I just wanted to share the adventure we had bringing our little Natalie into the world. Every second was well worth it.
At noon on the 28th of March my water broke while squatting to pick up something from the ground in the bathroom (good thing I was in the bathroom) I thought I had might of you know... but Daniels mom reassured me that that was my water. I called Daniel to let him know.. he was at work but not to rush home since I wasn't having any contractions. I called the Dr. and they said to come in about 4 hours. So I went for a walk around the neighborhood with the in in laws. When Daniel got home we just watched a movie waiting till my contractions kicked in. I started to get a bit uncomfortable around 2 and by 4 the contractions started to get stronger (about 7 minutes apart). Daniel's mom suggested we wait till they were about 5 minutes apart lasting 60 seconds. By 6pm they did. We started getting ready to leave when all of the sudden i literally hit the floor, I had a contraction that was so intense I couldn't even stand... I knew this was it and our baby would be here soon.
I had several contractions in the car on the way to the hospital, they were getting stronger and stronger. On the way to the 6th floor of the hospital I was hit with another one.. I didn't think I would be able to get off. I couldn't believe how fast they were coming, I barely had time to breathe between each one. We were immediately admitted and set up into our room. They hooked me up. My contractions were 1-3 minutes apart. I was in so much pain. They checked me and I was dilated to a 3.. with in a half hour I was a 5... I was desperate for relief I couldn't handle it. They administered the epidural.. it didn't work! Thank goodness I had a little bit of time so they could redo it. It worked... I was dilated to an 8.. we had been there an hour. I was progressing so fast that the first epidural wasn't able to keep up... The epidural was amazing.. how people have natural births just seems crazy to me! We had friends and family waiting in the waiting room so we had just a bit of time till I was ready to start pushing, so they let my entourage in! Everything was going so fast at first, I was glad to have the relief so I could pull it together and enjoy the last little bit before our baby came. It was so nice to have visitors supporting us they were all so anxious and excited.
It was now time to start pushing. I pushed for over an hour, and although the baby dropped and was right there, she was so posterior there wasn't a whole lot of progression. They had me turn to my side (which didn't settle with my stomach).. I got to rest for a bit to see if they could get the baby to turn. I then proceeded to push for another hour and a half... no change, the baby would creep, but then would go back up.. she wasn't going to come out that way. After 3 hours of pushing the doctor came in the room and said you could keep trying to push for another couple of hours and see if she'll turn, or we could have her out in 20 minutes via cesarean.. I was so exhausted I knew I could push anymore. We all knew the c-section was the best resort.
I was scared and nervous.. I had never had surgery before. I didn't know what to expect considering all I imagined was having a normal birth. They suited Daniel up... and off we went into the surgical room. It was bright, cold and very sterile! The anesthesiologist was there ready to drug me up! I was given all sorts of good stuff so I was completely numb. I was shaking so hard, my teeth were chattering. It was such a surreal experience. I turned to Daniel at one point to ask what was going on.. he lied and said that they were just getting things ready (when really they had already made the incision and were working there way thru) I asked again a few minutes later and he said we were going to have a baby and minute. With in seconds I heard the most beautiful sound. Our baby's first cry. Tears streamed down my face. It was incredible. I saw our beautiful baby girl healthy and strong! They got her cleaned up and swaddled and placed in Daniels arms... I was still so shaky I couldn't hold her. She was beautiful.
We went back to the room were the gave her her first bath. It was such a fun moment. She was fussy up until the nurse placed a warm washcloth on her head... she immediately stopped crying and fell asleep. The nurse said that that was the cutest bath she's ever given. Friends and family left, and I got a moment to myself where I got to nurse her for the first time. It was so natural, she latched right on and we had the special moment together.
This little baby girl is such a blessing to Daniel and I. Daniel took such care of her for those few days in the hospital. He cradled her, snuggled her, and is such a pro at swaddling her. She is so lucky to have such a wonderful Dad who loves her so much. I have enjoyed my time with her, I love changing her, nursing her, and singing while snuggling her. She looks in our eyes.. she know who we are, she chose us to be her parents. We are so excited to have her in our lives.. we have already become so much closer these past few days. We love our little Natalie!
Monday we went to visit Grandpa Eugene Garrity. Grandpa is 92 and so sharp! He was emotional holding Natalie and told us Grandma was right there looking over his shoulder at our little baby. What a beautiful moment. Our daughter is truly blessed to have such a great family. One thing I really admire about Grandpa is his amazing scrap books. He has kept a scrapbook for every family event dating back to even before Daniel's dad was born! The Garrity family history is amazing. Grandpa was even on the cover of Forbes magazine! I look forward to our visits and hearing all the fun Garrity stories. 
