The Birth.

She's Here! Yay! And like a typical girl nothing about her delivery went as planned! :) Because I tested positive for Group B Strep I was scheduled to be induced on Sunday, November 28th so I would for sure have enough time to get the medication that was needed needed to fight off any infections from Group B.

However, on Saturday evening after a day filled with some final Christmas decorating and Gavin's Red/White basketball scrimmage we headed to the Gust Hauf for what would end up being my last meal as a pregnant lady! :) When I got home I decided to take a bath and I think that got the ball rolling! With Ethan, my water never broke, so I was unsure what this would be like, but once we got to the hospital I was told my water had already broke! (So that's what that was??!!...all along I thought everytime I contracted she just pressed into my bladder and I peed a little! ha!) This was about 2:30AM and after I was admitted they took Alex and I back to Labor and Delivery and got me hooked up to the monitors and checked my progress. I was shocked to hear I was already at a 5 were just waiting until Dr. Stewart arrived to get the epidural started!

Just like my first delivery, I was beyond ready when it was time to get my epidural and knew I would be MUCH more comfortable once I received the shot! However, after the epidural plans changed and things got a little scary! Even before I received the epidural Dr. Stewart would check the monitors and found that everytime I had a contraction the babies heart rate dropped a bit but after I got the epidural things got worse! All throughout my pregnancy her heartrate was consistantly around 145 but after I got my epidural it started dropping rapidly ....125...110...120...90...40 and it was then that Dr.Stewart informed us that the cord was wrapped around her neck and we needed to get to the OR immediately to perform a C-section! My initial thought was fear...fear for the baby, fear for the surgery, fear for our health but after a few tears I realized that although a C-section was something I never wanted nor ever thought I would have to have, those were the cards that we were dealt and we needed to do whatever we had to to deliver a healthy baby. So...off to the Operating Room we went and after a few minutes of getting some more meds and waiting for the doctors (and Alex) to get into their scrubs we were ready to have a baby! For the most part the surgery went really well and, just like we were told, the cord was most definataly around her neck so were so thankful that Dr. Stewart caught this in time and we were able to get her out without any further complications! After she was born, we were also informed that she had a very short cord and the Dr. was not even sure that it would have been long enough to be delivered naturally (reason #2 we are SO thankful for the C-section).

After she was delivered and they got me stitched back up we received a call in the Operating Room from the nurses, who were up in the nursery, telling us that she was 8 lbs 10 oz! WHAT!! I had an almost 9 lb baby???!!! Wowza! (reason #3 we are SO thankful for the C-section!) Ha!

All this chaos happened before 6AM, meaning we were not even in the hospital for 4 hours before she was born! Not too shabby! :)

Alaina Rose Rivas was born at exactly 5:49AM and she is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! She was born with a full head of hair and a full body of hair as well! :) She has the most beautiful olive skin and perfect little eyebrows! She has her Daddy's nose and the McPherson chin. She was 21.5 inches long with hands and toes just like her brothers! She has some expressions that are entirely her own yet there are times where I can see Ethan as a baby. She captured our hearts from the second she was born and I can't even explain the rate at which my love grows for her! She is our baby girl, our *first* girl, our sweet pea, Ethan's baby sister, our beautiful Alaina Rose and the newest addition to our family! I look forward to every day with her and can't wait for all the world has to offer her!

I look forward to each and every day of our life together and I love you to the moon and back, or as your brother would tell you, "A-aina Ose, I love you to your feet, to the TV, back to your nose, to your shirt, to the car, to my noggin, and to your lips..." :)

Love, your Mama!