Happy Birthday Shiloh

so as most of you know, I was scheduled for induction the morning of April 9th. I called at 6am and was at the hospital by 7:30am waiting to be admitted and taken to my room. at 8:20am they finally brought me back into Labor and Delivery. the nurses and doctors each came in and explained exactly what every procedure was and what they were going to plan on doing and by 9am I was fitted with an IV, in my hospital gown, and positioned in the birthing bed to await the arrival of my precious little girl.

childbirth is a crazy thing. it changes your entire outlook on life once you bring a child into the world. as I wondered what was going to change for me and sat there waiting to dilate, my nerves skyrocketed. I'll admit I was terrified. I was scared of the pain, scared of wether or not I was ready for this parenting journey, and scared that my husband was not going to be there for possibly the biggest day of our lives.

at first I was dilating very slow and my progress was discouraging. so they decided to use a tool that looks similar to that of a balloon. they insert it and when you get to a certain point they set the dilation for, it falls out; which can take up to two hours. I waited anxiously for this to happen and sat with my mother and mother in law chatting and laughing and trying anything to keep my mind off of it.

as I'm sitting there 15 minutes go by and I felt pressure and then feeling similar to pooping my pants and I felt the bag of fluid the balloon was tied to fall to the floor... instantly I looked at my mom and mother in law with wide eyes and shouted "I thought I just shit myself!" which then was followed by a 45 minute giggle fit and disbelief that it really only took 15 minutes to dilate to 4cm. 

the next few hours included two doses of Stadol (which doesn't block the pain, but makes you VERY LOOPY and feels like you're drunk). Stadol is a miracle drug. it made me not care about the pain at all. I felt every bit of it, but it blocked my ability to be able to reason that what I was feeling was real life. so therefore, I concluded that I wasn't in pain.

after the two doses of stadol, I begun to feel my contractions at 2 min apart. and pressure in my pelvis and around my butt. it made me feel like I had to poop again with every contraction that came.

my mother in law turns to my nurse and asked "are you guys going to break her water?" and almost immediately, I felt the biggest gush of warmth I've felt in my entire life filling up my bed; about 2lb of fluid. and I instantly screamed "I think I just peed! I think I just peed myself!" and the whole room busted out laughing. then my nurse told me to stand up out of the bed so he could change my sheets for the anesthisiologist to come and administer my epidural. my mom sat in a chair in front of me and helped me to my feet. immediately as I stood I felt another gush and another 2lb of fluid pouring down my legs and onto the floor resulting in something that looked like a kiddie pool at my feet. I instantly started laughing again; shocked by how much fluid I lost. when I looked down at my belly I noticed the size had been practically cut in half! all of a sudden I looked like I was 5 months pregnant instead of 9.

and then the best invention ever came into my life-- the epidural! within minutes I was feeling better than I ever imagined.

I got checked at 12am and found out I had gone from 4cm to 10cm and that I was going to be pushing in an hour. after the hour, I pushed for 45 min and then the most miraculous entrance I've ever seen was made. Little miss Shiloh popped out with the cord wrapped around her neck and around the length of her body. the white cord spiraling against her pink skin looked similar to a candy cane. I was amazed. it took a few minutes for her to cry, but finally the most pitiful squeak I've ever heard sprang from her mouth.

and thus the second love of my life was born.

Shiloh Marie Kelley. born April 10th at 1:52am. 7lb 15oz and 21 inches long. 

born with a head of dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. the most beautiful gift my husband has ever given to me.