Her first day, in words...

Miss Carolina Coline McConnel has made her entrance!
Born October 2, 2011 at 5:55 am
Weighing 8 lbs, 5 oz & 19.5 inches long
Chubby cheeks and thighs, lots of black curly hair!

Well she makes us wait and wait, with no hints of making a move anytime soon, but then when she's ready to go she means business! This labor was so different from that with Liam, I almost don't know where to begin with Carolina's story - it was so SO unexpected, so different, and definitely unplanned.

Here comes the birth story - are you ready? It's pretty long, because you just can't leave details out of a birth story!

Yesterday, I certainly was not thinking she was on her way or I would've gone through with my typical evening routine of cleaning the house, so that things were all "ready to go" in case - but, nope, I was lazy yesterday because I thought I could be! 

1 AM: Ripley was actually the one that woke me up this morning, barking at who-knows-what, and then I couldn't fall back asleep because my brain just started going - you know how that is. 

2 AM: I realized I had possibly been feeling a couple of contractions in the last hour, but I wasn't sure because they weren't at all painful. However they began happening about every 5 minutes, still not painful, but annoying, and if I already was having trouble falling asleep, then I certainly couldn't at that point, so I decided to get up and look up labor signs and contraction timing on the internet - which I sat on in the bathroom and did for about an hour. 

3:30 AM: I had finally decided that they were contractions (yes, it took me that long to figure out, although I still wasn't suuuure), and so I started to pack up the hospital bag, tidy the kitchen, take off my finger nail polish, pick out some clothes... 

4:00 AM: I finally woke up Todd to tell him I thought I was in labor and was going to take a shower. The contractions began to actually start being painful about now, so Todd got up to take a shower and shave, and I texted my mom to come over. I still felt unsure about whether or not we were going to be admitted, even though my contractions were about 2 minutes apart. I think if it had been the middle of the day when this happened, we would've gone to the hospital a lot sooner, but as it was in the middle of the night I didn't want to unnecessarily wake up people - this turned out to be a bad idea.

4:45 AM: We finally left for the hospital. When my mom got to our house, she said "This is so exciting!" I think I grunted yeh, and whisper-yelled at Todd to get going. The contractions had started to really take my breath away at that point and went to a minute apart. I was pretty cranky about it - I never had to deal with contraction pain for more than a few minutes with Liam because as soon as the Pitocin kicked in the epidural was ready. Going over bumps in the car was torture, my contractions were now about a minute apart - you'd think I should've been concerned about this. Walking all around the hospital building to find an unlocked entrance did not help at all. 

5:15 AM: By the time we were up to our floor, I was in pretty severe pain and feeling very sick. I couldn't even get through telling the nurse my name so we could check in, I had to stop in the middle to concentrate during a contraction. I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom but couldn't. When I got into the "preliminary" room - where they check to see how dilated you are, ask you a bunch of questions, set up monitor, etc., I puked in my hair and all over the place while they were checking my progress during a contraction - so much for the shower. I was dilated to 8cm. I began to realize how not good of a situation I was in, and the point was hit home when they hastily slapped an I.V. (ouch!) on me and rolled me on the bed to the delivery room, skipping all the questions and formalities that took forever the last time. They checked me again immediately when we got to the delivery room and I was at a 9. 

5:30: They were pumping I.V. fluid in me as fast as possible so I could have anesthesia. But when my next contraction hit, and I just had to scream, they checked me again and I was at a 10 - it was time to push, there was no time for drugs, and we were still waiting the doctor. Todd and I both were in shock that I was going to have to do this naturally. We literally looked at each other, pale, with mouths hanging open like "Whaaa?" 

5:40ish AM (I'm just guessing here, I totally wasn't paying attention to the clock at this point): When Dr. Julie walked through the door she immediately told me to push - to which I absolutely refused, telling her I didn't want to, and wasn't going to, and could not do it. Then there was more screaming, and me actually trying to hold the baby in. The doctor and all the nurses were so great, being so calm and supportive and telling me I could do and I had to do it - then Todd just mimicking whatever they had said. He nearly passed out about three times just from seeing/hearing my trauma, and had to be asked to sit down, but he really did great. Didn't say too much or too little, he was there for me just the right amount. I decided (yes, I decided, not the baby...) that I was actually going to have to push and try to get her out. On my first push, my water broke and immediately they could see her head. Then I think there was some more refusing and yelling - it was the worst, most awful pain, beyond imagining - and although I can't remember how it felt (which is, of course, a blessing), I can remember thinking about how bad it hurt. That itself is enough to give me shivers. I do. not. recommend. natural childbirth. Really. Don't do it. Just don't. Get to the hospital like the day before just to be safe.

5:55 AM:  But praise the Lord, it was fast - only 2 or 3  more pushes until she came out - such relief. Just a little over a half hour after arriving at the hospital. Cutting it close much? The funny thing was, I was/am still kind of mad that I didn't the epidural. No one to be mad at but myself though! I think if I had been prepared for a natural childbirth my reaction and actions would've been totally different during the birth, but it literally never crossed my mind that it would be an option! Todd told me I did great, but it's OK, I know I'm a wimp :)

6:20 PM: Carolina checked out great, passed all her tests, taken all her shots, and is eating like a champ. Liam was super sweet when he visited us here, he loves Carolina and wants to put his hands all over her face and unwrap her from her blankets. I am feeling much much better after this birth, than I did after Liam's - so maybe there are some benefits to natural birth. We are looking forward to getting home tomorrow! I will be able to post pictures then too - she's a sweetie!