Gracyn Kate Herron

Gracyn Kate Herron was born on Wednesday, November 26th at 8:10 pm weighing 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long. We went into the hospital to be induced on Tuesday night. They started me on a slow drip of pitocin. I had mild contractions over night, but nothing really started happening until they turned up the dosage at 5:00 am. At 11:30 I was at 3 cm. and they broke my water and started me on my epidural. At 3:00 they checked me and I was at a 5. A little later I started to feel a lot of pain and told my nurse and she had them turn up my epidural just a little. (But, I think he turned it up way too much.) She came back to check me at 4:30 and I was at a 10...no wonder I was hurting. So, around 5:30 I started pushing....and I couldn't feel a thing. They turned off my epidural so I could feel the contractions to start pushing. Two and a half hours later... I was still pushing. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. My doctor told me she was going to have to do an episiatomy, and at that point I could care less and just wanted her out! I also got 3rd degree tears as well. At the end, my epidural had pretty much worn off and I could feel everything. When she started doing my stitches, I was screaming at her because I could feel it! After that they gave me some drugs and I was really out of it. Once she was finally out, the cord was around her neck. She wasn't really responsive and took a while to cry. So, that's when they whisked her away to the NICU. It was kind of a good thing that I was so out of it because I didn't realize what all was going on to be really scared. Everyone else was freaking out though. She was there for a few hours where they could monitor her and everything looked good so they moved her to the regular nursery. While she was there, her oxygen levels went low and she turned purple. They say that bigger babies have a harder time transitioning from the womb to the outside world. She is doing just fine now. Since she went straight to the NICU and then had to stay in the nursery, I didn't get to breastfeed her right away, so we've had some struggles with that. But, she is eating great now. Drew has been home all week and I don't know what I'd do without his help. I am dreading Monday morning when he goes back to work. During my 2 1/2 hours of pushing, I temporarily damaged the nerves around my right knee and have trouble walking because my knee gives way. To say the least, things didn't turn out at all like I had planned. Pretty much everything that I was worried about happened. But, we have a beautiful baby girl that we are so in love with....God is SO good! We're still trying to get used to our new life...with no sleep and I'm having a hard time typing with one hand while tring to hold Gracyn too. Here are a few more pictures....and yes, I think she looks just like her daddy!