Excited to Announce the Birth of Our Daughter, Abbey Lee!

Abbey Lee born on 1/3/2012 at 2:48 am (7 lbs, 6 oz and 21 inches long)

I am really glad I documented Luke's birth story on this blog, as I have already referred to it several times to recount the details of that day.  So, I decided to document Abbey's birth story via this blog as well.

On Thursday night, 12/29/11, all things were pointed to active labor within a few days.  I won't go into the details of why I suspected it would happen soon, because it involves details (TMI) I am sure you would not enjoy reading about.   Then, on Sunday night, 1/1/12, I started having contractions that were 5 minutes apart and getting stronger.  I called my doctor and they told us to head to the hospital.  Little Luke was a trooper, as it was very late at night and we brought him along.  He enjoyed hearing Abbey's heartbeat on the monitor at the hospital.  After I arrived to the hospital, my contractions got further and further apart and the pain subsided.  We ended up being discharged around 2am on Monday (1/2).  I just didn't understand--it felt like it was going to be the real deal--like this was going to be the day of the start of active labor.

Later on Monday, I called my mom (around 6pm) and explained to her how I really hoped my water would just break so I knew if it was going to be the real deal.   I had also been telling Drew over the past few days that I wish my water would just break if I was going to go into labor.  Drew, Luke and I walked a few miles that beautiful afternoon. I ate an entire philly steak and cheese sandwich at 6:30pm, laid down on the couch because I started feeling funny and my vision was not normal (seeing spots, etc).  Then, around 7:15pm I felt a strange "pop" inside my belly against the inside of my skin on the side of the couch where I was laying (left side).  It was a strange feeling and I wondered if it was my water breaking. I made my way to the bathroom and, sure enough, my water had broken. This was it!   I was wondering if I was going to regret eating that philly cheese steak.  :-)

We got to the hospital and when they checked my dilation, I was at 3cm and 70% effaced.  I suspected it would be around that since that is about how far dilated I became after my water broke with Luke.  However, things progressed so much more quickly after this with Abbey's birth.  Within a few hours, I was already dilated to 6cm.  I was able to labor by walking around up to this point.  The nurses just required me to be back in my room periodically to check on Abbey via the monitor.  Also, I had to receive antibiotics via IV upon arrival and every four hours due to testing Group B Strep positive.  When they checked on her when I was around 6cm dilated, we noticed her heart rate was dangerously low with each painful contraction.  Our little girl who normally had a heart rate in the 140's would experience a heart rate in the 50's during these contractions.  So, at this point, I was bed-ridden for a while.  They continued to have me lay on one side then switch to the other side to try to lower her heart rate.  They also placed the oxygen mask on me and continually monitored her heart rate.  Unfortunately, I found it extremely difficult to labor naturally in the awkward positions they had me in.  Plus, I was suspicious we may have to deliver her pretty quickly due to the heart-rate issues.  So, as I approached the transitional phase of labor (8-10 cm), I found the epidural very necessary!   I am so glad I opted for this because the delivery part of labor (Stage 2) was crazy and painful.  When I was fully dilated, they had me do a test push and in one push I pushed her from Stage 0 to a Plus 1 stage.  So, the nurse called the doctor and it was time to deliver her.  As I pushed, her heart rate went down to the 50's and stayed there.  It was extremely scary.  They had to use a vacuum to extract her because she was stuck in the canal and they needed her out rapidly due to her heart rate and thus oxygen level.  I ended up having a third-degree laceration (a tear in the vaginal tissue, perineal skin, and perineal muscles that extends into the anal sphincter (the muscle that surrounds your anus)) due to the necessary rapid delivery.  They had a lot of difficulty with the vacuum and our little girl went through a lot of trauma to arrive into this world.  When she finally arrived, she was beautiful.   But, our poor little girl not only had a conehead, but also a little cap and some bruising where the vacuum was sucking her out.  It made me so sad for her.

Abbey Lee was born at 2:48a, on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.  She weighed 7 lbs and 6 ounces at birth and is 21 inches long.  She is beautiful and has the sweetest temperament ever!  She is amazing at soothing herself and is a trooper and quick healer.  We are so in love with her already!  Here are some pictures from her birth day. 

We left the hospital after Abbey's 36 hour check up with the pediatrician (she had to stay until then for monitoring due to me being Group B Strep positive).  So, we have been enjoying recovering at home.  We've enjoyed beautiful weather for the past few days, so we also have been taking walks around our neighborhood as a family of four.  Here are some pictures showing Abbey's journey home and our first day at home.