She's finally here!!!

I can't believe I'm finally going to post this but I'm finally a Mommy!!!! Makenzie Ellen Crist was born via c-section on August 28, 2008 at 5:39 p.m. She was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 19 inches long. She is just absolutely beautiful. She has this beautiful full head of brown and blond hair (yes, my daughter was born with what looks like highlights) and the blondest eyebrows AND what looks like light eyes, maybe even blue!!! She's making her Daddy very proud! Arthur & I are completely in love with her. We just stare at her amazed that she is ours and even more amazed that we created her. It is the craziest feeling in the world! I think what I'm enjoying almost as much as my daughter is seeing my husband with her. He has been so wonderful! I knew when she arrived Art would be good with her but he has been beyond words. Since I had a c-section I wasn't able to do a lot in the first day or two and he completely stepped up and has taken control. It is simply beautiful to see him hold her in his arms and smile at her and kiss her. I fall in love with them both all over again.

My labor wasn't the easiest labor. It was long and at parts painful (what labor isn't) but I got through it with the help of my two WONDERFUL coaches, Arthur and my Mother. I honestly don't know what I would have done without either of them. And, to be honest, I don't know what they would have done without each other. Each one of them played such an important part and was there by my side holding my hand (and my legs...LOL). They are two amazing people and I'm so lucky to have them in my life. So here is my birth story. It starts on Wednesday afternoon, after my last post on this blog.

So after my doctor appointment they called me and told me I was scheduled to come into the hospital on Tuesday September 2nd for an induction. Not the ideal plan for Arthur & I but at this point we'll take what we can get. The whole afternoon I was cramping. Like the cramps I started getting in the morning so I was anxious to see if the contractions would start up again. Arthur came home around 5 and we ate dinner as usual. At around 7 p.m. the contractions started. They were spread out in the beginning ranging anywhere from 30-40 minutes apart. Then they got to about 15 minutes apart. They stayed like that for a few hours. At 11 Art & I decided to go up to bed. I didn't sleep much considering I was still having contractions and they continued to wake me up but I slept here and there. All of a sudden, at about 12:45 a really strong contraction woke me up. I looked at the clock and the next one came 6 minutes later. I told Art I was going to go downstairs to lay on the couch. If they continued to stay this far apart I'd wake him up. Well, from 1 to 2 they ranged between 3 and 6 minutes apart. I ran upstairs, woke Art up and called the doctor. She told me to get to the hospital. Art and I showered, packed up the last minute items in our bag and headed to the hospital. The whole way there we were both kind of shocked that "it" was finally happening. So many times we drove down this road and we would always say "One day it will be for real" and that moment had finally arrived. So we got to the hospital at about 3 and was all checked in and showed to our room by 3:30. They hooked me up to the monitors and did an internal. I was already 4 cm dilated. So they told me I was staying and that the doctor would be in in about a half hour to check me. She finally arrived about an hour later and I was already 5 cm. The doctor and nurse said I was progressing nicely so we decided to get the epi now instead of waiting until it was too late. So they gave me the epi. Not the most enjoyable procedure I've ever been through but I'll tell ya, TOTALLY worth it!!! It is a complete miracle drug! From that point I didn't feel ANYTHING! I got some sleep and relaxed as much as I could for the rest of my labor. At about 7 a.m. the doctor came back in and I hadn't progressed at all so she broke my water. From that point to about 9:00 I still had no progress so the doctor started the pitocin. From there it was just a waiting game. Like I said, I was very comfortable and actually got to sleep a lot of the time. At about 12 the doctor came in to check me again and I was 8-9 cm. FINALLY! She told me to lay on my side for a while to help me progress. Well I don't know what laying on my side did but I was on my right side and my left leg started killing me. It's like the epi stopped working and I felt every contraction just in that leg. It was the craziest thing. I was in so much pain for that hour. I tried moving around, getting up, stretching, breathing...nothing worked. Finally, after an hour of complaining, they gave me another shot and the pain stopped. Why they didn't do that sooner I'll never know!!! So now it's 1:00 and I'm fully dilated. The doctor said the baby was still a little high but it was time to start pushing. Pushing is no joke! I put everything I had into every pushing. I pushed on my back, on my left side, on my right side and my baby girl just wouldn't budge! She just wouldn't come down. 2:00 came and went and still nothing. Finally at about 2:30 the doctor inserted a monitor of some sort (not sure what it was called) to better watch the baby's heartbeat. She said if the baby was fine than she had no problem letting me push for 2 hours if that's what it took (I cried when she said that) but if she sees there's a problem with the baby she's going to recommend a c-section. Well the baby wasn't in distress but her heartbeat was dropping after every contraction. She said that, combined with the fact that she was still so high and it took me so long to progress from 5 to 10 cm, she was recommending a c-section. It's not the way I wanted to go but I wanted what was best for the baby and I honestly didn't have it in me to push for another two hours so we agreed. They started prepping me and Art for the c-section. My Mom went out to tell my friends who were in the waiting room what was going on. I must admit I was scared. I just wanted this part over. I wanted to know my baby was going to be alright. I wanted to hear her little cry and see her little face. They brought me into the operating room and got me all hooked up. Finally, they brought Art in and they started. I just laid there holding Art's hand, squeezing the hell out of Art's hand, and anxiously awaiting that little cry. Finally I heard them say "She's out" and the doctor lifted her up above the wall and said "Katie, here's your daughter!" It was only for a brief second but I saw her and she was unbelievable! She was finally here! She was right there in that room with us. I heard Art saying "Oh My God" over and over again. The only thing that took away from that moment was that I couldn't hold her. I told Art to go over and see her and take a picture to show me. He didn't want to leave my side but I made him. He came back with a bunch of pictures and a video and showed me. But I still didn't hear her cry. She let out a few little cries but that was it. All I kept saying was "Why isn't she crying?"
Art then had to leave to go with Makenzie to the nursery while they stitched me up. I gave him a huge kiss and told him to watch out for our girl and I'd see him later. They then took him to "ring the bell." At St. Clare's whenever a child is born they tell the father to ring a bell and a lullaby rings throughout the whole hospital. While he was doing that I was being "put back together." That hurt so much more than I expected it too. Wow! That was the worst part out of the whole process.

