As I write this I still find it hard to believe that my baby girl is finally here! Isabelle arrived into the world on August 7, 2008 at 9:38 p.m. and weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces. She is so beautiful and we are quite proud of ourselves!

On Wednesday, August 6, I went for a doctor’s visit. At that time I was 3-4 cm’s dilated and almost completely effaced. Since my doctor thought I wouldn’t progress any more than that without going into labour (and because I was very done with being pregnant) she stripped my membranes to get things going. By 4 p.m. that afternoon I was having contractions, but they weren’t painful at all and not very close together. Later that night, determined to have my baby soon, hubby and I went for a long walk around the neighbourhood to let gravity do its work. At 3 a.m. on the 7^th I woke up to more intense contractions. They were 3-4 min apart for an hour while I was lying in bed, but slowed down and became irregular when I got up and walked around. Over the course of the day, they became stronger but never stayed regular, so we remained at home after being told only to come to the hospital once they were 5 min apart for at least an hour. I took a nap later in the afternoon and woke up to much more painful contractions. We talked to the doctor just after 5 p.m. and she said to come in since I had been working so hard all day and that I was probably in active labour despite my contractions still being all over the place. I took a quick shower while my mom made her way over, then we headed out.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 p.m. I was 6 cm so my doctor broke my water (which felt very strange). Almost instantly my contractions became a lot worse and closer together (probably 1-2 min apart). By 7:45 p.m. I was in transition and my contractions were extremely painful and right on top of each other. I tried using the nitrous oxide gas at this point, but it didn’t numb the pain at all, instead it made me really loopy which helped keep me relaxed. I started to push around 8:50 p.m. and gave birth to Isabelle at 9:38 p.m. She came out screaming and fully alert! My hubby cut the cord, then she was placed on my chest. She was taken away from me briefly for her first check up and of course she was completely healthy, even scoring a perfect ten on her apgar test! She came into the world with flying colours!

We have been home from the hospital for a few days now and are still adjusting to life as a family. So far it has been very challenging and exhausting, but also extremely rewarding and we love our little girl so much!