Welcome to the world, Quinn Suzanne!

I can't believe she's already been with us for nearly 4 weeks. This update and birth story is long overdue!

I had my 39 week OB appointment on Tuesday, May 17. I had said throughout my pregnancy that I did not want to be induced because I did not have a very positive induction experience with Tyson.  Unfortunately, the Wednesday before, I had slipped in my kitchen and hurt my back. I thought I had just aggravated my sciatic nerve and the only way I could get relief from the pain and be able to walk normally again would be to deliver our baby girl. I asked my doctor if she had any availability to induce me that week. When she told me she was on call the next day, we had a tough choice to make. We could go ahead and induce on May 18 or wait it out. I really struggled with the decision but the pain and inability to walk or carry Tyson really made the choice for me.

At 3pm on Tuesday, we got confirmation from my doctor's office that we were scheduled for the induction at 8am the next day. I worked a full day on May 17 to get everything done at the office and prepare for my maternity leave. We rushed around that evening trying to finish packing our stuff for the hospital stay, doing laundry and spending time as much time as possible with Tyson.  We both slept really well the night before and were much more relaxed, quite unlike the night before I was induced with Tyson. I did wake up a litte before 5am and could not get back to sleep so I just got up and got ready.

We got to the hospital right at 8am after a little more traffic than we were expecting and a short trip to McDonald's for breakfast. I wouldn't be allowed to drink or eat anything during labor so I needed some breakfast!

I got checked in, taken to our room and the changed into my gown. My nurse came in, took down a bunch of information and started my IV. When she got around to checking my cervix, she found that I was already 4cm dilated. That was a big surprise since I was only 2cm the day before at my appointment.  She was encouraged by the news since it usually takes the longest to progress from 0-4cm.

The nurse started the pitocin around 9:30am and my doctor came in a little after 10am to break my water. Immediately afterwards, my contractions really started picking up. It was my goal to hold off on getting an epidural as long as possible or maybe not get one at all. I tried as many different positions, but the fetal heart rate monitor kept coming off and I couldn't do any kind of intermittent monitoring because of the pitocin.  It made it hard to deal with the pain when I couldn't really move.  Before the shift change at 11am, my nurse started setting up my room for the delivery. She said that she thought I would go quickly and it turns out that she was right!

By 12:30, I had only progressed one more centimeter, to 5. By 2pm, I couldn't take the pain of the contractions any longer so I called my nurse. I asked her to check me one more time and I was at 6cm so I asked for an epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived quickly and worked fast. I had the epidural by 2:30 and started feeling much better.  My nurse thought that I would progress quickly once I got the epidural because I would be more relaxed and not fighting against the contractions. 

My nurse came in at 3:05 and wanted to check me because of what she was seeing on the monitor. With every contraction, our little girl's heartrate was decelerating and the nurse thought the baby was really getting close to arriving. I thought she was crazy because I had just been checked an hour ago and was only at 6cm. In the half hour after I got my epidural, I had progressed to 8cm.

Ten minutes later, my nurse came in again for the same reason. She said she thought I was complete and again, I thought she was crazy. But, by 3:15pm, 45 minutes after receiving my epidural, I had progressed the final 4 cm and was at 10cm!  I started with a few practice pushes while they called my doctor to come up to my room.

Baby's heartrate decelerated a few times and was not coming back up, so they gave me some oxygen and started preparing for a vacuum delivery. Luckily, as soon as I got some oxygen, her heartrate came back up and the vacuum was no longer necessary.  My contractions were still coming, but they became irregular. I think she would have been born earlier if my contractions had stayed consistent. There were times that we were all just in the room, waiting for another contraction so I could push.  That was a bit uncomfortable if you can imagine.

All in all, I had about 10 sets of pushes, a little less than a half hour, and our baby girl was born! As soon as she was put on my chest, I could tell that she was smaller than Tyson. Not at all what I was expecting since I had measured so far ahead my entire pregnancy.  She was perfect.

Quinn Suzanne was born May 18, 2011 at 3:41pm, weighing 7lbs 12 oz and 19.5 inches long.

Her birth was completely different than what we experienced with Tyson. I was awake and aware of everything that happened, instead of being so exhausted like I was with him. Ryan and I really got to enjoy the first moments after we met our new daughter, unlike with Tyson. It really made me realize just how much we missed out on with him because we were so, so tired.   I guess it shouldn't surprise us that their births were so different because they are completely different babies and I'm sure that will continue for the rest of their lives!

Just a few minutes old:

Relaxing with mama:

Sweet girl.

Time to go home!

Beautiful flowers from Ryan:

Home at last!