Special delivery!

So at exactly 41 weeks, my pregnancy ended on Friday the 13th with the birth of beautiful little Anya "Bunny" Marie. She weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz., so apparently those last few weeks were dedicated to packing on the weight.

On Thursday my weekly doctor's visit was accompanied by a sonogram which indicated borderline low amniotic fluid, so the doctor sent us to the hospital. Once I got there and they determined the baby's and my vitals were fine, I was given pitocin to induce labor. Things progressed pretty quickly - my cervix began to dilate and they broke my water - and I even got to relax a little once they administered the epidural. By around 5:00 in the morning, my cervix was fully dilated but the baby still had not dropped one iota. After another hour of the pitocin doing its thing, the doctor's best guess was that the baby would not drop, so I was prepped for a Cesarian which would begin when the new shift of nurses and anesthesiologists came on at 7:00.

With 15 minutes to spare, my doctor and nurse came into the room and suggested that, while it was not overwhelmingly likely to work, I try to push the baby out the old fashioned way. Yeah, the baby was really high (+3, with delivery happening at a -4... don't ask me what that means), but what could it hurt? If pushing accomplished nothing, we were already ready for the O.R. and would proceed as planned. Without getting into the details, it turns out that I am a rather impressive pusher, and baby was delivered in an hour and 20 minutes.

The Bunny is strong, healthy and wonderful, the Bug is enamored with her baby sister, and we are settled back at home as a family of four. More to follow soon, of course!