Forgot to mention the best part....

During the C-section, I knew when the doctor had gotten Stella out; even though she didn't cry (as the doctors had to suction her) everyone was very excited and stating the time, etc.

No one said if she was a boy or a girl. I think they either forgot or they were too worried about her vitals. Which was fine... I knew I'd find out eventually.

But Gian leaned down and whispered to me, "It's a little girl."

I love my husband.

Stella's Big Arrival.

The short version:

Stella Chiara arrived at 11:44 pm on August 22. She weighed 8 lbs 3 oz, and she measured 21 inches long. I started my induction on August 21 at 7:00 pm, which led to a long labor on Friday, and eventually had a C-section late Friday (despite the doctor's best efforts to commit to a natural birth). Even though this was exactly the birth I feared, I couldn't be happier with the final result!

For the more detailed version, read on after the photos.









I went to the hospital at 6:oo pm for my scheduled induction (I never got into labor on my own, even at a week past due). After about an hour of questions and registration, I started on Cervidil. The nurse gave me something to help me sleep, but being in a new bed, with people constantly coming in and out of the room to check something on me, I didn't sleep more than 3 hours Friday night.

Friday morning I started Pitocin to get contractions started. I had dilated from 0 to 1.5 cm overnight, so the hope was that the Pit would get the cervix to open more. Two hours after the first dose of Pit, I was only 2 cm. They upped the dosage, two hours later I was 2.5 cm. They upped it again. At this point the contractions were really bad, and one came right after the other with no recovery time, so I opted for an epidural. Wow, what a relief - I napped for a large part of the afternoon.

Again, the doctor measured me and I was 4 cm. My parents came by to see me, and Gian and I both thought that the baby wouldn't be here until Sunday. However another couple hours and I was 6 cm. Then I started having the urge to push, and I was at 7-9 cm really quickly!!

I pushed for an hour, but with each push the baby's heartrate dropped a lot. The doctor said that there was too much stress on the baby at this point, and that the only safe measure would be to have a c-section. I went into surgery at 11:15 and Stella Chiara joined us at 11:44.

Apparently Stella's head was tilted when it entered the birth canal, and she was wedged on top of it, preventing her from straightening out and moving forward. She has two "skidmarks" on her upper forehead from my pelvic bones.

Also, the sacral part of my spine is posterior, or concave, which made it virtually impossible for Stella to get into position for active labor. My doctor said had she known this, she would have probably scheduled a c-section right away.

I was taken to recovery, where I stayed until about 2:00 am, drifting in and out of sleep. I was checked every two hours after that until 7:00 am.

Over 24 hours after starting the process, I was so relieved to finally have our little one with us. And I can't begin to tell you how surprised we were that it was girl - so many people guessed it was a boy, that we had pretty much committed ourselves to a little boy! Gian has been a great support and an even better Dad (I have a great diaper story for another post)! It has been a long 48 hours, but I will write more as I think of it, and post pictures as they are taken. Thanks for all of your warm wishes and congratulations!

Latest update from the doctor.

So today I went in for my weekly appointment and the doctor also did a biophysical profile - basically, an ultrasound to make sure the baby is still growing and doing what babies do. Everything at the ultrasound was fine, we even got to see Baby D's face:

Gian got nervous because it appears that Baby D has a Cro-Magnon forehead, like he does!

Then I went in for my 40 week appointment - or 41 weeks, according to the doctors. Anyway, there is no dilation yet, so I am currently scheduled for an induction to start next Friday evening. Hopefully things will get going sooner than that naturally!!

In other news, we took the pupperdoos to the local watering hole to get in a good swimming workout. Amelie was a bit of a nutcase, as there were children, other dogs, and lots of water around - I've never seen such a nervous Nellie! But I think she had fun, regardless. The two of them will be sleeping like babies tonight.



(Yes, I did throw the toy like a girl, but I had a very yippity dog on a leash to deal with at the same time!)

40 weeks - and only belly pics with Gian.

Can you believe it? We love taking pictures, and we never took any until today of the two of us together! Oh well, better late than never. Poor hubbie's at work on night shift tonight and possibly tomorrow - hope he's doing ok!! I miss him!!

Nursery walls are done.

My loving husband brought the tools upstairs to help me out and finally the nursery is completely D-O-N-E.... I think. The only other thing I am thinking of doing is adding a name decal over the crib... but we can't do that yet, since I don't know whether to order the boy's name or the girl's name yet! Click the picture to go to the Nursery set of photos on Flickr.

39 Week Belly Shots

Yep, still pregnant! Told the docs my due date was NOT the 6th. Had my check-up today, all is well. I scheduled another appointment, but the receptionist added, "of course, we hope to see you at the hospital before then!" They are also going to give me an induction date when I go back next week, again, "just in case." I'm not concerned.... anxious beyond belief, but not concerned about going "over" a specific date.

Got the accessories all ordered or done for the nursery, so hopefully we can hang everything up and get a picture of that before the chaos ensues.

Oh, and did you hear, we have mice? My crazy dog thinks she is part feline and has been doing a great job of pouncing on them so I can scoop up their little bodies and chuck them into the apple orchards. It has been nearly 24 hours without a sighting so far today, so maybe that means Amelie got them all!!

The cats, however, had better find another way to earn their keep in this house!