Introducing....

Ava Janae Astle

4/4/08

7lbs 8oz & 20.25"

8:37am

We are so happy to finally have her here!

Just getting ready to leave the hospital. Sorry for the bad picture of Steven.

She is a very happy content little girl, with big blue eyes and lots of dark hair that we think will probably fall out and grow back blond. So far, everyone is saying she looks a lot like Steven, she has most of his facial features.

She is a very loved little girl!

Birth Story...

For those of you who haven't heard, I'll give a little recap of the loooong labor/birth.

I went to the Dr. on the 31st to have my check up, one week over due. He decided to have me induced the next day. So Tuesday 4/1/08 we went to the hospital at 7:00am they put a little pill (I can't remember the name) on my cervix that is supposed to make it thin out and then cause me to start having contractions. When I got to the hospital I was only 2cm, 70% effaced. After a couple of hours the contractions started coming, not very strong, but slowly getting stronger and closer together. By mid afternoon, my contractions seemed to be progressing quite well, so we were pretty excited thinking that night we would have her here. But little Ava decided to pull and April fools joke on us. Around 4:30 everything started slowing down...eventually to almost nothing. So my Dr. decided at midnight to send me home to get some rest and eat some food. He told me to stay home all day Wednesday, hoping that I would go into labor and if not then to come back Thursday morning and they would induce me again. We decided to do this to try to avoid having to have a c section. So, nothing exciting happened all day Wednesday, just very light contractions about 30 min. apart. So on Thursday we were back at the hospital at 12:00pm. They checked me and I was 2.5 cm and 80% effaced. Not much progress at all. They put the pill on my cervix again, and again a couple of hours later the contractions started coming, but not very strong and still not very close together. And my body wasn't making much progress. So at 4:30 my Dr. broke my water and then shortly after that the contractions came on! I endured them for 2 hours (2 of the most painful hours of my life) They checked me after two hours of really good contractions and I was only 3 cm, 90% effaced! I thought I was gonna die! So I asked for the epidural, and then life was much better. I was in labor for 13 more hours!!! Thankfully not feeling the crazy contractions I was having. Finally after an hour of pushing and the Dr. having to help with the vacuum, she arrived at 8:37am!

It was a very long week! But so worth every minute of it!! And Steven has been so great through all of it! I couldn't have asked him to do anything better.

I think my dad has some better pictures on his camera, so as soon as he gets those to me, I'll post some more pictures.