Labor of Love

Sigh. Our baby is home. She is perfect. She is beautiful. She is so sweet. We love her more than anything and are amazed by her. Here is a picture of our beautiful Zooey:

If you would like to see more pictures, please e-mail me. Because the blog is very public, we have chosen to use a password-protected website to share our little munchkin with the world.

Now, for those of you who have been wondering about the labor story, here it is. My water broke on Sunday at 3:00 pm. That was a weird experience! Ryan kept asking if I was sure, and I honestly wasn't at first, but within about thirty minutes it was. I called my doctor, who was on vacation, and the on-call doc said I should definitely come to the hospital to be checked and admitted. Once there, they confirmed my water broke and hooked me up. Although I was having contractions, at this point they were pretty irregular, every 5-6 minutes, and I couldn't really tell I was having them unless I looked at the monitor. Ryan & I went on several walks to try to get the labor to progress on it's own, but when the doctor came in at 11:00 to check me, I was still only 3 cm dilated and (he said) 70% effaced. At that point, he started me on pitocin, because if your water breaks, they really want the baby out within 12 hours, 18 at the latest to reduce the risk of infection to the baby. I rested until 4:00, he checked me again...and...still at 3 cm! He left the room saying if I was having a problem with the pain I could get IV drugs, but at that point I figured it would still take a while to 5 or 6 cm which is when I wanted to start the epidural. I called Ryan over to come sit with me, since I was super tired, and about 5 minutes after the doctor left, I started having strong contractions that lasted about 60 seconds about every minute (or less) apart. I couldn't take the pain and got some IV drugs and finally got the epidural. Sweet relief! 45 minutes after he checked me, I was at 8 cm! I and rested until 7:00 when I was fully effaced and at 10cm then I "labored down" and took a nap. At 8:00 the on-call doctor from my OB's office arrived, and it was time to push. We ended up letting Sarah & my mom in the room for the delivery, which wasn't part of our birth plan, but I'm happy they could both be there for Zooey's arrival. At 10:31, I pushed Zooey out pretty fast - the doctor said that process normally takes another 10 minutes; Ryan says when I said I was done, I really meant it. :)

When people say you can't comprehend the love you have for your child, I never really "got it." I thought I understood that concept, but I now realize even five days after her birth that that is a concept you cannot fully grasp until one has children. I look at our beautiful, perfect, sweet, amazing daughter, and my heart overflows with emotion. I would do anything for her. I sit here in awe at this gift that has been entrusted to us, and I am humbled and thankful and feel blessed beyond belief. Welcome to the world, our beautiful little girl!