Catherine Lynn Engels

Hello beautiful girl! Youre here! And boy, did you take your sweet time!

I thought for sure I was going to go into labor with you the same way I did with James. I was 40+4 and unlike when I was pregnant with James, I was feeling absolutely. nothing. Talk about frustrating.

And then I saw the cardinal and thought for sure it was a sign from my dad to get ready.

That night, I was getting ready to get into the shower, and after telling Eric I was actually relieved that I was going to have Monday to prepare for your birth, I went to sit on the toilet, I felt a pop, and there was liquid all over the floor. All over my legs. All over the toilet.

Holy shit, my water broke! I was elated. So elated, I grabbed my robe (I was naked when this happened), and ran downtstairs to find your dad. Who I thought was outside. So in my robe, I wandered around outside for a bit. Turns out, he was in the garage.

When I found him and told him my water broke, we were both elated. We were about to have a baby!!

So I called the hospital, Eric packed quickly, we got James over to the babysitter and off we went.

Long story short, it was not my water that broke, but my bladder, which had apparently exploded.

The nurse told me that it happens all the time. Seriously? How incredibly embarrassing. So after then texting our parents that it was a false alarm, as we had text them on our way to the hospital, and telling our babysitter it was also a false alarm, we came home, not only without a baby, but without James as he had already fallen asleep at the sitters.

Although we were devastated, Monday was a good day. I felt good all day, I got a lot of things done before you got here and it was nice to spend our last evening as a family just hanging out.

Tuesday morning could not get here fast enough, however, and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. anxious, nervous, and ready to be done being pregnant.

I called the hospital a half hour before I was supposed to to make sure there was a bed for me, and there was. Eric and I dropped James off with the sitter and once again, away we went.

It was so different walking into the hospital and checking in without actually being in labor. It's like, "Hello. I'll have the blue-eyed, bald-headed, no-fuss one please."

They checked me in, checked my cervix (still a damn 3!) and got the pitocin going at about 8:00 a.m. At about 8:45 a.m. the nurse came in and said the anesthesiologist was going into a c-section and wouldn't be available until a good hour or so afterward. Considering my constractions were starting to come every 2 minutes, I thought it would be a good idea to get the epidural at 8:50 a.m.

The anesthesiologist administered the epidural and boom, couldn't feel my right leg. At all. For the rest of the day. Not only that, but I could feel my left leg, almost all the way.

The epidural made me incredibly groggy, to the point where I was starting to feel disoriented. I asked to have it "turned down" but the nurse suggested against it since at that time, my contractions were coming every minute or so, and were very strong.

So i stayed like that, on my back for most of the time, just waiting while my body labored. At least with James, I could feel my body laboring and could still operate every appendage. Whereas this time, I couldn't even move my right leg.

Needless to say, I didn't like it.

Labor progressed slowly and was not fun. However, your Gradnma Terri pulled through again, and ended up being the catalyst for your delivery.

I was dilated to a 7 at 1:00 p.m. I thought for sure I wasn't going to deliver you until well into the late afternoon. Your Gradnma Terri arrived about 1:30 and boom, when the nurse came in and checked me at 2:00, I was fully dilated and effaced and you were about to slide out. I exaggerate on that last part, but you'll see why in a second.

So while your Grandma Terri and your dad sat on the couch, not three feet from me, having a conversation, the nurse suggested that I push, "just to see what happens." So I did. Knees back by my head, ass bared, while Eric and his mom chit-chatted away on the couch!

Apparently, you didn't need much coaxing down the birth canal. So the nurse suggested I start pushing, you Grandma Terri left the room, your dad grabbed my leg and I pushed.

Once. Twice. Three times.

The nurse told me to stop and I heard her get on the phone with a couple of people, asking if they could come to room 609 for a delivery.

All of a sudden, the room was flooded with people and the doctor was in front of me, telling me to push.

So I did. And he told me to "keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing!"

And I did.

Not even ten minutes later, 5 pushes later, you were born.

8 pounds, 6.2 ounces, 20 inches.

Beautiful.

They put you on my chest, so your dad could cut the umbilical cord, and you started to turn blue. The nurses kept rubbing you to try to get you to cry, but to no avail. All of a sudden, you were whisked away so they could get you to breathe.Apparently you are a breath-holder.

I was stitched up, your name was decided and here you are. We couldn't be more thrilled. I love you baby girl!!