The Day It All Happened

I’ve been waking up to this face for the last 2 months….

I can not believe it has been 2 months since Harper entered our world.  It seems like just yesterday it all happened but at the same time it feels like she’s been with us forever. Who knew you could have so much instant love for someone and that the love for your spouse would deepen even more than you could ever imagine?

As promised several weeks ago, here’s a glimpse into our little Harper’s birth day:

November 13, 2010

• My water broke at about 4:30am. I initially thought I was peeing the bed…that was a scary thought. When I got into the light of the bathroom and realized it was my water I was overcome with a lot of emotion. I couldn’t believe I was going to have our baby girl that day – I was still over 3 weeks from my due date and my baby shower was supposed to be that afternoon. AH!
• We got to the hospital around 5:30am and I still hadn’t felt much in the contraction department.  We got situated in the hospital room and I was hooked up to the contraction and baby heart monitors. My favorite part was watching when I was having contractions on the monitor because I wasn’t really feeling them. I was dilated 2cm and 90% effaced at this point.
• Shortly after, I was hooked up to pitocin. They started it low and increased it slowly throughout the day because I’m one of those crazy people that wanted to deliver naturally.
• Ry and I just sat and talked in our quiet room for most of the day. I didn’t want the tv on because I was too busy thinking about what was about to happen. I was excited and nervous and in total shock! We got up a few times to go for walks around the hospital because sitting in the bed was kinda boring and uncomfortable. The day seemed to go by so quickly.
• Around 5:00pm {I was finally dilated to a 7} my contractions actually started to hurt. I really needed to focus and use some relaxation techniques to get through them. I used a rubber exercise ball to rock back & forth on and I also really liked standing up and swaying. I HATED laying in bed for contractions…so ridiculously uncomfortable!
• Around 5:30pm I got cold sweats and hot flashes and started to feel nauseous. After puking a few times {the nurse said I was in the transition phase of labor}, I felt a lot better.
• Around 6:00pm I started to feel a lot of pressure. The nurse checked and I was dilated to an 8. I had to stay laying in bed from then on because there was so much pressure I had to try really hard not to push.
• By 6:40pm I was fully dilated and ready to push. This part was all kind of a blur. Ryan counted to 10 as I pushed with contractions. At first I kept pushing too close together and the baby’s heart rate kept dropping, so they had me push on every other contraction. It was so hard to not push when I wasn’t supposed to. I pushed for about 40 min. It was such a surreal experience. I kept feeling lightheaded and like I was going cross-eyed. Everything in the room seemed fuzzy. I was eventually given a small episiotomy to get baby girl out.
• At 7:21pm, Harper Elizabeth Bedke finally made it into our world! She was immediately placed on my chest. I just held her, feeling so overwhelmed with emotion. It was the most amazing feeling to finally hold my little girl who I had longed for for so long. It truly is indescribable! Ryan and I just sat there and admired her. She is so perfect!

I love to relive that day. It was so full of emotion and love; love that keeps growing deeper and deeper each day for both Harper and Ryan.