A Little Story...

This week my baby turns 1! I can hardly believe it. I have some cute pictures of her party we had Friday night with my mom but the computer is being picky about loading them... so that will have to wait. So I figured today I would share my birth story. I love hearing/reading birth stories because they are all so different! So here you go....

At my 35 week appointment with her, the doctor said everything was great. She was head down and I wasn't dilated. At my 36 week appointment I got a different story from the doctor. While she was checking me and trying to feel for the head I noticed she seemed to really be searching.... then she said "She's not head down now." She sent me immediately to the ultrasound room to get confirmation. Turned out my little Doll was in a transverse position, meaning her back was across the top of my belly with her head on my left side, smashed into my ribs and her bootie on my right side. I didn't go back in to see the doctor that day but she informed me before the u/s that if she wasn't head down at delivery then it would either be a c-section or she could try to manually turn her (OUCH!).

So I go home. My husband and I were completely freaked out.... wondering what would happen if I just went into labor rather than making it to a scheduled c-section. I had my first baby 4 weeks early and I was so worried that would happen again! Anyway, I was a little freaked out and just kind of took it easy for the next few days, hoping to not send myself into labor. I had called my Nanny to come stay the night then keep the Crazy child while I went to my next doctor appointment. So the day she was scheduled to come I spent most of the day cleaning my house and finishing laundry and all that stuff I didn't want her to worry about doing. I went back to our bedroom to put some clothes up and I sat on the bed to put them into the drawers of our dresser.

When I stood up from the bed I thought... oh stink, I just peed on myself. So I went to the bathroom to finish the job.... only it wasn't pee this time! My water had broken!!! As I was in the bathroom, contemplating my next move, I heard Nanny pull into the drive. THANK THE LORD! That was some Perfect Timing!!! I went to unlock the door and greet her and grab my phone to start making my calls. I let her in, explained the situation, and she took over with the Crazy One while I got the bag ready and called my sweetie. She stayed the night and kept the Crazy while we went to the hospital! Nanny- you are a GREAT blessing!

The husband made it home and we got to the hospital about 45 minutes after my water had broken. I called the hospital on my way to let them know I was coming and that I would probably be needing a c-section. Luckily, my doctor was finishing up a c-section so the nurse said she'd grab her and let her know.

We got to the hospital, got in the room and I got changed. My sweet doctor came in and checked me.... I was at almost 5 centimeters!!! I had not been feeling any painful contractions so that came as a shock to me. Turns out I was having contractions, but something was off because of her transverse position so they didn't feel like they should. I was informed that there were scheduled c-sections going on and that I would have an O.R. in about an hour and a half. So we sat there and waited... and most of our family (the ones that live here, at least) were able to come up and sit with us. All was well until the nurse decided to come give me a shot to slow down the labor.... hello, that sucker HURT! Yikes. I still remember that feeling!

This picture is right before we headed to the O.R.!!!!

My sweet Father-in-Law prayed for us and then my husband suited up and we headed down to the O.R. As we walked out of the room, we ran into my mom who just had just gotten there! It was nice to see her before we headed into surgery. Dads don't get to go into the O.R. right away so it was just me and the nurses.... we were cracking jokes and it was very relaxed. Then my sweetie came in and things got started....

The doctor cut me open and tried to reposition the baby before she cut my uterus in order to keep from cutting me vertically.... no luck. That little girl was STUCK! So she did her job and got her out. At 7:07p.m. on July 1, 2008 we met our sweet Little Doll. It was perfect and so was she! We had the nurses and doctors cracking up because we got into an argument (we love to have silly arguments and we do it all the time!) about the color of her eyes.... Husband tried to say they were brown and I strongly disagreed - even though I hadn't seen her up close yet. We continued this argument for a few minutes before going back to the room. FYI- her eyes are bright blue.... not brown! I win!

Her first photo - she was so sweet and tiny!!!!

There were so many sweet people, family and friends, waiting for us to return and it was a wonderful welcome into the world for my sweet girl. My dad and sister had finally made it when we returned to the room, which was great! The thoughts of that day have been filling my mind and heart for a few days now and I'm sure they will continue to during this week.

One day old..... my how she has changed and grown!!!!

Little Doll - You are a special, sweet girl. You brighten every day and there is something special about you that people, even random people, respond to. You've captured our hearts and you have a big sister that loves you SO MUCH! It is one of the greatest joys of my life to see and hear you laughing with your sister. I thank God every day for allowing me to be your mother - you are truly a wonderful blessing! We love you!!!!