more on Chloe (read the one called Chloe first)

I was due on July 1st and well it came and went and I was still pregnant. It was agony, I could hardly move at the end. Since I went past my due date I had to go for additional testing. We went up to have a non stress test done, and my fears were relieved when the nurse told us we were still having a girl and that she had plenty of fluid around her.

I was scheduled to go to the hospital the night of July 7th and they'd give me some medication to help me start dilating. Then in the morning they'd give me more meds to start labor. I had not managed to dilate at all on my own. Well early early (like 2am early) on July 6th the contractions started. I got out of bed so I wouldn't wake Ryan up and went to surf the net. This proved rather difficult since I couldn't really feel my hands, the mouse control just wasn't there. The contractions started out pretty close together and I thought this was a good sign, but didn't want to get too excited. I glanced at the clock off and on and realized they were only about 6 minutes apart and getting stronger. They started getting a little closer together and by about 7:30 or so they were about 4 minutes apart and hard.

I went in to our room and woke Ryan up. I said something like, 'I don't want you to panic, but I think you should get up and shower, then we'll go to the hospital.' He of course was up in no time and all showered. We gathered our bags and things that I had packed and drove the 1 1/2 miles to the hospital. After waiting for what seemed like forever, they finally got me in a room and hooked up to the monitors. They checked me, yeah still not dilated at all. They monitored me for an hour or so and then did the meanest thing possible. They sent me home! They said, yes you're in labor, but you're not progressing much right now and we're short staffed so here's a shot in your rear of morphine (and something else) come back later. Ewww!

I was devastated. I think I managed to wait until we got outside before I broke down into tears. What ever else it was in the shot made me super sleepy so I spent the next few hours in and out of consciousness at home w/ Ryan pressing on my back when I would wake up screaming from a contraction. The morphine wore off and I could only endure so much and so we headed back to the hospital in the late afternoon... I think. Again we waited for awhile, then they checked me... still not dilating, no wait I think this is when they told me I was .5 cm. Nice. I laid there w/ these contractions every 3 minutes or so and then after 1 1/2 more hours or so they came back and did the unthinkable. Sent me home again w/ a shot in the rear!!! Again, the whole 'yes you're in labor, but you're not progressing, and we're short handed so....' I managed to wait until the nurse left the room before I broke down again, and we snuck out the back hall so I didn't have to go past them crying. Looking back, maybe I should have perhaps they would've changed their minds.

I really wanted Chloe to be born on the 6th. It was the only way she was going to have her own bday. Her uncle Jer is the 5th, Ryan's Dad is the 7th as well as my niece Becky, and her uncle Justin is the 8th. No offense, I just wanted her to have her own day.

Again we went home I guess, I don't know where else we might have gone. No wait, we stopped to get a breakfast burrito and a big fat drink. (at this point it had been more than 24 hours since we'd eaten, oops.) We went to Sonic b/c they do breakfast all day. Ryan tells me we watched a movie. I don't remember any of it. I continued in and out of screaming then sleeping, screaming then sleeping for several more hours.

Finally in the middle of the night we headed back to the hospital, waited and then got checked and hooked up to a monitor. I was maybe 1 cm dilated. Not great news. I continued the pattern of the day. At some point I told the nurse that if they sent me home again I thought my back would explode. Around ?? in the morning they checked me again and said I was starting to progress. After that things started to really move. They got an IV in and paged the miracle worker (you know, they guy w/ the pain meds). He came and wrestled me into a position very similar to what Chloe must have been in, said something about a little pinch and then....ta da... bliss.

Well mostly bliss, I was still pregnant, but at least I couldn't feel the discs trying to escape from my spine. When I was finally at 3 cm they came and broke my water, and that's when we found out Chloe had pooped in my water. That meant we'd have 2 NICU nurses in the room when I delivered just in case. I had a button I could push for a little extra pain relief, I wanted a lot of extra pain relief. I could finally feel my upper abdomen again, but it was on fire...seriously I felt like my belly was being ripped apart... I had to press on it w/ my hands in order to push w/ my contractions. I pushed and pushed and pushed. By this time I had been contracting for so long, my body decided that my contractions should be ridiculously long. I would push for counts of like 30 and get a few seconds break and then push for 30 more. Ryan was so sweet to tell me that I was doing so great and keep it up... I asked him later what made him think I was doing great and he said he didn't actually know, he was just saying what the nurse was saying. Oh well, I didn't know if what I was doing was great or not either.

My doctor told us that b/c there was poop in my water Chloe would have to go straight over to the NICU nurses who were there. And also that we had to be fast so he would cut the cord. Ryan didn't really want to do it, so he was kind of relieved. I had hoped I would be able to convince Ryan to do it, so I was bummed.

Finally her head and an arm popped out!!!!!! Hallelujah. Ryan said her arm looked like a sausage. Sorry Chlo. One more BIG push w/ everything I had... I mean everything. Not only was I pushing w/ my various abdominal muscles... I was pushing on the top of my stomach w/ my hands. This turned out to be a good move because as Chloe left my body, I felt it. I mean I couldn't feel anything from my ribs down, but my hands felt my stomach become instantly flatter. That was amazing. The doctor quickly cut the cord, so quickly that blood shot all over him, and handed her to the NICU nurses. Ryan went over w/ the camera and I watched from my bed. The doctor was working on his/my business and the nurses were suctioning Chlo and cleaning her up a bit. They called out that she was 21.5 inches. Nice and long, at the time I was thinking that's how long I was so I figured she'd weigh about the same as me. I was actually 20.5 inches... and she did not weigh the same as me.... I heard the nurses say 9 lbs 9.4 ounces.

Are you kidding me? Everyone was shocked, my doctor included. No wonder she had taken permanent residence in my ribs w/ her rear end. No wonder I couldn't walk. No wonder she was so hard to push out. and yet...
When they placed her on my chest, she seemed so small. So fragile. So beautiful. Chloe looked right at me and we just locked eyes. I believe it was at this point that I saw a tear in Ryan's eye. She continued to just stare at me, it was amazing.

She was born at 10:20 am on July 7th. Grandpa B. said she's the best birthday present he would ever have.