McFarland Family Fun!: D-Day!

Keira Nicole McFarland

DOB 3/20/11 at 11:44PM

7 lbs 11.5 oounces and 22 inches long (tall like her daddy)

So, the day finally arrived and as thankful as I was that it was here and I could be more comfortable sleeping, sitting, etc. I was also in a LOT of pain (obviously). The day started out like any other day though I did feel a little different. I can't exactly describe the feeling, but maybe more crampy would be a good word for it. So, what did I do? I decided I needed to clean the bathrooms because I always like to come home to a clean house and I had already vacuumed did the kitchen and living room and all the day before. I never quite felt that nesting feeling or the burst of energy to do all this cleaning, but it had to be done and even though I was exhausted I did it. While I was cleaning, at around 10AM I started to feel contraction though they were very irregular (averaging 15-20 minutes apart). I finished my cleaning, was thankful I went to the grocery store the day before, and then took a nice warm shower. I also made sure Scott walked the dogs and showered and got ready as well because I just thought I might be having some contractions.

I, then settled onto the couch - as comfortable as I could get - and watched the NCAA tournament. By the time 2PM rolled around I decided to start timing contractions with my iPhone pregnancy app. Well, I don't think I was using the app properly because it stated I was still around 5:30 to 6:00 minutes apart around 5:30p. At that point it was getting unbearable and I didn't care if I wasn't at the 5 minute mark yet, I was going to the hospital and would not leave regardless of what they said.

We arrived at the hospital around 6:40p and were in the triage area by 6:45p. As they measured me turns out it was definite user error on my app because my contractions were 2 minutes apart. No wonder the ride over to the hospital was unbearable!! I truly wanted to die and cry, but I was pretty proud that I did neither. So, the nurses hooked me up to the IV and called the anesthesiologist to come within a half hour for my epidural. I got the epidural and oh my goodness it was heaven!! The process itself was hard because any position I was in was super uncomfortable and I had to remain completely still even through contractions, but it was so worth it. By 7:30P I was a happy camper.

Overall I progressed really quickly and ended up delivering our precious new addition by 11:44PM that same night. Didn't feel a thing, which was awesome, though I'm definitely feeling it now. My body feels like it's been through an epic battle, but it's coming around and I'm starting to feel a bit better. I guess I didn't really research the after effects because everything has been quite shocking in regards to how my body has reacted though I shouldn't complain too much because the overall delivery and process was extremely smooth and without any complications, which we're thankful for. Let's just put it this way, I'm just really, really sore!

Keira has been an absolute joy so far and is actually a really good baby. Minus the fact that she seems to have her days and nights slightly mixed up, she has gotten better. She has her fussy periods though during the day she is an absolute angel and sleeps so long. We actually have to rouse her up sometimes for her feedings (of which she is a champion eater). We, of course, think she is ridiculously adorable and the most beautiful baby ever, but we are obviously biased. She's had lots of visitors already and we have so many great pictures already.