LONG OVERDUE...this post that is!

Hello LFM Readers!
This news posting is well overdue, and for that I apologize. But as you can guess, I've been a bit busy. It's official: I am now a part of the largest club in the world: Parenthood! MRP (as I am initializing her--sorry, still paranoid over identity-theft people), is doing fabulously. Let me fill you in:
I went into the hospital on Sunday night at 8PM, and got a dose of Cytotec, a cervix-softening pill. If you've read past posts and are now wondering, yes, the internal for this about killed me. I was dilated to 2 when the nurse gave it to me. Soon I was contracting, and before I knew it, I was being checked again *OOOUUUUCH*, and was at 4. "Thank God," I thought, this meant I could now get an Epidural. They didn't want me to have it until I was moving along nicely, so not to slow down progress.
I was nervous for the procedure, but I knew it'd be worth it. I have to say though, until that point, I was proud of myself for breathing through the pain. Go me! (And Brian! He was my ROCK. I had him reading "This event happened on this date in history" facts off his iPhone to keep my mind on other things, as if that were possible in the slightest.)
My anesthesiologist came and inserted the needle in my back. I BARELY felt it! It was just a little pinch, and it was over. Getting the IV lock in my arm hurt worse, and longer, than the Epidural!
Four hours after getting the Cytotec, I was at 9.5!!!! The stuff was amazing. I obviously wasn't going to need the Pitocin, and I obviously wasn't going to make it to the next morning when my original doctor (the crazy "Stripping the Membranes" woman) was going to be delivering me. Side note: when I first got to the hospital, the nurse attending me told me how my doctor had "hands of steel" and how when she delivered her own child a few months before, the doc stayed working in the office until she was dilated to EIGHT, and then came over and gave birth. WOW. Realizing she wouldn't be the doctor for this momentus event, made me smile just a bit. :) I mean I'm a toughy, but if she delivered like that, what was she going to expect from me?
Next thing I know, I'm feeling the contractions again, and I'm told that I must have a "hot spot," or spot on my body where the Epidural doesn't take. Is that possible? No one told me THAT! The anesthesiologist came back and gave me another shot of juice. Good to go.
Soon after, the doctor came in and told me it was about time to push. She and the nurse warned me that most people don't figure out how to actually push and use their muscles for about half an hour, so to be in for the long haul. Boy did I surprise them!
I had my Mom on the left (who, by the way, almost passed out from placing my foot on her corotid artery by her neck. The pressure being put on it made her dizzy and having to sit down--NOT something I was prepared for in the midst of pushing a baby out! Suffice to say, she was okay and was able to stand up after a little while, and was a huge help, the way I knew she would be :) Brian was of course then on my right side. Forty minutes later, at 5:50 on Monday morning, little baby girl MRP was here! The docs and nurses weren't the only ones surprised by this. I was so relieved. From the time I entered the hospital to when I delivered, was only 9 hours and 50 minutes!
The downside: I apparently "tore," losing A LOT of blood, and was about to pass out directly after. They gave me Stadol just as I closed my eyes and hit the pillow. The saddest part is that I completely missed out on the experience of holding her and seeing her face when she was first born. My memories are in flashes. I can remember seeing the doctor initially hold her up, and then someone holding her in front of my face, and Brian helping me hold my arms out for .2 seconds, before I heard my Mom tell him that he better take her since I was out of it.
The following time (I'm not sure how long it really was) I was totally out of it. I couldn't open my eyes or speak, but I could hear everything going on around me. I wondered why the doctor was still working on me. I could hear Brian's family come in and out, holding baby and making comments. I recognized their voices, but laid there like a slug. All I wanted was a drink of water, my mouth was so dry.
I woke up around 8:30AM, in a darkened room. Brian was asleep on the couch, and MRP was no where to be found. I noticed a tray of (eww, hospital) food next to me. Some sort of cold meat and green beans, I wasn't about to eat it! Soon he woke up, and I was moved to another room. The nurse brought MRP in to see me; finally, some time to bond.
As you can see by the photo, MRP is now two months old and SO adorable. She's making little noises, laughing and smiling. She's sticking her hands in her mouth, and deciding which toys she does and does not like. I have so much to write about her and her development so far. Please, stay tuned, because I already have a TON of questions for all you Moms (and Dads) out there!

Until next time: I DID IT! Mommyhood has begun!
Karyn Potts
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