I feel like I have to recap so much and I'm kicking myself for not starting this blog earlier. It's kind of like the feeling you got when you were starting a paper the night before it was due. I'll do my best to tell the story of our lives these last four or five months in a
The Birth of Little Miss Audrey
My official due date was June 16th. From the beginning of my pregnancy I had a feeling Audrey would arrive late. I also knew due dates weren't exact and most first time moms deliver after their due date...no big deal right? Wrong! Audrey was exactly 2 weeks late and let me tell you, those 2 weeks were a big deal to me. I had reached my goal of working full time up to June 16th and then came the 2 weeks of clock watching, excitement, and major anxiety over labor starting at any moment. My day would consist of waking up, eat breakfast, sit on the couch, nap, eat lunch, sit on the couch, nap, go for a walk, sadly tell all inquiring friends and family there were no signs of baby yet, make dinner for my husband, fall asleep on the couch, drag my butt to bed, roll around a lot trying to get comfortable. Oh and throw about twenty trips to the bathroom in there! I was so bored and
It was decided that I would be induced and on a Thursday evening, Zack and I drove excitedly to the hospital. I was still scared but oh so ready to meet our baby girl. I was given labor inducing meds all night long without too much response. I wasn't dilated at all when I was admitted. The hospital bed was so uncomfortable and my back was so sore that I didn't sleep a wink all night. I was also trying not to move too much because every adjustment I made, the monitors I was hooked up to would need to be adjusted (and I would need to go to the bathroom)...Zack slept great!
4AM rolled around and I'm pretty sure I was just staring at Zack as he slept, totally jealous and mad that he was getting the sleep I needed when my nurse came in and wanted to give me some sleep medication. I was super reluctant but took it anyways because I was so desperate. Apparently taking Ambien for me means getting 30 minutes of sleep (I have some words for the drug company about this!). The pitocin was increased every hour and it didn't really start working for about another 4 hours...dang stubborn cervix!
The abdominal labor was totally tolerable but the back labor was no joke! Baby was sunny-side up and pushing on my spine and coccyx with every contraction...after a few hours of this I tearfully admitted I needed the epidural (so not in my birth plan).
One of Zack's favorite memories was when I was in the tub trying to get comfortable, just minutes before sobbing, "I need the drugs." Our nurse was trying to talk me through a contraction but somehow she and Zack became tabloid reporters, talking about how Katie Holmes had just announced she was divorcing Tom Cruise. News to me! I stopped mid-contraction to get the scoop. Forget Lamaze or deep breathing, just hand me a People Magazine next time!
Another 12 hours of labor, 1 hour of off-and-on sleep, half an hour of pushing, the most intense feeling of simultaneous thirst and nausea later (one of the worst parts of labor), Audrey made her debut! Zack and I had never felt so much love, joy, and relief. She was perfect. The most precious part of the whole experience was Zack singing to our crying little girl and she immediately stopped crying and stared up at him.
I didn't get much sleep that night again. I was so overwhelmed and I couldn't stop looking at Audrey in the crib next to me (making sure she was breathing and not suffocating in the intense swaddle), but I was utterly exhausted...Zack slept great!
I know I promised a brief birth story but when I start thinking of Audrey's birthday I get carried away recapping the events of the day that turned into the best day of my life. I told Zack after it was all over..."That was fun! Let's do it again!"
Now 5 months has gone by in a flash and my
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