It is amazing that with how much I dreamt about how I thought Ally's birth was going to be, it was nothing like I ever thought it would be. Since I was 3 weeks early with Ryan, I thought that she may be that early or even earlier. That didn't happen...and when I hit 38 weeks, I was convinced that she wasn't coming. :) But then at 38 weeks and 3 days, the contractions started. They were about 15-20 minutes apart for most the day. When Jason got home, I told him that we may have to go to the hospital that night. Jason's mom was planning to come the next morning to be with us. She was in Ventura visiting her sister and we called her and decided for her to come that night in case we had to go. She came, and of course, the contractions stopped. I had some throughout the night, but nothing consistent. The next morning I didn't have anything, but when the afternoon came, my contractions started and were 20 minutes apart for an hour, then became about 10 minutes apart for about 5 hours. They weren't incredibly strong, but towards the end of the night, they were stopping me in my tracks. I couldn't talk or walk through them. Then I lost my mucous plug. This is when I decided to call Jason, who was working, and told him to come home. Once he came home, we put Ryan to bed and went to the hospital, and Jason's mom was staying with Ryan. We were in triage and they monitored me and when I was checked, I was only at a 2. They said that my contractions weren't strong enough yet (even though I knew I was in labor). So, they sent us home...I was NOT happy about that, so I made Jason stop by McDonalds (where we never eat at) so I can have some french fries. :) Once we were at home, I tried going to bed, but couldn't sleep since I was still having contractions. I was trying to be tough about it, and was really hoping I wasn't going to have another day like the previous. Then, at a little before 2:45 am, my water broke. As soon as my water broke, it was like BAM...I am in intense labor. My contractions started coming one after another and I could barely walk. Jason had to help me out to the car. Once we were in the car, they kept coming every few minutes and halfway to the hospital, I was screaming in the car. This really surprised me because I didn't make hardly a sound when I gave birth to Ryan. But, I was definitely in pain. Then, about 5 minutes away from the hospital, I had the urge to push. And those momma's who know...when it's time...there's no stopping it! I was trying not to, but I ended up pushing and started to feel her head. I told Jason to go to the emergency maternity part and get me a bed because the baby was coming. Well, he came out with a wheel chair (they wouldn't let him get a bed), and he and a nurse had to help me out of the car. I was definitely that person screaming through the lobby of the hospital as they were taking me to the room. Once we got into the room, it took 4 nurses to get me into a bed and undress me. I was doubled over from the pain and could hardly move. The Dr. checked me and said I was at a 10, she could feel her head, and that it was ok to push. So, within 3 pushes, our little girl was out! The time was 3:27 am. It was the most intense, surreal experience that I have ever had. I feel like it was out of a movie, and so different than my 17 hour labor with Ryan. But, it was great that it did happen so fast, and we are so thankful that we made it to the hospital on time! It was truly a God thing that Jason's mom was already with us. If we would've had to wait for someone to come to be with Ryan, I wouldn't have made it to the hospital. So, we finally had our baby girl in my arms. The first thing that I saw was her dark hair, which was super surprising to me! With Ryan being so so blond, and both Jason and I being blond, I thought our kids didn't have a chance. But, we have our brunette beauty. :) Her hair will probably lighten up, we'll see. I was so excited when I put her to me, she latched on like she knew exactly what to do and sucked for almost an hour while we were in the labor room. Here are a few pics from those first precious moments.
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| Well hello sweet girl! |
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| so glad to have her in my arms! |
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| Happy Daddy! |
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she looks so chunky! Must have been all those Christmas cookies :)
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Our time in the hospital was good. We had some fun visitors. Ryan came with Grandma Ekk the next day. He did ok..he does not usually do well at the Dr's office, and was more concerned with the nurses coming in and out than anything else. Whenever a nurse came in, he would say, "No, bye bye." He wanted them to leave. So, I just held him for a while and he was fine. We also had our good friends come and visit. It was so fun to share our little joy with them.
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| Grandma Ekk meeting Allyson :) |
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| sweet balloons for our sweet girl |
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| not the best pic...but a family picture nonetheless. |
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| Jayme and Blake! |
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| Laurel visiting Allyson |
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| Blake and Allyson..who knows...they may be married one day! ha |
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| Krissy visiting :) |
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| I had the BEST night nurse...loved her! |
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| The Woolfs also came...didn't get a picture with Carolyn in it. :( |
I was so ready to be home with Ryan and little Allyson after a day in the hospital. We had an overall good experience, and I loved being able to just snuggle my little girl, but it was time to be home. We feel so incredibly blessed to have 2 healthy, beautiful children and are loving our little family of 4! Here are a few more pics from the hospital.
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| Daddy/Daughter time |
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| our sweet little girl |
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| mommy time |
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| so in love with this little girl! |
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| getting ready to go home! |
When we got home, Ryan was still sleeping. When he woke up, I went and got him. He saw Ally and he wanted to give her her lovey's. This made my heart almost burst! What a sweet boy!
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| taking Ally her lovey's |
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| here you go baby sister! |
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| sweet boy |
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| Celebrating new life! Thank you Jesus! |
