Welcome Emily Nicole :-)

Hi Ladies!  I just wanted to share the story of Emily Nicole's birth.  2-3 hours between feedings goes so quickly..so here I go...

On Sunday the Sept 25^th I started to get contractions about 20-30 min apart but pretty painful.  I was unable to sleep and by morning they were consistently 10 minutes apart.  Monday the 26^th I had my 41 week appointment and my doctor said I still was not in active labor, even though I may have begged to go to the hospital for pain and sleep deprivation.  I was sent to labor at home. 

By 6pm on Monday night (1 day prior to induction), contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and my husband and I headed to the hospital.  In triage I was 4.5 centimeters dilated at 7pm and in a ton of pain.  At 8:30pm I was 5 centimeters up in labor and delivery and the doctor broke my water while she checked me.  At that point she said she wouldn?t check me again for a long time since I was a first time mom and she really wanted the baby to move down on her own.  I was given an epidural, which was much easier than I thought it would be.  The epi worked very well for me and for the rest of my labor I felt pretty much no pain and still kept the ability to move my legs around.  At around 5am I was checked and was 8 cm dilated and at 6:30am I was complete.  My doctor still wanted me to not have to push for hours, so we just let the baby move down on her own.  I started pushing at 8:10am on Tuesday the 27^th and at 9:05am little Emily Nicole came into the world.  She was 8 days late and 6 lb 12 oz and 19.5? long.  She came out crying and was nice and pink right away. 

Aside from the early labor and the very last few pushes, I really had a good labor experience and could not have asked for a better doctor/nurse team.  I will never forget the overwhelming emotions of becoming a mom, hearing a cry, and feeling her come out all at the same time.  Apart from a low birth weight for her gestational age, Emily and mom are doing well.  We have had to supplement with a small amount of formula after breastfeeding, but as soon as my milk comes in we should be able to stop that.  Now all I have to do is conquer the first bowel movement :-/  Congrats to all the new mommies and I am so excited I can participate in the newborn talks and advice now.