In Awe and In Love

So it is midnight on Saturday night and I am just getting a chance to sit down with this computer since we got here on Thursday. Jodie has been doing a great job of keeping you all informed, but he was saving the play-by-play for me to tell. Thanks Babe! So here you go:

Our 36 week doc appointment was Wednesday morning. There, we found out that I had dilated to 5 cms. I just knew that they were going to send us straight to the hospital to have a baby. WRONG! They sent me home, but, fortunately, not back to bed. We made it through the rest of the day, but when I woke up on Thursday morning, I just had that feeling. But Thursday just crepped on, until a little after 4. At 4:20, I felt my first contraction of the day. By 5:07, I had had a total of 5. That's not really a lot in an hour, but for someone who is already half way there, it was enough to warrant a call to the doc. So I did and they said to come on into the hospital. We checked in around 7 and I had dilated to 7cms. So they admitted me and hooked me back up to all the machines.

Surprise, we made it through the night without a lot to tell. There were a few contractions, but not enough to progress labor. So at 5:00 on Friday morning, after finding out that I was still at 7cms, we and the doc decided to induce labor. There was no way that she was letting me leave the hospital at 7cms, and there was even less of a chance that I was going to sit in the hospital for what might have been days, waiting on Georgia to show up on her own. So, by 6, my water was broken, and my IV was dripping pitocin. Shortly there after, the pain started, and I mean real pain. The nurses ask you to rate your pain on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most intense. I had been telling them for 12 hours that the pain wasn't even registering on the scale! But all of a sudden, that scale wasn't big enough and I was begging for drugs! We had already told them that I definitely wanted to have an Epidural, so when we were ready, we were really surprised to learn that they'd have to administer a liter of electrolites before giving the Epidural. And then they told us that it would take about 20 mins for that bag to get though my IV. So, they hooked it up and we started counting the minutes, trying to breathe through the contractions that were coming one right after the other. All of a sudden, dilation was complete and they were telling me to push! WHAT? WHERE'S MY DRUGS? There was no time left. I still had about 100 ccs of that bag of electrolites before they would give me the Epidural. But they told me that there was no time and that we had to do this without. Again, WHAT?

I am telling you that it was the HARDEST thing I have ever had to do, not to mention the absolute most painful! I felt so sorry for any laboring ladies who were close by, because I know they heard my screams and I know that I scared the pants off of them. But, I have to say, that I am really happy that it all happened that way. I can say that now that it is over and I can look over and see my beautiful baby girl. I know that no one gets a trophy that says, "I gave birth without drugs," but who needs one? She's all the trophy I need.

After my pregancy with Sam, I questioned how on earth can anyone experience the miracle of childbirth and still not believe in our great Lord. But having been through this without the help of numbing drugs, it makes that miracle even more awesome. I think that the thought of it will always bring tears to my eyes and I thank God for allowing me to experience it. And I thank Him for giving me the strength that only He could give me to see it all through. It was absolutely amazing! That's really all I can say about it all. What else can you say about such a miraculous thing? I could go on and on about how awesome the process of conception to birth is, and how amazing a woman's body is, but, really what can be said that would really do justice to it all? Nothing, except, "WOW, GOD IS GOOD!". Now, having said all of that, and even though there still is no way that we will be having # 3, I know now that I need to ask for those drugs way in advance next time(just in case there is a next time), because once is enough for me!

Thank you all for visiting this site and praying us through what's been going on for the last few weeks. Now the fun starts, and I promise that I will post pictures as often as they are taken. If you could, please continue to pray with us. We should be heading home tomorrow morning, but we will be heading home with a little girl who has already lost almost 10% of her birth weight and is having a little trouble learning the art of nursing (although she did wonderfully during her 10:00 feeding tonight). Right now, I need to get a litte sleep before the nurse brings her back to us for another feeding. We love and appreciate all of you.

Carrie