On the night of Sunday July 5th, I started having contractions that got painful. Around 10:45pm I started keeping track and they weren't terribly consistent but I was surprised with this pregnancy how it was the pain that alerted me that this was probably labor. With both Violet and Azure, I had lots of regular contractions before they started to hurt. So we (slowly) started getting ourselves ready to head to the hospital and also gathered up the kids stuff to spend the night at Grandmas. I had some bleeding too which is new for me. A hot shower helped a little. Richard dropped me and my Mom off at the Women's Center at the Orem Community Hospital about 2am. After checking in, they monitor you for an hour to see if labor is progressing. I was NOT too happy when the nurse said I was about 3 cm dilated. I figured since my labor with Azure was quick (maybe 5 hours) and with the pain that I was farther along but oh well. A rather painful hour later, I had progressed enough that they admitted me. Thank goodness!
As I walked to my room I saw the anesthesiologist in the hallway. Yea! I wouldn't (hopefully) have to wait around for hours for him to get there. :) Richard came before we got to my room. The nurses were all awesome as was the anesthesiologist and my doctor. We got to my room around 3:30 am and by about 4am I had my IV and epidural. I knew I wanted pain relief but I had wanted to be mobile for as long as possible so it worked out pretty well. I had been in pain for a few hours by then and really wanted some relief! Around 5:30 I was at a 5 and by about 6:40, a 9. I didn't need to push very long and our sweet Ruby was born at 7:03am. Very close to her birth, Dr. McCarter saw that her heart rate was dropping with contractions so he briefly used a vacuum on her. Otherwise, everything went really well. Quite a different experience than my last although both babies were safe and healthy. I'm happy that it was a good experience and that Richard and my Mom could both be there for her birth. Tearing was minimal so that was great.
As my doctor handed Ruby to the respiratory therapist I remember feeling a little nervous at how they handled my newborn. She looked so slippery and it almost seemed like they were passing a football! Well, they know what they're doing. We hope! I was able to hold her pretty quickly after birth and this was neat because although I've always held my babies soon after being born, this was the first time I didn't immediately get the "shakes" after a baby's birth. I had them a little after getting the epidural. Speaking of, my back has been somewhat tender (still) ever since then even though the procedure was just fine. I think I have a ton of knots and need a really good massage! Nursing, as usual, has been rough but is already getting a bit better. I don't have any scabs now. Yup, its that awesome. The first month is hard but after that it is a lot better. So, I'm looking forward to next week!
While we were in the hospital, we felt that this was indeed our "Ruby" but did not decide on her middle name until close to discharge. We had tossed around the idea of Jewel and as its a family name on Loretta's side, in keeping with a family name for all of our kids middle names, we both thought it was perfect for a little Jewel like Ruby and it would be cool for her to share a middle name with one of her cousins (Tessa Jewel). I have two cousins close in age to me that share the same middle name (Ann) and I always thought it was groovy. When the kids came in to see her, Azure was very nervous and hated to hear Ruby cry. She wanted Richard to put Ruby back in the bassinet so she would 'stop crying.' Cliff was a great big brother from the get-go and Violet was super de duper excited to see her! Violet has used my phone several times to make videos of Ruby and I'll have to post them on here. They are way cute!
She has been a great little eater and a pretty good sleeper. Although she "goes to bed" rather late, she typically just wakes up once after that. Pretty nice. We've gone to church once since she's been born (speaking of Ruby and myself) and I realized again how much work goes into keeping a little one happy at church. Haven't had to deal with that for a few years!
