i'm back!

Hey guys, I'm finally back! I'm sorry I haven't made any posts for the past 2 weeks. Since my last post a lot has happened! I'm going to try and fill you in as much as possible.

When I went in to have the baby on the 21st, they did a few ultrasounds and found out she was no longer breech. She flipped on her own! Another thing they found out with the ultrasound is that there was a lot of fluid between the baby's head and my cervix. The doctor said that if they induced me that day, that it would most likely end in a c-section (what they were trying to avoid from the beginning) because the baby wasn't ready. He recommended I just wait it out. I was so sad we had to leave the hospital without meeting our baby girl. But as sad as we were, we were so happy she flipped on her own. That week I was kind of in a rut, I kept saying to myself "I'm supposed to be spending time with my baby girl right now!" So I fell off the grid. I didn't check my e-mail or any social media. I used the time to completely finish the nursery, make some baby crafts, and try different ways to induce labor. Haha.

At my next appointment, this doctor noticed that I had PUPPPs (an extremely itchy rash on my abdomen). I told my husband that I was pretty sure I had it, and since it only affects up to 1% of pregnant women, he thought it was just stretch marks.. The doctor said because of the rash he wanted to induce me on the 28th, my due date. I was happy to have a set date again! He was also concerned about how much fluid I had. He was worried that when my water was broken, there was a lot of space for her to drop, a lot of space where something wrong could happen. Like the umbilical cord dropping down first, a limb, etc.. anything other than the head. He told me because of this, and the fact that I was only dilated to a 2, that I had a 50/50 chance of having to get a c-section.

On the morning of the 28th, at 8:00, my husband and I got to the hospital. They got me hooked up to the monitors, and started my Pitocin. I was dilated to a 2 when we first got there. Shortly after the doctor broke my water. Which was the strangest feeling ever. Since I had a lot of fluid, the doctor had to slowly let my water out to make sure the baby's head stayed down the whole time. Which it did! So I didn't have to get a c-section! After that the nurse told me that I could have the epidural whenever I wanted, but I wanted to see how long I could go without it. My husband was such a sweetheart. He was coaching me on my breathing, giving me foot rubs, and kept telling me what a good job I was doing. (I couldn't have done it without him!!) By the time I reached a 4, at about 11:30, I was in tears and asked for my epidural. When the epidural kicked in, I was able to take a nap. Then at about 1:00 PM, I started feeling a lot of pain again so I pushed the button to increase the medicine. After 15 minutes I was still feeling a significant amount of pain so I pushed it a second time, and still after 10 minutes I was feeling pain. But all of the pain was on my right side. I could feel everything and was able to still move my legs. They called the doctor in and he gave me a half dosage more and hoped it would work, which of course it didn't! I was in tears and getting pretty stressed that the epidural wasn't working. They called the doctor in again and he gave me a now stronger dosage. Within 10-15 minutes I was smiling and couldn't feel any pain. (Oh the blessing of modern medicine!) At about 2:50 I was dilated to a 5, then at about 3:15 I was a 7. The nurse told me it would be another 2 hours before we start pushing, so I had my husband tell my family to hurry over. I didn't want them to miss anything. Once my family and best friend got there, at about 4:10, the nurse checked my cervix again. And to everyone's surprise, I was dilated to a 10 already!! I was freaking out. The nurse told me it was time to start pushing! The nurse told me she wanted to do a practice push. I started pushing, and surprised, she told me to stop pushing because she could already see her head coming! The doctor was in the room over, so she ran over to tell him and said he just needed 5 minutes. She had me push one more time, then had me stop again because she said the baby was coming. The doctor made it in and with 2 more pushes baby Abigail made her appearance! At 4:27 PM, 6lbs 14oz, and 20 inches.

I was so surprised with how everything turned out. My husband and I truly are blessed. I was prepared for a 24 hour labor with at least an hour of pushing. I couldn't be more thankful. Our baby girl is the sweetest. We are just filled with so much joy!

Also, thank you all so much for your sweet comments! I'm sorry I'm so behind on e-mails. I'll be spending tomorrow catching up on everything!

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