She's here! (including birth story)

Sophia was born July 13th at 1:53 am.

She weighs 7 lbs 14 oz.

She is perfect.

I went in for my 37 week appointment on July 12th and found out that I was already dilated to a 5 and the baby was at 0 station.  So she was half way here!  The doctor told me that if I was uncomfortable he would send me over to the hospital.  I told him I was fine to wait.  He then spent the rest of my appointment impressing on me the importance of getting to the hospital at the first sign of labor- consistent contractions for 30 minutes, my water breaking, or ONE really painful contraction.  I told him that my fear was getting Ella situated with a babysitter and then being sent home from the hospital.  He reassured me that no one would send me home considering how far along I was.  That evening I found myself having consistent contractions.  They were 4-5 minutes apart, but not really painful so if I hadn't talked with the doctor earlier that day I would have waited to go in.  I decided to be safe and found comfort in the fact that Dr. Jones promised that no one would send me home so we called Gustavo's mom and I finished packing a few last minute items.  By the time we got to the hospital it was 7 o'clock and I had been having consistent contractions for an hour and a half.  I was check and the nurse told me I was still at a 5 and 75% effaced.  The doctor on call said that the only way he would admit me was if I dilated more within an hour.  I was devastated when an hour later I was 85-90% effaced, but still at a 5 with contractions coming 5 minutes apart.  The nurse advised me to walk around the hospital for an hour and then get checked again.  Gustavo and I raced around the hospital for the next hour.  I was having really consistent contractions that were getting increasingly painful.  I was sure something had happened.  I was wrong. The baby had dropped lower, but I was still at a 5.  I just started crying.  I was embarrassed and frustrated.  At this point it was 9:00.  Ella had been with Abuela for almost 2 hours and I really thought I was going to have the baby that night.  I called my sister through tears and asked her what she thought I should do (the nurse had told me I could go home and come back in the morning, or stay for another hour).  I decided that I would just go home because I didn't want to risk waiting even longer and still get sent home.  Gustavo called his mom and we planned to get Ella at 7 o'clock the next morning so she could make it to work on time.  At that point the nurse came in and told me that my contractions were only 3 minutes apart and that she wanted me to stay and get checked in another hour.  At about 10:30 I was checked and had finally dilated so I was at a 5+ or 6.  I quickly got admitted and the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural.  That didn't go very well.  I had no idea what was going on!  The first time I got an epidural it was quick, easy, and practically pain free.  This time I felt like he kept poking me over and over again.  I had pain shooting down my legs.  When he finally told me I could lift my head I immediately had the worst headache I've ever experienced.  I was grabbing my head as the doctor explained that he had messed up and spinal fluid had leaked.  He said the headache would last for 7 days.  The only thing that alleviated the pain was lying flat.  I was the unlucky 1% of patients who have this happen.  The anesthesiologist left and Dr. Watabe (not my OB, but the OB who was on call and who also delivered Ella) came in.  He broke my water and was on his way.  Due to the problems with my epidural the head nurse just took me off the pump and told me that hopefully I would have the baby within 2 hours because that's how long it would last.  I didn't inquire about it because regardless of what I said, she jumped on me and acted like I was the most annoying person she'd ever met.  It was easier just not to talk.  Well, I started to feel pressure and have more feeling in my legs at 1:20.  By 1:40 I could move my lower body and was feeling amniotic fluid as it leaked out.  At 1:45 the nurse came in and told me it was time to push.  She got Dr. Watabe and we were all set.  I was super uncomfortable and really nervous because I had full feeling in my lower body.  When it was time to push I felt everything. Sophia was born at 1:53am so fortunately I only pushed for 5-7 minutes.  With Ella I did not feel anything so I was not anticipating this experience nor was I prepared for the pain I felt.  When Sophia was laid on my chest I couldn't believe she was here.  I had been so focused on the pain and being done that I forgot that the end result was my beautiful baby!  I quickly told Gustavo that she looked so tiny (this was funny to me because when I first held Ella I said "SHE'S HUGE").  Sophia weighed 7lbs. 14 oz. which is one ounce bigger than Ella was.  The labor and delivery was so much different than I expected it would be, but I left in great shape.  This time I only had second degree tears which are about 10 billion times less painful than the third degree tears left by the forceps with Ella's birth.  The headaches were really masked by the pain medication I took at the hospital, but they came back with a vengeance on Sunday when I decided to stop taking medication. They were miserable for 2 days, but by Wednesday afternoon they were gone and now I feel great.  Things are going so much better than I ever could have imagined.  We love our little girls and are so excited Sophia decided to come 17 days early (especially considering how big she was!)