Little Miss is here!

After months and months of {im}patiently waiting, our sweet, beautiful daughter is finally here! I wanted to take the time to write down her birth story {because, lets be honest, this blog is more about my journaling than about the 5 people who probably read it...} before I forget. Also, I want to share some things about her that I've learned the past two weeks since she's been with us.
SO. On December 4th, we went in for our induction! We got there at 6:30 after calling to make sure the hospital was ready for us. Turns out, when I called, they thought I was a different patient who was coming in for a c-section...so when we arrived, the nursing staff looked at us wide-eyed and didn't know what to do because they weren't, in fact, ready. I was placed in a labor and delivery room, changed into my gown, and told they would come in and get things started when they were ready. At around 9:00 am, the nurse finally came back in and got my IV's started and officially admitted me to the hospital. Once the IV was in, pitocin began. Now, with Maxson, I got the pitocin and the epidural at practically the same time and was expecting to do the same this time. However, the {one} anesthesiologist working on Sunday was called in to do an emergency c-section, and after he was finished with that, needed to get to a patient who was 7 cm dialated and begging for her epidural. I was officially last on the totem pole. My doctor came in about 10:00 am and broke my water {which, I was not expecting him to do before I got my epidural...man does it feel weird when your water breaks! I was numb when it broke with Maxson so I had no idea what it felt like} and it catapulted me into hard labor. My contractions got so bad, very close together, to the point where tears where coming to my eyes every time one got to the peak. My mom kept telling me to relax and breathe...but I was NOT mentally prepared to experience hard labor. I had felt NO bad contractions in my labor with Maxson since my water wasn't broken until after my epidural and I guess I was just expecting to have the same experience this time. The nurse came in and gave me some drug through my IV for the pain--i don't remember what it was called--and it succeeded only in making me really high for about 5 minutes before it wore off and I was back to laboring. Finally, FINALLY at 11:30 ish, the anesthesiologist came in to my room. I got my epidural {which hurt a lot less than I remembered...probably because I was actually feeling labor pains and comparatively, that needle was nothin'} and then was a happy camper. But, it was short lived. The medicine made my blood pressure drop to 80/60, so the cuff on my arm would alarm every 15 minutes. I was still conscious and not nauseated, so the nurses weren't too worried. But I was annoyed because I was trying to nap and that darn cuff kept beeping at me! Within 2 hours, I was dialated to 7 cm and the medicine was starting to wear off. I was getting really uncomfortable, feeling lots of pressure, trying to decide whether to up my dosage or just tough it out. It got really bad, and my mom and Matt convinced me to up my dosage. The anesthesiologist came back in and gave me more medicine, right as the nurse checked me and saw that I was at a 10 {this was seriously like 20 minutes after I was told I was at a 7}. The doctor came in, got everything ready, and I was told I could push. Uhh...really? Because you guys just injected me with a whole nother dose of numbness like 5 minutes ago. I couldn't feel ANYTHING. It literally was surprising to look down and see that I still had legs. How on earth was I supposed to push when I wasn't sure I still had a crotch? So, I just did a crunch. And it worked. Two pushes later, Azalea Maelynn Collins was born at 2:02 screaming her head off. It was magical. She has adorable dark brown hair and big blue eyes. She looks so much like her brother. She was a full POUND lighter than Maxson was...7 lbs 9 oz and it really made a difference in my recovery. Only one little stitch this time! It has been great. She is seriously such a joy, she has the best temperament. She doesn't like to be set down {already! sheesh, I'm in for it} and I can't help but give in and hold her all the time. She is an AWESOME eater, way better than Maxson ever was. She even makes this little snorting sound when she's hungry...I call her little miss piggy, aka little miss :). Because she's such a good eater, jaundice hasn't been an issue like it was for Maxson. All that milk flushed it out without needing the bili lights. Yay! Oh and Maxson just loves her! sometimes too much...he gives her good hard squeezes sometimes. We definitely have to remind him to "be soft!" He does get jealous when I'm nursing, though. The first time he saw me doing it, he cried out "oh no! oh no!" I'm excited to get to know her better. I'm excited for Maxson to fall more in love with his little sister. I'm excited for her to start sleeping through the night, and for me to get adjusted to being a mommy of two so I'm not so stressed and can return to society soon. I'm excited that my little girl is here, and that I get to be her mommy.