She's Here! (Part 2)

So anyway, while they were getting me settled in, I was sitting in a wheelchair, trying my best to remain calm through the contractions. My lip felt strangely wet, and so I wasn't surprised when the nurse told me that I was bleeding. I had bitten right through my lip during a particularly bad contraction, and I didn't even know it. So while they hooked me up to all the machines, I held a cold washcloth on my face to stop the bleeding. They came in and gave me the epidural, but the contractions just didn't seem to be getting better. DH had decided to sleep for a couple hours before the big event, so I buzzed my nurse and told her that the epidural wasn't working. She gave me all these tests (including digging her fingernails into my leg), and when I could feel that, she knew that something was wrong. So, I got two epidurals! The second one did finally work, and thank God, because during transition, I was sure that I was going to turn inside out! The pressure was unbelievable! But after only 30 minutes of pushing, my little C was born! Granted, it was a full 23 hours after the first contraction woke me up, but still! My first labor lasted 2 days, so I wasn't complaining.

There is just nothing like that feeling, when your hard work is over, and they hand you that sweet, warm little bundle. It is truly miraculous!

Even more miraculous is that only a few hours after C's birth, I felt good enough to get up and get my own breakfast tray. Quite a big change from my first L&D, when I was so sick that I couldn't even hold Bee until a full day later. I felt awesome, and so proud because I had just accomplished something really amazing! I ate a HUGE breakfast!

Later that day, my parents brought Bee to see her baby sister. When she walked in, I said "BEE! I'm so glad to see you, I missed you so much! She replied, "Where's C! And why is your stomach still so big!" Ha! I think she thought we were making this whole baby sister thing up. But after she held C, she was so in awe, and obviously very fascinated with her new sister. She has taken her role as big sister very seriously, and she remembers everything that they told her in Brothers and Sisters class. Whenever someone comes into our room she says, "Wash your hands!"