Oops

So, I broke my promise in my first post.
I didn't keep updating. I guess my good intentions were really not enough when I dumped water all over my lap top. After that, it was an effort to get the computer for any considerable length of time.
Let's play catch up on belly pics.

I think this is the last one I've got. It's from 33 weeks, 1 day.

Well, anyway.
Cadence is here. She was born on April 6th 2010 @ 12:43 pm. She was a whopping 8lbs 1oz and 20 inches long. (She may have weighed more. I'll get to that.)

The Birth Story (may not be suitable for children)

Three days before she was born I started having contractions that were 7mins apart and mildly painful. I figured it was a good sign, as that was the day before my due date. Well, Sunday passed with the contractions going from every 5 to 10 minutes, but nothing steady. Monday, I had my last prenatal appointment, and the midwife confirmed that I was indeed in early labor. I was dilated to a 3, but she scheduled me for an induction the following week, just in case.
Tuesday morning I woke up around 4am. I use woke up loosely as I was essentially up all night anyway. The contractions were pretty painful and going between every 4 and 5 minutes, so I got up and showered. At 5:30 I woke Zack up and told him that we were going in. Leave it to him to make a leisurely breakfast before we went. At 6:30, we were finally out the door and on our way.
I was admitted at a 5, and labored for about 6 hours before pushing. When I started to push Cadence started having heart decels, so they let me push all of two or three times. Then 15 or so people (no exaggeration) came in and they advised me that I could let them try the vacuum, or we could do an emergency c-section, but one way or another the baby needed out now. Up to this point I had done everything all naturally and I was a good candidate for the vacuum, so they tried that. It worked.
She was born with no pain medication by vacuum with the cord around her neck twice. She was completely blue and not crying. Luckily, the nicu team was already on hand because she had also passed merconium. They rushed her over to their set up and got her going again. I didn't really get to see her for the first twenty five minutes or so. That's okay though, because she's okay.
Zack's family showed up almost immediately. They didn't get a chance to bathe her or weigh her until almost 6pm, when I finally had to beg them to do it even with all of the visitors there. (That's also about when I finally broke down and ate my lunch. Pro tip: If someone you know is having a baby. Wait until they say it's ok to visit. Don't just show up. Family or not.)

Her very first picture.

Cadence and Daddy

Cadence and Mommy

Honestly, even though it was terrifying in the end, and we didn't get to follow the birth plan exactly, it's got to be the most rewarding thing I've ever been through. Even with the pain of the birth and the nine months of swelling, and uncomfortableness.

I've got about seven weeks of having her home to catch up on. I'll do that in another post though.