Our lives have changed...

Everyone told us that once Liza got here everything would be different.  And they were totally right.  Only, we couldn't understand just how much life would change.  We are constantly amazed at how much we love this little girl we've only known for just under a month.  She makes us laugh and smile.  She makes us tired and cry.  She makes us talk about pooping and peeing like it's no big deal!  We are enamored with her...head over heels in love.

I mentioned in the last post that I'd talk about how she came into the world, so here goes...

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the day before my due date (9/17).  I was still feeling fine and hadn't really experienced any contractions so I thought (like many with their first pregnancy) that Liza would arrive later than scheduled, but I was ok with that.  During the appointment, the doctor had told me that I wasn't super-dilated yet and so I started thinking about heading to the football game later that night.  That is, until she mentioned that my blood pressure was still high (it had been for a few weeks) and my body and baby were ready and she thought I should be induced. 

Of course this was one of the few appointments that JW didn't come to with me!  So I was a little shocked, but we really trusted our doctor and I felt like it was the thing to do.  After quickly calling my mom and JW to confirm that this is what we would do, I headed home quickly to add a few things to my hospital bag, get the puppy ready to head to my parents and wait for JW to get home from work so we could head to the hospital.  When we got to the hospital we were both a little shaky.  We had just gone from thinking that it would be awhile for Liza to get here to "she'll be here tomorrow".  AAAAAhhhhhhh...in a good way.  Once we got all checked in, they started me on some medicine to see if my body would start to go into labor on its own.  They assured us that nothing would happen that night and so we should just relax.  So, we ordered pizza, listened to the Northmen football game (which they won), and watched some of the Tigers game.  Everyone kept telling me to get a good night's sleep since I'd need all my energy for the next day -- easier said than done.  I woke up every few hours thinking about what was going to happen the next day.

The next morning we met our AMAZING nurse.  We could not have asked for a better nurse than Denise.  She was so thorough and intelligent and made us feel comfortable throughout the entire labor and delivery.  Things went by pretty slowly that morning as we waited to see what would happen with the meds from the night before.  When it wasn't moving too quickly, our doctor stopped in and broke my water.  That started things, but still not quite enough and so I was given some more medicine to get the whole show going!  Throughout the afternoon, my contractions increased in intensity and length.  We had internal monitoring to keep an eye on me and Liza to make sure everything was going ok.  Around 4:00, I started to have more intense contractions and I was given the go-ahead to start pushing.  After about four contractions, Denise (nurse) and our doctor stopped to watch the monitor on Liza when they confirmed that with every push her heart rate was dropping and not rebounding nearly as quickly as what she should have been.  I pushed through one more contraction when they decided that we might not be able to get her out safely and a c-section was necessary.  


Everything happened so quickly after that.  Thank goodness the 'crew' that would perform the c-section was downstairs (it was a Saturday after all) and within 15 minutes of making the decision to have a c-section, JW and I were in the operating room getting ready to meet our baby girl.  Although I really didn't want a c-section, I have to admit that having the epidural after an intense afternoon of contractions and pushing felt pretty amazing.  I was finally able to relax a little.  JW watched much of the c-section (which he still wants to tell me about...I don't wish to know anything about it).  And within a few minutes, our beautiful girl was 'born' (out?).

It was not at all how we imagined having Liza.  But, what they discovered during the c-section was that the cord was pressed against Liza's head/face and so every time I pushed the cord would get compressed.  We are so thankful that we had a beautiful, healthy girl.  As for my recommendations -- go into your labor and delivery with some ideas about what you'd like, but ultimately your game plan should be healthy baby, healthy momma.  That mindset made it so that all the twists and turns in our labor and eventually c-section were much easier to handle.

More updates on our baby girl soon... :)