She's Finally Here

Leah is doing well, and getting Mom & Dad broken in a little bit. Here is how the rest of the day went yesterday:

They started me on the pitocin around 12:15. By 1:30 the contractions were pretty bad, so we asked for the epidural - as my friend Mandi said about the aenesthesiologist who did her epidural: God bless that sweet man. By 2:15, the epidural was in, and I was very groggy (but feeling NO pain!). The doctor was due back around 3:30 or 4:00 to check me, so we turned the lights down & dozed for a bit.

When the doctor returned she was sure she would just check my progress and then leave me be for a few hours. Once again - first time pregnancies tend to be longer labors, etc. Well, she checked at 4:00 and I was fully dilated with the baby poised to make her entrance. When the doctor told me that, I chuckled - and she suggested that I shouldn't laugh again until they were ready for the baby! Since I was feeling no pain, and the Leah was not in distress, they waited a few minutes to get started (there was a difficult delivery in another room, and they wanted to be sure that one was adequately staffed before we got started).

The doctor & nurses got all of the equipment ready for Leah's arrival, got me into place, and the pushing began. We pushed through 3 contractions - and to give you an idea of how little pain I was feeling, the nurse had to tell me when I was having the contractions. The doctor said that the baby was almost out, and turned her back to grab some supplies at which point one of the nurses says "You might want to get that" because Leah was so anxious to get here that she decided not to wait for the rest of us! Needless to say, the doc had quick reflexes, and caught the baby before she could make a complete exit.

After less than 5 hours of labor, Leah Alice made her grand entrance, and shared with us her well-developed set of lungs. However, since that initial trauma of entering the world, Ms. Leah has been relatively quiet and peaceful. The doctor who delivered her just stopped by, and said that I will be clear to head home tomorrow morning (Monday). Leah is in the nursery with her first visit to the pediatrician as I type this. Her Daddy will be here in a few minutes (I took mercy on him & sent him home to sleep in a real bed). Her Bubbe is going to be at the doors of Nieman Marcus at noon to pick out an outfit for Miss Priss to wear home from the hospital! Leah has already met her Granny, Bubbe & Honey, and Uncle Michael. She looks forward to meeting the rest of her family & friends in the coming weeks & months. As for me, Mommy feels pretty good - as long as you keep the ice packs & pain killers coming! - J