She is finally here!

And, I'm back!

Baby Avery is more wonderful than I could possibly imagined! She is beautiful, and I cannot stop looking at her! I still can't quite grasp that she is mine! We are enamored by her. Here are some pictures from our hospital stay!

"Daddy G" (the rapper/grandfather of Baby Avery) holding her for the first time.

Still feeling the effects of the medicine in this one...I was so excited that she had "monkey toes"!

And now for the story:

We got to the hospital right on time. They showed us to our room, and wasted no time getting me hooked up and undressed! It took three nurses and 4 needles to get my IV started. Apparently my veins roll. Once they got me "online" they began the cervical ripening. For the first few hours, the contractions started, and I was comfortable but was in very little pain. We had lots of visitors, and we all enjoyed pizza for dinner. Around midnight, my contractions began to get worse. I could no longer sleep. I was getting very uncomfortable. By 2 am, I was in so much pain, I begged for some medication to aid me in sleep. They gave me some stadol and phenergren to sleep and not get nauseated. This knocked me out until about 3:30. When I woke again, I was ready for more meds. I was having strong contractions every 3 minutes. At 4:30am, the nurse suggested I go ahead and get the epidural, and I gladly accepted her advice. That relaxed me, and I was able to get back to sleep! They began the pitocin drip around 6am, but I couldn't feel much at all. Unfortunately, the baby started having "late decelerations" (heart rate drops after each contraction) that worried the doctors. They kept checking my progress, but I never made it 5 centimeters. They tried everything they knew how to do. Finally, around 3 pm, the decision was made to do a Cesarean Section. I was none to pleased. In fact, I was scared to death! This was not part of my plan! They prepped me and took me back for surgery. TJ put on his scrubs but had to wait outside the OR until everything was ready. They began the first cut, then allowed TJ in. I was nervous! He grabbed my hand and I started squeezing. Suddenly, I felt a very sharp pain. Then another... I could feel the searing pain of the knife. I am not sure exactly what came out of my mouth, but they were all surprised that I knew what they were doing! They juiced up my epidural, but I could still feel everything. Dr. Connor and Dr. Thomas decided to go ahead and put me under general anesthesia to complete the operation. It was a welcome relief! They put the gas on me, and when I woke up, I had a baby girl(or so I was told)! It was so exciting, but I was so drunk on drugs that I couldn't tell you what was going on around me! TJ later told me I was making very bad jokes to the recovery room nurses.

As I waited to see my baby in recovery, TJ, Mom, and Dad came in to visit. I could not tell you one thing we talked about...I'm sure the baby was mentioned, but I don't remember much at all. I do remember being wheeled down a long hall (still on the OR gurney) and being stopped in front of a large group of people (all family, friends, and benevolent well wishers). I then turned to my left realizing at this moment that it was not me they had come to see, but my little baby in the nursery window. But she looked funny. Very tan. Searcy could see the confusion in my eyes, and shushed me before I could make too big of a scene, and then pointed to the nurse who was holding my little Avery. As you guessed, the other baby I was looking at was a beautiful little African American boy who had been born right before Avery. Nice practical joke. I laughed, but was so drugged, I didn't really see the humor in it until the next day.