The Blood Blog: Annabelle Kimberly Blood

Annabelle Kimberly Blood

Oct 11, 2017 12:38 AM

8 lb 2 oz

20 inches

Our Annie is here! After several days full of false alarms, we decided to head up to the hospital on Tuesday night. We dropped Elliot off at the Hays (he was very excited to have a sleepover) and got to the hospital at 7:20. My contractions were pretty strong and regular. Unfortunately, the woman checking us in was very similar to Flash the Sloth from Zootopia. She even had super long fingernails that slowly tapped our info into the computer.

Eventually I was admitted to triage. I was only dilated to a 4. Dr. Eisenberg was on call that night. He had me walk the halls for an hour. It did exactly what it was supposed to! By the end of our walk at 9:30, I was dilated to a 6, had every detail of the rather short hallway memorized, and was most certainly in labor.

I got all set up with the IV and Epidural. A little after midnight, Dr. Eisenberg came in to check on me and break my water. He said the baby would probably be here in under 2 hours, and that I should page the nurse when I started feeling pressure. 15 minutes later it was show time! I pushed for about 10 minutes, and out she came! My nurse Wandra was a terrific coach, and I appreciated Dr. Eisenberg being really mindful about tearing after having such bad tears last time. I only needed a few stitches.

Aaron and I were thrilled to see that she has a full head of dark hair! She is also completely tongue tied. Just like infant Ashley on both counts!

Babies look good on him

I am SO excited about this hair!

Annabelle took to nursing quickly. She had no problems latching, but we think her tongue is making her swallow more air. It is rougher on me too. We are going to get it clipped.

We moved to a recovery room where we had a peaceful day that flew by fast. Aaron went to get Elliot and spend the night at home. The plan was for the two of them to come back the next morning to take the female half of the family home.

I had a scare with Annie gagging on some spit up while I was using the bathroom. I told the nurse that I was afraid to fall deeply asleep in case it happened again. They volunteered to keep an eye on her at the nurse's station between nursings. This was AWESOME. I got two three-hour stretches of uninterrupted sleep!

It was super fun watching Elliot meet his little sister. We told him in advance that when Annabelle was born, she would take the locks off one of his favorite apps. He switched between playing the new levels on the app and going through all of the fascinating items around the room. He did favor his new sister with a few kisses on her head. He also told her all about how he was going to teach her how to build towers and talk, and that he would show her our Halloween decorations when we got home.