Our Precious Kate is Here!!!

We are so excited to announce that our precious little Kate is finally here! She decided to make her debut on Wednesday, June 16 at 6:39 pm. She weighs 7 pounds 5 ounces and is 21 inches long. She's so beautiful and perfect in every way! Life cannot get any sweeter than it is right now!

We haven't shared the story behind the jump-started labor so I'll try to give the short version here. Basically, I awoke around 4 am on Wednesday morning and was pretty certain that my water broke but wasn't entirely sure...after all, I've never been through this before. I made my way to the bathroom before awakening Kyle and Kyle's sleepy response was something to the effect of "are you sure?" "I think you'd know if your water broke". So, I questioned myself but couldn't fall back asleep and continued to ponder whether or not I was actually in labor. I wasn't experiencing any contractions or pain, and I was super tired, so I just wasn't sure what exactly was going on. It only took me about ten minutes to quickly figure out that I couldn't stand, much less walk, without releasing more fluid. That's when I awoke Kyle and said, "ok, I really do think this might be the real deal...I'm going to call the hospital." Kyle really awoke this time and listened as a phoned the hospital. They asked me a couple of questions and then said, you're in labor and need to get to the hospital. That's when Kyle really kicked it in gear. It was hysterical how he was scrambling around the house, packing up the car, going through our list of items to make sure we bring to the hospital, etc. I, on the other hand, in a state of disbelief, really just wanted to take a shower, make myself look more presentable for this whole experience (ha!) and ease on in. Kyle quickly convinced me that I was being insane and forced me to get in the car.

Upon arrival, I was still not really feeling any serious signs of labor or pain, so I wasn't panicked or anything. They ran a couple of preliminary tests to confirm that my water had broken and then admitted me to have precious Kate. Surprises...there were lots!

First, I almost passed out (and I've never done that before) when they were trying to put the IV in. I do have a fear of needles but was really calm and typically, if I don't look at the needle, then I don't experience any problems. Well, my body must have been tense because I immediately broke into a hot sweat, Kyle said I turned as pale as he's ever seen me, and my lips turned blue. This happened all of three times (in various degrees) before they were finally able to insert the IV and get things moving along. So, once upstairs, when they asked me if I would like some Stadol to take some of the "edge" off as I went through this process, I agreed. That was a good decision and I immediately began to relax. Since my last check-up, I had progressed a great deal - I was dilated to a 4 and was 70% effaced. They administered some pitocin and I continuously progressed to where I needed to be over time (over many hours actually, it was a slow process). I got an epidural fairly early, so I never really felt much pain.

The biggest surprise of all was how long I labored once I was fully dilated and ready to push. Kate was turned face up and the doctor said he simply wouldn't deliver her vaginally in such position, so we spent a good hour trying to get her turned as I pushed and pushed and pushed. Then, once we got her turned, she took her time in the birth canal and with every push, she advanced but then digressed some too. So, all in all, I pushed for over two hours before Kate was born. And when I say push, I mean I pushed continuously with very little breaks and pushed with all of my might. The doctor said that less than 10% of his patients have to push for so long and so hard but I was determined at this point to get her out. I also had already spoken to the doctor about not wanting him to use forceps or a vacuum if it could be avoided and he honored that request and we got her out without having to go that route! I can't say enough wonderful things about my doctor. It was Doctor Goff and he was encouraging, realistic, optimistic and just kept me at ease throughout the entire process. Besides the test of my endurance with all the pushing, the labor was not bad at all.

It's truly a miracle as I sit here and look at her! I can't believe she is our little girl! What a wonderful gift from God!!!