Man She Is Cute!!!

Here are a few more pics of Sloan. I have some pretty cute video too. Once I get technically smart and figure out how to post videos, I will post some.

Here is a little update. Everything is going really well. It was pretty rough before my milk came in. Sloan lost a pound and was slightly jaundice. The pediatrician told us we had to supplement some formula until my milk came in. Luckily my milk started flowing on Saturday and the world got a lot easier!!! Sloan is eating well and is almost back up to her birth weight. The doctor said she is looking great. The last few nights she has only woken up about every three hours to eat (which is great seeing as it was about every hour and a half). It may just be a fluke, but I have definitely enjoyed it for at least a few nights.

I can't believe how much I love this little thing. She is so alert and I love to just stare at her. She looks around and can totally hold her head up on her own. She is constantly moving and gets the hiccups at least three times a day...so not much has changed since she was in my belly. I can't believe how beautiful she is. I just want to cuddle with her all day long, and well, I pretty much do. My sisters say you can't spoil a newborn, so I am going with it. I really can't explain how much I love her. I don't want her to ever change from this moment because she is perfect!

The Big Day!!!

So before I give you the rundown on the whole day's events, I thought I would just post a bunch of pictures. Since most of you won't care to read the birth story I thought I would put the important stuff first. The rest is more just for those who are interested and for my "journal keeping" sake.

Sloan is about the cutest thing I have ever seen. I know I am slightly biased, but I think even if she wasn't mine I would still think she is the most beautiful thing ever. Here are a bunch of the millions of pictures I have taken.

Right before I went to the hospital. Big belly with a big baby in it!

Lee, a very proud and loving father!

Sloan going home from the hospital.

Very relaxed at home in her crib.

Odie really enjoys the boppy. Oh, and for those of you that are wondering, I still love him just as much!

Sloan's first bath.

I mean could she possibly be any cuter???

So here is the story...

I was scheduled to go to the hospital on Sunday the 14th to get induced. That morning I woke up and was having some contractions. They were slightly stronger and definitely more consistent than they had been in the past. I made strawberry waffles and Lee and I kind of hung out all day. I didn't have to go to the hospital until 7pm, so we passed the time by watching movies. Throughout the day my contractions were getting a lot stronger and closer together. When my contractions were about 7 min apart I felt I needed to go to the hospital, but we decided to wait until our 7pm appointment. We got everything together and headed off to the hospital about 6:45pm. When I got to the hospital they admitted me and checked me and I was dilated to a 3. I was supposed to get cervigel (I think that is what it is) to soften my cervix and then I was to get induced on Monday morning as that is when my doctor would be on call. The on call doctor for the night, Dr. Hardy, thought I was looking good and decided to wait and see what happened. Well my contractions got stronger and stronger. At 11:45pm I had a really strong contraction and felt a pop and whoosh, my water broke. After that my contractions started getting really strong. I asked for my epidural, but they told me my contractions although strong were still about 7 min apart so I needed to wait. Looking back this was my biggest mistake, I should have said nope, I want it now. Instead I waited and waited and my contractions got more intense and more intense. I really have NEVER felt pain like this before. Finally at about 2:30am they checked me again and I was at a 6 (I could have told them that). The anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural. I was pretty scared, but the doctor did an awesome job. And let's face it, at that point they could have stuck a pitchfork in my back and I would have been okay with it as long as it took away the pain. It was almost instantly that the medicine kicked in and man, that was an amazing moment. To anyone that is questioning the epidural I say get it, it is definitely a life saver! It wasn't much longer after that that I started getting an intense urge to push. I knew the contractions would hurt, but I didn't even think about how badly this part hurt. At about 3:15am the nurse had me start to push and gave me a mirror to give me some motivation (which by the way I said I would never do, but it really did help). The first thing the nurse said was "your baby has a LOT of hair." Sure enough when they brought out the mirror that is about all I could see. I only pushed with the nurse for about 15 min and she called in the doctor. The doctor had me push and I could feel the head starting to come out. At this point all I knew was I needed to make this really strange feeling go away so I decided to just push as hard and as long as I possibly could because this was the only way I could make it go away. Everything during the night is slightly fuzzy to me as it was all just really intense. However I do vividly remember this moment. Lee was holding my hand and my leg and every time I pushed he would join me. He did this a few times and I looked at him and said "Lee, stop pushing with me...I need you and if you keep holding your breath like that you are going to pass out." For those that know my husband he is really weary with blood and needles so I am surprised he had made it to that point without fainting. He did really well though and was so supportive and I couldn't have done it without him. He even cut her cord which he said he wasn't going to be able to do. Anyway, I pushed for about 30 min and at 4:04am Sloan was here. She was 9 punds and 21 3/4 inches long. They put her on my belly and it was amazing. I was so glad it was over and I could finally meet our beautiful little girl.

