It's a GIRL!!!

Introducing our newest addition...

Elaine Ai-Shin Burer!!!

Born Monday June 23, 2008 at 1:56pm

8lbs 7 oz, 19 & 3/4 inches

The day of delivery went a little longer than imagined, but the end result was all we ever dreamed of. Our day started at our 8:15am OB appointment. Water broke at 8:30am and we were sent to Labor and Delivery. I started at 7-8cm dilated and after several hours contractions and periods of no contractions, there was little change.

Pitocin was added, which (with a short walk to and from the bathroom, made contractions stronger and more frequent. From this point until delivery, I closed my eyes to concentrate on breathing through the contractions and pain. The worst part was that I hyperventilated, which caused my arms and fingers to go completely numb and rigid. It was the strangest and scariest feeling! Luckily, our nurse Mary was super great and was able to talk me through to slower breathing and getting through the contractions. I believe I had really strong contractions one on top of another for about an hour or so. Poor Nurse Mary and Sam's hands were getting squeezed to death. I felt bad at first, but after a while, I figured that I was feeling more pain than a bit of hand squeezing. The final check I heard was that I was close to fully dilated and the baby's head was +1 stage (which is pretty much on its way out).

My OB was paged to get into the delivery room, and soon after he arrived, I started to push. In my mind, I might have pushed for 5-10 minutes (again, eyes were closed shut). I went to a dark place during the pushing because the pain was so intense, I was exhausted, and I don't think I've ever screamed longer and louder in my life. I lost my mind because I thought by getting the baby half way out, they could do the rest - I literally yelled "Get it out! Out! Out! OUT!" What was I thinking? Obviously, I finished my part of the job and after almost 5&1/2 hours of labor, the baby was born! Shortly after, we heard the words we've been waiting for,

"It's a...GIRL!"

Both Sam and I were in tears from the whole experience. We both agreed later this was probably the most extreme experience we've had. Sam said he never saw me in so much pain and I never have been in so much pain. I opted not to get an epidural or any pain medication. There were a handful of moments I was about to give in, but I knew there was no way I could stay still enough to get an epidural in. I even asked what would Nubain would do for me. My honest nurse said "nothing at this point". Good to know, I guess. So, I just found some inner strength and got through it all. As soon as I delivered, I pleaded for some pain medication. All I was given was ibuprofen. I was a bit disappointed at first but it seemed to do the job!

The Mother/Baby recovery unit was almost full to capacity - busy baby times! I was surprised to discover in talking to one of the night nurses that I was the only mom in the unit to deliver without an epidural! In some way, I felt like I accomplished something. Recovery has been great so far. I have one last night at the hospital. I'm hoping to get a couple hours of sleep before the morning, but I think Elaine may have her nights and days switch up! We'll need to work on that!

Peter and Natalie were very excited to meet their baby sister! They are doing amazingly well with the newest addition. We're very excited to get us all together at home and start living our lives as a happy family of five:

PS: We're so tickled pink by Elaine's darker hair and gray-blue eyes! She clearly has more of the Asian hair than either Peter or Natalie had when they were born. I have my little "mini me" :)

Today is the BIG DAY!

We've made it to the big day! We'll finally have this baby today!

It's 5am now, and in the 3 hours I'll be walking into what will be my last OB appointment, at which I'm scheduled to be induced. First of all, I can't believe I lasted over the weekend! All that pain of getting membranes stripped for nothing!

(Word to the wise: don't opt for stripping of your membranes ladies! Save the pain for the real deal labor!)

I guess the baby felt s/he needed this last weekend in what will probably be the most comfortable atmosphere s/he'll ever be in! Smart kid already! :)

I've been up since about 4am. I tried to go back to sleep until 6am when our alarms are set, but it's futile. I'm too excited with butterflies (and heartburn). So, I took the opportunity to sneak in a small bowl of Rice Crispies (hope I don't see it again) while watching the sun rise. It was a short yet peaceful moment, which I'm sure will be few and far between in the near future!

I hope to keep up with the blog as much as possible to update everyone and to remind myself of this baby's first days/weeks/months of life. Nevertheless, just rest in knowing that there's lots of excitement in the house and we're all anxious to finally meet this little baby that's been kicking my belly.

Peter and Natalie are excited too. Peter (the keen observer he is) has been commenting how big my belly has been getting also practicing his baby talk (goo goo ga ga). Meanwhile, Natalie has been giving kisses to the baby, listening for noises ("what's that sound coming from?") and generally enjoying the belly as some sort of a pillow. Sorry, Natalie! Mommy doesn't plan to always have the big "fluffy" belly for your head to rest upon, but you're always welcome to rest your head on me any time!