The arrival of sweet Elsie Ann!(Part 1)

So, I have been wanting to write about my labor experience for awhile. I feel like I am already forgetting too many of the details, and its only been 2 months! The day my daughter was born was the most spiritual day of my life, and I was so happy to share it with my love, Clinton.

My due date had come and gone, and I was so done with being pregnant. That last week of pregnancy felt longer than the rest of it all. I was going crazy!! My doctor had scheduled to induce me on the 14th of July. This would have put me a week overdue. The 14th is my little sister's birthday (who isn't so little anymore at the age of 19). We had planned to do dinner on her birthday, and so we rescheduled that thinking I would be having my baby on that day. Elsie showed no signs of wanting to come out on her own.

Dinner was rescheduled for July 11th. We were going to the Spaghetti Factory, which I was very excited for. That place is divine! Anyway, Clint had to work for a bit so he dropped me off at my parent's house to hang out for a bit before the dinner. He would join us later. While we were driving to my parents I started having contractions. This was around 3 in the afternoon. I didn't think much of it because my doctor told me that most women have hours and hours of contractions before the timing is close enough for them to go to the hospital. He also told me the pain had to feel like someone cut off my arm before I should even think about going to the hospital. My contractions certainly didn't meet this criteria at this point, so I figured we were dandy. Plus, I didn't want to go the hospital prematurely and be sent home. That was NOT going to happen.

By the time we got to the restaurant, I was a little less in denial that my baby was coming, but still thought it wouldn't be anytime soon. My contractions had been about every 30 minutes up until this point for about 30 seconds to a minute long. "Meh, let's go eat delicious food" was my thought. After ordering my food, things got weird, and FAST! My contractions started speeding up. Clint was timing them on his phone and he started to look a little worried--same with my mom. My contractions were every 1.5-2 minutes for a minute long! The waiter brought out the food. Clint scarfed down his spaghetti and meatballs. I looked hopelessly at my garlic cheese bread. The pain was getting more intense and my appetite was pretty much non-existent at this point. I nibbled at my food, but knew this was it! I remember a whirlwind of emotions flooding over me. I was excited, nervous, in pain, relieved, happy and scared out of my mind all at once. Thank goodness we had been prepared with a hospital bag in the car! Clint called the hospital and they told me to definitely come in. The waiter brought out some ice cream. I had two bites, and we were off! So much for not spoiling my sister's birthday dinner ha ha!