She's finally here! Our little lady arrived Wednesday, Dec 28 at 8:07 pm. She was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. The short version is that I checked in to the hospital at 6:45 and delivered at 8:07! I did it vaginally, without an epidural!

Here's long version...

I had been experiencing contractions off and on for about 2 weeks. They would come 20 min apart for 3 hours and then nothing for a day or two. No "real labor" seemed to be happening. Due to crazy blizzards the week before Christmas, my 38 week appointment was canceled and my 39 week appointment was delayed. I finally went in to see my Doc on Wednesday, Dec. 28 (2 days before my due date) in the morning. I had been having dull back pain for 2 days and some contractions off and on but nothing consistent.

My doc checked me and said I was between 4 and 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced! I was shocked! I tried not to get excited because when I was pregnant with Jenna, I was 3 cm and 50% effaced for 3 weeks and still had to be induced. My doctor told me, "I bet you'll have this baby very soon." She stripped my membranes and sent me home.

My mom took me grocery shopping at Walmart after my appointment and hoped that would "get things going." I was crampy but no contractions. We went and ate lunch. After lunch I noticed I was getting more consistent contractions. They were about 15-20 min apart. I felt them more in my back than belly. They were annoying but not painful.

Jeremy ended up coming home from work early that afternoon because he had the stomach flu. He took some advil and went to bed. I didn't want to focus on my contractions too much in case they were "false labor" again. I kept myself occupied with a sewing project and decided to go to Breastfeeding Chat Group at 4. I told my mom, aunt, and mother-in-law to stay posted in case these labor contractions ended up being the real deal.

While Jenna and I were at the chat group I noticed my contractions were closer together - maybe 7 min apart. They started getting stronger. We left around 5 pm for home. I told Jeremy (who was still sick in bed) to call his mom to come get Jenna for the night in case we ended up going to the hospital.

My mother in law came around 6:15 for Jenna. My contractions had really picked up in intensity by that point. I had to stop what I was doing and focus on breathing and my eyes were starting to water. I figured this was a good time to go to the hospital. I gave Jeremy two tylenol and told him to get ready to go. He was still feeling awful so he jumped in the shower to try and perk up.

It felt like he took the longest shower ever. I was starting to cry during my contractions and they were coming 2 or 3 minutes apart. I started yelling at Jeremy to hurry and get out of the shower. We drove to the hospital (thankfully only 1 minute away) and checked in at the ER by 6:45 pm. They sent me back to L&D. My mom and aunt met us there.

They got me in a gown, got the fetal monitors hooked up, and checked me. I was 7 cm and 90% effaced. I immediately asked for an epidural. The nurses told me that in order to get an epidural they needed to start an IV and give me a whole bag of fluid prior. Little did I know, it takes more than hour to get a bag of fluid in...and all the nurses were thinking in the back of their minds that I wouldn't have time for one...

By this time I was in some serious pain. I was having a hard time making it through my contractions. They felt like they were coming so fast - about 1 - 2 minutes apart. My aunt kept coaching me through them, helping me breathe and rubbing my back. They started my IV as quick as possible. I got on my hands and knees and leaned over the head of the bed. This position was the only position I could make it through my contractions.

I kept looking at my IV bag, which was not draining fast enough, and asking if I could get my epidural. No one would really give me an answer. My doc came in and asked if I wanted any IV drugs to take the edge off. I immediately said yes. They gave me phentenol (not sure if that's spelled right). The drugs definitely helped with the pain and made the contractions just a little more bearable. However, the relief only seemed to last about 15 minutes. Then I noticed a lot of pressure. I told them so they immediately checked me.

The nurse said it felt like I was almost complete. I panicked...I cried for my epidural. All of a sudden nurses started coming in bringing the delivery stuff and the doctor came in right as the anesthesiologist came in. The nurses were telling the doc I was almost complete and there was no time for the epidural. My doc asked to check me. Sure enough, I was ready to push and would be doing so WITHOUT the epidural. I started crying even harder...wondering how I was going to do it.

Everyone started pepping me up telling me I could do it. Jeremy (who was still feeling awful) came to the bedside to help me through the pushing. They started coaching me through it. It was the most pain I have ever felt...I was afraid to push so I was resisting it at first. After giving some good pushes I realized it was the only path to relief. I pushed for about 15 minutes and then our angel came out!

She had the cord wrapped around her, so she was a little blue, but was in good shape. She got to stay on my chest for the first 2 hours after birth. She had her eyes open looking around the whole time. She was 7 lbs 10 ounces and 20 inches. She has hair, but not nearly as much as Jenna did.

So I ended up delivering my second beautiful daughter, Natalie Suzanne, a mere hour and some change after arriving at the hospital. I wasn't planning on doing it without the epidural, but I must say I am happy it ended up that way.

