The Story of Avery's Arrival

She's here!
It wasn't an easy process to get her here, but it was so worth it.
Here's the story of how she made her way out...
On Friday, it was a beautiful warm day in Seattle.  I had my 39 week doctor visit in the morning, did a little bit of work, and then took the afternoon off to relax.  Jacob and I were able to take a walk all around Green Lake and later walked back to the lake for dinner at Spud's.  We also got coffee and frozen yogurt for our walk and there were tons of people at the lake-whenever it gets sunny, it seems like all of Seattle swarms to the lake.  After going out for dinner, we went to the movie theaters and made it a great date day altogether.  Jacob decided that if we had Avery the next day or so after that it would be such a fun story to tell her how we spent our last day waiting for her on a sunny day with people enjoying 'summer' all around, as we excitedly hoped for her arrival.  It was such a fun day and we were so full of anticipation, hoping her arrival would come soon.

This was my last picture taken while pregnant (besides those in the hospital).

The next day, around 10 am, I started feeling something like light period cramps.  I wasn't sure if it meant anything, but I told Jacob about them and we spent the day relaxing inside.  The weather had flipped from the day before, and it was rainy and dark, making a cozy day inside very nice.
Around 6 pm, the cramps were definitely prominent, but I didn't think I could feel my stomach tightening when they happened, so I was still brushing them off.  I then had Jacob feel my tummy while the cramps came, and he totally felt a hardening throughout my stomach.  At that point, (once I realized I was having contractions) I started timing them, and they were roughly 10 or 15 minutes apart.  This continued on through the night, and they slowly starting getting closer together.
The next morning, we decided not to go to church since the contractions had continued, but they still weren't incredibly painful and were still about 10 minutes apart.  We took an early morning walk to Zoka for coffee and breakfast and then we started watching season 5 of the TV series 24, since we figured we had a lot of waiting ahead of us.  By the time we got to about episode 6 or 7, my contractions were definitely painful and coming about 4-7 minutes apart.  I was pacing around the house, barely watching the show by then.

Jacob was practicing his swaddling technique on the spoon at Zoka

Our delicious coffees at breakfast

Finally, around 4 pm, we called in to the doctor and let him know we were ready to come in.  The contractions were really bad, and about 3-5 minutes-but more than anything, after 24 hours of contractions, I was ready to get out and see if we've made any progress.
We showed up at the hospital around 5 pm and went to triage.  They checked and found that I was 100% effaced but dilated only to a 3-news that was so disappointing to me when I had almost been at a 3 2 days prior and had suffered through so many contractions since then!  The biggest item of concern, though, was that my blood pressure was dangerously high, even though I had always had low blood pressure.
My mom met us at triage and the 3 of us went out to walk around the hospital for 2 hours until they would check me again.  Upon return, I was then dilated to a 4 1/2.  I also still had even higher blood pressure, so it was certain that I would be staying.  We were dreading the possibility of having to go home and just wait more so this was great news-especially since that made it feel real that we would be meeting our baby girl soon!!
Not too long after being in our birthing suite (around 9 pm), my blood pressure was still not coming down, so they recommended that I get an epidural right away, which would help bring it down.  I had been pretty sure I would get an epidural, but had hoped to 'tough it out' as long as I could.  The high blood pressure issue took this option away from me.  However, I soon learned that this was something I had no complaints about-the relief and calm I felt from the epidural after so many hours of labor was amazing.  Also, my blood pressure came down almost immediately after so it was comforting to know that there was no danger there.
The time in the birthing suite after that was both relaxing and entertaining.  My mom hung out in there and Jacob's parents visited.  We spent those hours just waiting as my body prepared more for labor.  Jacob and I took a nap for part of the time as well.
Then, about 3:30 am, the nurse (our nurse was fantastic!) checked me and saw that I was at a 9 1/2, basically ready to push soon.
The pushing then started around 4:15 am, and it lasted a long 3+ hours!  It took so long, in fact, that my mom even took a nap for part of it (in the room, 5 feet from me, which was hilarious).  My sister had also rushed up and she realllly wanted to see the delivery so she joined us in the room.  Jacob and our nurse held each of my legs as I pushed with everything I had.  He was incredible at encouraging me through the process.  For the last 20 minutes or so, everyone in the room got really riled up and started a cheerleading section, nearly hooting and hollering with encouragement for me in my exhausted state.  I can't explain how hard it was to push, but I knew I had no other choice.
Right at the end, the doctor came in, and I knew I was close.  I also looked up at Jacob and saw his eyes welling with tears as he knew she was almost there.  His eyes spoke a thousand words as he encouraged me silently to push through to the end.  This gave me the last bit of motivation that my exhausted body needed. Finally, the doctor pulled her out and she was there! Jacob and I were both bawling as they laid her on my chest.  Seeing her for the first time is an indescribable, amazing, and overwhelming experience.  Even though I had never met this person, I felt so incredibly close to her instantly, and closer to Jacob than ever before.

Moments after Avery arrived-you can see her stocking cap in the background.

Weighing in at 7 lbs, 7 oz-a tiny baby compared to those in our immediate families!

Our first picture as a family, just a few minutes after she arrived.

All in all, Avery's arrival was a looong process, incredibly painful at times, a ton of work, but all so worth it.  The several hours of calmness in the middle of the process made it so much more bearable.  And the joy of meeting our baby girl at the end of the process was exhilarating.