BABY GIRL, THESE ARE THE TIMES OF YOUR LIFE...

grab a drink and some popcorn and get comfy.
some stories take a lot of TIME to tell properly!

(*times and details are reported to the best of my ability,
but i'm sure there are some that are slightly off due to the fogginess of parts of the day)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8th
8:00 PM
we leave for the hospital with a very SURREAL feeling that we are checking in to have a baby.

8:10 PM
the nurses tell us there is NO record of me being scheduled to come in.
we are told to go WAIT in the waiting room while they try to sort it out.

8:30 PM
evan and i are still waiting in the waiting room with our bags surrounding us
laughing at the fact that we are the ones in the waiting room instead of our families.

8:40 PM
finally we are admitted to the hospital and checked into the delivery room that would become our second HOME for the next 24 hours.
9:00 PM
the night shift nurse gives me an IV and i survive.
(the iv was my BIGGEST fear of the whole labor process for some reason).
i get hooked up to blood pressure cuff, baby heart monitor, and contraction monitor.
our families show up to say good night and entertain us for a little while.

9:30 PM
i am already having TOO many contractions to give me some medicine that might truly induce labor as originally planned. i take an ambien, adjust my hospital bed to the perfect comfiness, listen to the baby's heartbeat and fall asleep to the most restful night of sleep i have had in weeks. evan tries to get comfy on the pullout couch, gets woken up all night EVERY 15 minutes to the sound of my blood pressure being taken by the automatic cuff, and doesn't hardly sleep at all.

JANUARY 9TH
4:oo AM
the nurse comes in to tell me the dr. called and wants me to have the cervical medicine that may induce labor even though i am already having some contractions on my OWN. labor techinically begins. i fall back asleep UNAWARE of what is going on.

7:30 AM
my momma shows up to say GOOD morning. i wake up thinking i was feeling okay but get totally nauseous while trying to talk to her, she lets me know i will be okay.

8:00 AM
the dr. comes by to check on me and says, things are moving along well and decides to break my water (weirdest feeling EVER!) i keep asking if it is the bag of waters flooding me and hoping i am not WETTING my pants (let's just say according to the amount of water that gushed baby adelaide must have been hanging out in an olympic sized swimming pool inside me)

8:30 AM
contractions continue to INCREASE and get more frequent. still feeling pretty good though and dilating. i visit with family as they come to wait for the news the rest of the day.

9:30 AM
continue progressing slowly but surely, feeling better and the day is off to a GOOD start. at this point i actually thought this whole labor thing might be pretty easy.

10:00 AM
i'm starting to feel sick and puny again. i ask the nurse if there is any reason to wait for my epidural and she says if i'm going to get it, this is a GOOD time. i say bring it on NOW, please.

10:30 AM
i meet the anesthesiologist and get the epidural flowing.
contractions that were bringing me to tears are now BEARABLE.

11:00 AM
visit some more with friends and family.
SUDDENLY feel the urge to push and call for the nurse.
i am told to WAIT until they get back from a lunch break and try my best.

11:30 AM
they return and say i am really dilating and ENCOURAGE me.

1:45 PM
somehow i dilated from a 4 to an 8 in an hour.
time to start the "REAL" pushing!

2:30 PM
what seemed like GREAT progress at first, is NOT really progressing as well anymore. my epidural is NOT working as well and neither is the pushing. the anesthesiologist returns for the second of many more times to try to help.

3:00 PM
the dr. comes in to check and says i have hardly made any progres (WHAT!?!) evidently little miss priss' shoulders are too large to get pass my pubic bone. we need to start thinking about the option of forceps or vacuum if we can even get to that point.

3:30 PM
i am worn out and VERY discouraged. her head is turned face up and is not cooperating or turning. her shoulders are too wide. somewhere around this point is where i announce i CANNOT push anymore and i have decided to just take a nap instead. thankfully i have SUPER encouraging husband and the most AMAZING nurses that remind me that is not an option and to continue on.

4:30 PM
evidently with each push i am forcing she is moving "2 steps forward, then 1 3/4 steps back."
the dr. returns and announces that i have about 30 more minutes to try until he will come back and we will PROBABLY have to deliver with a c-section. now i am just MAD at the fact that i have been pushing for hours for nothing. my deep down extreme STUBBORN nature comes to the rescue as i decide i will show the dr. that a c-section is NOT necessary.

5:00 PM
dr. returns and says, "wow, let's make this happen." i am thinking, "amen to that." he calls for the vacuum and MORE meds since i am feeling a lot MORE than i am supposed to feel. (the epidural never did quite work like it was supposed to... but it was better than nothing)

5:16 PM
she finally makes her GRAND appearance! the dr. holds her up and evan announces it is a GIRL. i am overwhelmed with exhaustion and happiness and begin to cry the most JOYFUL tears of my life.
5:20 PM
i get the shivers and can't begin to take it all in. i remember KISSING her head, and then trying to watch the nurses weigh her and measure her and asking 100 times if everything is PERFECT with her.
5:30 PM
evan and i agree one more time on her name and he goes out to the waiting room with PINK leis galore to announce her arrival.
5:45 PM
we are flooded with the EXCITED crew from the waiting room who join us in celebrating the BIG day.

and that my friends is the story of how ADELAIDE came into this world.
by the GRACE of God, my sheer stubbornness, and a whole lot of ENCOURAGEMENT along the way!