Monday, June 4: (39 weeks)- Early labor began. The contractions started out very irregular and mild, but certainly progressed as the day went on. Ben and I ran a few errands (including lunch at Cracker Barrel) and went about our day. I found that if I sat down and focused on the contractions, they seemed to get stronger and closer...so distraction was the name of the game! Mom came over to pick up Rowen and we spent the afternoon timing contractions :)
On our back deck, enjoying the weather!
We went to dinner for more distraction-Laurel is enjoying
timing the contractions
Last meal :)
I called the midwife when I got home from dinner just to check in. She assured me that I was in early labor, and suggested I try to stay at home (and comfortable) for as long as possible. "You will know when it's time to go to the hospital"
I took a warm bath and actually fell asleep snoring -Ben figured it probably was not going to happen that night.
Tuesday, June 5
At about 2am, I woke up because I was simply uncomfortable. I decided to go downstairs and lay on the couch for a change of position. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my water broke. No, it's nothing like the movies, and I was certainly not standing in a puddle. It was a small trickle and I questioned it. After that, the contractions became much stronger and closer together. I called the midwife and she said to come on in.
I woke Ben up at about 3:00, and we were on our way!
After arriving at the hospital (around 4am), being admitted, getting checked (5cm dilated) and finding out that, indeed-my water did break-it was time to rest. haha
Resting in between contractions-got my relaxing music going
After my epidural, the active phase of labor progressed rather quickly. My labor nurse, Mary, didn't anticipate me to deliver before her shift was over at 11:00am. After 40 years of experience, I trusted that Mary knew what she was talking about. "Late afternoon," she predicted. Well, wasn't Mary surprised when I called her to tell her I had the urge to push and wanted to be checked. She laughed and shook her head, then called for a setup for the room and the midwife. Here we go!
Overall, the delivery experience was amazing. I could not believe that my body was capable of that (even though I see it every day at work!). My epidural wore off twice, causing a few complications and my midwife having to use alternative methods. I felt most of my delivery.
Checking the gender!
It's a girl?!
New Daddy cutting the cord
Blowing bubbles
"What just happened?!"
That explains all the hiccups!
All clean :)
What an amazing experience!
On a side note: how we chose her name- We love the name Peyton, and although it may be a nod to our UT days, we did not name her after a football player. Caroline is a name that I have always really liked, and later discovered it is Ben's grandmother's name (although she goes by Sally) so it became even more special!
So here we have our Peyton Caroline, and although I am still in complete shock that it was a girl in there all along, I cannot wait for our days ahead of sugar and spice :)
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