kenna's birth day!

it all started last monday (march 21st) when i went to the doctor. i had mentioned that i wasn't feeling the baby move as much as i previously had. i don't know if it was me just worrying and being paranoid or if this truly was the case. they hooked me up to a heart monitor and we watched the baby's heart for twenty minutes. her heartbeat was fairly constant, but wasn't varying as much as it should. my doctor decided that we should have a stress test done to ensure the baby was okay. i left feeling pretty emotional and worried. when i got home and talked to john i had decided to ask if i could skip the stress test and be induced on the 24th instead. i was originally against this because i really wanted to go into labor on my own to experience the fun and joy that would bring. but after weighing the options, i decided the induction was the way to go. my doctor was all for it (she had already given me the option to be induced on the 24th or 29th...i originally chose the 29th). so that was the plan! i was very excited and could hardly wait for the day! we decided to keep it a secret the best that we could because we thought it would be more fun to surprise people with her earlier arrival. i sure felt bad wednesday night at church when people would ask because i had to lie everytime someone did...i think they'll forgive me though! :)

i was given instructions to call to the hospital at 5 am on thursday to see if they had a room available and to be there at 7 am by my doctor. when i called, they said they didn't and that they would call me back and tell me when to come. i was soooo disappointed by this and decided to go back to bed to get more rest instead of waiting around (now i recall the same thing happening with greyson...i should have just gotten up and gotten ready). we had no idea when they would call and was pleasantly surprised when they called back at 6 am and asked us to be there between 7 and 7:30. i was a bit annoyed by this because we live a good 35 minutes away from the hospital and we both still needed to shower and get ready. not to mention 7 was the original plan. we made the best of it and hurried the best we could. when we arrived it was 7:35 and by the time we checked in it was almost 8. the nurse had said dr russo was already there and had left because she had to take her child to a dentist appointment. i couldn't believe it...and i made sure to tell her what the hospital had said when i called. i didn't want her to think i was late to the most important appointment of the pregnancy. :)

the plan was for the dr. to break my water right away and only use pitocin if necessary. this decision was based on greyson's birth since he came really quickly after my water was broken. since we missed her, she had me start on pitocin. when i was checked i was between 3-4 cm dilated which was the same as i was at my previous appointment. however i was having regular contractions on my own even though i didn't realize it. the pitocin helped regulate the contractions even more and they became stronger but i still wasn't feeling too much. dr. russo arrived at 11 and checked me again. i was already 6 cm so she went ahead and broke my water around 11:30. she also called up the anesthesiologist to order my epidural. the timing was perfect as it arrived before i had any strong contractions. they checked me right after the epidural and i was at 9 1/2 cm so it was go time. :) john was a great support and was right there in the action. the head came out immediately but her shoulder got stuck. by the end, i had pushed four or five times and kenna made her appearance at 12:53 pm. she was 8 pounds 8 ounces and 22 inches long and she was absolutely perfect!

one of our nurses was the same nurse who helped deliver greyson. she remembered us and we remembered her...i thought that was neat that she could be a part of both of our children's births (she probably remembered us because she actually graduated with john, although john doesn't remember her from high school). see, isn't she perfect!?!

i know i shouldn't say this because labor isn't supposed to be easy, but it was. i wasn't tired from pushing, my hair hadn't even moved, and i felt like i could get up and go right after she was born. i couldn't have been more thankful for this! both kenna and i were doing great and we enjoyed the vistors who came up to see us. my favorite visitor was greyson. i loved watching him adore his sister. you can tell by the smile on his face how enthralled he was with her. :)

the next morning dr russo came to check on us and she said we could go home that day if we wanted since we were doing so well. the only thing that had to happen was that kenna had to have a bowel movement. so john and i started praying (yes, we prayed that our daughter would poop!) so we could go home! God answered our prayers and by 2pm on friday we were on our way home. by this time we both were feeling tired and were so ready to be in the comforts of our own home.

i couldn't be more thankful for the beauty of creation and God's hand on this pregnancy and delivery. kenna is such a blessing already and i am so excited to be a family of four! God is so good!!