I'd Rather Be Camping: true love

In just three days my chunka will be 10 months old! I say it every time, but I cannot believe it. This past month/age has been one of my favorites for sure. She is into so much and learning new things almost daily. Here's a quick overview of the exciting things that have been going on.

Chunka LOVES to read.

This is her favorite book entitled "Baby's Best Friend." She has been known to let you read to her for a solid hour.

Chunka loves to play with her blocks/name puzzle.

She can't quite figure out how to place the letters yet, but she knows what she's supposed to be doing.

Chunka loves her ball pit.

A gift from a friend; this has quickly become one of her favorite attractions. She dives in and crawls out with ease and speed!

Chunka can almost walk!

She flies around with the help of this walker, but it won't be long until she's walking tall on her own.

Chunka can say "night night."

Chunka can say "duck."

Speaking of "duck," Chunka LOVES her duck.

He is her best buddy and is always close by her side.

My angel baby is the light of my life!!!!!!!!! I never knew I could love on this level. And it gets deeper and deeper with every day that passes. I love you, Audrey Emeline!!

My baby girl is one week old!!! Everything seems so surreal. I guess as time goes on, it will sink in, but for now, I'm just living in a dream; the most amazing dream I've ever had.

As promised, here is the fabulous tale of Ms. Audrey's arrival.

Last Monday was a really rough day for me. There had been a lot of back and forth regarding what exactly was going to take place on induction day with regards to the care of my dog, the arrival and departure of family and friends, etc. All of it was quite overwhelming and I found myself stressed to the MAX. Earlier in my pregnancy, my doctor told me that in my last trimester I could have a glass of red wine every now and then if I wanted and that night was definitely a night for a glass. So, I called my good friend and she brought over a bottle (yes, I only had one glass) and we sat and talked for about two hours. After she left, I decided to take a hot bath to finish off the evening and go to bed.

Around midnight I started having contractions. They were very spaced apart and nothing that I hadn't experienced before, so I thought nothing of it. Then around 1:00 am, I started noticing they were happening more frequently, so I decided to time them. I timed them for about 2 hours. They came every 20 minutes and lasted about a minute and a half. Around 3:00 am I decided to call the hospital and see what they thought and to see if/when I was supposed to come in based on contractions. The nurse that I spoke with told me that 20 minutes was way too far apart to go in and that based on the fact that I wasn't dilated at my last appointment (which was earlier that morning) she thought it was false labor. As the night went on the contractions got stronger and stronger. I continued to time them, but the times were all over the place. 4 minutes, 6, 9, 12, 14, 30 seconds....it was nuts. The pain was such, however, that I could not sleep. Just as I would doze off I would have another one and it would jar me awake. As the night turned into early morning, the pain became unbearable unless I was in a tub of hot water. I got in and out of the bathtub goodness knows how many times. I was talking out loud to try and ease the pain. I would try breathing and beating the tub (don't judge) but nothing really helped. Finally at 7:30 am I called my doctor's answering service and asked to be connected to him. He told me to go to the hospital just to be sure that I wasn't in labor.

So, I called my mom and asked her to come get me. By this time the contractions were getting closer together and I was struggling to even get dressed. Mom arrived around 8:30 am and away we went. Upon arrival at the hospital, they wheeled me up to labor and delivery to check whether or not I was actually in labor. I've never wanted to be the woman that cried "wolf" and knew I would be mortified if it was, in fact, false labor. Imagine my surprise when the nurse said, "She's at a 4-5."

I was immediately added to the epidural list and received one about an hour or so after arriving. They checked me again about 20 minutes after the epidural took. I was at an 8. An hour or so later I was at a 10, however I was BEYOND exhausted and starving which combined with the epidural caused for a great amount of shaking. The nurse thought it best to let me "labor down" for a couple of hours to avoid tiring out during pushing. It was discovered during that time, that Audrey was head down, but face up. They had me lay a certain way for about an hour so that she would turn over and like a good girl, she did. Around 2:45 pm the nurse suggested that we do some practice pushes so she could see how well I would do at pushing. After 3 practice pushes she said "Oh I see hair." They called my doctor to come over. He arrived at 2:54 pm and at 2:59 pm, Audrey Emeline entered this world.

I was completely exhausted and still shaking profusely so I opted to rest for a bit before holding her but when I did, it was love at first sight. She is my angel, my perfect baby, my reason for living. I cannot wait to share my life with her.