welcome to the world

Welcome to the world Kate Ann! Yes, that's right, baby Kate decided to make her entrance into this world last Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 11:33 a.m. We picked up my parents from the airport Saturday afternoon, and I went into labor Sunday morning. Apparently she just was waiting for Grandma and Grandpa D to arrive. :) She weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21.25 inches long. She is healthy and doing well. We praise the Lord for her safe arrival!

So I woke up at 4:00 Sunday morning with contractions that were pretty regular for an hour but then were irregular for the next two hours, even completely going away for long chunks of time. I couldn't decide what to do since they weren't getting stronger or closer together, which is the sign of true labor. At 7:00 Kevin said that we should just go to the hospital and get checked out no matter what. My doctor planned to induce me Monday if I didn't go by myself before then anyway.

We got to the hospital a little after 8:00. They hooked me up to the monitor to monitor her heart rate and my contractions. They checked on me after a half hour or so, and based on my contraction print out, they said that I was probably just starting into real labor. They would check me in a bit. We ended up waiting in a room for about an hour, and my contractions completely stopped during that time. So weird. Then the doctor checked me, thinking I might just be dialated a little bit and that it would be several hours. Then he said, "Oh, you are 8 cm dialated. We need to call your doctor right away. You'll have her very soon." That was sometime around 9:30 I think. Kevin and I couldn't believe it!

They checked me into my room and then immediately sent me to labor and delivery. My doctor was there around 10:30. I could tell he had just rolled out of bed. Ha ha. He came in and said, "Hi Kristen. I knew your baby would come today. Anytime I decide to induce, the baby seems to come on its own the day before." He was right. :) I really didn't want to be induced if not necessary, and he didn't want to do it either unless necessary. But we had decided that Monday would be enough, and I just prayed she would come on her own before then. And the Lord answered my prayer because she did!

Apparently my contractions has stopped because she wasn't moving down. Her head was down but she wasn't actually going down the birth canal. The doctor at the hospital that morning kind of freaked me out about c-section and all sorts of stuff. He was worried if maybe she was caught up in the cord or something else. I didn't panic, and I thank the Lord that he gave me peace during then. But when my doctor came, he wasn't worried and said that she would be just fine and would come down on her own. I told him that even if he were lying, I felt much better for him saying that. He broke my water at 11:15 and said that she immediately came down that probably in the next half hour I could start pushing. Yah, that didn't last long. I think two contractions later I knew she was there, and a few more contractions after that (a total of 18 minutes after my water broke) she was there. I cannot believe how fast it went, not that I'm complaining since it's not the most pleasant feeling experience in the whole world. :)

I will have to update later on the rest of what happened this week. I know that most of you who read this know what's been going on, and I'll blog more about that. I just have been emotionally drained and stressed since late Sunday night, and I am still somewhat stressed. I feel a renewed peace this morning, and I praise the Heavenly Father for that. I know my hormones are all over the place right now, too, but it has been a scary and stressful week all around. We are grateful for everyone's prayers and continue to covet them. More updates later.