So the big day finally arrived...Wednesday January 20th, Marshall and I headed to the hospital around 7am for my scheduled induction. The night before I was so nervous, didn't sleep well..and it was hard to say goodbye to Caleb that morning. He was excited about the big day, though..he wore his "big brother" t-shirt.
At the hospital I was hooked up to some monitors...I was already having regular contractions (nothing painful, though)! Maybe January 20th would've been the day without the induction! They gave me some pitocin to start contractions and then the waiting began. My mom came up in the morning to hang out and keep us company (Marshall was so bored!). My doctor came by to break my water sometime after 8:30. The pitocin was increased throughout the morning and I started to feel things get stronger. I sat in the rocking chair for awhile, but my water kept gushing out of me...so uncomfortable! My dad stopped by around lunch time and then left to pick up Auntie at school. She was determined not to miss the birth of her niece but it was also the first day of classes.
Around lunch time my contractions were getting awful. I told the nurse I wanted an epidural. She got me settled in bed and we started to wait for the anethesiaologist. This was the longest wait of my life! Contractions started to hit me like crazy and I was in tears, crying out, in pain. The pitocin must really make a difference because I never felt anything this strong during Caleb's birth. About an hour later, the epidural was in and I was starting to calm down. After all the pain I was exhausted and also nauseous. I started to throw up and then napped for awhile. Laura was here during this time for awhile, too, but she had to go back to school for another class...my dad brought her back again! He was doing a lot of driving that day.
Right before 4:00 the nurse decided I was ready to push. I did a practice push and the nurse decided my doctor better come right away. At 4:10 I started to push and at 4:26pm our precious girl was here! My mom was in the room for the birth, taking pictures from the chair...and Marshall was right there watching and ready to cut the cord. I was in awe with the ease of this birth, it was nothing like Caleb's arrival (almost two hours of pushing and lots of intense moments!). It was such a great experience. I got to hold the baby for a few minutes and then the nurse took her away to get her really crying...she wasn't making much noise yet. They took her measurements and she was 9lbs and 21 1/2 inches long. Another big baby! My dad showed up right after the baby was born and then headed back to pick up Laura at school. She was very bummed to miss this big moment, but I was glad they were all able to be there that day in some way!
After a few hours, we settled on a name. Welcome to the world Ella Bernice Dean! We chose the name Ella after Marshall's great grandma on his dad's side...her name was Ella and her husband (great grandpa) was named Marshall. Marshall never met them but we liked the idea of keeping the family names. Bernice is after Marshall's grandma, his mom's mom.
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