There's No Place Like Home (long post)

Well we made it home yesterday, and it has been so nice to be here. For those of you who don't know- one of the reasons we induced was because our doctor is in Utah. I had a hard time deciding on a doctor around here, and was unsure of the hospitals. Plus, I am just spoiled, and wanted to have the baby in Utah. We really loved our doctor and the entire experience when we had Nathan, so we decided the drive was worth it. We are really pleased with how it all worked out, and are glad it wasn't too far to drive.

I realized there weren't any pictures of Nathan & Ava together, so I took some today.











(I just lover her face here!)

Nathan is really doing well having her around. He is so gentle with her. He loves to stroke her face and hair, and give kisses. We are so proud of him, and how he is handling everything.

Melissa wanted to know the birth details so here they are for anyone else who is wondering. My Mom took notes, so you can thank her for that.

I had been up all night (of course). My doctor thought the hospital would probably call around 5 or 6 am, so I got up at 4 and showered and got all ready. Then I just hung out with my Mom waiting for the call. We finally called the hospital at 6:30, and they said I was the only one on the list, but that they were packed from the night before. They ended up calling us at 9 am and my Mom, Tyler, and I headed down to the hospital. We got there about 9:30 and they immediately hooked me all up. At about 10 am I had dilated to 4+ (one more cm the the day before) and was 80 % effaced. I think that is when my doctor broke my water too. The nurse said that she would come back and up the dosage of pitocin every 30 mins or so. I was having contractions like every 4 mins, but couldn't really feel too much pain at that point. At about 11 I could feel them, and they were about every 2 mins, so I decided to get the epidural. At 11:50 I was already 7+, and the epidural felt like it had worn off. I could feel the pain from the contractions pretty strong. I was gripping the rail, and trying to breathe through them. They gave me this shooter so I could add more medicine if I was getting uncomfortable, but it was not helping either. So they called the anesthesiologist to come back. They checked me and I was 9+ so they called my doctor too. I was worried that I was going to have to push before the anesthesiologist could make it back. They got me all prepped, and my doctor was there waiting and ready. The anesthesiologist made it and gave me a big dose through my IV and I started pushing right away. I pushed through one contraction and the doctor said that she was right there. I waited until the next contraction and pushed out her head. I couldn't believe it! The nurses were like "LOOK, She is right there!" I pushed a little more and she was all the way out. I saw that she really was a girl and started crying. It went so fast.

It was funny because while we were waiting for the hospital to call I was all disappointed because I had been hoping to have a baby by noon, and then I ended up having her around that time anyway. I figured labor would take at least 6 hours, but I am so glad it didn't.

We are all doing well, and will keep the updates and pictures coming!