Surprise, It's a Girl!

When we first found out we were expecting a baby, one of the things we constantly talked about was whether or not to find out the sex of the baby.  I had always imagined myself not knowing what I was carrying and strongly wanted to keep it a surprise, and John really wanted to find out the sex, so that we could be better prepared for parenthood.  When the 20 week mark came and it was time for the sonogram tech to tell us the news, we decided that we didnt want to know the sex.  And so throughout the rest of my pregnancy, the baby was referred to as "it".  We prepared the best we could, buying everything in neutral colors and registering for plenty of white/gray onesies.  As time went on, everyone asked if we had any feelings of boy vs girl.  To be honest, I never really had any inkling whatsoever.  the odds were 50/50.  But John, he said from the beginning that the baby would be a girl.

Which brings me to May 29th, 2013.  I had a doctor appointment that morning and as I sat there listening to my doctor tell me "not to expect anything soon", I realized that I could seriously be facing another week or two or being pregnant, effectively going past my due date.  Then my doctor offered to induce me, and I happily took her up on the offer.  So, we were scheduled to arrive at the hospital on Thursday evening to be admitted and induced.  I called John, told him the news, and I think we both felt anxiety once we realized that this nugget that had been residing in my belly for the last 9 months was going to be here in just a day.  So naturally, I came home and kept myself busy all day.  I took Barkley for an almost 3 mile walk, went to Target and the grocery store to stock up, and cleaned as much as I could within our house.  During the entire day, I felt slight cramps and had decided early on that it was just Braxton Hicks contractions, since the doctor had said that the baby would not be coming soon.  John got home around 5pm, and I decided to accompany him to his softball game that night in the next town over.  I was feeling great, but still feeling those slight cramps every so often.  So off we went to the game, completely unaware of what was about to transpire.  After about an hour of sitting on the bleachers, it dawned on me that these "cramps" were coming pretty consistently, about 20 minutes apart.  That was when I started timing them, and realized that maybe I was getting real contractions?  I told John this and decided to head home, just in case.  At this point, I really didnt think this was anything real though.  By the time I got home, the cramps had turned into contractions, and they were coming much faster, about 10 minutes apart.  I called John and told him to come home right away so we could shower. By the time John got home, I was feeling a decent amount of pain and knew that I wouldnt need to be induced, since this little baby was going to arrive early on its own!  Around 1130pm we arrived at the hospital, and I was still in pretty good spirits.  30 minutes later though, shit got real.  The contractions were coming only a few minutes apart, and I wasnt dilated much at all.  I begged for the epidural, only to be told I had to wait for an IV of fluids.  I wanted to punch someone in the face because the pain I was starting to feel was unreal. All of the following then happened, in this order:  I peed in a bedpan, screamed for the contractions to stop multiple times, begged for the epidural, got the epidural (3am, or more than 3 hours after our arrival at the hospital), told the nurses I loved them and would make them cookies, and was finally brought into a labor and delivery room (up until this point I had been on a bed in the hallway, moaning like a cow). While they stuck an oxygen mask on my face, John took a quick power nap.  I still wasnt dilated much and figured we could both use some sleep.  45 minutes later, about 430am, I called for the nurse and told her I felt alot of pressure.  She checked me, and was surprised to see that not only was I dilated to 8cm, but the baby was ready to make its big trek.  At 450am I began pushing, at 455am I asked if the baby had red hair (the doctor could see her head) and at 503am, only a little more than 5 hours after getting admitted and 15 minutes after starting to push, our little girl was born.  John made the "it's a girl!" call and cut the cord, and I cried like a jerk because I was so happy our baby was finally here, dimple chin and all!