Baby Anabelle's Arrival

So, Anabelle was given two due dates. The first one was August 3, 2014, and the second was July 31, 2014. The first one came from her first ultrasound screening, and the second came at the gender scan. So, naturally, I was hoping for the one that came faster, plus how cool would it be to have a Harry Potter baby?! Well, July 31 came and passed, and no baby.

On August 1, my mom flew in from Virginia to be here to meet her when she decided to come. I hoped it wouldn't take too long so that my mom wouldn't spend all her time just waiting for a baby to come. She was such a big help though! She helped me clean my house and get groceries... I never really believed other women when they talked about not being able to keep their houses presentable or clean when a baby came. But even being pregnant, at the end, I started to have a hard time finding the energy to keep my house clean, so I was grateful for my mother who came and helped. Sunday, August 3 came, and I was anxiously awaiting the contractions to start. None came. The day went on just the same as the past 9 months. A lot of waiting and no baby. So I went to bed, not expecting to be awoken a few hours later.

Monday, August 4, 2014 - 3:00 AM
I woke up feeling not so great. I went to the restroom to see if I could get rid of some of the discomfort. Without much luck, I tried to go back to bed, but couldn't fall asleep because I was too uncomfortable. It felt like cramps, but didn't seem bad enough to be the real deal, so I just told myself they were the Braxton Hicks contractions. Nothing to worry about. Eventually I sort of dozed off, and got up when Devin did as he got ready for work. I told him that I'd been feeling pretty crampy since about 3 that morning, and that if I needed him to come home from work, that I would give him a call. So he left for work and Mom came over. Still cramping, I ate breakfast and lunch, we played some games, and I spent a lot of time in the bathroom. At about 1:00 PM, the cramps had gotten pretty bad, and consistently came about every 5 minutes. I finally convinced myself enough that I might be in labor, but I didn't want to go to the hospital uncertain and risk being turned away. So I called my OBGYN to see if I could come in really quickly to get checked and see how far along I was. I told them that I had been having contractions about 5 minutes apart for the past couple hours. The nurse told me to go to Labor and Delivery since they couldn't monitor the contractions. So I called Devin and told him that when he got home at 3:00, that we needed to go to the hospital (because I thought I could wait till then...) Nope. I called him again, and asked if he would come home now. So Devin came home, and by 2:30, Devin, Mom, Jessica, and myself were all at the hospital.

Monday, August 4, 2014 - 2:30 PM
When we got to the hospital, Devin dropped us off then went to park and attend a short meeting that he was scheduled to be at that day anyway. So I headed upstairs to Labor and Delivery and checked in. I was brought to a room by a nice nurse who told me they were just going to check me to see how far along I was. So I changed and the nurse came back and checked. She was surprised to find me dilated to a 6 already, and proceeded to tell me that I definitely wasn't leaving. She was more surprised that I had made it that long without coming in earlier! What can I say... It's those Morgan genes of refusing to go to the doctor until absolutely necessary kicking in!

(Grateful my family was there)

So she asked me if I wanted an epidural, and I said that I definitely would, but not quite yet. I knew Devin would want to watch them put it in, so I waited until he got there. I was glad that I had brought a raquetball with me though. I had told Devin earlier that if he still wanted to have a hand at the end of the day, that I would need some sort of stress ball. So that worked amazing!!! Definitely recommend it! Anyway, finally Devin got there, they checked me again, and I was dilated to a 7 (This was about 3 or 3:30 now). So I then asked if I could have the epidural. By that point the contractions had finally surpassed the pain I sometimes felt during "that time of the month," and I was definitely ready for an epidural. Let me tell you... Epidurals are amazing! I was pretty nervous about getting one at first. I was worried they'd mess up and prick something that they shouldn't. But all went well. I refused to look at the needle, and honestly, the prick from the needle was nothing compared to the contractions. I barely even felt them stick me. I will admit though, I had to ask my mom to hold my hand because I was pretty nervous (and Devin was watching them put it in :) ). After a half hour to an hour of waiting for the epidural to take full effect, I felt great! I couldn't really feel anything! I had no legs or waist, or at least that's what it felt like. By 6:00 I was fully dilated to 10 and it was time to start pushing. So I was prepped, and at 7:00 I began to push. I was aided by my wonderful nurse and husband. They were great coaches and support. I couldn't have kept it together without them.

Monday, August 4, 2014 - 7:00 PM
I began to push. And push. And push. And push. And push... It never seemed to stop. I had been hoping that our baby girl would be a quick pop-out, but she's a little stubborn like her momma. The doctors looked at her positioning and found her to be facing up instead of down, and also had her arm bent up by her head, making even more difficult that it already was to push her out. An hour into pushing and I was getting pretty exhausted. I didn't feel like I was making any progress because I couldn't feel anything changing. My coaches kept telling me that I was doing great, but I sure didn't feel like it... If I was doing so great, then why was it taking so long for her to come out. The doctor had tried to turn our baby face down instead of up. But she would have none of it. She insisted on remaining face up with her arm up by her head. After about two and a half hours of pushing and an episiotomy, I was done. I was physically exhausted. I had a hard time breathing and was wearing an oxygen mask. The doctor told me that she was almost out, and could see that I was exhausted, and told me that they were going to proceed to use the vacuum to get our baby out. So he got out this suction cup thing and stuck it on my baby's head. However, her arm was still making it difficult to pull her out, even with the vacuum. So the doctor called another nurse over and told her that they needed to get her out and give her a little push. So I kid you not, this nurse put both of her hands right above the baby in my belly (this is exterior, so on top of my tummy), as though she was about to do CPR on my tummy, and without much warning, she put her full weight into my stomach and pushed my baby out the rest of the way. Let's just say that I was grateful that the epidural was still working. The doctor then informed me that he was amazed that I had been able to push her out in the position that she was in, and that I hadn't had to have a C-section.

Monday, August 4, 2014 - 9:17 PM
At 9:17 PM, Anabelle Kate Maxwell finally came into the world. She had a pretty good head full of light brown hair and beautiful baby blue eyes (which seem to be what they'll stay). She was 8 lbs. 6 oz., and measured 20.5 inches, and had quite the cone head. She was beautiful. The entire experience was surreal. I, Gail Maxwell, was now a mother. I had a baby...

After she came out, they held her up so that I could see her, then whisked her away to get her warm and cleaned off, and then do all their after birth tests to make sure she was okay and functioning well. During that time, I was stitched back up. After she was semi-cleaned up, I was finally able to hold her. I felt as though I was holding a very fragile piece of glass, and was praying that I was being gentle enough. She was so big, yet so small. I don't think I have held a newborn baby since my little brother was born in 1994. I've always been terrified at the idea. But this child was mine. And I loved her instantly. No fear or anxiety was going to keep me from holding my new, little baby girl. As I held her I realized that this child is now going to rely on me and Devin to take care of her. To help her grow. To keep her healthy and safe. To raise her in a happy home. To teach her of her divine worth. To teach her that she is a child and daughter of God. Heavenly Father had trusted us enough to let us raise one of his little angels, and I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have been given.

I love being a Mom.