Eight Years Ago...

Eight years ago, in the very wee hours of the morning, I checked into the hospital. They were expecting me as I was scheduled to be induced. I was quickly approaching week 42 of being pregnant and my body showed no signs of being ready anytime soon.

We arrived to the hospital shortly before 4:30, and by 5:30, I was hooked up to Pitocin and the dosage was increased every half an hour. It wasn't until around 9:00 that it started to kick in.

Over the course of the next three house, my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and some lasting as long as 2 minutes. Somewhere in the midst of this chaos, it was strongly suggested that perhaps Hannah would be an only child.

Shortly after noon, my OB came in and broke my water and announced that my dilation had progressed to 5 cm, I was finally far enough along for my OB to grant me my request of an epidural. Once the epidural was in place, I was much more bearable and there was perhaps hope for one more child after Hannah.

Around 3:00, my nurse returned to check on me and I was making progress.

Forty five minutes later, the monitors showed a decrease in the baby's heartbeat which alarmed my nurse which caused her to return to exam me. In just 45 minutes I had dilated from a 6 to 10 cm, however, the baby was still too high to start pushing.

Three hours later and no progress in bringing the baby down on its own, my OB had to use suction to get the baby to come. An hour later, and after several pushes, Hannah Rose made her grand entrance into the world, at 7:49 pm. And our lives have never been the same. She's a gift from the Lord, one that is greatly treasured in our family.

Happy 8th Birthday Hannah Rose!!!