Sloan is amazing and I love her more than I ever imagined I could. All in all my birth experience was good (minus getting the epidural so late in the game). I really prepared for the worst and was amazingly surprised that although child birth was the most intense, painful and tiring experience I have ever had, it wasn't as bad as I had built it up to be. And I will say it now for the record that I would totally do it again. I am so excited to be a mom and Lee has been an amazing dad. I can't wait for all my experiences to come! I am so grateful for this experience, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for giving us this amazing, beautiful, healthy little gift!!!

I'm Here!!

Baby Sessions made her arrival yesterday September 15, 2008 at 4:04 am! Sloan Sally Sessions made her debut weighing 9 pounds, 21 3/4 inches and with a full head or gorgeous hair. Both baby and parents are doing GREAT!!!

I Must Have a Really Luxurious Womb!!!

So today was my due date and I've got nothing, no contractions, no dilating, nothing. I figured I would probably be late, but thought I might get a sympathy contraction or two. My doctor is going to induce me on Monday if I don't have the baby this weekend because she can tell she is going to be big and doesn't want to wait until she is 9 pounds (if she isn't already). I am showing no signs of labor so it looks like Monday will be the day. I am definitely ready as I have never been quite so uncomfortable in all my life. For now it is looking like inducing will be the only way to get me to go into labor, but we will keep you posted.

Two Days in the Hospital...Still No Baby

So I just spent two days in the hospital and left with a belly as big and uncomfortable as the day I was admit ed. Here is the long story for anyone that is interested.

I was at an offsite all day meeting for work on Wednesday just doing my job like any normal day. Suddenly at like 4:00pm I started feeling really sick. The meeting got over at about 5:30pm and luckily Lee was there to drive me home. The car ride was bad and by the time I was home about 20min later I was really sick. I was achy and freezing cold and my back was in a lot of pain. I tried getting in bed with a sweatshirt and all my blankets over me and I was still so cold my teeth were chattering. About an hour later I suddenly got really hot and sweaty. This cycled for a while and all along I was just really achy and couldn't really walk. I tried to get some sleep and almost woke Lee up to take me to urgent care. I decided to stick it out until the morning and I would go see my normal doctor. Finally the morning came and I was able to get a quick appointment with my doctor. When I got there she did some tests including a blood test. She told me the test came back and my white blood cells were elevated to 20 when they should be about 9 or 10. She called my OBGYN and they both agreed that I needed to go to the hospital immediately. I was pretty stressed since my house was a mess and I hadn't showered for a few days. I had no overnight bag and nothing to bring the baby home in if for some reason they told me I needed to have her. This was not the way I was picturing our little girl coming into the world. We went to the doctor and I was admitted and immediately given IVs and put on fetal monitors. It was a little scary as I didn't really know what was going on. The doctors came and ran lots of tests on myself and the baby. A specialist came in to do an ultrasound and it was determined the baby was fine. This was the biggest relief as this was my major concern. I could deal with whatever I need to as long as my baby was okay. They said I needed to stay overnight to be monitored and wait for some tests to come back. If anything came back positive they said they were going to have to induce me. After many hours of tests and IVs and a long night on a very uncomfortable bed the doctor said she felt I was okay to go home. I was elated to leave the hospital, but at the same time I was a little disappointed they decided not to induce me. I was a week a way and when I got the ultrasound the doctor said that my baby was big...at least 8 pounds. I thought this plus the fact that I had some unknown illness would motivate them to say let's just go ahead and do it. However our hospital has a strict no induction rule unless it is a medical emergency. So Lee and I left the next day just as uncomfortable as we came.

I am so glad that the baby is okay and that I am feeling a little better. In the end they found a small bacterial infection. Who knew bacteria could make you so sick? However I will say that I am pretty disappointed we left without our little girl being born. I mean I was there, I had the IV and let's face it, my child is ginormous. But I guess they want her to sit and float in her little haven and eat lots of food so she can be at least 9 pounds when I have to push her out.

So, we will continue to keep you posted but thus far it is looking like it isn't going to be any time all too soon. And although I have decided that when the stretchy maternity clothes no longer fit it is far past time to have a baby, I guess I will have to wait for her to decide she is really cramped and uncomfortable in there and wants to come out. And if I were her I guess I would want to stay in there as long as possible too!!!