happy birthday adeline!

So after much anticipation (can I get a drum roll please)...Adeline is here! To everyone's surprise and delight, she arrived 11 days early on April 23, 2010 at 9:25am, weighing a whopping 6 lbs even and was 19 3/4 inches long. She is now 5 days old, and we're all home and doing absolutely wonderful.

Now I bet you thought you'd get away without hearing the whole intriguing birth story. HA! Wrong! I'll try to leave out the unpleasant details and make it as short as possible though. And mind you, this is written from the point of view of a woman going though labor and delivery for the first time. So those you who have "been there, done that," can simply smile knowingly, and those of you soon to be 1st timers...well, I'll try not to ruin all the fun surprises.

I had already had 2 sleepless nights of cramping/contractions before I went to work on Thursday morning, April 22nd. I figured they were bound to go away - I was still almost 2 weeks out from my due date. But the contractions that morning went from every 20 min to every 8-10 min by around noon. At that point I was getting anxious and not able to concentrate very well (and besides, I had a meeting coming up that I didn't feel like wincing every 10 minutes through), so I decided to go home and just rest.

By around 8:30 pm the contractions were much more intense and I was at the point where I had to stop what I was doing and concentrate through each one, and by 10:00pm I was beginning to be in a considerable amount of pain. Brian was getting quite anxious, so we decided to go to the hospital, against my sister's warnings that it was still probably "too early." And sure enough, we showed up and I was only 1 cm dilated.

1 cm dilated people. Are you kidding me?!

Needless to say, I was frustrated pretty pissed. Usually they won't admit you to the hospital until you're at least 4 cm, when they consider you in active labor. After walking around for an hour, I still had only progressed to 1.5 cm, and at that point, I was hurting. I certainly must be a huge wuss, but running for 24 hours straight, at 14,000 ft, up a 10 percent incline, would have been more pleasant than the pain I was experiencing. They told me I could stay and see if I progressed, but that this was considered early labor and could go on for days. But the nurse on staff did say she thought I would have the baby by...Monday.

Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

So I decided to go home and take their advice and draw up my warm Zen-like bath, turn out the lights, and meditate. Oh and take a Tylenol PM, because that would dull the pain for sure (where's the sarcasm font when you need it?) So I went home and learned to relax as much as possible and and let go of my frustration, which made things more tolerable. About 3 hours later around 2am when I decided Zen could take a hike as I couldn't stand it any longer, we went back to the hospital, and I was 4 cm.

Thank you JESUS! (I was every religion that night.) I immediately demanded pain killers.

They put me on an IV, and although things were tolerable at that point, I had already had 2 sleepless nights and was done with it.  I asked for the epidural and it was the best decision I ever made. Seriously, an epidural must be what taking crack cocaine feels like - high as a kite and floating on a cloud. If I didn't have a needle in my back, I might have thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

Unsolicited Advice: Get the Epidural!

I didn't feel an ounce of pain for the remainder of labor and delivery at that point - it was smooth sailing from there on out. And to think, trying to get to 4 cm to be admitted to the dang hospital was the hardest part! Brian was cool as a cucumber throughout the whole process - I knew he'd be great. Besides, he slept the entire night after I got the epidural, so I think he got off pretty easy, although he may disagree. So yeah, after resting for a mere 8 hours on my epidural crack-like high with only about 20 minutes of pushing, Adeline Jocelee Bishop was born.

And she is perfect and absolutely precious. And all worth it, of course!

We stayed at the hospital for the 24 hour minimum and then high-tailed it home. My mom jumped on a plane early Thursday morning after we called her on Thursday night to let her know I was in labor, but obviously at that point Adeline was coming without her! My mom was a big help to us for the few days she stayed, and then left for home on Tuesday.

Adeline is now 5 days old and we're adjusting well to our "new life." She is a very good baby - she's a good sleeper, and most of the time we have to wake her up for feedings so she can gain weight properly, but when we do wake her up she's a very good eater.

Trying to heal from my "2nd degree laceration and a moderate tear" as the Doctor called it (err, ouch) and taking care of the baby has been challenging. But Brian has been quite eager and wonderful with helping out with the little one - I think I've only changed one diaper myself so far, and he volunteered to give her her first bath. Adeline certainly lucked out on such a dedicated Dad. Thankfully, today was the first day I could finally walk regularly without doing a weird modified duck walk and sit without looking like I'm 90 years old, so we successfully went for our first stroll around the neighborhood as a family - wife pushing the baby stroller, with husband and dog in tow.

Make room, suburbanites!

We also ventured out to Old Navy and Marshall's, and Adeline was just great. She really likes the stroller and swing - I think all the movement makes her feel like we're going on our daily run when she was in the womb.

So that brings me to now. Brian escaped off to soccer practice for a couple hours, and Adeline is asleep on the couch next to me. Brian and I both couldn't be more thankful and excited for such a sweet, happy, healthy baby girl and look forward to watching her change and grow over the coming days, weeks, and years (but not too fast).

Welcome to our new life. Cheers to new chapters and 6 lb beginnings!