WOW!! SO Much Has Happened!

So much has happened! So let's just jump right into it! Just an FYI, this is a long one!

- November -

I had 3 showers to celebrate baby Aubree's soon-to-be arrival; 2 thrown by my mom (Melanie), Natasha & Naomi and the other one by Joanna & Ashley from work with all my wonderful coworkers.
They were all a blast & we received some fabulous things for Aubree - including gobs & gobs of clothes! Aubree's closet is full with some super cute outfits! She will be one stylish girl right from the start!!
By November, I had made it to the point of having appointments with my doctor every 2 weeks. I was right on track with my weight, baby was doing great & I continued to work full time.

- December -

Well! It is due-date month! SOO exciting!!

The first weekend of December, we got our maternity pictures done by a good friend, Melissa, & she did a phenomenal job! We have gotten so many compliments on them & that made me feel so great! Melissa knew, before taking the pictures, how much these pictures would mean to me & how much I would cherish them forever - no pressure right!? haha well, after 4 years of trying to conceive & have a baby, it was a very special moment for me to be able to finally get the maternity pictures done.

We were set - room done, final things bought in preparation for Aubree & I was starting to get uncomfortable. I had a wonderful experience being pregnant (seriously, everyone just tells you the horror stories but fail to mention how much fun being pregnant would be!) that even being uncomfortable was something I cherished. I wanted this pregnancy to be a positive memory & not a memory of me complaining constantly.

Richard had saved up all his remaining PTO, so was off from December 15th-31st. It was great!

We had appointments each week & at our Dec 20th appointment, Dr Madland had told us he would admit me into St Al's on Dec 23rd for an induction so we could finally meet Aubree.

- December 23rd, 2010 -

7 am -We arrived at St Al's at 7am (after a total of maybe 3 hours of sleep because we were so anxious!). We got checked into our delivery room, IV placed in my arm, got the "plans" for the day from Dr Madland before he went to see patients in his office & we were set! HERE WE GO!! We loved the nursing staff at labor & delivery... Kristin & Meghan (our RN's) & Amy (our anesthesiologist) were fabulous!

I went into St Al's at a "tight 2" cm dilated. I was given medication to help my cervix dilate every 4 hours.

5pm - no sleep at all, they said I was almost at a 3cm dilated & decided to break my water... boy, did that sure help contractions come! I was having a few before my water broke, but nothing compared to what I felt after.
8:30pm - I finally gave up & asked for an epidural. I thought I could do it naturally but, ouchie... I thought wrong! I honestly didn't feel bad about giving into the pain... definitely not worth it at the time!

9:15pm - I told the anesthesiologist I could still feel all the contraction on my right side, but completely numb on the left. She pulled my IV for the epidural out just a bit to see if that would help, flipped onto my right side to let it "soak up" & hoped that Aubree was just laying on a nerve wrong. Well... nope... not the case. About 20 minutes after pulling the IV out a bit, I told Amy that it hurt just as bad. She had told me that we need to re-do the epidural. Completely fine with me! Richard even watched her take it out & put a new IV in... yuck!

10pm - Instant relief! I could no longer feel my contraction on my right side anymore. I continued to flip side to side to try to get Aubree to move down & join us!! We try to get some sleep between turns.

- December 24th, 2010 -

Just about 12:00 midnight - Meghan rushes into our room & tells me to put the oxygen mask on. She had been monitoring Aubree's heart rate & my contractions for the past 30 minutes from the nurses station just feet away from my room. She explained that each time my contraction would end, Aubree's heart rate would drop; this was starting to get concerning because my contractions were piggy-backing each other, not allowing her heart rate to get back up before the next one started... She checked my cervix, still at a 3cm dilated... it was time to call Dr Madland (who was no longer on call). She came back in within 2 minutes... Dr Madland was on his way in & it was time to prep for a c-section. I immediately started bawling; scared tears but knew in my heart this was best.

12:03am - called our families & best friend to come down so they would be there after Aubree was out of recovery.

