Thursday 7/24 started having contractions around 3am- they continued through the day but they were very sporadic (every 20 then every 45 min). Daniel went into work and mom came over to hang out with me and the girls. Daniel kept checking in all day. The girls and I just played and I kept finishing cleaning things up. We went out with Nana to get iced coffee and slushies. Around dinner time the contractions got a little more painful. At 8 or 9pm Daniel was going to go to Harris Teeter and mom was still here so I decided to go with him. Right when we got there I had to lean over the cart and had a really bad one. At that point I thought it was a bad idea to not be at home. We got essentials that we needed and headed home to get the girls in bed. I relished in their bed time that night because I knew it might be the last as just the 2 of them. We read books and snuggled.
We called Kellie around this time too and she started heading over. Mom stayed until she got here. Daniel and I had a few minutes of time to ourselves then he went to bed to try to get some sleep around 11pm. The contractions were 10 minutes apart. Kellie and I hung out until around 2am trying to get my contractions to get closer than 10 minutes, we watched tv and a movie together. I tried everything, constantly standing and going up and down the stairs. Kellie timed them for me and was a good coach. It was fun to have that time together. At 2am we couldn't get the contractions closer than 10 minutes apart so we decided to go to bed. I continued to have contractions but they weren't consistent. Around 5/6 am they started back up at 10 minutes apart even with me trying to sleep. I woke Daniel up called the doctor and Dr. Watson told us to start making our way in. We told Kel we were leaving. She soon after sent me this picture of the girls.
We drove to the doctor but when we got there the contractions had spread out to 15 minutes. So we walked around the parking lot for a little while and then went to triage. They hooked me up and checked me. Dr Inge came in to check me around 8:30am and said that I was still 3cms and my cervix was very posterior. In other words not much progress had been made. I was bummed and scared that he would send me home. He was gracious and said that he would go check on another patient and give us some time. Around 9:30 we walked around the L&;D hall trying to get things to pick up more. Around 10:30am they started picking up. I got back in the bed and hooked up to the monitors. My contractions at that point were stronger and about 5 minutes apart. We started waiting on Dr. Inge to come back to check on us. Around this time I was in a lot of pain and already thinking epidural. Mom and Dad came in to check on us and to bring Daniel breakfast. During this time Daniel was so encouraging except for the moment I find him twirling around on a doctor stool while I was about to have a contraction.;) But seriously he was amazing as usual. Patient with me and always so calm. Dr. Inge came in at 11:30 and didn't even check me because I think he could clearly tell by my tears and non-social attitude that I was in active labor. He said, "well let's admit you". They started the process to admit me, start my IV and draw my blood to see if I could have the epidural (blood platelets). I was sooooo ready for the epidural. At this point they were 3-5 minutes apart. I've never made it this far into labor without an epidural and was feeling like I was not going to make it. ;) I'm sure it helped me progress faster though. Praise The Lord my platelets were where they needed to be and she started setting up for the epidural and called the anesthesiologist. It was 12:30pm when I got it and that last hour was like a blur. I do remember angrily hitting the nurse call button after a contraction asking where the girl from lab was to draw my blood. I think I also said to Daniel that #3 was it for us. After I got the epidural (which is always a fun process) I was almost immediately comfortable. Praise The Lord. The nurse checked my blood pressure and it started dropping immediately just like it did with Eva. She kept checking back to back and it was lower each time. So she gave me ephedrine and it brought it back up and it didn't happen again. I was able to rest, watch a little HGTV, hang out with Daniel. He read a little and I slept off and on.
At 2:30pm Dr. Inge came back in and checked me and I had progressed a lot. I was 7/8cms, he broke my water and said it wouldn't be long! There was meconium so they called special care nursery to make sure she was okay and cleaned out well. Around 3:30pm the left side of my epidural was wearing off. She tried adding more medication and it didn't work. I was breathing through them again and around 4:10pm they discovered I was 10 cms and she had me do a practice push. Dr. Inge came back in and set up. I pushed for only 10-15 minutes and she was born! I felt a lot of pressure and was aware of everyone but didn't have pain. As soon as she can out she had a strong cry. I immediately saw her lips and thought, "it's Adelyn!". They told us right away that she looked great and was strong. She kept pooping on the guy cleaning her up. Daniel and I were in awe again of the Lord's goodness. I wanted to hold her so bad. They cleaned her a little and then brought her right over to me and put her on my chest. I remember putting my face on hers to get her to stop crying. She was so so precious and I couldn't believe what I had waited for for so long was here! I couldn't wait for the girls to meet her and to know her name. At this point we had not told anyone the name since we had decided just a week or 2 before.
Name: Caroline Annie
Date: 7/25/14
Time: 4:25pm
Weight: 7'7
We called up grandparents and soon after that big sisters came in! Stephen and Kellie were there also. Kellie had the girls and brought all of them. When the girls came in they were so precious. Adelyn just had a look of awe on her face and Eva was so interested and grinning. They loved looking at her and smiled when we told her name. They couldn't take their eyes off of her. Zoe and Lois were there too and were so excited. We all sang happy birthday to Caroline. Karl, Glenn, Donna, Becky, Colby... That night Lindsey and Brett came to visit. The next day Meghan, Mark, Shauna, Micah, Kel and the girls came. Mom, Dad, Kim, Tim, Stephen, Jess, Adelyn, & Eva came around the time for us to get discharged. The girls were so excited again! We delivered on Friday but decided to go ahead and go home on Saturday. Daniel and I had some sweet time together hanging out with her just the three of us Saturday in between all the discharge test and visits from doctors. Daniel got in the hospital bed with me and we just hung out.
We got Caroline in the van with the other girls and got to leave as a family. The girls were so excited! We all came back to the house and had dinner. Daniel's family all stayed with us that night. The next day we decided to let the girls go home with Kim and Tim for a couple days. That was a super hard decision because I knew I would miss them but it was good for them to have some distraction and for Daniel and I to recover and spend some time with Caroline. Adelyn was excited and packed her bag right away. Eva was excited at first but then a little emotional. She sat down in the driveway to hold baby one more time. It's been crazy watching her transition... She super excited about Caroline and wants to hold her and be involved every second with her but is also more whiny and is testing us. I know this is just a phase but I'm ready for her to be adjusted. Adelyn of course has sailed right through this with ease. She excited but handles it so well. I love how well she held Caroline for the first time. She's such a great big sister to Eva and Caroline.
