Home for a Week

Well, its been a while since my last post, but as most of you know things have been a little crazy. Since my last post I've been to the hospital in labor twice and the last time I actually got to take home a baby!!! On Thursday April 9th, at my next doctors visit, Dr. Hinton told me that there was no way I was going to make it to my due date and I should probably tell my kids at school good bye the next day. That really got me in gear and I started washing clothes and getting bags packed like a bad mamba jamba. In fact, I went to Wal-Mart the next morning at 6:30 to buy stuff for the hospital, just in case it happened that day. Anyway, things went off without a hitch on Friday at school. In fact, my students and some parents held a baby shower for us that day at school. Then, on Saturday I thought I was in labor, and come to find out I was, but the contractions "weren't strong enough". So, I was sent home with an Ambian and crushed hopes.

A little side note: they might as well have given me a big snort of crack because that is the effect Ambian has on me. I was out by the first stop light and totally out of my mind by the time we made it home. Luckily, my mom and brother are GREAT nursemaids and they made sure I got my McDonald's and helped me realize that no one had painted my dog blue!!!

After I regained my senses the next day, I brushed myself off, put my big girl panties on, and vowed that I would NOT return to that hospital until I was in so much pain that neither myself nor anyone else around me could stand it anymore. AND.....that's exactly what I did. Fast forward a week......Saturday, April 18th. My brother, my dad, and I went to breakfast and while we were there I started having contractions (which I had all week long), but this time it was different. It was a different kind of pain, in a different place, that just felt, well, different. Me, being Negative Nellie, wouldn't believe that these were for real this time, so I just winced in pain the whole day. After breakfast, my mom, brother, Jana, Addyson, and I went to the mall to walk of course (because that ALWAYS works : ). While we were there the contractions kept intensifying. So much that Jana and my mom were trying their darnedest to get me to the hospital, but with the bad taste left in my mouth the last week I was not going down easily. Finally, the pain was enough that I convinced myself that maybe, just maybe I should go to the hospital because lord knows I didn't want to miss the epidural. When we arrived at the hospital they did the old exam, walk for an hour, exam routine and nothing had changed. However, this time, by the grace of God, instead of just calling the doctor and giving him a report, the doctor actually came in to see about my condition for himself. When he saw what kind of pain I was in he immediately decided to keep me overnight to observe me and to provide me with a little pain relief by way of Demerol(LOVE that stuff). To make a long story short, by the time he came back in the morning I had dilated from a 2 to a 4 and my water had broken. After a long day of labor, which I didn't think was too long thanks to Dr. Harris and his amazing epidural, Ms. Landry Kate Elizabeth Gregory was born Sunday, April 19th at 4:48 pm. She weighed 7 lbs even and measured 20 inches long. AND SHE WAS/IS PERFECT!!!! We have now been home a little over a week and things were stressful at first, but now that we are getting to know one another things are getting easier. She is a wonderful baby! She hardly ever cries and doesn't mind the fact that sometimes I have no clue what I'm doing. We are a good team though. I can't imagine not having her in my life. She is truly a miracle and one that has made an impact on lots of lives. Thank you to everyone for coming to the hospital, visiting us here at the house, just giving us a phone call or e-mail, or just putting us in your prayers. We are truly blessed with the best friends and family that two girls could ever ask for!!!

My second weekly visit

Well, since I'm in the last month of my pregnancy I have to/get to go to the doctor every week. This is both exciting and a bit exhausting. Yesterday was my second "dive in" appointment and it wasn't as great of an experience as the first one. However, I did find out that I am now more than 50% effaced and 1 centimeter dilated, so that's the good news. At least I am progressing from week to week.

When you go to these appointments, the first thing the doctors always ask you is if you have any questions. My questions ALWAYS are: When is she going to be born? and How big is she going to be? Both of which they can never answer. This time, when I asked when she was going to be born, Dr. Gorman said to expect her after my due date. That way if she comes before the 25th I can say he was wrong. That was the first bummer. The second bummer: after he had done the examination and I was going to get my blood work done for my thyroid, I realized I was bleeding, so I had to go get rechecked again only to find out he had broken some blood vessels during the examination. This was an extreme relief in more ways than one. First, a relief because there wasn't anything wrong with either of us. Second, a relief because I wasn't going in to labor. However, as I was sitting there waiting for Dr. Gorman to come back to do another exam, it hit me......OH NO, What if I'm in labor? What are we going to do? We're not ready for her to come yet? How is she going to come home, we don't even have her car seat in the car yet? A full on panic attack had set in and I was almost in tears when I remembered that being a mother is the only thing I ever wanted to be in my life, so I know I can do this. I may not have all the answers right now, but with the guidance of all the great moms that I have in my life I will be able to get through anything. Every day when someone asks (and someone asks EVERY day) "How are you feeling?", I always say, "Good, but I'm ready to not be pregnant any more." This is the honest truth, but the realization of having and being responsible for a child of my own has not been more vivid than when I was sitting on that exam table waiting on the doctor.