Sunday, May 29, 2011

Aniston's Birth

Aniston is here!!! After 39 weeks and 4 days of waiting, we finally got to meet our sweet angel! She arrived on May 22, 2011...our PERFECT 1 year anniversary gift! Cody and I went in to the hospital on Friday, May 20, and Dr. Price was going to strip my membranes to get things going! She came in to check me, and said that my cervix was very favorable and suggested that we do Cervidil to finish softening my cervix. They put that in place Friday night and it had to stay put for 12 hours. We slept great that night and anxiously waited the morning for them to check my progress. The next day they removed the Cervidil and I was 100% effaced and dilated to 3 cm. At this time they broke my water and we were so excited knowing that it had to be within 24 hours!!! Cody and I spent hours Saturday walking the halls of TMH labor and delivery, but I progressed SOOOO slowly. Late that afternoon we decided to start Pitocin to speed up the dilation. Once the Pitocin started, contractions tripled in strength and about an hour later I got an Epidural. THE BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE!!!! After I had the Epidural, I was able to sleep, laugh, talk and really enjoy the entire process. My legs were not dead and I did not feel like I was not in control. It was just right! I could lift and move my legs, feel the pressure, and knew exactly when I needed to push without having to be coached....I just felt NO pain! Things really picked up and I went from 7 cm at 1 o'clock to 10 cm and station +3 at 2 o'clock! Dr. Mcalpine came in and told me this information and I remember saying so what are we going to do and his reply was, "Well I guess we can go home!" lol He was amazing! He stayed in the room from that moment until Aniston was completely checked out! He was so laid back and made me feel comfortable the entire time! I started pushing at 2 am and Aniston was born at 2:27! I pushed for 30 min....how lucky am I?!? I laughed in between pushes and I remember taking my camera from Mrs. Andrea to fix the setting she had it on! Once again the Epidural was AMAZING! lol! As soon as she was born they placed her on my chest and I could hear Cody sniffing back the tears as he cut her umbilical cord. It was the most PERFECT 1 year anniversary gift we could have asked for. She is absolutely gorgeous. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 20.1 inches long! She has a head full of dark brown hair, big juicy lips, the cutest little button nose, and big beautiful eyes :) She is so alert! The minute they placed her on my chest she just stared at me and admired her family.

We had the best doctors and nurses at the hospital! However, it was a hectic 2 days! They were constantly coming in to push on my belly (which was way worse then labor) and taking our vitals and running tests! It was non stop! And for some crazy reason they make people leave at 9 pm....we could have used Mia and GiGi's help until at least midnight! Since May 22, was our anniversary, Gigi brought us Macaroni Grill for dinner and Mia brought us the top of our wedding cake for us to celebrate! Cody gave me a diamond and emerald bracelet...the diamonds represent our anniversary and the emeralds represent Aniston's birthstone! We were able to go home on Tuesday the 24th and things started to get a lot better! Nursing was hard at first, but we have gotten the hang of it and I absolutely LOVE it now! It is so so sweet to have her cuddle me while she nurses :) She sleeps so well and only wakes up to eat every 3 hours! Cody has been such an amazing father! He is so in love with Aniston, and I can tell how much more he appreciates me after carrying her and delivering her! I love my sweet little girl more and more each day, and I am taking every moment in! Life could not be any better....