It's baby day!

Short Story... we got to the hospital at 5a.m. and Carly was born at 1:35p.m.

If you are interested in the whole story...
I started contractions Monday night at dinner. They were starting to hurt worse but I was still able to go to sleep that night for about an hour or so. Then I woke up in pain from the contractions at 1 a.m. I was up after that and went to the bathroom several times until I woke up Jeremy at 2:30a.m. Then he started timing my contractions.

They were pretty timeable being less than 7 minutes apart. This went on until 4a.m. when we decided to get up and walk around. I walked down our stairs and up our stairs for a few minutes until I couldn't stand it any longer. I had a feeling.. this is it! I jumped in the shower to clean my body one last time while Jeremy shaved. I laughed when I saw him shaving but he wanted to look good :)

We left for the hospital at 4:30a.m. and from our house to the hospital I had 5 contractions. They hurt. I was even eating a bowl of cereal for I knew this was my last meal for a while. I didn't know how long I would be in labor at the hospital.

When we got to the hospital we went and asked for a nurse. The lady at the desk asked why, I said "because I am in labor". She asked me my information and asked about the contractions. Then she said to wait and someone from the maternity ward would be down to wheel me up. We waited for a few minutes. I had this feeling that we were going to be sent home because I wasn't even dilated. Jeremy thought the same thing. I was weighed as soon as we got to the second floor. I had gained another five pounds since last being weighed.

Then she took us to my labor room. I changed into a gown and laid on the hospital bed. I had a few nurses come in and start checking me. They gave me a cup of ice chips. Usually I don't like chewing on ice but it was nice to have something cold in my mouth. Jeremy liked chewing on the nice too for this is one of his favorite things anyways. They took my temperature, pulse, and the nurse said I was dilated to a four! I was excited but she said that they would still have to call my doctor to see if he wanted me to stay. The next time the nurse came in she told me "you aren't going home today without that baby" This made me SO EXCITED.   Jeremy had the BIGGEST smile on his face.

Doctor came in and said "it's baby day today!" He told me what was going to happen and that he would be back later to deliver. He also broke my water at 8:30a.m. This is when contractions started up even more.. consistent and more powerful. I got an epidural soon after my water was broke. My body started to shake then. The nurse told me later that shaking is just the body's way of dealing with labor. I couldn't really control it but the doctor giving me the epidural and my nurse said that I did well. I just kept breathing and thinking to myself "only a few minutes and I will be back laying down with much less pain".  I was given a small dosage pitocin to help regulate my contractions. It not only helped them regulate but made my contractions stronger.

10:30 a.m. I was dilated to a definite 4. 11:15a.m. I was dilated to a 5. 12:00 I was dilated to an 8! When she told me this I knew that I must have dilated a lot more because I was having lower back labor. Luckily for the epidural it wasn't nearly as bad back labor that I would have if I didn't get the epidural. 12:15 I was dilated to a 10.  I was ready to push. Nurses got the room ready. 12:40 I started pushing. It was hard for me at first because I have never had to push in this sort of way. It's a different kind of pushing. More exhausting than I have ever experienced.

The nurses talked me through it, while Jeremy helped hold one of my legs up. Doctor came in and I pushed for a little bit. He said that her head was turned and that I could push for 3 more hours and try to turn her myself, or he could use forceps and have her out in 5 minutes. I said, "yeah please. 5 minutes."

He coached me a few more pushes, I heard a few snips. Jeremy said this was the worst part in labor. When he saw the doctor grab for the scissors he watched him snip me so the baby could come out using the forceps. He slid the forceps in, and the next thing I know, I could feel her head out and was told to rest a second. Then I was able to push a little bit more and she slid right out. Jeremy got to cut her umbilical chord. Doctor wiped her off a little and handed her right to me at 1:35p.m. (which means I pushed for 55 minutes).

Carly Ann Pitchforth weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 20 and 1/4 inches long. She was healthy at birth and still is doing great. She has Jeremy's knee. Her knee is so cute. Okay seriously she does have Jeremy's cute nose!

At this point I cried. I cried because of all these emotions I was feeling. Most of all, I cried because I was finally holding my baby girl. It was such a relief to finally be able to hold her. No, I did not scream at all during the pushing. Jeremy think I would because I usually keep my emotions in and cry later.

I held her for a few minutes and then they took her to weigh, measure, and check her out while I got stitches and cleaned up. Jeremy was able to hold her a little later after I nursed her for the first time.

I had a lactation nurse come in and show me how to nurse her. Carly did really well.

I found out later that my doctor who gave me the epidural does it the very best out of all the doctors. I do know that it worked well. Enough that I couldn't walk down to my recovery room by myself four hours later.

I also found out that my doctor does the best job with forceps. All the nurses said that I was lucky to have him and be able to do that and not push for hours. This is why Carly has some bruises on her head, ear, and eye in her pictures at the hospital. Some of the nurses said that there have been babies with bloody eyes because of the forceps. Carly has a bruise and today you can hardly see it!

One thing that we brought and I was glad we did was candy for the nurses. We bought a big bag of chocolates (They were really good. I opened them when we bought them and tried a few. Jeremy had to hide them so I would stop eating them) and put it in a heart shaped container with cute tissue paper. Even my doctor ate a few pieces while he was waiting for me to be ready for him to come in and deliver.

We stayed at the hospital until last night (Thursday night). We came home at about 7p.m. so we could get a few more feedings in with the lactation nurse being there before coming home.

We really liked staying at the hospital two nights so we could spend more time with the lactation nurse. We also liked the service we received. I highly recommend the Lancaster Hospital. All of the nurses were super nice and helpful. I loved how when the nurses would switch shifts, they would come in knowing my name and introduce themselves and tell me to push the button if I needed anything. And anyone else that came in whether to check my temperature, pulse, give me pain medication or to clean my room, every single one asked me if there was anything else they could do for me and if I wanted more ice in my water. We were also impressed with the food. I felt like I was ordering every couple of hours or so, I was so hungry! They have really good chef salads, apple juice and macaroni and cheese.

We ended up buying the hospital pictures that the professional photographer took. I am so excited to get them this week. Since we bought the cd we get a free 10X13 of our choice. Can't wait to frame and  hang it.

I am so glad that Jeremy and I were able to do some birthing classes together. The hospital offered them and we only got to go to two because they are through the month of February. We went for two Tuesdays and they were about 3 hours long. What I am most grateful for was the tour we got of the maternity ward. Highly recommend having a tour of the maternity floor before delivering there. Jeremy and I liked the tour because then we could see where we had to go and where we would be delivering and recovering. I am the type of person that likes to visualize where I will be when I am doing something new. It was a little easier for me to feel comfortable because we knew what the rooms looked like before.

I am doing really well. I am a little sore from the stitches so I take advil for that pain. Jeremy doesn't let me do anything other than feed our baby and eat. He doesn't want me to over do it so I can heal. I feel so blessed to feel this good. I do have to remind myself that it took me 9 months to look the way I did when I delivered Carly and so I can't have that body back just yet. :)

Pictures!

Carly Ann being weighed right after birth.

Say hello to the world Carly!

I love it when Carly has her hand up by her face!

Chilling with Daddy! 

Carly is dressed and ready to go home! 

Being wheeled out to the car to go home!

Carly meeting fresh air for the first time!

I rode in the back seat with her on the way home. 

Our first family picture at home. 

Sucking her thumb. Just like her mommy :) 

She loves sleeping in her bassinet.