The Birth- March 15th 2009

Cally was due on March 14th, 2009 but as we all know, it is not the doctor but the baby herself that decides when she is gonna come into this world. I had my last doctor's appointment on the 13th of March and I was a bit disappointed to find out I was only 2 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced. After that, I was certain that she wasn't going to come for a while and that I'd most likely have to be induced. So I went about my day not expecting anything. The following day, the 14th, I felt completely fine although I began to have contractions that would last a while and although they were never painful they were definitely uncomfortable. Mary, Zane's mom, flew in a few days prior to be with me during labor and she was certain that Cally was coming sooner than what I thought.

At about 0130 that night I woke up because much to my surprise my water had broken. I woke Zane and Mary up, hopped in the shower, and soon we were off to the hospital. I began to have somewhat painful contractions in the shower but they really didn't start until we got in the car. Once we were in the car, my contractions grew exponentially and so did my pain. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton.

I was checked and found out that I was only 3 centimeters dilated but they decided to admit me since my water had broken and my contractions were so strong and close together. Three hours into these god awful contractions I finally received the epidural and my pain disappeared. My sister Erica arrived shortly after and we all spent the whole day sitting around waiting as I slowly progressed.

Finally at around 1930 I was dilated to 10 centimeters. Since Cally wasn't moving down herself they decided to start me on pitocin to increase my contractions and "labor her down." At 2040 the nurse came in and said that I was going to need to start pushing even though Cally hadn't moved down any.

And so I did, three hours later I was still pushing and Cally had not progressed still. By this point I was completely exhausted and frustrated. Although she was never in any distress, three hours was the cut off so the doctor came in and told me that they would have to use suction or forceps to aid her in coming out and if it didn't work then I would have to have an emergency C-section.

So with the aid of the suction she was finally born at 2359 on March 15th. It was a very long and hard labor but well worth it in the end. Cally weighed 8lbs 5ounces and was 20 inches long.

Zane and I are both thrilled to have Cally finally here and have been enjoying every second with her. Daddy is doing great with her and has been a great help to me while I'm healing. He's even changed most of the diapers!

We are looking forward to watching her grow and experiencing all the wonderful things that come with parenthood!