She is finally here!

Our family has been blessed with our first addition! Brooklyn Sophia joined us on Thursday morning! We love her so much and can't wait to take her home tomorrow! Getting her here was an adventure to say the least!

Wednesday morning about 3am with bad labor pains. I did everything I could to try and dull the pain and eventually about 8 am it started to ebb away. I got a little nap and then got up, got ready and bryan and I headed for out for lunch and to be with friends to try and make the day go by fast! Just as we were getting lunch going, my contractions started again and were averaging about 7 minutes or so and were not fun but weren't unbearable... We were by the pool for a while and then played some cards. After about 5 hours the contractions made there way to avg 2 min apart and were very very very painful for the most part. Since they want you to come when the contractions are about 3-5 min apart we decided to head for the hospital. After my initial exam I was between 3-4 cm dilated and got admitted! I was assigned my labor room and decided to walk around to try and get a little more dialted before I got my epidural because I wouldn't be able to get up again until after delivery and it epidural wore off. About 10pm I got my epidural, which really was no big deal and I was on my way to being pain free! Or so I thought!

The contraction pain eased until I couldn't feel them anymore which was a major relief! How people go through labor with that kind of pain is beyond me! The pioneer women were amazing! Eventually I lost feeling is my lower body but more so in my right side! I still had a fair amount of control and feeling in my left leg and side. You'd think being numb was great because you can't feel anything... in that way it is, but then you deal with the numbness and it is so hard to move and readjust your position etc. And laying on the same spot, numb or not can hurt. So sadly, Bryan, my mom and the nurse had to reposition me often throughout the the night because i would hurt after a while. I also had moments when I began to feel my contractions again in my left side beacuse it wasn't as numb as the right. Epidural medicine spreads by gravity... so I had to lay on my left in order to get the medicine to the left side. By the time of delivery 12 hours after initially getting my epidural my left side was finally as numb as my right side.

A few hours before delivery I got a fever that peaked at 103 degrees... not good! Kyle and Bryan gave me a blessing about an hour before I delievered and I was completely fine by the time by baby was here! Bryan's mom and my mom along with Bryan of course were in the delivery room with me helping out. The nurse had me start pushing about 10:15am to get me ready for the doctor. By 10:33 Brooklyn came flying out! What an odd and relieving sensation to have her out of me! I touched her head as she crowned...that was interesting, very squishy. She was nasty looking as all baby's are and was immediately taken to the cleaning station so they could suck stuff out of her lungs that had gotten in there in utero (poop basically).  Eventually she gave a few wimpy little cries and was cleaned off a little and vitals checked etc and brought over to me. She was 6lbs 9 oz and 20 3/4 in long. She was just so beautiful. I couldn't believe I was holding my own daughter. It was love at first sight. Well actually before because I loved her when she was inside me too! Eventually she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to be watched and put on antibiotics. We both had to be put on antibiotics for 24-48 hours. Bryan went with her and I was left alone with the doctor and nurse getting cleaned up. Eventually I was moved to my postpardum room upstairs. It was so funny to try and walk! The poor nurses had to get me on the really odd people mover thing and eventually to a wheelchair. After a couple hours I finally was able to go down and see my baby.

I finally got to hold her and kiss her and start to try to breastfeed. It was amazing. Since Thursday I have been going down there around every three hours or so and fed her and been with her, getting updates etc. We hoped to come home today but had to wait till they were sure she could maintain her own body heat. So hopefully in the morning we will be approved to go home! The doctor thinks she will be fine! I was discharged today and we were both taken off our antibiotic today.

It has been hard to have her away from me in the NICU but I am of course glad she is getting the care she needs. Eventhough I was allowed to go home and come back I couldn't bare the thought of leaving her here alone so I have stayed all day. We got a hospitality room we are staying in for the night until she is ready to be released. She is just an amazing little thing. She is very sweet and cute and we love her! I love seeing Bryan with her as she feeds her etc because he is so cute with her and she is a lot like him!

Pictures of my baby are coming!