AB's birth story

I still can't believe AB is here and we now have 2 kiddos! She is so very precious and I can't imagine our family without her. Her and LB are getting along well. He just adores her and wants to hold and kiss her all the time. It is so sweet. I'll be interested to see how he handles her once daddy returns to work but for now he is doing awesome with the adjustment.  

I'm not sure where to start with the birth story so I guess the beginning of labor would be best ;) I started having consistent contractions the morning of Friday, June 29th. I decided I should make a last minute target run to pick up essentials and a few of LB's favorite things in case it was the real deal. We went to target and a few times during the trip I had to stop to breath thru a contraction. I thought if these keep up I'll head in. Well we got home, I made us lunch, and put LB down for his nap. At this point I decided to start timing my contractions and they were 4.5 minutes apart lasting a minute. I decided to finish my lunch then call W home from work. Well he came home and I was still undecided about heading in so we waited. I called our dear friends who were set to watch LB and gave them the heads up. Finally at 2pm I decided it was time. 

We got into the hospital and they checked my dilation and I was at a 3 but the nurse wasn't convinced I was in labor so we waited and walked and got hooked up to the monitors. They checked me again a little while later (after a shift change) and I had progressed to a 4 so we were admitted. At first they had some issues with AB's heart rate so I had to sit in bed and be monitored. I also had to have an internal monitor inserted because of the previous c-section. After a little while the doctor came in and broke my water. I then progressed to a 6cm. Well at this point I had to get the epidural. (Since I had a c-section in the past I had to have one as a precaution in case the same issues arose and they had to get the baby out quickly) I was so nervous about the epidural and fought it as long as I could but since I was nearing transition they had to get it in me before it was too late. Anyways, this epidural was great and I had no issues at all with it except that it slowed down my labor. After 2 hours of little progression I had to get a small dose of ptocin. Once I had that I was at a complete in 45 minutes.

I should mention that I had the most incredible night nurse. She was so supportive of a vbac and so encouraging. From the moment she came on her shift she had no doubt that my vbac would be a success and did everything to make me feel 100% at ease with every medicine that had to be used. She was so great at letting my body work and letting me hold off on the epidural as long as I could. (She would've even let me go longer but there was an emergency c-section so if I hadn't got it then I probably wouldn't have until it was too late). I was so blessed to have such a supportive and encouraging nurse (and doctor) that it really made the whole experience amazing. 

Anyways, once I got to a complete I pushed for about an hour and then sweet precious AB was here arriving at 3:27am. I ended up having them bring the mirror in to watch and it helped me push so much better and I loved watching AB come into this world. It was an incredible experience that I am so glad I got to share with my husband. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 11.5 oz and 22 inches long. So quite a big girl! This birth was a complete 180 from LB's and I am so glad it went so well. It really makes me love the whole pregnancy and birthing process, which after LB I feared. So yes AB is here and I am in love and so blessed to call her my daughter. 

And here is one of her hospital pictures:

Questions?