Our Family: She's Finally Here!!

Why did I think that this baby would come early or on time? I'm not sure. But I should have known differently. Even when Dexter kept saying that she was coming on my birthday, I thought there is no way she would be that late! I should have trusted in the 3 yo wisdom. Just like Addie when we were waiting for Dex. Because her due date came and went. And then we were just waiting. And I felt like my body was slowly falling apart.
I really did not want to be induced, but I was also really tired of being pregnant. The midwives I had been seeing were not going to be able to be in charge of my labor because of policies at the hospital, but they were still in charge at this point. At my appointment on Tuesday I was 40.5 weeks and still at a 1, so they scheduled to do a non-stress test on Friday (which happened to be my birthday) and if all is well and she still hasn't come by the next Tuesday, they would induce.
So I went home determined to get this baby out before next Tuesday so that she could come on her own. Jason was able to get Friday off so that he could come to the test with me. We then planned to go out to eat and then to the Redford Theater which was showing Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds that night. I was super excited because, for some reason, I had really been wanting to see that movie for a awhile and the fact that it was playing on my birthday and I was still pregnant was beyond awesome!
But it was not meant to be. I woke up right after midnight Friday morning with my first real contraction (for me that means they build up and cause quite a bit of low back pain). I tried to rest through a couple and then decided to get in the shower to see if they would slow down. They did, but they also kept coming and were just as strong. Dexter came in about 5 hours and I was group b strep positive, so I knew I needed to get to the hospital sooner rather than later to get the antibiotics in. We left for the hospital a little after 2am.
This hospital's way of doing things made me really appreciate University of Iowa where both boys were born. From the moment I got there, I was told to stay in the bed to get admitted and they did an ultrasound (why?) and the contractions just kept getting stronger and stronger. I was just waiting till they were done so I could get up and walk through them. They told me we were going to the labor and delivery room and I should have know how things were going to go when they wouldn't let me walk to the room. I had to sit in the wheelchair (again, why?) and then when I got to the room, the conversation with the nurse went something like this:
N: Ok, let's get you in the bed
M: Do I have to be in the bed?
N(already with attitude): Yes, you have an IV.
M: I can walk around the room with an IV, I've done it before.
N: Here?!
M: No, it was at a different hospital.
N: Well, your baby's heart rate wasn't very steady while they were admitting you, so you need to stay in the bed.
M (practically in tears): How am I supposed to get through these contractions while lying in bed?
N: (no response)
I tried a couple things to get through the contractions and had Jason help rub my lower back because that was the absolute worst part. After a few hours they came to check on me and I was still at a 5, the same as when I had been admitted. I couldn't take much more, so we had them call the anesthesia and I got an epidural. They made Jason leave the room (again, why?) and said if I had back labor it wouldn't help with that. Oddly enough, the lower back pain was the first thing to go away.
Jason and I rested and we were left pretty much alone because they got really busy all of a sudden. So it wasn't until about 10am they came back and broke my water. They checked me at that time and I was at a 7.
After they broke my water, her heart rate kept dropping with each contraction, so they actually added some fluid back in to cushion her a bit more. I had never heard of this, but it seemed to work. Very soon the contractions started to change and I had quite a bit of pressure. The only person checking on me was a nurse who was on her very first shift. I told her I felt like I needed to push. She went to go tell someone, but it took awhile and by the time they finally came to check me, I knew this girl was ready to come! They asked me to give just a little push and then yelled at me to stop. They finished getting everything ready and then at 10:40am she was out with just one big push.

She cried just a little at first and then laid quietly while they cleaned her up and checked everything. I honestly thought something was wrong, because none of my other babies were that calm or quiet! She was also my smallest baby at 7lb 10oz, but also the longest at 21 1/4 inches.

They wrapped her up and brought her to me and she was just so perfect and snuggly.

I think this might be the best birthday yet! And now I get to share it.

The kids and Grandma came by later in the evening after the kids came home from school to meet their sister. Grandma had to tell them we had just gone to a normal appointment to convince them to go to school in the first place.