John, Jenny, and our growing family: And Then There Were Four

This post is long over due, so here we go. After 39 weeks and 2 days of pregnancy, Lucy Jane has graced us with her presence.

Let's start from the beginning. Daycare was closed last Friday so Lilly and I had made plans to make cookies, go to the park, and to the flower shop to see her cousin. I had a few contractions over night, but nothing strong or regular. We spent the morning playing and I only noticed a couple more contractions over several hours. We got home for lunch and the contractions really kicked in. I called John, who happened to be working an hour away, just to get him thinking about heading for home. Contractions were 5 minutes apart at this point! He got home around 2. I finished up the packing, Grandma Karen came to get Lilly, and we headed for Topeka by 3.

The car ride was not so great because the contractions really let up. I got checked in by 3:45 and spent about an hour in Triage. Contractions were still 8 minutes apart so we decided to get up and walk to see if I could get things going again.

There is nothing more glamorous than walking up and down the halls of a big hospital, in two gowns trying to keep yourself covered, having people stare at you, all while having contractions. We kept walking past vending machines and I had eaten an early lunch. I knew once I got admitted that it would be only ice chips for me. I convinced John to get me some candy and sneak it to me while we walked! I lasted a whole 30 minutes before I had had enough. Back to bed to get checked again. Finally I had made enough progress to get admitted and moved to labor and delivery. It was 7:30 by the time they got the paperwork done, nurses changed, my IV started, and moved down the hall.

At this point I was dilated to a five with contractions ever four minutes and painful! This pretty much shows how I felt the next half hour as I went from a 5 to an 8 and waited for my epidural.

They broke my water around 8:00. This was before my epidural and it was one of the nastiest things ever. Bless the poor people who are out in public when this happens! I have a whole new respect fort them! We waited for the epidural guy until 9:00. Apparently being dilated to an 8 and ready to kill someone was not a good enough reason for the guy to get in any big hurry!

Mom and Hanna showed up, along with my dad and Grant who hung out in the waiting room. I actually called my sister at one point to see where she was only to be informed that she was with mom and dad having BBQ. John's parents were also in the waiting room with Lilly. I had told Hanna all along she could be in the room, and since mom made it to town in time, she stayed too! I was so happy it worked out that Hanna was off that day and mom and dad were able get to Topeka in time!

By 10:00 I was ready to push and the nurse suggested a few practice pushes. After one she said to stop and booked it out of the room to get the doctor. One big push later and the baby, that we were all convinced was a boy, was here! Lucy Jane was born at 10:24 weighing in a 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20.5 inches long. I was shocked to see a little girl who could not look any more like her big sister!

Lilly came in after we were all cleaned up. She was so proud and immediately asked if that was her baby!

By 11:00 everyone headed out and I got moved over to a postpartum room. With all of the action and mommy and baby checks, it made for a short night.

My parents brought Lilly back the next morning and she was still as excited as ever! I am not sure if she was more excited for the baby or because she was going home with Nana Bobbi for the weekend.