Happy Birthday Hope!

My little baby is 1 year old today! I can't believe it! Time really has flown by. Adam and I did a lot of reminiscing last night because it all "started" on Oct. 13th. Hope was diagnosed borderline IUGR when I was 26 weeks pregnant. At 36 weeks, she was all out IUGR. Because of this, the perinatologist wanted me to be induced and get the baby out because she was not really growing anymore. I really didn't want to be induced, but didn't have much of a choice. I also had not been progressing during my last 4 visits to the OB, so the likelihood that I would have a successful induction was only 45%. Yep, less than half. Yikes, what I didn't want more than to be induced was to have a c-section. I was really nervous about the whole induction thing. We got a call from the hospital at 6:30pm telling us to be at the hospital at 8:00pm. It was the first time in Adam's life he was early. We arrived at the hospital at 7:50pm. Here is a picture of us in the labor room before getting started.

So around 8:45pm, the nurse started asking me questions, checking me, and getting me hooked up to all the monitors. When she checked me I was now 1 cm dilated (from a fingertip at the OB office just 6 hours earlier), 50% effaced, and -2 station (baby had already dropped). She hooked me up to the contraction monitor and I was having real contractions. They were almost too regular for them to give me anything for the induction. So in my opinion, I believe I was in the early stages of labor and Hope would have been born on Oct. 14 anyway, just later in the day. So at 9:30pm, I got the cervidil, and things really started to progress. I started feeling the contractions. At 12:30am, I called the nurse and told her I was in a lot of pain. She checked me and I was now 4cm dilated and removed the cervidil. The contractions didn't come as quickly for about 30 minutes now (6 minutes apart instead of 3), but then they picked up again. I asked the nurse what my options were for pain medication. I had told her I didn't want an epidural. She said I could have an epi or something in my IV. I said to try the IV meds first. Well, they didn't do much for me at all. I really didn't want the epi, so I just went back and forth from the bed to the rocking chair next to my bed. I couldn't walk because Hope was IUGR and had to be on the monitors all the time. It sucked! Well after almost 10 hours of labor, it was time to push. I was very lucky because they told me she had dropped so much, it wouldn't take much to get her out. Well they were right. 2 contractions later, she was out. Here is me getting to hold her right after Adam cut the cord.

Hope Cecile was born at 7:30am, weighing 6lb. 10oz. (more than I did when I was born) and 19 inches long. So our IUGR baby weighed in just fine. The conclusion from the whole IUGR is that my placenta was small, and I was still doing a lot of exercise. Although, I am not a big person, she is was probably going to be on the smaller side anyway. I have to say though, I didn't care about the previous 13 weeks of modified rest. At the end, I had a beautiful and healthy baby girl and I couldn't be happier.

Here is a picture of Hope still in the hospital, one day old.

And now 12 months later, here is my baby girl, growing up.

I couldn't love her more!!! Happy Birthday baby girl!