Welcome to the world, Jane!

On Friday, April 22, we welcomed little Jane Virginia into our family! I know I'm always curious about people's birth stories, so here's a (relatively) brief synopsis of mine.

On Wednesday evening at 6:30 pm I began having irregular contractions. They continued off and on the whole next day until 6:30 pm, when they started coming every 6 to 7 minutes. They were strong enough and consistent enough that I was pretty sure I was in labor, so we brought Livia over to her cousin's house to spend the night. The contractions were still every 6-7 minutes or so around midnight, so Chase and I decided to stay home and try to get some sleep until they got closer together. Obviously, neither of us had an amazing night of sleep, but it was still a lot better than being in the hospital!

At 6:30 am I was hit with a huge, two-minute long contraction (noticing a pattern with the time here? It was uncanny). After that the contractions were even stronger and though they were still about 6 minutes apart, I knew it was time to go the hospital.

40 weeks exactly, heading to the hospital

We arrived just before 8 am, and sure enough, I was at 5 cm! I was very excited about this, because that's as far as I ever got with Livia, who ended up being an emergency c-section. I really, really wanted to vbac, so the fact that I was already halfway there was very encouraging. Over the next several hours the contractions became much closer together and horrendously strong. I tend to have really bad back labor, which makes it even harder. Chase was a great support and helped me out with various coping techniques, but I was finding it increasingly difficult to relax through the contractions.

Just after noon the nurse decided to check my progress. Five and a half centimeters.

What?!

All of that for half a centimeter?!

I felt like crying, but wait! Here comes another contraction. Need to focus.

I had hoped to have a natural childbirth, but at this point I'd already been in labor for 18 hours, and after another hour of feeling like I'd rather die than face another contraction, I decided to get an epidural. The anesthesiologist was blessedly available right then, so very shortly I was able to rest. Rest! What a wonderful thing that is!

The next few hours passed quickly as I rested, Chase ate, and we heard a baby being born next door (which may or may not have made me cry). My water broke, audibly, right about when I hit 10 cm. Shortly thereafter I started pushing, felt extreme back pain during all of it (despite the epidural), and at 5:14 pm Jane was born! Chase and I had been guessing 6:30 pm, since that appeared to be my magic number, but it was still pretty close!

So there you have it! Born on her due date, Jane Virginia came in at 7 lbs. 8 oz and 20 inches long. She's healthy, we're happy, and now we're all adjusting to our new family life!

These pictures are out of order, and for some reason I can't move them around...

Jane, 1 day old:

There has definitely been some crying around here!

Our family of four:

Sisters! Livia was so excited to hold her!

Livia has good moments and bad moments, but having Chase home this week has helped tremendously. The two of them have had a few daddy-daughter dates and excursions which she has very much enjoyed. Also, I think it helps that Jane sleeps a whole lot. I'm hoping and praying that Liv adjusts soon!

Tomorrow Jane will be one week old, which is hard to believe! The days do pass so quickly...