I am finally getting around to write about the birth of our baby girl, Blair! I want to write this out so we remember and can share her story with her when she is older.
Thursday, January 17th, I had an appointment with my doctor's office. At the appointment I was scheduled to have an ultrasound, non-stress test, and a normal ob visit. My appointment was scheduled for 9:00am, but Jeff had thought it was at 8:30 am so we arrived a little early. Jeff and I had decided the week before that since I had an early appointment we would just go to Bloomington early and get breakfast. We left home about 6:45 am and headed to eat.
I got checked in and they called me back shortly after 8:30 and headed to the ultrasound room. We were able to see the baby moving and checked out great. However, my placenta did not look great. I was told this was due to me having hypertension during pregnancy. They told me it was really common and not to worry about it. After the ultrasound I went to the regular room to have my non-stress test done. During the test, Jeff and I kept talking about how soon it would be before we met our baby. I was 38 weeks and we knew that it could happen at any time. During the test, the nurse came in to check the report and realized that the baby's heart rate wasn't as reactive as they want it to be, but she said it could just be the baby was asleep. About 15 minutes later the nurse came in and the doctor followed. I will never forget that minute. The doctor looked at me and said "Do you know where you're going today?" I said the hospital? She said yes, I want you to go there right now and we will start your induction. The heart rate wasn't reactive and the placenta didn't look good so we were going to meet our baby sooner than we thought.
Jeff and I headed straight to the labor and delivery unit and were admitted and pitocin was started. After pitocin was started, Jeff headed home because we had nothing with us to be admitted. While he was gone my mom came and spent the day with us. When Jeff called her he said I need you to come to the hospital, but don't tell anyone! We wanted to keep it a secret that the baby was on the way. My mom stayed until about 4:30 pm and then headed home. I was making progress, but it was a slow process. Later in the evening around 9:00pm I got my epidural. We were hoping that it would help me relax and I would dilate a little quicker. The epidural took 6 tries to get in, but it was finally placed and I was so happy it was over! I was getting checked every 3-4 hours and was still progressing very slowly. Overnight, the nurses let me rest as much as I could and I was grateful for the 2-3 hour spurts I was able to sleep. Jeff barely slept because of nerves and all of the people coming in and out of the room.
Friday, January I was checked for progress again and I was only dilated to a 4. Unfortunately, I had been on pitocin for almost 24 hours and wasn't progressing. My doctor came in about 8:45 and talked to us and said I hate to say this but I think it's time to consider a c-section. I knew I didn't want to have a c-section, but I wanted what was best for the baby and at that time agreed it was the right thing to do. I broke down into tears from fear and nerves and anxiousness. Thankfully, Jeff was great and a rock through the hole thing and kept me from going crazy. Within a matter of minutes I was being prepped to be taken to surgery. I am so glad that Jeff was able to be with me the entire time.
I was wheeled to the operating room and things moved very fast. Jeff was able to sit right next to me and be there to see our baby's birth. He wanted to watch the whole surgery, but they wouldn't let him- which was fine with me! It seemed like just a few minutes in the room and the doctor was talking about how much hair the baby had! Just a few seconds later and a lot of pressure and we had a baby girl! At 9:45 am on Friday, January 18th our baby girl arrived. It was a surreal moment when the doctor said it's a girl! They quickly asked what her name would be- Blair Korrin. They took her straight to the warmer and I could see her and Jeff was able to get some pictures. After her exam they weighed her- 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 19 inches and cuter than we could imagine :) She was in great shape and was pink instantly. They handed her to Jeff and we were able to sit together and take in our new baby. Jeff was able to stay with her while they took me back to my room.
When we got back to our room we elected to do skin-to-skin and spend time together as a family. Jeff and I had about 2 hours with just our family and we will forever cherish those moments. I was able to feed Blair and she has been eating well ever since. After our time as a family, Jeff started making phone calls. He called his family and then mine and they were all very excited to hear that our baby was a girl and had arrived. The first night we only wanted our parents to visit. That evening they were able to visit, with the exception of my dad who had been sick. Unfortunately, there visit was cut short because I was dealing with a great deal of pain and had to have some pain management put in place and part of that was to be with just Jeff and Blair.
We are enjoying her more than I could ever imagine and already want things to slow down. She is growing quickly and I just want time to stand still. I cherish every moment I have with her and love to see Jeff holding her and spending time with her. He is such a great daddy! Lots of pictures have been taken and here are just a few- many more to come as we grow as a family and continue to make memories :)
