Wendy Suzanne-A new life begins...

Here is the story in some detail. This is probably more for me than anyone else because I want to remember things. 

Tuesday the 28th of December 2010 started at 3am for me. I wanted lots of rest and had gone to bed early the night before making it impossible to sleep in! Boo.  We had a relaxed morning and then my mom, dad and ray drove us to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital, after driving through the snowy weather, around 11am.  We got all checked in and Joey and I chatted while waiting for the doc.  The people there probably thought we were way too relaxed as my laughs and giggles echoed around the halls. Joey makes me laugh! And he's especially good at it during potentially stressful/scary situations.  

12:15pm the doc checked me (dilated to a 5) and broke my water. There was meconium in my water which made me feel really scared. Babies can get really sick and I did not want her to start her life that way.  Doc quickly assured me that it happens more often than people talk about and if we were careful she wouldn't aspirate any of it. To be safe, after she was born doc had to cut the cord and hand her right over to a respiratory therapist to suction really well and get all the icky stuff out.  For less than a moment i felt sad Joey wouldn't get to cut the cord and I would have to wait to hold her but the sad was over powered with relief that doc knew how to keep my baby safe and healthy.  

Around 1pm my contractions started without any pitocin.  ouch... 

Just before 3pm I had an epidural. whew.... I love love love epidurals!! I have no idea why I waited so long to get one.  After the meds kicked in I sat back, relaxed and dozed as my body continued to prepare for delivery. Completely pain free, wonderful and amazing. 

About 4:20pm I started to feel the pressure from contractions.  Still reasonably pain free but I couldn't sleep any longer, thats for sure.  The thing I love about having an epidural is I got to have a rest before "push" time.  But when it was push time I could feel the pressure of the contractions and knew when to push and still had the energy to do so.  

At 5pm I started pushing.

5:03pm 

Wendy Suzanne Starrs was born! 

7lbs 11oz 21 inches long.  

Doc whisked her to the respiratory therapist and the nurses.  They suctioned and got her all cleaned up, weighed and measured and after several minutes finally handed her to the mama :) She had lots of dark hair, a sweet little nose, puckered lips and full cheeks perfect for kissing!.  I noticed her long beautiful fingers and perfectly round head.  

Now we're home and enjoying this new little life.  I am the luckiest mama ever! My parents are here helping with everything.  Ray is adjusting perfectly and loves his sister.  He found her pacifier and I thought he would put it in his mouth but he ran over to her swing and tried to hand it to her.  The other night at bedtime he cried when we took him away from her. He likes smiling at her and patting her blankets.  Joey is the perfect daddy and husband helping every moment in every way he can.  My recovery is going really well, especially since I didn't need any stitches.  We're eating yummy food, watching movies, shows and football, relaxing and doing lots of chatting.  Very low-key and I am loving every moment of it.  We're tired, of course, but happy and healthy.  Enjoy the pictures :) there are toms!