40 Weeks - Welcome Hailey May Givens!

As 40 weeks was approaching I was fully prepared to update another pregnancy post, but turns out I went into labor instead and our beautiful baby girl Hailey May Givens made her entrance into the world right on time, smack dab in the middle of her expected due date!

I woke up Friday morning (the day before she was due) right when Joe was getting up to go to work, and noticed something... different. Either I was peeing my pants or my water was breaking. I wasn't feeling contractions or anything, so I figured I was most likely peeing my pants, attributing it to just one more fabulous side effect of being extremely pregnant. So Joe went to work and I waiting until 8am to call the doctor's office and ask them about it. I made sure to shower and get my hair & makeup done just incase this was the real thing. Because I'm vain like that. 

Since I had my 40 week check up later that day anyways, I figured they'd tell me to sit tight and come in as scheduled.  Instead, they told me to pack up and go to labor & delivery... do not pass go, do not collect $200. SO, I called Joe and told him to wrap up work and get home to drive me to the hospital. He was a bit freaked at this point. 

The day before I went into labor

40 Weeks (minus one day) On our way out the door to head to the hospital!

I managed to capture this shot as Joe scrambled to get our last minute things packed into the car. He was a wreck :)

Once we got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitors and found that I was in fact in labor. And I was having contractions every 3 minutes, although I wasn't feeling them. Once I heard that news, I may have gotten the notion that I was supermom and wouldn't feel the contractions. But I was wrong, oh so so wrong.

Just arrived to the hospital - feelin' good! (not for long)

By 6pm (about 12 hours after my water broke) the contractions were still every 3 minutes on schedule and stroooong! Strong enough that I was finally checked and wait for it... only ONE centimeter dilated. Bring on the tears. At this rate I wouldn't reach 10 centimeters until sometime next year.  In the mean time, the baby's heart rate would randomly drop, so I'd be flipped to my left or right side to change her position and fix her heart rate. I was also given an oxygen mask to help. Suddenly I was no longer joking and smiling through the contractions.

Snuggling up to a stuffed pig, which was almost torn apart at every contraction

A couple hours later I was to the point of ripping off Joe's face from my pain, so they checked again and I was now 1.5 centimeters. Yikes. Fortunately my doctor decided that even though I wasn't very dilated, I could get an epidural. HALLELUJAH! Well, that's what I thought. It took three tries and 9 hours until the epidural actually worked! But worked it did, and around 12noon on Saturday it was time to push. 

At 12:43pm Saturday August 17th, 2013 Hailey May Givens was born! 8lbs, 14.2 oz and 20" long (later corrected by the pediatrician to be 20.5") By no means a small baby, but certainly not the 10 pounder I was fearing!

Joe's cutting the cord 

First ever family photo!

Our beautiful screaming baby girl!

I love this shot

Daddy/Daughter Time!

Proud Cousin Trent holding Baby Hailey

Full head of hair! We'll see if it turns blond :)

My future UCLA Bruin (although Daddy may disagree)

We stayed at the hospital for 2 more days after Hailey was born and then we were sadly kicked out. Turns out, there's no nurse-call button when you get home with the baby.

On Our Way Home!!! Hailey's First Car Ride!

So now we're home and all three of us are doing well. Joe and I are fumbling our way through this whole parenthood thing (not an easy task when you're a bit sleep deprived) but we are head over heels in love with this little girl. There truly are no words to describe it, but we are most certainly blessed.