What Happened

As to be expected, we really didn't have time to update the blog once things got rolling. Saturday night around 11am, more contractions started. These were pretty tough, but we had false alarms before, so we waited it out for a few hours before heading into the hospital around 3am. After some observation and tests we were told we weren't far along enough and sent home *again*. Contractions kept going all night and through the next day. Around 5pm on Sunday we headed in again, her water broke as she put on her shoes, and were finally admitted for good. Contractions were coming on stronger now, making the ones on Saturday night a pleasant memory. Steph was given a low dose of morphine to help her sleep. Thing is, it only really works *between* contractions. So she would have a contraction, immediately pass out into a deep sleep once it was finished, only to wake up again 2 minutes later with the next one, and not even realize she had slept. One of the Sutter nurses, Jennfier, volunteered to stay by Stephanie's side so I could get some rest. I got my forty winks (minutes) and around 6am we got moved to active labor since she was doig so well.

And then the contractions started to peter out. We were told to walk around some, and get ready for induction. We were both still exhausted, so we drug our feet a bit. Took a few laps around the hall, ate breakfast really slowly, took our time with a shower, and generally waited for the nurses to come to us and napped inbetween. The ward was packed that day, with us overhearing the words "pre-term" and "c-section" more than anyone would like to. (Not directed at us, thankfully.) The entire staff was running ragged everywhere, but still managed to be helpful and polite. By the time she actually got the Pitocin, it was around 10am. She had been having very, very strong and painful contractions all this time, and was nearing her breaking point. At 11am, we called in for an epidural. The midwife came in to check on her and said, "Well, I see a head, so how about we just have a baby?"

Stephanie took it all in stride (but a bit shocked at the sudden turn of events). Twenty minutes later, at 11:54am, Violet Isabella Perla was born. Eight pounds even, twenty and a half inches long, with a full head of hair and long eyelashes. The word "perfect" has been used to describe her several times since then.