Baby girl has arrived!

My goodness.....I have been MIA!!!! My little baby girl is almost 2 months old and I have yet to post a thing about her. It's hard sneaking moments in the day to blog!

On December 19th, 2009 our lives changed for the better and will never be the same. God gave us the most precious gift. Our baby girl Danilynn. Love at first sight took on a whole new meaning. I feel truly blessed. My heart has never known so much love. ♥

On Monday December 14th I went in for my weekly appointment. I was 1 centimeter dilated/50% effaced and I was told that I had high blood pressure and that they wanted to watch it. My doctor said that if it didn't go down by Friday, they were going to induce me. It was what was best for the baby and myself. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Part of me really wanted to meet this little girl in my tummy so bad (I was 39 weeks along and still almost a week away from my due date) and part of me was disappointed that my body wasn't going to naturally go into labor on its own. They sent me over to the hospital for observation. I was a bit freaked out because the really didn't explain anything....just sent me to the hospital. I was at the hospital for most of the morning. Hooked up to bands to monitor my baby's heartbeat and monitor my blood pressure. They ran tests and what not. Baby was doing really good. They sent me home after a few hours and told me to get lots of rest. I was told to stop working and was put on modified bed rest. For the next couple of days I tried to rest, but also had so much left to do. I tried to get things in order in case we were going to be having a baby on Friday! I was so tired, I couldn't get much done. I did manage to freeze some meals. Thank goodness!! On Wednesday December 17th I thought possibly that my water had broke and I was feeling some sporadic "labor pains". It was about 11:00 at night and we headed to the ER. Turns out it was false labor, I was still only 1 cm dilated and my water did not break. We were sent home. The next day Derek's aunt came to get the dogs just in case we were going to be induced on Friday. That way we didn't have to worry about them and she could keep them for a couple of weeks so we could adjust to life with a new baby at home. Just when Denise and Paige headed out the door to go home, I started feeling contractions. This time it was real. They were more regular and started coming 13 minutes apart. All night I kept track of how long it was between each contraction. 13.....9.....7 minutes. It was a long night and I got no sleep at all. Every contraction woke me up. Friday morning rolled around and we headed out the door to my appointment. As we drove there I felt like my water broke...again! Contractions we still coming about 5 minutes apart. My doctors office and the hospital were literally across the street from each other, so we had to decide to continue to our appointment or go to the hospital. We decided on the doctors office just in case my water did NOT break. That would be embarrassing, again! I had 3 contractions sitting in the room waiting for the doctor to come in. She checked me and said "You are in labor, you are going to have a baby". I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced!!! Holy cow! Derek and I just looked at each other with shock. We of course were sent right over to the hospital.

We were really having our baby and my body did it all on it's own! Crazy that we were going to be induced that day! Once in the hospital I tried to hold out as long as possible before I got an epidural. Eventually the contractions were too much for me to handle. Getting the epidural was pretty scary. I was SO nervous. But once it was all over, I felt so good. :) Around 9 pm the nurse came in and said I was 10 cm and was ready to start pushing. This was it. It was really happening. I was scared and happy all at once. We had waited 10 months for this moment and now it was here. The nurse and Derek helped me push. We tried all different positions until I found the right one for me that gave me the most strength behind my pushes. I was having a real hard time pushing her past my pubic bone. I just couldn't get her to budge. She was also facing sideways so doctor helped turn her the right way. I pushed for about 2 hours until I finally was able to get her past my pubic bone. After that, my body naturally wanted to push her the rest of the way out with every contraction. Just then the nurse said to stop pushing because the was no doctor available to deliver her. My doctor (the only doctor on staff) was in an emergency. The nurse helped me breath to fight back each contraction. Derek did an awesome job of helping me too, but I could tell he was really freaked out at this point. I fought through contractions for 30-45 minutes. This was the hardest and most scariest moment of this whole experience. My epidural was wearing off and the contractions hurt so bad. I didn't know how I was going to "hold" her in until the doctor could come. The nurse said if I just couldn't fight the contractions and needed to push her out, she could "catch" my baby, but if I could just try hang in there a bit longer. I was not only scared for me (all I could picture was the nurse not knowing how to properly deliver a baby and my body tearing beyond belief), but more so for my baby. I didn't want a nurse to catch her. What if something was wrong with her?! Get the doctor here F*#%-ing NOW PEOPLE!! At this point I was so scared and pissed off! I tried so hard to be nice to the nurse, it wasn't her fault. I had to apologize for cussing a few times. FINALLY the doctor walked in just when I thought I could hold off any longer. I cried. I was so happy and relieved to see him. You don't even know!

A couple more pushes and my baby girl entered this world. When they laid her on my stomach, I was in shock. Immediately I asked if she was ok....she wasn't crying and looked like she wasn't breathing. She looked blue-ish purple. Then she cried. I couldn't believe that I actually made this little person. It was the most amazing moment. Words can't even fully explain. She was healthy and that was all that mattered.

My labor was 30 hours long from start to finish.

I would do it all over again for her in a ♥ beat.

Danilynn Taylor Norton

December 19th, 2009....12:26 am....8 lbs. 1 oz.....20 1/4 inches long

♥