My baby girl is here!

Baby Zora arrived Wed. the 16th around 3:13 pm. She was 7 lb. 14 oz. & 20 1/2" long. She beat out big bro. on the size by only a few oz. & less than an inch. :) She arrived into the world via an all natural birth (holy moley, guys, it was a tough time). I did have Tylenol & something else eventually, but not much on the whole.
And now, her "birth story"...
I was scheduled for a potential "water breaking" on Friday (although I was still having a difficult time with "picking her b'day"...I wanted her to do it). So, my parents & Spencer came in from AL on Tues. night...around 10:30. We let L. stay up & play till he passed out from family fun. :) That evening, I was feeling really crampy & lots of pressure, but not any "contractions" as I had experienced them with L. I didn't sleep much at all (b't pain & potty). At around 4 a.m., I started having a few contractions here & there. Around 5:30 I had a few 8 min. apart, so I called my OB & asked when I should go in. He said whenever I wanted, since I was strep B negative & had done most all of this by myself before. So, I did what I did 3 years & 4 months ago with L & woke my hubby up, ate b'fast, got a shower, & mentally prepared for a big day. ;) I told my mom what was up & she got in the bed with L. so that he'd have someone there when he woke up. Barclay & I arrived at the hospital & I could tell that the ladies at the desk didn't believe me when I told them I was in labor. (Seriously, gals, I've done this before.) They checked me twice (fun times) & I was a 5-6, but my contractions weren't regular, so they still wanted to send me home...until my wonderful midwife called & said that she was coming in & to keep me. Sharie, my midwife, came in around 8:30 & broke my water (clear). I called Tammy, my doula, & told her I still felt fine, but whenever she had time, she could come in. Barclay went to get my mom & Tammy came in a little later. Then Barclay left & he, dad, Spence, & L-town had a morning of boy fun. (Park, pet store, comic book store, lunch.) We actually had a morning of "girl fun," too. We talked & laughed. My contractions came & went, but weren't too bad. Then, around 1:30 p.m., the real deal began. (I called Barclay & told him I thought he should come back soon around 12:30, so he was already there.) I was dilated to about an 8, which is when I got an epidural with L, so I had never felt the pain from 8-10. Let me tell y'all...for me, it was a night & day difference. I only opened my eyes twice from about 1:30/1:45 till the pushing part of baby story. Tammy was wonderful...Sharie was great. My mom cried & was very supportive. Barclay was super & supportive (like last time), but he let the wisdom of Tammy & Sharie rule. Overall, I had a great team. Carolyn, the nurse, was a little bossy...& towards the end I had three sets of directions yelled at me...which was a little frustrating in the moment...BUT! It was a good group to help me. The pushing part was a little bit of a painful blur. I pushed probably a little bit before I should've, but I was at the "get her out of me" point. Sharie made me breathe through two more contractions before I pushed again, but on push #3, little Zora made her grand entrance. She was out so quickly that she had a little "blueberry face," but her body was pink & her APGAR was a 9. She cried, screamed, & (only a few minutes later) nursed like a champ. :) I will say that I don't think all natural is for all women. Embracing pain isn't for everyone, but I would encourage more women to think about a more natural labor. It is a neat experience & you get the "ultimate prize" at the end. Maybe sometime I'll blog about the chemicals released during a natural labor, health care, midwives vs. o.b.s, etc. The film The Business of Being Born is a great one to watch on this subject. As usual, I encourage those thinking about becoming a mommy to educate themselves before making their decisions. There are many options out there...don't just take what the medical giants tell you as the end all. A C-section is a major surgery...although sometimes needed. And ladies, no one is "too posh to push," as the trend might tell you. Having a baby is a natural process, so don't buy into the theory that it's a medical procedure. There's my sermon for today. ;) Now I'm gone to eat with my family...and enjoy my new love!