She's Finally Here!!!

Our precious little girl has finally arrived! We couldn't be more BLESSED to have Harmony Joy in our lives. I know all mom's say this about their children, but she truly is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I could stare at her all day long.

It all started at exactly midnight on November 20th. Mike and I had stayed up late to watch a movie together, and we went to bed at about 11:30ish. I'm always a little crampy at night, but when that first pain came, I thought "hmmm... that pain was a little different than what I usually feel." I don't know why i looked at the clock, but I did. Ten minutes later I felt it again. This went on for about 40 minutes, with every contraction coming 10 minutes apart. At around 1:00, the pain was a little more intense- to the point where i jolted out of bed because the pain was so surprising. They only lasted about 20 seconds, and this is when I woke Mike up to let him know that I was pretty sure I was in labor. I've had false alarms before, so he didn't jump out of bed or anything, but he defiantly became alert. During the breaks in contractions we started getting things ready- finishing packing for the hospital, printing of directions for my mom, and just cleaning up. At around 2:00 the contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds to a minute. The hospital doesn't want you to come in until the contractions are 4-5 minutes apart for an hour. I felt like it would take FOREVER to get to that point. Mike got a stop watch out at this time, and we could do nothing but wait. At 3:30 the contractions were so intense that i began throwing up after them. Now, I made the mistake of not going to any pregnancy classes, so i had no idea how to properly breath through a contraction. I was literally YELLING and squirming all over our bed until the contraction finished. NOT a good idea. My body was so tense, and I'm pretty sure that is why the throwing up began. I called my doctor right away, and she said to come in. At 4:00 we arrived at the hospital, and that is when I started calling family, and I sent out texts to friends.

They hooked me up to all these monitors that showed my heart rate, her heart rate, and the contractions. My doctor FINALLY got there at 6:00, and she told me I was only one centimeter dilated. Because of the tremendous discomfort I was feeling, they gave me some medicine to take the edge off the contractions, and allowed me to rest for an hour or two. After it wore off, they checked me again, and i hadn't dilated at all. They told me that I wasn't in active labor, and my only two options were to either go home or have a C-section. I didn't want to do either, and I got really emotional about it. I begged for them to give me another round of drugs, and then see if anything progresses. They agreed, and after another 2 hours they checked me again. I had finally dilated another centimeter. At this time they ordered an epidural, which is hands down the most WONDERFUL invention ever. A. it didn't hurt at all, and B. It started to work so quickly that by the time they laid me back down I wasn't feeling anymore contractions. My mom and Allison made it to the hospital at around 9 or 10, and were a great help during my contractions. Mike nor mom and allison were allowed in the room with me during the epidural, so when they were allowed back in, my nurse sent them right back out so i could rest for a couple hours. I think about an hour went by when my doctor came in and informed me that Harmony's heart rate had dipped twice, and she was a little concerned about it. She checked my cervix, and as she did I began bleeding a lot. This put everyone on high alert, and they began giving me oxygen and checkin the monitors very closely. They called Mike and told him to get back to the delivery room ASAP. About 5 minutes later her heart rate dipped again, and that is when they started to prep me for an emergency C-section. Mike walked into the room only to be thrown scrubs and to get changed as soon as possible, and then they wheeled me into the OR. Fifteen minutes later, at 12:57PM on November 20th, Harmony Joy Shipman came into this world weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce, and was 21 inches long. They had me strapped to the bed so they handed her to Mike. The first thing we noticed was her RED hair! We couldn't believe it! She looked so perfect lying in her daddy's arms. They soon took Mike and Harmony to the nursery while they sewed me back up.




Once I was out of recovery, I was taken to my room where I could finally hold my little girl. I couldn't believe how alert she was. She had her eyes wide open looking around. I love this picture, where she is looking right at the camera.

The rest of my day consisted of resting and learning how to feed Harmony. Becca didn't make it to Pittsburgh in time to see her that day, but you can bet she was there the moment visiting hours started the next day. Her aunts and Grammie gave her lots of attention while I rested. Mike and I had to watch videos about car seat safety, and about bringing a baby home. We had paper work to fill out, and I had to make sure I got up and walked around so I could begin healing from the surgery. It's hard work! I didn't think it would be as difficult as it is. I'm feeling pretty helpless as I am confined to my upstairs. I have yet to change a diaper because I'm not even allowed to pick her up. I try to walk around as much as I can, and sometimes it's easier, and sometimes I feel like I'm not progressing at all. I get my stitches out on Monday, and I CANNOT wait. My mom has had two C- Sections, and she says that you feel so much better when they come out. Let's hope!!!

Any hoo- I was released from the hospital on Thanksgiving morning, and it was the most exciting feeling to take her home!! They warned us that the first night is the hardest, and to be patient with her. Harmony was a little fussy at around 10, but once she was asleep, she slept until her next feeding, and then went right back to sleep until I needed to feed her again. We couldn't believe it. But even tho she slept a lot, i got very little sleep because I was in pain, PLUS every noise she made woke me up. I must have made Mike get up a dozen times to check on her. And speaking of Mike, he as been the most INCREDIBLE husband and father. I love my husband very much, and watching him with Harmony has made me fall deeper and deeper in love with him. He is so good with her, and he has served me so well since I can't do anything on my own. Yesterday I just held him and cried because I seriously don't know what I would do without him. I am sooo lucky.

We all are getting into a routine here at the Shipman home. My mom is here with us for another week, and I am SO thankful for that. She is doing a wonderful job doing all the things I can't- laundry, cooking, changing Harmony, and watching her while I rest. She has been a great encouragement to me during my breast feeding too, because it's been pretty painful. But I'm getting there...

Mike has made a website for Harmony, and I would love for all of you to see it. There are a bunch of pictures on it, and Mike has been faithfully journaling on her progression. The link is: http://www.totsites.com/tot/babyshipman

Be sure to sign the guestbook!

I leave you with a picture of our happy family!