E L H made her grand apperance on Sunday, Feb 1st 2009 at 1:52pm. She weighed 6lbs. 3oz. and 19 inches long. And I'm totally gonna brag: SHE IS GORGEOUS! Never before in the history of mankind has a more beautiful baby been produced by two people. But, what can I say, I'm a little biased.

So. You all want to know the scary story? Well, I guess I went into labor on Saturday afternoon around 3 o'clock. I wasn't really having contractions but, when I went to the restroom I noticed I started bleeding! Casey was at work, so I called my mom and she and my dad took me to the hospital. Well, I was dialated to about 3.5, so they sent me home. We all knew that I was going to be coming back. They sent me home with a percocet for the pain. I woke up that night at about 2 am having regular contractions but, it really felt like really hard period cramps, so I took some tylenol and went back to sleep. Well, not sleep, more like fitful awakeness. Around 8 am Casey and I decided it was time to go to the hospital so we started getting ready. I knew the day was going to be long and (lol) laborious so I decided to take a shower and have breakfast (which was a good choice btw). We called my parents to let them know I was going to the hospital and they met us there. We also called my bro. Todd because lol, he's been really anxious about E and I didn't want him to worry or have to call us like every two minutes. lol. Anyways, I was admitted and hooked up and monitored.

I was admitted to the hospital and hooked up to all these monitors and they checked me again and I was dialated to a good 4-5 (if I remember correctly). When you're in labor, you're hooked up to two monitors, 1 measures the baby's heart rate and 1 measures mommy's contractions. I was having regular contractions about 2-4 minutes apart. With every contraction I had E's heart rate would drop significantly and between contractions it wouldn't rise back very quickly. Poor little E was under a lot of stress. The doctors were really concerned about that. The nurses gave me an IV and while they were watching it to make sure it was in correctly and good enough, my arm started to swell around the injection site. The IV was no good. two nurses, an anesthesiologist, and yet ANOTHER nurse tried all the places they could find in my arms to administer an IV and they all FAILED! lol! Every vein they tried it was a blowout (I think that's the term they used). They even had this cool devise called a vein finder to find veins and they still didn't find them. So, I got an IV in my left foot! The funny thing is, the anesthesiologist who correctly administered my Epidural was the same one who couldn't get an IV in me. kind of ironic. lol. After about 3 and a half hours of monitoring E and I, my Doc decided that the only way to safely have my baby was to have an emergency C Section. So, they prepped me for surgery and I watched Casey get ready to come with me. I got the shakes SOOOOO bad. I couldn't hold still at all. I was shaking from my shoulders up uncontrollably. I was so scared! I would try to calm my breathing but, it only worked for a second or two. After a few minutes of prepping me in the OR, Casey was allowed in, but not allowed to look over the curtain between my head and tummy. He was so great, I couldn't have asked for anyone better. He held my hand and spoke to me calmly and stroked my forhead and kissed my cheeks. He also acted so brave and didn't pace or anything the whole time. I was so scared! When the c section was underway I heard the Doctors talking and they told Casey and I that I had a uterine infection. WHAT!? E was having a hard time breathing. WHAT!? She had pooped meconium in her amnionic fluid and was really sick. What?! When she was out I heard a couple of whimpers and about a minute later, she started crying. Oh my word, I'll never forget that sound in my whole life. It was the most glorious sound I've ever heard! My baby was alive and okay. Casey and I were bawling our eyes out.

I was so scared for my baby. How did I get a uterine infection? What did I do? Is she going to be okay? What happens now? I had so many questions. They wrapped her up and I got to see her for all of 15 seconds before she was taken away. I wanted my baby! Why couldn't I hold her? I felt terrible! They took me to a room where I was to recover and I could get some rest. Doctors and nurses kept coming and going as they always do, collecting blood, urine, blah blah blah. In the end, The docs are stumped, they have no idea what the infection was caused by. I was in the hospital for 4 days. E has been in the NICU since Sunday and we hope to take her home on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. Pray for E and all the little babies in the NICU. They're all really sick and need your prayers.