Lena is Here

Lena arrived at 12:28 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, 2011, weighing 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 22 inches long. She is bigger than I had expected, but she did stay in the womb a full 41 weeks. I started having contractions that I could feel on Friday night that lasted through Saturday. By Saturday night the contractions were regular and strong enough that we called the doctor and decided to go to the hospital.

Once at the hospital we were told that I was still in early labor and to walk around the hospital floor. If nothing happened then they would send us home. Instead, after two sessions of walking and checking my water broke and we were admitted to the hospital. Active labor went quickly, but my nausea turned into vomiting -- everywhere. By the time I was in transitional labor I was hooked up to an IV to counter the dehydration from the vomiting and given a strong anti-nausea medication intravenously along with oxygen. Lena's heartbeat was dropping whenever I had a strong contraction, so I needed to lay still on my side through the transition contractions with the fetal monitor, IV, and oxygen. Surprisingly, I thought transition was the easiest phase. Since I couldn't move I focused all of my energy on breathing and making it through the contractions. Then, I was ready to push.

My doctor, Dr. Littrell, came in on a Sunday and coached me through three and a half hours of pushing. It was the hardest work I've ever done. Todd was a tremendous help and support, both emotionally and physically as we tried to find the best position for pushing.

Finally, she was born and handed to me. It was amazing. She looked like an alien with her purplish skin, cheesy white coating, big dark eyes, and pointy head. She was beautiful. She scored an 8-9 on the Apgar Scale, a quick health assessment given right after birth.

Todd and I are so pleased with the hospital, our doctor, and nurses. Everything went better than expected and our experience was very positive. After months of wondering how the birth would go it was finally done. All of the reading, talking, classes, and preparing we'd done had paid off. We had a natural birth without any medication and no complications or tearing. Both mother and baby are healthy and happy.