Dear Lexi,
After the semester got out I was ready for you to join our family. Every night I went to bed hoping that tonight would be the night. Every morning I would be discouraged because I still didn't feel any labor pains. I got home from work on May 25 and felt absolutely awful. I thought for sure today would be the day that you were born. I wasn't feeling good at all. I was having major contractions, they weren't regular, but they were intense. I ended up going for a walk with your daddy. During the walk all of the contractions disappeared. I was incredibly upset because I wanted you here with us so badly, but you weren't ready to come yet. Daddy and I went home and went to bed. After daddy fell asleep the contractions returned. I was up until five in the morning. The whole time I was thinking about work. I worked in the Kroger Deli Department. The last few weeks at work had been really tough for my department. Our manager wasn't showing up consistently and we were short staffed. May 26 was going to be a busy day for my department. We had several party trays that needed to be done and a big shot boss that was supposed to come in. I didn't want to leave my coworkers without any help, so I think that I guilted myself out of being in labor. I fell asleep and five a.m and had to be at work at 8 a.m. I went to work, made all of the party trays, and then asked to be allowed to go home.
Once I got home I tried to take a nap, but I was in too much pain. I waited until daddy got home at nine and then we went for another walk. After our walk daddy decided to take a nap. He fell asleep on the couch and I tried to sleep in our bedroom. That didn't work. The contractions were too difficult. I ended up taking a shower which made me feel a ton better. However, it only lasted until I was out of the water. I was stubborn and refused to believe that I was in labor. I thought that this night would end up just like the night before, with me getting no sleep and waking up in the morning discouraged because I still didn't have a baby. Anyways, I believe that Heavenly Father knew I needed a heavy push to get me out the door. So He gave me 5 minutes of intense contractions, right on top of each other. I finally decided to wake up daddy.
Since my contractions weren't regular, I didn't think that we were far enough along to go to the Birthing Center, but daddy called the midwives anyways. They told us to come in so they could check me out. The drive to Denton was miserable. I had several contractions and it was painful having to sit through them. When we got to the Birthing Center, Betty checked me and I was dilated to a 5. They told me I was in labor and got me set up in a birthing room. That was at about 1:30 in the morning on May 27.
Since you were still sunny side up, I had a lot of back labor. Every contraction was like a thousand knives stabbing into my back. Daddy was amazing during everything. During contractions he massaged my back and rubbed my shoulders. In between contractions he would make sure I was staying hydrated and comfortable. I took a shower and the whole time daddy rubbed and massaged my back. After several hours of labor we got into the birthing tub. That helped a lot. I relaxed with my head on the side of the tub while daddy sprayed water on my back during contractions. Aunt Sandra got there at about seven or eight in the morning. At that time I was sleeping between the contractions. Aunt Sandra kept daddy company while I slept. Betty had me get out of the water so she could check me. I was only dilated to a 6. They gave me a little pain medicine and broke my water. Contractions started to come a lot more frequently and harder. I mainly stayed in the birthing tub, but occasionally I was daring enough to get out and bounce on the yoga ball. I would almost run back to the tub when a contraction came. I slept through most of the morning. Aunt Wendy came to visit after they broke my water. She stayed until about 11:00 before she had to go to work. After Wendy left they had me get out of the tub to check how far along I was. They said I was dilated to a 10 and it was time to start pushing.
Daddy and Aunt Sandra helped encourage me while I was pushing. It was a difficult time. I was absolutely exhausted from not having very much sleep and I was done with being in pain. I pushed for 47 minutes before you were born. Daddy could see your little head the whole time and was constantly encouraging me to push so I could see you to. When you finally arrived daddy immediately put you on my chest. Your fathers one request during the whole pregnancy was that he be able to catch you when you were born. I fell in love with you immediately. While daddy was cutting the cord, I was just staring at you. You were an amazing little baby. When daddy got to hold you he was so emotional. Everyone could see that he was so in love with this little life we had created. Aunt Sandra got to hold you for a little while before she had to go to work. You were born at 12:34 p.m. You weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. You had a 9/10 apgar score. You were a beautiful pink color and was so curious looking around. It was an amazing day.
I love you,
Love mommy
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