Seriously? How did this happen? Didn't I just have Talulah a few months ago? I can't believe she's two years old. TWO YEARS OLD. Wow.
September 25, 2008.... Hands down, the best day of my life. Let's reminisce, shall we? (I'll skip all of the gruesome details. Although I find them interesting, they're not necessary.)
9:30 am - My water broke. I wasn't sure if it actually broke... It wasn't dramatic like it is in the movies. But it got me thinking.... OMG, this baby can come ANY TIME. I've got to make some lasagnas! (I was making a bunch of little lasagnas to freeze so we'd have easy healthy dinners on hand after "the baby" came.)
Intermittently throughout the day I would poke around to see if I could make the baby move. It hadn't moved nearly as much as usual.
5:00 pm - Donovan arrived home from work. I gathered all the hospital stuff at the front door and Donovan loaded it into the car while I told him how I was worried because the baby hadn't moved very much, and I wasn't sure if my water broke, and pretty much gave him every detail about my day.
5:26 pm - We had been in the car for about a minute when I had my first contraction. I said, "Oh, I'm having a contraction." Donovan asked how I knew it was a real contraction and not a braxton hicks contraction and I said I just knew. Then, when I had my second contraction Donovan said, "Um, but that's only 5 minutes apart." Throughout the pregnancy we were told to stay home until the contractions were 5 minutes apart and then head to the hospital. So I said, "Well, good thing we're already on our way to the hospital!" For the whole car ride (about 20 mins) I was having contractions between 4 & 5 mins apart.
Approx 6:00pm - We arrived at the hospital and when asked why we were there I told them that the baby had a big decrease in movement, I wasn't sure if my water broke, and I was having contractions 4-5 mins apart for the past half an hour. They hooked me up to a monitor to check baby's heart rate and to check my contractions. Then a doc came to check me, she confirmed that my water broke and that I was 2 cm dilated. The nurse suggested she send me home because I'd be more comfortable, but the doctor said that she wanted to keep me in triage (not admitted yet) to monitor me for a bit because my contractions were so close together.
*The timing's mostly "best guess" from here until Talulah was born... I'm guessing based on how long it felt like everything took.*
Approx 6:30 pm - I wandered the halls for a while and Donovan went to call our family and our doula to tell them I was at the hospital and in labour. When he came back, we just wandered the halls together... I handed him my water to hold each time I had a contraction so I could hold onto the rail in the hallway and sway back and forth.
Approx 8:30 pm - Roamed the halls having contractions until they just changed some way. They got much harder and just felt different. I asked a doctor if someone could check me because I "just felt different". She checked me and I was 4-5 cm dilated.
Approx 9:30 pm - Donovan called the doula again to let her know the status (4-5 cm dilated). She told him to call her back at 10:00 for an update and depending on how far I progressed she'd likely come to the hospital at that point. By the time Donovan got back to the triage after the one short phone call, I had one particular contraction that was crazy and my body just started to push on it's own! I panicked and said to Donovan, "Get a nurse, my body's pushing!" The doctor came in with a "you silly first time mother" look on her face and said, "Things don't normally progress that fast, but I'll check you." When she checked me... I was 9 cm dilated. 9 cm dilated and still in triage, not even admitted to the hospital yet!
Approx 9:40 pm - They sent Donovan down to admit me and when he came back they took me to labor and delivery. I got to start pushing soon after I got there. Between contractions I got to rest for a minute or so and they were great breaks! In fact, I said between pretty much every single push, "I really like the breaks!"
10:30 pm on the nose - Our baby was born... Donovan looked, shot his arms up in the air with a cheer and said, "IT'S A GIRL!" She was just beautiful right from the start!
There was no time to call the doula before we delivered, but she decided to head over anyway and made it there just in time to see Donovan cut the cord.
We cuddled our baby girl and the doc asked what her name was. I said we didn't know (cause we hadn't decided on only one name). I looked at her and said, "I think her name is Talulah." and Donovan said, "I was just going to say that." So it was decided. Our baby girl's name was Talulah.
The doctor, nurses, Donovan and I all put in our guesses for her weight before she was put on the scale, all of us thinking she was over 7lb. They put her on the scale she was a tiny 5lb 14oz. She was completely healthy, just tiny and perfect...
And now.... Two years later (okay... two years and one month later because of my amazing blogging skills) Talulah is a toddler! She's a little bit bigger (weighing in at 26 lb), but still perfect.
A couple of weeks ago Talulah was feeling very affectionate, giving me lots of hugs over and over. I got a particularly huge hug from her said, "Oh Talulah, I love these hugs. What a lucky Mommy." With her head on my shoulder, all snuggled in, she said, "Lucky Talulah." and squeezed me harder.
... Melt...
Here are some September pictures of Talulah the toddler. :)
I'll say it again... What a lucky Mommy. :)
