Ellen Suzanne Cragwall
Born December 18, 2009 at 12:56am
7lbs 12 oz, 20 inches long
Our little Ellie is finally here! The long and anticipated labor and delivery are finally over - shoo! It was quite the experience, but I'd have to say that my expectations for it were much worse than it really was. I will say this - ladies, an epidural is an AMAZING relief when you are on 
pitocin! We went in at 7:30am and didn't get back to a room until about 8:15am. They had me change into a gown and immediately drew some blood for tests and put in my IV. We sat around waiting until about 11am when I got my first round of antibiotics and then by noon they started the pitocin. I didn't really start having bad contractions until about 1:30pm and then they eventually got to the point that they were 1 - 1 1/2 minutes apart and I was only about 4 cm dialated. At that point, I knew it was time to get the epidural because I couldn't get a break to gear up for the next contraction. PLUS, Ellie was coming down transverse so I had a lot of back pain going on as well. I got the epidural (which is not easy when contractions are happening that fast) and then relief came! I immediately 
progressed to 6cm by just relaxing and then progressed over the next few hours to 8cm and then 10cm. They put me in a "labor down" status where I sat up and just got threw contractions to move her down. Then, at about 11:30pm, I started pushing. Pushing is not easy - there is a science to it to figure out the right kind of pushing. I finally figured it out, got her down far enough that I wouldn't need a c-section (once they said it was a possibility, I went into full gear to avoid that) and then she came at 12:56am. What a joy to have that overwith - until I had to get stiches and cleaned up. By that time, my epidural started gradually wearing off and then I got to fully relax and meet Ellie. It was one of the toughest experiences I have ever had, but the result was a beautiful, healthy baby girl! We are truly blessed! Here are a few pictures from our time in the hospital - Enjoy!Hardwick Grandparents
Jesse's Dad
Jesse's Mom
Coming Home from the hospital
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