Alice Kate Meier

So I am finally getting around to blogging about little Allie's birth...or blogging about anything really. (It has been awhile.) This post is going to have all of the dirty details...It is going to be long and painful, kind of like giving birth. So block out a good chunk of time before you dive into my version of  "The Miracle of Life" :)

HERE WE GO:
February 18 - I have a doctors appointment. My Doctor pretty much tells me that I am not very far progressed and most likely not having this baby for a while.  She also tells me she does not want to induce me on my due date because it doesn't work for her schedule (LAME).  She agreed to induce me on Monday February 25 if nothing had happened by then. I really didn't want to have to get induced because I was nervous about having a c-section but more then that I didn't want to be more than 4 days overdue. I remained hopeful that I would go into labor on my own. I had been having contractions for a long time...like 20 weeks but they were not really mounting to anything.
February 21 - My mom comes to town in anticipation of getting this baby out!
February 22 - My due date arrives. My baby doesn't.
February 23 - My mom and I spend the day shopping, getting pedicures, eating, and praying that the baby will make her way out before my moms visit is half over. I had tried everything anyone had suggested about how to start labor, walking on the curb, spicy food, jumping jacks, eating 7 pineapples, among other things. By this point Me and my cervix/uterus/water or whatever was getting in the way of this baby coming out were officially not getting a long. We went out to dinner that evening and I started having some pretty strong and frequent contractions. I thought for sure labor was coming on.
February 24 - Labor wasn't coming on. I woke up just fine and went to church. After church we made dinner, watched a movie and then just hung out for a little while. Because my cervix was still hard and the baby still hand't dropped I had to go into the hospital the night before to get this medication every three hours to soften my cervix in preparation for the hell it was about to undergo.

Here I am 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant. A place no woman should ever have to see. I am giant, I know. On our way to the hospital to kick out our baby girl!
We got to the hospital at 7pm. It was a pretty uneventful night. They started me on the anti-biotic IV (because I was strep B positive) and gave me my first does of cervix medication. We turned the Oscars on and hung out for a little while. Before I knew it Adam was snoring next me, and I mean snoring. This didn't help my already inability to sleep. I was too anxious and excited about becoming a mother.

February 25, 2013 - The best day ever
I was awoken by the nurse at about 6:30. She checked me and was excited about the fact that I was a 2. In my head I was thinking, "A 2 people are at a 2 for 20 weeks. What is wrong with my body? A full night of medications and I am still only at a 2. This is going to be a long day."
The nurse started the pitocin at 7am. I immediately started having contractions. They were getting pretty bad by about 7:30. I was starting to die but didn't want to get an epidural because I was nervous it was going to slow down my labor. Close to 8:00 my doctor came in to break my water. Once she broke my water my contractions were getting SO bad. Here I am when the contractions got bad. I had to stand up and walk around.

I was ready for some meds ASAP. The doc came in around 9 to give me the epidural. worst.hour.of.my.life. It was seriously sweet relief. I am now terrified to ever have a baby with out an epidural. Anyway, Allie's heart rate was kind of going crazy and once they brake your water they don't like to check you very often. So I got put on oxygen.

And they turned of the petocin. For some reason I was freezing and I had about 10 blankets on me until my nurse came in and said I had a fever and made me take them all off. I thought for sure at this point I was going to end up on a operating table getting a c-section (always expecting the worst). At about 10 they came in and checked me and I was dilated to a 6. I was in shock because they had stopped the petocin. So I guess my body just needed a little jump start to go into labor on my own. It had only been a few hours and I had already dilated 4cm! Like I said I thought it was going to be a long day so I was thrilled at this news. The nurse said that this explained two things. 1. Why my contractions were so bad. She said the faster you are dilating the worse your contractions are. (I am guessing she just said that to make me feel better about being such a baby.) 2. Why Allie's heart rate was going crazy. I guess when labor is progressing fast it effects the heart rate of the baby. So I had to stay on oxygen the rest of the labor. At about 12 they checked me again and I was ready to push! Again I was shocked but so excited. The Doctor showed up about 1 and I started pushing. After pushing for an hour I was starting to get exhausted and she still wasn't budging. The Doctor and nurse kept asking me if I wanted them to get me a mirror so I could watch.... UM NO. That is not a view I ever want to see of myself. Her heart rate was still going funky so during each break from pushing I had to be on oxygen. At this point the epidural had started to wear off and I could feel the contractions again. They were not nearly as bad so I was okay with it I was just nervous that I was going to be able to feel her come out. Luckily the epidural hadn't worn out down there. Finally, after almost two hours of pushing the doctor asked me if I wanted her to use the vacuum. She thought that was the best thing. So we vacuumed her out. After a few pushes with the vacuum she came out! She came out with the biggest cone head I have ever seen!

Do you see that cone head??

                                   Alice Kate Meier was born on February 25, 2013 at 2:51

She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long

                                      Born to the most excited, relieved, and grateful  parents!

One of our first photos. Unfortunately, when I gave birth I was soooo swollen so I am not in love with any of the hospital pictures. And I know I am not just being critical of myself. When the doctor walked into the room the first thing she said was, "Wow, I hardly recognize you you are so swollen. You look like a different person." She then said that the antibiotics I had been hooked up to for over 12 hours often do that to people. It is pretty comical/crazy how different my face looked!

Even though I was overdue I am so grateful my baby arrived safe and I didn't have any real issues. For the past two years Adam and I have prayed and hoped for a healthy baby. We both feel so blessed and lucky to have her in our lives. I love her so much. I already can't remember my life without her. I am so grateful that I get to be her mom.

{Coming soon.... A post about the first few weeks of motherhood}