Andrina is Born!

July 13, 2007

9:29 pm

Welcome to the World, Andrina Katrine Hansen!

Here we all are, a brand new family complete with a beautiful, sweet baby!

Labor began at 11:30 in the morning when my water "broke". I was suprised by how uneventful and pain-free my contractions were for about 2 hours. That changed when Tom and I arrived at the hospital at 1:30. The good news was that I was already 4 centimeters dialated and able to receive an epidural. The bad news was it took an hour for it to be administered! But what sweet relief it was! In that hour I had progressed to 6 cms and my contractions were coming fast and strong! I am so glad I chose the have an epidural. I was able to relax and visualize my baby in my arms, without being in pain. I think that was part of the reason my labor was not very long. By 6:00 I had dialated to the full 10 cms and was able to "labor down" (i.e., not push, let my body contract and "push" on its own) for about an hour. At 7:15 I began active pushing-with Tom holding on of my legs-which lasted for almost 2 hours and 15 minutes. I must say that I am very proud of myself in giving birth to my daughter. I felt the pressure of every contraction and pushed with EVERY ONE OF THEM! I did not take any "breaks". For over 2 hours I pushed and in the end, I gave birth on my own without vacuum or forceps assistance! All that at 32 years old, for the first time, and I was out of shape too!

I'll never forget how Andrina was lifted up and placed on my chest when she was born! I'll never forget how she took her first breath and cried her first cry while in my arms! I waited so long for her to arrive and it was definately worth it!

There are not words enough to describe just how much I love her...