Erica Grace Newman (cont'd)

Erica Grace made her grand entrance into this world weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz, 19 3/4" long!

As I stated earlier, we were scheduled to induce on Saturday, the 7th, but she decided to come on her own terms and was born ON her due date, June 5th, at 5:56pm!

I'd been to the Dr for my weekly exam the day before, and he said she was ready then, and that she could come as early as that night, especially after having that last exam.

Everything felt fine that night, and I went to bed, fully expecting to get up in the morning to go to work, and finish out the week, before the induction. Well, I woke up around 1:15am or so, went to the bathroom, and I felt a painful pressure down below, and after I went back to bed, I started having what I thought might be bad gas pains, but the pain was in my back, also. As they progressed, I wondered if they might actually be contractions, but I still didn't think it was actual labor. I realize now, they were actually contractions, to be followed be real labor. They were not that bad, and were sporadic in time apart and intensity, so I let Eric sleep and waited to see how they went. Obviously, they were enough to keep me awake the rest of the night.

After Eric woke up around 6:00am, I told him he probably shouldn't go in to work just yet, and that we should probably go to the hospital, at least to get checked out (even though I still wasn't sure this was the real deal). I called my Dr, who seemed to think it probably wasn't true labor, either, but he told me to time them and if they become "unbearable" and/or consistent, to go ahead to the hospital. So, we didn't go right away, but we each took a shower and got dressed and whatnot, then relaxed on the recliners timing the contractions and measuring the intensity, and snoozing in between.

The contractions were getting to be around 6-8 minutes apart, but were changing in intensity, so it was still hard to tell. Eric was going to head in to work after all, because he thought it might be false labor, too, after reading some things on the internet, but then we decided to go for a drive, do a dry run to the hospital, and then maybe go walk around a mall or something.

We made it to the hospital and even went back to the house to get his cell phone chargers (we took our hospital bags with us, just in case), and decided to go back to the hospital to get checked because the contractions were exactly 5 minutes apart - on the dot! I felt fine in between, and the contractions were still somewhat bearable, but I wanted to be sure. We got there at around 10:00am, and I expected to be sent home after observation, but after they hooked me up to the monitors, and entered all of our info, etc, my contractions were becoming worse and more regular - sometimes 2 or 3 minutes apart, so the staff admitted me and told me I was in labor!

My OB showed up and checked me, but I still was only dilated about 2 cm, so that was disappointing. The contractions started getting worse, and eventually painfully "unbearable", but I didn't know if I should get the epidural yet, or not. The nurse checked me again at that point, and I was dilated to 4 cm, so I decided it was time for that epi! Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long, because the anesthesiologist came within a few minutes to administer the epidural, and it was sweet bliss for a while... even the process wasn't as bad as I expected, and it kicked in fairly quickly.

The next time I was checked, I was dilated to 6 cm, so my Dr broke my water - what a strange experience THAT was - not painful, just strange! Eventually, I started getting REALLY hard contractions that were REALLY painful even WITH the epidural! So, I was given a supplemental type of epi, which didn't kick in until about an hour later! But then, it was heaven because I couldn't feel a thing! According to the monitors, I was having really strong contractions but I didn't feel any of them at that point. I was concerned that might make delivery harder, because I couldn't even move or feel my legs (and apparently my left side took to it more than my right).

Well, my Dr came back at around 5:15pm, and when he checked me, I was fully dilated to 10 cm - it was time!

The nurse (who was awesome, by the way) walked Eric and I through the pushing part and expectations, and then we started to push while the Dr was getting ready, then once he was, we pushed for another 4 or 5 rounds - I've never been so exhausted in my entire life! Because of the numbness, I couldn't tell how effective I was being, and I didn't know how much more I could do, but apparently I was doing enough, because within 30 minutes, or so, of starting to push, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!

The next couple of days at the hospital were rough, considering the drastic change in our sleep cycles and adjustments and the hospital being so busy, we didn't get a postpartum room until the 2nd day, and various other things...

But through this all, we have started to adjust, and we have a blessing in our lives to show for it, and I have to say that I do not know what I would do without my wonderful husband! He has really stepped up to the plate (and then some) and has exceeded my expectations and has really gotten a lot of things down like a pro! Some of you guys might accuse him of "making you look bad", but if that's the case, then that just means that y'all need to step up, too! (I say that in the most loving way, of course... lol!). I truly am blessed to have him as my husband!

So, that was probably a lot more info than some of you wanted, but there it is... The labor and delivery went comparatively faster and easier than I ever expected (but not without pain or issues), and we are happily adjusting to this new (and exhausting) life!

Erica Grace Newman

This will be a short posting. Marilyn will fill in all the details later. I just wanted everyone to know that she is finally here and we are sooo happy! It is a little surreal, but we are getting used to the idea of being parents.

Marilyn is such a great mom already. She was great with delivery and she has been great with breastfeeding. She is really tired and will probably be that way for awhile. I am sure she will make time to post about the whole experience.

Marilyn has been showing me the ropes of burping and changing so I can do my part, but she is really doing all the hard stuff. Breastfeeding is difficult, but we think the advantages are worth the effort. So far, so good.

Thanks again to everyone for the prayers and support. I have posted a few pictures for your amusement.

"She truly is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen!" -Dad

Baby's ETA update

Finally an update worth posting on the blog... We are scheduled to induce this Saturday! (Provided she doesn't decide to make her debut earlier...)

Originally, we were scheduled to induce on the 10th (next Tuesday) if she still hadn't come, but at my Dr's appointment today, we mentioned it would be cool if she was born on Saturday, so that her birthday would be 06-07-08 (those of you who know how OCD I am with numbers and patterns, shouldn't be surprised - lol)! The doc asked us if we were serious about wanting her to be born Saturday, because she is ready to come any time now, and he could bump the induction up (plus he said weekends aren't as busy as weekdays). So, we discussed the pros and cons of induction vs. natural, and decided to go for it!

Wow - it's starting to seem more REAL now! It's hard to believe she could actually be here w/in a couple of days! We are very excited, but very nervous, too, as we are trying to make sure we tie up any loose ends...

I'm sure I won't be sleeping much the next couple of nights, anticipating the adventure to come! On one hand, it's nice to know when it's going to happen (or at least when it's going to happen by), so we can plan, but on the other hand, it's scary to know when it's going to happen, considering what I'll be going through to bring her into this world...

Fortunately, I haven't been having any contractions (that I know of) or false labor leading up to this, and I've been blessed with a pretty good pregnancy, for the most part, so hopefully the trend will continue through the labor and delivery - heh heh!

Well, wish us luck, and keep us in your thoughts and prayers! We'll keep y'all posted (whether you like it or not - lol!).