Hattie's Arrival

Labor & Delivery

Contractions hurt. They REALLY hurt! It's pretty funny because up until my due date I had never had a contraction and I was begging to just feel something, ANYTHING! Well at 2am on the 15th I started having some cramping and by 9am I was definitely feeling that something. We went to the doctor that day at noon and he checked me and I was dialated to a 1.5, said that I was progressing and set my induction for the 16th at 5am.--but Manhattan had other plans. By 5:00pm I couldn't bear the pain any longer and we decided it was time to go to the hospital. They took me back and set me up on all of these monitors and of course I wasn't really contracting like I had been and I was so scared they weren't going to admit me. They checked my dialation and I was at a 3 and I they also checked to see if my water had broken...apparently it had and I didn't really realize it?! Maybe I was too focused on the pain, I'm not sure. They also figured that she was in the posterior position because all of the pain I was having was in my back. They called my doctor and he said to take me back. By the time we got to room 112 the anesthesiologist was there ready to give me my epidural. I love epidurals :) Then they just wanted to wait and see how quickly I would progress on my own. Well as we waited Hattie's heart rate started getting really low and I could tell that the nurses were getting a little worried. One nurse went out to call my doctor and came back in with a dose of Pitocin to make things go a little quicker. Because her heart rate wasn't rising they had to put some monitors on her head as well as put some fluid back in because they thought she may be resting too much on her umbilical cord. The fluid did the trick! Her heart rate started rising and I just kept on dialating. After a couple of hours my nurse came in and checked me and I was at a 10! She said that Dr. Judd was on his way and his entourage had already arrived. As soon as Dr. Judd came in he got the forceps out and asked me if I was ready to see my little girl in 90 seconds. At 1:25am and 3 short pushes later she was here--all 6lbs, 10oz, 20in of her! The entire experience was so incredible and I didn't even feel a thing! I am just so grateful that the fabulous Dr. Judd uses forceps or else I would have had to have a C-section. Sean lit up as soon as he saw her and he was able to cut the cord and also helped give her her first bath. Manhattan has blessed our lives in so many ways and we feel so blessed to have her. My heart is full of love for my family and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Christmas present. She really brings the true meaning of Christmas to life.