12:25am - Dr Madland comes in, hair sticking up everywhere & chewing a piece of gum... The first thing out of my mouth was "Dr. Madland, I'm scared." His response was "well, this is a scary situation. But we are doing what is best for you & what is best for Aubree." Having our doc come in to do the surgery & not "just the on call doc" meant a lot to Rich & I... through the pregnancy, we had built such a trusting relationship with Dr Madland & I think he knew what it meant to us. Dr Madland & Meghan tell us what all will go on during the c-section & what to kind of expect & give Richard his scrubs to wear during surgery.

12:35am - They wheel me into the operating room. I'm still bawling - now more nervous then scared. Dr Madland sits/stands next to me & asks if I trust him... well DUH! He then says "we are going to get through this - all of us. Aubree needs us to be strong to get her here." They then prepped/scrubbed my belly & began giving me different medications for the c-section (thank goodness for re-doing the epidural!!). Richard came into the room & we waited a few moments for the doctors to scrub up & get this show on the road.

12:46am - AUBREE IS BORN! 6lbs 8.5oz, 19.5" long, Dr Madland & Dr Thompson deliver Aubree as the operation team, with NICU standing by (NICU is automatically there for any emergency c-section at St Al's). Dr Madland then explains his reasoning of why Aubree wasn't descending into the birth canal more & why her heart rate was dropping... Her arm was over the top of her head... holding onto umbilical cord on the other side! Silly girl!

(She did come out with quite the "dent" in her head but quickly smoothed out within hours!)

They handed her over to the nursing staff who began to do what they do best - make sure Aubree is good! I am told that she is not holding her color very well so Richard goes to her side. They tell Richard if she loses her color one more time (meaning turning purple & not the normal pink), she is going up to NICU. Poor baby, they rubbed her back so much she had a slight burn/abrasion along her spine. She ended up doing great after they told us that - no NICU for Aubree!

Everything else that happened that night was a big blur! I was wheeled into the "angel room" -what they call the recovery room - where I finally got to meet my baby girl!! Richard was just glowing with joy & pride!

I met up with my mom, dad, grandma, Natasha & Brandon back in our room about 2:45am. Richard & I were on cloud 9 & could not stop smiling!

So, we spent the Christmas holiday in the hospital with THE best Christmas gift ever! I thought it was so ironic that after 4 years of trying for a baby, all the pain we/I had gone through physically/mentally/emotionally, all the medications to even attempt to have a baby... here is Aubree... a Christmas Eve blessing... Still brings a smile to my face.

- December 24th-31st -

The nursing staff told me that I was "crazy" because I was up walking around within 12-24 hours of having surgery. I really felt good when I could take my shower & do my hair! I was determined to make my recovery as positive as my pregnancy. I didn't really listen to the doctors & nurses when they said to "take it easy" but I listened to my body to not over do it. We could not have asked for better service then what we got! Everything & anything Richard & I had questions on or needed help with, they were right there to help us out!

Even though it was over the Christmas holiday, we still had friends & family come to meet Aubree.

We got discharged from the hospital on the 26th & saw the doctor for Aubree's first appointment on December 27th. He gave her a clean bill of health & everyone at the office (my work as well) said she was so adorable & the perfect combination of Richard & I.

- January -

New Years Eve was spent in bed, giving our newborn her first "New Years Kiss" then going straight to bed!

We had Aubree's newborn pictures done with Melissa, who again knew how much this meant to us! They turned out so good!!

- February -

Through my work, I am able to take 8 weeks paid time off maternity leave. I go back to work Feb 22nd, part time for the first two weeks, then back to full time beginning March 7th.

With that said... we had to figure out what to do with Aubree while we were both working. I had been in denial for my entire pregnancy & maternity leave. We ultimately decided on a daycare that I had gone to as a child & also worked at while I was in high school. We both feel very good about our desicion.

Well, that's all I have the time for right now! I'll be back to post more later!