Happy Mother's Day!

Kiera Jean Kelly decided to join us two days early in time for Mother's Day... what an amazing gift!  : )  She arrived at 10:58am on 5/9/2010 and was 7 lb 7 oz and 19.5 inches long.  She is absolutely perfect and we are enjoying every minute! 

I lost my mucous plug on Saturday morning, which can mean that labor will start that day, or even in the next couple of weeks... we have learned that everyone's pregnancy and labor is very different!  I started having real contractions (as opposed to the painless Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having for months) at 11:27 on Saturday night, after going to bed at 11:00 and getting all of 27 minutes of sleep.  I tried to sleep through them but they continued to get a little closer together and more intense as the night went on.  Around 1:30 I decided I should probably get the rest of my things packed for the hospital as the contractions were extremely painful and about 6-7 minutes apart, sometimes a little longer, and they tell you to go to the hospital when they are 5 minutes apart and last a minute long for an hour.  Around 2:30 I told Joel we needed to go to the hospital so he should pack a bag.  Joel is generally a little slow moving so he was attempting to pick up the house and do dishes in the meantime!  I let him take a shower (which I regretted during the contractions!) and we finally headed out just before 4am.  In the car the contractions were horrible and coming 4 minutes apart. 

When we arrived at the hospital they checked me in and said I was 3-4 cm dilated.  I let them know I would like an epidural asap (best decision EVER for me) and I got one about 20-30 minutes later.  The process of getting the epidural was very painful for me, but it was well worth it!!  Once I got the epidural I did not feel another ounce of pain throughout the labor or delivery!  I got numb and it was very strange not really being able to move my legs, but I felt so good I decided to try to sleep for a couple hours.  I never fell asleep, probably because the whole thing was too exciting, but I rested for a few hours, and when they came back to check on me I was 8 cm dilated.  She said I would be at 10 cm in the next couple hours and could then start pushing.  My water broke at 6:30am and the nurse said there appeared to be a little bit of meconium (the baby's first bowel movement) in the fluid.  This meant that there would be an additional nurse and respiratory specialist in the delivery room to suction the baby's nose/mouth right away.  If she inhaled any of the meconium there is a risk of pneumonia, which would mean a couple days in the NICU getting antibiotics.  Apparently it is fairly common for full term babies to have meconium in the fluid so the doctor was not concerned. 

I started to feel a little pressure (but no pain) and a little bit like I needed to have a bowel movement, which the nurse said means it's time to push as the babies head is moving through your pelvis.  She checked me again and said I was 10 cm.  I was so surprised that I went from 3-4cm to 10cm in about 5 hours!  I had just envisioned labor lasting so much longer.  I started pushing around 10:30am and it was just Joel and the nurse and I.  It was much more intimate and calm than I had anticipated!  We actually used a mirror at the end of the bed for the beginning of pushing which was really cool so that I could see what was happening and see the baby's head crowning.  Things were progressing quickly and shortly thereafter the doctor and two additional nurses joined us.  The pushing stage was also really easy for me and the nurse and doctor kept saying how amazingly fast it was going.  After about 30 minutes of pushing, Kiera arrived!  The doctor actually had me pull the baby out once her head and shoulders were out (just like in the recent episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians!)!  It was so crazy!  I delivered the placenta and the doctor stitched me up as I tore a little (also did not feel that!).  In the meantime they took a look at Kiera and she was doing great!  There was actually a knot in her umbilical cord, but thankfully it was not tight enough to have caused any problems for her.  She was so active in the womb, no wonder she had a knot!

More pictures to come soon!