A Baby Story

We arrived at the hospital around 6:30 but didn't get admitted until 7:30 due to a "situation" in labor and delivery. By the time we got to my room and I was hooked up to the monitors, I was already having mild contractions. However, they weren't really painful yet and they weren't regular, so they put me on a pitocin drip. That really caused the contractions to pick up and become more regular, but they still weren't very painful. My doctor then decided to break my water and YOWSERS did that work. I made it through about 4-5 contractions and thought, "Ummm...why am I doing this? Epidural please." The anesthesiologist was there in record time and about 10 minutes later, all was well. This occurred around 9:30. By 10:30, I was starting to feel some pressure and by 11:00, I asked if someone could check my progress. In that hour and a half, I had gone from 4-7 cm dilated. Things continued to progress and by 12:30, I was ready to push. So, they prepped the room for delivery, and then, three contractions later, Isabel was lying on my stomach.

The rest of the hospital stay was somewhat interesting, as Isabel's body temperature fluctuated between normal and slightly elevated. The pediatrician was concerned and ordered a series of bloodwork to determine if she had an infection. Everything came back fine, and on Sunday, as we were getting ready to be discharged, the nurse did one final temperature check. It was right around 100, so she called the pediatrician back. The pediatrician then ordered one more test, so we were there until 4:00 pm yesterday when the "all-clear" was given.

I took her to the doctor today, and things seem to be going well. She does have a clogged tear duct that is pretty pitiful looking because she can't really open her eyes. Her doctor told us to monitor it for the next three days, and if it doesn't clear up, he gave us a prescription for an ointment to apply to her eyes.

The entire family seems to be adjusting well so far. Madelyn and Pierce seem to really love her. We'll see if the trend continues once the newness wears off. Here's a slideshow of about 50 pictures for your viewing pleasure.