5 Days Old

I was so excited to see all the photos from Lucy's 5-day-old photo session with Liz Cheney Photography. I love how they turned out! It makes me sad that Lucy is already changing so much! I wish she'd stay tiny for a little longer. I'm so glad we got one with her beautiful eyes open. And Liz even managed to get a couple of sleepy smiles! I love these kids so much.

Lucy's Big Day

Just before heading to the hospital:

This should be a fairly quick birth story because everything went so smoothly, but I get long-winded... so we'll see! We checked in at 5:30 a.m. and were taken to a lovely, huge room. I got hooked up to monitors and around 6:15 my nurse (Barbara) started the pitocin. I was 3 cm. but she said the baby was still high. Soon the doctor would be in to break my water. I was a little worried about that... it seemed too soon and that it would be really painful. However, it wasn't too bad. That was around 7:45 a.m. I was still 3 cm. It wasn't too long before the contractions got more exciting. Justin paced around and checked out the contraction monitors while I sucked on my ice chips. At around 9:30 or 10 (it's all a little hazy now) I was ready for the epidural. The pain was started to get strong and I didn't want to wait too long in case the anesthesiologist was busy (like with Ezra's delivery and I had to wait another 45 minutes). As the epidural was kicking in, I was 6 cm. The nurse felt like the baby was still kind of high so she had me try a couple of different positions to bring the baby down. It worked quickly because at 11 o'clock she said I was getting close. The epidural was the best I've ever had. Usually my legs are basically dead, but this time I still had a little movement and sensation. The pain was gone but I still felt hints of pressure and the contractions coming and going.
Pretty soon, a nurse came in and said that Barbara was needed in another room. It sounded urgent. Barbara said, "I think they might be having a nurser delivery down the hall, but I'm afraid that if I leave you'll have a nurse-less delivery!" Well, that was certainly exciting. She did end up leaving for a few minutes and said that Justin should run down the hall to get her if I had any intense sensations of pressure. Well, everything was fine. When she got back she checked me (almost 10 cm) and called the doctor in.
We love our doctor. He was so great! He asked Justin if he was ready to help. Justin was thinking, "Okay, just tell me which leg to hold." But the doc told Justin to put out his hands. He said, "Size 7 should work." And they got out another gown and set of gloves. Our doctor got on his gown and then picked up another one. It was so funny because he started putting that one on, too! The nurse asked why and he started laughing. We totally sympathized... he used to be an electrical engineer and Justin is doing things like that all the time without realizing. Anyway, Justin got on his sterile "gear" and the doctor began instructing where the sterile area is and talking about what would happen.
The nurse was getting me ready and I could tell Justin was starting to feel the excitement. I so wish I had a picture of our doctor and Justin standing at the end of the bed with their hands clasped together, waiting with anticipation. Soon it was time to push (around 11:30 a.m.). The doc coached Justin while the nurse coached me. For some reason, I felt like it was difficult to push. I don't think I was in a great position but they said everything was looking good. As the baby crowned, Justin was instructed to feel past her head and to reach for the shoulders. Justin hadn't planned on delivering a baby that day, but that's what he was in for! After several contractions, the doctor decided to use the vacuum. It made a huge difference! Justin pulled her out (with the doctor saying, "Hold her here, not there!" and giving other instructions) and set her on my chest for a little skin-to-skin bonding. Justin cut the cord and Lucy wasn't quite crying and breathing as hard as they'd like so they whisked her to the newborn station on the other wall. In no time she was doing just fine.
By now, Justin's hands are shaking a little as it all sinks in. He just delivered his own baby! The doctor had to remind him, "Now you can take your gloves off and get the camera out." He's been sharing the birth story more than me because it was such a neat experience for him. He said, "I can see why the doctor decided to switch from being an electrical engineer. That was amazing!"

Lucy's head only had a bump from the vacuum for a short time. She weighed 6 lb. 5 oz. and was 19 in. long. She was born at 11:47 a.m. She's such a sweet, tiny girl! I was glad to get Lucy back and get some good snuggle time and start nursing. She latched on right away and has been a good nurser ever since (except for when she's sleepy). I'm so grateful that she arrived safe and sound and that we had such a great nurse and doctor. I didn't even tear with this delivery, which has made for a wonderful, fast recovery!
It wasn't until the next morning that we decided on a name: Lucy Anna. We weren't even considering giving her a middle name, but Justin was looking up family names while at the hospital and Anna appeared on both sides. It seemed to go well with Lucy so we signed the papers and made it final! Welcome to the world, little one! We love you so much already!

 Dr. Daddy in his gown:

Why June 27th?

This will be a boring post, but it's mostly for me to remember the last days going into Lucy's delivery. 

Originally I "signed on" to be induced one week early. However, I had some really tough days with the boys and I decided to call the doctor and cancel my appointment. Then late on the evening of June 25th, I started having lots of contractions. They started coming two minutes apart and after about 2 hours, I was in some real pain. The funny thing is that around the same time we discovered our power was out in our bedroom/bathroom and the smoke detectors. It's always something with the smoke detectors! So Justin was running around the house checking the breakers, smoke alarms, and trying to get it back on. Wherever he went, I basically followed him as I was keeping track of contractions. It was a lot of going up and down the stairs. At one point we even called the hospital to see when they would admit me. They said to come when I am having to breath heavy through contractions. Finally around 1:30 in the morning, we gave up on the power and decided to rest. What a crazy night! I was laying in bed thinking, "I'm starting to have to breath through these contractions. This is labor... I'm never going to be able to sleep through this." But next thing I knew, I woke up at 3 a.m. and pretty much everything had slowed. I got up and walked around, even took a shower and paced the floor while reading a book. Nothing! I could not believe how it could stop so fast. What a disappointment! BUT... I do feel like I know what going into labor on my own would feel like, because I know I was really close. I think that if I hadn't decided to lay down it would have progressed. 

The great news was that I went to the doctor the next day and I was about 3 cm. I've never dilated on my own that much! At least it was progress. The doctor asked if I wanted my membranes stripped and I said no thanks. I really didn't want another sleepless night of labor (whether false or real); now I was ready to be induced. Justin was with me and we asked if the 27th was still an option. Our doctor got on the phone and called the hospital and said, "I just want to check and see if Kenzee Petersen is still on the books for tomorrow morning?" Well, it turns out that he never cancelled the induction because he figured that I would change my mind again! We scrambled to make arrangements for the boys to be babysat (Grandma K. and Aunt Lacey were so ready and willing to help) and then got everything in order for the big day. It felt good to know that we'd be going into the birth a little more well-rested (as well-rested as you can when you have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m.). And by the way, we could never figure out the problem with the breaker on our own. Justin called an electrician and he found the problem in an outlet that afternoon. Luckily we never had any smoke detectors going off while we slept.