We've been busy....

 

Addison Jayde Gumula made her debut on Saturday March 26th at 1:36 AM, weighing in at 6 lbs and was 19 inches long! Friday started like any other day but on the way to work I started having contractions. They were very irregular and not too painful so I didn't get too excited. I've had friends who have had contractions for weeks before labor, but I was hopeful! The contractions subsided by lunchtime but picked up again that evening. Again, they were pretty irregular but it got us thinking about our plan of action in the event this was the real thing. All along John and I had hoped I would go into labor in the morning during the week so that Connor would be taken care of (daycare). If it happened in the middle of the night we had a few options but not that night, two of our three options were out of town! We decided we needed to make sure our friend Tim could in fact come over on short notice. While we were talking about it John suggested I start timing the contractions, just to see where we were at. Turns out that while irregular duration and strength, the intervals were between 5 and 7 minutes apart! We decided better to be safe than sorry and got Tim to come over to watch Connor so that we could go to the hospital to get checked out.

While waiting for Tim the contractions started coming on stronger and quicker. Tim got to our house around 10:30 PM and we got to the hospital around 11 PM. They checked me and told me I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. My doctor wanted me to walk around for 2 hours but said to come back if I couldn't bear it any longer. I thought to myself, 2 hours? Are you kidding me? Ok.....let's go walking....

After 20 minutes of walking I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I thought I was going to be sick so we went back inside. They checked me again and I was 8 cm dilated!  They quickly wheeled me into a delivery room and the anesthesiologist came in. The contractions were so much more painful than I remember them being when I had Connor. I was torn with the decision to get an epidural or not.First I said yes (while having a contraction, lol), then I said no....but finally decided I needed one :) She told me I probably wouldn't have enough time for it to fully kick in as it takes 45 minutes but I said go for it anyway...that I wouldn't mind having it for the after birth (stitching, etc). They gave it to me and it definitely helped alleviate the pain of the contractions. I could still feel everything which was perfect, the idea of not being able to feel my legs or know if I need to push freaked me out a little bit.

Very soon afterwards the doctor came in to break my water. Almost immediately after I felt the urge to push. I pushed through 3 contractions and out came our little princess. She hardly cried at all and has been the sweetest little angel ever since. She hardly lost any weight in the hospital, only getting down to 5 lbs 12 oz. They did have to keep us in the hospital for 48 hours to give her an antibiotic IV, but it was all for precautionary purposes. I tested positive for group B strep and because my labor was too fast, the IV they normally give to prevent infection during delivery wasn't in long enough. We took her to her pediatrician last Tuesday and she was already at 5 lbs 15 oz. We go back next week for her 2 week check up and I can't wait to see how much she has grown since then.

Connor has been doing great with her so far! The first thing he says when he gets home or wakes up is baby...he wants to see his baby sister. And he loves to hold her! His face beams so proudly whenever he gets to, it's just the cutest thing ever. He also loved having both his grandparents here that weekend taking care of him while we were in the hospital. Last weekend my parents came back to visit for the day and since then we've had a few other visitors, including uncle Andrew last night. We are so grateful for all of our family and friends that were able to help us and whom continue to help us as the days go by. We're quickly adjusting to life as a family of 4 though....6 if you count the doggies! Click here to view some pictures from Addison's first week with us - enjoy!!!