At approximately 9:15ish on Thursday evening I began having contractions, but wasn't too certain whether they were "real" or not. I decided to take a shower and rest in bed to see if the pain would subside, but it never did. At that point (11p-ish) I decided to contact my doctors office to speak with the OB on call. Based on my response to some of his questions he end the call by saying he didn't think this was really "it." Some time around 12a I couldn't take the pain anymore. My contractions were approximately 3 to 5 minutes apart from one another & I was doing my best not to cry or breakdown. We called our neighbors and asked them to stay with Austin while we went to the hospital for an evaluation.
We arrived at the hospital at 1am, at this point we were still unsure as to whether or not Sophie would be joining within the next few hours. After checking my vitals they checked to see if I was progressing. The day before my doctor told me that I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced (I had be there for the past 3 weeks). When they checked me then, I was 5 cm dilated and almost fully effaced. I WAS IN LABOR!! Too cool!!! I was immediately admitted and continued on, but with an epidural. I was in labor for about 11 hours when the decision to have a c-section had been made. All along my doctors were concerned about her size/measurements, especially her abdominal area so the possibility of having a c-section had been discussed. Because of this, I was able to prepare myself mentally for a c-section. I ended up with a c-section because Sophie was measuring a bit large, after all she was born 2 weeks early. Had she gone full term she probably could've reached 9lbs or so.
Sophie and I are doing great. Praise the Lord!!! Sophie is incredibly healthy lungs were fully developed, developmentally- she was right on target for 38 weeks, hearing results were perfect, apgar scores were terrific and despite my issues with gestational diabetes, her blood sugar was perfect. As always, Matthew was such a great help. He has taken great care of us throughout the pregnancy, during delivery and now after. I am recovering well. I have the expected aches and pains, but thanks to my pain meds, i am doing great!
Thank you friends and family for all of your love, support, encouragement and PRAYERS!
Below is a video of Austin and Sophie meeting for the first time. Due to H1N1 our hospital did not allow visitors between the ages of 1 and 12, which meant Austin had to wait until Sophie got home to meet her. We had expected Austin to demonstrate a little jealousy, which he did, just not in the way we expected! He was jealous because he wasn't getting to hold Sophie, not because we weren't holding him.
Sophie's Room: (minus- window valance and 3 slot picture frame over her changing table.)
