and it begins...

I was schedule to be induced on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, in the evening. This night was the perfect night for Akilah and I. I went to work for most of the day and started having some hard contractions while I was at work and throughout the evening. Akilah took the night off from work and we went out to eat at our favorite Thai food restaurant. I have so much fun hanging out and being around Akilah and it was the perfect night for us. We ate a delicious dinner and then went to Winco and got snacks for the hospital. I was still having some contractions and was getting so excited for 7 pm to roll around so I could call the hospital to see if they had a bed ready for me. I called right at 7 pm and the nurse in Labor and Delivery said there wasn't a bed for me at that point and to call back at 8 pm. I called again at 8 pm and the nurse said they probably wouldn't have a bed for me that night (I later found out they had completed 6 C-Sections that day; 3 emergency and 3 scheduled) because it had been such a busy day/night. I was so bummed out and disappointed. I took a bath, Akilah and I watched one of our favorite shows on tv (Criminal Minds), and then I was headed to bed, anxiously awaiting a phone call in the morning for me to come in. All of the sudden at about 10:15 pm Labor and Delivery called me and said they were ready for me and a bed had opened up! This was such a surprise and my stomach honestly dropped, I got so nervous and excited! All Akilah and I could think was this is really it! We were about to become parents :)

Here is a picture Akilah took of me on Wednesday evening right before we headed to dinner:

We got to the hospital at about 10:45 pm and being in the hospital knowing I was about to be induced was such an overwhelming experience. I have not spent a lot of time in a hospital setting and getting into my gown, into bed, and then being poked and prodded by a couple different nurses was such a weird experience for me. I started to panic a little bit and it took Kilah a little while to calm me down and reassure me that everything was going to be ok.

I got my first dose of a cervical softener pill (a little white pill the doctor/nurse puts right on my cervix) at 12 am and I was dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced. Akilah and I worked on sleeping for the next 4 hours and I was cramping a little bit and having minor contractions. At 4 am the nurse came back in and checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced. She let me know this wasn't enough to start me on Pitocin and so I received another pill. At 5 am there was a shift change with the nurses and right as I was meeting my new nurse my water broke. Having my water break was such a good feeling haha! Other than the mess it made it felt like such a relief down there, less pressure, but a lot more hard contractions!

My mom got to the hospital at 6 am and from about 5 am to 7 am I was in a lot of pain. My contractions were coming very strong and I was ready for the epidural. I got through the pain and awful contractions only because of Akilah. He was an amazing support system for me and I honestly bruised both of his hands with gripping them so hard as each contraction came. He was such a champ and the perfect "coach". He really helped me with my breathing and kept me calm when I started to panic during the really hard contractions. I love him so much and am so thankful he is my husband.  I got my epidural at 7 am and about 15 minutes later was feeling so great! I honestly felt like I was drunk. All my barriers came down, I was in no pain, and I was laughing and joking with the nursing staff, Akilah, and my mom. I am so thankful for the epidural and I feel like I got to enjoy my labor experience so much more because of it.

My nurse continued to check me and I quickly went from being dilated at a 5-6 to a 9.5. It was time to get the room ready to deliver Lyric! My girlfriend Jen got to the hospital to take pictures at 9 am and I started pushing right then! Stay tuned for the next post to see all the pictures Jen took! I started pushing right at 9 and had Lyric at 9:26 am! She was 7 pounds-2 ounces & 20 inches long.  It was such an amazing experience and the epidural worked so well the nurse and doctor had to tell me when to push because I couldn't feel any of my contractions. During my pushing I decided I wanted to have a mirror so I could see what was going on "down there". It was so cool to see everything that was happening and so rewarding to see her head start to poke through. I remember seeing all this black hair and the image giving me so much energy to keep pushing! I saw the hair and then after the next couple pushes I heard little Lyric crying, ok more like screaming! I thought she was out (remember I couldn't feel anything) and was asking to see her. My doctor nicely told me only her head was out (yes she was crying before she was even all the way out of my body lol) and that I needed to keep pushing! Such an amazing experience!

My dear doctor did have to give me an episiotomy and I ended up getting 20 stitches after everything was said and done :( I am now feeling fine and so happy to be home with my little family. I felt like there was so much love in the room while I was going through labor and Akilah is so amazing for being so supportive. I think this whole pregnancy experience has helped make us such a strong couple and this last year has been so amazing for us! Later in the evening Akilah got to Skype with his family and Lyric opened her eyes for the first time with them over Skype!

We went home on Friday morning and on Friday evening Jessie and Brandon got to see Lyric for the first time. We spent the whole day on Saturday in Shelley where my family spoiled Lyric rotten and loved on her for hours. Lyric is still struggling trying to figure out her days and nights and Akilah and I are working hard to keep her awake during the day so she and we can sleep better at night. She is such a deep sleeper and sometimes it takes an ice cube or cold wash cloth to wake her up. She loves bath time and snuggling with her daddy. The dogs have been so wonderful with her and give her such soft, cute kisses.