Alyssa's birth story

Oh little missy... we knew from early on in this pregnancy that you were a child with your own little plan.  Mommy and Daddy spent the first 20+ weeks of your pregnancy wondering if we were ever going to meet you... and then spent the next 20 weeks wondering if you would wait till your scheduled date to join our family.  Well, you decided that waiting till July 15th to be born was just not the plan you wanted to follow...

Everything started on Sunday evening... July 10th.  We were headed out to our very last baseball game as a family of three.  About an hour before we were supposed to leave... I thought was started leaking fluid... and then I started bleeding.  I wasn't going to call the doctor, but decided to at the last minute anyway... just in case.  And of course... they wanted me to come in.  So we dropped your brother off at the baseball game with Grammy and Pappy and made the long drive down to Hopkins.  At first they said yes, I was going to have to stay and they would c-section you soon!  Then 10 minutes later they came back and said no, I wasn't leaking fluid and I could go home.  We were so happy and headed out of there back home.  I had a regular appointment that following day (Monday) and they said everything looked great and that they'd see me on Friday for the c-section.

After I left the doctor, I made the long drive home and decided on the way back to do my last big grocery shopping run (I was going to do it Tuesday... but something just made me do it that day).  Boy am I glad that I did...

I started having contractions that evening... nothing out of the ordinary for me... but then they started to get regular.  Every 20 minutes apart... then about every 17 minutes apart.  So Daddy and I decided to head to bed in order to grab some zzzzz's and hopefully get the contractions to stop.  Well, they didn't stop.  I finally feel asleep after laying in bed awake for almost 2 hours... just to wake up 20 minutes later to find out that my water had broken.  We called Grammy and Pappy and told them to get over here fast so we could head to the hospital.  From the time my water broke, to the time we made it to Hopkins, my contractions went from 20 minutes apart... to 3 minutes apart!  We were a little nervous when they started happening closer together, and once the doctor got there they found out that I was 4 centimeters dielated and 75% effaced.  I got my epidural... after a very long wait for my lab work to come back... and some not so nice words to the anestiologist  assigned to me...  The contractions got more bearable, and they decided to let me try to labor on my own for a few hours and see what happened.  After two hours they came back, and there had been no change.  So we had a choice to make.  Start interventions, or just go for the c-section.  Daddy and I decided to just go for the c-section... it was a much safer option.  Dr. Witter (our favorite doctor) was in sonogram that day and wasn't going to be able to deliver you... but I was so upset that I think he felt bad and went and asked the other doctor who was on call if he could switch rotation with him for a few hours and deliver me  :)  We were thrilled that Dr. Witter got to deliver you!!  After we got into c-section and Dr. Witter started, he said that we made the right decision doing the c-section because he could see the hair on your head through my uterus it was stretched that thinly!!  We were so happy we made the decision to just do a c-section because laboring would have likely ended badly  :(

You officially arrived in the world at 8:44 in the morning... hearing you cry for the first time was amazing, and seeing you was even more amazing.  I was so happy we got to choose our OR because your warmer was right next to my head pretty much.  I got to watch them weigh you, assess you, and they even brought you over right away so I could give you a little kiss.  Mommy will never forget what it felt like the first time I felt your little cheek against mine.  I think your delivery was even more special because I didn't have a good experience delivering your brother.  I will always cherish the memories I have of that morning  :)  After they assessed you and wrapped you up like a burrito, they gave you to Daddy and we got some family pictures taken, and then Daddy got to hold you for the rest of the surgery!

After surgery we all headed to recovery so you could get reassessed, your first bath, and Mommy could breastfeed you for the first time.  After Mommy fed you, it was time to for the family to meet you for the first time!  Everyone thought you were beautiful and that you looked like Will.  We weren't sure what your eyes were going to look like when you were first born because they were kind of a slate color... but since I'm finally getting around to writing this 5 weeks after you were born, we now know you're going to have blue eyes!  Your hair color is still a mystery though... it's a little red on the sides, brown on top, and then you have blondish tips in the back.

Well my beautiful girl, there is your birth story.  It was a whirlwind unplanned delivery.... but I don't think Daddy or I would change a single part of it.  You were just very excited to enter the world and meet all of your family.  We are so blessed to have you Alyssa... and we love you very very much!!