Baby Girl Savage has Arrived

Our sweet baby, Ayla Rose Savage, was born just one week ago.

Here is her story:

The Short Version

Friday

8:00 pm: Grandma Kaeme arrives to Gainesville to watch TJ

11:00 pm: Mom and Dad head to the hospital

11:30 pm: Mom is admitted to hospital with a cervical dilation of 5.5 cm

Saturday

12:00 am: Mom is given a very large dosage of epidural narcotics

2:35 am: Mom is given the okay to push

2:41 am: Ayla is born

7 pounds 4 ounces, 19.5 inches long

The Very Long Version (A mother's perspective)

It was the week of Ayla's due date and I was torn- I wanted my baby to come early, but my mom, Karen, had obligations at work until Friday and wouldn't be able to come down to help with TJ until then. Sure enough, my mom arrived around 8:00 pm on Friday and within a few hours of her arrival I was having contractions and Trent and I were headed to the hospital. My contractions were not super regular, about five minutes apart and manageable, and I was scared that maybe the hospital would send me home. But triage checked me and said that I was dilated 5.5 cm and that I could stay.

I immediately asked for an epidural. Within the hour, the anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist were in my room and I was ready for the contractions to magically go away, as they did with TJ. I was ready to take a nice long nap. But for some reason the epidural didn't work the same as it did with TJ. The nurse kept telling me, "this is going to be the last contraction you feel." But I continued to feel hard contractions, one after the other. So the nurse anesthetist administered more drugs through the epidural. I still felt the contractions. The anesthetist continued to give me more and more medicine, until eventually it felt like elephants were sitting on my legs- they were so numb yet heavy, as if they were glued to the table. But I still felt the contractions. No naps for me.

Eventually the contractions did ease up, but then I got the shivers. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably, making my bed clank against the wall. haha. I laugh about it now but at the time it really freaked me out because I could not stop shaking. I think maybe I was given a bit too much epidural- the nurse said it totaled 22 ccs, about twice the normal initial dosage. There was only one doctor at the hospital and no midwives. There were SIX of us in labor. I was the sixth in line, so I had to wait my turn. When the doctor came into my room at 2:35 am, I pushed for five minutes and that was that. Thanks to those 22 ccs, I didn't feel a thing.

The doctor cut the umbilical cord and handed her over to the nurse to clean her up. As Trent and I watched, we both thought she looked just like TJ.

Later that morning my mom brought TJ to the hospital to meet his new baby sister. He jumped up on my bed and saw the baby and then saw a half eaten banana on the side table. He asked for it, but instead of shoving it in his mouth like I suspected he would, he pressed it to Ayla's lips. He is the best sharer I know. I have no doubt he will be a good big brother to Ayla.

We stayed one night at the hospital, then took our new baby girl home.

She has been such a good, sweet baby. Doing all the things she should: eat, poop, pee and sleep. She has had no problems with breast feeding but I have had some pain so I mix in an occasionally pump and give her my milk through the bottle. Look at those tiny little legs. She is so itty bitty.

She doesn't cry much at all. But when she does, she screams. Look at that tiny little dimple by her mouth, I love it.

But this is what she does best. She sleeps for 3-4 hours then wakes up to eat and have her diaper changed. She repeats this cycle all day and night long.

We are head-over-heels in love with her already.