Caroline is finally HERE!

Well, it turns out that was it after all!

After my last blog post, we waited another hour or so, during which the contractions were getting closer and closer and stronger and stronger. So around 9:45, we headed to the hospital. On the way there, the contractions got REALLY intense. They were still really strong in my back but also started radiating into my belly a little bit. But the back part was what hurt the worst, and I must say that I do NOT recommend laboring in a car. There is really no way to relieve a contraction when you're strapped into a seatbelt, and by that point, they were coming about 3 minutes apart, so the 20-minute drive seemed like an eternity.

When we got to the hospital, they had me sit down while I waited for a triage room. We probably sat for about 5 minutes, but it felt like 5 hours. I had several contractions while I waited, and Jimmy rubbed my back while I rocked on my hands and knees. I do remember a nurse walking by and saying, "Good job, Daddy! Keep rubbing her!" We finally got to triage, and the nurse checked me and said, "Oh my word, you weren't planning on an epidural, were you?" I must have looked confused, but when I said no, she said, "Good, because you're already 9 cm -- almost complete!" Holy smokes!

So they called my midwife and set to work torturing me...er, I mean, starting a hep lock and taking blood. Seriously, this was almost worse than the entire labor. They blew out three veins before they finally got the line sited and flushed (I didn't want an IV, but they insisted on the hep lock for emergency access). I now have huge bruises on both arms where the failed attempts were, plus I reacted to the adhesive they used to tape down the line they finally got started. But anyway, on with our story.

Apparently, the tropical depression that came in last week caused a lot of babies to be born, so we had to sit in triage for about an hour waiting for a room to be cleaned and ready for me. Karen still hadn't made it over, and I was starting to get worried that I'd need to push soon, and she wouldn't be there. They finally wheeled me into a room, and I had three contractions on the way from triage to my room, which was just around the corner -- those suckers were coming FAST now! I went into the bathroom before getting into bed, and right after that, I started feeling the urge to push. Fortunately, Karen walked in just about that time, and took one look at me and said, "I guess we're about to have a baby!"

If only she had been right! When I had Anna, once I finally had the urge to push, it was such a huge relief that it actually felt GOOD. This time, it was different. Pushing was absolutely excruciating. Karen felt the baby's head coming down with the first few pushes and said that she thought I'd have her out in a few contractions. Then the head stopped moving. She kept telling me I just had to get it past my pubic bone, and then the baby would be out. So we tried some different positions. I tried squatting for a while to allow gravity to help, but that didn't make much progress. Then Karen suggested getting on my hands and knees for a while. That did seem to help some because that position opens up the pelvis a little more than some of the others. I was so exhausted at this point that I was actually falling asleep between contractions. Finally, after about two hours of pushing, the head started to crown, and Karen handed Jimmy a pair of gloves so that he could help guide Caroline out with her. Then Jimmy got the idea that it might give me more incentive if I could feel the baby's head. I reached down and was able to feel all her soft, LONG hair, and Jimmy said the biggest smile came over my face! After that, she apparently came out like she'd been shot out of a canon.

Caroline Elise was born at 2:10 p.m. on Friday, August 17, 2007. She was 8 lb. 14 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. Her perfectly round head was 14.5 inches (the pediatrician at the hospital assumed she was a c-section baby), and she has the most beautiful and LONG brown hair! Caroline entered the world like the drama queen I suspected her to be based on her constant movement in the womb. She was face up, which is why I had such strong back labor and why it took so long to push her out. She also had the amniotic sac still covering her head, and she had the umbilical cord wrapped once around her neck, once around her torso, and once around her leg. She was born into a dimly lit delivery room (a big change from the bright lights and very medical atmosphere during Anna's birth) and was placed directly on my chest to warm up and get acquainted. I had some very minor tearing that required a few stitches, but that was it!

Anna is thrilled with her new baby sister and just adores her. As soon as I can, I'll get the camera hooked up and put up some pictures.