Alright here we go. On Friday, October 13th, I woke up at 6am to call and make sure I was good to go in at my scheduled time of 7:30. I called, and they told me to call back at 8:00. At 8:00, I called and they told me to call back at 10:00. I'll admit, I had a complete meltdown and cried for a good 10 minutes. Luckily for me, they called me back shortly after and told me the plan was for me to arrive at the hospital at 10:30. We finished getting ready, left our kids with Michael's mom, and headed over to the hospital.
Once I got checked in, got my IV, and all that good stuff it was time to get started. My Dr came to break my water, but for some reason the usual water-breaking procedure didn't work. He came back in a little later and I can't remember what it was called, but basically they had to use something else that broke my water but also attached to Thea's head and monitored her heart rate that way. They started the pitocin somewhere between 11:30 and 12:00 I think, and things were slow for a while. Michael worked on homework and we turned on the TV. Turns out they had the first two Harry Potter movies playing so I was SET as far as entertainment during labor ;) My nurse checked me around 2:30 and I was only 3cm dilated but (I think) everything else had progressed further/all the way so she wasn't worried about it. They upped the pitocin and then my contractions started getting really intense. I didn't want to get an epidural too soon because with Myra, getting the epidural slowed down my progress. Last I heard I was only at 3! So I pushed on.
I feel like with Myra they checked me nearly every hour. This time, by 5:00 I was ready for the epidural even though I had no idea how much progress I'd made. Apparently I don't have a super high tolerance for pain, and my arms were starting to get shaky/numb from it. I thought about trying without an epidural this time (long story...) but I have NO REGRETS about getting it again. My nurse even said sometimes getting the epidural can help your body relax so it can progress. So anyway, shortly after the anesthesiologist left, my nurse checked me again and I was at an 8! Woop woop! I was so surprised. Usually they'll do a catheter after the epidural but I was so close she didn't do one. At this point the other nurses came in to start getting ready for "go time". My Dr came probably 5:30 or so. Thea was head down but facing the wrong way so he had to turn her, which made pushing take a little longer. BUT I only pushed for max 20 minutes (I think) and she was here! As with Alex and Myra, all the nurses were freaking out about her hair. She also has dimples so they were dying over that too (let's be honest, so was I. And I still am).
I still can't believe how smooth everything went. The first time I tried to nurse her, she latched right on. She passed all the tests/scans they have to do so we got to check out after 24hrs! She is seriously an angel baby, which is SO NICE after having Myra...dude she was hard. Michael is loving it because Thea actually lets him hold her (Myra wouldn't let anyone BUT me hold her for like a year), and sometimes falls asleep better with him than she will for me. For the most part she sleeps well, eats great, and is a complete doll. We love her so much.
It's been one week since our little angel finally came, and it's been great. The transition has been hard in some ways, but also kind of easy. Alex and Myra have their moments, but overall they've been doing so good and they love her so much! I'm actually glad they're so close in age because they play really well together, which is super nice. I get to have Michael home for another week (besides a day here and there he has to go in for work or school) and my family has been so helpful with meals and coming over to help entertain Alex and Myra. I feel so, so incredibly blessed!
Story behind her name: Alex and Myra's names were both picked out before we got married, but with #3 we were starting from scratch. In today's crazy world, I wanted her to have a strong name. Thea comes from Greek origins meaning "goddess", or "godly", which I felt was a powerful reminder of who she is, and where she comes from.
Originally I picked James as her middle name after my brother Elden (my "twin"). I actually had James picked out long before we picked her first name, actually before we even knew she was a girl. But as it turns out, she's named after a James on Michael's side of the family too! Thea shares a birthday with Michael's grandpa. Pa was raised by his grandpa, Henry James, and they shared a very special bond. So she's named after her uncle and great-great-great grandpa.
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great
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