Allie Nicole Pitta is here!

Our sweet angel, Allie Nicole, was born on Friday August 26, 2011 at 12:35 am weighing 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. 

Things didn't exactly go as planned, but I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out.  As I had mentioned before, I was scheduled to be induced on Friday August 26th at 7 am.  Well Allie had a plan of her own and decided she wanted to come out on her own time, but since it was now Thursday evening she had to make it quick because there were only a few hours left before she would be forced out.   I was in the kitchen with my mom Thursday afternoon cooking pasta that I was going to freeze for dinner for the following week when I started having contractions.  The contractions quickly intensified and starting coming closer and closer together.  Jeff was in Murfreesboro in a meeting for work so I had to wait 45 minutes for him to get home, at which point my contractions were coming every 3 or so minutes apart.  By the time we got to the hospital, around 8:00, the contractions were coming every minute at least, some every 30 seconds or so.  I was BEGGING for an epidural, but I had to wait until they could get me into a room, which took about an hour and a half.  Apparently the drop in barometric pressure from hurricane Irene had put everyone into labor so the Centennial hospital maternity ward was a full house.  Thanks a lot Irene!

Once I was in the room and got my epidural, I was in epidural heaven.  No pain, all smiles, ready to have this baby!

After the epidural, everything progressed pretty quickly.  By 11:00 I was fully dilated, fully effaced, and ready to go.  At about 12:00 the Dr. came in and said it was time to start pushing.  Jeff and I were both so anxious and excited and couldn't believe this was actually happening RIGHT NOW.




10 minutes til push time and feeling good





 During the pushing phase Allie's heart rate started to drop so they hooked me up to oxygen...However, I think Jeff needed the oxygen more than I did.  Through the oxygen mask I kept having to remind him to breathe.  I don't think he was ready for what was about to go down...and neither was I to be honest.  But he had a front row seat to the whole show and I don't think his stomach was cut out for that kind of trauma.

At 12:35 Allie Nicole came into this world and all of our worries went away, she was beautiful and healthy and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Our first family photo, my world is complete!

My mom, my dad, Jeff's mom & dad, and Jeff's sister Jennifer were there through the whole labor and delivery and they were so eager to meet their sweet granddaughter/niece. 

Jeff was such a proud daddy, he had a permanent smile from ear to ear and it was so sweet to see him with her.

Allie's first of many nap times with daddy...

We love our precious angel so much and can't wait to watch her grow up...but not too fast, we're really enjoying her being so small and sweet.

Thank you for all of the prayers and support, we are very blessed to have so many people who love us and our daughter.  We are very grateful that we had a safe delivery and now have a healthy happy baby.

Ready or not...

I am scheduled to be induced this Friday, August 26th, at 7 am. We are so excited...and a little nervous...but mostly excited.  I can't believe it's finally here, only 4 days to go until we meet our baby girl!  If you think about it, please say a prayer for us that everything goes smoothly...and painlessly :). 

Wish us luck!!

39 weeks

Allie's nursery

I spent this past weekend doing a lot of nesting.  I'm kind of a planner and I don't like being unprepared for things so I wanted to make sure that I had everything ready in the event Allie decided to come early.  So here it is...Allie's little sanctuary...

I sure hope she likes it.  She better...it's nicer than our bedroom. 

37 weeks

We're really in the home stretch now, only three weeks to go until my due date.  The 9th month has hit me like a ton of bricks.   My energy levels are pretty much non-existent most of the time which really makes it hard to function.  But I'll spare you the whiny details, I'm sure it's nothing you haven't all heard or gone through yourself before.  

As my pregnancy is coming to a close I was thinking about the things that I'm going to miss about being pregnant. Here are my top 5:    
               1. Courteous people - people tend to be a lot nicer and accommodating to you when you're 'with child' and I'd be lying if I said I haven't enjoyed it.
               2.  Feeling my baby kick...from the inside.  I can't wait to physically hold my baby, but I'm really going to miss the feeling of her kicking inside my stomach and knowing that she's there and she's healthy...but that I don't have to get up at 2 am just because she is.
               3.  Being able to pass off chores to Jeff that I really hate doing.  For example, cleaning the toilets...I shouldn't be in that close of contact with chemicals.  Or taking out the trash...no heavy lifting.  I'm going to miss having an excuse to not do those things.
              4.  Being able to eat whatever I want and not worry about how I'm going to look in a bathing suit.  No matter what I eat, I'm going to look like a whale in a bathing suit, so I might as well go for the double decker tacos with a rolo mcflurry on the side.
               5.  And last but certainly not least, the thing I'm going to miss the most about pregnancy....THE SNOOGLE.  

             
 This was a gift from my mom when I was only 20 weeks and it quickly became my best friend...and Jeff's worst enemy.  To me, it's the greatest thing that's ever happened to pregnant women...and women in general.  To Jeff, it's a nuisance and it just gets in the way of his sleep because it takes up 3/4 of the bed. The Snoogle is a 7 foot body pillow that, as you can see from this picture, wraps around your entire body and hugs and supports you from every angle.  It's heaven sent.  And I'm going to need counseling if I'm ever going to part ways with it.  However, Jeff has been dying to get rid of this thing since he first laid eyes on it and I have a feeling I'm going to have to quit cold turkey after Allie is born or my sweet snoogle is going to end up in the dumpster.

While I'm going to miss some things though, I will be happy to say goodbye to hip pain, swollen ankles, and the extra 28 pounds that I'm carrying around in this 106 degree heat that we've had (did I mention that the next time I get pregnant it's going to be strategically planned for the winter time?).  I'm looking forward to feeling 'normal' again and being active and of course, cuddling my baby...from the outside.

So as of yesterday I am officially 'full term' which means now we are on Allie's watch.  It's completely up to her when she wants to grace us with her presence.   Last week I was dilated 1 cm and this week I am still 1 cm but I'm 50% effaced.  You'll have to google that if you really want to know what it means because you know that's where I got my info.  But in short, it really doesn't meant anything.  I could stay at that for 3 weeks or I could progress quickly and have her tomorrow....it's her call.  She knows when she wants her birthday to be, and she'll let us know when she's ready.  I just hope she gives me a little warning.

As far as us being ready....we're almost there.  Mentally, I'm SOOO ready for her to be here.  But physically, we still have some loose ends to tie up...like washing clothes and packing a bag for the hospital.  We plan on being ready for her by Sunday so if she can just hold out until then we'll be peachy.  

I will keep everyone posted on the progress...it won't be long until we get to meet our precious angel!

Happy Friday!!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

37 weeks and about to pop!