Kirsten is Here!

Kirsten Sue Howcroft finally made her debut on March 4.

Monday March 3
Kirk and I went to my final doctor's appointment. He was surprised we didn't have a baby over the weekend and immediately started talking about an induce date. I told him we were ready to induce the minute he said we could. After making a quick call to the hospital we were set to be induced the next morning. We spent the day making final preparations excited to finally bring our baby home.

Tuesday March 4, 2008. The big day!

8:15 AM
We show up at the hospital and get checked in. We are so excited to finally be at the hospital to have our baby and can't stop smiling.

9:00 AM
The pitocin drip is started. Contractions start registering on the monitor and now knowing what they felt like I realized I had been feeling contractions for the past couple weeks. The pain wasn't bad so we played cards (I always won, something about being in labor with his baby).

12:00 PM
Receiving a full dose of pitocin. Contractions feel about the same.

12:30 PM
Doctor breaks my water. I was surprised how warm it was and really felt like I had peed the bed. Dilated to a 4.

1:00 PM
Baby's heart rate drops really low. They turn off pitocin and make me lay on my side for an hour. (FYI laying on your side during an hour of contractions is not a pretty thing). I also am now receiving oxygen to help the baby.

2:00 PM
Baby has a healthy heartbeat and they turn pitocin up. Things feel great and we play cards again.

2:30 PM
Baby's heart rate drops again, they make me lay on my side, again I get to wear the oxygen mask, and the pitocin is turned down.

3:00 PM
They decide it would be a good idea to replace the amniotic fluid to help out our baby.

4:30 PM
Nurse lets us know doctor will be here in an hour. No progress is being made and I'm still a 4. She recommends trying different positions to encourage dilation. Kirk and the our labor coach help me turn onto my hands and knees (during a contraction!). Keep reminding myself the pain will all be worth it.

5:30 PM
Doctor comes and checks me. I still have not made any progress. He tells me that even though my contractions are intense they are doing nothing to get the baby out. He says he will check back with us in an hour and then we can talk about other possibilities. We try everything from squatting, to rocking chairs, birthing balls etc. and hope for the best.

6:30 PM
Doctor lets us know we have not made progress although he can tell the baby is trying to move down. Kirk and I are given the ultimatum. After realizing we had done everything we could do we decided a c-section would be best. Immediately the nurses start preparing me for surgery. We were both nervous but so anxious to meet our baby girl.

7:33 PM
Kirsten Sue Howcroft was born!
8 pounds 7 ounces 20.5 inches of beautiful baby girl.

Despite the cord being wrapped around her neck and ankle, being blue, and the fluid in her lungs she was healthy and happy to meet us. She was moving right away but it took her a good 5 minutes before she decided to cry. After watching Kirsten pulled out of me, Kirk made sure I'm ok before rushing over to be with our daughter. After seeing her he looked over at me with the proudest look I've ever seen on his face. Standing there in his surgical outfit, beaming like only a new dad can, I fell in love with him all over again.

While the doctors stitched me up I had my head turned to catch a glimpse of our baby. Kirk took pictures and every time he stopped I told him to take more, I didn't want to miss anything. After about 20 minutes they brought her over to meet her mom. Feeling her cheek against mine I was instantly in love.

Every moment of our life since has been centered around our precious daughter. We are so thrilled to have her a part of us. We want her to stay this size forever but can't wait for her to grow up. We have always known we would love being parents, but until we held Kirsten in our arms we never knew how much joy parenthood would bring into our lives. We hate putting her down and think she should be held all the time. We can't believe how lucky we are to have such a beautiful daughter.

Kirk is the most amazing father. Every chance he has he is holding her and playing with her. Kirsten knows her dad too, she always seems to have her eyes open because she knows dad loves the faces she pulls. I always knew Kirk would be a good father, but seeing him with Kirsten makes me love him even more.