Paul took these pictures not long before we left for the hospital. At least I could still smile between contractions!
My contractions were still consistantly 5-6 minutes apart, lasting 30-60 seconds and hadn't gone away with moving around, etc. so I called the doctor's office, and they wanted me to come in for a check. I asked if we could wait a little while since we wanted to labor at home as long as possible, so we made plans to head in around 11 to 12noon. We ate breakfast around 8am, and my contractions started coming every 3-4 minutes and lasting about a minute each. By this point I needed Paul's support (mental and physical!) to get through the intensity. He was wondeful--timing, talking me through, and supporting my weight as I leaned against him with my arms wrapped around his neck. My water broke, and I felt a bit sick, and the contractions were very close together. All of the signposts for transition (from dilation to being ready to push), but we couldn't believe I was that far along. Just in case, and since the contractions were getting so intense, we got ready and left for the hospital.
Thankfully the car trip was only about 2 miles--contractions in the car were not fun at all! When we arrived at the doctor's office (adjacent to the hospital), we discovered that I was already fully dilated! They didn't even bother to take time to examine me at all then--I started walking with Paul and nurse down the hall to the hospital, and another nurse ran ahead to fetch a wheelchair and take us the rest of the way! We were so happy overall with the hospital. We had two great nurses who quickly settled us in, and asked me on how I'd like to push. I wanted to stay active and push while squatting (this opens your pelvis an extra 30% and adds the help of gravity to move the baby down), and so they showed me several options for positioning. This next picture is standing up between contractions. During contractions, I squatted beside the bed and used it to lean forward for support, and I only got up in bed twice briefly to check our progress and then for two final pushes before delivery.
After about one hour of pushing, I Naomi Ray arrived at 12:30pm. I couldn't believe the delivery was over, and I was so amazed that we had a baby, I forgot to wonder about the sex until they announced that we had a girl! They put Naomi onto my chest immediately after birth, and she was able to stay there while here cord stopped pulsing before they clamped it (and Paul cut it). Patricia arrived a few minutes after the birth, and although she missed Naomi's actual arrival, it was still wonderful to have her support during pregnancy and all through the morning (we called her several times during labor to check in with reports and for reassurance)!
7lbs. 5oz. and 20.5 inches long, and beautiful (of course!) Since we labored, delivered, and stayed in the same room for our entire hospital stay, Naomi was able to be in the room with us for at least an hour after birth for her initial weight check, exam, etc. right beside the bed, and then was back in our arms within minutes. What an incredible experience, and just the start of an entirely new and wonderful part of our lives. We are truly blessed.