I am 39 Weeks today!!! This week we had the blizzard of the century! Monday we got roughly 18 inches of snow with power outages throughout town and lots of accidents. I was praying that I didn't go into labor during all of that...I have no doubt I could make it to the hospital, but it would suck if the doctor or folks that do epidurals were stuck in the snow! Fortunately, little Baby Chavez decided to stay put! As fate would have it, we got another 8 inches (at minimum) last night.

I was supposed to see my doc on Monday, but they called and canceled due to weather, so I won't see her until this coming Monday. I felt great last Monday and got a ton of stuff done around the house. Then Tuesday & Wednesday I was exhausted! I felt sooo tired I laid on the couch most of those days.

Then I had the joy of experiencing "prodromal" or false labor. Lucky for me, I was 99% sure it was NOT the real thing. I started getting strong contractions on Wednesday around 4 pm until bedtime. They were coming 10 - 20 minutes apart consistently. They kept coming no matter if I was laying down or walking around. The reason I was skeptical it was the real thing is that they felt more like BH contractions - starting in the front. When I was in real labor with Jenna my contractions started in my back and wrapped to the front. I got ready for bed and laid down and they stopped altogether!

This "prodromal" labor supposedly helps ripen the cervix and move baby lower. It can begin hours, days, or even weeks before real labor starts. So this could go off and on for weeks before we really go into active labor. Good thing Jeremy's off work for holiday vacation so I don't have to worry about him making it on time just in case! I went through the same thing with Jenna...I would have contractions for a few hours then nothing for two days....then contractions....then nothing!

I'm guessing we'll do a cervical check & membrane sweep on Monday during my appointment, so we'll see if that jump starts anything! It's looking more and more like we might be having a January baby!

I'm 38 weeks today! Our new little pumpkin will be here within the next 2-4 weeks :-) I'm so excited to finally meet my new little one.

I'm feeling really good and actually even sleeping pretty decent. My hips/pelvis are even feeling better. No imminent signs of labor yet!

My appointment this week went well. My blood pressure was fine, baby was fine. Only issue is I have had protein in my urine the past two visits and I also had glucose last time. My doc said my kidneys are a bit stressed, so drink more water and rest. My face feels swollen, but my hands and feet are fine and my blood pressure is good.

When I was pregnant with Jenna I was so anxious around this time for her to get here. I was done being pregnant. But with this baby I'm actually feeling surprisingly patient. I'm ok if the baby comes at 40, 41, 42 weeks. I'm actually trying to enjoy the peace and quiet and comfort knowing the baby is safe and happy in my belly.

I think part of the reason is that I'm trying to savor these last few weeks as having only one child and giving Miss Jenna full attention. I'm a little nervous about how I'm going to balance spreading my attention to two kids. I am praying that Miss Jenna doesn't feel left out or neglected...I really hope she adjusts well to sharing the spotlight!

I can't believe I'm 36 weeks! That means only 4 - 6 ish more weeks to go until Baby Chavez makes his/her debut.

Baby is measuring 1 week bigger, so I'm measuring closer to 37 weeks. I don't have any "feelings" or "signs" that this baby will come early. In fact, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself that I might be overdue again so I won't be really disappointed if my due date comes and goes! I do feel more Braxton Hicks, but nothing to get excited about yet!

I have thought this whole pregnancy that I was having a boy until a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago I got a strong feeling this baby is a girl. I don't know why and I could be totally wrong. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

I've gotten a lot of things scratched off my to-do list:

- I need to get my hospital bag partially packed, & have a little bag for Jenna ready.
- Stock up on postpartum essentials
- Install my car seat base again and wash the car seat interior
- Get out the swing, newborn seat, and bassinet
- Book my newborn photos (My mom got me a gift certificate for Portrait Innovations!)
- Get at least 5 freezer meals ready (My friend Andrea tells me not to worry about this one, that she's got me covered!)
- Deep clean my house (this may never happen!)
- Get at least 50% of my Christmas shopping done

I have been blessed to have a really easy and healthy pregnancy, so I feel bad complaining about anything (I know plenty of people have serious issues worth complaining about)...but I do have one complaint...pelvic pain.

The past month has been a lot harder on me than any other time in the pregnancy. I have some pelvic issues going on that have made me so uncomfortable. I was fine until one day I was getting out of my truck and it felt like I put a strain on my hip. Then it kind of felt like my hip needed to pop. After that I was constantly getting sore in my pelvic area, hips and groin. I can only describe as feeling like a Barbie doll and with every move it feels like someone is trying to pop your leg right off your body.

Some days are better than others and I feel ok (not 100%, but not awful). Other days I can barely walk or barely push the grocery cart without feeling like I'm going to fall over and die. I started wearing a support belt around my lower belly and hips and that has helped a lot. I have also become more careful to avoid sitting indian-style and avoid getting in and out of vehicles and the bed too quickly. My doctor also did some stretching exercises with me and it seemed to help a lot. I never had any pain like this with Jenna, so it's something entirely new to me. I have heard people say with each consecutive pregnancy pain like this can get worse. I just hope it doesn't get worse in the next few weeks.