we made this

she's heeeere! raaaah!

elizabeth ann doud
born september 30
11:14am
7lbs 9oz
19 3/4 in

and now, on to the details! not too many details, but be warned....i may or may not use the word "cervix" in the next paragraph. continue reading at your own risk.

okay so tuesday, september 29, 7pm: i went to a church shindig to teach the young ladies the fundamentals of leading music. all went well.

8:30pm: walking out to the car. my water breaks, but i wasn't really SURE that's really what happened. i always pictured it being some kind of bucket-of-water situation. it was more like a little trickle....that kept trickling....and trickling....

10:30pm: after calling my doctor and taking a shower, gregs and i arrived at hoag hospital.

11pm: the nurses started IV pitocin, which is a synthetic hormone used to induce and regulate strong, steady contractions. after your water breaks, the medical peeps want you to start contracting right away due to an increased risk of infection. the bad news: pitocin induced contractions are known for being especially painful. i can and do affirm these data.

12am-6am: OUCH! make it stop! the anesthesiologist is doing an emergency c-section when it's time for me to have my epidural. this is most unfortunate. i swore i would not be that laboring lady who like....groaned and made weird noises and stuff. i mean, how painful could labor be?? i admit it. groaning noises were made. i settle for a couple narcotic injections until the epidural arrives.

6am: yay, the epidural! you couldn't get that needle into my back fast enough. at this point i'd dilated to six centimeters.

6am-10am: the most comfortable four hours of my life. the epidural worked perfectly. it was super bizarre. i could feel and move my legs, but i couldn't feel ANY pain. really it was amazing. i'm a fan

10am: the nurse came in to check on me and i was ready to push. i pushed for an hour. then the nurse stopped me so we could wait for the doctor to arrive. she said if i continued, she'd have to deal with "a lot of paperwork". i guess it's pretty important that the doctor arrive BEFORE the baby:)

11:05am: my doctor arrived. after two pushes, the baby's head is out. another push and the doctor says, "shoulder dystocia". i guess this is a super rare occurrence where one of the kiddo's shoulders gets stuck under the pubic bone. luckily, the doc was able to get the wee one out without breaking the baby's collarbone, which is the alternative. yikes!

11:14am: baby's officially born! i admit it. she's the most attractive baby i've ever seen/made. i'm pretty sure she has greg's eyes and mouth, and i think she got my dimples. thus far, she has been a REALLY good baby. she only cries when she needs something, and she spends lots of time awake during the day with her eyes wide open.

this was long! here's the summary: we're all doing really well. greg's a proud new dad, i've become a real live girl and grew some feelings along the way, elizabeth is a happy girl and is gaining weight, lucky could care less that there's another entity in the house, and my mom is taking great care of us all...good meals, moral support, and the laundry's never been cleaner.