Welcoming Elizabeth!

We welcomed Elizabeth Grace Cripe into the world on August 26th, 2010 at 8:54 am.
I spent Wednesday cleaning, grocery shopping, and took Caleb on a walk to the park. We also made chocolate chip cookies and dinner in the crockpot. I think I knew labor was just around the corner. All day, I had contractions off and on. By dinner time, I was able to time them around 8 minutes apart. Within a few hours, they were 5-6 minutes apart and more uncomfortable. We went to bed and I got up around 11pm because I could stand laying in bed during the contractions. I woke Blake up at 11:45 and told him it was time to get things ready to go. The frequency and intensity of the contractions increased super fast. I called the doctor and my mom. We arrived at the hospital around 12:45am. My dad took Caleb home with him and my mom stayed with Blake and me.
It seemed like I waited forever to be seen in triage. I had to pace to make it through the contractions and was ready to ask for the epidural. Despite wanting to attempt an unmedicated birth, I wanted relief! The nurse finally came in and told me I was 5 cm. I got my epidural around 2:45am or so. My sisters showed up at some point and we all chatted while Blake took a nap. By 4 am, I was 9 cm. By 5am I was complete, but my water had not broken on its own so I had to wait for the doctor to come in and break it before I could start pushing. It was a busy morning in labor and delivery and I waited until almost 8am before the doctor came in.
Pushing was fine, but my contractions slowed down some and Elizabeth's heartrate kept dropping as did my blood pressure. I receieved IV boluses and they had me wear O2 and turn from side to side. I found it hard to not become nervous about delivering my baby girl. At one point, I really thought the doctor was going to recommend a c-section. Luckily, my pushing was successful and after 3 or 4 sets of pushes, Elizabeth was born. What a relief!


She has a full head of dark brown hair. She weighed in at 7 lb 2.5 oz and was 20 inches long. She is beautiful and I am so blessed to have another healthy baby.