4 weeks ago

4 weeks ago today this sweet girl officially joined our family!  I can't believe how fast time has gone already. Karlena is growing and changing but today I wanted to share a little bit more about the night she was born!  I worked on December 20th but was having contractions for a good part of the morning.  They weren't terrible but my doctor had warned me that because she was our 4th things could go fast.

So after lunch I called my nurse and she had me come in the office to hook up to the monitor and be checked.  I was having some good contractions but they weren't consistent and I wasn't dilating. So at that point my doctor said that I should go home, take a hot bath and wait.

She said that IF something was going to happen that day it would be evident around 6 or 7pm...

So I went home, took a bath and then tried to relax. By 3:30pm I was having some pretty consistent contractions and decided that after dinner we would all head up to Sioux Falls just to spend the evening at my parents house just in case.

By 6pm I knew that things might just be progressing. My contractions were strong and I was having trouble talking through them so we loaded the car and headed up.  I was still in a bit of denial that it was really happening though and when I called Dominic again I told him not to start back home yet but to wait until I called him from my parent's house.

We got to SF and my brother and his wife were still there and everyone came running out and helped unload the boys. It was pretty funny actually...they said they practiced the "drill" once they knew we were coming!  My mom said that she would come with me to the hospital and stay with me until Dominic showed up.

We got to the hospital and they got me all hooked up and I was dilated to a 4 so I was admitted and we knew that sometime soon we would be having a baby! I was scared though because up in MN that day they had terrible snowy weather again and we weren't sure that Dominic would make it back in time.

I think that we were all checked in around 7:30-8pm...she came at 11:03pm....so things moved really fast. Without sharing all the details my contractions were hard and fast and my epidural just couldn't catch up with them so until about 1/2 hour before she was born I was in terrible pain - I was so grateful that my mom was there to reassure me that I was doing great even though I felt like a big wimp!

The moment that Dominic walked in the room (around 10pm) I just cried with relief.  So grateful that he made it in time. Once it was time to push she was here within 15 minutes. That is the one part of labor that I am good at. Once it is time I want to meet my baby now!! :)

It was cool because they put her right on my chest and let me just hold her for quite a long time before they weighed and measured her. Such an amazing first few moments with my daughter.

Karlena has truly been a joy to have in our family. She has everyone wrapped around her little finger already and I am sure that is just a sign of things to come!