Baby arrived early! (Updated with birth story & photos)

emlklg444 · March 2016

Our newest daughter arrived this morning at 1:44am. Born at 37weeks 5days. 6lbs 11oz, 19.25" long. She is healthy & beautiful! Birth story to come!
Birth Story:
I started having mild contractions around 11am on 3/7/16 while I was doing a cardio workout at the YMCA. I was on the elliptical machine for about 20 min then switched to walking on the treadmill, and I had to stop during the contractions. I thought they were just stronger braxton hicks, since I've been having them since about 12 weeks. After working out I picked up our 2 year old from the child care room and then we went grocery shopping. Got home around 12:30pm & I fixed our daughter lunch and had lunch myself all the while the contractions started to feel like the real thing. I put daughter down for a nap at 2pm and then I proceeded to unload the dishwasher & put a load of laundry in to dry...still not thinking I was in real labor.... then I laid down on the couch and timed the contractions for an hour. They were coming every 5min and lasting 1 to 2 min. I texted my wife who was working at a pediatric clinic that particular day. I told her I thought maybe this was real labor, but I'd wait a bit longer to make sure. I went to the bathroom & had bloody mucus. Then I knew it was for real. I texted my obgyn & she said go to the birth center to get checked. I texted my wife & told her to come home asap. I got our daughter up & my wife got home & drove us to the birth center (only about 2 miles away) at 4pm. The doc checked me and I was only 2cm dilated. So we chose to go back home so I could labor a while longer. We arrived home shortly before 6pm and I showered & packed a bag for our daughter who was going to stay with some of our friends. Another friend came over to help with our daughter (fed her dinner & bathed her), and drove her to where she would be staying the next couple of nights. Thank God for good friends! So the contractions got very, very intense at home & my water broke around 9pm and we headed back into the birth center. The contractions were becoming unbearable, and I decided YES on the epidural & received it around 10:30pm. The doc who put in the epidural was awful, no compassion whatsoever, and put the epidural in while I was contracting. ugh. But, from then on it was smooth sailing. I relaxed & rested in bed while my uterus did all the work. By 1:30am I could feel pressure on my cervix & in my vagina with each contraction. We called the doctor in, and she asked me to push and there was our baby's head! I pushed once more and at 1:44am she was out. Sooooo much easier than our first daughter... I guess she paved the way for this one! I finally figured out how to attach photos, but don't know how to make them smaller. Sorry they're huge!