Grace's Arrival

So, Grace's due date from the very beginning was September 1st. However, around week 24 my doctor started started seeing some potential signs of early labor, so we just knew she was going to be an August baby. Well, lo and behold if the whole month didn't drag by with no real indication of her wanting to come out! I tried to be patient, particularly since being induced wasn't my first choice, but by that last week I just had to start asking what my options were. So we came up with a plan:

Tuesday, 9/1 - Would go to the hospital to try the cervical ripening gel

Wednesday, 9/2 - Would go in for my regular weekly appointment to see if anything was happening

Thursday, 9/3 - Would do the ripening one more time

Saturday, 9/5 - Would be induced (assuming nothing had happened before then)

Well, we went in that Tuesday expecting nothing, but secretly hoping for an outcome like our best friends (The Blakelys) who had their son within four hours of doing the gel...not the norm! We didn't have such luck. Unbeknownst to me I was having minor contractions when we got there; they picked up after the gel was applied, but not really enough to be admitted. The staff seemed conflicted about what to do with me given that we live a ways from downtown, especially in traffic. I guess ultimately they thought it made more sense for me to wait it out at home versus the hospital, so home we went.

Well, around 9:00 that night I had my first take-your-breath-away contraction. We started getting a bit excited and David began the timing. I was determined not to get sent home again and refused to call until those contractions were exactly as advised by the hospital's prepared childbirth class...one minute long, every five minutes, for a period of one hour. But by 2:00 in the morning they were still seven to eight minutes apart and the sharpness of the pain was making me slightly panicky! We decided to go ahead and call the answering service, and after talking with Dr. Stevenson's partner I was instructed to head back to the hospital. I had been 2 centimeters when they sent me home and now I was only at a 3. They like you to be 4 before they'll admit you, but luckily the nurse plead my case to the doctor and they decided to take a chance on me. It was 4:00 in the morning and FINALLY the day we'd meet our daughter!

The contractions were pretty intense by this point and making me quite nauseous. For some reason I had it in my head that I was going to hold out as long as possible on the epidural, but around 6:00 my very smart nurse convinced me to go ahead and get it. She said unless I was going to try and go all natural then there was no sense in waiting any longer...best decision ever! I was feeling great after that. When my doctor rounded at 8:00 she went ahead and broke my water and by noon I was complete. They let me labor down for a while until she was able to make it back to the hospital. At 1:00 they cleared the room (except David, of course) and it was time to start pushing; at 1:53 Grace Lynley Dercks entered this big old world. They put her on my chest and I just stared at her thinking "who are you?!?"...it was so surreal. I think the whole day after that was like an out of body experience!

I just have to brag on David for a minute. He absolutely blew me away. He was so encouraging and told me over and over how great I was doing and how proud of me he was. I could not have asked for a more calm, supportive partner through it all...and he's truly stayed that way ever since. I love him so much for that, and even more for giving me Grace.