Birth Story (lots of pictures!)

A little background before I document Mina's birth story. 

My due date was August 15th.  James had accepted a job that starts August 20th. In Taylorsville.  What if I didn't deliver early?  What if I was late?  What if I went into labor while James was in Taylorsville and he some how missed the birth?  What if I was overdue by two weeks?  

There were a lot of "what if"s that really worried me.  I talked to our doctor and asked about our options.  In the end we opted for an induction.  James and I went to the hospital at 7:00 on Friday night and by 8:00 they started inducing labor.  I laid in bed and watched "Arrested Development" while I waited.  James sat at a desk in the room and worked on his thesis.  It was pretty uneventful until a little before10:00 when another doctor came in and broke my water.  THAT was a weird feeling.  I didn't realize that the water just kept coming after the initial gush.  

After that the contractions REALLY kicked in.  I tried to be strong but I wimped out and got an epidural at 10:30.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The nurse had been checking my progress, I was a 5 at midnight, which meant I would probably start pushing around 5 AM or so.  (The average dilation rate is about a centimeter an hour.)  Next thing I know, the nurse checked me again and I was at a 7.  By 2 AM I was a 10.  They wanted me to wait an hour to push (I don't know why, maybe to get things ready.)  The epidural was good  until the pressure kicked in.  It was awful.  I called the nurse at 2:30 and said I needed to push.  So I started pushing.

Meanwhile, my parents had been calling/texting during labor.  I was getting really frustrated as things got closer.  They left Kaysville a little before 2 AM and arrived to hear me deliver Mina.  I'm not sure exactly when they arrived, I wasn't really aware of the clock, just the fact I was trying to push out a baby.

James was really great as I pushing.  He was comforting and encouraging.  There were a couple of times that I didn't think I could do but he kept telling me that I could.  It was really hard and I don't think I could have done it without James.

After an hour of pushing, Wilhelmina Anne Beardall arrived at 3:33 AM.

7lbs 6 oz           20" long

Our family (I don't really care how terrible I look, at least the washcloth isn't on my head)

 My parents waited to come into the room until after I had been covered up.  I'm really glad that my Mom took pictures because I wasn't really thinking about taking pictures at that point.  She took a picture of some of the delivery team but its still on her camera.  Oh well...

The proud Dad (he's so cute!

Grandpa Brad

Mina saying Hello!

After a little recovery time we were moved up to another hospital room.  James carried our bags and I carried Mina and rode in a wheel chair.  I was still in awe that she had finally arrived.  

Some skin to skin time

A little later on Saturday a nurse helped James give Mina her first bath.  She seemed to enjoy it!

We kept Mina in our room for the most part during the day.  One of the times she visited the nursery she came back with a bow in her hair.

Looking cute with a bow in her hair

We had a few visitors on Saturday; my parents, James' parents and my Grandma Keller and cousin Anthony.  My parents stayed at our apartment Saturday morning, recovering from the middle of the night drive.  They came back for another visit later that day.

Anthony, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Mina

We left the hospital Sunday afternoon.  I could get around pretty good and we both wanted to get home and sleep in our own bed.  We have a pretty good bed. Jordan and Lindsey came a little before our discharge time so they helped us load up the car.  They were a really big help!

Mina looks so chunky in this picture!

Seriously, where did she get that double chin?

Once we got home and settled, James' sisters came with their families. They not only brought dinner but a bunch of freezer dinners as well!  It was really fun to see the kids interact with Mina.  Zack said he couldn't remember her "long name," it was so cute!  Mina is lucky to have such sweet cousins!

Her going home outfit

Mina is here!!!

She arrived at 3:33 AM, Saturday morning. 7 lbs 6 oz, 20" long with lots of dark hair. We love her so much!

I'll blog about her birth when we're back home.

Blogging from labor and delivery

I'm laying on my side in a hospital bed, two hours into my induction. I am so excited to meet our little girl! Here are some pictures...

Yikes!

It's funny how fast time flies by.  

I was looking at my baby app on my phone and realized that I was not only down to the single digits but less than a week from my due date.  I realize that a due date isn't a definite thing, some babies are early, some are late and some need more help coming than others.  I was 3 weeks early and James came right on his due date.  I was really hoping Mina would split the difference but we're kind of past the 1 1/2 weeks early mark.

I'm going in for another appointment tomorrow to check on my progress.  I'm glad that I have been making progress, every week I'm a little more dilated and a little more effaced.  It seems like not much is happening but progress is progress.  

James got his paperwork this week and he is a full time employee/engineer in training with Kleinfelder.  It is such a relief that he has a job with benefits AND that he is getting closer to finishing up his Masters degree.  He finished up the experiments and now he is compiling the data in a power point to show his committee.  They'll give him feedback and he'll use it to finish his thesis.  It seems so surreal that things are happening so fast and so close together.  I swear it was just yesterday that I was working at the bank, looking over my acceptance letter from Utah State and trying to convince myself that I COULD earn a masters degree.  Fast forward almost four years and I'm done with my degree, married and pregnant!  Times have changed!

I woke up this morning with an intense desire to clean the whole house, I got part way through and James helped me finish.  Its harder to clean the floors when you're 39 weeks pregnant. I feel ready for Mina to come, the only question is, will she?  I'll keep you updated....

Almost 39 weeks!

Here is the update: dialated to a 3, 70% effaced, baby at a -1/0; he swept my membranes with the hope that it gets things going more. I have a tentative appointment for Friday to check progress if I haven't had Mina by then.
Hooray for progress!!!

Patience

I'll be 39 weeks on Wednesday. I really thought I would have Mina by now, figuring that I was early so why not my own daughter? This has been the latest in a rather long line of events designed to teach me patience.

I think I'm more patient. Can I have this baby now???