Monday, December 24th, Christmas Eve
Dad and Tina had driven down to spend a little Christmas time with Dillon. And I know Tina was hoping I would go into labor at that point, as was I! But it didn't happen, and on this day they left around noon to head back home. I was feeling a little lonely and discouraged that I had not shown any progress in the labor department, so I decided to drown my sorrows in a couple of hot dogs and about half a pack of raw cookie dough. This happened around 2pm.
By 6pm Tom had come home and started wrapping presents - procrastination at it's best! He wanted me to help, but I just wasn't feeling well. I could not get into a comfortable position and I felt a little heart burny.
At 10 pm, Tom ran a bath for me and it seemed to help a little. I got into bed and slept about an hour, but ended up getting up and vomiting. Thoughts of food poisoning crossed my mind. Damn cookie dough. I sat in the living room for about 2 hours before we finally decided to go to the ER.
Tuesday, December 25th, Christmas Day
Long story short, it was an agonizing gall bladder attack that took several hours to die down. The surgeon says he can't see any stones on my ultrasound, but according to my sis that doesn't mean squat. They said the same thing to her and when they ended up removing it they told her stones were just falling out of it. We got quit a scare as the doc was wanting to do an emergency c-section! But we convinced him to let us hold off.
I think they sent me home with a shot of demeral and phenergen around 3pm? But we were finally able to have our Christmas with Dillon. He had a great Christmas. Thank god we didn't have a baby (via c-section) on Christmas day!
I slept fairly well that night thanks to the shots they gave me.
Wednesday, December 26th
My normal weekly OB appointment was scheduled for Wednesday, so we showed up at the office at 10am. I told Tom I DID NOT want them to check me again. They checked me so many times the day before I was bruised and still at 0cm. But he convinced me to let them. While we were sitting in the waiting room I had my first real contraction - the kind you feel in your back. And when the doc checked me, I was at 1cm! WHOO HOO! Progress!
I continued to have contractions all day, but they were not regular. Maybe 2 an hour.
That evening Tom and I went to see a movie and it was then I realized I was having a few more contractions than just 2 an hour. I started timing them and they were coming every 10-12 minutes. About 5 minutes before the end of the movie I told Tom I just couldn't sit there any longer HA! I was feeling some pretty intense pressure and I was convinced I was going to drop a baby in the middle of the movie theater. So we left.
By the time we went to bed the contractions were 9 - 10 minutes apart. I was able to sleep in between contractions and I feel like I got some decent rest.
Thursday, December 27th
I started timing the contractions at around 5 am and they were 8 - 9 minutes apart. I sent my mom a text and told her that I thought today was the day - so she responded that she would start heading my way! We got up, I worked a little in the office, meaning I sent some emails to my boss and a few others and told them I'd see them in 12 weeks and to have a happy new year :o)
A few weeks prior, Tom had asked that I NOT go into labor on this day because he had a very important business meeting. So I was feeling a little nervous when I sat him down and told him that I really thought this was happening. He told me he was still planning to attend the meeting an I freaked out a little. I think it was at that point that he realized I was dead serious! So he suggested we run over to the doctor's office and let him check.
Dr. Tydings was really tired of me by this point (LOL). But he checked and told us I was 2cm and in early labor, but that he wanted to go ahead and get this show on the road so we should just head over to the hospital. YEA!! We didn't go straight to the hospital. Instead we dropped Dillon off at Grandma's and ran by our house so Tom could pack a bag.
When we got to the hospital I started to walk the halls in the labor and delivery ward. I'd slow down a little for each contraction (about 4-5 min apart by this time). They nurses would cheer me on through each contraction. After about an hour of this, they wanted me to lay in bed so they could hook up the baby monitor and check my cervix. I was still at a 2. So they wanted me to start walking again. I'm not sure what was different, but this time I thought I was going to pass out with each contraction. I would grab onto Tom, practically ripping his clothes off. I only made it through about 6 contractions before I had to get back to the bed - I mean I really thought I was going to faint. When I was in the bed, I would hold onto the rails as the contractions would hit - needless to say these were rail shakin contractions! I was getting more and more vocal. They checked me again - still at a 2. OMG! I think I may have begged for a C-section at this point. Janet the nurse told me that I needed to relax in order to dilate more. HA! I'm not sure how long this went on, but she finally checked with Dr. Tydings and got permission to order my epidural. Thank God. Once I had that, I was golden for about 3 hours until it wore off. So they came back and bumped it up and I was good again until I had her!
My mom showed up after the first epidural, and then my sister surprised me after the 2nd dose. I was so glad to see Meghan. She is a nurse practitioner and has been specializing in obstetrics for the last year. It really just gave me a huge peace of mind to have her there with Tom and my mom! But I had to put her to work as my videographer, so here is a short interview she shot of me while I was in labor.
Interview with Katie in labor with Danni
Her birth was amazing. It was fast! I have footage of Tom's face when nurse Kelly pointed out the top of Danni's head. Priceless! Once Dr. Tydings arrived, I only pushed about 6 times before she was born. I could not believe this little creature I had waited on for 9 months was finally here! It was truly unbelievable! The best thing I have ever done in my life. I love her so much.
She was born at 10:25pm on December 27th, 2012. She only weighed 6lbs, 13oz! So so tiny! I really thought she was gonna be a whopper, so I was very surprised that she has been the tiniest baby born amongst my siblings now.
Here are some photos from the labor and the first few days after.
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| Waiting for Danni!! |
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| First diaper change. Pee-yew! |
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| Little little girl! |
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| My sweet Uncle Curtis got to hold her! I'm so happy he came! |
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| First bath - we did this like 10 hours after she was born. Gross I know but she had been through enough. |
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| Daddy's exhausted! |
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| My beautiful family! |
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| My little princess! |
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| Bubba loves her! |
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| Daddy's girl! |
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| Going Home! Daddy was really struggling getting her little body into that carseat! |
This glorious event brings this blog to a close. I'll be starting a new blog to document her first year. After all, she's no longer a new life inside... she's a bundle of joy for everyone to cherish!
Here's the link Danni's First Year
Thanks for reading!
Katie
