Piper Alfred Koozer
Piper made her appearance on Friday, August 19 at 4:03 a.m. and there is one thing we know, she is stubborn like her mom! It took 26 hours from induction to birth for us to finally meet her. I was in active labor for about 24 of those hours.
On Wednesday night we went to PF changs for our "last meal" as Justin called it. I told him to stop saying that because it made me feel like I was about to die! It's funny that after working there for six years it was the one thing I was craving. I guess it makes sense because that is where Justin and I met.
Our "last meal"
After dinner we went to the hospital to start the induction procedure. They had a full house so we had to wait in the waiting room for two hours because there were no rooms available. When we finally got to our room it was 2 a.m. and they began the dose of Cervidil. This helps your cervix get ready for birth. We were told to get a good nights sleep and they would be back in the morning. Justin fell asleep immediately and I played on my iphone for 6 hours. No way I was sleeping.
He can sleep anywhere
waiting.....
The next morning they took our the Cervidil because it had done it's job and it was time for the IV of Pitocin, the real stuff that gets your body going. I immediately started having mild contractions and began dilating. It looked like everything was working great. The doctor said it would take a few hours and I could start pushing (this was at noon on Thursday). The waiting began....
As the contractions began to get stronger the doctor recommended that I go ahead and get the epidural because I was having contractions every minute. This was the hardest part of the experience, but I got the epidural about an hour later and it was amazing. I really do not see how people do it without an epidural and there was no way I was passing that by. That medicine is there for a reason!! After the epidural kicked in the doctor came in and broke my water, she said it won't be long now. (4pm on Thursday) We expected to meet our baby girl soon....
10 hours later my body was finally ready to start pushing. We tried for about an hour and it just wasn't happening the way it was supposed to. The doctor was concerned because every time I would push Piper's heart rate would drop really low and she was afraid it was too much stress on her. She said it would be best to have a C-section just to be safe. This is something that I worried about so much before we went in, I was really afraid of having one. Justin was really worried I would be upset but I was all for it. Get this baby out of me! The doctors prepared for surgery and said it would be just a few minutes and we would get started. We told our family what was going on, they had all been sitting in the waiting room the whole time and were just as exhausted and anxious as we were. They took me in and did the surgery in about an hour. It was a really strange experience because you can't feel the pain but you can feel the pressure. I knew immediately when she was taken out of my body. We heard the most amazing sound we have ever heard, her first cries!!! I have never been so happy in my life...I cried and cried. Justin was able to go see her immediately and take pictures of her first moments of life after birth. I just wanted to see my precious baby but I had to wait until the surgery was done. This was so hard to be able to hear her and everyone talking about her but not be able to see her. They finished up and took me to the recovery room. They told me I had a beautiful little girl and I would meet her soon. (5 a.m. Friday morning)
7lbs 6oz 20 in
First family picture
One proud daddy
She has dimples just like her dad
I finally got to hold my baby girl and it was the most amazing experience of my life. I knew I loved her but I never knew I could love something so much. She is beautiful and she is perfect. We are so very blessed and couldn't be happier. We have prayed for her and God has taught us to have faith in him and to be patient and strong. She has already taught us so much.
My first time holding my baby girl
Our family got to see her in the nursery and was preparing to meet her for the first time. After all those hours of waiting they were ready!
Aunt Stacy
Piper and Gigi
B-nana and Papa Jay
Piper and Granna
Piper and Papi
The most amazing part of this story is that God is working in many ways. We spoke with a neurologist at the hospital because we assumed they would need to do more testing now that she is here. The doctor shocked us by saying he wants to wait until she is 2 years old to do any testing!! He said she looks great and unless she is having developmental delays that we should just enjoy her and not put her through the stresses of testing until she is older. I cannot tell you how relieved we were because we were both dreading put our little girl through the stress of a MRI. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and he says she looks great. We are so incredibly happy.
As far as my recovery, I am doing fine. The only problem I have is that I was on IV's for so long that my body was swollen all over. I came home from the hospital weighing 5 pounds more then when I went. Justin finally got his wish of weighing less than me! He is lucky I think it's funny and can laugh about it. It has been hard to walk considering my legs and feet are triple the normal size. I the past few days I have lost 10 pounds in water weight and still am not back to normal! I am not allowed to drive for a month and won't be fully recovered for eight weeks.
We are adjusting well and love being parents. We are so thankful for family and friends that have supported and prayed for us along the way.