Next thing I remember I was in recover and Art was there. They had to keep me there for a little while and then they started to bring me back to the room. I couldn't wait because I still hadn't seen my little girl or held her. We finally arrived back in the room and my Mom and best friends Jill and Alli came in. Talk about wonderful friends, they waited there the whole time so they could see me and Makenzie (well, mostly Makenzie but I think they wanted to see me too). And finally, my husband came walking in rolling my daughter in her little crib. He picked her up and handed her to me and I just cried. I couldn't believe I was finally holding her. This perfect little human being, our daughter, was finally in my arms. She looks gorgeous. The perfect little face, little hands and feet and toes and fingers. Everything about her was just perfect. It was the most memorable moment in my entire life. The rest of the night was spent with our family and friends meeting Makenzie. Art's family came up and everyone just fell in love with her. Uncle Patrick even cried when he held his niece for the first time. It was a beautiful, special night and I'm so glad so many people were there to share it with us. Everyone finally left and Arthur & I decided to send Makenzie to the nursery for the night since I was in a lot of pain and couldn't get out of bed. But we got her back first thing the next morning.

I had to spend the next few days in the hospital. Four nights to be exact. I'm actually being released tomorrow. The last couple of days have been good. Between me trying to recover and trying to get to know Makenzie it's been busy but we're all getting the hang of it. I'm feeling much better. I was up and walking around today. Doing laps around the maternity ward. I'm breastfeeding Makenzie and so far it's going pretty good. She's latching on just fine. My only problem is getting her to stay awake during her feedings. But we're all learning and with time we'll all get the hang of things.

Arthur is absolutely amazing with Makenzie. I love watching him lay on the couch with her on his chest. They both fall asleep and it's just so beautiful. I just can't get enough of them. It's the most beautiful thing.

Anyway, that is my story. Like I said, we're going home tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to share. Wish us luck!!!

PS-Saturday my friend Alicia (who did my Maternity pics) came to the hospital to take some newborn pics of Makenzie. Of course she did an amazing job! Here are a few:

http://www.aliciagouldphotography.com/blog/