Welcome to the world, Rosalie Mae!

You always envision what your birth experience would be like, and after 9 months of anticipation, it's hard to believe that I'm actually on here writing about mine! You always read about it in the books, but it's so surreal when it finally happens to you. I wanted to type it while the feelings are still fresh, and thanks to all the help that I've been getting from my husband and 2 sets of parents, I'm able to sit here and do it.

The week between Xmas and New Year's was my first week off of work, so I took my time cleaning the house and visiting friends...running all my errands while I still could. I was getting awfully tired of being pregnant...the discomfort, the tightness in my stomach, and the sleepless nights. I was constantly joking with my friends that I was ready for this baby to come out! Little did I know, she was as ready as I was!

It was just another New Year's Eve and  Anthony and I were looking forward to celebrating our first midnight countdown together. We had scheduled to take maternity pictures with our good friends, Bethies and CQ. At 3 PM, we started our shoot and at by 5PM, we are eating dinner at Yard House with them. I felt totally fine, just a little exhausted from the walking around and all the posing we were doing from the pictures. I did feel awfully hungry though! It's a good thing I ate a pretty hefty meal, I'm sure it contributed in helping me keep my energy up for all the pushing I was about to do.

When we got home, at around 6:30, I wanted to take a nap before we went out to my Uncle's house down the street for a New Year's Eve party. So, I hopped into bed. I tossed and turned a little bit so I never really got into a deep sleep. I was laying on my side, when all of a sudden I felt a POP. I figured I should go to the bathroom and check it out cause I was starting to get a little crampy. When I stood up, I felt a trickle of water go down my leg. Uh-oh. I grabbed a dirty shirt from the laundry and covered up. Lo and behold, the t-shirt was getting wetter by the minute and I knew my water had broken. The first thoughts in my head were "Nooo way" and "What do I do now!". I ran outside and Anthony was playing video games. "Babe, something happened" I said as I showed him the stained t-shirt. He smiled in anticipation and said "Is it time?? I'll go grab the stuff". He was so calm and composed and my head was running 100 mph on all the things I had to do before we left, why wasn't I feeling contractions yet, who should I call, etc. I grabbed my phone and the first person I called was my dad. Told him my water broke, and coincidentally, they were 5 minutes away from my house because they were already on their way to the party down the street. They told my sister who was in Hawaii at the time. She was devastated that she couldn't be here.

By the time they got to my place, I told my dad to take Romwell to their house and my mom would ride with me and Anthony to the hospital. When we got in the car, I started feeling the pain of the contractions. They were about 5 minutes apart, not too strong, but pretty painful. They felt like really strong period cramps that would escalate and then drop off. When we got to labor and delivery at the hospital (felt like a 2 hour car ride!), they admitted me right away because I still had the stained tshirt with me and they knew it was my water. The pain was starting to get worse and worse as we waited for the midwife to come and check my dilation. When she got in, her eyes widened and she said "Wanna guess how dilated you are?" 3-4 centimeters I thought (10 means you're read to go). "Nope, You're 8." Holy crap! This baby was coming tonight! It was only 9 pm so I hoped that she'd stay in there for 3 more hours so she could make it to the New Year and have a 1/1/11 birthday.

The pain was starting to get unbearable and I asked for the epidural right away. It took a little while for the anesthesiologist to come, but by 10:30 I was pain free. I was feeling fine and even let my visitors come in and say hello as I waited to dilate to 10. My parents, Anthony's Parents, his brother Paulo and his Girlfriend Cheryl, and my cousin Kristina all waited in the waiting room. One by one they said hello to me and were so surprised by my calm composure and the fact that I was still smiling, full makeup and all (still on from the photoshoot).

By 11:00, the midwife came in and checked me. I was 10 centimeters and just about ready to go! They were also hoping that I'd be their first baby of the New Year because they'd feature us in the paper and we'd get a ton of nice gifts from the hospital. Since I wasn't feeling the need to push yet, I was determined to make it to 12! They said that they would let her labor down for a little bit anyway (let her head slide down on it's own so I don't have to push so much) so we'd check again at 11:45 how she was doing.

At 11:45, midwife checked again. "Hello there! Her head is coming out! Get ready to push!" Well, that was fast. At 11:50, I gave it maybe 3-4 sets of strong pushing and by 12:14, my little Rosalie Mae was born into the world. I requested a mirror so I could watch her birth, and it was truly amazing! I must say, it really helped with my pushing cause I could see how much progress I was making. When I saw her little head and body slip out, it was so surreal. They put her on my chest and I was so overwhelmed with love and awe. "She's perfect! Oh my gosh she's perfect" is all I remember saying. As she laid there crying, I was still pain free and couldn't believe how fast it all happened. Just 4 hours ago, I was laying in bed watching TV! It was truly a blessing that I had a safe, fast, and pain free delivery. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I'm so happy that she's here, and that she's healthy. At 5 Pounds 13.2 ounces, 18 1/2 inches long, she is my tiny bundle of joy and Anthony and I are still in amazement that we made such a beautiful little girl.

The past few nights have taken quite a bit of adjusting. The healing process has probably been harder than the labor itself. I can't wait to start feeling and looking like myself again and I'm very excited for everyone to meet her! We are still a little exhausted and adjusting to our new schedule, so we'll give it a little time before we going out and saying hello to everyone. I am truly grateful for all the love we have gotten. It has been an incredible experience and I STILL can't believe that she's here. I am looking forward to spending the rest of our lives watching her grow.

Thank heaven for my little girl.