Okay...I know I said I would do a post showing the baby's room. Well, I have something MUCH more interesting today. I have the baby, her name, and pictures!!!
Let me get Alice's (yes, her name is Alice-more on that in a bit) birth story down...not that I'm likely to forget it, but for posterity. Alice was due on August 14th...well that came and went. My doctor scheduled an appt for that following Monday and here is where the tale begins.
Monday, August 17th: I awoke around 4:30am to horrible back cramps and some regular cramps. I get excited thinking maybe something is happening. Sean stayed home from work to accompany me to my appt. We get to the doctor's and they do a non-stress test (passed beautifully), and check me out. NO PROGRESS! So she schedules the induction for 6pm Wednesday...I'd be staying overnight so they could use cervidil to help thin/soften my cervix and then actually induce me the following morning. I stayed home from work because my back and cramps start getting worse and I was not feeling well.
Tuesday, August 18th: I don't know why I'm dividing the rest of this into "days" because it was like one big long one to me! I seriously did not get much sleep Monday night. The pain was getting worse and I kept timing contractions...5 minutes here, 12 minutes there...frustrating! Not true labor! I called work and told them I was officially on maternity leave...I was NOT going to work having back cramps and contractions like that. My contractions were getting more regular, stronger, and lasting longer (some well over a minute or two) but nothing that would get me admitted to the hospital. Around 2 pm, I took a shower and finished packing my bag. This took entirely way longer than it normally would, but it is hard to work through back labor and contractions. I woke Sean up at 4 pm and told him it was time to go. He was adamant that we didn't have to be there until 6 (he swore I was just being a cry baby). So after about 30 minutes of telling him I was serious (and a few threats on his life) I convinced him to just "be a little early". I told him to pack his bag, which he didn't do, because he was sure they wouldn't actually induce me until Thursday morning. We got in the car and headed to the hospital. The car ride was the worst experience of my life! To say that I was screaming, writhing in pain, and clawing the car doesn't really do it any justice. We got stuck behind some large farm equipment and I think I lost it at this point. I was hysterical and IN PAIN! We got to the hospital, and Sean wanted to park the car! WTH! I told him to park by the door and forget about the effing car! We started walking in and he asked if I needed a wheelchair. I told him no, I was okay. But after about 1 minute of waiting on the elevator, I got another contraction that almost brought me to my knees, so he ran and got a wheelchair and told me to hold the elevator! Yeah, that was a task as I couldn't move and the damn door didn't sense my arm in the way. So we get up to the third floor about 15 minutes early (THANKS SEAN!) and I announce to the nurse that I have an appt for a 6pm induction that didn't need inducing! They rushed me to a room, got me in a gown, and hooked me up to the monitors. Sean had gone to move the car and bring the bags up, and got back about the time that the nurse was like, "Well no wonder you are in so much pain! I haven't seen anyone with contractions like this until the transition phase. They are lasting well over 2 minutes and are 5 minutes apart. I can't believe you are only 3-4 cm dilated." She asked if I wanted an epidural to which I said YES! About an hour and a half later the anestheologist showed up and did my epidural. Oh thank the Lord! The next few hours were relatively uneventful. My water broke on its own sometime between 9-10 pm, but I couldn't feel it. I ended up stalling at 5cm, so they went and started pitocin anyway. Sean went home to take care of Bruno for awhile, and my wonderful sister-in-law, Lauren, came and kept me company. She was also at the hospital that day/night because, as coincidence may have it, my twin brother, Ben, had surgery earlier that day to remove a tumor on his parathyroid. Sean returned about 11 pm and I was 7cm dilated. I tried to get some rest in preparation for the big delivery, but that was hard to do with my nurse coming in every hour to check me. They had to get a refresher on my epidural because it was wearing off rapidly (I told them I have woken up during surgeries). Ahh-numbness! Plus Sean was watching TV (ironically he was watching some food show-which angered me because I was starving!) but he went to sleep about midnight.
Thursday, August 20th...D Day!
Around 2 or 3 am, I was 9 cm. I apparently stalled at 9 for the next few hours and heard my nurse consult a few other nurses. What ensued was a gymnastics event! They positioned me on my side for an hour. Then my other side for awhile. Then Sean helped the nurse put one of my legs on some table and I'm sure I looked rather funny. They must have called my OB because she showed up about 5:45 and checked me out. Sure enough, I was still at 9 and part of my cervical lip was still over the baby's head. So she went in and "flipped" it up over and announces it is time to push. She woke up Sean, and together with the nurse, they held my legs and I started pushing right about 6 or a few minutes after. My epidural was wearing off and they were debating about getting another refresher, but I'm glad we decided against it. I was able to feel my contractions coming on before the monitor would pick them up. About 40 minutes later (5 contractions-15 pushes), our little girl was here! Sean said, "She looks like a little alien that has been at the bottom of a pool for too long". The doctor laughed. I was laying there wondering just how ugly she was! They plopped her up on me, and she was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I looked at Sean and said, "She is NOT ugly!" And off she went with the nurse and her daddy to take pics, while they cleaned and stitched me up. I ended up with a third degree tear. Not too bad. Her head is pretty perfect! The dr was amazed that I got her out as quick as I did (I told the Dr I didn't want a baby with a funny shaped head...and that I was starving-could I have breakfast?). She was 7 lbs 11.8 oz (they rounded up to 12) and 20 1/2 inches long.
Very healthy baby girl! Thank you God!
It is absolutely amazing to see Sean with her. He is such the proud papa! He is very good with her. He dotes on her. It brings tears to my eyes to see him hold her and interact with her. I knew he would be a good daddy, but I am amazed at what a good daddy he is. I love him so much more every time I see him with her. I also never realized how much love you can have for something. My heart skips a beat when I lay my eyes upon her. I think it may burst sometimes because I am so happy!
We took awhile naming her. I was stuck on Scarlett prior to her being born, but once I saw her I knew she wasn't a Scarlett. So Sean and I took over a day deciding. I actually came up with her name when I saw her Friday morning. They had taken her to the nursery to do some tests, and when they brought her to me she had this little hat on with a bow. She was all precious! Laying there, swaddled snugly, and I looked at her and thought, "That is Alice Kay." Well her name isn't Alice Kay. When Sean got back to the hospital, I slept for a bit, and then after his mom and stepdad left, I told him we HAD to name her. He wanted to name her Oleandra (a combo of his great-aunt Oly and his mom Sandra) and call her Andi. I was okay with this, until I thought of his niece Olivia and how they call her Oly. I thought that was too close. He liked Kay for a middle name. I told him she was Alice. He said okay, "Oleandra Alice"...to which I said, "Alice Oleandra flows better"...and there you go. Little Alice Oleandra Parsons! Odd...I never in a million years would have thought of Alice. It is German (and related to Allison-which is my sister's middle name) and means noble truth. We are calling her Alice for now, but we may come up for a nickname.
Uncle Ben with Alice (about an hour old)
This is one of my favorite pictures!
My first time getting to hold her after she and I got all cleaned up. She opened her eyes when I spoke to her!
Alice (5 days old) being held by daddy!
