Long awaited, Bristol has arrived! She was born on Saturday, May 8th, 2010 at 12:25 am. She was 6 days over due!! She weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. We are so excited for her arrival. The labor and delivery went well, with about 2 hours of intense pain. I was in labor for a total of 12 hours, but only 8 hours was spent in the hospital. Before we headed to the hospital, I made some treats for my nurses. It was the plan to do so for 2 reasons. 1 to distract me from the labor pains early on and 2 so that the nurses loved me. It was a success! Tom, Sam's dad, came over around 4:15 to help give me a blessing. It was exactly what I needed. I was dilated to a 4 when we arrived at 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon. I went from a 4 to an 8 in about 4 hours. That was a breeze, I was literally sleeping on the edge of the bed. My hypnobirthing was working really well at this point! But as soon as the 8cm hit, labor was intense. I had the chills, the shakes, leg cramps and the sweats and for some reason I could not keep on top of the contractions. From 8:30 pm to 10:30pm, I dilated from 8cm to 9.5cm. My water broke at 8 cm just as transition hit. I started pushing at 10:30pm. At 11:30pm the doctor told me that she would most likely come tomorrow. He said 90% of babies come the next day when it gets this close to midnight. Sure enough, she waited till 12:25am to arrive the next day. It was an awesome experience. Something I will never forget. I think Sam was a little shocked, but in awe of the miracle of birth. As soon as Bristol was put on my chest I said these exact words, "I could do this all over again!" Sam, of course, thought I was absolutely nuts! It's true though, you forget the pains of labor when a innocent baby is placed in your arms.
My labor and delivery team was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better birthing team. They were understanding of my desire to have a natural birth and so supportive. The nurse, Lacey, was awesome! She wants to go back to school to be a midwife. When she heard that I wanted a natural childbirth she asked if she could be my nurse. She said she loves being in with mom's that are going natural just because the experience is less stressful and so amazing. My doc, Dr. Franks (the on-call doc that day) was also great. He really just let me do my thing and only was encouraging. I felt so blessed to have this team with me at this time. You know he's a great doctor when he says right after you are all done "You already look so skinny!" That got a good laugh from all of us in the room!
My friend Rhoda was also there for the whole thing. She was basically my doula/labor support person/midwife who was with me since day 1. She came and walked with me everyday, even on my lunch hour at work. She also would have me come over to her house a couple times a week so she could give me a back massage and foot massage! Could you ask for anything more when you are pregnant? She was amazing and I am so grateful for her for being there. I think Sam feels the same way. She really helped the both of us out so much during the labor.
So as you know, we were deciding between Bristol and Quinn. Well, during my labor, at least the first 4 hours, Sam turned on ESPN, as usual to catch SportsCenter or whatever they were playing at that hour. I didn't even notice it was on until I was pushing and noticed the doc sitting at the edge of my bed watching it, it was taking quite a while to push her out and he had some time on his hands. When she was placed on my chest, Sam and I looked at eachother and we just knew it fit. Bristol, Connecticut is where ESPN is located. There you have it, our little ESPN baby, Bristol!
Going through this miraculous experience changes your whole perspective on life. It allows you to reflect on the gospel and the precious plan our Heavenly Father has laid our for us. What a blessing it is to become a mother, to go through all this to bring forth a child of our Heavenly Father. I loved the experience and am so grateful to be a woman. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to bear and bring forth children in this world. It is our divine duty to do so. As the men have the priesthood, the women have a comparable role in the gospel, which is motherhood. I never understood how important this role is and how blessed we are to have it until the day Bristol was born. I now have a deeper understanding of my purpose on this earth and what a divine plan I have in this world. I have a new joy in my life and she is so precious to me. I also have a new love and appreciation for my husband, who is such an amazing father. He loves Bristol so much and is so sweet with her. Sam and I are so blessed to have had little Bristol choose us to be her parents in this life.
Bristol's first visitors on her birth day, 5-8-10, Grandma and Grandpa Kelly and Grandma Flory. Also, her first bath given by daddy.
Bristol's visitors on Mother's day, 5-9-10. Sam asked me what I wanted for Mother's day and I said I wanted the baby to come. Well, she didn't disappoint, 1 day early! My Grandma Flory, Bristol's great grandma, came to visit us in the hospital. This was her first great-grand baby at the age of 80. My Aunt Brenda and Uncle Gene also came to visit that day as well as my good friend's Kent, Lindsay and Rhoda. Rhoda helped us pack up from the hospital and go home. I felt great at this point and was ready to sleep in my own bed. I'm sure Sam felt the same way.
