Our Perfect Angel

The big day finally came and passed and I can't believe that our little girl is already 2 weeks old. I should have posted sooner, but as many of you are aware, a new baby takes up most of the day. I will write about the experience for our own records and to share the story with everyone else.

We went to the doctor on Wednesday the 13th for my 39 week check-up and we had expected to have the baby by this point from what the doctor had said the week before. This week, he told us that if I don't go into labor within 48 hours, he would be very surprised. This news was very exciting, but we weren't holding our breath. Sure enough, an hour and a half after the appointment, the contractions started. This was around 6:00 that evening and they were definitely stronger than the contractions I had felt the week before. I started to time a couple, but they were still about 7-8 minutes apart. This continued on all night and we distracted ourselves by watching American Idol. Colby was wondering if we shouldn't go to the hospital, but I did not want to drive all the way over there just to have them send us back home. So we waited and the contractions continued. When they had started to get closer together, around 11:00, and making me cry because of the pain, I told Colby it was time to go. I still was afraid they might send us back, but I couldn't wait at home anymore.

We arrived at the hospital around midnight, which was pretty nice since it was kind of quiet and peaceful without many people around. They set us up in a room to monitor me. The nurse checked me at first and I was at about 3 cm, not much change from the doctor's that afternoon. They kept us for an hour to see what progress I would make and I prayed that it would be enough that they would admit me. I progressed to about a 4 and was effaced to about 90% so they kept us. Thank goodness! I immediately asked for an epidural and as soon as the blood work was complete I was able to receive the best medication of my life. I have serious respect for those women who can go natural, but it was certainly not in the cards for me. I was experiencing complete back labor and it was by far the worst pain I've been through. Hopefully Colby's hand is okay after all of the squeezing he endured. I'm sure he appreciated the epidural as well since I was in a much better mood after it took effect. This was around 2:30, so after 8 hours of back pain, I was good to continue. The pain relief was great, but I wasn't really progressing very fast. The doctor stopped in around 7:30 and stretched me to a 5 and told them to start some pitocin. I was quite alright with that since we were eager to see our little girl. They started a low dose and in about an hour and a half, I went from a 5 to a 9. This was great news. The nurses were very busy and my nurse said she would be back to check me in 15 minutes. Well, about 25 minutes went by and I sent Colby to get her because even with the epidural I knew it was time to push. She came and checked me and said I was at a 10 and ready to go. I was grateful that the epidural worked enough to completely eliminate the pain, but I could still feel the pressure when a contraction came so I knew when to push. They were a little worried that her head might be too big because I have a small pelvis, but the nurse said she had seen worse situations work out okay. I really didn't want to have a C-section. I only had to push for 45 minutes and Korina was born at 10:36 am. She was 18 inches long and weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was just beautiful. She had lots of dark hair (did anyone expect any different?) and full red lips. I couldn't believe that she fit inside of me, but it was nice to have her here and be able to see what she looked like. We still love to just stare at her and all of the little faces that she makes. She has been such a great baby and we are so lucky to have her in our home. I will try to post lots of pictures since I know she will change right before our eyes. We are excited to see how she grows in the future, but I'm sure it will happen too fast.