Well so far we have the best little sleeper on the planet on our hands (knock on wood). Thought we could share a little bit about our day yesterday and Hadley's first day today.
Hadley's birthday story:
We left for the hospital at 7:30am so that I could be induced by 8. We woke up to some gorgeous snowfall which by noon had piled up to 5 or so inches.
Here is the view from the delivery room!
Once we arrived, they started the induction process - since I was already dialated quite a bit they wanted to do a slow and more natural induction so we avoided any of the hard drugs altogether which was nice. By noon I had started to experience some mild contractions and was making some progress - we were allowed to go out and take a walk in the snow. By that time it had stopped snowing and had broken into beautiful blue skies so it was nice to get outside. We also swung through the hospital cafe and had a little 'cocktail' hour (ok it was strawberry lemonade). Here you can see a little of our swanky delivery room. This is the bed where you stay right up until the moment you need to start pushing, then they move you into an adjacent room with a different table and all the other equipment.
Andy on our snow walk
My doctor came by around 3pm to do another exam and told us that even though I was progressing nicely, she didn't want to push it too much by giving me anything more than what I'd already had, so she left and told us she'd be back by 7 to check on me again.
At 7pm I was still moving along but the contractions had really not gotten more intense. I was dilated to about 4cm at that point - Dr. Hotz told me I should try to get some sleep and that if I needed the epidural at any point in the night I could call for it. I then proceeded to email the family to let them know I wouldn't be having the baby on the 12th afterall and that they should all be on call the next morning instead. We popped in the season finale of Dexter and were all settled in to watch it...
...when low and behold, about 15 minutes into Dexter and after hitting send on that email, the contractions started in ten fold and were coming steadily every 4 minutes, then 3...then 2...and finally I was not getting a break in between hardly at all. At this point I requested the epidural! The anestheisiologist came and attempted to insert the catheter but for some reason (placement of the needle most likely), i could not feel any numbness whatsoever so she took it out and attempted to re-insert in a different spot. I was having contractions every one minute while she was trying to re-do the needle! At that point she had to stop because I told the midwife that I was really feeling some pressure and thought I might actually need to push.
She checked again, and sure enough somehow I had gone from 5cm to the full 10cm within 15 minutes and it was time! This of course meant that an epidural was no longer an option. My Dr. had not shown up yet, but the Andy and the midwife got me all ready and in the delivery room and the Dr. rolled in within minutes of the final push. It really only took one good long one and before we knew it, she was here at 10:45pm!
Minutes after she arrived
Getting weighed
It was such an amazing experience - granted I would never have willingly been able to agree to natural childbirth in that moment, and of course I was terrified once I found out I had to do it without any drugs - but I am so glad that I got to experience it. It hurt worse than anything I've ever felt in my life, but the payoff was amazing. Hadley practically sailed out and she came out so alert and once it was over, I didn't even care how much it hurt.
Andy was the most amazing birth coach ever, I never had a contraction that he wasn't holding my hands through and just having him there made it all possible.
This morning the anistheisiologist came by to say hi and apologize for not getting the epidural to work :) She told me I'd had the most perfect natural birth she had seen in a long time!
We had actually agreed on a different name prior to her arrival, but the minute we looked at her we just knew it was supposed to be Hadley (which was Andy's first choice all along). It fits her just perfectly, we couldn't imagine calling her anything else! Hadley is an english name and means "field of heather"...and Rose is in honor one of our favorite Ryan Adams songs "Goodnight Rose". Not only that but his album Cold Roses was playing on the ipod when she was born :)
So far most of Hadley's first day has been spent sleeping...she is so laid back and just the calmest little thing you've ever seen. I guess this is typical for smaller newborns and there is still time for her to become a crier, but so far so good! We've just been taking turns snuggling with her (even though she sleeps just fine in her little bassinet). She had her first pediatrician check-up and was pronounced completely perfect and her Apgar scores were perfect as well. She is petite and has long fingers and her daddy's nose. We think she is just fantastic!
Us today
Our little sleeper
