The arrival of our princess!

I am so very behind on posting about the arrival of our princess Joanna Opal Aman. Joanna arrived on Thursday, January 26, 2012, at 4:14 am. She was 6 lbs 9oz and 19 inches long. It was quite a night!

Actually, I had thought I'd gone into labor Tuesday night as I was sure my water broke. I was having very minor contractions, but they turned out to be nothing compared to when the "real" contractions started. Because I was sure my water broke I called the hospital and after we both took a shower we headed to the hospital. The labor and delivery nurses got me settled into a room and checked to see if my water had actually broke. The test strip said it wasn't my bag of water. She also checked to see how far along I was and I was at a 2. After talking to my doctor, I was sent home. Wednesday I still was leaking fluid...I still think those test strips were wrong and my water had actually broken. Wednesday evening, around the same time as the night before when I was sure my water had broken, I started having for sure contractions. I told Guy I was sure this time, but they weren't bad yet so I was going to take a shower. I kept timing them while I was in the bathroom and they were 5-7 minutes apart and not too strong. Guy went to bed and I tried to, but as the night wore on the contractions got stronger and closer together. Around midnight I finally told Guy he had to get up and I was going to call the hospital again because they were now 3-5 minutes, but typically 3minutes, apart. Guy got up and showered and we headed to the hospital again. We were settled into our room about
1:30 am and I was still at a 2, but definitely in active labor. My contractions got much stronger and I decided I wanted to go ahead with an epidural so blood work was done and we waited for the drugs to help with my pain. I'm not sure how much time passed, but at some point I was checked again, before being given the epidural, and told I was at a 9 and the nurse thought baby was breech. After being checked by at least one other nurse, they said she was breech and they found she had also had a bowel movement. Luckily my doctor had arrived because they rushed me into having a c-section. I was definitely scared, but wanted to do whatever was needed to keep our daughter safe. Guy had been awesome up until that point and continued to be great throughout everything. He was great about reminding me to breathe through my contractions and talked to me very soothingly. Once Joanna was born, Guy left me to go be with her....I had already told him well before her birth he was to stay with her no matter what. I'm glad he was able to be with her and see everything after birth, but I wish I could have held her and saw it as well. After I was released from recovery, I was wheeled into my room and there Guy was holding our little girl. He kept telling me he was afraid he'd drop her or something, but she was sound asleep in his arms. What a wonderful sight it was to come into the room...I'll always remember that. I was quite sore the first few days, but now I am doing great!

Joanna's name is very special. Her first name is my mom's and Guy's mom's middle name and Guy's dad's middle initial. Her middle name was my great grandma's middle name. My grandma hated her middle name; so she was probably yelling at me when it was decided that we were going to use Opal. I was very close to my great grandma. We're happy we could name Joanna after special people in our families. Our parents have each enjoyed a week with her and I know they are looking forward to Easter when we make our first trip back to Illinois. We were thankful for their visits as well because I needed the help around the house. I am still on restrictions...I head back to the doctor tomorrow so I might be able to do more after that visit.

Joanna is a really good baby. She is sleeping up to 4.5 hours at a time; typically at night, too. At her two week appointment she had gained a pound and four ounces and had grown an inch and a half. I still haven't had her sleep in her crib at night....I'm so nervous! But I need to soon so she can get used to it. She can't sleep in our room forever!

I should be getting our newborn pictures back soon...I can't wait to see them! I'll post those on Facebook sometime after we get them. We are looking forward to seeing everyone "back home" in just a few weeks! Thank you to everyone for the well wishes and wonderful gifts we received. She is one spoiled little girl already!