Hazel's Story

Adler has been camping with his grandparents this week and comes home tomorrow. I figure I better get in this post before he comes home as there is no telling when I will get the chance to be a normal, functioning adult again.

So warning, birth story ahead.

So Friday, the 19th, I got the itch to clean my house really good. I was going to wait until a few days before my due date, but I just felt like I needed to do it Friday. That should have been my first clue. We had a great weekend, dining out, relaxing, and spending a lot of time together as a family of three. Sunday, we went to church as usual, then out to eat for Father's Day and after nap, watched Adler play in the kiddie pool. After Ad's bedtime, I decided to fold a few loads of laundry. I started having contractions around 9PM, about 10 minutes apart. I honestly didn't think anything of them, just thought it was from standing up folding clothes. Around 10, I thought I would feel better if I took a bath, so I did, and actually I did feel better. Went to bed around 10:30, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, my contractions started coming every 7 minutes and began to get stronger. After about 30 minutes, they were every 5 minutes so I thought I may need to get up and get dressed. I told E that I was going to do a few things around the house, but that I felt we might be going to the hospital soon. At 12, I called my mom and then called E's mom to come over to watch Adler. I woke E up and we left for the hospital around 1:15 AM. The way over there, I was in good spirits. The contractions were definently getting stronger and closer together, and I was so excited that I was going into labor on my own. Honestly, at that point, both E and I thought that they would peeter out once we got to the hospital and they would send us home. Denial I guess! So we got checked in, and I was put on the moniter and told that I was (still) 4 cm, but contracting every 2-3 minutes. This was about 1:45. I was starting to feel some intensity in the contractions, but didn't want to get the epidural until I could do so without being completely paniced about the needle. My first epi exeperience with Adler was pretty terrible, so I was more scared of that than labor pains! Around 330AM, I decided I might want to think about the epi though! I was 5 cm at that point. And it wasn't bad at all! A different doc did it and he was very gentle. So after that, I felt great, but was still able to feel what I needed to feel to give birth. I stalled at 5 cm and was given pitocen around 430 and that sped things up tremedously. At 615, I was at 8 cm and just a few minutes later, I was at 10 and ready to see this little girl! With my mom, E (who was somewhere hiding behind a moniter or something. I swear, he was so far behind me- he told me he learned his lesson with the first one) and E's mom, I met Hazel Lydia at 6:44, after about 5 minutes of actual pushing. She came out crying and pink. I think that may have been the last time she has cried! It was a much easier labor and delivery than with Adler- I think a pound makes a big difference, that and maybe experience. I feel so proud of myself and of little Hazel, for going through this again. It was a beautiful, life changing thing and its still pretty surreal that it happened. I absolutely love the post birth exhilaration that I felt. I wish I could bottle it up and take a swig during those 3AM feedings.

So, Adler comes home tomorrow and thus begins the normalcy again, or the new normal, whatever that will be. I am pretty nervous about it, so keep us in your prayers. I miss Adler terribly though and am ready to just dive right in and hope to pop up swimming, or at least, hang on to the floaties with dear life.