Sweet Caroline

She's here...and what a ride, Thursday turned out to be! Instead of a long essay of how the day went, here is the breakdown by times. The good part starts around 6 PM if you want to skip ahead!

June 2, 2011

8:15 AM - I woke up and asked the Lord to let my baby girl be born today. Seriously!

9:30 - Was that a contraction? I'm not sure...I still thanked the Lord that it was something!

10:30 - I'm pretty sure I've had 2 or 3 contractions. Wow, God, you're good!

11:30 - (in the middle of a nap) Yes, I just woke up because of a contraction, I think.

12:30 PM - Irregular contractions off and on. I told Daniel that I thought I was having contractions. I'm in awe of God's power, didn't I ask for this? What an answer!

2:30 - I put SJ down for a nap and decided I better shower. Contractions were about 12-15 minutes apart while I had been sitting down. While showering and moving around the house they were about 7 minutes apart.

3:00 - Daniel decides he should come home.

3:30 - I decide to call Dr. H and get some advice on when to head to the hospital.

3:45 - Daniel comes home...and he's really nervous acting. Ha!

4:00 - Dr. H's nurse returns my call and gives conflicting information. Go in if contractions are 3-5 minutes apart for an hour OR I have 5 contractions in an hour.

4:30 - I asked a couple of friends for advice because I had definitely had more than 5 in an hour but they were only about 6 or so minutes apart.

5:00 - I finally say, "Ok, these are hurting, we should figure out what to do with SJ."

5:10 - The Walkers graciously agree to keep SJ for the night so that my mom and sister can settle in at the hospital for the evening...because I'm pretty sure I'll be in labor way into the night...

6:00 - We drop SJ off with the Walkers and I decide I better eat before I get to the hospital.

6:30 - Dinner at Chick-fil-a. This makes me laugh, now!

6:45 - I tell Daniel we better go. I'm also thinking, "I hope they keep me at the hospital and don't send me home." (This will be funny later!)

7:00 - Arrive at entrance of ER...I finish a contraction before I walk in.

7:15 - Get wheeled up to triage to be checked.

7:20 - I'm dilated to a 6-7...better call the family! Nurse asks if I want an epidural...yes, please!

7:40 - Walk to the labor and delivery room. Semi discuss what baby girl's name will be. We'll have time later to really talk about it, I tell Daniel.

8:00 - Mom and Kati arrive.

8:10 - I need to pee so mom helps me into the bathroom. While there I tell her I'm feeling lots of pressure "down there".

8:15 - I send Kati to check on the status of that epidural.

8:17 - Nurse comes in and I tell her I feel lots of pressure "down there". She goes to "check" on epidural.

8:20 - Nurse says she wants to check me again...I'm dilated to 8-9. I ask her if the epidural will kick in before I have to push...she smiles and says "I think so." Liar.

8:25 - Nurse comes back and says, "I have good news and bad news." She can give me something in my IV to help with the pain but it will make me dizzy.

8:26 - I stare at her in shock for a moment before I realize what the bad news is...NO EPIDURAL!!!

8:27 - Nurse says Dr. H is on his way up though becuase I'm ready to push...then walks out.

8:28 - I look at mom then at Daniel and immediately burst into tears. I wasn't prepared for this...it's gonna HURT!!!!!!

8:30 - Dr. H walks in to break my water.

8:35 - I'm told to go ahead and push on the next contraction.

8:36 - Oh, shoot me.

8:37 - This is HELL.

8:38 - Really, God? Really?

8:39 - What. The. Eff? (Sorry, that's really what I was thinking.)

8:40 - Oh. Em. GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. (Cat, told me this is referred to as the "ring of fire". I'll let you figure that one out.)

8:41 - Finally, RELIEF...she's here!!!

June 3rd

3:00 AM - She finally has a name! We totally planned to discuss and decide during labor...just didn't realize our laboring at the hospital would be so short!

WOW, is all I could and still can say. That was one of the most unbelievable things I've ever experienced. Praise the Lord that it was so fast, no time for me to have a mental breakdown! I loved my epidural with SJ...how in the world did this happen without? (Answer: Because I'm an idiot and could never figure out if I was really in labor!) Looking back now, I'm still torn on whether or not I would go "natural" again. If I could be guaranteed to not know that I wasn't getting an epidural until it was time to push, then sure, I could probably do it again. But...do I want to do it that way again, no thanks! I must praise the Lord for his goodness throughout the day. How amazing it was to pray a specific prayer and watch it unfold throughout the day. He is Good and we love our Caroline!