Savannah Rose Lee!

38 weeks. The day before I gave birth.

In the hospital. Our room was HUGE!

On April 4th, 2011, Karina and I went to a routine doctor's appointment. She was 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant. While there, the doctor said all was well and we were "on cruise control until the baby comes." We also had scheduled an ultra-sound just after our doctor's appointment because Karina was a little worried about her relatively small belly size. The ultra-sound technician checked for size, saying the baby's head seemed a little small, but her weight was average (she guess about 6 pounds 11 oz.). Karina was pleased to hear the head was smaller.

The technician then went on to check the fluid levels within Karina's belly. She found that she was measuring about 4.2 centimeters of fluid, and also it was clear the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck at least 2, probably 3 times. Because of the low fluid levels (4.2 is really low, 6 to 7 is more normal---anything under 5 is critical), she sent us back over to the doctor, who commenced to tell us that he was going to induce her on the next morning.

So we went over to the hospital to make sure the baby was not in distress. Since she was not, we were allowed to go home for most of the day (we left the hospital around 11 am). We stopped by Target, then I dropped Karina off at home, dropped the car off for an oil change, and walked to school to take a math test. An hour later I got home, around 1 pm. We didn't have much time to relax. We stayed busy getting our stuff packed for the hospital, getting the car-seat ready for use, and cleaning the apartment. At 4 pm we thought we would get to take a break from running around, but I was emailed about an assignment and needed to stop by school. Also, Karina needed to pick some stuff up from Anneke at Gerry's place. So we left almost immediately to get those things done and be at the hospital by 5 pm.

Once at the hospital, Karina was hooked up to a monitor for the baby's heart and a contraction monitor. Since the baby was still not in distress, they gave her a treatment called Cervidil which is meant to soften the cervix and prepare it for labor. This needed to be in for 12 hours before they would start her induction by pumping Pitocin into her IV. Karina's mom Kim arrived from the airport at around 12 midnight, we talked for a while, then went to sleep around 2 am. Karina apparently woke up at 4 never to go back to sleep. Kim was also awake from that point on (so they tell me). I woke up when they began the induction process. Karina started to get into a lot of pain around 9 am, and was only dialated to about 3 centimeters. They gave her an epidural. After that I went back to sleep for a little while (I got around 6 to 7 hours total). When I woke up Karina had an oxygen mask, her cathiter, her IV, epidural, and some inside of her to monitor the baby's heart rate and her contractions (more accurate devices than the exterior ones).

At 10:30 am, Karina was dialated to 4 centimeters. At 12:15 pm, they informed us she had reached 10 centimeters! We got excited and ready. The nurse came in at 1:15 pm to help her start the pushing. I helped Karina lift her legs, hold her breath, and push for a ten second count three times per contraction. Finally you could see about a half dollar size of the baby's head during a push, so the doctor came in. Not too long later, the baby came out. It was surprising to both of us how quickly she went from pushing to birth.

Savannah Rose Lee was born at 1:54 P.M. MST on April 5th 2011 and weighed 6 pounds even. She is so beautiful. Karina did really well. I am really proud of her and thankful to God that everything went well.

As of now, the baby is doing wonderful. She is breathing well, has great color, and latched on to Karina's breast within about 60 seconds of trying. We are excited to be new parents!

Nana