She's here! She's here! Annabelle Briar Douglas was born 9-3-09 at 2:47pm, 7lbs 7oz, 20 inches long.
Wednesday morning at my doctors appointment, I was 4cm and 90% effaced. They stripped my membranes again and sent me home. Around 4pm I started having sporadic contractions. By 10:30pm, they were 10 minutes apart and getting impossible to walk through. The were 5 minutes apart by midnight, and we were off to the hospital at about 1:45am. We got there at about 2:15 and I was 5cm and 100%. It was another hour before they had my IV in and my room ready. Once we got settled in to our room, it was time for my epidural. I thought that it was going to be horribly painful, and it wasn't at all. I couldn't believe how much better I felt after that! Around 6am, we ((Jim, my mom and I)) decided that we were all going to try and take a nap. I was so excited that I couldn't really sleep, but I atleast relaxed for a little bit. At 7:30am I was 7.5cm. When they checked again at 10:30am, I hadn't changed, so they started a pitocin drip. I was thankful that it sped things along, but it made the contractions so strong that the epidural wasn't really helping anymore.
At 12:55pm, the nurse said it was time to start pushing! I pushed for an hour and 52 minutes and I can honestly say it was the longest 2 hours of my life! ((But worth every minute, of course!))
On Friday afternoon they told us that her bilirubin levels were really high and that we would have to use what is called a bili-blanket. Well, long story short, it didn't work... and at 5:30pm on Saturday, we were headed to the NICU. We spent the night there while Annabelle hung out under the big lights. She did really well, and actually seemed to enjoy her silly goggles and the warm lights..JPG)
Jim and I were also very thankful for a good nights sleep. When we left the NICU, we said goodbye to room 6177, and acknowledged the fact that it would probably be the last good nights sleep we would have for about 18 years. haha. Her bilirubin levels are down now, and we are spending a few minutes in the sun every day to try and clear up her yellow skin and eyes.
The first few nights at home were really good. Annabelle slept 3 and 1/2 hours at a time, woke up to eat, and went right back to bed. That has not been the case the last 2 nights. She has been awake literally all night and mommy is starting to get very tired. Hopefully once she gets a little older, she will get in the habit of sleeping at night and not all day. We aren't holding our breath though... lol.
All in all, she is a very good baby. We are so glad that she is here and are enjoying every step of this journey. My friend Amanda is a photographer ((the link to her blog is on the right side of this blog)), and came to take newborn pictures on Wednesday. I can't wait to see them, and will post them as soon as we have them!
Thanks so much to all of you that have sent your love and come to visit! It's great to have such good friends and family to share this with! Love you all!
.JPG)
Wednesday morning at my doctors appointment, I was 4cm and 90% effaced. They stripped my membranes again and sent me home. Around 4pm I started having sporadic contractions. By 10:30pm, they were 10 minutes apart and getting impossible to walk through. The were 5 minutes apart by midnight, and we were off to the hospital at about 1:45am. We got there at about 2:15 and I was 5cm and 100%. It was another hour before they had my IV in and my room ready. Once we got settled in to our room, it was time for my epidural. I thought that it was going to be horribly painful, and it wasn't at all. I couldn't believe how much better I felt after that! Around 6am, we ((Jim, my mom and I)) decided that we were all going to try and take a nap. I was so excited that I couldn't really sleep, but I atleast relaxed for a little bit. At 7:30am I was 7.5cm. When they checked again at 10:30am, I hadn't changed, so they started a pitocin drip. I was thankful that it sped things along, but it made the contractions so strong that the epidural wasn't really helping anymore.
At 12:55pm, the nurse said it was time to start pushing! I pushed for an hour and 52 minutes and I can honestly say it was the longest 2 hours of my life! ((But worth every minute, of course!))
On Friday afternoon they told us that her bilirubin levels were really high and that we would have to use what is called a bili-blanket. Well, long story short, it didn't work... and at 5:30pm on Saturday, we were headed to the NICU. We spent the night there while Annabelle hung out under the big lights. She did really well, and actually seemed to enjoy her silly goggles and the warm lights.
Jim and I were also very thankful for a good nights sleep. When we left the NICU, we said goodbye to room 6177, and acknowledged the fact that it would probably be the last good nights sleep we would have for about 18 years. haha. Her bilirubin levels are down now, and we are spending a few minutes in the sun every day to try and clear up her yellow skin and eyes.The first few nights at home were really good. Annabelle slept 3 and 1/2 hours at a time, woke up to eat, and went right back to bed. That has not been the case the last 2 nights. She has been awake literally all night and mommy is starting to get very tired. Hopefully once she gets a little older, she will get in the habit of sleeping at night and not all day. We aren't holding our breath though... lol.
All in all, she is a very good baby. We are so glad that she is here and are enjoying every step of this journey. My friend Amanda is a photographer ((the link to her blog is on the right side of this blog)), and came to take newborn pictures on Wednesday. I can't wait to see them, and will post them as soon as we have them!
Thanks so much to all of you that have sent your love and come to visit! It's great to have such good friends and family to share this with! Love you all!
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