At around 2:30pm we headed back to the hospital just be to 2.5cm again. I was so frustrated! We waited an hour to be checked. My doctor said if there was any progress I would be staying, but if not I'd be sent home.  As soon as I saw the nurses smile on her face, I knew I had progressed! I was at a 3 and I could stay! They hooked me up to an epidural when I was 5cm, and it didn't hurt at all. I felt immediate relief except for a little pocket right above my right hip. They said hopefully that pain pocket will close, but sometimes it'll just spread.

Jake's mom showed up around that time to help us out. My doctor came in and broke my water, and explained I may need Pitocin to help speed up contractions because an epi can slow them down, and my water not breaking on it's own. But when I was checked next I was already at 7cm. We were all so surprised!

It was right around 7cm that my epidural wore off. It started just on my right side/back then traveled to my left side also. My left leg stayed numb but that was about it. We upped my dosage but it didn't work, so they upped it again. Still no luck. I resigned myself to just having to get through labor without a full epidural. Definitely NOT my birth plan, but that's okay, we knew things may not go as wanted. :)

By then it was around 10pm and I was exhausted from the pain, and from being up so early. I tried sleeping between contractions but it was always such a brutal wake up call when I woke up to a contraction. I had never been so tired. Finally I was checked again and my dr announced I basically had no more cervix, and we were going to try some practice pushes!

Practice pushing turned in to intense pushing, which turned in to even MORE intense pushing. I couldn't get the baby down so I laid on my side and pushed that way. It worked SO much better. The baby's little head was quickly coming down, so the nurse got my doctor.

4 hours or so later, Reese was born! She had her hand and arm up against her head, which made it very hard for me to push her past my pubic bone. I was soooo exhausted from pushing for so long that everything was kind of a blur. I remember everyone in the room going "PUSH PUSH PUSH PUSH PUSH" and the next thing I knew I felt complete relief and my baby girl was with me! She started crying quickly (although to me it felt like a lifetime) then they took her and weighed her, measured her, did all those fun things. Everyone, even my dr, was shocked to see how much she weighed. They assumed she'd be high 6s, low 7s because of how small I was. I certainly did not care at that point! After her testing they gave her back to me and I got to hold her for about 15 minutes, when she was taken again for another test. After that I got to breastfeed her.

A few hours later we were moved to the post partum ward and Reese went off to the nursery for a few more tests.

So that's the story! It was about a 30 hour labor from start to finish, and much different than I thought it would be. But I'm SO happy with the end result! Jake and I are so, so in love. To us she is the most beautiful, perfect baby in the world. :)

I'll do my best keeping this blog updated with pics and stories, but you know how I am! Here are some more pictures for now!