I'm not sure I can put into words exactly all the emotions I'm experiencing right now. I am so in love with this little person. The moment that she was born has nothing on the Grinch. I think my heart grew 10 times. She is so perfect. After everything we have been through to get her, I can't believe she is finally here. Our beautiful, precious, perfect rainbow is finally here. I'm not going to lie and say that labor was a breeze. It was not; it was rough but Steve was such a great labor coach. I'm so glad that we took the childbirth class. Laura Meyer was a great teacher. The moment she was born I forgot all about it the pain and just wanted to see her. Now, I'm just loving my new family and recovering physically.
The Short Version:
Anne Michal Pitney entered the world at 4:17pm on October 9th, 2013. She was 6lbs, 3 ounces and 19 inches long.
The Long Version:
I woke up at 1:45am on Wednesday morning thinking that I had to go to the bathroom. As soon as I stood up, my water broke. What a way to wake up in the middle of the night. I was surprisingly awake after that. I woke up Steve and told him to which he responded, "Are you sure?" Yup, I was sure. I was hard to miss. I wasn't feeling any major contractions, so we figured we had a little time. Steve took a shower and I running around the house making sure that we weren't forgetting anything.
We got to the St. Joseph Regional Hospital at about 3am and we admitted to triage. The ran some tests and said that I was only 1cm dilated but since my water broke they were keeping me there. They were also concerned about the color of the fluid and tests which indicated the presence meconium, which is essential baby's first bowel movement taken inside the womb instead of outside.
Because of this, my OB (who was amazing) said that NICU would be there in the room to exam her as soon as she was born.
After 4 hours, I was only 2cm so my OB considered putting me on Pitocin to get active labor started but wanted to try a pill first. The pill worked and the "fun" began. We had a tub in our room which I loved. I sat in there for a hour at one point...totally recommend to anyone delivering at St. Joe - ask for the room with the tub. The nurses were all so nice and had some great helpful advice. Steve was a great coach helping me focus on breathing and making sure I was drinking enough water.
At 2:20, I was finally 7cm and ready for the epidural. Two hours later, she entered and was whisked away to the NICU team in the room. My OB and the nurse were so excited when she was born that they forgot to tell us the gender.
My parents, who had been there since the morning, were there to meet their grandchild just moments after she was born. At St. Joseph, they have "The Golden Hour" which is basically a whole hour when I get to hold the baby and it's just time for mom, dad, and baby to bond. No visitors, no doctors or nurses...just us.
They kept us in the hospital for 48 hours for recovery and to run tests and assessments. We finally took her home Friday evening.
Our First Professional Family Photo
All Ready to go home
