When we arrived at the hospital, Alison was given a dose of Cytotec about 8:30 PM. From there, her contractions became progressively more like real labor contractions (some pain in the back, rather than just tightening in the belly). Our parents came by to visit and keep us company for a couple hours. By 11, we sent them on their way and decided to try and get some rest, because we figured it would be a long night. About an hour later, as Alison was lying in bed, she felt a jolt and then a gush of water. She turned to Steve and said, "I think my water just broke!" We definitely weren't expecting that. From that point on, the contractions became much more intense and were very close together (30 sec. to about 2 min.). As Alison struggled through the contractions, Steve was by her side offering massages and comfort. When the contractions just kept coming so close together, she decided to get the epidural. The anesthesiologist was amazing. He was quick and the epidural worked perfectly. The pain of the contractions subsided and labor continued. After about 20 minutes they came back in because Abigail's heart rate had dropped. The contractions were so close together she was not able to recover in between. So they gave Alison a little shot to slow down labor. Miraculously, it did not stop labor, but just put Alison into a more regular labor pattern.
Again, we tried to get some rest as we waited for labor to progress. Between 4 and 5 AM, Alison was beginning to feel lots of pressure and some increased pain in her pelvis, but didn't think much of it. At 5 AM, Dr. Terry called and asked them to come check where Alison was. The nurse came in and said that she was dilated to a 10, fully effaced, and that the head was moving down in the pelvis. Alison asked what that meant and the nurse replied, "It means you are ready to push and have a baby." Dr. Terry quickly arrived and gave great instructions for pushing. The nurse, Steve, and Dr. Terry coached and helped Alison push and within 20-30 minutes Abigail was born at 5:52 AM.
She was healthy and beautiful. Steve got to cut the umbilical cord, while Alison held Abigail on her tummy. As soon as she was cleaned up, Alison was able to hold and feed her. All the grandparents (Steve and Alison's parents) were able to come in and meet their newest granddaughter. We think they were smitten at once, just like the new mommy and daddy.
While at the hospital, we had lots of visitors: grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, other family members, and friends. We stayed for two days and were able to bring Abigail home on Friday. Daddy drove nice and slow on the back roads to keep his little girl safe. We are adjusting to less sleep, but loving every minute with our perfect little girl. We feel so blessed that everything with her labor and delivery went so well, that she is healthy, and that we are able to start our new life together as a forever family.
