I wanted to write a detailed story about everything that I remember from one of the happiest days of my life so I don't forget anything. Be prepared for a lengthy, scatter brained post. This is mostly for my benefit, and so that I can share it with Kris when she is older.

October 21st, 2012

At 6a.m. I woke up with a very painful contraction. I knew immediately that today was the day I would meet my little girl. I waited 2 more contractions before waking up my husband. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't just a fluke. When I woke Greg up he very excitedly started to get the bags in the car while I tried everything to make the contractions more comfortable. When I started to time them, they were 4-7 minutes apart.

At 9:30 a.m. we decided to go to the hospital. Contractions were getting much stronger. We loaded up in the car and headed east on the interstate towards OU Children's hospital. The car ride was incredibly uncomfortable. The car seat was behind the passenger seat, so I couldn't lean my seat back. I remember hating so much that I was so scrunched up. I felt like if I was able to stretch out more the contractions would hurt less.

When we arrived at the hospital we headed to Women's Triage. We had made this trip a week prior on a false alarm, so we knew the drill. This time was different though. I couldn't walk or talk through contractions. We had to stop several times on the way to check in. Greg was an amazing support. He kept asking what he could do for me and held me through each contraction.

When we got to the check in counter they got us back to a room very quickly and checked me. I was dilated to a 3! I know that isn't a big indicator of anything, but just three days prior I was only at a 1. I labored in the triage room for quite a while because the hospital was incredibly busy. I found out later that there had been 94 births in 72 hours. My daughter will share her birthday with a lot of other people!

My mother quickly joined us in the triage room, followed not long after by my sister. The room was a very small hospital room with a bed, a couple chairs, and monitors. I wanted to labor in a tub, but knew that I couldn't do that until we got into the Labor and Delivery room. While I waited, I sat in a round chair next to the bed. I leaned over with each contraction as Greg rubbed my back.

My sister meeting Kris

The room I was in was hot! They said something about the air not working in half of the rooms. My mother got a fan from the nurse, and that was a lifesaver. There is nothing like being hot while in labor. Mum was an amazing support and I am so thankful I had her in the room with me. My sister mostly sat back and offered little suggestions like "get her a paper towel" after I had thrown up. At one point, before mum got the fan, she was using a bag to try to fan me off.

My mum meeting Kris

They had a hard time finding a vein to put the IV in me. They had to dig once they got the needle in, and even then had to poke me twice, but right after that, the nurse came to check me, It had only been 2 hours and I was already at a 5! I got super excited because those contractions were actually doing something!

Shortly after that next check, we were moved to the labor and delivery room. This room was huge, and had lots of seating, so I am sure my mum and sister were much more comfortable. As they were getting me hooked up to be monitored, the nurse noticed that there weren't any mobile monitoring devices like I was expecting. I really wanted to be mobile during labor, but being hooked up to these machines left me a very small space to be able to move in. I did get an exercise ball that I sat on the majority of the labor though.

Once I got into Labor and Delivery, my contractions seemed to be a lot worse. They didn't seem to stop. I was incredibly disheartened when the nurse checked me, and I was still at a 5. I broke down. It felt like those contractions that I had been having were doing absolutely nothing for me.

My daddy meeting Kris

The next time I was checked, I was at a 7. I was finally on the homestretch! Contractions were getting more painful now, and even closer together. They were overlapping. I kept saying that it wasn't fair that I couldn't even have a breath before the pain started again. The doctor broke my water and it was even worse. I was laboring on the bed at this point. I looked at Greg and in a very serious voice said "I can't do this anymore-just get the knife." I was of course joking. I had come this far, there is no way I would give up yet.

My husband (Greg) and Kris

I had my mother on one side of me, and Greg on the other. I would try to stay concentrated through contractions. I would stare at a mark on the wall and concentrate on it really hard. I used a verse several times through the entire labor, I kept saying "I can do anything through He who gives me strength". I was so thankful that God was giving me strength to have this baby. I was so thankful to be having this baby-but my goodness! That pain was unimaginable.

When the doctor came in to see if I could push, I was told we would try it. She said to tuck my chin in and push as hard as I can with each contraction. I could feel the baby moving down. Greg had one of my legs, and the nurse had the other. Greg was so encouraging. His smile was so big when the doctor told me that she could see my baby's head. At this point I looked at the doctor and said, "Let's do this!" I remember the doctor laughing, but I meant business! A couple contractions later Greg exclaimed that he could see the head so I asked the doctor if I could feel it. She let me, and it was amazing. That was my baby girl! Not long after, my precious angel was placed on my tummy while nurses tried to suction her out.

She wasn't crying.

Through my happy tears I all of a sudden felt terror. Kris was quickly taken away from me to a spot in the room where I couldn't see her. Greg was standing with the nurses that were all huddled around her. I waited desperately for a sound from my baby. What seemed like forever was probably only a couple of minutes. I did finally get to hear Kris cry. It was the most amazing sound ever.

They brought her back to me and wiped her off as I held my perfect baby girl. She was beautiful. I held her tight and was so in awe of how amazing she was.

Greg took this photo right after they put Kris on me after getting her to breathe.

I didn't even realize he had a camera!  

Labor was nearly exactly 12 hours long. That is really short for a first time mom, and honestly, it seemed like 6 hours total to me-maybe because I had good company. She was born at 6:04 on October 21, 2012. She was exactly one week late. Kris weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20.5 inches tall. That was exactly the weight and height of my little brother at birth.

My little brother Shawn. He was quite smitten.

I was told later that she came out with an arm over her head. That girl knows how to make an entrance :)

I am so thankful that I don't feel robbed of my birthing experience. Everything was great. My main things that I did not want were an epidural and pitocin. I didn't want pitocin because I didn't think I could have it without an epidural. I have heard that pitocin makes labor even worse! I didn't need pitocin, and therefore was able to have my unmedicated childbirth. It was an amazing experience that I will definitely do again. I was able to walk around immediately after I got cleaned up.

 Greg's sister, mother, and Greg for our first photo with them.

Though Kris was a breastfeeding champ immediately after having her, we soon found out that she wasn't able to breastfeed. In a following post, I will share the story of how we are finally able to breastfeed Kris thanks to an amazing friend.